2021: The Year Tyler Interviewed Larry Fessenden
Independent genre film legend, Larry Fessenden, is here today on the show. We talk about his love for Universal Monster movies, his first big hit in the industry and all the films that followed. We also talk about his favorite part of the filmmaking process and the time he hopped on a zoom call with me when he was in the wrong one, but thank god that happened because it eventually got me this interview.
Take a listen HERE
2015, Fessenden and GEP pal Ted Geoghegan at South By Southwest
for WE ARE STILL HERE.
Fessenden appears on Geoghegan’s new film BROOKLYN 45,
coming 2022.
Wyrd War proudly presents composer/songwriter Sean Spillane’s haunting and hypnotic original motion picture soundtrack for the independent American folk horror film JUG FACE (2013) on vinyl for the first time!
Director Chad Crawford Kinkle’s JUG FACE intelligently transcends the popular tropes of backwoods rural-based horror as it follows a teen’s desperate attempts to escape the macabre traditions of her Appalachian community that worships an unseen chthonic force that inhabits an earthen pit. Mastered for vinyl by Timothy Stollenwerk and highlighting original artwork from the film by Zach and Hannah Passero, JUG FACE is pressed to stunning “Appalachian Gold” vinyl in a limited edition of 400. The pit wants what the pit wants! Buy HERE
DEADLINE EXCLUSIVE: AMC Network’s genre-focused streaming service Shudder has commissioned its latest original movie, Brooklyn 45, written and directed by Ted Geoghegan (We Are Still Here, Mohawk). The streamer will launch the pic exclusively in 2022.
The film, which began principal photography on December 2, is set on a freezing evening in December 1945, as five military veterans gather together in the ornate parlour of a Brooklyn brownstone. Best friends since childhood, they have reunited to support their troubled host – but when his invitation for cocktails turns into an impromptu séance, the metaphoric ghosts of their past become all-too-literal.
Geoghegan penned the screenplay with assistance from his late father, a disabled Air Force Veteran-turned-history teacher.
“Since losing my dad, I’ve been obsessed with bringing the powerful, timely script we collaborated on to the screen. A story of the ghosts, rage, and toxicity that follow all human conflict, the heart of Brooklyn 45 beats just as poignantly today as it did when the film was set, 76 long years ago,” said the filmmaker.
Brooklyn 45 stars Anne Ramsay (A League of Their Own), Ezra Buzzington (The Hills Have Eyes), Jeremy Holm (The Ranger), Larry Fessenden (We Are Still Here), Ron E. Rains (Peter Rosenthal of The Onion’s Film Standar) and Kristina Klebe (Rob Zombie’s Halloween).
The film is produced by Shudder, Hangar 18 Media, and The Line Film Company. Seth Caplan is producing alongside Pasha Patriki and Michael Paszt of Hangar 18 Media, and Sarah Sharp of The Line Film Company. James Fler and Andrew T. Hunt of Raven Banner Entertainment serve as executive producers on the picture.
“Shudder is delighted to partner with the Divide/Conquer, Raven Banner, and Hangar 18 teams to bring Ted’s vision from script to screen,” said Emily Gotto, VP of Acquisitions and Co-Productions for Shudder. “Brooklyn 45 is set to terrify Shudder audiences and beyond in 2022.”
Larry Fessenden is one of the current masters of horror, and yet is probably best remembered for his unique appearance as a character actor in numerous films. This is a shame, considering how thoughtful and intellectually stimulating Fessenden’s movies are, none more so than Wendigo. Seen largely through the perspective of a young boy (and more haunting because of it), the film tracks an upper-class family on holiday after a tense encounter with ‘local yokels’ who may wish them ill. A brilliant meditation on imperialism, colonization, and the genocides of First Nations people, Wendigo is an icy cold stunner.
Movie Web: “The story is emotional, the acting is well-done, and the creatures & gore effects look fantastic. The film keeps its audience invested well after the watch, as the filmmakers released prequel shorts on Youtube that dive into the character’s backstories. The film donned one sequel, The Stakelander (2016), which wasn’t bad!”
STAKE LAND is streaming on Peacock and Amazon Prime. Watch the Stake Land Webisodes available on the Glass Eye Youtube channel.
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In 2001, the creature would be revitalized in popular culture with Larry Fessenden‘s Wendigo, a cult classic best known for popularizing the beast’s animal-like appearance. Though it’s more of an eerie family drama than a traditional creature feature, the movie interprets the Wendigo as a shapeshifting nature spirit that’s neither good nor evil, ultimately serving as a heroic figure for the young protagonist. The unique design here steals the show, with the monster sporting a creepy silhouette and a deer-like head, complete with the now-iconic antlers. While the movie isn’t widely known, you’ve almost certainly seen its take on the monster.
Ironically, Fessenden was unhappy with the creature’s on-screen presence.
Fessenden would actually go on to revisit the Wendigo several times in his future projects, putting a ghostly incarnation of the creature in his ecologically-minded The Last Winter and having Doug Jones play an ill-fated cannibal in the Fear Itself episode Skin and Bones. The director also contributed to and appeared in Supermassive Games’ Until Dawn, which is arguably the most popular piece of Wendigo-centric media ever made. While none of these takes are 100% mythologically accurate, it’s always fun to see how Fessenden re-shapes the Wendigo to suit his storytelling needs.
Ron Perlman is hard to forget. As soon as his face appears on screen, you immediately recall where you’ve seen him before. And more likely than not, you’re remembering Perlman from a genre movie. He’s accumulated handfuls of them over the last forty years… So, in anticipation of This Game’s Called Murder’s release, we look back at ten of the most memorable horror movies starring the one and only Ron Perlman.
The Last Winter (2006)
Larry Fessenden’s fascination with Wendigos endures in his eco-horror movie, The Last Winter. This 2006 slow burn stars Perlman as Ed Pollack, the head of an isolated ANWR drilling base. When strange and terrible things happen to them, Ed and his peers are left to wonder if this is the work of something supernatural. Have angry spirits been released and are they now targeting anyone who means the area harm? The Last Winter is one of Perlman’s more somber horror movies, which is rife with atmosphere and cosmic dread. On top of that is a transparent message about global warming.
I Sell the Dead (2008)
Perlman stars alongside Larry Fessenden and Dominic Monaghan in Glenn McQuaid’s I Sell the Dead. The 2008 movie is a reunion for the director and actor; Perlman appeared in The Last Winter while McQuaid worked behind the scenes. This low-budget horror-comedy is set during 1850s Ireland — yet filmed on Staten Island — and concerns a pair of foolish corpse snatchers. Told through flashbacks, Monaghan shares his story with the peculiar Father Francis Duffy (Perlman). Fans of gallows humor might appreciate this hidden gem.
The House Of The Devil
Collector Edition Blu-Ray
WENDIGO Figures
From Glass Eye Toyz
BLACKOUT BLU-RAY
From Dark Sky Selects
FOXHOLE BLU-RAY
From Vinegar Syndrome
9 Tales From Beyond The Pale
on Amazon!
THE LARRY FESSENDEN COLLECTION Blu-ray
on Amazon!
BENEATH Blu-ray & DVD
on Amazon!
