For over a decade, I've had the pleasure of attending the Alamo Drafthouse's Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas. It's been a glorious run filled with signature cocktails, sleepless nights chatting with fellow film lovers, and movies … so many movies. The largest genre film festival in the US, still going strong under Festival Director Lisa Dreyer's leadership after 20 glorious years, had an exceptionally bountiful crop of titles this year. The programming team really stepped up to celebrate a milestone anniversary, and all of us theatergoers reaped the rewards.
In the spirit of celebration, I'd like to highlight as many of my favorites from Fantastic Fest 2025. For IGN, I was lucky enough to review six titles out of the festival—but I saw nearly 30 movies. Between all the Blumhouse and A24 releases already on your radar, I was devouring future indie darlings that have yet to even find distribution. That's the beautiful part of attending festivals: being a part of a film's journey before it finds its audience. Hopefully, after reading this article, you'll have a few more genre-focused titles on your radar to look out for in the coming months or later.
Sisu: Road to Revenge
Dir. Jalmari Helander
Release Date: November 21, 2025
Hands down, Sisu: Road to Revenge is the best movie I saw at the festival. Jalmari Helander executes a near-perfect action sequel that packs as much punch as the original but tastes minty fresh. Jorma Tommila returns as Aatami Korpi, the Finnish ex-commando who will not die, except this time he's laying waste to vile Red Army enemies. Helander employs a post-WWII blend of Mad Max: Fury Road and later Fast & Furious franchise sequels to blow the roof off explosive combat sequences that run on brazen grit, unparalleled courage, and bullets galore. It's more of the same with two big thumbs up, which you can read more about in my full review for IGN.
Obsession
Dir. Curry Barker
Release Date: TBD 2026
Are y'all ready for the latest comedian turned overnight horror sensation? There's a reason Focus Features purchased Curry Barker's Obsession out of the Toronto International Film Festival for $15+ million. His "simple" monkey's paw thriller about a hopeless romantic who wishes for his crush to love him more than anyone in the world goes for broke with psychotic intentions. What starts surreally silly becomes devious Valentine's Day counterprogramming as a selfish "nice guy" gets everything he wished for and the consequences that follow. Where Barker's theatrical debut goes will leave your jaw agape from shock and laughter. Check out my full review for IGN.
Sirāt
Dir. Oliver Laxe
Release Date: November 14, 2025
This year's Cannes Jury Prize winner and Spain's Oscar selection for Best International Feature is worth the hype. Oliver Laxe's Sirāt is a journey into rave culture and desert bedlam, hiding twists and turns with enough whiplash to cause a concussion. It's at times joyful and inviting, driven by brilliant sound design that hinges on rhythmic trance beats that pulsate throughout, but it's also devastatingly dark. A father's search for his "missing" daughter leads him to a Moroccan rave where he meets a band of merry ravers who say they'll escort him to the next dance party. Over arid terrain, Luis (played beautifully and tragically by Sergi López) learns about the people he once misunderstood—but the terrain, like our mortal existence, is unforgiving. Where Sirāt goes is worth the ride, with spikes of darkness and enlightenment throughout Luis' grungy and groovy quest.
Beast of War
Dir. Kiah Roache-Turner
Release Date: October 10, 2025
I've been reviewing piss-poor indie shark movies for IGN long enough to give up hope that we'll never not be tortured by pitiful CG sharks, but salvation, thy name is Beast of War. In Kiah Roache-Turner's Aussie WWII fin flick, a group of 1942-era soldiers are stranded adrift in the Timor Sea when Japanese forces sink their vessel. But you know what's more dangerous than Axis attackers? A massive great white that's trying to devour your brothers-in-arms. Roache-Turner keeps tension thick and intensity razor-sharp as Mark Coles Smith's Leo leads a floating group of survivors against an aquatic predator, with nasty touches like an air raid siren that's jammed into the shark, which emits this howling screech as it approaches. Oh, and the shark looks great in its practical creation - see, is it really that hard?
Give me gooey gore, a few surprise battlefield threats, and a killer shark that looks the part. That's all I need.
Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die
Dir. Gore Verbinski
Release Date: January 30, 2026
Welcome back, Gore Verbinski. The weirdo (complimentary) who brought us A Cure for Wellness is back in full effect with his sci-fi action-comedy Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die. Sam Rockwell, playing a crazed lunatic who says he's from the future, leads a ragtag group of diner patrons on a mission to save humanity from an AI doomsday. Par for the Skynet course, right? Wrong! Writer Matthew Robinson pens a silly, relentlessly bleak, yet hopefully resilient story about not how to destroy AI, but how to regulate its proper usage. Verbinski's visual creativity bursts on display, transforming "shitty algorithm prompts" into fantastical obstacles, while the film's messaging delivers what I'd call the clearest distillation of AI's actual dangers as they exist in reality. I really, really enjoyed Verbinski's return, which you can read more about in my review for IGN.
Deathstalker
Dir. Daniel Bernhardt
Release Date: October 10, 2025
If you love any combination of Astron-6, ’80s swords and magic movies, and heavy frickin' metal, then you're going to love Deathstalker. Steven Kostanski remakes James Sbardellati's fantasy swordplay flick of the same name with his signature flair for lovable do-it-yourself practical effects. The man responsible for Psycho Goreman and Frankie Freako is drawing from fantastic influences that include Army of Darkness, Ray Harryhausen, and Heavy Metal (the movie) in this blood-splattered dungeon crawler. Swiss stuntman and actor Daniel Bernhardt (John Wick, Atomic Blonde) stars as Deathstalker, with Patton Oswalt voicing his wizard goblin sidekick Doodad—and that's the sanest-sounding aspect of this movie. It's all one-eyed flying creatures, pig-faced warriors, and two-headed trolls as Deathstalker vanquishes foe after foe who try to steal his newfound amulet.
Credit Blitz//Berlin for keeping energy high with their mighty and badass score (solid rippin' and tearin' Doom vibes), as well as guitar virtuoso Slash, who not only serves as a producer, but lends his axe to a theme song in collaboration with iconic composer Bear McCreary.
Primate
Dir. Johannes Roberts
Release Date: January 9, 2026
Sure, Primate is basically just Cujo but with a chimpanzee. That's bad… why? Director Johannes Roberts gives us precisely what we want from the premise and then some. It's a lean, nearly 90-minute film, the kill sequences drip with vicious, bone-shattering gore, and the animal effects—whether digital or practical—are sublime. Miguel Torres Umba delivers phenomenal motion-capture work as Ben, a superintelligent chimp who contracts a case of what can only be described as "Murder Rabies." Roberts also treats the film like a Halloween movie, with Ben slinking around and bashing down closet doors like The Shape. It's a pure popcorn entertainment creature-feature that'll have you howling with excitement, making it the perfect opening night film to kick off this year's Fantastic Fest.
Black Phone 2
Dir. Scott Derrickson
Release Date: October 17, 2025
I've gotta say, this year was an exceptionally strong showing for studio projects at Fantastic Fest. The biggest relief of all was Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill's Black Phone 2, a sequel that was never really intended, and yet is such a rich evolution that I'm so glad exists. The co-writers aren't shuffling out The Grabber again for more of the same. A now-deceased Grabber is reinvented as the second coming of Freddy Krueger, which allows Ethan Hawke to play with even more sinister tones. It's veering harder into campground slasher territory, as well as the sick impurity of winter wonderland horrors, dotting pristine white snow with crimson blood. The shift to Gwen (the sister of the main character of the first film) as a medium-esque protagonist opens the door to plenty more continuations, which I go on to praise with other brilliant aspects in my full review for IGN.
Whistle
Dir. Corin Hardy
Release Date: February 6, 2025
Writer Owen Egerton pens a nifty reinvention of Final Destination setups with Whistle, an adaptation of his own short story. Director Corin Hardy does a splendid job bringing the horrors of an Aztec Death Whistle to life, especially in some magnificent death scenes that are brimming with excellent gore effects. It's a slice of American high school horror familiar to anything from A Nightmare on Elm Street to Scream, but with an inviting supernatural twist. Those who blow into the whistle or hear its screech summon Death early, negating their natural expiration dates. It's so simple, and yet so creative in the way their deaths are represented now "out of context," let's say. Whistle is a whole lot of fun for horror fans who like it juicy, but also somehow remains uplifting, especially in how the film's themes preach about making the most of our one and only death by living life to the fullest.
Meat Kills
Dir. Martijn Smits
Release Date: TBD 2026
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