THE MOOSE HEAD OVER THE MANTEL
THE MOOSE HEAD OVER THE MANTEL
Influenced and inspired by the lives of H.H. Holmes, The Bender Family and Lizzie Borden, THE MOOSE HEAD OVER THE MANTEL follows several generations of the Hoffhienze family, a bloodline wrought with abuse, dysfunction and violence, spanning the 1880s through the 1980s.
Influenced and inspired by the lives of H.H. Holmes, The Bender Family and Lizzie Borden, THE MOOSE HEAD OVER THE MANTEL follows several generations of the Hoffhienze family, a bloodline wrought with abuse, dysfunction and violence, spanning the 1880s through the 1980s.
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Story
About The Project
Influenced and inspired by the lives of H.H. Holmes, The Bender Family and Lizzie Borden, THE MOOSE HEAD OVER THE MANTEL follows several generations of the Hoffhienze family, a bloodline wrought with abuse, dysfunction and violence, spanning the 1880s through the 1980s.
The story centers on Lillian Hoffhienze Bachman and Jay Bachman, a young married couple who have just moved into the Hoffhienze family home with their troubled son, Nicholas. Lillian soon becomes obsessed with learning about her sordid ancestry, terrified that the past might dictate her son's future.
Taking place entirely in the dining room of the Hoffhienze home, the story is seen primarily from the perspective of the moose head hanging over the mantel. The moose head is both the silent witness of the horrible events that have taken place over the course of one hundred years ... and the family's inadvertent prisoner.________________________________________________________
We believe THE MOOSE HEAD OVER THE MANTEL marks the next step in our growth as artists and creators, melding our filmmaking skills with our extensive theatrical experience in a project that perfectly encapsulates our individual talents. The film features the work of six directors, each working with a different time period along with many other professional screen and stage artists to create one feature following this gruesome family.
One of the techniques leveraged to give this film its unique and claustrophobic atmosphere is the use of point-of-view shots, the most omnipresent being that of the moose head on display in the family home. This visual approach, in combination with confining the action to a single room, creates a sense of unease and mystery as the audience bears witness to the horrible events of the Hoffhienze family. We want the audience to feel trapped by this family, like a fly or, in this case, a moose head on the wall. The audience is forced to watch the torment and pain through unblinking eyes, unable to look away.
Incentives
$2
Behind the Scenes Gag Reel
HERE IT IS! A brand spanking new incentive!
Available for a short time only, you can view an exclusive BEHIND THE SCENES GAG REEL for only two dollars.
If everyone who likes Inappropriate FIlms on Facebook and follows us on Twitter picks this incentive, we will surpass our fundraising goal!
*Please make sure Inappropriate.Film@gmail.com has your email address so you can recieve your link and secret password!
$10
Eternal Gratitude
Eternal Gratitude and a shout-out on Social Media for your awesomeness!
$15
THE BIG BAD screening at The Way Station
One ticket to a screening of THE BIG BAD, the first feature from MOOSE HEAD producers Jessi Gotta and Bryan Enk, to be held at The Way Station in Brooklyn on Saturday, January 23, 2016 at 3:30PM.
http://waystationbk.blogspot.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TF_m-3F22YQ
Claimed: 7 of 20
$20
Sick to My Bones: An Afternoon of Short Films
One Ticket to a screening of short genre films curated by Bryan Enk at The Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan on Saturday, November 21 at 12:30PM.
Claimed: 9 of 150
$30
H.P. Lovecraft Walking Tour of Brooklyn
An H.P. Lovecraft expert, Jane Rose will take you on a tour through Brooklyn that traces a path from Lovecraft’s high hopes at the beginning of his Brooklyn sojourn in Flatbush, to tough times in the area now known as Brooklyn Heights, and artistic renewal beyond. While Lovecraft, an avid walker and antiquarian, roamed New York City and its surroundings widely, this tour will focus specifically on his ties to Brooklyn, exploring his impressions and inspirations along the way. Saturday, November 7.
Sold Out!
$50
Tickets and Thank yous
- One ticket to An Afternoon of Indie Horror Shorts curated by Bryan Enk at The Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 12:30PM.
- One ticket to a screening of THE BIG BAD at The Way Station in Brooklyn, Saturday, January 23, 2016 at 3:30PM.
- A thank you credit in the film.
Sold Out!
$75
Private Cast & Crew Screening of THE MOOSE HEAD OVER THE MANTEL
- One ticket to the Private Cast & Crew Screening of THE MOOSE HEAD OVER THE MANTEL, at a to-be-determined location and date in 2016.
- A thank you credit in the film.
$150
Private Screening and Indie Horror Shorts
- One ticket to the Private Cast & Crew Screening of THE MOOSE HEAD OVER THE MANTEL, at a to-be-determined location and date in 2016.
- One ticket to SICK TO MY BONES: An Afternoon of Short Films curated by Bryan Enk at The Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 12:30PM.
- A thank you credit in the film.
Claimed: 0 of 10
$200
Silver Status
- One ticket to a screening of THE BIG BAD at The Way Station in Brooklyn, Saturday, January 23, 2016 at 3:30PM.
- One ticket to SICK TO MY BONES: An Afternoon of Short Films curated by Bryan Enk at the Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan on Saturday, November 21 at 12:30PM.
- One ticket to the Private Cast & Crew Screening of THE MOOSE HEAD OVER THE MANTEL, at a to-be-determined location and date in 2016.
- A thank you credit in the film.
Claimed: 1 of 10
$250
Lone Wolf
- The taxidermy wolf head seen in the film.
- One ticket to SICK TO MY BONES: An Afternoon of Short Films curated by Bryan Enk at the Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan on Saturday, November 21 at 12:30PM.
- One ticket to the Private Cast & Crew Screening of THE MOOSE HEAD OVER THE MANTEL, at a to-be-determined location and date in 2016.
- A thank you credit in the film.
Claimed: 0 of 1
$350
Oh, Deer
- The taxidermy deer head seen in the film.
- One ticket to SICK TO MY BONES: An Afternoon of Short Films curated by Bryan Enk at the Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan on Saturday, November 21 at 12:30PM.
- One ticket to the Private Cast & Crew Screening of THE MOOSE HEAD OVER THE MANTEL, at a to-be-determined location and date in 2016.
- A thank you credit in the film.
Claimed: 0 of 1
$500
Gold Status
- An Associate Producer credit on the film.
- One ticket to SICK TO MY BONES: An Afternoon of Short Films curated by Bryan Enk at the Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan on Saturday, November 21 at 12:30PM.
- A ticket to the Private Cast & Crew Screening of THE MOOSE HEAD OVER THE MANTEL, at a to-be-determined location and date in 2016.
Claimed: 0 of 5
- One ticket to An Afternoon of Indie Horror Shorts curated by Bryan Enk at The Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 12:30PM.
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Wishlist
Use the WishList to pledge cash and loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an incentive directly.
$2
Behind the Scenes Gag Reel
HERE IT IS! A brand spanking new incentive!
Available for a short time only, you can view an exclusive BEHIND THE SCENES GAG REEL for only two dollars.
If everyone who likes Inappropriate FIlms on Facebook and follows us on Twitter picks this incentive, we will surpass our fundraising goal!
*Please make sure Inappropriate.Film@gmail.com has your email address so you can recieve your link and secret password!
$10
Eternal Gratitude
Eternal Gratitude and a shout-out on Social Media for your awesomeness!
$15
THE BIG BAD screening at The Way Station
One ticket to a screening of THE BIG BAD, the first feature from MOOSE HEAD producers Jessi Gotta and Bryan Enk, to be held at The Way Station in Brooklyn on Saturday, January 23, 2016 at 3:30PM.
http://waystationbk.blogspot.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TF_m-3F22YQ
Claimed: 7 of 20
$20
Sick to My Bones: An Afternoon of Short Films
One Ticket to a screening of short genre films curated by Bryan Enk at The Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan on Saturday, November 21 at 12:30PM.
Claimed: 9 of 150
$30
H.P. Lovecraft Walking Tour of Brooklyn
An H.P. Lovecraft expert, Jane Rose will take you on a tour through Brooklyn that traces a path from Lovecraft’s high hopes at the beginning of his Brooklyn sojourn in Flatbush, to tough times in the area now known as Brooklyn Heights, and artistic renewal beyond. While Lovecraft, an avid walker and antiquarian, roamed New York City and its surroundings widely, this tour will focus specifically on his ties to Brooklyn, exploring his impressions and inspirations along the way. Saturday, November 7.
Sold Out!
$50
Tickets and Thank yous
- One ticket to An Afternoon of Indie Horror Shorts curated by Bryan Enk at The Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 12:30PM.
- One ticket to a screening of THE BIG BAD at The Way Station in Brooklyn, Saturday, January 23, 2016 at 3:30PM.
- A thank you credit in the film.
Sold Out!
$75
Private Cast & Crew Screening of THE MOOSE HEAD OVER THE MANTEL
- One ticket to the Private Cast & Crew Screening of THE MOOSE HEAD OVER THE MANTEL, at a to-be-determined location and date in 2016.
- A thank you credit in the film.
$150
Private Screening and Indie Horror Shorts
- One ticket to the Private Cast & Crew Screening of THE MOOSE HEAD OVER THE MANTEL, at a to-be-determined location and date in 2016.
- One ticket to SICK TO MY BONES: An Afternoon of Short Films curated by Bryan Enk at The Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 12:30PM.
- A thank you credit in the film.
Claimed: 0 of 10
$200
Silver Status
- One ticket to a screening of THE BIG BAD at The Way Station in Brooklyn, Saturday, January 23, 2016 at 3:30PM.
- One ticket to SICK TO MY BONES: An Afternoon of Short Films curated by Bryan Enk at the Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan on Saturday, November 21 at 12:30PM.
- One ticket to the Private Cast & Crew Screening of THE MOOSE HEAD OVER THE MANTEL, at a to-be-determined location and date in 2016.
- A thank you credit in the film.
Claimed: 1 of 10
$250
Lone Wolf
- The taxidermy wolf head seen in the film.
- One ticket to SICK TO MY BONES: An Afternoon of Short Films curated by Bryan Enk at the Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan on Saturday, November 21 at 12:30PM.
- One ticket to the Private Cast & Crew Screening of THE MOOSE HEAD OVER THE MANTEL, at a to-be-determined location and date in 2016.
- A thank you credit in the film.
Claimed: 0 of 1
$350
Oh, Deer
- The taxidermy deer head seen in the film.
- One ticket to SICK TO MY BONES: An Afternoon of Short Films curated by Bryan Enk at the Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan on Saturday, November 21 at 12:30PM.
- One ticket to the Private Cast & Crew Screening of THE MOOSE HEAD OVER THE MANTEL, at a to-be-determined location and date in 2016.
- A thank you credit in the film.
Claimed: 0 of 1
$500
Gold Status
- An Associate Producer credit on the film.
- One ticket to SICK TO MY BONES: An Afternoon of Short Films curated by Bryan Enk at the Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan on Saturday, November 21 at 12:30PM.
- A ticket to the Private Cast & Crew Screening of THE MOOSE HEAD OVER THE MANTEL, at a to-be-determined location and date in 2016.
Claimed: 0 of 5
- One ticket to An Afternoon of Indie Horror Shorts curated by Bryan Enk at The Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 12:30PM.
- Updates
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Current Team
About This Team
This team was carefully assembled from participants of our past endeavors, both cinematic and theatrical. Our approach in appointing a different director as head of each separate decade required a team that could speak a common language and pick up on cues and instructions from one another very quickly. Past collaborations between the film's key players provide a common baseline, allowing us to reference those projects and communicate on a deeper level.
THE FILMMAKERS:
JESSI GOTTA (Producer/Writer/Director,1940s) is an NYC-based award-winning horror film writer, producer, actor and director. She formed her first production company, gotta/enk films, with co-conspirator Bryan Enk in 2009. Their first feature, THE BIG BAD, has screened at several national and international film festivals and won Jessi the Best Feature Writer award from the 2011 LA Femme International Film Festival. THE BIG BAD also won many additional awards while on the festival circuit and is currently distributed by Phase 4 Films. Jessi’s second film and directing debut, ANNIVERSARY DINNER, has screened at several national and international film festivals and won Best Short Screenplay from the 2012 Maverick Movie Awards, among other awards. ANNIVERSARY DINNER was screened at several events as a part of the 2012-2013 Viscera Film Festival tour and the Scream Queen Filmfest Tokyo tour throughout Japan. THEY WILL OUTLIVE US ALL, Jessi's third film, has won several awards, including Best Horror Sci-Fi Feature from the 2013 Toronto Independent Film Festival, Best Horror Feature from the 2013 ShockerFest International Film Festival, Best Horror Comedy from the 2013 Atlanta Horror Film Festival and Best Feature and Best Creature Feature from the 2013 New Mexico Fright Fest. THEY WILL OUTLIVE US ALL is currently distributed internationally by Wild Eye Releasing. In 2014, Jessi formed Inappropriate Films, a production company dedicated to creating genre-blending films. THE MOOSE HEAD OVER THE MANTEL is the first feature film from the company.
BRYAN ENK (Producer/Director,1980s) has written, produced and/or directed over 20 films since 1992, ranging in running times from one to 120 minutes and in genres from experimental horrorscapes to romantic dramas. His most recent projects include THE PASSION OF PAUL ROSS (currently in post-production), the companion piece/spiritual semi-sequel to his four-part grunge fantasy anthology, PINK COFFINS (1998), and THE BIG BAD (2011), a feature-length horror film he produced with his gotta/enk production partner, Jessi Gotta, and for which he won the Best Director award from the 2011 Maverick Movie Awards. Bryan is also the creator and curator of THE SINISTER SIX, an annual horror anthology series featuring six short films by six directors that screened in New York City over Halloween weekend through four installments (2006-2009), and the co-creator of PENNY DREADFUL, the highly acclaimed 12-episode supernatural stage serial that performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn, NY (2007-2009).
STEPHANIE COX-WILLIAMS (Producer/FX/Art Director) is an SFX/gore designer, fight choreographer, actor and director for independent theatre and film in New York. SFX/gore design credits include: Theatre – BAT BOY (New Jersey Institute of Technology); ROMEO & JULIET & ZOMBIES (Opera House Arts); FRANKENSTEIN UPSTAIRS (Gideon Productions); BLAST RADIUS (Gideon Productions); BREW OF THE DEAD II: OKTOBERFLESH (Dysfunctional Theatre); ZOMBIE WEDDING (R.C. Staab/Fringe NYC); MOTHERBOARD, DEATH VALLEY (AntiMatter Collective); THE BLOOD BROTHERS PRESENT… horror anthologies, THE LITTLE ONE (Nosedive Productions). Film – THEY WILL OUTLIVE US ALL (Inappropriate Films); HOUSE GUESTS, EVERMORE and MONDAY (SINISTER SIX MUST BE DESTROYED short film anthology); Assistant Effects/Make-up – ANNIVERSARY DINNER (A Jessi Gotta Film); and ZOMBIES: A LIVING HISTORY (The History Channel). Stephanie was named "NYC’s Queen of Gore" by the New York Press and "The Tom Savini of Off-Off Broadway" by the New York Times. She received a B.A. in Theatre, a Musical Theatre Conservatory degree and a Master of Arts in Educational Theatre. She was named a Person of the Year by nytheatre.com for 2011.
JANE ROSE (FX/Director,1880s) began pursuing her love of horror films and special FX with Brooklyn-based guerrilla film collective Reel Sweet Betty, back in the days when the desolate, empty lots of Williamsburg might pass for an abandoned graveyard or a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Her movies have screened at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, the Coney Island Film Festival, the Pretty-Scary Film Festival and as part of Bryan Enk’s SINISTER SIX series. Her short Lovecraftian film, THE STATEMENT OF RANDOLPH CARTER, was included in shorts anthology, The Horror of H.P. Lovecraft. During her Betty days, Jane discovered that she was handy with a blood pump and a bottle of latex and further pursued special FX makeup via classes at Makeup Mania, the School of Visual Arts and Combat Inc., in addition to gaining valuable knowledge from established makeup artists around NYC. Jane’s work has since been seen on The History Channel, The Today Show, Conan O’Brien, and in many local film and theatre productions. Her work on Jessi Gotta and Bryan Enk’s film THE BIG BAD won her Best Special Effects Makeup from the 2011 Maverick Movie Awards.
DOMINICK SIVILLI (Director of Photography) always keeps in mind one word while working on set: CINEMATIC. He has worked on feature films, commercials and music videos since 2006, with feature credits including THE SADIST, starring genre icon Tom Savini, and Jessi Gotta and Bryan Enk's gritty werewolf movie, THE BIG BAD. Other DP credits include the sci-fi epic HALO: HELLJUMPER; OUT OF HOME; GALLERY OF FEAR, PERFIDIA; CRESTFALLEN; PSYCHO STREET; CONTACT; SOMETHING JUST; and TASTE OF HONEY. Dominick loves new challenges and can take on any genre, starting out in horror films with Fangoria praising, "Sivilli's moody lighting ... creates a foreboding, creepy atmosphere," and Horror Review writing, "Actions speak louder than words ... and the brilliant cinematography and editing of a promising young force in the film business, Dominick Sivilli, make CONTACT the sharp film that it is."
MATT GRAY (Director,1900s) is a director, writer and producer based in New York City. He previously explored turn-of-the-century horror as the co-creator of the 12-part serialized period play PENNY DREADFUL, produced at The Brick Theater in Williamsburg, Brooklyn from 2007-2009, for which he wrote and directed several episodes. As the Producing Director of American Opera Projects, Matt has overseen development and production of dozens of concerts, workshops and premieres including AS ONE at BAM (2014); OUT COLD/ZIPPO SONGS at BAM (2012); and THE BLIND at Lincoln Center Festival (2013). At AOP, he directed the Philadelphia premiere of the Holocaust-themed multi-media opera DARKLING at Center City Opera Theater and several opera workshops including ABSYNTH (Galapagos Art Space), NUMINOUS CITY (Rubin Museum of Art) and the historical medical drama SEMMELWEIS (New York Academy of Medicine), for which he is also the librettist. BFA, North Carolina School of the Arts.
SHANNON K. HALL (Director,1920s) studied Theatre at the University of Vermont, and after graduating went on to be a company member in the inaugural season of Northern Stage Company. Then the ride began. She ran away with the Big Apple Circus and lived on the road for multiple tours, moved to Los Angeles and started working, sort of by accident, in post production for feature film and television ... and then moved back to New York City. 15 years later, she is a Post Production Manager at a major (and totally cool) television network.
REBECCA COMTOIS (Director,1960s) has been a New York based actress, producer and director since graduating from Vassar College in 2005. She founded the production company Broken Window Films in 2010, through which she has directed several short horror and comedy films, including HOUSE GUESTS and WE'RE ALL STORIES IN THE END. Rebecca has also worked as a producer on the web series CLEAN KILL and executive produced the feature film THEY WILL OUTLIVE US ALL, which was an Official Selection of the Leeds International Film Festival, Twin Cities International Film Festival and the Berlin Independent Film Festival, among others. In addition to her work in film, Rebecca is also an actress and producer with the New York-based theatre company, Gideon Productions.
with Taylor Bradshaw (Sound), Rebecca Comtois (Assistant Director: 1980s), Chris Connolly (Assistant Director: 1940s), J. Robert Coppola (Fight Choreographer), Karen Flood (Costume Designer), Alex Gavin (Camera Assistant), Jessi Gotta (Editor/Assistant Director: 1960s), Shannon K. Hall (Post Production Supervisor), Ben Jurin (Assistant Director: 1880s), Zac Kind (Gaffer), Sasha Larco (Sound), Mateo Moreno (Assistant Director: 1900s), Kevin R. Myers (Assistant Director: 1980s), Angela Ramdath (Hair & Makeup), Ashley Reid (Assistant Hair & Makeup), Timothy McCown Reynolds (Set Designer/Carpenter), DT Sheridan (Assistant Director: 1920s), Adam Swiderski (Fight Choreographer) and Stephanie Cox-Williams (Assistant Director: 1940s).
THE CAST
1880s:
Walter Brandes (Pa)
Kristen Vaughan (Ma)
Stephen Heskett (John)
Rebecca Gray Davis (Anna)
Robert Pinnock (Mr. Sweetak)
1900s:
Alyssa Simon (Anna)
John Amir (William)
Eric John Meyer (Frank)
Timothy McCown Reynolds (Mr. Pomeroy)
Rebecca Comtois, Mel DeLancey and Amanda LaPergola (Seance Attendees)
1920s:
Trav S.D. (William)
Victoria Anne Miller (Lillian)
Catrin Lloyd-Bollard (Minnie)
1940s:
Bob Laine (William, Jr.)
Christopher Yustin (Arthur)
Alec Shaw (Robert)
Harrison Unger (Gordon)
Alisha Spielmann (Norma)
Clara Pagone (Betty)
1960s:
Britt Lafield (Edgar)
Gavin Starr Kendall (Carl)
1980s:
Jessi Gotta (Lillian)
Nat Cassidy (Jay)
Jesse VanDerveer (Nicholas)
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