Jen and I are rabid graphic novel nerds, so it was a huge honour to have one of our favourite writer/artists, Dan Schaffer, in attendance at the Fright Fest screening of AMERICAN MARY. For those of you unfamiliar with Dan's work, be on the lookout for the upcoming graphic novel big screen adaptation of THE SCRIBBLER, which is going to be a must-see, unlike anything else out there, phenomenal piece.
I was thrilled that he enjoyed the film, then I saw this first hand thoughts on the film that made these fangirls extremely proud and honored.
"Here's my FrightFest report: I only went there for one film. My lifelong love of horror movies died tragically a couple of years ago under a barrage of lame remakes and safe, formulaic scripts. So was AMERICAN MARY any good? It was better than good, it was the cure. It was enough to make me love horror movies again. It's original, funny, smart and sassy.
The Soska Twins break half the established rules of screenwriting and somehow get away with it, and their direction is assured and clever throughout. More importantly, they show a sense of cultural awareness that most of their white male peers don’t seem to know even exists. This allows them to step into dangerous territory with a maturity, insight and humanity rarely seen in this genre anymore. Katharine Isabelle gives a career-best performance as Mary, pulling off an engaging combination of vulnerability and sociopathy. And Tristan Risk, as the surgically altered Beatress, lights up her scenes with a stunning display of tragic-comic restrained flair.
I can’t recommend AMERICAN MARY enough, not just to fans of the genre but also to mainstream moviegoers… and especially to other filmmakers who think they can handle a female revenge story without ever having read a single feminist manifesto. Watch it and learn."
Thank you for coming out to the screening, Dan. For being a wonderful human being, completely kind and down to earth in the face of shrieking, crazed twins. Blog posts cannot express the gratitude we feel for this kindness and support.
-Sylv
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