Fantastic Fest Daily Dispatch #1: Paranormal Battle Stags

That stag at the top of yesterday's dispatch? Little did I know it was actually a Battle Stag. From Gentlemen Broncos.  Wow.

This is going to be an exhaustive festival, I can tell already.  Two parties at the Highball, and I'm really impressed. I finally met a lot of people I should have already know, and caught up with some old friends, too. Yeah, and I saw a few movies.

The crowds were crazy as everyone had to pick up tickets for the first day, but it went much faster than I expected. This year, no grabbing of tickets; it was all online at the box office. Very fast, efficient, and with numbers you could read.  The PA system for calling the boarding numbers was a little dicey for outside, but it worked fine indoors. 

I started off with Van Dieman's Land. It's a good movie. and based on actual events, but it doesn't make for the happiest, punchiest start to a festival.  It's well made, but it's monochromatic imagery and bleak content made me fidgety.  It deserves better attention than I gave it.

Then, it was the mad rush over to the Paramount for the Opening Night Film, the source of the Battle Stag, Gentlemen Broncos.  The crowds were crazy (as pictured above), and the cast was very gracious. Jemaine Clement performed in character as Dr. Ronald Chevalier to read the winning "scifiakus" (sci-fi-haikus) before the movie. If you didn't catch the film, or you didn't get enough time with the cast and crew at the Brutus and Balzaak party, there's a "book signing" at Book People today at 4 pm with the cast. It should be entertaining.

Speaking of entertaining, hats off to the Highball crew for an outstanding debut.  The chefs were preparing appetizers like mad, and they were incredibly delicious. Highball Hot Wings made from quail with a sriracha-bacon emulsion, Texas Gulf Shrimp Cakes, Dewberry Hills Farms Chicken Liver Pate, Dr Pepper Ribs, and these incredible little deconstructed banana creme pies.  Hats off to chef Trish for that. Outstanding. 

I finished off the night (morning?!) with Paranormal Activity, with free popcorn and sodas (thank you, Paramount Pictures).  This cinema verite horror has a slow burn with a sudden ending. It was a solid film, although for me it could have ended about 10 minutes earlier. But again, I was exhausted.  And while no one screamed, I heard more than one collective gasp. 

Tomorrow's going to be crazier: two secret screenings, Zombieland and Doghouse.  So much to see! But for now, I'm going to bed. I'm typing with my eyes closed. If you're going to Zombieland, dress like a zombie and get zombified before the show; makeup artists will be stationed near the Paramount to help people get into the spirit. 

If you don't make it to the Paramount, you can choose among two secret screenings, Lars von Trier's Antichrist  ... and you may recognize a face of one special guest for Metropia.

Fantastic Fest runs through Thursday, October 1 at the Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar and the Paramount. Follow @fantasticfest and @slackerwood on Twitter for updates.