It’s been a long time since I’ve been inside SXSW — four years, in fact, when I lived in Austin. SXSW really sets itself apart from others with its diversity in film. Here’s where you’ll see big studio movies, as well as little indies that would forever be in the shadows if it weren’t for festivals like SXSW. The latter is why I love attending these things called film festivals — discovery. Here are some films I know very little about but am jazzed to see. - Chase Whale
One & Two
One & Two is this year’s festival movie I’m going to walk in blind. That’s film critic-speak for “don’t know shit about it.” What I do know is it is s co-writer and director Andrew Droz Palermo's first feature Rich Hill shook me to the bone when I saw it at Sundance some years back. This is his second feature, first narrative and I’m ready to see how much flair he brings to fiction that he banged out with non-fiction. - Chase Whale
Manglehorn
I take it back, I don’t know what David Gordon Green’s Manglehorn is about either but it’s a David Gordon Green movie made by David Gordon Green and not [insert any major studio name here] so I’m going to be first in line to see it. - Chase Whale
Just Jim
Richard Ayoade’s Submarine was my favorite films of 2010. A large part of that was its star, Craig Roberts. He brought a lot of charm to a character so witty, snappy, and full of shit. Roberts is now 24 and his directorial debut, Just Jim, is having its world premiere at SXSW, so I’m hoping his first feature as a filmmaker brings down the house. The only person who won’t be in the house when it premieres is its star, Emile Hirsch. Type in his name in Google if you’re not following me. - Chase Whale
Entertainment
In 2012, Rick Alverson made the most repulsive movie of the year. It’s called The Comedy, chances are you haven’t seen it or have and hate it, but it’s a movie I love to death and think about to this very day (especially that opening number song by Donnie & Joe Emerson). His new movie is called Entertainment and I hope it’s as filthy as his last. - Chase Whale
Hello, My Name is Doris
Hello, My Name is Doris finds Sally Field pursuing young love after the instruction of a self-help seminar. The resulting mayhem to ensue involves Field’s unwittingly becoming the center of a young trending hipster hub. Hopefully the film is closer to Hal Ashby’s Harold and Maude than Baumbach’s While We’re Young, but knowing writer/director, Michael Showalter, who is a third of the brilliant comedy troupe Stella, Hello My Name is Doris will be a unique force unto itself - Zach Gayne
Headliners
Deathgasm
Is Deathgasm the best title at SXSW? The answer surely depends on whom you ask, but to many diehards of SXSW’s Midnighters program, the answer may very well be, yes! Whether or not the title grabs you, the films premise, which consists of two metal-heads unwitting summoning evil forces, is sure to turn heads. Though films like Rock 'n Roll Nightmare and Black Roses are far from potent arguments for the compatibility of horror and rock 'n roll, I remain convinced that the combination is capable of producing gold. Will Deathgasm be the case in point? I hope so! - Zach Gayne
Midnighters
Manson Family Vacation
As someone who can sadly say they’ve actually taken the Manson family vacation - that is, has driven by certain unsettling Manson haunts - I'm more than a little intrigued by J. Davis' new film, Manson Family Vacation. MFV follows two brothers on a trip to LA. One is obsessed with their family, the other with the Manson family. Hopefully the film will be as funny as its premise, while also offering valid links between family and the morbid curiosity surrounding one of the centuries most fascinatingly bizarre murder cases that, to this day, still captivates so many people. - Zach Gayne
Narrative Feature Competition
Human Highway (Director's Cut)
Something wonderful has happened in the world of director, Bernard Shakey, or as he’s better known, Neil Young! Shakey has taken his first directorial narrative Human Highway - a wackadoo satire about the perils of operating a gas station next to a leaking nuclear power plant - and rescued the 1982 relic from deep obscurity.
Any diehard fan who has gotten their hands on Human Highway in the last 30+ years has experienced the film via horribly dilapidated copies made from questionable prints. Also, until now, the only cut available featured a blatantly interesting film pillaged in the editing room. Ever the eff-you artist, Shakey’s initial cut was a snail-paced test of audience patience that ran far too long and buried the comedic gold contained within.
Now available in its best form, Human Highway finally plays as it always should have - as a hysterically weird and funny vehicle for DEVO, not to mention Young himself, who shines as the ‘quirky’ gas station operator, to make absurd light of nuclear anxiety. Human Highway is a cult classic! Who knew? - Zach Gayne
Special Events
We Are Still Here
Debut horror directors like Ted Geoghegan are always a gamble. Yet I look at the people who signed up to make this movie with him, from Larry Fessenden to Barbara Crampton to Travis Stevens to Karim Hussain, and I think, 'Maybe they know something.' I'd love to get creeped out on Sunday night.- Peter Martin
The Invitation
I've heard nothing about this film. But I know that director Karyn Kusama gave Jennifer's Body a raggedly different (and welcome) horror tempo, and the premise -- a wife who returns two years after a tragedy, but eerily different -- holds a lot of potential. I'll be holding my breath on opening night and hoping for the best.- Peter Martin
The Ectasy of Wilko Johnson
Julian Temple has long run ahead of the pack with his documentary work. This time he follows a legendary musician who is given a fatal diagnosis and so embarks on a farewell tour. Will he live? Will he die? I have no idea, but I know enough about Temple to anticipate that the film will surprise in a distinctive manner. - Peter Martin
The Road Warrior
The greatest movie ever made. Respect must be paid. - Peter Martin