I’m Gonna Haul Ass to Fantastic Fest 2024!
Art by Chris Bilheimer
It’s that time again! The third week of September is coming around and with it brings Fantastic Fest, that weeklong celebration of films and genre and so much nerdery. Presented by Alamo Drafthouse (and Sony now owns both Drafthouse and Fantastic Fest…weird), Fantastic Fest is a festival that lasts from September 18-26 in Austin, Texas. This will be my tenth time attending it, yet there’s always something new to look forward to as well as old standards and folks to enjoy again. At Neon Splatter, we’ve covered the festival in 2021, 2022, and 2023, and this year will be no exception!
But before the madness begins this week, a look at some of the most anticipated movies (and other stuff) that will soon engulf Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar. In alphabetical order, here are a few things I’ll be eager to check out.
ANORA
Sean Baker hasn’t missed yet—TANGERINE, THE FLORIDA PROJECT, and RED ROCKET are all excellent films that center on oft-overlooked people in ways that are sincere, hilarious, and revelatory. The buzz on ANORA is that the streak continues with this fractured romantic tale of the love between an exotic dancer and a young Russian oligarch. The movie’s been racking up awards and praise everywhere it’s appeared so far, and I can’t wait to see the latest humanist work from such an inspiring artist.
BOOKWORM
Ant Timpson was a very accomplished producer before getting into the director’s chair with 2019’s excellent COME TO DADDY. Timpson is reteaming with his DADDY co-writer Toby Harvard and star Elijah Wood for BOOKWORM, which looks like a beautifully fucked up family film that is equal parts Amblin and angst, with more than a dollop of magical realism thrown in for good measure. There was a surprising vulnerability and sweetness amidst the brackish dark humor of COME TO DADDY, and it looks like that will be expanded on to great effect in BOOKWORM. And I cannot wait.
CHAINSAWS WERE SINGING
It’s a simple premise (“Adventures await when new lovers are separated by a chainsaw killer.”) that looks to be made a bit more complicated by adding in buckets of gore and a heaping helping of music. This gem from Estonia looks special in all the ways, with great heart not just pumping out gallons of blood on screen but also fueling this inspired take. Horror genre bleeding into musical almost always results in something memorable, and director Sander Maran’s CHAINSAWS WERE SINGING certainly looks like it’ll be unforgettably unique.
CLOUD
The maestro behind CURE and PULSE is in full god mode this year as CLOUD is actually the third film that Kiyoshi Kurosawa made released in 2024—after CHIME and SERPENT’S PATH. While the plot is fairly vague and more than a bit culturally specific (which is always a good chance to learn about somewhere else), you simply cannot doubt Kurosawa. The man makes amazing movies that linger well past the end credits that are masterclasses in tension-building and character exploration. This will be my first time seeing a Kurosawa title on the big screen and, based on reactions from other festivals so far, CLOUD will make for a great (bad) time.
DEAD TALENTS SOCIETY
This looks like a zany afterlife takedown of celebrity culture and influencer mentality that blends spooky visuals with delightful satire. DEAD TALENTS SOCIETY is from director John Hsu (who also co-wrote it, with Kun-Lin Tsai) and the originality bleeds from the preview that promises something truly electric. It’s like if BEETLEJUICE was crossbred with America’s Got Talent, and then put through the Taiwanese pop culture blender. Based just on the trailer and some early word of mouth, I have high hopes for this one and think that DEAD TALENTS SOCIETY may end up being a big sleeper hit of this year’s Fantastic Fest.
ESCAPE FROM THE 21ST CENTURY
While the above trailer promises so much delightful insanity, I’m going to let part of Fantastic Fest programmer Austin King’s write-up for ESCAPE FROM THE 21ST CENTURY speak for why I’m so curious about this movie (which just played exceptionally well at TIFF):
True to the interests of its teenage protagonists in a bizarro version of 1999, this movie is obsessed with STREET FIGHTER. I come to you, as a Zangief Main, to tell you this is the STREET FIGHTER movie we need. With an M. Bison-inspired main villain, a mysterious drug that grants people superpowers, and a character who claims his martial arts come from the “school of Street Fighter,” this film is a fighting game fan’s dream. Using the classic 2D game as an explicit reference point, it indulges in recreating an Ansatsuken moveset in a classic Ryu combo and becomes another layer of nostalgia obsession to deepen the themes around teen perspective. Practice those whiff punishes, memorize your fireball input, and check out the frame data of ESCAPE FROM THE 21ST CENTURY.
I mean…how can you possibly pass that up?
Events
It’s not just movies at Fantastic Fest! In addition to all of the screenings of the latest and greatest, there are also a bunch of events. There’s my beloved Found Footage Festival’s VHS Circus. Mac Sabbath (pictured above and exactly what you think it is) will be performing at the opening night party. Plus there’s a bunch of podcast recordings, trivia games, a Drag Queen gameshow, a “ghoulish book fair,” and much more that are all happening in The Highball and around Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar. Not every non-film event will be your bag, but they are all unique moments that provide a rich experience alongside your fellow nerds.
FRANKIE FREAKO
I have been a hug Astron-6 fan for many years now, since their numerous short films—not to mention FATHER’S DAY, MANBORG, BIO-COP, and more. It was great to see that one of the collective, Steven Kostanski, really broke through in the genre world with 2020’s PG: PSYCHO GOREMAN. The Astron-6 gang seems to all be in FRANKIE FREAKO (along with some Red Letter Media folks, too), which looks like another fun throwback. This time, Kostanski and company are harkening back to the days of GHOULIES III: GHOULIES GO TO COLLEGE, MUNCHIES, THE GARBAGE PAIL KIDS, and other creature features that star tiny weirdos that are pretty gross. Kostanski knows his stuff, the practical effects look fun as hell, and I think this will end up being a delightful pastiche that will tickle the hearts of all former USA’s Up All Night viewers.
ICK
Joseph Kahn’s filmography is short but diverse. In addition to his dozens upon dozens of music videos and commercials, Kahn has made TORQUE, DETENTION (2011), and BODIED. There’s not a lot of connective tissue between the subject matter (or much else) between those three, but they are all visually rich comedies that approach their topics in interesting ways. All of them are severely flawed, but in ways that provoke thought and conversation while showing a true understanding of the genre in which they take place (and usually a mix of reverence and flippancy that is hard to pull off). ICK sounds more in line with DETENTION (2011) than anything else, a high school-set genre send up, but that cult film lives rent free in my head most days, so I’m certainly open to revisiting that well.
Restorations/Repertory Screenings
In addition to all of the new films from all over the world hitting the screens at South Lamar, Fantastic Fest also boasts some great repertory/restoration screenings put on with the help of American Genre Film Archive (AGFA), MUBI, and a host of other companies. It’s a sweet chance to see some titles that you may never seen in a theatrical setting, in pristine condition. This year there are retrospectives/restorations/repertory showings of BIG TOP PEE-WEE, WAKE IN FRIGHT, THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES WHO STOPPED LIVING AND BECAME MIXED-UP ZOMBIES, THE GUEST, CARNIVAL OF BLOOD, THE BIRTHDAY, THE BABADOOK, and more.
Secret Screenings
There’s always some secret screenings at Fantastic Fest with some previously unannounced titles making their debut (including North American, International, or Global premieres). This year there are FIVE such screenings. What will they be? Rumors run rampant amidst the Fantastic Fiends with all sorts of possible titles including the new SALEM’S LOT, Bong Joon-ho’s MICKEY 17, the third PADDINGTON, the new Mike Flanagan, KRAVEN THE HUNTER, Robert Eggers’ NOSFERATU, and many more possibilities.
Who knows what these screenings will actually be, but they are usually worthwhile showcases of artists and a special moment that helps build buzz for the movies. (My personal guesses? THE LIFE OF CHUCK, Timo Tjahjanto’s THE SHADOW STRAYS, VENOM: THE LAST DANCE, SMILE 2, and—in my longest of shots—Francis Ford Coppola in attendance for MEGALOPOLIS).
THE SPIRIT OF HALLOWEENTOWN
Admittedly, I’m not a big fan of HALLOWEENTOWN. I simply didn’t grow up on it and I don’t think I properly saw the whole thing until like five years ago. I’ve nothing against it, of course, it’s just a matter of poor timing. However, this documentary intrigues me as I love the idea of a whole town embracing some weird cult classic as part of their identity and leaning into the macabre spirit of the season. Documentary filmmakers Bradford Thomason and Brett Whitcomb have previously done great work—JASPER MALL and BUTTERFLY IN THE SKY—that sympathetically look at humanity while still retaining humor about the situation and appreciating what makes something special to folks. I may not be the target audience for THE SPIRIT OF HALLOWEENTOWN, but I am still quite keen to check it out.
UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE
Matthew Rankin’s THE TWENTIETH CENTURY (2019) was an incredibly singular work that still had the lovely bizarre touches of Guy Maddin and Martin Scorsese (seriously). UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE looks like a totally different beast but one that is once again utterly unique while having ties to some masters that have come before (I’m getting some Albert Brooks vibes alongside, yes, Guy Maddin again). I truly don’t know what to expect from this meta-story of crossing paths in an alternate universe, but I know it will be something that only Rankin could’ve created.
THE WILD ROBOT
A sweet Dreamworks animation movie at Fantastic Fest?!? One of the best kept secrets of Fantastic Fest is that there’s always like two or three incredibly cute and touching movies that play every year. The buzz out of TIFF for THE WILD ROBOT is huge, with lots of people extolling the genuine emotions and heartfelt approach of the film. More than one reaction has mentioned tears. So while it is not the type of fare that most people associate with Fantastic Fest, it is something that I’ve come to expect and appreciate from the film festival: a simply great movie that is singular in approach and leaves an indelible impact.
Most badges for Fantastic Fest are sold out, but you can still get a second half badge for September 23-26 here.