Fantastic Fest 2021 kicks off today in Austin, Texas. As the largest genre film festival in the US Fantastic Fest has a huge number of genre titles playing over the next seven days. We’ll be covering the festival at The Geek Goddesses but alas remotely as we’re not allowed in the country yet! But one day, one glorious day we will get to enjoy the festival and all its bounty.
We’ve already seen a number of the titles being shown and would highly recommend the hilarious and brilliant Sweetie You Won’t Believe It, the brutally savage The Sadness, atmospheric dread-inducing coming of age story Hellbender, deeply affecting study of trauma Agnes and the clever, funny and shot on an iPhone sci fi film Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes.
From the film titles we haven’t seen here are the ten movies we’re most excited about seeing at Fantastic Fest 2021:
The Black Phone – World Premiere
After being abducted by a child killer and locked in a soundproof basement, a 13-year-old boy starts receiving calls on a disconnected phone from the killer’s previous victims.
Director Scott Derrickson re-unites with Ethan Hawke on this seriously creepy sounding film which is adapted from a short story by Joe Hill. Derrickson and Hawke’s previous collaboration was Sinister – one of the best horrors of the past few years so we cannot wait to see this.
A Banquet – US Premiere
Betsey, the eldest daughter of a widowed mother, suddenly finds herself unable to eat. Betsey believes this to be a spiritual blessing rather than an ailment — a belief that threatens the fabric of her family.
Eerie, spiritual body horror? Sign us up! We’re always keen to support female directors and new British talent. Looks intriguing!
Black Friday – World Premiere
A ragtag group of toy store employees get more than they bargained for when Black Friday shoppers mutate into violent monsters.
This sounds like an absolute delight plus it stars Devon Sawa (who has exceptional genre credentials with his starring roles in Final Destination and Idle Hands) and the god that is Bruce Campbell.
Bingo Hell – World Premiere
The big, steel-toed boot of gentrification won’t stop one determined locally-grown advocate as a new building owner offers Bingo as a portal to financial prosperity – but the price is something far more sinister and much less liberating
Oooh this one sounds really intriguing. Satanic bingo and the battle against gentrification? Can’t wait. Bingo Hell is part of “Welcome to the Blumhouse”, a film series produced by Blumhouse productions and will air on Amazon this October.
The Exorcism of God – World Premiere
When children in a small Mexican town start dying of demonic possession, the inhabitants seek the help of Father Peter Williams, a priest haunted by a past exorcism gone sinfully wrong. What follows is an epic battle between good and evil
We just can’t quit exorcism films no matter how hard we try and The Exorcism of God sounds like an interesting spin on the genre.
Let the Wrong One In – World Premiere
Sibling rivalry takes on a whole new meaning when one brother is turned into a vampire and has to rely on his younger brother to protect him. Will brotherly love win out or is someone getting staked?
You can’t go wrong with a good horror comedy and this movie about vampires running amok in Dublin sounds like an absolute riot.
Mlungu Wam – US Premiere
The aftershocks of apartheid reverberate through a family as a daughter tries to free her mother from the grip of her mysterious employer.
South African horror tale which we have it on good authority is extremely good and deeply unsettling. A chilling slow burn of a film.
V/H/S 94 – World Premiere
Chloe Okuno, Jennifer Reeder, and Ryan Prows join franchise alumni Simon Barrett and Timo Tjahjanto in this fourth installment of the blood-soaked found footage horror omnibus series.
Nothing in the V/H/S series has remotely managed to top Safe Haven directed by Timo Tjahjhanto and Gareth Evans (part of V/H/S 2) but despite that you can’t really go wrong with a good anthology film and the V/H/S series has a decent hit rate. V/H/S 94 will be premiering on Shudder this October.
Lamb – US Premiere
On a remote farm in Iceland, a couple that experienced recent loss is caring for their flock of sheep. One day, one of their sheep gives birth to a very peculiar lamb that will change their lives forever.
An audacious poetic tale of grief and acceptance starring Noomi Rapace. We’ve been looking forward to seeing this one for a while.
Titane – US Premiere
Following a series of unexplained crimes, a father is reunited with the son who has been missing for 10 years. Titane : A metal highly resistant to heat and corrosion, with high tensile strength alloys.
Raw was an astonishing debut from director Julia Ducournau and how could you not want to see the movie that won the Palme d’Or (only the second female director ever to win it after Jane Campion for The Piano) and had snotty film directors moaning about the movie where the woman has sex with a car. The hottest ticket of the festival
