After 8 days of films and fun, our quartet of critics share out their favorites from this year’s fest Spencer Brickey My top 5: Jon Partridge 5. Extreme Prejudice. They don’t make ’em like they used to. A rep screening in 35mm of Extreme Prejudice really drives that home. A sweaty, tangible, thrilling affair, made […] The post Fantastic Fest 2026: The Cinapse Crew’s “Best of the Fest” appeared first on Cinapse.

Because when you are facing the end of the world, sometimes all you can do it laugh. At the critic’s screening of Digger here in Austin, and I assume in other markets, a short disclaimer ran before the film. It implored the viewer to not spoil the film for future viewers, so they could experience […] The post DIGGER is a Comedy for a Doomed Age appeared first on Cinapse.

The Zellner Brothers’ latest is a wholesomely bizarre all-star hangout In the distant reaches of war-torn Eastern Europe, a crumbling castle hides the secret lair of the Alpha Gang–aliens immaculately dressed in 1950s biker gear, tasked with assassinating Earth’s leader and clearing the way for their species to conquer the planet. But their mission proves […] The post Fantastic Fest 2026: ALPHA GANG is a Soaringly Silly Sci-Fi Delight appeared first on Cinapse.

The highlight of I Love Boosters is writer/director Boots Riley's vision

The highlight of I Love Boosters is writer/director Boots Riley's vision The post The Heist Comes Home With The I LOVE BOOSTERS 4K Blu-ray appeared first on Cinapse.

Seek out The Cycle... to experience a fascinating-if-methodical police procedural that will absolutely deliver on a bloody and brilliant final explosive act. The post Fantastic Fest 2026: THE CYCLE’s Dark Police Procedural Transforms Into Full Blown Horror appeared first on Cinapse.

Robert Pattinson is absolutely deranged as Chris Hansen in Lance Oppenheim’s razor-sharp examination of America’s favorite predator hunter. As someone who

Heather Graham brings grit and vulnerability to a supernatural thriller that too often loses sight of the woman at the center of its story. Nick Simon’s

Sick is an insane descent into pure, transgressive depravity that has no interest in validating your revulsion. It’s been a while since a film has genuinely shocked me with its subject material. Sick has done just that, and with nothing more complex than just leading you down an incredibly forbidden road. Hailing from Poland, Sick […] The post Fantastic Fest 2026: SICK is Exactly What It Says On The Tin appeared first on Cinapse.

Caught between the responsibilities of a father and the crushing destabilization of the Great Depression, Samuel Murphy (Ethan Hawke) finds himself in the one place where he can’t do anything besides wonder how the hell everything went so bad, so fast for him: a prison cell. Samuel has lost just about everything but hope. With […] The post THE WEIGHT is an Early Fall Standout appeared first on Cinapse.

Take This Edgelord Shit Back To 2016; We’re All Tired Of It. Compliance is genuinely one of the worst films I’ve seen at Fantastic Fest over the past decade. Pure rage bait bullshit, with a script that reads like the most aggravating 14 year old wrote it. Here’s the synopsis: Compliance follows a corporate PR […] The post Fantastic Fest 2026: COMPLIANCE Is As Repugnant And Inert As A Feature Film Could Be. appeared first on Cinapse.

Play House crosses the finish line as a well made horror comedy, while also showcasing the potential for the future of Fantastic Pitches Play House is a miracle of a film. It won its funding 365 days ago at the inaugural Fantastic Pitches, with their first production meeting the following day. In the span of […] The post Fantastic Fest 2026: PLAY HOUSE Proves The Fantastic Pitches Concept appeared first on Cinapse.

The new documentary from Nick Davis includes interviews with the surviving cast members of the Toronto musical No footage exists from the 1972 production of the musical “Godspell” in Toronto, but You Had to Be There, a new documentary, does its best to recreate the experience. Andrea Martin (SCTV), Martin Short (Three Amigos, Only Murders […] The post YOU HAD TO BE THERE Illustrates How a 1972 Production of ‘Godspell’ Impacted the World of Comedy appeared first on Cinapse.

Paolo Strippoli's "The Spiral" has been designated as Italy's candidate in the best international feature film category of the 2027 Academy Awards.

Alt: Timmy the Sheep: Thumbs Up

Markus Lehmusruusu's film kindles the fires of humanity in a world where it is nearly snuffed out Finland's official submission for the Oscars this year

With these daywalkers on the hunt, no murderous hillbilly is safe, and audiences are all the better for it. The post Fantastic Fest 2026: HALF is the Indian Vampire Revenge Action Film You Never Knew You Needed appeared first on Cinapse.

Markus Lehmusruusu’s film kindles the fires of humanity in a world where it is nearly snuffed out Finland’s official submission for the Oscars this year is one of the year’s most charming, absurdist, thought-provoking, and quietly subversive science fiction stories. Written and directed by Markus Lehmusruusu, The Squirrel presents a future society that has traded […] The post Fantastic Fest 2026: THE SQUIRREL is a Bleak & Beautiful Cautionary Tale appeared first on Cinapse.

Robert Pattinson is absolutely deranged as Chris Hansen in Lance Oppenheim’s razor-sharp examination of America’s favorite predator hunter. As someone who has followed Chris Hansen and his various predator-catching endeavors for a decades, I feel like Primetime is pretty much the best-case scenario for a narrative about him.   So grab your cookies and sweet tea, pull […] The post PRIMETIME Review: have a seat appeared first on Cinapse.

Sure, I worry what the future may hold for a festival that has become a culture at the same time it has become an asset on a corporate ledger. But right here, and right now, under the current leadership team and programming team, there still beats a cinephile heart. The post Top 5 Signs Fantastic Fest Still Has The Juice appeared first on Cinapse.

One of the most ambitious and impressive DTV action franchises. The post Scott Adkins’ ONE LAST SHOT Hits Its Mark appeared first on Cinapse.

Forbidden love takes on eldritch elemental power in Kasper Kalle’s resonant period horror film No Rest for the Wicked.

Joshua Giuliano delivers a stripped down, mean, and viscerally effective slice of survival horror River catches you off guard from the very start.

Come one, come all to Marco Nguyen and Nicolas Athene’s messy yet wholesomely horny ode to gay culture Gym queen Jim Perfect has it all: thousands of Insta followers, abs for weeks, and the top go-go podium at PowerBoyz, Paris’s hottest gay nightclub. Then a vanishing ab leads to a sudden diagnosis: Heterosis, a new […] The post Fantastic Fest 2026: JIM QUEEN is a Riotous, Raunchy Joy appeared first on Cinapse.

Hell House offers an incredible glimpse into the past to provide some clues into the mindsets and worldviews that contributed to our current level of crisis.  The post Fantastic Fest 2026: Incredible Doc HELL HOUSE Gets a 25th Anniversary Re-Release! appeared first on Cinapse.

Primetime is a descent into the mind of Chris Hansen, more a portrait of a man’s megalomania rather than the actual cultural effects of “To Catch A Predator”. Primetime is a fascinating look into not only the rapid rise and fall of Chris Hansen, but also the structure of biographic filmmaking, and what it can […] The post Fantastic Fest 2026: PRIMETIME Delivers A Surreal & Propulsive Fable About The Rise & Fall Of Chris Hansen appeared first on Cinapse.

Joshua Giuliano delivers a stripped down, mean, and viscerally effective slice of survival horror River catches you off guard from the very start. Writer/director Joshua Giuliano opens the film by panning the camera through the aftermath of a vicious attack in the wilderness. We never witness the violence itself, but the accompanying audio allows us […] The post Fantastic Fest 2026: RIVER is a Masterful Lesson in Terror appeared first on Cinapse.

Forbidden love takes on eldritch elemental power in Kasper Kalle’s resonant period horror film Based on Karl Heinrich Ulrichs’ pioneering 1884 gay novella Manor, No Rest for the Wicked follows Baldur (Egor Venned), a quiet fisherman who lives with his widowed mother Àsla (Sofia Nolsøe Mikkelsen) in the remote, storm-battered Faroe Islands. After rugged whaler […] The post Fantastic Fest 2026: NO REST FOR THE WICKED is a Stunning Supernatural Queer Romance appeared first on Cinapse.