5 Films on our Must-See List at Fantasia International Film Fest 2025

Now in its 29th year, the prestigious genre-bending film festival Fantasia International Film Fest will take place at Concordia Hall and J.A. de Sève cinemas, with additional screens and events at Montréal’s Cinéma du Musée and BBAM! Gallery from July 16th through to August 3rd 2025. With a program bursting to the brim with not only electrifying film screenings, but with workshops, as well as launch events, this year’s festival is bound to capture cinematic imaginations with its blend of horror, sci-fi, animation and experimental cinema.

With past editions of the festival having been the place for Western audience discoveries of international filmmakers such as Takeshi Miike and Hideo Nakata and breaking films like Unfriended (2014) , here are five films that will definitely be top of our must-see list at this year’s Fantasia International Film Fest. 

1. 1. The Book of Sijjin And Illiyin directed by Hadrah Daeng Ratu promises plenty of ocular trauma and devastating displays of gore and viscera as it delves deep into Islamic mythology with a tale of violence and revenge. Having suffered from terrible childhood trauma, Yuli is in servitude of an abusive and torturous family, after reaching her limit, Yuli enlists the help of a black magic practicing hermit who sends a djinn after the family to exact Yuli’s revenge. With a mix of necromancy and plenty of guts, The Book of Sijjin And Illiyin is bound to satiate ardent horror fans.

2.  2. Coming out of Japan is Shinobu Yaguchi’s Dollhouse, proving why creepy evil dolls are a stalwart of horror tradition. When the five year old daughter of Yoshie and her husband Tadahiko horrifically dies whilst unsupervised, Yoshie seeks comfort in the form of a doll, and despite her unnerving connection to the toy, is soon blessed with another daughter. However once their second daughter finds the doll, strange and disturbing phenomena begin to occur. With a commentary on grief and parental guilt, Dollhouse is a psychological horror that will hopefully join the creepy ranks currently occupied by Annabelle and Robert the Doll.

3.  3. Combining the four legged point of view sentimentalities of the Homeward Bound duology with a good old fashioned haunted house story is the Ben Leonberg directed Good Boy. Unlike the 2022 film by the same name (directed by Viljar Bøe), this tale does center around an actual canine called Indy who is relocated by his owner Todd to Todd’s deceased grandad’s dilapidated house. Unfortunately for both Indy and his owner, there is an entity within the house that only this goodest of boys can sense. Taking on the haunted house genre from an entirely unique perspective, Good Boy has already been cited as one of the scariest movies of 2025. 

4.  4. New Group from Japanese director Yuta Shimotsu comes hot off the heels of the filmmaker's previous work Best Wishes To All and promises to be just as absurd and horrific in its world building. When classmates of the shy schoolgirl Ai begin to form a human pyramid, new student Yu attempts to get the both of them away from this new and strange formation that has developed a fascistic administration around it. Said to be satiated with anxiety and gloom, New Group sounds as if its bound to catapult Shimotsu into the heights of J-Horror mastery. 

5.  5. Sugar Rot directed by Becca Kozak is an anarchistic punk commentary on bodily autonomy, capitalism and the aftermath of sexual assault. Blending influences of John Waters, Herschell Gordon Lewis and Troma, Sugar Rot centers on Candy who is infected with a mutant fetus after being assaulted by an ice-cream man. The fetus causes Candy’s body to transform into ice-cream and what emerges is a gross and sticky body horror that promises to shock and appall whilst pushing boundaries. 

Full schedule and lineup for Fantasia International Film Festival 2025, as well as tickets are available on the website.