Pandora by J. W. Waterhouse FANTASTIC ZAGREB FILM FESTIVAL was my first trip to Croatia’s comely capital. When I arrived, I had the fright of my life at 6:00am my first morning. My room was broken into by a creepy tall man and who knows what would have happened if I had not been awake at that early hour (jetlag!), if I had not been facing the door as he began opening it. Well, to make a long story short, nothing better than a hair-raising real life experience to start off an equally bloodcurd...

 Well, a fantasy film festival would not be complete without an exorcism/horror and the latest demon to take possession is that in THE POSSESSION OF EMMA EVANS (La posesión de Emma Evans; Spain, 2010), also known as EXORCISMUS. While the film itself is a Spanish production (by Filmax, Barcelona) realized by Spanish director Manuel Carballo, it is set in London and filmed in English with actors Tommy Bastow, Sophie Vavasseur, Richard Felix, Douglas Bradley, and Stephen Billington. The film has ...

At this year’s ‘Ground Zero’ for fantasy ‘funtastic’ film festival FANTASTIC ZAGREB, the frightful, fearsome, fanciful and freaking fantabulous film to open it with a big bang was the very much talked about new supernatural thriller TWO EYES STARING (2010) by the bold and brilliant Dutch director Elbert van Strien. And what a film to open with! If you have a taste for the paranormal and love a good ghost story, well this is one that will keep you quivering long after you’ve seen the ...

 REVIEW of RUBBER (2010) by Quentin Dupieux. ‘Meet Robert. Little Tire. Big Dreams.’ How many times can you say to yourself ‘WTF?’ during a film? Well, I dare you to watch this Magical Realism, Western, Slasher, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Art-house, Experimental, Fantasy and just plain Weird genre jumble fiction perspective feature that keeps you wondering long after you’ve seen it what exactly it is that you have seen. I still am not quite sure. I think it was a film but ...

 This year was the kick off to the new film festival FANTASTIC ZAGREB. I loved the statement of the festival directors so much but it could only be found in the film program so I have decided to share it with you here by transcribing it word for word. :-)Founders of the Fantastic Zagreb Film Festival statement:"WELCOME...From Paris to Tokyo, from Berlin to Toronto, from Venice and Cannes to Abu Dhabi, Stockholm and Porto... We traveled half way around the world, visited numerous film festi...

  I first learned of A SERBIAN FILM (2010) when a distributor friend of mine (who shall remain anonymous) told me about it at this year’s Berlinale 2011. He animatedly described to me what he deemed ‘the worst and most disgusting horrific film’ he had ever seen and had been so repulsed by the film he had shredded the DVD immediately after watching it. ‘Wow!’ I thought. ‘Do tell me more’. So, he described to me what all of those who have seen the film refer to as ‘the baby scene...

 Sunrise over Upper Zagreb. One of the highlights of this nocturnal film festival for me was the eerie moonlight tour of the upper old town of Zagreb. We were led by actors in costume through sinuous old cobbled streets, each of us holding dangling lit lanterns. The further we went into the past the further fiction and make-believe blurred reality and a sensation filled me that we had walked onto the set of one of the fantasy films featured at the festival. But this set was the best because th...

 Fantastic Zagreb!Well, for a 'year zero' of an unknown festival this looks to be a fantastic success with sold-out outdoor theaters, perfect summer weather, happy hospitable locals and so much to see in zesty Zagreb, jewel of the Balkans. This new fantasy fest all started with a kick off screening of the supernatural thriller TWO EYES STARING (2010) by Dutch director Elbert van Strien, followed by an opening party oozing with carousers dressed as skeletons, grim reapers, witches and scary cine...

 IRON DOORS (2010), a new psychological thriller to make you think. About an investment banker with no name (we never get his name in this film so he’s a kind of Everyman investment banker) wakes up to find himself stuck inside a vault with no way out. ‘No food. No water. No way out.’ We experience his loneliness, hunger, thirst, frustration and even his hallucinations with him as he struggles to stay alive… or we are also left to wonder if he is even alive at all and maybe he has been ...

  photo still from film TWO EYES STARING (2010) The film opened the first annual Fantastic Zagreb Film Festival on July 02, 2011. The film is Dutch and already has a remake option in place by actress Charlize Theron. Read Hollywood Reporter clip below:   22 September 2010 5:00 AM, PDT | HollywoodReporter.com | See recent The Hollywood Reporter news » London -- Oscar winner Charlize Theron has proffered a Dutch wink to remake rights to writer/director Elbe...

At Zagreb's newest festival, the late night outdoor film festival FANTASTIC ZAGREB, the American thriller film RED, WHITE AND BLUE (2010) screened on the night of July 3, 2011 just in time to celebrate America's 'red, white and blue' day July 4th! Crowds gathered for a night of terror and fantasy under the stars in Zagreb, Croatia to share this unique cinematic experience. What a way to usher in America's birthday! The internationally acclaimed and festival winning Red White an...

Welcome to FANTASTIC ZAGREB! This is Zagreb's newest film festival and it's all in the fresh air in an outdoor cinema in the spirit of the night and summer in midsummer nights :-)   The festival takes place from July 02-09 2011   About the festival:  Fantastic Zagreb   from the festival site: "Zero release of the first fiction film festival across the region will be held from 02. to 09.07. 2011 as a major announcement of the first edition in 2012. Fantastic Zagreb is festival th...