From Indiewire: What’s better than a modern take on Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein,” shot on the novel’s 200th anniversary? A modern take on “Frankenstein” set in Brooklyn. Veteran genre writer-director Larry Fessenden has teamed up with indie producer and fellow filmmaker Joe Swanberg for his unique vision of the literary classic. “Depraved” will make its world premiere as the opening night film of What the Fest!?, a genre festival put on by New York’s IFC Center.

IFC programmers promise it’s “the best film version of the Frankenstein legend in decades,” while an official press release called it a “meditative reimagining of the novel” that “explores the crisis of masculinity and ideas about loneliness, memory and the subtle psychological shocks that shape us as individuals.”

The official synopsis reads: “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.”

A fixture of New York’s indie film scene, Fessenden last directed the Chiller-produced monster movie “Beneath,” and has produced countless low-budget projects through his Glass Eye Pix, including Ti West’s “The Innkeepers” and Jim Mickle’s “Stake Land.” As an actor, he has appeared in Jim Jarmusch’s “Broken Flowers,” Kelly Reichardt’s “Wendy and Lucy,” Martin Scorsese’s “Bringing Out the Dead,” as well as dozens of independent horror films.

Watch Trailer HERE

Jenn Wexler’s THE RANGER: A Punk Rock Manifesto for Women

“Chelsea’s survival is about more than being fated to the status of some Final Girl. Her story evokes a woman’s struggle, in a world hellbent on remaining binary in countless ways, to realise her identity without being constrained to the scrutinous rules of society, and a patriarchal one at that. Or maybe it’s just a kick ass, punk rock slice of horror. (It can be both.) Either way, Father Gore remains ready to see whatever Wexler does next.”

Read Full Review HERE

Dread Central: “Opening Night’s Depraved is quite the coup. What made director Larry Fessenden choose WTF!? to have his World Premiere over other better-known festivals?”

“Larry, first of all, for the little bit I know him, is a beautifully mad man who keeps his filmmaking family and true love for genre close to him. He sensed something last year when [his production] The Ranger was our Closing Night Film. There was a special atmosphere in the air, the audience loved the film, we had a punk band from the film crash the Q and A and we ended up smashing a piñata on the stage… Some form of trust was made then, which is definitely tied into his long-lasting relationship with the IFC Center. He sees What the Fest!? as a place that brings the filmmaker family and love for genre together and wanted to, if one can say so, invest into that. I have an odd feeling he might enjoy giving a middle finger to the system of “premiere at a prestigious festival to be validated as an author.” Plus, we love the film.”

Read full article HERE

Glass Eye Pix & Forager Film Company invite you to
the World premiere of Larry Fessenden’s DEPRAVED

featuring DAVID CALL  JOSHUA LEONARD
and ALEX BREAUX as the monster
ANA KAYNE  MARIA DIZZIA  CHLOË LEVINE
OWEN CAMPBELL and ADDISON TIMLIN

From Bloody Disgusting: 

Shot on the 200th Anniversary of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”, veteran genre writer-director Larry Fessenden’s brings his unique vision of the literary classic in Depraved, which is set to open this year’s What the Fest?! on March 20.

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).

See the exclusive images HERE 

Fessenden’s DEPRAVED premieres at
What The Fest!? at The IFC Center
Wed Mar 20, 2019
7:00 PM

$25 for the screening and Opening Night party!
Tix on sale!

EXCLUSIVE: The IFC Center is out with the slate for its second annual What the Fest!? gathering in Manhattan. The five-day event that highlights horror, sci-fi, documentary, thrillers and other content runs March 20-24.

The opening-night pic will be the world premiere of Depraved, veteran genre writer-director Larry Fessenden’s unique take on the Frankenstein story that’s set in modern Brooklyn. Organizers added that Fessenden will do a Q&A after the screening, and a “Frankenstein Origins” video will screen beforehand.

The closing-night film will be the North American premiere of Kiril Sokolov’s Why Don’t You Just Die! — a dark action comedy preceded by a stand-up set from comedian Harrison Greenbaum.

“We hope the diversity in programming gives food for thought and excites everyone, and we encourage you to take a closer look on some of the events designed for the films,” artistic director Maria Reinup said. “Discover what a doomsday specialist has to tell us. Dare to plunge into the world of pathology. Test the expertise of a working stuntwoman. Or pay tribute to cult author Jack Ketchum. All of this, and more, kicking off with a Frankenstein-themed evening as we world premiere Depraved.”

Deadline has the scoop

From Gizmodo: “Underrated horror director Larry Fessenden’s best film to date is this chilling thriller about an environmentalist (James LeGros) who butts heads with the macho leader of an oil company (Ron Perlman) when he suggests that climate change may be compromising a lucrative plan to drill on a protected part of the Arctic. It gets worse when workers begin succumbing to poisonous natural gas emissions, but what at first seems like an explainable series of disasters gets spooky as hell when sinister apparitions—Earth’s ghosts, it seems, summoned to defend an angry, weary planet—begin meting out their own brand of supernatural frontier justice.”

See entire list HERE

The news is out, Glenn McQuaid and Larry Fessenden will present Tales from Beyond the Pale
as a Podcast starting this Spring, with old favorites and brand new
Tales served up with fresh commentary by the Pale Men themselves.

Read all about it in this Month’s Rue Morgue Magazine,
available at your favorite Brick and Mortar Newstand.

And keep an ear out (and an eye) for TALES on
Vinyl from Holy Mountain Printing!