Absentia (USA). If you love horror and you are looking for a movie that fits dead center of this genre, Absentia, winner of awards at festivals in Sonoma, Phoenix and Fargo is for you. This micro budget indie film kicks it big time. You won't have heard of the writer/director/co-producer Mike Flannigan, or the stars Katie Parker, Courtney Bell, Dave Levine and, Doug Jones, but down the road you will. There is nothing like being caught by surprise, although this movie had so much advance buzz both screenings were sold out two weeks before FanTasia opened, and the festival was compelled to set up a third screening. This movie deserves a theater release but sadly may not get one, so look for it on DVD/Blu-ray/Netflix. You will not be disappointed.

Desperate for an antidote to Twilight? Stake Land (USA) is it. You won't find one pretty vampire and none you'd want to date. These are the revolting undead stalked post-apocalypse by a grisly vampire hunter and his Karate Kid-like protégée. Rough, gritty, a must-see for fans of the vampire sub-genre. Nick Damici and Jim Mickle co-wrote the script, the latter also directing, the former playing the hardened vampire hunter named Mister in a nicely-shot soon-to-be-classic. If there's any justice in the film world, this award winner at festivals in Toronto, Sitges, San Francisco and Boston should get a theater release. If the world is unjust, make sure a DVD or Blu-ray finds its way into your hands.

The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society has made a film which might be the best visual representation yet of H.P.'s hidden otherness, confirmed by juries at festivals around the world. The Whisperer in Darkness (USA) begins at Miskatonic University and moves to a farm in Vermont where Cthulu's minions are taking over. The time is the 1930s/1940s and this mono-chromatic film which emulates the slightly stilted style and dialogue of cinema from that era, combines early sci-fi a la RKO with steampunk. A usual mashup of director, writers, producers, none-household names. But it's charming and a must for aficionados of Lovecraftian reality.

Rare Exports: a Christmas Tale (Norway/Finland/France) has won awards at Sitges, Toronto and the Locarno film festivals, and here's why: This is not a movie you've seen before. In a silver screen world of too-much/not-enough, this film, set somewhere in remote Sapmi, is about The Evil Santa and the young boy who knows! The culture in this all-male movie is fascinating: harsh, rugged, survival-oriented, bare-bones and that, plus a unique plot, makes this one of the most engaging films I've seen in years. The cast and crew are mainly from Norway and dialogue is well-translated into English subtitles. Beyond YA fare, adults will be utterly fascinated too, and I guarantee that by the end you'll want some gingerbread. This one you'll have to hunt for on DVD, Blu-ray or Netflix.

John Landis won a Lifetime Achievement Award at FanTasia and was on hand to collect his predatory big bird statue, which he apparently loved. He chatted for an hour about Hollywood and gave some insights into Burke and Hare, his latest offering. John Mathieson's cinematography is brilliant. Landis told us that filming was mainly in Edinburgh, every place real but for one set (the jail). Burke and Hare were, of course, the Scottish grave robbers from the 1800s who attained fortune and infamy by stealing the newly dead to sell to doctors of the just-establishing-itself medical profession. This is an all-star cast of amazing British talent, featuring Simon Pegg as Burke and Andy Serkis as Hare. The now elderly and fragile-looking Christopher Lee has a very small part. Tim Curry is way underused, given that we all know the scope of his talent from so many films. Ray Harryhausen has a cameo. It's a predictable movie and the humor is anticipated and appears in all the expected spots. The acting is terrific, the story light enough that anybody can enjoy this, so splurge on a bucket of popcorn and take the family. What's not to like? This film has probably already reached a theater near you.

The Silence (Das Letzte Schweigen—Germany, German with English subtitles) is based on a novel of the same name. This is a great movie, real-life horror, about pedophilia and murder in the middle-class world, well plotted, acted, shot and generally nicely executed. You may not recognize the names involved with this film unless you're an aficionado of European cinema, then if not the names at least some of the faces will seem familiar. I hope you Chizine readers get a chance to see it. Lions Gate is distributing so that may happen.

Attack the Block (UK) is one of those movies that failed in its home country but not elsewhere. South by Southwest and also the Los Angeles International Film Festival found it worthy, but American movie goers probably have a different slant on kid gangs than they do in the UK. It's also one of those films that hit a note which slides right into reality with the recent riots in the UK. Crisply-made, this inner-city gem is about teenage street gang members who go from bad guys to good guys when they encounter aliens and are forced to save the world. My one quibble is that the thick lower-class street slang on top of Brit accents makes the dialogue pretty impossible to understand at times and the movie could use subtitles. It's a fun film that turns sympathies and has some delightfully cheesy monsters. You'll recognize Nick Frost from Shawn of the Dead. YA and adult fare.

The Troll Hunter (Norway, Norwegian with English subtitles). This movie likely could only have been made in Norway where they sell troll dolls at the corner store. It's a cam story, which makes it predictable of course—isn't the camera always found and the film crew missing? You won't recognize names of anybody famous but festivals like Sundance, San Francisco and Seattle deemed it delightful. I'm now a troll fan! Synopsis: Everything you've always wanted to know about trolls and didn't know who to ask. Will be on DVD/Blu-ray for sure.

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (US/Canada) is a remake, modernized, and I saw the Canadian premier. Lots of fun for a 'family horror' movie, meaning, take the kids. Lovely sets—fabulous Victorian mansion—good acting with Katie Holmes and Guy Pearce as The Adults, and the morose Wednesday Addamsish child played by ten year old Bailee Madison, who has a long list of film and TV credits already. I'm never a fan of showing the monster/creatures and I think this movie would have benefitted from less of that. This remake of the 1973 movie diverges from the original in a few ways, but the set-up is more modern, and since I feel this is mainly YA, that probably works for younger viewers. Guillermo del Toro is one of the producers and script writers. He sent a video apologizing for not attending, saying "I'm sorry, I'm fat and I'm ill." What's curious about this movie is the director, Troy Nixey. Del Toro saw Nixey's short Latchkey's Lament, and gave him money to film this, his first feature. Filmmakers, is that not a dream come true?

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark may be in theaters already in your area and will surely find its way to DVD/Blu-ray/Netflix.

Vampire (US) is a peculiar take on the undead. It uses the anemia angle and while the movie feels overly long to me and the ending should definitely be lopped off like the head of a bloodsucker that's ready for the true death, the main character Simon, played by Kevin Zeggers (who has plenty of film credits, including Dawn of the Dead and Hollow) is unusual. The scenario is off-kilter enough to be fascinating—he helps people die who want to—that this is definitely worth seeing, especially if you're a vampirophile. Sundance, Berlin and Hong Kong festivals thought likewise. With some luck there will be a theater release, but most likely the usual alternative options.

Little Deaths (UK) is a trilogy of quirky stories that blend sex and horror and some fetishes that will blow your mind. My ex was just telling me over a pre-screening dinner about the doggie fetish and no, I'm not talking about the position. All three directors: Simon Sumley, Andrew Parkinson and Sean Hogan have made films before, and it shows. These are tight, crisp and engaging stories that will surprise you by their violence, political incorrectness and peculiar and shocking images. Sadly, no trailer, but the description is here. Hunt this one down.

The Devil's Rock (New Zealand) has an interesting premise. Just before the invasion of Normandy during World War 2, two allied soldiers find a Nazi stronghold on an island where Satanic rituals have evoked a demon. The acting is dramatic and solid, as is the direction by Paul Campion, who has worked as an artist in various capacities on a pile of movies, including The Chronicles of Narnia, two Lord of the Rings films, Night at the Museum, X-Men the Last Stand, and 30 Days of Night, among others. It was refreshing to see a film from New Zealand from a first-feature-film director who we'll likely hear more from in the future. A cinema release is unlikely but there's always Netflix etc.

Midnight Son (US) is another vampire film. No zombie movies at FanTasia that I could find but there are still plenty of vampire fans in chi-land. The Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival gave this movie a prize. It's a small story—no vampire gang wars—and I thought it engaging but, being the vampire maniac that I am and having seen more bloodsucker movies than is probably healthy, I have to say this is a good film but not great. Still, for lovers of the sub-genre, it's worth checking out. Synopsis: Security guard slowing turning into the undead through no fault of his own. It happens. Largely unknown crew and cast. Should hit the realm of DVD/Blu-ray/Netflix soon.

Morituris (Italy, with subtitles) is a hideous movie. It started out alright, and since these 5 annoying young people end up in a haunted cemetery, I expected violent demons. This, I could handle. What I couldn't is the violence the human males inflict on the females. I persevered, but I know people who walked out. Not a favorite of mine but in fairness to those who go for extreme violence in their horror movies, this film is for you. The director has been compared to Argento (not in my world!) Here's the trailer, but it presents a rather distorted and far tamer synopsis than what actually happens in the film. You will likely never see this in a theater in any country so the obsessive among you will have to dig around.

The Theater Bizarre (Canada/USA/France) is a 6-part anthology with something for every fan of horror. There is real life shock and horror in director Giovinazzo’s I love You; beautifully photographed supernatural/mythological weirdness in Richard Stanley's The Mother of Toads; and Buck's The Accident will leave you creeped out by its tense subtlety. FX artist Tom Savini made Wet Dreams, a grisly in-your-face revenge shocker. Gregory's Sweets is beautifully photographed, the images sharp and theatrical...and the story revolting. Montréal director Hussain's Vision Stains offers a surreal story of violent philosophical torment. The wonderful actor Udo Kier appears as an automaton before, after and between segments in a Grand Guignol style theater. Worth seeing if only to get a sense of some fine directors, many of whom you can expect greater things from down the road. Likely the DVD etc. route.

FanTasia also offered some off-site events, two of which were extraordinary.

Voltaire the goth/singer/comic artist/stop motion animation artist/general performer/ Renaissance man/and bon vivant did a terrific mixed-performance vaudeville-type show—goth style of course—which included a screening of his latest stop-motion film Odokuro, a darkly lovely piece of work. Both Voltaire and his new film are very much worth seeing if you get the chance.

FanTasia also screened a pristine 35 mm print of the original 1925 Rupert Julian silent film The Phantom of the Opera starring Lon Chaney and Mary Philbin. The movie was staged at the mainstream Place des Arts in Montréal with a 30 piece live orchestra led by the creator of the musical score, Gabriel Thibaudeau, ranked as the world's top accompanist of silent films. Phantom is about an opera singer and for those bits of the film involving vocals, a soprano came onstage to perform arias. There is nothing quite like seeing a melodramatic silent film in a packed house of respectful movie goers with live musicians and a singer. If you get a chance to experience such, it will give you a whole new view of silents. I'd love to see Murnau's Nosferatu: A Symphony of Terror presented 'live'.