Fresh from Fantasia 2025, we had the opportunity to start our remote coverage with “Hold The Fort”, the new film written and directed by William Bagley.

In this film, we meet Lucas and Jenny, a couple looking for a new home away from the stress and noise of the big city. While Jenny is not very thrilled by the high fees of the local Home Owners Association, she admits she likes the calm and apparently friendly neighborhood where they have moved into.

While attending that same night to an Equinox celebration in the community center, Lucas and Jenny discover that their new home comes with a very important inconvenience that is specified in the HOA contract, the couple signed after barely skimming through it.

It turns out that in the forest next to the suburb, there is a dimensional portal that opens every year. From this hellish portal, all kinds of horrible creatures come through into our world, wreaking havoc and killing everyone that crosses their path. This party is really the time where all the neighbors join forces to battle the monsters from the portal, in order to keep their land and their lives.

I like horror comedies, and the troupe where a group of misfits and oddballs have to join together to fight a great threat is my weak point. I’ll always have a soft spot for these kinds of films. Fortunately while “Hold The Fort” is not as great as I hoped for, it’s heart is in the right place, and gives plenty of laughs, gore and splatter so you will have a good time.

Let me start with the positives: I loved the creatures, especially the last one to appear (no spoilers) and there are several characters that I liked. The film goes very fast straight to the point and never feels boring. The action sequences are very well done, and most of the jokes were good and landed perfectly.

There are some green screen effects that were not great, but there are not something that ruins the movie. I loved that the characters quickly let us know the lore of some of the creatures from the portal, as they are not just the ones we are so used to seeing on the screen. This is one of the rare occasions where I wished the film had a little more budget and lasted longer, just to see what other creatures could be included in the attacks.

I pretty much liked all the neighbors in the center, and I was sad that some did not last that long on the screen. It does not get as bad as “Game Of Thrones” where pretty much you are forbidden to like anyone as they all can die the next second, but again, I wish the movie lasted a little bit longer so we could see more of some characters in action, or being messed up.

Actually, one of my few complaints is NOT against “Hold The Fort” itself, but a cliche that I am a little bit tired of: I find it annoying that the male main character most often than not in these movies is a useless, pussy, wuss, scary-cat idiot. I have no problem if the character is “Too nice” (as in almost a door mat) but we are expected to see the character to grow, and lately, in most films it takes FOREVER for the main male character to “Nut Up”, IF EVER.

In “Hold The Fort” this personality actually triggers a big element of the plot, so I will leave it aside, for now. I liked that Jenny was an actually likable female character, it felt REAL, she was not the now overused empowered woman archetype. There is another couple that I liked a LOT, and I wished to see more of them, but well… things go differently.

There are some questions that I had at the end of the film, and I wish to see a sequel, or better yet: a “requel” like the one we got with “Evil Dead 2”. With the SAME CAST, because they were GREAT. Just some rewrites, here and there, more monsters!!

One thing that surprised me, was that in the final credits we see an action scene with a certain character, and for some weird reason this scene was not in the movie. I did enjoy it, and saw no reason why it was not included in the film, but it was played during the credits.. Bummer, it was a cool and funny scene.

At the end of the day, “Hold The Fort” is that fun wild ride you enjoy, and you want to ride again, but have second thoughts when you see that the line is too long. Still, is the ride you know that on your next visit, you will definitely go back to.

Be sure to give “Hold The Fort” a chance when it gets released. The film was written and directed by William Bagley. In the cast we have Levi Burdick, Michelle Lamb, Haley Leary, Chris Mayers, and Julian Smith.

The Fantasia International Film Festival is running in Montreal, Quebec from July 16 to August 3rd.

Please check my other reviews coming from this festival, and the previous year!