Borders Line: The 34 Countries Represented At Fantastic Fest

I take you through each of the 34 countries represented at Fantastic Fest and every feature film they have to offer.

By Sep. 15, 2011

Fantastic Fest is exactly a week away, and I personally can’t think about anything else. I’m not even lying to you guys when I tell you that I’ve been having Fantastic Fest-related dreams lately. I am so obsessed! So I thought I’d take a minute to walk you through the 34 countries represented at this year’s festival. 34 countries! I can’t even name 34 countries offhand! I am, however, astonishingly terrible at geography.

Argentina

PENUMBRA, 2011, directed by Adrian Garcia Bogliano, horror. Stone-cold, high-powered attorney Marga is trapped in her apartment in a shady neighborhood during an eclipse.

Australia

THE LOVED ONES, 2009, directed by Sean Byrne, horror. A girl who is rejected by her dream date to prom kidnaps and tortures him.

SNOWTOWN, 2011, directed by Justin Kurzel, thriller. Based on the true story of serial killer John Bunting.

Austria

MICHAEL, 2011, directed by Markus Schleinzer, drama. The film portrays five months in the life of a pedophile and his young, incarcerated victim.

Belgium

BULLHEAD, 2011, directed by Michael R. Roskam, thriller. A glimpse into the world of steroid addiction and the beef hormone black market.

KILL ME PLEASE, 2010, directed by Olias Barco, black comedy. A delightful tale about the world’s foremost euthanasia clinic.

TWO EYES STARING, 2009, directed by Elbert van Strien, horror. 9-year-old Lisa and her family move to a new house and Lisa gains an imaginary friend. If those two pieces of information don’t give you the chills, then welcome to your very first horror movie!

Brazil

ELITE SQUAD: THE ENEMY WITHIN, 2010, directed by José Padilha, action/thriller. A harrowing look into BOPE, Brazil’s badass elite military squad.

POLVORA NEGRA, 2011, directed by Kapel Furman, action/thriller. A man left for dead by criminals returns years later as a hired hitman working for the same men who gunned him down and murdered his sister.

Canada

THE CORRIDOR, 2010, directed by Evan Kelley, sci-fi/horror. A group of friends enjoy a rustic reunion at a wooded cabin and some supernatural shit goes down.

MANBORG, 2011, directed by Steven John Kostanski, sci-fi/comedy. A killing machine dude-bot is our only chance to send this demon back into hell! Sounds so awesome!

China

LET THE BULLETS FLY, 2010, directed by Wen Jang, action/comedy. A bandit/train heist/scam artist film starring Chow Yun Fat.

Colombia

THE SQUAD, 2010, directed by Jaime Osorio, action/horror. A special ops team comes upon a pile of corpses surrounded by devil-protection markings, and the team members soon become trapped in the Colombian mountains.

Cuba

JUAN OF THE DEAD, 2011, directed by Alejandro Brugués, comedy/horror. Cuba is facing a new revolution of the zombie variety.

Denmark

CLOWN, 2010, directed by Mikkel Nørgaard, comedy. A buddy canoe trip goes haywire. A feature from the Scandinavian television series by the same name.

MELANCHOLIA, 2011, directed by Lars von Trier, drama/sci-fi. The night before her wedding, depression-addled Justine continues to destroy her personal world while in the sky above her, a looming planet threatens to destroy the actual world.

France

BORDERLINE, 2010, directed by Alexandre Coffre, crime/comedy. A found bag of illicit contents shakes things up in the tedious marriage of David and Christine.

CALIBRE 9, 2011, directed by Jean-Christian Tassy, action/fantasy. A bureaucrat is compelled by a gun possessed by a dead prostitute.

CARRE BLANC, 2011, directed by Jean-Baptiste Léonetti, sci-fi. Marie will do anything to prove that her husband still loves her and to rescue him from his soul-sucking career.

LAST SCREENING, 2011, directed by Laurent Achard, horror. A giallo about the only employee of a tiny cinema and his dark, secret life.

LIVID, 2010, directed by Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo, horror. From the makers of Inside, one of the scariest movies I’ve ever seen! A horrific fairy tale about a group of petty thieves and their fantastical discovery.

SLEEPLESS NIGHT, 2011, directed by Frédéric Jardin, crime. Dirty cops and drug kingpins battle it out on the streets of Paris.

Germany

SNOWMANS LAND, 2011, directed by Tomasz Thomson, crime/comedy. An old, incompetent hitman takes a job that proves to be more than he can handle.

URBAN EXPLORER, 2011, directed by Andy Fetscher, horror. A group of young, good-looking urban adventurers sign up to explore the underground tunnel network of Berlin and soon  find themselves in a treacherous situation.

Hong Kong

REVENGE: A LOVE STORY, 2010, directed by Ching Po Wong, horror. A wronged man reaches terrible depths in his quest for vengeance.

MOVIES ON FIRE: HONG KONG ACTION CLASSICS, multiple. A Hong Kong grindhouse smorgasbord.

Iceland

SUMMERLAND, 2010, directed by Grímur Hákonarson, fantasy/comedy. Oscar and Lara have a super weird marriage. Lara converses with elves and Oscar runs a haunted house in their basement.

Ireland

KNUCKLE, 2010, directed by Ian Palmer, documentary. A gritty look into the world of Irish bare-knuckle brawling. It’s important to know more about this phenomenon before you see Drafthouse owner Tim League fight Knuckle star James Quinn McDonagh because he is insane.

Israel

RABIES, 2010, directed by Aharon Keshales and Novat Papushadu, horror. A brother and sister running away from home chose the wrong park for hiding.

Italy

THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY, 1981, directed by Lucio Fulci, horror. Fulci! I love this movie so much. A New York family moves into a haunted mansion and before long, the bloodshed is abundant.

ZOMBIE, 1979, directed by Lucio Fulci, horror. FULCI! This film is one of the greatest. Zombie features a zombie fighting a shark underwater, and if you need more information to compel you to watch this movie then I feel like I don’t even know you.

Japan

AARDVARK, 2010, directed by Kitao Sakurai, drama. A blind man finds himself drawn into a sinister world.

BODY TEMPERATURE, 2011, directed by Takaomi Ogata, drama. A journey into the love affair a young man has with his sex doll.

A BOY AND HIS SAMURAI, 2010, directed by Yoshihiro Nakamura, fantasy. A harried single mom finds her life turned upside down when her son becomes attached to a time-traveling samurai.

BOYS ON THE RUN, 2010, directed by Daisuke Miura, comedy. Tanishi’s an awkward 29-year-old virgin who has a chance to turn his life around with Chiharu. But when she cheats on him, he aims for revenge.

KARATE ROBO ZABORGAR, 2011, directed by Noboru Iguchi, action/comedy. A bizarre spoof of the 70s tokusatsu TV show.

MILOCRORZE, A LOVE STORY, 2010, directed by Yoshimasa Ishibasha. A surreal musical samurai love story!

SMUGGLER, 2011, directed by Katsuhito Ishii, crime/comedy. A gangster comedy featuring a failed actor and an assassin.

UNDERWATER LOVE, 2011, directed by Shinji Imaoka, fantasy/pink. A kinky musical featuring a fish factory worker and her love affair with a mythical creature.

VERSUS, 2000, directed by Ryuhei Kitamura, action. The 10th anniversary of this ultraviolent action-packed yakuza flick will feature star Tak Sakaguchi and writer Yudai Yamaguchi live in person!

YAKUZA WEAPON, 2011, directed by Tak Sakaguchi and Yudai Yamaguchi, action/comedy. A yakuza with a machine gun arm and rocket launcher leg is pretty much all you need to know about this movie.

ZOMBIE ASS, 2011, directed by Noboru Iguchi, comedy/horror. A mad scientist experiments on zombies with alien parasites.

Korea

HAUNTERS, 2010, directed by Kim Min-suk, action. This Korean hit is a dark superhero thriller.

Malaysia

BUNOHAN, 2011, directed by Dain Said, drama. A story of three estranged brothers and their father.

Mexico

EL INFIERNO, 2010, directed by Luis Estrada, black comedy. A rags-to-riches story about a peasant who grows into a crime lord.

Netherlands

THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE 2 (FULL SEQUENCE), 2011, directed by Tom Six, horror. Maybe you’ve heard a little about this movie? Tim League says it’s “sure to be one of the most controversial films of our time.”

NEW KIDS TURBO, 2010, directed by Steffen Haars and Flip van der Kuil, action/comedy. Unemployed, mulleted, mustachioed, motorcycle-riding idiots decide to take a stand against the government.

Norway

HEADHUNTERS, 2011, directed by Morten Tyldum, thriller. A Napoleon-complexed con man decides to do one last job.

YOU SAID WHAT?, 2011, directed by Nini Bull Robsahmand Patrik Syversen, fantasy/romance. A film that  takes the premise of Miike’s Audition and re-envisions it as a fantastical rom-com with a  papier-mâché dragon.

Russia

THE STOKER, 2010, directed by Alexey Balabanov, drama. A gory crime drama about Afghanistan vet Ivan, the titular stoker of coals.

South Africa

HOW TO STEAL TWO MILLION, 2011, directed by Charlie Vundla, action. A noir about a man freed from prison who needs to make one last score so he can go clean.

South Korea

BLIND, 2011, directed by Ahn Sang-hoon, thriller. A police officer is nearly killed and blinded during a car accident; she must now learn to cope with her disability in order to protect herself from a serial killer.

INVASION OF ALIEN BIKINI, 2011, directed by Oh Young-doo, sci-fi/comedy. The title says it all, except for the fact that this clever film was made for under $5000!

THE YELLOW SEA, 2011, directed by Hong-jin Na, crime drama. From the director and stars of the spectacular Fantastic Fest 2008 fave The Chaser, an action-packed crime epic.

Spain

EXTRATERRESTRIAL, 2011, directed by Nacho Vigalondo, sci-fi/romance. This film has garnered a ton of buzz at TIFF and other festivals. An alien invasion complicates the personal relationships of four neighbors.

SLEEP TIGHT, 2011, directed by Jaume Balagueró, thriller. From the writer and co-director of REC and REC 2, a thriller about a doorman and his unhealthy obsession with a tenant in the apartment building where he works.

Switzerland

SENNENTUNTSCHI: CURSE OF THE ALPS, 2010, directed by Michael Steiner, horror. A tiny village in the Alps suffers disturbances after the death of a priest and the appearance of a young woman.
United Kingdom
THE DEVIL’S BUSINESS, 2011, directed by Sean Hogan, horror. Two hitmen face first their inner demons and then some literal demons.
THE HOLDING, 2011, directed by Susan Jacobson, horror. A woman with a secret takes in a drifter on her farm and is forced to face her past.
A LONELY PLACE TO DIE, 2011, directed by Julian Gilbey, thriller. A high-stakes survival chase across rural Scotland.
RETREAT, 2011, directed by Carl Tibbetts, thriller. A romantic getaway for a couple takes a dangerous turn.
United States
AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, 1981, directed by John Landis, horror. You see, there’s this American werewolf. And he’s in London. Oh, you’ve heard of it?
BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW, 2011, directed by Panos Cosmatos, sci-fi. A trippy, visionary, sci-fi dystopian film.
COMIC-CON EPISODE FOUR: A FAN’S HOPE, 2011, directed by Morgan Spurlock, documentary. Spurlock follows seven fans on their journey into Comic-Con.
COMIN’ AT YA! 3D, 2011, directed by Ferdinando Baldi, western. A remastered 3D film that really makes use of that third dimension with shit flying in your face non-stop!
THE DAY, 2011, directed by Doug Aarniokoski, thriller. A post-apocalyptic survival film.
THE INKEEPERS, 2010, directed by Ti West, horror. Hotel employees working their last night are forced to deal with ghosthunters determined to prove the hotel is haunted.
JULIA X, 2011, directed by P.J. Pettiette, horror/comedy. A sexy serial killer (yep!) is taken by surprise when his latest victim fights back in 3D!
TAKE SHELTER, 2011, directed by Jeff Nichols, thriller. Curtis is facing horrific nightmares about the end of the world, and severe waking paranoia causes him to create an underground shelter.
YOU’RE NEXT, 2011, directed by Adam Wingard, horror. A family reunion takes a terrifying turn with the appearance of a group of masked killers.
And those are just the feature films! We also have shorts from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States. See, now this is the kind of geography I can dig.

Comments