Another Fantastic Fest is in the books, and once again, it didn’t disappoint. Over the eight-day festival, I got to hold a snake, see GWAR in concert, and watch 39 movies. So yeah, it was a good time. Of course, I came away with some favorites and discovered a few filmmakers whose work I’ll be following. I figured I should put them on your radar, too. Here are five movies—and the filmmakers behind them—to keep an eye out for.
- Five More Minutes (Director: Javier Ruiz Caldera)
The idea of a time-loop movie, where someone relives the same moment over and over, is nothing new. But director Javier Ruiz Caldera and writer and star Berto Romero find a fresh spin by asking a simple question: What would be one of the worst moments to get stuck repeating? A couple trying to work through their relationship problems has to be pretty high on that list. Shot over six weeks in five-minute takes, Five More Minutes mixes horror with some welcomed comedy and leaves you wondering: Would you make the same choices?
- Ürei (Director: Yerkezhan Baizhan)
I don’t know what you were doing at 23, but I certainly wasn’t premiering my first movie at one of the best film festivals in the world. That’s exactly what Kazakh filmmaker Yerkezhan Baizhan has done—and yeah, the movie is really good. Shot over 12 days, Ürei follows a teenage girl sent to stay with her grandmother after misbehaving. What should be a comforting visit becomes a nightmare as her grandmother struggles with dementia. This is horror doing what it does best, using fear to tell a powerful story about grief and the trauma parents can pass on to their children.
- The Spiral (Director: Paolo Strippoli)
Here’s another movie about family, this time centered on a mother and just how much she’s willing to sacrifice to keep hers perfect. What follows lives up to the title as things spiral out of control. Told in four chapters, The Spiral is a gripping reminder that you can’t simply wish your problems away. Strong performances ground the escalating chaos, making this one something to behold. It also introduced me to Paolo Strippoli, a filmmaker whose work I’m eager to see more of.
- Half (Director: Samjad)
This isn’t Samjad’s debut—he directed Golam in 2024—but it’s my first experience with his work. Half is a road-trip movie about two siblings who are half human and half vampire, along with the guys who make the very bad decision to ambush them. With fight choreography by Very Tri Yulisman (The Raid 2, The Night Comes for Us), you know you’re in for a good time, and the movie delivers. Half never takes itself too seriously. It wants to entertain you, and Samjad makes sure it does. This is one wildly fun ride.
- Adult Supervision (Director: Alex Schulman)
If you ever wanted to talk someone out of having kids, show them Adult Supervision, because these kids are not all right. To make matters worse, neither are the adults watching them. The story follows three parents who volunteer to chaperone their children’s class trip, only to find themselves quickly overwhelmed by the group’s social dynamics. It’s a razor-sharp dark comedy with a slow build of psychological dread, and some moments that are tough to sit through. Funny and deeply uncomfortable, Adult Supervision offers a bleak look at adolescence—and at the parents who don’t have nearly as much control as they think.
Member of the North Texas Film Critics Association, and lover of all things Cinema
Brian Taylor
Member of the North Texas Film Critics Association, and lover of all things Cinema
