Fantastic Fest is genuinely something you have to see to believe. Every year in Austin, dozens of cinephiles, horror fans, genre weirdos, and filmmakers descend on the South Lamar Drafthouse (a proudly Austin brand) to screen countless films. The visibility of the Drafthouse and its corporate partnerships almost always guarantees some high-profile directors (Bong-Joon Ho, Taika Waititi, Nacho Vigalondo), Actors (Stephen Merchant, Michael C. Hall) as well as some notoriously popular films (“Knives Out,” “Parasite,” “Jojo Rabbit” just in one year). After two years of virtual or mixed, Fantastic Fest is back this year, baby! The festival is in full swing, bringing to life its violent delights for anyone with a ticket. Some notable screenings include horror entries “Smile,” “The Menu,” “Bones and All,” as well as prominent directors’ latest works: Park Chan-Wook’s “Decision to Leave,” Martin McDonagh’s “Banshees of Inisherin,” and one secret screening that genuinely feels like anybody’s guess.
Big Deals:
SMILE – Paramount Pictures is distributing this viral feature based on an SXSW-winning short film by Parker Finn. The trailers spooked the hell out of plenty of people, and with a scheduled release in a few short weeks to kick off the Fall, SMILE is poised to run the screening world. It’s already received good press from TIFF, and the SXSW bona fides of Parker Finn partnered with Paramount’s belief in this film demonstrates something vital to this movie.
Rosie Cotter, a psychologist at an emergency treatment facility, witnesses a patient kill themselves after claiming some monster was after them. When Rosie starts seeing things, she starts to believe her patient. People grinning ear to ear herald a terrifying monster waiting to take her life. The more she’s haunted, the less everyone around her trusts her. Soon she’ll be all alone, forced to confront a diabolical creature nobody knows about.
THE MENU – Ralph Fiennes plays the head chef of a notorious fine dining establishment. When several patrons visit (including Nicholas Hoult, Anya-Taylor Joy, and more), the evening unravels into violence and madness. Dinner is served!
This movie is tracking well from TIFF with solid reviews. Rumor has it Ralph Fiennes goes unhinged, and Nicholas Hoult can be smarmy as all get out. It’s a new environment that hints at a cannibalistic chef community, and the trailer didn’t give much to go off of, but its cinematography already looks like a visual feast. People are hooked, and I have a suspicion word of mouth for this film will be strong coming out of Fantastic Fest. Will the director and any of its stars attend?
BONES AND ALL – Luca Guadagnino’s been churning out profound indie character pieces for a while now, and his 2017 hit “Call Me By Your Name” probably ignited the spark that was Timothee Chalamet. When he directed “Suspiria,” no one suspected it would be as good as it was. His bona fides in horror was firmly established through “Suspiria” (with muses Tilda Swinton and Dakota Johnson). Who can forget some of the most gruesome deaths and bloody spurts ever? Luca’s back with both Chalamet AND horror in this newest movie.
The movie features Timothee Chalamet. A story of first love between Maren, a young woman learning how to survive on the margins of society, and Lee, an intense and disenfranchised drifter; a liberating road odyssey of two young people coming into their own, searching for identity and chasing beauty in a perilous world that cannot abide who they are. Press reports that Chalamet and his lover will both play cannibals.
Fantastic Fest ranked this as a romance and horror film. Two things Luca’s known for doing exceptionally well with one of his biggest stars. It will have longing looks and deep romances, but I imagine it’ll come paired with some powerhouse violence sequences. Guadagnino can do no wrong now, and this seems like a strong entry.
DECISION TO LEAVE – Park Chan-Wook stuns audiences with his complicated layers of filmmaking. Audiences familiar with his work find themselves drawn in by his storytelling and then profoundly shocked or appalled. His infamous vengeance trilogy (“Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance,” “Oldboy,” and “Lady Vengeance”) are the stuff of legend, with “Oldboy” going down as a ‘must see before you die’ film. He’s had his hands full with other projects (I’ve enjoyed his exec-produced “Snowpiercer” TV show quite a bit), but he’s back with this new romantic thriller. Fans of Bong Joon-Ho will find similar feelings in Park’s film. Considering the two are old friends and seem to be working in the same wheelhouse, it’s an easy association between them and vice-versa.
A detective investigating a man’s death in the mountains meets the dead man’s mysterious wife during his dogged sleuthing. That’s all we’re given, but the trailer promises an incredible array of filmmaking to latch on to. He’s turned in incredible films (his erotic thriller “The Handmaiden” was one of my favorites of the year it came out). I can’t recommend any of his work often, so the latest mind-melting movie only excites me more.
BANSHEES OF INISHERIN – Man, Martin McDonagh’s legacy in filmmaking has been cemented very early on with his most infamous work, “In Bruges.” Young men everywhere loved the film, maybe for all the wrong reasons. His work examines human stubbornness, and the layers underneath the stoic character he portrays peeled back to display complex emotions. He’s been accused of hating the human race with his films (often portraying us at our ugliest, without flinching.) However, his mouthy dialogue scenes and unique settings make for a great movie in the vein of Tarantino. A24 will release “Banshees” in the Fall (perhaps for an Academy run?), but this seems like the kind of film audiences won’t glom on to unless it gets its respective nominations. This film has a second life in winter awaiting it, but let’s see what McDonagh’s been up to for now.
Pairing McDonagh’s original collaborators, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, this story follows two lifelong friends who find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their relationship, with alarming consequences for both. Brendan Gleeson tells Farrell he will cut off one of his fingers every time Farrell talks to him out of the blue one day. What follows is a moral tale diving deep into the human psyche.
McDonagh’s not always answered his narrative questions. His work in the theater grounds all his storytelling in character, and he seems content to only answer questions about people, fewer things. The jury’s out if we will get an answer to what’s going on, but we can certainly expect there to be tons of swearing, bright-faced Irish Colin Farrell and some gorgeous sweeping hillsides.
SECRET SCREENING – This happens every year at the festival. No one knows what it is (except the programmers, not even the volunteers or staff know.) It’s a gamble for audiences since it’s programmed against something else equally watchable. Take it from their official Facebook invite: Past FF Secret Screenings have run the gamut from star-studded Hollywood premieres to unseen no-budget exploitation epics. But 2020’s offering is one of the most eagerly anticipated re-discovery of an explosive, death-defying, bullet-riddled, grenade-launching, flame-broiled, anti-human meg attack. An unseen literal blast from the past featuring fast cars, helicopter chases, profanity, nudity, cocaine-city, fisticuffs, stolen diamonds, defenestration, shotgun castration, men on fire, and Casio soundtracks, all in under 90 minutes. It’s truly a gamble. A few years ago, the rumor was that the secret screening was “Cats.” People even made stickers and plastered them all over the bathroom walls. (It was not.)
This year, there are two top contenders for big-budget screening: KNIVES OUT: A GLASS ONION MYSTERY or HELLRAISER. Both are big franchises getting a limited theatrical release AND going straight to streaming. Both feature veterans of Fantastic Fest (Rian Johnson screened the original “Knives Out” as a closing screening the year it was released. There are also photos of him singing karaoke at the bar!) The New “Hellraiser” intrigues me more since it’s less likely to make it into theaters and just go straight to Hulu (it is a Hulu-commissioned film, after all.) This iteration promises a new Pinhead, new plotting, and plenty of maniacal torture/murder to enjoy. “Knives Out 2” excites me as well. Netflix basically let Rian Johnson play in a Sandbox and make whatever movie he wanted for them. Johnson’s gone on record saying he has his own ideas of this Poirot-inspired character that could go on for quite some time. The first movie was an absolute riot and an acting piece for everyone involved (Chris Evans’ first cinematic debut since putting down the shield as Captain America.) Could it be either of those? Let’s hope. For now, we will keep our eyes peeled on some of the other programmed features also playing at Fantastic Fest.
For some reason, Spanish-language filmmaking seems to be on the block quite a bit. The fest has plenty of Spanish horror offerings, including “The Elderly” (all the elderly people in town start acting weirdly, prompting a flurry of terrifying murders), “Everyone Will Burn” (a Carrie-inspired film with more overtones from “The Omen” than Stephen King), “Disappear Completely” (a man is cursed by a Bruja to slowly lose his senses one by one) and “Venus” (a teenage girl recovers from an injury, but the release of gas into the neighborhoods of Madrid makes everyone go mad.) It’s also playing two documentaries, “My Life with Chucky” and “Lynch/Oz.” The latter comes from a filmmaker well-versed in breaking down the oeuvre of directors in documentaries. His previous film Origin explored the legacy of Ridley Scott’s “Alien” while showcasing the influences Scott channeled when he made his cinematic masterpiece. You can watch “Lynch/Oz” through the Drafthouse’s online watching portal FF @ Home (just go to their home website, they have big ads that will take you there), where you can catch some Spanish horror offerings I listed previously. I love that festivals offer a remote possibility with screening rooms for audiences who might not want to attend a festival.
Even without the movies, Fantastic Fest is always a spectacle. This year opens with a Satanic Marching Band, robot drink-makers, and the bizarrely added characters. A creepy clown might stalk through the crowd, or a man dressed as a pope might talk to you about your movie choice. Veterans of the fest come dressed in their weirdest and wildest for the opening night party. There will be “Fantastic Debates” with people going up to bat for their favorite directors and a “Bad Script Reading,” often featuring infamous talent giving their worst possible reading of a famous screenplay. It’s a festival without all the networking of typical film festivals, and I often compare it to a music festival with its rotating acts, daring lineup, and constant barrage of media. You can burn yourself out at this fest so take it one dose at a time. I will dive in a little deeper than usual and make the most of my time in Austin. Cheers gang!
