Fantasia Fest: HOAs save the day in Hold The Fort

Blue Finch Films

Fantasia Fest 2025 is currently running and our own Adrian Torres is covering the genre film event—catching break-out new hits and underground premieres. Read all of our coverage here. 

Homeowners’ Associations are evil. What the new movie Hold The Fort presupposes is ‘maybe HOAs aren’t bad’? Maybe they’re the ones who are actually fighting the evil, protecting everyone else?

Lucas (Chris Mayers) and Jenny (Haley Leary) are new homeowners in the little development of Gruber Hills. While Jenny still longs for the views of the big city they’ve left, Lucas is glad for the quiet comfort of the suburbs. Even though he’s a bit perplexed seeing neighbors with boxes of ammo and reading “How To Kill Vampires” during his morning jog.

The two are busy unpacking when they’re interrupted by the arrival of Jerry (Julian Smith), president of the HOA. As creepy as his presence seems, he’s there to invite them to the annual Equinox party at the clubhouse.

While most would think the Equinox to be a celebration of the Earth’s equator and the sun, in Gruber Hills, it’s a little different. It’s the one night a year when a hellmouth, just outside the freshly kept lawns, spews forth waves of supernatural forces until sunrise. Though the government originally wanted to study the portal, the developers said they would take on the responsibility. In return, they pay no property tax and are getting ready to install a community pool! Win-win!

Understandably confused, before Jenny and Lucas have a chance to find their bearing, the portal opens early. Unleashing a vicious wave of fireball shooting witches wipes out half the residents. The scared couple must find the strength inside to team with the other homeowners and fight back.

First things first, Hold The Fort is a masterclass in efficient filmmaking. At just over 70 minutes, it trims the fat everywhere imaginable, without hindering the overall product. By roughly the 25-minute mark, all the characters have been introduced, the plot fully set up, and chaos breaks free. It’s refreshing to see a low-budget movie not just take this approach, but really make it sing.

That streamlined approach really comes through when it comes to the comedy and mayhem. The jokes fly fast, the tone is goofy, the action is plentiful, and there’s still room for some character development to boot. With only one other film under his belt, writer-director William Bagley showcases an understanding of the kind of film he’s making that sometimes seasoned veterans lack.

It also helps that the whole cast is game for the insanity that erupts on screen. Though no one is throwing in big dramatic beats, there’s a winsome quality and variety to the cast that makes them worth rooting for. Ted (Levi Burdick) is as stern as a former soldier, which clashes with his finely knitted sweater. Jerry nearly steals the whole film, doling out extensive knowledge about every evil they encounter, without breaking a sweat. And then there’s McScruffy (stuntman Hamid-Reza Benjamin Thompson), the mercenary the community hired to help them deal with their little problem and make sure to keep everyone alive, until now.

Besides the cast, Bagley and his team go full bore in trying to create one of the gnarliest little indies out there. What little CGI there is looks a little cheap, but that’s something cooked into the script. A move that allows their practical effects to land that much harder. Something important, given this is a film full of blood splatter, gunshot wounds to the head, zombie carnage, kamikaze bats, a werewolf, plus a few other surprises.

Hold The Fort is one of the leanest indie horror-comedies in quite some time. Entering into the rarified air of the likes of Tucker & Dale Vs Evil, Dead Snow, and The Final Girls. Where the comedy comes in fits and spurts, while never lacking in the gore or thrills department either.

It’s not out to reinvent the wheel. All it wants to do is entertain and leave a giant dumb bloody grin on viewers’ faces. From that standpoint, it’s a rousing success.