March 19, 2015
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WE ARE STILL HERE Review: “Entertaining Chiller”

wearestillhere

“genre fans with a sense of history should make this entertaining chiller a sought-after item for midnight slots, and a welcome pickup for specialty home-format distribbers.”

“A rare horror exercise whose characters are nearly all well into middle age, “We Are Still Here” introduces the Sacchettis as they drive toward their new home in upstate New York in the dead of winter. Both are grieving the recent loss of their only child, Bobby, in a car accident, but hope the move will provide some distance from that tragedy for Anne (Barbara Crampton, “Re-Animator”) in particular, who’s clearly suffering from major depression. To the dismay of her husband, Paul (Andrew Sensenig), however, she immediately claims to feel Bobby’s “presence” in their new digs.”

more from Dennis Harvey’s Review at Variety.

March 17, 2015
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POD Review: “A Manic Ordeal”

fesspod
“Like his debut feature, the straightforward-yet-mega stylized Ritual, Mickey Keating’s Pod is mostly an overnighter. The young, excitable director injects energy into his movies, clearly interested in the propulsive snowball of an extreme situation that only grows more so. Riffing on another classical genre style, Pod switches out Ritual’s desert motel dilemma for the frozen Northeast and paranoid sci-fi horror to unfold like a 75-minute argument. The kind that you’re afraid won’t end unless someone dies. They do.

Pod strobes and smash cuts and pushes in on TVs, both escalating the sense of unease and discomfort, but also enjoying the ways it creates such atmosphere as only film can. Ritual had a similar preoccupation, with the viewer and the film itself aware the characters are increasingly in a situation purely from movieland. Later in Pod, a third act entrance from indie horror legend Larry Fessenden—draped in trenchcoat and fog—only pushes Pod’s movie-ness.”

more from Sam Zimmerman’s review at Shock Til You Drop

March 16, 2015
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Critics Dig WE ARE STILL HERE at SXSW

The reviews are coming in for WE ARE STILL HERE, directed by GEP pal Ted Geoghegan, starring Barbara Crampton and Andrew Sensenig and featuring Lisa Marie, Fessenden, and Monte Markham!

“Geoghegan lets loose and delivers a satisfying and chilling climax
while balancing the gore and tension nicely.

…Crampton and Sensenig make for a believable couple.
They’re both wounded and dealing with it in different ways.
…As always, Larry Fessenden delivers a rock solid performance with finely tuned comedic beats.”
– Patrick Cooper, BLOODY-DISGUSTING

“Geoghegan establishes what seems to be a simple haunted house set-up
but adds complications which make the outcome less predictable…

The pleasantly mature Crampton and Sensenig underplay sensitively, giving a little depth to their plight.
…an afternoon séance raises the wrong ghost, allowing Fessenden
to do an impressive possessed act, and the film starts to take after the gorier efforts of the 1980s”
– Kim Newman,
 SCREEN DAILY

“We Are Still Here is the first incredibly scary and pure horror film of 2015.
There’s just nothing out there like it, and there hasn’t been in quite some time.
…We all should consider ourselves lucky that Barbara Crampton decided to resume her acting career
because this lady brings a lot to the table that’s been sorely missing.
with solid performances from the always great Larry Fessenden,
the wonderfully odd Lisa Marie, and the ever-frazzled Andrew Sensenig;
and we have a winner here, folks.”

– Steve Barton, DREAD CENTRAL 

“Writer/producer Ted Geoghegan makes an assured directorial debut
with the stylish and mesmerizing WE ARE STILL HERE.
…it’s an absolute pleasure to see Barbara Crampton, Andrew Sensenig, Monte Markham,
and Larry Fessenden deliver note-perfect performances in substantial roles.”
– Peter Martin, TWITCH FILM

“It takes a special film and one that offers something different to the table
to not only revive the interest of the horror viewer, but the subgenre as a whole.
Thankfully, Ted Geoghegan’s WE ARE STILL HERE
is not only that something different that the genre needs,

but is also a wildly original and terrifyingly entertaining ride,
sure to be the most memorable genre film of the year.
…Lisa Marie and Larry Fessenden give two great performances as May and Jacob,
with Fessenden providing one of the scariest scenes in the entire film.”
– Jerry Smith, ICONS OF FRIGHT

“what elevates WE ARE STILL HERE even further is the way it manages,
from first line to very last,
 to imbue its exploration of the outer extremes of darkness and horror
with a real poignancy, heart and humanity.”

– Shawn Macomber, FANGORIA

Really enjoyed ‘s Fulci-inspired chiller WE ARE STILL HERE,
which as a bonus has the best Fessenden performance since HABIT.
 · INDIEWIRE

 we-are-still-here

March 15, 2015
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Austin Chronicle on WE ARE STILL HERE

With all the buzz of SXSW swirling, the Austin Chronicle wrote up a great piece about GEP pal Ted Geoghegan, director of WE ARE STILL HERE (starring Fessenden)!

Excerpted From The Austin Chronicle:

“When I moved out to New York, I had quite a few people here meet me and be surprised. They’d say, ‘I know who you are. Who’s your publicist? I don’t feel like I should know you from any of the projects you’ve been involved with, so you must have a really good publicist.’ Well, I don’t, so I guess I’m my own publicist.”

We Are Still Here follows a middle-aged couple (Barbara Crampton and Andrew Sensenig) who move to a rural New England community to heal after the accidental death of their son. However, the Victorian house they have bought comes with dark and terrible secrets, and they soon realize that they may not be alone in their grief.

…As for the role of May’s husband, that part was written for another personal friend: Larry Fessenden, the uncrowned king of New York indie horror. While literally dozens of directors have given the writer/producer/director cameo parts in their films, Geoghegan envisioned something more for Fessenden. “He’s an immensely talented actor, and he has just such an expressive, incredible face, and I just wanted him to have a big, meaty role. If I had it my way, in my next movie, I’d have him in every frame of the thing.”

WE ARE

March 13, 2015
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Backstage with SCHARPLING & WURSTER and SPECIAL GUESTS

12 March 2015: Fessenden backstage with Kevin Corrigan Jon Wurster, Kim Gordon and Tom Scharpling at the Bell House Thursday night. Much merriment was enjoyed by the sold out crowd for two shows. Check out Scharpling and Wurster in Chicago and L.A.; check out their forthcoming box set and buy Gordon’s book, Girl in a Band !

gorchnight

March 12, 2015
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The Gorch is BACK!

TONIGHT AT THE BELL HOUSE!
SCHARPLING & WURSTER LIVE! WITH SPECIAL GUESTS
THU 3/12 Doors: 7:00 pm / Show: 8:00 pm
This event is 18 and over

sharplingLive

FESSENDEN and KEVIN CORRIGAN reprieve their roles
as Sharpling and Wurster in a live reading of  THE GORCH
SOLD OUT!!

March 12, 2015
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Another TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE wraps in L.A.

3.11.15: Tales vet Jeff Buhler (“This Oracle Moon,” “Stranger” as well as scripts for film reboots PET SEMATARY and JACOB’S LADDER is joined by cast members Josh Leonard (BITTER FEAST, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT), Mark Kelly (UNEARTHED, INSANITORIUM), Heather Goldenhersh (SCHOOL OF ROCK, KINSEY), and Molly Bryant (DEAD MAN WALKING).

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Mark Kelly, Jeff Buhler, Heather Goldenhersh, Josh Leonard, Molly Bryant, sound maestro Zed Starkovich

March 11, 2015
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‘Pod’ Director Mickey Keating Talks ‘Darling’ and ‘Carnage Park’

Bloody-Disgusting’s launching a major interview with GEP pal and director of the upcoming ‘Pod’ Mickey Keating, and today they’ve put out his comments on his new projects ‘Carnage Park’ and GEP-produced ‘Darling’.

From Bloody-Disgusting:

While Pod premiere this weekend, Keating is already is post-production on Darling, pictured, which was shot in November with Larry Fessenden’s Glass Eye Pix, starring Lauren Carter, Brian Morvant, and Sean Young.

“I wanted to do something on the complete opposite end of the spectrum from Pod, so this one’s a black-and-white, 1960s style descent into madness,” Keating exclusively tells Bloody Disgusting. “It’s more experimental, like nightmare or a bad drug trip. A surreal nod to The Innocents, Eraserhead, Diabolique, The Haunting, Repulsion, The Tenant, Altman’s That Cold Day In The Park, and to the works of Hollis Frampton.

“Strangely though, it’s definitely my meanest, goriest film yet,” he adds.

In addition, it was announced in February that Keating is set to get behind the camera for the survival horror Carnage Park.

“It’s going to be a very vicious horror film set entirely during the day, in a cruel stretch of California desert,” explains Keating. “It’s my first period piece – set in 1978 – and it’s about a botched bank heist that quickly spirals into a horrific fight for survival. It’ll be a nod to the legendary Sam Peckinpah and his masterpiece The Getaway, the new French Extremism films of the 2000s, and The Most Dangerous Game.

“We’re locking down a pretty cool cast now and I’m very excited to make a cruel, pulpy horror film,” he excitedly adds.

Darling

 

March 10, 2015
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Today! LATE PHASES Out On DVD, BLU-Ray!

The wait is over, get your copy today!

“…a sprightly horror movie about finding new purpose in old bones… Robert Kurtzman’s old-school effects produce an endearingly shaggy creature that’s pleasingly tactile and beholden to the laws of physics.” -JEANNETTE CATSOULIS, NY TIMES

LP NEW THREE

March 9, 2015
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Tomorrow’s The Day! LATE PHASES on Blu and DVD!

It’s hard to hide from something with such a good sense of smell!

“In addition to the careful parceling-out of information and anticipation, the film benefits enormously from Damici’s lead performance: gruff, funny, aggressive, and, of course, commanding sympathy, the character compellingly entices the audience to board this ride.” – ZACHARY WIGON, VILLAGE VOICE

LP NEW TWO