The Conjuring leads the 2013 Fright Meter Award nominations with thirteen. The official nominations were announced today and were selected by the Fright Meter Awards committee, a diverse group of horror fans, which include bloggers, directors, actors, etc. You can log on to www.frightmeterawards.com for more details.

BEST HORROR MOVIE

American Mary

The Conjuring

Evil Dead

Maniac

You’re Next

BEST DIRECTOR

Fede Alvarez (Evil Dead)

Chan-wook Park (Stoker)

Jen Soska & Sylvia Soska (American Mary)

James Wan (The Conjuring)

James Wan (Insidious: Chapter 2)

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Jeffrey Combs (Would You Rather)

Matthew Goode (Stoker)

Patrick Wilson (The Conjuring)

Patrick Wilson (Insidious: Chapter 2)

Elijah Wood (Maniac)

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Vera Farmiga (The Conjuring)

Katharine Isabelle (American Mary)

Jane Levy (Evil Dead)

Sharni Vinson (You’re Next)

Mia Wasikowska (Stoker)

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Rob Corddy (Warm Bodies)

Epy Kusnandar (V/H/S/2)

Ron Livingston (The Conjuring)

Lou Taylor Pucci (Evil Dead)

Rhys Wakefield (The Purge)

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Nicole Kidman (Stoker)

Julianne Moore (Carrie)

Isabelle Nelisse (Mama)

Tristan Risk (American Mary)

Lili Taylor (The Conjuring)

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST PERFORMANCE

American Mary

The Conjuring

Evil Dead

Insidious Chapter 2

Stoker

BEST SCREENPLAY

American Mary

The Conjuring

Insidious Chapter 2

John Dies At The End

Stoker

BEST MAKEUP

American Mary

The Conjuring

Evil Dead

Frankenstein’s Army

V/H/S/2

BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS

Carrie

The Conjuring

Evil Dead

Insidious Chapter 2

World War Z

BEST SCORE

The Conjuring

Evil Dead

Insidious Chapter 2

The Lords Of Salem

Maniac

BEST EDITING

The Conjuring

Evil Dead

Maniac

Stoker

V/H/S/2

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

The Conjuring

Insidious Chapter 2

The Lords Of Salem

Maniac

Stoker

BEST HORROR SHORT FILM

Baby-Sitting

The Captured Bird

Familiar

Girl At The Door

Seance

“American Mary” is one of my most anticipated horror films of the year. It’s the second feature from sisters Jen and Sylvia Soska. The same duo behind the crazy film “Dead Hooker in a Trunk”. This is a change of pace from that film, as this is a more serious horror film.

The film follows Mary Mason (Katherine Isabelle) a broke medical student who has become more and more disillusioned with her teachings and everything that she liked about becoming a doctor. Then one day, she’s offered an opportunity to do a body modification on a person. This leads to easy money, which she needs. It sends her down a road into the dark world of underground surgery and body modification, which she may never get out of.

Going into this film, I thought it would live up to some of my expectations. Never did I think that this film would be very good enough to be consider as one of the best horror films of 2013, but it did. “American Mary” is one of those rare films that lives up to my expectations and then some.

The direction was very good. Jen and Sylvia Soska both did a very good job with the way that they handled the direction. They made the dark tone of the story work well on screen. From the dark images to the way that they handled their direction, the Soska sisters made everything feel dark and gloomy. Something helps makes this film interesting. But one of the two things that makes this film for me was the performances. The Soska sisters did a very good job with the way that they handle the performances. The performance help keep this film very interesting especially with the subject matter. They make sure the performances of each of the cast made their characters stand out from each other. It helped add to the weird tone of the film and also made them interesting as characters. This was a much more mature effort than their last film.

Speaking of the performances, they were very good. Katherine Isabelle is amazing as the lead character, best performance in horror film that I’ve seen this year. She makes her character very dark and gothic like. The performance helped the tone of the character work, as it made the character more interesting as the film went along.

This is easily her best performance since “Ginger Snaps” back in 2000. The film also has very good supporting performances from Antonio Cupo and Tristen Risk. Both of their performances also helps move the film, as they brought personality to their characters that keeps your interest.

Jen and Silvia Soska’s screenplay is the other thing that stood out for me. It felt original and didn’t feel like the carbon copy horror screenplay. They did a very good job with coming out with a story that had a serious tone while creating characters that stand out. It made the film have its identity. By doing that, it makes everything feel like something that you’ve haven’t seen before. The other thing that made the screenplay good was the way it develops it main character. It focuses on the character, as she goes into the very dark world of body modification and how it affects her and her state of mind. That’s done very effectively, as it makes you interested in the character considering all the twisted stuff that goes on during the course of the film.

“American Mary is clearly in the running along with “The Lords of Salem” as one of the best horror films of the year so far. With a great performance from Katherine Isabelle and very good direction from Jen and Sylvia Soska “American Mary” is a twisted and shocking horror film.

“American Mary” is available through various VOD platforms and in limited release.

Review Rating: Five Stars

XLrator Media recently released stills for their upcoming release on "American Mary. The film is the latest from "Dead Hooker in a Trunk" directors Jen and Sylvia Soska and stars Katharine Isabelle (‘Ginger Snaps’, ‘Insomnia’, ‘Freddy vs. Jason’), and Antonio Cupo (‘Bomb Girls’, ‘Dark Angel’, ‘Elegy’) star in the film. "American Mary" hits VOD platforms on May 16th and hits LA – Chinese 6, NY – Village East, Austin – Alamo Village, Chicago – Facets and San Diego – Digital Gym Cinema on May 31st.

Plot Synopsis:

From XLrator Media and IndustryWorks Pictures comes one of the most original, subversive and thought-provoking horror films of the year. American Mary tells the story of broke med student Mary Mason (Katharine Isabelle) who grows increasingly disenchanted with medical school and the doctors she once admired. The allure of easy money sends a desperate Mary through the messy world of underground surgeries that leaves more marks on her than her so-called freakish clientele... Smart, sexy, funny and stunning to look at, American Mary features a standout lead performance from horror icon Katharine Isabelle (‘Ginger Snaps’, ‘Insomnia’, ‘Freddy vs. Jason’), and notable performances by Antonio Cupo (‘Bomb Girls’, ‘Dark Angel’, ‘Elegy’), Paula Lindberg (‘Fringe’, ‘Supernatural’, ‘Iron Man the TV series’), David Lovgren (‘Masters of Horror’, ‘Supernatural’, ‘Stargate: Atlantis’) and newcomers Tristen Risk as the disturbingly loveable Beatress and Twan Holliday as Mary’s confidant, protector and bff Lance. A film not to be missed and what and reviewers are calling ‘A true Modern Day Horror’.

"American Mary": Official Trailer

A film that your truly has been looking forward to. Xlrator Media has send us over information and the official trailer for their upcoming release "American Mary" The film marks the second film from Jen And Silvia Soska, the duo behind "Dead Hooker in a Trunk". Katharine Isabelle (‘Ginger Snaps’, ‘Insomnia’, ‘Freddy vs. Jason’), and Antonio Cupo (‘Bomb Girls’, ‘Dark Angel’, ‘Elegy’) star in the film. "American Mary" hits VOD platforms on May 16th and hits LA – Chinese 6, NY – Village East, Austin – Alamo Village, Chicago – Facets and San Diego – Digital Gym Cinema on May 31st.

Plot Synopsis:

From XLrator Media and IndustryWorks Pictures comes one of the most original, subversive and thought-provoking horror films of the year. American Mary tells the story of broke med student Mary Mason (Katharine Isabelle) who grows increasingly disenchanted with medical school and the doctors she once admired. The allure of easy money sends a desperate Mary through the messy world of underground surgeries that leaves more marks on her than her so-called freakish clientele... Smart, sexy, funny and stunning to look at, American Mary features a standout lead performance from horror icon Katharine Isabelle (‘Ginger Snaps’, ‘Insomnia’, ‘Freddy vs. Jason’), and notable performances by Antonio Cupo (‘Bomb Girls’, ‘Dark Angel’, ‘Elegy’), Paula Lindberg (‘Fringe’, ‘Supernatural’, ‘Iron Man the TV series’), David Lovgren (‘Masters of Horror’, ‘Supernatural’, ‘Stargate: Atlantis’) and newcomers Tristen Risk as the disturbingly loveable Beatress and Twan Holliday as Mary’s confidant, protector and bff Lance. A film not to be missed and what and reviewers are calling ‘A true Modern Day Horror’.

"American Mary": Official Trailer

Jen/Sylv Soska recently send us information about another actress joining the cast of "American Mary' starring Katharine Isabel of "Ginger Snaps" fame.

Press Release:

Drink it in, boys and grrls. The incredible vision shown above is Leah Gibson, one of the leading ladies of our American Mary who will be joining Katharine Isabelle (Mary Mason) and Paula Lindberg (Ruby RealGirl).

If you can believe it, the talented miss Leah Gibson is even more breath taking in person and a rare case where the lady in question is every bit as beautiful on the outside as she is on the inside. We could not have asked for a more perfect fit for the role of Beatress Johnson. You may recall that we praised Leah as one of our inspirational Women In Horror this past February. Shame on you if you missed that entry, but we'll forgive you... just this once. Here's a taster...
"Leah Diane Gibson was born with her twin sister, Erin, in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. At the age of four, Leah was dancing and excelling. This would mark the start of her years of training and performing dance. Leah studied many forms of dance including: ballet, modern, contemporary/lyrical, jazz and broadway jazz.

Not only did she train her body, she trained her voice and would be singing from an early age. The interest in singing and dancing would bring her to musical theater - which she would also excel at. I'm not saying that the lady is a triple threat - actually, that's exactly what this talented artist is. On a personal note, she is one of the most beautiful human beings on the inside and out that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. You know the type of person that lights up a room with their presence? Well in that example, Leah would be a super nova."

Now good read the full piece and get your ass back here. It's cool, we'll wait. You can find it right here.

You will certainly recognize Leah from WATCHMEN, CAPRICA, and the TWILIGHT SAGA just to name a few. When we hinted back then that you should keep an eye on her, I'm sure you can now see why. And what can we say about the character she will be portraying, a role we feel she was quite literally born to play, Beatress Johnson? Well, I'm afraid our wicked lips are once again sealed.