Amazing Fantasy Fest 2025 Coverage
Journey review
A mind-blowing journey in more ways than one.
Festival reviews will not contain spoilers.
Journey
Directed by Damien Osborn
Written by Damien Osborn
Starring Damien Osborn
Journey Review
Before we dive into Journey…I want to take a moment to talk about the shorts that accompanied its screening at this year’s Amazing Fantasy Fest. First up was a one-minute long stop animation short Foil Guy vs. Anvil. It is exactly what it sounds like. A guy made of foil attempts to move an anvil…hilarity ensues. I don’t know why that sounded dismissive. It was quite funny. Also very funny was the next stop animated short Summon a Gravedigger. A graveyard worker (played by a toy pig complete with unmovable arms) hears a bell ringing. The bell is attached to a chain leading into a grave…a concept meant to alert people above ground that someone has been prematurely buried. I’m not going to spoil what happens next…but it’s a fun one.
The final short that ran before Journey was the longest of the three…and the most fitting, style wise. It’s called Caliburn and tells the story of an old King Arthur now wielding a broken Excalibur. This was a great one. The production value and the performances were top-notch. It crams an entire backstory for Arthur, Excalibur, Lancelot, Guinevere and Merlin into a 16 minute story. I don’t know where one goes to watch short films that have made the festival rounds…but Caliburn is more than worth checking out.
I lied…I do know where you can find it. A two-second search of YouTube turned up the answer. Enjoy.
Now onto the main event. Journey was the first feature film screened at this year’s Amazing Fantasy Fest. That we’re only covering it now should not be taken as a sign of its quality. It is quite good. It more of a dark fantasy film than horror…which is why it was placed a bit later in our coverage.
The most amazing thing about Journey, a film full of amazing things, may be reading the credits at the end of the film. You’re going to see the name Damien Osborn. A lot. I’ve never seen a movie that had more facets handled by a single person than Journey. Certainly not a movie that does as many cool things as this one does. This is the epitome of a filmmaker getting his vision on the screen. There are jaw dropping shots here…fun not quite human characters…an epic journey…everything you want in a dark fantasy film. How Osborn got all of this on the screen would make for a fascinating movie of its own. Every crazy concept he comes up with ends up fully realized. It’s mostly just him on screen for the entire film…and by that I mean his lead character and performing just about every oddity he happens by.
The story of Journey involves…a journey…taken by our main character Asbjorn (Osborn). The love of his life Amelie (Kelly Grech…the rare role not filled by Osborn himself) is abducted. To get her back Asbjorn must traverse the underworld. He’s damned due to reaching 1000 kills in battle…so we know he can handle himself. With a stolen amulet, an undead skeleton strapped to his back and a reaper on his tail…Asbjorn’s quest takes him through a visually stunning world with danger around every corner.
In some ways I was reminded of 2018’s The Head Hunter. Another great movie that did a lot on a small budget. Journey pulls of way more. Some of the shots it manages could qualify as a small miracle. It’s that impressive. You can’t take your eyes off of what Osborn is doing…and Osborn is doing everything. Asbjorn’s quest is full of interesting characters and even more interesting visuals. I can’t even begin to imagine the amount of effort Osborn put into this movie to make it what it is. What it is…is an incredible feat that shows the creative power one incredibly talented and ambitious person is capable of.
