Festival of Fear Vancouver with Tristan Risk & the Twisted Twins

Friends near Vancouver!! Come see us & Tristan Risk at Rue Morgue's 2014 Festival of Fear!! We'd love to meet you! Info HERE.

-Sylv

Call Girl One Sheet is Fucking Hot!!

Official One-Sheet for Jill Sixx Gevargizian's upcoming Call Girl starring Tristan Risk and Laurence Harvey - I cannot fucking wait to see this thing!! Looks killer.

"As promised, we present to you our official one-sheet! Designed by Ryan Housknecht, from a photo by Anna Perry. 

AND we have planned the KC premier screening: Saturday, March 29th at 9 PM at Screenland Armour."

-Sylv

Risk's Next Flick

Fuck yeah, Tristan!! Cannot wait to see this.

"Tristan Risk got our attention for her transformative turn in American Mary last year, now she's set to star in Love Sick for Polluted Pictures and director Todd Freeman. 

The film is the story of Rebecca and Marcus who have been together for 10 years and after much deliberation have decided to part ways. After separating and being with others, they quickly realize how hard it is to disconnect from one another. The pain, lies, and betrayal all begin to manifest physically within the both of them as well as infect the others who have become involved with intimately. They love each other so much that it hurts… some more than others."

READ IT ALL HERE!!

-Sylv 

 

Fangoria Chainsaw Awards of 2013!!

HUGE news today, boys and grrls! TWO major nominations for two spectacular women from Fangoria today, Katharine Isabelle for Best Actress and Tristan Risk for Best Supporting Actress in American Mary! 

Please vote as both these ladies deserve it in spades. And thank you so much to FANGORIA for nominating these ladies 

Vote HERE!!

-Sylv

American Mary Makes the Best of 2013

"American Mary is a criminally under seen black comedic horror film set in the world of body modification. The film is the sophomore feature from Canadian twin sisters Jen and Sylvia Soska who blew away audiences with their low budget grindhouse riot girl epic Dead Hooker in a Trunk and just wrapped production on See No Evil 2. The film follows Mary (Katharine Isabelle from Ginger Snaps), a surgical student who ends up performing body modification surgeries as a way to get herself out of debt and ends up becoming a rock star in the field. As much as I loved Dead Hooker, the Soskas blew me away with this film. It’s funny, disturbing, and even heartbreaking. These two lovely ladies are two of the best new voices in horror and I will be following their career for years to come. This is an absolute watch and one of the best films of the year in any genre." - Project Shanks (full piece) 

"American Mary 

I've been waiting for a full year to put American Mary on my top five list! Released very late last year, thus qualifying for 2013 consideration, American Mary oozes style. Jen and Sylvia Soska grabbed their sophomore effort by the throat and didn't let go until they had a fantastic film. Audiences have fallen in love with not only American Mary but the highly marketable Soska sisters as well. The Twisted Twins nabbed Katharine Isabelle to play the deliciously devious Mary Mason, and the star brought viewers on a fantastic ride of pain, disillusionment, revenge and some of the craziest body modifications you've ever seen. Fantastic music also adds to the thick atmosphere in the movie. American Mary officially put the Soskas on the map, and with their next film, See No Evil 2, already in the can, these girls have the world by the surgically modified balls." - Dread Central (full piece) 

"Katharine Isabelle in American MaryCount me as a huge fan of The Soska Sisters’ latest cinematical endeavor, American Mary and a huge part of that is due to the breakout performance by Katharine Isabelle. Isabelle’s always been pretty great, but she proves in American Mary that she’s truly a star with a remarkably engaging and heartbreaking performance that I fell in love with. The Soska’s themselves serve up some powerhouse material with their tragic story of a medical student working outside of the system, but make no mistake, it’s Isabelle who knocks it right out of the park in American Mary." - Daily Dead (full piece)

         "American Mary 

I was lucky enough to catch “American Mary” before it’s 2013 release. The Soska Sisters ( Dead Hooker in a Trunk) take their bizarre style of film, and take it to the next level. Katherine Isabelle is great as our title character, and you really feel her breakdown to sociopathic behavior. This is a 4 star effort from the sisters ( who even have a cameo in the film)." - Horror Movies.ca (full piece) 

"07) AMERICAN MARYOh, Beatress. This was a look that could have very easily worn the actress, but Tristan Risk owned this character design and made it her own. I was very impressed with the plastic look of the living Betty Boop, and the attention to detail of making a woman look like an actual cartoon character was on point. In comparison to the "Ruby Real Girl" character, Beatress didn't look like the typical 'overly plastic-Jocelyn Wildenstein' character, she really looked like Betty Boop." - Day of the Woman (full piece) 

"4. American MaryA solid follow up for the Soska sisters. I enjoyed Dead Hooker in a Trunk, but I loved this. Katharine Isabelle steals the show. Unique and full of great gore and body mods, as well as the sexiest Betty Boop looking lady ever." - Guts and Grog (full piece) 

"American MaryDirected by twin sisters Jen and Sylvia Soska, American Mary has been popping up on a ton of best of lists and for good reason—the original premise and convincing performance by Katherine Isablelle, star of the Canadian hitGinger Snaps, helps American Mary rise above many of the independent horror films released in 2013. American Mary is just twisted enough to satisfy horror fans bent on the films of David Cronenberg and Takashi Miike." - PopShifter (full piece) 

"American MaryJen and Sylvia Soska, two confident women of horror, gave the genre a standout film with the well-crafted “American Mary”. While the scares may be scarce the character development and dread filled atmosphere keep the film compelling. The narrative makes interesting comments about self-identity and the manipulation of it both physical and psychological. These two budding directors have offered an exceptional horror film." - Daily Dead (full piece) 

"9. American Mary - Ginger Snaps’ Katharine Isabelle gives a great performance in this, the second film from Jen and Sylvia Soska (the “Twisted Twins” and directors of Dead Hooker in a Trunk). Mary finds Isabelle as the eponymous character, a young med student who falls into performing illegal body modification surgeries to support herself financially. When a violent incident sends Mary spiraling into madness, the film’s heroine slowly transforms into the (admittedly sympathetic) villain of the piece, racking up a body count even as her sanity erodes. This film’s strong lead performance, offbeat subject matter, and beautiful photography make this a must-see." - Dread Central (full piece) 

"2. American Mary (Xlrator Media) - The Soska sisters are becoming a name that is really synonymous with horror. American Mary is proof that these women can stand tall in a genre that is led mainly by males." 

"6) American Mary (Xlrator Media) - This applause-worthy sophomore effort of the Soska twins features the bodaciously babely female antihero that the modern horror genre desperately needed and teaches us an important lesson in recognizing self worth, wreaking vengeance upon those who have wronged us, and the dire consequences of crossing the sometimes dangerously thin line between malice and madness." - Cinesploitation (full piece) 

"2) AMERICAN MARY (Dir. Jen & Sylvia Soska)Like Kate Chopin’s The Awakening was adapted into the world of underground strip clubs and body modification. Surgery is a messy thing, and this film captures both the fascination and the terror associated with the performance of it and the surgical profession itself. Any one filmmaker – or, in the case of the Soska sisters, two – that can offer something this bold and subversive deserves to be on everyone’s radar." - Diabolique Magazine (full piece) 

"On our Best of 2013 Show we run down the Top 5 Movies, including my pick for #1.... Jen & Sylvia Soska's American Mary!" - Mike Wendt (full piece) 

"1) American Mary:Taking inspiration from the works of David Cronenberg and Takashi Miike, American Mary is a low budget feminist horror film that takes the viewers into the world of body modification with excellent practical make up effects and a potential future horror icon role for Katharine Isabelle of “Ginger Snaps” fame delivering an equally scary, funny and kooky performance." - Snake Bite Horror (full piece) 

-Sylv

American Mary Up With Multiple Nominations for the Fright Meter Awards

"When it comes to film awards, everyone looks towards the Oscars as the pinnacle of achievement. The only thing wrong with the Oscars? Our beloved genre of horror is often or completely overlooked! That's where the Fright Meter Awards comes into play. Along with myself, there's 35 plus committee members made up of genuine horror fans, bloggers, actors, writers, directors and producers "making the Fright Meter Awards truly the most prestigious horror award given."

From mainstream to independent, big names to newcomers, popularity or form of release, nothing is overlooked and if it's worthy of a mention, we consider it. So without further ado, here are this year's nominees…" 

American Mary is up for Best Makeup, Best Screenplay, Best Ensemble Cast Performance, Best Supporting Actress - Tristan Risk, Best Actress - Katharine Isabelle, Best Director(s) - Jen & Sylvia Soska, and Best Horror Movie. Fucking amazing to have such an honour!

Check out the nominees and vote here!

-Sylv

Happy Birthday Risky!!

Happiest of happy birthdays to a woman that broke the mould when she was created - 

"One of God's own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die."

Love you madly, Tristan Risk. Thank you for all the amazing adventures. May this birthday just be the start of many more.

-Sylv

Beautiful American Mary Tattoo Work

Absolutely stunningly beautiful tattoo of Tristan Risk's Beatress Johnson on the very rad Giuseppe Marchio, inked by Mr. Wes Pratt. My brain exploded when I just saw this. Speechless.

Robby Hanner's Mary gets a touch up making her bloody Mary.

-Sylv

The Art of Discord & The Ladies of American Mary

 

Stunningly beautiful and macabre AMERICAN MARY artwork by the very talented Art of Discord. Check and like the official page here.

-Sylv

See American Mary at The Rio Theatre with Killer Exclusives

The Rio Theatre is a staple in the Vancouver scene for giving a cool venue for filmmakers to screen their work. These are the guys and gals that first screened Dead Hooker in a Trunk, have us out for their Horror Nights, and fought the law and won to keep their excellent theatre serving drinks and kicking ass.

I am honored to have American Mary screening at the theatre and because this theatre is so special and the film itself is a testament to Vancouver talent, we are doing something very special and exclusive. 

May 31st you will be to meet the monster makers of MASTERSFX behind the characters and creations you see in the film. You will get to meet and get your photo with a very special piece from the film like no other, and be sure to ask them how they make that stuff look so real in the Q & A. Also, look out for our beloved dark doctors Clay St. Thomas and Nelson Wong at the screening.

June 3rd, Beatress Johnson, Tristan Risk will be there for a Q & A which you don’t want to miss as she is phenomenal in the film and the girl of our horror dreams.

Please get the word out, share the event, and make sure you can get to the screenings. We don’t have too many Canadian generated films like this with full Canadian teams like this and the film really shows off how badass our industry is!!

Get Your Details HERE!

-Sylv

The Ladies of American Mary in the Women in Horror Podcast

One of the best chats I've ever had with my favorite women on the planet. Don't miss it!

-Sylv

FEARnet Talks to Mary

FEARnet: Was it hard to keep that dark atmosphere once the cameras started rolling? It sounds like you were all one big happy family. 

Katharine Isabelle: We were. We only had 15 days to shoot. Everyone was there for little to no money, everyone was busting their asses to do what they could for the girls. The moment you meet them, you just fall head-over-heels in love with them and you want to do everything you can to help them. But I don’t think the movie is that dark, or depressing or upsetting. I think it is charming and hilarious! If people don’t laugh, we get upset! 

F: Oh, I agree with you. I just think that the subject matter is something that people are so uncomfortable with. 

KI: Yeah. I remember at the beginning, in a production meeting, Sylvia stood up and, in a very commanding voice said that not a single person, whether it be the dancers or the body modders, they were generous enough to work on our film and allow us into their subculture, not a single derogatory statement was to be made or even thought about them. No matter what the person’s position was, they would be off the fucking set sooner than you could snap your fingers. There was absolute, zero-tolerance for that. If you read the script and had any kind of asshole-ish thing to say, you probably wouldn’t have done the movie. No one was disrespectful. 

We were rehearsing the dance sequence stuff in an old strip club in Vancouver. Tristan strips down to a thong and nothing on top, and the poor crew guys are trying so hard not to look! “Oh yeah, look at this nail in the corner, we really have to jam it back in!” Tristan is fabulous and she wouldn’t have been offended, but everyone was trying so hard to be respectful. 

F: Creative, entertainment-types - especially in horror - are much more relaxed about that kind of thing. 

KI: They are definitely not a repressed group of people. The girls and I... we don’t know where our offensive limits are. We don’t know what anyone could do to offend us. They treat everyone with so much respect that no one ever felt anything but completely loved and accepted.

READ THE WHOLE RAD INTERVIEW HERE.

-Sylv

See You in LA

Billy: Have you ever been to LA?

Mary: No.

Billy: Have you ever wanted to go to LA? Because I was thinking I need a change of pace.

"Wanna be the first to see the Soska sisters’ American Mary? 

Bloody Disgusting has 2 pairs of tickets to the Los Angeles opening night special screening in which the Soska sisters and star Katharine Isabelle will be in attendance. 

The event takes place Friday, May 31st at 7:45 pm (arrive early). The location is the Chinese 6 Theatres (6801 Hollywood Blvd. Hollywood, CA). 

Q&A to following this screening with Soska sisters and Katharine Isabelle."

Also Tristan Risk, Paula Lindberg, John Emmet Tracy, Brenda Anderson, and Todd Masters will be in attendance. DYING TO SEE YOU THERE. It's the end of a long promo tour, makes sense to end it in LA, doesn't it?

GET YOUR DETAILS HERE!

-Sylv

We Love RUE MORGUE

A huge thank you for the free swag and amazing weekend at Fan Expo Vancouver to Rue Morgue. And, not to mention the endless love and support! We love you and can't wait to see you again. 

XO, 
from Tristan Risk, Sylvia Soska, and me!!

ASSJamming With The Twisted Twins and Little Miss Risk!

Have you had your ASSJam today? Well, shit, son. Let me hook you up - Jen and I join Mike and Ike's three-timers club with Tristan Risk talking in a very spoilery interview chatting about American Mary, Scooby Doo, Evil Dead, and a very fucking killer (and SPOILERY) American Mary song (which I love).

If you have not seen the film and do not want spoilers, there are spoilers. IF you have seen the film, then enjoy the shit out of this. These stoners are two of my favorite interviewers and we always have a pretty awesome time chatting with them. Please enjoy!!

LISTEN HERE!!

-Sylv

Auteur Appetizers by Adrian Syrja

"This drawing evolved from a simple sketch of an anonymous contortionist into a surrealist drawing of Vancouver actor/performer Tristan Risk pinning the heads Vancouver filmmakers Jen and Sylvia Soska with her spideresque fetish boots, preparing to consume them. Such is the state of my mind these days. Ha ha!"

-Sylv

This Sunday at The Rio - BE THERE!!

Whatcha doing this Sunday? Cool, cool. So if it isn't going to the double billing screening at The Rio Theatre this Sunday to seeREPO! THE GENETIC OPERA + THE DEVILS CARNIVAL + Q&A with Director! Darren Lynn Bousman, Terrance Zdunich, and Saar Hendelman - cancel those plans and come join in the awesome instead.

"REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA + THE DEVILS CARNIVAL Plus Q&A with Director and co creators! Darren Bousman Director, Terrance Zdunich (actor and writer), and Saar Hendelman (co-composer)

Sunday March 24th 7pm

Tickets:
VIP Ringmaster - Meet and Greet plus Double bill $42 advance
Sinner - Double Bill $22 advance
http://vancouvertdc-repodoublefeatute-eorg.eventbrite.com/#

7pm - 745: VIP meet and greet in the theater with 50 audience members

Doors 7:45pm The Devil's Carnival 8 PM

9pm: Q & A // Live Performance

REPO! The Genetic Opera 10pm"

This is an experience that cannot be downloaded. An excuse to go out and do something fun with a cool crowd. Costumes are encouraged, the venue is licensed with fabulous booze, you get to experience the films with the artists that made it possible, and be there for the live performance and Q & A portions. 

I've seen these guys before and they are what's cool about the genre. They're the kind of people you want to come out and support at this kind of screening. Let's show them that Vancouver digs their artist and their art by making this a killer attendance. 

Also, Jen, Tristan Risk, and I will be there for the merry hijinks and there all night. We want to see your pretty faces there. Please tell your cool friends, get bums in those seats, and let's show Sunday Night what the fuck is up when you come to Vancouver!

-Sylv

Ya, Dat's Good

Critic and Review of your Film: "American Mary" in the German Language DVD Magazine (Screen Magazin 03/04 - 2013 April - 7 March 2013)

-Sylv

Take American Mary Home, America

The North American release of American Mary is available on Amazon.com for preorder. No image of the DVD/BD artwork yet or reviews on the film. 

Please, if you've been waiting for this to hit home, take a moment to preorder and if you've already seen our girl, please share your thoughts to convert the non-converted!

GET IT HERE!

-Sylv

Art Of Beatress

Another stunning American Mary image, this one featuringTristan Risk's Beatress by Discord C Bam Bam.

-Sylv