In 2014, she created the publishing imprint Spectacular Optical. Through this imprint she co-edited (with Paul Corupe) and published the anthology books KID POWER! (2014), Satanic Panic: Pop-Cultural Paranoia in the 1980s (2015), and Yuletide Terror: Christmas Horror on Film and Television (2017), as well as publishing Lost Girls: The Phantasmagorical Cinema of Jean Rollin (2017). Janisse has done the art direction and layout for all Spectacular Optical publications.

Home - House of Psychotic Women

High Priestess of Horror Kier-La Janisse has crafted the definitive encyclopedia of female neurosis as depicted in horror cinema and the many ways it paralleled her own trauma zones. Beautifully written, extremely well researched and lush with gorgeous film stills and posters – a masterpiece." Both cuts of Footprints (Italian and U.S.) are presented in 1080p with handsome presentations sourced from 4K scans of the original camera negatives. Flipping between both cuts didn’t reveal any big visual differences between the two. Both look terrific and may be the best-looking transfers of the bunch, although that can probably be attributed to the shape of the source materials. Grain looks remarkable, not surprising given the use of the OCN for the scan, and not much damage can be found throughout. Those sun-blanched colors so native to Italy are shown beautifully here, especially in the seaside sequences.

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Fascinating, engaging and lucidly written: an extraordinary blend of deeply researched academic analysis and revealing memoir.” In a very unsurprising move, Severin Films and Kier-La Janisse have bestowed this release with a long list of newly produced and archival features to not only add context to the films being presented but further the conversation about these rarities to keep them alive. Of the many interviews, commentaries and other supplements included, I do want to call out a newly produced 68-minute interview with Vittorio Storaro that’s included with the Italian Cut of Footprints. This interview is truly exhaustive, showcasing just how much of a talented workman Storaro started his career as and just continued to grow from there. His agility in the Italian film industry made him a huge asset to many American filmmakers, yet the man knows how to tell a good story with the best of them. it becomes apparent that watching these films, and writing about them, is an act of solidarity in and of itself; a provocative means of dispelling the threat their subject matter poses to us. I also think that my interest in them…is a vicarious means of revenge for what my mother experienced in front of me all those years ago.

Kier-La Janisse - Wikipedia Kier-La Janisse - Wikipedia

The last disc once again starts off with an introduction by Kier-La Janisse. This one runs for nine minutes and covers Jane Arden's career, how Janisse came to know of the film, the film's depictions of psychiatry, her thoughts on the movie after seeing it for the first time going in blind, the stage play that Arden worked on that inspired the movie, how the movie is the only British film on record to have been directed by a woman in the seventies, the collaborative nature and energy in the movie, the use of LSD on set and what she's learned about the movie since including it in her book. The film was released theatrically in its native Spain in August 1974 as Los Ojos Azules de la Muñeca Rota. The film was released theatrically in the United States by Independent-International Pictures in April 1976 as House of Psychotic Women. In the most criminally underseen giallo of the ‘70s, Florinda Bolkan (A LIZARD IN A WOMAN’S SKIN, FLAVIA THE HERETIC) stars as a freelance translator who wakes one morning missing all memory of her past three days. But will a trail of odd clues lead her to a place where perception and identity are never what they seem? Nicoletta Elmi (DEEP RED), Evelyn Stewart (THE SWEET BODY OF DEBORAH), Lila Kedrova (THE TENANT) and Klaus Kinski co-star in this “visually stunning gem” ( Mondo Digital) – also known as FOOTPRINTS ON THE MOON – directed by Luigi Bazzoni (THE FIFTH CORD) with cinematography by three-time Oscar® winner Vittorio Storaro (THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE), now scanned in 4K from the original camera negatives. She contributed to Destroy All Movies!! The Complete Guide to Punks on Film ( Fantagraphics, 2011), Recovering 1940s Horror: Traces of a Lost Decade (Lexington, 2014) The Canadian Horror Film: Terror of the Soul ( University of Toronto Press, 2015) and We Are the Martians: The Legacy of Nigel Kneale (PS Press, 2017). Next up is 1985 vampire horror comedy I Like Bats, directed and co-written by Grzegorz Warchol. The film presents itself a gothic horror film with the free visual style popularized during the Polish New Wave. Or rather, it’s presented in a style that apes the conventional trappings of American horror and comedy productions, but done with such aesthetic transgression towards those productions that it becomes its own thing. Simply, just see it. It follows the life of a single young female vampire Izabela (Katarzyna Walter), who loves to feed on the various suitors and sleazebags that enter her orbit. But soon she meets the man that has her feeling a different thirst, a romantic one! This is perhaps the best discovery in this set and is indicative of the kind of essential curation that is offered throughout the set. I truly cannot recommend watching it enough.This is a highly idiosyncratic book combining film scholarship with autobiography, in which author Kier-la Janisse uses examples from horror movies involving "crazy" women to illustrate an account of her own turbulent life, particularly her relationship with her mother. Janisse is fearless in her self-examination, and often seems determined to portray herself in the most unflattering terms possible. Her writing is strong and blunt, and the autobiographical elements are fascinating. In addition, her knowledge of horror film history runs very deep and her critical faculties are extremely sharp, so that I found myself wanting to see every single movie she discussed. Full Book Name: House of Psychotic Women: An Autobiographical Topography of Female Neurosis in Horror and Exploitation Films Marnie; Born Innocent; Christiane F.; Streetwise; A Lizard in a Woman's Skin; Footprints; Nabi: The Butterfly; La nuit des traquées; Love Me Deadly; Nekromantik Trance; May; The Collector; Out of the Blue; Don't Deliver Us from Evil; Alucarda; Cutting Moments; In My Skin For those of you who have already read House of Psychotic Women, the massive exploration of female neurosis in horror and exploitation films, then you may already be familiar with a couple of titles in this new box set. I’d be remiss not to mention that each film in this set offers its own unique representation of female madness, perfectly coupled to the book but also giving added weight to Janisse’s exacting analysis. And if you haven’t received the hint already, all four films contain the kind of confrontational imagery that the book excelled at depicting both visually and mentally.

HOUSE OF PSYCHOTIC WOMEN PIONEERING HORROR MEMOIR “HOUSE OF PSYCHOTIC WOMEN

Finishing up the extras are a trailer for the feature, opening and closing titles for the alternate The Driver’s Seat version, menus and chapter selection options. She divides that fear into its yin and yang: “My fear is either that I’m insane and I don’t know it, or that everybody else is going to decide that I’m insane.” One of the new titles added is Steven Soderbergh’s paranoid thriller “Unsane,” in which Sawyer (Claire Foy) is committed to a mental hospital after being driven to desperation by a stalker.strong>FOOTPRINTS (93 mins: U.S. Cut/96 mins: Italian Cut/1.85:1/English Mono/CC, Italian Mono/English Subtitles) In 2019 and 2020, Janisse appeared as a guest speaker on the AMC series Eli Roth's History of Horror. [28] Jimmy McDonough, author of The Ghastly One: The 42 nd Street Netherworld of Director Andy Milligan and Shakey: Neil Young’s Biography People love this book. Why? It talks about life and art in an unusual, provocative way. Kier-La Janisse doesn’t kid around. For her, movies are a matter of life and death. House of Psychotic Women is an original, singular creation. Nothing like it existed before and certainly nothing since. Cherish this book, argue with it, throw it against the wall. But let it get under your skin... invade your bloodstream. It may change you.” Janisse's twin obsession with psychological horror and bloody gore reminds me of an awkward exchange from "Siskel & Ebert" that is frequently quoted in my household:

House of Psychotic Women: An Autobiographical [PDF] [EPUB] House of Psychotic Women: An Autobiographical

Of course, it’s easier to appreciate the combustible power of Carrie White from a safe distance, with a screen between us and the flames she unleashes. “Faced with neurosis in film or literature, we want to investigate rather than avoid,” Janisse wrote in the introduction to “House of Psychotic Women,” and ten years on she tells IndieWire that she somewhat shot herself in the foot there. “I wrote a book about women and mental illness and this has resulted in a lot of women with mental illnesses wanting to talk to me. They’re like, ‘You’re one of us,’ but the problem is that I’m terrified of other people who are like me.” In 2003, she founded the Bloodshots 48-Hour Filmmaking Challenge, an annual independent filmmaking contest in Vancouver that ran until 2012. An expanded, tenth anniversary edition is now available. The text of the memoir remains unchanged, but the new copy comes with an updated preface and one hundred new films in the appendix, including " Always Shine" (2016), " Braid" (2018), and " Raw" (2017). You don't need to rush out and buy an updated copy if you already own one from 2012, but definitely grab this 2022 version if you're buying for the first time or need to replace a copy that's been beaten to shit over the years. "Always Shine" is one of those movies where the vibes are immaculate. House of Psychotic Women is for the horror aficionado as well as the horror curious. Janisse weaves her own life into an intensely personal exploration of the genre, challenging the reader to reconsider the films in all of their complexity. I devoured this compelling, surprising, and moving book.”In 2017, she began working with Severin Films as an editor and producer for their special features. This collaboration led to Janisse’s first feature as director/producer, Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror, which premiered at SXSW 2021 and won the Midnighters Audience Award. In 2020 Janisse co-produced the documentary feature Tales of the Uncanny with David Gregory of Severin Films, interviewing over 60 filmmakers, critics and scholars about the history of the horror portmanteau film. The documentary premiered at Wales' Abertoir Film Festival in October 2020. [26] What I love most about this book is how well it works for casual viewers and horror fanatics alike. Janisse has an encyclopedic knowledge of horror that provides her the ability to pull obscure references and make challenging connections; however, she never leaves the reader in the dark, always providing enough context for anyone to follow along. In 2020, she began the podcast A Song From the Heart Beats the Devil Every Time, expanded from a proposed book project about cult kids film and television from 1965-1985. The podcast’s name is derived from the 1978 Nelvana Halloween special The Devil and Daniel Mouse, which is the subject of its first episode.