Top 15 Films to Watch at Fantasia 2026

The Fantasia International Film Festival returns to Montreal from July 16 to August 2, 2026, and this year marks a big one: the festival’s 30th edition. At this point, Fantasia does not really need much explaining. It has become one of the most reliable genre festivals in the world, not because it only plays horror or cult movies, but because it understands how wide that world can be. Horror, animation, science fiction, dark comedy, documentary, fantasy, thrillers, midnight movies, strange art objects, and films that do not sit cleanly in any one category all have a place here.

This film festival preview focuses on 15 feature films that stand out across the Fantasia 2026 programme.

15. Her Private Hell

Premiere Status: Canadian Premiere

Notable Festivals: Cannes Film Festival 2026

A hallucinatory fairy tale death trip inspired in part by its maker’s own harrowing experience with death and resurrection, Her Private Hell is a deeply personal and obsessive film that explores memory and mortality, family and legacy, often through breathtakingly stylized Neo-Noir and Giallo film codings.

Director: Nicolas Winding Refn

Cast: Sophie Thatcher, Charles Melton, Havana Rose Liu, Kristine Froseth, Diego Calva, Dougray Scott

Why Her Private Hell Might Be Worth a Watch

Her Private Hell is not here because it is necessarily the strongest film in the lineup. It is here because a new Nicolas Winding Refn film opening Fantasia is almost guaranteed to become one of the festival’s major conversation pieces. Refn remains one of those filmmakers where the risk and reward are basically inseparable. His late-style work can be hypnotic, indulgent, frustrating, gorgeous, empty, or all of those things at once, and the divided response out of Cannes points to another film living in that messy territory. The personal context also makes it harder to ignore, with Refn tying the film’s imagery to his own near-death experience. Add in a cast led by Sophie Thatcher and Charles Melton, and this is clearly one of the higher-profile titles in the programme. The only reason it is not higher is practical: with a theatrical release already set for July 24, this is not exactly a rare Fantasia-only opportunity. Still, it should be very easy to talk about after the screening, whether you loved it or hated it.

When is Her Private Hell Playing at Fantasia 2026?

• July 16, 2026 — 6:30 PM — Auditorium des diplômés de la SGWU (Théâtre Hall)

14. A Safe Distance

Premiere Status: Canadian Premiere

Notable Festivals: SXSW 2026, Frameline Film Festival 2026, Phoenix Film Festival 2026

Hot off its world premiere at SXSW, A Safe Distance takes us into the wilds of B.C., where one woman reinvents herself, escapes a mundane life for the dangerous world of an off-grid couple, and experiences a sexual reawakening.

Director: Gloria Mercer

Cast: Bethany Brown, Tandia Mercedes, Cody Kearsley, Chris McNally, Henry Mah

Why A Safe Distance Might Be Worth a Watch

A Safe Distance comes to Fantasia after premiering at SXSW, where I had the chance to speak with director Gloria Mercer, writer Aidan West, and stars Cody Kearsley and Tandia Mercedes. The premise has a clear genre hook, with a woman stranded in the British Columbia wilderness after a failed proposal and then pulled into the orbit of a mysterious off-grid couple. But the stronger angle is how the film uses that landscape as both a trap and a possible escape route. The B.C. wilderness gives A Safe Distance a naturally gorgeous visual foundation, but Mercer seems just as interested in the quieter tension between safety, desire, self-erasure, and reinvention. The interview also left me with the sense of a thoughtful group approaching a small thriller through character first, rather than simply forcing genre mechanics onto a beautiful location.

When is A Safe Distance Playing at Fantasia 2026?

• July 30, 2026 — 9:30 PM — Salle J.A. De Sève
• July 31, 2026 — 11:30 AM — Salle J.A. De Sève

13. Black Zombie

Premiere Status: Quebec Premiere

Notable Festivals: SXSW 2026, Hot Docs 2026, CUFF 2026

Black Zombie digs beneath the blood-soaked spectacle of modern horror to uncover the zombie’s origins in Haitian Vodou, histories of enslavement, colonial violence, and spiritual resistance, tracing how one of horror’s most familiar monsters was transformed by Hollywood and global pop culture.

Director: Maya Annik Bedward

Cast: Yves-Grégory François, Erol Josué, Mambo Labelle Déesse Botanica, Slash, Tom Savini, Tananarive Due

Why Black Zombie Might Be Worth a Watch

Black Zombie may not be sitting at the top of every Fantasia watchlist, but it is one of the more valuable films in the programme. Fantasia has screened so many zombie films, and so many zombie-adjacent films, that there is something genuinely exciting about a documentary that steps back and asks where this figure actually comes from. Maya Annik Bedward traces the zombie through Haitian Vodou, enslavement, colonial violence, stolen agency, and spiritual resistance before looking at how Hollywood turned it into one of horror’s most endlessly recycled monsters. A lot of genre fans could probably use that context, not as homework, but as a way to watch the genre with sharper eyes. The film has also been appreciated almost everywhere it has played, including SXSW, Hot Docs, and CUFF. Ultimately, Black Zombie offers a chance to sit with the cultural history underneath one of the genre’s most familiar images.

When is Black Zombie Playing at Fantasia 2026?

• July 29, 2026 — 6:45 PM — Salle J.A. De Sève
• July 31, 2026 — 1:50 PM — Salle J.A. De Sève

12. Someone’s Daughter

Premiere Status: World Premiere

Years after defending Paul against rape allegations, lawyer Sam is kidnapped with him by the victim’s father and stranded in the wilderness, forcing her to confront buried truths, justice, and survival.

Director: Wiebke von Carolsfeld

Cast: Pascale Bussières, François Arnaud, Peter Outerbridge, Michael Greyeyes

Why Someone’s Daughter Might Be Worth a Watch

Because Someone’s Daughter is making its world premiere at Fantasia, there is only so much context to lean on here. Still, the premise is strong enough to make it one of the more intriguing Canadian titles in the lineup. Someone’s Daughter seems to be putting a lawyer in a situation where all the professional language around guilt, doubt, evidence, and justice starts to feel a lot less stable. That could become heavy-handed, but with the right restraint, there is something compelling about watching someone who knows the system well being forced to question what it actually leaves unresolved. Wiebke von Carolsfeld may not be a widely known name, but her debut feature Marion Bridge won Best Canadian Feature at TIFF back in 2002 and also featured one of Elliot Page’s earliest roles. That is enough history to make this return to Canadian dramatic-thriller territory worth watching closely.

When is Someone’s Daughter Playing at Fantasia 2026?

• July 21, 2026 — 6:30 PM — Auditorium des diplômés de la SGWU (Théâtre Hall)

11. Blaise

Premiere Status: North American Premiere

Notable Festivals: Cannes Film Festival 2026, Annecy 2026, Festival International du Film de La Rochelle 2026

The Sauvage family is desperate to be liked. Carole wants to repair her image with employees who dislike her, Jacques feels disrespected by friends, and their son Blaise has learned to avoid conflict by going along with nearly everything. When Joséphine enters Blaise’s life, he is pulled into a more radical and impulsive crusade.

Director: Dimitri Planchon, Jean-Paul Guigue

Cast: Léa Drucker, Jacques Gamblin, Timéo Béasse, Nina Blanc-Francard, Nathalie Kanoui, Nicolas Lormeau

Why Blaise Might Be Worth a Watch

Blaise is exactly the kind of film that can keep a festival list from feeling too predictable. This is a film built around embarrassment, social panic, failed communication, and visual unpleasantness as part of the joke. Dimitri Planchon and Jean-Paul Guigue use that very specific animated style to satirize people who want approval so badly that they become ridiculous, dangerous, or both. It is almost certainly not going to work for everyone, and it is not designed to. But that kind of intentional off-putting quality can be part of the pleasure when the film knows what it is doing. If you get on its wavelength, I could see Blaise ending up surprisingly high on some people’s lists by the end of the festival.

When is Blaise Playing at Fantasia 2026?

• July 17, 2026 — 9:30 PM — Cinéma du Musée

10. Matapanki

Premiere Status: Canadian Premiere

Notable Festivals: Berlinale 2026, FICValdivia 2025, Slamdance 2026

Ricardo, a punk from Quilicura, drinks, attends punk shows, hangs out with his friends, and cares for his grandmother. After drinking a strange alcoholic brew called Matapanki, Ricardo gains superpowers that activate whenever he drinks. He tries to use them to change society, but after accidentally killing the president of Chile, he triggers an international conflict with himself at the centre.

Director: Diego “Mapache” Fuentes

Cast: Ramón Gálvez, Diego Bravo, Antonia McCarthy, Rosa Peñaloza, Rodrigo Lisboa

Why Matapanki Might Be Worth a Watch

Matapanki sounds like a blast in the most direct sense: short, low-budget, loud, politically angry, and proudly handmade. The premise has the right kind of reckless energy for Fantasia, following a Chilean punk who gains powers whenever he drinks and then accidentally turns himself into the centre of an international crisis. But the film seems more interesting than a goofy superhero riff because its limitations appear to be part of the form. The black-and-white cinematography, punk-rock aesthetic, graphic flourishes, and DIY texture all seem tied to the world the film comes from rather than applied as empty style. Diego “Mapache” Fuentes is not trying to make a polished studio superhero movie on a fraction of the budget. He is making something scrappier, angrier, stranger, and more locally rooted. The festival run has also been strong for a film operating this far outside the mainstream, with stops at Valdivia, Berlinale, Slamdance, and Fantaspoa. This feels like one of those Fantasia titles that could win people over through sheer personality.

When is Matapanki Playing at Fantasia 2026?

• July 24, 2026 — 5:10 PM — Salle J.A. De Sève

9. Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma

Premiere Status: Canadian Premiere

Notable Festivals: Cannes Film Festival 2026, NewFest Pride 2026, Frameline Film Festival 2026

After years of slapdash sequels and waning fandom, the Camp Miasma slasher franchise is handed over to an enthusiastic young director for resurrection. But when she visits the original movie’s star, a now-reclusive actress shrouded in mystery, the two women fall into a blood-soaked world of desire, fear, and delirium.

Director: Jane Schoenbrun

Cast: Hannah Einbinder, Gillian Anderson, Jack Haven, Amanda Fix, Arthur Conti, Eva Victor

Why Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma Might Be Worth a Watch

Let’s be honest: Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is probably the number one must-watch title at Fantasia for a lot of people. It only sits at number nine here because if you are attending Fantasia, you are probably already aware of it, and it is heading to theatres shortly after the festival. There is not much selling required. Jane Schoenbrun has already cemented themself as one of the defining voices in modern queer cinema, and this project is an especially direct collision between their interests in identity, spectatorship, genre, and desire. With Hannah Einbinder, Gillian Anderson, and Jack Haven at the centre, it has the pieces to be funny, horny, bloody, self-aware, and emotionally sharper than the premise might first suggest. This might be Schoenbrun’s best yet.

When is Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma Playing at Fantasia 2026?

• July 17, 2026 — 9:30 PM — Auditorium des diplômés de la SGWU (Théâtre Hall)

8. Freaks Part II

Premiere Status: World Premiere

A few years after a traumatic escape, Mary and her daughter Chloe live on the road, hiding their powers and identities. They are hunted by the Abnormal Defence Force, a paramilitary police force that specializes in ruthlessly exterminating “freaks” like them, while Mary pursues revenge against the officer who killed her first child.

Director: Zach Lipovsky, Adam Stein

Cast: Reznor Allen, Amanda Crew, Audrianna Lico, Lorelei Olivia Mote, Lili Taylor, Stephen Tobolowsky

Why Freaks Part II Might Be Worth a Watch

As the closing film of Fantasia 2026, Freaks Part II arrives with a certain amount of built-in attention. It also comes at an interesting point for Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein. The original Freaks had a mixed response back in 2018, but it also had a clear identity: intimate sci-fi built around family, fear, and people with powers being forced into hiding. Now Lipovsky and Stein are returning to that world after directing Final Destination: Bloodlines, which might be the strongest film in the franchise (not trying to start a fight here, but still…) The interesting question is what they bring back from that larger studio experience. Freaks Part II appears to expand the first film’s contained mutant mythology into something bigger, more violent, and more explicitly tied to persecution, revenge, state force, and survival. That can be a dangerous move for a sequel, but it can also be the moment where filmmakers revisit their own material with sharper craft and a better sense of scale.

When is Freaks Part II Playing at Fantasia 2026?

• August 2, 2026 — 6:15 PM — Auditorium des diplômés de la SGWU (Théâtre Hall)

7. Jim Queen

Premiere Status: North American Premiere

Notable Festivals: Cannes Film Festival 2026, Annecy 2026, Karlovy Vary 2026

When Heterosis, a mysterious virus that turns gay men straight, sweeps through the Parisian gay scene, Jim, the six-packed sovereign of the Gym Queens, goes from Pride royalty to social outcast. With only Lucien, a freshly out twink with more heart than abs, still by his side, Jim must race to find a cure before the disease erases the community that once worshipped him.

Director: Marco Nguyen, Nicolas Athané

Cast: Alex Ramirès, Jérémy Gillet, Shirley Souagnon, François Sagat, Harald Marlot, Elisabeth Wiener

Why Jim Queen Might Be Worth a Watch

There is some wild stuff happening in Jim Queen, and that is very much the point. A queer adult animated comedy about a virus that turns gay men straight could easily become unbearable if handled with the wrong tone, but the consensus so far suggests that this is not the case. Marco Nguyen and Nicolas Athané are using an intentionally outrageous conceit to explore desirability, body hierarchy, HIV/AIDS anxiety, gay nightlife, and the pressure to perform identity for public approval. It may be over the top in its plot and animation, but that excess is also central to its appeal: a film this proudly specific probably should not flatten itself to be universally palatable.

When is Jim Queen Playing at Fantasia 2026?

• August 2, 2026 — 9:30 PM — Auditorium des diplômés de la SGWU (Théâtre Hall)

6. The Fox

Premiere Status: Quebec Premiere

Notable Festivals: SXSW 2026, Sydney Film Festival 2026, CUFF 2026

Set in a parallel reality where animals talk, hustle, swear, and scheme, The Fox opens with Nick discovering that his fiancée Kori is cheating on him. When Nick captures a fox, she offers him unconventional marital advice in exchange for being set free: push Kori into a magic hole, and she will emerge as the perfect partner.

Director: Dario Russo

Cast: Jai Courtney, Emily Browning, Olivia Colman, Sam Neill, Damon Herriman, Claudia Doumit

Why The Fox Might Be Worth a Watch

The Fox is a useful tonal change-up in this lineup. It is weird, yes. It is absurd, yes. It creates discomfort in the way only a talking-animal relationship fable about infidelity, control, and magical transformation really can. But compared to some of the more abrasive titles on this list, it may end up being one of the easier films to recommend broadly. The obvious hook is Olivia Colman voicing a fox, which is admittedly a very good hook, but the film has more going on than novelty casting. Dario Russo uses the premise as a darkly comic way into bad relationships and the selfish fantasy of changing someone else instead of confronting your own failings. It may not be earth-shattering, but I think most people will buy into the premise once they settle into its particular rhythm.

When is The Fox Playing at Fantasia 2026?

• August 2, 2026 — 3:40 PM — Auditorium des diplômés de la SGWU (Théâtre Hall)

5. The Samurai and the Prisoner

Premiere Status: North American Premiere

Notable Festivals: Cannes Film Festival 2026, Sydney Film Festival 2026, Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival 2026

During the Azuchi/Sengoku period, Lord Murashige Araki rebels against Oda Nobunaga and barricades himself inside Arioka Castle. With the castle surrounded, strange murders and impossible incidents unsettle the court, and Murashige turns to Kanbei Kuroda, a brilliant enemy strategist whom he has imprisoned rather than executed, to help solve the mystery from inside his cell.

Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Cast: Masahiro Motoki, Masaki Suda, Yuriko Yoshitaka, Munetaka Aoki, Ryota Miyadate, Tasuku Emoto

Why The Samurai and the Prisoner Might Be Worth a Watch

Look, we have to put some respect on Kiyoshi Kurosawa. The Samurai and the Prisoner is long, running 147 minutes, and it is much more dialogue-heavy than some viewers may expect from a feudal-era samurai film. This is not a swordplay-forward action piece so much as a besieged-castle chamber mystery. The deep historical layers may be a bit much for everyone, especially with all the names, factions, and political pressure involved. But the reward is that this appears to be one of Kurosawa’s stronger recent films, continuing a real late-career resurgence after Cloud, which was also one of his strongest works in years.

When is The Samurai and the Prisoner Playing at Fantasia 2026?

• July 22, 2026 — 6:30 PM — Auditorium des diplômés de la SGWU (Théâtre Hall)

4. Never After Dark

Premiere Status: Canadian Premiere

Notable Festivals: SXSW 2026, Overlook Film Festival 2026, BIFFF 2026

A solitary medium, accompanied by her sister’s ghost, confronts an evil spectre with a terrifying past. What begins as a contained J-horror exorcism mystery shifts toward ghost procedural, home-invasion suspense, and trauma-loop thriller.

Director: Dave Boyle

Cast: Moeka Hoshi, Kurumi Inagaki, Kento Kaku, Mutsuo Yoshioka, Bokuzo Masana, Tae Kimura

Why Never After Dark Might Be Worth a Watch

A Fantasia list needs some J-horror, and Never After Dark arrives with enough festival heat to be one of the safer bets in the programme. The film won the SXSW Midnighter Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize at the Overlook Film Festival, which is a pretty useful combination. It worked for regular genre audiences and for juries looking at craft, structure, and execution. The premise has a familiar ghost-story foundation, following a professional medium who is assisted by the ghost of her dead sister, but that sister relationship gives the film something more personal to work through. The idea of a dead sister appearing through reflective surfaces creates a clean visual language for grief, communication, and the duality of life and death. The film is already out in Japan and has a North American theatrical release coming in September, but Fantasia still feels like the right place to see it first with an audience that knows exactly what to do with a polished, beautifully shot ghost story.

When is Never After Dark Playing at Fantasia 2026?

• July 30, 2026 — 9:00 PM — Auditorium des diplômés de la SGWU (Théâtre Hall)

3. Drag

Premiere Status: Canadian Premiere

Notable Festivals: SXSW 2026, Overlook Film Festival 2026, BIFAN 2026

Two sisters find themselves trapped in a remote house when one of them throws her back out during a robbery attempt and the owner unexpectedly returns home. What begins as an ill-conceived heist turns into a twisted dark comedy about sibling devotion, bodily helplessness, and very bad decisions.

Director: Raviv Ullman, Greg Yagolnitzer

Cast: Lizzy Caplan, Lucy DeVito, John Stamos, Christine Ko

Why Drag Might Be Worth a Watch

I saw Drag at SXSW, where it landed as one of the more memorably nasty midnight comedies of the festival and made my top films from SXSW 2026.  The ninety-minute runtime does occasionally test the limits of the premise, leading the film to “drag” slightly in the middle (please forgive me for the pun). But the escalating absurdity is firmly grounded by the excellent sisterly banter between Lizzy Caplan and Lucy DeVito, which gives the film hilariously relatable sibling dynamics even as the situation becomes increasingly cruel. John Stamos is also used in a way you have almost certainly never seen before, and his against-type presence gives the film one of its bigger shocks. This is a groans-and-laughs movie, sometimes at the same time, which is perfect for Fantasia.

When is Drag Playing at Fantasia 2026?

• July 25, 2026 — 4:00 PM — Auditorium des diplômés de la SGWU (Théâtre Hall)

2. You Are the Film

Premiere Status: North American Premiere

Notable Festivals: BIFFF 2026

Separated by three kilometres, a 45-minute walk, how could a screenwriter and a musician watch, interact, and guide each other on a big screen in a cinema at the same moment? In You Are the Film, Madoka and Kazuma discover that the person on screen is not only alive in real time, but watching back.

Director: Makoto Ueda

Cast: Marika Ito, Kai Inowaki, Riko Fujitani, Shintaro Kanamaru, Oshirō Maeda, Hinako Kikuchi

Why You Are the Film Might Be Worth a Watch

You Are the Film is the kind of small, clever genre object that could play especially well at Fantasia. The appeal is less about scale than structure: a simple cinematic trick, a tight runtime, and a premise built around the act of watching itself. That kind of thing can become lightweight or gimmicky very quickly, but the BIFFF response is a strong sign, with the film winning both the White Raven Competition and the Audience Award. The idea clearly plays in a room, not just on paper.

When is You Are the Film Playing at Fantasia 2026?

• July 19, 2026 — 7:45 PM — Auditorium des diplômés de la SGWU (Théâtre Hall)

1. Bagworm

Premiere Status: Quebec Premiere

Notable Festivals: Sitges Film Festival 2025, SXSW 2026, CUFF 2026

An anxious, socially inept doomer steps on a rusty nail and plunges into an acetaminophen-filled spiral of fungus, tetanus, and unintentional incelmaxxing. Stylishly grimy and gross-out hilarious!

Director: Oliver Bernsen

Cast: Peter Falls, Michelle Ortiz, Robbie Arnett, Corbin Bernsen, Stephen Borrello, Jessy Morner-Ritt

Why Bagworm Might Be Worth a Watch

Putting Bagworm at number one is not about choosing the safest or most obvious film in the lineup. It is about choosing the one that feels most like a Fantasia discovery: ugly, funny, abrasive, weirdly personal, and difficult to reduce to a simple genre label. I had the chance to speak with director Oliver Bernsen during CUFF, and that conversation made the film click for me in a way that goes beyond its gross-out hook. On the surface, Bagworm is another odd body horror, but the physical infection exposes something already rotting inside our protagonist: isolation, resentment, sexual frustration, self-pity, and the desperate need to believe the world is broken because that is easier than looking inward.

The film is disgusting and ridiculous, yes, but it is also weirdly patient with Carroll’s interior collapse. It understands that a person can become monstrous in loud, grotesque ways, but also in quiet, self-pitying, almost boring ways. That lines up with something both Bernsen and I have always been drawn to in film: the absurd and the horrific on one side, the slow and internal on the other. Those two extremes can seem far apart, but they are often chasing the same thing. One gets there through disgust and escalation; the other gets there through stillness and reflection.

Its festival momentum helps too. After Sitges, SXSW, Fantaspoa, and CUFF, this is not an unknown quantity, but it still has the feeling of a film people will discover, argue about, and remember. It is absolutely not going to be for everyone. That is part of why it belongs at the top.

When is Bagworm Playing at Fantasia 2026?

• July 31, 2026 — 6:45 PM — Salle J.A. De Sève
• August 2, 2026 — 1:40 PM — Salle J.A. De Sève