At Fantastic Fest, the Gutter’s own Carol Borden girds her loins and travels into a hostile subterranean world with Mason DeRushie’s Kylgor in the Grisly Abyss (Canada, 2026)!

I have missed sword and sorcery movies and fantasy that isn’t J. R. R. Tolkien, George R. R. Martin, and especially Harry Potter. I want more weird fantasy. I want more low fantasy I want more barbarian heroes, more weird creatures, more eccentric worlds created by eccentric weirdos who aren’t afraid to have a narrator read backstory over maps and illustrations for 3 minutes before the opening credits. No prior origin story establishing the character. Just, bam you are with them in media res and the res is a fight. Mason Newton DeRushie’s Kylgor in the Grisly Abyss (Canada, 2026) has all these elements and adds more: latex-y puppets, stop motion animation, geysers of corn syrup blood, practical effects gore, and all the creativity an insanely low budget and a dedicated group of friends and family can unleash.

Kylgor the Conqueror (Timothy Paul McCarthy) and his sworn brothers plan to avenge the destruction and exploitation of their villages by the evil King Kath (Justin Major). But after killing Kath, the warriors are plunged into the Grisly Abyss, a terrifying and hostile subterranean world. A small squad of King Kath’s soldiers fall in with them. Will the enemy soldiers with with Kylgor and his people or will they prove a continuing threat? This question is far less important than you might think. We have violence and gnarly gore to get to. A disclaimer at the end of the film reads: “Many puppets were harmed in the making of this picture.” And, yes, there were scenes of puppet and stop motion violence I don’t think I’ve seen the likes of before—not even in Phil Tippett’s Mad God (USA, 2022). I mean this as a compliment.

Kylgor and the Grisly Abyss was a great time that often grossed me out—with puppets. It has an epic score, gnarly practical effects, so much creativity, and I love how much love it was made with. If you miss it at Fantastic Fest, maybe watch it as a double feature with Deathstalker (2025).*

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