In addition to the premiere of ELISE, the program for the night will feature some creepy classics, starting off with a projection of Jan Svankmajer’s short film HOUSE OF USHER on 16mm. After ELISE will be a reception with seasonal drinks and a projection of Carl Dreyer’s VAMPYR on 16mm.

F is for Fessenden

There’s one question about Larry Fessenden directing a segment for a Fantastic Fest-related anthology: What took so long?

“I tickled around with VHS right in the beginning,” he said, “but the timing didn’t work. The funny thing about that is that I took it too seriously, and the schedule’s changed.”

“N is for Nexus” proves that VHS‘ loss was ABCs gain. The homage to time-sensitive thriller Run Lola Run returns Fessenden to the concrete and brownstone New York of his early, seminal work, as an ill-fated couple try to meet up on Halloween. It was also a return to his early, zero-budget, guerrilla filmmaking style: “We didn’t really control the streets, so I was constantly going back, saying, ‘Well, I need this one other shot. Well, I’ll just ride my bike really fast through the intersection, and hope I get it.'”

The finished product is a lesson in efficiency as elegance, edited to the microsecond, as he brings the separated lovers, trick or treaters, a cab driver, and a businesswoman together along a tragic trajectory. Fessenden said, “I’m obsessed with chance,” which he called “my basis of horror. There’s also the violent horror, and the psychological thing of people slowly going mad. But there’s this other element, which is about timing and those little things that would affect the convergence, and lead to a terrible, unfortunate mishap. It’s the punchline you know is coming, but you’re not quite sure in which way it will come.”

Fessenden’s segment may be the most loaded with references, from the universal (both Frankenstein’s monster and his bride), and in-jokes for his fans (including a glimpse of the You’re Next masks, and a super-brief cameo by fellow indie horror master JT Petty). There’s a director’s cut that’s around six minutes but, he said, “It’s no better. In fact, it’s not as good, because it was just about torquing the screws.”

There’s only one edit that he almost regrets having to make: “Glen McQuaid, my friend the filmmaker, dressed as a nun, running through a shot. But it actually, believe it or not, slowed things down.”

Article in the Austin Chronicle

The Anthology film featuring shorts by 26 directors premiers tonight , October 2 on V.O.D.

Screening info at Magnolia Pictures

“Standouts among the pack include Larry Fessenden’s “N is for Nexus,” 
which finds a calamity befall a group of people at an intersection…”
—Dread Central

Watch Aram Garriga’s compelling documentary about Christianity in America,
now on Netflix as well as iTunes, amazon and available on DVD!

“American Jesus is an important documentary that will redefine
how the world looks at America and how we Americans look at ourselves…
with a level of intuitive intelligence I’ve never seen before in a film on religion.”
–The Huffington Post

“AN AMAZING FILM….
one of the best and most interesting documentaries on religion.”
–Todd Brown, Twitch

“Fascinating and informative…
one of the best, if not, the best documentary on Christianity in the United States today,
lift your arms in prayer and say “Hallelujah” for AMERICAN JESUS.”
–Debbie Lynn Elias, Movie Shark Deblore

 “Garriga is the new Alexis de Tocqueville..
“American Jesus” is to religion what de Tocqueville’s “Democracy in America” (1835)
was to our national life then: a revealing outsider’s exploration of truths we Americans are too close to.”
–The Huffington Post

“…REQUIRED VIEWING FOR EVERYONE.”
–Red Letter Christians

Congrats to Glass Eye Pal RON PERLMAN for his new memoir EASY STREET which hit shelves TODAY.

Check it out and get your copy here.

Ron’s candor and passion will surprise and inspire. Here’s a taste from a 2005 interview on the set of THE LAST WINTER.

Deep Focus records provides tantalizing details
about the upcoming TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE Vinyl release:

PRE-ORDER: October 13 — RELEASE DATE: December 2

Order your Halloween countdown calendar by Friday 9/26 and you will receive your  calendar in time to start counting the days to all Hallow’s Eve. And if you’re too old for such childish things, why not get one for your “niece” or “nephew”. Your secret’s safe with us!

Order here!

First reviews are in after a raucous world premiere at the fantastic Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas. Producers Tim League and Ant Timpson hosted with over half the 26 directors in attendance. Glass Eye Pix’s Jenn Wexler and Fessenden were there with Star Lauren Molina.

From Dread Central: “standouts among the pack include Larry Fessenden’s “N is for Nexus,” which finds a calamity befall a group of people at an intersection…”

Read review at Dread Central

Original tunes by  Gary Pozner and Brian Goss written for Rob Kuhn’s BIRTH OF THE LIVING DEAD are now available for download at CD Baby. Start Rockin’ out today! Check it!

Join us at YouTube New York for a panel with independent filmmakers who will discuss the process of making horror films with small budgets and how you can apply their filmmaking tricks of the trade to your YouTube channel!
Panelists include Lloyd Kaufman (The Toxic Avenger, co-founder of Troma Films), Larry Fessenden (Habit), Onur Tukel (Summer of Blood), and Glenn McQuaid (I Sell the Dead).
Check   Continue Reading »