Fantastic Fest Wave 1 Films Include Dredd, Tower Block, Room 237 & More!

This morning, the organizers have revealed the first wave of film titles on the programming slate.

It was previously revealed that Frankenweenie would be making its premiere – sure, a nice slice of kiddie fare, no doubt.  On the other end of the spectrum, however, FF will be holding the premiere for Dredd 3D which is set to open September 21st nation-wide.

The festival is also pleased to announce the House of Psychotic Women sidebar, hosted by author and former Drafthouse programmer Kier-la Janisse.  Kier-la will be introducing each show and signing copies of her book afterwards. House of Psychotic Women is an autobiographical exploration of female neurosis in horror and exploitation films. Anecdotes and memories interweave with film history, criticism, trivia and confrontational imagery to create a reflective personal history and examination of female madness, both onscreen and off. 

Head inside for initial lineup of films at this year’s festival…

DEAD SUSHI (2012)

US Premiere

Director – Noboru Iguchi, 91min

Japanese splatter action comedy is on the menu when director Noboru Iguchi & karate girl Rina Takeda join forces to take on flying killer sushi monsters in DEAD SUSHI!

DREDD 3D (2012)

Gala Premiere

Director: Pete Travis, USA, 98 minutes

The future America is an irradiated waste land. The only force of order lies with the urban cops called “Judges” who possess the combined powers of judge, jury and instant executioner.  Known and feared throughout the city, Dredd (Karl Urban) is the ultimate Judge, challenged with ridding the city of its latest scourge 

THE ENTITY (1982)

Repertory Screening as part of the

House of Psychotic Women series

Director – Sidney J. Furie, 125min

In this controversial film based on a true story, director Furie explores the domestically-abused-woman-as-masochist stereotype by veiling it as a supernatural horror film.

ERRORS OF THE HUMAN BODY (2012)

US Premiere 

Director – Eron Sheean, 101min

Plagued by the memory of the infant son he could not save, geneticist Geoff Burton plunges into a web of intrigue, jealousy and lies in this icily precise thriller.

EVERYBODY IN OUR FAMILY (2011)

US Premiere

Director – Radu Jude, 107min

A simple domestic dispute becomes an explosive examination of stress in this powerful and unsettling Romanian drama.

I DECLARE WAR (2012)

Regional Premiere

Director – Jason Lapeyre and Robert Wilson, 91min

A group of exceptionally creative teens gets sucked into their own private Lord of the Flies scenario when an after-school game of “war” turns into a test of loyalty, strategy and friendship.

THE KING OF PIGS (2011)

Texas Premiere

Director – Yeun Sang-Ho, 97min

THE KING OF PIGS is an emotionally punishing animated indie film about a group of friends whose brutal childhoods continue to haunt them as adults.

LE MEMORIA DEL MUERTO (2012)

US Premiere

Director – Valentín Javier Diment, 89min

Alicia undertakes a bizarre cult ritual to restore her deceased husband to life – a ritual that will see her home and friends visited by the spirits of the dead.

THE MAFU CAGE (1978)

Repertory Screening as part of the House of Psychotic Women series

Director – Karen Arthur, 102min

One of the most compelling and uniquely dark films of the psychotic woman subgenre, Karen Arthur’s adaptation of Eric Westphal’s play You and Your Clouds stars Lee Grant as Ellen, an astronomer who lives with her feral sister Cissy (Carol Kane).

PARIS BY NIGHT (2011)

Texas Premiere

Director – Philippe Lefebvre, 100min

Phillippe Lefebvre’s PARIS BY NIGHT is a sleek French cop thriller that follows a pair of vice cops as they patrol the Parisian club scene over the course of a single evening.

SECRET CEREMONY (1968)

Repertory Screening as part of the House of Psychotic Women series

Director – Joseph Losey, 105min

In Losey’s underrated SECRET CEREMONY, an aging but still glamourous Elizabeth Taylor stars as Leonora, a prostitute grieving over the death of her daughter in a drowning accident.

THE SHINING (1980)

Repertory Screening

Director – Stanley Kubrick, 142min

Stanley Kubrick’s horror masterpiece features an unhinged performance by Jack Nicholson and a setting that drips with menace.  Its imagery and characters have permeated all areas of pop culture throughout the decades, yet the film retains all its power to disturb and terrify.

TOWER BLOCK (2012)

US Premiere

Directors – James Nunn and Ronnie Thompson, 87min

The last remaining tenants of a deteriorating, soon-to-be-demolished tower block must band together to survive when a killer with a high-powered sniper rifle starts picking them off through the windows of their flats.

UNIT 7 (Grupo 7) (2012)

Texas Premiere

Director – Alberto Rodriguez, 95min  

Alberto Rodriguez’s UNIT 7 is gritty realistic thriller about a crew of narcotics officers in Seville, Spain who go rogue during a citywide crackdown in the years preceding Expo ’92.

WRONG (2011)

Regional Premiere

Director – Quentin Dupieux, 94min

Everyman Dolph Springer’s (Jack Plotnick) world is turned wrong when he awakens at 7:60 one morning to find his beloved dog missing in Quentin’s Dupieux’s latest absurdist opus and follow up to 2010’s killer tire film, RUBBER.

YOUNG GUN IN THE TIME (2012)

US Premiere

Director – Oh Young Doo, 95min

The director of INVASION OF ALIEN BIKINI returns with a quirky, low budget time travel romp filled with sex shops, robot hands and Hawaiian shirts.

Look for more film and event programming announcements for Fantastic Fest in the weeks ahead.

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