By George & Josh Bate
The 21st edition of the world’s greatest and most beloved genre festival just wrapped up after eight days of film premieres, wild events, and special guests.
At this year’s Fantastic Fest, we had the pleasure of watching 34 movies, some of which disappointed while others will very likely be among our favorite of the year.
Check out a ranking of the 10 Best Movies of Fantastic Fest 2026 below…..
10. Compliance
Compliance is a troubling new thriller deeply rooted in topics disturbing in their relevance. Writer/director Kyle Mangione-Smith’s film capitalizes on the inherent invasiveness of the found footage format, increasingly and unsettlingly expanding the breadth of the found footage it uses while imbuing the film with a sense of intrigue and mystery. Upon a game-changing reveal midway through the film, Compliance evolves into an unflinching and even brutal examination of the illusive forces at play that dictate all of our lives without us knowing, becoming a scathing condemnation of how powerful people from behind the scenes pull the strings and have undue influence on the world. Its nail-biting third act maximizes tension, with a climax that is potentially more intense than anything you’ll watch this year, although the film overstays its welcome and is a bit too heavy-handed with its story’s resolution. Ultimately, Compliance is a feel-bad movie and an unconventional horror movie far scarier than most, holding an uncomfortably vivid mirror up to society that reflects the disturbing realities of the world, rather than offer hope or solutions.
Read our full review of Compliance here.
9. The Glorious Dead
The Glorious Dead finds indie horror’s most prolific filmmaking collective return for an intriguing, dread-filled, and atmospheric take on the apocalypse. The Adams family’s fifth feature film in as many years invites speculation in a manner similar to The Empty Man and Coherence by posing all kinds of intriguing questions to its audience as its protagonist tries to make sense of a series of strange occurrences around town. Taking its time and allowing the audience to soak up the unsettling and bizarrely cozy atmosphere allows the dread to steadily mount and is only hindered by occasional bursts on ill-fitting rock music. The intrigue and dread that surrounds this Fargo-esque indie horror movie eventually gives way to fever dream abstraction in a third act that would make David Lynch proud in avoiding the pull to give the audience answers they so desperately despire. While the extent to which the film leans into ambiguity may frustrate some, the weird turns it takes afford plenty of inventive, unnerving, and downright disturbing imagery to feast on as shades of The Blob, Keeper, and Eraserhead can be spotted in truly horrifying creature design. Anyone familiar with the Adams family’s work will know that the quantity of their output does not hinder the quality, craft, or care of their work. The Glorious Dead is yet another example of the collective’s desire to bring something distinctive to the indie horror film scene, something they once again achieve with glorious success.
Check out our full review of The Glorious Dead here.
8. Resident Evil
Continuing to cement his status as one of the most visionary and effective horror filmmakers in modern cinema, Zach Cregger finally delivers a Resident Evil film that captures the core features and atmosphere of the games, making for a phenomenal exercise in pacing, tension building, and resource management. Unfortunately, an unbalanced tone that overemphasizes humor at the detriment of horror blunts its ultimate impact, with the constant reaction humor frequently undercutting the tension and dread Cregger characteristically creates. While the film’s frenzied, ever-moving plot structure makes for a decidedly different horror movie from Barbarian and Weapons, its lean and straightforward story, underdeveloped protagonist, and increasingly salient overemphasis on humor leave the final act feeling less interesting than its predecessors. Resident Evil is a crowd-pleasing cinematic experience that successfully brings the essential ingredients of a Resident Evil game to the big screen, but it is ultimately crying out for a reinvention or additional layer that never comes.
Read our full review of Resident Evil here.
7. In A Violent Nature 2
In A Violent Nature 2 takes the almost hypnotic dread and suspense of its predecessor and applies it to a sequel that narratively operates more like a conventional slasher flick. While its replication of the original’s pacing and style means it is highly unlikely to win over those who found the first film a tedious slog, its bold pivot to the perspective of 14-year-old Alex gives the movie a more grounded and cerebral first half before Johnny eventually unleashes a viscous rampage through Camp Puddingstone. Nash, Wilson, and the masterminds behind the VFX elevate the brutality of the kills to unexpectedly gruesome heights, with some of the craziest, most grotesque, and most inventive practical kills ever put to screen. The result is a sequel that retains the understated, minimalist, and leisurely filmmaking style of the first film while delivering increasingly creative and savage kills, making it arguably the best Friday the 13th movie of all time that is not officially a Friday the 13th movie.
Read our full review of In A Violent Nature 2 here.
6. A Prayer for the Dying
Although A Prayer for the Dying is probably most accurately characterized as a survival thriller, Dara Van Dusen’s feature debut has more in common with a Paul Thomas Anderson-esque period piece about a specific period in American history than it does the likes of The Grey or The Descent. Harrowing, painfully real, and heartbreaking, Dana Van Dusen’s debut film captures the delicate balance of simplicity and dread that characterizes westerns, with a deadly epidemic and threatening wildfires making death and disease a disturbingly normal occurrence. While it isn’t exactly a horror film in the traditional sense, Van Dusen presents a haunting snapshot of pioneer life that capitalizes on the terror of being completely out of control of one’s destiny. Van Dusen pulls off a remarkable feat with a confident and ambitious directorial debut, using stylish yet raw camera movements and an almost musical, propulsive quality to amplify the anxiety and pressure of her protagonist. Johnny Flynn plays Jacob with subtlety and stoicism, creating a deeply authentic character as he balances the torment of nightmares from his past with the chaos unfolding in the town he is tasked with protecting, while John C. Reilly’s Doc provides a fascinating contrast through his belief in science and logic. Their opposing philosophies create a superbly captured dynamic between two men with a common goal who need to work together, making A Prayer for the Dying exceedingly timely viewing as its depiction of epidemics and devastating wildfires mirrors how society and its leaders approach seemingly insurmountable problems in the modern day. A Prayer for the Dying may not be your typical Fantastic Fest film – there’s no masked killers, supernatural entities, or vicious monsters – but it deftly captures why the Austin-based genre festival is as beloved as it is. Audiences come to Fantastic Fest for different, challenging, prescient, thought-provoking, and unsettling viewing experiences, and A Prayer for the Dying is all of those things (and more).
Read our full review of A Prayer for the Dying here.
5. Into the Sky
Into the Sky is a comedic sci-fi film clearly inspired by The X-Files, particularly its beloved episodes that successfully combined supernatural stories with humor. Following alien abductee Bobby (Sam Richardson) as he befriends fellow abductee Jaden (David Cross) while becoming entangled in Nico’s (Sofia Black-D’Elia) elaborate family deception, the film balances an alien conspiracy story with vibrant comedy and strong character-driven and tonally attuned performances. While its disconnected plotlines can feel slightly jarring, especially in the first act, excellent direction, a sharp screenplay, seamless pacing, and stellar performances keep the film entertaining throughout. Richardson brings a charming yet frazzled presence, Cross delivers a bizarre but likable performance, and Black-D’Elia grounds the story with believability and sincerity. Ultimately, Into the Sky overwhelmingly succeeds in getting the balance between aliens and humor right, offering a fresh and highly entertaining take on a familiar alien-abduction story that culminates in one of our favorite films of Fantastic Fest 2026.
Read our full review of The Spiral here.
4. The Spiral
The Spiral is a sprawling and meticulously crafted fusion of family drama and Faustian bargain horror that makes for one of the year’s most unsettling films. Beginning in present-day Italy, the film chronicles a family’s insidious secrets and the systematic destruction of a family from the inside out. When sudden tragedy strikes, Anna is given a tantalizing proposition by a mysterious woman, leading to a fateful Faustian bargain that provides the groundwork for an engrossing, dread-soaked narrative. Though seldom terrifying in a traditional horror sense, with no jump scares, scary creatures, or apocalyptic hellscapes, The Spiral finds a way to burrow itself under your skin through its tragic portrayal of living under a narcissistic, self-absorbed matriarch. Paolo Strippoli ultimately clears up the film’s lingering ambiguity with an intense, hair-raising finale, while impressive performances across the board—particularly Jasmine Trinca, Andrea Genovese, Alessandro Carbonara, and Valeria Bruni Tedeschi—give the film incredible nuance, emotional weight, and a truly chilling atmosphere. Equally effective in its steady cultivation of dread as it is stirring up disconcerting emotions about nostalgia and family dynamics, The Spiral burrows under your skin and stays there long after its hair-raising finale, leaving behind an unsettling reminder that sometimes the most frightening horrors are the ones we inflict on the people we love.
Read our full review of The Spiral here.
3. Wild Horse Nine
Wild Horse Nine may not match the quality, originality, or emotional impact of In Bruges or The Banshees of Inisherin, but it remains yet another brilliant blend of black comedy and morbid-thought provocation that audiences have come to expect from Martin McDonagh. Its biting humor, carefully planted jokes, subversive third-act payoffs, picturesque setting, and poignant commentary on anticipatory grief of self make it unmistakably McDonagh. Yet, despite this being perhaps a somewhat too familiar outing for McDonagh, the film ultimately belongs to John Malkovich, who gives the finest performance of his career by combining his familiar eccentricity with layers of pain, regret, cognitive impairment, spirituality, and impending death. Like In Bruges, Wild Horse Nine proves to be a deeply moving, melancholic portrait of loss wrapped in a witty and mildly objectionable black comedy audiences will surely have a great (and rather emotional) time with.
Check out our full review of Wild Horse Nine here.
2. Primetime
Primetime is a stylish and unsettling character study of Chris Hansen, portrayed by Robert Pattinson as a man so consumed by his role as the host of To Catch a Predator that he has become barely recognizable as a real human being. Driven by insecurity, vanity, and an insatiable desire to become the top dog on network television, Hansen is portrayed as an increasingly disturbing and self-absorbed figure who is willing to throw virtually everyone under the bus if it helps advance his career. Lance Oppenheim establishes a distinctive visual style filled with intimate close-ups, POV shots, lurid colors, and analog textures that give the film the feel of a 2000s television nightmare, while Pattinson delivers a challenging and multi-faceted performance that keeps Hansen nauseating and repulsive without pushing him into outright caricature. It is a testament to Pattinson’s performance in the film that, after a remarkably accomplished filmography to date, his turn as Chris Hansen is the best of his career. Skyler Gisondo, meanwhile, provides a much-needed contrast as Dan Plumb, an aspiring actor whose innocence and kindness stand in stark opposition to Hansen.
Read our full review of Primetime here.
1. Pathetic Fallacy
Pathetic Fallacy is a psychedelic romance horror film that blends the soulful and soul-crushing with the trippy, offbeat, and downright bizarre. While the film’s increasingly psychedelic middle act occasionally tows the line between coherence and nonsense, director Adam Egypt Mortimer never loses sight of the raw emotional truth at the core of the story, largely thanks to Mescudi’s remarkably intimate and immersive performance and Rothe’s agonizing turn. With a hypnotic synth score, talkative animals, eccentric characters, and a magical Kid Cudi music video-like world, Pathetic Fallacy is undeniably cool, emotionally devastating, and deeply strange, ultimately narrowing in on a moving finale that uses the deconstruction of physical reality to depict the deconstruction of emotional reality. Playing like the brainchild of Kid Cudi, David Lynch, Jane Schoenbrun, and The Daniels, Mortimer’s film features some of the most emotionally devastating and downright unusual movie moments you’ll see all year, making it a must-see for anyone wishing to see something different and willing to join Mescudi on one wild musical odyssey.