ZOMG! Fantastic Fest is over, and I still have zombie bits in my teeth

October 2nd, 2009 by funkypope

The Revenant (2009)

I’m a little dazed after so much weird, wild, violent, sexy, scary cinema. No, really. I’m quasi-delirious and am a bit unsure as to what is reality and what I saw in the dark of the matinee theater. The other day my wife caught me referring to a story I claimed was told to me by “a friend.” She had to explain that my friend’s anecdote wasn’t real but rather from a fictional film character in one of the movies we’ve seen at Fantastic Fest.

I reacted with a resounding, “Shit, I could have sworn that really happened!”

The wise festival programmers of the Alamo Drafthouse continue to refer to the type of bizarre films they yearly wrangle as “genre films,” claiming FFest is a “genre festival.” Okay, maybe…but don’t all films lands somewhere in a give genre? Sci-fi, horror, documentary, animation, crime drama, sex film, etc. They’re all genres, GUH!

I think of Fantastic Fest as a yearly face dive deep in the fringes of exploitation cinema, as in the marginal movies which employ extreme sex, violence & taboo subject material. The good exploitation films challenge my sense. The best exploitation films disturb me and shake my way of thinking.

My favorite zombie films of Fantastic Fest 2009 go as follows:

The Revenant – Unpredictable zombie buddy action comedy from Kerry Prior.
[Rec] 2 – Spanish supernatural sequel to the terrifying original masterpiece.
Full Employment aka “Arbeit für Alle” – German short that will grab you by the gonads.
Zombieland – Post-post apocalyptic Hollywood horror well worth watching from reality TV & talk show makers.
Daybreakers – Not sure if high functioning super-mod vampires driving around in tricked out Chryslers qualify as zombies, but the fanged reanimated dead do drink blood cappuccinos! Totally creative take on old mythology from the talented Spierig brothers who brought us Undead.
Doghouse – British mutant zombie comedy /slash/ commentary on gender relations.

My favorite non-zombie films of Fantastic Fest 2009 go a little something like this:

Fish Story aka “Fisshu sutôrî” – An apocalyptic tale for true music lovers.
Stingray Sam – An episodic musical western in space!
Kenny Begins – Basically a live action Space Quest starring the Swedish Roger Wilco.
Consoul – Norwegian short done in 8-bit pixel animation.
A Town Called Panic aka “Panique au village” – Simple but wonderfully absurd French animation.
House (1977) aka “Hausu” – Mind melting with many similarities to Evil Dead.