Movies & TV / News
Amazing Fantasy Fest 2025 Reviews: Humanoids Of the Deep, A Serbian Documentary, More
Image Credit: Bryan Kristopowitz
Amazing Fantasy Fest 2025 Report: Part 1
Amazing Fantasy Fest is a genre specific film festival that recently completed its second year of operation. The event for 2025 was held over nine days and in two locations, with the first seven days at the majestic Dipson Amherst Theatre in Buffalo, New York (September 12th, 2025, to September 18th, 2025), and the final two days at The Screening Room Cinema & Arts Café in Amherst, New York (there was also a “secret cinema”/“day 10” for select pass holders only also held at The Screening Room). The festival screened 16 feature films and 78 short films, 94 movies total. I attended three of the festival’s seven days (days 1, 2, and 7), managing to see twenty-four films total (eighteen short films and six feature films). This report is going to be split into two parts, with part 1 reviewing the movies that I saw on days 1 and 2, and with part 2 reviewing everything that I saw on day 7. Each movie, regardless of length, will get a number rating (1 to 10). Short film reviews will appear first, followed by feature film reviews.
And so, without any further what have you, what exactly did I see at the 2025 edition of Amazing Fantasy Fest?
Amazing Fantasy Fest 2025 Report: Part 1
Short Films
Like Me: Written by, directed by, and starring Ashley Lauren Thomas, this short is all about a woman who is essentially addicted to social media. When we first see her, the woman is putting on makeup and getting dressed up so she can take pictures of herself for her social media. We then see the woman checking her social media to see how many “likes” her new content generates. Disappointed with her engagement, the woman decides to create a new look for herself (she’s going to cut her hair) and film herself while doing it. As she is about to cut her bangs, the woman’s cat pounces on her and causes her to cut off the tip of her nose. Initially shocked and terrified by what just happened, the woman tries to figure out what to do about her face. But then her “new look” suddenly creates the engagement she wants, and the woman decides at the very end to do something drastic to keep that engagement going. This short is very funny and very messed up, especially when it comes to the ending. My favorite part of the short, though, is this droning podcast about cats that plays in the background. You have no idea what the hell the podcast host is talking about or why we’re hearing it, and then it all makes sense. I loved this short. Absolutely loved it.
Rating:10.0/10.0
The End of October: This very strange short, directed by Tess Holbrook, takes place in “medieval times” and involves two women in “traditional dress” walking through the woods and coming upon a woman that may be a demon. Or something. The two women interact with the potential demon woman, one of them shakes hands with the potential demon woman, and then an argument ensues. I’m not entirely sure I’m smart enough to understand what this short is actually about, as I feel like I’m missing something that’s clearly obvious to everyone else. I will say that the short’s cinematography is quite good, which helps make the wooded area the short was filmed in seem eerie (the short was made in Vermont), and the sound design is fantastic (it does help build a real tension throughout). I just don’t understand what the heck is going on. Hopefully, you’ll get more out of it than I did if you get a chance to see it.
Rating: 6.0/10.0
The Good, the Blood and the Bloodthirsty: Sun’s Salvation: As was explained by festival director Gregory Lamberson before this short’s screening, The Good, the Blood and the Bloodthirsty: Sun’s Salvation was made using some sort of AI program, and while the festival does have a “no AI policy,” it wasn’t clear enough in the festival entry rules that “no AI” also included animated films, and that the short’s acceptance “slipped through the cracks” as he didn’t know ahead of time that the short was made with an AI program. So, the festival screened it, the only “AI movie” that will ever screen at Amazing Fantasy Fest. And it sucked.
Was it visually arresting? Did it look sort of cool? A little bit, yes. The opening maybe 2ish minutes looked like a very expensive video game animation, and I could totally see someone trying to sell the main character’s image as a poster one of these days. There was a surreal quality to what was happening that was kind of interesting (you don’t see surreal, wacked out vampire movies all that often). But then after the initial rush of all that, the short completely shit the bed and showed that “AI movies” are, at their heart, completely soulless endeavors. And, in the end, that’s all The Good, the Blood and the Bloodthirsty: Sun’s Salvation is, was, and will be in the future. Soulless.
A truly awful experience.
Rating: .5/10.0
Le Singe Bleu: This sort of sci-fi short from director Jennifer Miville is from Canada and is in French. Essentially, I think this short is about a man that’s immortal dealing with the reality that the people in his life are not immortal, and that his ongoing existence is going to be lonely as hell because everyone around him is eventually going to die. I could be wrong about that. For whatever reason, while I was watching this I kept thinking that it’s actually a vampire story, but a vampire story told in a science fiction context as opposed to a straight up horror context. And, at least in my mind, that would make sense because vampires are meant to be immortal. But the more I think about it, the more I don’t think it’s actually a vampire story. It’s just about a guy that’s somehow immortal.
The overall vibe of Le Singe Bleu is eerie and unsettling, and there’s also a tranquility to some of the sets that we see that’s somehow unnerving. And the fact that it’s in French helps make what we see seem ominous (I’d imagine that the short plays completely differently for French speaking audiences). I didn’t care for this short initially, but it grew on me the more I thought about it. When you realize the mindset of the immortal guy and what he’s facing, at least in his mind, it will start to mess with your mind. And I’d say that’s pretty cool.
Rating:8.0/10.0
Mother Grimm: Written and directed by Jason Lake and made in Rhode Island, this messed up black and white short feels like it’s meant to be a riff on fairytales. It features a paralyzed young woman, Persephone (Isabel Deschamps), trapped in a house with her domineering, clearly insane older woman mother Serene (Sissy O’Hara). Persephone’s paralysis isn’t “natural” nor is it due to an injury from a freak accident, but is instead the direct result of actions by Serene. Why the hell would a mother do that to her child? Insanity. It also has something to do with witchcraft, as Serene is a witch of some sort.
The bulk of the short deals with Persephone trying to overcome her predicament and survive the abuse of her mother, while Serene tries to keep Persephone from figuring out how she’s keeping her in the house. Director Lake keeps things weird throughout, as you’re never quite sure what the heck is really going on. We see a surreal dream, there’s a nifty animated sequence that seemingly comes out of nowhere, and there’s also a hint of cannibalism thrown in (Serene murders a Jehovah’s Witness and, I think, turns him into “meat” for Persephone). The short does come together at the end in a satisfying way.
The look of this short evokes old black and white movies, which black and white movie fans will pick up on (there was quite the buzz among the audience when director Lake did a Q and A and admitted that, yes, the short was made with homaging old movies in mind). I liked how generally weird the short played. It will be interesting to see what director Lake does in the future, as Mother Grimm is his first effort as a director. How will he top Mother Grimm?
Rating:8.0/10.0
The Showffeur: Directed by Taylor Martin, The Showffeur is about a group of friends (two couples) out partying and getting into trouble, those friends calling an Uber type rideshare (the service in the short is called Showffeur), and an unexpected driver showing up. Initially, the women want to wait for another driver to show up, but the one male friend insists that they just get in the car and move on to their next destination, so everyone gets in the car. Unfortunately for the group of friends, getting in the car turns out to be the biggest mistake of their lives, as the driver (Buck, as played by Matty McDonald), is an unhinged psychopath that drops a gas canister filled with some sort of knockout gas into the backseat of the car and kidnaps the two couples (and before all of that, we see Buck murder the owner of the car, a woman he tied up and put in the trunk and then choked to death).
The next day, the friends find themselves tied to chairs in a barn somewhere. They are then made the “guests” of a birthday party for Buck, a party put on by his mother (Linda Mesi). The friends are disoriented and generally defiant, at least at first, because they can’t believe what is happening to them. Buck starts asking them questions, and when the one male doesn’t give Buck the answer he wants, he graphically decapitates him (and by “graphically” I mean goddamn graphically. Man, that shit looked like it fucking hurt). And so the remaining friends try to play ball with Buck and his mother and act like this birthday party is fun, etc. More horrendous murders ensue.
In one sense, we’ve all seen this sort of “horrendous hostage situation” type horror story before a million times. You wouldn’t be wrong is saying that The Showffeur is a sort of modern riff on the original The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974). There’s horror, there’s suspense, there’s gore (which is more of an homage to the sequels and remakes of the original TCM, as I’m sure we all know The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is not a gory movie), and there’s oodles of black comedy. With how nasty The Showffeur is, the short is also very, very funny. The cast is also phenomenal, with McDonald giving an amazing performance as the short’s villain, as well as Erika Frase as Audrey, the woman that’s just trying to survive.
The last quarter of this short hits all of the right notes, with a spectacular head smashing and a top notch impaling. There was discussion during the Q and A after the screening that there’s a version of this story in script form that’s longer, that explores certain aspects of the messed up world the friends find themselves in, especially when it comes to Buck’s backstory. While I’m sure that version of the story would likely be interesting and well done, I think it’s probably best to keep The Showffeur as it is, a brilliantly nasty 40 minute horror flick. The short does exactly what it needs to do, and it rocks hard. If The Showffeur is playing at a film festival near you, be sure to see it. You will not be disappointed by it at all.
Rating: 10.0/10.0
Multi-Level Massacre: Written and directed by Ashes Homon-Rahall, this horror-comedy is all about a young woman who keeps getting weird and unwanted texts from a friend, eventually talks with the person sending her those text messages, and then finds herself under assault by a “positive message” about being a “girl boss” and “fulfilling her potential.” There’s a sort of zombie interlude, and it ends exactly as you expect it to (there was no other way to end it, really).
Multi-Level Massacre is a riot, especially if you know anything about/have had to sit through a multi-level marketing/pyramid scheme presentation. While what you see the young woman go through seems absurd and part of a “heightened reality” since it’s a horror-comedy, there’s way more truth in Multi-Level Massacre than in a documentary exposing a pyramid scheme. It’s also just plain funny.
I also want to commend the whole thing involving the cup with “Don’t be a Cuntasaurus” and the tagline “It’s a pyramid scream!” because they’re just so on the money and fit with what the short is trying to do.
My only complaint with this short is that it’s probably about a minute too long. Getting to where it wants to go faster can only help Multi-Level Massacre. I still like it quite a bit as is.
Rating:8.0/10.0
**
Feature Films
Frenzy Moon: I did a full review of this badass werewolf horror flick, which you can read here. And as I say in the review, heads roll, the blood flows, and the werewolves howl at the goddamn moon! See Frenzy Moon! See it, see it, see it!
Straight On Till Morning: Holy crap, I love this movie. Goddamn love it. Absolutely everything about it is spot on, from the cast to the writing to the direction to the performances to the special effects to the music. Directed and co-written by Craig Ouellette (Neal McLaughlin is the other credited writer), Straight on Till Morning starts out with newlyweds driving through the desert, experiencing a bit of car trouble, and then there’s a “car accident” when a distracted driver smashes into the newlyweds’ vehicle, seriously injuring the new wife (she’s also pregnant). The scene then shifts to the future, where we meet Dani (Kelsey Christian), a musician that dreams of being a rock star (we see her have a sort of “fame hallucination” while performing a song at a sparsely populated bar/restaurant). On a whim, Dani goes to see her old college friends/former bandmates to see if they want to join her in her need to head to Los Angeles to live their old rock star dream (they’d love to, but they’ve built a life together and have a child on the way and they don’t want to move on from that). So Dani decides to head to LA on her own.
While on the road, Dani stops at a diner and strikes up a conversation with diner waitress Kaitlin (Bonnie Jean Tyer), and they hit it off. Dani asks Kaitlin to come with her to LA. Kaitlin is initially intrigued by the idea, but she doesn’t think it’s wise to leave her current life behind (she has a boyfriend/husband, she has a job, she doesn’t see any way of leaving any of that). Kaitlin eventually comes around to the idea and does go off with Dani, leaving her old life behind (it’s a triumphant scene when she goes back to where she lives with her boyfriend/husband Darrel, as played by Travis Lincoln Cox, and takes a stash of money. Darrel is not much of a mate). It’s at this point that Straight on Till Morning becomes a sweet sort of rom com road movie, at least for a little while, as we see Dani and Kaitlin driving towards Los Angeles and getting to know one another via conversation.
So then some stuff happens, the new friends encounter a raging rain and thunderstorm, and they decide to get off the road and wait it out. While waiting the storm out, Dani and Kaitlin start making out (they are very much in love). And right before they really start to get hot and heavy in the car, they’re frightened by a gigantic masked man that suddenly appears and attacks their car. The masked man eventually pulls Dani out of the car and then runs away, and it appears as though Dani may be injured. Kaitlin calls 911, and a cop shows up quickly. The cop, though, isn’t a cop. The cop is actually a deranged psycho named Rubin (Bill Hengstenberg), Rubin injects Kaitlin with some sort of drug, and then the tenor of the movie changes. Big time.
And so Dani and Kaitlin wake up the next day, bound and gagged and trapped in a strange place out in the middle of nowhere. Rubin is there, along with an insane woman in a wheelchair (Maria Olsen), and the gigantic masked man, who is known as Virgil (Michael Gmur). What do these wackos want with Dani and Kaitlin?
Straight on Till Morning is so goddamn fantastic. The lesbian rom com road movie part of the flick is brilliantly done and entertaining, and you’re kind of annoyed that it has to end so the “horror” part of the story can begin, but once the horror part begins you become totally invested in what happens to Dani and Kaitlin. I don’t think I’ve rooted more for two characters who find themselves in a horrible situation in a good, long time. Christian and Tyer are so good as both Dani and Kaitlin, and their relationship is so damn wonderful to witness. There is a moment where Kaitlin lashes out at Dani, as she’s terrified by the predicament she finds herself in. She can’t believe what is happening to her. But it’s just an understandable moment of weakness, because, really, the situation she’s in is unbelievable (and by that I mean no one ever thinks something like being kidnapped by weirdoes will happen to them). But it is happening, and we see just how much Kaitlin really cares for Dani. I love Dani and Kaitlin.
Hengstenberg and Olsen are also fantastic as the crazy and despicable Rubin and Lilly. They’re both so goddamn creepy from the second you meet them, and they will make your skin crawl for the duration of the movie. And even when you find out who they are and what happened to them way back in the day, you never once feel an ounce of sympathy for them. Rubin and Lilly are the worst of the worst, and they are a joy to watch (in a horror movie context, that is). And Michael Gmur is scary as the gigantic masked man Virgil. I mean, yes, we’ve all seen gigantic killer types like Virgil before in countless horror movies, and while Gmur doesn’t do anything new with the character type, he does do a great job as Virgil, and it’s always a plus to see someone do a character well. That kind of thing matters.
Like I said earlier, the soundtrack for this flick is outstanding, with all sorts of killer songs spread throughout. The gore special effects are also top notch, especially a seriously broken leg that will make you wince. There’s also a gross as hell scene where a character is forced to drink hot bacon grease. Just absolutely revolting.
I don’t think I can recommend Straight on Till Morning enough. It is that damn good, that damn great. If it’s playing at a film festival near you, make an effort to see it. And when it gets released via home video or streaming, do everything you can to see it. You will not regret it. Straight on Till Morning is beyond fucking awesome, and it’s a movie that you absolutely, positively must see.
See Straight on Till Morning. See it, see it, goddamn see it!
Rating: 10.0/10.0
A Serbian Documentary: Directed by Stephen Biro, A Serbian Documentary is a documentary about the making of the uber controversial horror flick A Serbian Film, which was unleashed upon the world way back in 2010. Featuring plenty of “talking head” type interviews with the people who made the movie, from director and co-writer Srdjan Spasojevic, co-writer Aleksandar Radivojevic, as well as various actors that appear in the movie, the documentary explains, in detail, how A Serbian Film was made, why it was made, why the various people involved in the movie got involved with it, and the worldwide controversy behind its release. You will learn just about everything about the making of A Serbian Film. And, for the most part, it’s all quite interesting, even if you haven’t seen A Serbian Film (I haven’t). I’m not entirely sure A Serbian Documentary will make people want to see A Serbian Film, though. I don’t think that’s the purpose of the documentary. There’s a real current of anti-censorship throughout the documentary, which is important both in general, and when it comes to what A Serbian Film meant to the people that made it (basically, the world needs transgressive cinema).
A Serbian Documentary is about as well made a documentary you’re likely to see about A Serbian Film, and if you’re curious about the making of A Serbian Film, definitely check out A Serbian Documentary. But, again, if you haven’t seen A Serbian Film, A Serbian Documentary likely won’t make you want to see it. I know it doesn’t make me want to see it.
Rating: 9.0/10.0
Zombie Chronicles: Directed by Marvin Suarez, Zombie Chronicles is a very weird movie watching experience. Essentially three smaller stories that, together, tell a much bigger story about a zombie apocalypse in New York City, it doesn’t really work until the first story is completed and the second story begins. The first story, which basically shows how evil spirits infiltrated the city and made a bunch of people do incredibly evil things so the zombie apocalypse could begin, is engaging but doesn’t feel connected in any way whatsoever to what happens in stories 2 and 3. I was confused through most of the first story, trying to understand what was happening. The acting is pretty good in this section, and the “work” the evil spirits do is revolting and disturbing and, at times, “funny” in a sick way, but the story never really comes together. It really feels like a totally unrelated project that was tacked on to the other two stories to make the movie longer.
When the second story begins and goes into the third story, there’s a real sense of chaos about the apocalypse. No one knows what the hell is going on, no one in authority has a clue, and everyone is on their own. And that’s before the zombies start showing up in significant numbers. When the zombies do show up, it’s beyond chaos. All bets are off. There are some confusing parts in these stories, too, but that confusion only adds to the frightening scenes of people panicking, people being attacked, and people trying to make sense of a situation that makes no sense at all. This is when Zombie Chronicles becomes good, bordering on being great.
Now, could I be totally wrong and off base about the first part of the movie? Is it possible that I don’t “get” what the heck that first part is really all about? Yes. There’s a chance that, on repeated viewings, Zombie Chronicles as a whole would make sense. I also think that the second and third stories are the best part about the movie, and that’s what Zombie Chronicles should be. As it exists now, Zombie Chronicles starts off confusing, and really doesn’t get any good until that first part is done. If the movie could somehow be “revamped,” with better sound design and a tighter pace and focus, I think Zombie Chronicles could be a major modern zombie movie. As it exists now, it feels like a “work in progress” at best.
I don’t think I can fully recommend Zombie Chronicles, but at the same time it is worth seeing. Again, I am willing to admit that I don’t “get” the movie as a whole.
Rating: 6.5/10.0
Humanoids from the Deep: This was a special 45th anniversary screening of the classic Roger Corman produced monster flick, appearing under the title Monster (Wikipedia claims that the Monster title is technically from its European and Japanese release), and it was nothing short of glorious on the big screen. The humanoid monsters looked extra humanoidesque, Vic Morrow’s almost afro has never looked better, and both Doug McClure and Ann Turkel certainly looked very much like you’d expect Doug McClure and Ann Turkel to look in a movie that first came out in 1980. By this point, Humanoids from the Deep is beyond criticism. This movie not only has multiple dead dogs in it, but also features one massacred kid towards the beginning (Kim Richards city), two things “you just can’t do” but this movie has no issue doing at all. And even when you take those harsh items into account, on top of the multiple scenes of sexual assault by the humanoid monsters, Humanoids from the Deep is still somehow incredibly fun. This is my first Corman movie on the big screen, and I can say that if you get the chance to see any classic Corman flick in a real deal movie theater, make an effort to see it. It will be worth it.
Humanoids from the Deep was one of two anniversary screenings at the 2025 edition of Amazing Fantasy Fest, with a 30th anniversary screening of the James P. Gribbins directed monster flick Shadow Creature, which was apparently filmed in Buffalo (Shadow Creature screened on the first night of the festival at its second location, The Screening Room Cinema & Arts Café). Anniversary screenings of classic genre flicks is a nice, fun addition to the festival, and I hope that it’s a festival component that continues into the future.
Rating: 10.0/10.0
**
Check out the official Amazing Fantasy Fest website here!
Check out the official Amazing Fantasy Fest Facebook page here!
**
Up Next: Part 2!
**
Thanks for reading. Agree? Disagree? Sign up with disqus and comment. You know you want to, so just go do it.
Please “like” The Gratuitous B-Movie Column on Facebook!
Oh, and B-movies rule. Always remember that.
