More capsules from the 2023 Fantasia International Film Festival. Fantasia International Film Festival runs until August 9th in Montreal, Quebec. Tickets are available HERE.

by “Doc” Hunter Bush, Staff Writer and Podcast Czar

Shin Kamen Rider
Directed by Hideaki Anno
Written by Hideaki Anno, Shotaro Ishinomori
Starring Sôsuke Ikematsu, Minami Hamabe, Tasuku Emoto

I’m only familiar with the Kamen Rider mythos through cultural osmosis, so I’m not sure how much of this tale about a motorcyclist resurrected through cybernetic and genetic augmentation to fight other augmented cyborgs (all themed around insects) is accurate. BUT what’s important is: I don’t care. It’s impossible to stop and question the logic of Shin Kamen Rider when the story is barreling ahead like a grasshopper-themed cyborg on a specially-made motorcycle; his red scarf flapping heroically in the breeze.

This film crams what feels like an entire trilogy’s worth of story into one 2 hour block and it’s only the slightest bit overwhelming. But the pure vibrant, gory, action-packed fun makes it worth the small amount of emotional exhaustion. The tremendous villain performance from Mirai Moriyama as Ichiro doesn’t hurt either.

Transylvanie
Directed by Rodrigue Huart
Written by Rodrigue Huart, David A. Cassan, Axel Wursten
Starring Katell Vervat, Lucien Le Ho, Emma Guatier

Part Let the Right One In, part George Romero’s Martin, this French short is a complete blast. Watching 10 year old Ewa (Katell Vervat) plan to make handsome, slightly-older neighbor boy Hugo (Lucien Le Ho) in her legion of undead followers, despite his relationship to local mean girl Gwen (Emma Gautier) completely hooked me right from the jump.

Is the subject material familiar? Sure, but it’s handled with a freshness that lends each of its slim assemblage of scenes an energy that makes them hard to ignore. The worldbuilding done at the fringes of this short is subtle, but deeply effective. I felt more affection and camaraderie for Ewa within 20 minutes than I did for characters I’d spend several times that amount in other offerings. There’s not much market for short films, nor is there one simple place to seek them out, but I’m looking forward to anything director/co-writer Rodrigue Huart does in the future.

The First Slam Dunk
Written and Directed by Takehiko Inoue
Starring Shugo Nakamura, Subaru Kimora, Maaya Sakamoto

I’m familiar with the Slam Dunk series in reputation only but I was genuinely excited to check this out. I’m not sure what I expected of an animated feature film based on a basketball manga from the early ‘90s, but I’ll say this: I wasn’t disappointed. Set entirely during one important game, the psychology of the teams was fascinating, clearly explained, and doled out in reasonable amounts, and the characters were fleshed out through a series of flashbacks that were genuinely touching.

The film’s focal character is small fry Ryota Miyagi (Shugo Nakamura) who has struggled his whole life to escape from the shadow of his deceased basketball star older brother, but the standout character for me was red-haired troublemaker Hanamichi Sakuragi (Subaru Kimora) who - fun fact - it turns out is actually kind of the protagonist of the series as a whole! It’s worth noting that the animation is stunning and makes every gameplay minute riveting.

The Fantastic Golem Affairs
Written and Directed by Juan González, Nando Martínez
Starring Brays Efe, Bruna Cusí, Javier Botet

Easily the most unique film I’ve seen thus far at Fantasia, The Fantastic Golem Affairs (El fantástico caso del Golem) exists in a world entirely its own. When Juan (Brays Efe)’s best friend David (David Menéndez) slips and falls from the apartment building’s roof during a game of movie title charades, instead of becoming a big messy pile of meat and bone, he shatters. Turns out David was a golem, artificial humanoids designed to be friends and lovers for socially deficient humans, whether the humans know it or not.

That’s only scratching the surface of the bizarre and creative, silly and horny, and through and through colorful world that Juan González and Nando Martínez have created, and I won’t spoil more than I’ve already mentioned but needless to say: it’s a lot of fun. The ending isn’t quite as bombastic or scintillating as the set-up and world as a whole, but it’s far from a let-down, and still entirely worth your time.