Fantastic Fest 2022 Diaries: Day One
Finally, the time has come, the most fantastic time of year has arrived yet again: Fantastic Fest is here at last!
Day one of the festival is designed to ease everyone in, with things not swinging into action until late evening, but I’m incapable of sleeping in. A creature of habit, giddy with the excitement of eight straight days of challenging and thought-provoking genre cinema, I awoke early, around 7 a.m., before the sun had even raised its head, and shook out the last remnants of sleep from my bones.
Fed and walked Lucy, best pup extraordinaire. Got the coffee pot going. Served up breakfast — a modestly decadent parade of pancakes and berries — and eased into the day. There wasn’t any real action until 10 a.m., when tickets for tomorrow’s screenings become available, so I read some of Grant Morrison’s new novel, Luda, to pass the time.
When the clock struck 10, I logged on to get tomorrow’s tickets, only to realize that I hadn’t been ordering them correctly; I had no Day-One tickets. A brief and minor panic set in as I scrambled to get tickets for both days. Fortunately, I was still able to snag seats for the ones I wanted — although not in the main auditorium, where the filmmakers would be present. So it goes.
With tickets acquired, I could just hang back until 8 p.m., so I prepped for the madness of the festival and lazed about with Lue until it was time to get ready.
The drive from north Austin to the South Lamar Drafthouse, where the annual festival is held, went by in a blink, and before I knew it, I was parked and immersed in the glorious chaos. Holding my press badge like Wayne and Garth do backstage passes, I navigated the thick of the crowd to my theater, taking in the decor along the way.
Parker Finn’s feature film debut, Smile, would be christening the festival with its world premiere. It wasn’t quite as incendiary as last year’s TITANE, but it was a fitting way to kick off the fest. The film is the latest entry in the transferable curse subgenre, and while it doesn’t push things into new territory, it does what it does enjoyably well. Think Ari Aster directing an It Follows/Ringu hybrid and you’re close to the mark. The film was really bolstered by its excellent score, assured direction, and a lead performance that fully commits to the crack up.
Photo Credit: Jack Plunkett
Finn and actress Sosie Bacon were present for a Q&A, which was pretty entertaining. Bacon, in particular, was adorably spirited and infectiously effervescent. The film’s origins were interesting, as Finn had caught studio attention with his short, Laura Hasn’t Slept, that lead to the young filmmaker landing a deal with Paramount Pictures. Instead of doing the thing most filmmakers do, where they make the same film as the short only longer, Finn used the short as a precursor and let the feature be a loosely related continuation, which was cool.
Emerging out of the theater around 10:30, I head out to the front to get some air, where I find myself in the midst of an outdoor performance by Itchy-O, a 57-member avant-garde music performance group. It was quite the sight, let me tell you. I watched them for a bit, and even followed them as they moved into the Highball Lounge, hypnotized by their percussive grooves.
Cramming a 57-member band, along with a sea of spectators, was interesting to be a part of. I feel like the Fire Marshall wouldn’t be pleased, but I won’t tell him if you don’t. I watched the band perform for a few songs. I saw Chris Jericho and Diana Prince (AKA Darcy the Mail Girl from Joe Bob’ Brigg’s The Last Drive-In) in the thick of the crowd. They were here for the Terrifier 2 premiere, which I wouldn’t be attending. I opted not to say hello since the thunderous roam of the room would make any effort at conversation futile. Jericho was much shorter than I imagined, and Diana much taller. I watched them exit the Highball Lounge, gracefully parting the incoming Itchy-O spectators with gleaming smiles.
I broke myself free from Itchy-O’s musical hocus pocus around 11:15, and I headed off to see the second — and last — film of the night, Travis Stevens’ A Wounded Fawn, which didn’t get started until nearly midnight. Stevens and a bunch of cast and crew were present, and he set up the movie in a perfect way. “It’s almost midnight. We’re in a movie theater,” he said, “ So let’s watch some fucking grime!”
Gritty and grimy it was, like a sophisticated and DIY chic Giallo! A Wounded Fawn proved to be an interesting watch. An arthouse slasher, the film played with the serial killer and cabin in the woods subgenres in fun ways, with a heavy influence from Sam Raimi and Dario Argento. Great score, great lead performances, and a credit sequence that rivals the uncomfortable hilarity of Ti West’s Pearl. Still kinda processing the whole thing though.
At 2 a.m., it’s time to head home to rest. Tomorrow marks a full day of films, with a Press & Industry screening starting at 8 a.m. We’ll see if I make that…
Fiending for more Fantastic Fest?! Check out the links below:
Fantastic Fest 2022 Diaries: Day Two
Fantastic Fest 2022 Diaries: Day Three
Fantastic Fest 2022 Diaries: Day Four
Fantastic Fest 2022 Diaries: Day Five
Fantastic Fest 2022 Diaries: Day Six
Fantastic Fest 2022 Diaries: Day Seven
Fantastic Fest 2022 Diaries: Day Eight
Fantastic Fest 2022 reviews
Fantastic Fest 2022 podcasts
Fantastic Fest 2022 lists
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!