Fantasia Film Festival Schedule Announced

The Fantasia International Film Festival has just updated their website with the film schedule for the 3 week event. “Life After Beth” and “Suburban Gothic” will both be screening together on July 19th at 7:15pm and 9:45 pm respectively at the Concordia Hall Theater with Matthew Gray Gubler, who stars in both films  in attendance. A Q&A featuring Matthew has been announced, but no time frame as of yet.

Life After Beth:

Zack (Dane DeHaan) falls apart after the sudden death of his longtime girlfriend Beth (Aubrey Plaza). In his grief, he becomes very close to her parents. Then, without warning they shut him out completely. Near mad with despair, he takes to spying on their house, and to his absolute shock, sees Beth through a window, very much alive again. Her parents have been keeping her hidden while they try to figure out what on Earth is going on. Because she absolutely did die. And she absolutely is currently alive. Beth has no idea that she’s been dead. She’s confused, her strength has intensified to unnatural extremes and her temper’s become something terrible. Just the same, Zack is thrilled at the possibility of having more time with her, to be able to tell her all the things he’d wished he’d said earlier. But nothing is easy. Things are changing. Fast. 

The assured directorial debut of I HEART HUCKABEES co-screenwriter Jeff Baena, who also scripted here, LIFE AFTER BETH is not the film you’re likely expecting it to be. Staged with real heart and an energy that’s breathtaking, this is a brilliantly cast, fast-paced comedy with all kinds of wickedly morbid beats, poignantly addressing the punch-drunk difficulties of letting go when relationships change. There are plenty of over-the-top (and often very grisly) visual gags, to be sure, and they are wonderful, but the film’s strongest comedy beats are character driven. It’s a striking example of humour born from pain, infused with an honesty that is startling, while never losing the sharp comedic edge that drives it like an undead firefox. Bringing Baena’s universe to life, Plaza and DeHaan are absolutely perfect here, carrying the film with an endearingly unusual pair of performances that consistently mine gold as they struggle through the desperately confused emotions of coming to terms with a relationship that has become the very definition of impossible. They’re backed by a terrific supporting cast that includes John C. Reily (CYRUS), Cheryl Hines (CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM), Molly Shannon (SUPERSTAR), Paul Reiser (ALIENS), Matthew Gray Gubler (CRIMINAL MINDS) and Anna Kendrick (UP IN THE AIR), the latter two also lighting up this year’s Fantasia screen in SUBURBAN GOTHIC, respectively. Enormously entertaining and every bit as thoughtful, LIFE AFTER BETH is a howlingly funny heartbreaker that announces its maker as a filmmaking force to be reckoned with. 

— Mitch Davis

Suburban Gothic:

Quirky young Raymond (Matthew Gray Gubler, also appearing in this year’s LIFE AFTER BETH) has been having a tough couple of months. Even with his recent college degree, he can’t find work in the big city — and he’s realizing that it’s time to swallow his pride and move back in with his overbearing, suburban parents (Barbara Niven and Ray Wise). Little does he realize, however, that this temporary layover in Middle America is going to be anything but mundane… Haunted by otherworldly visions since childhood, Raymond soon finds himself beset upon by spirits intent on making his time at home as miserable as possible. His only outlet for sanity seems to be local bartender Becca (Kat Dennings,THOR) who, aside from chasing off the same bullies who wanted to beat Raymond up in high school, finds herself drawn to his endearing quirkiness. Together, the duo find themselves unraveling the mystery behind a century-old murder — and scaring up plenty of laughs along the way. 

Conceived by Richard Bates, Jr. as a dark follow-up to his immensely successful EXCISION, SUBURBAN GOTHIC ultimately morphed into something wholly more innocent after a bout of depression that left the director/co-writer finding solace — and inspiration — in the films of his childhood. A riff on everything from the Hardy Boys to Scooby-Doo, SUBURBAN GOTHIC deftly mixes its horror and humour in ways very few genre films can — and with the denizens of this cinematic suburbia all caricatures of those we love and hate, their fates are somehow all the more satisfying. Gubler and Dennings make an endearingly memorable duo, battling ghosts and finding love all while spouting Bates’ hilariously off-kilter dialogue with charming abandon. Featuring performances from genre mainstays Ray Wise and Muse Watson, SUBURBAN GOTHIC certainly doesn’t shy away from horror’s familiar faces, offering up stellar cameos from Jeffrey Combs, John Waters, and — blink and you’ll miss them — Jennifer Lynch and Jen and Sylvia Soska. To genre fans awash in a sea of excessively dark horror, SUBURBAN GOTHIC is popcorn cinema at its most endearing — a saccharine ghost story featuring a faultless mix of honest scares and well-played humour. 

— Ted Geoghegan

Tickets for the Fantasia Film Festival go on sale July 15th, and can be purchased by clicking here. The Festival takes place July 17th through August 6th in Montreal.