The Non-Badgeholder's Guide to Fantastic Fest 2008

The “Not Quite Hollywood” Ozsploitation Retrospective
Dark Age
The festival will kick off a day early with a special Weird Wednesday screening of Dark Age, an Ozsploitation classic that follows an Outback ranger assigned to hunt and kill a giant man-eating crocodile. But rather than kill it, the Ranger plans to capture and relocate the giant beast (um... not smart). Things are further complicated by some bad-guy reptile hunters who have a personal score to settle with the croc. This screening, like all Weird Wednesdays, will be free and open to the public. But get there early if you expect to find a seat. If you don't get in, a second screening will happen at the South Lamar this Sunday, but you'll have to pay regular admission. [Wednesday Info] [Sunday Tickets]

Razorback
Razorback follows four heroic Aussies as they attempt to take down a monstrous, rampaging, dangerously-overgrown wild boar. The flick will be presented this Thursday as a Terror Thursday screening, which means that it'll be free and open to the public. But again, we'd advise that you get there early to secure a seat. [More Info]

Man From Hong Kong
Next week, Weird Wednesday will host another free screening--this time, it's Man From Hong Kong. By all accounts, this is a high-octane action flick with more explosions than were digitally edited into the Olympic opening ceremonies. And Director Brian Trenchard-Smith will be there live! Again, get there early. If you're busy next Wednesday, you can see it at the South Lamar on Monday for regular admission. [Wednesday Info] [Monday Tickets]

Turkey Shoot
After a worldwide nuclear holocaust, the survivors will be confined to harsh prison camps, and some will be hunted by rich jerks who pay for the privilege. This screening will again be presented for free by Terror Thursday, and again it'll feature Director Brian Trenchard-Smith live! [More Info]

The Eagle Eye Scavenger Hunt
D.J. Caruso's new film Eagle Eye will have a special prime-time screening at this year's fest, and you can see it, even without a badge. All you have to do is participate in the "Eagle Eye Scavenger Hunt", a totally free, real-life foot race around the South Lamar area that could win you some prizes, and will definitely get you in to see the movie.

The winner of the hunt will receive a mini HD Panasonic HDCSD5 camera. There'll also be prizes for 2nd and 3rd place contestants, and everyone who enters will get free tickets to a special sneak preview screening of the film introduced by D.J. Caruso himself at 7:00 PM this Friday night. [More Info]

Master Pancake Theatre: Friday the 13th
In what's sure to be a hilariously awesome show, the folks at Master Pancake Theatre will skewer the iconic horror classic Friday the 13th (starring Kevin Bacon, in case you forgot). See it again before it's ruined by greedy, unimaginative studio execs! [Tickets]

The Road Warrior Outdoor Screening
As part of their “Not Quite Hollywood” Ozsploitation Retrospective, and as a follow-up to last week's screening of Mad Max, the Fantastic Fest folks will screen this Aussie classic for free at Republic Square Park. After which, we will probably go home and watch Thunderdome. Fuck all y'all. [More Info]

Repo: A Genetic Opera
From the folks who brought you Saw II, Saw III and Saw IV, (you see a pattern here?) Repo is a futuristic horror rock opera or something. Starring Bill Moseley, Paris Hilton, Paul Sorvino (huh?), Anthony Head and one of the guys from Skinny Puppy, this movie promises to be all kinds of weird. It's screening as a regular Fantastic Fest selection throughout the week, but anticipation has apparently been so high that the studio has added a public screening on Friday night. [More Info]

Behind the Pink Curtain: A Japanese Pink Film Retrospective
If you saw last year's incredibly strange but totally sex-filled FF selection The Glamorous Life of Sachiko Hanai, you have a vague idea of what a "Pink Film" is. Basically, young directors are given enough money to make whatever kind of film they want--so long as it provides a requisite amount of sex and nudity. Predictably, this can produce some bizarre and awesome results.

This year, Fantastic Fest will present four Pink films, Blue Film Woman, Gushing Prayer, A Lonely Cow Weeps at Dawn and S&M Hunter. Each film has a limited number of single tickets available, and you can buy 'em online right now. Author and Pink Film expert Jasper Sharp will also be in attendance at all screenings to introduce the films. And he'll be signing copies of his book Behind the Pink Curtain: The Complete History of Japanese Sex Cinema. [Info / Tickets]

Spine Tingler: the William Castle Story with The Tingler
In the late 50s and early 60s, William Castle practically reinvented the moviegoing experience. His gimmicky (yet inventive) promotions brought a measure of showmanship to otherwise low-budget horror films, and many considered him to be the working man's Hitchcock. One of his most famous gimmicks was a seat-buzzing device installed in theaters for his 1959 film The Tingler, starring Vincent Price. He called the technology "Percepto", and the folks at the Alamo will duplicate it for a short run of Tingler screenings.

The Tingler will screen as a double-bill with a fantastic new documentary about Castle's life, titled Spine Tingler. The screenings (which are sure to be a hell of a lot of fun) will happen next week, and tickets are available to the general public. [Tickets]

Single Ticket Sales
We won't guarantee anything, but there may be some individual ticket sales for regular festival screenings. You can check here each morning during the fest to see what's available. [Tickets]