Fessenden joins long-time collaborator David “The Impact Addict” Leslie and friends as they kick off the Tom Murrin Festival. Check out the schedule here and come help celebrate the beloved Alien Comic with a multitude of wacky performances by luminaries and acolytes of the downtown scene.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
STANLEY FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES JOE DANTE TO RECEIVE “MASTER OF HORROR” AWARD PRESENTED BY MICK GARRIS, FULL CAST FOR TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE: THE STANLEY EDITION, PANELS, AND ADDED SCREENINGS
 
April 14, 2014 (Denver, CO) – The Stanley Film Festival (SFF), presented by Chiller and produced by the Denver Film Society, announced their full lineup of panels, added screenings, Dean’s Cup short films, and the full cast of TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE: The Stanley Edition (presented by Glass Eye Pix). Celebrating the best in independent horror cinema, SFF will showcase a full slate of features, shorts, panels and fully immersive experiences – set at the Stanley Hotel. The haunted landmark opened in 1909 and was the inspiration for Stephen King’s Overlook Hotel in The Shining.

The Stanley Film Festival is honored to recognize Joe Dante (Gremlins, The Howling, Piranha) with the inaugural 2014 Stanley Film Festival Master of Horror award. The award will be presented by horror icon, Mick Garris (Sleepwalkers, The Shinning, The Stand, Masters of Horror), creator and chief organizer of the fabled master of horror dinners attended by great filmmakers past and present on Sunday, April 27 at the Stanley Awards Horror Brunch. Not only will festival goers be treated to an awards ceremony with some of the genre’s most prolific players, they will enjoy one hell of a gory brunch as well.

Adding to the 4-day celebration of horror, “Tales From Beyond the Pale”: The Stanley Edition has been created specifically for SFF 2014. “Tales From Beyond the Pale” is an ongoing series of audio dramas penned by luminaries from the world of contemporary horror. The Stanley Edition will proudly feature SFF attendees Martin Starr (Dead Snow: Red vs. Dead), Jocelyn DeBoer (Dead Snow: Red vs. Dead), AJ Bowen (The Sacrament), Ana Asensio and noted director and writer Larry Fessenden and additional special guests. The performance will be held at the Historic Park Theatre in downtown Estes Park on Saturday, April 26 at 4:45pm.

“Our festival is a celebration of horror in all its forms, with live performance being chief among events to get excited about. The eerie atmosphere of the Historic Park Theatre will provide the perfect backdrop to perform the Stanley’s very first live radio play,” says Stanley Film Festival Program Director, Landon Zakheim. “Larry Fessenden, Glenn McQuaid and their troupe of players bring a tremendous sense of creativity and talent that will make this one of a kind experience a highlight for years to come.”

Rounding out the weekend is a series of panels. SpectreVision cofounders Elijah Wood, Daniel Noah and Josh Waller will present a panel about their film production and music management company and their future plans. Additional panels include Who Watches This Stuff?: Buying, Selling, Distributing and Exhibiting Horror Films Today as well as a panel focusing on the New Wave of horror featuring Ti West, Travis Stevens, Glenn McQuaid and Larry Fessenden.

Panel moderator Ryan Turek and Rebekah McKendry will also bring their hit Los Angeles horror event, Dead Right Horror Trivia, to the Wheel Bar in Estes Park on Friday Night. Scare yourself with how much you actually know about horror. While this event is free and open to the public, pre-registration is strongly encouraged.

“We could not be more excited to welcome such a sublime cast of characters to the Festival this year,” says Denver Film Society’s Festival Director Britta Erickson, “each guest plays a unique role in crafting this truly interactive horror experience for genre fans and filmmakers alike.”

ADDED SCREENINGS:

LFO – Sweden/Denmark/2013 – (Director: Antonio Tublen, Featuring Patrik Karlson, Izabella Jo Tschig, Per Löfberg, Ahnna Rasch, Lukas Loughran) – Presented by SpectreVision, a hermit discovers he can control people’s minds through a unique pattern of sound frequencies, which he in turn uses on his unsuspecting neighbors.

STANLEY DEAN’S CUP SHORTS: See the future of horror with short films from local, national and international students. The Competition features a Juried and Audience Award with cash prizes going to the winning schools.

BANEFUL, USA, directed by David Roth: Five college students break into an abandoned insane asylum in this horror/comedy mashup. BURST, USA, directed by Hannah Waterbury: A secluded female scientist must come to terms with the killer fungus she has contracted. BAREFOOT, Israel, directed by Amit Asraf: Nine moments in a life of a girl as she searches for the meaning of revenge. KELLERKIND, Germany, directed by Julia Ocker: A woman gives birth to a child. But the child is absolutely different from other children. PONDEROSA DRIVE, directed by Kirsten West: A realtor staging a foreclosed cabin finds the family still settled, making it known that no one’s leaving anytime soon. THE LOST BOY, USA, directed by John McSween: A father takes his family on vacation in the woods where they stumble into an ancient ritual for eternal youth. VELVET VOYEUR, USA, directed by Quinn Williams: After the tragic suicide of his sister, Hayden hires three models to partake in a dark, visceral photo shoot, in order to interpret his sister’s beauty and pain. Hayden captures his vision, and his method is death. WORMBUG, Canada, directed by Arlen Konopaki: After Henry swallows a bug in his sleep, very strange things start happening to him.

PANEL DISCUSSIONS:

NEW WAVE: THE SURVIVAL OF INDEPENDENT HORROR
Saturday, April 26 1:30pm
In a genre often clogged with cliche and camp, new auteurs emerge with gruesome ideas and innovative executions that keep the horror alive. Learn secrets of the shoestring trade and production horror stories from those who lived to tell the tales.

PANELISTS: Ti West (The Sacrament), Larry Fessenden (Tales From Beyond The Pale, Wendingo), Glenn McQuaid (I Sell The Dead, Tales From Beyond The Pale), Travis Stevens (Cheap Thrills, Jodorowsky’s Dune, Starry Eyes)
MODERATOR: Ryan Turek

SPECTREVISIONARIES
Saturday, April 26 3:00pm
Founded in 2010 by partners Elijah Wood, Daniel Noah and Josh C. Waller, SpectreVision is a film production and music management company created to tell heartfelt, character-driven stories tackling real, social and emotional issues that test the boundaries of the horror genre.

PANELISTS: Elijah Wood, Daniel Noah, Josh Waller, Ana Lily Amirpour (A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night), Craig MacNeill (The Boy)
MODERATOR: Devin Faraci (Badass Digest)

WHO WATCHES THIS STUFF?: BUYING, SELLING AND DISTRIBUTING HORROR TODAY
Saturday, April 26 12:00pm
Get to know the buyers, sellers, distributors, and exhibitors of the finest in world horror as they discuss the realities of peddling genre cinema in today’s climate.

PANELISTS: James Shapiro (Drafthouse Films), Peter Van Steemburg (Magnolia Pictures) Crystal Decker Orren (Well Go USA Entertainment)
MODERATOR: Ryland Aldrich (Twitch)

For even more updates “Like” SFF on Facebook (Facebook.com/StanleyFilmFest), “Follow” SFF on Twitter and Instagram(@StanleyFilmFest) and join the conversation using the hashtag #StanleyFilmFest.

From HMPod.com:

“One of the busiest dudes working in the horror genre, Larry Fessenden is an actor, writer, director & producer. On this special episode of The Horror Movie Show, hosts Jerry & Mark wax rhapsodic about several of Larry’s movies.

Three movies in which Larry acts — Jug Face, You’re Next & We Are What We Are — madeHMPod‘s Top 10 list for 2013. A brief review of each movie begins this retrospective.

As producer & director, Larry’s new flick Beneath is a good, old-fashioned creature feature about a gigantic hungry fish in a very small pond, feasting upon the disloyal bodies of naughty teenagers. Larry’s production studio, Glass Eye Pix, has made at least one movie that is not horror, but will make some viewers squirm regardless. The Comedy is the sort of movie that divides an audience into those who love it & those who loathe it.

I Sell the Dead, starring Larry & loveable Dominic Monaghan (The Lord of the Rings, Lost), is a blackly comic tale of body-snatching ghouls who are in way over their heads, so to speak.

Two more movies directed & written by Larry wrap up this episode. The Last Winter (2006) is a tale of nature’s revenge on shortsighted humanity, with Ron Perlman playing the sort of swine he plays so well. Wendigo (2001) stars Jake Weber & Patricia Clarkson as nice people caught up in a small-town cretin’s anger.

Expect to see HMPod‘s interview with Larry, exclusive to this site & Eli Roth‘s The Crypt, coming soon.”

Listen to the podcast here!

From indiewire: 

“What films have inspired you?

There are four movies that inspired “Summer of Blood.” Robert Bierman’s “Vampire’s Kiss,” Mary Harron’s “American Psycho,” Larry Fessenden’s “Habit,” and Rick Alverson’s “The Comedy.” For the record, my favorite horror comedy of all time is “American Werewolf in London.: I loved watching horror films as a teenager in the 80s. In the 90s, during college, I discovered and loved the films of Woody Allen.”

Director Onur Tukel’s new movie “Summer of Blood” is showing at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival.

Check out the full interview at indiewire.com

The Stanley Film Festival full line-up has been announced! In addition to Glass Eye Pix’s special Stanley Edition of TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE LIVE, GEP’s LATE PHASES, directed by Adrian Garcia Bogliano, will be playing the fest. Check out the full program below.

From the official press release:

The Stanley Film Festival (SFF) produced by the Denver Film Society (DFS) and presented by Chiller, announced today its full line-up and schedule. As previously announced, Doc of the Dead will open SFF. The festival, taking place April 24-27, will close with the mockumentary from Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords), What We Do In The Shadows, about a house of vampires trying to get back in touch with modern society. Throughout the four-day celebration of the best in horror cinema, SFF will showcase a full slate of features, shorts, panels, special events and awards presentations at the historic haunted Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado.

The Stanley Film Festival is honored to welcome the founders of SpectreVision, Elijah Wood, Daniel Noah and Josh Waller to accept the Visionary Award for their contribution to  independent film. Founded in 2010, SpectreVision is a film production and music management company created to tell heartfelt, character-driven stories tackling real, emotional and social issues that test the boundaries of the horror genre. The Visionary Award presentation will be followed by a screening of SpectreVision’s executive produced film, Open Windows, an otherworldly new thriller which stars Wood.

“The Stanley Film Festival is about showcasing horror films that not only scare and entertain, but seek to elevate the genre,” said Denver Film Society Festival Director Britta Erickson. “SpectreVision has broken onto the scene in a fantastic fashion an is leading the industry by producing films that feed the horror audience the type of genre fare they crave. We are thrilled to honor them with our second annual Visionary Award.”

In addition to the Visionary Award presentation and screening of Open Windows, SFF will spotlight SpectreVision’s wide-ranging influence in the industry with a panel highlighting the combined vision of Elijah Wood, Daniel Noah and Josh Waller as they talk about their recent productions – Cooties and A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night – which both premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, as well as new and upcoming projects including The Boy. SpectreVison will also present a specially curated retrospective screening of Who Can Kill A Child? and the dynamic trio will also treat festival-goers to special guest DJ sets.

The 2014 Stanley Film Festival film selection was curated by SFF Programming Director Landon Zakheim, DFS Programmer Matthew Campbell and SFF Programming Consultant Michael Lerman.

“This has been a tremendous year for horror cinema. We’re especially honored to showcase some the world’s finest new features, time honored staples of the genre presented by special guests and a truly innovative slate of short films,” said Zakheim.

Individual tickets and the full program are now available at www.stanleyfilmfest.com.

FEATURE PRESENTATIONS:
The Babadook – Australia/2013 – (Director: Jennifer Kent, Featuring Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall, Hayley McElhinney ) – A break-out hit at the Sundance Film Festival, Jennifer Kent’s terrifying debut about an unhinged child, his suffering mother and a sinister spectre that may or may not exist offers sophisticated scares and commanding tension.

Blood Glacier  – Austria/2013 – (Director: Marvin Kren, Featuring Gerhard Liebmann, Edita Malovcic, Brigitte Kren, Hille Beseler, Peter Knaack) – A group of scientists stationed in the German Alps discover a melting glacier that leaks a strange red liquid. When that liquid begins producing rapidly increasing biological monstrosities, all hope may be lost in this environmental chiller.

Dead Snow: Red vs. Dead – Norway/Iceland/2014 – (Director: Tommy Wirkola, Featuring Vegar Hoel, Martin Starr, Jocelyn DeBoer, Ingrid Haas) –  In the follow up to his cult hit, director Tommy Wirkola brings back Colonel Herzog to lead his Nazi zombie army on their unholy quest. Although this time, a Russian battalion is wakened for the fight.

Doc of the Dead – USA/2014 – (Director: Alexandre O. Philippe, Featuring George Romero, Simon Pegg, Bruce Campbell, Max Brooks, Tom Savini, Greg Nicotero, Robert Kirkman)-  Could there be a real zombie outbreak? If so, Doc of the Dead can help you prepare. This definitive guide to all things undead delves deep into the evolution of the zombie genre in film and literature, as well as its impact and influence on pop culture, to deliver a comprehensive, fast-paced, highly entertaining look at a contemporary social pandemic of global proportions.

Housebound – New Zealand/2014 – (Director: Gerard Johnstone, Featuring  Morgana O’Reilly, Rima Te Wiata, Glen-Paul Waru) -An unruly hooligan sentenced to house arrest at her childhood home must contend with her family, police-handlers and the spectral frights that may be haunting the property in this tautly written comedy-thriller.

Late Phases  – USA/2014 – (Director: Adrian Garcia Bogliano, Featuring Nick Damici, Ethan Embry, Lance Guest, Tina Louise, Rutanya Alda) -When a no-nonsense war vet moves into a secluded retirement community that’s fallen victim to a series of violent beast attacks, he vows to stop the creature once and for all. Stanley Film Festival alum Adrien Garcia Bogliano (Here Comes The Devil) returns with his English-Language debut.

Lesson Of The Evil – Japan/2012 – (Director: Takashi Miike, Featuring Ruth Sundell, Takayuki Yamada,Fumi Nikaidô) -The notorious and prolific Takashi Miike (Audition, Ichi The Killer), one of the living legends of genre, tackles his most controversial subject matter yet in this story of a charismatic teacher with an extreme and violent plan to stop the rash of bullying at his school.

Moebius  – South Korea/2013 – (Director: Kim Ki-duk Featuring Jae-hyeon Jo, Eun-woo Lee, Young-ju Seo )   – Kim Ki-duk’s Freudian breakdown of the family unit sees a wife take revenge upon her adulterous husband by dismembering their son. And then things really take a turn to the extreme as the family falls into complete destruction.

Nothing Bad Can Happen – Germany/2013 – (Director: Katrin Gebbe, Featuring Julius Feldmeier, Sascha Alexander Gersak, Annika Kuhl, Swantje Kohlhof) – Christian devotee Tore has his faith put to the ultimate test after moving in with a religious skeptic and his family. This tension building game of cruelty explores just how often one can turn the other cheek.

Open Windows – Spain/USA/2014 – (Director: Nacho Vigolando, Featuring Elijah Wood, Sasha Grey, Neil Maskell) – This year’s Stanley Film Festival Visionary Award co-recipient Elijah Wood stars in an otherworldly new thriller from cult filmmaker Nacho Vigalondo (Time Crimes). Extreme technical bravado and frenetic energy create the sensation of Rear Window for the digital age.

Ragnarok – Norway/2013 – (Director: Mikkel Brænne Sandemose, Featuring Pål Sverre Hagen, Nicolai Cleve Broch, Bjørn Sundquist, Sofia Helin, Maria Annette Tanderød Berglyd) – An archeologist obsessed with ancient Viking myth stumbles upon the discovery of a lifetime in this good old fashioned creature feature adventure that’s fun for the whole family.

R100  – Japan/2013 – (Director: Hitoshi Matsumoto, Featuring Nao Ohmori, Lindsay Kay Hayward, Hairi Katagiri) – Renowned cult director Hitoshi Matsumoto crafts a bizarre tale of a mysterious S&M club where dominatrixes can strike at any time and its participants can’t escape their leather clad relentlessness

Rigor Mortis – Hong Kong/2013 – (Director: Juno Mak, Featuring Anthony Chan, Siu-hou Chin, Kara Hui, Hoi-Pang Lo, Richard Ng) – Produced by the director of the J-horror sensation series The Grudge comes a viscerally charged, beautifully realized and relentlessly surreal interpretation of traditional tales of supernatural forces guaranteed to attack the sense

The Sacrament – USA/2013 – (Director: Ti West, Featuring Joe Swanberg, AJ Bowen, Kentucker Audley, Amy Seimetz, Gene Jones) -Stanley Film Festival’s inaugural Visionary Award winner Eli Roth produces indie horror icon Ti West’s slow-burn take on the Jonestown Massacre, a smart blend of found-footage style with excellent performances that instill true fear.

Starry Eyes – USA/2014 – ( Directors: Dennis Widmeyer & Dennis Kölsch, Featuring Alexandra Essoe, Amanda Fuller, Fabianne Therese, Noah Segan, Shane Coffey, Natalie Castillo, Pat Healy) – From  the producers of Cheap Thrills and Jorodowsky’s Dune, struggling actress Sarah will give anything to land her dream role in cutthroat Hollywood. But when a storied production company gives her that chance, she learns the true cost of fame.

The Strange Colour of Your Body’s Tears  – Belgium / France / Luxembourg/2013 – (Director: Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani, Featuring Klaus Tange, Ursula Bedena, Joe Koener, Birgit Yew) -In this visual bounty of a thriller, a man searches for his wife through a kaleidoscope of stained glass windows, sliced flesh and sexual intrigue.

Witching and Bitching – Spain/2013 – (Director: Alex De La Iglesia, Featuring Hugo Silva, Mario Casas, Pepón Nieto, Carolina Bang) – Cult director Alex De La Iglesia (The Last Circus) is in top form with this hilarious and gory tale of thieves who find themselves in over their heads when faced with a coven of bloodthirsty witches.

What We Do In The Shadows  – New Zealand/2014 – (Directors: Taika Waititi & Jemaine Clement, Featuring Taika Waititi, Jemaine Clement, Jonathan Brugh) – Living with roommates can always pose quirky challenges. But when you’re a vampire cohabitating with your fellow kind for a few hundred years, things get a bit tricky. From Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords) comes a hilarious mockumentary of a house of vampires trying to get back in touch with modern society.

Who Can Kill A Child?  – Spain/1976 – (Director: Narciso Ibáñez Serrador, Featuring Lewis Fiander, Prunella Ransome, Antonio Iranzo, Miguel Narros) – Presented by SpectreVision, in cooperation with Channel Z, this rarely seen Spanish horror finds an English couple vacationing on an island where the children are murdering all the adults.

SECRET SCREENING: The Stanley Film festival presents a highly anticipated new film from a modern master of gore.

RETROSPECTIVES:
Eyes Wide Shut  – USA/1999 – (Director: Stanley Kubrick, Featuring Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Madison Eginton, Sydney Pollack, Jackie Sawiris) -Longtime Kubrick collaborator and Stanley Film Fest alum Leon Vitali presents a 15th anniversary screening in its European cut of the legendary auteur’s final haunting masterpiece.

The Fall of the House of Usher – France/USA/1928 – (Director: Jean Epstein, Featuring Jean Debucourt, Marguerite Gance, Charles Lamy, Fournez-Goffard) – Silent film with live score. Based on the works of Edgar Allen Poe, this rarely seen macabre silent film continues the Festival’s tradition of live score accompaniment to horror of the past.

Gremlins -USA/1984 – (Director: Joe Dante, Featuring Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Corey Feldman) – Channel Z and horror luminary Joe Dante present a 30th Anniversary screening of the great 80s classic about what happens to irresponsible little Mogwais who eat after midnight.

Sleepwalkers  – USA/1992 – (Director: Mick Garris, Featuring Brian Krause, Mädchen Amick, Alice Krige, Jim Haynie, Ron Perlman, Cindy Pickett) –  Mick Garris (“The Shining” and “The Stand” and “Masters of Horror”) presents his Stephen King penned cult favorite. A mother and son who are not what they seem move to a new town in order to feed.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre – 40th Anniversary Restoration  – USA/1974 – (Director: Tobe Hopper, Featuring Marilyn Burns, Gunnar Hansen, Allen Danziger, Paul A. Partain, William Vail) –
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of this beloved horror classic, MPI Media Group presents the original film restored from an all-new 4k scan authorized by director Tobe Hooper and featuring a dynamic new 7.1 surround sound mix.

FREE FAMILY SCREENING:
The Nightmare Before Christmas – USA/1993 – (Director: Henry Selick, Featuring Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O’Hara) –  Join Jack Skellington as he discovers the strange new world of Christmas Town. Preceded by Pixar’s Toy Story OF TERROR!

SHORTS:

Shorts Program I

JONATHAN’S CHEST, USA, directed by Christopher Radcliff: Everything changes one night for Alex, a troubled teenager, when he is visited by a boy claiming to be his brother — who disappeared years earlier. UNICORN BLOOD, Spain, directed by Alberto Vazquez: Two teddy-bears go hunting unicorns, for their tender flesh and delicious blueberry-flavoured blood which the bears need to stay cute-looking. ANIMALS I KILLED LAST SUMMER, Sweden, directed by Gustav Danielsson: A young boy kills small animals and his father can’t deal with it. GHOST TRAIN, Australia, directed by James Fleming and Kelly Hucker: An elderly man struggling to cope with his wife’s dementia is drawn into a macabre cabaret restaurant where he becomes enchanted by the lead actress. KEKASIH, USA/Malaysia, directed by Diffan Sina Norman: In pursuit of his late wife, a botanical professor encounters a divine presence that will transform him forever. BOX ROOM, Ireland, directed by Michael Lathrop: Behind Jerry’s bedroom wall he discovers a seductive alien creature with which he has sex, leading to a horrific outcome. FLESH, Colombia, directed by Carlos Gómez Salamanca: FLESH reveals the sacrifice of an animal during a countryside celebration in Colombia. THE OBVIOUS CHILD, UK, directed by Stephen Irwin: Somebody broke the girl’s parents. The rabbit was there when it happened. It was an awful mess.

Shorts Program II

HERE BE MONSTERS, New Zealand, directed by Paul Glubb and Nic Gorman: He only has one chance to live the last day of his life. BASKIN, Turkey, directed by Can Evrenol: Four cops, go to hell. THE PRESENT, Taiwan, directed by Joe Hsieh: A hotel manager’s daughter falls for a married man at first sight. Rejected by the man, she embarks on a journey of revenge. THE GUEST, Canada, directed by Jovanka Vuckovic: In this existential thriller, a man must face the consequences of a mysterious bargain he has made. WHITE MORNING, UK, directed by Paul Barritt: Six naughty boys carry out an act of violence exploding into a visual investigation of the war machine the boys become. WAWD AHP, USA, directed by Steve Girard: A man raps in front of the mirror, cuts his head off and has sex with it. There is also a cartoon. ANGST, PISS & SHIT, Norway, directed by Fredrik S. Hana: A young couple that once shared a fascination for mass murder and torture, now resemble a sad and lifeless parody on relationships. PERFECT DRUG, Belgium, directed by Toon Aerts: A heist of strange chemical substances goes wrong when one of the thieves can’t resist drinking the glowing elixir.

Shorts before features

STARRY EYES
THE MUCK, USA, directed by Tony Wash: Laverne arrives home and decides to relax in the bathtub. She strips down, settles into the tub, and closes her eyes. Serenity at last… or so she thought!

LATE PHASES
PAYADA PA’ SATAN, Argentina, directed by Antonio Balseiro and Carlos Balseiro: A Gaucho lives peacefully in the countryside with his wife until one day they hear explosions and the earth starts to shake.

NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS
TOY STORY OF TERROR!, USA, directed by Angus MacLane: From Disney*Pixar comes a spooky new tale featuring all of your favorite characters from the “Toy Story” films.

IMPORTANT DATES:
April 10: Press Accreditation closes
April 24: Festival Begins

To keep up to date with the Stanley Film Festival visit www.stanleyfilmfest.com, “Like” SFF on Facebook (Facebook.com/StanleyFilmFest), “Follow” SFF on Twitter and Instagram (@StanleyFilmFest), join the conversation using the hashtag #StanleyFilmFest

Director Aram Garriga’s documentary AMERICAN JESUS will run on
Time Warner Cable’s on-demand service VUTOPIA starting April 1st

The film will be released on all platforms May 13.

“No matter your personal spiritual, religious, or lack-thereof leanings, if you live in America, your life is touched, shaped, and influenced by the Christian fire and brimstone that burns at its core; and if you live anywhere else in the world, you still feel the heat.

“If our country were likened to a great tapestry, all the appliques, bargello, crewels, and adornments that comprise our social fabric would be unified by a simple thread that both unites and divides: religious freedom. American Jesus examines our country’s undulating arras, focusing on the threadbare, the flourishes, the eccentric Schrödingerian weaves and knots of our unusual inner life, poignantly holding up faith in all its sunny, hopeful, dynamism alongside its craven, materialistic, agenda-driven underbelly. Idealism and avarice, the virginal and the whorish; we get a glimpse of how the dark side of faith can render the religious witness collateral damage when its gods are power and money. On the flip side, we also see compassion, social justice, and community at work for the greater good.

“Barcelona-native Aram Garriga makes a pilgrimage across America, conversing and consorting with Christ-loving bikers, street ministers, surfers, cowboys, and cage-fighters, exploring the wide spectrum of convictions, idiosyncrasies, and subcultures that populate this–to-many–parallel universe. It’s his outsider’s perspective that elevates him to a latter-day Alexis de Tocqueville as he studies America’s inclinations, character, prejudices and passions through its own preoccupation with, and entrapment within, the shimmering maze of materialistic determinism.

“Garriga’s gorgeously shot tableaux neither disparages nor mocks as it explores the paradoxical relationship between faith, politics, and the individual needs at odds with those of the collective’s in a world utterly foreign to the uninitiated. There is something to love and something to hate for both the secular and religious subset alike, and it’s perhaps that ingenious balance that makes this film one of the most important, honest, thought-provoking portraits of American society to date. Challenging and illuminating, this is bold, vanguard filmmaking at its finest.”

— Nicole McControversy

From Movies.com: 

“Larry Fessenden has been one of the most important figures in indie horror over the last decade. Not only does he lend his acting talent to movies like You’re Next, Jug Face and Session 9, but his company Glass Eye Pix produced The House of the Devil, The Innkeepers, Bitter Feast, Stake Land, and many, many more. He’s basically been a bit of a godsend to many young filmmakers looking to make the kinds of horror movies Hollywood doesn’t.

Fessenden is also a director in his own right, and his latest film hit Blu-ray and DVD this week. It’s called Beneath, and it’s about a group of friends who find themselves trapped on a lake by a giant, man-eating fish. And if that premise sounds delightfully old school to you, you’ll be happy to know the production is as well. Beneath is not a Syfy movie with a bunch of people fighting bad CGI. The toothy fish at the center here is a practical creation, and it’s an impressive one.

Also, Beneath is particularly noteworthy as a low-budget horror production because the majority of the movie takes place on the water, which isn’t exactly the easiest place to make a movie even when you’ve got millions and millions of dollars. That’s why, when we were able to chat with Fessenden on the phone earlier this week, we wanted to know all about why he took on such a difficult task, and what’s his overall impression on the horror industry today now that he’s been a part of it for so long.

Movies.com: What motivated you to make a movie that would be such a nightmare to actually shoot?

Larry Fessenden: Ah, but these are good nightmares to have. I come from the school of Werner Herzog putting himself into impossible situations in the jungle and so on. I made a film in Iceland in the freezing, freezing winter. I like that sort of adventure as a filmmaker, because in my normal life I just sit cozy by the flat-screen TV. I think when you go out and make a movie the place should be essential to the movie. I’ve also made a movie in New York where the city was a character, in Iceland the snow was a character, and to go out on the water was delightful and a blast. The challenges were very really, though. They did make the movie much harder to control.

Movies.com: Did you secure a location first and then work backwards, or did you have the script first and then try to find a suitable spot?

Fessenden: Well the story is that I went to Chiller, the TV network, and pitched them movies from my stable of guys, and they said, “That’s all great, but we’ve got this script and this amount of money.” I read it and I said, “Well, let me do it.” I love Jaws and water movies, and I’m very comfortable on boats, so it all made sense to me. I liked how contained the story was. In fact, I stripped out some of the scenes that didn’t take place on the boat. I wanted it to be a single-location exercise.

Movies.com: And how long did it take you guys to actually find a place that you could film it?

Fessenden: I appreciate you asking that question because the truth is it was a real pain in the ass to find it. We had so many certain requirements. We essentially needed to be alone on the lake, and while we found several places that would work, there’d be summer activities going on so we couldn’t do that. This was an abandoned reservoir. There were some people walking their dogs along the shore, but there was no boating encouraged, so we were pretty much able to own the lake. We shot for 18 days, which is pretty fast when you consider water slows you down by about half.

Movies.com: We wondered if you happened to know someone who owned this property and decided to make a movie around it.

Fessenden: No, it wasn’t like that. I’m actually a big fan of making movies that way, of realizing you have a location when someone’s parents go away for a month and you quickly write a script to just take advantage of that. But that’s not what this was. This was actually more traditional. We had to work from the script and find a location and the boat, and I was quite specific about what I wanted. And we had to make a fish!

Movies.com: Was the design of the fish inspired by any sort of real species of fish?

Fessenden: I wanted it to look fairly mundane, like a giant fish and not some beautifully designed creature that would clearly come from the imagination of an artist trying to make a fantasy creature. I wanted it to feel like this could really happen, like some crazy trout-catfish thing. In my mind, what’s scary is that there’s nothing particularly evil about this thing, it just exists in this water and the kids have to deal with it, and it’s clearly a story of how they deal with it. And as you see quickly, they don’t deal with it very well, and it becomes a story about how you respond to adversity and whether we’re all equipped to make moral decisions once we’ve lost our compass.

Movies.com: One of the famous stories about Jaws is how the shark rarely working influenced the shoot. Was there a similar effect here? Did the prop disable or enable various parts of the shoot?

Fessenden: I felt the fish was gorgeous looking. Ironically it looked the coolest from the side, which is an angle we couldn’t really get very often. The detail work by Fractured FX was gorgeous. It was a beautiful puppet they would fill with ping pong balls wrapped in ladies’ stockings. That was the ballast. You put in a great many ping pong balls if you needed it to shoot out of the water, and you took them out if you needed it to dive. I had one version that was an even more versatile prop that you could strap to a diver, but the heavier version ended up being the favorite to shoot.

The main difficulty was making these Sophie’s choices where you could either run the jaw or make it turn, but you couldn’t do both. That’s what’s funny about action movies. You have to break everything down to individual frames to get what works. But no, we didn’t have any of the chronic problems Jaws had. The prop did whatever we forced it to do, and it was a beautiful thing when you got it in the water.

Movies.com: There’s a pretty minimal amount of CGI in the film. Was that a creative choice up front?

Fessenden: I really wanted a practical puppet. I pitched that to Chiller and at first they were nervous. They wanted it done in the relative security of a computer, but I thought if you were going to make a killer-fish movie, why not? If you had endless resources, CGI would be a great tool, but I feel like CGI has no charm whatsoever while a giant rubber puppet has a ton of charm. We only used CGI to do things like remove a pipe you could see under water or to augment the eyeballs to the fish.

Movies.com: Were there any direct influences on the film? “The Raft” from Creepshow 2 certainly seemed like it was.

Fessenden: Oh, well, I love “The Raft.” Of all the movies that do get referenced, I would say that’s the one I actually have the most affection for. There’s also Piranha and Shark Night 3D, but while they’re referenced, none of those movies actually influenced me, because I was thinking more about Lifeboat by Hitchcock and other morality plays like Lord of the Flies. I don’t get too deep on referencing stuff. I want to see if my own visions play out well. Sometimes they don’t. For example, I never went underwater after that early tribute to Jaws. I felt this was from the point of view of the kids, and they didn’t have the fish-eye view of things. Those are the decisions I think about more than just influences.

You want to make decisions that are true to the intention of the script and that elevate the film. For example, we could have made a movie with a shaky camera in the boat and it may have been more visceral, but I wanted to shoot with a crane on a barge to get these sort of dreamy shots, to have the camera indifferent and just floating around these kids, because in a way I’m judging them for being f***ing assholes. [Laughs]

Movies.com: What’s the story behind the creepy mask prop with the skeleton hands over its eyes in the beginning of the film?

Fessenden: I love that you asked that, man. That’s really groovy. I wanted to set up that character, Johnny, to set up some suspicion among certain audience members. I wanted to set him up as a bit of a goth kid inspired by the dark arts with all his weird models and sketches so maybe people would seem him like a sort of Colombine kid. Then people would have this nagging feeling that maybe he brought his friends out there knowing that they would be eaten so that he could try to rescue Kitty. It was just a little backstory for him. I feel like he was an outsider who lives with his grandad now, and I wanted to lay out these little suspicions about him, about the tooth he was wearing, and use all these little tropes from horror movies. I just plant them.

Movies.com: How is making a movie today different than it was when Glass Eye Pix started?

Fessenden: I started out just making my own movies. I went from producer to producer in an effort to find money and get stuff financed and I made this weird brand of horror that was very personal and tried to draw on bigger themes to show an audience how potent fear is in our lives and so on, and in so doing I developed my philosophy about filmmaking and doing them cheaply.

Eventually Ti West came to intern for me. I said I like your short films, if you ever come up with a feature, let’s make it. Ti came up with The Roost, because he knew I liked monsters. He also had this voodoo story, which I rejected. [Laughs] So I financed that, and it did well, and gave money to the kitty. So then I financed an awesome robot movie called Automatons. The idea was to just make movies that were true to themselves and truly unique and took the genre in new directions to surprise audiences that had become complacent. I love Graham Reznick’s first movie, I Can See You, it’s just bats**t crazy and that’s what’s glorious about it. It’s made with tremendous skill and care, and that was always the mantra: good sound, good music, real artistry behind these films. That’s what I tried to do and I wanted to spread it outward with all these great talents I found. Glenn McQuaid, we made I Sell the Deadtogether. I do work outside the horror genre, but the idea is to form a community that can stand up to corporate monotony, at least as far as entertainment is concerned.

As far as how it’s going… Ti West has a career going, Jim Mickle has a career going, Graham’s getting some stuff made. It’s hard to find the money still. You’re never safe. I always think of how even Scorsese had trouble getting movies made in the ’80s. It’s tough when you’re making movies that aren’t franchises or superheroes. It sucks. It always has, probably always will.

Movies.com: Do you think people like Jason Blum and the Blumhouse model are disruptive to the indie-horror scene?

Fessenden: No, I feel what Blum is doing is kind of awesome. The only issue is that if it gets redundant. If every movie ends up being the same formula, just like anything, it’ll get tired. But Blum has proven that horror is a moneymaking enterprise, and that low-budget movies can get you great returns. As long as he’s not creatively trapping people in a little box, then I welcome Jason Blum and his brand.

I’ve always preferred this period of horror, which are weird ghost movies. Paranormal Activity? Those are locked off cameras, I mean that’s some old school s**t if they’re really using sound to scare you. I think it’s a great trend compared to Saw and Hostel. Those are not my favorite movies because they’re just fetishizing the gore. I’d rather movies be about atmosphere, so bring on Mr. Blum. If he gives me some money, that’d be nice.

Movies.com: Will there be a third season of Tales from Beyond the Pale?

Fessenden: Absolutely. Actually, we have a release coming up with an accompanying film. There’s a lot of fun activities that will wind up season two. It’s a wonderful ongoing project where filmmakers, novelists and other types we encounter can lend their talents to good old-fashioned storytelling. We did them live, and that was tremendous fun, but they’re also cool when they’re built in a studio with total control. The idea is to take the old radio play format and really push the envelope of what you can do with sound and just be completely engrossing. A lot of people are doing audio dramas, but our agenda is to really make it about sound and environment.

It’s fun to work with Simon Rumley and Simon Barrett and J.T. Petty and all these guys whose work I love. Maybe you can’t finance a movie together, but we can all have fun and do a radio play. We’ve had Ron Perlman, Vincent D’Onofrio and Mark Margolis, and everyone enjoys it because it’s a small time commitment

Movies.com: What is next for you?

Fessenden: I recently acted in several movies, so we’ll see how those all come out. I have a couple scripts. Getting your financial ducks in a row takes the most time, I’m sad to say. I have Adrian Bogliano’s Late Phases coming out, which we did with our old friends at MPI. I’m really excited to work with Adrian on that. There’s always something going on, but the real agenda is to get that financing, and that’s a world of mystery even beyond a giant fish. [Laughs] That’s the fish I really want to land.

Check out the post at Movies.com

BENEATH is out now on Bluray and DVD!

From Derek Anderson at Daily Dead:

They thought they were friends. A man-eating fish proved them wrong. In director Larry Fessenden’sBeneath, six recently graduated high school friends cross paths with a massive, sharp-toothed fish on the secluded Black Lake. Confronted with a life-or-death situation, the teens discover how weak their bond really is as tempers rise, panic sets in, and the fish opens its jaws for the next meal.

Warned not to go out on Black Lake by family friend Mr. Parks (Mark Margolis), Johnny (Daniel Zovatto) leads his pack of pals out on the water one morning, anyway, figuring they’ll just cross to the other side in their rowboat. Besides, this is his big chance to reconnect with ex-girlfriend Kitty (Bonnie Dennison), even though her alpha male current boyfriend Matt (Chris Conroy) is along for the ride. Matt’s academic scholarship-receiving brother Simon (Jonny Orsini) also pines for Kitty, while sporty Deb (Mackenzie Rosman) just wants to make some final lasting memories with the gang. Aspiring filmmaker Zeke (Griffin Newman) seeks to capture these good times on the GoPro camera attached to his wrist. But when the lake’s freakishly large fish appears during a mid-lake swim, the group’s carefree day takes a hellish turn.

Fessenden’s flick is something of a rarity these days: it’s a creature feature that relies heavily on practical effects rather than CGI, as the human-terrorizing fish was present during filming in its full animatronic beauty. Inspired by the bizarre-looking denizens of the ocean’s bottom, Fessenden created an initial design for the fish that includes oversized teeth, sharp quills, and a haunting yellow and black eye. And yet, there’s a bass-like quality to the shape of Fessenden’s fish that lends credibility to its existence in a freshwater, backwoods environment. I loved watching this fish in action. Its animatronic form hearkens back to like-minded flicks from the 1970s, and it makes the fear onscreen more palpable than any digital rendering could have done.

As bloody and unnerving as the fish’s attacks are, the real horror is the psychological torment unfolding on the rowboat. Beneath shows how humans can change under stress, as these young adults resort to ritually voting someone off the boat as a distraction to save the rest. This component of Tony Daniel and Brian Smith’s screenplay could come off as unbelievable, but the actors make it feel real with their frenetic desperation. The actors also gamely portray transformations as their time in the slowly sinking rowboat continues, becoming more wretched to each other and haggard in appearance.

The cast consists of talented young adult actors. Newman as Zeke gives an admirable fast-talking performance, while Conroy adds a convincing world-weary layer to Matt. In the audio commentary, Fessenden even mentions at a turning point in the film that Orsini “has become like Ray Liotta in Something Wild.” Watching these characters behave so badly to one another, I was suitably frustrated by their selfish actions, but captivated by the added element of danger. I appreciate Fessenden’s dark take on human nature; his placement of such social commentary in a deadly fish tale justifies the making of the movie itself, as it’s a fresh take on a somewhat familiar story.

Shot in 18 days in almost complete natural light on an actual lake in Connecticut, Fessenden’s cinematography is top-notch, especially considering the challenges of filming mostly on water. A lot of filming took place from a plywood and barrel construction referred to as “The Barge.” From this platform, the blurred focus long shots and symmetrical overhead camera angles lend a dreamlike state to the film that makes the bloody reality of the fish’s onslaughts that much more jarring. This camerawork, coupled with a score that evokes the most tension when the characters are arguing rather than when the fish appears, creates a unique take on the deadly fish trope, showing that this time the people inside the boat are just as lethal as the fish in the water.

Scream Factory’s Blu-ray release of Beneath features crystal clear 1080p high-definition and excellent DTS-HD Master Audio. There are over two hours of bonus features adding depth to the story and its characters, including entertaining web episodes of What the Zeke?, as well as “A Look Behind Beneath: Making the “Fish Movie,”” a documentary that increased tenfold my appreciation of the hard work put into making this flick on the water. The audio commentary by Larry Fessenden and sound designer Graham Reznick is also worth your time, as a lot of treasured anecdotes are recalled and motives for the film’s creative choices are explained. Once again, Scream Factory has put out an impressive, all-encompassing product for horror fans.

If you’re looking for a solid creature feature that’s made in old-school fashion, then you can’t go wrong with Beneath. But also inherent in Fessenden’s latest feature is a disturbing psychological edge that should appeal to a wide base of horror hounds. You may not find a lot of likeable characters in Beneath, but you will likely find a lot to like in the way it was made.

Movie Score: 3/5,  Disc Score: 4/5

Check out the original at Daily Dead

Glass Eye Pix is returning to the Stanley Film Festival with the Stanley Edition of TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE LIVE. Other events include FANGORIA and Shock Till You Drop’s Dead Right Horror Trivia Night, a Horror Immersion Game, Murder Mystery Dinner and Big Wheel Death Race.

Check out the full press release below and stay tuned for the full film lineup!

Get tix and more info on the festival at StanleyFilmFest.com

“The Stanley Film Festival (SFF) produced by the Denver Film Society and presented by NBC Universal’s Chiller, announced today its Opening Night film and several special event highlights and experiences taking place at the four-day event (April 24-27). The Stanley Film Festival celebrates the best in independent horror cinema at the hotel that inspired The Shining. The Festival will host a full slate of films, panels, competitions, and special events – all at the beautiful and historically haunted Stanley Hotel.

The Stanley Film Festival will open Thursday, April 24 with a Gala Presentation of an original documentary from EPiX, Doc of the Dead. Directed by Colorado filmmaker, Alexandre O. Philippe (The People Vs. George Lucas), the film explores the evolution of the zombie genre in film, television and literature, as well as its impact and influence on pop culture. The film features footage taken at the 35thStarz Denver Film Festival’s “George Romero’s Zombie Town Hall Meeting.”

“We are thrilled to open this year’s Festival with a locally-produced film. The Denver Film Society is excited by the strength of the work we are seeing come out of our home state and we cannot think of a better way to celebrate the iconic status of the Stanley Hotel than with a film produced right here in Colorado,” says Denver Film Society Festival Director, Britta Erickson.

In addition to the Opening Night film, SFF announced it will host a series of events, sure to satisfy even the most dedicated horror fans. Throughout the Festival, “players” of the Horror Immersion Game will use multiple media platforms and game elements to delve deep into a mystery/horror narrative that uses the Stanley Hotel and the Festival as a vehicle to engage its participants in a story that seamlessly exists concurrently with everyday life. On Friday evening, Fangoria Entertainment and ShockTilYouDrop.com will bring their Dead Right Horror Trivia from Los Angeles to Estes Park. Saturday evening, Glass Eye Pix will present The Stanley Edition of TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE with hosts, Larry Fessenden and Glenn McQuaid, featuring two brand new tales performed at the Historic Park Theater in town by special guests with films at the Festival. Additional events include a Murder Mystery Dinner Friday evening, Zombie Crawl Saturday afternoon, and a Big Wheel Death Race on Sunday morning, all at the Stanley Hotel.

“While we are incredibly excited to announce our full film line-up next week, we are just as ecstatic to unveil some of the atmospheric and interactive special events that will immerse our guests completely in the horror experience” says Landon Zakheim, Stanley Film Festival Program Director. “The entire weekend is designed to work as one big dark carnival.”

The Stanley Film Festival will celebrate their programming announcement this evening with an advance screening of the film Oculus at the Reel Mountain Theater in Estes Park. The film will be followed by a post screening Q&A with Director Mike Flanagan, producer and SFF alum Jason Blum and Producer Trevor Macy and an after-party at the Stanley Hotel.

FEATURE PRESENTATIONS:

● Doc of the Dead – USA (Director: Alexandre O. Phillipe, Featuring George Romero, Simon Pegg, Bruce Campbell, Max Brooks, Tom Savini, Greg Nicotero, Robert Kirkman) – Could there be a real zombie outbreak? If so, Doc of the Dead can help you prepare. This definitive guide to all things undead delves deep into the evolution of the zombie genre in film and literature, as well as its impact and influence on pop culture, to deliver a comprehensive, fast-paced, highly entertaining look at a contemporary social pandemic of global proportions.

SPECIAL EVENTS:

● HORROR IMMERSION GAME Bleeding seamlessly into the atmosphere of fear and suspense we are excited to announce the Stanley Film Festival’s Inaugural Immersive Horror Game, a real horror/mystery narrative using the Festival itself as its medium. Those who follow the clues opt in to the game, becoming the protagonists of an engaging and creepy interactive thriller culminating in an irreproducible climax you can never unsee.

● Glass Eye Pix Presents TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE: The Stanley Edition An ongoing series of audio dramas penned by luminaries from the world of contemporary horror from JT Petty (HELLBENDERS) to Simon Barrett (YOU’RE NEXT), and Kim Newman (ANO DRACULA), featuring players from Ron Perlman (HELLBOY), to Angus Scrimm (PHANTASM), and Mark Margolis (AMERICAN HORROR STORY). The Stanley edition will feature performers culled from the film lineup. Join horror impresarios Glenn McQuaid and Larry Fessenden as they invite you to close your eyes and… listen. Learn more at talesfrombeyondthepale.com

● DEAD RIGHT HORROR TRIVIA HOSTED BY FANGORIA ENTERTAINMENT AND SHOCKTILYOUDROP.COM Do you consume horror as voraciously as zombies eat flesh? The hit Los Angeles horror event comes to the Stanley Film Festival! Join Fangoria’s Rebekah McKendry and ShockTillYouDrop.com’s Ryan Turek and test your horror knowledge in eight rounds of terrifyingly titillating trivia. Scare yourself with how much you actually know about horror. Trivia will be held early Friday evening at the Wheel Bar in Estes Park. Come with a team or join one there. All are welcome.

● MURDER MYSTERY DINNER Murder is afoot at the old Stanley Hotel. Guests of the festival are welcome to register for a night of intrigue and deception unraveling over a wonderful three-course meal as they become their very own detectives.

● BIG WHEEL DEATH RACE Guests will racethrough the expansive grounds of the Stanley Hotel on their very own adult sized big wheel, just like Danny Torrance. Festival pass holders will have an opportunity to race using adult sized big wheels on a course that runs the grounds of the Stanley Hotel. Registration will take place at the guest relations table for teams of four for a relay style race between 32 teams to determine one winner who will walk away with a complimentary stay at the Stanley Hotel.

● EYE HEART BRAINS ZOMBIE CRAWL When there’s no more room in hell, the dead will walk the Earth. And, now you can too. Converge upon the Stanley Film Festival in style by participating in a good ol’fashioned Zombie Crawl hosted by Eye Heart Brains, purveyors of the world’s largest zombie gatherings. The death march will move along The Stanley Hotel grounds and through the neighboring streets of Estes Park in search of brains. BRAAAAIIIIIIIIINNNNNS!!”

From Sean Axmaker at Indiewire:

“Beneath” was one of the best horror film of 2013. But most people never heard about it.

Produced by Chiller, a horror-themed sibling to the SyFy cable network still struggling for name recognition and access to cable systems, “Beneath” is the first feature in almost a decade directed by Larry Fessenden. It played a few film festivals and received a limited (very limited) release in July before hitting cable on a channel that few viewers know exists. Which means that hardly anyone has had an opportunity to see the film. With the movie coming out on DVD and Blu-ray this week, that should change.

The limited coverage it has received so far, at least on the horror-centric sites, seems to have missed the point, or at least became so complacent in their own superiority to the conventions of the genre that they never noticed how cleverly Fessenden, who has been turning classic horror genres inside out for over twenty years, and the screenwriters transformed the conventions of this genre—notably the idiotic behavior of potential teenage victims—into defining elements of story and character.

“Beneath” is both a tribute to monster-in-the-woods and the creature-under-the-water horror (the opening dream sequence turns the “Jaws” prologue into a teenage wet dream) and a genuine indie drama in the guise of a horror film. It springs from Fessenden’s love of reimagining classic genres in modern terms and real-world situations, and for using the conventions to tell character stories. And it was accomplished on a commercial cable movie budget.

The opening act unfolds like a classic “teens under attack” horror film: six friends drive out to the woods to celebrate high school graduation with beer and fireworks on an island in the middle of an isolated lake. You can check off the tropes as they roll out: the competitive jock brothers, the nerdy video guy who won’t stop filming his friends (and provokes them in the name of drama), the bubbly and sweet-natured blonde babe that all the guys desire, the other girl (who just may also desire the blonde), and the brooding guy who guides them all to this hidden lake.

Johnny (Daniel Zovatto), the brooding one, knows of the legend a lake monster but neglects to tell his friends. Maybe he really doesn’t believe it, but he brings along a rustic charm just in case and he tries to give one to Kitty (Bonnie Dennison), the blonde. There’s even an old guy on the property (played by “Breaking Bad” drug kingpin Mark Margolis) with the usual warnings. Johnny assures him that he’ll keep the kids out of the water … because that’s gonna work out great. Sure enough, a monster of a catfish the size of a Buick comes prowling as soon as the kids jump in the water.

For the next half hour the kids do all the dumb, reckless, aggressive things guaranteed to strand them in the middle of the lake without a paddle. The jocks, pumped up on testosterone and their own egos, poke it with a stick, or in this case an oar. Old Man Catfish renders it to splinters with a mighty chomp. When they run out of paddles (because they aren’t bright enough to learn from their mistakes) they starts tossing one another overboard, voting members off the boat like a real-world “Survivor,” only here the losers become fish bait, sacrifices to distract an indifference fish god. And the aspiring director, Zeke, is there to record it all in his own reality horror.

Then something interesting happens. What first appears to be a lazy set-up to stake out its victims for the movie menace turns out to be an insidious insight to the true nature of its characters and the basis for the real conflict of the film. The crisis dredges up the envy, resentment, spite, and animosity these kids have been burying all this time under snarky remarks and dirty looks. Get past the genre and this is David Mamet in a boat, a savage portrait of survivalism at all costs. The so-called best friends turn on one other with a venomous vengeance.

“Beneath” turns into a smart, savage film that plays with the familiar conventions and then twists a knife in them, and it’s all done with a small cast, a confined space, and a script that reveals the worst in humanity. It looks less like a TV movie than a theatrical indie. Apart from the opening, it all takes place in the boat on the midst of a wooded lake, shot in the harsh light of day rather than the shadows of night, out in the open with a clean, sharp visual style. Not your usual visual strategy for a low-budget monster movie.

The stillness of the setting accentuates the ominous threat of the sentinel of a fish, prowling lazily just under the surface of the water, and the explosive conflict in the boat. The group inflicts more damage on each other than the so-called monster does. They paddle furiously and never seems to get anywhere. All the flotsam (including the remains of the dead kids) drift to shore but the boat never moves, as if stuck in place by their inability to cooperate. The lake itself becomes a crucible and the fish a force of nature, waiting for the kids to destroy themselves and then picking off their sacrifices. It’s a test of their humanity. They fail spectacularly.

Fessenden didn’t write the script—it was offered to him by Chiller executives during a pitch meeting—but he worked with the writers, Tony Daniel and Brian D. Smith, on revising and sharpening it. And sharpen they did. For all the tropes front-loaded into the film, it’s more fascinating for the exposition it leaves out. There’s no whispered legend of a lake monster, just a brief glimpse of a headline in the prologue about unexplained death years ago. Johnny never confesses as to why he would lure this crowd to a place that even scares him a little. Is he bringing them out for a sacrifice? Or is it some kind of unconscious drive to put them in harm’s way, maybe play the hero for Kitty, or knock off the competition? And what’s with that vaguely Native American tooth-on-a-leather-strap charm? Fessenden seeds the film with clues and suggestions and leaves it to the viewer to build their own backstory.

“That’s what I wanted, a movie that had all of those touchstones from a classic, clichéd horror film,” Fessenden explained in a phone interview. “I would also like viewers to ask this question: Just because you have an initial frustration with a movie, don’t just assume that you’re superior and that the filmmaker has nothing to say. Maybe you have to reexamine what you have just seen.”

And let’s take a moment to praise the monster. Where the campy Saturday night originals of the SyFy Channel turns to cheap CGI to create their monsters and disasters, Fessenden goes old school and constructs an articulated fish that ominously prowls the lake just under the surface. It breaks the surface with gnashing teeth to deliver the money shots but mostly it patrols and waits to drag off the offerings from the boat. Realistic? Not necessarily, but it is beautiful and primal and alive in its environment in a way so many cheap movie monsters are not.

Which is part of the reason that the film works just fine a straight monster movie. It’s a little light on the gore as those things go but it delivers the monster, the deaths, eerie images, and better-than-average characters flailing to survive. Any genre hound could enjoy it simply on those terms, but Fessenden turns the horror movie tropes into a surprisingly effective metaphor for a society turning on itself when it should be working together. We’re all in this together, insists Fessenden, and if this is our response to a common threat, then we’re fucked.

“Beneath” debuts on Blu-ray and DVD this week from Scream Factory, the horror imprint of Shout Factory, and includes the hour-long “Behind Beneath: Making the Fish Movie,” which takes the viewer through the production for the film from the initial construction of the fish through the shooting, post-production, and premier screening, all without narration or the usual talking heads interviews. It’s a remarkably effective portrait of a production.

Check out the original article at Indiewire.com.