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Straatcoaches vs Aliens: When Gentrification Gets Outrageously Slimed

From tar pits to turf wars, Straatcoaches vs Aliens (Straight Outta Space) proves even extraterrestrials aren’t immune to the politics of who belongs.

Spoiler Alert

Straatcoaches vs Aliens (American title: Straight Outta Space) is a Dutch entry in the rarely explored subgenre of urban sci-fi survival—and it surprisingly fits the mold. In 1982, something extraterrestrial crash-landed into a tar pit and attacked a construction worker before the Schijndrecht apartment complex and neighbourhood were fully built. Although no investigation followed, this vague, Thing‑like prologue sets the stage for a film that, while chaotic, plays as a sincere homage to broader genre traditions.

According to IMDb, the script has an unusually large roster of writers—Daan Bakker, Nico van den Brink, Paul de Vrijer, Ashar Medina, Fadua El Akchaoui, and Michael Middelkoop, who also directs. Middelkoop aims for an absurdist tone reminiscent of Ghostbusters and Evil Dead, but it doesn’t always land. Uneven pacing and tonal shifts get in the way—especially since the film never fully explains how the alien’s vomit zombifies people.

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Sugar Rot Bleeds Underground Brilliance at Fantasia Film Festival

In Sugar Rot, the familiar health warning of “death by sugar” isn’t a metaphor, but a grotesque, visceral reality. Drawing from Dr. Robert Lustig’s dire warnings about the toxic nature of sugar, the film transforms consumption into a searing body horror nightmare.

Sugar Rot Poster Vancouver-based punk rock filmmaker Becca Kozak makes a striking cinematic debut with Sugar Rot, a film designed to be strangely surreal. It’s also unapologetically brazen—especially in its sexually explicit scenes, which coat certain body parts in an unsettling cream-like substance. Staying true to her underground roots, this auteur uses nudity, graphic violence, and dark humor to skewer societal norms. At its core, this movie is a horror comedy that thrives on the grotesque.

Like much of her previous work, this film centers on a strong female lead who defies traditional gender roles. Fans of exploitation cinema will feel right at home with the film’s blend of raw energy and distinct visual style—where narrative coherence often gives way to wild, unapologetic excess.

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Five Favourite Fantasia Short Films — Weird, Wild & Wonderful

We’re not done with this festival yet as there are five favourite Fantasia short films to put on the spotlight!

Fantasia 2025 Movie Poster and Five Favourite Fantasia Short Films The 29th annual Fantasia Film Festival has wrapped, and I’m already looking forward to what next year will bring. I’m still catching up on all the fantastic works showcased this year, especially the short films—and I’ve carefully taken the time to highlight the ones that truly stood out. This roundup features my five favourite Fantasia short films. Two were compelling enough to deserve their own dedicated posts: L’écrivain (The Writer) and Mother of Dawn—follow the links to read more about those.

Dreaming of a Whale

Premiered July 19, 2025

Dreaming of a Whale is a dreamlike short film written and directed by Shuzuku. This tale follows a young girl who hears a mysterious message on the radio—an emotional broadcast that is poetic and beckoning. Compelled by this cryptic signal, she sets out on a journey that leads her to the shoreline, where the truth behind the message and its narrator may finally surface.

Visually, the film is striking. The animation has a soft, textured quality reminiscent of early Studio Ghibli works. The colors and movement feel as though viewed by a soft lens, blurring the line between memory and imagination. Whether achieved through analog or digital techniques, this visual approach deepens the sense that we’re inside a waking dream.

The story itself feels intentionally minimal—more of a tone poem than a plotted narrative. We follow the girl not to get answers, but to feel what she feels. It reminded me of Queensrÿche’s “Silent Lucidity.” This song overlays perfectly with the film’s visuals because it delivers the yearning–that sense of needing to find that inner peace which exists in both works.

Ultimately, Dreaming of a Whale leaves you with a quiet hope—that both the girl and the disembodied voice on the radio find peace in their journey, whether it ends on land or beneath the waves.

Dreaming of Whale Short Film

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Yerden Telemissov’s Stinker is Weird Yet Wonderful. And Why It Wins Big at Fantasia Film Festival!

Yerden Telemissov’s movie is no Stinker. Instead, it’s a charming tale concering, I won’t know.

Spoiler Alert

Although the initial moments of the movie Stinker (originally titled Sasyq) introduce a vino, Sadyk Ospanovich (Dulyga Akmolda), absolutely hammered and laid out in a field, this setup is perfect. When he walks out onto the highway, the abrupt ending may well shock. That’s because of the fake credit sequence. But the story does not end there. Maybe what that’s supposed to mean is that he’s imagining the rest of the film. Until I get to interview writer and director Yerden Telemissov, I won’t know.

What follows is a quietly powerful story of loneliness and acceptance. In his small Kazakh village, Sadyk is a harmless drifter. After the death of his wife, he’s without purpose. He’s given up on life, and locals are used to his presence. But lateone night, everything changes. He witnesses a UFO making erratic moves and it soon crashes! Although the wreckage and mention of gets swept under the rug and nobody wants to talk, this individual finds meaning by taking care of the alien (Chingiz Kapin).

Their bond is rather unusual. Both yearning for a connection. I doubt this relationship is like the one in E.T. The Extraterrestrial. Instead, I see this presentation as a tale about bridging worlds together.

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Studio 4°C’s ChaO: An Enchanting Tale That’s More Than Just a Fairy Tale Romance

A bold and emotional story blending mermaid mythology, interspecies romance, wild mecha rides, and high-stakes drama, ChaO makes a memorable splash.

ChaO Movie Poster English) — This movie played at the 2025 Fantasia International Film Festival on July 27th.

GKIDS

When a movie simply titled ChaO begins with an account of a mermaid saving a boy from drowning, writer/director Yasuhiro Aoki moves away from the idea of presenting another fairy tale. Unlike those fantasy yarns from long ago, what we find here is perhaps more inspired from Splash! that Tom Hanks and Darryl Hannah film is more of a sitcom about a fish out of water trying to get used to living in the human world, and in this anime, what’s offered here is similar.

In this presentation, Stefan (Oji Suzuka) and Princess Ao Sonni Chao Neptunus (Anna Yamada) haven’t even had their first date. Technically, this film begins in the present, where the surface world lives in harmony with the aquatic one. Here, we find that this human has moved on. Although the plot makes Juno (Shunsei Ōta) look like the protagonist, he is not. He’s a reporter who loses a scoop to a story, but when he finds Stefan, this chance to interview the sailor may well save him from being fired! During my second viewing, I noticed he’s similar to the actual lead, because both are wishy-washy.

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With Juliet and the King, We Can Skip Meeting Prince Charming

Ashkan Rahgozar’s Juliet and the King offers a whimsical and insightful animated take on cultural differences, blending a traditional Disney-style fairy tale with 19th-century Iran.

Juliet and the King_poster — This movie played at the 2025 Fantasia International Film Festival on July 26th.

When Juliet and The King, an animated film, blends a traditional Disney-style fairy tale with 19th-century Iran as its backdrop, the result is a compelling examination of cultural contrast. Set in the latter half of that century, this story offers writer-director Ashkan Rahgozar’s interpretation of how Persian society once viewed the world. While times have certainly evolved, the themes explored remain relevant and thought-provoking.

At the heart of this tale is Juliet (credited as Ghazal Shakeri according to the IMDB; English actress unknown), a young performer who captures the heart of Naser al-Din Shah (Behzad Omrani). He’s a well-traveled, art-appreciating ruler. After attending to royal duties by day, he frequents the theater at night. It’s during one such outing that he meets Juliet and becomes smitten. He soon persuades her to bring their production of Romeo and Juliet to Tehran. However, the replacement of some roles with local talent might mean that not everyone in the court understands the message of Shakespeare’s tragic romance.

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