Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. You can feel the anticipation growing amongst the Austin film nerd community. September is close, which means Fantastic Fest is nearly upon us.
If you thought all of us genre nerds were excited before, wait until you see what the first wave of programming includes. The closing night movie will be BONE TOMAHAWK. Yes, that Old West Cannibal movie starring Kurt Russell and his awesome old-timey facial hair! Not only that, but Kurt is going to be in attendance alongside director S. Craig Zahler and some unannounced cast members. The flick also stars Matthew Fox, Sean Young, Richard Jenkins, Sid Haig, Michael Pare, David Arquette and Patrick Wilson.
As you can see by the poster at the top of the article, Turkish genre cinema is going to play a part in the festival this year. Like last year's nod to Cannon Films tied to a doc about the work of Golan and Globus, a documentary on the Turkish “adaptations” of American films called Remix, Remake, Rip-Off will come with screenings of a few Turkish classics, including The Man Who Saves The World aka Turkish Star Wars, Tarkan Vs. the Vikings and The Deathless Devil.
Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn will be there to introduce a bunch of exploitation flicks, including Farewell Uncle Tom, The X-Rated Supermarket and My Body Hungers. I haven't seen the latter two, but Farewell Uncle Tom's... well, let's just say it's a piece of work. Would be worth watching again just to see another audience squirm uncomfortably in their seats.
Refn will be promoting a book that showcases his collection of vintage exploitation posters and doing a few signings over that opening weekend. You can also check out some of his original posters at the Mondo Gallery and get a signed copy there as well. I don't think you need a badge for the Mondo Gallery signing, so even if you're just farting around Austin and want to meet Refn and check out some cool genre posters you can do just that. Details below:
Other notable titles announced in this first wave (of three, typically) include Karyn Kusama's The Invitation and Sion Sono's latest Love & Peace.
Still up for grabs is opening night and perhaps a mid-fest spotlight slot, not to mention the notorious secret screenings. I'm really pulling for The Witch to play because everybody says it's the second coming of genre and, naturally, I also am desperate to see Crimson Peak. You have those two titles and Bone Tomahawk and the rest of the fest is gravy as far as I'm concerned.
Here's the full list of announced titles so far:
BONE TOMAHAWK - United States, 2015 World Premiere, 133 min Director - S. Craig Zahler
Kurt Russell stars in this character driven and at times horrific Western about a group of men (including Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox and Richard Jenkins) who set out to rescue a local woman and a young deputy who’ve been kidnapped by a tribe of cannibalistic troglodytes.
DARLING - United States, 2015 World Premiere, 78 min Director - Mickey Keating
A young woman slowly goes crazy after taking a job as the caretaker for an ancient New York home in the new film from writer/director Mickey Keating.
THE DEATHLESS DEVIL - Turkey, 1972 Repertory Screening, 84 min Director - Yilmaz Atadeniz
The mysterious Dr. Satan’s nefarious plans threaten the future of everyone on the planet, and the only men who can stop him are the brilliant Copperhead and his assistant Sherlock Holmes!
DER BUNKER - Germany, 2015 North American Premiere, 85 min Director - Nikias Chryssos
A student rents a room from a family in their converted army bunker, and ends up the tutor to the child and a virtual slave to the parents.
FAREWELL UNCLE TOM - Italy, 1971 Repertory Screening, 123 min Directors - Gualtiero Jacopetti, Franco Prosperi
The first movie based on historical facts about the rise and revolt of slavery in America is one of the most brilliant, misunderstood and reviled of all time.
GERMAN ANGST - Germany, 2015 US Premiere, 111 min Directors - Jörg Buttgereit, Michal Kosakowski & Andreas Marschall
German directors Buttgereit, Kosakowski and Marschall unleash this brutal assault on the senses, a surreal three-part horror anthology touching on love and hate and everything in between.
IN SEARCH OF ULTRA SEX - France, 2015 North American Premiere, 60 min Directors - Nicolas Charlet and Bruno Lavaine
A pandemic infects people everywhere with infinite lust, and the only ones who can save us are a group of astronauts in space, desperately looking for a solution.
THE INVITATION - United States, 2015 Special Screening, 97 min Director - Karyn Kusama
A haunted man attends a dinner party at the house he once called home, and becomes gripped with paranoia that his ex-wife and her new husband are harboring an insidious agenda.
LIZA THE FOX FAIRY - Hungary, 2015 Regional Premiere, 98 min Director - Károly Ujj-Mészáros
Somewhere in 1970s Budapest, nurse Liza dreams of romance. But as all her suitors die in violent and extreme ways, she begins to fear the worst: maybe she is really a fox fairy, doomed to remain alone forever!
LOVE AND PEACE - Japan, 2015 US Premiere, 117 min Director - Sion Sono
Fantastic Fest staple Shion Sono returns once again with a deeply personal (and expectedly odd) film about a lonely businessman with dreams of punk rock stardom and his best friend, a turtle.
LOVEMILLA - Finland, 2015 North American Premiere, 97 min Director - Teemu Nikk
LOVEMILLA is a delightful peek at life and love in Finland, filled with all the usual zombies, black holes, giant pandas and superheros you’d expect from the land that gave us Renny Harlin.
THE MAN WHO SAVES THE WORLD - Turkey, 1982 Repertory Screening, 91 min Director - Çetin İnanç
There has never been and will never be another film like THE MAN WHO SAVES THE WORLD, and your only chance to discover why is at this special Fantastic Fest screening!
MY BODY HUNGERS - United States, 1967 Repertory Screening, 80 min Director - Joseph W. Sarno
A roadhouse hostess goes undercover to investigate the murder of her sister in a little-seen sexploiter from grindhouse rebel and master of erotica Joe Sarno.
OFFICE - Korea, 2015 US Premiere, 111 min Director - HONG Won-Chan
OFFICE is the story of Kim, the salaryman who one day brutally murders his entire family with a hammer, and Lee, the put-upon intern at his workplace. It’s dark-as-night corporate satire hiding behind a slasher veneer with scares so well timed, you’ll jump out of your seat non-stop.
REMAKE, REMIX, RIP-OFF - Turkey/Germany, 2014 US Premiere, 96 min Director - Cam Kaya
Welcome to Turkey. It’s home to Yesilcam, the Turkish Hollywood where, in the late ‘70s, dreams were built on nothing more than a dime. Both a loving tribute to the burgeoning cinema of this young country and a trip into history, REMAKE, REMIX, RIP-OFF brings you the most outlandish story you’ve never heard, about filmmaking so dangerous that you need a safety harness just for watching.
RUINED HEART - Phillipines-Germany, 2015 Regional Premiere, 73 min Director - Khavn de la Cruz
Filipino iconoclast Khavn De La Cruz teams with famed cinematographer Christopher Doyle and Japanese mega star Tadanobu Asano to create a self-described “punk noir opera.”
SENSORIA - Sweden, 2015 World Premiere, 82 min Director - Christian Hallman
Caroline Menard is a woman in her thirties who has lost everything. As she moves into a new apartment searching for a new start, she’s unaware that something ancient is waiting for her.
THE SIMILARS - Mexico, 2015 World Premiere, 89 min Director - Isaac Ezban
On a dark and stormy night, eight strangers are stuck in a small bus station waiting for a bus to Mexico City. When strange things start happening, they find themselves trapped in a struggle for sanity and survival.
SPEED - South Korea, 2015 North American Premiere, 104 min Director - Lee Sang-woo
Four friends navigate sex, love and life in a heart-breaking new film from Korean director Lee Sang-woo.
STAND BY FOR TAPE BACK-UP - United Kingdom, 2015 US Premiere, 65 min Director - Ross Sutherland
Hypnotically scanning the contents of a VHS tape, this experimental essay-film eulogizes the former custodian of the analog artifact, transforming its recordings of GHOSTBUSTERS and FRESH PRINCE (among others) through rap-infused anecdotal narration, and inscribing both profound and hilarious associations to the tracking-lined images. STAND BY FOR TAPE BACK-UP will be presented as both a traditional screening as well as a live performance by creator Ross Sutherland.
TARKAN VS THE VIKINGS - Turkey, 1971 Repertory Screening, 86 min Director - Mehmet Aslan
Based on one of the most popular comic strips in Turkey. this rip-roaring adventure sees Tarkan and his trusty wolf companion Kurt take on the despicable Viking invaders after they leave him for dead!
VICTORIA - Germany, 2015 Regional Premiere, 138 min Director - Sebastian Schipper
Sebastian Schipper’s fourth directorial work is a single-shot tour-de-force that follows a Spanish barista through a dance club, the streets of Berlin, a coffee shop, a bank robbery and her destiny.
THE X-RATED SUPERMARKET - United States, 1972 Repertory Screening, 62 min Director - Paul Roberts
Want to save money on your weekly sex toy budget? Look no further than the supermarket shelves in some salacious tips and reactions from suburban horny housewives.
Hope to see some of you crazy bastards at the Drafthouse South Lamar this September!
-Eric Vespe
”Quint”
quint@aintitcool.com
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