The 5 Best Movies Screened At Fantastic Fest 2023
Photo from Fantastic Fest
From Jeff Nelson
Fantastic Fest 2023 collects a combination of genre premieres, secret screenings, and highlights from other festivals. The in-person event in Austin, Texas also held a virtual option, making a selected assortment of their program available. From sci-fi comedies to the darkest depths of horror, Fantastic Fest 2023 screened genre offerings you’ll want to keep an eye out for in the coming months.
Photo from Epic Media
5. In My Mother’s Skin
At the end of World War II in the Philippines, occupying Japanese soldiers harass a wealthy rural family, convinced that they’re hiding stolen gold on the property. The patriarch leaves to request the Americans’ help, leaving his wife (Beauty Bonzalez) alone with their daughter (Felicity Kyle Napuli) and son (James Mavie Estrella). The young girl encounters a sinister fairy (Jasmine Curtis-Smith) who is more than she appears.
In My Mother’s Skin is deeply sinister and haunting, presenting its twisted fairytale roots in a truly macabre fashion. It’s a slow-burn that erupts into unspeakable violence and terror, packed with loads of atmosphere. Kenneth Dagatan’s horror tale played all around the festival circuit for good reason.
Photo from Fantastic Fest
4. Concrete Utopia
A massive earthquake destroys the foundation of Korea, reducing everything to rubble, with the exception of a lone apartment complex. Its surviving residents create a new society, establishing their own set of rules that will test their morality and will.
Tae-hwa Eom’s Concrete Utopia doesn’t necessarily approach its post-apocalyptic landscape with anything new, but it executes its thrilling drama with tact. Lee Byung-hun and Park Bo-young deliver outstanding performances. Korea selected Concrete Utopia as its submission for Best International Feature Film at the 2024 Oscars.
Photo from Fantastic Fest
3. When Evil Lurks
Two brothers (Ezequiel Rodríguez, Demián Salomón) live in a remote village, where their lives are turned upside down after a demon-infected man is on the verge of delivering true evil into the world. They plan to save their small village and rid themselves of the man, but they only further spread true evil’s reach.
Demián Rugna goes even harder on the shock value than he did in the horrifying Terrified. This is mean-spirited horror that refuses to give mercy. Distressingly vicious and harrowingly unruly, When Evil Lurks is a dark hellscape that horror fans will eat up. Despite some third-act stumbles, this is a truly memorable, relentless genre offering with teeth.
Photo from Alexandro Bolaños Escamilla/Lionsgate
2. Saw X
Saw X takes place between the events of the 2004 horror original and Saw II. John Kramer, aka Jigsaw (Tobin Bell), is given only a few more months to live, as a result of his cancer diagnosis. He enrolls himself in a risky, experimental miracle cure in Mexico, but discovers that it’s all a scam. Jigsaw is ready to give his own dose of “healing” to those responsible.
Longtime Saw editor and Saw VI director Kevin Greutert returns to the franchise with one of the best installments yet, featured at Fantastic Fest 2023 as a secret screening. Bell expands on the role with intimacy and care, finding new ways of further developing the character after several sequels. The traps are at their most grotesque and the convoluted timeline is given a dose of maturity that works quite well, even if the final twist falls short of other chapters. Fans rejoice – Saw is back.
Photo from Fantastic Fest
1. River
Set in a small Japanese village ryokan, the employees and guests panic when they realize they’re in a time loop that resets every two minutes. They must work together to uncover what started the loop and how to set time back the way it was.
Director Junta Yamaguchi’s River is the best film I saw at Fantastic Fest 2023. It’s delightfully light-hearted, emotionally sincere, and consistently funny. He morphs time travel tropes into something that feels wholly original and singular, along with gorgeous cinematography and an excellent ensemble cast. This is a sci-fi comedy that you won’t want to miss.
Special Mention: Fantastic Fest 2023 premiered the first two episodes of Mike Flanagan’s latest eight-episode Netflix mini-series, The Fall of the House of Usher. It’s a phenomenal piece of gothic horror packed with satisfying kills, engaging storytelling, and strong performances. Despite the fact that it isn’t a movie, it’s well-worth mentioning based on its merits.
Fantastic Fest 2023 ran between September 21st, 2023 and September 28th, 2023.
