Promoted as the first Cuban-made horror film, Juan of the Dead delivered a creative, zombie/comedy on the level of Shaun of The Dead (which despite the title bears little resemblance) and Zombietown. After Havana descends into chaos following the zombie outbreak, Juan, the procrastinating title hero, must overcome his lackadaisical nature to defend his friends and estranged daughter. First time writer/director Alejandro Brugués, who currently lives in his native Cuba, bravely crafted this pro-Cuba, anti-Castro film. News reports punctuate the movie relating the official government position that these incidents are the results of “American-backed dissidents” so the characters throughout refer to the undead as dissidents. According to Brugués, who participated in a q&a following the feature, many of the weird occurrences actually happened. And there was plenty of strange. Juan of the Dead, easily the best and most original zombie film of the year, offered loving nods to classic Romero zombiefests, Dead Alive, and even Ghostbusters (“Juan of the Dead, we kills your loved ones.”).

Brief side note: During the Juan of the Dead introduction, Brugués challenged Timecrimes/Extraterrestrial creator Nacho Vigalondo, who was in attendance, to a Fantastic Fest Debate for an explanation about what the hell is going on it Timecrimes and to prove the superiority of Cuban filmmakers over Spaniards. Something to look forward to in ’12.

Prepared especially for the festival, Drawn and Quartered collects 12 animated shorts from around the world. Bedtime for Timmy, The Last Norwegian Troll, and The Holy Chicken Of Life And Music offered the most memorable contributions. Most of the other selections ranged from just forgettable to outright terrible.

Fantastic Fest Day Four: The Absurdity of Headhunters

Fantastic Fest Day Six: Murder and Mayhem

Fantastic Fest Day Five: Zombies over Havana was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon