From SXSW Roundup by Mike Ryan at hammertonail.com

Late Phases (Adrian Garcia Bogliano, 95m) — One of the best films I saw in a once again very strong Midnight section was this straightforward-but-brilliant werewolf movie. As with Xan Cassavettes’ Kiss Of The Damned from last year, I am most attracted to genre purists who work within the three-chord structure of their respective genre and through rigorous personal exploration of the core foundations of the code, completely reinvent the genre.

Late Phases starts deceptively simple, with a very tart TV-movie-of-the-week set-up and pacing but, by the middle of the second act, gets torn to bits like the graphic transformation scene in which we watch a trusted deacon in the church pull off his nose and ears as hair pokes through his chest cavity. Or the bizarre scene on a church bench when the head priest (Tom Noonan) and our war hero Ambrose (Nick Damichi) talk about the evil that men do while describing the act of killing innocent children.

The transformation from human to monster is ripe for so much fertile metaphorical relationships; the most obvious one here is the transformation from youth to old age heightened by the fact that the film is set in an old age retirement community. I also particularly liked the father/son relationship, which opened up the idea that as sons, we all become our fathers, as much as we fight the urge; at times, we all feel that matted, nasty smelling hair poking out, or at least clawing to get out. Likewise, we are willing to shoot ourselves in the foot in order to kill that evil beast. Hats off to low-budget horror masterminds Larry Fessenden and Brent Kunkle at Glass Eye Pix, who manage to make creatures and effects feel more real than any mega-budget CGI extravaganza on I am sure what is a nano-percentage of the typical Hollywood budget. This is one film that I hope gets into every megaplex. It’s elevated the werewolf film to a whole other level.

Our friends at FEARnet are hosting a BENEATH sweepstakes where you can win a Blu-Ray Prize Pack from Scream Factory featuring “Beneath”, “The Island” and the original classic “Piranha”

Enter here.

Fessenden’s BENEATH hits Blu-ray and DVD March 25.

Actor Jake Weber, speaking on a podcast for the hit show THE FOLLOWING with GEP pal Rob Galluzzo and FOLLOWING writer/producer Scott Reynolds, says WENDIGO is “my favorite film that I’ve ever been in.”

Check out the podcast here (S2/EP9) and hear Weber’s thoughts on WENDIGO at the 39 minute mark. Weber also speaks about the DAWN OF THE DEAD remake and an upcoming project reuniting him with WENDIGO’s Patricia Clarkson.

TWITCH Film publishes interview with Fessenden on the occasion of the release of BENEATH.

From the post:

Interviewing Larry Fassenden was a real treat. When Hollywood is plaguing the horror genre with remakes, 15 unwanted sequels and anything to make a quick 60 million bucks, this guy has been in front of and behind the camera in numerous independent projects, helping to keep the original idea alive. He’s also made some time to act alongside Bill Murray and get a credit in a Martin Scorsese movie.

I caught up with Fassenden to talk about his latest directing outing, Beneath, about a bunch of punk ass teens up shit creek without paddles. But that’s the least of their problems — there’s a giant fish with razor sharp teeth and an appetite for 12 swimming around them just aching for one (or all) of them to fall in the water.

He also spills his guts on his love for all things horror, and gives us a little taste of what to expect for his segment in the upcoming ABCs of Death 2.

Check out the full interview at Twitch Films.

BENEATH hits Blu-ray/DVD March 25th via Scream Factory.

From DreadCentral.com:

“Veteran horror contributor and all-around cool guy Larry Fessenden has a lot of acting, directing and producing credits to his name. But he’s never worked with anything quite like he did on Beneath. Fessenden recently sat down with Dread Central to talk about his new film.

First he gave us a brief synopsis of what viewers can expect when they hitch their anchor to Beneath. “It’s a stylish little horror film about six teenagers stuck in a rowboat with a malevolent force under the water trying to get them,” Fessenden said.

“It’s a movie about the decisions they make to get out of the dilemma, and they’re not all pretty decisions.”

Check out the full interview on Dread Central.

BENEATH hits Blu-ray/DVD March 25th via Scream Factory.

Aaron Christensen at HORROR 101 WITH DR. AC provides in-depth interview on the forthcoming DVD/Blu-ray release of Fessenden’s “fish film”, being released on March 25.

Fessenden prattles on while Christensen provides an array of enticing screen grabs from the DVD.

“In the nearly two decades since his 1995 festival hit, Habit, was released, Larry Fessenden has established himself as a proud independent godfather of sorts, with his NYC-based production company Glass Eye Pix fostering such rising talents as Ti West (The House of the Devil, The Innkeepers), Glenn McQuaid (I Sell the Dead), James Felix McKenney (Satan Hates You) and Jim Mickle (Stake Land). He also continues to direct (Wendigo, The Last Winter) and act (lending his memorable gap-toothed mug to four to five screen roles each year), seemingly content to thrive outside the Tinseltown web of wheeler dealers. His indomitable spirit remains alive and well, trumping high throttle studio machinery with the power of a simple story well told…”

Check out the rest of the article at Horror 101.

BENEATH hits Blu-ray/DVD March 25th via Scream Factory.

From GEP pal Glenn McQuaid, this remembrance:

It is with great sadness that I must let you know of the passing of my good friend and colleague Eileen Colgan. Following a brief period of illness, Eileen died this morning (10/3/2014) at 9:10AM in the Mater Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.

I was blessed to work with Eileen on I Sell the Dead, she brought a tremendous amount of wry wit and charm to the production — on and off camera. Always passionate and ready to roll up her sleeves and get to the heart of her character, it was a collaboration I will be forever grateful for.

One of my favorite memories of Eileen is accompanying her to a screening of Quackser Fortune Has A Cousin In The Bronx, it was only then that I realized the extent of her importance to Irish Arts; from Ulysses to My Left Foot to Fair City, she has left us much to cherish and remember her by.

A fabulous mother and grandmother, a kind friend and a humble unwavering artist to the end.

Good bye Eileen, Heaven won’t know what hit it.

Adrian Garcia Bogliano’s LATE PHASES, from MPI’s Dark Sky Films and Zak Zeman’s Site B Productions, with Fessenden and Brent Kunkle producing for Glass Eye Pix, premieres tonight as part of SXSW’s Midnighters section!

Check out the festival screenings below, and read an interview with star Nick Damici at The Wrap.

Screenings:

World Premiere: Sunday, March 9th, 11:45pm (Alamo Ritz 1&2)
Public Screening #2: Thursday, March 13th, 11:45pm (Alamo Ritz 2)
Public Screening #3: Friday, March 14th, 11:59pm (SXSatellite: Marchesa)

Scribe Nick Damici is at SXSW promoting the latest Glass Eye Pix collaboration with MPI / Dark Sky, Adrian Bogliano’s Late Phases. In a recent interview, Damici leaked preliminary thoughts on a Stake Land TV series he has been penning based on the beloved film.

Read the scoop here.

Glass Eye Alum Mickey Keating (RITUAL) now shooting in chilly Maine. The feature stars JUG FACE’s Lauren Ashley Carter.