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(Fantasia Fest 2026) DANCE FREAK Injects Virtuosic Style Into The Tired YouTube Frat Boy Template

By. Michael Fairbanks

I had certain expectations for a horror film called DANCE FREAK. Ideally, this would be some kind of creepy EDM horror ballet. A demonic organism pulling off routines that are just as impressive as his kills. Robby Rackleff and Alan Resnick’s film could not be more different. In essence, it is a fusion of Eraserhead esque cosmic nightmare fuel with 2020s YouTube sketch comedy bro humor. I’m a fan of the former but detest the latter. I audibly shouted “no!!!!!” when Stavros Halkias and Conner O’Malley’s names appeared in the credits. As such, DANCE FREAK was on the verge of losing me at any given moment. Half of my brain marveled at the originality and visual invention and the other half quickly grew tired of its shouty and crass caidence. 

We meet social outcast Obie (Rackleff) as his world falls apart. People heckle him on the street and his girlfriend Dorty (Megan Koester) has left him in pursuit of her political campaign. As she breaks the news to him, a mysterious figure (also Rackleff) gyrates outside of the restaurant. Obie goes up to it and blacks out. He regains consciousness, but soon learns that the people in his life who agitate him most are starting to wind up dead. Are Obie and the Dance Freak one and the same, or simply connected through cosmic coincidence? You’ll see. 

Rackleff and Resnick have a strong visual style that singlehandedly carries DANCE FREAK. The gritty black and white photography immediately places us off balance. The film seems to take place in the pre-smart phone era, extenuating this analog feel. There are optical illusions and kaleidoscopic transitions galore. The Dance Freak’s main method of murder is to physically force his victims’ heads to fold in and pop, which could get repetitive, but every time it is so unreal and squishy looking. I have a deep appreciation for any microbudget film that can turn their lack of resources into an aesthetic advantage and DANCE FREAK achieves this about as well as any modern indie can. 

 

It’s just a shame that every character is so abrasive. Rackleff has a similar whiny oaf thing going on to Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie’s Matt Johnson but unlike him, doesn’t really have the charm to make him engaging. His performance as the Dance Freak is also lazy. He just flails his arms around. It’s not really dancing, it’s just meant to look like a guy acting random. Boring. Megan Koester is a glorified babysitter, the only roles available to women in films like this. Stavros Halkias yells and drops about 150 F-Bombs in two scenes as Obie’s boss Mega Man (get it…because he’s a big guy) but like in Bugonia, it’s abundantly clear that he just doesn’t have the chops to be a professional actor. O’Malley’s cameo is similarly tiring, although thankfully his yelling is limited to one scene. 

DANCE FREAK will likely become a cult classic to those who wish that the likes of Tim Robinson could pull a Jordan Peele. That’s all well and good for them. I can appreciate that this has more ideas than the usual drek these guys bring to the table (usually, the story just a loud socially awkward guy making people uncomfortable) but by the time we were stretching past an hour, I was completely exhausted with it. Besides, they couldn’t even deliver one murder on the dance floor. That seems like the least they could do. 

DANCE FREAK made its Canadian Premiere at Fantasia Film Festival 2026. 

 

 

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