The Fandads are trying to broaden their horizon, and this means covering festivals in other cities. We are lucky to be accepted to cover Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas! If you read the title of this post, you will see that we are covering the fest virtually, which is still pretty awesome! One year we will be lucky and attend in person, but for now, covering the fest from home is still a great honor.
So, what is Fantastic Fest? According to their website, it “is the largest genre film festival in the US, championing challenging and thought-provoking cinema while celebrating new voices and new stories from filmmakers around the world”. So what movies are we going to see? We have a small list of movies we want to see, but are unsure of how many we will actually get to watch.
Here is our list:
DOLLY – World Premiere
A young woman, Macy, fights for survival after being abducted by a deranged, monster-like figure who wants to raise Macy as their child. A daring blend of New French Extremity and 1970s American horror.
IF I HAD LEGS I’D KICK YOU (A24) – World Premiere
With her life crashing down around her, Linda (Rose Byrne) attempts to navigate her child’s mysterious illness, her absent husband, a missing person, and an increasingly hostile relationship with her therapist.
MOTHER OF FLIES (Shudder) – US Premiere
A young woman suffering from a life-threatening illness ventures deep into the woods to seek the help of a mystical healer offering an unconventional cure.
NIGHT PATROL (RLJE Films & Shudder) – World Premiere
An LAPD officer assigned to his old neighborhood is drawn back into gang life after his brother witnesses a brutal murder linked to the city’s infamous gang task force.
SHELBY OAKS (NEON) – US Premiere
A woman’s obsessive search for her missing sister leads her into a terrifying mystery at the hands of an unknown evil.
SISU: ROAD TO REVENGE (Sony Pictures’ Stage 6 Films & Screen Gems) – World Premiere
A wall-to-wall cinematic action event, a sequel to the original sleeper hit SISU. Returning to the house where his family was brutally murdered during the war, “the man who refuses to die” (Jorma Tommila) dismantles it, loads it on a truck, and is determined to rebuild it somewhere safe in their honor. When the Red Army commander who killed his family (Stephen Lang from DON’T BREATHE) comes back hellbent on finishing the job, a relentless, eye-popping cross-country chase ensues – a fight to the death, full of clever, unbelievable action set pieces.
V/H/S/HALLOWEEN (Shudder) – World Premiere
A collection of Halloween-themed videotapes unleashes a series of twisted, blood-soaked tales, turning trick-or-treat into a struggle for survival.
WHISTLE (Independent Film Company & Shudder) – World Premiere
A misfit group of unwitting high school students stumble upon a cursed object, an ancient Aztec Death Whistle. They discover that blowing the whistle and the terrifying sound it emits will summon their future deaths to hunt them down. As the body count rises, the friends investigate the origins of the deadly artifact in a desperate effort to stop the horrifying chain of events that they have set in motion.
CRAZY OLD LADY (Shudder) – World Premiere
A man is held captive by his ex-girlfriend’s senile mother, who mistakes him for her husband from the time of the Argentine dictatorship after forgetting to take her medication.
THE CRAMPS: A Period Piece (Warped Witch Cinema) – World Premiere
A blossoming young woman, Agnes Applewhite (Lauren Kitchen), gets a job as a shampoo girl at a lively beauty salon, which goes against the wishes of her traditional family, including her sanctimonious mother and tightly wound sister. As she begins this newfound journey to find her true self, she suffers from debilitating menstrual cramps, which blur the line between reality and nightmare for her and those around her.
As we get closer to the first day of Fantastic Fest, the list might grow. Until then, we are excited to see some amazing movies and share our reactions with you!