July 6, 2026
Ten must-see films at Fantasia film festival 2026
As we are rapidly approaching the greatest three weeks of the year, the time where Montreal’s Fantasia Film Festival takes over the screens in and around Concordia university, we have at Modern Free Press have come up with our list of ten must-see films from this years 2026 edition.
This year, 2026, the festival will be celebrating its thirtieth year of bringing great cinema to the people of Montreal – and the many that travel to the city from afar to see great films with possibly the greatest audience on the planet. An ambience that simply cannot be beat!
See Also: Impressive street art sprayed at 9th edition of Canettes De Ruelle
We ummed and ahhed and debated which movies should make this list. Threw hot tea and popcorn at one another (none of that actually happened, but for dramatic purposes, felt we should claim that it did) and this is our top contenders list for Fantasia Film Festival 2026!
10. Colony
From Yeon Sang-ho, who brought us films such as Train To Busan, Soeul Station and The King Of Pigs, comes Colony – which looks to fit right in with the Train To Busan vibe.
Yeon has revolutionized the genre with non-stop suspense, compelling characters, and relevant themes that resonate with moviegoers everywhere. The cast is top-notch, especially with established and remarkably talented actors such as Gianna Jun, Koo Kyo-hwan, Ji Chang-wook and Shin Hyun-been.
Professor Se-jeong (Gianna Jun) attends a biotech conference to hopefully start looking for a new career in the field. What is supposed to be a simple day of finding a new job turns into blood-soaked terror as she and other survivors are trapped in the building with nowhere to run as a dangerous virus mutates people into infected beings undergoing horrifying transformations. It’s a fight for survival against these mindless, cannibalistic freaks, while struggling to figure out how to end this deadly threat.
09. Gozu
Not everything at the festival is brand spanking new for 2026 – some are tried, tested and true cult films like Takashi Miike’s Gozu.
Few names are as necessary to any mention of Fantasia’s 30th anniversary as that of Takashi Miike, Japan’s master of marginal, often maniacal cinema. His enormous filmography is full of strange and startling material, but few of his films are as delightfully confounding as 2003’s Gozu, from the initial outburst of violence that sets matters in motion to the blithely ridiculous conclusion. A relatively modest production, it feels less like a decisive cinematic statement and more like a road trip through Miike’s id, with quick stops at so many of his recurring fixations. The cartoonishly surly gangsters, the psychosexual anomalies, the unsettling incongruities and casual grotesqueries, all situated in grimy, liminal urban fringes suggesting an apocalypse having passed unnoticed.
Gozu is a crazy film that truly deserves to be seen while sat amongst the Fantasia Film Festival faithful, one that we all agree with be among the highlights of this years festival.
07. Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma
It’s not secret that we here at Modern Free Press are X-Files nerds, especially Samantha Morris, so when a film pops up starring Gillian Anderson, you can bet we had that on our lists.
Billy Presley is the ultimate slasher love interest, allowing her body and performance to be a place of both pleasure and pain for Kris’ enjoyment and the meta-audience of this franchise and film. Eventually, Kris’ obsession with the final girl transforms from cinephile fixation to full-on psychosexual infatuation. Attempting to modernize a film franchise riddled with ignorant and transphobic tropes, Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma explores how complicated identity and desire is when it is informed by problematic pop culture.
Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma likens fan obsession to sexual awakening in a very queer, gory, and silly way. Cosmically connecting the Sleepaway Camp franchise to Portrait Of A Lady On Fire, Schoenbrun uses the gore and blood of slashers to aid in self discovery through kink and play.
06. The Origin Of Ultraman
No list would be complete without some sort of kaiju – and this time around, that comes by way of a documentary film on one of the most iconic kaiju of all time – Ultraman!
It introduced a glorious new superhero into the country’s pop-culture pantheon and established a universe of entertainment that over the subsequent six decades has expanded into countless offshoot series, big-screen movies, cartoons, games, and of course a vast array of soft-vinyl toys, essential accessories for generations of Japanese children. Showcasing the elaborate miniatures and monster costumes that are hallmarks of Japanese tokusatsu.
Overseen by award-winning director Hirokazu Kore-eda, the documentary coaxes personal reflections out of Japanese luminaries of anime (Hideaki Anno of the Evangelion franchise) and video games (Hideo Kojima, Metal Gear), as well as Western notables like Guillermo del Toro and Nicolas Winding Refn.
05. Tokyo Burst : Crime City
Rookie detective Aiba, a native of Kabukicho, Tokyo’s liveliest district, grew up among the shopkeepers, locals… and the yakuza of this legendary neighborhood.
This background comes with the attitude and methods that go hand in hand with it. As a result, several of his colleagues suspect him of being a mole, but the results he achieves through sheer brute force oblige them to respect him, despite his lack of subtlety and the chaos he causes with every operation. When a dangerous criminal who seems untouchable, with a history in the Philippines and Korea, begins wreaking havoc on his turf, Cho, a special agent from Seoul sent in as reinforcement, is assigned to Aiba to resolve the case. Although the relationship between the two men is frosty at first, they must quickly learn to work together in the face of extremely arrogant and bloodthirsty adversaries with strong connections to those in power. Faced with all these obstacles, there is only one option: to throw protocol out of the window and dish out some spectacular beatings.
Fans of The Roundup franchise are sure to dig this one!
04. We’re Nothing At All
In an avalanche, no snowflake is innocent.
Three men, three different lives, all connect after a bus explosion on Valentines’ Day. Fai grows up in an abusive family and struggles through a difficult childhood. Yet even after reaching adulthood, life offers him little kindness. Ike is an artist who is cast out by his family because of his sexual orientation, with only his sister standing by him. On an ordinary night, two wounded souls meet and gradually become each other’s only source of comfort and support. Detective Leung is an outstanding forensic expert at work, and a great husband at home. Behind his success, however, lies a deeply personal secret.
Herman Yau is renowned for his cult cinemas as well as his remarkable speed and efficiency of production. Since making his directorial debut with No Regret in 1987, he has directed or co-directed over 80 films across a wide range of genres from horror and comedy to gangster films. Throughout his career, Yau has consistently incorporated concern for society’s marginalized communities into blockbusters and genre cinema.
03. Wind Breaker
An outsider since childhood because of his unique appearance, Sakura trusts no one, communicating only through cutting retorts and his undeniable boxing skills whenever anyone looks at him askance. He loves a fight and has chosen Furin High School, renowned for its formidable fighters, in order to dethrone its champion. Freshly arrived in the town of Makochi, he immediately finds himself in an epic brawl with a gang of thugs from the Shishitoren gang, agents of chaos constantly seeking power over the population. A handful of Furin students step in to come to his aid. To his great surprise, they form a close-knit community with the local shopkeepers. Together they form the Bofurin clan, the city’s shields against the waves of violence and destruction unleashed by the Shishitoren thugs, who dream of taking control of the city and Furin High. Will Sakura manage to overcome his reluctance to trust others and rise above his bellicose ambitions?
With its charismatic, larger-than-life characters, breathtaking fight sequences, breakneck pace, and superb direction from veteran Kentaro Hagiwara, Wind Breaker doesn’t just dazzle the most ardent fans of action cinema; it offers a galvanizing reflection on the need to join forces against the intimidation and brutality of those who seek only to dominate and take whatever they can.
02. Redline
An anime classic, Redline, is also among the must-see films at the 2026 edition of the Fantasia Film Festival!
The far-flung future is full of technological wonders we can hardly imagine today, but one familiar facet of the world we know remains wildly popular. Fans across the galaxy are rabidly excited about the forthcoming Redline road race, pitting the most powerful, gas-guzzling cars and their determined drivers against each other in a maniacal charge for the finish line. For superstar drivers Sweet JP and Sonoshee “Cherry Boy Hunter” McLaren, as well as all the other lurid weirdos at the wheels of the competing super-cars, the stakes are enormous. Not only do they have clearance to use lethal force against each other, but the cyborg overlords of Roboworld, where Redline will take place, have threatened all involved with annihilation, lest the race lead to the release of the secret bio-weapon Funky Boy!
Redline was first screened at the festival fifteen years ago, and now makes its return as a cult-classic in 2026, that is sure to please those that missed its initial showing in 2009!
01. Tunnels : Sun In The Dark
It is 1967 and Binh An Dong village, on the outskirts of Saigon, lies in ruin. The ground below it, though, teems with activity. A vast network of crudely bored tunnels spreads underneath the whole of Cu Chi district.
There, a band of poorly equipped resistance fighters under the leadership of the weary, anxious Bay Theo keeps watch and prepares for an impending American attack. Complications arise, though. Tu Dap, an outsider claiming a vague family link to the village, has been captured. His identity is in question, though his skill at improvising bombs is not. Despite her misgivings, the stern fighter Ba Huong finds herself drawn to him. Meanwhile, a team of intelligence officers has arrived on a vital, secret mission, and the Cu Chi guerrillas are tasked with safeguarding them through the hell their enemies are on the verge of unleashing.
Award-winning writer/director Bui Thac Chuyen tells the other side of the tale with a powerful war film that’s intelligent, empathic, convincing, and intense (and, eschewing the genre’s usual focus on male bonding under duress, affords equal attention to women soldiers). Great pride is evident in the ingenuity of the network’s defenses and the camaraderie of the combatants, but Bui demonstrates wise restraint, avoiding the excesses of propaganda productions, and carefully humanizing his characters—even the Americans.
Tunnels : Sun In The Dark has all the earmarks of a great action film.
Read More:
>> Nyaight Of The Living Cat at Fantasia Festival 2025
>> Fragment at Fantasia Fest 2025
>> Voivod : We Are Connected at Fantasia Festival 2024
Three decades in, and the magic has yet to subside for the always incredible Fantasia Film Festival. While 2026 marks the 30th anniversary of Fantasia – surely, more great things are to come in the years ahead! Bonne cinema! Meeeoooowwww!
This years edition runs from July 16th, 2026 through to August 2nd, 2026 – tickets are on sale now here!
