IFC GEP TRIBUTE DAY 7: Larry Fessenden’s BLACKOUT

BLACKOUT

LARRY FESSENDEN (2023 103 mins, C500)

ALEX HURT, ADDISON TIMLIN, MOTELL GYN FOSTER, JOSEPH CASTILLO-MIDYETT, ELLA RAE PECK, RIGO GARAY, JOHN SPEREDAKOS, MICHAEL BUSCEMI, JEREMY HOLM, JOE SWANBERG, BARBARA CRAMPTON, JAMES LE GROS, MARSHALL BELL

A Fine Arts painter is convinced that he is a werewolf wreaking havoc
on a small American town under the full moon.

★★★★★
“one of the most intelligent and interesting werewolf movies of the twenty-first century.”
—Craig Ian Mann, OurCulture

“One of the 13 best horror films of the year (so far)…
a compelling and haunting drama about a man trying to atone for his own beastly nature
in a monstrous world, and the inventive werewolf kills are just gravy.”
—Matthew Jackson, AV Club

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IFC GEP TRIBUTE DAY 6: Larry Fessenden’s DEPRAVED

DEPRAVED
Dir. Larry Fessenden (2019 114 mins, red)

David Call, Joshua Leonard, Alex Breaux, Ana Kayne, Maria Dizzia,
Chloë Levine, Owen Campbell and Addison Timlin

Henry, a field surgeon suffering from PTSD after combat in the Middle East, creates a man out of body parts in a makeshift lab in Gowanus, Brooklyn. The creature he creates must navigate a strange new world and the rivalry between Henry and his conniving collaborator Polidori.

Fessenden’s trademark style of tragic horror shines through.
It’s also his angriest film to date – a natural response from a filmmaker so concerned
with societal ethics who has watched them devolve so quickly. Joel Wicklund, Chicago Now

If Mr. Fessenden had a gospel to preach it would be about
the virtues of low-budget, intellectually rigorous, topical, mayhem-rich movies.
Depraved is a perfect example… delightfully gritty, sometimes gruesome… John Anderson, The Wall Street Journal

“Builds empathy for its exploited creature.
Beginning in lovemaking and ending in loneliness,
the movie has an unexpected poignancy” Jeanette Catsoulis, New York Times

“thoroughly modern, utterly disturbing …
but there’s real heart and empathy here too.” Kimber Meyers, Los Angeles Times

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Tagged with: Depraved

IFC GEP TRIBUTE DAY 5: Larry Fessenden’s THE LAST WINTER

The Last Winter
Dir. Larry Fessenden (2006 101 mins, 35 mm, 2.35)

Ron Perlman, James Le Gros, Connie Britton, Zach Gilford, Kevin Corrigan,
Jamie Harrold, Pato Hoffmann, Joann Shenandoah and Larry Fessenden

“Larry Fessenden is one of the most original voices to emerge in the horror field
and THE LAST WINTER is his most accomplished work to date.
He brings the Gothic trappings of the old classics to shocking new life.”
—Guillermo Del Toro (PAN’S LABYRINTH, HELLBOY)

”elegantly restrained horror … metaphorically resonant … Feverishly Real, Terrifying.
Larry Fessenden is among the most thoughtful Americans working on the lower-budget end
of this oft-abused and mindlessly corrupted genre.”
—Manohla Dargis NEW YORK TIMES

”Profoundly, metaphysically scary“
—John Anderson FILM COMMENT

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Halloween Hang with DR AC and friends on the 85th Birthday of WOLF MAN.

HORROR 101 with Dr. AC – Friday Night Frights
THE WOLF MAN (1941) d. George Waggner (USA)
FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN (1943) d. Roy William Neill (USA)
HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1944) d. Erle C. Kenton (USA)
HOUSE OF DRACULA (1945) d. Erle C. Kenton (USA)
ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948) d. Charles T. Barton (USA)

“Even a man who is pure of heart, and says his prayers by night May become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms, and the autumn moon is bright.” As any good horror fan knows, these words foreshadow the nightmare to come in Universal Studios’ classic monster flick, The Wolf Man. Produced/directed by George Waggner in 1941, this howling good b/w film introduced audiences to a character that stands alongside Frankenstein’s Monster and Dracula as one of the “Unholy Three,” the most recognized of the Universal monsters.

Join AC and his awesome panel of guests (Larry Fessenden, Rob Galluzzo, Daniel Kiggins, Tom Mula, Lee Price) as we head back 85 years to the 1940s silver age of Universal to witness the birth of a new horror star in Lon Chaney and a new horror icon in THE WOLF MAN!!

00:00 Episode Intro
02:27 Panel Intro
8:45 Why We Love The Wolf Man
22:37 Lon Chaney as Lawrence Talbot
30:12 Jack Pierce’s Makeup
38:46 The Ensemble
43:32 Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
52:51 House of Frankenstein
1:04:50 House of Dracula
1:18:45 Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein
1:32:09 Trauma, or Monsters All (Larry’s new movie!)
1:34:52 Final Thoughts

Keep Searching, Keep Exploring, and, most of all, Keep Sharing the Scare!

IFC GEP TRIBUTE DAY 4: Glenn McQuaid’s I SELL THE DEAD

I SELL THE DEAD
Dir. Glenn McQuaid (2008 85 min, 2.35:1)
Dominic Monaghan, Ron Perlman, Larry Fessenden

19th century justice has finally caught up to grave robbers Arthur Blake and Willie Grimes. The colorful and peculiar history of Grimes and Blake is one filled with adventure, horror, and vicious rivalries that threaten to put all involved in the very graves they’re trying to pilfer. Never Trust A Corpse.

“WINNER!Best Independent Feature”
—TORONTO AFTER DARK 2008

“WINNER!Special Jury Mention – Best Performance – Larry Fessenden”
—SLAMDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 2008

“WINNER! Best Cinematography – Richard Lopez”
—SLAMDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 2008

“McQuaid never lets go of the deadpan Gaelic wit that makes the film so effortlessly enjoyable.”
—Chris Barsanti, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

“Fright Night, With Thrills From Six Feet Under”
—Manohla Dargis, NEW YORK TIMES

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IFC GEP TRIBUTE DAY 3: Ti West’s THE INNKEEPERS

The Innkeepers
dir. Ti West (2010 101 min, super 35, 2.35)
Sara Paxton, Pat Healy, Kelly McGillis, Lena Dunham

After over one hundred years of service, The Yankee Pedlar Inn is shutting its doors for good. The last remaining employees -Claire (Sara Paxton) and Luke (Pat Healy) – are determined to uncover proof of what many believe to be one of New England’s most haunted hotels.

“Ti West, the 34-year-old writer-director of The Innkeepers, has spent the past several years steadily toiling his way through the ranks of horror filmmaking”
—Nick Pinkerton THE VILLAGE VOICE

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DAY TWO of IFC’s GEP TRIBUTE: Jim Mickle’s STAKE LAND

Dir Jim Mickle (2010 98 min, red one, 2.35)
Connor Paolo, Nick Damici, and Kelly McGillis

Martin (Connor Paolo) was a normal teenage boy before the country collapsed in an empty pit of economic and political disaster. A vampire epidemic has swept across what is left of the nation’s abandoned towns and cities, and it’s up to Mister (Nick Damici), a death dealing, rogue vampire hunter, to get Martin safely north to Canada, the continent’s New Eden.

New York Times critics’ pick
—Jeannette Catsoulis NEW YORK TIMES

The American Horror Film of the Year
—Todd Brown TWITCH FILM

The Mayhem is beautifully composed. The Performances are terrific.
—THE NEW YORKER

Harrowing! Puts vampires back where they belong — in your nightmares, and at your throat!Rex Reed —-—NEW YORK OBSERVER

An ambitious hybrid, grafting the ethereal, landscape-driven, light-infused beauty and naïf narration associated with Terrence Malick onto a tale in which struggle against supernatural forces is just one challenge of coming of age—a trope that … hasn’t had such a sense of balance between the fantastic and the organic since the heyday of Joss Whedon …
thick with a distinct mood—the sadness and exhilaration of having nothing left to lose—and the characters, in their desperation and drive, feel real.
Fessenden may be producing the best brains-before-blood horror in North America today.
—Karina Longworth THE VILLAGE VOICE

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