Editorials
Celebrating 15 Years of Horror at Fantastic Fest!
This year marks the 15th anniversary of Fantastic Fest, the largest genre film festival in the United States. Founded in 2005 by Tim League, Paul Alvarado-Dykstra, Tim McCanlies and Harry Knowles (the latter of whom is no longer associated with the festival), Fantastic Fest focuses on genre films such as horror, science fiction, fantasy, action, Asian, and cult, making it somewhat of a safe haven for genre aficionados. Over the course of eight days more than 80 feature films and 75 short films screen for the festival-goers hungry for some of the weirdest (and Fantastic) films cinema has to offer.
In celebration of this momentous occasion, we dug through the archives of Fantastic Fest’s previous screenings to reminisce about the best horror films to screen there each year. First up, 2005!
2005
Wolf Creek | Pulse | Marebito
Winner: Wolf Creek
A film festival’s first year is more of a dry run for future years. This is evidenced by the small amount of films that screened at Fantastic Fest’s debut. The most notable horror films to screen that year were a dismal J-horror remake, an early Takashi Shimizu (Ju-On) film and Greg McLean’s (The Belko Experiment, Rogue) feature directorial debut. It should come as no surprise that Wolf Creek wins this round. It’s a brutal, terrifying Australian horror film that pulls no punches.
2006
Winner: Bug
Many will cry foul that Bong Joon-ho’s brilliant The Host doesn’t win out here, but William Friedkin’s (The Exorcist) adaptation of Tracy Letts’ play of the same name is a masterful examination of paranoid schizophrenia that is as compelling as it is disturbing (Ashley Judd’s climactic “queen mother bug” monologue is one for the books). It’s just too bad the marketing for the film sold it as an actual killer bug movie. Audiences rewarded the deception with an all-too-rare F CinemaScore.
2007
Wrong Turn 2: Dead End | Spiral | Inside
Winner: Inside
Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo’s contribution to the New French Extremity movement is considered one of the best horror films ever made, and for good reason. This home invasion film about a woman (Béatrice Dalle) who will stop at nothing to get the baby inside her target (Alysson Paradis) is a blood-soaked extravaganza that should satisfy even the hungriest of gorehounds. Stay far away from that American remake, though.
2008
Deadgirl | Let the Right One In | Martyrs
Winner: Martyrs
Two years in a row of French films! Though Tomas Alfredson’s swedish vampire tale is wonderful, it doesn’t have the lasting impact that Pascal Laugier’s polarizing Martyrs, which is why it gets the slight edge. Can you imagine seeing this film in a packed theater?
2009
Antichrist | Daybreakers | The Human Centipede (First Sequence) | [REC] 2 | Trick ‘r Treat | Zombieland
Winner: [REC] 2
Sure, [REC] is a masterpiece of Spanish horror (and found footage) cinema, but the sequel is arguably the superior film as it expands upon the mythology of the original and adds in a nice third-act twist. Plus, it’s scary.
2010
Hatchet II | Let Me In | Mother’s Day | Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale
Winner: Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale
Jalmari Helnader’s debut feature manages to do the impossible: make a good horror film about a murderous Santa Claus. Sure, we all get a good laugh out of Santa’s Slay, but Rare Exports takes a less cheesy approach to the material, injecting some dark comedy into the Christmas horror of it all.
2011
The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) | The Innkeepers | You’re Next
Winner: You’re Next
Festival-goers fortunate enough to see Adam Wingard’s You’re Next during its 2011 festival run were lucky souls indeed, seeing as how the film didn’t see a theatrical release until August of 2013. This clever little subversion of the home invasion sub-genre was a crowd-pleaser of the highest order, giving audiences a heroine (Sharni Vinson) they could really root for.
2012
American Mary | The Collection | Frankenweenie | Paranormal Activity 4 | Sinister
Winner: American Mary
The Soska Sisters’ sophomore feature (following their 2009 film Dead Hooker in a Trunk) boasts a career-defining performance from Katherine Isabelle (Ginger Snaps) as Mary, a medical student who begins performing underground body modification surgeries in order to pay her way through school. It’s not an easy watch (especially as it dabbles into rape revenge territory), but it’s not a film you’ll soon forget.
2013
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane | Cheap Thrills | Escape From Tomorrow | The Sacrament | We Are What We Are
Winner: All the Boys Love Mandy Lane
Poor Jonathan Levine (Long Shot, 50/50). His All the Boys Love Mandy Lane made waves at TIFF in 2006 and earned positive word-of-mouth. Unfortunately, it was quickly secured for distribution by Senator Entertainment, which went bankrupt shortly thereafter and left the film in limbo for seven years. It finally saw a limited theatrical release in October of 2013, but not before one final festival screening at Fantastic Fest in September of that same year. Seven years of hype hurt the film’s reception, but this doesn’t mean that Mandy Lane isn’t capable of standing on its own. It’s one of the more stylish slashers to be get released in the past 15 years.
2014
The Babadook | Dead Snow 2: Red Vs. Dead | It Follows | Horns | Housebound | Spring | The Town That Dreaded Sundown | Tusk | V/H/S Viral
Winner: It Follows
2014 was a pretty phenomenal year for Fantastic Fest, as evidenced by all of the films listed above. This is the year that Fantastic Fest clearly established itself as a prestigious genre film festival. While Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook is a standout of that year, it’s David Robert Mitchell’s It Follows that emerges victorious. This insanely terrifying film is not only the best film of the festival that year, but it’s also one of the best films, horror or otherwise, of the decade.
2015
Baskin | Bone Tomahawk | The Devil’s Candy | The Blackcoat’s Daughter | The Invitation | Southbound | The Witch
Winner: The Invitation
You need only look at my review for Karyn Kusama’s superb The Invitation to know that, even amidst Oz Perkins’ chilling The Blackcoat’s Daughter (then still called February) and Robert Eggers’ The Witch, I consider it one of the very best films of the 21st century. This tense tale of a dinner party gone wrong plays with viewer expectations masterfully before a third-act reveal that blows everything up in the viewer’s face. After the poor critical and commercial reception of Aeon Flux and Jennifer’s Body (the latter of which has received a reappraisal in the past year or so), Kusama needed a hit. The Invitation was that hit.
2016
The Autopsy of Jane Doe | The Girl With All the Gifts | The Lure | Phantasm: Ravager | Raw | Better Watch Out | The Void
Winner: Better Watch Out
If anyone else was writing this article, Raw would win this round. But it’s me, and that means Better Watch Out (my review), Chris Peckover’s twisted take on Home Alone, wins out. This ultra-dark comedy manages to subvert viewer expectations multiple times throughout its 89-minute runtime (if they haven’t watched the spoiler-filled trailer, that is), inspiring gasps and guffaws in the process.
2017
Anna and the Apocalypse | The Endless | Gerald’s Game | Good Manners | Revenge | Thelma | Thoroughbreds | Tigers Are Not Afraid
Winner: Tigers Are Not Afraid
It’s a shame that it took so long for Issa López’s dark fable this long to get released (it premiered on Shudder just last week), because it’s one of the more touching horror(ish) films to emerge from Fantastic Fest since its inception. Tigers Are Not Afraid tells the story of five children trying to survive the drug wars taking place in Mexico, expertly blending horror, fantasy and reality into a near-perfect film.
2018
Apostle | Cam | Climax | Halloween | In Fabric | Knife + Heart | Lords of Chaos | One Cut of the Dead | Overlord | The Perfection | Terrified
Winner: The Perfection
2019
The word is still out on what will be the best horror film at Fantastic Fest’s fifteenth year, but there is no shortage of horror films to choose from. Keep an eye out for reviews from Meagan Navarro and myself over the next week to see which films earn our recommendations!
Fantastic Fest 2019 will take place in Austin, Texas from September 19-September 26.
Editorials
‘The Vampire Lestat’ Concert Event Launches New Season With The Ultimate Expression Of Fandom
There are thousands of passionate fans decked out in gothic chic and champing at the bit like feral creatures. They’re screaming for Lestat, a legendary vampire-turned-rock star, as if the entire crowd has been glamored into submission.
The entire experience is magic, but not because some supernatural thrall has been activated. What’s going on is even more special. It’s the power of the effusive fandom that’s been authentically assembled by AMC’s sublime Immortal Universe, namely Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, now, The Vampire Lestat.
The Vampire Lestat is far from the first Anne Rice adaptation, and it’s not as if there’s been a lack of erotic vampire material for audiences to sink their teeth into. On June 2nd, during a one-night-only spectacle, New York City’s prestigious Beacon Theatre shook from Sam Reid’s bravado performance and an audience full of adoring fans who had already memorized Lestat’s songs.
It’s clear that The Vampire Lestat just hits differently than its predecessors. It’s become more than just a TV series at this point, and this opulent display of ego, swagger, and pure sex is the perfect way to premiere the new season and give back to the fans who helped make Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat such a breakout success. It’s exactly the sort of hyperbolized hedonism that would make Lestat cackle.
For all intents and purposes, AMC has successfully created the illusion that this concert/premiere is just one of the many destinations on Lestat and his band’s 54-stop tour that is simultaneously playing out on this season of television. It’s such a sophisticated and thorough level of interactive fan engagement that the audience doesn’t just understand, but also manages to accentuate through its involvement.
It’s a level of seamless synergy that’s not unlike the give-and-take relationship of vampire and victim.
Before the concert started, “LeStans” were sitting in the Beacon and flipping through a fake Rolling Stone issue with Lestat emblazoned on the cover, complete with interviews with the undead frontman inside. Other fans were admiring the vinyl pressing of Lestat’s EP as they walked past a section of undead band merch. Fandom and fantasy blur together, and it all becomes this elaborate, immersive experience. Fan celebration, erotic gothic fantasy, and a lavish rock concert transform into one beautiful thing.
To this point, AMC Global Media’s Chief Content Officer and President of AMC Studios, Dan McDermott, introduced the event by reiterating to fans, “You are the heartbeat of the series.” That’s abundantly clear on nights like this as that heartbeat collectively pulses to this performance. In terms of how AMC engages with The Vampire Lestat’s fans, it’s as bold a reinvention as the season itself.
This intuitive gamble speaks to AMC’s creativity in this department and a fandom that is eager to seize such opportunities. It’s the same innovation that led to zombie walks for The Walking Dead and real-life Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant pop-ups from Breaking Bad. It’s a great way to pump up the audience for The Vampire Lestat and then maintain that enthusiasm for the whole season.
For most series, a rock ‘n’ roll concert just doesn’t make any sense as a promotional tool. The Vampire Lestat finds itself in a very unique position where it can deliver an excellent concert at an iconic theater, but also use it to showcase The Vampire Lestat’s music by Daniel Hart (who was shredding on stage alongside Reid and the rest of their band) and, more than anything, Sam Reid’s endless charisma.
The way in which Reid feeds off of the crowd’s energy, modulating his performance and giving different sections of the Beacon life, is a perfect distillation of the series’ thoughtful relationship with its audience and how it’s become such a breakout success for AMC. AMC Studios President Dan McDermott emphasized that the fans are the reason that the show is still here and why an event like this is even possible. It’s rare to see a series in which every single cog in the machine is so perfectly attuned to its fans. Reid’s fans already cheer whenever they see him, so why not translate that to a concert setting?
It’s clear in this season of television that Reid was born to be a rock star, but it’s surreal to see him effortlessly command the stage — and the audience — at every step of the concert. He recites Shakespeare monologues and bitches out Armand between songs, all while the audience screams in support. For the duration of this concert, Reid is Lestat, and he’s given thousands of fans a memory that’s as immortal as any vampire.
Now bring on the encore and get this show on the road!
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