2005: Spain’s Eugenio Mira makes the scene and blows minds with his first (of three, thus far) FF entry, The Birthday.
2006: Mel Gibson unexpectedly pops up with Apocalypto, offends no one in particular.
2007: The final question at genre godhead George A. Romero‘s Diary of the Dead Q&A is “What’s your favorite color?” “Scotch,” replies the director, toasting the audience with a tumbler of the same. In the parking lot, Zack Carlson takes a hard, bloody one in the manhood from Hawgfly SFX’s “gore cannon.”
2008: Bill Murray is everywhere you want to be. Especially if you want to be shaking your booty at the Longhorn Caverns closing night party.
2009: Lars von Trier‘s Antichrist and Tom Six‘s Human Centipede premiere. Chaos reigns absolute.
2010: The RZA nearly decapitates Lifetime Achievement Award-winner Yuen Woo-Ping onstage at the Paramount.
2011: Rick Baker presents a special screening of An American Werewolf in London; audience weeps with joy.
2012: Local boy makes good: Screenwriter C. Robert Cargill‘s Sinister gets creepy all over FF.
2013: Bill and Ted, aka Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves, together again.
2014: Newly expanded Alamo South Lamar opens with three additional screens, the HighBall returns (minus the bowling alley), and a second Fantastic decade begins.
This article appears in September 19 • 2014.