Fantasia Fest 2026: Drag Review

This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Fantasia International Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

Following its debut at this year’s SXSW Film Festival, Raviv Ullman and Greg Yagolnitzer’s Drag arrives as an immense surprise with its Canadian Premiere at Fantasia. With a wide theatrical release date set for January 2027, the film’s inclusion at the festival’s 30th edition results in an incredibly unexpected, crowd-pleasing success that allowed audiences a remarkably early look at one of the most creatively funny and dynamic films at Fantasia.

In the film, Lizzy Caplan and Lucy DeVito play sisters who are robbing a house when Big Sister (Caplan) throws out her back. Their grousing dynamic elevates these extraordinarily grave circumstances as Little Sistr (DeVito) acts as a metaphorical punching bag to the neglect of everything she has to lose, coupled with Caplan acting as a literal punching bag as she is dragged around the house to the displeasure of her sister. Ullman and Yagolnitzer’s ingenious dialogue, along with Caplan & DeVito’s brilliant banter culminates in one of the most darkly cruel and comedic films in ages, as the worst aspects of all characters boil to the surface in this fight for survival.

The directing duo’s unpredictable incorporation of twists, shocking revelations, and multiple uses of Chekhov’s gun are used to maximal effort, as Caplan takes a tremendous beating throughout the film. She depicts her character’s predicament in all its physically demanding responsibilities, as she masterfully propels her body around and cleverly utilizes her facial expressions to articulate the pain in the absence of her movement throughout the film – easily amounting to one of Caplan’s best performances. Ullman and Yagolnitzer progressively raise the stakes when the mysterious homeowner (Stamos) arrives to induce the panic that the sisters face. Stamos, in particular, enhances the disorienting plot twists as he balances the ambiguity and comical nature of a character that keeps the sisters and audiences on their toes.

Overall, Raviv Ullman and Greg Yagolnitzer’s Drag is a refreshing comedy-thriller, one where the writing and directing duo is boldly and unapologetically cruel in its delivery of dark humor that Lizzy Caplan and Lucy DeVito convey with ease in their riotous dynamic. The duo’s incorporation of twists, along with Caplan’s outstanding and physically demanding performance heighten the balance of comedy and tension that culminates in a bloody and gory final act.

still courtesy of Briarcliff Entertainment

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Costa Christoulas

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