Screening & Q&A BLACKOUT Monday, October 27th at 7:30 PM with filmmaker Larry Fessenden and executive producer Franklin Laviola in person Discussion moderated by film critic Maitland McDonagh $20 Public | $13 Members
Charley has a secret… he believes that he has been transforming into a werewolf. He can’t remember the things he’s done but the papers report random acts of violence taking place at night in this small upstate hamlet. Now the whole town must rally to find out what is tearing it apart: mistrust, fear, or a monster that comes out at night. (2024, 103 mins)
Following the World Premiere at Sitges, Glenn McQuaid’s I SELL THE DEAD opens at Toronto After Dark Film Fest, Oct 24, 2008.
Arthur Blake is about to be executed by guillotine for the crime of grave robbing. But before he faces the blade, he agrees to confess to Father Duffy in the hope that the priest might be merciful enough to spare his life. Arthur tells his life story to the priest, which begins with him stealing valuables from the deceased as a youth. But as he relates his battles with zombies, ghosts and other fiendish ghouls, his tale takes a turn for the supernatural.
“McQuaid never lets go of the deadpan Gaelic wit that makes the film so effortlessly enjoyable.” HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
“Fright Night, With Thrills From Six Feet Under” NEW YORK TIMES
“Droll perfs, diverting f/x and handsome B-pic atmospherics ensure a good time for horror fans with a memory past last weekend’s slasher remake.” VARIETY
Across his singular, stubbornly independent body of work, the New York-based filmmaker Larry Fessenden has specialized in stories about monsters and madness, crafting character-driven dramas that—from the vampirism-as-disease allegory Habit to Blackout, about an alcoholic who begins to suspect he’s a werewolf—draw their bone-chilling horror from morally conflicted men struggling to tame their inner darkness. But it’s perhaps Depraved, his re-envisioning of Shelley’s Frankenstein, that most succinctly captures Fessenden’s fascination with the tragic consequences of all that which man creates but fails to control. Playing out in a decaying Brooklyn loft, Depraved follows a disillusioned combat medic who, unable to make sense of his own lingering trauma, stitches together a man from body parts and brings him back to life. In recasting its central monster as the tortured offspring of one man’s heartbreak as much as his hubris, Fessenden gets at something essential about what makes Shelley’s story so enduringly ripe for reanimation. That he does so while deftly exploring such modern issues as war-time trauma, American exceptionalism, and urban malaise makes clear why he’s one of our savviest genre iconoclasts.
Depp will play the titular role of Ebenezer Scrooge, a misanthropic and miserly businessman in 19th century London who is visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future in an effort to save himself from an afterlife of torment. The character has been a mainstay of holiday cinema for decades, including in the classic 1951 adaptation starring Alastair Sim, 1988’s “Scrooged” with Bill Murray, 1992’s “A Muppet Christmas Carol” with Michael Caine, and 2009’s “A Christmas Carol” with Jim Carrey.
“Nosferatu” director Robert Eggers is also developing his own take on the story at Warner Bros., with Willem Dafoe circling the role of Scrooge.
The film would mark Depp’s first role from a major studio since 2018’s “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.” He was fired from that franchise after he lost a libel cast against the British tabloid The Sun, which had called the actor a “wife beater” in 2018 following allegations of domestic abuse by his ex-wife Amber Heard. (In a separate U.S. trial in 2022, both Depp and Heard were found to have defamed each other.) Depp’s since starred in a handful of independent films (“Minamata,” “Jeanne du Barry”), and he recently shot the thriller “Day Drinker” for Lionsgate opposite Penélope Cruz, which is also expected to premiere in 2026.
Nexus Point News first reported on the “Christmas Carol” film with Depp and West.
Tonight, we open the creaking doors to celebrate a pair of Universal classics that both turn 90 this year: Werewolf of London and Bride of Frankenstein, released in that golden year of genre cinema, 1935. While not always mentioned in the same breath, these two films mark an important moment in Universal Pictures’ legendary horror cycle, one building on an already iconic legacy, and the other attempting to carve out a new path through uncharted territory.
After reinventing vampires with Habit (1995), it was only a matter of time before Larry Fessenden, horror’s greatest living independent filmmaker, tackled Frankenstein head-on. Released just before the recent explosion of Frankenstein-esque films, Depraved sets the action in modern-day New York City and deep into the psychology of our contemporary period. Along with rich themes of violence, PTSD of soldiers returning from recent conflicts in the Middle East, and the controversial practices of the pharmaceutical machine, the film is, at its heart, an exploration of the need for young men to be guided and mentored by loving and caring fathers and father figures. The creature (Alex Breaux) is guided by creator Henry (David Call) and Polidori (Joshua Leonard), neither of whom makes very positive role models, and the depraved sins of these fathers are eventually passed on to this son of theirs, who struggles to overcome it all. Though Depraved has not yet garnered the respect of some of Fessenden’s other films, its powerful themes, nuanced approach, emotional depth, and fiercely modern take on the familiar myth make this a film ripe for rediscovery.
Honorable Mentions: Frankenweenie (animated feature 2012), Frankenstein (2015—directed by Bernard Rose)
Beck Underwood’s animated feature film THE LURE OF PONIES A SPELLBOUND ATTIC MYSTERY held its World Premiere at the 2025 Woodstock Film Festival on October 18. The sold-out crowd was treated to a rolicking Q&A with Underwood, stars Beth Dixon and Fiona Green, and many of the supporting cast. Followed by an honorable mention at the Woodstock FF Awards Ceremony and a sold-out screening 10/19/25 at the brand new Upstate Films venue in Kingston NY. An enchanting start to the roll-out of Underwood’s spellbound mystery. Stay tuned for upcoming screenings. and check out:
10/18/25 Fessenden presents The Fiercely Independent Award to long-time pal Ira Sachs who shared an office with Fessenden and Kelly Reichardt as the three started out in the 1990’s. The Glass Eye Pix edit bay was host to Sach’s breakout feature THE DELTA, cut by Alfonso Gonzales who continues to collaborate with Sachs. Sachs went on to direct Award-winning personal, sometimes steamy dramas including 40 SHADES OF BLUE, LEAVE THE LIGHTS ON, LOVE IS STRANGE, LITTLE MEN, PASSAGES, and the forthcoming PETER HUJAR’S DAY with Ben Wishaw and Rebecca Hall (executive produced by GEP Pal Franklin Laviola). Congrats to Ira!
Fessenden hosts a 90 minute conversation with the congenial and iconic Brad Dourif at a Panel for the Woodstock Film Festival on October 17 2025. Topics includes working with Milos Forman, David Lynch, Werner Herzog, his role on Deadwood, recording Chucky in his Home Studio and acting on stage with Amanda Plumber in Tennessee Williams’s “The Two Character Play” in 2013.
Glass Eye Pix is the fierce independent NYC-based production outfit headed by award-winning art-horror auteur Larry Fessenden with the mission of supporting individual voices in the arts. Read more...
