Movies

Stephen King Movies, Prison Riots, And An Apocalypse Musical Among This Year’s Fantastic Fest Programming

August 8, 2017

The first wave of programming for this year’s Fantastic Fest has arrived! Like receiving a bloody Christmas present in the dead of summer, the 25 titles announced look to be the gift that keeps on giving. From new Stephen King adaptions (not called IT) to Oscar winner Frances McDormand (Fargo) cursing up a storm to Vince Vaughn fighting for his life in prison, this year’s Fantastic Fest looks to swing for the fences in a big way.

1922
USA, 2017
World Premiere, 101 mins
Director – Zak Hilditch
1922 is based on Stephen King’s 131-page story telling of a man’s confession of his wife’s murder. The tale is told from from the perspective of Wilfred James, the story’s unreliable narrator who admits to killing his wife, Arlette, in Nebraska. But after he buries her body, he finds himself terrorized by rats and, as his life begins to unravel, he becomes convinced his wife is haunting him.

78/52
USA, 2017
Regional Premiere, 91 min
Director – Alexandre O. Philippe
This masterful documentary focuses on a single aspect of Hitchcock’s PSYCHO to demonstrate the master’s technical ability in storytelling. With expert interviews and rollicking analysis, 78/52 sets a new bar in how to examine film overall.

ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE
Scotland, 2017
World Premiere, 107 min
Director – John McPhail
Anna’s life is dominated by the typical concerns of her youthful peers until the Christmas season in her small town brings not Santa, but an outbreak of the undead in this genre-mashing holiday horror musical. Yep. Musical.

ANYAB
Egypt, 1981
Repertory, 100 min
Director – Mohammed Shebl
ANYAB (FANGS) is an oddity worth rediscovering! An Egyptian take on THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, this eye-popping musical of madness manages to cram horror, science fiction and even social commentary together while charming with its outrageous costumes and action.

BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL
Japan, 2017
US Premiere, 141 min
Director – Takashi Miike
Takashi Miike’s 100th journey is an adaptation of the BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL manga. Manji, a samurai who cannot die, crosses paths with Rin Asano, a young girl whose parents were killed. Manji swears to help Rin Asano avenge her parents’ deaths.