Saskatoon Fantastic Film Festival the Bridge City's premier feature film event highlighting international and independent genre cinema. This year's festival is formatted as the WAR OF THE WEEKENDS, and takes place at The Broadway Theatre on Nov. 19-21 and again on Nov. 27-28th!
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The All Access Festival Badge is good for all screenings and any events associated with the 13th Annual Saskatoon Fantastic Film Festival.
DRAG
2026
USA
Dark comedy, horror
86 minutes
Directors/writers: Raviv Ullman and Greg Yagolnitzer
Starring: Lizzy Caplan, Lucy DeVito and John Stamos
This year’s Saskatoon Fantastic open filming is going to set the tone for the entire festival--you’ll laugh, you’ll scream and you’ll have a whole lot of fun. DRAG is an unhinged horror-comedy thriller has an all-star cast featuring Lizzy Caplan, Lucy DeVito and John Stamos. Two bickering sisters seemingly routine home robbery spirals into a chaotic, gruesome nightmare after one throws out her back during the crime, and they discover the homeowner is not as he seems. With festival appearances around the globe from Fantasia to SXSW to FrightFest, we are absolutely thrilled to have DRAG kick off this year’s festivities.
With the short film BEST FRIENDS WITH THE DEVIL
Directed by Hugo De Sousa, USA, 9min 43sec
Lola searches for her missing best friend with the help of a stranger who may know more than he’s letting on.
THE INVISIBLES
2026
Japan
Supernatural, road trip
Director: Ryo Takebayashi
Writers: Saeri Natsuo, Ryo Takebayashi
Stars: Katsuya Maiguma, Riko Suzuki, Riko Suzuki, Hana Kondo, Susumu Terajima, Kimiko Yo
THE INVISIBLES follows an anxious widowed father and his three daughters, the youngest of whom is invisible. Fearful of what might happen if her secret is discovered, he has kept the family isolated from the outside world as best as he can. When they travel to Tokyo to visit an ailing grandmother, the daughters are thrilled by the adventure while their father is terrified by everything that could go wrong. The film explores the unseen, the unknowable and the uncertainty we all encounter in everyday life. Rather than using invisibility as a source of horror, THE INVISIBLES turns the familiar trope into a heartwarming meditation on family, connection, acceptance and loving what we cannot always fully understand.
With the short film BRIDGE—MY LITTLE FRIENDS
Directed by Kazuyuki Ishihara, Japan, 9min 30sec
"I'll bring Shiro to you, I promise!" Jin, the cat, made this promise to Mugi, who is deeply sad about losing her beloved dog, Shiro.
6pm
SHORT BLOCK: BLOOD & MAPLE SYRUP II
Proudly Canadian
95 min
This powerful collection showcases the bold diversity, emotional depth, and unique storytelling of 10 contemporary Canadian indie filmmakers.
BEFORE THE SUN: Directed by Douglas Cook, Calgary Alberta. 4min 30sec
Between night and dawn, a 200-year-old vampire’s confession unfolds.
ONLY PHOTOS TAKEN: Directed by Brian Clement, Toronto, Ontario. Shot in Saskatchewan. 4min 36sec.
A woman walks alone through the prairies with her camera, capturing echoes of the fading past.
PLEASE FIX ME: Directed by Colby Conrad, Halifax, Nova Scotia. 12min.
Leah wants to be fixed, but she’d rather be buried alive in another woman’s perfect fleece skin than sit with her own feelings in therapy.
THE TOLL: Directed by Bea Santos, Toronto, Ontario. 14min 36sec.
Set in the 1930s, two siblings use their imaginations as a coping mechanism to come to terms with their mother's mysterious disappearance.
VEIL: Directed by Dave Thorpe, Toronto, Ontario. 8min 49sec.
After running over a woman and fleeing the scene, Alex finds himself haunted by something he can't escape.
ANOTHER ONE: Directed by Steven Vollant-Moreau, Quebec City, Quebec. 4min 50sec.
A young man lives peacefully, trapped in his routine until one morning when a NASA announcement upends his daily life: a planet identical to Earth has just been discovered.
LINDA QUEEN OF THE RING: Directed by Marco Di Bennardo, Montreal, Quebec. 7min 20sec.
Linda “The Demon of Hochelaga” Beaulieu, a legendary 38-year-old wrestler, faces a new recruit that the venue’s corrupt promoter is trying to push onto the scene.
GEMINI, THE APPLE OF MY EYE!: Directed by Enrico Ferri, Toronto, Ontario. 19min
When Kerry and his partner Gina return to Kerry’s childhood home to repaint an old bedroom, they become trapped in a strange and increasingly unsettling reality where supernatural voices, fractured memories, and a mysterious entity force Kerry to confront a long-buried family tragedy.
NEVER SEEN: Directed by Morgan Ermter, Calgary, Alberta. 6min 53 sec
Two friends enter an abandoned house looking for vintage tech and discover something inside that has been waiting for them.
THE LAST DIY SHOW: Directed by Jo Gaffney, Vancouver, British Columbia. 10min 13sec.
When a zombie apocalypse breaks out at a punk show, young show photographer Dahlia, her friends, and ex-boyfriend must band together to make it out alive
Best friends don't keep secrets, and you're invited to Devil's Kettle, Minnesota (a.k.a. The Broadway Theatre) to enjoy a @drunkencinema celebration of JENNIFER'S BODY, presented by @9milelegacy during @skfilmfest!
We hope you're feeling evil and not just high school evil, because there's going to be sinfully good brews from 9Mile, unique game cards, and a positively to die for crowd.
This event is 19+. Please drink responsibly.
CARTOON PARTY
The Saskatoon Fantastic’s annual Saturday Morning Cartoon Party is back for another year, transforming the Broadway Theatre into your Saturday morning living room! Attendees of all ages are welcome—and often wear their favorite pajamas—to enjoy a curated lineup of vintage, classic, and rare animated shorts from the golden age of animation. To complete the retro experience, we provide an all-you-can-eat cereal bar featuring a massive selection of colorful breakfast favorites and a variety of milk options. Our cartoon party is a lighthearted, family-friendly centerpiece amid our otherwise dark, bizarre, and thrilling lineup.
THE GALACTIC GHOUL
2026
Canada
Retro-Futuristic Sci-Fi, Comedy
85 minutes
Director/Writer: Simon Harrisson
Starring: Vincent Hoss-Desmarais, Katharine Isabelle, Russell Yuen
THE GALACTIC GHOUL is a galactic space opera of epic proportions. The film tracks the exploits of the explorers, Oscar Bravo and the cunning Lieutenant Foxtrot (both played by Vincent Hoss-Desmarais), as they navigate deep space, dangerous planets and the terrifying Queen Xaltalusia XXIII (Katherine Isabelle: GINGER SNAPS).
With a striking visual style, the film is both a playful sci-fi comedy and a loving callback to 50s pulp-films. Made with a budget of less than $300,000, the film embraces practical effects and costumes and then combines it with cartoon-like digital animation. THE GALACTIC GHOUL is for audiences who love big characters, outlandish adventure, and an ironic sense of humour.
With the short film THE ASTROMOUFLES
Directed by David Lamarre, Canada, 5min 27 sec
The crew of a flying saucer investigates an unexplained cosmic phenomenon: a pizza floating in space.
SPLIT ROCK
2026
Canada (shot in Saskatchewan)
Supernatural horror
98 min
Director/writer: Ryan Glover
Starring: Clark Backo, Drew Ray Tanner and Olivia Luccardi
While conducting survey work in the remote depths of Saskatchewan's badlands, geologists and lovers Lauren and Ben unearth a mysterious block of magnetic stone. As failing equipment hinders their team's investigation, Lauren grows obsessed with the strange anomaly, convinced they've unwittingly unleashed an eternal consciousness that is using her mind to reach the surface. Ben's attempts to stop what's happening bring forth a series of ever-intensifying horrors, revealing just how destructive, violent, and unrelenting the ancient force truly is.
With the short film BAIT
Directed by Martha G. Ayerbe, Spain, 16min 25sec
On a hunting trip, young Martín accompanies his father and his father’s boss. As the day progresses, each man’s inner tensions and frustrations come to light, putting Martín’s sensitivity and quiet strength to the test.
PHREAKER
2026
Canada
Biographical thriller
Director/writer: Adam Yorke
Starring: Cole Asher Phillips, Enrico Colantoni and Robb Wells
Definition: hack into telecommunications systems, especially to obtain free calls
Inspired by true events. Phreaker follows Jake Bellman (Cole Asher Phillips), a blind teenager as he spends his nights cold calling strangers trying to find someone to talk to. It is then that he discovers party lines and stumbles upon a group of people known as Phreakers. With his talent for mimicking voices he begins hacking into the phone companies and eventually swatting enemies with fake 911 calls. He is now on the radar of the phone companies and the FBI.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUTeWniGzxw
With the short film LAST GENERATION
Directed by Silvia Conesa, Spain, 9min
Lucas is an 11-month-old baby with a strong desire: for his parents to stop looking at their cell phones and pay attention to him. Every night he sighs dejectedly in his crib, asking the stars to change his luck.
ODDITIES
2026
USA
Horror
91 minutes
Director/writer: Tyler Savage
Starring: Lilimar, Lovie Simone and Adrienne Barbeau.
Tyler Savage’s Oddities is an inventive treat for genre fans, delivering shifts in tone across each act. The film highlights work from Lilimar, who moves away from her Disney and Nickelodeon roots to play a woman fighting her captors. The main reason to watch is horror legend Adrienne Barbeau. Far from a cameo, Barbeau delivers a substantial performance as antique store owner Betty. While its structural left turns offer a specialized mix, Oddities shows an icon shine.
With the short film THE SPACE BETWEEN STARS
Directed by Mykayla Samantha Filipovic, Canada, 8min 47sec
An acrophobic suicide jumper and a hitman pick the same rooftop to end a life.
YOU ARE THE FILM
2026
Japan
Sci-fi comedy
67 min
Directed and written by: Makoto Ueda
Starring: Marika Ito, Kai Inowaki and Riko Fujitani
Inside a small Shimokitazawa cinema, an impossible chain of events begins when the lives of playwright Madoka and musician Kazuma start appearing on screen in real time. As trouble erupts in the neighbouring venues Good Heavens and Mikazuki Rock, the two try to use this bizarre phenomenon to set things right, only to find that their parallel “stories” begin affecting one another in unpredictable ways, sending events spiralling in directions neither can control.
From Makoto Ueda, the writer of past festival gems BEYOND THE INFINITE TWO MINUTES and RIVER, comes another mind-bending sci-fi comedy about finding connection via the cinematic experience. YOU ARE THE FILM is a thoughtful and joyous low-budget masterpiece.
With the short film TRANSIENCE
Directed by Joseph Bauer, Australia, 6 min 36 sec
Two homeless companions discover a magical hourglass with the power to rewind time... but only for ten seconds.
I LOVE PARIS
2026
France, Australia
Horror, mockumentary
109 minutes
Director: Nicky Murphy
Writer: Nicky Murphy and Aminata Thiboult
Starring: Aminata Thiboult and Leonor Oberson
I Love Paris is a vibrant, Gen Z horror-comedy mockumentary following an aggressively ambitious underground French pop singer who is accidentally turned into a vampire while filming a TikTok video. Enjoy the journey as we watch Paris shamelessly use her new supernatural identity to chase social media stardom. I LOVE PARIS blends hilarious Australian humour with European chic and has quickly become a massive hit on the festival circuit worldwide.
With the short film MY DINNER WITH VICTOR
Directed by Andrew Chiu, Hong Kong, 9min 12 sec
When two old friends meet after a long absence, a cultural mix-up leads to hilarious -- and deadly -- consequences.
CARRIE—50th Anniversary Screening
1976
USA
Horror
98 minutes
Directed by: Brian De Palma
Written by: Lawrence D. Cohen and based on the Stephen King novel
Starring: Sissy Spacek, John Travolta and Piper Laurie
Yes, it’s been 50 years since CARRIE first terrified audiences in the theatres. This is your opportunity to revisit the legendary psychological horror masterpiece starring Sissy Spacek as a severely bullied, telekinetic high school misfit who unleashes a catastrophic wave of bloody vengeance upon her classmates after a cruel prom night prank. While CARRIE is widely considered as one of the greatest horror movies ever made, it’s also considered the best Stephen King adaptation on film. Enjoy the new versions but treat yourself to the original in the theatre one more time.
GHOST IN THE CELL
2026
Indonesia
Horror comedy
103 min
Directed and written by: Joko Anwar
Starring: Endy Arfian, Abimana Aryasatya and Yoga Pratama
GHOST IN THE CELL is a genre-bending, Indonesian masterclass that brilliantly fuses supernatural horror, slapstick comedy and sharp political satire. When framed investigative journalist Dimas is locked inside a high-security prison, he accidentally unleashes an invisible, bloodthirsty entity. Feuding gangs and corrupt guards must put aside their rivalries to survive a wave of grotesque, artistic murders. With practical gore, dance battles, and a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, this unhinged prison-slasher is a must-see social allegory.
With the short film BREATHWORK
Directed by Erik Westerström, Sweden, 13min
During a breathwork session, a reluctant skeptic opens herself to “new energies” and lets in something far darker.
NO REST FOR THE WICKED
2026
Denmark
Gothic Romance
103 min
Directed by: Kasper Kalle
Written by: Rasmus Birch and Kaspar Kalle
Starring: Egor Venned, Pilou Asbaek and Sofia Nolsoe
1862. Baldur lives a fisherman’s life on the isolated Faroe Islands far to the north in the Atlantic Ocean. His world is turned upside down when a stranger arrives: Helge, a rugged whaler, who awakens deep emotions within him. A mutual attraction starts to grow. When tragedy strikes, their forbidden passion unleashes natural forces so disturbing that the villagers rally to keep evil at bay. But Baldur and Helge refuse to let their love be buried. They will fight till the end – and after.
Danish folklore meets vampiric Gothic romance in this dreamy tale of yearning and oppression. NO REST FOR THE WICKED shows us the primal transcendence of love as it crashes on the shores of a nightmare.
With the short film PACTUM
Directed by Pablo Otero, Spain, 10min
Six high-society women gather in a mansion bound by a secret pact, a pact one of them has broken and whose consequences will be disastrous. Who is the traitor?
CORPUS
2026
USA
Psychological horror thriller
102 min
Directed by: Corrin Evans
Written by: Corrin Evans and Lily Cowles
Starring: Jeff Wahlberg, Brodie Townsend and Lily Cowles
Corpus, the feature debut from Corrin Evans, is a moody, slow-burn erotic thriller with a queer story. Co-written by producer and star Lily Cowles, the film follows a photographer entangled with artists at an upstate estate. Evans uses their background as an intimacy coordinator to handle raw relationship dynamics. While the film moves at a deliberate crawl, the pace sets up a shift into horror. Dropping the drama framework makes the payoff rewarding for genre fans.
With the short film HVAC
Directed by Jackson McKeehan, USA, 10min 54sec
In a blue-collar Missouri town, a 13-year-old HVAC apprentice grappling with confusing desires becomes entangled in a surreal, dangerous encounter at the local theatre—where longing and innocence bleed together in one irreversible night.
BREAK A LEG
2026
Australia
Horror comedy
89 min
Directed by: Kaitlyn Boye
Written by: Kaitlyn Boye and Brendan Kelly
Starring: Kaitlyn Boye and Brendan Kelly
Aspiring actor Patrick Flynn arrives at the audition of his career only to find himself locked in the theatre alongside fellow auditionee and disgraced former child actress Molly McGrath. The duo's reciprocal antagonisms quickly escalate, the legendary director who summoned them seems to be a no-show, and attempts at escape yield no results — this might not be Patrick's big break after all. As the hours stretch on, the boundary between performance and reality begins to collapse, and paranoid delusion starts to set in. Will Patrick and Molly confront their own egos and work together to make it out alive? Or will their rivalry spiral into a crescendo of intense obsession, bloody violence, and surreal theatrical absurdity?
With the short film YAOGUAI
Directed by Mimi lee, USA, 12min 18sec
A Taiwanese American actress descends into paranoia
UGLY CRY
2026
USA
Psychological horror comedy
94 min
Directed and written by: Emily Robinson
Starring: Emily Robinson, Aaron Dominguez and Ryan Simpkins
A biting psychological horror-comedy, UGLY CRY marks the sharp directorial debut of star Emily Robinson. The film follows Delaney, a fragile 24-year-old actress spiraling into an existential nightmare after a casting director critiques her "ugly cry." Desperate to fix her face, Delaney plunges into a surreal, body-horror-fueled obsession with Hollywood perfection. Blending savage Hollywood satire with psychological terror, Robinson delivers a brilliantly twisted, skin-crawling descent into madness that captures the devastating toll of impossible beauty standards.
With the short film NEEDLE
Directed by Sofie Somoroff, USA, 5min 11sec
A seamstress tries to make her grandmother’s impossibly-narrow-waisted-heirloom dress fit
NEVER AFTER DARK
2026
Fantasy, Horror
105 minutes
Director/Writer: Dave Boyle
Starring: Moeka Hoshi, Kurumi Inagaki and Kento Kaku
Dave Boyle’s Never After Dark delivers a frightening experience that flips the script on traditional ghost stories. Starring Moeka Hoshi following Shōgun, she anchors the film as a psychic medium trapped at a remote Japanese hotel. Her routine job spirals into a battle for survival against an entity breaking the rules of spiritual warfare. Backed by a dark look and score, Boyle’s script crafts an unpredictable nightmare. A late-game twist reframes the narrative, leaving the audience shaken.
With the short film HAPPY.
Directed by Victor Basalloye, Spain, 7min
During a boring visit to her grandmother's house, Cárol discovers a unique doll to kill time with.
Jeff watches many many movies every year as the Director of the Saskatoon Fantastic and Dark Bridges film festivals, and is happy to tell you which films are better than others. By day, he’s the Director of Marketing for Calian where he markets everything from RF signal analyzers to remote PHY modules. After 6pm he watches more movies, listens to metal, books matches for Prairie Pro Wrestling, and travels as much as possible with his beautiful girlfriend.
Adam’s life was forever changed when he saw Michael Jackson’s Thriller video at the age of five. As such, he’s been a life-long fan of horror movies and funky music. As a DJ and beat maker, Adam has released several hip hop albums both as a solo artist and a member of Dragon Fli Empire, as well as touring and performing in eight countries. He has also hosted an underground hip hop show called Mental Illness, on CJSW 90.9 FM Calgary for 25 years. Adam has an insatiable appetite for watching messed up movies. This was fostered by watching films like The Shining, Evil Dead 2, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Exorcist and A Clockwork Orange before turning 10. He is also a programmer for The Calgary Underground Film Festival and previewer for The Calgary International Film Festival.
Jay Clarke grew up on a steady diet of slashers and hates it when the Final Girl dies. In addition to being the SFFF shorts programmer, he also works with the Fantasia Film Festival and Toronto After Dark, as well as writing for Rue Morgue Magazine and hosting monthly horror trivia nights in Toronto.
Lisa has been programming for Saskatoon Fantastic Film Festival since 2018. She is also the founder and festival director of Toronto True Crime Film Festival, which ran for two years before COVID hit, and hopes to return in the future. Previously, she spent three years running The MUFF Society, a Toronto-based monthly screening series celebrating women in film. She is a lover of carbs, cats, and Keanu Reeves.
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