Fantastic Fest 2008

Brief Description: This fascinating and deeply disturbing documentary takes you deep into the worlds and obsessions of Kelly McCormick and Jeffery Deane Turner, who have been separately stalking 80s pop icon Tiffany for nearly 20 years. Full Description: Many people are familiar with American pop singer Tiffany, who had a number of hit songs during the 1980s, including “I Think We’re Alone Now” and “Could’ve Been.” Less known is the story of two of Tiffany's most devoted stalkers: Jeffery Deane Turner, a 50ish man with severe Asperger's Syndrome, and hermaphrodite-in-transition Kelly McCormick. Sean Donnelly’s documentary I THINK WE’RE ALONE NOW tells the stories of these obsessed fans and in doing so, honestly deserves the distinction of being one of the strangest films on this year's Fantastic Fest program. Turner serves as an elder statesman of celebrity stalkers; he has been engaged in a pointless, multi-decade pursuit of Tiffany’s attentions. In one famous incident during the late 80s (which is documented in the film) Turner showed up at Tiffany’s emancipated minor hearing with a samurai sword and five white chrysanthemums. Like Turner, Kelly McCormick is completely obsessed, which is evidenced by the dozens of Tiffany images that paper the walls of her barren apartment, and McCormick's disturbing, profane rants about being united with the pop singer. McCormick’s obsession, however, exists in an entirely different space than Turner’s and seems to be rooted in a big tangled knot of psychological and physiological dysfunction that defies glib descriptions. I THINK WE’RE ALONE NOW packs enough mystery, horror, science-fiction and human intrigue into 100 minutes to fill a number of feature-length films. Everything in this film is completely true, however, and it’s so strange that many will have a hard time believing it’s real. (Rodney Perkins) Director Sean Donnelly live in person!

Brief Summary: Probably the biggest concentration of explosions, nudity and blood at Fantastic Fest this year. A documentary that traces the secret and not so secret history of ozploitation. Full Description: Finally, the definitive story of the go-for-broke, fuck-it-all Aussie renaissance of the '70s and '80s. The national character of Australia is marked by a certain raucous non-conformity, and the country's fast and furious exploitation film output during this golden age is notable for its extreme audacity - rudeness even. As exiled subjects of the British Empire they might have been expected to copy the staid, overly mannered films of their ancestral homeland but hell no, their films are loaded with more boobs, reckless car chases, explosions and killer fauna than anyone's. They're cheap, filthy, loud and proud. And like a cool rain in the middle of the outback, this very welcome and unexpected doc gives you the "Easy Riders Raging Bulls" style lowdown on all the best ozploitation films you've never seen, including unheralded masterpieces like THE LONG WEEKEND and ROAD GAMES, exercises in stylistic excess like RAZORBACK and NEXT OF KIN, downright full-blooded smut like THE NAKED BUNYIP and STORK, bloody horrors like NIGHT OF FEAR and THIRST and the spectacular action mayhem of Brian Trenchard-Smith, whose films MAN FROM HONG KONG and TURKEY SHOOT break off the violence knob altogether. Fans of genre cinema will be scribbling notes furiously to keep up with the lightning fast pace of NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD. In addition to the astonishing assortment of clips from the movies themselves, this film features dozens of interviews with Australian luminaries and imported American talent like Stacy Keach and Jamie Lee Curtis. Megafan Quentin Tarantino provides insightful commentary and characteristic enthusiasm throughout, as do directors James Wan (SAW) and Greg McLean (WOLF CREEK). (Lars Nilsen) Check out the Australian Not Quite Hollywood official site for tons of info and a mountain of jaw-dropping Ozploitation trailers. This film is sponsored by Foster’s.

Brief Summary: William Castle, one of the mighty giants of fantastic film and media manipulation is lauded and explicated by the ones who knew him and loved him best. (Lars) Full Description: There's no greater icon of showmanship than William Castle. When the rest of Hollywood was shivering in its boots over the impact of TV on the bottom line, Castle rolled up his sleeves and went to work. Not only did he make some of the best, wickedly funny horror films, he also jazzed them up with in-theater gimmicks that made moviegoing a truly multidimensional, interactive experience. Starting with 1958's MACABRE, whose viewers were insured against death by fright via a (probably inexpensive) Lloyd's of London policy and continuing through to his masterpiece THE TINGLER, in which attendees were lightly shocked in their seats- Castle made sure his films were events, endlessly talked about on schoolyards and discussed in magazines like Famous Monsters Of Filmland. Along the way, a junior cognoscenti sprung up, hipped by Castle's winking approach to the underpinnings of media and entertainment manipulation. Many of those young fans grew up to take Castle's lessons to heart. In SPINE TINGLER you'll hear such luminaries as Roger Corman, John Waters, Joe Dante and others talking about Castle's legacy. You'll also find out more about the man himself, from his early years as a critically acclaimed director of B-Thrillers through the tumultuous roller-coaster '50s when he scored hit after hit and into the '60s when he made his mark in the New Hollywood, producing ROSEMARY'S BABY and achieving some measure of the respect from his peers that had long eluded him. His daughter Terry Castle provides personal glimpses of the great showman's family life and inner insecurities that his bombastic, self-mythologizing, though highly entertaining autobiography didn't even hint at. (Lars Nilsen)

Brief Summary: Emily Hagins is making a zombie movie. It’s feature-length, it’s bloody, and the zombies don’t run. Just like it should be. But there’s just one difference between her film and every other zombie movie you’ve ever seen. Emily is twelve. Full Description: Most twelve-year-olds are busy with friends, homework, and online chatting. So is Emily Hagins, but Emily found time to write and direct a feature-length zombie movie as well. Zombie Girl: THE MOVIE covers the two years it took her to make it. With the help of her mother as agent, crew, and biggest fan, Emily launches an epic adventure in genre filmmaking, complete with decapitations, disembowelments, and as many brain-sucking zombie sixth-graders as she can muster. Along the way, she battles the typical challenges of independent filmmaking, from budget shortfalls to self-doubt, all while coming of age as a teenager. As if making a film isn’t already hard enough, she has to do it without a driver’s license. Her journey is an enlightening look into a growing world of young moviemakers, bursting with enthusiasm and empowered by the digital age. She isn’t making her film for box office receipts. Her love of movies is the sole motivation. This is indie filmmaking at its purest. Directors Aaron Marshall, Eric Mauck and Justin Johnson as well as Emily, her parents and members of the cast will be in attendance at the show. This film is sponsored by The Long Center.