Fantasia Fest 2026: Our Five Most Anticipated Films
Fantasia International Film Festival 2026 kicks off this week, and we are back once again to cover the biggest movies from the lineup. Last year brought many great titles, such as Rewrite, Foreigner, and more. The event also featured Sundance darlings like Undertone and Lurker.
This year is another stacked lineup with films like Her Private Hell, Corpus, and more Sundance titles, such as the Barney-inspired horror movie Buddy. And those are titles that we consider honorable mentions. Our list comprises a returned favorite, a filmmaker with a Cure background, and a director who once saw a TV glow. Here are our five most anticipated films playing at the Fantasia International Film Festival.
Hot Spot
Our first entry is a stylish action thriller with shades of The Fifth Element and Blade Runner. Directed by Agnieszka Smoczynska (The Lure), the film Hot Spot centers on an investigator hired to solve a murder, leading him down the path of rebellion and toward a religious leader capable of bringing down an AI dictator.
While the details alone sound original, the trailer takes it further, evoking the sexy and cybernoir energy of classics like Strange Days. The film is led by Andrzej Konopka, with Noomi Rapace (Prometheus) playing a supporting role as the woman AI fears most.
Never After Dark
In the age of inventive horror, Never After Dark has already built buzz for stepping into the same playground. Dave Boyle, who was a writer for the series House of Ninjas, directs the film. It is about a medium who helps lost souls on the other side with the aid of her dead sister.
The plot further describes a job going sideways at a remote house when unexpectedly confronted by a powerful supernatural force and potential threats among the living. The movie currently has a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and was the SXSW Audience Award winner in the Midnight section.
The Samurai and the Prisoner
Kiyoshi Kurosawa is a popular name among cinephiles, especially for his atmospheric work. His work in horror is unmatched in films like Pulse and Cure, creating psychological dread in slow-burn fashion.
Kurosawa’s latest film centers on a mystery set in 16th-century Japan. The film focuses on a murder mystery that occurs inside a feudal castle, and the samurai investigating the murder employs the help of a prisoner he himself locked away. The story was adapted from a novel by Honobu Yonezawa and sounds like a clever blend of Manhunter and Shogun.
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma
Jane Schoenbrun is one of my favorite working filmmakers, capturing the horrors of the modern world in new, inventive ways. We’re All Going to the World’s Fair meditated on teenagers’ vulnerability online. I Saw The TV Glow was a heart-wrenching and haunting vision of being unable to be your true self.
Schoenbrun’s latest movie to bless Fantasia Fest is Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, which has a phenomenal cast including Gillian Anderson of The X-Files, Hannah Einbinder of Hacks, and SNL’s raunchy queen Sarah Sherman. The story centers on a filmmaker’s attachment to a horror franchise and its next final girl. Like I Saw the TV Glow, the preview hints that the story will once again examine identity through pop culture.
You Are The Film
Last year, Makoto Ueda’s time travel script Rewrite gave us a simple yet beautifully complex tale about high school kids grappling with a time-traveling visitor. Ueda also masterfully scripted narratives for River and Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes. His latest work marks his directorial debut, and the premise sounds equally as creative as his previous works.
The film centers on two characters who go to a small cinema and eventually realize they are watching each other’s lives on a similar screen. And even stranger, they can interact with one another as they both try to unpack who is watching who.
More Fantasia Fest 2026 coming soon!
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Also check out our coverage of last year’s Fantasia International Film Festival here.
