As of September 25, 2025, Fantastic Fest has concluded and is now in the books. The Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar once again played host to one of the world’s favorite genre film festivals, where fanatics gathered to celebrate the fest’s 20th anniversary. From TVR, Laurie Coker, Liz Lopez, and I attended movies for eight days and witnessed the exciting craziness, festivities, and celebrity sitings the event has to offer. Although I have participated in some parties and events in the past, I chose to focus mainly on the films this year because the programming looked so exciting as soon as it was announced.

I managed to watch 21 films in 8 days, and except for one movie, I enjoyed everything, to varying degrees, of course. As it is the Fantastic Fest tradition, the festival also presented four secret screenings in addition to its regular programming. I attended three of these and liked every one of them. Laurie, Liz, and I have already begun posting reviews for some of the movies we watched, and more are definitely on the way.

Although I have more reviews to write, I will list my top ten films from Fantastic Fest 2025 for now. As always, I am sad to see such a fun event come to a close, but it only makes me more eager to anticipate the next one in 2026.

My Top Ten Films of Fantastic Fest:

1. Secret Screening #3 – Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another
2. Sirāt – directed by Óliver Laxe
3. If I Had Legs I’d Kick You – written and directed by Mary Bronstein
4. Secret Screening #2 – Bugonia – directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
5. The Forbidden City – directed by Gabriele Mainetti
6. Crushed – directed by Chris Turner
7. The Evil That Binds Us – directed by Nico Postiglione
8. Crazy Old Lady – directed by Martín Mauregui
9. The Vile – directed by Majid Al Ansari
10. Disforia – directed by Christopher Cartagen