One of the largest international film festivals dedicated to genre films is celebrating its 25th year in 2021. Fantasia Film Festival is located in Montreal, Canada, and will be presenting its festival in a digital format for movie-lovers and critics from August 5-25, 2021, including screenings, premieres, panels, and workshops. The festival will take a heightened focus on Japanese cinema "in celebration of the key role that Japan’s culture has played across Fantasia’s history".

Gunpowder Milkshake misses its mark and does a disservice to the otherwise talented cast. The script is so bad, you'd think they teamed up with Tommy Wiseau.

Black Widow's triumphant return to the big screen parallels the real-life horrors of human trafficking, domestic violence, and historical female oppression.

Fear Street: Part One 1994 kicks off with a beautiful twist of an homage to the first Scream, mirroring the method and timing of the kill(s) early on, along with other tributes such as a prick making a mockery of the recent murders down the school hallway, and even a score reminiscent of Scream at times. All before making a tongue in cheek jab at R.L. Stine's The Wrong Number. Homages can be very hit or miss depending on how crafty the director is in balancing the tightrope of "remake" and "homage", but Fear Street's Leigh Janiak knocks it out of the park. Fear Street plays like a love song to the 90s with feverishly fun kills and an outstanding soundtrack.

Lucifer's final season does the series justice with humor, love, death, some gritty fight scenes (thanks Netflix!), and one of the most fun and clever musical episodes, and is riddled with a talented cast hyped all the way up, offering their Sunday best. As it turns out, the devil ain't so bad after all.

North Hollywood is a coming-of-age tale about Michael (Ryder McLaughlin) in North Hollywood, L.A., whose dream of being a professional skateboarder is challenged by his blue-collar father (Vince Vaughn). Much of the film is by the book, but if you're looking for a short and sweet coming-of-age film about dreams and navigating male bonds, it's worth a rental.

The Fallout is a remarkable film that explores the ramifications of tragedy on our adolescents and how the human conditional response is not a one-size-fits-all.

Direct from SXSW 2021 - Reviews of Episodic Premieres: Them, Cruel Summer, Dale's House, and Chad

Despite being a film about saving someone from a coronavirus breakout, Recovery is brilliant in making COVID-19 the background of the story and bringing the relationships to the forefront. By the film’s conclusion, Call and Everton have accomplished the impossible and allowed you to truly relish in the humor of life through the lens of a road-trip. 

Direct from SXSW 2021 - Reviews of Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil, Inside Selma Blair, The Oxy Kingpins, and Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free.