Fever
LARRY FESSENDEN (2020 8 mins, A7S)
Larry Fessenden, Jack Fessenden, Beck Underwood
A short film created during the COVID lockdown of May 2020. Part of the anthology film ISOLATION, releasing Summer 2021.
The last segment that I want to talk about is the first segment, set in New York, “Fever” …
is objectively and subjectively my favorite segment …
psychologically scary and just incredibly depressing …
It left me in tears and sets the perfect pace for the entirety of the film.
There are some that stand out as being more striking than the others,
but everyone really has brought their A-game. We begin in New York for Larry Fessenden’s Fever,
a mixture of spoken word narrative and disturbing images that sets the mood for what is to follow.
The opening segment, written, directed by, and starring cult indie legend Larry Fessenden
is also the most powerful. It opens with shots of a deserted New York –
something that would never be possible in other circumstances.
As he succumbs to fever, we’re treated to a stop-motion filming technique that’s really disorientating.
It concludes with a heartbreakingly poignant moment.
Larry Fessenden (Man) has acted in over 100 movie, TV and video projects including THE DEAD DON’T DIE, IN A VALLEY OF VIOLENCE, BROKEN FLOWERS, WENDY AND LUCY, LOUIE, THE STRAIN, I SELL THE DEAD, and HABIT.
JACK FESSENDEN (son) has appeared in several films including the shorts RIDING SHOTGUN, ALL FOR ONE, THE ADULTS and the feature film STARY BULLETS.
BECK UNDERWOOD (wife) is a filmmaker and graphic artist and animator, creator of recent projects THERE IN SPIRIT, EXQUISITE TASK and she is the curator of The Creepy Christmas Film Festivals (2008, 2018). She rarely appears in front of the camera.
