It’s that time of year—genre festival season. One of the premiere festivals among the bunch is the annual Fantasia Film Festival. This year’s edition features some great throwbacks like John Woo’s incredible “Hard Boiled” and an incredible selection of films from various other festivals in 2022 (Piggy, Sharp Stick, etc). Chai and I have decided to each pick five films we’re excited about. Let’s get to what you came here for. Here are my five to be excited about from Fantastia Festival 2022.

First up we have Bodies Bodies Bodies from A24. Round up some hot young people and a hurricane party and you get the premise for a film I’m really psyched for. Dutch director Halina Reijn returns with a new feature film. Sure it has a millennial flair to it but I think that’s the most interesting part of the “horror” of it all.

This film is in the Japanese “anime” style and I thought the slice-of-life concept of a group of young people on vacation in a strange land was interesting. It’s a gorgeously animated film. What’s not to like about the charming animation style and the characters who seem lovable and fun. This is one that’s going to be simple and easy to get through. Hopefully a welcomed dose of ease in a sea of somewhat horrific and depressing content.

If you know ANYTHING about me you know I’m a big fan of professional wrestling and always have been. You all should probably know by now I am a huge advocate for LGBTQ+ rights as well. So a documentary that mixes these two is something I certainly wanna champion. This looks intimate, in-depth, and like it was lovingly made for viewers.

This Danish/Dutch psychological horror film is one I sadly missed during my screening time at Sundance. I am hopeful this won’t happen again. As things begin to unravel can they stay calm, stay sane and keep their cool? Or will our Dutch friends drive their Scandanavian counterparts to do or say something they might regret? This looks like a real thriller and I’m hopeful we can get a chance to check this one out.

LASTLY. Here’s one we missed at SXSW that we’re getting a second chance at. When an influencer sees a friend from the past she tries to figure out what exactly her motives are. This looked so good at SXSW and I was sad to have missed it. It looks really tense but it might also be very funny.

There were a few other picks from my co-host Chai. She’s really into were: The Elderly, Piggy, A Life on the Farm, La Pieta, and The Diabetic. If she’d like to say some words they’ll fill in this section.