Patrice St-Pierre Plamondon chronicles the various references in UNTIL DAWN in this insightful article, giving Fessenden mastermind status with her closing entries:
Now, I’m not saying that Larry Fessenden used SONY to plug every single movie he’s written/produced/starred in…
I’m saying… ah hell, he’s used SONY to plug every movie he’s written/produce/starred in
Screen Media Films has picked up worldwide acquisition rights for the Mickey Keating-directed GEP flick, DARLING. From the Indiewire News Release:
After a weekend of negotiations following its Fantastic Fest premiere on Friday night, Screen Media Films has landed worldwide acquisition rights to Mickey Keating’s “Darling,” starring Lauren Ashley Carter, Sean Young, Larry Fessenden and Brian Morvant.
“Darling” stars Carter as a young woman who goes crazy after taking a caretaker job at an ancient home in New York.
“Very few movies can make me incredibly uncomfortable while fascinating me,” said Seth Needle, Director of Worldwide Acquisitions, Screen Media Films. “Mickey Keating’s terrific film does just that, while paying homage to some of my absolute favorite genre films. I couldn’t be happier to be involved with distributing this one.”
“‘Darling’ is a love letter to those chilling, old-school horror films that get under your skin and stay there,” added Keating. “I’m thrilled and honored to be teaming up with Screen Media to cause some serious nightmares for audiences around the globe.”
The deal was negotiated by Needle at Screen Media, with Bill Straus of newly formed Bridge Independent on behalf of the filmmakers. Screen Media Films will release the film in theaters in early 2016.
One of the first reviews of DARLING, directed by Mickey Keating, just hit. Katie Rife wrote about the experiences of day one at Fantastic Fest, and included this about GEP’s newest psycho-thriller:
Darling (B+), the fourth feature from Pod’s Mickey Keating. Lauren Ashley Carter (Pod, Jug Face) turns in a mesmerizing performance as Darling, an anonymous woman in an indeterminate year who takes a care-taking job in an elegant New York townhouse. On her way out the door, the owner tells Darling that there have been rumors about the house and its former caretaker, who committed suicide. But, she assures her, “nothing like that could ever happen again.” Shot in gorgeous black and white, this pseudo-Satanic riff on Repulsion and The Shining uses minimal locations and minimal characters; Sean Young and Larry Fessenden provide genre cred in small roles, but Carter is alone on screen for most of the movie. Her breakdown (or maybe it’s a possession?) is underscored by jarring sound effects and flashy editing tricks that, applied incorrectly, could seem pretentious. But here, they work, because they actually makes sense in the context of the story. Deeply unsettling, with flashes of extreme violence, Darling is a ghost story with no ghost, just Carter’s intense eyes, expressive face, and an ominous white door at the end of a hallway.
EW’s made a comprehensive list of the 16 must-see movies at this year’s Fantastic Fest. Of those sixteen movies, the ever-busy Fessenden has a featured role in three different films.
Check out EW’s full list of recommendations.
Here are the Fessenden-featured picks:
Southbound
Horror hits the desert highway in this connected collection of terror tales from directors David Bruckner, Patrick Horvath, Roxanne Benjamin, and the filmmaking collective Radio Silence.
Writer-director Joe Begos made a gory splash with his debut film, alien-monster movie ‘Almost Human,’ and now returns with this much-anticipated tale of a drifter with telekinetic abilities. The cast boasts a host of familiar faces from recent indie-horror outings including Graham Skipper (‘Almost Human’), Jeremy Gardner (‘The Battery’), Matt Mercer (‘Contracted: Phase II’), Noah Segan (‘Starry Eyes,’ ‘Some Kind of Hate’), Brian Morvant (‘Pod’), and Lauren Ashley Carter (‘Jug Face’).
We’re not above a good skewering! UNTIL DAWN got the Honest Trailer treatment, check it out for the (mildly spoiler-y) rundown of what the PS4 game’s all about.
“Where there are no bad decisions, only really bad decisions!”
The Austin Chronicle spoke with Mickey Keating directing GEP’s upcoming psycho-tense thriller DARLING.
Darling Mickey
Prolific director Mickey Keating dials into the Sixties
by Richard Whittaker
Mickey Keating can’t stop. The writer/director stunned SXSW audiences this spring with his X-Files-influenced horror Pod, he’s debuting his latest feature, Darling, at Fantastic Fest, and he’s already in post-production on his next project, Carnage Park. He said, “Honestly, man, I just love making movies, and when I’m not making movies, I’m panicking.”
Shot in black and white, and in 1:1.66 ratio as a deliberate homage to Repulsion and Stanley Kubrick’s early work, Keating describes Darling as “a Sixties-style descent into madness.” It follows the title character (Lauren Ashley Carter, Pod, Jug Face) as she takes the job of caretaker in a Manhattan apartment, only to discover there’s something far more sinister lurking in the Upper East Side than roaches and rats. “I love films about loners,” Keating said, and while Darling may be geographically distant from the rural isolation of Pod, they are still connected. He said, “What we really tried to capture was this isolated, ghostly sensibility in a place where there are millions and millions of people at any corner.”
Carter isn’t the only Pod alumnus here, with co-stars Brian Morvant and Larry Fessenden making the trip to the Big Apple. The reason for their casting was simple: Keating had a great experience working with them the first time. “It seemed like some magical occurrence, so while we’re waiting for sound mix, while we’re waiting for a composer, let’s go make another film.”
Some might find that quick turnaround daunting, but Keating pointed to the inspiration of John Cassavetes, who poured his own savings into Faces, or Sam Fuller, who shot the revolutionary Shock Corridor in 10 days. Confronted by that work ethic, he said, “It’s hard for me in my mind to make up an excuse and not be inspired. … If there’s a way for me to tell a story that makes sense in whatever box I’m currently confined in, I’ll find a way to make it work.”
Add Fessenden to the list of influences. Aside from acting, he’s also a respected writer, director, and producer, and widely seen as the patron saint of indie horror. Keating acknowledges a huge debt, both creatively and careerwise. As a college student, he found the number for Fessenden’s Glass Eye Pix production house in a press release, cold-called, and ended up with two summers of internships, “watching and observing and doing whatever they needed for me to do.” Calling his time there “a tremendously valuable learning experience,” he said that for aspiring young filmmakers, “Glass Eye Pix stood as a mecca; you can make art, you can make your independent films, you can tell your offbeat stories.”
The trio of Fessenden, Cassavetes, and Fuller weren’t the only independently minded auteurs that inspired Keating. During the editing of Pod, he immersed himself in the work of experimental filmmakers Hollis Frampton and Stan Brakhage, and their aesthetics seeped into his own approach to storytelling. He describes that as a reaction to too many contemporary indie horrors that feel like “pseudo-studio films on a smaller budget. You don’t see that kind of freedom and enthusiasm with editing and experimentalism that you got in the Sixties and Seventies.”
Darling screens Friday, Sept. 25, 5:20pm, and Thursday, Oct. 1, 1:30pm.
Fantastic Fest 2015 runs Sept. 24 through Oct. 1 at the Alamo South Lamar. Fest badges are sold out, but often during the festival, individual tickets for films will open up, so patient and intrepid Austinites still have a chance to sample the wide array of films on offer. See www.fantasticfest.com for more info.
Vice’s The Creators Project just spoke with Fessenden about the history behind and process of co-writing (with GEP pal Graham Reznick) a 10,000 page script for the PS4 game UNTIL DAWN.
From the interview on The Creators Project:
Inside Until Dawn’s 10,000-Page Video Game Script
by Giaco Furino
The horror video game Until Dawn, which released at the end of the August for Playstation 4, is garnering lots of positive reviews and excitement in the community. VICE Gaming calls it the “Sleeper Slasher Hit of the Summer,” and YouTube names it the most-streamed video game of the month on their service. The game is being lauded for its impressive facial motion capture but specific attention is being paid to its sprawling, branching storyline.
The game follows a familiar horror movie conceit: eight friends go to a remote mountain getaway and soon realize they might not be alone. The twist with this game? The story is massive, and every choice a player makes impacts events later on in the game through a mechanic called, appropriately, the “butterfly effect.” So, what does it take to write such a big script? To get an idea, The Creators Project talks to Larry Fessenden, writer, director, actor and head of the indie horror production company Glass Eye Pix who, with writing partner Graham Reznick, crafted the story for Supermassive Games.
“I was interviewed by the company Supermassive because they heard about Glass Eye Pix and the kind of movies we make, and there are some themes in the game that overlap my interests so they asked me to have a meeting,” Fessenden explains. “When it was time to submit a spec script, I called Graham Reznick. Graham and I had been writing scripts together for a while and we really had a good flow. And also Graham was a gamer, and I wanted to bring on somebody who had a sense and a love of the genre. I’d never played a video game before.”
So, how long is the script for Until Dawn? “There’s an Easter Egg in the game that’s called ‘1000 pages’ and Graham and I were laughing about that, because all in all it ended up being around 10,000 pages that we wrote. That number’s derived from the fact that we wrote the game twice, once for Playstation 3, and once for Playstation 4.”
News of the game originally made waves when it was announced as a title for an older gaming system, the aforementioned Playstation 3. But Fessenden explains that, after the original script was written, “They had the inspiration to try and up the ante, and move it to a more sophisticated gaming tool. There are much more detailed performances because the motion-capture technology is improved.”
The bulk of the original plot, Fessenden describes, was created by Supermassive, “and then they would work with their game designers to make sure that the branching patterns would work. So we would get a blueprint, and that’s where Graham and I would refine the characters. Honestly, the whole thing was checks and balances. I would check Graham, Graham would check me, and we would check what they sent to us. So it was really a collaborative effort between all of us.”
It makes one wonder, how do you even approach a project this large? “Once we would get these blueprints for a chapter, we would split it up. We’d say ‘You write the first half, I’ll write the second half.’ And then we would Skype each other and read each other’s work. So what you’re hearing at the end has really been combed over by both of us. And then we’d submit it back and they would have notes, based on technical things. So it was a very, very organic back-and-forth.”
Fessenden seems intrigued by the narrative differences between a horror film and this branching horror video game. “There’s a very specific approach when you’re doing a story like this. In a narrative film, you’re putting the perspective of the character out there and you’re saying ‘The character makes this choice and that leads to this unfortunate end.’ There’s a moral implication, and that’s a filmmaker or an author saying ‘This is how I see the world.’ And the audience walks out with a sense of that, with a message to contemplate. That’s very different from inviting the audience to write the script with you. Or to tell the story, and make those choices. It’s a different thing. It’s not as presentational, it’s invitational.”
When we ask how Fessenden feels about this level of audience participation, he raises a great point, “I mean… a lot of people watch horror movies that way. They yell at the screen ‘Don’t go into the basement!’ And now they have the opportunity to make those decisions for the characters.” And he’s right, instead of yelling “don’t go into the basement!” Players finally have the control to turn that character around and shoo them out the front door. Let’s just hope there isn’t something worse waiting on the lawn.
Check out the kind words from a fan of the new I SELL THE DEAD Vinyl Soundtrack, and take a peek at the color of the record itself.
Entertainment Weekly has the first teaser trailer for GEP’s DARLING. The film premieres at Fantastic Fest, is directed by Mickey Keating, starring Lauren Ashley Carter, and, as the trailer states, “This film contains flashing lights and hallucinatory images.”
Dread Central has details on the special features coming with Scream Factory’s release of THE LARRY FESSENDEN COLLECTION, which collects Fessenden’s NO TELLING, HABIT, WENDIGO, and THE LAST WINTER.
Scream Factory, in conjunction with IFC Midnight, will bring together four critically-acclaimed films by this multi-talented filmmaker with the release of the four-disc The Larry Fessenden Collection on Blu-ray on October 20, 2015. Marking the first time these films have been available on Blu-ray, The Larry Fessenden Collection includes No Telling, Habit, Wendigo, and The Last Winter and features new, director-supervised HD transfers. The first three hundred fans who pre-order their copies from ShoutFactory.com will have their slipcase signed by Larry Fessenden.
From the Press Release:
Award-winning filmmaker Larry Fessenden has become an indie horror legend with his idiosyncratic, genre-bending films. As a writer, producer, director, and actor, Fessenden’s oeuvre has developed a passionate fan base who applaud his realistic, character-driven horror stories. Fessenden’s films often examine the disintegration of civilization and humanity, provoking terror in the viewer through psychological dread, not gratuitous gore.
Scream Factory, in conjunction with IFC Midnight, will bring together four critically-acclaimed films by this multi-talented filmmaker with the release of the four-disc The Larry Fessenden Collection on Blu-ray on October 20, 2015. Marking the first time these films have been available on Blu-ray, The Larry Fessenden Collection includes No Telling, Habit, Wendigo, and The Last Winter and features new, director-supervised HD transfers. The first three hundred fans who pre-order their copies from ShoutFactory.com will have their slipcase signed by Larry Fessenden.
The most complete retrospective of the filmmaker’s work to date, the set also boasts a bevy of bonus content, including a 24-page booklet with liner notes by Fangoria’s Michael Gingold that includes never-before-seen photos; storyboards and sketches; new audio commentaries with Larry Fessenden, Patricia Clarkson, Jake Weber, and John Speredakos; a new interview with Larry Fessenden; making-of featurettes for No Telling, Habit, and The Last Winter; Fessenden’s short films, including the rarities White Trash and Santa Claws; Fessenden’s music videos “Save You from Yourself,” “Frankenstein Cannot be Stopped,” and “Tired of Killing Myself”; the feature-length documentary The Making of The Last Winter; behind-the-scenes featuettes; archival footage; and much more.
Films in The Larry Fessenden Collection:
No Telling (1991): An organic-farming advocate meets a woman whose husband does weird limb transplant experiments with animals.
Habit (1995): A down-on-his-luck New York bohemian meets a mysterious women at a Halloween party, believing she might be a vampire.
Wendigo (2001): A family vacationing in the country are terrorized by the ferocious spirit of the Wendigo, a Native American myth made manifest in their son’s imagination.
The Last Winter (2006): Strange events begin to plague a crew sent to evaluate the environmental impact of oil drilling in the Arctic.
Stars: Connie Britton, Ron Perlman , Larry Fessenden, Meredith Snaider, Miriam Healy-Louie, Patricia Clarkson, Jake Weber, Erik Per Sullivan, James Le Gros
The Larry Fessenden Collection Special Features
24-Page Booklet with liner notes by Fangoria’s Michael Gingold, featuring never-before-seen photos, storyboards and sketches.
No Telling
NEW director-approved HD Transfer
NEW audio commentary with writer/director/executive producer Larry Fessenden
Making of No Telling (1991)
Archival footage (1990)
Short Film White Trash (1979) with new music by composer Will Bates
Glass Eye Pix Sizzle Reel (1985-1990)
Habit
NEW director-approved HD Transfer
NEW audio commentary with actor/director/writer/editor Larry Fessenden
The Making of Habit featurette (1995)
Short film Habit (1981) (20 minutes)
The Making of short film Habit (1981)
“Save You from Yourself” music video
Theatrical trailer
Short film N Is for Nexus from Magnet Releasing’s ABCs of Death 2
The Making of N Is for Nexus
“Frankenstein Cannot Be Stopped” music video
Wendigo
NEW director-approved HD Transfer
NEW audio commentary with writer/director/editor Larry Fessenden
NEW audio commentary with actors Patricia Clarkson, Jake Weber, and John Speredakos
Search for the Wendigo – Behind-the-Scenes featurette (2001)
Interview with Larry Fessenden (2001)
WENDIGO: animated series trailer
Short Film Santa Claws (2008)
Theatrical trailer
Glass Eye Pix Sizzle Reel (2010)
The Last Winter
Audio commentary with co-writer/director/producer/editor Larry Fessenden
The Making of The Last Winter – full-length documentary featuring deleted scenes
Archival footage (2005)
Short film Jebediah
Short film Origins
Short film Mister
“Tired of Killing Myself” music video
NEW 2015 interview with Larry Fessenden
Glass Eye Pix Sizzle Reel (2014)
The Films of Larry Fessenden: Vol 2
Wendigo & The Last Winter
The Films of Larry Fessenden: Vol 1
Habit & No Telling
The Innkeepers
Limited Edition Blu-Ray
The House Of The Devil
Collector Edition Blu-Ray
WENDIGO Figures
From Glass Eye Toyz
CRUMB CATCHER Blu-Ray
From Arrow Video
BLACKOUT BLU-RAY
From Dark Sky Selects
FOXHOLE BLU-RAY
From Vinegar Syndrome
9 Tales From Beyond The Pale
on Amazon!
THE LARRY FESSENDEN COLLECTION Blu-ray
on Amazon!
BENEATH Blu-ray & DVD
on Amazon!
