For your average moviegoer, when you think of “indie movie icon,” a number of names likely come to mind. Even for longtime horror fans, there are a handful of figures who you immediately think of, and the first name most likely wouldn’t be Larry Fessenden. However, for anyone keeping a close eye on indie horror since the ’90s, it’s hard to ignore the impact he has had on the genre.
Over the course of his career, Fessenden has produced nearly 100 movies while directing more than two dozen, while also finding time to appear on screen as well. Titles like Habit, Wendigo, Beneath, and Depraved are all effective enough in their own right, but you’d be hard-pressed to find an indie horror directed who wouldn’t credit Fessdenden as an influence.
A new trailer has been released for Fessenden’s latest opus, Trauma Or, Monsters All, which you can see below. The movie is set to be released on November 4.
In the movie, visiting writer Cassandra (Laëtitia Hollard, The Pitt) arrives in the quiet upstate town of Talbot Falls to research a book on George Washington Carver while working at the local library alongside her new friend Agnes (Aitana Doyle). After Cassandra publishes an article exposing the town’s unsettling past, buried secrets begin to surface as a werewolf, vampire, and Frankenstein creation emerge from the shadows, forcing the community to confront generations of fear, guilt, and suppressed trauma. Blending gothic horror, social commentary, and deeply human storytelling, Fessenden delivers an ambitious monster epic unlike anything else in contemporary genre cinema.
Also starring in the movie are Addison Timlin, Alex Hurt, Alex Breaux, Larry Fessenden, John Speredakos, Marc Senter, Micheál Neeson, Joshua Leonard, Barbara Crampton, James Le Gros, with appearances by Emily Bennett and Toby Poser.
Fessenden said of the movie, “I’ve spent my career reimagining classic monsters because they reveal something deeply human about us. Trauma Or, Monsters All brings those stories together into one film about memory, identity, and the wounds we carry. I’m grateful to reunite with Dark Sky Films, whose support of independent horror has made them the perfect home for this project.”
“Our partnership with Larry Fessenden and Glass Eye Pix spans many years and some of the most influential independent horror films of their era,” Greg Newman, EVP of Dark Sky Films, added. “Trauma Or, Monsters All is another bold, uncompromising work from one of the genre’s true visionaries, and we’re proud to bring it to audiences.”
Trauma Or, Monsters All will get both a limited theatrical release next month and also land on Digital.
Are you looking forward to the new movie? Let us know in the comments below!