MOVIES

Gore! Gore! Gore! Fantastic Fest returns

Austin's own genre-movie festival brings the best of horror, fantasy, supernatural, crime and westerns from around the world

By Chris Garcia
AMERICAN-STATESMAN FILM CRITIC
Thursday, September 18, 2008

In just four years, the niche-culture extravaganza that is Fantastic Fest has established itself as a prime destination for the geekiest and die-hardiest of genre movie fans. These are the devout and the slavering — almost 10,000 youngish men (and a few women) willing to divest themselves of their video game joysticks and homemade light sabers long enough to gulp down some of the wildest, wickedest fringe cinema in existence that isn't illegal.

For the festival's fourth installment, some 100 films have been culled with discerning eyes by festival co-founders Tim League, Harry Knowles, Matt Dentler and their partners in cinema crime, slime and grime. Organizers have trawled the globe for the goriest, funniest, strangest, most whatever-est titles they could find to bring to Austin. They will show these curious specimens today through Sept. 25 at the Alamo Ritz, Alamo South and other venues, including an actual dank cave.

Dozens of filmmakers stoked to premiere their often audience-specific films — shorts, features, cartoons and documentaries — will also be there and, if history is a model, hang out and party with the crowds. Ambitiously themed parties are a vital part of Fantastic Fest. Things do not sober up after the credits roll. Stick around.

And don't forget (how could you?) the fest's gasp-inducing secret screenings, the names and guest filmmakers of which aren't released until the lights dim and the title flickers. Past secret guests and their films have included Mel Gibson and "Apocalypto," Darren Aronofsky and "The Fountain," Richard Kelly and "Southland Tales" and Paul Thomas Anderson and "There Will Be Blood." These shows are reserved for VIP badge and festival badge holders, meaning many of us are out of luck, one more reason for closet geekoids to step up and take a closer look at Fantastic Fest in all its boggling subculture complexities.

FANTASTIC FEST EVENTS

Opening Party— Lascivious tongue flapping, pelvic gyrations, heavy petting — well, that's about all we can describe of the Air Sex World Championships ('It's like air guitar, but with sex') following the premiere of 'Zack and Miri Make a Porno' tonight at the Paramount Theatre. The contest begins at 10 p.m. It's live. It's nasty.

'Donkey Punch' Boat Party — A bash to honor the bashing British thriller 'Donkey Punch.' Read the description of that film in our 10 must-see movies list. Then you might agree with the tone of the festival's invite: 'After the screening, follow us to Lady Bird Lake for the potentially inappropriate (party). ... Rest assured, (it's) going overboard!' 10 p.m. Saturday on a boat on Lady Bird Lake.

Karaoke Party — Just what it sounds like: popular songs tortured and strangled to death by people with singing voices like that of a melting witch. The difference: Sometimes well-known filmmakers are the mike-holding executioners. Fortunately for some of us, this one starts too late: 1 a.m. Sunday, Alamo South.

Fantastic Feud — What's billed as the 'greatest horror game experience of all time' is a mammoth genre-movie trivia contest featuring teams of players composed of Fantastic Fest filmmakers and film-goers. Moderated by online film critic Scott Weinberg, this bout of Terror Trivia winnows out the authentic wonks from those who think 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' is the greatest horror movie ever. A hugely popular event. 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Alamo South.

Fantastic Fest Awards Party — An array of awards, not just movie ones, will be bestowed during the hallowed ceremony, which happens mid-festival this year. 9:45 p.m. Monday, Alamo South.

100 Best Kills Party — A compilation of the goriest, meanest, most creative deaths in movies, the 100 Best Kills program is a longtime favorite with Alamo crowds. But this one's in a party setting, and attendees are invited to bring DVDs of their personal favorite film kills to share. The most violent event in the world that's legal. At 11:59 p.m. Monday, Alamo South.

Closing Night Party — If you can still stand, join the gang at the Longhorn Caverns for what's dubbed 'Get Lit: The Subterranean Dance Party.' Booze, boogie, post-fest movie gabbing inside a cave. 10:30 p.m. Sept. 25.

Full last-minute details on parties and events at 2008.fantasticfest.com.

10 MUST-SEE MOVIES AT FANTASTIC FEST

1. 'Zack and Miri Make a Porno' — Kevin Smith will be there to present his new hard-R comedy at 7 tonight at the Paramount Theatre. Festival reviews have been good, noting that there's as much heartfelt emotion as nudie naughtiness. Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks star.

2. 'JCVD' — Which stands for Jean-Claude Van Damme, of course. The '80s action icon spoofs himself in this roundhouse-kicking comedy about a faded movie star who winds up in the middle of a bank heist. What's a washed-up martial arts hero to do? Slam bootie, that's what. Word is Van Damme is better than ever. At 10 p.m. Friday and 6:40 p.m. Sunday at the Alamo South.

3. 'Tokyo Gore Police' — The title is a gross understatement. Floods of blood. Gobs of guts. Beheadings. Impalings. Castrations. Errant chainsaws. Have we left anything out? Oh, yeah. A plot, which drowns in a Niagara Falls of crunchy, splatty disgustingness. 11:59 p.m. Friday and 8:50 p.m. Tuesday, Alamo South.

4. Ozsploitation!— Racing, smashing cars. Writhing naked bodies. Ravenous crocodiles. Rampaging razorbacks. Australian exploitation films flowered with lurid abandon in the '70s and '80s, and Fantastic Fest screens some of the landmark titles: 'The Road Warrior' (8 p.m. Friday, Republic Square Park); 'Razorback' (11:59 tonight, Alamo Ritz); 'Man from Hong Kong' (11:59 p.m. Wednesday) and 'Turkey Shoot' (11:59 p.m. Sept. 25) with director Brian Trenchard-Smith in person for both films; and the superb documentary about Ozsploitation 'Not Quite Hollywood' (5 p.m. Sunday and 7:30 p.m. Sept. 25, Alamo South).

5. 'Art of the Devil 3'— Thai film collective the Ronin Team returns to its outlandishly horrifying 'Art of the Devil' franchise with a prequel. Swollen with Asian mysticism, sadism and inventive torture, this supernatural celebration of the sickening banks on outdoing its predecessors. 11:55 tonight and 11:45 p.m. Tuesday, Alamo South.

6. 'The Good, the Bad and the Weird'— In 1930s Manchuria, the Japanese army and Russian gangsters face the titular trio of gunslingers in this South Korean homage to Sergio Leone's spaghetti western masterwork. Epic in scope, tangled in plot, outrageous in action, the movie has proven a genre-melting mind-blower. 6:25 p.m. Friday and 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Alamo South.

7. 'Chocolate' — Prachya Pinkaew famously introduced Muay Thai fighting to the world with the international hit 'Ong Bok.' He's back in form with a fresh limb-flinging protégé, young Jeeja Vismistananda. She plays an autistic girl who's learned her gravity-free repertoire of combat gymnastics from watching Bruce Lee and Tony Jaa movies. Spinning, kicking, flying, jabbing — she's out for revenge. 11:59 p.m. Saturday and 11:55 p.m. Tuesday, Alamo South.

8. 'Donkey Punch'— A controversial psycho-sexual thriller involving an unspeakable act directed by Olly Blackburn. We haven't seen it, but a British newspaper columnist has decried it as 'the vilest film I've ever seen ... a morally bankrupt tale of teenage group sex, violence, drugs and sadism which left me sickened to the core.' In other words: a masterpiece. 7:20 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Tuesday, Alamo South.

9. 'Spine Tingler: The William Castle Story'— A loving documentary portrait of great Barnum-esque movie showman William Castle, the godfather of gimmick-driven exploitation thrills, who would finally earn respect producing 'Rosemary's Baby.' 4:30 p.m. Wednesday and 5 p.m. Sept. 25, Alamo South. And, following the documentary, don't miss Castle's legendary 1959 thriller 'The Tingler,' with futuristic 'Percepto' technology — that is, electric shockers under the seats that buzz at strategic moments during the film. 6:50 p.m. Wednesday and 7:15 p.m. Sept. 15, Alamo South.

10. 'Fear(s) of the Dark' — Eight internationally hailed graphic artists — Marie Caillou, Blutch, Lorenzo Mattotti, Richard McGuire, Michel Pirus, Pierre Di Sciullo, Jerry Kramski, Romain Slocombe — contribute their own nightmares to this animated, black and white omnibus of intertwined tales that span all creepy genres. 2 p.m. Saturday and 4:25 p.m. Monday, Alamo South.

— Chris Garcia

FANTASTIC FEST

When:Thursday through Sept. 25

Where:Alamo South (1120 S. Lamar Blvd.); Alamo Ritz (320 E. Sixth St.); Republic Square Park (422 Guadalupe St.); Paramount Theatre (713 Congress Ave.)

Tickets:Minimal single tickets available on a first-come, first-served basis at the door.

Information:2008.fantasticfest.com

@austin360.com/movies: Fantastic Fest has us all shook up. Check out a gallery of attendees showing off their best 'shaky faces,' plus get details on after-parties and more.