In honor of the Wolf Man remake, we brave the edges of werewolf cinema where things get a little hairy. By Matthew Jackson
Blackout (2023)
Indie horror legend Larry Fessenden took on werewolf cinema with this low-budget gem, pulling apart not just how difficult being a werewolf would be physically, but how it would affect someone psychologically during the daylight hours. The story of an alcoholic artist who’s realized that he kills with every full moon, Blackout plays all the werewolf hits, and then digs deeper. If you realized you were a werewolf, what would you do? Would you turn yourself in? Would you reckon with your own legacy? Would you do some strange combination of making amends and self-flagellation? Fessenden’s film, carried along by a wonderful lead performance from Alex Hurt, asks all of these questions and more, granting an added emotional dimension to well-worn concepts, while also never letting up on the horror throttle.
If you need more lycanthrope action after watching the new Wolf Man currently in theaters, we have you covered. All of the werewolf films listed below are streaming for free right now on Tubi. by Chris Catt
#2 BLACKOUT Blackout crafts a modern spin on a classic monster. Charley (Alex Hurt) is an alcoholic struggling with depression, and he is convinced that he has been hurting people as a werewolf. He’s come to the decision to take drastic action to stop himself, but before he ends it all, he tries to do some good for the people of his community. Written and directed by Larry Fessenden, Blackout is the filmmaker’s second modern take on a classic monster after his 2019 Frankenstein film titled Depraved
Description: In a run-down small-town between Miami and the Everglades, Cozy (Lisa Bowman), a dissatisfied housewife, longs for an adventure. One night, at a nearby bar, she meets Lee Ray (Larry Fessenden), an equally disaffected handyman who’s never left home. As sparks fly between them, a gun accidentally goes off. Thinking they have committed murder, the pair decide to flee, but their naive natures and limited bank balances mean they don’t get very far. Cleverly playing on procedural drama tropes, Kelly Reichardt’s remarkably assured debut feature showcases her keen eye for observing the unsaid in this story about the stories we tell ourselves to escape the banality of everyday life.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
2K RESTORATION by Oscilloscope Laboratories
Uncompressed stereo PCM audio
Audio commentary by Kelly Reichardt and Larry Fessenden
Audio interview with writer and curator So Mayer (2024)
Larry Fessenden: Invisible Man, Renaissance Man, Monstrous Midwife – a visual essay by critic Anton Bitel on the career of actor and producer Larry Fessenden including his work with Reichardt and other independent filmmakers (2024)
“Drive-by” outtakes
Restoration featurette
Trailer
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
Limited edition booklet with new writing by Caitlin Quinlan
Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
10 Best Movies Set In Alaska, Ranked By Rob Hunter
Every state has its own histories, landscapes, and stories worth telling, but some lend themselves to more visually stimulating tales than others. There are bland-looking states that shall remain unnamed, and then there are ones that feel intriguing and inviting no matter which way the camera’s pointed. Hawaii is an obvious pick on that count, but Alaska gives it a real run for the top spot. It is an endlessly stunning place to be with natural beauty staring you down from every direction. That beauty can come at a cost, though, as nature can be both unrelenting and unforgiving.
That reality, when coupled with the vast size of the state and a sparse population, leaves it ripe for drama, danger, and stories about isolation both intentional and otherwise. It’s a place where a detective can be driven mad by the lack of night (“Insomnia”), a humorously inappropriate romance can take hold (“The Proposal”), and an amateur hockey team can win big (“Mystery, Alaska”). None of those films landed in our top 10 movies set in Alaska, though, so keep reading to see what titles made the cut.
#9 THE LAST WINTER
A small group of oil company employees work to establish a base in the Arctic National Refuge with plans on drilling for black gold. The earth and nature itself seem to have other ideas.
Comparisons to John Carpenter’s masterpiece, “The Thing,” are inevitable given the location and setup, but these are wholly different beasts. The alien threat in Fessenden’s film comes from within, and it rises in a slower, far from tangible form. The only monster here is humankind’ voracious appetite for environmental destruction, and as the Earth strikes back with madness and paranoia, it serves to highlight our absolute culpability in the climate change that might ultimately be our downfall. Fittingly then, it’s a downer of a film serving as a cautionary tale even as it suggests we’re too late to fix the problem.
Larry Fessenden’s “The Last Winter” wears its eco-horror label loud and proud in the guise of a slow-burn thriller that scratches a very specific genre itch. Cinematographer G. Magni Agustsson takes fantastic advantage of filming locations in Alaska and Iceland to capture the stark beauty of an unforgiving landscape. The cast does great work giving the group a lived-in feel with familiar faces like Ron Perlman, Connie Britton, and James Le Gros as the one who first suspects that Mother Nature is done taking crap from humans. As with “The Thing,” the ending is a bit ambiguous, but we know one thing: A change is needed.
FINDING THE MAGIC: Jenn Wexler on her approach to filmmaking,The Ranger and The Sacrifice Game by Paul Risker
After opening the 2018 edition of FrightFest with her début feature, The Ranger, filmmaker Jenn Wexler’s 2023 sophomore feature, The Sacrifice Game (2023), was chosen to close the festival. It’s a remarkable privilege to have opened and closed the UK’s most prestigious genre festival only two films into her directing career.
In August 2023, in London, I sat down with Wexler to discuss the Christmas-themed The Sacrifice Game — hours before she was due to walk on stage and introduce the film to the West End audience.
The striking thing about Wexler is her layered presence. While outgoing, you can sense an introverted side to her personality—her self-reflective nature, perhaps. Talking with her, you realise that there’s a piece of her folded into her films, which reminds me of something filmmaker Rebecca Miller told me: “…if they are made honestly, all pieces of art are self portraits of the person making them. Even though film is such a collaborative art, if there is a real auteur behind it, then that person imbues the film with who they are, and what their concerns are at that moment.”
As entertaining as The Ranger and The Sacrifice Game are, there’s something personal, even a vulnerability imbued in their souls. The two films share similar beats, namely a group of characters finding themselves in an unexpected situation. Beyond that, and other similar thematic beats that are revealed to interest Wexler, the director carefully ensures the two films have their own identity.
In conversation with Eye For Film, Wexler discussed her creative process, concerns about an AI apocalypse, her enduring interest in horror and why she doesn’t want to work outside the horror space.
Paul Risker: I remember speaking to a director who remarked that the term ‘filmmaker’ is a strange and slightly ambiguous one. I’ve spoken with others who say that it took a number of films before they felt they could call themselves a filmmaker. Do you feel that you can call yourself, if not a filmmaker, then a director?
Jenn Wexler: I feel like a filmmaker, and I proudly call myself one. Before I directed my first feature, The Ranger, I’d produced six features. I learned how to make movies as a producer, working for Larry Fessenden’s production company, Glass Eye Pix, out of New York.
I love the term filmmaking because there’s a connotation to it that you’re making something — and especially making indie movies at Glass Eye Pix, it felt like we were making a movie with our own hands. I loved that vibe and sense of community, where people come together to create something out of nothing.
Certainly now, I feel I can call myself a director after my second feature, and also before The Ranger and The Sacrifice Game, I had directed shorts. So, I feel confident calling myself a director, but I prefer the term filmmaker because, especially in the indie world, you’re doing a lot. You might not just be directing. There might be a little bit of producing in there too, and writing. Filmmaker is a great catch-all.
PR: Filmmakers I’ve spoken to have compared the experience of making a film to going to war or having a baby, and they frequently suggest making films is addictive. What are your thoughts on these chosen metaphors to describe the process?
JW: I don’t feel it’s like going to war. I find filmmaking so joyful. I’m so happy when I’m making a movie, and as soon as I receive the green-light, as soon as I know we’re doing this, from prep through post-production, I am so happy and fulfilled. It’s exciting to have the privilege to explore art and to create. I try not to take it for granted and I try to find the magic in every phase of the process
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PR: The problem with modern horror is it can be too message-orientated. Cinema can be a Trojan Horse, addressing themes and ideas in a less direct way. The outsider themes and finding one’s place in The Sacrifice Game don’t compromise it being a fun genre picture. Instead, the subtext is gently communicated to the audience.
JW: My favourite horror movies do that and what’s so wonderful about the horror genre is that you can tell a really entertaining story, and also talk about the world through metaphor or character. So, with The Ranger and with The Sacrifice Game, I think about that balance. You don’t want to be too heavy-handed, of course, because more important than anything else is telling an entertaining story, but yeah, I’m trying to pour myself into the movie. Instinctively, what comes along with that are the things that I have anxieties about.
PR: If as you say, you filter the film through your traumatic experiences, then The Sacrifice Game is an act of self-compassion. What’s so striking is how you’re able to create an entertaining genre picture, and beneath the surface, have so much more happening.
JW: What is so beautiful about art is that you’re doing something on the surface and while you’re doing this, your subconscious is doing other stuff, and it’s going to come out in surprising ways. You look at it after and think, ‘Oh, that’s something I am dealing with, okay.’ But not all of it is in the front of your mind when you’re actually making it, and it’s cool to hear you put it in those words. I find that process fascinating.
The Sacrifice Game and The Ranger are available on Shudder.
Chris Skotchdopole’s Crumb Catcher delivers a clever take on what I affectionally refer to as the “weirdos just showed up at your house” subgenre. It sifts through the tensions of class, career, race, gender, capitalism and ownership.
By the time newlyweds, Shane (Rigo Garay), a writer, and Leah (Ella Rae Peck) stay at a remote house for their honeymoon, tensions are already high between the two over Shane getting blackout drunk on their wedding night, unable to remember what transpired. Shane’s reservations over the book deal Leah helped him secure, Leah’s decision not to invite Shane’s father to their wedding, and her feeling over shared ownership of Shane’s career drives a further wedge between the two.
Tensions boil over when a knock at the door finds the pushy waiter John (John Speredakos) from their reception on their doorstep, with a one-of-a-kind invention in tow. Accompanied by his girlfriend, Rose (Lorraine Farris), a bartender who also worked the reception, John attempts to blackmail Shane and Leah over what transpired during Shane’s blackout. Without them as his business partners, there will be no money or names to generate interest in his revolutionary invention, The Crumb Catcher.
While John and Rose’s appearance initially results in an uncomfortable and absurd comedy of manners, tensions grow, and the situation devolves into unhinged lunacy as Shane and Leah are forced into a bloody fight for their lives. Deranged, topical, and surprisingly tender, even in its moments of violence, Crumb Catcher is a highlight of indie filmmaking, showcasing just what can be accomplished with an original idea, talented collaborators, and a vision that finds honesty in the messes people can make of their lives.
New album by Just Desserts New Tales From Beyond The Pale New releases hitting theaters New Physical Media of Old Titles New productions getting underway and 40th anniversary shenanigans… stay tuned…
Directed by Chris Skotchdopole; written by Chris Skotchdopole, Larry Fessenden, & Rigo Garay; starring John Speredakos, Rigo Garay, Ella Rae Peck, & Lorraine Farris
The last eight years of American political cinema contains its share of movies adapted from history and headlines, with little mystery about intent left to the imagination. Chris Skotchdopole’s unhinged debut Crumb Catcherheads the opposite direction: the film doesn’t betray itself by declaring outright what, or who, it’s “about.” You have to work that out yourself.
Honeymooners Shane (Rigo Garay) and Leah (Ella Rae Peck), plagued by implied, stewing tensions, put their friction on pause when their rental house is called on by uninvited guests: John (John Speredakos), a waiter at their wedding reception, and his wife, Rose (Lorraine Farris). They’ve stalked the newlyweds to offer them a once in a lifetime opportunity to get in on the ground floor of the next consumer craze — or else. Crumb Catcher is a nail-biting ode to American failure, where side-hustle-and-grind entrepreneurship synthesizes with the insecurities wrought by our bootstraps mentality; it’s a chiller about entitlements and unearned outrage that’s attuned to our times through black comic plotting.
Glass Eye Pix is the fierce independent NYC-based production outfit headed by award-winning art-horror auteur Larry Fessenden with the mission of supporting individual voices in the arts. Read more...
