BROOKLYN 45 brings home TWO Audience Awards at the PANIC FEST 2023 Award Showcase!

Fessenden wins BEST ACTOR in a Feature Film and
Ted Geoghegan awarded BEST DIRECTOR.

See the full list of the 2023 Audience Awards Winners
HERE

On Earth Day, we’re encouraged to think about conservation and the actions we can take to help stop or reverse the damage. In that spirit, we’ve put together a list of films to watch that dramatize what might happen should our efforts fail.

#14 THE LAST WINTER
This atmospheric thriller set at a drilling site in the Arctic National Wildlife refuge is a quintessential example of the “eco-horror” genre, in which atrocities against nature are avenged via terrifying attacks on humans by natural or supernatural forces. In The Last Winter, director Larry Fessenden (Wendigo) uses the backdrop of the snowy tundra nearly as effectively as John Carpenter did in The Thing, while establishing a quieter, more dreamlike mood. It’s not clear exactly what the crew of environmental scientists and oil workers, led by Ron Perlman as the hard-headed chief of the operation, have awakened beneath the surface of the thinning arctic ice (thanks to warmer-than-normal temperatures), but as they slowly lose their minds, and their lives, it’s clear that something is out there and it is very angry with us.

See whole list at AV Club

Fessenden and friend
(a raven performer fresh off the Harry Potter films)
on the set of THE LAST WINTER in 2005.
Not sure the public took that film’s message to heart.

From Irish Star:

A spooky Irish horror podcast is making waves with listeners from the US and around the world and was nominated for a prestigious award in New York this year.

Petrified by Peter Dunne and Liam Geraghty started in 2019 and it didn’t take long for it to become a favorite amongst horror fans. In fact, it won the Best Drama Podcast Award at the New York Festivals Radio Awards that year.

Nominated again in 2023, this time alongside giants like Marvel, Petrified continues to prove itself as a truly frightening and immersive listening experience for horror fans around the world, with a unique Irish identity that by no means limits its reach across the globe.

Speaking to IrishStar.com, podcast writer and director Peter revealed that he never expected the podcast to become this popular, with listeners in Ireland, The US, the UK, India, and more places around the globe.

He explained: “It’s very heartening when there’s something like Marvel, a billion-dollar company, and we’re a few Irish people sitting around my dining room table. Marvel just really stood out because it’s so massive.

“We did this as a couple of friends, with very little money behind it. And then the first series did well, the second one did well, and the third one did really well. We never would have thought this.”

Since it first debuted, the podcast has grown from strength to strength and has even featured guest stars such as legendary Irish newsreader Anne Doyle and horror filmmaker Larry Fessenden.

Its popularity, Peter says, is largely down to its unique Irish horror offering. He explained: “Our big selling point is that we’re a horror anthology series from Ireland. I think maybe that’s why it has taken off. We’re deliberately and specifically Irish and all of our stories have a twist.

Read Full Interview HERE

SCREEN DRAFTS and PANIC FEST presents Emily Hagins, Graham Skipper and Fessenden
LIVE (Virtual) as they draft the top 9 Dracula Movies! This THURSDAY, Apr 20th, 8PM Central.

If you’re in Kansas City, be sure to attend PANIC FEST in person for theatrical screenings of
WE ARE STILL HERE and the new BROOKLYN 45, both featuring Fessenden.

Get Your Tix at PanicFilmFest.com

6 Under-Appreciated Vampire Movies to Watch Before You See ‘Renfield’

by Luis H. C.

… with Chris McKay’s upcoming Renfield proving that there are still fresh spins to be had on the Dracula formula, we’ve decided to come up with a list celebrating six of the most under-appreciated vampire movies out there. After all, there’s nothing like discovering a hidden gem within a sea of similar genre flicks…

If you want to revamp a classic monster for modern audiences without losing the emotional edge that made these stories effective in the first place, Larry Fessenden is the filmmaker for you. While he’s already updated Frankenstein into a contemporary tragedy in Depraved and is currently working on his own take on The Wolfman, the filmmaker’s first foray into mythological bloodshed came in the form of the 1997 indie flick Habit.

Telling the story of a New Yorker who becomes ill after getting involved with a mysterious woman, the film is half arthouse mood piece and half romantic monster movie. While things never get truly terrifying (unless you count the existential dread of being a psychologically unstable artist in Manhattan), this strange little character study will likely stick with you long after the end credits roll.

See full list at Blood Disgusting

TBT: April 13 2005, Ron Perlman celebrates his birthday in Iceland
on the set of Fessenden’s THE LAST WINTER.

Perlman handling the wrap refreshments. 

Perlman along with Fessenden, cooked to perfection.

Excerpt from IN THE FOXHOLE: THE MAKING OF A WAR FILM, a 90 minute behind the scenes look at Jack Fessenden’s second feature FOXHOLE (2019) and a coming of age story of indie filmmaking. Editor Larry Fessenden.

Full featurette Available on Blu-ray through Yellow Veil Pictures.

The FOXHOLE Blu-ray is packed with extras !
special slip-cover edition available at Vinegar Syndrome
or buy the standard edition at amazon.com

GEP Pal Kelly Reichardt chats with Marc Maron about the start of her filmmaking career,
working on RIVER OF GRASS with Fessenden and her upcoming film SHOWING UP. 

From WTF: Kelly Reichardt’s latest movie Showing Up is about the life of artists, but Kelly had no experience with art while growing up in a Miami law enforcement family other than crime scene photos. Kelly talks to Marc about the moment that opened her eyes to artistic expression and how a lonely night in Boston watching the snow fall convinced her to start making movies. They also go through all her films and gush over Altman’s McCabe and Mrs. Miller.

Now available on your favorite Podcast platform.

Listen HERE