From IndieWire: While ’90s American cinema tends to play up the legacies of auteur superpowers like Tarantino and PTA, Larry Fessenden deserves just as much appreciation. Ever since his 1995 breakout “Habit,” Fessenden has combined a scrappy New York filmmaking aesthetic with genuine frights, and “Depraved” is a welcome return to those roots. A tense, dramatic retelling of “Frankenstein” with modern-day concerns, the movie stars David Call as a surgeon and Iraq war vet roped into performing experiments on a corpse to bring it back to life. When he’s successful, the monster (played by a lanky, corpse-like Alex Breaux) develops a natural curiosity about the world around him, even as he grows cynical about the people teaching him what to do. At once an indictment of technology and the quest to control the natural order, “Depraved” makes the case that Fessenden should really make movies more often, because these troubled times benefit from his spooky voice. 

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The Great Larry Fessenden [Episode 26]

Larry Fessenden is an American director, producer, writer, actor, and overall force to be reckoned with. A true indie film pioneer in the horror world, Larry’s career highlights include 1995’s gritty vampire drama, Habit, 2001’s Wendigo, and The Last Winter, Starring Ron Perlman.

Larry’s latest movie, Depraved, is a gritty and modern take on Frankenstein with a number of interesting questions posed about the ethics of scientific advancements in medicine.

Take a listen HERE

From Bloody Disgusting: West has reiterated in the past that he creates movies that feel authentic to what he himself would want to see on screen, versus worrying about commercial viability and appealing to mass audiences. The auteur famously wrote, directed, and edited House, collaborating with Glass Eye Pix— helmed by legendary indie filmmaker Larry Fessenden, who helped kick off West’s career by giving him some money to make his first features. With Fessenden’s support, West succeeded in creating a film that never feels like anyone else could have made it, and the film evokes that specialness.

Gems like The House of the Devil are the reason we need to keep cherishing that special pocket of independent, inventive, and made-from-little-money brand of horror films. Keep supporting the A24, Glass Eye Pix, SpectreVision, Yellow Veil Pictures, and countless other indie film studios and distributors of the world that are often bringing us the best that the genre has to offer— because we need independent horror just as much as it needs us.

Read the full article HERE

Episode 4: Caper
Written and Directed by Larry Fessenden.
Starring James Le Gros, Matthew Stephen Huffman, John Speredakos,
Jonny Orsini, Mark Margolis, Joel Garland.
Performed Live • Poster by Brahm Revel

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Fessenden to attend FEARnyc tonight to present the Next Generation Award to
GEP Pal Sydney Clara Brafman (CREEPY CHRISTMAS FILM FEST 2018, DARLING, DEPRAVED). 

Pop Horror has the scoop.

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.