Mary Kay’s 9 Most-Anticipated Films of Fantastic Fest 2022
The beauty of film festivals—for a viewer like me, at least—is that you come in pumped about the movies that drew you originally, but you find so many more to enjoy when you see the final lineup. (And usually those second-wave films are some that are so wild and weird and avant garde that you might not have come across them outside of the festival’s venue.)
I’ve gotten lucky in that I just recently got approved for remote coverage of Fantastic Fest. I’m in Atlanta and the festival is in Austin, otherwise I’d have tried to be there in-person. After the pandemic years, nearly all of us know that while virtual events allow us to attend and experience so much of what was once off limits, they lack a certain spontaneous serendipity out of necessity. That element of serendipity part of what makes film festivals so fun: which films are your friends excited for? Will you tag along on their top-ranked features and find a new love? Meet a new director whose vision inspires you? Hear the funniest, most insightful interview of your life on accident? It’s all possible.
It's harder to do that remotely, though. That’s why I want to share with you the nine films of Fantastic Fest that I’m most excited about. Hopefully you find a new love that you might not have stumbled into without my peer pressure.
THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN (Martin McDonagh)
This was one of my original three draws to Fantastic Fest. I’ve been obsessed with this writer and director Martin McDonagh for 15 years, since I read his play The Pillowman which left me absolutely wrecked (and which I highly recommend).
This new film follows lifelong friends Colm (Brendan Gleeson) and Padriac (Colin Farrell). Suddenly, Colm stops talking to Padraic abruptly, for no real reason, threatening to cut off one of his own fingers if he doesn’t abide the new rule.
I don’t know why, but I can’t wait to find out, and I’m sure the reasoning behind these extreme measures will be even more fucked up than the result. I’M SO EXCITED.
THE MENU (Mark Mylod)
This is the second of my three original draws to Fantastic Festival, and not only because it stars my girl Anya Taylor-Joy and my man Ralph Fiennes, only to be outdone by my other man John Leguizamo. But let’s get to the goods: Margot (Taylor-Joy) and her S.O. (Nicolas Hoult) take a culinary vacation, and Chef Slowik serves up some surprising dishes there, both literally and metaphorically.
My mind goes to cannibalism immediately, but because we’ve seen that onscreen recently (FRESH, Atlanta, etc.), I bet there’s a twist of FUBAR as a garnish at least, if not its own entrée.
TRIANGLE OF SADNESS (Ruben Östlund)
The final title of my three initial draws to Fantastic Fest: another high-society vacation that goes wildly awry (are you seeing a classist theme in my appetites, yet?). In this dark comedy, a cruise ship tailored to the uber-rich sinks, the survivors are castaway on a nearby island, which inverts the hierarchy. The models are no longer at the top of the food chain because the housekeeper is the only one who knows how to fish.
EVERYONE WILL BURN (David Hebrero)
I saw the synopsis of this film at a glance: “In a small village in Leon, Spain, María José (Macarena Gomez) prepares to end her life after failing to get over the suicide of her bullied son years before.” And then the harbinger of a folkloric apocalypse tale shows up in the shape of a weird little girl. Y’all know I love folklore, and you know that evil kids are in my trifecta of shit I can’t handle, plus I love a Spanish horror movie. Come watch with me!
ATTACHMENT (Gabriel Bier Gislason)
Speaking of folklore! In this film, Maja (Josephine Park) meets Leah (Ellie Kendrick) in Denmark and follows her back to London. As their relationship develops, Leah’s mother (Sofie Gråbøl) gets very serious about Jewish folklore, to the point that Maja tries to research how to do “Jewish stuff.” She makes a series of errors, including leaving a book open for a demon to come by and read, breaking an antique vase, and what looks like a few really sinister others. Come on, friends! Let’s learn about dybbuks!
THE ELDERLY (Raúl Cerezo & Fernando González Gómez)
I have always felt like middle-aged people underestimate the elderly, and THE ELDERLY (or at least its trailer, so far) supports my hypothesis. When his wife suddenly completes suicide, octogenarian Manuel (Zorion Eguileor) begins to experience dementia that then culminates in some truly terrifying supernatural experiences that may put his whole family in danger.
FAMILY DINNER (Peter Hengl)
Teenage Simi (Nina Katlein) goes to her Aunt Claudia (Pia Hierzegger)’s farm in hopes that her aunt, who is a professional nutrition coach, can help her lose weight. The farm gets spookier and creepier as her cousin reveals himself to be a real unwell guy. From the trailer, that’s all I can gather. As a woman who’s been on diets since she was nine, I’d love for it to derail into a cannibalistic feast that blows Simi’s calorie count, but I think the HEREDITARY vibes lend the plot a different crescendo. Either way, I’m super excited to find out—ALSO, it seems like the overweight teen is the protagonist and the hero, so for that standalone fact, I’m in. Also, bonus points for being an Easter horror film, and double gold star for its dope title.
THE FIVE DEVILS (Léa Mysius)
This one’s giving me vibes of PERFUME: THE STORY OF A MURDERER, but I’m pretty sure that’s because they used the premise of a super-smelling child in a manner that didn’t only rationalize the “artistry” of a straight white dude. But that’s just my hot take.
Eight-or-so-year-old Vicky (Sally Dramé) has a super-acute sense of smell, and she dotes on her mother (while her firefighter father gets the remainder of her love). When her father’s sister comes to live with the family after her release from prison, some violent magic starts to happen. The trailer is not very specific, but I like that: let my imagination run WILD until I get THE FIVE DEVILS itself onscreen and then show me just how much I underestimated it! (Also, it’s been my experience that French horror films are not afraid to Go There, so I’m REAL excited for this one.)
HOLY SPIDER (Ali Abassi)
This one doesn’t need a whole lot of summary to get you hooked: a serial killer in the holy Iranian city of Mashad is targeting sex workers under the misapprehension that he is “cleansing the streets of sinners.” The movie shows us this drama from the perspective of female journalist Rahimi. LET’S GO.
I hope I convinced you to view at least a couple of the nine movies I’m most excited for at Fantastic Fest. If you end up loving them, come message me on socials and let’s swap hot takes!
