Since launching in 1996 as a dedicated place to screen Asian films from Hong Kong and Anime from Japan, Fantasia Fest 2021 has widened its reach to the more generalized, but still niche, market of genre films. What’s considered a “genre” film, you might be thinking? Past Fantasia premieres have included Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, Wright’s Shaun of the Dead, Nakata’s Ringu, and the iconic horror film Final Destination 5. That should paint a pretty specific picture of what to expect over the next 20 days. Here are a few standouts that we’re looking forward to checking out at this year’s Fantasia Fest 2021.

Decades in the making, the personal masterwork of stop-motion titan Phil Tippett is a Dantean descent into darkness. A corroded diving bell descends amidst a ruined city and the Assassin emerges from it to explore a labyrinth of bizarre landscapes inhabited by freakish denizens.

Submerge yourselves in the dark depths of Alexandre Bustillo & Julien Maury’s newfound footage horror film. While diving in a remote French lake, two YouTubers who specialize in underwater exploration videos discover a house submerged in deep waters. Their dive turns into a nightmare when they discover the house was the scene of atrocious crimes.

King Knight

Two hearing-impaired women fall prey to a charismatic murderer in this breathtaking thriller with impeccable sound design. In director Kwon Oh-seung’s game of cat and mouse, every vulnerability hides an unsuspected strength.

“Is there a secret to making a great movie?” The anime version of the much-loved manga is a love letter to the art and industry of filmmaking.

Yume has only one dream – to break into the dance world in Japan. She leaves her small town to move to Tokyo in writer/director Philippe McKie’s vibrant and intoxicating drama that echoes films like Coyote Ugly and Step Up.

The Last Thing Mary Saw

A musical comedy from Yukinori Makabe with extremely catchy J-pop songs, perfectly integrated into the story

Theodore Schaefer’s strange, melodic and haunting feature debut is a deeply disquieting but mystical journey into the unconscious realm.

The 1989 underground masterpiece, newly restored, embraces the avant-garde in its exquisite, hilarious exploitation of America’s repressed libido.

Sion Sono and Nicolas Cage team up for a wasteland tale that’s wild, original, visually delicious and just plain nuts.

A stunningly beautiful coming-of-age story set in a village in the Japanese countryside, where a crop circle appears one day.

A mysterious letter leads a government dream auditor to the farmhouse of an elderly eccentric with years of VHS-recorded dreams.

One of the most engrossing and unexpected genre creations you’ll encounter this year, from director Rob Schroeder. After his car breaks down, Glen spends one hell of an odd night with a married couple, setting into motion a chain of events that alter their lives plus those of several random strangers.