The homegrown but internationally lauded Fantastic Fest – ground zero for all things horror, sci-fi, fantasy, animé, and the catch-all "cult" – announced today the first wave of its 2008 festival lineup. Some of the highlights include Let the Right One In, the Swedish vampire import that won Best Narrative Feature at this year's Tribeca Film Festival; Eagle Eye, which reunites Shia LaBeouf and director D.J. Caruso (keep your eyes open for a tie-in cell phone scavenger hunt during the fest); Brazilian pic Estômago, which will be paired with a four-course meal by Alamo Drafthouse Executive Chef John Bullington; the prequel Art of the Devil 3, described as "a tale of unrequited love set amid the exotic world of rural Thai black magic"; I Think We're Alone Now, a documentary about two superfans who have been separately stalking Eighties mall queen Tiffany for two decades now; the collected short films of Nacho Vigalondo, who won FF's grand prize last year for Timecrimes; and a special screening of William Castle's 1959 Vincent Price chiller, The Tingler, with the Alamo South Lamar specially wired to re-create the film's original buzzer-in-the-seat theatrics. If all that isn't enough to convince you to buy your badge now, then maybe the closing night party will seal the deal: That's when the Fest takes over Longhorn Caverns for a subterranean dance party a mile beneath the earth's surface.
Fantastic Fest takes place September 18-25. To see the lineup, visit www.fantasticfest.com. The second wave of festival content will be announced Thursday, Aug. 7.
