Come autumn, there is no shortage of spooky activities in and around New York City, but film enthusiasts and horror aficionados will surely want to add this to their annual to-do list. The Brooklyn Horror Film Festival returned to Williamsburg in late October, showcasing a diverse array of works from independent filmmakers and big budget studios, alike. The festival, which began in 2016, returned from last year’s online format, boasting nearly sold-out attendance at many of its 20 screenings throughout the week. The screenings were held at 3 Williamsburg theatres — Nitehawk Cinema, Williamsburg Cinema, and Stuart Cinema — and featured a cavalcade of newly released movies, short films, and a couple of cult classics.
Among these new releases was “The Last Thing Mary Saw,” which screened at Nitehawk Cinema. The film, recently acquired by AMC-owned streaming service Shudder, tells the story of Mary, a young woman living on Long Island in 1843 with her strictly religious family. She and Eleanor, the home’s maid, develop a relationship, much to the dismay of Mary’s family. Mary’s parents entrust “The Matriarch,” the terrifying head of the household, to discipline the girls with a series of cruel and punishing “corrections,” which drives the lovers to take drastic action. The film stars Stefanie Scott, Isabelle Fuhrman and Judith Roberts, featuring a notable and disturbing performance by Rory Culkin. Director and writer Edoardo Vitaletti succeeds in delivering an anxiety inducing, supernatural period-piece that raises questions about religion and morality.
Vitaletti and Culkin attended the screening at the last minute, fielding audience questions and discussing the film post-viewing. When asked what inspired the idea behind the film, Vitaletti told the audience, “The simplest answer is, I grew up Catholic,” prompting chuckles and smiles from the viewers. “So many of those notions of righteousness and what it means to be a good person are just completely out of line,” Vitaletti said. He describes growing up in Italy, an overtly religious country, and how separating himself from the culture allowed him to view it differently. The film offers some dismal insight into the world of organized religion, and I think horror fans will enjoy it’s unnerving qualities.
Also among the new releases screened was Spanish filmmaker Alfonso Cortés-Cavanillas’s “Ego,” which won 3 awards at the festival including “Best Picture.” The movie takes an introspective look at society during the age of the internet, manifesting its worst qualities in a form that may seem all too familiar. María Pedraza delivers two stunning performances as Paloma, a young woman searching for love on internet dating apps during the height of the pandemic, and her doppelganger counterpart who she matches and begins a relationship with. Invoking both fear and terror, “Ego” is an interesting watch.
In addition, the festival hosted two 20th anniversary screenings, including that of cult phenom “Session 9,” a film that recently found itself reaching a younger audience due in part to its temporary streaming availability on Netflix. Shot on location at the abandoned Danvers State Psychiatric Hospital in Massachusetts, “Session 9” follows Gordon Fleming and his asbestos removal crew on the job at the asylum which has fallen into a state of disrepair. The crew uncovers a series of recording sessions documenting the case of former patient, Mary Hobbes, and Gordon finds himself connected to the woman and the hospital more closely than he may have considered. The Brad Anderson directed film was co-written by him and actor Stephen Gevedon, who attended the screening. I sat down with Stephen, who offered us some insight into the film’s production, fan theories, and what he’s got cooking next.
In addition to penning the script, Gevedon plays Mike, a former law student who is considerably knowledgeable on the asylum’s past. I asked Stephen to share some insight into the development of the film and the inclusion of Danvers State Hospital, which features prominently throughout the movie.
“That was Brad’s idea,” he began, “in the 50s, it was the place parents told their kids they’d send them to if they got out of line, so it was part of the fabric of living up there in the Greater-Boston area.” The setting’s role in the film mirrors that of the hotel in Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining,” often taking on life-like qualities.
Stephen explained that the filmmakers actually had to break into the abandoned hospital during the film’s production, employing the help of some adventurous and explorative cats who Stephen claims broke into all sorts of weird places, like the tunnels under Central Park. “Once we got in,” he added, “a lot of scenes and bits in the movie were informed by the space.”
Speaking to some of the film’s inspiration and placing the characters in the creepy abode, Stephen told us, “we were toying with the idea of kids breaking in, but as Brad has mentioned in other interviews, horror movies were all basically about kids getting into trouble – if you fuck you die…’Friday the 13th,’ ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer,’ we didn’t want to do that.”
It is true that in a post “Scream” world, full of bad copycats, “Session 9,” stood apart in 2001. It is one of the first films shot in 24p HD video. Stephen recalled how they were awarded their production budget based on the premise that they would film their movie using the, at the time, new technology. “[Francis Ford] Coppola had been messing around with one,” he said, “and the other one was being used to film ‘[Star Wars: Episode I – The] Phantom Menace,’ we got the third.”
Many films suffered various production quirks due in part to a rapid shift in technology in the early 2000s however “Session 9” managed to rise above them. Despite the camera change, the team quickly recognized how to use the new technology to its fullest potential, avoiding wide shots to preserve definition.
Upon its release, the film did not fare particularly well at the box office. The movie would earn its audience over the years, most recently winding up in circulation on Netflix at the height of the pandemic last year. Fans have developed several theories interpreting the events of the film.
“People are saying the crew didn’t exist,” I told him.
“There’s something to be said about where the movie really begins,” he told me, “If you look at the timeline…you could argue the whole place doesn’t exist, it’s all in his head, that’s where they’re going with that.”
“There’s a theory he was previously a patient at the hospital,” I said.
“I’ve heard that one before!” He exclaimed.
Then I gave him the big one. “Gordon is Mary,” I said.
In the recording sessions heard in the film, Mary is shown to evoke different personas and behaviors along with them. It can be argued that Gordon’s crew mirrors Mary’s personalities as Gordon mirrors Mary.
“Part of the fun of this stuff is interpretation,” he answered, “it’s having that conversation.”
Stephen goes on to mention that as renewed interest in the film grew, he and Anderson were in talks for a potential sequel, “but we got the kibosh from the people who own the rights,” he told me. Still, Stephen has kept busy. In addition to his film work, he is an accomplished painter and musician, who released an album titled “Saint Gevedon” last year. “No one cares, but it’s out!” He laughs. It’s available on all major streaming platforms, so give it a listen!
Overall, the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival brought together horror fans from around New York, showcasing some of the genre’s finest filmmakers, be sure to keep an eye out for what they cook up next year!
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