Fantastic Fest 2022 Diaries: Day Five
With the first half of the festival in the books, I was feeling pretty exhausted. I wanted to ease into the 2nd half, so I skipped out on the morning press screening and afternoon festival screenings to hibernate. I rolled awake around 9:45 a.m. to an excited Lucy. I had promised her pancakes, and so I arose to fulfill my duties.
I served up pancakes with apple slices and set Lucy up with her own lil pancake topped with apple scraps. She scarfed it down, inhaled it really, and then looked to me for more. I shooed her away to savor my breakfast in peace, while I watched some more of A Life On The Farm, which remained more lightly amusing than absorbing.
After I enjoyed my breakfast, I paused Life On The Farm to go throw on some sunscreen. I wanted to take the dog for a lengthy walk before I sat down to do some work. It was around 11 a.m. at this point, and the first screening of the day wasn’t until 5:45, so there was ample time to squeeze it all in.
Lucy and I trekked over to the Riata Stop, which was about a 4-mile roundtrip journey, for some synthetic caffeination — and to get our steps in, of course (something I sorely needed more of)! It felt good to work off some of that festival weight; I was basically just sitting and eating all day for the past 4 days, and I’d likely be doing much of the same for 4 more.
We closed our rings and came back to the apartment, winded from our brisk stroll. I had succeeded in wearing Lucy out, but I had also wore myself out in the process. I plopped down in the recliner, cracked a sugar-free monster, and chipped away at Life On The Farm while I cooled down a bit.
After about 15 minutes, I paused the documentary again to shower. By the time I was cleaned up and dried off, it was around 2-2:30. Time kept getting away from me, melting into oblivion like my movie-rattled brain. I cracked another can of energy, but this time one that boasted an added focus benefit, and started to work on yesterday’s diary entry.
These posts should be easy, hypothetically, but I hadn’t really set myself up for much success. I had barely written anything or made notes the following, and I was struggling to recall the details and get things going. Eventually, I found a groove and a flow, and I rode them out until the Day-Four post was done and dusted.
I looked at the clock: 4:30. Where does the time go? I had gotten so enveloped in recapping the previous day, I hadn’t even thought about eating lunch, and I was starting to get hungry. Hunger would have to wait though because I needed to boogie. I threw on some clothes, took Lucy for a medium-sized walk, then came back, packed up my backpack, and bolted out the door.
It was after 5 p.m., and I caught that Monday evening rush hour traffic that clogged up the highway in a bumper-to-bumper crawl. MoPac was snail-paced, but the light on Cesar Chavez to turn onto South Lamar was a purgatorial standstill. I watched so much time evaporate that I was starting to worry that I’d miss the screening. It was 5:39, and I still had a fair bit to go.
Fortunately, I broke free, and the stoplight gods shined their fortune in my direction, giving me a glorious green glow that burned all down South Lamar to the Drafthouse. The parking lot gods even tossed me a bone: a primo, Head-Bitch-In-Charge adjacent spot on the first floor of the garage. It was a close one, but I made the screening just as the film was about to be introduced, making note of the noticeably thinner crowds. I plopped down into a empty seat and promptly ordered some food to quell the ravenous rumblings of my tummy and prepared myself for cartoon carnage.
The first film of the day was Unicorn Wars, a Spanish-language animated film from Alberto Vazquez. It was a dark, meditative march into the magical forest of unicorn blood and madness. Beautifully animated and bleak, with light touches of humor and gruesome spurts of violence, this animated anti-war fantasy pits cuddly teddy bears against the mythical unicorn and culminates in the cartoon bloodshed its title implies. Granted, it takes awhile to get there, but this savage and surreal slow-burn really makes you ask yourself what’s the point to all our fighting. Much more poignant and devastating and adult than its outward appearance suggests. A real surprise. I loved it.
With a short connection window between screenings, I didn’t venture far. I found some real estate in the lobby against the wall and I staked my claim. I logged some thoughts on Unicorn Wars on Letterboxd and waited for my theater to seat for a Korean action film called Project Wolf Hunting, which started at 8:05 p.m. I fired off a text to Mickey Reece about setting up a phone interview, and I got a quick reply that he was down. We’d nail down a date and time after the madness of the fest died down.
A couple of festival goers waiting for their next screening came over and stood nearby. They had both come out of Unicorn Wars and were chatting about it. I gracefully inserted myself into their conversation, and we started talking about the film — they had both liked it too — and the the thinned numbers of festival goers, which neither of us was opposed to since it made navigating the lobby and the Drafthouse grounds much easier.
One of the two left to go get seated for Project Wolf Hunting, and that left me with and the other. We introduced ourselves, and for once, the name didn’t evaporate from my skull. His name was Kyle, and we talked a bit more about Unicorn Wars, musing with delight that it had gone much further than we expected, both in terms of where the story goes and its content. Then we talked more about the chaos of the festival. I lamented that I was only able to make one press screening this year, since it’s impossible to do a midnight screening, leave the theater at 2 a.m., and be back again by 8 a.m. for the press screening. It was just too impossible to do that and stay fully upright and alert for an entire day of movies. It was insane really.
And you know what else is insane? Project Wolf Hunting. What a gloriously unhinged bit of bloodsoaked badassery this film is. Y’all are going to need to bring a poncho because this gonzo Korean actioner is a torrential bloodletting, full of non-stop action that stacks the bodies high. An action/horror hybrid that does the classic cops versus convicts with style and full on insanity. Its Con Air and Heat action bleeds out into Resident Evil and Terminator horror, which results in a high body count with lots of throat slashing and head bashing. It does the most in the best possible ways, and really only falters at the end. It’s a bit too long, and because of the constant killings, it becomes a bit exhausting, but still, it’s loads of gory fun.
I had a short break, a little over an hour, before the last screening of the day, so stepped outside for some air to catch my breath after the incessant insanity that was Project Wolf Hunting. I scrawled down some thoughts in Letterboxd, and meandered about the area surrounding the theater. I found a table near a closed Korean BBQ joint and took a squat there, away from the thinner but still dense festival crowd. I asked myself why I wasn’t more social, but then quickly told myself to shuddap and just enjoy the silence. I thought about all the films I’d seen so far, which was nearing aroundabout 15 by my count, and I started ordering them from best to worst. I wondered if my adoration for certain films was accurate, or if it was just hyperbole brought on by festival excitement and exclusivity, which was something I couldn’t really parse, so I headed back to the theater.
The last film of the day was Huesera, which was an interesting watch. Much different tempo and tone than the over-the-top bloodshed I had witnessed previously. Huesera is a character-driven psychological horror about one woman's contorted collapse under the weight of motherhood. I kind of felt like it was cinematic birth control, and I mean that in the nicest way. Features a strong lead performance, some really striking images, and effective sound design, but the horror felt a bit harmless, since it’s all in the character’s mind really, and with relatively low stakes to boot. It’s a story of fractured identity that leads to a midlife crisis that brands our heroine as a madwoman in the eyes of those around her. It kind of reminded me of Swallow a bit, even though the two films are drastically different narratively and stylistically. The director was in attendance, and she seemed like a really sweet, really cool chick. Even though it wasn’t a total winner for me, her debut is strong and assured, so I’ll be eager to see what she cooks up next.
Emerging from the theater at 1:30 a.m. and into the early-morning dark, I deliriously drove home, roads and highways practically empty at this hour. When I got home, I was given a brief second-wind by Lucy’s excitement to see me. I let her out for a whiz, and then I got ready to immerse myself in slumber. After the teeth were flossed, brushed, and rinsed, I collapsed on my bed and snuggled up next to Lue, who grumbled angrily as I adjusted her position for maximum comfort. A facefull of sweetness and fur, I entered a world of pitch-black darkness and unconsciousness.
Fiending for more Fantastic Fest?! Check out the links below:
Fantastic Fest 2022 Diaries: Day One
Fantastic Fest 2022 Diaries: Day Two
Fantastic Fest 2022 Diaries: Day Three
Fantastic Fest 2022 Diaries: Day Four
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!