Movies: Recommended

A Fantastic voyage into some geeky genres

One only needed to witness the scrums of deep-dyed goobers lining up for screenings of "Serenity" last weekend to understand the depth of Austin's sci-fi/horror/fantasy/animation geekdom. The fans wore oversized, print-emblazoned black T-shirts. They were pasty-skinned, non-athletic in figure. The guys had long frizzy hair and mangy beards. Many of these devotees sat on the ground reading fat novels with dragons on the cover.

If that sight scared you as much as it did us, then steel yourself for an all-new holiday of geekiness, Fantastic Fest, a full-blown sci-fi/fantasy/horror film festival running tonight through Sunday at the Alamo South (1120 S. Lamar Blvd.).

Organized by such local movie forces as filmmaker Tim McCanlies ("Secondhand Lions"), Harry Knowles and Alamo founder Tim League, Fantastic Fest offers 24 genre films from around the world and a clump of celebrity guests.

The inaugural lineup is impressively muscular. A few highlights:

• Director Jon Favreau presents his sci-fi adventure "Zathura" with co-star Dax Shepard at 7 Thursday night.

• The U.S. premiere of the macabre "The Big White," starring Robin Williams and Holly Hunter, at 4 today and 1:15 p.m. Saturday.

• A sneak peek at the in-progress horror picture "Feast," which was made for the series "Project Green Light," presented by director John Gulager, apoplectic producer Chris Moore and the writers, at 11:59 tonight and 11:49 p.m. Friday.

• A sneak of footage from Richard Linklater's sci-fi drama "A Scanner Darkly" presented by producer Tommy Pallotta at 4 p.m. Saturday.

• Werner Herzog's award-winning sci-fi thriller "The Wild Blue Yonder," a blend of fiction and docudrama about a space mission that cannot return to Earth, at 7 p.m. Friday.

There's lots more where that came from, and tickets are going fast. Go to www.drafthouse.com for tickets and www.fantasticfest.com for full schedule.