Cults! Sex! Murder! Love! Horny Teens! Occult! Punk Rock Music! Subculture! Wicked Wit! David Lago! Emus! Ocelots! Lohan-lookalike! Wiggy sh*t! Egyptian stuff! Dissidents! Masks! Nudity!
Music
Danny B. Harvey, Jenn Oberle, Chuck E. Weiss, Lo-Fi Sugar, Sharon Knight, Winter, Pigeon Brigade, David Lago and Chauntal Lewis
Movies
Wicker Man, Chinatown, Repulsion, Don't Look Now, Holy Mountain, Rosemary's Baby, Silence of the Lambs, Se7en, Fight Club, They Call Her One-Eye, The Fury, The Watcher in the Woods, The Howling, Blue Velvet
Television
The Twilight Zone, Red Shoe Diaries
Books
The Mists of Avalon, The Count of Monte Cristo
Heroes
Lynch, Roeg, Carpenter, Polanski, Cohen, Jodorowski, Tarantino, Russell
The Commune - feature film World Premiere at the prestigious DANCES WITH FILMS festival! JUNE 5, 2009 in the coveted 11:45 pm cult movie slot!! LA Sunset Laemmle 5!!!! view more
"Dark ... follows in the footsteps of classic 70s thrillers." - Paul W. S. Anderson, writer/director Resident Evil, Event Horizon, Alien Versus Predator, Death Race
"Really disturbing. Unconventional. Raw. Reminds me of Larry Cohen's work. David Lago is great." - Katt Shea, writer/director Poison Ivy, The Rage: Carrie 2, The List
"What THE WICKER MAN remake should have been if it had any balls at all. A creepy insight into the dangers of religious extremism and the control of female sexuality. Beautiful, haunting, but relatable and terrifying." - Heidi Martinuzzi, Pretty/Scary
"THE COMMUNE takes hold of you in the first few minutes with its jaw-dropping opening and then refuses to let you go. Chauntal Lewis has definitely made a fan out of me with her strong yet vulnerable performance. This movie does not disappoint for any horror fans who are looking for an entertaining plot, engaging style and a good scare. I expect to see much more from Lis Fies after this one." - Brea Grant, actor, Daphne/Speedster on Heroes, Halloween 2
"Fresh and frightening. Loved it. Superb directing; really right on. Jenny and Puck had great chemistry. A cult film: innovative and wonderfully compex." - Tasha Hardy, producer, Star Trek New Voyages "World Enough and Time" winner TV Guide Award, Hugo nomination
"Producer/Writer/Directer Elisabeth Fies and Emmy-Winner David Lago come into the studio and nearly burn the place down as they answer questions about their latest film, THE COMMUNE...... This film is a WILD psychological thriller with a surprise ending that you will NEVER forget!!!! Be sure to see this one!" - Kip Brown, In the Can, LA Talk Radio
"THE COMMUNE is uncomfortable in the best possible way -- igniting revulsion -- but forcing you to keep watching as its sordid tale unfolds." - Bill Cunningham,Pulp 2.0
"Writer-Director Elisabeth Fies's The Commune recalls the golden age of 1970s filmmaking with its tawny subversiveness and silken grindhouse texture. Indeed, The Commune details the twisted journey of a glittery beauty (think the Candice Rialson classic Pets, only in reverse) and the film's mythical mysteries recall the energy of such mainstream horror offerings as The Sentinel, Audrey Rose, Rosemary's Baby and Burnt Offerings.
Fies works with a dreamy unease and subtle power. The true horror of the piece does not kick in until the final moments, but Fies rewards the patient among us with quirky characterizations, bizarre encounters and intense sexuality. Much like Lana Turner in 1941's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Chauntal Lewis supplies (a slightly petulant) angelic glow as Jenny. Lewis uncovers the layers of Jenny's dreamy adolescence and its visible cracks and she is well met by David Lago's sexy, Goth friendly Puck. The tender eroticism the two elicit is well contrasted by the dark contrivances of co-stars Stuart G. Bennett and Adrian Lee, as Janny's forceful father and his quirky commune muse." - Brian Kirst, The Horror Society
"Classic storytelling of a difficult and important subject; told with grace, class, and intelligence."
- Michael Conley, President, Conley Communications
UNDER 25 WORDS LOGLINE: A young virgin finds herself isolated in a remote commune of religious "family" members with a sinister agenda to ensure their supernatural survival.
LOGLINE: THE COMMUNE is a heady mix of myth and mystery, featuring a young virgin who finds herself isolated in a remote commune of religious "family" members with a sinister agenda to ensure their supernatural survival.
SHORT SYNOPSIS: The bastard child of THE WICKER MAN and Greek tragedy, THE COMMUNE is a heady mix of myth and mystery, featuring a young virgin who finds herself isolated in a remote commune of religious "family" members with a sinister agenda to ensure their supernatural survival. Tyro director Lis Fies deftly blends the tragic with the outrageous, painting her feminist motion picture with a bloody, psycho-sexual brush. Haunting imagery and symbolism underscore the horror of entrapment, sacrifice and familial dysfunction as Jenny (Chauntal Lewis) confronts the evil that is her father (Stuart G. Bennet ) and his new family. THE COMMUNE is uncomfortable in the best possible way -- igniting revulsion -- but forcing you to keep watching as its sordid tale unfolds.
PROJECT: Written and directed by Elisabeth Fies (associate producer of the Independent Spirit Award winner CONVENTIONEERS), produced by Heidi Hornbacher (screenwriting finalist CREATIVE SCREENWRITING MAGAZINE 2007). Edited and co-produced by industry stalwart Todd Miro. Stunning cinematography by Marc Shap, the John Toll of the Facebook generation, whom crews clamor to work with.
THE COMMUNE fuses psychological thriller elements of Polanski and Lynch, with the creeping oddness and gallows humor of CHINATOWN, BLUE VELVET, and Robin Hardy’s THE WICKER MAN.
The incredible chemistry and realism of the two teen leads brings a poignancy to their doomed romance not felt since Roeg’s DON'T LOOK NOW.
This gorgeously shot film grapples with family boundaries and coming of age in ways that won’t be soon forgotten, with a beginning and an ending that has test audiences gasping and swearing.
Told in the tradition of the great psychological thrillers of the 70s - films that got under an audience’s skin and made them think for their thrills.
THE COMMUNE has all the ingredients to be both an artistic and financial success. It tells a dark story with a sense of humor. It pulls influences from a long line of cinematic masterpieces. It plays on our primal fears and thrills us with a slowly creeping, twisting story with amazing insights about human behavior. It pulls in the audiences clamoring for the next BLAIR WITCH PROJECT or THE SIXTH SENSE, and delights them with stylistic choices and twists that fans of ANGEL HEART and Robin Hardy's THE WICKER MAN have been missing for years.
THE COMMUNE speaks with an unprecedented frankness about rape, incest and violence against women, as well as conservative America's penchant for throwing away the teen baby incubator. It also shines a light on the many catch-as-catch-can belief systems at large today masquerading as religions. The film serves as a deeper satire for the violence people justify with religion - a relevant topic in today’s geo-political climate and recent polygamist cult headlines.
The film is gorgeously shot, has smart and funny dialogue, and stars stellar actors in real humanitarian moments that make audiences care when disaster befalls them. It has references to Roeg, Lynch, Polanski, in a playful fun way without ripping them off. THE COMMUNE has an unexpected offbeat flavor and surprise ending that begs for repeat viewings – all the ingredients of successful cult films which have a long shelf life and generate festival buzz.
I am amazed by your trailer! God I want to work with you. And not just to be close to one of the sexiest women in Hollywood, but to work with the person who came up with this visuals.
