Writer/director Eddie Alcazar latest sci-fi vision, Divinity, had its Texas premiere at Fantastic Fest. Set in an interesting retro-futuristic world full of surreal oddity, the film is a visually stunning slow burn that lightly explores its themes, resulting in an experience that pleases the eye, but can’t quite engage the mind or forge an emotional connection.
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Writer/director Andrew Morgan returns with Texas, USA, an inspiring documentary about the fight for real and lasting change in Texas and beyond. Following an array of candidates and organizers from across Texas, including then-candidates Greg Casar, Beto O’Rourke, and Lina Hidalgo, the film tells a story of humanity, hope, and persistence amidst a seemingly bleak political landscape full of enormous obstacles and oppressive policies.
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Fantastic Fest kicks off this year’s festival with the world premiere of Macon Blair’s The Toxic Avenger. This is a studio reimagining of the 1984 Troma cult classic that is totally true to its vibe but also moves in its own direction. The film is a great homage with a fresh twist that’s wonderfully wacky, extremely gory, and absolutely hysterical. If you’re anything like us, you will be delighted to see the Toxic Avenger make his return!
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Thar she blows! Writer/director Neil Ferron creates a wild, weird, and wonderful wave of mermaid mutilation with his short film, Fishmonger. The film had its world premiere at this year’s Fantastic Fest and was even one of the first shorts to be programmed as a part of festival’s Burnt End section, a collection of films that “shatter all traditional borders of taste and convention."
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Spanish director David Velduque's new work, Transción, had its world premiere at this year’s Fantastic Fest, screening in its Short Fuse section, a shorts block that delivers “cutting-edge horror that will make you ponder the uncanny.” The film focuses on the abandonment suffered by elderly trans people and delivers unnerving atmosphere and creepy body horror.
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Writer/director Sam Fox latest horror-comedy hybrid, Fck’n Nuts, certainly lives up to its name — and in more way than one. The short has had a phenomenal festival run and recently screened in Fantastic Fest’s Short Fuse section, a shorts block that delivers “cutting-edge horror that will make you ponder the uncanny.”
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It wouldn’t be summer without a bit of camp, and Theater Camp is here to deliver the goods! “Cue the cocaine,” this hilarious and heartfelt mockumentary is a rip-snorting sendup of theater culture that features a winning ensemble of child and adult talent. This is one show you won’t wanna miss!
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The twin brothers behind the YouTube channel RackaRacka, Danny and Michael Philippou, make the leap to features with attitude and aplomb in their debut horror film, Talk To Me. With a fresh new slant on the “cursed object” sub-genre and a stellar breakout performance from Sophie Wilde, the Philippou brothers craft a near-perfect fright fest with one helluva grip. Viewer beware: this Aussie flick will take you down under in more ways than one.
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Nicolas Cage gives horror icon Count Dracula the “Nouveau Shamanic” treatment in Chris McKay’s latest film, Renfield. Despite nearly staking itself in the heart with some weak subplots, this batty horror comedy proves to be a decent amount of silly, gory, disposable fun.
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Enys Men is the latest feature film from Cornish filmmaker Mark Jenkin, and it reaffirms his penchant for crafting haunting and poetic stunners. A logical progression of his previous film, Bait, the film finds Jenkin expanding his experimentation and atmospheric dread in more elusive, eerie, and unsettling ways to create an English folk horror unlike any other.
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Ari Aster returns to take audiences on an epically wild and decidedly weird guilt trip with his third feature, Beau Is Afraid. Big, bold, and ballsy, this three-hours long Freudian epic is ostensibly Aster’s very own Magnolia; an expensive, stylish indulgence that finds him wholeheartedly swinging for the fences at the risk of alienating his audience for the sake of art. Results will vary, but it’s a total winner to us.
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The filmmaking duo behind Haunt (2019), Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, pivot from horror to sci-fi/fantasy in their latest flick, 65. The film brings a futuristic edge and a time travel plot to the prehistoric period, pitting Adam Driver against dinosaurs in a lightly tense family-focused race-against-the clock thriller. It’s nothing new or particularly exciting, but it’s enjoyable enough dumb-fun.
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Infinity Pool is the third feature from Canadian filmmaker Brandon Cronenberg, and it takes audiences on another horrific and twisted sci-fi/horror trip. This go around, it’s a sunny, all-inclusive resort set in some surreal alternate reality, and it plays like a sadistic White Lotus for kinky weirdos. The film finds Cronenberg expanding in scope and solidifying his own singular style.
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Made for meager $15k, Kyle Edward Ball’s debut feature, Skinamarink, garnered a lot of attention during its festival run due to its unique approach to the genre (and because a pirated copy leaked online). With a viral word-of-mouth and a theater run that saw an exponential return, the film has generated buzz and reopened the conversation — like The Blair Witch Project did before it — about horror’s ability to cause big waves with very little.
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With Babylon, Damien Chazelle takes a charged up look at the seedy underbelly of early-era Hollywood as it transitions from silent to sound. Trading in the quiet intensity of First Man for in-your-face insanity, Chazelle doesn’t just return to his stylishly kinetic roots, he doubles down on them. This is Chazelle unhinged; a raucous bacchanal romp that you’ll either want to experience once or mainline regularly.
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Following up his bonkers studio art film mother!, Darren Aronofsky pivots in an even smaller, more minimal, and restrained direction with his adaptation of Samuel Hunter’s 2012 play, The Whale. A self-professed “small movie with a big heart,” it’s a film overflowing with feeling, much of it sincere and played up to the rafters, that might not fully connect due to its narrative conveniences and overly stagey demeanor.
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Family and art collide in Spielberg’s infectiously charming ode to the power of cinema, The Fabelmans. Hilarious and heartfelt, this movie about movies is a blissful sight to behold, and it’s masterfully told by one of its greatest makers. In short, it’s intimate filmmaking at its finest
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Writer/director Noah Baumbach tackles Don DeLillo’s mid-80s postmodern masterwork, White Noise, in his most ambitious film to date. Although he struggles under the weight of this purportedly “unfilmable” novel’s heady themes and concepts, Baumbach faithfully captures the book’s essence and commendably brings it to life with a great deal of inspiration and enthusiasm.
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David Harbour slays in the latest film from Norwegian director Tommy Wirkola, Violent Night. The film satisfyingly channels the the ghosts of Christmas cinema’s past to deliver a bloody, boozy holiday hammer to the head. It doesn’t break any new ground, but it’ll have you ho-ho-hoing with laughter.
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Acclaimed filmmaker and illustrator Alberto Vazquez marches straight into the heart of candy-colored darkness with his latest film, Unicorn Wars. Don’t let its cute and cuddly exterior fool you, this animated flick ain’t for kids. Overflowing with adult themes and erupting with cartoon violence, Unicorn Wars will floor you with its slick animation and stick a heart-tipped arrow through your chest its vigorous anti-war message.
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