It has been a few years since Fantastic Fest successfully brought together aficionados of genre films. Because of COVID, the festival had to isolate its attendees so that everyday life would slow down and resemble something out of a horror film. The massive lineup, however, underscores the enthusiasm for returning to a complete, in-person event for the first time since 2019, when Fantastic Fest was last at its full experience.
The festival is now in its 17th year of honouring genre films from across the world, particularly those that fall under the categories of horror, fantasy, science fiction, and action. There will be no fewer than 85 films at this year’s Fantastic Fest, including 21 world debuts, 14 North American premieres, and 21 U.S. premieres among them. Films including A24’s Medusa Deluxe, Shudder’s Blood Relatives, and the winner of the Palm d’Or, Triangle of Sadness, will all have their world premieres during this year’s festival.
Keeping with tradition, this year’s Fantastic Fest will pay tribute to a cinematic great; this year’s honoree is South Korean director Park Chan-wook, whose originality has brought us such groundbreaking works as Oldboy, Snowpiercer, and the twist-filled roller coaster that is The Handmaiden. U.S. audiences will get their 1st look at Park’s latest film, Decision to Leave, at the Festival, which will also honour the director’s extensive body of work and numerous accolades. Director Lisa Dreyer of Fantastic Fest issued a statement praising the live event and teasing other film-related happenings during the festival: Too much time has passed since we were last able to get together and enjoy movies in the Fantastic Fest fashion. From the incredible programming that spans intriguing discoveries to highly-anticipated features to our trademark events that will inject a much-needed dose of fun into 2022, we’ve truly put it our best to build an extraordinary week.
The Fantastic Fest parties will be back this year, with a special performance by the experimental sonic sorcerers Itchy-O. Other highlights include live podcast recordings, cocktail-mixing robots from Roboexotica at the opening night party, and the return of Fantastic Fest staples like the Fantastic Feud and the Fantastic Debates. However, the hybrid structure isn’t ignored: In case you are unable to make it to the physical festival, the second annual FF@Home will be shown live online, with a focus on oddball and under-the-radar indie films. To be revealed soon is the full virtual programme, which will include both films that will also be shown at the in-person event and some that will only be available online.
Fantastic Fest has screened some of the most critically praised films of all time, including Parasite, John Wick, Zombieland, and Suspiria, in its seventeen iterations. Lily and Lana Wachowski, Ryan Reynolds, The RZA, Karyn Kusama, M. Night Shyamalan, Darren Aronofsky, and George A. Romero have all attended the festival in the past. The Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar in Austin, Texas is the site of this year’s Fantastic Fest, which runs from September 22nd through the 29th. The Fantastic Fest website is where you can buy tickets and learn more about the massive lineup.