I’m fittin’ to attend the annual Fantastic Fest – a crazy-disorienting film festival that prides itself on screening nuttin’ but wonderfully offensive sci-fi, horror, shock cinema. As the word “annual” would suggest, this 8-day film showcase takes place yearly in AUSTIN, TX, USA, EARTH.

Zombieland production still

Once again my significant other and I opted for VIP badges, which come with the hefty pricetag of admission (just under $300) but are no doubt always worth it. In fact, this is the only large film festival we attend because we prefer the company of the film-savy gore hounds who frequent the Alamo Drafthouse.

The best thing about Fantastic Fest is that unlike Sundance, Toronto, Cannes, etc. you ain’t gonna find no corporate industry goons lurking around, hunting for the next commercially successful prime time, video game, cereal box franchise. Yup, no one’s out to buy. It’s just the fans.

Zombies, now more than eva…
Not sure if the living dead-obsessed public knows it, but we got a zombie renaissance going on here:

1. Zombieland – Amateur “Cheers” bartender,  Woody Harrelson beats zombies with style and grace.
2. The Revenant – One dead Iraq War veteran returns home to the states to fuck shit up.
3. [REC 2] – Note the first [REC] (2007) remains awesome and then some. Although to enjoy the film, one must read the Castilian lisp-heavy dialog with Spanish subtitles. So…what followed the next year was a soulless shot-for-shot Hollywood remake called Quarantine (‘cus we Americans can’t read them squiggly words what spell). Yes, I’m excited about this! Damnit, the original freaked my shit out without the hindrance of any boring expositions, explanations, or expected plot conventions.
4. Doghouse – A cannibal disease sweeps through a small British town predominantly populated by women. Coincidentally, some sexist dudes decide to travel to this same town in the hopes of gettin’ totally laid. Looks like buckets o’ blood and gore a plenty!
5. Survival of the Dead – Veteran zombie auteur George Romero goes for the 1-2 punch after his redemptive Diary of the Dead, which happened to premiere at the 2007 Fantastic Fest. I actually got to meet this creative giant (literally & figuratively). Mr. Romero was friendly, articulate and chill, an impressive feat in the face of an army of anxious fanboy zombie nerds. Speaking of which, I had the opportunity to ask (or axe) the man a question that had been bothering me:

REC production still

Me: “Do your zombies ever die or starve to death due to the eventual exhaustion of their food resources.”

George: “In my films, I will never answer that question. I think that is one of those fill-in-the-blanks we must each individually resolve on our own.”

At first I found this an unsatisfying response until a friend later explained her theory on zombie longevity. She said, “Zombies are simply the new dominant species. Humans had their chance…” Basically claiming a new biological paradigm enters with the arrival of the zombie apocalypse and the rapid demise of the human race.

Regardless of your personal theories on undead biology, stay tuned. I’m going to be reviewing the above zombie films and more from upcoming Fantastic Fest 2009.

Researchers at Texas A&M and The University of Texas at Austin thereby pose an interesting question; Is it wise to introduce a foreign parasite to remove a nonnative pest? That followed by the no-less-important question: Will these nuclear-powered monster zombie ants be capable of telekinesis a la STARSHIP TROOPERS?