Currently Browsing: "Fantastic Fest 2009"


Fantastic Fest Review: Merantau

Fantastic Fest Review: Merantau

This martial arts flick coming out of Indonesia is, wait for it, far better than Ong Bak. Let that sink in, and then let me explain why inside.

By Dr. Cole Abaius on October 3, 2009 | Comments

Fantastic Fest Award Winners Chug for Glory

Fantastic Fest Award Winners Chug for Glory

Luckily we had a list of the winners sent to us because we didn’t remember all the names. Or where our pants went.

By Dr. Cole Abaius on September 30, 2009 | Comments

Fantastic Fest Review: Ninja Assassin

Fantastic Fest Review: Ninja Assassin

An orphan named Raizo, raised and trained by an ancient ninja clan, cuts a bunch of heads off while an investigator from Europol, Mika tracks down the group in connection with several high-ranking assassinations.

By Dr. Cole Abaius on September 30, 2009 | Comments

Fantastic Fest Review: Clive Barker’s Dread

Fantastic Fest Review: Clive Barker’s Dread

This adaptation of a short story by Clive Barker contains a compelling concept that deserved better treatment.

By Landon Palmer on September 30, 2009 | Comments

Fantastic Fest Review: Crazy Racer

Fantastic Fest Review: Crazy Racer

A couple of clumsy hitmen for hire get tangled in a drug smuggling operation with multiple parties all working against each other. Also, a balding guy with an energy drink company has a ton of guys dressed up as superman. Because it makes sense that way.

By Dr. Cole Abaius on September 28, 2009 | Comments

Fantastic Fest Review: Gentlemen Broncos

Fantastic Fest Review: Gentlemen Broncos

After attending a writing camp, Benjamin hopes that his science fiction novella will win the top prize being judged on by his idol Ronald Chevaliar, but the pompous has-been ends up plagiarizing it and earning a best-seller.

By Dr. Cole Abaius on September 27, 2009 | Comments

Fantastic Fest Review: Fish Story

Fantastic Fest Review: Fish Story

In 2012, with a meteor going to destroy Earth, three men spend the afternoon inside a record store listening to an obscure band. As the band’s story is told, it shows how their song might save the planet from the oncoming apocalypse.

By Dr. Cole Abaius on September 27, 2009 | Comments

Fantastic Fest Review: The Men Who Stare at Goats

Fantastic Fest Review: The Men Who Stare at Goats

Bob Wilton is having a mid-life crisis of the marital strife brand so he sets out to prove himself as a journalist by leaving his small desk at the local newspaper and heading for Iraq. There, he runs into Lyn Cassady a man claiming to have been trained as a psychic spy by the U.S. military.

By Dr. Cole Abaius on September 27, 2009 | Comments

Exclusive: Michael Bassett Talks Puritanical Ass Kicking and ‘Solomon Kane’

Exclusive: Michael Bassett Talks Puritanical Ass Kicking and ‘Solomon Kane’

For the first time on video, you can see with your own eyes as I wander around a parking lot and sit around in a bowling alley with a director who has the skills to become the next major franchise helmer.

By Dr. Cole Abaius on September 27, 2009 | Comments

‘Panic’ is Coming to a Town Near You

‘Panic’ is Coming to a Town Near You

One of Fantastic Fest’s best surprises has US distribution and a release date.

By Landon Palmer on September 26, 2009 | Comments

Fantastic Fest Review: Paranormal Activity

Fantastic Fest Review: Paranormal Activity

Paranormal Activity follows the Hitchcock 101 school of filmmaking like it’s scripture: show as little as possible and let audience imagination fill in the rest. It’s a rule most horror films could implement a bit more, and it works in this film to an astoundingly effective degree.

By Landon Palmer on September 25, 2009 | Comments

Bear Witness! Reject Radio Live at Alamo Drafthouse for Fantastic Fest

Bear Witness! Reject Radio Live at Alamo Drafthouse for Fantastic Fest

You asked for us to be canceled, but apparently your appeals to your school board commissioner fell on deaf ears because we’re forging ahead and diving deep into the hellish chaos of Fantastic Fest by broadcasting from its epicenter.

By Dr. Cole Abaius on September 24, 2009 | Comments

20 Must See Films of Fantastic Fest 2009

20 Must See Films of Fantastic Fest 2009

We’ve been training all our lives for this, and it’s finally here. Fantastic Fest 2009 promises to remove our eyeballs, pour blood, sex and ninja moves all over them and then shove them right back in our face. These are the 20 films that have us most excited about that upcoming amateur surgical procedure.

By FSR Staff on September 21, 2009 | Comments

Gird Your Loins for the Fantastic Fest 2009 Line Up

Gird Your Loins for the Fantastic Fest 2009 Line Up

Gentleman Broncos! Journey to Saturn! Vampire Girl Vs. Frankenstein Girl! Trick ‘r Treat! A fantastic line up for a Fantastic Fest.

By Dr. Cole Abaius on July 14, 2009 | Comments