Holy smokes, folks. This year's Fantastic Fest is shaping up with one of the strongest lineups in years. Today brings the second wave announcement, which comes with a barrage of exciting new titles, with Rian Johnson's Knives Out locking in as the closing night.

“Rian Johnson is a consistently thrilling and brilliant director whose work has enthralled Fantastic Fest audiences for the past 15 years,” said Fantastic Fest Creative Director Evrim Ersoy. “The chance to close out the festival with his unique and ingenious murder mystery was too good an offer to pass up!”

The new wave also includes Bong Joon-ho's Palme d'Or winner Parasite, with the filmmaker in attendance, as well as a few recently announced TIFF premieres, including Richard Stanley's The Color Out of Space and the latest from filmmaking duo Justin Benson and Aaron MooreheadSynchronic. This year's fest will also feature a celebration of Mexican genre film, including The Black Pit of Dr. M and The Ship of Monsters, as well as a lecture "The Mórbido Crypt's Guide to Mexican Fantasy and Horror Cinema,” a co-presentation with The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies.

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Image via New Line Cinema

Mórbido Film Fest’s head of programming Abraham Castillo Flores says: “As Mórbido continues its primal mission to promote Mexican fantasy and horror cinema throughout the world, we are proud to collaborate with Fantastic Fest to highlight three unique films that represent peculiar moments in our complex national film history.”

Fantastic Fest 2019 will also feature a sidebar dedicated to LGBTQ+ representation in genre, including the US Premiere of Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street, as well as rep screenings of A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge and Norman J. Warren's Prey.

“The two most unwavering pieces of my identity – my queerness and my love of horror – come together in some fascinating and unexpected ways over the course of film history,” says Fantastic Fest programmer Brian Kelley. “I can't think of a better group of people to explore and celebrate some of the crazy, frequently daring and often challenging films that make up the universe of queer horror with than my Fantastic Fest family.”

The new additions join previously announced films like Jojo RabbitIn the Tall Grass, and Knives and Skin. Check out the first wave details here and see a full list of the newly announced titles below

ABOU LEILA

Algeria, France, Qatar, 2019

North American Premiere, 139 min

Director - Amin Sidi-Boumédiène

In the midst of the Algerian Civil War, Lotfi ventures into the desert with his lifelong friend S., who hopes to find and kill the elusive, dangerous terrorist Abou Leila.

THE ANTENNA

Turkey, 2019

US Premiere, 115 min

Director - Orçun Behram

Somewhere within an unnamed city in Turkey, the residents of an apartment block await the installation of their new antenna as ordered by the central government. No one can prepare them for the evil that will be unleashed.

THE BLACK PIT OF DR. M

Mexico, 1959

Repertory Screening, 82 min

Director - Fernando Méndez

Two doctors make a pact on behalf of science: Whichever one dies first will return to share the secrets of the afterlife. This pact will not end well.

BLISS

USA, 2019

Texas Premiere, 80 min

Director - Joe Begos

While trying to complete her latest painting, a starving artist facing a lack of inspiration spirals out of control in a blaze of blood-soaked, drug-fueled glory.

BLOOD MACHINES

France, USA, 2019

North American Premiere, 50 min

Director - Seth Ickerman

The wild sequel to the Carpenter Brut music video, “Turbo Killer,” shoots you into a turbulent psychedelic adventure of galactic hunters tracking down the soul of a spaceship set to a killer synthwave soundtrack.

BUTT BOY

USA, 2019

World Premiere, 100 min

Director - Tyler Cornack

Writer/director/comedian Tyler Cornack’s BUTT BOY introduces us to Chip, a middle-aged man whose first prostate exam stirs feelings deep inside leading to an addiction that can only be shown to Fantastic Fest audiences.

CLIMATE OF THE HUNTER

USA, 2019

World Premiere, 90 min

Director - Mickey Reece

The “Soderbergh of the Sticks,” Mickey Reece, returns to Fantastic Fest with his 27th feature. Two beautiful sisters vie for the affections of a man who may or may not be a vampire.

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Image via Fantastic Fest

COLOR OUT OF SPACE

USA, 2019

US Premiere, 111 min

Director - Richard Stanley

Unimaginable terrors befall the Gardner family after a meteorite lands on their front lawn in Richard Stanley's entrancing, horrific adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's short story.

IRON FISTS AND KUNG FU KICKS

Australia, 2019

North American Premiere, 107 min

Director - Serge Ou

From the Shaw Brothers to THE MATRIX, this wild documentary tells the story of how kung fu films conquered the world from the 1960s to now.

KNIVES OUT

USA, 2019

Special Presentation, 130 min

Director - Rian Johnson

In attendance - Director Rian Johnson

From acclaimed writer, director Rian Johnson comes KNIVES OUT, a fresh and modern take on the classic “whodunnit” mystery genre.

THE LODGE

USA, 2019

Texas Premiere, 108 min

Directors - Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala

Five years after GOODNIGHT MOMMY stunned Fantastic Fest audiences, Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala are back with another disturbing psychological twister about a brother and sister spending Christmas with their shadowy soon-to-be stepmother.

THE LONG WALK

Laos, Spain, Singapore, 2019

US Premiere, 115 min

Director - Mattie Do

In attendance - Director Mattie Do

An old Laotian hermit discovers that the ghost of a road accident victim can transport him back in time fifty years to the moment of his mother’s painful death..

LYLE

2014, USA

Repertory Screening, 65 min

Director - Stewart Thorndike

In attendance - Director Stewart Thorndike

After the loss of her child, a young woman begins to suspect that her neighbors might be part of a satanic cult and that she might be their next target.

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 2: FREDDY’S REVENGE

USA, 1985

Repertory Screening, 87 min

Director - Jack Sholder

In attendance - Actors Mark Patton and Kim Myers

Jesse (Mark Patton) is the new kid on Elm Street and Freddy Krueger might not be the only monster in the closet in this much discussed but under-appreciated queer horror classic.

NOBADI

Austria, 2019

US Premiere, 90 min

Director - Karl Markovics

In a retirement allotment in Vienna, a crabby 91-year-old finds both himself and his humanity when he hires an Afghani refugee to help him in Karl Markovics’ remarkable and poignant third feature.

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PARASITE

South Korea, 2019

Texas Premiere, 131 min

Director - Bong Joon-ho

Bong Joon-ho’s seventh feature — about an unemployed Korean family conning their way out of their basement apartment — is a roller coaster ride of laughs, gasps, horror, tears, and perfection.

PATRICK

Belgium, 2019

North American Premiere, 97 min

Director - Tim Mielants

Patrick is not having an easy time. First his domineering father passed away and now his favorite hammer is missing. Before the day is out, Patrick’s search will lead him to discover answers to the questions he didn’t even know existed.

PHIL TIPPETT - MAD DREAMS AND MONSTERS

France, 2019

International Premiere, 80 min

Directors - Gilles Penso & Alexandre Poncet

After their documentary CREATURE DESIGNERS - THE FRANKENSTEIN COMPLEX, French journalist Alexandre Poncet and filmmaker Gilles Penso deliver an in-depth, sad, and beautiful documentary about the stop motion and VFX artist Phil Tippett, a man who changed the landscape of visual effects in film.

THE PLATFORM

Spain, 2019

US Premiere, 90 min

Director - Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia

In attendance - Director Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia

Somewhere in the future exists THE PLATFORM, a vertically tiered prison where the upper levels have access to exquisite food and the lower levels fight for survival. Level assignments are random, but how long can a prisoner’s luck hold? One man is about to find out.

PREY

1977, United Kingdom

Repertory Screening, 78 min

Director - Norman J. Warren

Jessica and Josephine find more than their relationship at stake when they’re chosen by a shape-shifting alien as his target for an observational study.

SCREAM, QUEEN! MY NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET

USA, 2019

US Premiere, 100 min

Directors - Roman Chimienti & Tyler Jensen

In attendance - Directors Roman Chimienti and Tyler Jensen

More than thirty years after its release and his departure from Hollywood, Mark Patton (star of A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 2: FREDDY’S REVENGE), sets the record straight on the famously queer horror sequel in this fabulous, surprising, and eye-opening documentary.

THE SHIP OF MONSTERS

Mexico, 1960

Repertory Screening, 81 min

Director - Rogelio A. González

Two Venusian women and their robot servant are on a mission to find suitable candidates to repopulate their planet. Soon their ship is filled with bizarre specimens from across the universe, leading to an adventure like no other!

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Image via Fantastic Fest

SYNCHRONIC

USA, 2019

US Premiere, 96 min

Directors - Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead

In attendance - Directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead

Two paramedics find their world ripped apart when they start encountering deaths linked to the otherworldly effects of a new designer drug called Synchronic.

TRAMPA INFERNAL

Mexico, 1989

Repertory Screening, 77 min

Director - Pedro Galindo III

In Mexico's most notorious unseen video-era masterblast, a crew of toxically masculine bear murderers runs afoul of a forest-dwelling war veteran wearing a mannequin mask and Freddy Krueger glove. Entertainment ensues!!

THE TRUE ADVENTURES OF WOLFBOY

USA, 2019

North American Premiere, 88 min

Director - Martin Krejčí

Suffering from hypertrichosis — which covers him with animal-like fur — Paul knows he’s not like other kids. But a seemingly random package from his estranged mother will send him on a journey of self-discovery alongside extraordinary characters.

THE VAST OF NIGHT

USA, 2019

Texas Premiere, 90 min

Director - Andrew Patterson

A rural 1950s radio DJ and a telephone operator uncover a strange signal that could change everything in this stunning science fiction debut feature.

VFW

USA, 2019

World Premiere, 92 min

Director - Joe Begos

In attendance - Director Joe Begos

In the near future, a new drug called Hype has turned America into a war zone. The addicted are more mutant than human, and they’ve set their sights on assaulting a VFW post in Joe Begos’ star-studded latest.

VHYES

USA, 2019

World Premiere, 71 min

Director - Jack Henry Robbins

In attendance - Director Jack Henry Robbins

This bizarre retro comedy, shot entirely on VHS and Beta, takes us back to when 12-year-old Ralph, over one formative week, mistakenly records home videos and his favorite late night shows over his parents’ wedding tape.

VIVARIUM

Ireland, Belgium, Denmark, 2019

US Premiere, 98 min

Director - Lorcan Finnegan

When young couple Gemma (Imogen Poots) and Tom (Jesse Eisenberg) drive out to a maze of temptingly affordable houses in the suburbs, they find themselves unable to leave.

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