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The Larry Fessenden Collection [Blu-ray]
No
Telling (1991)
Habit (1995)
Wendigo (2001)
The Last Winter (2006)
| Four tales of terror from multi-talented filmmaker Larry Fessenden: he’s a writer, a producer, a director and an actor. In this box set, he brings together four of his films, in HD for the first time, along with both brand-new and vintage bonus features including short films and music videos. |
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CLICK to order from:
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Distribution |
Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
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Subtitles |
English, None |
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Features |
Release Information:
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Blu-ray Package
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NOTE: These Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. Firstly, WOW - what a set! We get the features on four separate dual-layered Blu-ray discs loaded with extras. Shamefully, all I knew about Larry Fessenden was that he wrote the booklet available with the Kelly Reichardt Collection citing him as a collaborator. And it was excellent. Kudos to my buddy Colin for alerting me to this as a worthy purchase. Was he ever right! The 1080P transfers are all "Director-approved HD" with max'ed out bitrates for No Telling and Habit and strong renderings for Wendigo and The Last Winter. They looks great - heavy grain on the 1.33:1 The Habit and 1.78:1 Wendigo - both shot on 16 mm (Eastman EXR 500T 7298.) Colors are bright and rich - there is tightness with the 2006 The Last Winter (2.35:1) looking the best and No Telling (1.78:1) also looking very strong. Contrast is layered and adeptly exported by the HD. I was impressed with all of them and they seem deserved of the director -approved moniker. I have no complaints, whatsoever. Ditto for the audio - every feature has the option of a DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround (bumps) at a high kbps or a similar encode 2.0 channel - both in 24-bit. Scores are by the likes of Jeff Grace, David Van Tieghem, Tom Laverack, Michelle DiBucci and Geoffrey Kidde and seem very accurately reproduced via the lossless options sounding appropriately strong or modest in accordance with the original productions. There are optional English subtitles for each feature (see samples below.) The Blu-ray discs are region 'A'-locked. Supplements are endless and I have not got through all of them yet - we get audio commentaries by writer/director/executive producer Larry Fessenden for each feature and an additional one for Wendigo with actors Patricia Clarkson, Jake Weber, and John Speredakos. Fessenden also does introduction for most of the other extras on the discs which include extensive making of's, archival footage, at least 7 short films (I watched “Santa Claws” and loved it), interviews, music video, trailers and, the production company's Glass Eye Pix Sizzle Reels and the package has a 24-page booklet with liner notes by Fangoria’s Michael Gingold, featuring never-before-seen photos, storyboards, and sketches. What makes me recommended this so strongly are the films - criminally under-rated - Mr. Fessenden is a force and I love his style. These are cool, if totally imperfect, flics - Wendigo (always had a thing for Clarkson) especially made my day, but Habit is remarkably chilling. I was a shade uncomfortable with No Telling but was swept right up in The Last Winter. I LOVE being introduced to new auteurs like this wayward genius, styles and signatures. The films are weak in some areas but offer strength in visuals. Fessenden's works here thrilled me. I wish I had a set like this every week to cover. Our highest recommendation to those with an open mind and who appreciate the lower-budgeted horror genre! I'm a fan of Larry Fessenden! |
Sample Menus
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CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
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Geoffrey (Stephen Ramsey) and Lillian (Miriam Healy-Louie) are a couple spending the summer in the country in hopes of smoothing over some rough patches in their relationship. However, Geoffrey, who is a research scientist, has brought his work with him, which hardly helps, since Lillian's biggest problem with him is that he doesn't spend any time with her, and he seems more concerned with his career than his marriage. This is all the more galling for Lillian because she has given up her career as an artist in order to be more supportive of Geoffrey's work. Geoffrey is also upset because he's only been able to use mice for his lab experiments with new medications, and he is eager to begin working with larger animals; in his impatience, he begins trapping dogs, and he eventually catches the pet of a little girl named Frances (Ashley Arcemont). Meanwhile, Alex Vine (David Van Tiegham) is a scientist and an expert in organic farming who is trying to convince growers in the area to give up chemical pesticides while he studies their impact on the ecosystem; however, most of the farmers are not interested, since the marginal amount of insect damage that would result from organic growing techniques would still make their crops unsuitable for many produce buyers. David Van Tiegham, who plays Alex, is also a well respected percussionist who has worked with Talking Heads and Brian Eno, and as a member of Laurie Anderson's group, he appeared in her concert film Home of the Brave.
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| Bitrate: |
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| No Telling | |
| Shout! Factory | |
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Runtime: |
1:32:59.073 |
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Disc Size: |
41,598,936,610 bytes |
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Feature Size: |
31,642,798,080 bytes |
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Video Bitrate: |
35.00 Mbps - 1.78:1 |
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Chapters: |
12 |
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Audio: |
DTS-HD Master Audio English 3634 kbps 5.1 /
48 kHz / 3634 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509
kbps / 24-bit) DTS-HD Master Audio English 1914 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1914 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) |
CLICK EACH
BLU-RAY
CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
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Fessenden stars as Sam, an alcoholic whose life is in disrepair. He spends every waking moment drinking, suggesting a drink or recovering from a drink. His life reflects the discontinuous reality of the advanced alcoholic, for whom life is like being in a room where the lights go on and off unexpectedly. He more or less lives in a bar in Greenwich Village, although he has an explanation: "I'm the manager four days a week.'' Sam's girlfriend, Liza (Heather Woodbury), has moved out. She's still friendly, but has grown tired of waiting for him to decide to do something about his drinking. His best friend is Nick (Aaron Beall), who wanders around town in a long overcoat, clutching a bottle inside a paper bag and affecting theatrical speech. [...] Fessenden, who wrote, directed, acted, and edited this film, is a talent to watch. That he is able to see himself with such objectivity is almost frightening; there is not a shred of ego in his performance. Wandering about the streets, coat flapping open, aimless, sad, drinking without even remembering why, his Sam is an ideal vampire's victim, because he takes so long to catch on. But then of course perhaps that's because there is no such thing as a vampire.. |
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| Bitrate: |
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Runtime: |
1:52:49.637 |
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Disc Size: |
44,725,167,471 bytes |
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Feature Size: |
38,243,573,760 bytes |
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Video Bitrate: |
35.00 Mbps - 1.33:1 |
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Audio: |
DTS-HD Master Audio English
3657 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3657 kbps / 24-bit
(DTS Core: 5.1 /
DTS-HD Master Audio English
2103 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2103 kbps / 24-bit
(DTS Core: 2.0 / |
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
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Larry Fessenden, director of the acclaimed independent horror films Habit and No Telling, crafts another unique tale of terror and suspense with this supernatural drama. George (Jake Weber) is a high-strung professional photographer who is starting to unravel from the stress of his work with a Manhattan advertising agency. Needing some time away from the city, Jake, his wife Kim (Patricia Clarkson), and their son Miles (Erik Per Sullivan) head to upstate New York to take in the winter sights, though the drive up is hardly relaxing for any of them. George accidentally hits and severely injures a deer that ran onto the icy road; after George stops to inspect the damage, he's confronted by an angry local named Otis (John Speredakos) who flies into a rage, telling George that he and his fellow hunters had been tracking the deer for some time. An argument breaks out, which leaves George feeling deeply shaken. When George and Kim arrive at their cabin, they discover that it's next door to Otis' property, and they soon find that a dark and intimidating presence seems to have taken over the cottage. Since, when they stopped at a store en route to the cabin, a shopkeeper told Miles about the legend of the Wendigo, a beast from Indian folklore who is half-man, half-deer, and can change itself at will, the child begins to wonder if the creature might have something to do with his family's sudden misfortune. Wendigo was enthusiastically received in its premiere screening at the 2001 Slamdance Film Festival.
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| Bitrate: |
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Runtime: |
1:32:09.273 |
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Disc Size: |
32,493,818,512 bytes |
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Feature Size: |
22,782,142,464 bytes |
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Video Bitrate: |
22.00 Mbps - 1.78:1 |
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Audio: |
DTS-HD Master Audio
English 2233 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz /
2233 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 /
48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio
English 2085 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz /
2085 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 /
48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) |
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
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As preparation gets under way for the construction of an environmentally devastating oil well in a remote Alaskan base just outside the Arctic Circle, a series of unexplainable occurrences leads a team of adventurers to believe that something supernatural may be afoot in director Larry Fessenden's chilly snowbound thriller. Pollack (Ron Perlman) is the ultra-macho leader of a team of adventurers that includes his former lover Abby (Connie Britton), pot-smoking mechanic Motor (Kevin Corrigan), and inexperienced newcomer-cum-fortunate son Maxwell (Zach Gilford). When research scientists Hoffman (James LeGros) and Elliot (Jamie Harrold) arrive to assess the environmental impact of the proposed project, Pollack's unmasked contempt for the pair's stalling of the project immediately creates dissent among the group. As emotions boil to the breaking point and cabin fever begins to take hold, Maxwell's increasingly strange behavior is initially attributed to the blinding white barrenness of the region, which has been known to quickly wear thin the fortitude of even experienced men. There's more to Maxwell's midnight wanderings and incoherent mumblings than meets the eye, though, because as the outside temperature begins to rise during the dead of winter and the team members begin to experience fleeting visions out of the corner of their eyes, it starts to seem as if mother nature may be voicing her opposition to the proposed pillaging of her luminous white landscape. |
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| Bitrate: |
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Runtime: |
1:41:12.441 |
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Disc Size: |
45,880,145,532 bytes |
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Feature Size: |
26,563,129,344 bytes |
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Video Bitrate: |
26.00 Mbps - 2.35:1 |
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Audio: |
DTS-HD Master Audio English 3123
kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3123 kbps /
24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 /
48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio English 1584
kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1584 kbps /
24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / |
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
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Box Cover |
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CLICK to order from:
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Distribution |
Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
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