5 More Movies We’re Excited to See at Fantastic Fest 2023
Photo Credit: Fantastic Fest/Chris Billheimer
From Joe Peltzer
With Fantastic Fest 2023 launching this week in Austin, Texas, here are the 5 films I am most excited about (beyond the major premieres of The Toxic Avenger, The Creator, and Pet Semetary: Bloodlines).
Bark
A man wakes up tied to a tree, unsure of how he got there. A few days later, a guy sets up camp next to him and begins to talk to him, but doesn’t help him out.
What intrigues me most about this film is that the write-up from Fantastic Fest promises satisfaction by the conclusion, even though viewers will have no idea where things are going. Sometimes films with such a simple premise are hiding much more below the surface, slowing revealing those aspects as the film rolls on. Bark seems like one of those.
Infested (aka Vermin)
What happens when a giant spider gets loose in an apartment building and torments the tenants? That’s the premise for Infested, which promises reproducing spiders and torture for any arachnophobe out there.
It’s unclear where this “creature feature” is going to go, whether there will be killing at the… legs?… of the spider(s) or if we’re going to watch trapped tenants be overcome by a ton of creepy crawlies. Either way, I’m in.
Kill
When violent thugs board a train where an army commando is trying to win back his love, bloody chaos ensues in Kill from Nikhil Nagesh Bhat. With comparisons to The Raid and promises of brutal action, I am expecting a much more violent (and likely more serious) Bullet Train.
The films coming out of India are killing it (pun intended) and this looks like it’s going to follow suit.
The Last Video Store
For all of the horror movie buffs out there, The Last Video Store finds the “video necronomicon” unleashed in Canada’s only remaining video rental store and B-movie characters coming to life, ready to battle the store’s owner and the daughter of a customer. Um, yes please!
The Last Video Store sounds like an absolutely ridiculous premise that will likely deliver corny humor and fresh kills. It’s the feature debut from a pair of short film creators who made films at Kevin Martin’s The Lobby video store and smells of cult classic status before I have even seen it.
What You Wish For
Nick Stahl (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) stars as a guy with a huge gambling debt who reunites with an old (and very successful) buddy who is a private chef. When the buddy disappears, Stahl’s character assumes his identity, his fortunes… and his unique culinary responsibilities (I’m thinking a Fresh-like twist here).
Fantastic Fest’s write-up describes What You Wish For as a mix of Hitchcock, The Twilight Zone, and film noir. Say no more.
These are just a few of the numerous intriguing projects screening at this year’s Fantastic Fest, which runs from September 21st through September 28th. Keep it here for coverage throughout the festival!
