The Alamo Drafthouse’s Fantastic Fest has a stellar rep around these parts, and it’s not hard to see why when you consider some of the indie titles that have played there in recent years. Last year alone saw Coherence, Grand Piano and Septic Man make their world premieres, and films like Blue Ruin, Afflicted, Witching & Bitching, The Sacrament and Borgman all land in the U.S. for the first time.
This year doesn’t look to be any different, with a terrific lineup of indie titles including boatloads of promising horror. We’ve got sequels like The ABCs of Death 2 and V/H/S Viral, and originals like Kevin Smith’s anticipated Tusk and The Babadook. Keep in mind this is only the first wave of film announcements for Fantastic Fest 2014 – we’ll keep you posted as more titles are confirmed for the festival, which runs in Austin, Texas, September 18th to the 25th.
Check out the full press release below:
FANTASTIC FEST CELEBRATES 10 YEARS OF CHAOS AND DESTRUCTION WITH US PREMIERE OF KEVIN SMITH’S “TUSK”, LEONARD MALTIN, THE MELTDOWN WITH JONAH AND KUMAIL AND “ABCs OF DEATH 2″ WORLD PREMIERE
First Wave of Programming for the Festival’s 10th Anniversary and the Grand Reopening of Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar and The Highball
September 18-25th, 2014 – Austin, Texas
Austin, TX – Tuesday, August 5, 2014 – Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Fantastic Fest is excited to announce the first wave of events, special guests and film programming. Fantastic Fest 2014 takes place September 18-25th in Austin, Texas at the newly reopened Alamo South Lamar and Highball.
Fantastic Fest is thrilled to open the fest with the US Premiere of Kevin Smith’s dark horror-comedy TUSK. Smith will be in attendance for a red carpet gala screening and Q&A.
Immediately following TUSK, the world premiere of ABCs OF DEATH 2 will unveil 26 devilishly diabolical tales at Fantastic Fest with multiple directors from the horror anthology sequel in attendance, including: Alejandro Brugués, Robert Boocheck, Lancelot Imasuen, E.L. Katz, Jerome Sable, Jen and Sylvia Soska, Jim Hosking, Larry Fessenden, Chris Nash, Steven Kostanski, and Julian Barrett. Following the premiere, guests are invited to attend ‘A Bodacious Celebration: 26 Ways to Party’ culminating in an epic food fight curated by Thu Tran of Food Party fame.
“My personal challenge each year is making Fantastic Fest the best week of the year for like-minded genre film obsessive’s,” says festival founder Tim League. “With the resonance of a round number anniversary, all reasonable fetters are discarded. In 2014, we are taking no prisoners. This festival is going to set new boundaries of decadence, destruction and debauchery.”
For its 10th anniversary, Fantastic Fest is also going all out with celebratory events and special programming, including two tent pole showstoppers. Legendary film critic and historian Leonard Maltin joins proceedings as head of the comedy jury and to play “MALTIN’S,” a game tournament of movie trivia twenty years in the making. “My brother and I were obsessed with Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide at an early age,” said MALTIN’S creator and festival alum Ant Timpson. “His reviews shaped our own language and view of film. How could we be even closer to our God? How could we become Leonard Maltin? MALTIN’S was the answer.” Complete rules and information on how to enter can be found at fantasticfest.com.
Elevating the comedic quota of Fantastic Fest programming is the addition of Comedy Central’s breakout stand-up show “The Meltdown with Jonah & Kumail.” Hitting Austin for its first-ever Fantastic Fest performance, host comedians Jonah Ray and Kumail Nanjiani explained why they want to be a part of the festivities, “We want to watch films, drink, and make people laugh.”
Fantastic Fest also marks an important milestone for the Alamo Drafthouse theater chain with the grand reopening of its flagship destination at South Lamar and the all-new Highball. Under construction for the past two years, the new theaters boast three new screens (9 total), and completely rebuilt Highball bar, and 7 custom-designed karaoke rooms that are sure to melt the mind.
See below for the initial lineup of programming at this year’s festival.
ABCs OF DEATH 2
Various, 2014
World Premiere, 125 min
Directors – Larry Fessenden, Marvin Kren, Todd Rohal, Jim Hosking, Julien Maury and, Alexandre Bustillo, Julian Gilbey, Soichi Umezawa, Lancelot Imasuen, Jerome Sable, Robert Boocheck, Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado, Bill Plympton, Rodney Ascher, Erik Matti, Juan Moreno, Steven Kostanski, Alejandro Brugués, E.L. Katz, Julian Barratt, Hajime Ohata, Vincenzo Natali, Chris Nash, Jen and Sylvia Soska, Dennison Ramalho, Robert Morgan, Kristina Buozyte and Bruno SamperIn 2013 the craziest anthology ever created was released to an unsuspecting public. It immediately divided audiences. Some claimed it was a much-needed adrenaline shot to the heart of genre film, while others claimed it was reprehensible and the death knell of cinema as we know it.
In 2014 it’s happening again. This time with an all-new line-up of international directors.
For more information about ABCs OF DEATH 2, please visit http://www.magnetreleasing.com/theabcsofdeath2/,”like” the film on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/theabcsofdeath or follow on twitter @ABCsofDeath.
ALLELUIA
France/Belgium, 2014
US Premiere, 95 min
Director – Fabrice Du WelzA lonely woman and a psychotic gigolo find love through murder in the latest film from the director of CALVAIRE and VINYAN.
BABADOOK, THE
Australia, 2014
Texas Premiere, 94 min
Director – Jennifer KentIn this impressive horror debut, Amelia thought her biggest problems were her son’s violent behavioral problems and her own depression. That was before something came knocking at the door…
BRO’s BEFORE HO’s
Netherlands, 2013
US Premiere, 88 min
Directors – Steffen Haars & Flip van der KuilA unashamedly offensive bromance from the killer comedy team behind NEW KIDS TURBO and NEW KIDS NITRO.
CLOSER TO GOD
United States, 2014
Texas Premiere, 81 min
Director – Billy SeneseDr. Victor Reed finds himself in the middle of an ethical, legal and religious storm after conducting the first successful human cloning in this fiercely intelligent indie thriller.
DANGER 5 – SERIES 2
Australia, 2014
World Premiere, 75 min
Director – Dario RussoWhen Adolf Hitler surfaces posing as a 1980s high school student, there can be only one response! The crack team of Danger 5 are pressed back into service to eliminate the Nazi threat once and for all!
HIGH FIVE (RELOCOS Y REPASADOS)
URUGUAY – BRASIL, 2013
World Premiere, 98 min
Director – Manuel FacalIt’s a stoner comedy from Uruguay. What else do you need to know?
HORSEHEAD (FIEVRE)
France, 2014
World Premiere, 89 min
Director – Romain BassetA stunning exploration of a young woman’s nightmares.
THE INCIDENT (EL INCIDENTE)
Mexico, 2014
North American Premiere, 100 min
Director – Isaac EzbanA cosmic event disrupts life on Earth in this sci-fi mind-bender.
JACKY IN THE KINGDOM OF WOMEN (JACKY AU ROYAUME DES FEMMES)
France, 2013
Texas Premiere, 87 min
Director – Riad SattoufWomen hold the power while men cower in this scathing dystopian satire starring Charlotte Gainsbourg.
KUNG FU ELLIOT
Canada, 2014
Fantastic Fest Premiere, 88 min
Director- Jaret Belliveau & Matthew BauckmanA hilarious and disturbing documentary about a man’s quest to become an international action star.
MALTIN’S GAME TOURNAMENT
Created by Fantastic Fest alum and film producer, and self-described Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide convert, Ant Timpson circa the early 90s, MALTIN’S is a movie lover’s version of game night favorite Balderdash. Someone starts as “Maltin” and chooses a title from Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide, a film that no one knows. The other players then all write down a fake synopsis based on the title. Players attempt to trick each other into believing that their synopsis is the real one while trying to decipher the true Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide synopsis.
LOCAL GOD (DIOS LOCAL)
Uruguay, 2014
World Premiere, 88 min
Director – Gustavo HernandezWhile filming music videos in an abandoned gold mine, a rock group is tormented by an evil spirit in this new film from the director of LA CASA MUDA.
THE MAN IN THE ORANGE JACKET
Latvia/Estonia, 2014
US Premiere, 71 min
Director – Aik KarapetianA laid-off harbor worker wages a private war on the rich in this surrealistic Latvian horror film.
THE MELTDOWN WITH JONAH & KUMAIL
The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail hails all the way from the back of a comic book store in Los Angeles, where not only has it been crowned one of the best standup shows in LA by LA Weekly, LA Times, and Hollywood Reporter, but it’s now a TV show! Comedy Central filmed eight documentary-style episodes of The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail for a brand new type of standup show that airs Wednesday nights starting July 2014. Come see why this is the only existing live standup show to get its own TV show as hosts Jonah Ray and Kumail Nanjiani charm your pants off and welcome some very special guests!
NORWAY
Greece, 2014
US Premiere, 74 min
Director – Yiannis VeslemesA vampire dances his way through ’80s era Athens in this fantastic film from the production team behind DOGTOOTH.
STILL LIFE (NATURALEZA MUERTA)
Argentina, 2014
North American Premiere, 97 min
Director – Gabriel GriecoMeat is murder in this brutal Argentinian slasher with an animal rights edge.
TOMBVILLE
Belgium, 2014
North American Premiere, 94 min
Director – Nikolas ListYoung David awakens battered and disoriented on the edge of town, knowing only one thing: He wants to get away. But no matter what he tries, he’s always led back to the same dark, disturbing place. Welcome to Tombville.
TOMMY (TommyMer)
Sweden, 2014
North American Premiere, 95 min
Director – Tarik SalehTommy is coming home, or at least that’s what his wife Estelle desperately needs people to believe when she returns after a year in exile. And if he doesn’t get what’s his, there’s going to be hell to pay.
TUSK
United Stats, 2013
US Premiere, 102 min
Director – Kevin SmithFrom the singular mind of writer/director and podcaster Kevin Smith, and conceived from one of Smith’s own Smodcast’s, TUSK is a story unlike anything that has ever been committed to screen before. A tale that is equal parts hilarious and horrifying, TUSK will stay with you long after the credits roll. Starring: Justin Long, Michael Parks, Genesis Rodriguez, and Haley Joel Osment
V/H/S VIRAL
US, 2014
US Premiere, 98 min
Directors – Marcel Sarmiento, Gregg Bishop, Nacho Vigalondo, Justin Benson & Aaron MoorheadFantastic Fest alumni Nacho Vigalondo & Marcel Sarmiento join several other genre filmmaking greats in this 3rd installment of the twisted found footage horror anthology franchise.
WYRMWOOD
Australia, 2014
World Premiere, 92 min
Director – Kiah Roache-TurnerThe undead rise again in this raucous feature debut from Australia’s Roache-Turner Brothers, who deliver one of the most balls-out, gonzo and just plain fun entries into the zombie canon in years.
Look for more film & event programming announcements for Fantastic Fest in the weeks ahead.
For ticketing and latest developments visit the Fantastic Fest official site www.fantasticfest.com and follow us on Facebook & Twitter.