• Indie Films
  • News

Trailer premieres for “AUTOMATONS” and “SATAN HATES YOU” creator’s microbudget “WRACK”

In the midst of the pandemic, writer/director James Felix McKenney pulled off an unusual fantasy-thriller for minimal expense.

McKenney, whose credits also include HYPOTHERMIA, also produced WRACK with veteran filmmaker J. Christian Ingvordsen (BLUE VENGEANCE, BOG CREATURES). Carol Ames, John Christian, Braxton Sohns, Emma Sugler and Jennifer Boutell star in the movie, which was filmed in Delaware County, New York. The synopsis: “In the distant future, centuries after nearly all life has been wiped out by war, disease and environmental collapse, the planet has begun to heal itself. WRACK focuses on four mutated humans who, despite being the only known people left on their world, still cannot get along. All of the characters speak in a fictional language created for the film, with subtitles in English.”

“I wanted to see how little my friends and I could make a fantasy-based feature film for,” McKenney says. “My goal was to do it for less than $1,500, and we managed to pull it off.” To keep costs down, McKenney employed no crew on WRACK, aside from the cast and the occasional helping hand. The filmmaker created the props and costumes himself, often repurposing wardrobe and hardware from Glass Eye Pix productions like Glenn McQuaid’s I SELL THE DEAD and his own AUTOMATONS. WRACK is targeting a release in 2021; keep your eyes here and sign up for the mailing list at the official website of McKenney’s Studio Midnight.

Read More

Get The Grim Reader.
Rue Morgue's free newsletter.
Editor's notes.
Cultural insight.
Curated horror across film, books, music, and art.
First looks.
Select previews.
No algorithms.
Join Free

Advertisement

In Print Since 1997

Issue 231

Rue Morgue #231 Jul/Aug 2026

Plus

Inside Rue Morgue #231 – Summer Slasher Issue FEATURES Filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun’s TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH AT CAMP MIASMA guts the slasher formula from the inside out, turning it into a romance about the horror of becoming who you were always meant to be. Plus! GILLIAN ANDERSON and HANNAH EINBINDER unpack Schoenbrun’s radical dismemberment of…

Issue 230

Rue Morgue #230 May/Jun 2026 – RARE

Plus

Inside Rue Morgue #230 FEATURES Filmmaker Curry Barker transforms a simple wish into a spiralling nightmare of love, possession, and bloodshed in his breakout feature OBSESSION. Plus: The story of Barker’s found-footage shocker MILK & SERIAL, which turned a micro-budget experiment into a viral horror breakout. Hollywood made it a monster. History tells a different…

Issue 229

Rue Morgue #229 Mar/Apr 2026

Plus

Inside Rue Morgue #229! FEATURES A nerve-shredding found-footage thriller built around sound, UNDERTONE signals the arrival of a terrifying new voice in Canada’s booming independent horror scene. Plus! Meet the new breed of independent Canadian horror filmmakers behind DREAM EATER, SWEETNESS, HANGASHORE, THE LAND OF NOD and THE CURSE OF GHOST ISLAND. Part post-punk, part…

Issue 228

Rue Morgue #228 Jan/Feb 2026

Plus

Inside Rue Morgue #228! FEATURES He fascinated audiences in 2001 with the French period martial arts horror film BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF. Then he followed it up in 2006 by bringing the eerie world of SILENT HILL to cinematic life. Now, visionary director CHRISTOPHE GANS unleashes his latest nightmare with RETURN TO SILENT HILL. Plus!…