Universal PicturesFantastic Fest is all about sequels in 2025, with Black Phone 2 and The Strangers – Chapter 2 both debuting at the Austin festival, as well as eagerly anticipated action movie Sisu 2.
Fantastic Fest is the best genre festival on the planet, and 2025 looks to be a vintage year, thanks to a whopping 45 world premieres.
Running from September 18-25 at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar in Austin, Texas, the festival celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. So as well as all those movies, there’s special panels and parties, as well as FF classics like the Fantastic Debates and Fantastic Feud.
The full line up can be found here, as well as details of how to purchase tickets, while below are a few of the films we’re looking forward to.
Horror sequels dominate at Fantastic Fest 2025
Fantastic Fest 2025 opens with Johannes Roberts’ Primate, in which “a group of friends’ tropical vacation turns into a terrifying, primal tale of horror and survival.”
Then it’s all about sequels, with Ethan Hawke returning as The Grabber in Black Phone 2, Renny Harlin back in the director’s chair for The Strangers – Chapter 2, and metal madness unfolding via Deathgasm 2: Goremageddon.
Sisu is one of the best action movies of the last decade, so its great news that sequel Sisu: Road to Revenge is debuting at Fantastic Fest, and even more exciting that the film will pit “the man who refuses to die” against Avatar and Don’t Breath star Stephen Lang.
There’s also a pair of intriguing directorial debut’s bowing at the festival – Chris Stuckmann’s found footage scarer Shelby Oaks, and Lil Rel Howery’s comedy horror Haunted Heist.
NeonBritish horror is well represented, thanks to Ben Wheatley’s “sci-fi fever dream” Bulk, and Simon Rumley’s eagerly anticipated thriller Crushed.
Elsewhere Coyotes pits real-life couple Justin Long and Kate Bosworth against a wild pack of predators, while cursed objects also take center stage, with Dakota Fanning gifted a mysterious box that wrecks her life in Vicious, and Dafne Keen finding an Aztec Death Whistle with predictably unpleasant results in closing night movie Whistle.
A total of 78 feature films will screen at the festival, alongside a variety of shorts to be announced at a later date.
For more movies coming soon, check out our 2025 release calendar, while these are best movies of the year, so far.