LARRY FESSENDEN’S GLASS EYE PIX PACTS WITH OCN FOR NEW BLU-RAYS, SETS FIRST RELEASE

By MICHAEL GINGOLD

Forty years of independent genre cinema will soon be celebrated on hi-def discs.

RUE MORGUE got the first word that Larry Fessenden’s Glass Eye Pix will be launching a new video label in conjunction with OCN Distribution to release newly restored versions of its movies on Blu-ray. Part of a celebration of Glass Eye’s 40th anniversary that begins November 2, these “lavishly produced” discs will showcase the distinctive genre features by Fessenden and the likes of Ti West, Kelly Reichardt, Jim Mickle, Rick Alverson, Graham Reznick, Glenn McQuaid, Mickey Keating, Joe Maggio and Ilya Chaiken that have made the company one of the most important forces in the horror and independent film worlds.

Says Fessenden, “I love physical media as a way to present a movie with its graphic identity, extra features and ruminations by artisans and commentators, capturing the elusive resonance of an individual picture in one package. I hope fans of Glass Eye will enjoy the embarrassment of riches we have in store for them in the coming months.”

“I’ve admired the work that Larry Fessenden has done over the years,” says OCN topper Justin LaLiberty, “not just in his own work but in that of shaping an outstanding production company in Glass Eye Pix, one of the last bastions of truly independent genre filmmaking in the United States. I’m elated to partner with Larry to create the best home video releases possible for the films Glass Eye has produced, past and present, which will be distributed through OCN Distribution.”

First up in this lineup is a new edition of James Felix McKenney’s futuristic sci-fi thriller AUTOMATONS, starring Christine Spencer, Angus Scrimm and Brenda Cooney. The region-free Blu-ray will supplement the feature (newly remastered in 2K) with these bonus features:

• New audio commentary with director & crew
• New BTS Surveillance Camera montage
• New “The Delusions of James Felix McKenney” film reel
• 2007 60-minute behind-the-scenes documentary
• 2006 Angus Scrimm Interview
• 2006 AUTOMATONS trailer
• 2005 camera tests
• Director’s introduction from 2015 VHS release
• Booklet with new writing by film critic Simon Abrams and an original director’s statement from 2006

Retail price is $41.98, but it’s available now at the Vinegar Syndrome webstore for $28.99.

Read at Rue Morgue

From Vinegar Syndrome comes James Felix McKenney’s 2006 Robo-thriller
AUTOMATONS on Region Free Blu-Ray (for the 1st time ever!).

Loaded with Special Features: Region Free Blu-ray, New remastered feature in 2K, New audio Commentary with director & crew, New BTS Surveillance Camera montage, New “The Delusions of James Felix McKenney” film reel, 2007 60-minute BTS documentary, 2006 Angus Scrimm Interview, 2005 Camera tests, Director’s introduction from 2015 VHS release, Booklet with new writing by film critic Simon Abrams and an original director’s statement from 2006 & more!

special limited edition slipcover (designed by Adam Juresko) is limited to 1,000 units 
BUY NOW!

Jack Fessenden’s FOXHOLE now streaming and available on Blu-ray

Jones stars in the SKIN & BONES episode, a Wendigo story directed by Fessenden, as part of the Fear Itself series. Streaming now on PLEX.

Jones lends his voice talents in TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE episode This Oracle Moon. Starring alongside Ron Perlman, Mark Kelly, Molly Bryant, Jeff Buhler, Zed B. Starkovic, The Nam. Written and directed by Jeff Buhler. Streaming on Tales From Beyond The Pale Podcast.

Happy Birthday, Doug.

I Fell in Love With a Z-Grade Director in Brooklyn is described as a Jim Jarmusch-esque “bloody rom-com” from director Kenichi Ugana and producer Rocko Zevenbergen, making its World Premiere at the 2025 Fantasia Film Festival.

featuring an appearance by Fessenden, Troma’s Lloyd Kaufman
and GEP pal Rigo Garay.

Fango has the scoop on the full Fantasia Fest
First Wave Lineup

By Matt Grobar
May 14, 2025 10:50am

EXCLUSIVE: Jack Fessenden has set the cast for his new film, eco-noir Alfalfa. The list includes two-time Tony Award winner Norbert Leo Butz (Weapons), Toby Huss (Halt and Catch Fire), Virginia Kull (Presumed Innocent), Marcus Scribner(Black-ish), Oscar nominee Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips), and James Le Gros(Good One).

Set to shoot this fall in Southwestern Utah, the film follows Lance (Butz), a sprinkler contractor in a drought-stricken desert boomtown whose life converges with a criminal duo, led by Abdi, who are hunting for a corpse that has resurfaced on the banks of a receding reservoir. Caught in a web of escalating tensions, false accusations, and buried secrets, Lance, his wife Elana (Kull), and estranged son Noah (Scribner) must navigate the pull of shady developer Whip (Huss), who partners with Saudi investors on a thirsty alfalfa growing venture, threatening the community’s dwindling water supply. Le Gros will play a water cop with ties to the town’s dark past.

“ALFALFA highlights the looming threat of water scarcity in a humanist thriller with promise to be the Chinatown of the New West,” Fessenden said. “I could not be more excited to be working with a cast of actors I’ve admired for years to deliver a bold ensemble film about the environmental issue of our century.”

Marking Fessenden’s third feature as writer-director, on the heels of war drama Foxhole and crime thriller Stray Bullets — both starring Le Gros — Alfalfa will be produced by Javier Gonzalez and Lu Robinson, and executive produced by Franklin P. Laviola and Dan Reardon. Bess Fifer handled casting.

Butz is repped by IAG and Untitled Entertainment; Huss by IAG and Artists First; Kull by Innovative Artists and Principal Entertainment LA; Scribner by CAA, Artists First, and Nina Shaw and Gordon Bobb of Del Shaw Moonves; Abdi by SMS Talent and Haven Entertainment; and Le Gros by Innovative Artists and Industry Entertainment.

Read at Deadline

GEP Pal Alex Breaux stars in Broadway sensation STRANGER THINGS: THE FIRST SHADOW.
Before his portrayal of Dr. Brenner on stage, we at Glass Eye know Breaux well as Fessenden’s Frankenstein monster in DEPRAVED. And as the German Soldier in Jack Fessenden’s FOXHOLE.

Catch STRANGER THINGS on Broadway now! Tix available.
And stream DEPRAVED and FOXHOLE on AMC plus and Starz.

From 18 Best shows on You Tube from Collider