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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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Movies
Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month
Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.
Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.
According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.
Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.
Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.
Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.
While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.
According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”
The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.
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Movies
Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released
In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.
The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.
The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.
Here is the fresh trailer:
According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”
Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.
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News
Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers
Warning: This is a disturbing story.
You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.
This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400.
If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing.
Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction.
“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”
She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.”
At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.
“She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”
If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.
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