Fantastic Fest Adds 'Pusher', 'Antiviral' to Lineup
By Richard Whittaker, September 12, 2012, 12:00pm, Picture in Picture
With Fantastic Fest only a week away, teeth were grinding in anticipation of the final announcements. Now Austin's weirdest, wildest film fest has added the debut feature from Brandon Cronenberg (yes, of those Cronenbergs) Antiviral and more to the calendar.
We'd already been clued in yesterday that Doug Benson will be bringing his new stoner doc The Greatest Movie Ever Rolled along, but that's only one of a handful of out-there documentaries, including the demon-hunting The Exorcist in the 21st Century, and a search of another, more, er, phallic kind in The Last Member
There's also two highly anticipated remakes, with the inevitable questions. Can Luis Prieto bottle lightning with his remake of Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn's Pusher? And can Come Out and Play catch the 70's Spanish splatter horror of Who Can Kill a Child??
There's also one sequel that's got my attention: The Collector was a sorely-ignored entry into the sealed house genre, and so it's exciting to see the sequel, The Collection, breaking into the Alamo.
And for fans of repertory theater, Drafthouse Films will be bringing fresh new prints of their big upcoming releases, ocker-shocker Wake in Fright and neon-drenched martial arts/soft rock oddball Miami Connection. BTW, anyone else playing their own internal game of Drafthouse bingo, to guess which films they'll be acquiring from this year's lineup?
Fantastic Fest runs Sept. 20-27: For more details, visit FantasticFest.com, and follow us all throughout the festival for breaking news, reviews, interviews and hangover reports.
American Mary (2011)
D: Jen and Sylvia Soska, 95 mins, US Premiere
Disillusioned with her chosen profession and perpetually broke, medical student Mary Mason finds herself drawn into a shady world of underground surgery and body modification.
Antiviral (2012)
D: Brandon Cronenberg, 110 mins, US Premiere
Syd March makes people sick, infecting them with viruses harvested to order from celebrities, but gets more than he bargained for when his most famous source dies from a virus Syd has just infected himself with.
Berberian Sound Studio (2012)
D: Peter Strickland, 92 mins, US Premiere
Strange things occur after a British audio technician is summoned to Italy to work on a gory giallo film.
Besties (2012)
D: Rebecca Perry Cutter, 91 mins, World Premiere
Besties tells the story of two high school girls—an awkward freshman and a sexy senior—who become immersed in a manipulative and deadly friendship.
Black Out (2012)
D: Arne Toonen, 73 mins, World Premiere
A splitting headache, a dead gangster, twenty kilos of missing coke and 24 hours to sort it all out before getting married. Jos is about to have a very bad day.
Bring Me The Head of The Machine Gun Woman (2012)
D: Ernesto Diaz Espinosa, 75 mins, World Premiere
Timid, video game-loving DJ Santiago seemingly digs his own grave when he agrees to bring a violent criminal kingpin the head of Machine Gun Woman.
The Collection (2012)
D: Marcus Dunstan, World premiere
When Elena’s friends take her to a secret party at an undisclosed location, she never imagined she would become the latest victim of The Collector, a psychopathic killer. World Premiere with director/writer Marcus Dunstan, writer Patrick Melton and cast Josh Stewart and Emma Fitzpatrick in person
Come Out and Play (2012)
D: Makinov, 95 mins, US Premiere
While on vacation, Beth and Francis visit a remote island that turns out to be almost solely inhabited by children. Unfortunately for them, these kids are far from well behaved.
Danger 5 (2012)
D: Dario Russo, 150 mins, World Premiere
It’s World War II and there’s nothing Hitler won’t do to take over the world! Dinosaur men! Love potions! Giant robots! And all that stands in his way are the intrepid forces of the DANGER 5!
Dom - A Russian Family (2011)
D: Oleg Pogodin, 109 mins, North American Premiere
A Russian mobster returns to his ancestral home for a family reunion after years of living in the criminal underworld. Unbeknownst to him, his ruthless enemies follow close behind.
The Exorcist in the 21st Century (2012)
D: Fredrik Horn Akselsen, 80min, World Premiere
Norwegian documentarian Fredrik Horn Akselsen examines the work of Father Jose Antonio Fortea – an actual, Vatican-approved exorcist – in this balanced look at a largely hidden world within the Catholic church.
The Final Member (2012)
D: Jonah Bekhor and Zach Math, 75mins, Regional Premiere
A mind-blowing documentary about three men who are deeply obsessed with penises—human or otherwise.
The Greatest Movie Ever Rolled (2012)
D: Ryan Polito, 90 mins, World Premiere
Inspired by Morgan Spurlock’s Greatest Movie Ever Sold, two comedians, Doug Benson and Graham Elwood, decide to finance a movie about going on tour by going on tour.
Hail (2012)
D: Amiel Courtin-Wilson, 104 mins, Regional Premiere
Real life ex-con Daniel P. Jones stars in this haunting and unflinchingly realistic film crafted from over 500 pages of his own memories and experiences.
Helljford (2012)
D: Patrik Syversen, Kenneth Olaf Hjellum, Ole Giæver, Sebastian Dalén, Vegar Hoel and Roar Uthaug, 203 mins, World Premiere
Seven of Norway’s finest directors team up for writer/producer Tommy Wirkola’s fusion of Hot Fuzz and Twin Peaks. A seven part TV series from the director of Dead Snow.
History of Future Folk (2012)
D: J. Anderson Mitchell and Jeremy Kipp Walker, 85 mins, Regional Premiere
Real life bluegrass band Future Folk use a banjo and a guitar to save mankind in this sci-fi comedy origin story.
Lee's Adventure (2011)
D: Frant Gwo, 91 mins, North American Premiere
When Li Xianje's beautiful girlfriend dies in a tragic accident, he attempts to harness his temporal dilation disorder in order to travel back in time and save her.
Miami Connection (1987)
D: Y.K. Kim and Woo-sang Park, 120 mins, Repertory screening
The legendary long-lost '80s thunder-rager! Martial arts rock band Dragon Sound throw down in the ultimate conflict against an army of cocaine-powered motorcycle ninjas. The BEST unseen movie in HISTORY!
Pusher (2012)
D: Luis Prieto, 89 mins, US Premiere
A small time drug dealer gets in way over his head when a big deal goes bad in Luis Prieto’s British remake of Nicolas Winding Refn's debut feature film.
Tai Chi 0 (2012)
D: Stephen Fung, 100 mins, US Premiere
Martial arts meets steampunk in Hong Kong actor-director Stephen Fung's slick, stylish pop-art take on the life of Yang-lu Chan (played by new martial-arts sensation Yuan Xiaochao), founder of the Yang school of tai chi.
Taped (2012)
D: Diederik van Rooijen, 80min, Regional Premiere
A trip meant to save their marriage turns into a nightmare when Johan and Saar accidentally videotape a police shooting in the streets of Argentina.
Tebana Sankichi: Snot Rockets (2012)
D: Yudai Yamaguchi, 79 mins, World Premiere
Tak Sakaguchi stars in Yudai Yamaguchi’s feature-length reboot of an original indie short film made in 1995. Follow the ridiculous adventures of sometime private detective and fighting master Tebana “Snot Rockets” Sankichi, and his loyal sidekick “Twice” Shiro. An episodic, nonsense comedy that flies like a rocket and lands like a wet loogie.
Two Rabbits (Dois Coelhos) (2012)
D: Afonso Poyart, 108 mins, International Premiere
Edgar returns to Brazil after two years in Miami, focused on enacting a complicated revenge plot and hoping to find absolution for his sins in the process.
Vegetarian Cannibal (2012)
North American Premiere
D: Branko Schmidt, 84 mins
A corrupt gynecologist provides illegal abortions to prostitutes working for the Croatian mafia.
Vulgaria (2012)
D: Pang Ho-Cheung, 90 mins, Regional Premiere
What do pubic hair, pop rocks, cow vaginas and sex with mules have in common? They are all part of moviemaking in Hong Kong.
Wake in Fright (1971)
D: Ted Kotcheff, 114mins, Repertory screening
A Palme D’Or nominee based on the 1961 book of the same name by Kenneth Cook and directed by First Blood’s Ted Kotcheff, Wake in Fright is an uncompromisingly brutal look at what happens when men are left alone together in the outback with guns and a lot of beer. This is going to be a mind-blower on the big screen. Get ready.
Copyright © 2024 Austin Chronicle Corporation. All rights reserved.