The third instalment of films showing at this year’s Fantasia Film Festival. All the films featured in this article, are all films that require your attention.

If you keep track of these features, you will be guaranteed to be hooked up with some great films from Fantasia Film Festival 2015.

Cherry Tree

Fantasia 2015

In 2010 David Keating burst onto the scene with the popular Irish indie horror Wakewood. I really enjoyed the film, it was a rare thing to see horror in Irish cinema, and this was impressive.





Wakewood, told the story of grieving parents who get a chance to bring back their recently deceased daughter (who was killed in a vicious dog attack) back-to-life for 3 days. A creepy tale of love and loss, and what will happen if you keep your dead daughter for more than 3 days….as you can imagine, bad stuff starts to happen!.

Now he has returned with screenwriter Brendan McCarthy (also producer of Let Us Prey, and Corin Hardy’s Sundance favourite The Hallows).for new Irish horror – Cherry Tree

Official Plot IMDb

Faith’s world is turned upside down after she finds out that her beloved father is dying. When the mysteriously alluring Sissy Young becomes her field hockey coach, Faith finds a compassionate spirit and much-needed mother figure. Little does she know that Sissy is the head of a centuries-old witches’ coven that uses the fruit of an ancient cherry tree in a secret ritual that restores life to the dead and dying. Offering to cure her father in exchange for a child, Sissy strikes a bargain with Faith, who suddenly finds herself pregnant with a baby that’s growing at an alarming rate. But with the clock to the child’s birth ticking down and the true intention of Sissy’s plans for humanity becoming more apparent, Faith and her father must stand together in order to save both their lives.

SYNCHRONICITY

Fantasia 2015

SYNCHRONICITY is the first solo feature from The Signal co-director Jacob Gentry.





I really enjoyed The Signal (not to be confused with Laurence Fishburne sci-fi The Signal). It was a simple story of a weird television signal that appeared on TV screens. If you listen to the signal for more than a few seconds, you will turn into a maniac, and kill the person next to you.

The signal transmits some sort of rage virus into the viewer and causes them to kill everything in sight. That plot is something that is right up my street. I did find the film to have some pacing issues, but overall it was an original idea and a film that has introduced us to two new promising names in the sci-fi genre.

Official Plot IMDb

From the creators of The Signal (Sundance 2007) comes Synchronicity, a mind-bending ‘Sci-fi Noir’ in the tradition of Dark City, Blade Runner, and Alphaville. When physicist Jim Beale invents a machine that can fold space-time, a rare Dahlia appears from the future. He must now find the flower’s identical match in the present to prove his machine works. Jim soon discovers that the Dahlia lies in the hands of a mysterious girl, who seduces him into revealing his secrets. Convinced that he’s fallen prey to a femme fatale trying to steal his invention, Jim travels back in time to stop her betrayal before it happens. But once in the past, Jim uncovers a surprising truth about the machine, the girl, and his own reality.

SLUMLORD

Fantasia 2015

This film sounds like it could be absolutely terrifying. The premise for Slumlord sounds like it carries the same creepiness as Spanish horror/thriller Sleep Tight. Directed by newcomer Victor Zarcof, Slumlord has best been described as “Rear Window , for the digital age”





Official Plot IMDb

Claire and Ryan, a newlywed couple, move into a new house across the country, only to find out that their marital issues are the least of their problems. Unbeknownst to them, Their grim and lascivious landlord has been spying on them from day one.

Hostile

Fantasia 2015

Hostile has appeared on Moviehooker before. It was announced that director Nathan Ambrosioni would be taking his horror feature to Cannes The word spread like wildfire across the indie scene. Why? because the director of this new French horror is only 14 years old, and more than likely had to take time off school and be accompanied by his parents…Damn proud parents!

I have said it before, I really don’t care if this film is any good. The fact that a 14-year-old kid was able to get into one of the biggest film festivals in the world, and now he is off to Canada to continue his success.

This is only the start of this young man’s career. I will be eagerly awaiting his next feature. Nathan Ambrosioni is a name we should all be watching out for.

Official Plot IMDb

Anna and Emilie are 14 and 15. They are sisters and orphans. Hardly have they been in their new home when a strange event turns their world upside down.





CRUEL

Fantasia 2015

Cruel is a new French serial-killer movie that has picked up some nice reviews from various festivals it has played at.. I will say that there has been a serious lack in French horror of late and I am happy we are starting to see an increase of French movies with a far darker tone…let’s be honest, they do it so well!.

Official Plot IMDb

Pierre Tardieu, a day labourer, lives with his sick father. Reminiscing about his childhood with his mother on the beach, he can’t free himself from her. Murdering someone becomes the only way of realizing his existence. One day, he meets a pianist called Laure in a bookstore and falls in love with her.





As always, thanks for reading.