You couldn't blame cinephiles if they had sex on the brain at Victoria Film Festival this weekend.

Indeed, it was nearly impossible to bump into anyone at the Atrium who didn't have an opinion on House of Pleasures, Bertrand Bonello's steamy opening night gala feature set during the final days of an early 20th-century Parisian brothel.

"I thought it was visually beautiful but I kept waiting for the plotline to kick in to follow all the visual pleasure," said Laura Bonenfant, laughing as she began to question why she and friend Naomi Kovak see so many "twisted" movies together.

"We saw Black Swan, Chloe and now this," she said, referring to the film's abundant nudity and shocking sequences.

Hordes of fans, actors and filmmakers - even the robot from Joanna Makes a Friend - showed up to celebrate the start of the 10-day festival, passing through long strips of celluloid and checking out vintage movie projectors.

The crowd sipped pink cocktails, noshed on oysters, truffles and other culinary delights from Spinnakers and enjoyed live electronic music and dance moves courtesy of the Righteous Rainbows of Togetherness.

CTV film critic Richard Crouse, who interviewed John Landis at the Vic last night, came back for his third year in a row.

"It's programmed really well," he said. "And where else do you get to sit down and talk to John Landis for an hour onstage? It offers a lot of opportunities other festivals simply don't. It's unique, in a unique city so why wouldn't you want to come back?"

Kristopher Turner, who plays the ashen title character in A Little Bit Zombie, was almost unrecognizable with his faint beard.

"People don't recognize me with colour in my skin," joked Turner, joined by many of his castmates this weekend.

Emilie Ullerup, who plays a bookish zombie chaser, recalled living here for six months after moving to Canada from Denmark.

"It's one of my favourite cities, and it's so great coming back with a film I'm so proud of. I feel like I've come full circle."

Crystal Lowe, who plays Turner's Bridezilla, brought Miko Tomasevich, her husband and partner in Vancouver's Hyde restaurant.

"This is because it's the first time I got the opportunity to be really funny. In every other movie I die or I'm pathetic," she said, noting her body was covered in welts from mosquito bites she got shooting near Sudbury. "It was insane but worth it."

Michael Peterson, director of Lloyd the Conquerer, attended with producer Brendan Hunter and star Evan Williams, who flew in from L.A., where he just wrapped a movie with a Sicilian director.

"It's funny. I do just as many tapes for Canadian stuff as I did when I lived in Canada," said the L.A.based actor.

Jeremy Charles, local Empire Theatres general manager, said the festival is high on the theatre chain's priority list.

"The crowds seem to be getting bigger each year, which is nice," he said.

While many openingnighters planned to enjoy the weekend's glorious weather, Peterson visited comic book stores.

"I'm doing the nerd's tour of Victora," the Calgary-based filmmaker quipped.

mreid@timescolonist.com