FIXED

Long one of my favourite animators, Genndy Tartakovsky has made an indelible mark with his unique style, often emphasizing visual storytelling and exaggeration through shows such as Dexter’s Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Star Wars: Clone Wars, and Primal. And while the wildly successful Hotel Transylvania movies aren’t necessarily as acclaimed as his television output, his bold features manage to shine just as well in those films. I always look forward to anything he makes, and his latest feature Fixed - set to close out Fantasia - is no exception to that. Over a decade in the making, this R-rated comedy about a dog’s night out before he gets neutered promises plenty of raunch, plenty of heart, and plenty of striking 2D animation. - Bode

GOOD BOY

Unlike most people, the idea of “good movie dog” doesn’t mean much to me. Truth be told, I don’t even like dogs (cats are better, fight me). Dogs are all the worst aspects of toddlers — stinky, self-imposed chore-makers that do little else but eat, be loud, and shit on the floor. I’ll pass. That said, I’m always up for a good ghost story, even more so when it comes with a unique angle. A haunted-house thriller told from the perspective of a dog is about as unique as it gets. I’m picturing something like Steven Soderbergh’s Presence mixed with…uh…I don’t know, Beethoven, maybe? Turner & Hooch? Whatever it ends up being, it’s apparently “one of the best horror films of the year.” Couple that with buzz that it is, at the very least, “one of the most talked-about genre films of 2025,” and sure, I’ll toss Good Boy a bone. — Quentin

LURKER

One of the most buzzed-about films to come out of Sundance this year, Alex Russell’s directorial debut Lurker heads to Fantasia hoping to keep that buzz going. Dubbed by its earliest reviews as a “Gen-Z All About Eve,” the film explores the parasitic relationship between a clothing store clerk (Théodore Pellerin) and an emerging pop star (Archie Madekwe). There’s definitely no shortage of media that examines the rabid desire for fame or the power dynamics between artists and fans. But these are still pretty potent topics, especially considering that we live in a landscape that has been dominated - and in some ways, reshaped - by social media. I’m very interested in seeing how Russell (a writer on Beef and The Bear) tackles them, and whether his observations are sharp ones. It also helps that the cast is full of promising young actors, as well as the musical talents of record producer Kenny Beats, who makes his feature film scoring debut. I’m especially intrigued to hear what eclectic compositions he cooks up for this. - Bode

REDUX REDUX

When perusing the offerings at a film festival, especially one like Fantasia that boasts mostly low-budget genre indie movies, one tends to skim the program for exciting key words. The small bit I’ve read about Redux Redux has too many of those interest-piquing keywords to ignore. Early reactions out of SXSW 2025 called it a “multiverse exploration…about vengeance” and a “breathlessly intense cat-and-mouse thriller.” On top of that, it’s written and directed by the Peabody award-winning and Emmy-nominated writers of American Vandal (which I loved) and Cobra Kai (which I enjoyed until I didn’t). Lastly, with a description boasting “deliverance by any kind of weapon, every kind of weapon,” all while being evocative of mid-80s James Cameron, including big bursts of action, shoot-outs, and car chases…I mean, if you’re going on little more than keywords, this one has it all. — Quentin

TERRESTRIAL

When I'm going into a film relatively blind, I try to find something familiar, whether it be an actor or a director, that gives me some sense of what I may be getting into. For Terrestrial, the name which caught my attention was Steve Pink. You may know Steve Pink as the director of the Hot Tub Time Machine films, but he's also written the screenplays for two of John Cusack's biggest hits, Grosse Pointe Blank and High Fidelity. His latest looks to be a new direction, as Terrestrial has been labeled as both a dark comedy and a sci-fi thriller. Following a struggling writer (played by Jermaine Fowler) and a potential descent into madness, it's the dark aspect that intrigues me most, as this sounds like a character study that Fowler can really sink his teeth into. - Nick

TOGETHER

“Wait. Dave Franco and Alison Brie (both best known as comedic actors) are the leads in an upcoming body horror?” That was my initial reaction when I first heard buzz from Together coming out of the latest Sundance Film Festival. Whether it's the positive feedback, the unsettling promotional material, or just the film's ominous concept of a codependent couple encountering a supernatural being that transforms both their love and their flesh, I've been anticipating Together ever since. For a film like this to work, the chemistry needs to be on point. So, casting an actual married couple in Franco and Brie only adds another layer to what I assume will be an emotionally devastating and spine-tingling body horror that'll make you want to look away more than once. I can't wait. - Nick