Fantastic Fest 2015: Wrap-up

A scene from GREEN ROOM.

Note to those who have been following my Fantastic Fest 2015 coverage: there isn’t any new content in this post, this is just the “Best Of” and Ranking segments broken off from the day 8 post for ease of reading.

The Best of…

These are my personal favorites of the festival. Under no circumstances should any of the below be construed to mean that I know what I’m talking about or have opinions that should be taken seriously.

The official Fantastic Fest Award winners have been posted at this here page.

Best English-Language Feature

Green Room, directed by Jeremy Saulnier [United States]


  1. The Witch, directed by Robert Eggers [Canada/United States]
  2. High Rise, directed by Ben Wheatley [United Kingdom]
  3. February, directed by Oz Perkins [United States]
  4. Too Late, directed by Dennis Hauck [United States]

Best Foreign-Language Feature

Der Bunker, directed by Nikias Chryssos [Germany]


  1. Evolution, directed by Lucile Hadzihalilovic [France]
  2. Men and Chicken, directed by Anders Thomas Jensen [Denmark]
  3. Love and Peace, directed by Shion Sono [Japan]
  4. The Glorious Works of G.F. Zwaen, directed by Max Porcelijn [Netherlands]

Best Documentary Feature

Stand by for Tape Back-Up, directed by Ross Sutherland [United Kingdom]


  1. Daniel’s World, directed by Veronika Lisková [Czech Republic]
  2. Man vs. Snake: The Long and Twisted Tale of Nibbler, directed by Tim Kinzy & Andrew Seklir [United States]

Best Directing

Jeremy Saulnier, Green Room


  1. Ben Wheatley, High Rise
  2. Lucile Hadzihalilovic, Evolution
  3. Robert Eggers, The Witch
  4. Oz Perkins, February

Best Actor

John Hawkes as Mel Sampson, Too Late


  1. Mads Mikkelsen as Elias, Men and Chicken
  2. Hiroki Hasegawa as Ryoichi, Love and Peace
  3. Colin Farrell as David, The Lobster
  4. Tom Hiddleston as Robert Laing, High-Rise

Best Actress

Lauren Ashley Carter as Darling, Darling


  1. Rachel Weisz as the Short-Sighted Woman, The Lobster
  2. Kiernan Shipka as Kat, February
  3. Anna Taylor-Joy as Thomasin, The Witch
  4. Imogen Poots as Amber, Green Room

Best Supporting Actor

Daniel Fripan as Klaus, Der Bunker


  1. Patrick Stewart as Darcy, Green Room
  2. Ton Kas as Leon, The Glorious Works of G.F. Zwaen
  3. Luke Evans as Richard Wilder, High-Rise
  4. Ralph Ineson as William, The Witch

Best Supporting Actress

Oona von Maydell as Mother, Der Bunker


  1. Dichen Lachman as Jill, Too Late
  2. Elisabeth Moss as Helen Wilder, High-Rise
  3. Angeliki Papoulia as the Heartless Woman, The Lobster
  4. Lucy Boynton as Rose, February

Best Ensemble Cast

Too Late (Vail Bloom, Joanna Cassidy, Jeff Fahey, Robert Forster, John Hawkes, Dichen Lachman, Dash Mihok, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Crystal Reed, Rider Strong, Natalie Zea)


  1. High-Rise (Enzo Cilenti, Luke Evans, Peter Ferdinando, Sienna Guillory, Keeley Hawes, Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller, Elisabeth Moss, Augustus Prew, James Purefoy, Reece Shearsmith, Dan Renton Skinner, Louis Suc)
  2. The Lobster (Jessica Barden, Olivia Colman, Anthony Dougall, Sean Duggan, Colin Farrell, Ashley Jensen, Ariane Labed, EmmaEdel O’Shea, Angeliki Papoulia, John C. Reilly, Léa Seydoux, Michael Smiley, Rachel Weisz, Ben Whishaw)
  3. Green Room (Macon Blair, Joe Cole, Eric Edelstein, Kai Lennox, Imogen Poots, Alia Shawkat, Patrick Stewart, Callum Turner, Mark Webber, Anton Yelchin)
  4. Men and Chicken (Nicolas Bro, David Dencik, Bodil Jørgensen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Søren Malling, Mads Mikkelsen, Oli Threstup)

Best Writing

Amy Jump (from the novel by J.G. Ballard), High-Rise


  1. Jeremy Saulnier, Green Room
  2. Nikias Chryssos, Der Bunker
  3. Robert Eggers, The Witch
  4. Anders Thomas Jensen, Men and Chicken

Best Original Music

Elvis Perkins, February


  1. Mark Korven, The Witch
  2. Clint Mansell, High Rise
  3. Jesús Diaz, Evolution
  4. Giona Ostinelli, Darling

Final Film Ranking

  1. Green Room (day 2)
  2. The Witch (day 6)
  3. High-Rise (day 3)
  4. Der Bunker (day 5)
  5. February (day 5)
  6. Too Late (day 6)
  7. Stand by for Tape Back-Up (day 3)
  8. Evolution (day 4)
  9. Daniel’s World (day 8)
  10. Men and Chicken (day 7)
  11. Love and Peace (day 8)
  12. Darling (day 2)
  13. The Glorious Works of G.F. Zwaen (day 2)
  14. Schneider vs. Bax (day 5)
  15. Bone Tomahawk (day 8)
  16. The Devil’s Candy (day 8)
  17. The Lobster (day 1)
  18. Man vs. Snake (day 4)
  19. April and the Extraordinary World (day 3)
  20. The Similars (day 6)
  21. Rabid Dogs (day 5)
  22. What We Become (day 4)
  23. Baskin (day 7)
  24. Belladonna of Sadness (day 1)
  25. Follow (day 3)
  26. In Search of the Ultra-Sex (day 7)
  27. The Mind’s Eye (day 3)
  28. Demon (day 6)
  29. Lazer Team (day 7)
  30. German Angst (day 6)

Special thanks to Alex White, Dave Cowen, Jason Coffman, and everyone else who discussed these movies with me during the festival, and who generally showed this noob the ropes.

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