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Celebrating the finer elements of cinema. FantasticFestFantastic Fest , September 2008 18-25, - September 2008 www.fantasticfest.com 18-25 - Austin, septemberTexas 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com1 2 , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com 3 A Scanner Darkly Friday The 13th O ce Space Roller Girls Armageddon The Getaway Paris, Rushmore Urban Cowboy The Bermuda Grind Pee Wee’s Sin City Waiting For Guman Triangle Big Adventure Idiocracy Slacker What’s Eating The Best Little Piranha Gilbert Grape Whorehouse In Texas Indiana Jones And Spy Kids 1, 2 & 3 The Last Crusade Powder and many others… Blood Simple Suburbia JFK Prison Break Bottle Rocket The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Robocop 1 & 2 (every sequel, prequel and remake) Dancer, Texas Pop. 81 Kabluey Dazed And Confused The Legend Of Keeping filmmakers happy since 1971 Eddie Macon’s Run Boggy Creek The Faculty Logan’s Run Fandango Lolita Flesh And Bone Lone Star Friday Night Lights No Country For Old Men

table of contentS Features are listed alphabetically in this catalogue, see below for the page numbers of the shows sorted by section

Letter from the Festival Director Pg. 20 Master Icon Key Pg. 21 100 Best Kills Party Pg. 22 Evil Dead 2 Quote-Along (1987, USA) Pg. 22 Master Pancake: Friday the 13th (1980, USA) Pg. 22 Signature Event Jackson: Thrill the World Pg. 22 Fanboys (2008, USA) Pg. 42 jcvd (2008, ) Pg. 53 Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008, USA) Pg. 79 comedy I Think We're Alone Now (2008, USA) Pg. 51 Not Quite Hollywood (2008, USA/) Pg. 51 Spine Tingler! - the story (2007, USA) Pg. 58 documentary Zombie Girl (2008, USA) Pg. 80 Cargo 200 (2007, ) Pg. 29 Estomago (2008, Brazil) Pg. 40 Ex Drummer (2008, ) Pg. 41 drama Fighter (2008, Denmark) Pg. 46 Late Bloomer (2004, ) Pg. 55 Sauna (2008, FINLAND) Pg. 55 Astropia (2008, Iceland) Pg. 27 Fears of the Dark (2007, france) Pg. 43 Santos la pelicula (2008, ) Pg. 54 fantasy Tokyo! (2008, France/Japan) Pg. 74 Art of the Devil 3 (2008, Thailand) Pg. 26 Burrowers (2008, USA) Pg. 28 Dark Floors (2008, finland) Pg. 33 horror Donkey Punch (2008, US) Pg. 38 Feast 2 (2008, USA) Pg. 44 Jack Brooks Monster Slayer (2008, ) Pg. 52 Let the Right One In (2008, Sweden) Pg. 59 Tingler, The (1959, USA) Pg. 73 Wicked lake (2008, USA) Pg. 76 Wildman of the Navidad (2008, USA) Pg. 77 Deadgirl (2008, USA) Pg. 36 Doctor Infierno (2008, Spain) Pg. 37 Gachi Boy: Wrestling with a Memory (2008, Japan) Pg. 46 amd Next wave La Crème (Creme) (2008, France) Pg. 32 Rule of Three (2007, USA) Pg. 53 South of Heaven (2007, USA) Pg. 57 (2008, Japan) Pg. 75 Wreck, The (2008, USA) Pg. 78 Dark Age (1987, Australia) Pg. 83 (1979, Australia) Pg. 83 Man From Hong Kong (1975, Australia) Pg. 83 ozsploitation Razorback (1984, Australia) Pg. 83 Road Warrior (1981, Australia) Pg. 83 Turkey Shoot (1982, Australia) Pg. 83 Air Sex World Championships Pg. 23 Donkey Punch Boat Party Pg. 23 Fantastic Feud / fantastic debates Pg. 23 party Get Lit: Closing Night Cave Party Pg. 23 Blue Film Woman (1969, Japan) Pg. 82 Gushing Prayer (1971, Japan) Pg. 82 Lonely Cow Weeps At Dawn (2003, Japan) Pg. 82 pinku S&M Hunter (1986, Japan) Pg. 82 Alien Raiders (2008, USA) Pg. 25 How to get rid of the others (2007, Denmark) Pg. 50 Repo: A Genetic Opera (2008, USA) Pg. 52 science fiction Substitute, The (vikaren) (2007, Denmark) Pg. 70 Terra (2008, Canada) Pg. 72 Animated Shorts Pg. 85 Short Fuse Shorts Pg. 84 Short Films of Pg. 86 shorts Acolytes (2008, Australia) Pg. 24 Chaser (2008, Korea) Pg. 30 Chocolate (2008, Thailand) Pg. 31 Eagle Eye (2008, USA) Pg. 39 107 E North Loop Good The and The Weird, The (2008, Korea) Pg. 47 Left Bank (2008, Brussels) Pg. 56 (512) 451-1057 Muay Thai Chaiya (2007, Thailand) Pg. 50 Seventh Moon (2008, USA) Pg. 56 Surveillance (2008, USA) Pg. 71 6 Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com 107 E North Loop (512) 451-1057

Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com 9 12th Méliès d’Argent Competition Winners ( Méliès 2007-2008 ) European Federation Fantastic Film Festivals

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MELIES_FED_AUSTIN08.indd 3 13/8/08 12:59:47 Dear Friends,

On behalf of the City of Austin, it is my honor to welcome you to this great city for the 2008 edition of Fantastic Fest, the largest film festival in the .

From Terrence Malick to Richard Linklater to Robert Rodriguez, Austin's film community has a long-standing tradition of individuality and independence. Fantastic Fest embodies this with more than 100 films from more than 30 countries, bringing to Austin such unique and diverse programming as vampire films from Sweden, action films from Australia, a comedy starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, and the new from . Fantastic Fest is part of what helps keep Austin weird, and we love it for that.

But just as important is how it shows the international film community once again that Austin is one of the most film-friendly cities in all of North America. From Austin Studios to the Alamo Drafthouse, Austin's love and commitment to film sets it apart – a fact we couldn't be more proud of. We sincerely hope that the Fantastic Fest 2008 experience will bring a new audience of filmmakers and movie lovers to appreciate Austin as one of the best places anywhere to make a movie or just go see one.

Thanks to everyone involved in the festival, from the filmmakers to the staff to the audience itself for their support of Austin cinema. We hope everyone has a blast at Fantastic Fest 2008!

Regards,

Will Wynn Austin Mayor

The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request.

STATE OF TEXAS OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR TEXAS FILM COMMISSION

September 2008

Welcome Fantastic Festers,

You have chosen wisely. Being part of this year’s Fantastic Fest does more than guarantee you eight days of amazing films from around the world; it also makes you part of an indelibly Austin experience.

Think of the aicn.com readers and film fans around the world who would give pretty much anything to be here too. Take a look at the sponsor list, and you’ll see companies old and new, large and small, that have been front and center in securing Austin’s worldwide reputation as the place to be. The Austin Chronicle, , BSide, Ain’t It Cool News, Austin Daze, KOOP, KVRX, AMD Austin and of course the – that’s quite the power list of commercial, cultural and media icons, and they’re all here at what has become one of Texas’ highest-profile festivals.

I’m proud of Texas, I’m proud of Austin, and I’m very proud of this festival . It’s called Fantastic Fest, and it always lives up to the name.

Sincerely,

Bob Hudgins Director Texas Film Commission Fantastic Fest would like to thank our 2008 Sponsors: main sponsors

lead sponsors

media sponsors

industry sponsors

supporting sponsors

A Word from the Festival Director: This is the place in traditional film festival guides where you get a somber speech from the director about the vision statement of the festival. I suppose I should follow suit. Our vision: take a big beach ball full of fun, duct tape some nitro and the family dog to the side and start jostling. Unhinged, blood-soaked shenanigans all around!

Sure, in only our fourth year, we've had some great kudos. At this year’s International Film Festivals Summit, Variety president Charlie Koones named Fantastic Fest as one of the “10 Festivals We Love” alongside industry heavy-hitters such as Cannes, and Telluride. We were also named by Moviemaker Magazine as one of “25 International Film Festivals Worth the Submission Fee.” What's important to us, however, is that every single filmmaker, journalist, film professional and festival attendee has the time of their lives this week.

In 2008, we are amping up every aspect of the festival. More fire, more stars, more parties, more karaoke, more guns and more collective good times in the darkened halls of the theaters.

On the repertory side, we have two fabulous programs. First, we are welcoming back last years guest Harvey Fenton from Fab Press to co-present another Japanese retrospective. This time around we are bringing to life the pages of Jasper Sharp’s book: Behind the Pink Curtain with a retrospective of Japanese Pink films. If you enjoyed THE GLAMOROUS LIFE OF SACHIKO HANAI and UNCLE'S PARADISE from years 2 and 3 respectively, you will not want to miss this series which looks at an scene that is only found in Japan. Lars Nilsen worked with Jasper Sharp and NYAFF's Marc Walkow to program an exceptional lineup of four films, showcasing the many facets of the genre, from psychedelic-inspired freak-outs of the late 60s to truly bizarre Nazi-domination roughies of the 80s. Pink films are the breeding ground for new Japanese Film talent, and you'll get an ample dose of it here, plus a lot of boobs.

Lars and his cohort Zack Carlson have collectively programmed the NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD retrospective, a series of 6 films chosen to complement the U.S. premiere of the documentary by the same name. Australia is one of the few countries outside the US that had a robust drive-in culture. In the 70s and early 80s there was a golden age of Australian-produced exploitation movies that were incredible, and incredibly violent, raw and audacious. A few of these made it over to the states, most notably Mad Max and THE Road Warrior, both of which are being presented by Foster's Beer for free as part of the fest at Republic Square Park. For the rest of the series, we're focusing on more obscure entries into the genre and are bringing in legendary Aussie director Brian-Trenchard Smith to introduce two of them. Executive chef John Bullington has prepared special food menus for both retrospectives.

One of my personal favorite facets of the festival director job is to scour the globe for emerging young film talent. The best of our discoveries are premiered in the AMD NEXT WAVE showcase. Eight emerging talented filmmakers will present their films at the festival, but will also get a chance to experience the best that Austin has to offer and enjoy the company and camaraderie of the Fantastic Fest community. Last year's AMD NEXT WAVE winner Nacho Vigalondo world premiered his film which was purchased by Magnolia at the festival. Remake rights to his film were subsequently sold to and he is prepping work for his next big project. Who knows, you might look back at 2008 and realize you were drinking beer and generally goofing off with the next .

Speaking of Nacho, he'll be back this year to host a screening of his collected short films, inculding his Academy-award nominated 7:35 IN THE MORNING. He will also most certainly be holding court at the numerous karaoke parties and excursions throughout the week. Look for the U.S. Theatrical release of TIMECRIMES this fall, and tell your friends to go out to the cinema and support it!

Enjoy the program we have assembled for you in the following pages. We are very proud of the 2008 lineup and even more so, are anxiously awaiting the start of my personal favorite week of the year, Fantastic Fest.

Cheers,

Tim League director/co-founder Fantastic Fest founder Alamo Drafthouse Cinema The Festival Staff: The looming giant beast that is Fantastic Fest is not possible without the coordinated effort of both staff and volunteers alike. We would like to thank each and every one of the folks below who make this event pos- sible. Thank you for your months of hard work, the Fest would not be Fantastic without you. , director, head programmer Scott Weinberg, programming consultant , co-founder, programmer Tim McCanlies, co-founder Mike Sherrill, chief operating officer Paul Alvarado, co-founder Henri Mazza, creative director/party coordinator Matt Kiernan, sponsorship coordinator Andrew McEathron, technical director John Bullington, executive chef Karrie League, programmer Josh Jacobs, audio-visual director Zack Carlson, programmer , facilities manager Todd Brown, programmer Jill Lewis, guest manager Blake Ethridge, programmer Ryan Schibi, logistics manager Lars Nilsen, repertory programmer Chris Franco, projection coordinator Brad Parrett, print traffic/press liaison Daniel Osborne, special projects Colin Geddes, programming consultant Thomas Hanawa, special projects Rodney Perkins, programming consultant Devin Stuerwald, hospitality manager Matt Dentler, programmer, consultant Lyrae Anderson, volunteer coordinator Marc Walkow, programmer, consultant 20 Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com A staple of the Incredibly Strange Film Festival Guide since 1995, “the icons” below are a quick, fun visual reference guide for the movies and events in the program. The 2008 Fantastic Fest Guide will, for the first time, bring these handy squares to American soil. Want to watch a date flick with primate love, Jungian concepts, voodoo and a shocking ending. No problem, let the icons before each movie summary guide you to complete cinematic satisfaction . Thanks again to Ant and Mike from the Incredibly ICONS Strange Film Festival in for conceiving and executing the genre movie icon art form.

Action Afro Alternate Anarchy Animal Backne Bald Sex Beehives Big Breasts Black Worlds Attacks Comedy

Blockbuster Bondage Bullying Bunnies Cannibal Castration Cheezy Fx Chicks In Christ Chains

Cinemascope Classic Cockumentary Comedy Coprophagilistic Dancing Date Flick Dick Head Documentary Domestic Violence

Dope Drugs Dubbed Dwarf Eyeball Female on Fanboys Fellatio Fishhook Flashback Violence Female Violence

Full Frontal Gang Bang Gay Sex Genetic Giant Graphic Hardboiled Hippy Hitler Nudity Engineering Violence Dialogue

Hook Huge Mo’S Hypnotic Inbred Incest Inflatable Sex Isolation J.D. John Holmes Jungian Concepts

Jungle Fever Killer Cult Killer Kid Kitsch Kung Fu Lactation Lesbian Lesbian Liposuction Low Budget Vampire

Mad Menage A Mild Violence Monsters Monster Sex Mountain Music Nasty Necrophilia Abortion Magician Trois Tapping

No Budget Noir Noodling Nudity Oscar Shame Pet Abuse Petrol Sniffing Police Politically Pretentious Brutality Incorrect

Primate Love Psychic Puppet Sex Racist Scenery Schizo Sci Fi Scientist Scopophilia Self Chewing Mutilation

Shocking Skeleton In Sleazy Special Event Stock Footage Strippers Suicide Surgery Surprise Ending The Closet

Surreal Talking Brain Terrifying The Works Torture Trash Trekkie Trippy True Story Twist Delight

Ultra Violence Underage Sex Vampires Voodoo Werewolf Witch Doctor Workman’S Wrestling Z-Grade Zombie Crack alamo drafthouse signature events! At Fantastic Fest, movies are just the beginning! Nearly all of the activity of Fantastic Fest is at one location, the flagship Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar. Because of this, folks from all over the globe get to meet, hang out and hopefully become friends. To spur along this process, we have a host of signature Fantastic Fest events and parties throughout the week. Check 'em out below: 100 Best kills party alamo south lamar, September 22, midnight The excitement inherent in the best horror and action movies started with some of their all-time favorite examples of can be boiled down to three main ingredients: VIOLENCE, cinematic savagery, but for the first time ever, we'll be VIOLENCE and VIOLENCE!!! From the golden age of opening things up so YOU can share your most beloved goremaster Herschell Gordon Lewis to the innovative new homicide as well. It's easy...just bring along anything good, fluid-spurting technologies of the modern effects masters, goopy n' gory that can play on a laptop or all-region DVD cold-blooded murder has become a legitimately appealing player and you'll be called on to nauseate the masses with visual art that deserves it's very own fancy Louvre... your ultimate beloved gutblast! and THIS IS IT! Yep, at this year's Fantastic Fest, we'll be celebrating the absolute finest in annihilation with an Note: This show is intended for the most severe and iron- interactive celebration of on-screen intestine-ripping, head- stomached bloodhounds around, and we accept absolutely bursting and unrepentant baby-mashing! Your faithful FF no responsibility for lost lunches. Wimps and weekend programmers will of course get the festivities underway horrormeisters`, leave the hall...if you can't stand the meat, stay out of the kitchen!! (Zack Carlson) evil dead 2 quote along alamo drafthouse ritz, September 18, 10:00 PM The first time you EVIL DEAD II, your life was changed We'll start with a presentation of this titan of genre films, forever. Whether you were 14 or 40 on that fateful day, then we add in some karaoke-style subtitles for the really something inside you would never be the same, and from big lines (obviously a lot of us don't need them, but still, it that moment on you had no choice but to be a fanboy. helps). You'll know exactly when to yell out "Swallow this," to be timed with Ash and everyone else in the crowd, and Since that day, of course, you've seen EVIL DEAD II dozens, I guarantee that you'll get goosebumps down your spine perhaps hundreds of times. With each repeat viewing, you when your voice joins everyone else in the crowd for a low find some new thrill, some fun new detail, but haven't and rumbling, "Jooiin usss." To top everything off, we'll have quite been able to capture that life-changing glee that props for added audience interaction, confetti cannons, and came from the first time you realized that and more. Think of it as ROCKY HORROR for the true horror are gods. Well, never fear. The Mondo set, and prepare yourself for a fully religious experience. Quote-Along presentation of EVIL DEAD II will recapture (Henri Mazza) that glee for you, bottle it up, and let you take a whiff of it any time you need to remember what it's like to believe in awesomeness again.

master pancake: friday the 13th Alamo drafthouse ritz, September 19, 7:00 & 10:00

In honor of Fantastic Fest, the resident hecklers of Master boasts a cast of no-name actors and one future A-lister: Pancake Theater ambush the slasher classic, Friday the everyone’s favorite pug-nosed golden-boy and erstwhile 13th (1980). The dark entry in the summer-camp boomlet horror star Kevin Bacon (Tremors, Hollow Man). To of the late 70’s that included Meatballs and Little help them eviscerate the movie properly, the Pancake crew Darlings, F13 tells the story of the murders at Camp will be joined by special guest-riffer Zack Carlson, host of Crystal Lake and one mother who really made a difference: the Alamo’s Terror Thursdays. Come join the fun as Master Pamela Voorhees, founder of M.A.P.C.C. (Mothers against Pancake Theater pays its own mocking brand of tribute to Promiscuous Camp Counselors). This low-budget gem this iconic genre classic. (John Erler)

thrill the world Alamo DRAFTHOUSE RITZ, September 21, 7:00 PM Over the past year or two, YouTube has been filling up Arte and Red Bull, we're taking our Thriller zombies onto with groups of people performing the zombie dance from the streets of Austin, where we'll be part of the Day of the Michael Jackson's Thriller. There are videos of newlyweds Dead processional and street party. Our goal is to have performing that choreography as part of their first dance upwards of 2,000 zombies walk down Sixth Street, then stop together at wedding receptions, and of course there's in front of the Alamo Ritz. Thriller will start playing out of the clip of the 1,500 inmates of the Cebu Prison in the speakers lined up and down the street, and all of a sudden Phillipines. We were watching those videos last winter and each and every zombie will become synchronized, perfectly thought to ourselves, "What if we could make that even choreographed zombies. Then we'll march down the street more awesome?" That's exactly what we're going to do. and do it again at the block party. We've joined forces with Ines Markeljovic, a dance teacher We fully expect these events to become historical and founder of ThrillTheWorld.com, to help her complete touchstones, and we'd like for you to be a part of it with us. her task of setting a Guinness World Record for having the We're putting on a special Michael Jackson Thrill the World most people around the world doing the Thriller dance Sing-Along and dance lesson during Fantastic Fest, and even at the exact same time. For the past seven months, we've if you're in from out of town and can't make it to the Day of been hosting Michael Jackson Sing-Alongs at the Alamo the Dead parade in person, we'd love to have you come out Ritz, then following the music video orgy with two hours and learn the dance, then take that back to your hometown of dance instruction that gets everyone in the crowd up to where you can put together your own group to join in on speed on how to do the Thriller dance themselves. We've the Thrill The World record-breaking attempt. Plus, just the partnered with local theater groups, dance companies, experience of singing along and dancing around the movie and schools as well, and we're convinced that when it theater to all of Michael Jackson's best music videos, sorry comes time to participate in the Thrill the World dance, on - "short films" - is something that everyone should have as Saturday, October 25th, we'll have more people in one place much of as possible. (Henri Mazza) than anywhere else on the globe. Of course, we're not stopping there. Together with Mexic- 22 Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com fantastic parties and events! At Fantastic Fest, movies are just the beginning! Nearly all of the activity of Fantastic Fest is at one location, the flagship Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar. Because of this, folks from all over the globe get to meet, hang out and hopefully become friends. To spur along this process, we have a host of signature Fantastic Fest events and parties throughout the week. Check 'em out below: Air sex world championships paramount theater, September 18, 10 PM If you've been to any of the Air Guitar shows, you know a receive a gift certificate for ACTUAL sex. With that title little bit about what to expect, except that competitors in under your belt, real sex should now be a cinch! Contestants this show won't pretend to play an instrument that isn't have a maximum of 2 minutes to perform an air sex routine. there; they'll be pretending to make love with a partner This can include all phases of an air sex encounter: meeting, that isn't there. Our judges will be watching for the entire seduction, foreplay and intercourse, or you can simply cut presentation, from costuming, to foreplay, to an eventual to the chase. are tightened for the finals: no props, climax. They'll be looking for believability, sexability, and strict time limit and nudity=instant disqualification. The overall entertainment value (cause what fun is sex if no one's ticket to the Air sex world championships is included with watching?). If you are in from out of town and want to join admission to ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO. The AIR the fray, come to the Air Sex Dark Horse Qualifying round at SEX WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS are sponsored in part by the Alamo Ritz on September 17. The winner of Thursdays ADULT DVD EMPIRE. Air Sex World Championships will be flown to Nevada and donkey punch boat party lady bird johnson lake, September 20, 10 PM DONKEY PUNCH is a movie about a group of European We want everyone to go completely "overboard" in their party kids who "borrow" a yacht for a private party and take very finest hipster outfits. So, if you're already partof things much, much too far. We're going to do our best to Austin's Red River set, you know what I'm talking about. emulate the spirit of that party, but we're going to replace all the blood, gore, killing, and mistrust with one of the THE For those of you who are Alamo Drafthouse fans and don't best dance parties of the summer, right before it officially hang our at Beauty Bar every night or own a pair of those becomes autumn. We're joining forces with TheFamousish. unbearably skinny jeans, here's your chance to have a go com to bring a crew of Austin's "coolest" DJs out onto a at it. American Apparel Deep V necks go without saying. floating dance floor right in the heart of downtown, on Dunks (google it) are a must. But why stop with the outfit? Lady Bird Johnson Lake. We've had dance parties on water Accessorize it, people! Add on some chains. Wear sunglasses before, but as awesome as our dance parties on Lake Travis at night (but make sure they're Supers). Add a silk scarf, and have been in the past, this time we want to make sure wear it loose around your neck. Don't wash your hair for everyone who lives downtown can see us and be jealous. two days, and grow a beard. Then go buy a moped (not a Basically we're going OVERBOARD. Get it..? Hipsters scooter), and ride that to the party. Go overboard in your Overboard! enthusiasm, get it? Yeah. Now you've got the spirit. THE RETURN OF Fantastic Feud Alamo South Lamar, September 21, 11:30 PM After only one year, Fantastic Feud has now become Terror Trivia, as well as the Sudden Death round at the end an annual tradition at Fantastic Fest. Goregeeks and that just may determine who's the reigning king (or queen) minutiaelators, your countless nights of bootleg DVD of genre knowledge! Teams are comprised of Fantastic Fest viewing and VHS excavating are about to be rewarded. filmmakers and guests, Austin movie luminaries, Alamo You are invited to witness - and maybe even take part programmers...and some ambitious, competitive VIP in - the greatest horror game experience of all time... badgeholders!! Fantastic Feud ended up being the highest- FANTASTIC FEUD!!! Renowned-and-notorious film critic rated "film" of Fantastic Fest 2007. You are not going to want Scott Weinberg (Cinematical, FEARnet.com, a million other to miss it. Fantastic Feud also rolls into the no-holds-barred sites and projects) will be your host for furious volleys of Fantastic Fest annual karaoke party! the fantastic debates PARTY Alamo South Lamar, September 23, midnight If one thing unifies genre film fans, it's the fact that none of "SUPERHERO MOVIES - Overdone or 'I can't wait for us agree on anything. Well, we're proud to honor the age- CATWOMAN 2!'" "CGI EFFECTS - Gateway to visual old tradition of over-opinionated verbal nerd combat by sorcery or 'INDIANA JONES 4 looked like an episode of introducing FANTASTIC FEST DEBATES at FF 2008! SLIDERS!'" ...And so on. For the first time in genre festival history, the audience will See, this isn't just standing in line for a film and arguing be truly heard...through blazing displays of surefooted, the merits of Slow VS. Fast Zombies. Oh, hell no. These acid-tongued mindpower! Though we're not set to reveal displays of genre-film passion will be a rock-'em sock-'em any of our controversial topics just yet, here are a few clash of the titans between warring representatives from vague issues of concern to the modern genre nut, submitted either side of every conceivable geek camp! In addition, strictly to get your blood boiling: we'll be holding the debates in an ACTUAL BOXING RING so any two dueling representatives will be given the option "HORROR REMAKES - Classics reinvented for the to settle unresolved differences in an MANO A MANO! modern age or Abominations of artistic unoriginality?" get lit: closing NIGHT cave party longhorn caverns, September 25, buses depart 9:30 PM During prohibition, Longhorn Caverns held secret return again at 4:00 AM. Buses will be leaving periodically speakeasy-style dances in the main chamber of the cave. throughout the night, so even if you don’t think you can There was even a dance floor and a permanent bar. For our make it until dawn, we encourage you to take the bus and closing night party, we're teaming up with subterranean don’t even risk driving that far after having a sip to drink. and our energy drink If the party hurts too much, of course, you can always have partners-in-fun Red Bull. We are going to dust off this another Red Bull and make it another hour. We’ll have 80 year old tradition and party all-night-long right in the glow sticks, lasers and light effects changing throughout same place. There won't be big band music, but we'll have the night, so wear your best outfit, or wear something awesome DJs spinning the best subterranean jams known to completely black so that only the lights you carry will let man. Buses leave from Alamo South Lamar at 9:30 PM and you be seen. Whatever you wear, just make sure you’re head out to Longhorn Cavern near Burnet, Texas, and will ready to get lit.

Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com 2 3 GUEST IN ATTENDANCE Director Jon Hewitt

screenings acolytes Sep 20, 9:10 PM Lamar 1 US Premiere, 2008, dir. Jon Hewitt, Australia, 91min., Language: English Sep 24, 6:25 PM Lamar 1

the likes of Brian Trenchard-Smith stand up and cheer. The film is so much more than just a horror/thriller, though. Hewitt takes time to develop a fully-developed visual world. The first act establishes an idyllic tableau with rich detail and beautiful cinematography. These are innocent kids in a tranquil town living their lives with only childhood concerns. That is, of course, until they toy around with a murderer hell-bent on obliterating their serenity into a chaos of fear and brutality. (Tim League) Director Jon Hewitt will be live in person to introduce the film and answer questions afterwards. We also expect Jon to rock not only the Ozsploitation category of Fantastic Feud but also the subsequent late-night Karaoke microphone.

BRIEF SUMMARY Plays with James Tresswick and Mark Vincent are victims of a brutal bully named Gary Parker You Better Watch Out who has maltreated both boys, marking their bodies and spoiling their young lives. 2007, Australia, dir. Steve Callen , 22 min In their last year of high school, James and Mark find a way to stop being victims. A drunken department store Santa is kidnapped and tortured by two They’re going to kill Gary… severely delusional hoods in this comedy that takes the magic of the holiday FULL Description season and kicks its ass off. High-schoolers James Tresswick and Mark Vincent were mercilessly bullied throughout childhood by their nemesis Gary Parker. The torment only ended when Gary was hauled off to prison five years ago. Now back on the streets, he is once again beginning to make their lives a living hell. Their outlook is dim until Mark happens to witness a murderer burying his victim deep in the nearby woods. The duo crafts what should be a perfect plan: blackmail the killer into killing again, this time their mortal enemy Gary Parker. This perfect plan, however, doesn’t work out exactly as envisioned, and the boys find themselves in a worse predicament than imaginable. ACOLYTES is a perfect accompaniment to our NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD Aussie Retrospective. Director Jon Hewitt shows that he’s a worthy heir to the Ozsploitation throne, delivering a tight knuckle-biter thriller with enough brutal violence to make 24 Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com GUEST IN ATTENDANCE Director Ben Rock

screenings ALIEN RAIDERS Sep 21, 11:55 PM Lamar 2 Special Advance Screening, 2008, dir. Ben Rock, USA, 85 min., Language: English Sep 24, 9:15 PM Lamar 1

present danger of these masked terrorists who are "testing"/torturing them against the mysterious glimpses of a threat that they don't understand. (Karrie League) BRIEF SUMMARY Director Ben Rock will be live in person to present the film. A squadron of trained gunmen lay siege to a supermarket at closing time. What first appears to be a robbery soon takes on otherworldly dimensions.

FULL Description It's the end of yet another night at Hastings Supermarket, an idyllic family grocery store in Buck Lake, Arizona. But the normal closing-time monotony is broken when a group of masked and armed-to-the-teeth militants invades the store, immediately killing several of the employees and shoppers and holding the rest hostage. Though the hostage-takers at first appear to be robbers or terrorists, they reveal themselves to be a cadre of rogue scientists that has discovered and tracked an alien infestation to THIS STORE on THIS NIGHT, and they are determined to find out which of the survivors are extraterrestrials and end the invasion at any cost. Alien Raiders is a throwback to what we consider the golden age of creature features, the 1980s. This one falls somewhere between the seriousness level of THE THING or Tremors. Nostalgic without being stale, ALIEN RAIDERS draws strong performances from a young ensemble cast composed of mostly working character actors that you've seen in a million small parts. You might recognize the monster hunting team: Carlos Bernard from his recurring role as Tony Almeida on "24" and Mathew St. Patrick who played Keith Charles on Six Feet Under. The plot explores what happens when you have one of those Men In Black jobs that you can't really explain to people. When you start invading public spaces to blow shit up, the bystanders naturally think that you're the bad guy, and there's not a lot you can do to convince them otherwise. So you don't bother, and you do your job and damn the consequences. But sometimes those bystanders can be pretty tough and wily, and some of them ARE the monsters. But which? For a modern alien creature movie, the filmmakers refreshingly rely on practical effects for the punctations of gore. The carnage happens in the blink of an eye by a monster that you only see in glimpses. This serves to heighten the tension, as you experience the uncertainty of the hostages, who aren't quite sure what just happened, but it's very very bad. You can see them weighing in their minds the

Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com 2 5 screenings Art of the Devil 3 Sep 18, 12:05 AM Lamar 1 US Premiere, 2008, Thailand, Dir. Ronin Team, 100 min., Language: Thai w/ English Subtitles Sep 23, 11:45 PM Lamar 3

Team," a group behind numerous Thai smash hits: from the war epic BANG RAJAN to the period piece KUNPUN THE WARRIOR to the two previous ART OF THE DEVIL movies. Collaborating closely, the seven members of the team work together in every step from screenwriting to budgeting, casting and directing. One of the Brief Summary: members of Ronin Team, Kongkiat Khomsiri, is also represented in Fantastic Fest 4 A prequel to one of the most graphic and visually creative horror movies in recent with his solo directorial debut MUAY THAI CHAIYA. (Tim League) times, ART OF THE DEVIL 3 is a tale of unrequited love set amid the exotic world of rural Thai black magic.

Full Description: Panor, a seductive rural teacher, longs to live a normal, peaceful life like everyone else in her village. But her beauty becomes her biggest curse as she becomes the object of desire from every man that enters her life. Male colleagues and students alike resort to a variety of black arts and love potions in an attempt to win her favor. To counter their endless menace, Panor herself must turn to witchcraft to combat her supernaturally charged suitors. The ART OF THE DEVIL franchise travels in some seriously demented territory. The bloody carnage isn't delivered by the hatchets and machetes of the American horror tradition, but rather by the ancient mythology and mysticism of Thailand. In part 2, you had flayings, boiling water down throats, lots of needles, voodoo dolls, unexpected eyeballs and a pack of lizards that rip forth from an unsuspecting man's back. The directors know why Part 2 was a smash hit - over-the-top visual mayhem and creepy Thai black magic gore. Check out the stills and watch the trailer…this installment (actually a prequel) is out with a mission: deliver the goods. "ART OF THE DEVIL 3 will be more shocking and violent than our previous films. We still want to send the same messages, though, that the gruesome fates of the characters are the consequences of their desire and lust. Only people with dark intents want to get involved with dark magic. We all believe that these things do exist in our modern world, but we want to warn the viewers that it'll only do them more harm than good to mess around with it," -- Ronin Team ART OF THE DEVIL 3 was directed by the seven-man collective known as "Ronin

26 Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com GUEST IN ATTENDANCE Director Gunnar B. Gudmundsson

screenings astropia Sep 18, 9:30 PM Lamar 1 2008, Iceland, Dir. Gunnar B. Gudmundsson, 93 min., Language: Icelandic w/ English Subtitles Sep 24, 4:05 PM Lamar 2

her salvation comes from an unexpected direction. It’s a magical comic book store called Astropia. Through this metaphysical portal, she departs on a nerd odyssey (or nerdyssey) where the fantasy world of hers and others might just save the day, save the world and get rid of Jolli’s evil once and for all. Brief Summary: Director Gunnar Gudmundsson, screenwriters Ottó Geir Borg and Jóhann Ævar Hildi, a high-society socialite, is left bankrupt and alone after her corrupt husband Grímsson and producer Ingvar H. Þórðarson will be in attendance! is whisked off to prison. With no other prospects, she gets a job selling role-playing games and accessories at Astropia, the town's geek Mecca. This screening is sponsored in part by Gamecock Media Group and their new game Legendary. Check it out at www.gamecockmedia.com Full Description: Leave it to Iceland to deliver a charming film in which LARPing could possibly save all humanity. If in an alternate universe, Edgar Wright had an Icelandic brother making his own SPACED feature for the fanboy and comic book culture, then ASTROPIA (Dorks & Damsels) is at that film and Gunnar B. Gudmundsson is that brother. A politically incorrect satire that will make you think of Monty Python in THE OFFICE, and manna from heaven for those who have ever LARPed, been to Comic-Con, played a role playing game, bought a comic book or rented CUJO to a kid under 5, this hilarious low budget indie should find a welcome home in Austin, with audiences that can totally relate to many of the characters in the film. While mainstream media tries to stigmatize fanboys and comic culture, ASTROPIA gives nerds their mojo in a big way. The beautiful thing here is you don’t have to know a single damn thing about the culture; it’s a fully accessible story to all, but with some succulent, juicy thrown to the geek-dogs. The beginning of ASTOPIA feels very much like something ripped off the latest U.S. gossip mags, with a self-centered glamour girl hitting the skids. The out-of- control girl beauty here is Hildur, who is riding a dangerously overloaded gravy train belonging to a no good scammer named Jolli (the great Peter Stormare). Jolli pushes his luck too far and gets thrown in the slammer leaving Hildur homeless and on her own to make things work. Hopeless, without a true friend, Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com 2 7 GUEST IN ATTENDANCE Director J.T. Petty

screenings burrowers Sep 21, 9:30 PM Lamar 2 2008, USA, Dir. J.T. Petty, 97 min., Language: English Sep 24, 6:35 PM Lamar 2

a lush, classically portrait with strong characters, both good and bad, and effectively evokes the hopelessness of the most famous wild west manhunt in film history, THE SEARCHERS. Brief Summary: A cross-country manhunt searches for an abducted woman and a marauding Indian Since his first feature SOFT FOR DIGGING (which played the Alamo Drafthouse as tribe, but the real villains don't ride horses... they burrow from beneath the ground. part of Kier-la Janisse's Cinemuerte Filim Festival), J.T. Petty has steered clear of the pitfalls of the modern horror film: booming musical cues, superficial characters and Full Description: music-video inspired editing. His films are rooted in the classics with sure camera I appreciate it when horror elements are thrown into an unconventional scenario. work, rich characters and stories and plenty of good old-fashioned gothic horror This year SAUNA flips a horror body slam on Finnish Spa culture, andTHE creepiness. THE BURROWERS delivers plenty of chills and thrills, but they are BURROWERS does the same to the American old west. The story opens with a produced with a respect and and understanding of the western and film history in young man named Coffey (Karl Geary) rehearsing and fumbling with his words. He general. (Tim League) has a wedding band in his hand and intends to propose to his sweetheart that very night. We cut to the scene of her house where domestic tranquility is interrupted by the all too familiar sound on the desolate prairie, the thundering hoofs and whooping calls of an Indian attack. The women and children cloister themselves in a locked barn while the men try to ward off the attack. We catch fragments of the battle only through the sounds audible from inside the barn, but can soon tell that something is different about this attack, something foreign. No bodies are found, and Coffey sets out to follow the trail of the Indians in the seemingly desperate hope that his fiancée is still alive. He joins a scouting mission set on exterminating the tribe, but as they close on the trail, odd sounds are emanating from the perimeter of their camp and members of the party go missing in the middle of the night. Victims' bodies are later found, still twitching and half-alive, buried in shallow graves in the prairie. The search party's only information is filtered through a shifty Indian interpreter who —through a mix of willful manipulation and outright ignorance— informs the party that the "tribe" they are seeking is called "the burrowers," but he fails to warn of the deadly consequences of continuing the hunt. Compared by many to TREMORS (and there are similarities), THE BURROWERS creates an original and elaborate mythology of "the burrowers," steeped in Native American folklore with a subtle dash of environmentalist agenda. J.T. Petty paints 28 Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com screenings Cargo 200 Sep 18, 4:30 PM Lamar 3 2007, Russia, Dir. Aleksei Balabanov, 89 min., Language: Russian w/ English Subtitles Sep 21, 9:15 PM Lamar 3

era Russian pop and the prominent use of singer Afric Simone’s song "Hafanana" adds a layer of perverse irony to the film. Brief Summary: In a 2007 Wall Street Journal interview, Alekesi Balabanov spoke of CARGO 200 Acclaimed Russian director Aleksei Balabanov interweaves stories of cowardice, in the following terms: "I show what filth we lived in. Society was sick from 1917 corruption and horror set against the backdrop of the birth of perestroika in the onwards." In light of Balabanov's remarks, CARGO 200 might best be summarized . as a grim epitaph for the death of the former Soviet Union. (Rodney Perkins)

Full Description: The title of Russian director Aleksei Balabanov's twelfth film is a military term for the coffins transporting dead soldiers back home during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. The effects of that decade-long conflict provide a unifying theme for this ugly, highly controversial noir that recalls the work of Gaspar Noe and Michael Haneke but with a distinctly Russian point-of-view. CARGO 200 begins in 1984 with the introduction of two brothers: a Soviet Army colonel and the head of the Faculty of Scientific Communism at Leningrad University. The university professor travels to visit his mother in a remote town. When his car falters, he stops at a rural farmhouse occupied by a husband, wife and their Vietnamese farm hand. The professor engages in a philosophical argument about the existence of God with the family patriarch, whose heated criticisms of official atheism are fueled by utopian dreams and vodka distilled in the family barn. Meanwhile, a young man and the daughter of a Soviet bureaucrat meet at a party. The couple decides to take a drive, and their destination is the rural farmhouse. Lurking in the shadows of the farmhouse is Zhurov, a character vaguely based on Russian serial killer Gennady Mikhasevich. Although Mikhasevich was simply a depraved lunatic, Balabanov presents Zhurov as an emblem of both human perversion and the manifest corruption of the Soviet government. Zhurov’s appearance signals a series of loathsome events that form the rest of the film's narrative, and culminates in an outrageous but fitting ending that ignores all boundaries of restraint. Balabanov’s portrayal of human misery in mid-80s U.S.S.R. is complemented by a dank visual palette that is rife with rotting apartments and offices, rustic grotesqueries and bleak industrial landscapes. His choice of music, including 80s-

Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com 2 9 screenings THE Chaser Sep 20, 4:20 PM Lamar 2 2008, South Korea, Dir. Hong-jin Na, 123 min., Language: Korean w/ English Subtitles Sep 23, 9:15 PM Lamar 2

is simply stealing his girls and reselling them for profit but the truth is far worse. There is a serial killer on the prowl, one that has not been detected because he preys BRIEF SUMMARY: exclusively on call girls hired from a variety of escort agencies. A serial killer is preying on call-girls from various escort agencies. In the midst of When the call comes in for a girl one night Jung-Ho realizes, too late, that the client’s police indifference and incompetence, Jung-Ho (Yun-Seok Kim), an ex-cop-turned- phone number matches the number used to book sessions with a pair of his missing pimp must dust off his old flatfoot skills to find the killer and save the life of one of girls and he rushes off to protect his investment. The rival must be captured and his girls who has gone missing. taken out of the picture. But while a chance encounter leads Jung-Ho to the correct man, his girl Mi-Jin is nowhere to be found, and the client - Young-min - spouting FULL DESCRIPTION: nonsense about having killed a dozen women. It’s enough to bring Young-Min to I sat on the Asian Features Jury at the Pucheon International Festival the police but the killer is smart enough to give them only enough to taunt but not this year. Of the 32 films in competition, our jury unanimously decided THE enough to actually charge him or even hold him for an extended period of time. CHASER to be the grand prize winner. This is a return to form for the Korean crime And so the chase is on. It is not a chase to find the killer - he has already been found film after a string of fairly disappointing efforts. The story is gritty and intense, - it is a chase to find the girl. It they can’t find her - or other significant evidence - the pacing taut, and the performance of lead actor Yun-seok Kim is phenomenal. within twelve hours Young-Min must be set free. (Todd Brown) Korean genre films sometimes manage to pack in a much wider array of emotional notes and complex character interaction than their American counterparts. In much the same way that THE HOST was a dysfunctional family drama that happened to have a monster running amuck, THE CHASER is a tender portrait of a jaded, hard- boiled ex-cop who realizes that he still has deep pathos and compassion beneath his stony veneer. And there's a bloody rampaging serial killer on the loose. THE CHASER was a box-office sleeper hit in Korea this year, topping the charts until the blockbuster THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE WEIRD took top honors. Look for the American remake, by the same production team behind Scorcese's award winning film THE DEPARTED, to begin production soon. (Tim League)

PLOT SUMMARY: The debut feature from award winning director Na Hong-Jin, THE CHASER tells the story of Jung-Ho, a former cop turned pimp. Think for a moment about what sort of cop would choose to become a pimp in his post-law enforcement career and you have an immediate grasp of Jung-Ho. He is a surly, foul tempered, hard talking man driven by the pursuit of easy profits. And Jung-Ho is in a bad mood because a number of his girls - girls who he effectively owns, having bought out their bad debts - have recently gone missing. Jung-Ho believes a rival pimp 30 Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com screenings Chocolate Sep 20, 12:10 AM Lamar 3 2008, Thailand, Dir. Prachya Pinkaew, 110 min., Language: Thai w/ English Subtitles Sep 23, midnight Lamar 2

director Colin Geddes describes as a "breakdancing crackbaby." The next, an extended brawl fought entirely on four stories worth of narrow, precipitous ledges, BRIEF SUMMARY all without safety nets, or seemingly any safety concerns at all. The legend of Jackie The director of Ong Bak returns with his new protégé, who trained five years Chan lives on in Thailand with a whole new crop of fearless athletes charging for this role. Jeeja Vismistananda portrays an autistic girl who learns recklessly ahead with only one concern: not their lives, nay, our sacred amusement. from watching Tony Jaa and films so as to exact revenge on those who (Tim League) bankrupted her mother. CHOCOLATE is sponsored by BIG TOP CANDY, Austin's ridiculously addictive vintage candy shop, who will be supplying cocoa goodness at both screenings. If you are in from out FULL Description of town, do not miss a chance to stop by this quickly established Austin landmark. It's been a looooong time since ONG BAK first clued us in to the awesome new wave of Muay Thai action films. As fun as it was, the quickly-produced Jaa/Prachya follow-up THE PROTECTOR was honestly a bit of a let down. Meanwhile, two years into production on his directorial debut, Tony Jaa is hermiting in mountain Plays with caves trying to meditate his way into a grip on his runaway-budget sequel ONG BAK 2. Director Prachya Pinkaew, however, has kept with his vision and is back KINGZ with a vengeance. For five years, he groomed the cherubic Jeeja Vismistananda into 2008, , dir. Benni Diez, Marinko Spahic, 20 min. a furious hellcat of a Muay Thai action star. While maybe not up to the raw athletic A botched drug deal spirals out of control in a subterranean night club filled talent of Tony, she more than delivers in agility, speed and raw charm. with unnameable evils. The action is furious and so are the villains, so be prepared for some whirlwind brutality! Perhaps the most buzzed-about feature of this year's lineup, CHOCOLATE lives up to the hype. Watch the trailer and you know that this is action only developing Asian countries with little to no litigation industry can provide. Bone-shattering, painful, brutal and death-defyingly dangerous work with no wires, no stunt doubles, and full, bloody raw-force contact. The plot... sure, it's a bit by the numbers, a classic revenge story with a novel twist. The heroine is autistic, which subtly plays out in her martial arts style. Honestly, though, I can't tell you what ONG BAK was about other than some vaguely- explained idol thievery. The first 3 times I watched it was without subtitles, and it didn't matter one lick. CHOCOLATE follows in that vein. Once she develops her rib-cracking Muay Thai chops (from absorbing all required combat skills from a Tony Jaa/Bruce Lee TV marathon), the plot turns Zin (Jeeja) from one battle into the next. The action culminates in two final scenes that are worth the price of admission alone. The first is a classic dojo-style battle against what Toronto Midnight Madness Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com 3 1 GUEST IN ATTENDANCE Director Reynald Bertrand

screenings La Crème (THE Creme) Sep 21, 4:00 PM Lamar 3 2007, France, Dir. Reynald Bertrand, 83 min., Language: French w/ English Subtitles Sep 22, 4:10 PM Lamar 3

how we all give in to illusion to make ourselves feel more important. This is not to say that LA CRÈME is a serious dissertation on this topic, because BRIEF SUMMARY it's also one God-damn funny movie, briskly paced (Bertrand is one of France's Under the Christmas tree, unemployed loser François Margin mysteriously finds top editors, here making his feature directorial debut) with barely a single wasted a jar of face cream that once applied, temporarily turns him into the most famous moment. He's helped immeasurably by a terrific cast; the wonderful Legeay makes celebrity in France. for a perfect everyman, with top-notch support from Abraham, Marie-Anne Pauly as Leagay's wife, and an amusingly deadpan Rachid Moutsafy as a straight-laced WINNER: Best Feature, Fantasy Worldwide Film Festival cop who damn near steals the show. (Matt Kiernan) WINNER: Best Foreign Feature, Oxford International Film Festival WINNER: Best Film, Beijing Film FestivaL LA CRÈME is sponsored in part by Room Service Vintage (visit them on the web at www. roomservicevintage.com) Director Reynald Bertrand live in person!

Full Description: As far as I'm concerned, a film like LA CRÈME is what film festivals are all about: Plays with Finding obscure gems that come out of nowhere and suddenly become new favorites. Reynald Bertrand's comedy has one of those premises that sound too simple and too Well-Founded Concerns pat - For Christmas, an unemployed family man gets a jar of facial cream that, when 2007, USA, dir. Timothy Cawley , 15 min. applied, makes people think he's incredibly famous - but this is a truly clever, multi- A group of people who live in terror of the world reach out to one another layered thing of beauty, a smart and hilarious farce that proves that all you need is when their greatest fears are realized. A quietly romantic look at the apocalypse. the right idea and clarity of vision to make a terrific comedy. Some might think that a small French comedy might seem out of place at a genre festival like Fantastic Fest, but they couldn't be more wrong. LA CRÈME is about fantasy itself, about the power of illusion and the power that comes with it and how, once it's applied, takes on a life of its own. It's a very simple "What would you do?" premise, like having the ability to fly, and Bertrand works it like a dream. The cream comes into the life of its lead character (played by Laurent Legeay) just when he's struggling to survive with his family on welfare while he's up for a much-needed sales job against the similarly desperate Nicolas Abraham. And with its great power comes not great responsibility but big trouble and tremendous consequences, and Bertrand's screenplay takes it into risky places directions that pay off wonderfully. Like a great genre film should, LA CRÈME is about more than what its premise implies - the ease in which people give in to power and celebrity - but also about 32 Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com screenings Dark Floors Sep 18, 11:40 PM Lamar 2 2008, Finland, Dir. , 84 min., Language: English Sep 24, 11:45 PM Lamar 3

costumes and produce theatrical live performances. Already huge stars in Europe, won the prestigious 2006 Eurovision Song Contest, Finland's first victory. They are now setting their demonic sights on America, having already performed Brief Summary: on the main stage of Ozzfest 2007. Later that year Lordi also toured with Type O Costumed European metal superstars Lordi (dressed in their actual stage outfits!!!) Negative and Twin Method. Mr. Lordi conceived of the story for DARK FLOORS play the monsters of the underworld in this Finnish horror splatterfest. himself and allegedly has nine sequel concepts already up his latex-armored sleeve. (Tim League) Full Description: A young girl stricken with an -related disorder struggles for lucidity in an ill-equipped hospital somewhere in middle America. Her loving father is forced to simply look on helplessly until a string of equipment failures and a near-fire Plays with force his hand and he opts to simply take the girl out of care and return home. It’s a difficult but sensible decision – if the hospital cannot help her, which it clearly Outhouse can’t, then she may as well be comfortable at home. But the father’s simple plan 2008, USA, dir. Jack Truman , 5 min. is interrupted when a power failure strikes the hospital trapping the pair in an A sophisticated older woman pontificates on the myriad pleasures of elevator along with a collection of other hospital denizens. Once they’re free, it’s outdoor plumbing and the human digestive system. clear everything has changed. The hospital is … different somehow. Nothing works as it should and before long the small band begins to encounter wreckage, bodies and a collection of horrible creatures bent solely on destruction. Yes, kids, the Fear is Here in the form of DARK FLOORS, the motion picture conceived by and starring Finnish metal act Lordi, who play the villains of the piece in their outrageously theatrical monster gear. Directed by the band’s longtime music video director Pete Riski – one of Finland’s top commercial directors making his feature debut – DARK FLOORS is a surprisingly polished and serious piece of work, one that avoids playing the camp card delivering a tightly plotted, exceptionally well shot thrill ride that sets the rules of its world very early on, lets the audience know what to expect and then executes it beautifully. (Todd Brown)

ABOUT LORDI: Legendary Metal band Lordi, AKA "The monsters of Finland" was formed by Tomi Putaansuu (Mr. Lordi) in 1996. Previous to that, Putaansuu's claim to fame was that he was the founder of the official Finnish Kiss Fan Club. Taking a cue from his hard-rockin' heroes, all of the members of Lordi perform in elaborate monster Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com 3 3

GUESTS IN ATTENDANCE Directors Gadi Harel and Marcel Sarmiento

screenings Deadgirl Sep 19, 11:45 PM Lamar 2 US Premiere, 2008, USA, Dir. Gadi Harel and Marcel Sarmiento, 99 min., Language: English Sep 22, 11:30 PM Lamar 2

attention to characterization and story increases the viewer's emotional investment, thus sharpening the impact of the film's underlying prurience and weirdness. It is useful to note that DeadGirl is an independently produced feature that was BRIEF SUMMARY digitally shot with HD cameras and a tapeless workflow system similar to that used While exploring an abandoned sanitorium while ditching school, two high school by David Fincher on his film ZODIAC. This might seem like a peripheral detail but burnouts discover a girl strapped to a gurney in a secluded chamber. Debut directors it further reflects the type of novel thinking behind this film.D eadGirl's marriage Gadi Harel and Marcel Sarmiento craft a new breed of teen angst drama set against of hard content and technical craftmanship easily raises the bar for independent a backdrop of humor black enough to make John Hughes retreat to a fetal state. horror films, and demonstrates a path away from the genericism that plagues the genre as a whole. (Rodney Perkins) FULL Description Many horror films feature teenage characters but these people are generally Directors Gadi Harel and Marcel Sarmiento will be in attendance to present the nothing more than corpses in waiting and might as well be replaced by showroom film. mannequins. This is a shame as teenagers face unique psychological and physiological disruptions that are ripe for tales of horror. Marcel Sarmiento and Gadi Harel apparently understand this; their filmD eadGirl mines the recesses of the hormone-wracked adolescent mind to create one of the most original American horror films in recent memory. Shiloh Fernandez (Red) and Noah Segan (Cabin Fever 2) portray a pair of stoners who ditch school in favor of drinking beer in an abandoned sanitarium. They make their way into the bowels of the building, and stumble across a vicious dog. The ensuing chase leads them to a barricaded door. Upon entering the adjoining room, they find an incapacitated woman wrapped in plastic and strapped to a table. As time passes, the teens make a series of questionable decisions that put them, their friends and the audience on the spot. Given the film's untenable content (which is best revealed by actually watching it), many filmmakers might be prone to either pull back from the edge or deliver an incoherent string of set pieces. DeadGirl, however, attacks its subject matter with an unerring commitment. The precise direction and fluid, dream-like cinematography work in service of an excellent script by Trent Haaga. Instead of marching a set of two-dimensional ciphers through a rote hack and slash plot, Haaga provides fully developed characters that allows the cast of mostly young actors (Michael Bowen has a supporting part) to embrace their roles. The film's

36 Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com GUESTS IN ATTENDANCE Writer/producer Sergio Martínez and star Carlos Ortega Ceacero

screenings Doctor Infierno Sep 20, 11:45 PM Lamar 1 2008, Spain, Dir. Paco Limon, 84 min., Language: Spanish w/ English Subtitles Sep 24, 11:20 PM Lamar 1

to look past the occasional blemish. Many have compared DR. INFIERNO to the early films, and I dare say that Paco Limon and his gang are worthy successors. These guys are clearly big genre fans and with time and money could BRIEF SUMMARY: be producing some of the craziest films we've likely to ever see. Keep 'em coming, A demented gynecologist discovers a cure for all the world’s illnesses and uses it as I want to see a lot more. (Tim League) leverage to become sole dictator of the earth. Jam-packed with monsters, kung fu, battling robots and deviant sexual practices, DR. INFIERNO doesn’t let budget get Writer/producer Sergio Martinez and star Carlos Ortega Ceacero will be live in in the way of executing a mountain of crazy ideas. person to present the film.

Full Description: Plays with I have yet to meet the talent behind DR. INFIERNO, but in my mind I'm imagining gleeful, spastic, lovable motormouths with attention deficit disorder and raw THE HEIST creative energy exploding out of every orifice. In short, our kind of folks. More 2007, Canada, dir. Ben Peters , 4 min. unhinged crazy shit is crammed into the 84 minute runtime of DR. INFIERNO than A Ferrari-fixated mad scientist devises the perfect heist. With a mastery of most entire film festival dockets combined. My recommendation: stay focused. advanced super-technology, what could possibly go wrong? It's eye-on-the-prize time for this one. MAJOR plot developments whiz by like lightning. Summarization is somewhat futile because of the myriad of related and unrelated story tendrils that pop up at every surreal turn. At the core of the story, however, is always the titular Dr. Infierno, a demented gynecologist who discovers a cure for all the world’s illnesses and uses it as leverage to become sole dictator of the earth. Is the film coherent? Hell no! How could a gynecologist come up with a single serum that cures all the worlds illnesses in the first place? Why a gynecologist? And how does this deranged madman also find the time to command armies? Does it have polish? Yes and no. This is NOT your typical half-assed camcorder- recorded excuse of a horror movie, something all-too-common in a world of cheap and easy tools for all. Director Paco Limon poured his heart and soul into every frame of this film, creating impressive mutantoid monsters, choreographing tight martial arts battles, crafting ample old-school gore and even producing impressive out-of-left-field CGI sci-fi sequences. It is raw, though. Shot in black and white, DR. INFIERNO has a gritty look and feel, and occasionally the limitations of the thin budget shine through. The sheer outrageous spirit of this film, however, allows you Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com 3 7 GUEST IN ATTENDANCE Director Oliver Blackburn

RELATED EVENT Donkey Punch Boat Party: Page 23.

screenings Donkey Punch Sep 20, 7:20 PM Lamar 3 2008, Australia, Dir. Oliver Blackburn, 99 min., Language: English Sep 23, 1:00 PM Lamar 1

donkey punch boat party: Following the Saturday night screening of Donkey Punch, join us on Lady Bird Lake for the HIPSTERS OVERBOARD: The Donkey Punch Boat Party. We want everyone Brief Description: to go completely "overboard" in their very finest hipster outfits. So, if you're already Seven sexy young Brits are hanging out on a "borrowed" yacht for a day of drugs, part of Austin's Red River set, you know what I'm talking about. For those of you debauchery, and ultimately donkey punching. It's the last activity causes everything who are Alamo Drafthouse fans and don't hang our at Beauty Bar every night or to unravel. After the screening, follow us to Ladybird Lake for the potentially own a pair of those unbearably skinny jeans, here's your chance to have a go at inappropriate Donkey Punch Boat Party. it. American Apparel Deep V necks go without saying. Dunks (Google it) are a must. But why stop with the outfit? Accessorize it, people! Add on some chains. Full Description: Wear sunglasses at night (but make sure they're Supers). Add a silk scarf, and wear A "donkey punch," like a “dirty Sanchez,” is one of those sexual acts that most it loose around your neck. Don't wash your hair for two days, and grow a beard. people will never, ever do, nor even actually want to do, but still the kind of thing Then go buy a moped (not a scooter), and ride that to the party. Go overboard in that makes for good conversation over a couple of beers at a frat party: your enthusiasm, get it? Yeah. Now you've got the spirit. More info on our website, "Oh, you haven't heard of a donkey punch before? Well check it out, dude - that's www.fantasticfest.com. when you're doing a chick doggie style, and then right before you're going to blow your load you punch her really hard in the back of the neck. She spasms in surprise, clenches, and you come harder than you've ever come in your life!" Then all the Director Oliver Blackburn will be live in person in introduce the film and answer guys at the table high five, and the girls call the guys senseless pricks. questions following the screening So it's hard to imagine a donkey punch ending well, even in the most perfect of scenarios. But in Olly Blackburn's debut feature, the consequences of one harmless This screening and party are sponsored in part by Envy Magazine, coming little donkey punch quickly spiral out of control and everything ends very, very to Austin this fall! badly. Seven sexy young British people are hanging out on a "borrowed" yacht for a day of drugs, debauchery, and ultimately donkey punching. After a particularly jarring Plays with donkey punch in a group sex orgy, the girls on the boat realize that maybe they can't THE TAP trust the guys they just met in a nightclub after all. The guys, meanwhile, conspire 2008, USA, dir. John Crye, to try to avoid any post-punching legal repercussions. From there, the entire film is a pitch perfect example of the, "Oh shit! Hmm, maybe this will fix this situation. 10 min. Fuck! Now we're even more fucked! Maybe this? Damn it! We're fucked!" subgenre A young thrillseeker learns there's a of thriller, right up there with SHALLOW GRAVE and VERY BAD THINGS (but higher price to fun than most people are with more gore than either of those). (Henri Mazza) willing (or able) to pay.

38 Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com GUEST IN ATTENDANCE Director D.J. Caruso

screenings Eagle Eye Sep 19, 7:30 PM Lamar 1 2008, USA, Dir. D.J. Caruso, 110 min., Language: English

Full Description: Two strangers (Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan) become the pawns of a mysterious woman they have never met, but who seems to know their every move. Realizing they are being used to further her evil plans, they must work together to outwit the woman before she either has them killed or executes her dastardly plan. I've only seen 20 minutes of the beginning of EAGLE EYE, but from that glimpse, packed full of innovative action sequences, I'm hooked. When you've got an apparently omniscient villainess monitoring the every move of a couple of ordinary schlubs who have been coerced and terrorized into following every sexy-voiced command, each of which leads them deeper and deeper into what can only be a very dangerous anarchic plot, it's a very good start. It's going to be a game of explosive battle-chess, played at 100 miles an hour. (Karrie League) Director D.J. Caruso (Disturbia) will be live in person to present the film and answer questions afterwards

Eagle eye scavenger hunt: Shia Labeouf and Michelle Monaghan are pawns in a deadly game in the new Paramount film EAGLE EYE. Fantastic Fest invites you to be our pawns in a far- less-deadly game, the EAGLE EYE SCAVENGER HUNT. Teams can sign up at www.fantasticfest.com in groups of 1 to 6. You will need a text-enabled cell phone, a map of Austin, a vehicle, a phone book, a notepad, a pen and about $20 cash per team. It's free to sign up, but space is limited, so don't wait until the last minute! At 2:00 PM on Friday, September 19, a member of your team will receive a text message that will set the game in motion. You will find your way around town, solving problems and picking up clues. Teams will meet back at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar at 6:00 PM. All teams will be treated to a free screening of EAGLE EYE with director D.J. Caruso live in person, and one lucky team will win the grand prize (to be announced, check website for details).

Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com 3 9 RELATED EVENT Estomago Multi-Course Feast

screenings Estômago: A Gastronomic Story Sep 20, 11:30 AM Lamar 2 2008, Brazil, Dir. Marcos Jorge, 100 min., Language: Portuguese w/ English Subtitles Sep 23, 6:20 PM Lamar 3

if you plan to order it, we recommend purchasing in advance, as quantities will be prepped and we expect this option to sell out. Complete menu details will be posted online on the ESTOMAGO show page. Brief Description: Love, sex, jealousy, food and murder in the streets and prisons of Brazil. This screening is sponsored in part by Dark Sky Films

Full Description: Fantastic Fest co-founder Tim League is fond of saying that the fantastic part of this festival doesn't simply apply to films with fantastic elements, but also to films that are simply fantastic, films that are as cool as hell and that you want to show off to everyone to help spread the word about a movie that's going to impress the hell out of them. And have we got one of those films this year in ESTOMAGO. Remember that scene in GOODFELLAS where we see that even prison can't stop a group of mobsters from enjoying a great meal? ESTOMAGO takes this even further, recounting how Nonato (Joao Miguel), a simple-minded prisoner with a talent for cooking, moves his way up the jail cell ranks (and bunk beds) through his culinary gifts. But just how Nonato ended up there, and how he got to hone his skills in the kitchen, is the real meat (as it were) of this sensational new film from writer/director Marcos Jorge. ESTOMAGO is a recipe of all of the primal - love, sex, jealousy, food and death - that deftly juxtaposes alternate storylines of Nonato's life in and out of prison to show that no matter who or where you are, these basic needs are essential ingredients to everyone's existence. Added to the mix is some wicked black humor, a touch of tragedy, a nice, big juicy helping of murder, and a lot of great food, even if it is found in Brazil's toughest prison. It simply wouldn't be Fantastic Fest without good food and murder, now would it? ESTOMAGO might not be on your movie radar, but once Fantastic Fest is over, everybody's going to want some. Make your reservations for this one ASAP and don't forget to tip your hard-working wait staff. (Matt Kiernan) Fantastic Fest is also offering an opportunity to enjoy the ESTOMAGO Feast, a four- course meal with wine pairings prepared by Alamo executive chef John Bullington. The feast is inspired by the actual dishes from the film and will be delivered to your seat as they appear on screen. This feast is available for an additional charge, but 40 Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com screenings Ex-Drummer Sep 20, 4:45 PM Lamar 3 2007, Belgium, Dir. Koen Mortier, 104 min., Language: Dutch w/ English Subtitles Sep 22, 2:00 PM Lamar 2

society: men, women, majorities, minorities, homosexuals, kids, punks, politicians, the abused, the aged and the infirm are all the subjects of the film's ridicule. EX- DRUMMER is angry, funny and entertainingly foul from beginning to end. (Rodney EX DRUMMER Perkins) Brief Summary: Three low-life handicapped losers recruit an arrogant and abusive author to play drums in their punk band. Layered with brutality, surrealism and bloody violence, Ex-Drummer is like no music film you’ve ever seen. Plays with Full Description: "A blast of pure adrenaline and a hard kick to the nuts, EX-DRUMMER is the most THE OBJECT exhilarating and most grueling debut film released in recent memory, a film that 2008, UK, dir. Leslie Ali , 6 min. immediately establishes Belgium’s Koen Mortier as a fierce, visionary talent with A strange family finds an even stranger singing cube that leads to an epic the potential to become one of the world’s true greats. Do we love this film around battle...kinda. In the tradition of FF feature favorite FUNKY FOREST, this here? Hell, yes. But your mother will probably hate it.” (Todd Brown, Twitchfilm) film uses brazen flat-out weirdness to mangle your brain into unstoppable confused laughter. Mortier's EX-DRUMMER introduces the audience to a deaf guitar player, a stiff- armed bassist and a psychopath guitarist-vocalist with a lisp, all of whom form a rock band for a one-off performance. The trio lacks a drummer so they seek the services of a celebrity author, who also has a reputation as a drummer, to fill the role. The author joins the band so he can exploit the band for source material and his own sadistic pleasure. Out of this mess is born The Feminists, a quasi-disabled punk rock band (Flemish band Millionaire provide the music) whose journey towards its only gig drags almost everybody involved down a black hole of abuse, exploitation and death. EX-DRUMMER is adapted from a novel of the same name by Herman Brusselmans, and the film has drawn comparisons to TRAINSPOTTING. Such analogies do not really capture what is going on in EX-DRUMMER. The film's non-stop barrage of clever visuals, vulgar humor, random violence, and high energy music (The Feminists tackle a solid cover of Devo's Mongoloid and tracks from Lightning Bolt, Isis, Mogwai and others also appear on the soundtrack) places EX-DRUMMER in an entirely different cultural and aesthetic space than any possibly comparable film. EX-DRUMMER seems to take a stab at offending every possible segment of Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com 4 1 GUEST IN ATTENDANCE Screenwriter Ernie Cline and more!

screenings fanboys Sep 18, 11:55 PM Lamar 3 2008, USA, Dir. Kyle Newman, 90 min., Language: English

As you watch this incredibly fun and heartfelt geek movie you need to do just one thing. Go back in time, back when the worst thing about was Ewoks… oh, and Greedo firing first. When the dream about EPISODE 1 was a far BRIEF SUMMARY away glimmer and the first trailer came out and blew our collective minds. Do you Desperate to see STAR WARS EPISODE 1: THE PHANTOM MENACE, five high remember that? Remember the geeks lining up for months outside movie theaters school friends break into Skywalker Ranch to steal an early cut of the film. nationwide? Do you remember who you HAD to see the movie with? This is a movie about all of that – and – making a bit of fun of all of that. It’s a celebration FULL Description and embracing of Star Wars fandom. It’s about STAR WARS being the coolest thing Starring: Dan Fogler, Kristen Bell, Seth Rogen, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, in the world… and nobody knew who Peter Jackson was… and that book about Ethan Suplee, Kevin Smith, William Shatner & lots of geeks! those furry footed fuckers was a dim hippie-hazed memory of long ago. Harry Knowles here – talking with you about one of the oddest film experiences of This is about the greatest thing STAR WARS does… bringing best friends together my life. FANBOYS began as a wet dream for Austinite Ernie Cline. It was written to argue, dream and plot about the greatest adventure ever. (Harry Knowles) in the days and months before THE PHANTOM MENACE opened in theaters. Like most of us, if you’re honest, we were in awe in living in the glow of an up- coming new STAR WARS movie. Somehow, Ernie concocted the evil thought – what if I die before I see a new STAR WARS film – and the kernel for this project began. He wrote me into the film as a character that provide the main characters with the knowledge they need to break into Skywalker Ranch – I agreed to play myself in his indie movie, and he gave me the script to be sure. Having read the script I excitedly wrote a review of Ernie’s script on December 9th, 1998. I felt the script absolutely captured the mania and fear and anxiety about the coming of Episode 1. Yes, that was 10 years ago. The following 10 years found Ernie’s script in various stages of development… Possibly being made at somewhere around 5 different studios at different times. Then one miraculous day the film started shooting, with actual Star Wars actors in cameos, with the cooperation of and with the backing of The Weinstein Company. I saw the first version of this film about 2 years ago. The storied battles behind the scenes are well documented, but thing that comes through it all is this… this is a movie about STAR WARS fans made by STAR WARS fans and it has finally come home to Austin!

42 Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com screenings Fear(s) of the Dark Sep 20, 2:00 PM Lamar 2 2007, France, Dir. Various, 85 min., Language: French w/ English Subtitles Sep 22, 4:25 PM Lamar 1

his more politically aware concepts of "Fear." Marie Caillou: in counterpoint to de Sciullo, Marie's lighthearted, -inspired BRIEF SUMMARY story follows a young girl haunted by violent hallucinations while asleep and FEAR(S) OF THE DARK is a unique collection of fearful tales by the world's most tormented by bullies at school while awake. cutting-edge, acclaimed graphic artists. Their intertwined stories make up an Lorenzo Mattotti: Easily the most virtuoso animation talent of the group, Mattotti unprecedented epic where phobias, disgust and nightmares come to life and reveal chronicle's a monster who is terrorizing a small village, told from the perspective of Fear at its most naked and intense. a former resident of the town. FULL Description Richard McGuire: The final segment is a straight-forward haunted house tale, but "A sophisticated showcase of contemporary animation. The best short, by Mr. animated in a fresh, bold and creative style. The story is sparse, but the amazing Burns, is a science-fiction nightmare of erotic slavery, with elements of ALIEN and visual imagery is the real focus. (Tim League) Kafka's METAMORPHOSIS." Stephen Holden, New York Times "Rich, inventive. Often gorgeous to look at, and clever. I don't imagine you'll want Plays with to miss this black-and-white feast." James Van Maanen, Greencine Daily rojo red The concept is simple: six of the world's best graphic artists (Blutch, Charles Burns, 2007, Columbia, dir. Juan Manuel Betancourt , 13 min. Pierre di Sciullo, Lorenzo Mattotti, Richard McGuire and Marie Caillou) were asked Some people complain about their life unraveling, but it's rarely as to create a black and white short film based on their own personal nightmares. pronounced as in this whimsical, bizarre short from a young Colombian The resulting monochromatic quilt shows a vast range of styles and tones. From the visualist already on par with mighty artists like Michel Gondry. comedic, the bloody, the experimental and the downright creepy, all of the films are incredibly imaginative and effective in their own way. GUEST IN ATTENDANCE dir. Juan Manuel Betancourt Charles Burns: this graphic novel titan delivers our favorite film of the bunch. A young entymologist finds more comfort in his six-legged friends than the humans in his life, but when he brings a woman home, their companionship might prove to be problematic. Blutch: His film, a hunter chasing his own particular brand of varmint through the woods is interwoven in small segments, providing a narrative thread to the entire tale. Pierre di Sciullo: The only non-comic animator on this project produces the most abstract entry. Patterns of lines and shapes morph across the screen, narrated with

Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com 4 3 GUEST IN ATTENDANCE Director

screenings Feast 2 Sep 19, 11:55 PM Lamar 3 2008, USA, Dir. John Gulager, 90 min., Language: English Sep 24, 11:55 PM Lamar 2

Plays with BRIEF SUMMARY Vincent, le Magnifique John Gulager returns to the Alamo to premiere the second installment in his FEAST 2008, Switzerland, dir. Pascal Forney, 22 min. franchise. The original crowd-pleasing splatterfest FEAST world-premiered at The tragically hilarious tale of a would-be magician who just can't seem to Fantastic Fest in our first year. perfect his saw-the-lady-in-half illusion. In Vincent's world, success, dignity and willing female stage assistants are hard to come by. FULL Description: It's the morning after the first film, and we pick up with the survivors of FEAST's terrifying assault. The threat is far from vanquished...there are more monsters than anyone had thought possible and they are even angrier (and hungrier!) than their defeated brethren. The creatures have made it into a small neighboring town in the middle of nowhere and the surviving locals have to band together if they have any hope of survival...like that's possible. Will Honey Pie (Jenny Wade) pay for her desertion? Will Tuffy make it to Heroine's kid in time? Is that Harley Mom's twin sister? As you can see, all your favorite unwilling warriors (including RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD's Clu Gulager) are back for this round of the ultimate beast war, which -- judging from what the filmmakers have shared -- already promises to be ratcheted up to unparalleled levels of organ-bursting mayhem. Directed by a lifelong horror fan armed with a screenplay from SAW franchise bloodscribers and , this ain't your momma's . No sir, these hate-powered engines of man-eating viciousness are ready to take down our entire species in grisly, graphic detail. A sequel this over the top will certainly make you hungry for another twenty installments! But for now, we can only sit back with FEAST 2 and be wholly, epically terrorized... (Zack Carlson) Director John Gulager will be live in person to present FEAST 2 and will host a Q&A after the film.

44 Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com screenings Fighter Sep 21, 2:00 PM Lamar 1 2008, Denmark, Dir. Natasha Arthy, 97 min., Language: Danish w/ English Subtitles Sep 23, 6:35 PM Lamar 1

the board, particularly from Turan in the lead and her young peers. The fighting? Very impressive thanks to choreography and, reportedly, three months of intensive training supervised by Xian Gao prior to shooting. The choreography is inventive, Brief Description: realistic, very athletic – showcasing the impressive real life skills of Turan to great A Danish (?!!) kung fu coming-of-age drama choreographed by and featuring effect – and flawlessly shot in dominantly wide, long shots designed to let you a supporting role by action master Xian Gao (CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN appreciate the skill on screen. While there is wire work evident in a handful of DRAGON, FONG SAI YUK). fantasy tinged sequences the kung fu is generally unassisted with any gadgetry and is very impressive. Full Description: With global martial arts fans all worked into a lather over Prachya Pinkaew’s FIGHTER is simply a hugely impressive piece of work, one that functions upcoming female starring fight flick CHOCOLATE, very little attention has been simultaneously on a handful of levels and handles each element note-perfectly. paid to other parts of the world. Case in point: Natasha Arthy’s Danish kung fu (Todd Brown) drama FIGHTER. And the lack of attention is truly a shame because this is one film that truly deserves it. While CHOCOLATE may win more points for sheer spectacle, FIGHTER is clearly superior in terms of story, character, direction and is itself loaded with hugely impressive – and all the more so for how naturally they are shot – fight scenes. Were you to put FIGHTER’s Semra Turan – a national level kung fu martial artist - into a fair fight with CHOCOLATE’s female star there’s a better than average chance Turan would come out on top. Turan stars as Aicha, a hot blooded Turko-Danish teenaged girl whose one great passion is the martial arts. She watches kung fu films constantly, mimicking the moves of the stars she idolizes as the films play, and trains in martial arts in a casual, girls only afterschool club. Or, at least she trains there until her hot temper gets her kicked out. Her school coach, recognizing Aicha’s natural talent, suggests that she enlist in a local, elite level club – where the Iron Monkey himself, Xian Gao, is the sifu – to further her skills. But there is one problem: the club is mixed gender and Aicha’s very conservative Turkish parents will never consent to their daughter training in a space shared with boys. The script is rich and detailed, filled with the complexities of clashing cultures and warring parental instincts, doing justice to the complicated subject matter and resisting ever slipping into easy cliché. This feels like a real family dealing with real issues and that is something seen too seldom. The acting is very strong across

Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com 4 5 GUEST IN ATTENDANCE Director Norihiro Koizumi

screenings Gachi Boy: Wrestling with a Memory Sep 24, 9:00 PM Lamar 2 2008, Japan, Dir. Norihiro Koizumi, 120 min., Language: Japanese w/ English Subtitles Sep 25, 3:55 PM Lamar 2

Yes, kids, this movie takes the central plot device from MEMENTO and fuses it into a movie that is equal parts cult comedy, underdog sports movie, and power-of-the- human-spirit inspirational . It’s a bizarre fusion that, bluntly, should Brief Description: never ever have been able to work but my god does it, each part coming together After a car accident renders Igarashi free of his short term memory, he abandons his in ways that surprise despite being familiar and the strengths of each disparate dreams to become a lawyer in favor of becoming a masked wrestler element building up the other parts while canceling out the typical weakness of each subgenre. Yes, the scenario is goofy as all hell – and riotously fun as a result – Full Description: but the characters are played with such sincerity and charm that GACHI BOY earns That Japanese college students donning wrestling masks and tights to try their hand every ounce of the emotional high it hits with its climactic wrestling bout. at flamboyant professional style wrestling would prove entertaining came asno surprise. That it could be as touching, heartfelt and emotionally satisfying as it is in There’s no real need to talk about plot with this film – it hits all the marks you expect GACHI BOY - a very deserving winner of the Audience Award at the Udine Far East any to hit from start to finish – because the charm isn’t in the plot, it’s Film Festival 2008 – came as a shock of the highest order. Sure to be a huge crowd in the characters and the young actors who portray them and the equally young pleaser as it rolls out on the festival circuit GACHI BOY is a remarkable piece of director – he’s only twenty six – who directs with a confidence well beyond his years. work that fully exploits its sublimely ridiculous premise for comic effect while also GACHI BOY will draw you in with the wrestling – as it should, the wrestling’s a finding a deeply human heart in the proceedings. blast – but it’ll leave you with characters you’ll want to stand and cheer for days after seeing it. (Todd Brown) Igarashi seems to have it all. Sincere and enthusiastic, he has built a name for himself on campus as something of a genius, passing the bar exam a full year before This screening is sponsored in part by Viz Pictures even completing his law degree. He therefore seems like an unlikely candidate to pursue a hobby as a masked, professional wrestler but, sure enough, after a public exhibition from the down-and-out-and-really-not-very-good school wrestling club Plays with Igarashi arrives at their door asking to join. But Igarashi also has a secret: a serious accident the year before has left him with permanent brain damage and he no longer GREEN has any sort of short term memory. He recalls everything from before the accident 2008, USA, dir. Boris perfectly but can retain new memories for no longer than a day; when he sleeps Schaarschmidt , 15 min. all of the days events simply slip away and he must start over with the help of the An elderly groundskeeper clashes with a detailed notes he takes constantly. In a strange way the accident is actually what has football team who just doesn't show enough propelled him to start wrestling. He is simply going through the motions of his final sensitivity to the wonders of its playing year at school – his injury will prevent him from ever practicing law – after which he field. will have little choice but to help his father running the family owned public baths. And so, before his time at school is over, Igarashi wants nothing more than to follow a dream he has had since childhood: to become a masked wrestler even if he can’t remember doing it. 46 Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com screenings the good the bad and the weird Sep 19, 6:25 PM Lamar 2 2008, South Korea, Dir. Ji-woon Kim, 139 min., Language: Korean w/ English Subtitles Sep 23, 3:30 PM Lamar 1

Last but not least, the desert filming location is a major star. This is a fantastic Wild West location, with an Asian flair.M agnificent scenery and set pieces are beautifully shot and squeezed for every ounce of spectacle. (Karrie League) Brief Description: Directed by Ji-woon Kim (, A TALE OF TWO SISTERS) and setting an all-time Korean box office opening weekend record this year, THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE WEIRD, an homage to Leone's similarly named classic, is one of the year's most anticipated genre titles.

Full Description: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE WEIRD, at face value, is a Korean remake of THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY. However, updated with eye-popping colors, fast-paced editing, explosive action and a slightly different twist on the story, it stands on its own two feet quite nicely. Set in 1930's Manchuria, the intricate plot pits three outlaws against the entire Japanese army and a mob of Russian gangsters in a race to find the "treasure" that will define the outcome of the Sino-Japanese war. (The story is complex; expect to read lots of complaints that it makes no sense, but trust me, it's all there.) Jung Woo Sung is "The Good". While not quite as iconic as the unforgettable Clint Eastwood, he is nonetheless handsome as hell and unflappably suave. He stands for the Korean resistance, determined to use every weapon at his disposal against the Japanese invaders. Lee Byung Hun is "The Bad". More widely known from JSA, A BITTERSWEET LIFE and HERO, he's as bad as villains come and also icy smooth. Employed by a treacherous warlord to waylay the treasure, he has no intention of sharing any of the profit with his employer. The stand-out is Song Kang Ho, who won my heart irrevocably in THE HOST and is also well known from JSA, SYMPATHY FOR MR VENGEANCE, MEMORIES OF MURDER and LADY VENGEANCE. His turn as "The Weird", for my money, outstrips Eli Wallach's Tuco for sheer fun quotient and is a stellar three-dimensional performance that provides most of the buoyancy of the film that sustains the 2-hour plus run time. Apparently just a solo bandit out making a living, he stumbles across the prize and fights off all comers to hold on to it.

Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com 4 7

screenings How to Get Rid of the Others Sep 18, 9:40 PM Lamar 3 2007, Denmark, Dir. Anders Rønnow Klarlund, 94 min., Language: Danish w/ English Subtitles Sep 25, 2:30 PM Lamar 3

her scooter) away underneath a helicopter, we know that this film isn’t going to be the usual political satire. As it plays out like a stage play meets THE BREAKFAST CLUB gone wrong, we follow several people labeled as socially unproductive, all BRIEF SUMMARY with varying dreams and vices, who either try or don’t care to save themselves from When it is discovered that the least productive 5% of Danish society consume 60% getting killed. (Blake Ethridge) of government spending, the conservative politicians decide to quietly eradicate the problem. THE NEW CRITERIA 1 : Citizens that have received, over a long period of time, welfare or other social FULL Description support, with the exception of state pension. “HOW TO GET RID OF THE OTHERS grew out of the debate we have in Denmark, I don’t know how much you know about it. Denmark is one of the European 2 : Citizens who have willingly bypassed Danish law for the purpose of personal countries who joined the coalition of the willing and has the most strict immigration gain, including social fraud, systematic moonlighting, tax evasion, etc. policy in Europe that is bordering on being racist and has an extreme right wing 3 : Drug addicts and those who abuse recreational drugs, alcohol, etc. government much like the one in the US. Out of this debate where they always ask foreigners how much are you worth, what do you do for the Danish society, why 4 : People who place excessive strain on the hospital system, far above the average. should we support you financially, why are you so dumb, why is your religion no 5 : People who are incapable of caring for their own children. good, why are your children dumber than the real Danish children? Everyday in the 6 : People who are out of work for unusually long periods of time. Including newspaper foreigners are confronted with this. If we applied the debate in Denmark pensioners who have been invalided prematurely. onto ourselves, what would it look like? This is how HOW TO GET RID OF THE OTHERS came about.” ~ Anders Rønnow Klarlund 7 : People who have lived on the edge of the law for many years. Those who have often been in contact with the courts, swindlers, criminals, even though they haven't Have you ever thought the world has gone to hell and everyone has turned into necessarily been convicted. Vicky Pollard from LITTLE BRITAIN? Would you be seriously pissed off if everyone in your country lived off the government teat, while you were busting your ass to PARDON/EXEMPTION FROM PUNISHMENT make a living? In Denmark, many people think this type of scenario isn’t too far off. 1 : It isn't enough to live up to a single criterion. It is recommended that at least three Enter Anders Rønnow Klarlund, who has turned this scenario into his follow-up to criteria are achieved before punishment is meted out. the cult 2004 hit STRINGS. If STRINGS was a involving puppets trying to overthrow evil, then HOW TO GET RID OF THE OTHERS is a fairytale involving 2 : If an individual citizen - even though the person in question qualifies for several the Denmark government trying to overthrow and remove every unproductive criteria - can provide some sort of proof that he or she has contributed to any kind member of its society. Anders Rønnow Klarlund crafts one of the darkest political of unselfish activity for the benefit of the common good then the individual will be comedies imaginable, which not only deftly probes the unproductive sector of free from punishment. society but takes a very deep and personal look at foreign policy in today’s hyper sensitive climate of questionable immigration policies. From its opening sequence where the SWAT Teams swoop in and whisk senior citizen Gerda (still sitting in 50 Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com GUEST IN ATTENDANCE Director Sean Donnelly

screenings I Think We're Alone Now Sep 20, 1:50 PM Lamar 1 2008, USA, Dir. Sean Donnelly, 70 min., Language: English Sep 22, 4:40 PM Lamar 2

Brief Description: This fascinating and deeply disturbing documentary takes you into the worlds and obsessions of Kelly McCormick and Jeffery Deane Turner, who have been separately stalking '80s pop icon Tiffany for nearly 20 years.

Full Description: Many people are familiar with singer Tiffany, who had a number of hit songs during the 1980s, including “I Think We’re Alone Now” and “Could’ve Been.” Less known is the story of two of Tiffany's most devoted stalkers: Jeffery Deane Turner, a 50ish man with severe Asperger's Syndrome, and hermaphrodite- in-transition Kelly McCormick. Sean Donnelly’s documentary I THINK WE’RE ALONE NOW tells the stories of these obsessed fans and in doing so, honestly deserves the distinction of being one of the strangest films on this year's Fantastic Fest program. Turner serves as an elder statesman of celebrity stalkers; he has been engaged in a pointless, multi-decade pursuit of Tiffany’s attentions. In one famous incident during the late 80s (which is documented in the film) Turner showed up at Tiffany’s emancipated minor hearing with a samurai sword and five white chrysanthemums. Like Turner, Kelly McCormick is completely obsessed, which is evidenced by the dozens of Tiffany images that paper the walls of her barren apartment, and McCormick's disturbing, profane rants about being united with the pop singer. McCormick’s obsession, however, exists in an entirely different space than Turner’s and seems to be rooted in a big tangled knot of psychological and physiological dysfunction that defies glib descriptions. I THINK WE’RE ALONE NOW packs enough mystery, horror, science-fiction and human intrigue into 100 minutes to fill a number of feature-length films. Everything in this film is completely true, however, and it’s so strange that many will have a hard time believing it’s real. (Rodney Perkins)

Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com 5 1 GUEST IN ATTENDANCE Writer Patrick White

screenings Jack Brooks Monster Slayer Sep 20, 11:55 PM Lamar 2 2007, Canada, Dir. Jon Knautz, 90 min., Language: English Sep 23, 11:25 PM Lamar 1

This screening is sponsored in part by Anchor Bay.

Brief Description: Horror legend costars in this epic battle of angry plumber vs. the demonic creatures of the night. Packed with fantastic practical effects and spot-on humor, JACK BROOKS is destined to emerge an audience fave.

Full Description: Being a plumber just got a whole lot more violent. Jack Brooks has an anger problem, and why not? His girlfriend’s a nag, he’s stuck taking night classes, his Plays with van’s barely running, and there’s also the little matter of witnessing his entire family killed and eaten by some sort of troll monster when he was just a boy. Jack’s got the tiffany problem issues, issues that erupt in bursts of violence and rage. Luckily for him he’s about 2008, USA, dir. & Ryan Schifrin, 10 min. to find an appropriate target ... What's more natural than a 32-year-old man (HATCHET's Joel David Moore) Jack Brooks has everything wanting to go out trick-or-treating with his friends? When the ol' ball and you could ask of a creature chain turns him down, things reach a serious boiling point. Directors Adam feature. A memorable Green and Ryan Schifrin will be in attendance. antihero, genuinely funny support players, buckets of blood, squishy effects and a career-highlight-reel performance from Robert Englund who shows a surprising gift for physical slapstick comedy. A true crowd pleaser, Jack Brooks has left audiences cheering throughout a successful festival run around the GUESTS IN ATTENDANCE globe. (Todd Brown) Adam Green and Ryan Schifrin

52 Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com screenings JCvd Sep 19, 10:00 PM Lamar 1 2008, France/Belgium, Dir. Mabrouk El Mechri , 96 min., Language: French w/ English Subtitles Sep 21, 6:40 PM Lamar 1

shot at the best roles in Hollywood! I watched JCVD at this year’s Cannes Market and the excitement in the crowd was BRIEF SUMMARY: palpable. Market screenings are for the industry worker-bees, you can’t gauge an Jean-Claude Van Damme portrays an aging action star whose career in Hollywood audience because they are either asleep from exhaustion or texting on multiple is all but washed up. Returning to his homeland in Brussels, he lands in the middle blackberries trying to seal the next deal. Not so with JCVD. The crowd laughed of a bank heist and may have to actually save the day. and cheered and actually stood to applaud at the end. And when the man himself popped up from a seat in the back of the theater, clearly proud of the chops he had Full Description: just shown on screen, the audience went absolutely nuts. In JCVD, Jean-Claude Van Damme portrays a washed-up, aging action star. His Van Damme? God Damn! This movie is AWESOME! Support this film, write about career is a joke, he loses all of even the meager straight-to-video roles to his nemesis this film, and most importantly watch this film when it comes out in theaters. If for Steven Seagal and he's in a custody battle for his daughter who is too embarrassed no other reason, I personally want to see more comedic drama out of - who woulda of her father to consider living with him. thunk it - one of the most underrated thespians working in cinema today! (Tim Returning to Brussels, he pops into a post office to send a money order to his divorce League) lawyer in only to find the facility held siege by robbers. The absurdity of the situation gradually escalates, and our action hero star must decide – cooperate This screening is sponsored in part by . or save the day in true hero fashion! In a word, this role choice for Jean Claude Van Damme is BOLD. He’s faced ninjas, wild animals, space aliens and multiple arenas of death, but in JCVD he’s confronted with the naked truth of his own career: z-grade roles, worldwide ridicule, drug addiction, bad haircuts and some truly inspired wacko TV interviews, many of which are replayed in the film. The wickedly crisp script realistically captures the comedy inherent in the day-to-day life of a superstar: autograph and picture hounds, mocking haters and delusional überfans. Through it all Jean Claude Van Damme delivers with a sly wit and assured demeanor that for much of the film, I forgot I was watching a work of fiction, but was lost in what surely had to be a Jean Claude Van Damme reality show. He understands the humor associated with his career, acknowledges it, pokes more than gentle fun at himself and even waxes philosophic on his past and his future. What emerges is a sophisticated, intelligent and wildly comedic performance. This is the stuff of true career renaissance. Forget about Pam Grier’s potential resurgence after JACKIE BROWN. After this performance, Jean Claude Van Damme deserves a Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com 5 3

screenings Late bloomer Sep 18, 7:00 PM Lamar 3 2004, Japan, Dir. Gô Shibata , 83 min., Language: Japanese w/ English Subtitles Sep 21, 1:30 PM Lamar 3

BRIEF SUMMARY Gô Shibata’s controversial 2004 film Late Bloomer (Osoi Hito) appeared on the international festival circuit a few years ago to much acclaim but soon fell off the map. Now, this poignant story of a disabled man driven to madness by isolation and loneliness is ready to be discovered by a brand new audience. Similarly themed films have both preceded (Chang-dong Lee’s Oasis) and followed (Crispin Glover’s It Is Fine. Everything Is Fine!) Shibata’s work but there is no adequate cinematic frame of reference for the way Late Bloomer explores disability and the frailty of the human body. In this fictional tale, Masakiyo Sumida, a severely disabled mute, portrays himself. Sumida is surrounded by friends but his handicap cuts off his ability to fully interact with them. He falls in love with Nobuku, who becomes Sumida's helper for her college thesis project. Nobuku exploits Sumida and becomes involved with his friend, Takei. Sumida finds refuge in alcohol, and the resulting hallucinations drive him to acts of violence. Late Bloomer begins as a story of a disabled man working his way through life with the help of friends. However, his smile is an immovable mask that covers his heartache and pain. The link that Late Bloomer draws between this internal suffering, which is rooted in helplessness, and violence is both disturbing and moving. The film’s black-and-white photography is well-suited for such stark content. The hallucination sequences, which are full of quick cuts and sputtering electronic music, recall the video work of Chris Cunningham; one can also detect hints of Sogo Ishii’s ELECTRIC DRAGON 60000V, and Shinya Tsukamoto’s TETSUO: THE IRON MAN throughout. Late Bloomer is, at times, difficult to watch but the film is never exploitative. Those who open up to the film will be subject to an emotionally powerful experience. (Rodney Perkins)

Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com 5 5 screenings left bank Sep 20, 2:15 PM Lamar 3 2008, Belgium, Dir. Pieter Van Hees , 75 min., Language: Dutch w/ English Subtitles Sep 23, 1:30 PM Lamar 3

BRIEF SUMMARY: A young woman moves in with her new boyfriend on the fashionable "left bank" in Antwerp only to discover that the building may have a very disturbing past.

FUll description: The title refers to a trendy new suburb on the shores of Antwerp's River Schelde. Built up with new luxury high rise apartments and miles of running trails through lovely wooded parks, it seems an unlikely place to find evil flourishing. Yet the neighborhood has a dark past and a darker secret. Talented young actress Eline Kuppens plays Marie, a driven young runner who has pushed her body to exhaustion and is forced by her doctor to take it easy. Without her grueling daily training, she finds she has the time to fall in love with a Plays with handsome young man she meets practicing archery at her athletic club. She moves into his apartment on the Left Bank, but soon discovers that the reason her lover Cam2cam is able to afford the apartment is because the previous tenant disappeared under 2008, France, dir. Davy Sihali, mysterious circumstances. She discovers some papers that the young woman left 26 min. behind when she vanished, and unsettled by the strange trail towards which they Technology and intimacy are at war. point, she begins to research the history of the land and the unsavory people that This movie is a genuinely creepy used to call it home before gentrification took over. exploration of the casualties. Deliberately paced and shot in a muted palette of misty greys, the film is almost oppressively atmospheric in the slow unraveling of the secrets of the past. Yet there GUEST IN ATTENDANCE Director Davy Sihali are also touches of the bizarre, including a small wound that becomes more and more grotesque and unexplainably hairy; and lavish doses of sensuality - there's enough nudity and sex to qualify this film for a slot in the Japanese pinku series. Tense and heavy with dread, the movie builds inexorably to what you would naturally expect to be a dramatic and tragic end. Yet the final moments manage to completely invert the entire horror paradigm, changing everything that went before and placing a thoroughly unexpected and opposite meaning to the events that have taken place. (Karrie League) 56 Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com

screenings Let the Right One In Sep 20, 6:30 PM Lamar 1 2008, Sweden, Dir. Tomas Alfredson, 114 min., Language: Swedish w/ English Subtitles Sep 24, 1:15 PM Lamar 2

poignantly right. Beautifully shot and flawlessly performed this film will remain etched in your brain for days after the final frame runs. (Todd Brown) BRIEF SUMMARY This screening is sponsored in part by HungrymanTV.com An awkward, introverted boy (Oskar) befriends a new neighbor girl (Eli) who helps him to confront the bullies at school. Eli, however, has a dark secret, and there are bodies piling up at the local morgue.

Full Description: "Please be sure to keep an eyeball out for this one, horror fans. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN is very smart, very sweet, very sick, and very special indeed." - Scott Weinberg, FEARnet "Alfredson has helmed a classic-in-the-making, with a final set piece that uses visuals in a fresh, inventive, and startling combination that will be talked about for years to come." - Film Threat Oskar is a shy and introverted 12-year-old boy, the product of a failed marriage, bullied mercilessly by a trio of his stronger classmates. They are vicious and unrelenting in their attacks but Oskar never retaliates, instead retreating into violent fantasies of one day cutting the bullies down. Oskar seems to have no friends whatsoever until one day a strange girl moves in to the apartment next door … Eli is distant, verging on antisocial. She never appears during daylight hours, only coming outside to talk to Oskar in the evening time, regularly wandering out into the snow barefoot and wearing only thin indoor shirts and pants. But she never complains of the cold. She is unusual, strange even, but she talks to Oskar, even encourages him to find strength within himself to stand up to the bullying at school. And so the two strike up an unlikely friendship. Eli, it turns out, has a dark secret, and since her arrival, an alarming number of corpses are starting to pile up at the morgue. There are moments here that are truly iconic and loaded with a blood drenched poetry but the film simultaneously never forgets that it is primarily about the relationship between two outcast children and it gets that relationship achingly,

Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com 5 9 screenings Muay Thai Chaiya Sep 18, 6:45 PM Lamar 1 2007, Thailand, Dir. Kongkiat Khomsiri, 112 min., Language: Thai w/ English Subtitles Sep 22, 1:30 PM Lamar 3

fight clubs of Bangkok things get truly depraved and frankly downright absurd. It seems obvious to say, but Muay Thai gets a lot more exciting with chainsaws and machetes in the ring. (Tim League) Brief Description: An action-packed Muay Thai fighting drama by Kongkiat Khomsiri (ART OF THE DEVIL 2), with cinematography by Wisit Sasanatieng (TEARS OF THE BLACK TIGER).

Full Description: “A pulpy crime actioner about three hopefuls from the sticks mixing it with the big boys in disco-era Bankgok, Kongkiat Khomsiri's solo helming debut packs all the mayhem demanded by genre fans and delivers more emotional clout than regular fare.” – Variety “Landing a one-two elbow blow that’s hard enough to leave blood in your stool, yet sentimentally sweet and nostalgic enough to bring tears to your eyes, MUAY THAI CHAIYA was a winner as the closing film of the Bangkok International Film Festival.” - 9/10 stars, WiseKwai, In the mid-1970s, three boys from a southern Thai village become friends while passing the summer in a beachside boxing camp. Amid the backdrop of the peaceful coast, the three boys train in the regional ancient art of Muay Thai Chaiya with the hope of fulfilling their dream of becoming professional boxers. After dominating the rural boxing rings the trio set off to make it big as fighters in the Bangkok arenas. There’s two things that are important to me about this film. First - it looks great. It’s a 70’s period piece and it really feels right - from the locations, to the clothes to the cars, everything seems to be spot on. Granted, Thailand still has a bit more polyester in its daily diet than the states, but the look and feel of this movie is exceptional. A glance at the credits explains why. Art direction was overseen by Wisit Sasanatieng, director of one of the most gorgeous movies ever to emerge from Thailand: TEARS OF THE BLACK TIGER. Second, the fighting is strong. It’s not as flashy or mind- boggling as Tony Jaa, but it definitely delivers, and delivers often. You also get a wide range of styles and techniques. The early training and rural matches are straight-forward Muay Thai boxing, but when you get to the underground illegal 60 Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com GUESTS IN ATTENDANCE Brian Trenchard-Smith and director Mark Hartley

screenings Not Quite Hollywood Sep 21, 4:15 PM Lamar 2 2008, Australia, Dir. Mark Hartley, 102 min., Language: English Sep 25, 6:45 PM Lamar 1

American talent like Stacy Keach and Jamie Lee Curtis. Megafan provides insightful commentary and characteristic enthusiasm throughout, as do directors James Wan (SAW) and Greg McLean (WOLF CREEK). (Lars Nilsen) Brief description Probably the biggest concentration of explosions, nudity and blood at Fantastic Check out Page 83 for complete details on the NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD Fest this year. A documentary that traces the secret and not so secret history of retrospective featuring six classic drive-in classics: MAD MAX, Ozsploitation. THE ROAD WARRIOR, RAZORBACK, DARK AGE, TURKEY SHOOT AND . Full Description: Take a look at www.fantasticfest.com for trailers of all of these Aussie classics and Meet the legendary Brian Trenchard-Smith at the Wednesday and Thursday more. repertory screenings of his classics TURKEY SHOOT and THE MAN FROM HONG KONG as well as the Thursday screening of NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD. Finally, the definitive story of the go-for-broke, fuck-it-all Aussie renaissance of the '70s and '80s. The national character of Australia is marked by a certain raucous non- conformity, and the country's fast and furious output during this golden age is notable for its extreme audacity - rudeness even. As exiled subjects of the British Empire they might have been expected to copy the staid, overly mannered films of their ancestral homeland but hell no, their films are loaded with more boobs, reckless car chases, explosions and killer fauna than anyone's. They're cheap, filthy, loud and proud. And like a cool rain in the middle of the outback, this very welcome and unexpected doc gives you the "Easy Riders Raging Bulls" style lowdown on all the best ozsploitation films you've never seen, including unheralded masterpieces like THE LONG WEEKEND and ROAD GAMES, exercises in stylistic excess like RAZORBACK and NEXT OF KIN, downright full-blooded smut like THE NAKED BUNYIP and STORK, bloody horrors like NIGHT OF FEAR and THIRST and the spectacular action mayhem of Brian Trenchard-Smith, whose films MAN FROM HONG KONG and TURKEY SHOOT break off the violence knob altogether. Fans of genre cinema will be scribbling notes furiously to keep up with the lightning fast pace of NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD. In addition to the astonishing assortment of clips from the movies themselves, this film features dozens of interviews with Australian luminaries and imported

Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com 6 1 GUEST IN ATTENDANCE Director Darren Bousman

screenings Repo! THE genetic opera Sep 19, 9:30 PM Lamar 2 2008, USA, Dir. Darren Lynn Bousman, 98 min., Language: English Sep 22, 11:15 PM Lamar 1

to his empire. plays Rotti Largo's only daughter Amber Sweet, one of three deadbeat BRIEF SUMMARY: siblings vying for control of GeneCo upon the imminent death of their father. A bold Darren Bousman, director of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th installments of the wildly popular choice for Paris, she plays the prima donna daughter of millionaire tycoon. She's SAW franchise, pulls a "what-the-f..." 180 degree turnaround to creates a very precocious, has temper tantrums, is addicted to drugs and plastic surgery and tries to personal, very demented, bloody goth rock opera about organ repossession with launch a singing career despite her lack of talent and responsibility. Wow, big stretch. lead performances by Paul Sorvino, Paris Hilton and Ogre from . The funny thing is that Paris has never been better. Her singing is impeccable and she delivers a spot-on performance with grace and ease. Bouseman initially refused to FULL Description consider Hilton for the role, considering it "novelty" casting, but when she persisted I was predisposed to hate this. While I'm pretty damn immature for a 38 year old, the and nailed both her vocal and acting auditions, he realized the perfection of this black-nail-polish crowd is one of the few things that somehow manages to make me choice. feel my age. Also, I'm a curmudgeon when it comes to musicals. I like a few of the With a wild ensemble cast (Joan Jett for example, literally emerges from a bedroom modern musicals, CHICAGO and MOULIN ROUGE for example, but DREAMGIRLS closet to jam on one of the harder rocking numbers), a lush mixture of practical sets and PHANTOM OF THE OPERA almost caused me internal bleeding. I came to this and oppulent CGI, REPO! sucks you into it's dark and alien world and doesn't let you project with trepidation to say the least. But when I heard that REPO! was helmed go. It's operatic, it's flamboyant, and it's dripping with blood. Damn it all, despite by Darren Bouseman, director of the last 3 SAW films, and this was a very personal myself, I'm a big fan of REPO! Open to the idea of a goth rock opera or not, I highly project that he championed for years and agreed to complete on an unusually tight recommend you check out this film. There's nothing else like it this year at Fantastic budget, I had to check it out. This could be the most devastatingly awful career Fest and there may never be again in the history of film. (Tim League) mutilator or it could be an amazingly bold decision that breaks him free of being "the SAW guy." I'm happy to report that it's the latter. Director Darren Bousman will be live in person at the screening. The world of REPO! emerges onscreen as a decaying futuristic city, think BLADE RUNNER as seen through a NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS goth filter. Organ failure runs rampant, leading to the rise of GeneCo, a multinational corporation offering quick and plentiful organ transplant as well as a plethora of enhancement surgeries. There's a little catch, however. If you can't keep up with your organ payments, the GeneCo repo men are dispatched to retrieve their property, quickly and very painfully. Paul Sorvino is clearly having a ball here as Rotti Largo, the patriarch of GeneCo. He is a trained opera singer and seems to have been waiting for this part for a lifetime. He belts out his numbers with scene-chewing gusto. His character is on his deathbed, and before he dies, he must settle some old romantic scores as well as choose an heir

62 Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com GUESTS IN ATTENDANCE Director Eric Shapiro, actor Rodney Eastman, producer/actress Rhoda Jordan

screenings Rule of Three Sep 19, 4:30 PM Lamar 3 US Premiere, 2008, USA, Dir. Eric Shapiro, 85 min., Language: English Sep 23, 4:00 PM Lamar 3

This screening is sponsored in part by Book People.

BRIEF SUMMARY Set in one night in a seedy hotel, cult Novelist Eric Shapiro’s debut feature intertwines two stories of sexual encounters gone horribly awry. WINNER, BEST ACTOR, BEN SIEGLER, FANTASIA FILM FESTIVAL 2008

Full Description: "This is refreshing, exciting indie cinema, and the rule here is to see it when you get the chance." - Ryan Levey, Fangoria “Shapiro’s transition from novelist to feature filmmaker delivers on every promise with a rare and engrossing work whose qualities can perhaps best be likened to a darker PT Anderson or Steven Soderbergh” – Mitch Davis, Fantasia Film Festival Twenty-something Lo (Rhoda Jordan), checks into a roadside motel with her boyfriend for a bit of innocent sexual exploration. In the same hotel, a dowdy middle-aged businessman is planning for his own romantic rendezvous, a first sexual encounter with a co-worker that he feels might turn out better if Rohypnol is in the mix. Neither encounter works out according to plan, and as the stories cleverly intertwine, the tension swirls to a gut-punch climax. Novelist/essayist Eric Shapiro directs his debut feature with a sure hand and stretches his budget by cleverly limiting the action to the claustrophobic interior of one seedy hotel. Instead of a large budget, Shapiro uses exceptional writing to move the story briskly forward and keep the audience fully engaged. His cast of relative newcomers execute the naturalistic dialogue flawlessly, in particular Ben Siegler (THE WEST WING) as Plays with Lo’s anxious father and Rodney Eastman (A NIGHTMARE ON ELM ST. 3 & 4) as a particularly loathsome drug dealer. RULE OF THREE is exactly the type of film we SOME OF AN EQUATION 2007, USA, dir. Burke Roberts , 8 min. are seeking in the Next Wave competition, a young first-time director storming out A jarring exploration of how everything you know can go horribly, of the gate with a sack full of talent, a mature understanding of cinema and a strong irreversibly wrong in a matter of seconds. story to tell. (Tim League)

Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com 6 3 GUEST IN ATTENDANCE Director Nicolás López

screenings santos! Sep 20, 7:05 PM Lamar 2 World Premiere, 2007, Chile/Spain, Dir. Nicolás López , 97 min., Language: Spanish with English Subtitles Sep 22, 6:45 PM Lamar 2

superheroes, feces-addicted senseis (aka Antropomosco), homoerotic sidekicks, alternate universes and a plot to bring about the destruction of mankind, SANTOS is ambitious to say the least. Full of the same raw energy, charm and bubbling Brief Description: creativity that first drew Elizabeth Avellan to the director, SANTOS should prove to Three years after his SXSW debut feature PROMEDIO ROJO, Chilean prodigy be a strong contender for this year's Fantastic Fest audience award. We are honored director Nicolás López returns with SANTOS, a wild, sweeping tale of comic book to be presenting the world premiere of SANTOS, in Austin, Texas, a town that after nerds versus superheroes in a battle for the future of mankind. Think Ultraman last year's Mirageman success is proving to be an unofficial cinematic sister city with a Latin American brain transplant. From the producers of SIN CITY and THE to Santiago, Chile. (Tim League) ORPHANAGE, visual effects by Troublemaker Studios. Director Nicolás López will be live in person to present his film and will answer Full Description: questions following the screening. When Nicolás López first visited Austin in 2005 with his debut featurePr omedio Rojo, he implored his idol, legendary Austin producer Elizabeth Avellan to watch the nerd-centric high school (with a lead character named Roberto Plays with Rodriquez, natch). She was immediately captivated, both with the film and the spirited filmmaker. So much so that she eventually agreed to have Troublemaker spandex man oversee many of the CGI special effects for his ambitious follow-up project: 2007, , dir. Bobbie Peers , 10 min. SANTOS. A detached young man finds comfort in his old childhood superhero suit. But the real world isn't nearly as accepting of the powers it holds. The story begins in flashback, with two young (again) comic-obsessed boys on their shared birthday as they are treated to a song-and-dance routine by a plus size Ultraman-esque impersonator named Gigaman. Strange coincidences mount on this fateful day: a freak car accident nearly crushes their rotund entertainer, a blisteringly-close comet blazes across the sky, and in the ensuing chaos, boyhood pals Salvador Santos (Javier Gutiérrez) and Arturo Antares (Leonardo Sbaraglia) discover that the comet may have actually unlocked latent superpowers. Flash-forward to modern time. Salvador and Arturo are now comic-book producers, successful entrepreneurs on the brink of making it big. Strange things, however, are once again brewing: their childhood friends are dying in freak accidents, Arturo is morphing into a rather unlikable megalomaniac, and the same comet that sparked so much chaos in their childhood is set to return in a matter of days. In production for nearly three years, Nicolás López's film explodes off the screen with raw nerd-energy. With a complex plot that encompasses fanboys, 64 Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com screenings Sauna Sep 20, 9:55 PM Lamar 3 US Premiere, 2007, Finland, Dir. Antti-Jussi Annila, 93 min., Language: English Sep 22, 9:30 PM Lamar 3

Fest titles, it more than compensates with creepiness and suspense. Only from Finland will you get a horror film bathed in Sauna culture, but this spa does not deliver calm and relaxation. (Karrie League) Brief Description: While mapping the new border between Russia and Finland after the war, the joint Keep checking back to Twitch.net because the producers of SAUNA are moving on to another task force stumbles upon a mysterious sauna in a remote swamp, a sauna that project next year, IRON SKY. Premise: the Nazis weren't defeated, but instead secretly allegedly has the power to wash away all sins. retreated to the dark side of the moon to plot the eventual rise of the fourth reich. That time is now. Full Description: Two Finnish brothers, one a war-hardened patriot and the other a bookish bureaucrat living in Sweden, join a task force to plot the hard-fought border between Russia and Finland. The older brother is bitter and angry, determined to concede not an extra inch of land to the hated Russians. He keeps a running tally of the people that he's killed, and his paranoia and anger ensure that the tally will keep rising, in spite of the new peace. One of the Russian members of the task force insightfully accuses him of resenting the peace, which deprives him of a legitimate reason to indulge his homicidal instincts. The younger brother considers himself to be civilized and rational, until the day that he feels the warrior's lustful urge to rape a sweet young girl whom they have forced into her cellar in an attempt to provision the mapping commission. Terrified at his weakness, he flees the cellar, locking the girl inside. His brother promises to release her before they leave, and they rejoin the rest of the commission. Before too long, the border leads them straight through an unwholesome swampland, where strange visions begin to manifest to the brothers. Their sins are pursuing them, aided by the power of the pagan land in which they find themselves. When they find a mysterious sauna in the middle of the swamp, they are told that this is a place where all sins can be washed away... Breathtaking cinematography and a wild and beautiful landscape highlight this story of darkness, repentance and forgiveness. The filmmakers (the team responsible for THE JADE WARRIOR, Finland's first kung-fu picture) opt for a disjointed chronology, which is initially confusing but which eventually works its way into a satisfying circle, representative of the cycle of sins and redemption. A bold, artistic and powerful film, SAUNA may not deliver the blazing gunfire and high-flying kicks of other Fantastic

Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com 6 5 GUESTS IN ATTENDANCE Director Eduardo Sanchez and Producers Gregg Hale, Matt Compton and Robin Cowie

screenings seventh moon Sep 20, 9:40 PM Lamar 2 World Premiere, 2008, USA, Dir. Eduardo Sanchez, 90 min., Language: English/Chinese Sep 23, 4:15 PM Lamar 2

place with absolutely no one to assist you. Masterfully utilizing a very cinematic but still somewhat verité shooting style, Sanchez puts you on the scene along with the characters. When the situation turns bad (and bad is a bit of an understatement) you Brief Description: feel the horror, confusion and frustration right along with the actors. To accentuate Brief Summary: While honeymooning in rural China during the Hungry Ghost the tension, large chunks of the Chinese during particularly stressful moments in the Festival, newlyweds Melissa () and Yul (Tim Chiou) find themselves film remain untranslated, with only sporadic words and phrases deciphered by Yul’s stranded at night in the middle of a superstitious ritual that may be more real than rudimentary language skills. (Tim League) folk legend. Fantastic Fest is incredibly honored to host the world premiere of this captivating, Full Description: bold and truly innovative new vision of supernatural horror. Director Eduardo On the full moon of the seventh lunar month, the gates of hell open and the spirits of Sanchez and Producers Gregg Hale, Matt Compton and Robin Cowie will be live the dead are freed to roam among the living” – Chinese myth. in person to introduce and conduct a Q&A after the screening. SEVENTH MOON opens with Melissa (Amy Smart, STARSHIP TROOPERS, BUTTERFLY EFFECT, MIRRORS) and Yul (Tim Chiou) enjoying the first days of their Honeymoon on vacation in China. Yul is an American of Chinese descent, but only has a marginal grasp of the language and culture. He convinced Melissa, however, to forego the tropics for a more adventurous honeymoon: a guided tour of China during the Seventh Moon ghost festival. By the looks on their faces, they made the right choice. Good food, good shopping and a fantastic celebration of Chinese culture replete with music, dancing, drinking and elaborate parades and ceremonial offerings. If you look beyond their happy faces to the corners of the frame, however, you notice that perhaps the Americans are not as welcome as they feel. They are a bit too loud and tipsy for what is clearly a sacred event. Disrespect at a shrine ends in angry glances. An inappropriate loud joke results in a harsh barking rebuke. The tone of unease is subtle but undeniable. Intoxicated and exhausted, the newlyweds climb into their chartered taxi and drift off to sleep en route to Yul’s grandmother’s house in rural Axian. When they awake, their driver has abandoned them in the middle of nowhere and very strange stirrings are audible in the fields near the road. Eduardo Sanchez, co-creator of the seminal BLAIR WITCH PROJECT returns with a brilliantly conceived and executed supernatural thriller. Shot on location in rural China, SEVENTH MOON captures the frustration and fear of being in a very foreign 66 Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com GUESTS IN ATTENDANCE Director J.L. Vara and star Jon Gries

screenings South of Heaven Sep 21, 6:25 PM Lamar 3 2007, USA, Dir. J.L. Vara, 97 min., Language: English Sep 23, 1:45 PM Lamar 2

Director J.L. Vara and star Jon Gries will be in attendance and will conduct a Q&A following the film. Brief Description: Two brothers on the wrong side of everyone must face an endless array of torture, Plays with terrors and indignities in this darkly comic and visually striking noir. AIE! Full Description: 2006, BELGIUM, dir. Virginie Gourmel, 11 min. If your most harrowing fears vacationed on an airbrushed An innocent, elegant woman is mercilessly chased from city to country to soundstage, they might look something like the quasi-Earthly SOUTH OF HEAVEN, everywhere else by a slavering goofball vampire in this musical epic! a wholly unique and darkly comic id-ride through some of the more questionable corners of the human condition. Roy Coop (Adam Nee) is a recently discharged Navy boy intent on finishing the great American novel and living the good life, all of which is blown to hell when a case of mistaken identity leaves him violated and completely subhumanized. Meanwhile, his brother Dale (Aaron Nee) is on the run from the law alongside formidable kidnapper/murderer/all-around maniac Mad Dog Mantee (Shea Wigham). In the grand tradition of lawless cinema, everything spirals relentlessly downwards, leaving each character running for their life, foaming for vengeance, or both. Add considerable helpings of femme fatales, spine- snapping hit men and monstrous human deformities, and you've got an undeniably ambitious feature that harkens back to the olden days of pulp criminal bloodlust while remaining unflinchingly innovative inevery respect. This is the first feature from J.L. Vara, and it may be the most stylistically impressive directorial debut since 2000's TEARS OF THE BLACK TIGER. The film immediately lulls the audience into a false sense of Norman Rockwell-era whitebread comfort before turning the world upside-down on their heads. Brilliant character actor – and longtime Alamo pal – Jon Gries (NAPOLEON DYNAMITE, ) appears as a heartless-but-dapper hood, and Wigham's performance as Mad Dog will have you convinced that he ate a kitten every day before shooting, just to get into the role. Leads The Nee Brothers are Austin festival veterans, having co-directed the much-ballyhooed SXSW entry THE LAST ROMANTIC a couple years back, but no comparisons can be made there. In fact, we hereby guarantee that SOUTH OF HEAVEN is like nothing you've ever seen. (Zack Carlson) Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com 6 7 RELATED EVENT The Tingler in Percepto! 9/24 & 9/25

screenings Spine Tingler! - the william castle story Sep 24, 4:30 PM Lamar 3 2007, USA, Dir. Jeffrey Schwarz, 82 min., Language: English Sep 25, 5:00 PM Lamar 3

Brief description: William Castle, one of the mighty giants of fantastic film and media manipulation is lauded and explicated by the ones who knew him and loved him best. (Lars)

Full Description: There's no greater icon of showmanship than William Castle. When the rest of Hollywood was shivering in its boots over the impact of TV on the bottom line, Castle rolled up his sleeves and went to work. Not only did he make some of the best, wickedly funny horror films, he also jazzed them up with in-theater gimmicks that made moviegoing a truly multidimensional, interactive experience. Starting with 1958's MACABRE, whose viewers were insured against death by fright via a (probably inexpensive) Lloyd's of policy and continuing through to his masterpiece THE TINGLER, in which attendees were lightly shocked in their seats. Castle made sure his films were events, endlessly talked about on schoolyards and discussed in magazines like Famous Monsters Of Filmland. Along the way, a junior cognoscenti sprung up, hipped by Castle's winking approach to the underpinnings of media and entertainment manipulation. Many of those young fans grew up to take Castle's lessons to heart. In SPINE TINGLER!, you'll hear such luminaries as , John Waters, Joe Dante and others talking about Castle's legacy. You'll also find out more about the man himself, from his early years as a critically acclaimed director of B-Thrillers through the tumultuous roller-coaster '50s when he scored hit after hit and into the '60s when he made his mark in the , producing ROSEMARY'S BABY and achieving some measure of the respect from his peers that had long eluded him. His daughter Terry Castle provides personal glimpses of the great showman's family life and inner insecurities that his bombastic, self-mythologizing (though highly entertaining) autobiography didn't even hint at. (Lars Nilsen) Come see THE TINGLER at Fantastic Fest in gorgeous 35mm, presented in jolting "PERCEPTO!" (Page 73)

68 Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com

screenings THE Substitute Sep 19, 4:15 PM Lamar 1 2007, Denmark, Dir. Ole Bornedal, 90 min., Language: Danish w/ English Subtitles Sep 22, 6:30 PM Lamar 3

blasting Huey Lewis on a quest to find love? Dan Lausten (BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF) does the cinematography. (Blake Ethridge) Brief Description: This screeing is sponsored in part by DVDEmpire.com The middle-high school students in a small Danish village have figured out that their abusive new substitute teacher is actually a space alien on a vanguard mission to investigate taking over the earth. They just can’t seem to convince their parents or the administrators.

Full Description: What happens when an alien invasion doesn’t come in the form of crop circles and giant spaceships with lasers blasting, but arrives in the form of a 6th grade substitute teacher with a sweet spot for chicken blood and tormenting the kiddies? Somewhere sitting on another planet and universe an alien race has decided to kick a little 6th grade ass and perhaps take over Earth while they’re at it. Can a group of ragtag punks and whiners led by down-on-his-luck Carl look past their differences, put their headphones down and overcome their inner demons long enough to stop an alien invasion from happening and even better yet, convince their parents they simply aren’t crying wolf? The stakes are high as they begin to be mercilessly tormented and the bodies (and chickens) start piling up. THE SUBSTITUTE is a movie that could go in many directions. Luckily, in the hands of Ole Bornedal we get one of the more refreshing science fiction entries about a Plays with group of kids since Joe Dante’s EXPLORERS. Unlike EXPLORERS, it earns an R rating as it explores some very dark themes and has one of the grisliest chicken SENOR PUPPE death scenes in the history of cinema. With themes exploring the innocence of 2006, SPAIN, dir. Carlos youth and its endless imagination, Bornedal crafts a modern day Brothers Grimm Crespo, 15 min. tale that ponders large themes with a sugary sweet demented smile. Who knew A lonesome, elderly ventriloquist alien invasions could be this much fun? Adding to the enjoyment, this is by far is plagued by both his ugly reality the wildest and most primal part to date from Paprika Steen, one of the greatest and his lil' wooden friend in this of the current crop of European actresses. Much like Heath Ledger as the Joker in unexpectedly comic view of people THE DARK KNIGHT, you can’t wait for her to reappear in the film to see what she at the very last rung of society's will do next. Is she an alien with a secret desire to have us all for breakfast or is she ladder. simply a misunderstood creature with a jam box standing outside our windows 70 Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com GUEST IN ATTENDANCE Director Jennifer Lynch

screenings Surveillance Sep 19, 7:00 PM Lamar 3 2008, USA, Dir. Jennifer Lynch, 98 min., Language: English Sep 24, 1:30 PM Lamar 1

Plays with

BRIEF SUMMARY outsource Jennifer Lynch (BOXING HELENA) helms a crime thriller with overtones of 2008, USA, dir. Daniel Trezise, 12 min. RASHOMON. None of the eyewitness accounts in a roadside serial killer massacre In a socially disconnected future, two people feel a spark, but they'll need to seem to match up. The FBI is called in to cut through the confusion before the killer break modern laws to act on their rediscovered humanity. can strike again.

FULL Description At first, SURVEILLANCE comes off a bit like your run-of-the-mill RASHOMON rehash. FBI agents Bill Pullman and Julia Ormond are tracking a serial killer across the nation. After a recent mass murder on an isolated highway, they simultaneously question the three remaining survivors in three different interrogation rooms, inevitably ending up with three wildly different stories. But while RASHOMON played with the conventions of the different characters giving different untruthful accounts, the flashback scenes in SURVEILLANCE are based on the honest points of view of the characters, so the audience is always seeing what actually happened. And because the flashbacks introduce us to many other characters who don’t make it to the police interview, we also know that the events we are seeing are going to culminate in some seriously fucked up shit. The surviving police officer talking about his partner? Something must happen to keep that partner from making it to questioning. The suburban family accompanying the little girl in the station wagon? The little girl is the only one who makes it to the interview. The boyfriend of the drugged up girl? Also conspicuously missing. And while your blood over with the Oh-Shit-Is-This-It? tension every time the characters get close to each other, you’ll be blindsided when the killing spree finally begins. (Henri Mazza) Director Jennifer Lynch will be live in person to introduce the show and will conduct a Q&A following the screening.

Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com 7 1 screenings Terra Sep 20, 11:45 AM Lamar 1 2008, Canada, Dir. Aristomenis Tsirbas, 85 min., Language: English Sep 21, 11:25 AM Lamar 3

Like the best SF anime, TERRA tells a story with several layers to it that keeps you emotionally and intellectually involved all the way through. It's a new world that's well worth exploring. (Matt Kiernan) Brief Description: An Armada of humans arrives on a habitable planet with intentions of colonization, but the seemingly peaceful indigenous creatures turn out to have some unexpected moxie. Beautifully animated with voice talent by David Cross, Brian Cox, Dennis Quaid, Evan Rachel Wood and Luke Wilson.

Full Description: Most animated kids movies these days stink. No, strike that - most CGI kids movies these days stink. Unless it's from Pixar, Dreamworks or Blue Sky, many of these movies have one thing going against them that they can never overcome: They all This screening is sponsored in part by Gamecock Media Group and their new game follow the kid's animated movie rulebook to the letter, all to their detriment. What Mushroom Men. Check it out at www.gamecockmedia.com. sets TERRA apart from the pretenders, however, is in how it doesn't want to be regular CGI animated movie, but rather, it has its own identity. And like the best of the big three, it offers kid-friendly entertainment that adults will get as much out of, if not more. It's a bit unfair to classify TERRA strictly as a kid's film (although it's easily one of the most family-friendly features we're running at this year's Fantastic Fest), since it's also one of the most intelligent science fiction/fantasy films to come along in some time. Some may look upon TERRA as a not so thinly veiled allegory of Bush administration environmental and foreign policy and they're probably right (all the more reason to take the kids!), but TERRA doesn't force its ideas on the viewer, it puts everything expertly in context. More so, TERRA is one of the more strikingly designed SF CGI films, building both a unique alien world and a striking lived-in, man-made future that's on the verge of falling apart, but the film is about more than just design, as the characters who populate it make for the film's most endearing aspect. The excellent voice cast is lead by Evan Rachel Wood and Luke Wilson, with fine support coming from Justin Long and Dennis Quaid, and you know a film is good when Brian Cox voices yet another one of his patented villain roles and it doesn't sound like he's merely phoning it in.

72 Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com screenings THE Tingler...PRESENTED in "percepto!" Sep 24, 6:50 PM Lamar 3 1959, USA, Dir. William Castle, 82 min., Language: English Sep 25, 7:15 PM Lamar 3

just the right mix of arched-eyebrow humor to the role without tipping the coffin over. This is a film that has been read about and discussed endlessly; some of you may have even seen it. But how many people have actually seen it in the miracle of Master showman William Castle is synonymous with gimmicks - the "fright break" Percepto? This year, wear rubber pants, and don't get too attached to any of the hair to give scared patrons a chance to vacate the theater; Emergo aka "giant inflatable on your ass-cheeks - because we're going to hook up a generator, hire a non-union skeleton hovers over theatergoers"; the "Punishment Poll" to determine whether electrician to wire the seats, and watch the fireworks. We will require all audience the villain lives or dies and many more. But his greatest accomplishment, and the members to sign a waiver to attend this show. (Lars Nilsen) ultimate barrier-breaker - short of actually murdering audience members - was Percepto, in which an electrical device embedded in the theater seats emits a small Special thanks to Brooks Coleman of The Robot Group for developing his special shock at the crucial point of the film. It's a genius idea, and it would probably work brand of percepto technology for this performance. Note, a block of seats to THE well even with a badly constructed horror movie but THE TINGLER is anything but. TINGLER will also be open to the general public. Seating will be limited, so if you The way Castle, an excellent and intelligent filmmaker, builds the suspense through are interested in attending, please book early. surprising plot twists and pinpoint timing is, well, electric. In the lead, as a blithely Castle enthusiasts should also check out SPINE TINGLER!: THE WILLIAM CASTLE mad scientist plagued by a hussy wife, is just the ticket - bringing STORY (see page 68.), the definitive doc. on the unparalleled American showman.

screenings conquest of THE planet of the apes Sep 20, 12:00 PM Lamar 3 1972, USA, Dir. J. Lee Thompson, 88 min., Language: English

did back in 1972, yet strangely more plausible. But it's also a solid entertainment, too, with an incredible action climax that features of the best work of J. Lee Thompson's When most film series reach their fourth episode, one usually expects the creative career and Roddy McDowell's finest performance in the entire APES series. crew to be on autopilot and give the audience the same-old, same-old; to not do Naturally, we're expecting some of you to ask, "Why the F are you showing anything new or challenging that would drive viewers away. In fact, only a complete CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE APES at Fantastic Fest?" Two reasons: One, nutter would make the fourth film in a series the bleakest and darkest of them all, this year marks the 40th anniversary of the APES series, and to honor this, Fox Home because where could you go from there? Who would want to see a series that was so Entertainment is releasing the entire series of Blu-Ray DVD this November; and two, entertaining turn depressing all of a sudden? included in this set is the original, uncut version of CONQUEST OF THE PLANET It may have seemed that the makers of CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE OF THE APES, with 9 additional minutes of footage removed so the film could obtain APES were painting themselves into a corner, but in truth, they were just working off a PG rating. This version of the film hasn't been seen in over 35 years, and Fantastic an entire series that didn't do things by the book. After all, the previous APES films Fest will be hosting the first public screening since its 1972 test screenings. And best also ended memorably, with the destruction of the Earth and the death of the series of all, it's absolutely free, so whether you have a badge or not, you're all welcome most likable characters, so audiences had come to expect some tough twists and to see the second best APES film as it hasn't been seen in decades in a glorious new turns. What they got with CONQUEST was something different altogether - darker, HD master, courtesy of our friends at Fox Home Entertainment. There will also be more political and apocalyptic. Its themes of civil rights and social unrest spoke very some DVD giveaways courtesy of Fox and some previews for upcoming Fox DVD much to the times, while its setting of a totalitarian future looks as bleak today as it releases. Come witness the birth of the PLANET OF THE APES like you've never seen before - before anyone else does! (Matt Kiernan) Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com 7 3 screenings Tokyo! Sep 19, 3:45 PM Lamar 2 2008, France/Japan, Dir. Joon-ho Bong, Leos Carax, Michel Gondry, 90 min., Language: Japanese w/ English Subtitles Sep 21, 6:55 PM Lamar 2

SHAKING TOKYO With SHAKING TOKYO Bong Joon-Ho seems to be running in the complete opposite BRIEF SUMMARY: direction of the kinetic monster mayhem of THE HOST towards a more intimately felt An anthology of three 30-minute short films, all reflections on Tokyo by three non- and explored tale. The jolts of action in this segment are few and far between, but don't Japanese directors. Michel Gondry’s INTERIOR DESIGN, Bong Joon-Ho’s SHAKING let that put you off, as this quiet gem has more silent energy and life than most feature TOKYO and Leos Carax’s MERDE. length films. A nameless "hikikomori" played by Teruyuki Kagawa (who stole the show in Miike's recent Spaghetti Western SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO) has been hidden FULL Description: away for 10 years, quietly enjoying the simple things in life like visits to the bathroom, Viva punk cinema! Its spirit is alive and well in the form of TOKYO!, a new anthology pizza boxes and more. The hikikomori are defined as those who alienate themselves film comprised of three 30-minute shorts made by 3 non-Japanese . These brief from all contacts with society and live in their own self-created jungles of isolation and movies celebrate the life and energy of Tokyo in much the same way Richard Linklater darkness. In SHAKING TOKYO it takes an earthquake and pizza delivery girl's love to explored Austin with SLACKER, albeit in their own unique disparate ways and voices. wake Teruyuki Kagawa up from his reclusive slumber. Packed with exploding Sogo Ishii energy and reckless punk abandon, each short feels as if Wong Kar Wai's CHUNGKING EXPRESS were re-imagined and reset in Tokyo, INTERIOR DESIGN with a lot more mischief. That a film about a city many of us may never set foot in Like SHAKING TOKYO, this segment is a reminder that having our worlds shaken up could be the most moving film of 2008 only reminds me even more so that the magic of isn't always a bad thing, as it forces us to more with less. That certainly is the case here cinema is universal. Each short represents daring artistic statements void of commercial as a homeless couple (played in top form by Ayako Fujitani and Ryo Kase of FUNKY pandering and should be a welcome ride for filmgoers looking for something alive and FOREST) are unable to make ends meet and are forced to crash at a friends place, an fresh. efficiency apartment where they are all crammed into the same room. Ryo plays a burgeoning up and coming experimental filmmaker (with suitably Gondryan ideas) MERDE looking to make his big break. As his chances to make it big seem bleak, he takes a Merde is French for shit, but this short is anything but that. Nothing can prepare you job wrapping presents to try and save up enough to break out of his friend's place. for this assault by French Arthouse director Leos Carax. It's a film that comes at you 900 Meanwhile his girlfriend Ayako explores suitable living spaces of all types within miles a second, slapping you each step of the way with an orgy of rebellion and farce. Tokyo. Each one seems more bizarre and unsuitable than the previous one. This might Living in an age when we are supposed to tread lightly and be afraid of everything, it seem very much like a routine tale of a young couple trying to make ends meet, but with feels damn near cathartic to get an anti-hero in the form of pissed-off wild child Merde. Gondry behind the wheel, INTERIOR DESIGN slowly but surely blurs the line between Dressed in an ill-fitting green thrift-store suit with uncombed longish hair and speaking fantasy and reality. As the fantasy void of all too obvious CGI starts crashing into this a foreign language that is far removed from any spoken anywhere on Earth, he embarks short frame by frame it spirals into a dizzying Gondry love letter to both Tokyo and each day from random sewer points and heckles the living crap out of everything in his aspiring artists and lovers throughout the world. (Blake Ethridge) path as he steals passersby's cigarettes, flowers and cell phones. He even tips over baby carts. Soon he has the whole city of Tokyo living on eggshells and fearful of where he Plays with will pop up next as he becomes both a media sensation and demon all at once. Things stagman take a sharp and insane turn when Merde suddenly discovers a forgotten World War II 2007, Belgium, dir. Virginie Gourmel, 18 min. arsenal in the sewer. From here on out Tokyo will never be the same. Viva Merde! A man with a stag's face contracts someone to perform his murder but changes his mind when he falls in love. 74 Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com GUEST IN ATTENDANCE Director

screenings Tokyo Gore Police Sep 19, 12:15 AM Lamar 1 2008, Japan, Dir. Yoshihiro Nishimura, 110 min., Language: Japanese w/ English Subtitles Sep 23, 8:50 PM Lamar 3

Director Yoshihiro Nishimura will be in attendance to introduce the shows and answer questions following. We have also purchased special Japanese language BRIEF SUMMARY karaoke tracks for Monday night.... The privatized Tokyo police force led by AUDITION's Eihi Shiina is authorized to execute judgment on the spot. They are threatened, however, by a breed of This screening is sponsored in part by Media Blasters: “engineers,” genetically modified super-villains who grow mutant weapons from their injuries and amputations. full description Given the amount of coverage that TOKYO GORE POLICE gets on Twitch, it is easy to forget that the film has not been released on DVD and has only screened a few times in the United States. TOKYO GORE POLICE deserves the attention its been getting because it is a great riff on films such as ROBOCOP but with a unique Japanese flavor. Plays with In a future version of Japan, a private company takes over policing functions L'accouchement de Wendy throughout the country. A special squad known as the Tokyo Gore Police is tasked 2008, France, dir. Lewis Eizykman , 3 min. with handling a breed of mutants ("engineers") who can turn wounds into weapons. Even NeverNeverland has its ups and downs, as a slightly older Peter Pan Ruka (played by Eihi Shiina) is the star of the squad. She is tormented by the and Wendy learn on the eve of their child's birth. assassination of her father, an officer who spoke out against the privatization of the police. Ruka eventually finds the assassin, and learns the secrets behind both her father’s death and the police force to which she has devoted her life. This back story can easily be ignored as the attraction of TOKYO GORE POLICE lies in its over-the-top action and insane visual effects. Nishimura was not working with a big budget but the choices in set design and effects are very resourceful. The film throws everything at the screen, including blood spraying from dismembered torsos in slow-motion, exotic weapons sprouting from injured body parts, and bondage-garbed quadriplegics walking on swords. The ROBOCOP influence is apparent throughout, particularly in a series of tongue-in-cheek television ads for products that make it easier to commit suicide. , star of VERSUS and AZUMI, choreographed the fight sequences. (Rodney Perkins)

Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com 7 5 GUESTS IN ATTENDANCE Director Zach Passero and members of the cast

screenings Wicked lake Sep 18, 9:15 PM Lamar 2 2008, USA, Dir. Zach Passero, 95 min., Language: English Sep 21, 11:10 AM Lamar 2

BRIEF SUMMARY Four buxom ladies head out to the country for some good old-fashioned naked lesbian Wiccan frolicking. The locals who bust in on their retreat quickly regret their imposition when the witching hour arrives.

FULL Description There are horror films that use subtle tones to quietly create a delicate atmosphere of sinister darkness and understated but all-encompassing evil. And then there's the kind with lots of gratuitous nudity and drippy, squirty guts. WICKED LAKE is the story of four big-city lesbian witches at all-out war with the horniest inbred males that the backwoods have ever spawned. We'll let you guess which category this one falls under. This screening is sponsored in part by Media Blasters The film's four leading ladies are content to spend the weekend relaxing and honing their sorcery in the cradle of Mother Nature. Unfortunately, they've also unwittingly bewitched the local yokels, who are all too excited to welcome the nubile troupe with a very impolite brand of down-home hospitality. But when the girls are violated, they strike back with a vicious force beyond human comprehension, creating a brutal whirlwind of occult retribution that tears through their unsuspecting enemies Plays with like a cannibalistic atom bomb. In addition to the spellcasting leads, WITCH LAKE also features appearances from BREACH genre favorites Tim Thomerson (NEAR DARK, TRANCERS) and Austin's own 2008, usa, dir. Kirk (MAY, ROMAN), as well as an original score from industrial metal Woller, 6 min. pioneer Al Jourgensen of Ministry. Sometimes there's just Supernatural, sexual and bursting with unapologetically offensive shocks, this no way to remain safe... unhinged organ-grinder is said to actually push feral filmmaking beyond its limits even in our secure homes. (which is no easy feat in the modern age of severe cinema). Director Passero is a Quite possibly the most filmmaker/animator with an impressive resume in the low-budget horror world, unexpected surprise in the and this ambitious mixture of black magic, deranged hillbillies, torture, vengeance fest! and missing clothing is easily his most riveting project to date. 76 Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com GUESTS IN ATTENDANCE Directors Duane Graves and Justin Meeks and members of the cast

screenings The wild man of the navidad Sep 21, 11:45 PM Lamar 1 2008, USA, Dir. Duane Graves and Justin Meeks, 86 min., Language: English Sep 25, 1:30 PM Lamar 2

cinematic texture actually comes from these guys despite their stiff delivery. Lines of dialogue, like a father showing his son how to make a "cactus pussy," feel genuine and almost improvised. BRIEF SUMMARY Allegedly based on actual events, THE WILDMAN OF THE NAVIDAD tells the It's the other end of the spectrum for co-director, co-writer and lead actor Justin story of a small Texas community along the banks of the Navidad river who were Meeks. The range of emotions with which his character has to deal is vast and you terrorized for years by a mysterious creature. read every nuance through subtle variations in his very reserved and introverted personality. Is he a monster himself, or simply an honest man backed in to a corner FULL Description who will do anything to preserve his family. Watch WILD MAN OF THE NAVIDAD 34 years ago, Kim Henkel produced arguably the single most influential horror and judge for yourself. This one stuck with me for a while after watching, and I movie of the modern age: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Now he has think you will enjoy it. (Tim League) teamed up with the young and talented Justin Meeks and Duane Graves for another Filmmakers Duane Graves and Justin Meeks plus members of the cast will be in frightening rural Texas tale. attendance at the screening and will conduct a Q&A after the film. We've seen plenty of low-budget period films cross our desk in the years of doing the festival, and very few get it spot-on correct. THE WILD MAN nails it, down Plays with to every last detail. The look, feel, style and even the pacing of the film gives the impression that you are actually watching a forgotten classic from the Dixie drive- auburn hills breakdown in circuit. Allegedly based on the diaries of Dale S. Rogers, the Wildman of 2008, Canada, dir. Geoff Redknap, 13 min. the Navidad centers on a quiet, bookish man in a small Texas town. He keeps to Sure, it's a fact that psychopaths love to torture and destroy innocent people. himself, doesn't socialize much with his neighbors, and with the help of a Mexican But what happens when your average suburban family gets their hands on a handyman cares for his severely invalid wife. When he unexpectedly loses his job pack of sadistic cannibals? as a welder, he has no choice but to open up his virgin ranchland to deer hunters for the first time in decades. This seemingly innocent decision has dire, bloody consequences, however, as his property is also home to creatures who don't take kindly to the disruption of their way of life. With THE WILD MAN OF THE NAVIDAD, you have to attune yourself to a certain level of, let's call it, "naive" acting. I personally forgave that pretty quickly, chalking it up to the charm of this film. Clearly the filmmakers are using a LOT of non- actors and colorful Texas good-ol-boys, probably regulars of the actual watering hole in the actual town in which they shot. The makers of southern exploitation classics PSYCHO FROM TEXAS and POLK COUNTY POT PLANE followed the same philosophy. It worked for them, and it works for WILD MAN. A lot of its

Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com 7 7 GUEST IN ATTENDANCE Director James Koya Jones

screenings the wreck Sep 19, 9:45 PM Lamar 3 2008, USA, Dir. James Koya Jones, 79 min., Language: English Sep 25, 4:30 PM Lamar 1

high-fives at the end of the film. James Jones takes the action in bold directions and delivers more brutal intensity than you would think possible from two people pinned in a car wreck. (Tim League) BRIEF SUMMARY A very pregnant woman and her husband are trapped in the woods in a demolished THE WRECK is competing in our AMD Next Wave competition and director sedan and her water has just broken. They are in a really bad situation, and it gets James Jones will be in person to present the film and host a Q&A following the a LOT worse. screening.

FULL Description Bam! The opening shot of THE WRECK fires out of the barrel with a sting of gunpowder, hitting you right in the gut. A very pregnant woman Julia (Judy Maier) and her husband Frank (Aaron Lohr, NEWSIES!) are trapped in the woods in a demolished sedan and her water has just broken. They are in a really bad situation, and it doesn't appear to be getting better anytime soon. The clock spins back and we see our young couple preparing for a weekend getaway, perhaps their last before being inundated with the trials of first-time parenthood. The somewhat idyllic tone, however, seems sinister with the knowledge from the opening shot that this couple is very soon going to be fighting for survival in the worst of all possible locations for childbirth. Adding to the viewer discomfort is the unwelcome arrival of Chuck (Jonathan Cherry) just before they leave for the mountains. Chuck is the classic bad seed, the family prodigal son, but there is a past between him and Julia that puts the entire family on edge. In the vein of OPEN WATER and DEAD CALM (but with no ocean, mind you), THE WRECK shrinks the framing of nearly all of the action to a claustrophobic space (this time the inside of a four-door sedan), causing an attenuated mishmash of human emotion: fear, mistrust, hatred, horror, bravery, self-doubt and in the end, raw survivalism. I refuse to talk about the trauma of what happens past the 20 minute mark in the film when our young couple wakes up from their crash. Experience it for yourself. Suffice it to say, I was on the edge of my seat the entire time and was slapping

78 Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com GUEST IN ATTENDANCE Director Kevin Smith

screenings Zack and Miri Make a Porno Sept 18, 7:00 PM Paramount 2008, USA, Dir. Kevin Smith, 101 min., Language: English

BRIEF SUMMARY Lifelong platonic friends Zack (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) look to solve their respective cashflow problems by making an adult film together. As the cameras roll, however, the duo begin to sense that they may have more feelings for each other than they previously thought.

FULL Description I've got a very soft spot for Kevin Smith films. Our very first box office hit after opening up our inaugural movie theater in Bakersfield, back in 1994 was CLERKS. We were the only theater in that conservative town willing to pick up the very first film ever to earn an NC-17 with absolutely no nudity or violence. In the past few years, we've been seeing a renaissance in adolescent and young adult films featuring lovable losers with hearts of gold and mouths of filth. Judd Apatow and his gang are the new Hollywood hit machine with a formula for turning shocking humor involving nerdy guys into 100 million dollar franchises. All of that success, however, is built upon the foundation of the View Askewniverse, and the legacy of CLERKS. Narrowly avoiding the NC-17 once again for lewd dialogue and subject material, ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO follows two lifelong platonic friends Zack (Rogen) and Miri (Banks) who try to solve their respective cashflow problems by making an adult film together. As the cameras roll, however, the duo begin to sense that they may have more feelings for each other than they previously thought. Following the screening, join us for the Air Sex World Championships on the stage at the Paramount Theater (see page 23), the official after-party of ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO. (Tim League)

Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com 7 9 GUEST IN ATTENDANCE Directors Aaron Marshall, Justin Johnson, Erik Mauck as well as Emily, her family and members of the cast.

screenings Zombie Girl: THE MOVIE Sep 21, 4:30 PM Lamar 1 2008, USA, Dir. Aaron Marshall, Justin Johnson, Erik Mauck, 91 min., Language: English Sep 25, 2:15 PM Lamar 1

BRIEF SUMMARY Emily Hagins is making a zombie movie. It’s feature-length, it’s bloody, and the zombies don’t run. Just like it should be. But there’s just one difference between her film and every other zombie movie you’ve ever seen. Emily is twelve.

Full Description: Most twelve-year-olds are busy with friends, homework, and online chatting. So is Emily Hagins, but Emily found time to write and direct a feature-length zombie movie as well. Zombie Girl: THE MOVIE covers the two years it took her to make it. With the help of her mother as agent, crew, and biggest fan, Emily launches an epic adventure in genre filmmaking, complete with decapitations, disembowelments, and as many brain-sucking zombie sixth-graders as she can muster. Along the way, she battles the typical challenges of independent filmmaking, from budget shortfalls to self-doubt, all the while coming of age as a teenager. As if making a film isn’t already hard enough, she has to do it without a driver’s license. Her journey is an enlightening look into a growing world of young moviemakers, bursting with enthusiasm and empowered by the digital age. She isn’t making her film for box office receipts. Her love of movies is the sole motivation. This is indie filmmaking at its purest. Directors Aaron Marshall, Eric Mauck and Justin Johnson as well as Emily, her parents and members of the cast will be in attendance at the show.

80 Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com

S&M Hunter Dir. Shuji Kataoka / Japan / 1986 / 59 min

BEHIND THE PINK CURTAIN RETROSPECTIVE "Pinku" films, demented Japanese softcore films from the 60s to Today Almost everyone has the same tingling response to the bright, shiny world of feeling nothing, in fact appearing frozen to all feeling. And so, on the threshold of Japanese pop entertainment. It tickles the roof of the mouth like ginger ale. But for womanhood, with all the weight of adult expectation and responsibility which that hardcore addicts, that's just the gateway stage. The terminal phase is the Japanese entails upon her, upon the goading encouragement of her peers she sets out on an . More than just sexploitation movies, they're like the entire culture's odyssey of self-exploration in search of complete sexual satiation. (Jasper Sharp) autoerotic asphyxiation reveries. Filled with crushing weirdness and experiments on the extreme edge of filmmaking, the pink films provide much greater insight into the Pink Eiga Presents A LONELY COW WEEPS AT DAWN nation's character than the mannered civilities of mainstream films, largely due to the September 24, 8:50 PM, Lamar 3 fact that young filmmakers are given the freedom to go as far out on the chain as they Dir. Daisuke Goto, 2003, Digibeta, 65 min, NR (Adults Only!) want to, provided they expose the requisite number of naked bodies onscreen. And After the death of his son, aging dairy farmer Shukichi is left to run his farmstead they must strike a pretty resonant chord since they're still going strong, as evidenced with only his young daughter-in-law Noriko to help. Struggling under the onset by some of our favorite Fantastic Fest titles of the past few years like UNCLE'S of senility, when his prize heifer Hanako also passes away, it is left to Noriko to PARADISE and THE GLAMOROUS LIFE OF SACHIKO HANAI. (Lars) cushion him from the emotional shock. Every morning as the sun begins to rise, she creeps off to the cowshed, disrobes and gets down on all fours in anticipation of her BLUE FILM WOMAN September 22, 9:00 PM, Lamar 1 father-in-law's arrival with the milking pail. Dir. Kan Mukai, 1969, New 35mm Print, 80 min, NR (Adults Only!) So addled by old age is Shûkichi that he is unable to tell the difference. This natural Among the first all-color pink films, Kan Mukai’s BLUE FILM WOMAN looks like it state of affairs soon falls under threat, however, when his scheming daughter turns is making up for lost time, exploding into its super-saturated hues from the very first up from the big city plotting to grab the land all for herself, claiming that her father frame, as the credits appear over a score dominated by bongos and sitars and the screen is in no fit mental state to look after a farm. Given the strange events she witnesses is crammed with distorted 8mm images taken from a mock blue film, flooded with in the milking shed, there's few who will argue… prismatic blotches of primary reds and blues and silhouettes of naked female bodies - An erotic film for those rough and ready types who don't mind getting their hands not unlike a more lysergically-inspired version of a Bond movie credit sequence. dirty, it relocates us far from the standard anonymous suburban environs of most The plot of Blue Film Woman is an equally delirious mishmash of horror, sexploitation modern-day pink movies to give us a glimpse at life in Japan's rural hinterlands. What and trippy nightclub sequences, centered around the family of a stockbroker whose director Goto has done here, to quote Spinal Tap, is to "take a sophisticated view of unexpected financial crash results in him offering up his wife to his sleazy, saurian sex by putting it on a farm". Well, one might laugh, but cast and crew alike all strive creditor Uchiyama. After prodding and pawing over her in the standard fashion to keep matters as straight-faced as the far-fetched premise allows, and even more for films of the genre, Uchiyama then locks her up in the garden shed inhabited by surprisingly, they just about get away with it. The rural sex movie is not a particularly his mutant idiot son Hiroshi, who arrives from the rafters clad in carnation-colored well-ploughed furrow, but though Goto's film occasionally teat-ers on the ridiculous, robes. She manages to escape from his clutches in the nick of time, only to be mown it is nonetheless out-standing in its field, and quite unlike any udder. (Jasper Sharp) down by a passing car. With her father now reduced to a gibbering wreck, it is left to the daughter Mariko to Pink Eiga Presents S&M HUNTER seek revenge for her mother’s untimely demise. Rising from her job as a nightclub go- September 24, 10:15 PM, Lamar 3 (double bill with LONELY COW) go dancer, Mariko winds up as a high-class call-girl catering for a group of prosperous Dir. Shuji Kataoka, 1986, Digibeta, 59 min, NR (Adults Only!) businessmen, whom she blackmails to help her bring down Uchiyama after their An exercise in manga-style outrageousness that is guaranteed to offend everybody. nocturnal dalliances are captured on camera. (Jasper Sharp, Midnight Eye) The black clad S&M Roper is a kind of bondage super hero who has a supernatural genius for tying women up in configurations that leave them helplessly aroused. When GUSHING PRAYER September 23, 9:30 PM, Lamar 1 the all girl gang, The Bombers, kidnap a man for their personal sex toy S&M Hunter Dir. Masao Adachi, 1971, New 35mm Print, 72 min, NR (Adults Only!) accepts a mission to infiltrate The Bombers’ hideout and show them the ropes. A young girl, already a jaded sexual veteran, embarks on an voyage of self-discovery It should be noted that S&M HUNTER is a hugely politically incorrect film, loaded to find out the true reasons for her dissatisfaction and total desensitization. This with swastikas, delirious patriarchal anxiety, Catholica used for sexual purposes and parable is told in a jagged avant-garde style that must have baffled the target worse, but few will be able to resist its spiralling craziness for long. The climax, in audience of businessmen seeking cheap thrills on their lunch hours. which the rope-mad antihero employs a 200 foot tall construction crane to execute his GUSHING PRAYER begins with an extended group sex scene in which the story’s bondage masterpiece has to be seen to be believed. Not for the weak! (Lars Nilsen) young protagonist, Yasuko, is very much the centerpiece. As she lies beneath the Noted Pinku expert Jasper Sharp will be live in person to introduce the shows and thrusts of an enthusiastic adolescent classmate, her friends call on her anxiously from will be signing copies of his new book Behind the Pink Curtain after the screening. the sidelines “Can you feel it? What does it feel like?” Yasuko however, confesses to Special thanks to Marc Walkow for his invaluable assistance.

82 Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com THE MAN FROM HONG KONG Dir. Brian Trenchard-Smith / Australia / 1975

OZSPLOITATION RETROSPECTIVE Australian Exploitation Cinema (for more information, see NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD, Pg, 61) MAD MAX TURKEY SHOOT a.k.a. ESCAPE 2000 Friday, September 12, 8:00 PM with director Brian Trenchard-Smith LIVE in person! Republic Square Park Downtown, Free Admission! Thursday, September 25, Midnight Dir. George Miller, 1979, 35mm, 93 min, R Alamo Drafthouse at the Ritz plays a rogue officer bent on revenge in the most influential apocalyptic Dir. Brian Trenchard-Smith, 1982, 35mm, 80 min, R masterpiece in film history. Reckless, violent, morally corrupt and totally insane. In a post-apocalyptic world gone wild, a handful of prison camp inmates must run for ROAD WARRIOR their lives while being hunted for sport! Rare 35mm print courtesy Antony I. Ginnane. Friday, September 19, 8:00 PM, And of course, the inspiration for the series: Republic Square Park Downtown, Free Admission! NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD Dir. George Miller, 1981, 35mm, 94 min, R Sunday, September 21, 4:15 PM The sequel to MAD MAX puts the pedal to the metal, then both pedal and metal alike Thursday, September 25, 6:45 PM explode in a death-shower of indescribable awesomeness. Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar (Note: at both of these free outdoor screenings, in addition to the fun onscreen, Chef John Dir. Mark Hartley, 2008, 35mm, 100 min, R Bullington will be serving up classic Australian meat pies, shrimp on the barby and there will Probably the biggest concentration of explosions, nudity and blood at Fantastic Fest this be plenty of giant-sized ice-cold Foster's to wash 'em down with. Also, come prepared, we’re year. A documentary that traces the secret and not so secret history of Ozploitation. having a Vegemite sandwich eating contest before the film.) DARK AGE Wednesday, September 17, Midnight, RITZ sunday, september 21, 11:40 AM, lamar 1 Dir. Arch Nicholson, 1987, 35mm, 91 min, NR The ultimate reptilesploitation movie from down under. As usual in animal attack films, the most dangerous creature ultimately is man. But the 40 foot long crocodile is a real close second. It's up to super cool ranger John Jarratt (WOLF CREEK) to track down the big croc, which is coincidentally venerated as sacred by the Aborigine populace, before a pack of scurvy poachers do. Seriously cool edge-of-your-seat The NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD retrospective is sponsored in part By excitement from beginning to end. Rare 35mm print courtesy Antony I. Ginnane. Fosters & Magnet Releasing with support from the Austin Parks Foundation RAZORBACK and Simply Australian. Check out trailers and loads of other goodies for Thursday, September 18, Midnight heaps of Ozploitation classics at www.fantasticfest.com Alamo Drafthouse at the Ritz Dir. Russell Mulcahy, 1984, 35mm, 95 min, R An enormous, thundering wild boar lays waste to the Australian outback in this bizarre and unexpectedly effective man VS. beast showdown. MAN FROM HONG KONG with Brian Trenchard-Smith Live in person! monday, september 22, 1:45 PM, lamar 1 Wednesday, September 24, Midnight, ritz Dir. Brian Trenchard-Smith, 1975, 35mm, 111 min, R Possibly the most berserk catalogue of action and violence ever placed on film. An all- out orgy of throat-ripping fights, explosions, car chases, crossbows, mustaches, hang- gliders and everything else good in life. Starring former James Bond seatwarmer and Shaw Brothers superstar . Stunts by the madman from dingo-land Grant Page (of fame), who appears desperate to end it all in a progressively greater and greater aggregation of death-defiance. Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com 8 3 TREEVENGE Dir. Jason Eisener / Canada / 2008 / 15 min

Sep 18, 4:00 PM Lamar 1 SHORT FUSE Sep 21, 9:00 PM Lamar 1 The most intense and depraved of the Fantastic Fest competition shorts. 91 min. Sep 24, 1:50 PM Lamar 3

BUTCHERS HILL TREEVENGE Dir. Rory Kindersley / USA / 2007 / 9 min. Dir. Jason Eisener / Canada / 2008 / 15 min This Hansel and Gretel-esque fairytale may seem comfortably familiar at first, but as HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN creators Jason Eisener and Rob Cotterill imagine a it unfolds, something unexpected takes over.... yuletide season where the Christmas trees finally even the score for decades of living under the axe of mankind. COSITA LINDA Dir. Fernando Fidel Urdapilleta Jimenez / Mexico / 2007 / 20 min. A young girl learns that when your mind and emotions have been pushed beyond their limits, you can count on your body in unexpected ways. EEL GIRL Dir. Paul Campion / New Zealand / 2007 / 5 min. A scientist with unusual taste in women learns that it's probably best to date outside the workplace. A funny and shocking short that whacks you across the skull before you know what happened. ELECTRIC FENCE Dir. Matt O'Mahoney / USA, Canada / 2007 / 19 min / 19 min. A nebbish bachelor loses his penis in an incident involving an epileptic hooker and experiences newfound sexual urges with his freshly transplanted member. HARDCORE Dir. Alberto Viavattene / / 2008 / 2 min. An adult film director coaches his new star on the subtleties of succeeding in the porn industry. ROAD Dir. Daniel Bruce / / 2007 / 10 min. A terrified young woman grips her steering wheel as she's pursued at high speed on a winding mountain road. A truly intense action mystery that'll burst at least three veins in your forehead. SNIP SNIP Dir. Julien Zenier / France, Spain / 2008 / 11 min. 2008 / Dir. Julien Zenier When you can't strike out against the world, that only leaves one option. This self- punishing short may very well have the audience running for air.

84 Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com GAME OVER Dir. PES / USA / 2006

Sep 18, 3:45 PM Lamar 2 ANIMATED SHORTS Sep 21, 1:45 PM Lamar 2 The best in worldwide fantastic animation, 109 min. Sep 24, 3:50 PM Lamar 1

BERNIE'S DOLL Dir. Yann Jouette / UK, France / 2008 / 12 min. elements are transformed through animation and bizarro artistry into a wholly A self-loathing cat food canner looks for happiness in all the wrong places, especially original gripping thrillride. when he learns that a "female" companion can be ordered by mail. Beautifully FISH Dir. Naoko Masuda and Max Margulies / USA / 2007 / 2 min. animated in a style that proves to be less cute n' cuddly than first glance would have The filmmaking team behind last year's FF hit THE BIRD, THE MOUSE AND THE you believe SAUSAGE are back with a new stop-motion food tale that reveals the nature of BLOOD WILL TELL Dir. Andrew McPhillips / Canada / 2007 / 4 min. pescatorial reproduction. A uniquely animated nightmare that follows the beat of your pulse and unweaves the GAME OVER Dir. PES / USA / 2006 / 4 min. secret link between man and insect. Music by Sigur Ros. We don't need no fancy arcade...we got an arcade RIGHT HERE! Mysterious CITY WASP Dir. Stephan Wicki & Tod Steven / Switzerland, USA / 2007 / 6 min. innovative stop-motion wizard(s) PES bring the universal excitement of video games A man combs a semi-sentient metropolis to create his own personal symphonic into the real world in bold, unnatural ways. Frankenstein! animation combines with an arguably musical score to KARAOKE SHOW Dir. Karl Tebbe / Germany / 2007 / 5 min. create a short that's guaranteed to be unlike anything you've ever seen. Here at FF, we've always recognized karaoke as a true art. But filmmaker Karl Tebbe A COFFEE VENDING MACHINE AND HIS SWORD succeeds in turning up the karaoke insanity to visually deafening levels in this Dir. Chang Hyung Yun / Korea / 2008 / 29 min megashock of musical indulgence. To ward of defeat in his future life, a dying ninja warrior wishes to be reincarnated MUTO Dir. Blu / Argentina / 2008 / 8 min. with a skin of steel. He returns to modern-day Korea as a coffee vending machine. Street art taken to the illogical, beautiful maximum as an urban landscape is DOG Dir. Hermann Karlsson / Scotland, Iceland / 2006 / 2 min. transformed into a moving palette of impossible creatures. Is this the most ambitious A loving eulogy to man's best friend. This animated comedy features a canine skeleton animation project of the century? Yes. and some goofy yet sincerely tearful memories. SQUIRREL NEXT DOOR, THE THE FACTS IN THE CASE OF MR HOLLOW Dir. R. Gudino / Canada / 2008 / 6 min. Dir. Carla Coma / Canada / 2007 / 2 min. A simple photograph becomes increasingly sinister upon closer scrutiny, until nearly True love sees no barriers...including species. Taxidermy animation that will make every evil that lives in mankind's heart is unleashed upon the viewer. From the fiends you want to run out, kill things and create great art. at Rue Morgue! VIOLETA FANTAISIE IN BUBBLEWRAP Dir. Arthur Metcalf / USA / 2007 / 4 min. Dir. Anna Solana & Marc Riva / Spain / 2007 / 13 min. You think it's hard being a human? Try living your life as a roll of bubble wrap! This Violeta makes a new friend and takes him back home to meet the folks. Too bad the semi-animated short follows the lives of several little poppable pals as they fall in love, depths of depravity of this family is unparalleled in the history of animation. question their existence and -- of course -- get fatally pinched by human fingers. The Watermelon Chickens Dir. Osbert Parker / UK / 2006 / 4 min. Dir. Won Jong-Shik / Korea / 2007/ 8 min. A senses-shaking tribute to the criminal acts of yesteryear, as traditional film noir Watermelon-eating chickens inadvertantly kill a boy's grandfather. The child vows revenge...at all costs. Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com 8 5 CHOQUE Dir. Nacho Vigalondo / Spain / 2005

screenings nacho vigalondo shorts Sep 20, 3:45 PM Lamar 1 The collected short films of Nacho Vigalondo, 80 minutes Sep 22, 7:00 PM Lamar 1

Festival darling and last year’s grand prize winner Nacho Vigalondo didn’t just THE GALACTIC ADVENTURES OF JAIME DE FUNES AND ARANCHA come out of nowhere with his first feature TIMECRIMES. In 2003 he directed Dir. Velasco Broca / Spain / 2003 academy award-nominated short 7:35 IN THE MORNING and has a large and Nacho portrays an interstellar superhero who, along with his sniveling sidekick, impressive body of short films, in which he's worked as writer, director and even a fearlessly battles evil throughout the universe! chiseled action lead! Fantastic Fest is premiering the collected short works of Nacho Limoncello Vigalondo, many subtitled in English for the first time for this program. Dir. Borja Cobeaga, Jorge Dorado, Luis Berdejo / Spain / 2003 CHOQUE A trio of surreal takes on the Spaghetti Western genre by three of Spain’s hottest Dir. Nacho Vigalondo / Spain / 2005 young gun directors. Co-produced by Nacho Vigalondo and Nahikari Ipiña The follies of youth are lost on the old. Nacho stars as a man driven over the edge More shorts are being subtitled now and will be added to the final program at in a gaming arcade. Fantastic Fest. Check www.fantasticfest.com for details. SUNDAY Nacho Vigalondo and his longtime producer Nahikari Ipiña will be live in person Dir. Nacho Vigalondo / Spain / 2005 and will introduce the shorts and answer questions afterwards. You'll also see A young couple bicker while documenting the most important single occurrence in Nacho closing down the Fantastic Fest Karaoke Party on Monday night! the history of mankind. 7:35 IN THE MORNING Dir. Nacho Vigalondo / Spain / 2003 Some people will go to the greatest lengths in the name of romance. This was nominated for a 2005 Academy Award! CHANGING THE WORLD Dir. Nacho Vigalondo / Spain / 2007 TIMECRIMES will be A man awakens several times at once and is forced to team up with several versions released theatrically in of himself to discover what's gone wrong. the United States (and at the Alamo Drafthouse of CODE 7 course) this fall through Dir. Nacho Vigalondo / Spain / 2002 Magnet Releasing. Support A gripping tale of high-impact, two-fisted science fiction in the 25th Century!!! Kind of. Nacho and support the A LESSON IN FILMMAKING TIMECRIMES release. Tell Dir. Nacho Vigalondo / Spain / 2005 your friends! Start the Nacho uses a cow and a rubber ball to instruct aspiring filmmakers on the finer pyramid schemes today! points of cinematic subtlety.

86 Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com screening schedule all shows are subject to change, please check www.fantasticfest.com for up to date schedule information.

Friday, September 12 7:00 PM Ritz Thrill the World: Michael Jackson 8:00 PM Republic Square Mad Max 9:00 PM Lamar 1 Short Fuse 9:15 PM Lamar 3 Cargo 200 Wednesday, September 17 9:30 PM Lamar 2 The Burrowers midnight Ritz Dark Age 11:30 PM Lamar 3 Fantastic Feud/Karaoke Thursday, September 18 11:45 PM Lamar 1 Wildman of the Navidad 3:45 PM Lamar 2 Animated Shorts 11:55 PM Lamar 2 Alien Raiders 4:00 PM Lamar 1 Short Fuse Monday, SepteMBer 22 4:30 PM Lamar 3 Cargo 200 1:30 PM Lamar 3 Muay Thai Chaiya 6:45 PM Lamar 1 Muay Thai Chaiya 1:45 PM Lamar 1 Man From Hong Kong 7:00 PM Lamar 3 Late Bloomer 2:00 PM Lamar 2 Ex Drummer 7:00 PM Paramount Zack and Miri Make a Porno 4:10 PM Lamar 3 La Crème (Creme) 9:15 PM Lamar 2 Wicked Lake 4:25 PM Lamar 1 Fear(s) of the Dark 9:30 PM Lamar 1 Astropia 4:40 PM Lamar 2 I Think We're Alone Now 9:40 PM Lamar 3 How to Get Rid of the Others 6:30 PM Lamar 3 The Substitute 10:00 PM Paramount Air Sex World Championships 6:45 PM Lamar 2 Santos 10:00 PM Ritz Evil Dead 2 Quote-Along 7:00 PM Lamar 1 Nacho Vigalondo Shorts 11:40 PM Lamar 2 Dark Floors 9:00 PM Lamar 1 Blue Film Woman 11:55 PM Lamar 3 Fanboys 9:15 PM Lamar 2 Fantastic Fest Awards Ceremony 12:05 AM Lamar 1 Art of the Devil 3 9:30 PM Lamar 3 Sauna midnight Ritz Razorback 11:15 PM Lamar 1 Repo! The Genetic Opera Friday, September 19 11:30 PM Lamar 2 Deadgirl 1:30 PM Lamar 2 Just Another Love Story midnight Lamar 3 100 Best Kills Party 3:45 PM Lamar 2 Tokyo! Tuesday, September 23 4:15 PM Lamar 1 The Substitute 1:00 PM Lamar 1 Donkey Punch 4:30 PM Lamar 3 Rule of Three 1:30 PM Lamar 3 Left Bank 6:25 PM Lamar 2 The Good, The Bad and The Weird 1:45 PM Lamar 2 South of Heaven 7:00 PM Lamar 3 Surveillance 3:30 PM Lamar 1 The Good, The Bad and The Weird 7:00 PM Ritz Master Pancake: Friday the 13th 3:50 PM Lamar 4 Just Another Love Story 7:30 PM Lamar 1 Eagle Eye 4:00 PM Lamar 3 Rule of Three 8:00 PM Republic Square Road Warrior 4:15 PM Lamar 2 Seventh Moon 9:30 PM Lamar 2 Repo! The Genetic Opera 6:20 PM Lamar 3 Estomago 9:45 PM Lamar 3 The Wreck 6:35 PM Lamar 1 Fighter 10:00 PM Lamar 1 JCVD 6:45 PM Lamar 2 AICN Secret Screening: #1 10:00 PM Ritz Master Pancake: Friday the 13th 8:50 PM Lamar 3 Tokyo Gore Police 11:45 PM Lamar 2 Deadgirl 9:15 PM Lamar 2 Chaser 11:55 PM Lamar 3 Feast 2 9:30 PM Lamar 1 Gushing Prayer 12:15 AM Lamar 1 Tokyo Gore Police 11:25 PM Lamar 1 Jack Brooks Monster Slayer Saturday, September 20 11:45 PM Lamar 3 Art of the Devil 3 11:30 AM Lamar 2 Estomago midnight Lamar 2 Chocolate 11:45 AM Lamar 1 Terra midnight Boxing Gym Fantastic Debates 12:00 PM Lamar 3 Conquest of Planet of the Apes Wednesday, September 24 1:50 PM Lamar 1 I Think We're Alone Now 1:15 PM Lamar 2 Let the Right One In 2:00 PM Lamar 2 Fear(s) of the Dark 1:30 PM Lamar 1 Surveillance 2:15 PM Lamar 3 Left Bank 1:50 PM Lamar 3 Short Fuse 3:45 PM Lamar 1 Nacho Vigalondo Shorts 3:50 PM Lamar 1 Animated Shorts 4:20 PM Lamar 2 Chaser 4:05 PM Lamar 2 Astropia 4:45 PM Lamar 3 Ex Drummer 4:30 PM Lamar 3 Spine Tingler! 6:30 PM Lamar 1 Let the Right One In 6:25 PM Lamar 1 Acolytes 7:05 PM Lamar 2 Santos 6:35 PM Lamar 2 The Burrowers 7:20 PM Lamar 3 Donkey Punch 6:50 PM Lamar 3 The Tingler 9:10 PM Lamar 1 Acolytes 8:50 PM Lamar 3 S&M Hunter/Lonely Cow Weeps at Dawn 9:40 PM Lamar 2 Seventh Moon 9:00 PM Lamar 2 Gachi Boy: Wrestling With A Memory 9:55 PM Lamar 3 Sauna 9:15 PM Lamar 1 Alien Raiders 10:00 PM Cap Cruises Donkey Punch Boat Party 11:20 PM Lamar 1 Doctor Infierno 11:45 PM Lamar 1 Doctor Infierno 11:45 PM Lamar 3 Dark Floors 11:55 PM Lamar 2 Jack Brooks Monster Slayer 11:55 PM Lamar 2 Feast 2 12:10 AM Lamar 3 Chocolate midnight Ritz Man From Hong Kong Sunday, September 21 Thursday, September 25 11:10 AM Lamar 2 Wicked Lake 1:30 PM Lamar 2 Wildman of the Navidad 11:25 AM Lamar 3 Terra 2:15 PM Lamar 1 Zombie Girl: The Movie 11:40 AM Lamar 1 Dark Age 2:30 PM Lamar 3 How to Get Rid of the Others 1:30 PM Lamar 3 Late Bloomer 3:55 PM Lamar 2 Gachi Boy: Wrestling with a Memory 1:45 PM Lamar 2 Animated Shorts 4:30 PM Lamar 1 The Wreck 2:00 PM Lamar 1 Fighter 5:00 PM Lamar 3 Spine Tingler! 4:00 PM Lamar 3 La Crème 6:45 PM Lamar 1 Not Quite Hollywood 4:15 PM Lamar 2 Not Quite Hollywood 7:00 PM Lamar 2 Closing Film 4:30 PM Lamar 1 Zombie Girl: The Movie 7:15 PM Lamar 3 The Tingler 6:25 PM Lamar 3 South of Heaven 9:30 PM Lamar Lot Buses to Get Lit: Closing Night Cave Party 6:40 PM Lamar 1 JCVD midnight Ritz Turkey Shoot 6:55 PM Lamar 2 Tokyo!

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92 Fantastic Fest , September 18-25, 2008 www.fantasticfest.com