Have you ever wanted to see an original, Halloween Horror Nights maze come to life on the big screen, one that's practically oozing with that old Nickelodeon, nostalgic vibe? Well, luckily enough, Fantastic Fest has the perfect film for you: Flapjax.
Flapjax is a campy, over-the-top body horror-comedy that follows Gabriel Cagan's Arrow, the fast-food manager at Plucky Hamudders. Business isn't going well, and to save the entire restaurant, he decides to bring back a long-dormant menu item called Flapjax. Much to his surprise, not only does this choice bring untold chaos to his front door, but it unknowingly helps an alien race with its evil plans.
The Direct caught up with Flapjax director Rocko Zevenbergen, along with cast members Gabriel Cagan (Arrow), Estevan Muñoz (Zeke), and Maddie Barbush (Louie), to discuss the many ways nostalgia plays into their new movie. Flapjax premiered at Fantastic Fest 2026 but does not have a wider release date.
More coverage from this year's Fantastic Fest can be found in our interviews with the cast of The Heretiks, a new witch-home-invasion horror movie that's perfect for the Halloween season.
Flapjax & Its Oozing, Campy Charm
The Idea of Nostalgia Is Present in Every Facet of the Film
- The Direct: "This film is so rooted in nostalgia. Can you guys talk about where you started rooting that nostalgia in your performance, and then where you started with the whole thing in terms of, okay, where is this coming from?"
Gabriel Cagan: So when I first saw the title of the project, 'Flapjax,' it reminded me of being like three or four, where I would help make flapjacks at home, and I was told, like, Gabe makes the best flapjacks, which was a complete lie because I didn't know what I was doing. So it gave [me] probably a sense of false pride. But it was the first pride thought I'd had was like, my flapjacks a killer... But for me, there was that feeling just seeing the project. Like this is nostalgic in that sense.
Estevan Muñoz: Yeah, I mean, it's interesting you say that the movie is saturated in nostalgia because obviously, [there are] the visual references, but I mean, you saying that just made me reflect on like the dynamics of the characters... [Louie] and Arrow are connected in the sense that they haven't let go of this thing from the past that is dead. They're both haunted in some ways by, you know, just earlier dynamics... Like the idea of just being haunted by your past but also having this like bittersweet feeling towards it, even though there's a feeling of poison in it too.
Maddie Barbush: When it comes to the nostalgia of the movie, I guess I wasn't really thinking about that when it came to Louis, especially because she's so ready to move on and forward with her life, and wants him to, too. So she, I think, prior to when this movie takes place, maybe [she] was in that nostalgic and wanting to be a kid or whatever was. But she's so beyond that now. But also Katrina [our costume designer], for Louie's outfits, she did a lot of the work for me when it comes to [the] 80s, late 70s, and 90s influences, like with all of the pins, like the movie night outfit for sure.
Rocko Zevenbergen: I'm glad that they are talking about the nostalgia of the actual story itself because obviously it's so easy to just rattle off like oh, 'Ren and Stimpy,' 'Invader Zim,' 'Mr. Meaty.' These are all the cartoons I grew up with that informed the visual language of the film. But really, I mean, the story has to do with nostalgia in a major way, where you literally have the main protagonist's mother, who's a faded pop star who's completely glamorized her past...
"The whole movie is about banking on nostalgia," the director reaffirmed:
Zevenbergen: And the whole movie is about banking on nostalgia, relying on nostalgia of this old dormant product that everybody used to love, even though it wasn't so great actually, and this career that she had that maybe wasn't so great for her either, and all these people kind of you know overeating nostalgia in a sense to the point of kind of like losing sight of. What their real life actually is now, and it really is a main bloodline, I think, of just the whole plot. But yeah, nostalgia-it's dangerous in high doses.
The entire interview with the director and cast of Flapjax is available below:
