Just in time for the 200th Anniversary of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”, veteran genre writer-director Larry Fessenden brings his own unique vision of the literary classic to the operating table in Depraved, which Bloody Disgusting learned will open in limited theaters on September 13th.

Set in modern Brooklyn, this meditative reimagining of the novel explores the crisis of masculinity and ideas about loneliness, memory and the subtle psychological shocks that shape us as individuals. It’s also executive produced by Joe Swanberg (V/H/S) and produced by Jenn Wexler (The Ranger).

In the film…

“Alex (Owen Campbell) leaves his girlfriend Lucy (Chloë Levine) after an emotional night, walking the streets alone to get home. From out of nowhere, he is stabbed in a frenzied attack, with the life draining out of him. He awakes to find he is the brain in a body he does not recognize. This creature, Adam (Alex Breaux), has been brought into consciousness by Henry (David Call), a brilliant field surgeon suffering from PTSD after two tours in the Mideast, and his accomplice Polidori (Joshua Leonard), a predator determined to cash in on the experiment that brought Adam to life. Henry is increasingly consumed with remorse over what he’s done and when Adam finally discovers a video documenting his own origin, he goes on a rampage that reverberates through the group and tragedy befalls them all.”

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Recorded LIVE from The Overlook Film Festival, genre maven
Larry Fessenden is on the slab to discuss independent filmmaking,
building his Glass Eye Pix and his new movie DEPRAVED!

Available on iTunes

From FSR: Larry Fessenden is one of the most consistent directors working in horror as far as I’m concerned, so I’m always excited about his new features. Depraved is his take on the Frankenstein tale, which tells the story from the perspective of the monster in a contemporary New York City setting. There’s certainly no shortage of Frankenstein re-imaginings out there, but I have no doubt in my mind that Fessenden’s addition to the sub-genre will be one of the better ones. 

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From 25YL: Swinging from one of the Masters of Horror to a burgeoning young talent, Jenn Wexler has made one of 2019’s most exciting horror films: The Ranger. Taking influence from filmmakers like Alex Cox (Repo Man, Sid and Nancy)  and her own background growing up in the punk scene, the throwback slasher is a journey into Hell for four young punks who go on the run from the police in the big bad city to hide out in the idyllic countryside at the female protagonist’s cabin. She hasn’t been there since her uncle’s mysterious death years ago, and they’re all in for a nightmarish surprise when they realize they’ve jumped out of the frying pan and into the fryer.

Jenn Wexler is one of those fresh young talents that has been making films for ten years as a producer with genre icon Larry Fessenden’s Glass Eye Pix. She has produced gem after gem for Glass Eye like Darling (2015) and Like Me (2017). She made the transition to directing and writing her first feature after directing shorts for Fessenden in the horror anthology ABCs of Death 2 (2014). Want to talk about pedigree? Jenn Wexler’s work for Glass Eye Pix should be all that’s needed for everyone to stand up and take notice. Even mainstream magazines like Entertainment Weekly have recently named The Ranger has one of the best horror films of 2019 so far.

I had the privilege of talking to Wexler just before The Ranger‘s release for 25YL, and it became quite clear early on that she has a deep and genuine love for all her characters. This comes through so clearly in The Ranger that it’s hard not to root for these kids and pray to whatever that they make it through the night alive in their battle of survival against Jeremy Holm (House of Cards), the titular instant slasher icon of the film.  It’s a fast-paced, terrifying film that announces the arrival of a filmmaker who understands the outcast and how to put them in some really intense horrific situations!

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HABIT 

For me, Larry Fessenden has always been one of the most original voices in indie horror circles but if I had to choose one film that really brought him to the attention of a wider crowd, then it’s got to be this one.

Here Fessenden plays a self-destructive alcoholic who embarks on a pretty unorthodox relationship with a mysterious Goth nymphomaniac called Anna (Meredith Snaider) who may or may not be a vampire. He never sees her in daylight, and she has a nasty, unsanitary habit of gnawing on him during their enterprising sexual encounters. But, despite all the warning signs, Sam’s addictive personality prevents him from listening to his gut, and he ends up vamping out in the process too.

Much like Romero in the aforementioned Martin, Fessenden keeps all the film’s vampiristic allusions totally open to question and a similar documentary aesthetic lends a terrifying sense of realism; a realism that places much more emphasis on the real-life horrors of addiction than it does on the film’s purported predator. The very real vampire in this story is not Anna, but in fact the alcohol that’s gradually leeching the life out of Sam.

See Full List HERE

From Rue Morgue: Larry Fessenden made his long-awaited return to the director’s chair with DEPRAVED, his take on a classic horror story, and it now has a date to terrorize general audiences.

IFC Midnight will release DEPRAVED, a modern variation on FRANKENSTEIN, to theaters and VOD Friday, September 13; it will continue its festival run before that, including a slot at Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival. The film stars David Call, Joshua Leonard, Alex Breaux, Ana Kayne, Maria Dizzia, Chloë Levine, Owen Campbell and Addison Timlin; the synopsis: “Suffering from PTSD following his stint as an army medic, Henry [Call] now works feverishly in his Brooklyn laboratory to forget the death he witnessed overseas by creating life in the form of a man cobbled together from body parts. After procuring a brain from an unwitting victim, his creation—Adam [Breaux]—is born. But it soon seems that giving life to Adam was the easy part; teaching him how to live in a dark and troubled world may be perilous. A complex, emotionally shattering tale about what it means to be human, DEPRAVED brings Mary Shelley’s immortal fable fully into the 21st century.” Check out some exclusive words with Fessenden here, and look for more coverage of DEPRAVED at this site during Fantasia!

Visit Rue-Morgue HERE

The Hollywood News predicts DEPRAVED for Frightfest’s 20th Anniversary.
The publication has also expressed their excitement for DEPRAVED
at this year’s Fantasia Festival.  

Our Predictions For Frightfest’s 20th Anniversary

Depraved is the only film featured on the list that I’ve actually already seen. Directed by genre icon Larry Fessenden, Depraved genuinely stole my heart, so much so that it got the full five stars in my original review. Given how hard I fell for this film, I’m desperate to be able to share it with the like-minded folks of Frightfest; I’m keeping all my fingers crossed that it is announced as part of the programming on Thursday. The film itself is a modern reworking of the age old Frankenstein tale, one that taps straight into the emotions with Alex Breaux’ creature a truly tragic innocent victim. My review stated that this was the best retelling of Frankenstein since Shelley – strong words, but ones that I’m sticking by.

Read Full List HERE

The Films That Have Us Very Excited For This Year’s Fantasia Festival

The next film on the list, Depraved, is one that we’ve actually already seen. Written and directed by everyone’s favourite genre star Larry Fessenden, Depraved offers a modern take on the Frankenstein story. Set in modern day New York, our Doctor Frankenstein this time around is a PTSD suffering military medic determined to stop death. Our creature is the hapless soul whom has his brain transplanted into a new ‘body’. The Frankenstein tale may have been told hundreds of times before, but Depraved still feels completely fresh. We reviewed it at What the Fest, and gave it the glowing five-star treatment. A film of true beauty, both creatively and performed, Depraved is anything but what the title suggests. A truly special moment in the lineage of a beloved movie monster, Fessenden has crafted the best take on Frankenstein since Shelley herself. Do not miss this one folks.

Read Full List HERE

Zombified Fessenden hangin’ with the undead.

Cinefex chats with THE DEAD DON’T DIE
Visual Effects Supervisor Alex Hansson. 

Read Q&A here!

Now playing in theaters, check your local listings!