Movies
The 5 Biggest Trends at Fantastic Fest 2015!
I was pleased to attend my first Fantastic Fest (and first film festival ever) in my hometown of Austin, TX last week. It was certainly a learning experience for me, but it was an absolute blast. Known for programming a film lineup with many similar trends, Fantastic Fest did not disappoint this year, as it was obvious by Day 2 which trends would be the most prominent. Below are some of the biggest trends shared between the 70 feature-length films playing at the festival this year. As you might expect, our focus was on horror films in particular, but a few non-genre films managed to sneak their way in there.
***MINOR SPOILERS LISTED BELOW***
Dead Dogs
This makes two years in a row where dead dogs have ben in abundance at Fantastic Fest. With canines dying left and right in films like The Witch (review), Green Room (review), Follow (review), Crimson Peak, The Lobster, High-Rise (review), Yakuza Apocalypse, Man vs. Snake, The Club and The Invitation (review). I probably missed a few, as I was only able to see about 20 of the films at the festival (which is not a lot, since it is possible to see nearly 40 over the festival’s 8 days), but suffice it to say, if you’re a canine lover, be wary of all the films listed above. In a place like Austin, which is known for being one of the most dog-friendly cities in the country, there’s not easier way to get under its residents’ skin.
A Fresh Take on Possession
Possession films aren’t going away any time soon, much to my disappointment, but many of the films shown at Fantastic Fest took a different take on standard possession tropes and bought something new to the table. Films like The Devil’s Candy, February (review #1, review #2), Demon (review), Southbound, Ludo (review) and arguably Darling (review) all offer a new take on the possession film. To tell you more about the films would spoil the surprise, but they were incredibly refreshing and set new standards for all future possession films.
Hail Satan!
Not only was possession in abundance at Fantastic Fest this year, but the Devil himself and his hometown of Hell made plenty of appearances (and not always involving possession). The Witch, The Devil’s Candy, February and Baskin (review #1, review #2) all featured appearances from the Dark Lord, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Divisive Films
So this is probably a common trend at most film festivals, but I don’t think I have ever had such fun discussions following screenings of certain films, because there were a plethora of polarizing films at this year’s Fantastic Fest. February and High-Rise proved to be the most polarizing out of all of the films at the festival, with half of the attendees either loving or hating them with no middle ground (I loved February and absolutely loathed High-Rise). Other polarizing films included Darling, Bone Tomahawk, Follow and Demon (which won best horror feature at the festival to many people’s surprise
Repeat Offenders
Many festival-goers were surprised to see many of the same actors in various films as they days wore on. Here’s just a small list:
- Jessica Chastain in The Martian and Crimson Peak
- Kiyohiko Shibukawa in Love & Peace and Yakuza Apocalypse
- Sean Young in Darling and Bone Tomahawk
- John C. Reilly in The Lobster and Tale of Tales
- Tom Hiddleston in High-Rise and Crimson Peak
- Lauren Ashley Carter in Darling and The Mind’s Eye (review)
- Brian Morvant in Darling and The Mind’s Eye
- Noah Segan in Follow and The Mind’s Eye
- Larry Fessenden in Southbound, Darling and The Mind’s Eye
I’m sure there are plenty of others that I have missed, but it made for some fun jokes between the festival-goers to repeatedly see the same actors pop up in various films.
If Fantastic Fest 2015 is any indication, horror fans are in for a fantastic (sorry) 2016!
In addition to Leigh Whannell’s upcoming Universal Monsters movie Wolf Man, Julia Garner (The Royal Hotel) has also joined the cast of Weapons, THR has announced tonight.
Weapons is the new horror movie from New Line Cinema and director Zach Cregger (Barbarian), with Julia Garner joining the previously announced Josh Brolin (Dune 2).
The upcoming Weapons is from writer/director Zach Cregger, who will also produce alongside his Barbarian producing team: Roy Lee of Vertigo and J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules of BoulderLight Pictures. Vertigo’s Miri Yoon also produces.
The Hollywood Reporter teases, “Plot details for Weapons are being kept holstered but it is described as a multi and inter-related story horror epic that tonally is in the vein of Magnolia, the 1999 actor-crammed showcase from filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson.”
Cregger was a founding member and writer for the New York comedy troupe “The Whitest Kids U’Know,” which he started while attending The School of Visual Arts. The award-winning group’s self-titled sketch comedy show ran for five seasons on IFC-TV and Fuse. He was also a series regular on Jimmy Fallon’s NBC series “Guys with Kids” and the TBS hit series “Wrecked,” and was featured in a recurring role on the NBC series “About a Boy.”
Weapons will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures.
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