Fantastic Fest ’14 Recap

My first journey to Austin, TX and the geek holy land of Fantastic Fest was a whirlwind. Book ended with exhausting, 14 hour drives, the trip as a whole was just mind blowing, inspiring, and so much fun. Bonding with new and old friends, finding some of your personal heroes in the crowd to say hello and snap a picture with, and being able to brag about seeing things before anyone in the rest of the world is but a fraction of the magic. There’s also the Alamo Drafthouse itself which was the newly renovated flagship South Lamar location. This place was like a dream come true for me! The sound system and picture quality in every theater was among the best I’ve seen outside of an IMAX, and every movie was extremely loud like they should always be. There was an amazing swarm of a wait staff to make your food and beverage dreams come true without being too obtrusive to the film experience. Then there’s those milkshakes, which are surely enhanced with euphoric drugs of some sort. I’ll be craving a vanilla shake and try in vain to find one that compares until I return next year. Thanks a lot, Drafthouse.

My idea of a great day is seeing three new movies back-to-back in my favorite theater during the day, and Fantastic Fest says, “THREE? Try doing SIX!” Though I never did end up doing six in one day, five was a butt-numbingly taxing event. By the end of the day you’ve managed to forget what you saw earlier in the day without serious recall, making writing reviews all the more difficult when you’re trying to remember that forgettable one you didn’t really enjoy the next day. Or the next week.

While I’m still sifting through the thoughts in my head and working on consuming the films I missed at the fest, I have lofty goals of writing a review for everything I saw. This will inevitably not come true, but I shall do my best. I thought I’d do a brief daily overview of my Fantastic Fest and try to rank (more or less) the films I viewed theatrically.

DAY 1:
Started the morning off with The ABC’s of Death 2, which was a perfect introduction with all the crazy variety involved. It was entirely more enjoyable than the first ABC’s was. Kevin Smith’s Tusk was next, which Andy had the pleasure of reviewing so that I didn’t tear it apart. Two weeks after seeing it my extreme hatred has subsided some and given way to a mild appreciation for the audacity to make what is, essentially, a joke film in which the creators laugh at you during the credits. It’s a bad movie, certainly, but Justin Long was so IN IT for the whole movie that I really respected his performance in hindsight. Parks, not so much. Then there was Johnny Depp, whose character had no place in the film but was enjoyable because of his bizarre dedication. What a tonal mess. Later in the day came Alleluia, Fabrice Du Weiz’s romance so disturbing and tickling at the same time. The less said about Jonathan King’s Realiti, and it’s failed, low-rent Inception emulation, the better. The night ended with Cub, a mean, vicious slasher from a first time feature director that’s one to watch.

DAY 2:
Purgatory was a disappointing supernatural thriller from Spain, The Hive was an amateur “romzom” with lofty ideas and no budget to make them reality, and Necrophobia 3D was unwatchable in multiple ways, the least of which was the headache-inducing, half-flipped 3D in need of mastering. Thankfully the day was saved by a 3D short called The Chaperon that inexplicably played in front of Necrophobia simply because it was in 3D as well. Director Fraser Munden crafted a multi-medium, mostly animated documentary short masterpiece about a gang of bikers invading a school dance. It’s hilarious, heartwarming, and dazzling in every style it uses, and the 3D is absolutely incredible. Ending the night was V/H/S/Viral, which was a much needed blast to cap off the day.

DAY 3:
Started with the much-hyped Babadook from Australia, which lived up to every expectation set in place. It’s incredibly effective, expertly lit, and very tense — all from a first time director. In Order of Disappearance shares a lot in common with director Hans Petter Moland’s previous feature, A Somewhat Gentle Man, which played at Fantastic Fest four years ago. It’s a great thriller with a Coen brothers sense of humor and a high body count. Next was Town that Dreaded Sundown, a highly forgettable sequel-reboot which has already disappeared from memory. Finally, though, Astron 6’s The Editor rocked my fucking world with it’s pitch perfect send up and homage to all things giallo. There are countless references to Italy’s horror past and a style and look that would fit in perfectly with them. It’s hilarious, too.

DAY 4:
Spring was the first of the day, a film from Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead that surprised me by becoming my favorite film of the fest.  It’s a genre bender that takes a romantic comedy set-up, treats it seriously, and then throws in a little horror to mix things up.  It’s just about perfect.  Shrew’s Nest was fantastic, and almost unbearably tense. It’s a Spanish thriller blend of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane and Misery anchored by an incredible lead performance by Macarena Gomez. Next was Horns which was a strange mystery from Alexandre Aja based on Joe Hill’s novel, and somehow it worked for me while I can easily see why it didn’t for others.  Sion Sono’s an acquired taste, and his latest Tokyo Tribe is certainly not for everyone: a rap musical about gang wars.  I found it incredibly enjoyable, but I think Sono’s a genius.  Finally, I caught Marko Zaror’s latest brawler Redeemer, which has nothing noteworthy other than the fight scenes, which are well choreographed and edited.  If only there was a movie worth watching around the set pieces.

DAY 5:
We began with the abysmal Eli Roth produced The Stranger, followed by Joe Lynch’s underwhelming Everly. Fortunately Adam Wingard’s The Guest rocked my world with it’s amazing soundtrack and 80’s action film appeal, and the day finished with Housebound. A New Zealand horror-comedy from first time director Gerard Johnstone which is damn near perfect, Housebound is tremendously funny and clever in a very genuine way, full of suspense and twists and a few scares along the way. So, so good.

DAY 6:
On the sixth day, I rested.

DAY 7:
Began with John Wick, Keanu Reeves’ righteous action flick that’s lean and violent and fun, and doesn’t wear out it’s welcome. I sat down with director Fraser Munden for a bit after this and had a great conversation with lots of insight into his short The Chaperon that I so adored. Then came time for Korean drama Haemoo (Sea Fog), a pitch black, unflinching tale of illegal immigration gone horribly, terribly wrong. Next was Gustavo Hernandez’s Local God, a film from Uruguay that had the distinction of scaring me more than anything at the fest. I jumped out of my skin a few times during this strange, nightmarish vision from the director of the original Silent House. It Follows was what followed to end the evening, a much hyped horror flick from David Robert Mitchell that I came away from baffled as to why people were raving. I was not alone in this sentiment, however.

DAY 8:
For the final day in prep for the closing night party, I decided to focus on writing and only catch the premiere of Dan Gilroy’s Nightcrawler with Jake Gyllenhaal. It’s a stunning film and an astounding debut for a relatively unsung writer and first time director. Sydney Lumet meets Martin Scorsese is the best way to describe it, but Nightcrawler is very much it’s own beast. Amazing way to finish the fest, followed by an ABC’s of Death inspired closing night extravaganza full of drinking and debauchery, at which me and most everyone I knew at the Fest ended up catching a cold. Fun!

Top 5 favorite features:
1 The Editor
2 Nightcrawler
3 Housebound
4 Spring
5 Alleluia

Check out my reviews so far, and look for more and more to be added in the coming weeks including but not limited to: an overview of the short films presented, Shrew’s Nest, Local God, The Incident, and The Treatment! Feel free to comment below and converse with me. BTW, anybody want a Drafthouse flick?