What starts as a profile on a biker gang celebrating at a remote house in the woods becomes a hillbilly version of Funny Games before quickly morphing into something else entirely. That sort of brass has to be admired, but that doesn’t mean that the movie is all that worthwhile. Cody (Cory Knauf) is out of jail and back with the biker gang he was born into, but he’s solemn and calmer than the rest of his gang. As they celebrate his mother’s 50th birthday, Michelle (Tiffany Shepis), the girl he’d been in love, with flaunts her new relationship in front of him, and a new girl comes into his life. Then, everyone gets attacked by a supernatural gang of ageless missing persons from the 1950s who hold them hostage until they give up a Michelle who’s been transformed into a violent animal.

Fans of Fantastic Fest (which should include all human beings and several species of extra-terrestrials) always look forward to the wanton violence and downright weird imagery on display during the festival. On the eve of Comic-Con, in a truly wise marketing move, the freaky folks at Fantastic Fest released their first fireball toward the castle of our minds. That fireball consists of 13 films that look like a collective 24 hours of awesome. Cannes favorite Rubber and martial arts follow-up Ip Man 2 are just the tip of the iceberg.

Comic-Con is a fun event for film fans hoping to get their first peek at upcoming blockbusters and the stars behind them, but I’ve always been a lot more partial to film festivals. Why? Because film fests are all about actually watching films. (Yes, I know studios have recently started hosting screenings during Comic-Con but they still number in the single digits and they’re always future wide-release movies anyway.) Trailer previews and scenes are fun to watch at the Con, and while I won’t be attending this month I hope to get back again with the FSR crew next year. But a solid film festival trumps everything the Con has to offer by virtue of the number and variety of films available. The best fest, hands down, is Austin’s Fantastic Fest (which I’ll be eating, drinking, and breathing this September), but it’s not the only one worth watching…