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Third Wave of Fantastic Fest Lineup Announced

By Jenn Brown on September 8, 2009 - 7:00am in

Fantastic FestVIP and regular badges are sold out. Registration completion emails have gone out. And the last wave of film titles has been announced. Fantastic Fest is just over two weeks away and on Monday, 17 new feature titles were announced, including six U.S. premieres.

All the new titles are worthy of a writeup, but to save space, here are the highlights:

  • Lars Von Trier's controversial Antichrist will make its U.S. premiere. The images and trailers are provocative, and Von Trier has no fear of taboos, so this is high on my list of must-sees.
  • REC 2, the followup to the incredible REC by directors Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza, also has a U.S. premiere.  Special guest Javier Botet (the monster) will be in attendance.
  • Vampire's Assistant, with stars John C. Reilly, Josh Hutcherson and Chris Massoglia live in person
  • Under the Mountain by Black Sheep director Jonathan King, who will be in attendance
  • Ninja Assassin also has a special guest: director James McTeigue

Other films announced include Crazy Racer,  (dir. Hao Ning, 2009, China), Eugenie: Story of Her Journey (dir. Jesus Franco, 1970, Spain/West Germany), Groper Train (dir. Yojiro Takita, 1984, Japan), Merantau (dir. Gareth Evans, 2009, Indonesia), Paranormal Activity Sneak Preview (dir. Oren Peli, 2007, USA), S&M Hunter  (dir. Shûji Kataoka, 1986, Japan), Succubus  (dir. Jesus Franco, 1968, West Germany/Spain), The Bare Breasted Countess  (dir. Jesus Franco, 1973, France/Belgium), Tokyo Onlypics U.S. Premiere (dir. various, 2008, Japan), and Venus in Furs (dir. Jesus Franco, 1969, UK/West Germany/Italy). In addition, a special Master Pancake Theater will target Total Recall (dir. Paul Verhoeven, 1990, USA).

Don't assume that the third wave is the final announcement. Fantastic Fest director Tim League is a sneaky guy who usually has surprises in store, so don't be surprised if there's another special announcement or two.


Fantastic Fest runs September 24 through October 1, 2009. For up-to-date information, follow the fest on Twitter.