IGN Lets You Know the Best of 2013 That You Might Have Missed

Yay we made IGN's The Top 10 Movies You May Have Missed in 2013 by Chris Tilly! Lots of good stuff on this lis that you might not have checked out this year.

Check the article here!

-Sylv

IGN Favorite Horror Games

                  

"American Mary writer-directors Jen and Sylvia Soska pick their favourite horror games, including Silent Hill, Resident Evil and Fatal Frame."

-Sylv

IGN Fifteen Second Pitch

                 

-Sylv

Talking to Mary(s)

You are under heavy prosthetic makeup in the film. Did you find it constrictive are was it freeing as an actress? 

TR: Not in the least. I found it unsettling to pass by certain reflective surfaces and see someone else’s face. In theatre I have done a lot of mask work and I love creating strange characters in my burlesque, so this was kind of a wet dream for me to play something so extreme. I think at this point it may be more of a challenge to do a film with my own face since there would be so much more to be aware of. On a strangely narcissistic note, while I know everyone will adore Beatrice, it’s a little daunting to wonder if when faced with my own features if I can still win people over in my next project... (full interview)
 

I feel you are the moral center of the film, representing the road that leads to ruin. What can you tell me about Ruby Realgirl’s motivation for her decision? 

PL: I think Ruby feels her decisions are a natural creative extension of herself.  Do I think there’s a deeper reason she wants to desexualize herself? Some sort of past trauma?  Yes. Maybe it’s her own convoluted way of taking her power back, like Mary does in the film. (full interview)

On to American Mary – how did you find each other to make this film? Katharine, what drew you to it? 

KI: They… 

JS: I wrote it for her!  That’s a big rule as a director: never write for an actor because you don’t know if you’ll end up being disappointed… Maybe they’re not available, or when you meet them maybe they’re not the people that you were hoping they were… but Katie was WAY worse than what we’d imagined. 

KI: Huge letdown! 

JS: No, she’s like the Fassbender to our Steve McQueen. Katie’s our special one. 

SS: We were such big fans from Ginger and we watched everything and when you see the movie this is going to sound cruel, but this is something I’ve always wanted to see Katie do. I was so lucky that not only was she what I hoped she would be from watching all her movies, but she was even better. She only had three takes to do anything – we had 15 days, a lesser actress would have fucked this movie up so bad but she was just brilliant in it! I can’t say enough good things about her. 

KI: I like those answers. (full interview)

Sylvia Soska: At the time we were trying to sell our first film, Dead Hooker in a Trunk and nothing was happening, we were incredibly broke from that experience, we were going down to LA being very green and had no idea really what we were doing and we were meeting some real industry monsters.

Jen Soska: That hasn’t changed much.

Sylvia Soska: No not too much.

Then we had ailing family members who were in the hospital all the time and I was talking to a friend and he was like ‘You should focus on your next project, what other scripts do you have?’ and I had nothing!

So I thought ‘Nope, I’m going to lie’ and I made up a sentence for every movie that I thought I could write in two weeks.

Jen Soska: It’s really a life lesson, when in doubt, lie. (full interview)

SS: They saw how much of a fan-girl I was and I carry a modification hook in my purse… 

(Sylvia produces a hook from her bag) 

SS: When my balls drop – not Superman style, because I’m too much of a pussy! – I want to do the shoulder suspension, not only because I want to know what that transcendence is like, but if I did it then a lot of people will be like “Well, if that little chick can do it…”

JS: Street cred!

SS: Stop pretending it’s a big freakish thing, it’s kind of cool.

KI: I don’t know. I’d get 3D implants. I don’t know enough about it to know where you could do it though. I would want some shoulder/arm ones.

SS: You could do that. (full interview)

FLASH BANG's interview with Katie & the Twins 

             

              

Brutal As Hell: (trying and failing to casually get notes out) I’ve got notes.

(Laughter)

Jen Soska: “Ladies, why are you such cunting fucks?”

BAH: Wha- when did you see this sheet?

(More laughter. Go me.)

BAH: Hello Katharine Isabelle, hello… (attempts to guess – Sylvia whispers her name) Sylvia Soska! Okay, right, I wouldn’t have known that at all, obviously – I mean, I would have known. Ahem.

(More laughs. I’m on a roll.)

BAH: And Jen Soska. Hello.

JS: Hello Ben.

BAH: So first of all, how is life on the road treating you?

Sylvia Soska: We’re like a band. It’s a good thing we like each other, because we could have killed each other by now.

JS: We’re pretty much Led Zeppelin right now.

Katharine Isabelle: Yeah, we’re pretty much Led Zeppelin. (full interview)

FLICKS AND THE CITY interview Katie & the Twins
        

Katharine, do you feel you play a feminist heroine in the film?

Katharine: I absolutely do. I’ve done a few horror movies and it’s absolutely refreshing. The character of Mary on paper has no redeemable qualities. She’s not that pleasant, she’s not that kind, she has no friends, she has no family. She’s very narcissistic and self-absorbed, and that was refreshing in itself. I tried my best to make the character likeable without sweetening anything, without dumping any radical rigid feminist plotlines and themes! (laughs) I think it was the most true-to-life character that I’ve ever had the opportunity to portray because all the time in film women are, like Sylvia said earlier, those sort of easy bake kind of cookie images, like the slut, the tease, the good girl next door. And to have a character that was so multi-dimensional, that didn’t have any particular redeeming qualities, but was still likeable, was still strong, was still interesting and stood up for herself and gave not one fuck about anyone else, or what anyone else thought, or what anyone else expected of her, is something that I think we need to see more of in film and in society in general. (full interview)

Sylvie is more categorical: “We’re undatable, and after this movie, we’re even more undatable.” When American Mary showed at the market in Cannes, she recalls, “a gentleman started hitting on me. He said, ‘What are you doing here?’ I said, ‘I’m here for the movie, which I made with my sister.’ He said, ‘I hope it’s good.’ The movie plays, he looks at me, grabs his coat and speed-walks out. There you go.” (full interview)

SayWhatNews: In the horror film, ‘American Mary’ you played Billy Barker - a weathered and detached entrepreneur in the adult entertainment business. How did you prepare for this role?

Antonio: I showed up. Haha…. no seriously, Billy Barker was an idea I had of someone who is trying to hold on.. disgruntled, unsatisfied and a soft souled hard-ass. We all have many personalities that we don’t always tap into. I had to dig up some stuff that I didn’t know was available deep down but in the end Billy’s attributes are a part of who I am in some way. But all that gets locked in some character storage locker of your soul and you move on. (full interview)

- Sylv

IGN Exclusive American Mary Clip

Fancy a spot of unnecessary necessary surgery in this IGN exclusive American Mary clip featuring Mary's home surgeon skills, featuring Katharine Isabelle, Jen Soska, Marius Soska, and sexy soundtrack - 'I Want Your Body' - by Kevvy Mental.

WATCH IT HERE!!

- Sylv

Fantastic Response from American Mary's American Premiere

"I've been covering horror movies for a while now, and over the years I've noticed a lot of very interesting genre films about women -- that are also written and directed by men. That's meant as a compliment. Indie filmmakers like Paul Sole

t (Grace), Mitchell Lichtenstein (Teeth), and Lucky McKee (May, The Woman) are clearly and admirably fascinated by females who exist in an environment of dark fiction, but let's be frank here: there should be more horror films about women -- that are also written and directed by women. The dark and disturbing, yet oddly accessible American Mary looks like a firm step in the right direction. Written and directed by a pair of twin sisters from Vancouver, American Mary is easily one of the most fascinating female-themed horror stories of the past few years, and it should absolutely serve to open a few more doors for the audacious and plainly talented Jen and Sylvia Soska." - Scott Weinberg, FearNET (full article)

"All of which leads rather too neatly to the latest gory slice of body horror making shockwaves around the cinematic world, and having its Northern Premiere at Grimmfest: Jen and Sylvia Soska’s darkly funny and at times deeply disturbing di

ssection of the cult of beauty, cosmetic surgery addiction, body image and body modification, American Mary.

Combining the visceral physicality and ambivalent perspectives of Cronenberg or Barker, with a kind of raised-eyebrow archness and cold-eyed camp grotesquerie worthy of John Waters, and featuring a stunning, emotional powerhouse performance from Katherine Isabelle, already a Body Horror icon from the Ginger Snaps films, it tells the story of impoverished medical student Mary Mason, who gets pulled into the shadowy underworld of illegal body modification surgery after she performs a few questionable procedures for a local mobster.

The Soskas know their stuff.

The film explores every aspect of body horror head on: sado-masochism, fetishism, physical transformation, fear of sex, discomfort with one’s own appearance, loss of control. It might almost serve as a primer for a whole sub genre." - Steve Balshaw, Mancunian Matters (full article)

"American Mary is filled with splendid gore sequences, the odd humour and superb acting throughout. Ginger Snaps star Katharine Isabelle puts on a great performance in her role as Mary Mason and is still stunning as ever… The Soska sisters 

seemed to convince viewers with this film how they are capable of making a truly entertaining and edge of your seat Horror flick. The Twisted Twins also make an appearance during the film, so keep an eye out for that…

The film is highly recommended to all viewers (except young children), as it is one of the most entertaining Horror films of 2012 along with The Cabin in the Woods and it will have something to satisfy almost any Horror fan. Humour, gore, Katharine Isabelle… What is not to like?" - Adam Chabbi, The Daily Horror (full article)

 "American Mary isn't just the most startling and original horror film of the year, it's also a feature that announces the arrival of two very exciting talents to the genre in the shape of sisters Jen and Sylvia Soska." - Chris Tilly, IGN (full article) 

 "Katharine's character, Mary, was so compelling and the tone and production design of the film so distinctive (see it with a Goth chick you know, she'll love it), we liked it anyway and will definitely be checking out whatever Jen and Sylvi

a do next. The story focuses on the culture of underground body modification surgery, and thus a lot of the shocks in the movie were of the naked variety, including one (technically) full frontal shot of a woman who willingly had her nipples removed and vagina sewn shut to look more like a doll. Katharine’s non-nude streak continues, but considering she spends several scenes dressed in a corset, thigh-highs, and/or a latex apron, there’s still plenty to feast your eyes on here.

American Mary was definitely one of the more interesting Q&As we attended as Jen and Sylvia took the mic with co-star Tristan Risk wearing replicas of the (very revealing, by the way) ensemble Katharine wears in the film." - Skin Central, Mr. Skin (full article)

"But that was way back in 2010. What have they done for us lately? Many is the filmmaker that crashed and burned following a fast rise. Oh god, what if it was all a fluke? 

Well, the Soskas are back with their sophomore feature, American Ma

ry, which had its U.S. premiere at Fantastic Fest last night. And I’m happy to report that the Twisted Twins’ success is no fluke. American Mary delivers the goods. It’s no Dead Hooker, but don’t despair; that’s a very good thing.

One of the most impressive things about Mary is how completely different it is from the Soskas’ debut. Where Dead Hooker in a Trunk was a gonzo thrill ride, American Mary is a frosty revenge thriller — all warm, pulsing viscera beneath a cool, steely surface." -Theron Neel, Planet Fury (full article)

"AMERICAN MARY is a huge step fowards after DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK (which I am a big fan of), and not just from a budgetary standpoint, but from a confidence level displayed in the writing and directing by the twins. It portends even greate

r works of art from these powerful, creative, and risk-taking filmmakers." - 

 Corey Mitchell, Bloody-Disgusting (full article)

"With American Mary, the Soskas present a unique canvas of surgical oddities and “freaks” not often seen on the screen, calling to mind some of the characters who would breeze through Nip/Tuck. However, the Soskas give them more purpose and heart than Ryan Murphy’s series did, creating a strong, eclectic gallery of personalities like Beatress (Tristan Risk) – a woman who transformed her visage to resemble Betty Boop and comes pretty damn close to stealing every scene she’s in. 

Brian (Drive Angry) Pearson’s photography is gorgeous, shifting from one color palette to the next as we’re carried from Mary’s makeshift surgery room to the grungy environs of the strip club scene." - Ryan Turek, Shock Till You Drop (full article)

"With American Mary, the Sisters Soska definitively prove they’re more than just a pair of pretty faces by delivering a film that is not only a quantum leap from the previous feature but also, without getting to hyperbolic about it, represe

ntative of one of the most exciting new voices in the genre. Eschewing genre clichés and easy pandering, this sophomore effort delivers a textured, engaging and original effort that should deservedly break out amongst the horror faithful.

" - Johnny Donaldson, Geek League of America (full article)

 -Sylv