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Arts & Culture

Rants and Raves: 'Dead Hooker in a Trunk'

"Dead Hooker in a Trunk" available VOD today through IFC Midnight.
Twisted Twins Productions
"Dead Hooker in a Trunk" available VOD today through IFC Midnight.

The Twisted Soska Twins Get Picked up by IFC Midnight

"Dead Hooker in a Trunk" had it's San Diego premiere last November at Horrible Imaginings Film Festival. Since then the indie film has been released in Australia and England and now has been picked up by IFC Midnight for limited theatrical release and Video On Demand.

So what's up with those crazy Canadians, eh? Identical twins Jen and Sylvia Soska as well as fellow Canuck Jason Eisener ("Hobo with a Shotgun") are making 70s style grindhouse films that put American indies to shame. These do-it-yourself, rough and tumble flicks are far from perfect but they fly off the screen with such ferocious energy, stylish innovation, and ravenous need to get their vision out there that you can't help but admire them. And if you're a horror action fan like me you can't help but fall in love with them. If these folks are this good with no money and quick turnarounds imagine what they might be able to do with a real budget, some resources behind them, and a little time to fine tune their projects.

So the Soskas have been trying to get their twisted little offspring out into the public for more than a year while at the same time moving ahead with their more ambitious "American Mary" project. The good news for the Twisted Twins Productions is that IFC Midnight picked up "Dead Hooker in a Trunk" for limited theatrical release in the U.S. and Canada and VOD starting today. The film was banned from one Canadian film festival screening based solely on its title and storyline. But IFC Midnight is looking for edgy film that push the envelope so it's a perfect choice for them.

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The Soska Twins having a little fun.
Twisted Twins Productions
The Soska Twins having a little fun.

I have interviewed the Soskas and they understand horror and what it takes to carve out a bloody niche for themselves in a male dominated genre. They bring a fresh sensibility to the screen and give us female characters that break with stereotypes. I'd love to see these ladies given a chance to cut loose in Hollywood... but then maybe they are better off on their own where they won't be asked to conform to any formula or preconceived notions of what women in horror should be doing.

I hope you will support their film and I am looking forward to "American Mary," which looks to up the ante on their creative vision. These are the kind of women I want to see working in the genre and pushing it in new directions.