Artwork by Chris Bilheimer
This will be a short one; day one of the fest is more like a quarter day, with the opening film of the festival – Macon Blair’s The Toxic Avenger – and a few other titles starting at 8 P.M. Other titles playing in the 8 P.M. block are The Animal Kingdom, Baby Assassins 2, #Manhole, and Messiah of Evil. There are three titles in the midnight round tonight, Sleep, In My Mother’s Skin, and Divinity.
I will be seeing The Toxic Avenger and Divinity. In addition to the opening night party at 10 P.M., there is a “Celebrate the Toxic Avenger” party at 5:30. It’s almost four as I write this. I’ll likely head to the theater to pick up my badge at around five, then check out the Toxic Avenger event. I’ll report back after I’ve seen Toxie do his thing.
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I just got out of The Toxic Avenger, and, hoo-boy was it about the most Fantastic Fest way to start the festival. Blair’s picture is Troma with a budget, which should please any fan of that very particular and peculiar aesthetic. The irreverent sense of humor is only matched by something like Bottoms, but with less social commentary and more delight in its wicked splatter violence.
The movie also captures the end-of-days malaise that’s in the air at the moment. The world of The Toxic Avenger is one where evil corporations – here, BTH Corp. is the pharmaceutical company that spews all manner of toxic waste into our already degraded environment – pollute with impunity because, with enough money, you can do whatever you want. The cops, who protect the haves against the have-nots, blurt out “I feared for my life,” even before they have their weapon completely drawn.
Our hero, Winston Gooze, played with total commitment by Peter Dinklage, fights with the automated phone tree of his insurance company before finding out his platinum-level plan won’t pay for a life-saving treatment. Sounds about right in our late-stage capitalism reality. The best bit in the movie comes when Winston stages a quick riff on Weekend at Bernie’s with a baddie he’s dispatched, a member of an Insane Clown Posse-like band called the Killer Nutz.
I’m about 30 minutes out from the midnight screening of Divinity, which I’ll cover as the first item in the next post. Onward!