Fantastic Fest 2018 Final Wave of Programming Announced

The Fantastic Fest 2018 final wave of programming has been announced, and promises an explosive grand finale with the Texas Premiere of Drew Goddard’s outrageously entertaining mystery-thriller Bad Times at the El Royale., Karyn Kusama’s detective thriller Destroyer and the North American Premieres of Terry Gilliam’s The Man Who Killed Don Quixote and David Robert Mitchell’s Under the Silver Lake.

In Bad Times at the El Royale, seven strangers -each with a secret to bury- meet at Lake Tahoe’s El Royale, a rundown hotel with a dark past. Over the course of one fateful night, everyone will have a last shot at redemption… before everything goes to hell. Jeff Bridges, Chris Hemsworth, Jon Hamm, Dakota Johnson, and Cynthia Erivo lead an all-star cast in the feature.

Karyn Kusama will also be in attendance alongside screenwriter/producer Phil Hay to present their gritty noir thriller Destroyer starring Nicole Kidman in an astonishing role as detective Erin Bell, as well as the U.S. Premiere of Jonah Hill’s directorial debut Mid90s with the writer/director Jonah Hill in attendance.

Also debuting at the festival is the North American Premiere of Terry Gilliam’s long-awaited The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, with Adam Driver as the world-weary ad man taken on a fantastical journey by Jonathan Pryce’s Don Quixote. And David Robert Mitchell’s Cannes sensation slacker-noir Under the Silver Lake, starring Andrew Garfield and Riley Keough, will have its U.S. Premiere at the Festival.

Fantastic Fest deepens its cornucopia of genre titles from across the globe, including the World premiere of Quarxx’s visually hypnotic All the Gods In the Sky, the International premiere of Polish-children-vs-rabid-dogs thriller Werewolf, and the North American Premiere of Venice Critics Week closer Dachra, the first-ever horror film to come out of Tunisia.

Further additions to the program include the World Premiere of the new thrill ride from Nicolas Cage and Franka Potente, Between Worlds, the World Premiere of the brilliant documentary After the Screaming Stops about the iconic ’80s musicians Matt & Luke Goss and the band Bros, and the U.S. Premiere of the terrifying frontier horror masterwork The Wind.

“2018 has been one of the most challenging programs to put together for Fantastic Fest, with a plethora of quality titles turning up at every stage,” said Fantastic Fest Creative Director Evrim Ersoy. “Even as we try to lock our program, we are confronted with brilliant, outstanding cinema and are determined to cram all of it into our program and dazzle Austin.”

RELATED: Fantastic Fest 2018 Second Wave Programming Announced

With Halloween debuting on opening night, it was inevitable that Fantastic Fest would champion the most important of all holidays with an omega-powerful Halloween-themed costume/music/sugar/dance party. Candy buffet! Apple bobbing! Ghoulish bands! And more will shake the walls of The Highball, with legitimately major prizes given out for the best and most horrific outfits, so dress to distress!

Tenacious D is also scheduled to appear in person at the festival to premiere their six-part animated series Tenacious D In Post-Apocalypto, hand-drawn by none other than Jack Black himself! True to its title, the series finds Tenacious D thrust into a world of complete and utter destruction. See them battle for the survival of the human race, then watch them perform LIVE in a post-screening pre-apocalyptic music set that will shake the pillars of the universe!

The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies will be at hand at this year’s Fantastic Fest to present a one-off special lecture by academic and scholar Alexandra Heller-Nicholas titled “Ghouls to the Front: Rethinking Women’s Horror Filmmaking” where she will be exploring examples from around the world from 1898 to 2018 of women’s horror filmmaking finding ways we can collectively rethink the history of horror more broadly to be more inclusive, more representative, and more fun.

Fantastic Fest is also delighted to announce the Jury Presidents for the four competition categories for the 2018 edition of Fantastic Fest. Co-president and co-founder of Sony Pictures Classics Michael Barker will be overseeing the Main Competition Jury, academic and writer Alexandra Heller-Nicholas will be the head of Horror Competition Jury, Toronto International Film Festival programming associate Dorota Lech will lead the Next Wave Jury, and director/animator Don Hertzfeldt will be heading the Shorts Competition Jury. Further details can be found at: https://fantasticfest.com/jury.

Fantastic Fest is also happy to announce the addition of Maya Perez to its advisory board. Maya Perez is a writer and producer. Her work has appeared in Electric Literature, The Masters Review, Misadventures Magazine, and she is co-editor of the books On Story – Screenwriters and Their Craft, On Story – Screenwriters and Filmmakers on Their Iconic Films, and On Story – The Golden Ages of Television, all from the University of Texas Press. She is also a producer on the television series Austin Film Festival’s On Story, now in its eighth season on PBS. Maya is a 2018 recipient of a SFFILM Westridge Grant and teaches screenwriting at the University of Texas at Austin.

Final Wave Film Lineup:

AFTER THE SCREAMING STOPS

United Kingdom, 2018

World Premiere, 97 min

Directors – Joe Pearlman & David Soutar

In Attendance – Directors Joe Pearlman and David Soutar

Matt and Luke Goss were part of Bros, one of the biggest bands of the 1980s. With a number one album and sold out concerts at stadiums across the world, the rise of the band was meteoric… sharply followed by their downfall. Now, the two brothers reunite for the gig of a lifetime, facing fractured relationships, a new musical landscape, and the changes that time brings. Can they rekindle the magic and make Bros come alive once again?

ALL THE GODS IN THE SKY

France, 2018

World Premiere, 98 min

Director – Quarxx

In Attendance – Director Quarxx

Simon lives in an old house in the countryside with his severely disabled sister. He takes care of her day after day, hoping that “they” will come to ease their pain. The date of “their” arrival approaches.

BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE

USA 2018

Texas Premiere, Run time not final

Director – Drew Goddard

Seven strangers, each with a secret to bury, meet at Lake Tahoe’s El Royale, a rundown hotel with a dark past. Over the course of one fateful night, everyone will have a last shot at redemption… before everything goes to hell. Jeff Bridges, Chris Hemsworth, Jon Hamm, Dakota Johnson, and Cynthia Erivo lead an all-star cast in Bad Times at the El Royale.

BETWEEN WORLDS

USA, 2018

World Premiere, 90 min

Director – Maria Pulera

Nicolas Cage plays Joe, a lonely trucker whose new girlfriend’s daughter is possessed with the spirit of Joe’s recently deceased wife, creating a love triangle no synopsis can do justice to.

THE BLOOD OF WOLVES

Japan, 2018

Regional Premiere, 126 min

Director – Kazuya Shiraishi

In the neon-soaked streets of 1988 Hiroshima, experienced detective Ogami Shogo is forced to partner with greenhorn Hioka Shuichi to investigate a routine disappearance case. Soon they’re in the midst of a full-blown yakuza war that threatens to destroy all that the two men hold dear.

THE BOUNCER

France, Belgium, 2018

North American Premiere, 82 min

Director – Julien Leclercq

Representing the moody, grimy, realistic return of JCVD to more dramatic roles, The Bouncer wows with a taut, contained approach to crime and violence, and one father’s fight to save his daughter.

CLOSE ENEMIES

France, 2018

US Premiere, 111 min

Director – David Oelhoffen

A gangster film with heart, Close Enemies refers to Driss and Manuel, childhood friends now on either side of the law, who discover the sacrifices both are willing to make in the name of family in this Paris-set contemporary thriller.

DACHRA

Tunisia, 2018

North American Premiere, 113 min

Director – Abdelhamid Bouchnak

Come for Tunisia’s first horror film, following three students’ filmed investigation of weird rumors in a remote village, and stay for the sickening madness, macabre witchcraft, ghastly beheadings, and gory cannibalism.

DEADWAX

USA, 2018

Regional Premiere, 110 min

Director – Graham Reznick

A young woman is pulled into a murder investigation revolving around a curious vinyl record which has driven those who possess it mad, and killed anyone who dared to listen to it.

DESTROYER

USA, 2018

Texas Premiere, 123 min

Director – Karyn Kusama

In Attendance – Director Karyn Kusama and Screenwriter/Producer Phil Hay

Nicole Kidman gives the performance of a lifetime as LAPD detective Erin Bell, a human weapon of escalating vengeance, in the brilliantly grounded new drama-action-thriller from Karyn Kusama.

FLASH GORDON

United Kingdom, USA, The Netherlands, 1980

Repertory Screening, 111 min

Director – Mike Hodges

He’s here to save every one of us! Heroic earthling Flash Gordon protects the world from the nefarious Ming the Merciless in this lavish, majestically camp adaptation of Alex Raymond’s legendary sci-fi comic strip.

FOLKLORE: MONGDAL

Malaysia, Korea, Singapore, 2018

World Premiere, 49 min

Director – Lee Sang Woo

Lee Sang-Woo turns his camera on an unusual child and his mother in a visually striking and scary episode of HBO Folklore.

FOLKLORE: TOYOL

Malaysia, Korea, Singapore, 2018

World Premiere, 49 min

Director – Ho Yuhang

Ho Yuang explores a strange and frightening relationship between a politician with a problem and a shaman who promises the solution in an episode of HBO Folklore that’s deeply rooted in Malaysian legends.

I USED TO BE NORMAL: A BOYBAND FANGIRL STORY

Australia, 2018

US Premiere, 96 min

Director – Jessica Leski

In Attendance – Producer Rita Walsh

The lives of four women from across the globe are radically changed by their deep love of boy bands in this fascinating, joyful exploration of intense fandom.

LEVEL 16

Canada, 2018

World Premiere, 102 min

Director – Danishka Esterhazy

In Attendance – Writer/Director Danishka Esterhazy and Producers Judy Holm and Michael McNamara

The teenage girls of Vestalis Academy are meticulously trained in the art of being “clean girls,” practicing the virtues of perfect femininity. But what exactly are they being trained for? Vivien intends to find out.

LIFE AFTER FLASH

United Kingdom, 2018

Texas Premiere, 94 min

Director – Lisa Downs

In Attendance – Director Lisa Downs and Actor Sam J. Jones

Celebrating the iconic FLASH GORDON and focusing on the fascinating, unusual, and untold story of actor Sam J. Jones, the man behind the sparkly suit, Life After Flash is a celebration, an exploration, and a joyful scream all at once!

LORDS OF CHAOS

USA, 2018

Texas Premiere, 112 min

Director – Jonas Åkerlund

Based on the biography of the same name, Lords of Chaos is the tale of an Oslo teenager who launches Norwegian black metal, setting off a chain of events that have made his band, Mayhem, infamous for decades.

THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE

Spain, France, Belgium, Portugal, 2018

North American Premiere, 132 min

Director – Terry Gilliam

Once-ambitious advertising man Toby finds himself revisiting a student film he made long before his world became monochrome. Re-teaming with the Spanish cobbler he cast in the film who genuinely believes he’s Don Quixote, Toby embarks on a soul-searching journey of magical proportions.

MID90S

USA, 2018

US Premiere, 84 minutes

Director – Jonah Hill

In Attendance – Writer/Director Jonah Hill

Written and directed by Jonah Hill, Mid90s follows Stevie, a thirteen-year-old in 90s-era LA who spends his summer navigating between his troubled home life and a group of new friends that he meets at a Motor Avenue skate shop.

MODEST HEROES: PONOC SHORT FILMS THEATRE, VOL. 1

Japan, 2018

North American Premiere, 53 min

Directors – Hiromasa Yonebayashi & Yoshiyuki Momose & Akihiko Yamashita

Delve into the world of Studio Ponoc and discover a trio of brilliant creations: lost crab siblings, a bizarre allergy to eggs, and an invisible man having an unusual day.

THE QUAKE

Norway, 2018

Texas Premiere, 105 min

Director – John Andreas Anderson

This sequel to The Wave follows the same family, off to Oslo where the earth will shake again. The experts warned that it would! Expect death, drama, and awesome SFX. ‘Nuff said.

SHADOW

China, 2018

US Premiere, 116 min

Director – Zhang Yimou

Zhang Yimou returns to the screen with an explosive tale of intrigue and action set within the warring Three Kingdoms. A wild and ambitious ruler, his loyal but cunning commander, and a double he’s set up as insurance play games of deceit as war rages through their kingdom.

SLUT IN A GOOD WAY

Canada, 2018

Texas Premiere, 89 min

Director – Sophie Lorain

Charlotte and her best friends Mégane and Aube must navigate their first times, first jobs, and first loves in this hilarious and touching Quebecois sex comedy.

STRIKE, DEAR MISTRESS, AND CURE HIS HEART

USA, 2018

World Premiere, 71 min

Director – Mickey Reece

Inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s Autumn Sonata and conjured by a remarkably prolific obscure auteur who’s been averaging two feature films a year since 2008, this offbeat and oft-chilling indie discovery depicts the uncanny psychological duress endured by the newlywed proprietors of an ancient hotel following the arrival of an estranged matriarch.

UNDER THE SILVER LAKE

USA, 2018

US Premiere, 139 min

Director – David Robert Mitchell

From the dazzling imagination that brought you It Follows comes a delirious neo-noir fever dream about one man’s search for the truth behind the mysterious crimes, murders, and disappearances in his East L.A. neighborhood.

WEREWOLF

Poland, The Netherlands, Germany, 2018

International Premiere, 88 min

Director – Adrian Panek

In a makeshift orphanage forgotten by most, a group of children who just survived the Holocaust find themselves preyed upon by a pack of wolf dogs. Their fight for freedom has only just begun.

WHITE FIRE

France, Turkey, United Kingdom, 1984

North American Premiere of 2K Restoration, 98 min

Director – Jean-Marie Pallardy

A small team of diamond smugglers stumbles upon the location of the supernatural white fire diamond, but competing criminals pose deadly challenges in this forgotten and truly bizarre gem from 1985.

THE WIND

USA, 2018

US Premiere, 89 min

Director – Emma Tammi

In Attendance – Director Emma Tammi

In Emma Tammi’s narrative debut The Wind, the forces of nature in the isolated prairies of the American Wild West are playing tricks on Lizzy. Her paranoia only grows with the arrival of a mysterious young woman.

THE WORLD IS YOURS

France, 2018

Regional Premiere, 100 min

Director – Romain Gavras

Nothing goes as planned when a Parisian mid-level dealer must complete one last delivery to escape the drug life and open a Mr. Freeze franchise in Romain Gavras’ (Our Day Will Come) instant heist-comedy classic.

YOU MIGHT BE THE KILLER

USA, 2018

World Premiere, 92 min

Director – Brett Simmons

In Attendance – Director Brett Simmons

Counselors are being killed off at summer camp, and Sam (Fran Kranz) is stuck in the middle of it. Instead of contacting the cops, he calls his friend and slasher-film expert (Alyson Hannigan) to discuss his options.

Fantastic Fest will begin Thursday, September 20 and end Thursday, September 27 at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar in Austin, TX. SUPERFAN Badges, FAN Badges, 2ND HALF Badges, and MIDNIGHT Badges for Fantastic Fest 2018 are available for purchase here.