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The Weeping Woman, premiering at Motor City Nightmares in Detroit April 15th -17th 2011
Pennywise the Clown stalking director Mark Steensland at the festival
Star Stephen Geoffreys (left) with Mark (right)
Mark introducing the screening to a packed audience
The movie playing
Stephen and Mark taking questions
And heading out after a successful premiere
All Premiere Pictures © Melissa Bostaph
The Weeping Woman Quotes
‘Paul Kane’s twisty and twisted tale is brought to the screen in a faithful and frightening adaptation, made all the more resonant by Fabio Frizzi’s luscious score.’
(Mick Garris – Director of The Stand and Riding the Bullet, Creator of Masters of Horror)
‘The Weeping Woman is terrific, an entertaining movie. It also has one of my favourite actors, Stephen Jefferies, in it.’
(Tom Holland – Director of Fright Night, Child’s Play, The Langoliers and Thinner)
‘The Weeping Woman is a strangely beautiful and well-shot horror film. One that shows a director with a great future and a sure hand the throttle of terror.’
(William Malone – Director of Scared to Death, House on Haunted Hill, FeardotCom and Parasomnia)
‘A neat (but bloody messy) shocker from a new horror talent...’
(Anthony Hickox – Director of Waxwork, Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat, Waxwork II: Lost in Time, Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, Prince Valiant and Knife Edge)
‘Starting off this week’s batch of new horror is The Weeping Woman, from Mark Steensland who brought us last week’s “And finally…” short film Peekers. As with that film, Steensland takes a simple concept, a man driving along a deserted road encounters a ghostly woman, and amps it up in both areas of creep and camp. As with Peekers, the budget is low, but Steensland turns up the chill factor with some strong performances and some effective dialog. The best thing about The Weeping Woman, besides the powerful ending, was seeing Evil Ed himself, Stephen Geoffreys who was elevated to cult icon status when he played Charlie Brewster’s giggling best friend in Fright Night. Geoffreys is back in this, a more subdued role, as the man driving down the road. Sure, it’s pure nostalgia pumping up this performance, but it was great to see this actor again in a horror role, even in this all-too-short short film. The Weeping Woman relies a lot on the “woman by the road” urban myth and counts on the viewer to know the tale. Because of this, the ending comes off as a powerful punchline. Having seen two of Steensland’s short films, I’m looking forward to seeing more horrors from this up and coming director.’
(Ain’t It Cool News!)
‘The Weeping Woman is a short film adapted from a short story by Paul Kane. It is about a man (Stephen Geoffreys) taking a short cut home to his family one snowy afternoon. After nearly running into a woman (Melissa Bostaph) standing in the middle of the road, he gets out to see if she is okay. She begs him to help “her children” and so he follows her into the isolated woods that border the side of the road. There in the snow-bound stillness he makes a shocking discovery…I’ve been a big fan of Mark Steensland’s work, from his horror anthology Beyond the Pale, kick-ass graphic-novel adaptation Dead@17, to his more recent short films Peekers and The Ugly File...
Firstly, I enjoyed how Steensland decided to set the film in winter instead of the summertime setting of Kane’s original story. I loved the desolate atmosphere the wintery setting gave the film. Adding to the eerie feeling is Fabio Frizzi’s effective score... The film is also heightened by Steensland’s direction, which is polished and high quality. Many people think of short films as a filmmaker’s gateway to feature-length movies, but Steensland has shown time and time again that short films can be an art form in themselves and can be every bit as high quality and effective as full-length films.
Besides boasting a professional look, The Weeping Woman also has a variety of camera angles that keep things visually interesting. Equally deserving of praise is Stephen Geoffreys’ and Melissa Bostaph’s performances. Geoffreys is most known for his memorable side-kick acts in films like Fright Night, and while some of his goofiness is on-screen in The Weeping Woman...he delivers a wonderful “everyman” performance that makes you genuinely like, and root for, his character. Melissa Bostaph is also wonderful as the titular character “the weeping woman”... This is one you do not want to miss and shows that Mark Steensland will soon become an even more well-known and respected name.’
(Sarah Jahier, Fatally Yours)
‘Set in the rural snow-covered countryside of Erie, PA, The Weeping Woman follows the tale of Harry, a businessman who takes a shortcut and has a fateful encounter with the titular weeping woman. The cast includes Stephen Geoffreys (Fright Night’s Evil Ed) and newcomer Melissa Bostaph, with special effects from “Monster” Mark Kosobucki (Bloody Inheritance) and a haunting score from Fabio Frizzi (The Beyond).
As an avid fan of anthology shows like The Twilight Zone and Night Gallery, I've always been a fan of short films. The format allows for some great creepy tales that wouldn't benefit from the feature length expansions... Steensland has proven time and time again that he is a master behind the camera. He gets shots into his short films that one might expect from bigger-budget fare and The Weeping Woman is no exception. That great cinematography, combined with the snow-covered on-location filming and Frizzi's eerie score make for a film that the above mentioned shows would have been proud to include in their libraries... I won't give too much of the story away since The Weeping Woman will be making the film festival circuit throughout 2011, but if you get the chance to check it out, you won't be sorry.’
(Hyde & Geek)
‘Keeping in mind the film’s brevity and low budget, there is a great deal The Weeping Woman does right. The camerawork shows real thought and a sense of style that is missing from many amateur productions. Similarly, the soundtrack is a step above canned music or quick synth recordings. The producers even managed to get permission to use 80’s rock band Autograph’s Turn Up the Radio in a humorous scene. The children in the movie are intentionally creepy, as is Bostaph in her first role. In fact, her last line uttered is genuinely chilling. The largest asset to the film, however, is the writing. Based on a short story by Paul Kane, the script reads one part Supernatural and one part Twilight Zone...The Weeping Woman is a short that shows a great deal of potential from those involved. The filmmakers’ passion for the art of filmmaking does come through with the care and craftsmanship put into every frame.’
(Dread Central)