When Ancestral Beasts Come A Wanting…. Things Are Certainly Cold in the Forest

Ancestral Beasts turns a remote family home into a breeding ground for trauma, giant insects and buried secrets. Morgan Holmstrom anchors this unsettling Indigenous horror story about isolation and inherited pain.

Ancestral Beasts Movie Poster
Screening at Fantasia Film Festival 2026 on July 28, 2026 at the Salle J.A. De Sève

In the movie Ancestral Beasts, either Auntie (Gail Maurice) must have been a shaman for the Red River Métis tribe, or Elyse Poitras’ demons (Morgan Holmstrom) have found the means to literally manifest. She has Indigenous roots, and after telling her sister Nikki (Darla Contois) that she needs her own space, the decision to “go home” comes easily. However, her trepidation grows when folks living nearby try to help. As for her cousins, they try to rekindle what was lost when the two sisters decided life elsewhere was better. Apparently, it wasn’t.

When their family home exists off the beaten path, I knew what came next would basically be a terror-haunting-the-cabin-in-the-woods scenario. As for what exists there, it’s almost easy to tell! No, what’s in the basement isn’t a Deadite, but that was my first thought. Instead, what’s presented is more like an ancient covenant, along with something else involving giant insects!

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Hail Sailor! When There’s No Rest for the Wicked After Navigating the Hoary Seas, What’s Next?

Set on the Faroe Islands in 1862, No Rest for the Wicked blends forbidden romance, Norse folklore and slow-burning Gothic horror. Its haunting atmosphere works better than its confused vampire mythology.

No Rest for the Wicked Movie Poster
Screened at Fantasia Film Festival on July 25, 2026 at the Salle J.A. De Sève

No Rest for the Wicked is a great title for a movie. With early marketing and reviews from the 2026 Fantasia Film Festival describing it as a queer love story wrapped inside a Gothic vampire drama, perhaps Lestat has a new rival. If we’re judging who wears the crown for best-looking vampire, Helge (Pilou Asbæk), the Danish whaler, wins hands down.

There’s also something to be said for stripping away the Gothic excess that vampire stories from this period embraced. Set in 1862 on the Faroe Islands, this tale exists on the edge of civilization, where survival comes before superstition and every stranger is met with suspicion. Young Baldur (Egor Venned) doesn’t have much to do, and he’s like every other kid from a small village: bored.

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Say Hello and Not Goodbye Monster When Luke Burnett Entertains the Dickens Out of Curiosity Seekers of this Short

In Goodbye Monster, a teenager’s imaginary friend decides it’s time to move on. Luke Barnett’s funny and thoughtful short film gives its coming-of-age premise a wonderfully monstrous twist.

Goodbye, Monster PosterWilson (Kue Lawrence) doesn’t want to grow up. In this hilarious coming-of-age story about a teen with a goblin for an imaginary friend, the creature is ready to pack his bags and move on. After a certain age, most kids are ready for that transition: dating, partying and, well, girls. Fans seeing Goodbye Monster in the Are You Afraid of Fantasia short-film block will laugh and root for Luke Barnett, who steals the show as the goofball monster under the bed. He thinks walking out of the bedroom and into freedom will be easy.

As for the now-teenage Wilson, he’s puzzled. Just when he thinks life will continue to be rough, Monster recounts something that foreshadows even more trouble to come. Honestly, I think Barnett has created a great proof of concept that could turn this short into a feature film. I want to know more about its mythology, and I’d love to see more from this multitalented actor turned writer and director.

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Is It Doxxing or Foxing Kitsuné-Tsuki? When Depression and Imagination Run Wild

Takeru Shinozuka’s Foxing Kitsuné-Tsuki explores creative burnout through an animator who may be haunted, or protected, by a playful fox spirit. It’s a thoughtful animated short about depression, criticism and rediscovering the spark to create.

Foxing Kitsuné-Tsuki animated short film poster
Foxing Kitsuné-Tsuki played as part of the Anime no Bento 2026 shorts program on July 18, 2026.

Although the title of Takeru Shinozuka’s animated short, Foxing Kitsuné-Tsuki, seems deceptive, that’s because this creature can be deceptively sinister or be a true trickster at heart. But that depends on which cultural lens this member of the canine family is viewed from. For this animator turned first-time director, the story he tells about life at an animation studio looks authentic; from being told what to do despite objection to having creative burnout, these pressures are real!

That’s what this work really focuses on. By the time Shinano (Wataya Miho) comes home, she can’t do anything without repeating sensei’s wax-on, wax-off training. The muscle memory is there, but not the spark. Koyami (uncredited online) is the trickster spirit who keeps saying, “Draw me instead. I need more expression.” But for this woman, she’s ready to call it quits! And her story about thinking she’s been possessed by a fox spirit is not traditionally recognized. Continue reading “Is It Doxxing or Foxing Kitsuné-Tsuki? When Depression and Imagination Run Wild”

When Home Bodies is Casey Walker’s Sophomore Film Debuting At Fantasia 2026, This Sci-Fi Thriller Is Sure to Haunt!

Two sheltered twins get an unexpected new family member in Casey Walker’s eerie sci-fi fable, Home Bodies, and it seems home schooling can lead to other unsettling concerns.

Home Bodies Official Poster
Played at Fantasia Film Festival on Thu July 23, 2026 9:30 PM at the Cinéma du Musée

* Potential Spoiler Alert

While waiting for news about Casey Walker‘s movie Ithaqua, also slated for release this year, I’m glad his surreal science fiction fable Home Bodies is getting lots of love at Fantasia Film Festival 2026. It’s a beautifully constructed and self-contained story set in the future, one where human experimentation is very real, and we should all be afraid, very afraid.

Blue (Ian Ho) and Red (Emma Ho) are twin siblings living a very sheltered life. They’re not allowed to go out, and while they get to grow up and be who they are, nobody’s filling them in on the birds and the bees, or teaching themd how to socialize or the world beyond their four walls. And just how they’re “raised” is rather bizarre. All they have access to are neon coloured VHS tapes and a rather surreal television show called Barn. It’s best not to say too much about this Sesame Street wannabe, but that’s the gist I got.

At other times, their world is each other, living in a dilapidated home decked out in all the trappings of an early 80s homestyle. And while it’s automated to tend to their every need, to them, that’s just normal.

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With The Short, “Borbulha “(Pimple), It’s Best to Not Say Pop Goes The World….

At Fantasia Film Festival 2026, it’s best not to show up late to skip the short films screened alongside the feature. And there’s also all the wonderful curated programs too. We look at Pimple, one popper of a work….

Official poster for Fernando Alle’s Borbulha (Pimple)Fernando Alle’s Borbulha (Pimple) is a masterstroke in bringing the absurd to life. When this short film also delivers a courteous message about dealing with bullies, perhaps its strangest turn concerns the language used. Yes, He-Man would blush, but considering what happens, I feel this Adult Swim-style piece works.

Although this film feels like a compact demo reel highlighting what this Portuguese filmmaker loves most. It also reveals his fondness for creating campy, Troma-style examinations of life’s complexities. Or should I say Astron-6? Both comparisons work because what’s presented is so thoroughly old-school 80s that it reminds me of Weird Science.

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