"Indulgently Horrific had the chance to meet the next force in horror, the Soska Twins (a.k.a the Twisted Twins), at the 2012 San Diego Comic Con during the panel of the upcoming movie “American Mary”. Jen and Sylvia Soska wrote, produced and directed the film. American Mary is a Canadian horror film that tells the story of a medical student named Mary Mason, played by Katharine Isabelle, who descends into the madness of the underground surgery world.
“American Mary” will be previewed on August 27, 2012 at London’s FILM4 Fright Fest."
You have received a lot of praise for your work, but nothing is immune to criticism. Could you share some of the harshest criticisms you have received throughout your career?
Sylvia: We get called stupid ugly talentless whores and variations thereof a fair bit. At first, it bothered me, more so because I didn’t want my family to see people talking about me like that. I’ve developed a thick skin and those comments don’t even register to me now. Sometimes when I’m feeling playful, I message them back and say that I hope that they like the next film better. What did offend me was a slew of a comments on what an unintelligent s*** I am followed by a statement that I ‘probably don’t even know who Dario Argento is’. That pissed me off. Dario Argento’s use of colour in his lighting for his films was a huge inspiration in AMERICAN MARY. I understand someone not liking a film, we’ve gotten people calling DEAD HOOKER a masterpiece and people saying that it is the worst film they have ever seen in their lives, but to suggest that I am not a horror fan offends me on a personal level. Whether I’m a terrible filmmaker is always going to be up for discussion as long as Jen and I are making films, but my being a horror fan should not.
Jen: I hate how it always comes down to our looks. More often than not we are called stupid s**** or c**** and get told the only reason we’re here is because men work with us because they fancy us. They don’t care about our work or what we’ve sacrificed to get to where we are. There are women out there who imply that we somehow have it easier because of the way we look. It’s shitty because we try to make good work for many reasons, one of them being that if good work comes from female artists it makes it easier for others to follow, but then you have women who just hate you for all your successes. The more success we see, the fewer supporters we have. They tell you real life isn’t like high-school, but it is. It really is. If a woman is strong and confident and stands her ground, she’s a b****. If a man does, he’s just being a man. Women seemed to be called b*****, s****, or c****. That’s the hat trick of female insults.
We have taken a lot of abuse for being women, presenting ourselves the way we do, and for our age. I’ve been told that I should dress more like Penny Marshall if I want people to respect me. That I should intentionally dress down, but I’ll never change the way I am and the way I look to gain the respect of sexist douchebags. It would be degrading to change who I am to fit into what other people want me to be. I dress and act the way I do anywhere and everywhere I go. I don’t dress up a certain way for set. I go like that to the corner store.
The horror festival season – that exciting time of year when horror fans around the world seek out their nearest venue to load up on the latest gory offerings – is nearly upon us. Over in London, they are mere weeks away from the thirteenth annual FrightFest, and the lineup is set to be one of the best yet. Here are a few films to keep your eyes on so you’ll be ahead of the curve when they reach these shores. (Unless, of course, you’re fortunate enough to be going, you lucky bastards; in that case, these are ones you shouldn’t miss.)
American Mary
Colour me excited for this one. Those Twisted Twins, Jen and Sylvia Soska, are back with a follow-up to their hit debut Dead Hooker in a Trunk. This time ’round, their film focuses on surgical student Mary Mason (Katharine Isabelle), who, after becoming disheartened with medical school, is lured into an underground world of freakish surgeries.
American Mary has been doing very well at festivals and conventions so far, and the trailer is intriguing as hell.
A TALE OF MARY by Kim Layman
A little tale of Mary Mason,
who had a vision
...of the medical profession
broke and fighting depression
she steps into the world of body modification
changing her way
through underground surgery
I wouldn't want to make her angry
she'll make your life a distant memory
so kick back with some wine or scotch
as we all can't wait to watch.....
American Mary!!!!!
"It’s less than two weeks away now boys and girls! FrightFest the 13th 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."
"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."
