From a Dead Hooker in a Trunk to an American Mary

"It’s less than two weeks away now boys and girls! FrightFest the 13^th is literally just around the corner. So as we try and get ourselves and you, our loyal readers, pumped for the festival, I continue the feature Ian so brilliantly started when he looked at Federico Zampaglione’s duo of Shadow and Tulpa. 

This time I’m focusing on the Soska sisters, whose second feature American Mary, plays on the Monday morning in the main screen. But first of all, let’s check out their now fan-favourite debut, Dead Hooker in a Trunk."

Let the two week countdown to AMERICAN MARY screening at the main stage at the 13th Annual Fright Fest commence! I just saw this great piece on EatLiveSleepFilm.com entitled looking back and looking forward where they look at the past to the present where the the filmmakers' new films are playing at Fright Fest. For Jen and me, it's a leap from grind house DIY/no budget DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK (we had $2500, not $25000) filmmaking to a European and Asian cinema inspired piece with a still modest, but now evident budget shift. 

"Fans of horror since childhood, the Soskas are tuned in to the right frequency of gore and comedy. The script has its fair share of snappy dialogue proving they obviously know their audience incredibly well – most probably because they are that same audience."

 And what to expect from the new child?

"The one thing the Soska twins showed us with Dead Hooker was potential, and even though the previous film was a decent outing from the pair, I believe the issue of budget meant that they couldn’t fully reach that potential. But with American Mary, and what looks like a bigger budget, this could well be the opportunity they need that puts the filmmakers’ on the horror map. Staying behind the camera on this occasion, which I think is a good choice, it allows the twins to properly focus on the story and not worry about anything else. And with film surrounding underground surgeries and body modification, they have a chance to take it into many dark and disturbing places."

Dark and disturbing places? Yeah, we got you covered. Check out the whole rad piece by Jordan McGrath here.

-Sylv