Coming up in November, the Ithaca International Fantastic Film Festival 2015 edition is set to rock the upstate NY college town with some inspirational freakiness. The festival has teamed up with new horror streaming provider Shudder to present the retrospective series Organic Horror: Obsession with Body Alterations. Not for the squeamish, the series will include horror classics, such as Georges Franju's Eyes Without A Face, Andrej Zulawski's Possession, Shinya Tsukamoto's Tetsuo, Takeshi Miike's Audition, and David Cronenberg's Shivers, restored for its 40th anniversary.
The first title wave also includes films about to play Fantastic Fest, and some that have screened at TIFF and the Stanley Film Festival. Attendees can see Mads Mikkelsen act smarmy and gross in Anders Thomas Jensen's twisted Men & Chicken, Antoine Bardou-Jacquet's fake moon landing comedy Moonwalkers, Karyn Kusama's Twilight Zone-influenced The Invitation, Julien Seri's revenge film Night Fare, as well as Mickey Keating 60's homage Darling.
Classic horror and Edgar Allan Poe fans will really enjoy the special presentation this year, Jean Epstein's haunting adaption of The Fall Of The House Of Usher, which was co-written by Luis Bunuel (Un Chien Andalou). Even better, the film will be enhanced by a live score from internationally renowned artist Anna Coogan.
In addition to the already-incredible line up of films, the fest will host an art exhibition featuring Chet Zar's nightmarish monster portraits. Chet and director Mike Correll will present the documentary I Like To Paint Monsters featuring Chet's inspirational work.
I'm going, and I hope that the official festival posters (see above) will be available onsite, because Steve Ellis' design and illustration are utterly fantastic.
The full programming and events schedule will be released on October 15th. For more info, check out the IIFFF site here.
Men & Chicken- Denmark
Anders Thomas Jensen
Superstar Mads
Mikkelsen reunites with director Anders Thomas Jensen, and, as you would expect
from the pair behind the Danish outcast comedy ADAM'S APPLES, the product is a
satisfyingly twisted Danish tale. After the death of their father, two brothers
learn that they were actually adopted. They set out to look for their real
father, and discover something quite troubling...
The Invitation- USA
Karyn Kusama
A seemingly innocent
reunion amongst old friends and past lovers slowly takes a dark turn as tensions
rise and anxieties bubble to the surface. Kusama's feature slowly morphs into
one of the more original takes on Rod Serling's Twilight Zone that
we've seen in years! THE INVITATION is a treat for the eyes, and the mind, and
is sure to be one of this year's festival favorites!
Night Fare- France
Julien Seri
Two friends reunite in
Paris for a weekend of parties, but after an encounter with a taxi driver,
their plans start to fall apart. Take a heaping dose of Bill Lustig's MANIAC;
mix in a dash of Spielberg's DUEL; shake for a solid five minutes; serve in a
chilled martini glass with an ice cube. This gives you: NIGHT FARE - a fresh
homage to a beloved genre and style, and an unusual piece of cinema coming from
the land of the French New Wave.
Darling- USA
Mickey Keating
This nightmarish
black and white psychological horror centered around a
mysterious Manhattan mansion and its innocent, new
caretaker. Keating's latest effort is a slick and clever meta-homage
to the 1960's, pre-American New Horror. DARLING is like a nicely aged Bordeaux
- something so good that we can't help giving everyone a taste.
Moonwalkers- France
Antoine Bardou-Jacquet
A CIA agent and a
rock band manager end up forming an unlikely duo in a epic quest to find
Stanley Kubrick and fake the 1969 Moon landing. If you're one of the
select few who believes Kubrick faked the moon landing, then this is the film
for you! With an out of this world (hah!) cast - Ron Perlman, Rupert Grint -
MOONWALKERS has nailed the subject in one of the most hilarious comedies we've
seen this year.
Remix, Replay, RipOff- Germany
Cem Kaya
Who among us, while
wasting time on YouTube, hasn't stumbled upon some amazingly weird gems like
Turkish STAR WARS, Turkish E.T. or Turkish THE EXORCIST? And who among us hasn't
wondered, WTF? This doc has answers for you! It showcases one of the most
underrated, international film industries, and is the perfect gateway for our
mini-series on Turkish Cinema: The Outta-Mind Empire!
Siccin 2- Turkey
Alper Mestci
The perfect mix of
black magic and family drama, SICCIN 2 is visually stunning and endlessly
spooky. We are launched into a swirl of crazy events, and the only way out is
detailed in a book; Siccin, The Book of Sins. This is an ideal
entry point for our mini-series The Outta-Mind Empire, and is this year's must
see horror entry from Turkey!
Lake Nowhere- USA
Christopher Phelps and
Maxim Van Scoy
You like 70s slasher
films? Then this is for you, kids! Clever gimmicks and classic tropes with a
damn original story, NOWHERE is everything we want to see on screen, and the
70s vibe makes it the perfect pairing for the amazing IN SEARCH OF THE ULTRA SEX!
In Search of the Ultra
Sex- France
Nicolas Charlet and
Bruno Lavaine
The Ultra-Sex is lost
and the world is plunged into a frenzied, worldwide orgy! Stitching together
hilarious and hardcore excerpts from 70s porn and sexy films (with notable
guest appearances by the sexy Power Rangers and sultry Wonder Woman) and
dialogue dubbed over, ULTRA SEX is an Unidentified Filming Object of the first
kind - and one experience not to miss at this year's festival!
Raiders of the Lost
Ark: The Adaptation- USA
Eric Zala
If you think you're a
hardcore fan of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, think again: Zala and co. spent seven
years making a shot-for-shot remake of the original Spielberg
Archeologist-turned-action-star masterpiece. The end result is an
outrageous feature that crept up on the film world, trust us when we say
the word 'epic' doesn't even come close to describing the results. This film
will paired with RAIDERS! THE DOCUMENTARY.
Raiders! The Story of
the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made- USA
Jeremy Coon and Tim
Skousen
Coon and Skousen tell
us the story behind RotLA ADAPTATION: a kind of 'making of' in retrospect,
RAIDERS! also follows the team as they embark on a new endeavour: remaking the
only missing scene from their source film - the emblematic plane scene in Egypt!
They Look Like People- USA/
Perry Blackshear
For his first feature,
Perry Blackshear surprises with a masterfully handled psychological horror
film. Convinced that the people around him are shape shifters, Wyatt prepares
for a war that a faceless voice on the telephone warns him of. Thrills, chills,
paranoia, and humor; PEOPLE has been compared to Aronofsky's PI, TH.EY
LOOK LIKE PEOPLE is guaranteed to supply you with thrills and chills as it
merges human issues and genuine terror in one story.
H.- USA
Rania Attieh and
Daniel Garcia
A pure piece of art
shot in Troy, NY H. is the story of two women's slow descent to madness after
an explained event. Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia present a cinematographic
tour de force - one you will remember long after the screening.
Cinema-Concert: (Performed by
Anna Coogan)
The Fall of the House
of Usher- France
Jean Epstein
Organic Horror:
Obsession with Body Alterations sponsored by SHUDDER
The Eyes Without a
Face- France
Georges Franju- 1960
Dr. Génessier is
plagued by guilt after an accident he caused disfigures the face of his
daughter, the once beautiful Christiane. While everyone else believes
Christiane is dead, Dr. Génessier, along with accomplice and laboratory
assistant Louise, kidnaps young women and brings them to his mansion in an
ongoing struggle to return his daughter's endowments- no matter what it takes.
Possession- France /Germany
Andrezej Zulawski-
1981
Mark's return home
from a spy mission is spoiled when his wife, Anna, demands a divorce and leaves
him with no warning. In devastation Mark repeatedly pursues Anna only for each
encounter to go increasingly more destructive. Things take a bloody turn as
more people get drawn into their dramatic affairs and Anna's disturbing actions
reach a new level dread.
Shivers- Canada
David Cronenberg- 1975
After a scientist
living in a posh apartment complex slaughters a teen girl and kills himself,
investigators discover that the murderer had been carrying on experiments
involving deadly parasites. Roger St. Luc, a doctor living in the building, and
his aide, Nurse Forsythe, then realize that the parasites are on the loose,
attacking fellow tenants. And those who become infected turn into
erotically-obsessed maniacs who spread the infection in the most intimate
way.
Tetsuo, the Iron Man- Japan
Shin'ya Tsukamoto-
1989
A "metal
fetishist", driven mad by the maggots wriggling in the wound he's made to
embed metal into his flesh, runs out into the night and is accidentally run
down by a Japanese businessman and his girlfriend. The pair dispose of the
corpse in hopes of quietly moving on with their lives. However, the businessman
soon finds that he is now plagued by a vicious curse that transforms his flesh
into iron.
Audition- Japan
Takashi Miike- 1990
This disturbing
Japanese thriller follows Aoyama, a widower who decides to start dating again.
Aided by a film-producer friend, Aoyama uses auditions for a fake production to
function as his personal dating service. When Aoyama becomes intrigued by the
withdrawn, gorgeous Asami, they begin a relationship. However, he begins to
realize that Asami isn't as reserved as she appears to be, leading to gradually
increased tension and a harrowing climax.