A long-time indie horror director discusses his love for genre films and his newest work “Blackout”. Fessenden started his production company in the 80s and has since been a pioneer of indie filmmaking, surfing the wave of digital revolution. However, he notes that financing and distribution have become increasingly difficult due to the lack of respect for small films and the changing industry landscape. He describes his approach to genre films as bringing naturalism and immediacy into the horror space, and how his latest film “Blackout” frames a classic creature-feature story in an indie drama way. The film focuses on a werewolf tale with a protagonist already struggling with addiction and personal issues, highlighting the intersection between horror and self-betrayal. Fessenden expresses his desire to make one more monster movie and hopefully pull it off, but also mentions a possible future project, a musical or Christmas movie.