Film 4 Fright Fest the 13th Round Up

Full Film 4 Fright Fest the 13th Round Up - click here for the rad video featuring all the horror folks that made up this year's Fright Fest for a bloody good time! Rad video courtesy of Film Best.

-Sylv

There Will Be Mod, Mary Reviews Keep Rolling in

"Original is a word that’s not often used within horror nowadays, which of Couse, is a shame, however, with this lack of originality in the genre, it only makes seeing a film such as American Mary that much more satisfying. Unflinching, shocking but somehow very touching and personal at the same time, American Mary is something new and well, I believe it’s something to shout from the rooftops about." - Jordan McGrath, EatSleepLiveFilm (full review)

"The twisted minds behind the cult smash ‘Dead Hooker in a Trunk’ have gone from cult low budget to Hollywood mainstream in one easy scoop. Capturing the imagination of none other than horror’s latest controversial director, Eli Roth. American Mary has the raw, talented and cringe inducing moments seen on film since Hostel and let’s get this clear from the outset, AM is not for the feint hearted." - BloodGutsUK (full review)

"American Mary is one of the very best films at this year's FrightFest, and practically guaranteed a lasting cult status. It is not only one of the few scheduled films directed by women, but also a refreshingly original take on the genre. In other words, while no turkey, it certainly has wings. Cannot wait to see where the Soskas will take us next." -Anton Bitel, Little White Lies (full review)

"The gorgeous Katharine Isabelle delivers a superlative, career-defining performance as Mary – an ambitious, vulnerable girl eventually twisted and sullied by circumstances that change her world. Her relationship with Billy holds a sweetness of its own, a promise of romance that neither of them really manages to drag to the surface, lending a multi-layered gravitas to their scenes together which, thankfully, both actors realise impeccably. As Beatress, Tristan Risk is an absolute delight."
- Pestilence, Dread Central (full review)

"The weird, strange, and often disturbing world of American Mary's body-mod setting is brought to life by special effects wizard Todd Masters, best known for his work on television shows like True Blood and Fringe as well as films like Slither. Remarkably, the movie contains no computer generated imagery, relying entirely on the old-school use of prosthetics and special make-up for characters ranging from the totally unconventional (silicone forehead horns) to cringe-worthy, Real Housewives-esque plastic surgery "victims." Oddly, it is the characters in the latter category who are the most compelling and disturbing to behold, especially when viewed through Brian Pearson's appropriately moody lens." - Rachel Fox, Twitch Film (full review)

-Sylv

American Mary, Just Fucking See It

We first met Guy Pearce through a review he did for our first film, DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK. Through that review, the three of us became friends and have spoken much about film since.

So, the nerves were pretty high when it came to the time where he would be seeing AMERICAN MARY at the Fright Fest special screening. These are his thoughts.

Fuck yes. Thank you for the fucking brilliant words, Guy.

-Sylv

Grolsch Film Works Interview with Katharine Isabelle and the Twisted Twins

"Canadian filmmakers Jen and Sylvia Soska previewed their second feature, American Mary, at Film4 FrightFest this August. The twins burst onto the film scene with their riotous debut, Dead Hooker in a Trunk, but their sophomore effort is a different beast all together. A startling horror film packed with rich thematic concerns and delivered with exceptional style, American Mary is destined for cult classic status." ~ Martyn Conterio

 At Fright Fest we had the pleasure of getting to sit down with Martyn Conterio of Grolsch Film Works alongside our AMERICAN MARY starlet, Katharine Isabelle, to discuss our new beast.

Here's a little taste...

The film portrays the body modification community in a positive light. Was that something you also intended from the beginning?

Jen: It was a huge priority of ours to show the body mod community in the highest light possible. We hold them in such high regard.

Katharine: They are the nicest, most normal people in the whole movie.

Jen: I always wondered why there hadn’t been a film featuring body modification in the past because it’s so ‘right now’. And plastic surgery … it’s such a bizarre American thing that you can be rich and powerful and you can have everything but you have the ability to manipulate the way you look. It’s a bizarre value system and people ask us ‘Why American Mary’? With this story it can’t not be American Mary.

Please enjoy the FULL INTERVIEW right here!

XO,
Jen

Awesome Graphic from Horror Bid

FUCK YES SHE DID.

Thank you to Universal Pictures and Monster Pictures!

-Sylv

Twisted Twins Interview with Flicks & the City

"The Twisted Twins Jen & Sylvia Soska chat about killing blondes & bloody special effects in American Mary."

Major fangirl moment realized, having the opportunity to chat with Jan Gilbert in this Flicks & the City interview. By the by, Jan is even more fucking cool in real life!

-Sylv

The Horror Channel Interviews Us Twisted Twins

 The UK Horror Channel is something of a mad love of ours. Ever since they gave our beloved first born baby, DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK, it's television premiere, and have pretty much continued to play the poop out of her ever since, we fell truly, madly, and deeply in love.

When we had the opportunity to chat with the ever so wonderful James Whittington. There are some people in the world that we are never too busy to talk to even when we do find ourselves WAY too busy. James is on that very short list.

Here's our EXCLUSIVE HORROR CHANNEL INTERVIEW PART ONE

and

EXCLUSIVE HORROR CHANNEL INTERVIEW PART TWO

Please enjoy, boys and grrls, like we enjoyed ourselves.

Thank you most kindly!
All our VERY bloody bestest!
Jen

American Mary & Sinister Double Billing to Open Grimm UpNorth Festival

Hey you! Whatcha doing Wednesday, October 3rd? I know what you should be doing - getting over to the Grimm UpNorth Grimmfest 2012 preview night where you will get an excellent double billing with SINISTER and AMERICAN MARY. Holy fucking shit! I know right?

"This year we pre-empt the official festival at Manchester’s Dancehouse Theatre with a special preview night at the Plaza Super Cinema, in Stockport. Were very proud to be hosting this great double bill. The Northern Premiere of nail biting haunted house shocker SINISTER starring Ethan Hawke and the Northern premiere of brilliant new indie AMERICAN MARY, the much anticipated new film from the Soska twins."

"AMERICAN MARY  

 USA / Canada; Directors: Jen & Sylvia Soska; Starring: Katherine Isabelle, Tristan Risk, Antonio Cupo, David Lovgren 

‘Impoverished medical student Mary Mason gets pulled into the shadowy underworld of illegal body modification surgery after she performs a few questionable procedures for a local mobster. Here she finds the respect and creative fulfilment the conventional medical world had denied her, as well as the opportunity for gruesome revenge on her tormentors…’  

Canada’s “Twisted Twins” are back! Jen and Sylvia Soska’s debut feature, the blackly comic underground grind house gem DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK had its UK premiere at Grimm Up North back in 2010, where it wowed audiences with its badass punk rock attitude and ad-hoc outrageousness. So we’ve been chasing the follow-up, AMERICAN MARY, since it was in the pre-production stage. And it’s been worth the effort. 

The Twins attain a whole new level of twistedness with this darkly funny and at times deeply disturbing dissection of the cult of beauty, cosmetic surgery addiction, body image and body modification. Combining the visceral body horror and powerful emotional impact of early Cronenberg with a cold-eyed, cruel sense of camp, it features a standout lead performance from horror icon Katherine Isabelle, and puts the Soskas squarely at the forefront of contemporary horror filmmaking."

So mark the 3rd of October on your calendars. Call up your cool friends and get ready for an epic night of truly different horror. Get your information and tickets here.

Be there, don't be the guy that wishes he was and then regrets it later.

-Sylv

Dan Schaffer on American Mary

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

There She Is, Miss America - The Remarkable Reviews

"AMERICAN MARY is the most emotionally accurate, bravest, best-made horror film I have ever seen, particularly given the Twisted Twins' current position within the industry. It is sexy, revolting, empowering and overwhelming all at once without ever feeling exploitative. It is the Twisted Twins’ story and they are asking you come to them on mutual terms. Watch Mary, enjoy her and face your own desires." - Dr. Karen Oughton, Ain't It Cool News (full review)

"If Rob Zombie is ever looking to cast the roles of Siamese twins Daisy and Violet Hilton in a remake of Freaks, he couldn’t do better than Vancouver’s own identical-twin directing duo, Jen and Sylvia Soska. Years spent cutting their teeth on the local Vancouver film-competition circuit combined with the moderate success of the 2009 cult grindhouse flick Dead Hooker in a Trunk have finally paid off, as the Soska sisters are now on the brink of something much bigger. Their latest feature, American Mary, produced by this town’s IndustryWorks Pictures, has been picked up by Universal Pictures International for distribution in the U.K. and Germany." - Rachel Fox, The Georgia Straight (full review)

"The screening got an overwhelmingly positive reaction from the almost capacity-filled cinema (an unusual thing for the morning slot). The directors were there to introduce the film and proved to be the most energetic, lovable and bat-shit insane people to ever grace the stage at the Empire. The twin sisters responsible for DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK (their first feature) were dressed in matching identical fetish outfits which mirrored the film's themes and proved to be irrepressible and honest story-tellers as they explained the genesis and production of American Mary." - Matt Nefarious, Nefarious Films (full review)

"Jen and Sylvia Soska – the directors of Dead Hooker in a Trunk – return with what may have been the most talked-about film at the festival. Ginger Snaps star Katherine Isabelle plays Mary Mason, a medical student who enters the shady underground world of body modification in search of a quick buck, and soon finds it taking a terrible toll on her own psyche. Brutal, gripping and genuinely horrifying, American Mary is the kind of film that FrightFest was created for, and should be sought out at the earliest opportunity." - Chris Tilly, IGN (full review)

"Ginger Snaps star Katherine Isabelle, gives the movie some real power. Her transformation of downtrodden but confident student, to awesome and deadly woman is a journey that many actresses would have difficulty pulling off. Isabelle not only delivers the role, she makes the audience love her from very early on. You relate in some way to the character, and want only the best for her, as she moves from the hero to the villain role, you still support her." - Spencer Hawkin, Views from the Edge (full review)

"Mary is a medical student hard up on cash. Body modification is a tempting avenue for her to put her surgical skills up to lucrative use. Wicked black comedy from the adorable Soska sisters and marks an impressive step up from their fun Dead Hooker in a Trunk. Katharine Isabelle is iconic in the titular role. She let me speak to her in the pub. Cool lady." - Jim Drew, Letterboxd (full review)

"Picking my top film is a tough decision, but it's just gotta be American Mary, from the Twisted Twins – better known as Jen and Sylvia Soska. It's an astounding piece of work from the makers of the indie hit Dead Hooker in a Trunk from a couple of years ago. Mary is such an astonishing leap forward in every way, that I cannot wait to see what they do next. Jen and Sylvia are also two of the nicest, sweetest and huggiest people I've ever met, and easily my favourite guests of the weekend (sorry, Ross)." - Stuart O'Connor, Screenjabber (full review)

"American Mary is never as much fun as this in its second half, as the tone turns more downcast and literally horrifying, but the shift is steadily conducted and absolutely in the spirit of what preceded it. The transformation of Mary from reluctant surgeon to willing torturer is firmly justified by a disturbing mid-film scene upon which everything else can be said to rest. Needless to say, the Soska Sisters don’t wimp out when it comes to the crunch, and the film doesn’t end how one might have anticipated, a testament to their unyielding, daring vision." - Shaun Munro, What Culture (full review)

"Katharine Isabelle, who briefly took the trip from obscurity to genre superstar in the acclaimed but still criminally underrated ‘Ginger Snaps’ (2000) and, although she’s appeared in a lot of films and TV shows since then has never re-attained that status, deserves a place in the pantheon of horror greats purely on the strength of this performance alone. I know that sounds gushy but wait until you see the film. Mary is one of the most perfect of monsters because we can appreciate how she was created and what she must do to survive. It’s absolutely perfect that ‘Universal’ – original caretakers of Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolfman – are the studio distributing this film. 

I also want to briefly mention Burlesque dancer Tristan Risk’s scene stealing performance as Beatress. Beatress is a terrific character, a touchingly distorted homage to Betty Boop whose scenes with Mary crackle with truth, humour and vulnerability. Beatress is so endearingly three dimensional she could easily carry a film on her own. Most movies are lucky to have one stand-out character. ‘American Mary’ has the double whammy of Mary and Beatress, two completely original and multi-textured characters who truly confirm the Soska sisters’ film making genius." - Ian White, Movie Ramblings (full review)

-Sylv

Fright Fest Day Five - The Twisted Twins Tornado

"Day Five of Film4 FrightFest the 13th. Jen and Sylvia Soska, the infamous Twisted Sisters, bring their unique humour and glamour to the festival, as well as their brilliant body modification thriller American Mary, starring Katharine Isabelle and John Emmet Tracy."

-Sylv

Hail Mary, the Reviews are Coming in

"A vast step forward from the Soska twins’ 2009 feature debut Dead Hooker In A Trunk, this retains the energy and perversity of that shaggy dog story but with far more tact, control and intelligence.  Built around a showcase performance from Katharine Isabelle (who impressed a decade ago in Ginger Snaps), American Mary is an entry in the horror-of-plastic surgery sub-genre of Georges Franju’s Eyes Without A Face and Jesus Franco’s The Awful Dr Orloff, rooted in the recent, real, fascinating phenomenon of body modification." - Kim Newman, Screen Daily (full review)  

"Isabelle rightly steals the show courtesy of her smouldering and deranged central performance, remaining charming throughout despite the horrors she ultimately commits. There is something of Lucrezia Borgia about her character; an intelligent, sexy and deadly woman who knows what she wants and observes no boundaries as to how she achieves her goals." - Joe Walsh, Cine-Vue (full review) 

"Brian Pearson's expressionist photography also lends the movie a stylish but sleazy neon-noir gloss that sits ever so well with the narrative and subtext that acknowledges appearance can be utterly deceptive. Another neat trick the Soskas pull is never allowing things to descend into cheap torture porn antics. In fact, it’s the antithesis of such concerns and empty kicks. Mary might grow addicted to the benefits of her extra-curricular activities but even when seeking revenge, she’s not a stereotypical femme on a rampage. And although gory in places, the film goes for subtlety and suggestion over OTT blood baths." - Martyn Conterio, Grolsch Film Works (full review)

"The Soska sisters’ confidence comes across in their restraint. Gore is rarely lingered upon and sometimes not shown at all. Mary may toy with a scalpel for agonising seconds before a cut to a surgical textbook, although there are some winc

e-inducing moments. The second half of the film doesn’t behave how you’d expect it to, avoiding predictable escalation in favour of developing mood. There’s also a welcome David Lynch influence at work here, from the lighting to the off-kilter sense of humour (not to mention the fact that Katharine Isabelle looks a lot like Sheryl Lee at times). Speaking of Isabelle, this film is her biggest role since the Ginger Snaps films and she gives a terrific performance, playing Mary’s journey into disillusionment and detachment beautifully." - Jonathan Hatfull, Cinetalk (full review)

"American Mary pays tribute to other horror films and traditions in a subtle way. It’s apt that the film has been picked up by Universal, as Mary herself is, in many ways, a classic horror monster. She’s sympathetic and she’s vulnerable – and she’s deadly. If Robin Wood’s argument that in classic horror the monster and the heroine – and that’s heroine, not protagonist – are allowed moments of recognition in each other, then in Mary we see both, combined, and she is the one who drives the story." - Nia Edwards-Behi, Brutal as Hell (full review)

"There are many things to admire about the Soska’s sophomore effort. It looks fantastic for a start thanks to cinematographer Brian Pearson, and the acting is top notch especially by Katherine Isabelle who plays Mary as an impenetrable ice-queen who is clearly one step away from falling into the abyss, along with the aforementioned Tristan Risk and a uniformly strong supporting cast. American Mary is also not entirely what I’d expected, and I would say that it benefitted as a result. What I got was something altogether unusual, a world where people do not look or act like you’d expect. As much as I hate to use this term, it really is the best way to describe the characters in the film: they are undeniably Lynchian, providing something that is on one hand completely believable but on the other entirely unimaginable. This in itself is American Mary’s strong suit, and by giving the audience this surreal feeling of the uncanny it often results in unexpected but not unwelcome humour." - Stephanie Scaife, Brutal as Hell (full review) 

"American Mary rocked my world and for this to find its way into the hands of Universal is a big step forward, whilst it’s big label competitors churn out mind numbing rehashes of the same old stories like THE POSSESSION, American Mary is a step in the right direction and a truly tough sell as Mary’s bag has so many genre twists in it that it’s not just a horror or thriller, it’s a whole range of genres rolled in to one which makes this a film which will appeal to almost anyone with a strong stomach but then again there’s also a chance that this film will disgust as equally as it enthrals. 

Much like the character Mary this is a film which has the guts, drive and emotion to go up against anything when the opportunity arises." - Clifford Green, Box Office BUZ (full review)

"The humour is black, the script sharp and often hilarious, and the film is anchored by Isabelle’s dry, wry and (occasionally) psychotic performance. The film, as a whole, felt like a great cult novel – smart, fun, occasionally tragic, often brutal, and absolutely fantastic from start to finish. Friends beware – I’ll be forcing this one on you as soon as it’s officially out." - John R Forth, Wordpress (full review) 

"There are plenty of crowd-pleasing gross-out moments, but the strong performances, good cinematography (the smoky bar looks incredible), interesting choice of classical music (interspersed in a rock score by Kevin James Maher), quick pacing, and disturbingly convincing prosthetics elevate this above most horror films, including the others I saw. Verdict: Strong recommend." - Martin Jensen, Assume Yes (full review)

"Isabelle is nothing short of excellent in American Mary and gives us an anti-heroine we can all champion. She peppers her performance with a dark side that could ultimately drag her down and to see her slow descent is both captivating and disturbing. She also handles the comedy with a deft touch – showcasing Isabelle as a severely underrated talent." - Jason Palmer, Entertainment Focus (full review) 

"While American Mary has its fair share of gnarly slicing and reconfiguring of flesh, it is not really as concerned with being gory and disgusting as it is with being sexy and alluring. The initial strangeness and repulsion that Mason feels upon encountering the members of the subculture quickly fades away. Initially as it supplies much needed cash, but later when horrific events in ‘normal’ society damage her, it becomes empowering. The audience is presented with two options, to either leave the theatre or to go with this. The Soska sisters do not at any point present the subculture of extreme body modification and its participants as negative or evil. The movie is not only non-judgemental, but actively positive. This feels like genuinely transgressive stuff."- Stuart Barr, Screenjabber (full review)

-Sylv

Twisted Twins talk American Mary at the 2012 FrightFest

Here we are chatting with Red Carpet News TV just after the very special screening of American Mary at the 2012 Fright Fest in beautiful London.

Please enjoy!



XO,
Jen

Katie & John Interview at Fright Fest with Red Carpet TV

Red Carpet TV has a chat with AMERICAN MARY leads Katharine Isabelle and John Emmet Tracy at Fright Fest.



- Sylv

Katie & John Interview at Fright Fest with Flicks & the City

Interview with Katharine Isabelle and John Emmet Tracy post AMERICAN MARY screening at Fright Fest for Flicks in the City with the fantastic, Jan Gilbert.

"American Mary stars Katharine Isabelle & John Emmet Tracy chat about being drenched in blood and working with the Twisted Twins."

-Sylv

Post American Mary Screening at Fright Fest

Jen, Katharine Isabelle, John Emmet Tracy, and myself take the stage post AMERICAN MARY screening at Fright Fest. Check the video for those of you that couldn't make it!



Fright Fest frocks by Enigma Arcana, who is also behind the wardrobe in the film.

-Sylv

Cult Film Forum Talks to the Twisted Twins

"FrightFest draws ever closer and this week we catch up with The Twisted Twins themselves Jen and Sylvia Soska. We discuss the Grindhouse brilliance of Dead Hooker in a Trunk and their new surgically frightening flick American Mary, which will have its UK debut at Film4 FrightFest at the end of the month."

Before we headed across the ocean, courtesy of Universal Pictures, to the utterly cool Fright Fest in London, we had the opportunity to have a chat with Cult Film Forum about humble beginnings of DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK to the surgical sophomore of AMERICAN MARY, severe differences between the twins, comic nerdiness, and horror films that strike our fancy pretty fucking hard.

Do you think the audience will share the same emotional journey as Mary by the end of the film?  

S: God willing. I don’t like to preach in films, I don’t like to have a final moment where we tell the audience ‘this is how you should feel about this’. You definitely don’t get that in MARY. You get to make your mind up about the character, what she goes through, and her own actions in those events. I feel that a lot of films make characters without flaw and I love flaws. The film is full of deeply flawed characters that you can either empathize with or hate. From the reactions at test screenings and at the market screening in Cannes, the audiences have been sharing that journey with Mary.  

J: The experience you get from watching a film depends so highly on the individual. Everyone will take something different from it. I know what I take from it and I hope others will get the same or something of equal value. There are people who will love Mary and others that will villainize her. I’ve seen both reactions already. She’s an incredibly complex character. I find too often particularly in North American cinema the characters are black and white. You have no doubt who’s the good guy and who’s the bad guy. That’s just not realist. In reality, we’re all shades of grey. Maybe we wake up every morning wanting to be our best, but we’re only human. We all say things we wish we could take back, we all make decisions we regret. Sometimes we do things we hate ourselves for and it eats away at us. Sometimes, we’re everything we ever wanted to be and better. Mary is a real person. Every character in the film is flawed and human and I feel that makes them beautiful and fascinating, just like real people. I loved the hero in I SAW THE DEVIL and the moral battles he was locked in. It made him human. There’s speculation on whether those flaws made him any less of the hero, but, again, that’s all relative to the individual.

Check the whole rad interview here!!

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to support and promote the new film. It makes a world of difference and we are dying for everyone to get the opportunity to check out the flick!

-Sylv

Twisted Twins Love The Devil's Carnival

Meeting Darren Lynn Bousman and Terrance Zdunich at the Vancouver screening of The Devils Carnival was fucking awesome. DVD drops in October - be sure to pick it up. Artists taking their art back - a great movement to support and the film is sick as fuck (which Sylvia language for really rad).



After REPO THE GENETIC OPERA, these guys went out of the studio system to get their newest creation out properly, going from town to town in a performance night out that you just can't download. They get to make this wicked flick and will continue to do so with the horror community's support. Which is rad because in turn, we get many more films like this from these guys!

-Sylv

Twitch Film Exclusive at the Mary Cast & Crew Screening

 The buzz surrounding Canadian identical twin horror directors Jen and Sylvia Soska is growing increasingly loud, despite the fact that their second feature film, American Mary, has yet to even premiere. Following the unlikely success of their ultra-low-budget grindhouse flick Dead Hooker in a Trunk, the girls quietly cultivated both a reputation and a serious fan base that includes director Eli Roth.

This past Monday, something very special happened for the cast & crew that came together to create a film called AMERICAN MARY - we reunited in the Rio Theatre to watch the film together for the first time. If you were part of the creation of the film, you had the opportunity to see her exclusively for the first time - also, if you were the brilliant Rachel Fox of Twitch Film, you got to see the film and be the very first person to speak to the cast that night.

On Monday, I attended a private screening for cast and crew at the Rio Theatre in the Soska's hometown of Vancouver, where the film was shot. American Mary is the story of broke medical student Mary Mason, who becomes disillusioned enough with the "establishment" to drop out when she discovers a more lucrative way to make use of her surgical skills in the dangerous, underground world of extreme body modification. Starring Vancouverite Katharine Isabelle (Ginger Snaps, Freddy vs. Jason) and an eye-popping array of old-school prosthetics and special effects courtesy of Todd Masters and MastersFX (True Blood, Slither), the film is an homage to the kind of classic horror movies Jen and Sylvia grew up watching. "We're such horror nerds," Jen tells me.  

Following the screening, the jubilant directors (donning a pair of matching dresses worn by Mary in the film) brought their own Mary, actress Katharine Isabelle, up on stage for a round of applause. Sylvia issued a heartfelt apology for "covering her in so much blood, which she hated. But it was worth it!" Isabelle seemed both emotional and overwhelmed. "I'm very happy. I had a little bit of anxiety going in, but I knew that it would be good because of these girls. It turned out to be just wonderful. I love you two."

I want thank Rachel for coming out to the screening and having a chat with us, Katharine Isabelle (Mary Mason), Tristan Risk (Beatress Johnson), and John Emmet Tracy (Detective Dolor) following the screening. Making this film was the most important thing I have ever done in my life and I have never been more proud. The team you saw in the theatre that night were the ones responsible for making AMERICAN MARY possible.

Want to know Katie's original reaction to the film, what it is like to have identical directresses on set, what it was like to bring Beatress to life with her Masters FX makeover, how it was creating the film, and why is there a dedication at the end of the film to Eli Roth? Read the whole fucking wicked piece right here!

-Sylv

Universal Pictures is Internationally Distributing American Mary

“We’re very excited to be working with such an established distributor that not only has significant presence in the market place but truly understood that American Mary is something special and very unique, touching on several controversial subject matters, something that is very rare in the business today. This is a film that will certainly resonate with the massive pop culture audiences of today." -Industry Works Pictures

 Breaking news first posted on DAILY DEAD with this story --

After a successful screening of American Mary at Cannes earlier this year, it has been revealed that the Jen and Sylvia Soska’s latest film has been acquired by Universal Pictures International Entertainment. 

The acquisition includes all rights to American Mary in a number of international territories, including the UK and Germany. While a specific release date has not been set, look for American Mary to be released internationally in early 2013. American Mary was produced by IndustryWorks Pictures and was directed by Jen and Sylvia Soska. The film stars Katharine Isabelle, Antonio Cupo, Tristan Risk, David Lovgren, Paula Lindberg, Clay St. Thomas, John Emmet Tracy, and Twan Holliday. 

Synopsis: ”American Mary tells the story of a medical student named Mary (Katharine Isabelle) who grows increasingly broke and disenchanted with medical school and the established doctors she once idolised. The allure of easy money sends a desperate Mary through the messy world of underground surgeries which leaves more marks on her than the so-called freakish clientele.” 

While there are no details yet on a US release, we expect to have more information shortly. Your next chance to see American Mary is in the UK on Monday August 27th at Film4 FrightFest, with Katherine Isabelle and the directors in attendance. 

FUCK YES!!!! A huge thanks to everyone who supported the film to get her to this point. Also, holy fuck, Universal - they know their horror and it is a fucking thrill to have our surgical savvy baby girl in such a good home.

-Sylv

American Mary Down Under

Big Screen Mayhem to Melt the Mind 

Mission 

It’s about blackened cinemas with awe-struck patrons sitting on the edge of their seats. It’s about white knuckles, cold sweats, nervous gasps, gut-wrenching laughs and screams in the dark. It’s about not being able to pause the action for a loo break.
It is dangerous, delirious and delightful. It is about moving with wild abandon into the darkened recesses of cinematic imagination, and doing it with others. It’s about leaving your living room, entering the cinema and daring to live it large with films that are larger than life itself. 

MONSTER FEST proudly pits itself as the ultimate celebration of all that is weird & wonderful in the international cult cinema palette. 

Description 

MONSTER FEST is not your normal film festival. It is “gorgeousness and gorgosity made flesh” – a genre love-in for drooling cinema fiends with a fetish for the fantastic.
What started in November 2011 as the Fantastic Asia Film Festival (FAFF) has miraculously transformed into this larger, more imposing, more aggressive beast called MONSTER FEST. The opportunity to open up FAFF into a monster-sized celebration of genre cinema in all its gruesome glory was just too good an opportunity to miss.

For those of you new here - hi, I'm Sylvia and there is another girl that works here that looks like me. She's the nice one. And Monster Pictures Australia are the fine folks that brought DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK to the people of Australia. They have supported we crazy Canucknuckleheads and continue to do so with their rad.

How rad? Oh, let's just say if you live down under, there are your supplier to seeing AMERICAN MARY and you can do that first at their Monster Fest 2012. Shit yes, son! Follow them here and here to get the latest and the greatest first!

-Sylv

PS WE LOVE YOU MONSTER PICTURES!!!!