For the 19th year, Alamo Drafthouse will bring Fantastic Fest roaring back into Austin, Texas for a weeklong celebration of genre films beginning on September 19. Per usual, Fantastic Fest has curated a dynamite set of new movies and restored cult classics. Biff Bam Pop!’s Jeffery X Martin and Sachin Hingoo, who will be covering this year’s Fantastic Fest remotely, have practically been drooling over this year’s lineup. Which movies have gotten them the most interested? Funny you should ask…
Terrifier 3 (dir. Damien Leone)
JXM: I don’t know a single horror fan who isn’t at least curious about Terrifier 3. Psychotic, supernatural, and disturbingly silent, Art the Clown quickly became an iconic character, filling a gap in the stagnant slasher genre while breaking vicious new ground. Director Leone’s usage of physical make-up effects has endeared him to gorehounds. Terrifier 2 took the series to a higher level with wings and magic swords and a creepy little clown girl and Chris Jericho and what the hell will Leone throw at us next? I have no clue but I’m more than ready to find out.
SH: There’s been a steady escalation in quality, sicko violence, and general over-the-top-ness from the first Terrifier to it’s sequel, and all indications are that a similar escalation is in store for the third film. Art the Clown has speedrun his status as an iconic horror villain in only two films, and turning his eye towards Santa Claus in this holiday-themed horror seems like a recipe for even more deviousness.
Strange Harvest: Occult Murder in the Inland Empire (dir. Stuart Ortiz)
JXM: False documentaries are a fun little sub-genre that I enjoy. Director Ortiz is well-loved in horror circles for his Grave Encounters movies, some of the better found footage movies out there. Strange Harvest: Occult Murder in the Inland Empire follows two detectives on the trail of a serial killer named Mr. Shiny. That’s a great name for a murderer! I’m hoping for a twisty and twisted story from Ortiz.
SH: I only need to look at the few images supplied for Strange Harvest to know that this one is going to have me cowering. The faux-documentary format is a rich vein for horror, and with Stuart Ortiz, one of the original masters of that style of spooky filmmaking helming this new project, I know this will be unmissable.
Don’t Mess With Grandma (dir. Jason Krawczyk)
JXM: There are few movies that I will watch because a specific actor appears. Michael Jai White is one of those performers. There may not be a number in existence to mark how many times I’ve seen Black Dynamite. In Don’t Mess With Grandma, White has to fend off a gang of thugs who invade his grandmother’s home. Here’s the twist: he has to make sure Grandma doesn’t find out what’s happening. With Krawczyk (He Never Died) at the helm, Don’t Mess With Grandma sounds both violent and hilarious. Get that into my eyeballs ASAP.
Bone Lake (dir. Mercedes Bryce Morgan)
SH: I’ll admit that most erotic thrillers are not exactly rife with big scares, great performances, or depth of story, but I still love them. Described as a “mashup of an early 2000s erotic thriller and a lurid Lifetime movie” and a “psychosexual head trip”, the new film from 2022’s Spoonful of Sugar director Mercedes Bryce Morgan returns to Fantastic Fest with a sleazy (in a good way) tale of sex and violence. This tale of two couples that engage in a hedonistic experience while sharing a cabin in the woods feels like the kind of greasy outing I’m always in the mood for.
Little Bites (dir. Spider One)
JXM: What do you do when a monster appears in your basement and threatens to devour your child? That macabre situation is the backbone of Little Bites, the latest film from writer-director Spider One. Spider’s films are always visually interesting and the story sounds intriguing. Oh, did I mention Barbara Crampton is in Little Bites? That automatically makes this movie appointment viewing. My instinct tells me that Little Bites may be one of the lowkey stand-outs of this year’s Fantastic Fest.
Satan War [Restoration] (dir. Bart La Rue)
JXM: Satan War seems like not only a good time, but somehow edifying. Restored and rarely seen since its original release in 1979, Satan War sounds like a gonzo-wacked-out haunted house story with Satanic overtones. I do love a good Devil movie, even when it’s a bad Devil movie. All reports indicate that Satan War will provide the low-budget demonic rush I look for from these kinds of movies. AGFA (the American Genre Film Archive) always does a fantastic job of scraping movies from the bottom of the barrel and turning them into treasure.
The Severed Sun (dir. Dean Puckett)
JXM: Folk horror has fascinated me since my first viewing of Robin Hardy’s The Wicker Man. The current resurgence of those tales has been mostly joyous for fans like me, and Dean Puckett’s The Severed Sun has a good chance of ticking all my rural weirdness boxes. What’s not to love about a monster that murders oppressive Puritanical men in the English countryside? Gather round, witches! This one sounds both terrifying and exhilarating.
Maldoror (dir. Fabrice du Welz)
JXM: Hardcore cinema fans may know Fabrice du Welz for his grim 2004 classic, Calvaire. It was Sachin who encouraged me to watch more du Welz movies, including the unforgettable Vinyan. Maldoror sounds like the kind of movie du Welz excels at. A detective on the hunt for two missing girls goes into business for himself when his superiors ignore his evidence. Director du Welz specializes in movies where men break down, stripping the layers of morality and societal norms away until there’s nothing left but energy and bone. It won’t be an easy watch. None of du Welz’s movies are. Nonetheless, gimme that darkness.
SH: Like X said, I’ve been following Fabrice du Welz for years, and am always amazed at how he manages to find dark kernels in whatever projects he chooses, even as they span tone and genre. Police procedurals seem to be having a bit of a moment, and du Welz throws his hat into the ring with this tale of a former criminal-turned-cop investigating a series of kidnappings, murders, and rapes that are inspired by true events in Belgium in the 1990’s. If you want to plumb the depths of the human condition, there’s no better director to take you down that particular rabbit hole. Du Welz has a way of making you feel every moment, and odds are that Maldoror is no different.
Fantastic Fest 2024 sets up camp from September 19 – September 26, 2024 at Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar in Austin, TX. Take a look at the entire Fantastic Fest 2024 line-up and gear up for Biff Bam Pop!’s coverage of the event beginning later this month!
