Fantastic Fest 2009: Jenn's Wrap-Up

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It's over a week after Fantastic Fest, why are we still writing about it?  Because it was Fantastic Fest, and Chaos Reigns.

FF09-Lunch Down Terrace guys-cYou may have heard that even Variety picked up on the Chaos Reigns meme.  Chaos did reign, from a sexy Swede turning grown women and a few men into quivering fans, to Zack Carlson's amazing save of a Yatterman screening by split-screen magic to show subtitles from a screener with the actual film. We had traditions continued, from David Strong nudity (you had to be there, but if you've been to a Fantastic Fest related event, this is not shocking) to the extreme, watching Tim League in a patriotic unitard battle Uwe Boll in the boxing ring (Boll politely didn't wipe the floor with League). 

I finally understood the draw to karaoke, watching Matt Dentler belt out "Paper Planes" and Nacho Vigalondo going all out on classics, with poses that would put Elvis to shame. Tiffany Sullivan, new mom and Fantastic Fest veteran, even got a "Chaos Reigns" onesie for her infant son, photos of which are now plastered all over the Internet.

My biggest regret was missing the Fantastic Fest Awards, and the amazing flip done by Mandrill star Marko Zaror. And missing Mandrill as well.   If you want to get a sense of the actual experience, it's been posted on YouTube. I highly recommend you go to the Fantastic Fest YouTube page to catch most of the Q&As, and some of the special events, like the Fantastic Feud fights, as well as a brilliant compilation of "Chaos Reigns" chants. I think between Nacho Vigalondo and Tim League, the Alamo Army is alive and well, and ready to do their bidding.

My least favorite experience (besides the scenesters invasion of the Highball) was seeing a studio guest break the Alamo's perfect record, and actually take pictures of a film during a screening of Universal Soldiers: A New Beginning. My cineastic sensibilities were highly offended that someone would do that, especially at the Alamo Drafthouse. But if I were one of the security guards watching for pirating, I wouldn't take on Andrei "the Pitbull" Arlovskim either. Still, it was distracting to the audience, and I'm sure he could get stills from official and approved sources.

FF09-Michael Bassett-aOn the downside, I missed a few films. I watched more than 40 features between screeners and actual screenings, but I wasn't able to see everything I wanted to see.  I really wish I'd seen Solomon Kane, which I skipped because I would have missed the beginning.  I also missed Mandrill, which won Best Fantastic Feature. And I'm going to Chile, where it was made. I'm really hoping it gets submitted to Cine Las Americas so it will show again in town before DVD. At least here's hoping. I also wish I'd managed to make it to The Revenant, which I've only heard good things about. Watching a rough-cut screener isn't quite the same. Shorts wise, I didn't get a chance to see the Short Fuse shorts, which is depressing, because the shorts programs at Fantastic Fest are very strong, and I'd hoped to see all of them.

Picking a favorite feature with such diverse films is tough. But I have to say mine was was A Town Called Panic, one of the most surreally absurd and very funny films I've seen in a long time, and trust me when I say that I never thought I'd say that about the adventures of toy horses living with a cowboy and indian in the Belgian countryside.

But the lineup included a diverse selection of genre films unlikely to play together again.  Private Eye by Dae-Min Park proves that Korean film contends with the best anywhere, especially when it comes to crime drama, almost as good as last year's The Chaser (which is no mean feat).  Down Terrace, an unlikely contender as a Fantastic Fest film, although definitely a crime drama, not only won the New Wave category at Fantastic Fest, but just won the Best UK Feature at Raindance.  Another British film, Bronson, is one of the most theatrical films in years. Daybreakers continues the new tradition of refreshing vampire tales after last year's breakout hit, Let the Right One In. Stingray Sam is destined to become a cult classic, which is appropriate, because, after all, when you can wow a crowd with a song about names and family trees, what else should happen. Cropsey deserves an honorary mention, not just because it's the token documentary, but a provocative film about perceived versus actual guilt. And finally, but not least is Zombieland, which really should have been the opening-night film, between being a zombie film and having strong Texas references. 

I was also impressed with some of the shorts I saw, from nearly everything in the Drawn and Quartered Animated shorts program, but especially The Terrible Thing of Alpha-9! and Maquetas, with wonderful twists. Next Floor blew me away, and makes me want to see a feature version, as it has a real "what the hell?!" quality along with incredible attention to detail that was mesmerizing.

FF09-Caitlin Shows FangsThe weird thing for me this year is the better I knew people, the less I saw of them. I don't know how that happened, but it was strange. Fortunately, I also met a whole lot of new people, too.  The social side of Fantastic Fest is what makes it more Fantastic than it has a right to be, even with the scenester invasion of the Highball (which made no one happy, but was remedied by the last official night).

I say "official night" because there was a super-special secret screening that was only announced by word of mouth. Barely a dozen people gathered on the patio at the Alamo on South Lamar for a midnight screening the Friday after Fantastic Fest. We were all sworn to secrecy, but I can say it was a vintage Asian horror flick, and very memorable.

Chaos also reigned in many people's lungs, as many of us fell victim to festival flu, a phenomenon common to those who overdo the partying and film viewing along with too little sleep. I'm still exhausted, and not 100%, but it was so very worth it, and it was very hard saying goodbye for another year. 'll probably start training for Fantastic Fest 2010 around the start of SXSW. 

If you want to relieve your Fantastic Fest experience, or see what you missed, there is a Fantastic Fest Flickr Group, as well as the Slackerwood Flickr page, as well as the Fantastic Fest You Tube page with all the interviews and special events documented for posterity (and perhaps blackmail).