by Victoria Potenza, Staff Writer

Greetings, MovieJawners! I am thrilled to be covering Fantastic Fest remotely this year. It is my first time covering this festival and luckily they have plenty to offer for those attending remotely or in person. For those unfamiliar, Fantastic Fest is “the largest genre film festival in the US, specializing in horror, fantasy, sci-fi, action and just plain fantastic movies from all around the world. The festival is dedicated to championing challenging and thought-provoking cinema, celebrating new voices and new stories from around the world and supporting new filmmakers.

Films like John Wick, There Will Be Blood, and even Frankenweenie have premiered at this festival located in Austin Texas. Based on the current lineup this year will be no less exciting than years past, with several highlight anticipated genre films appearing. The festival is a week long beginning September 22nd to the 29th. For those interested in the full film line up as well as badge information you can go to the Fantastic Fest Official Site. However, I am here to give you the low down on some of the films I am most excited for this year. 

Decision to Leave (dir. Park Chan-wook)

Park Chan-wook is one of South Korea’s greatest genre filmmakers, so it is thrilling that his new film Decision to Leave will be appearing at Fantastic Fest this year. Since premiering a short this year entitled, Life is But a Dream, that was shot entirely on an iPhone 13 I have been bubbling with anticipation for his feature length film. The film follows a detective who is investigating the death of a man in the mountains. But as the investigation continues the detective begins to develop feelings for the man’s widow. Having seen his films like The Handmaiden, Stoker, and Oldboy I can only assume this film will take plenty of twists and turns not divulged in its synopsis. His films always grow on me and there are always new ideas to take away from them so I look forward to seeing how this compares to the rest of his filmography. This is one that I know genre fans will not want to miss. 

Bones and All (dir. Luca Guadagnino)

As Timothée Chalamet continues to make a name for himself as an up and coming actor with his roles in films like Dune and Call me by Your Name, this is a movie I can see drawing a wide variety of audiences. In this movie a young girl named Maren yearns for the love and companionship of others but she holds a dark secret that forces her into exile. So Maren must learn what it is like to live on the fringes of society. While Chalamet is sure to draw in plenty of fans who flock to the actor's films, I find myself drawn to one particular detail, cannibalism. For months I have been hearing about the Chalamet cannibal love story so I cannot wait to see how this story unfolds. As a huge fan of Bryan Fuller’s Hannibal tv show, I think love and cannibalism are a perfect pairing and considering its taboo topic I look forward to seeing what director Luca Guadagnino will have to say in his dark love story. 

Piggy (dir. Carlota Pereda)

Piggy came on my radar much earlier in the year, included in a list of highly anticipated female directed films. I am excited that it will be included in Fantastic Fest, and that it will be more widely available in the coming weeks. This story follows Sara, a teenage girl who is often made fun of for her weight by the other girls in school. It just so happens that her tormentors are kidnapped right before her eyes. So Sara must decide if she is willing to help free the mean girls or if this is the revenge she has been waiting for. This feature length film is based on the short Cerdita that director and screenwriter Carlota Pereda made several years earlier. Given its complicated story and the ethical dilemmas the main character is put into, I am looking forward to seeing how Pereda’s film will play out for movie goers who get the chance to see it. 

All Jacked Up and Full of Worms (dir. Alex Phillips)

I know this is a film that a few of my international friends have been able to check out and honestly, the name alone makes me excited to see what this will be about. Hotel maintenance man, Roscoe, discovers hallucinogenic worms while on the job. Afterwards he meets Benny, the two characters fall in love and decide to make more of these worms together before embarking on a strange and violent journey. So clearly I am drawn to some messed up love stories right? What can I say, I love horror but I am a romantic at heart so I guess I am the perfect audience for these kinds of films. Strangely this is not the first film I have seen about “drug bugs” either. In any case All Jacked Up and Full of Worms sounds like a strange, fun, romantic adventure and those are the exact kinds of films you should seek out at festivals like Fantastic. 

Satanic Hispanics (dir. Mike Mendez, Demian Rugna, Eduardo Sanchez, Gigi Saul Guerrero & Alejandro Brugues)

I am always a sucker for horror anthologies. While V/H/S/99 is a highly anticipated horror anthology also premiering at Fantastic, I am looking forward to this particular anthology. As insinuated by its clever title, Satanic Hispanics, this collection of short films highlights some of horror's best Hispanic directors. With a great title and stories focused on everything from vampires, spooky houses, and a man known simply as “the traveler” , Satanic Hispanics features a variety of horror genres and tropes to please any horror fan. And considering that it is Hispanic Heritage Month, now is a great time to check out works from horror favorites like Mike Mendez and Gigi Saul Guerrero. 

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Cannibals! Serial Killers! Worms! Oh My! This year’s Fantastic Fest is so jam packed with incredible films from all over the world that it is hard not to highlight every single one here. There are plenty of bigger name films like The Menu, Smile, Shin Ultraman, and Terrifier 2 that many horror fans are looking forward to. But there are also a variety of films I had not heard of that also sound incredible. Films like Holy Spider, Medusa Deluxe,  A Wounded Fawn, and Nightsiren are all high on my list to check out. Of course do not forget the various documentaries, and shorts blocks that will be featured and tend to be one of my favorite parts of the festival. 

There will also be a variety of repertory screenings including; Ultraman, Gamera vs. Zigra, and several mystery screenings from the American Genre Film Archive. Whether attending in person or virtually there are plenty of ways to engage with and see what Fantastic Fest has to offer. I will report back later with the films I get to see. My only concern is I won’t have time for all of them!