Five Films to Get Excited About at Fantasia 2026
The Fantasia International Film Festival is an annual highlight for fans of genre cinema. It brings together the best new horror, sci-fi, fantasy, action, and animated movies – feature length and shorts - from around the world. There are even a few thematically appropriate documentaries thrown in for good measure. Every year, at least a few films that screen at the fest break out into the mainstream. The 2025 edition helped launch Undertone (released by A24), Good Boy, and NEON's upcoming It Ends. In other words, this is a festival worth paying attention to.
The 30th edition of Fantasia takes place from July 16 through August 2 in Montreal, Quebec. The Aisle Seat will once again be covering the festival. To give you a taste of what to expect, here’s a sneak peek at five of the most exciting films screening this year.
Corpus - Euphoria’s Jeff Wahlberg stars in this ‘90s-set erotic horror film about a drug dealer and his movie star friend who head out to a remote manor for a weekend of partying and debaucherous behavior. Their good time is altered by the presence of three mysterious women who lure them into a sensually dangerous situation. Most interestingly, Corpus marks the feature directorial debut of Corrin Evans, who previously worked as an intimacy coordinator on films like MaXXXine and Magazine Dreams. This should be a hot one.
Unholy Night - The yuletide starts early at Fantasia, thanks to this holiday-themed slasher about a Christmas Eve gathering that’s ruined when the family’s long-dead grandma comes back to life and goes on a killing spree. It’s up to grandson Gino (Marc Bendavid) to stop her. Writer/director Michael Gabriele looks to have made a picture that mixes dark humor and serious gore – an often irresistible combination.
Bowels of Hell - The festival’s own website declares this “unquestionably the grossest movie of Fantasia 2026.” It’s about a woman with a toilet phobia who finds herself in a scatological nightmare when her apartment building falls victim to supernatural events. That may sound like cheap schlock, but producer Rodrigo Teixeira previously brought us the Oscar-nominated I’m Still Here and Call Me by Your Name, so I’m betting that there’s some real substance underneath all the you-know-what.
The Last Temptation of Becky - The original Becky was a drive-in hit during the Covid pandemic, and its sequel The Wrath of Becky got some decent attention a few years later. Lulu Wilson returns as Becky, the teen girl dedicated to slaying neo-Nazis. This time, she takes on a lunatic – played by Neil Patrick Harris! – who wants to start a Fourth Reich. This one comes from director Jenn Wexler, whose previous credits include The Ranger and The Sacrifice Game.
Trauma Or, Monsters All Horror legend Larry Fessenden brings together the monsters from his previous films Habit, Depraved and Blackout for his latest feature. That alone is exciting. Sweetening the deal is a horror-friendly cast that includes The Blair Witch Project’s Joshua Leonard, Phantasm II’s James LeGros, and Re-Animator’s Barbara Crampton. I can’t wait to get this movie on my eyeballs.
Those are just five examples. There are plenty more films to get excited about. I’ll be covering as many as possible, so keep checking back to The Aisle Seat throughout August 2 for reviews.
© 2024 Mike McGranaghan