Fantastic Fest Nano-Mini: Everything Else

I admit, this update thing got away from me.  I went from Day 2 to 2 days after the Fest ended.  So without further ado, my slightly belated rundown of all the rest of the movies I watched at Fantastic Fest, in tiny caplet form.  Several of these will get full write-ups at some point, but for now, a taste is all you get.

Movie 9: JUNK HEAD

I cannot go on enough about this epic stop-motion sci-fi masterpiece.  A seven year labor of love by writer/director/everything Takahide Hori, the movie wanders free of the plot at times, but I was captivated by every single frame.

Movie 10: WORLD OF TOMORROW, PART 1 AND 2

My second dose of awesome animated sci-fi of the morning.  Don Hertzfeldt’s stick figure style is the polar opposite of Hori’s obsessive detail, but the two 30 minute shorts manage to be both ridiculously funny and poignant in its own way.

Movie 11: SUPER DARK TIMES

Eighties high school movies about weirdos is not really my thing.  Being a high school weirdo from the ‘80s, I don’t wax nostalgic for that shit.  Still, there were plenty of great performances in this one by Kevin Phillips, and a suitably grim ending.

Movie 12: BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99

Holy shit, Vince Vaughn is an absolute badass.  Yes, the dude from SWINGERS and WEDDING CRASHERS.  I know, I didn’t see that coming either.  100% crazy carnage from S. Craig Zahler, the director of the brilliant BONE TOMAHAWK. 

Movie 13: REVENGE

I was a little leery of this one since rape/revenge movies specialize in being unpleasant, but it turned out to be a great surprise.  The sexual assault portion was devastating without being exploitative and was over pretty quickly, leaving a lot of room for some wonderfully brutal comeuppance.  Director Coralie Fargeat doesn’t even try to be realistic about how much damage a body can take, but star Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz’s transformation from trophy girlfriend to instrument of wrath is stunning.

Movie 14: BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL

Takashi Miike’s unkillable samurai epic was the sweetest candy.  This matter will be revisited, rest assured.

Movie 15: THE NUDE VAMPIRE

Repertory screening of Jean Rollin’s mondo tale of death cults, shady science, and a kidnapped (and yes, frequently nude) vampire.  A lovely slice of ‘70s French nuttiness.  

Movie 16: GERALD’S GAME

It’s hard to express how much I love Carla Gugino, so Carla Gugino playing opposite herself(s), and Bruce Greenwood, is a delight.  As a bonus, this contains possibly the grossest gore gag I have ever seen, and I have seen a lot.  

Movie 17: JUPITER’S MOON

Disclaimer – This movie has nothing to do with Jupiter or moons, so adjust your expectations.  More of a thriller set in the Hungarian refugee crisis, tinged with sci-fi elements.  I still really dug it, thanks to some great performances and some amazing, CHILDREN OF MEN style one-take camera work.   

Movie 18: MOM AND DAD

Full-on Nicolas Cage at his Cage-iest.  This one will be used heavily in all future Nic Cage montage memes.  Believe it or not, Brian Taylor, the director of CRANK 2, shows commendable restraint in a comedy about murdering your children.

Movie 19: ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE

What could top the blood drenched brutality of CELL BLOCK 99 to win my heart?  A Christmas musical about zombies.  I was shocked by how much I loved this spiritual successor to SHAUN OF THE DEAD.  And I got a hug from the director, John McPhail.  Fantastic Fest is a magical place.

Movie 20: WHEELMAN

Simple but extremely well executed Frank Grillo crime movie.  Taking place mostly in a single car, it’s like LOCKE with more machine guns.  Possibly.  I didn’t see LOCKE, so I can’t confirm the level of machine guns, but I’m hazarding a guess that this one had more.

Movie 21: THE CURED

Interesting concept on how we would treat those transitioning from zombie gut muncher back to non-munching human after finding a cure to the global outbreak.  The answer is pretty shittily.  JUPITER’S MOON was a better allegory on immigrants, and it doesn’t capitalize enough on the premise, but it still managed to entertain me.

Movie 22: THE DEATH OF STALIN

This was the secret screening, so no one knew what they were getting before the title came up.  Since I had never heard of it, the movie continued to be a surprise afterwards.  From the title, I was not expecting such an outrageous black comedy, but once I found out the director Armando Iannucci was the creator of Veep, it made more sense.  Strange choice for a secret screening, but funny as hell.

Movie 23: PIN CUSHION

Near Lars Von Trier level depression awaits in this British tale of a mother and daughter whose lives are destroyed by bullies.  Not sure about the soundness of director Deborah Heywood’s ending message, but she knew how to put me through the wringer.  

Movie 24:  THE MERCILESS

This Korean cop and gangster thriller was just the jolt I needed coming out of PIN CUSHION.  Sung-hyun Byun doesn’t break any new ground, but the tight, twisty story of loyalty and corruption is well executed enough to stand on its own.

Movie 25: Everything is Terrible

Well, not everything, but a lot.  The listing actually refers to the group who put this crazy, Satan themed mix-up collage of thousands of quick clips from movies, specials, commercials, and weirdo Christian programming.  It would have been great if it was fifteen minutes long, it’s basically torture when stretched out to feature length.  Plus, it was a rough cut and we were the test audience.  I think we should have been paid for that one.

Movie 26: THE GATE

This was supposed to be the 100 Greatest Kills, Kid Deaths edition, but FF was getting heat for the already heavy amount of baby killing in the other movies, so it was switched to a 35mm print of a classic ‘80s monsters in a pit movie.  No, not that one, I'm talking about THE GATE, starring Lil Stephen Dorff and a dozen stop motion imps.  It may not have a hundred dead kids, but it was a damn entertaining substitute.

Movie 27:  SALYUT 7

This seems like a blockbuster level movie in Russia.  Not making a joke, this thing looked beautiful and expensive.  I didn’t recognize any actors, but I bet they are big deals in the motherland.  Essentially the Russian version of APOLLO 13 with a bit of GRAVITY thrown in.  It’s exactly the kind of inspired by real events movie with a slight ra-ra nationalistic tilt.  The kind we make all the time, except it’s the Americans who are giving the respectful—if slightly begrudging—salute to the heroes at the end.     

Movie 28: MON MON MON MONSTERS

This is the type of bullying movie I was in the mood for after PIN CUSHION, though honestly, this one is pretty rough as well.  It had significantly more bullies being torn apart by monsters or being immolated, and the ending is far more satisfying, so extra marks in my book.

Movie 29:  GOOD MANNERS

Oh my god, werewolf babies are so fucking adorable!  Absolutely stellar Spanish film about the trials of raising a little monster family.

Movie 30:  BAD GENIUS

A Thai heist film about standardized test cheating!  I know, it didn’t sound great on paper, but it is a nail biter.

Movie 31: THE ENDLESS

The new one from the dream team of Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, whose previous film, SPRING, is one of my favorite discoveries ever.  I was told to watch their first movie, RESOLUTION beforehand, which turned out to be very good advice.  At its heart, the movie is a relationship drama about brothers, but with a boatload of trippy shit to spice things up.  One of my fest favs.

Movie 32: DOWNSIZING

Going from a highlight to rock bottom.  I normally dig quirky, but Alexander Payne’s satire about a tiny Matt Damon left me cold.  Not even Hong Chau’s wonderfully nontraditional leading woman performance could save this meandering, random mess.  I might look on it more fondly later, but it was not what I was hoping for as the closer to Fantastic Fest.  Oh well, at least the closing party was more lively.

And that was the divine madness of Fantastic Fest 2017.  The atmosphere was much heavier than usual (so my veteran fest friends say), thanks to the very sour controversy leaving a bad taste in everyone’s mouth.  I’ll elaborate in my next back-to-normal post, but it did spark a lot of discussion and examination, which is always helpful.  Overall, I’m extremely happy I went, social anxiety be damned.  I don’t think there is another experience in the world quite like Fantastic Fest, and you know me, I’m all about the oddballs.  ‘Til next time.

C Chaka