Appearing in three films at London’s Fright Fest, Mickey Keating’s POD, Ted Geogehan’s WE ARE STILL HERE and BODY by Dan Burk and Robert Olsen, Scifinow took notice and posts this extensive interview with Fessenden.

It’s a bastard genre and I stand by it. I think the world is a frightening place and people should be shocked out of their complacency. Now the irony is, I don’t know that everybody thinks of horror that way, but I think of it as a confrontational genre, a way to scream from the rafters, ‘Look at humanity, it needs fixing, it’s a mess, look at how we treat each other.’ So I use it as a punishing genre! [laughs]

I love it, and I also love the aesthetic of horror, the creepy, the cobwebby cellars and corridors, I like the darkness and I like the night and a big full moon and a creaking tree. So these are actually purely aesthetic things and you can almost not quite put your finger on why you’re like that. I think it’s literally psychology or something dreadful happened when I was a kid that I don’t remember [laughs].

But at the same time I do resent not being taken seriously as a filmmaker because you’re involved in the genre. I think that’s just an oversight of the culture and so it will be. People actually are afraid of death and they’re a little wary of people who are constantly harping about death [laughs]! So you’re a little bit like the weird guy in the room, let’s face it, and that’s like being a punk rocker, it makes me feel OK, I don’t mind. I don’t know that the pristine glowing happy smiling society is particularly accurate to our experience in life so I’d rather call it like it is: a bit of a scary place.

read the full article at scifinow

Lovechild Pictures is set to re-release James Felix McKenney’s AUTOMATONS as a special-edition, limited print run VHS. Copies go on sale on October 15th, but if you stop by the Glass Eye Pix booth at New York Comic Con, you’ll have a chance to snatch up an early copy.

From the press release:

Newly established niche distribution label Lovechild Pictures is proud to announce its first in a series of artisanal VHS releases; James Felix McKenney’s dystopian sci-fi opus, AUTOMATONS.

Set in the distant future following an all-out robot genocide, AUTOMATONS follows a lone female survivor, sparring on against all odds with the aid of her mechanical companions.

Lensed in gritty black & white Super 8mm, Lovechild Pictures’ analog presentation enhances the experience of this nostalgia-inspired horror epic, best described as ROBOT MONSTER meets ERASERHEAD.

Produced by Larry Fessenden’s Glass Eye Pix and McKenney’s MonsterPants Movies, AUTOMATONS stars newcomer Christine Spencer (SATAN HATES YOU), Brenda Cooney (I SELL THE DEAD) and genre icon Angus Scrimm (the PHANTASM series). Also featured are Don Wood (COLONIAL HOUSE, HYPOTHERMIA), John Anthony Blake (DOCTOR WHO, PSYCHOMANIA) and Executive Producer Larry Fessenden (HABIT, THE LAST WINTER).

Packed to the brim with bonus content and an original making-of interview zine with director James Felix McKenney, Lovechild Pictures’ AUTOMATONS tape will be available for online purchase October 15th, signed and limited to 50 copies. NYC Comic Con attendees receive an advance opportunity to grab a copy at the Glass Eye Pix booth, where 20 of the tapes will be for sale, limited to one per customer.

“Automatons is bound for cult status and should be dug up in ten years and viewed again — that is, if humanity is still around” – RUE MORGUE

“The movie’s loving attention to light and shade transcends its hermetic setting and meager budget. At times the buzzing static and fizzy backlighting recall the glistening surrealism of the filmmaker Guy Maddin… enormously endearing” – NEW YORK TIMES

“Robot radness achieved! Budgets are for bitches.” – VILLAGE VOICE

Inspired by late-night cable broadcasts of yesteryear’s horrors, Automatons spins a fever-dream nightmarescape that must be seen to be believed.

There’s a new, bold poster for the suspense/thriller BODY. Starring Helen Rogers, Alexandra Turshen, Lauren Molina, and Fessenden star, the movie follows three college students as they accidentally end up in a terrifying situation.

A darkly funny and twisted journey taking place entirely on one unforgettable Christmas Eve, Body revolves around a trio of college co-eds whose dalliance with breaking-and-entering goes horribly awry. Sneaking off to a secluded mansion to party, the young girls are faced with dire choices after they unexpectedly encounter the property’s groundskeeper. 

 

Following a freak accident, the girls find themselves entangled in a Hitchcockian nightmare steeped in tension, suspicion, double-crossing, and murder, where no one is to be trusted and a new twist lies around every corner.

“… A large part of what keeps this in place is actually Body’s surprisingly incredible cast. The until-now, relatively unheard of trio of Helen Rogers, Alexandra Turshen and Lauren Molina deliver performances that are both funny and especially believable at every turn. The group’s chemistry is nearly unparalleled, making even just the early scenes of the girls hanging out relentlessly watchable, whilst their more sober, dramatic dealings are equally as effective. Horror legend Larry Fessenden even proves his emotional worth also, with a small but grounded role that tugs on the film’s inner morality tale beautifully…”

Read the full review

Matt Barone, writing for Tribeca Film, spoke at length with Graham Reznick about UNTIL DAWN, the PS4 Horror Video Game written by Reznick and Fessenden.

“Until Dawn gives you a very stereotypical approach and very stereotypical characters and has them do the things you’re familiar with, but then it puts you in control,” says Reznick. “Our players are given a certain amount of control over the characters, which allows you to take a stereotypical character and mold them into something that’s more reflective of you, the person who’s playing. That immediately raises the stakes and makes things scarier, because you’re truly invested in the characters. With each move and decision they make, the game’s characters start to resemble aspects of the player’s own personality.”

Read on for the full review and conversation with Graham Reznick.

New short by Glass Eye Pal Chris Skotchdopole starring newcomer Taylor Zaudkte and THE BATTERY’s Jeremy Gardner heads into post-production after summer shoot in Upstate New york.

WE ARE STILL HERE, Ted Geoghegan’s terrifying ghost flick starring Barbara Crampton, Andrew Sensenig, and featuring Fessenden, gets a Blu-Ray release date! On October 6th, 2015, you can bring home this wonderfully creepy movie! Preorders are up on Amazon.

And GEP pal Joe Begos’ bloody psychokinetic thriller THE MIND’S EYE will premiere at Midnight Madness of the Toronto International Film Festival! The festival page succinctly sums up the movie as “A drifter with psychic powers takes on an evil doctor and his crew of telekinetic assassins.” Starring Graham Skipper, Lauren Ashley Carter, John Speredakos, and Fessenden!

GEP pal and UNTIL DAWN co-writer Graham Reznick spoke with Venture Beat about the process of writing UNTIL DAWN with Fessenden. Reznick spoke about everything from the butterfly effect of the game:

“As far as the butterfly effect and the branching narrative, as a filmmaker and a screenwriter, you sit down with a character and a story, and then you immediately think of every possible version of that story at any given moment. You’re trying to find the best path for your screenplay. If a character has to go to the store and buy a loaf of bread, there’s a million ways that can happen. Who’s he gonna run into along the way? Does the store get held up when he gets there?”

To the balance between traditional gaming and surprising storytelling techniques in the game:

“Exactly. There’s a bit of a more traditional gameplay element built in where it’s like, okay, I have to make sure I hurry along this path or else I’m not going to get to someone in time. But then there are a lot of situations where, depending on the conversation you have with someone, it might result in their death almost immediately. You wouldn’t know that going into the conversation.”

To Reznick’s history with video games:

“I grew up on games. I’m 34, so I feel like I literally grew up with games every step of the way, from the earliest consoles on. I played pretty much everything as I grew up as much as I could. I played a lot of computer games, a lot of Sierra games. That was my bread and butter when I was a kid, almost more so than console games at first. Then CD-ROM games with a lot of FMV—We weren’t quite ready yet. Some of those were a lot of fun, but we weren’t ready to interact as deeply as we can with a story now, because of the technology.”

Check out the entirety of awesome interview, originally posted by Dean Takahashi on Venture Beat.

Engadget just posted a great write-up on UNTIL DAWN. Copies are on sale TODAY, August 25th, 2015!

From the review:

Mashable just posted an awesome review of UNTIL DAWN. The PS4 exclusive, which hits stores tomorrow August 25th, was written by Fessenden and Graham Reznick, and features a butterfly effect based on every decision you make as a player!

Read on for the whole review.