While most of the Film Junk crew is heading off to Toronto for TIFF, I’m counting down the days until I head down to Austin, Texas to cover Fantastic Fest. For those not in the know, Fantastic Fest is one of the world’s largest genre film festivals, featuring the best in horror, sci-fi, fantasy, martial arts, and the downright bizarre. (Tagline: A film festival with all the boring parts cut out.) Past films have included 13 Assassins, Antichrist, House of the Devil, Rubber, I Saw the Devil, Paranormal Activity, Hatchet, The Host, and Trick R Treat. That should give you a good idea what sorts of films are featured at the fest.

Fantastic Fest 2011 has announced that it will feature The Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence as the opening night film. This will be the world premiere of the sequel to The Human Centipede, which won awards for best horror film and best actor at the 2009 festival.  Closing out the festivities will be Morgan Spurlock’s Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope, presented by Harry Knowles, Stan Lee, and Joss Whedon. The documentary follows a handful of people as they attend San Diego’s Comic-Con. Other notable films include Lars Von Trier’s Melancholia, Ti West’s The Innkeepers, and the eagerly anticipated Take Shelter, starring Jessica Chastain and Michael Shannon.

Screenings are held at the Alamo Drafthouse cinemas (you might remember their viral video of a customer bitching about being thrown out a few months ago). Shorts and a yearly bumper contest are popular features as well. For a complete list of films, visit the Fantastic Fest homepage. Fantastic Fest 2011 runs September 22-29, 2011; check out the first teaser trailer for The Human Centipede 2 after the jump.