Top 10 Films to Watch at Fantasia Festival 2025

Fantasia Festival 2025 celebrates its 29th edition this July in the heart of Montreal, running from July 17th to August 3rd across Concordia Hall, JA de Sève, and Cinéma du Musée. Renowned as one of the world’s premier genre festivals, Fantasia draws a global crowd, from studio executives to die-hard cinephiles, around its mission to connect cutting-edge visionaries with mainstream audiences. This year’s lineup promises another interesting mix: tentpole theatrical releases poised for box office success, alongside leaner, fiercely original films primed for VOD discovery.

Here are 10 of the top films to watch at Fantasia Festival 2025.

10. Eddington

Logline: In May 2020, a standoff between a small-town sheriff and mayor sparks a powder keg as neighbour is pitted against neighbour in Eddington, New Mexico.

Director: Ari Aster
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Austin Butler, Emma Stone, Luke Grimes, Clifton Collins Jr.

What is Eddington About? (from Fantasia Festival 2025)

Fantasia’s 29th edition will open with a special screening of Ari Aster’s EDDINGTON. In May of 2020, a standoff between a small-town sheriff (Joaquin Phoenix) and mayor (Pedro Pascal) sparks a powder keg as neighbour is pitted against neighbour in Eddington, New Mexico. Also featuring Austin Butler, Emma Stone, Luke Grimes, Deirdre O’Connell, Michael Ward and Clifton Collins Jr. EDDINGTON is Aster’s fourth feature in an extraordinary filmography of landmarks, following HEREDITARY, MIDSOMMAR and BEAU IS AFRAID.

My Thoughts

Eddington’s Fantasia stop feels more like a press preview than a festival premiere – the film goes wide two days later. If it weren’t for the quick turnaround, this would likely find itself higher on this list, but still, Ari Aster has my attention. Cannes feedback was fairly split, which usually means the film is at least doing something interesting. Even when Aster overreaches, he builds tension with intent and sneaks real ideas underneath. I’m tempering expectations, but I expect a watchable, well-crafted piece with a meaningful message to convey.

What Others Are Saying About Eddington

“We’re in nightmare territory again, with the filmmaker bringing out the formalist chops and ability to build upon one unexpected turn after another that’s already made him a cult figure among cinema nerds.” — David Fear, Rolling Stone

Fantasia Screening: Wed Jul 16 2025 – 6:00 PM, Auditorium des diplômés de la SGWU (Théâtre Hall)

Wide Release Information: Eddington will see a wide theatrical release on July 18 2025.

9. The Well

Logline: In a world where environmental collapse has left survivors to fight for the precious resources needed to survive, a young woman’s loyalties are tested by the arrival of a wounded man.

Director: Hubert Davis
Cast: Joanne Boland, Noah Lamanna, Sheila McCarthy, Steven McCarthy, Shailyn Pierre-Dixon

What is The Well About? (from Fantasia Festival 2025)

Sarah Devine (Shailyn Pierre-Dixon, THE BOOK OF NEGROES) means everything to her parents, Paul and Elisha (Arnold Pinnock, THE PORTER; Joanne Boland, THE HANDMAID’S TALE). They live in a harrowing, post-apocalyptic time, but it’s not the typical supernatural threat. The world is experiencing environmental collapse, scarce resources, and illness isolates people. The Devine family live far from prying eyes in the forest, protecting their hidden freshwater supply. When a young man named Jamie (Idressa Sanogo, ROBYN HOOD) is injured, their secluded home is jeopardized. Unsure of his motives and whether he is healthy, Paul and Elisha are cautious, but Sarah takes to Jamie. Learning their well has stopped functioning, she sneaks off to Jamie’s compound, hoping to help repair their precious water source. She meets Gabriel (Sheila McCarthy, WOMEN TALKING), a strong matriarch who leads the compound, speaking in cryptic parables. Sarah is unsure of Gabriel’s motives, and as her parents panic over their missing daughter and Sarah becomes a target, danger pushes everyone to the brink.

My Thoughts

On paper, The Well sounds like another cautionary tale of environmental ruin and unchecked greed, but Hubert Davis’s direction lends it a distinctive pulse. Moving away from blockbuster set-pieces, he lingers on human connections and moral puzzles – questions of who deserves saving and what we are willing to sacrifice. His documentary pedigree (he was the first black Canadian to be nominated for an Oscar, with his short documentary  “Hardwood”) shows in the unhurried rhythm throughout. There is no filler and no forced action, just a slow, seeping tension. This narrative debut shows that Davis can create characters that feel as real as his documentary work.

Fantasia Screening: Mon Jul 21 2025 – 6:45 PM, Cinéma du Musée

Wide Release Information: The Well has been acquired by XYZ Films for global distribution, but no release dates have been set.

8. Terrestrial

Logline: A reunion weekend spirals out of control for four college friends when the host – a science-fiction writer on the verge of newfound success – fights to maintain his sense of reality in the face of sudden, uncanny dangers.

Director: Steve Pink
Cast: Jermaine Fowler, James Morosini, Pauline Chalamet, Edy Modica, Rob Yang, Brendan Hunt

What is Terrestrial About? (from Fantasia Festival 2025)

Not long ago, Allen (Jermaine Fowler, SORRY TO BOTHER YOU) was a struggling science-fiction writer trying to get his work seen and his voice heard. But now he’s living high in the Hollywood Hills in a big mansion with a fountain, a vintage Mustang, and a room devoted to THE NEPTUNE CYCLE, the classic science-fiction novels written by Allen’s hero, S.J. Purcell (Brendan Hunt, TED LASSO). Allen’s friends Maddie (Pauline Chalamet, SEX LIVES OF COLLEGE GIRLS), Ryan (James Morosini, I LOVE MY DAD) and Vic (Edy Modica, JURY DUTY) have come to visit and celebrate Allen’s big book and movie deal, but they’re quick to believe his out-of-nowhere good fortune may be too good to be true. And Allen’s erratic behaviour isn’t helping matters any; he’s coming across as sad, paranoid, and delusional, not like someone who’s about to hit the big time. Is it writer’s block? Or maybe they picked the wrong time to visit? And maybe they weren’t the only ones?

My Thoughts

Steve Pink built his name on broad comedy (Hot Tub Time Machine), but his documentary The Last Republican showed he can dig beneath the surface. Terrestrial finds him navigating darker sci-fi territory without abandoning his knack for well-placed humour. I’m interested in how he juggles two impulses: the drive to unsettle audiences with alien enigmas and the urge to break the tension with a well-timed joke. If Pink applies the same observational precision from The Last Republican to an otherworldly narrative, he may deliver a fresh hybrid – a film that provides further evidence that he is much more than a one-note comedy director.

Read my Full Review of Steve Pink’s The Last Republican Here

Fantasia Screening: Sun Jul 20 2025 – 6:30 PM, Théâtre Hall

Wide Release Information: Terrestrial will have its world premiere at Fantasia; distribution still being sought.

7. Good Boy (2025)

Logline: Good Boy is the story of a dog who sees everything that goes bump in the night. No talking pets, just terrifying scares.

Director: Ben Leonberg
Cast: Larry Fessenden, Arielle Friedman, Shane Jensen, Indy (the dog), Stuart Rudin

What is Good Boy About? (from Fantasia Festival 2025)

From the first moment you see him, you know that Indy (playing himself) is a very good boy, as loyal as a dog can be to his human, Todd (Shane Jensen). Todd has uprooted Indy to his late grandfather’s (Larry Fessenden!) remote house upstate, and before he even sets foot in the house, Indy can sense something’s not right. It’s not just that the house is in the middle of nowhere and seriously dilapidated, there’s something there that Indy can sense that Todd cannot. Todd has his own problems—he’s dealing with a mysterious illness and a worried sister (Arielle Friedman) who won’t let him be, and he can’t see what Indy sees. And what Indy sees is a mysterious presence that draws his suspicions while also drawing him in. Indy can only do so much to warn his human (he’s a dog, after all), but he’s going to protect him with all his heart before what’s haunting this house comes for them both. Because Indy is not just a good boy, he may be the bravest and smartest boy of all.

My Thoughts

What makes Good Boy stand out isn’t novelty but honesty. Ben Leonberg’s real-life dog Indy leads us through a creaky farmhouse where unseen forces prey on his vulnerable owner. Without voice-overs or gimmicks, the film uses subtle methods – low framing, obscured faces, spare sound design – to show us exactly what a dog perceives. That clarity of vision turns every bark and tilt of the head into a moment of dread. It’s a modest production, yet it earns its chills by trusting both Indy’s instincts and our empathy.

Read my Interview with Director Ben Leonberg Here

What Others Are Saying About Good Boy

“The way that Indy the Dog is able to emote so effectively is in itself almost scary, on par with the husky in John Carpenter’s The Thing.” — Mary Beth McAndrews, Dread Central

Fantasia Screening: Sat Jul 19 2025 – 9:15 PM, Théâtre Hall

Wide Release Information: Good Boy has been acquired by Shudder; no specific release date announced.

6. Lurker

Logline: When a twenty-something retail clerk meets a rising pop star, he takes the opportunity to edge his way into the in-crowd.

Director: Alex Russell
Cast: Archie Madekwe, Théodore Pellerin, Sunny Suljic, Havana Rose Liu, Daniel Zolghadri

What is Lurker About? (from Fantasia Festival 2025)

Matthew (Théodore Pellerin) works at a trendy L.A. clothing shop where he largely keeps to himself. One day, rising pop star Oliver (Archie Madekwe, MIDSOMMAR) comes in to browse, with the entire shop staring in stunned shock. Matthew puts on a track that impresses him, and is rewarded with an invitation to the next show. It’s there that he meets Oliver’s aggressive hipster entourage of friends and weirdly scornful hangers-on, an entirely new world of social tension and social validators alike. He quickly manages to insinuate himself into Oliver’s protectively competitive inner circle, his online cred blowing up like crazy with each new post from the inside. As Matthew’s self-worth amplifies, a sinister narcissism comes to the surface. He’s determined to maintain his access. And will do whatever it takes to hold on to it.

My Thoughts

Lurker leapt off the 2020 Black List (a list of the best best unproduced scripts) with a project promising quiet intensity, and Alex Russell’s feature debut delivers on that promise. It didn’t come out of the gates with the most buzz, but it built momentum at Sundance, earned Mubi and Focus Features backing, and found further success at the Berlin Film Festival. Russell’s background in television shines through in the film’s pacing, each scene calibrated to build discomfort without grand gestures.

What Others Are Saying About Lurker

“Lurker isn’t just content with the well-trodden downfall of someone who is embraced and then rejected. It’s smarter than that.” — Benjamin Lee, The Guardian

Fantasia Screening: Fri Aug 1 2025 – 9:25 PM, Théâtre Hall

Wide Release Information: Lurker will receive a wide theatrical release on August 22 2025.

5. Together

Logline: Years into their relationship, a couple find themselves at a crossroads as they move to the country, abandoning all that is familiar in their lives except each other.

Director: Michael Shanks
Cast: Alison Brie, Dave Franco

What is Together About? (from Fantasia Festival 2025)

Official selection – SXSW 2025, Sundance 2025

Millie (Alison Brie) and Tim (Dave Franco) have been a couple for 10 years of unwed…well, not exactly bliss, and the fraying ends of their relationship are about to become seriously unraveled. Millie has just won a teaching job that requires them to move away from the city, and all their friends, to a house in the middle of a forested area. What we already know, and they realize too late, is that there’s an uncanny energy dwelling within those woods, and even as Millie and Tim’s interpersonal anxieties drive them further apart, that force begins to bind them in both figurative and literal ways. As their bodies begin a symbiotic relationship that expresses itself even when they’re separated, they’re forced to take drastic measures to prevent themselves from being joined together… forever.

My Thoughts

Putting aside the lawsuit for a moment, Together was one of my SXSW highlights thanks to its careful blend of body horror and dark comedy. Michael Shanks lets Alison Brie and Dave Franco’s real-life chemistry carry both the laughs and the fear. By sliding between intimate laughter and sudden jolts of physical mutation, he asks blunt questions about codependency and independence, and much of ourselves we’re willing to surrender for love. It doesn’t go as far as some recent body horror entries, like The Substance, but it is another example of the revitalization of the genre for modern mainstream audiences.

Read my Full Review of Together Here

What Others Are Saying About Together

“Shanks never lets the relationship drama intrude too much on the demented ‘pleasures’ of the stretchy flesh, mining humour throughout.” — David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter

Fantasia Screening: Sat Jul 26 2025 – 9:30 PM, Théâtre Hall

Wide Release Information: Together will receive a wide theatrical release on August 1 2025.

4. $POSITIONS

Logline: Blue-collar Kansan Mike Alvarado attempts to save his family from poverty by investing their savings into speculative cryptocurrencies.

Director: Brandon Daley
Cast: Michael Kunicki, Kaylyn Carter, Trevor Dawkins, Vinny Kress

What is $POSITIONS About? (from Fantasia Festival 2025)

Driven by desperation, an overinflated ego, and an overwhelming responsibility to support his special-needs brother (Vinny Kress) and alcoholic father (Guido Z Cameli), possibly polyamorous, addiction-prone, straight-edge neckbeard Mike (Michael Kunick, WOLVES AGAINST THE WORLD), turns to the erratic world of cryptocurrencies for help. After hitting it mid with XMUN-coin, all of Mike’s problems disappear. He quits his dead-end but stable job, convinces his devoted girlfriend Charlene (Kaylyn Carter) to open up their relationship, reconnects with his recently sober cousin Travis (Trevor Dawkins, ALL JACKED UP AND FULL OF WORMS), and even gets invited to his first party! However, Mike’s greed and inexperience with being the It Guy around town send him spiralling into a series of bad decisions that threaten more than just his bank account!

My Thoughts

$POSITIONS stakes a claim as the millennial comedy of the year, and for good reason. Brandon Daley channels his blockchain blunders into a story that keeps you laughing, while also sneaking in a few genuine emotional beats in the process. Daley also weaves in Midwestern nostalgia – small-town dreams colliding with digital chaos – which grounds the narrative. Even if you’re crypto-clueless, the performances and the film’s warm-hearted undertow make it almost impossible not to enjoy.

Read my Interview with Director Brandon Daley Here

What Others Are Saying About $POSITIONS

“$POSITIONS is a brutally honest portrait of lower-income life in Midwestern America, shining a realistic light on harrowing situational struggles with heart and outlandish humour.” — Bianca Piazza, MovieWeb

Fantasia Screenings:
Wed Jul 30 2025 – 3:50 PM, Salle J.A. De Sève
Sun Aug 3 2025 – 9:35 PM, Salle J.A. De Sève

Wide Release Information: $POSITIONS is currently exploring distribution offers; no wide release date is set.

3. F***toys

Logline: Amidst a mental spiral after her tooth falls out, AP consults her psychic, who explains that a nasty black-magic curse requires a lamb sacrifice and $1 000 to break.

Director: Annapurna Sriram
Cast: Annapurna Sriram, Francois Arnaud, Brandon Flynn, Big Freedia, Sadie Scott, Damian Young

What is F***toys About? (from Fantasia Festival 2025)

FUCKTOYS opens in the swamp, lush, humid, and vibrating with mystical energy. Fingers, painted and dripping with jewels, lay out a tarot reading. These hands belong to a fortune teller, played by rapper and drag queen Big Freedia, who begins to reveal a mystical warning. Shot in sumptuous 16mm, what unfolds is a fever-dream odyssey. Written, directed by, and starring Annapurna Sriram (BILLIONS), FUCKTOYS reimagines the classic Fool’s Journey through a radically queer, maximalist lens. The story follows AP, a sex worker living in “Trashtown,” who discovers she’s been cursed. To survive, she must raise $1000 to pay a medium who might be able to lift it. So begins her quest, absurd, grotesque, and glittering, with a parade of characters, sexual misadventures, and unexpected acts of tenderness leading her through a distorted dreamscape version of Louisiana.

My Thoughts

Admittedly, I haven’t caught Fucktoys yet, but heard enough SXSW buzz to know it is living up to its provocative name. At a screening for another film, I had a group of producers behind me, chatting about how it was an interesting film, but that it had no chance until it changed its title. A few months later, and the team seems to be holding strong to Fucktoys, but we’ll see if it lasts. Regardless, the film appears to be fully committed to its vision. It’s full of various bodily fluids, with a uniquely campy “midnight” energy. While this will never be the type of project that mainstream audiences will gravitate toward in tremendous numbers, I have no doubt that the Fantasia crowd will absolutely eat it up.

What Others Are Saying About F***toys

“F****toys has a peculiar sense and design that’s all its own, resulting in a fantasy world whose inventive details hail from both historical record and futuristic references.” — Murtada Elfadl, Variety

Fantasia Screening: Tue Jul 22 2025 – 9:30 PM, Théâtre Hall

Wide Release Information: At present, Ftoys does not have a wide release date.

2. Queens of the Dead

Logline: When a zombie apocalypse breaks out in Brooklyn on the night of a giant warehouse party, an eclectic group of drag queens, club kids and frenemies must put aside their drama and use their unique skills to fight the scrolling undead.

Director: Tina Romero
Cast: Katy O’Brian, Riki Lindhome, Margaret Cho, Jaquel Spivey, Nina West, Dominique Jackson

What is Queens of the Dead About? (from Fantasia Festival 2025)

It’s Easter in Bushwick, Brooklyn, and a different kind of resurrection is at hand. Dre (LOVE LIES BLEEDING breakout Katy O’Brian) is putting on a warehouse drag show, trying to deal with her lead performer’s last-minute cancellation, among other problems. One that she never could have imagined is a zombie apocalypse breaking out in her neighbourhood, which besieges her and her team while her wife Lizzy (Riki Lindhome, THE WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW), a nurse at a local hospital, tries to dodge the flesh-eating hordes and get across town to Dre. As the trapped party crew deal with various interpersonal issues—most notably the sudden return of Sam, a.k.a. Samoncé (Jaquel Spivey, MEAN GIRLS), some time after abandoning Dre and her show at a crucial moment—they’re forced to resolve their differences and find a way to band together and survive.

My Thoughts

If the Romero name rings a bell, it’s for a good reason. Tina Romero is the daughter of the legendary George A. Romero, the creator of the Night of the Living Dead series, and the “father of the modern zombie movie.” While I understand the cries of nepotism, I think it’s important to give the junior Romero a chance. In Queens of the Dead, she doesn’t simply mimic the formula that made her father famous, but instead situates the undead amid the fractured alliances of the modern age. The result feels like a passing of the torch rather than a retread.

What Others Are Saying About Queens of the Dead

“Everybody knows that sex and drugs are two sure-fire ways to get yourself killed in a horror movie, and Queens of the Dead takes advantage of this, but it is always careful to do it in the spirit of fun.” — Luna Guthrie, Collider

Fantasia Screening: Sat Aug 2 2025 – 9:30 PM, Théâtre Hall

Wide Release Information: Queens of the Dead has been acquired by Independent Film Company and Shudder and will receive a theatrical release in fall 2025.

1. It Ends

Logline: Friends on a late-night food run become trapped on an infinite highway with otherworldly terrors lurking beyond.

Director: Alexander Ullom
Cast: Mitchell Cole, Phinehas Yoon, Noah Toth, Akira Jackson

What is It Ends About? (from Fantasia Festival 2025)

“Life is a highway,” as Tom Cochrane once sang, and for Tyler (Mitchell Cole), James (Phinehas Yoon), Fisher (Noah Toth), and Day (Akira Jackson) that could not be more true. As these four college friends get together for one last night out before going their separate ways, they find themselves taking an unexpected turn down an unending road that literally goes nowhere. They keep going and going, with no end or turns in sight, quickly realizing that they’re stuck on an infinite road in a car that now uses up no gas and tracks no miles. They can stop for limited periods of time, but they cannot shut the engine off or venture out without inviting danger. As they attempt to learn the mystery of where they are and what may lie ahead, they each confront their fate in different ways, some choosing to accept, others choosing to overcome or explore, but they all ask the same questions. When does it end? Will it end? Can it end? And will they end with it?

My Thoughts

From modest SXSW screenings to broad acclaim, It Ends stakes its claim as a Gen Z manifesto in genre form. Alexander Ullom’s script, which he started writing at only 22 years old, uses familiar horror beats to map anxieties about finding purpose in life. The result is a film that feels both immediate and universal: a generation’s question – what’s waiting at the end of this chapter?

What Others Are Saying About It Ends

“It Ends captures a universal fear, that anxiety-inducing transition into full-blown adulthood where we’re all expected to become responsible contributors to society.” — Meagan Navarro, Bloody Disgusting

Fantasia Screenings:
Fri Jul 18 2025 – 9:45 PM, Salle J.A. De Sève
Wed Jul 30 2025 – 11:45 AM, Salle J.A. De Sève

Wide Release Information: Currently, It Ends does not have a wide release date set.