Three Goons: Toby Huss, Fessenden and Tommy Nohilley play Harris, Roy and Tubby in the Ti Western
IN A VALLEY OF VIOLENCE, which enjoyed its World Premier at SXSW on March 12, 2016
Numerous Glass Eye pals worked on the film:
Peter Phok, Jacob Jaffke, Jeff Grace, Neal jonas, Graham Reznick, Tom Efinger…
A family affair… And now the Critics weigh in:

“In a Valley of Violence’s story is minimalist to the point of Monte Hellman, who also tackled the permanent existential threat of the Old West in Ride in the Whirlwind and The Shooting, but West infuses this tale of vengeance with a nasty sort of realism. Violent death is both a terrifying reality and a laugh-out-loud joke. Forget Lenny Bruce, this is the sick humor of Ti West. Kudos aplenty to indie horror Renaissance man Larry Fessenden for the terror and to John Travolta (as a wooden-legged Marshal) for the empathy in another brilliant and barely recognizable performance.”
—Austin Chronicle

“As the violence escalates, an absurdist dose of humor is added to the mix, injecting the film with a distinctly modern sensibility that is welcome and does not let up. The audience at the film’s SXSW premiere ate it up, hooting and hollering at every gruesome development.”
—The Guardian

“Walking a fine line between charming lark and smirking goof, Ti West’s “In a Valley of Violence” is a Western homage that has its heart in the genre, but not so much in the story. Stripping its gunslinger plot down to the most essential pillars, the film has plenty of incidental pleasures to offer: a few chuckles, some typically Westian explosions of violence, a deliriously fun score, and a pair of perfectly solid performances from Ethan Hawke and John Travolta.”
—Variety

“A bloody Western about a deadly man who’s sworn off violence until his beloved dog is threatened, Ti West’s In a Valley of Violence plays like a grim, Eastwood-style genre revival before some conspicuous Tarantino-influenced humor infects its climactic showdown. Ethan Hawke is excellent as the gunslinger in question”
—Hollywood reporter

UNTIL DAWN, the successful Sony Playstation 4 Video Game produced by the UK’s Supermassive and penned by GEP pal Graham Reznick and Fessenden with producing duties Stateside handled by Peter Phok and Jacob Jaffke and featuring music by longtime GEP collaborator Jeff Grace, nabs nominations for BEST BRITISH GAME, BEST STORY, BEST GAME INNOVATION and BEST PROPERTY.

read about it here and here

Reichardt’s ‘River Of Grass’ Reissued: A First Film At A Fast Pace

By Ella taylor

… The weapon ends up in the woefully incapable hands of Lee Ray Harold, a wastrel played with hilariously insufficient menace by the horror auteur Larry Fessenden, who also edited and co-produced River of Grass. Given the pervasive pauses for inertia and gross incompetence, you may not be shocked to hear that Cozy, Larry and the gun are fated to meet in a bar, that the gun will go off, that there may or may not be a murder, which may or may not be solved. For this Bonnie and Clyde, just getting on the road is a logistical nightmare.

River of Grass is very funny, but in a more somber key it also test-drives what will become Reichardt’s specialty: the transformation of cheerless wastelands into backdrops for journeys of the parched soul. Her subsequent films are sadder, more freighted with the pain and alienation of an America that, one way or another, has put so many of its inhabitants out on the roadside. Reichardt invariably speaks for the dispossessed, and all her films must be seen. But River of Grass is her vital firstborn juiced by the fresh, untidy vitality of a newbie filmmaker doffing her cap to B-movies and the French New Wave. In that film she gives life’s castaways the gift of merriment, and an ending that holds up half the sky.

see the full review

IFC Films has acquired U.S. rights to Kelly Reichardt’s “Certain Women,” the company announced Wednesday.

Kristen Stewart, Michelle Williams and Laura Dern star in the drama based on short stories written by Maile Meloy, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January. The film is slated for a late 2016 theatrical release.

Neil Kopp, Vincent Savino and Anish Savjani of filmscience produced the film, alongside executive producers Todd Haynes and Larry Fessenden.

From A.V.Club: The director of Old Joy made her debut with terrific outlaw saga River Of Grass

… Reichardt subverts expectations at every turn, while simultaneously painting a vivid portrait of southern Florida (the title refers to the Everglades, and the film goes back and forth between Broward and Dade County) in all its sun-drenched seediness. She gets an invaluable assist from Fessenden, a notable director in his own right (Wendigo, The Last Winter); he co-edited River Of Grass in addition to co-starring, and his jumpier sensibility, both onscreen and off, blends with Reichardt’s observational instincts in fascinating ways. If one were to watch this jagged, restless movie with no knowledge of who made it, guessing that it sprung from the same mind that created Old Joy or Meek’s Cutoff would be impossible. Intuiting that this gifted novice filmmaker would go on to bigger and better things, however, would be child’s play.

Visit the IfC website for tickets

From the folks who brought you STAKE LAND, director Jim Mickle and writer Nick Damici comes Joe Lansdale’s HAP AND LEONARD, Wednesdays at 10PM on the Sundance Channel.

Tonight, episode 2 features a very special cameo for Glass Eye Pix fans… Keep eyes and ears open…

From Gregory Burkart at Blumhouse.com

SUDDEN STORM: A Literary Tribute to North America’s Most Terrifying Monster

Having delved into this book from cover-to-cover, I can say that it came as quite a revelation; while I’d seen his feature film WENDIGO and his amazingly creepy “Skin and Bones” episode of FEAR ITSELF (my all-time favorite Wendigo tale), I had no idea how intimately the lore of this horrific monster was woven into Larry’s creative life.

I won’t divulge some of the best surprises in store, but rest assured you’ll be bowled over by some of the research Fessenden and his fellow authors bring to the party… say, for example, did you know that U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt knew at least one tale of the Wendigo? Me neither, but it’s right there on page 41 (in my copy, anyway).

Some of my favorite contributions include Alison Natasi’s intriguing analysis of the link between Ruggero Deodato’s CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST and the Wendigo legend; Carter Meland’s examination of the Wendigo’s influence on Antonia Bird’s horror-western RAVENOUS; and Samuel Zimmerman’s overview of the Wendigo’s treatment on television shows like THE X-FILES, SUPERNATURAL, SLEEPY HOLLOW and — of course — FEAR ITSELF. Also enlightening is Chris Hibbard’s historical account of “Wendigo Psychosis” (a well-documented condition) as it relates to real-life crimes throughout North American history.

It’s still shocking to me that this terrifying, archetypal monster hasn’t become as entrenched in American folklore, media and popular culture as vampires, werewolves and zombies… Larry’s taken some significant steps to changing all that, and hopefully this book may inspire other creative minds to further explore this monstrous myth.

SUDDEN STORM: A WENDIGO READER is available now from Fiddleblack Press, and can be ordered from Amazon.

This gorgeous comic book created by Fessenden, James Felix McKenney and illustrator Brahm Revel is now available for Digital Download through ComiXology. Taking a decidedly different approach to the titular creature,  this completes an unofficial trilogy of Wendigo-themed comic books by Fessenden, all available from Glass Eye Pix Comix. (and don’t forget to order your copy of  Sudden Storm: A Wendigo Reader)

The Wendigo of Manitou Valley #1

Buy at Comixology

Also available in print media from amazon

Entertainment Weekly has the exclusive festival poster for GEP Pal Ti West’s, er… Western… starring Hawke, Travolta, James Ransone, Taissa Farmiga, Karen Gillan, and featuring Fessenden among a fantastic cast of supporting players. Pic was produced by long-time Glass Eye collaborators Peter Phok and Jacob Jaffke for Blumhouse.

Larry Fessenden (Tales From Beyond The Pale, I Sell The Dead) will hit the fest’s main home, the venerable arthouse Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, MA, for a special 15-year anniversary screening of his film Wendigo on 35mm. 

Read more at Twitch

Fessenden will have copies of his new book Sudden Storm: A Wendigo Reader at the event, as well as copies of his Wendigo-themedcomic books Wendigo, The Last Winter, and The wendigo of Manitou Valley.

More from the press release: 

Get your passes and tickets now!