Fantasia Festival is for lovers; lovers of kitsch trash, gory horror and Asian beat-em ups. For three weeks every July, Montreal turns into a home-from-home for film lovers, geeks and rebels. And what a home it is; the festival spreads everywhere, storefronts, bars, local media and on the streets in the form of crazy queues and vast draping banners.
No one can exactly put their finger on how Fantasia became North America’s largest genre festival – can you imagine FRIGHTFEST or Sci-Fi London selling out screenings for three weeks? But a lot of its success comes down to some seriously inventive programming.
Alongside Canadian premieres of much-awaited gross-outs like A Serbian Film and The Human Centipede, this year’s line-up also showed a pristine-looking The Land Before Time (1988), with its anti-Disney animator Don Bluth in attendance. Three thousand people crammed in to watch the restored print of Lang’s Metropolis (1927) accompanied by Gabriel Thibaudeau’s new score. And Britain’s own Ken Russell flew over and introduced a standing-room-only screening of his 1971 film, The Devils. Many were turned away and a mop-up show had to be scheduled because demand was sky-high. All this for a movie that is 39-years-old.
In fact, the festival held a full-on Russell retrospective with 35mm prints of movies like The Lair Of The White Worm (1988) and Women In Love (1969) playing alongside a gallery of the 83-year-old film-maker’s (really rather strong) black and white photos from London in the fifties.
However, there was plenty of contemporary fare to be found as well. Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim Vs The World was an early sell-out, as fans prepared to dye their hair pink in honour of the much-hyped film. Another British director also contributed a standout film to the fray; Simon Rumley with his new-wave horror film, Red, White and Blue. Filmed in location in Austin, Texas, this distinctly art-house horror takes character inspiration from the teen layabouts depicted by Larry Clark and Gus van Sant, throwing in some brutal comeuppance Chan-wook Park-style. An artful genre-bender, it’s certainly one to look out for when it hits FILM4 FRIGHTFEST on August 30.
Another contemporary treat came from new director, Nick Tomnay. The Perfect Host, not a perfect film by any means, has a perky pace and inspired casting. Frasier’s David Hyde Pierce takes the lead as a Niles Crane-like obsessive with murderous intent while rising star Clayne Crawford makes for a pleasingly venomous victim. It cranks a lot out of its low budget, capturing a seedy side of upper-class LA too rarely seen. And although it sags in the final third, The Perfect Host signals Tomnay as one to watch in the future. That’s Fantasia for you; choice cuts hand-picked by dedicated programmers with an eye on what is too commonly overlooked.
Fantasia Festival is held over July in Montreal, Canada. Check it out next year!
