Fantastic Fest 2021 has a couple genre comedy offerings and while both are charming in their own way, Let the Wrong One In doesn’t quite keep up the go-for-broke pace and Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes is endearingly adorable.

Up first is Conor McMahon’s Irish vampire feature Let the Wrong One In. It cheekily (and obviously) takes its name from the Swedish vampire film Let the Right One In, but instead of exploring psychosexual longings and otherness, it’s simply a story of a boy and his blacksheep brother. A cold open in Transylvania sets the stage as an Irish bridal party loudly races down the dark streets of the Hammer-esqe city. Bride-to-be Sheila (Mary Murray) gets separated and cornered by a vampire, who tears her throat out before the film turns its attention to Matt (Karl Rice), his Ma (Hilda Fay) and his brother Deco (Eoin Duffy), who’s been kicked out of Ma’s home for theft and drugs years back. Even though he’s bad news, Matt loves his brother and is easily convinced to do anything to help him...including letting Deco into the house after what appears to be a full-night bender.

Unfortunately, he...um, Let the Wrong One In, because Deco hasn’t had a bad night of drinking. He’s been bitten by Sheila and her ragtag clan of vampires galavanting around the streets of Dublin. Compounding matters, Henry (Anthony Head from Buffy), Sheila’s groom and newly minted vampire slayer, has been tracking the vampiric scourge and shows up at Matt’s home with intent to kill. The first act of McMahon’s film has a go-for-broke energy that felt reminiscent of Edgar Wright’s earlier films. Between physical comedy of Deco suddenly unleashing a torrent of blood vomit all over Matt and some of the one liners like Deco telling Matt he’s flesh and blood and Matt responding, “and it’s all over me!”, Let the Wrong One In has an enjoyable pacing in these early bits.

The problem is that Matt’s house begins to feel like a black hole and once the cast begins arriving, the script spins its wheels as if it doesn’t quite know what to do with the characters. The pacing slows as various people end up getting tied up and Matt is constantly stuck between wanting to help his brother and staying away from Deco’s occasional bloodlust. That gonzo energy that propelled the first act begins to lose steam and the humor doesn’t quite hit as hard. It’s only when the midpoint starts its bloody path to the finale that the energy picks back up. At around 100 minutes, some tightening and second act editing, as well as a stronger emotional narrative throughput would have made Let the Wrong One In more entertaining than it unfortunately ended up being. Still, it was an enjoyable romp and comes slightly recommended when it hits streaming services.

Also containing a kinetic mix of humor and heart, Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes knows how to keep the narrative short, sweet and to the point. Over three years ago, One Cut of the Dead rocked the festival circuit and brought smiles to the faces of critics and audiences everywhere. With its delightfully DIY spirit and use of a one, long take gimmick, the film was a celebration of the joys and pains of independent filmmaking. I had a similar smile on my face watching writer Makoto Ueda and director Junta Yamaguchi’s Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes. It’s a film that also embraces that do-it-yourself style of filmmaking that made One Cut of the Dead so entertaining. And while it doesn’t match the same emotional heights of that film, Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes still enchants with its time travel trickery and shenanigans.

It begins simply enough. Kato (Kazunari Tosa) is the owner of a small cafe just around the corner from a barber shop where his crush Megumi (Aki Asakura) works. His band is playing and he desperately wants to ask her out, but he’s too anxious and nervous. So after closing up shop, he retreats to his small apartment above the cafe and picks up his acoustic guitar. But he can’t find his pick. As he crawls around the floor, a voice from his computer monitor grabs his attention. It’s footage of him in the cafe. And this image is talking to Kato and answering his questions. It turns out that the camera is on a two minute delay and that the Kato in the cafe is actually him two minutes from now. Kato decides to check it out and heads downstairs, only to find the events he just participated in (acoustic guitar, missing pick) are playing out on the computer monitor downstairs. And before the film lets that sink in, it introduces his pack of friends who are instantly pulled into the mystery and begin playing with the limits of the two minute future telling. Eventually, things start to spiral out of control.

Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes is a delightful and simple concept that obviously required an incredible amount of planning and structure to keep the various timelines straight. Much in the same way that One Cut of the Dead let viewers in on some of the behind-the-scenes filmmaking, Yamaguchi’s sci-fi film does the same and it’s more mind-boggling than some of the twisty sequences in the film. It has the vibe of a bunch of friends getting together and making a film and the way the film was made as a one-take filmed on an iPhone is nothing short of miraculous. At 70 minutes, it never overstays its welcome, even if it pales, somewhat, in comparison to One Cut of the Dead and its more euphoric ending.

The adorably game cast and its DIY aesthetics help elevate the story, which has a firmer grasp on its time-travel and structural conceit than a lot of similar films. Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes will leave with you a pleasant and satisfied smile on your face.