Cringe-Horror Comes to Fantasia

MOVIE REVIEW
Big Break
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Genre: Comedy, Horror, Thriller
Year Released: 2026
Runtime: 1h 27m
Director(s): Ian Faria
Writer(s): Samuel Lanier
Cast: Felipe Di Poi, Sam Lanier, Will Niedmann, Jefferson White, Caro Yost
Where to Watch: shown at the 2026 Fantasia Film Festival

RAVING REVIEW: “Opportunity begets opportunity.” The wise words fall out of Will’s mouth in a rare moment of lucidity. He, along with his friends Caro and Felipe, have ventured to a remote vacation home to seek that opportunity they feel they so desperately deserve. Waiting for them there is their estranged collaborator, Sam, who is a little preoccupied.

BIG BREAK premiered July 19th at the 30th annual Fantasia International Film Festival. It is the feature film debut by Simple Town, a comedy troupe that has gained attention in recent years for their live shows, short sketches, and work on Adult Swim. The four actors in the group play fictional versions of themselves in this horror comedy that caters to the sensibilities of their fans while being accessible enough for newcomers. 

We are introduced to Will, Caro, and Felipe years after the troupe disbanded due to Sam’s breakout stardom. The three have moved on with their lives, and none of them seem satisfied. They all see their upcoming reunion with Sam as a chance to rekindle the partnership and pull themselves out of their individual stupors. When they arrive, Sam is hardly the friend they remember. He is just as Hollywood as they feared and has a hard time connecting on any meaningful level. This setup leads to countless instances of their patented cringe humor that relies heavily on chaotic, overlapping dialogue broken up by nervous silence. 

That brand of comedy does a lot for BIG BREAK’s pacing as the film changes tone between comedy and horror elements. Just when you get caught up in the characters arguing about nothing, we are pulled out of the fray by a strange noise and dropped into a heavier moment. While Simple Town has dipped their toes in horror tropes before, such as their sketch “Scary Car”, they are able to wade further into the genre with the help of a well placed score by Kyle Rodriguez and Alex Bliss’ versatile cinematography.

The group showcases their ability to act beyond the zaniness of their sketches and take more subdued beats when the script calls for them. However, the four do shift back to their comfort zone of eccentricity more often than not.

It is not surprising in 2026 that a group of comedians would want to make their motion picture debut with a horror film. Jordan Peele and Curry Barker have opened a door that rightfully won’t be shut any time soon. Simple Town, however, chooses to not abandon the humor that gained them a following, and it serves them quite well.  I was reminded a few times of the criminally overlooked The Blackening, while watching BIG BREAK. Obviously, the two films have very different stories and cultural context, but they both work for the same reasons. They are not spoofing the genre of horror. They are inserting great comedic moments into the genre while not taking it so seriously. 

This is a truly DIY project, with Simple Town’s own director Ian Faria at the helm, while stars Samuel Lanier and Caro Yost wrote and edited the film respectively. But it doesn't just feel like a long Simple Town sketch. It is polished enough to sit alongside established filmmakers’ entries at Fantasia.

BIG BREAK asks us how far we are truly willing to go to not be left behind. It is fast-paced and awkward, self-referential and silly. The film tackles friendship and betrayal in a way that is strangely relatable. Yet even in its most lighthearted moments, it is not afraid to pull from the parts of horror we love so much. Simple Town may have not yet achieved the level of acclaim Sam has in the movie, but BIG BREAK is deserving of much more than a cult following. Hopefully, this is just the first in a line of silver screen appearances from Simple Town.

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[photo courtesy of BRONXBURGH, INTERNATIONAL PIGEON PRODUCTION, SIMPLE TOWN]

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