By MICHAEL GINGOLD
The on-line series takes a timely turn into the world of witchcraft.
In an apartment in Queens, New York, revenge is brewing. When RUE MORGUE visits the set of the Internet series TWISTED FICTION, a trio of young women have an abusive man right where they want him, and they’re about to wreak supernatural payback.
Director Marc Fratto, the writer (with Joe Menghi) and director of TWISTED FICTION, explains the story of this installment, titled “The Witches’ Brew”: “It’s about Hollywood movie mogul and serial rapist Howard Castinoff, fearlessly played by Leo Goodman, who is targeted for revenge by a trio of witches. He routinely lures actresses to his mansion, drugs them and rapes them. Koko Marshall [from Fratto’s feature HELL FIRE] plays Sofia, who comes to his house for an audition, and things go terribly wrong from there. Once the witches [also including Katrina Clairvoyant as Camille and Cassandra Cruz as Victoria] get involved, they hit Howard with a series of spells, forcing Howard to live through his crimes from the perspective of his victims. His sanity begins slipping, and it all comes down to a big showdown between these two opposing forces.”
Right now, the three sorceresses definitely have the upper hand. As Goodman cowers on the floor, Marshall blows powder into his face that burns his eyes, and then intones, “May her light expose your wicked ways, and may it set your world ablaze. Your punishment is banishment, and you’ll vanish till the end of days.” From there, the scene proceeds through a series of turns that make it clear Howard isn’t going to go quietly, but that the women are more than a match for him.
“This episode is based on a story Joe wrote called ‘The Brew House’ about three witches who own a bar, where they lure piggy men and murder them,” Fratto says. “It was a multicharacter scenario, but we retooled it to focus on two people: the actress/witch and the producer she goes after. In the original story, the witches were the villains, but here, we’ve made them the heroes by turning the character of Howard into a truly awful person.”
Otherworldly comeuppance is a hallmark of TWISTED FICTION, produced by Fratto, Menghi, Steve Laino, Carmen Cavallaro, Frank Garfi and Gaetano Iacono and airing for free on Tubi. “The first episode, ‘Don’t Feed the Troll,’ is about an Internet troll who gets stalked by a real troll,” Fratto explains. “The second, ‘The Sole Motel,’ is about a woman attempting to flee a mysterious motel after murdering a man during rough sex. Joe and I have ideas for some really dark and twisted episodes to come. Some of them will not be for the faint of heart. We tackle some difficult subjects head on, and don’t shy away from showing people at their ugliest. The first few minutes of the premiere episode should tell you where this series stands and how dark we’re willing to go. And it’s gonna get dark!”
“The Witches’ Brew” will be joining the Tubi lineup soon, and the TWISTED team is seeking completed short films to join their originals as part of the series. Click here for more info.
