Quentin Dupieux is no stranger to the weird and wonderful when he makes movies; from killer tyres to a giant fly stuck in a car boot, you leave watching his movies wondering, “What did I just watch?”
His latest instalment is no different; Full Phil follows father and daughter Phillip and Madaline Doom (Woody Harrelson and Kristen Stewart) as they attempt to rebuild a strained relationship. Starting seemingly normal and mundane, it soon takes an unexpected turn as Madaline continues to eat and drink, and only Phil feels the repercussions.
Having two Hollywood powerhouses at the forefront of the film works in its favour here: a seemingly odd duo who play off each other well and keep the film going during its long stretch of very little happening. We watch them both argue and bicker throughout as Madaline non-stop orders room service and attempts to eat her way through anything she can. Stewart plays the perfect daughter who is hell-bent on winding her dad up constantly, even at his moments when you can really feel like he is trying and Harrelson plays a great good-for-nothing dad who deep down just wants to do better.
During all of this, the film cuts between a B-movie that Madaline is watching – we follow two scientists who hunt down a creature from the lagoon in the hope of unlocking the secret to eternal life. These sections, although they feel somewhat out of place, add to the absurdity of the film overall and also add some more comedic moments, as well as showcasing a love letter to 50s B-movies.
It is the ending where Full Phil really starts to get going and takes an unexpected turn. The final 10 minutes or so are where it starts to have fun, and it would have been great to have seen this more throughout. Despite its short runtime of 78 minutes, it feels as though there are lots of moments that were dragged out or repeated, when the idea as a whole would have been just as fun as a short film and possibly allowed to play more with the gross-out moments rather than giving the audience a prolonged explanation of why this father and daughter don’t have much of a relationship. That being said, Full Phil is a fun exploration of strained relationships, with fantastic acting and a surreal ending leaving plenty to talk about.
Full Phil screened at Fantastic Fest 2026 on Thursday, September 17
