Boston's Shudderfest Screens American Mary/Murder University October 26th at the Somerville Theater
Halloween is fast approaching which means your local non-chain movie theater is putting the finishing touches on any horror-related programming with the hopes of filling the seats with genre fans. In my hometown of Boston, we're lucky enough to have no shortage of indie cinemas, and each of them-the Brattle, the Coolidge Corner and the Somerville Theater all have fantastic programming lined up.
I'm throwing my own event into the ring and am here to plead my case for a kick ass pair of nights spotlighting some of the in best indie horror. Through my other site All Things Horror, we've put we've booked a monthly movie night since January 2010 where we've been able to screen films long before they make their way to Netflix, iTunes or Amazon. Past movies include titles that have earned rave reviews and modern classic status: "Absentia", "I Didn't Come Here To Die", "Dear God No", "The Corridor", "The Taint" and "Dead Hooker in a Trunk" making up a few of the nearly forty features we've shown.
Friday October 26th and Saturday the 27th mark the return of Shudderfest at the Somerville Theater (55 Davis Sq, Somerville MA)-two nights of killer indie horror. While I'm on board with the fact that it's cool to see classic films from your DVD collection projected on the big screen with an amped crowd, we're of the mindset that it's a million times better to bring you your future favorite horror films today. Friday night includes a double feature in the main screening room. Tickets for Friday night are on sale on the Somerville Theater's website.
For film trailers and more details, please feel free to hit up our Shudderfest Page. And if you're reading this and it sounds like the kind of thing you're into, drag your closest twenty five friends along as well!
First up is a film that just swept this past weekend's Screamfest in Los Angeles. "American Mary" just took home the prize for Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Actress (Katherine Isabelle), and Best Make Up. Shudderfest marks Boston premiere of the latest film from Canada's number one export, twin sisters Jen & Sylvia Soska. The twisted minds behind the indie grindhouse tribute "Dead Hooker in a Trunk" follow up with one of the most stunning works of original horror we've come across in a long time. Katherine Isabelle ("Ginger Snaps", "Freddy vs. Jason") stars as Mary Mason, a medical student increasingly broken and frustrated by the surgical world she once admired. When the allure of easy money and the betray by her colleagues sends her down the path of underground surgeries and body modifications, the impact of her work takes a greater toll on her own psyche than that of her “freakish” clientele. The gory exploration of the lengths one will go to feel at home in their own skin recall Cronenberg at his peak while eye popping color and detail harken back to Argento in his heyday. After wowing audiences at the UK's Frightfest and Austin’s Fantastic Fest with American Mary, the Soskas proved they aren’t knocking on the door of horror's elite as much as they are bursting through the wall Kool Aid Man style in order to announce their arrival. Program begins at 10am
Lori Bowen's short film Stella Buio, starring 80's scream queen Linnea Quigley as a psychic medium, screens prior to "American Mary". Fans of Fulci (Zombi, The Beyond) are going to love this film.
"Murder University" is the latest feature from Rhode Island's answer to Roger Corman, the tireless Richard Marr Griffin ("The Disco Exorcist", "Nun of That", Atomic Brain Invasion). Murder University unfolds like a classic slasher from the early 80's while managing to spoof some of the sub genre's goofier flaws. It concerns a series of brutal, cult-like murders are taking place at a New England college. Josh Greene, a shy freshman, is the lone survivor of a series of murders that are reminiscent of a similar string of killings some twenty years prior. As he seeks to uncover the secret behind the attacks, he is joined by Detective Forrester, who was instrumental in halting the bloodshed before, and his daughter Meg, who had barely escaped being a victim previously. While Griffin plants his tongue deep inside cheek, he still delivers tense stalking kills, fantastic gore and a killer soundtrack for a film that fits right in with the classic slashers fans revisit time and time again. Shudderfest marks the Boston premiere of Murder University. Program begins at 11:59pm
Bill Palmer's short film Vicki screens prior to Murder University. The short film starring an evil muscle car is a hilarious and pitch perfect spoof of John Carpenter's "Christine".
Also screening in conjunction with the Boston Asian Film Festival, we will be co-presenting HP Mendoza's "I Am A Ghost" in the Somerville Theater Microcinema. When a troubled spirit is doomed to imprisonment in her home while reliving the last day of her life, she strikes up a relationship with the spiritual medium tasked with guiding her to the other side. As their bond deepens the horrible and sad truth of Emily's last day begins to emerge. With its meticulously crafted brooding shots and sense of crushing claustrophobia, I Am a Ghost invokes Polanski and Kubrick while standing on its own as a work of psychological dread. Program begins at 7pm
On Saturday October 27th Shudderfest moves to the Somerville Theater Microcinema with Lindsay Denniberg's "Diary of a Lost Video Girl". This rock and roll horror fantasy where we meet the immortal Louise and her beloved Charlie. Unfortunately, due to Louise's supernatural origins, every man she sleeps with must die! Charlie was Louise's first love from the 1920's, who she accidentally killed before realizing what she is: a descendant of Lilith, the mother of all demons! This race of women must feed on the souls of men once every full moon, or else they will menstruate to death. Now a hundred years later, Charlie returns reincarnated, and Louise must struggle with staying away from the love of her life, or risk losing him a second time! PMS has never been this deadly!
Prior to our feature film, we will present our Terror in Short program featuring over one hour of the boundary pushing short horror films. Program begins at 7pm
