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Fantasia Fest 2025 Week 1 Recap: Welcome to the Neighborhood! The Fest's Best films about the Horrors of Moving.

By: Professor Horror

                                                                            

 

The first week of Fantasia Fest 2025 has already delivered a wild mix of monsters, misfits, and cinematic bizarreness…and we’re just getting started. With so many inventive and surprising titles premiering this year, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer variety. But if you're looking for a way in, one theme has quietly emerged from the large amount of films: the strange and complicated idea moving to a new home.

Some of the standout films so far don’t rely on cosmic horrors, ancient curses, or creatures lurking in the woods. Instead, they find their tension (and their magic) in the everyday upheaval of starting over. These stories drop us into new apartments, unfamiliar neighborhoods, awkward communities, and yes, even an outhouse. What makes them compelling isn’t just the fear of what’s lurking outside, but the strange transformations that happen when we’re dropped into someone else’s idea of “home.” Whether you're battling nosy neighbors, masking your cutlure to fit in, or running from a past that refuses to stay buried, these films explore how where we live...and who we live among...can reshape us in ways we never expected.

 

                                    

 

1. HOLD THE FORT

(dir. William Bagley)

Move over, Stepford…this suburb’s got demons. HOLD THE FORT is what happens when Hot Fuzz crashes into Evil Dead, then rents a townhouse in hell. Lucas and Jenny just wanted peace and quiet, but their HOA president has more in mind because tonight they have to guard a gateway to apocalyptic doom. With pitch-perfect comic timing, gallons of practical gore, and a lovable cast of oddball neighbors, this is a blood-soaked community mixer you won’t forget. Fantasia regulars will appreciate how Bagley’s pacing and banter elevate what could’ve been another generic horror-comedy into a full-blown crowd-pleaser. It's gory, goofy, and gleefully self-aware and is definitely suburban satire at its best.

 

                                                           

 

                                                              

2. Noise

(dir. Kim Soo-jin)
Forget creaking floorboards…this apartment has far louder sounds that go bump in the night. In NOISE, Joo-Young’s hearing aids don’t just amplify sound, but they reveal a hidden horror within her new apartment. This Korean stunner is minimalist in setup but maximalist in tension, relying on exquisite sound design to craft a creepy atmosphere. The disappearance of Joo-young’s sister turns this into a sensory nightmare, and one where the building itself becomes a character. It’s a story about sisterhood, silence, and listening to what society wants you to ignore. The mix of supernatural and grounded trauma makes this one of Fantasia’s most unsettling domestic horrors.

                           

3. The Bearded Girl

(dir. Jody Wilson)
When I was a kid, I wanted nothing more than to run away from my small-town life and join the circus. But Cleo, the bearded heroine of THE BEARED GIRL, wants the exact opposite. She wants to leave her family’s sideshow and find a quiet, clean-shaven existence. Her sword-swallowing legacy, stage-mom drama, and the encroaching threat of a greedy developer make that escape complicated. This is a coming-of-age story painted in fairy-tale colors, where sideshow tents meet small-town politics and magical realism. It’s charming, quirky, and sneakily profound, with standout performances and a message about finding love and identity…even if you have to grow out of the only world you’ve ever known.

                                                              

4. Stinker

(dir. Yerden Telemissov)
Home can smell like comfort…or like something rotting in the outhouse. STINKER is a darkly sweet tale about three outcasts (an old man, a grumpy shopkeeper, and a stranded alien) who find an unlikely family on the margins of Kazakh society. While the government huffs and helicopters fly overhead, our heroes bond over boiled eggs, late-night laughs, and quiet grief. The film’s humor is deadpan and its sentiment is genuine, making it one of the strangest and most heartwarming neighborhood stories at Fantasia this year. Director Yerden Telemissov transforms a stinking toilet into a cradle of healing. It’s absurd, moving, and a reminder that home is where the weirdos are.