By MICHAEL GINGOLD
Genre producer Travis Stevens has followed up his directorial debut GIRL ON THE THIRD FLOOR with JAKOB’S WIFE, an AMP International production that just finished shooting in Canton, Mississippi with a couple of horror veterans in the leads. Read on for the details and words from the star and creators.
Barbara Crampton (RE-ANIMATOR), who also produced with Stevens, Bob Portal and Inderpal Singh, and horror mogul Larry Fessenden (DEPRAVED), who previously shared the screen in WE ARE STILL HERE, star in JAKOB’S WIFE, along with Bonnie Aarons (who played the title role in THE NUN), Robert Rusler (A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 2), Sarah Lind, Mark Kelly, Nyisha Bell, Jay DeVon Johnson, Giovannie Cruz, Ned Yousef, Angelie Denizard, Omar Salazar and Phil Brooks (a.k.a. C.M. Punk, encoring from GIRL). The synopsis: “Anne, a woman in her late 50s who is married to a small-town Minister, feels her life and marriage have been shrinking over the past 30 years. Through a chance encounter with ‘The Master,’ she discovers a new sense of power and an appetite to live bigger and bolder than before. However, these changes come with a heavy body count and a toll on her marriage.”
“Since making WE ARE STILL HERE together,” says Stevens, who produced that movie, “I’ve been looking forward to telling more scary stories with Barbara and Larry. JAKOB’S WIFE has been a chance for us to dig deep into the lives of these fictional characters and test them in unexpected ways. I think genre fans are going to love seeing them in these roles. It’s been an honor working with Barbara as both a performer and a producer on a project she nurtured for years. They’re supported by a remarkable cast; it’s been a bloody blast working with actors this talented. The support given this film by AMP International has been incredible. Reuniting with producers Bob Portal and Inderpal Singh meant every day on set was an opportunity to create some truly unique horror images. I can’t wait for people to see the crazy shit we’ve come up with.”
Portal agrees: “JAKOB’S WIFE has proved an irresistible opportunity to reunite horror icons Barbara Crampton and Larry Fessenden with our great friend and colleague Travis Stevens, for a wild ‘marriage’ of talent that’s created such a rollicking, smart, fun genre feast. Fans are going to love Barbara Crampton in a role that’s different from anything she’s done before.”
Says Crampton, “I’m thrilled to be able to bring JAKOB’S WIFE to life with my producing partners at AMP International. Their team has extensive knowledge and experience ranging from financing to production and sales. It’s been wonderful working closely with them and Bob Portal, to utilize their expertise in developing my passion project of JAKOB’S WIFE. Reuniting with two of my favorite colleagues in the business, Travis Stevens and Larry Fessenden, has afforded us a wealth of wisdom that has been unparalleled so far on any project of which I’ve been involved. As an award-winning producer, actor and director, Fessenden’s intelligence and mastery over the genre cannot be denied. With films such as HABIT, WENDIGO and THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL under his Glass Eye Pix banner, no other name is as highly regarded in independent horror cinema than Larry Fessenden.
“Travis Stevens has been a guiding force as a producer for two decades with movies like STARRY EYES, CHEAP THRILLS and BUSTER’S MAL HEART,” she continues. “His impressive debut as a director, GIRL ON THE THIRD FLOOR, took the horror world by storm. His perception and savvy about what makes a great horror film affords our team excitement about what the potential JAKOB’S WIFE has to be: a new horror classic and one of the best films our genre has the ability to offer.”
