We got another great interview, this time with Jen and Sylvia Soska. These Twisted Twin Sisters are responsible for the new feature “Dead Hooker in a Trunk” which has been talked about for a while now and even got the attention on famed director Eli Roth. So, thanks to Roy of Living Dead Reviews, we get a chance to see what twisted thoughts are floating in their heads…. Check it out below….
LDR. Introduce us to Jen and Sylvia Soska and tell us what led the two of you to form ‘Twisted Twins Productions.
JEN: We’re Jen and Sylvia Soska, also known as the Twisted Twins and the Soska Sisters. We’ve been lovers of film, especially horror movies, since we were very little. I mean really, haven’t we all? We loved all the stories and characters and always wanted to be a part of it. We started out acting and thoroughly enjoyed it. However, the roles available for women, especially identical twins, weren’t roles we easily got passionate about. Isn’t it funny how actors have to work so hard to get the opportunity just to act and usually don’t get to do the roles they want?
Our moment of truth came in film school. We had been leaving class often to watch Grindhouse as there wasn’t much ever going on in class. We ended up having a final project where we were supposed to make a short film. We decided we wanted to make a faux trailer like the ones in Grindhouse because we thought maybe, just maybe, if it was good enough Rodriguez and Tarantino would include it in their Grindhouse sequel.
Unfortunately, out of nowhere the school told us they didn’t have enough money for our project to get a budget and that we could just merge with the other groups (who had had their projects paid for). Naturally we thought, fuck that. We decided to do it anyways and pay for it all out of our own pocket, recruit our own cast and crew, and film on our own time. Additionally, the school had a list of things “forbidden” from being in our films. It was typical censorship stuff like no religious themes, no strong language, no sexual content, no sex, no gore, etc, etc, etc… We decided to include as many of those things as possible in our trailer. It had necrophilia, beastiality, gratuitous violence, stunts, stunt driving, choreographed fight scenes, a horse, a jet black mustang, guns fights, a girl pulling out her teeth, lesbian content, blood and guts, and as many f-bombs as we could throw in.
SYLVIA: When we showed it half of the audience got up and walked out and the other half were laughing so hard they couldn’t hear the trailer. We couldn’t have been happier. When we finished our class, we were dead set on making a feature film. As Tarantino and many others have said, the best film school is the one you get on set making your own film. We had talked a lot on the set of the trailer of DHIAT saying “oh, we’ll do this in the feature” or “in the feature, this would happen” that it was just the most obvious next step. We were already very invested in the characters and story.
Pretty much the rest is history. We created Twisted Twins Productions in unison with the film.
LDR. After several very well received Shorts,you have created your first feature”Dead Hooker in the Trunk”. Now for me,I can see a combination of many genres and all I’ve seen so far is the trailer.Tell us about”Dead Hooker” and how did you come up with the idea for the film?
JEN: Actually, the chicken came before the egg. We did all of our shorts after wrapping filming on DHIAT with the exception of the faux trailer for the film. Sorry, I guess we kind of answered this one in the last question. I will add that our greatest desire for the film was to make it pure enjoyment for our audience. We tried to bring everything we loved about film together in it. We can see how you can see a lot of genres in the film. It has received much recognition as a horror film, but to be perfectly honest, I thought we were making a dark comedy. Clearly our perception of normal really varies from the general public. A little darker than most.
When we created the trailer, we had come up with false extraordinary situations for our heroes to be seen in. We expanded those original ideas and made sure that all these scenarios could fit together with at least a little realism.
SYLVIA: Feature films take a lot more time and coordination than a short does. We participated in some fast film competitions to have an opportunity to create new work, but also get some more experience on working with certain time restraints. Being able to think quickly on your feet and using creative problem solving on set is so invaluable. Jen answered about the idea for “Dead Hooker in a Trunk” prematurely in an earlier question. Bad twin, ha ha!
LDR. Has being female hindered you in becoming filmmakers? Has the fact that you both are very attractive been a problem or have you been accepted for your ability and the merits of your projects?
JEN: This is something that we do get a lot. I do think that as women there are obvious challenges. And yes, we have felt them as well. I would say being female, and particularly identical twins, initially got us quite a bit of attention. We believe that now that people have gotten the opportunity to see our work, we do feel like our work speaks for itself.
SYLVIA: I couldn’t agree more with Jen. There is always some sort of quality that makes individuals stand out and in our case, it’s that we are female identical twins. However, if the work isn’t good, then no amount of attractiveness can excuse that. We get a bit of a reaction when people first see us, but it’s the reaction our work gets that really means the most to us.
LDR. Talk about your first recollections of the Horror genre both collectively and separately.
JEN: It’s hard to start at the beginning because I don’t remember a time when I didn’t love horror. I remember getting in trouble in elementary school for reading Stephen King. Our teachers weren’t impressed, but our mom always encouraged our love of horror. She told our teachers that if we were reading at that level at that age, what did they care what it was? My first novel was Pet Sematary. It was so awesome. My first horror movie, albeit partial horror movie, was Poltergeist. I was scared pretty shitless by the television and clown. For a while I wouldn’t even go into a room with a TV and hid my clown dolls in the closet.
SYLVIA: We always had an interest in horror and I am thankful to my parents for never making me feel weird or unsupported in our interests. When I was a little girl, I would collect spiders from my yard and play with them. Now I collect tarantulas, I have sixteen pets in my collection and I still absolutely love the little critters. Also when I was little, my sister and I would hang out in the horror movie section of our video store and sometimes, if it I was mature enough, I got to watch them. That love of the genre has driven me to create my own film. As I grew up and watched more horror, I was completely romanced by the art of it.
LDR. Who are your influences? Who were the people that made you say”This is what I want to do!”?
JEN: Robert Rodriguez was a huge influence. I saw Desperado when I was younger and fell in love with it for reasons I wouldn’t really understand till some time later. Not only was Antonio Banderas captivating as “El”, but the film was so exciting, so cool, so stylish, so darkly funny. I read “Rebel Without A Crew” and devoured each word. At the end, he says something along the lines of, “go out and do it yourself, you provide the movie, I’ll bring the popcorn.” We even approached and got Carlos Gallardo, star of El Mariachi, to play God in our film. We truly look forward to the day that he sees the film.
SYLVIA: Definitely Robert Rodriguez and Carlos Gallardo. Carlos has been amazingly supportive of us and the film, even doing a cameo in DHIAT. It was a fucking amazing feeling to have Carlos watch one of our sequences and compare Badass to El (his character in El Mariachi, later reprized by Antonio Banderas in the later sequels) who has been my childhood hero since I was a little girl. I loved the image of such a fun to watch hero.
LDR. Tell me how you feel about the role of modern women,both in front of and behind the camera.Do today’s trends paint in a positive,or a negative of the future of women in Horror and Independent Film?
JEN: I think there is definitely more equality for women almost everywhere these days. Maybe there isn’t a woman director you’d list when listing Tarantino and Rodriguez, but I certainly feel a new day is coming. There are a lot of people and a lot of sites that are really helping get independent artists, and not just female ones, some real recognition and attention. Eli Roth has been a huge support of us and our work. As has Carlos. Hannah Neurotica of Ax Wound Zine has been an incredible support of us, too. There is a real horror community out there. Pretty Scary, Horror News, Bloody Disgusting, Fangoria, and so many more do an amazing job of showcasing independent talent and we’re so very grateful.
SYLVIA: Being an avid comic nerd, I have these panels from the Preacher series which was become the blueprint for my work ethic. The villian, Herr Starr says, “Kill the women first.” He is referring to what to do in a terrorist situation. He goes on to explain that if there are any women present, the only reason is because they are so utterly capable that no man could do what they do better. So, kill them first as they are the highest threat. There is a huge wave of amazingly talented and hard working women out there. This year we had the first woman, Kathryn Bigelow, to win an Oscar for directing. Women have come a long way in the last few decades and I’m really excited to see what comes next, what new female artists we will meet over the next few decades.
LDR. As a filmmaker,How do you feel about the “remake” trend going on in Mainstream Horror? Is there a particular that you would either love to see remade or remake yourselves?
SYLVIA: I think some things are sacred and shouldn’t be fucked with. I loved Robert Englund in ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’, he had such a respect and sense of fun with the character. It just seems like it would be so much more interesting if people were creating new ideas for the Freddy Kruegers, and Jasons, and Micheal Myerses for today’s generation. That said, I really liked what Rob Zombie did with ‘Halloween’, but I loved his original stuff like ‘The Devil’s Rejects’ so much more. I really hope this fad of remakes ends soon and we get a big wave of new original horrors.
JEN: As a fan, it’s a very touchy subject. The classics are loved by so many people that they simply must be handled with respect to the original. Somethings are classics and shouldn’t be remade, but if we all just thought like that we’d never have gotten John Carpenter’s rendition of “The Thing”. And as a film maker, I’d love the chance to try to take a crack at an old classic. I heard they want to remake “Phantom Of The Paradise”. I’d love to remake it to ensure that it’s treated respectfully. There would be so many disappointed fans out there.
LDR. As twin sisters,It’s obvious that you are close.But do you have a support system? Friends,Family,and others that keep you grounded while you reach for the stars?
SYLVIA: Absolutely. My boyfriend, CJ Wallis, also Goody Two-Shoes in the film and the man who worked with us on pretty much all the post-production of the film, is part of what Jen and I geekily (a la Zelda) call the Triforce. We all work in the film industry and it’s an incredible support to have someone who understands what you’re going through there beside you.
My parents are also a huge support. They have always been on our side, even when we were little girls oddly fascinated with horror movies. It’s nice to have that kind of relationship where you can talk to your parents about anything and know that they will be understanding. Not too many people can tell their parents about a forked dick joke and then have their dad do the slicing in their film.
JEN: We’re very down to earth. Also, we’ve got the whole Catholic guilt thing, so we aren’t really likely to be big headed. Sylvia, by far, is my first and greatest support, friend, ally, sounding board, and partner in crime. CJ is extremely grounded. He’s a good friend and an amazing support.
LDR. What is next for Twisted Twins Productions? Tell us about future projects to tantalize,terrify,or amuse us.
SYLVIA: We have a very uniquely prosthetic-heavy horror film that we are hoping will be the next film that we work on. We just recently finished a documentary that follows four viral YouTube celebrities- Tay Zonday, David Choi, Happy Slip, and Daxflame- through their lives and the videos that became so popular called “Please Subscribe”. After DHIAT is finished with it’s festival run, and during the same time, we will be putting it into festivals. It’s a really cool personal look at these really talented young people and the phenomena of viral celebrity through the newest entertainment medium.
JEN: We certainly have many future projects that are in the horror genre coming up, as well. We really hope to be able to grab people with DHIAT and promise that the film is only the first of many demented tales to come from your friendly neighborhood twisted twins.
LDR. What is the status of “Dead Hooker in the Trunk”? Will we be able to add it to our library soon?
SYLVIA: “Dead Hooker in a Trunk” wants to come to a film festival near you! Right now we are sending out screeners to film festivals around the world. We are trying get it seen by as many people as possible, so if you want a screening near you send us a message through our website –https://www.twistedtwinsproductions.net — and request it and we’ll do our best to comply. We should have all distribution by the end of the festival run, so everyone can live the dream and bring the dead hooker home.
JEN: We really have to thank the fans for getting the word out about the film. The response and support has been overwhelming and we really can’t wait to be able to share it with the world.
LDR. We always end our interviews with the same question.What is your favorite Horror Film and Why?
SYLVIA: I love “American Psycho”. It’s directed also by my favorite female director, Mary Harron. The violence is incredible, the satire is hilarious, it’s perfectly cast, and the dialogue is amazing. I could watch it everyday forever. I love a smart horror movie that is haunting and beautifully made.
JEN: I have to give you a twin answer. American Psycho. It’s a brilliant and dark satire on the 80’s and proof that a woman can be behind a film that is as violent, as sexy, as smart, and as fucked up as anything any male director has ever done.
www.twistedtwinsproductions.net
Interview by: https://www.livingdeadreviews.com/
