Cinema Scholars will be on the ground at this year’s Fantastic Fest, Alamo Drafthouse’s legendary genre film festival. The event takes place from September 18th to the 25th at the flagship Alamo Drafthouse location in Austin, TX.
Introduction
What do the following things have in common?
A McDonald’s-themed Black Sabbath cover band called Mac Sabbath. Taika Waititi running amok after his opening night screening. The Cheap Thrills Q&A that spiraled into an outrageous round of dares, including testicles in salsa and unfortunate tattoos. Live chainsaw sculpting demos at the post-party for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. A closing night rock band with elaborately costumed monster members. Doug Benson and Elijah Wood giving The Fellowship of the Ring the MST3K treatment with “The Doug Benson Interruption.” Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter catching a screening of Metallica Through The Never together. An epic food fight with 100 people.
And, oh yes, endless hours of incredible, gory, sometimes hilarious but always captivating cinematic art.
What do all these ridiculous events (and so many more) have in common? These are all actual happenings at Fantastic Fest in Austin, TX, over the years. Now closing in on year 20 of the genre film festival, where “chaos reigns,” the event promises another year of amazing programming. From big-name premieres to micro-budget features and all manner of oddities in between, Fantastic Fest has just about everything for genre lovers. Here’s a look at some of our most anticipated titles and events.
Premieres
While Fantastic Fest champions lesser-known films from around the world, the festival is also known for its star-studded world premieres. This year kicks off with the opening night film Primate from Paramount Pictures starring Academy Award Winner Troy Kotsur. Director Scott Derrickson and writer/ATX homeboy C. Robert Cargill return to the fest with the world premiere of Black Phone 2.
The highly anticipated horror thriller Shelby Oaks from NEON celebrates its first U.S. outing. Genre tastemakers at A24 serve up the Texas debut of the dark comedy If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, starring Rose Byrne and Conan O’Brien. Tiffany Haddish takes the lead in Lil Rel Howery’s directorial debut and world premiere of the horror comedy Haunted Heist. And Jalmari Helander’s action war epic Sisu: Road to Revenge starring veteran actor Stephen Lang makes its world premiere at the festival.
In addition to these big titles, other notable world premieres include the survival thriller Coyotes and Night Patrol, both featuring festival alum Justin Long. And Rod Blackhurst brings the slasher energy to Fantastic Fest with the world premiere of Dolly, starring Seann William Scott and Ethan Suplee. And the list goes on! From the Cannes jury prize-winner Sirât and the Dakota Fanning starrer Vicious to Shudder’s latest installments of V/H/S/Halloween and The Creep Tapes Season 2, the fest is jam-packed with never-before-seen goodness.
Competition
In addition to high-profile premieres, the Fantastic Fest roster also includes not one, not two, but three competition categories- Main, Horror, and Next Wave.
Main Competition
In the Main Competition, several films will contend for best of the fest. Titles include Chris Marrs Piliero’s Appofeniacs, a bloody cautionary tale about violence-inducing AI deepfakes. In Her Will Be Done, director Julia Kowalski takes a psychedelic trip to the French countryside, where a young woman fights a demonic curse inherited from her late mother. From Poland, another Kowalski, Bartosz M, brings the children-in-peril story 13 Days Till Summer, in which teens take on a home invader. And continuing this ever-popular subgenre, director Charlie Polinger’s film The Plague promises psychological torment at a pre-teen water polo camp.
Horror Competition
Over in the Horror Competition, Crazy Old Lady flips the script with an elder horror tale about a dementia-addled woman who mixes up her daughter’s ex with someone from her past when she forgets her meds. Bad Haircut, from director Kyle Misak, follows young Billy’s attempt to get a life-changing haircut, only to discover his stylist is frightfully unhinged. Kenichi Ugana’s The Curse carries on the great tradition of hex films with a modern social media twist. And the Australian film Beast of War blends genres when WWII soldiers stranded on their ship’s wreckage must survive brutal conditions adrift at sea, including a menacing great white shark.
Next Wave Competition
In The Next Wave Competition category, things get witchy in Camp, a coming-of-age summer camp flick from director Avalon Fast, where counselor Emma finds her coven. Out of Indonesia, Randolph Zaini’s A Woman Called Mother brings the gore when a family moves to the big city and their demons unfortunately follow. Director Brooke H. Cellars already won best title pun with Cramps: A Period Piece, a bloody comedy about the horrors of womanhood. And in The Restoration at Grayson Manor, director Glenn McQuaid delights with his queer erotic horror film featuring a sinister mother/son duo.
Restorations
Fantastic Fest has had a long partnership with the American Genre Film Archive (AGFA), bringing rare restorations to the event for many years. This year’s lineup includes a 35mm screening of the Thai action thriller Chocolate, a 4k restoration of Freaked from Drafthouse Films with fest alum Alex Winter in attendance, and the world premiere of the preservation of the blood-soaked Embalmer presented by visionary Director S. Torriano Berry.
Among the other special restoration screenings, you’ll find the world premieres of the new 4K restoration of The Bride of Re-Animator from Eagle Rock Pictures. The new digital preservation of the great provocateur Doris Wishman’s Dildo Heaven from Muscle Releasing. Bleeding Skull brings the 1984 French video slasher Folies Meurtrières. And the 4K restoration of the cult classic animation Angel’s Egg will screen at the fest courtesy of Gkids.
Fantastic Events
Fantastic Fest also boasts a full program of events for those who need a break from the big screen. The Kingcast’s Eric Vespe is back with co-host Anthony Breznican for a taping of their Stephen King-centric podcast. The duo invites a surprise guest to gab about their favorite screen adaptation from the prolific author.
Mick Garris, Don Coscarelli, and Ernest Dickerson will be on hand for the 20th anniversary of The Masters of Horror. Film luminaries duke it out, literally and figuratively, at The Fantastic Debates. Opponents defend their position on a cinematic theme behind podiums before taking the fight to the boxing ring.
From spooky Arts and Crafts and a Ghoulish Book Fair to The Fantastic Feud trivia competition and a medieval-themed drag show, there is plenty of fun happening outside the theater as well.
Fantastic Fest runs from September 18-25 at the flagship Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, TX. Stay tuned for more coverage from one of the biggest genre film festivals in the world!
