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Second Wave Of Fantastic Fest Films Is Mind-Blowing
The First wave of films announced for this years Fantastic Fest were already amazing. The announcements ranged from Phantasm: Ravager to The Greasy Strangler. The second wave however, is one that my mind and body were not ready for. The pure awesomeness of this list is sort of like looking into the Arc of the Covenant. It might melt your face off.
Fantastic Fest 2016 unleashes its fury starting Sept. 22 in Austin, TX. Check out the details of the second wave below. For more info on how to attend, go to fantasticfest.com.
Alamo Drafthouse’s Fantastic Fest delivers another dose of cinematic decadence with its second wave of programming. Procured once again from the most curious corners of the genre universe, Fantastic Fest is proud to announce its opening film, Denis Villeneuve’s stunning ARRIVAL. ARRIVAL marks Villeneuve’s Fantastic Fest debut,which has proven to be worth the wait as his spectacular science fiction feature promises to kick off proceedings in explosive fashion.
It wouldn’t be Fantastic Fest without some true heavyweights of world cinema represented and this year is no exception. Park Chan-Wook, legendary South Korean director of OLDBOY and STOKER, attends the festival for the first time to present the US Premiere of his gorgeous erotic drama THE HANDMAIDEN. Dutch defiler Paul Verhoevenhas provided what will prove to be one of the most controversial and provocative films of the year with his dark and deadly comedic rape-revenge thriller ELLE, while Paul Schrader delivers his unique brand of pugilistic raw force with his hyper-violent, crime-at-all-costs thriller DOG EAT DOG.Female directors take center stage for three of Fantastic Fest’s most hotly anticipated titles this year, firmly shattering the myth that game-changing cinema is gender-biased. Ana Lily Amirpour follows up her alt-cult sensation A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT with her sand-blasted, dystopian love story THE BAD BATCH; Maren Ade delivers what will be the most uncomfortable film of the festival, the desert-dry black comedy TONI ERDMANN; and Julia Ducournau’s directorial debut, RAW, takes us on a cannibalistic coming-of-age shock ride that resonates long after its stunning finale.“I’m proud of the creative tension we’ve asserted with this year’s program,” said Fantastic Fest founder Tim League. “Established, award-winning veterans are celebrated on the same stage as first-time filmmakers. This dynamic speaks to the strong diversity and rich body of talent that is challenging cinema today. It’s an honor to share their work with our global audience.”One of last year’s most memorably chaotic and explosive events returns as Itchy-O lay claim to slay Austin and unleash their mayhem once more. A blazing, 32-member aural assault from the darkest depths of Colorado, Itchy-O is a wholly immersive, musical experience on a massive scale that is right at home at Fantastic Fest.Alamo Drafthouse’s American Genre Film Archive plays an important role in this year’s Fantastic Fest with the inclusion of two films prized from its vaults. First up is a watershed moment for AGFA and the culmination of years of work: a brand new digital transfer of THE ZODIAC KILLER, a film made with one goal in mind – to capture the real-life Zodiac Killer. Made possible by the 783 lovable perverts who donated to the AGFA Kickstarter campaign launched at last year’s Fantastic Fest, the World Premiere screening of AGFA’s new transfer, and crown jewel from the Something Weird archive, will feature a Q&A with Lisa Petrucci, the incomparable co-founder of Something Weird!Screening in conjunction with the release and signing of American Cinematheque’s Dennis Bartok’s new book, A Thousand Cuts, is a rarely seen 35mm print of the 1968 low-budget alien invasion gem GOKE: BODY SNATCHER FROM HELL. Courtesy of a print provided by AGFA, director Hajime Satô’s delightfully pulpy and deliriously earnest example of Japanese horror creates a remarkable example of what a filmmaker can do with a few bucks, a model airplane and some silly putty.See below for the full lineup of newly announced film titles for Fantastic Fest 2016. Final wave of titles to be announced shortly.AALAVANDHALANIndia, 2001International Premiere, 178 minDirector – Suresh KrissnaKamal Hassan stars in this ridiculously entertaining tale of an Indian commando pitted against his own serial killer twin brother in a deadly race to save the beautiful Tejaswini from certain death.ARRIVALUnited States, 2016Opening Film, 116 minDirector – Denis VilleneuveWhen mysterious spacecraft touch down across the globe, an elite team – lead by expert linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) – are brought together to investigate. As mankind teeters on the verge of global war, Banks and the team race against time for answers – and to find them, she will take a chance that could threaten her life, and quite possibly humanity.ASSASSINATION CLASSROOM – GRADUATIONJapan, 2016U.S. Premiere, 118 minDirector – Eiichiro HasumiThis conclusion to last year’s hit finds Class-E running out of time in their efforts to assassinate Koro-sensei, their yellow octopus smiley-faced teacher who is about to destroy Earth.THE BAD BATCHUnited States, 2016U.S. Premiere, 115 minDirector – Ana Lily AmirpourAna Lily Amirpour follows up her alt-cult sensation A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE with her highly anticipated dystopian cannibal desert trip.
DOG EAT DOGUnited States, 2016U.S. Premiere, 93 minDirector – Paul SchraderFrom the brilliant minds of Edward Bunker and Paul Schrader comes this unhinged pulp comedy at a million miles an hour; the story of three hardened criminals and the final, simple crime which will bring them all down.ELLEFrance, 2016US Premiere, 131 minDirector – Paul VerhoevenPaul Verhoeven’s debut in French cinema highlights an incredible Isabelle Huppert in a dramedy that first subverts then transgresses the rape-revenge narrative.EYES OF MY MOTHERUnited States, 2016Regional Premiere, 77 minDirector –Nick PesceAfter a traumatic event, a young girl begins to associate pain and death with love and friendship in increasingly dangerous ways.GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTSUnited Kingdom, United States, 2016US Premiere, 111 minDirector – COLM MCCARTHYIn a dystopian future, young Melanie must go on a trip with the soldier who needs to kill her, the doctor who wants to use her and the teacher who wants to help.GOKE: BODY SNATCHER FROM HELL – PRESENTED BY AGFAJapan, 1968Special Screening, 84 minDirector – Hajime Satô’sAn airplane crashes under mysterious circumstances and the survivors find themselves stalked by an evil blobby presence bent on world domination.THE HANDMAIDENSouth Korea, 2016U.S Premiere, 145 minDirector – Park Chan-WookIn the 1930s, country girl Sook-Hee is hired as a handmaiden to Japanese heiress Lady Hideko, who lives a secluded life with her uncle. However Sook-Hee is not what she seems… and neither is Lady Hideko, Count Fujiwara or Uncle Kouziki.HELMUT BERGER, ACTORAustria, France, Italy, 2015Texas Premiere, 90 minDirector – Andreas HorvathFilmmaker Andreas Horvath (EARTH’S GOLDEN PLAYGROUND) offers a deeply personal and unblinking portrait of Helmut Berger, the Austrian film star of the ’60s and ’70s best known for his work with director Luchino Visconti.THE HIGH FRONTIERPoland, 2016International Premiere, 97 minDirector – Wojciech KasperskiFather/son bonding time takes an extraordinarily dark turn when a former guard and his two teen boys receive an unexpected guest in their remote cabin along the Poland-Ukraine border.KAMMATTIPADAMIndia, 2016North American Premiere, 240 minDirector – Rajeev RajiAging gangster Krishnan returns to his hometown after receiving a distressing phone call from a friend, only to find that he’s picking up the pieces after thirty years of bloody gang war.NOVA SEEDJapan, Canada, 2016U.S. Premiere, 64 minDirector – Nick DiLibertoPainstakingly hand-drawn by a single animator over four years, this saturated slice of lo-fi sci-fi pulp recalls both Moebius and Miyazaki as it ambitiously realizes an eclectic post-apocalyptic future populated by lion-men, brain-leeching slugs and Saturday Morning Cartoon villainy, the latter most memorably personified by the sublimely named Dr. Mindskull.RAWFrance, 2016US Premiere, 98 minDirector – Julia DucournauPart sister bonding, part coming-of-age story, part gross-out horror flick, Julia Ducournau’s debut feature is the terror discovery of 2016.THE RED TURTLEFrance, 2017North American Premiere, 81 minDirector – Michaël Dudok De WitA castaway ekes out an existence on a deserted tropical island guarded by an enigmatic red tortoise in this magnificent animated fable from the imagination of acclaimed Dutch animator Michael Dudok de Wit (FATHER AND DAUGHTER) and produced in part by the legendary Studio Ghibli.SADAKO VS KAYAKOJapan, 2016US Premiere, 98 minDirector – Kôji ShiraishiThe showdown of the century is about to begin and no one in Tokyo will be spared: Ring’sSadako vs The Grudge’s Kayako in a fight to determine the future of humanity.SAFE NEIGHBORHOODAustralia, United States, 2016World Premiere, 85 minDirector – Chris PeckoverChris Peckover, director of 2010’s UNDOCUMENTED, returns to Fantastic Fest with this playfully twisted suburban Christmas thriller in which babysitter Ashley must protect twelve-year-old Luke during an unusual home invasion.SHIMAUMAJapan, 2016International Premiere, 103 minDirector – Hajime HashimotoDora is a lowlife con man who runs a marriage scam with his associates. But a badly timed encounter with a yakuza will plunge Dora into a new, deep world of darkness, both ugly and enticing!SWEET, SWEET LONELY GIRLUnited States, 2016World Premiere, 76 minDirector – A.D. CalvoAdele is a friendless young woman living with her wealthy but agoraphobic aunt. She meets Beth and the two become fast friends, but Adele may be drawn to a darkness within her new companion, a darkness that threatens to overtake everything.TERRY TEONew Zealand, 2016International Premiere, 92 minDirector – Gerard JohnstoneTeenaged cat burglar Terry Teo turns crime fighter when his estranged father is killed by local gangsters in this revival of the classic New Zealand character.TONI ERDMANGermany, 2016
U.S. Premiere, 162 minDirector – Maren AdeA father tries to reconnect with his repressed, career-driven daughter in the funniest movie to ever come out of Germany.THEY CALL ME JEEG ROBOTItaly, 2015Texas Premiere, 118 minDirector – Gabriele MainettiA lowlife thug finds his grimy, pornography-filled existence disrupted when he accidentally acquires superpowers that force him to become a better man against his will.YOUNG OFFENDERSIreland, 2015International Premiere, 84 minDirector – Peter FoottThe day after the largest drug bust in Irish history, with massive packages of cocaine washing up along the shoreline, two go-nowhere teens make a most sensible decision: They will ride to the coast on stolen bicycles and claim a bundle of that wondrous cocaine for themselves.THE ZODIAC KILLER – Presented by AGFA and SOMETHING WEIRDUnited States, 1971World Premiere, 85 minDirector – Tom HansonAGFA and Something Weird present a brand new 4K transfer of this sanity-defying, tabloid-horror vortex that was produced with one goal in mind: to capture the real-life Zodiac Killer.
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‘Evil Dead’ Film Franchise Getting TWO New Installments
It was a risk for Fede Alvarez to reboot Sam Raimi’s horror classic The Evil Dead in 2013, but that risk paid off and so did its spiritual sequel Evil Dead Rise in 2023. Now Deadline is reporting that the series is getting, not one, but two fresh entries.
We already knew about the Sébastien Vaniček upcoming film that delves into the Deadite universe and should be a proper sequel to the latest film, but we are broadsided that Francis Galluppi and Ghost House Pictures are doing a one-off project set in Raimi’s universe based off of an idea that Galluppi pitched to Raimi himself. That concept is being kept under wraps.
“Francis Galluppi is a storyteller who knows when to keep us waiting in simmering tension and when to hit us with explosive violence,” Raimi told Deadline. “He is a director that shows uncommon control in his feature debut.”
That feature is titled The Last Stop In Yuma County which will release theatrically in the United States on May 4. It follows a traveling salesman, “stranded at a rural Arizona rest stop,” and “is thrust into a dire hostage situation by the arrival of two bank robbers with no qualms about using cruelty-or cold, hard steel-to protect their bloodstained fortune.”
Galluppi is an award-winning sci-fi/horror shorts director whose acclaimed works include High Desert Hell and The Gemini Project. You can view the full edit of High Desert Hell and the teaser for Gemini below:
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‘Invisible Man 2’ Is “Closer Than Its Ever Been” to Happening
Elisabeth Moss in a very well-thought-out statement said in an interview for Happy Sad Confused that even though there have been some logistical issues for doing Invisible Man 2 there is hope on the horizon.
Podcast host Josh Horowitz asked about the follow-up and if Moss and director Leigh Whannell were any closer to cracking a solution to getting it made. “We are closer than we have ever been to cracking it,” said Moss with a huge grin. You can see her reaction at the 35:52 mark in the below video.
Whannell is currently in New Zealand filming another monster movie for Universal, Wolf Man, which might be the spark that ignites Universal’s troubled Dark Universe concept which hasn’t gained any momentum since Tom Cruise’s failed attempt at resurrecting The Mummy.
Also, in the podcast video, Moss says she is not in the Wolf Man film so any speculation that it’s a crossover project is left in the air.
Meanwhile, Universal Studios is in the middle of constructing a year-round haunt house in Las Vegas which will showcase some of their classic cinematic monsters. Depending on attendance, this could be the boost the studio needs to get audiences interested in their creature IPs once more and to get more films made based on them.
The Las Vegas project is set to open in 2025, coinciding with their new proper theme park in Orlando called Epic Universe.
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Jake Gyllenhaal’s Thriller ‘Presumed Innocent’ Series Gets Early Release Date
Jake Gyllenhaal’s limited series Presumed Innocent is dropping on AppleTV+ on June 12 instead of June 14 as originally planned. The star, whose Road House reboot has brought mixed reviews on Amazon Prime, is embracing the small screen for the first time since his appearance on Homicide: Life on the Street in 1994.
Presumed Innocent is being produced by David E. Kelley, J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, and Warner Bros. It is an adaptation of Scott Turow’s 1990 film in which Harrison Ford plays a lawyer doing double duty as an investigator looking for the murderer of his colleague.
These types of sexy thrillers were popular in the ’90s and usually contained twist endings. Here’s the trailer for the original:
According to Deadline, Presumed Innocent doesn’t stray far from the source material: “…the Presumed Innocent series will explore obsession, sex, politics and the power and limits of love as the accused fights to hold his family and marriage together.”
Up next for Gyllenhaal is the Guy Ritchie action movie titled In the Grey scheduled for release in January 2025.
Presumed Innocent is an eight-episode limited series set to stream on AppleTV+ starting June 12.
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