Fantasia Fest 2024 reviews: Vulcanizadora, Párvulos, House of Sayuri

With the latest edition of Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival coming to a close, we look at three films from this year’s lineup that each surprised in very different ways: Joel Potrykus’s Vulcanizadora, Isaac Ezban’s Párvulos, and Koji Shiraishi’s House of Sayuri.

You can find all of our Fantasia coverage here.

Vulcanizadora

What would you with your last day on Earth? 

In Joel Potrykus’s Vulcanizadora, Derek (Potrykus) and Marty (Joshua Burge) play two middle-aged metalheads who embark on one final hike in the woods before a planned double-suicide. They spend the afternoon getting high, gorging on snacks and reflecting on their failed lives while strolling through the Michigan woods, savouring their final hours in nature before their agreed-upon mutual demise. 

Marty leads the charge and Derek follows along, growing vocally more hesitant as the afternoon progresses. That push and pull between two friends who find themselves in a vicious cycle of depression fuels the sense of unease in Vulcanizadora, a profoundly sad and quite funny look at two men struggling on the margins of society. 

Shot in 16mm, Potrykus perfectly captures the serene beauty of the woods, which offsets the constant stream of bro-banter between Marty and Derek. The end result is akin to Terrence Malik directing a Jay and Silent Bob movie; a juxtaposition which then gives way to a surprising second act reveal that completely reshapes the tone and impact of the film. 

Reuniting with Joshua Burge in the role of Marty following 2014’s Buzzer, Potrykus’s Vulcanizadora is a beguiling and deeply humanistic film that will linger with you long after the credits roll. It’s among the best films I saw at this year’s Fantasia Film Festival, and one I still can’t get out of my head weeks later. 

Párvulos

It’s hard to find a fresh take on zombie tropes and post-apocalyptic wastelands, but Mexican writer-director Isaac Ezban is up for the challenge with Párvulos.

The film centres on three brothers living together in the midst of a plague-ravaged world: Salvador (Farid Escalante Correa), Oliver (Leonardo Cervantes), and Benjamin (Mateo Ortega Casillas). Salvador, the oldest brother, is forced to become the hardened parent, slaying small animals to keep the brothers alive and instituting rules to keep them all safe. One of those rules includes making sure his youngest brother never goes in the basement.

The film treats the eventual reveal  of what’s hidden in the basement as a big secret and while the surprise is fairly obvious, we’ll leave this as spoiler-free for now. Once the secret in the basement is revealed, Párvulos takes a surprising turn towards dark comedy, with Salvador and his brothers trying to adjust to their new home situation in the midst of their bleak surroundings. 

Purposefully desaturated, Párvulos has a cold grey look that matches it’s dark subject matter. The performances from the trio of brothers are all strong, and their relationship forms the heart of this movie, which is ultimately about the sacrifices we make for our families. 

The zombie effects are striking and Ezban is skilled at ratcheting up the tension throughout. Ultimately, though, the film overstays its welcome with its 2-hour runtime and whiplash tone that varies from bleak horror to slapstick comedy. However, the most perplexing element of Párvulos is it’s decidedly anti-vaccine stance, which plays into the story in a truly eye-rolling manner. 

A dark meditation on family bonds and the resilience of youth, Párvulos may not fully come together but there’s enough here to recommend a watch for diehard horror fans and YouTube vaccine researchers alike. 

House of Sayuri 

Japanese filmmaker Koji Shiraishi (Sadako vs. Kayako) turns traditional J-horror tropes on their head with House of Sayuri, a subversive take on the classic haunted house tale that goes to very unexpected places. 

After years of saving, the Kamikis finally move into their dream home in the countryside. The seven-member family soon begin hearing strange things in their new home, and many of the family unit quickly come to brutal deaths at the hands of a strange young female spirit in the house. 

With the deaths of many of her family members somehow shaking her out of the clutches of dementia, grandma Harue (Toshie Negishi) seeks to turn the tables on the vengeful spirit, enlisting her grandson Norio (Ryoka Minamide) to help defend their home and what’s left of their family. 

The film then undergoes a major tonal shift from violent horror to slapstick comedy as the suddenly energized grandma brings the fight directly to the spirit, teaming up with her meek grandson in order to battle the evil at the heart of their home. 

What’s behind the motivation of that spirit may be triggering for some viewers; it’s a horrific backstory that’s handled a bit too flippantly for a movie like this, and one that elicited both laughs and tears from the audience at the Fantasia screening. 

With House of Sayuri, Koji Shiraishi delivers a unique mix of tones that celebrates classic J-horror films like Ringu and Pulse while subverting expectations at every turn. Just be ready for the third-act gut punch, which is sure to divide viewers at home as much as it did during its Fantasia screening.