From Hammer To Nail: A documentary alternately heartwarming and heartbreaking, director Matt Kliegman’s Markie in Milwaukee follows Markie Wenzel, a transgender woman in Wisconsin, as she alternates between male and female identities, torn between her innermost desires and the pressures of religion and family. When we first meet her in 2013, she is a he, in the process of destroying photos and evidence of her female self, becoming, once more, Mark Wenzel. We then flash back to the process, begun in 2005, of Mark becoming Markie. A deeply religious man – and evangelical preacher, as well – Mark had long struggled with the woman inside him, begging to be let out. Married and a father of three, he was at a loss, until finally he just came out as Markie, unable to bear the strain any longer. The fact that he was 7 feet tall, weighed 400 pounds and was, in his own words, very masculine, complicated matters. Who would accept such a man as a woman?

Remarkable in its frank discussion of an important matter, Markie in Milwaukee is also extraordinary for its seemingly unfettered access to its protagonist, who appears all in for this intimate dissection of their process, even if they are not always sure what that process means. Who is Markie? A human being, in all their marvelous complexity. That’s all we need to know.

See Full Review HERE

From Ricardo Serrano Denis, The Beat: It’s unfair to view Fessenden as a master of storytelling on a budget. The things he brings to his movies should not be taken as simple adjustments predicated by the amount of money he has to work with. Fessenden’s strengths lie in his ideas on what makes a great film, and they are especially noteworthy because they make for great storytelling regardless of how big or small a budget is available. Depraved is a good example of this and further cements Fessenden as a master of storytelling.

WE ARE STILL HERE: Every 30 years, a lonely old house in the fields of New England wakes up and demands a sacrifice. Directed by GEP pal Ted Geoghegan. Starring Barbara Crampton, Andrew Sensenig, Lisa Marie and Larry Fessenden. Now streaming on Shudder.

SOUTHBOUND: On a desolate stretch of desert highway, weary travelers are forced to confront their worst fears and darkest secrets. Two men on the run, a brother desperately searching for his long-lost sister, a vacationing family, and more are all connected by interwoven tales of terror and guilt on the open road. Directed by Radio Silence, Roxanne Benjamin, David Bruckner, and Patrick Horvath. Featuring the voice of Fessenden as The D.J., a narrator heard over the radio throughout. Now streaming on Hulu.

SESSION 9: Tensions rise within an asbestos cleaning crew as they work in an abandoned mental hospital with a horrific past. Directed by Brad Anderson. Starring David Caruso, Stephen Gevedon, Josh Lucas, Peter Mullan, Brendan Sexton III, Paul Guilfoyle and Larry Fessenden. Now streaming on Shudder.

Come have a slice to celebrate the Grand Opening of Two Boots West Village.
(TODAY) Thursday, Oct. 24th, from 5-7 pm
at 101 7th Ave. South (@ Sheridan Square)

Episode 3: The Crush
Written and Directed by Glenn McQuaid.
Starring Sean Young, Matthew Stephen Huffman, John Speredakos, James Le Gros, Larry Fessenden
Performed Live • poster by Ashley Thorpe

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Film Threat: Underground NYC filmmaker Larry Fessenden had a table for his nearly 35-year-old independent film company Glass Eye Pix. Larry was in attendance to sell both his films and other independent features available through his webstore, as well as vinyl soundtracks and other odds and ends related to his career. His latest film Depraved has caused quite a stir in the horror community, and a documentary about the making of the film, Fessenden’s Depraved: Making Frankenstein in a Brooklyn Loft will premiere at Brooklyn Horror Film Festival.

See full article HERE

AVAILABLE ONLY AT YOUR FAVORITE TWO BOOTS LOCATION
EAST VILLAGE • WEST VILLAGE • WILLIAMSBURG
PARK SLOPE • JERSEY CITY
Get a free DEPRAVED Tattoo when you order a slice!
And come see DEPRAVED on the BIG SCREEN Midnights this FRIDAY & SATURDAY at IFC

From Slant: What does a Frankenstein figure look like in 2019? According to Larry Fessenden’s Depraved, he’s a guy with war-addled, once-noble intentions set adrift by male ego and shady benefactors. He’s a white man grasping for control in a world coming apart, a cog in a machine who hasn’t broken free so much as changed the machine’s function—from that of war to that of the pharmaceutical industry. The film, Fessenden’s first feature as both writer and director since 2006’s The Last Winter, paints multiple psychological portraits that are sad, angry, and strangely beautiful. It shows us the mind of not just PTSD-afflicted field surgeon Henry (David Call), but also that of his prototypical sewn-together “monster,” Adam (Alex Breaux), and his assistant and Big Pharma bankroller, Polidori (Joshua Leonard). Throughout, the film remains firmly focused on its thesis of Frankenstein as a lens for examining modern society. Fessenden catalogues what personalities and power dynamics have shifted and what hasn’t changed at all. He diagnoses the rot of our era through these solipsistic men that pour their prejudices and their insecurities into Adam, an open book eventually read back to its authors with a violence they cultivated themselves. 

See entire list HERE