From Jeff Nelson

Since 1996, Fantasia International Film Festival continues to give genre filmmaking a place in the spotlight in Montréal, Canada. It highlights highly-anticipated blockbuster releases to undiscovered independent gems with a lively and dedicated festival following that generates an energetic experience via in-person and remote programming. Here’s a look at five of the buzziest titles set to play at the Fantasia Film Festival 2023.

Red Rooms

Fantasia Film Festival 2023 opens with Pascal Plante’s Red Rooms (Les Chambres Rouges), starring Juliette-Gariépy as Kelly-Anne in a thriller that follows the case of a serial killer. However, she develops an obsession with tracking down an essential piece of evidence in the murder of a young girl that looks startlingly close to Kelly-Anne.

Plante’s filmography includes the well-received drama/romance titled Fake Tattoos and the quiet drama called Nadia, Butterfly.

Mayhem!

Xavier Gens’ Mayhem! (Farang) is sure to draw attention with a recognizable genre filmmaker and its predominantly action-led plot. The story follows Sam (Nassim Lyes), a prison inmate with a past yearning to catch up with him. After his release from prison, he dedicates his life to normalcy, but he soon swears revenge on the person responsible for blackmailing him back into his old life.

Gens previously shocked moviegoers with 2007’s Frontier(s), which was slapped with the NC-17 rating. He later returned with The Divide and a horror anthology segment in The ABCs of Death. Gens’ polarizing work draws strong reactions from critics and audiences, making Mayhem! an intriguing title.

Sympathy for the Devil

Sympathy for the Devil is another action flick making its way to the Fantasia Film Festival 2023 lineup. Nicolas Cage plays a mysterious passenger, who holds a driver (Joel Kinnaman), at gunpoint. They set out on a cat-and-mouse game that becomes clearer the further along they go.

Director Yuval Adler previously made the thought-provoking political drama Bethlehem, later working with the likes of Diane Kruger in The Operative and Noomi Rapace in The Secrets We Keep.

Vincent Must Die

Vincent Must Die made its world premiere at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, debuting with an overall positive reception. The plot follows Vincent (Karim Leklou), who urgently finds himself the target of an assault. The tension continues to mount, forcing him to change his life forever.

Stéphan Castang makes his directorial debut in this fantastical horror movie, which promises a nerve-shredding ride through violence and some black comedy.

Talk to Me

Talk to Me first debuted at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival to rave reviews, where A24 picked up distribution rights. A group of teenage friends finds a dangerous new party game that involves an embalmed hand that gives them the power to speak with the dead. However, it goes a bit too far when they unleash an entity that they aren’t able to lock away.

Directors Danny and Michael Philippou instantly put themselves on a list of filmmakers to look out for with their tremendously unique Talk to Me. It hits theaters later this month, but the 2023 Fantasia Film Festival is bringing this fright for its Canadian premiere.

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The 2023 Fantasia International Film Festival will take place from July 20th, 2023 to August 9th, 2023. Keep checking back here for coverage from Jeff!

Follow Jeff at @SirJeffNelson