fantasia festival

Bethany Brown and Tandia Mercedes in A Safe Distance

Fantasia Festival Review: A SAFE DISTANCE Subverts Genre Expectations

A Safe Distance is a character study wrapped up as a genre movie. Yes, the film has elements of a crime thriller, but Gloria Mercer’s drama is really about the evolving relationship between Bethany Brown’s Alex and Tandia Mercedes’ Kianna. [...]

August 4, 2026

Fantasia Festival Review: Zombie Horror Comedy UNHOLY NIGHT Doesn’t Work

Sometimes you go into a film with the whole-hearted expectation that you are going to love it. This happens when the trailer seems to have delivered the goods and got you hooked on the concept and visuals. However, when it eventually comes to [...]

August 1, 2026

Fantasia Festival Review: BIG BREAK Delivers Laughs, Thrills & Kills

There’s plenty of fun to be had with Big Break, the new comedy-horror which has its debut at the Fantasia International Film Festival. This is a loose and relaxed genre effort from New York based comedy troupe, Simple Town and it sees a group of [...]

July 21, 2026

artwork for Fantasia International Film Festival 2026

Get Ready For Fantasia International Film Festival 2026

The 30th edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival will kick-off on July 16 and run through to August 2, 2026. The physical festival takes place in Montreal, Canada – but Movies In Focus will be covering things remotely. Who says [...]

July 7, 2026

Review: Kung Fu Comedy THE PAPER TIGERS Is An Absolute Joy

There’s a serious amount of fun to be had with Tran Quoc Bao’s The Paper Tigers. The writer/director/editor delivers a hugely energetic and entertaining comedy which is a joy to watch from beginning to end. The film transcends its low [...]

September 8, 2021

Trailer & Poster: Cult Comedy KING KNIGHT

King Knight looks like a quirky cult comedy. I’ve watched this trailer and I’m not quite sure what it’s about, but at least I’m curious. Isn’t that what a trailer is supposed to make you – curious? Written and [...]

August 6, 2021

Blu-ray Review: Bryan Bertino’s THE DARK AND THE WICKED Is An Excellent Multilayered Horror That Resonates

Bryan Bertino’s The Dark And The Wicked is a horror film which is constructed from creepy atmosphere and and honest of emotion. A family drama enshrouded in a dark cloak, Bertino’s film is an intelligent horror which is as much about the [...]

July 14, 2021

Podcast – Episode 6: Chino Moya Talks About His Big Screen Directorial Debut UNDERGODS

Spanish filmmaker Chino Moya is a veteran director of short films, music videos and commercials. He made his feature length debut with Undergods, a dystopian science fiction film which had its premiere at the 2020 Fantasia Film Festival (read the [...]

May 23, 2021

Review: THE MORTUARY COLLECTION Is A Delightfully Devilish Take On Tales From The Crypt

The Mortuary Collection is an entertaining and darkly comic horror film from writer/director Ryan Spindell. A variation on the Tales From The Crypt type anthology, the film stars Clancy Brown as Montgomery Dark, the ghoulish Mortician in the New [...]

May 6, 2021

The 25th Fantasia Festival To Be A Virtual Event; BRAIN FREEZE Will Open The 2021 Festival

The 2021 Fantasia International Film Festival will see the Canadian genre festival celebrate its 25th edition. As with 2020, this year’s festival is set to be a virtual event with screenings, premieres, panels, and workshops running from 5 [...]

April 14, 2021

New Poster & Trailer For Chino Moya’s Dystopian Nightmare UNDERGODS Ahead Of UK Release

Movies In Focus saw commercials and music video director Chino Moya’s feature debut Undergods at its world premiere during the 2020 Fantasia Festival. Deliberately opaque and obtuse, Moya’s film is a morality play about society and the [...]

April 13, 2021

Trailer For Horror Film THE CURSE OF AUDREY EARNSHAW

Movies In Focus caught The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw when it played at the Fantasia Festival in 2020. The horror film from writer-director Thomas Robert Lee is a well acted genre piece which starts slow but it gains momentum as it goes along, [...]

September 11, 2020

Fantasia Festival Review: THE CURSE OF AUDREY EARNSHAW Walks Familiar But Intriguing Territory

The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw is a curious horror film from writer-director Thomas Robert Lee. It’s a well acted genre piece which starts slow but it gains momentum as it goes along, offering-up enough intrigue to keep its audience interested. In [...]

September 5, 2020

Fantasia Festival Review: THE DARK AND THE WICKED Is One Of The Best Horror Films Of The Year

Bryan Bertino’s The Dark And The Wicked is a film constructed from creepy atmosphere and and honest of emotion. A family drama enshrouded in a dark cloak, the film is an intelligent horror which is as much about the loss of parents as it is about [...]

September 1, 2020

Fantasia Festival Review: Chino Moya’s Dystopian Drama UNDERGODS

Chino Moya’s Undergods is a darkly comic dystopian drama which has a strong feeling of uneasiness running throughout. Set in an unnamed futuristic world, Moya’s film tells three stories which make The Tales Of The Unexpected seem like Looney [...]

August 31, 2020

Fantasia Festival Review: Energetic Kung Fu Comedy THE PAPER TIGERS Is Great Fun

August 31, 2020

Fantasia Festival Review: THE MORTUARY COLLECTION Is Ghoulishly Macabre

August 29, 2020

Fantasia Festival Review: WOMAN OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS

A film about reflections and perceptions, Takeshi Kushida’s Woman of the Photographs is a film which illustrates how photography and photographs help craft who we are to ourselves and to others. The Japanese film is a slow moving psychological [...]

August 26, 2020

Who Goes There? Do We Need A New Version Of THE THING From John Carpenter & Blumhouse?

The word on the street is that Blumhouse Productions and the mighty John Carpenter are working on reboot of Carpenter’s classic 1982 horror The Thing. Variety is reporting that the film is in the very early stages and there are [...]

August 25, 2020

Brilliant Poster & Trailer For Chino Moya’s Otherworldly Fantasy UNDERGODS

Commercials and music video director Chino Moya makes his feature debut with Undergods, a dystopian fantasy which will have its world premiere at the Fantasia Festival on 20 August. This is one mind-boggler of a trailer, but it looks (and sounds) [...]

August 16, 2020