Fantastic Fest Day 1
Just barely made it through Day 1 of the coolest festival on the planet with the cheesiest name. Fantastic Fest! Even though I didnt get to see Diary of the Dead I was able to meet and chat with legendary director George Romero. He was one cool cat. One of the highlights of the evening was watching tall George talking to very short Hatchet director Adam Green out in front of the theater. It was old school meeting new school and was an odd site to see.

Hell's Fever

Since I couldnt make Diary of the Dead this was my replacement movie. Salt in the wound. This is an Italian horror movie by Hell's Fever. It came out last year but you couldnt tell by the clothes or style of the movie. This movie straddled the line of so bad it was good but didnt quite reach there. Half way through the movie It was making no sense and I was afraid it wasnt going to. I almost walked out but luckily the pieces of the movie started to fall together and it made sense at least but still wasnt very good. The dubbing was horrible and made for some great unintentional laughs. The movie started off trying to make you think it was a monster movie but all it really turned out to be is a bank robbery double cross movie. There were some good moments and kills but I couldnt recommend it to anyone. The musical score was so intense and weird it was kinda cool.

The Last Winter

I really dug this movie and predict most people would probably love it. It was directed by Larry Fessenden who was suppose to be there but couldnt make it. That sucks cuz it probably would have made for an interesting Q & A afterwards. I heard someone say that it was kinda like if Stephen King wrote of An Inconvenient Truth. It was a psychological, supernatural horror film that basically was about the environment and man's destruction of it. The plot was pretty good and done in a non beat you over the head intelligent manner. The cinematography was beautiful and the cgi was very good. Excellent acting by all including Mr. Hellboy Ron Perlman, Connie Britton and James LeGros. Without spoiling too much its about an expedition crew funded by a corporation go out to survey Alaskan soil to see if its safe to drill for oil. One of the scientists assigned to the project doesnt think its safe and thinks it will harm the environment. Things to start to go awry and people start to go crazy killing themselves and others. Definitely recommend it to anyone whos a fan of supernatural movies or any psychological horror in the vein of The Thing or Event Horizon.

Also starring 24 cutie Connie Britton

The End Of The Line
I had mixed reactions on this one. I can appreciate what the director was trying to accomplish but somehow it still felt like it was lacking something. The movie is basically about some huge cult that was givens orders to kill people when their pagers went off at a certain time. The movie follows some people that either work for or are passengers of an underground subway system. There are some cool jump scares and some pretty good gore but I was never really scared. The movie was ambiguous in some places which led to the moviegoer to come up with their own conclusions. I conclude it was just ok but I dont think I would ever watch it again. The director did a Q & A afterwards and he seemed like a genuinely nice guy and I think he has potential to do something bigger and better.
Thats it day 1 is in the books and so far I experienced a little bit of everything. Check back tomorrow for more updates.