Matt Farley and Charles Roxburgh have been making films under the Motern Media banner that truly embody the independent spirit for the entirety of the 21st century. Their backyard-style productions star a recurring ensemble of locals from their small Massachusetts hometown, creating a cinematic world of New England eccentricities that has continued to build upon itself over the last two decades. As the creative team has grown older and Matt’s music career has flourished, their films have seemed to mature from the monster movie homages that they perfected with Don’t Let The Riverbeast Get You! into more personal, touching films with more dramatic fulfillment. However, Farley and Roxburgh will never let you get settled into what appear to be trends in their filmmaking, and 2023’s Boston Johnny was quite possibly their goofiest venture yet. Get ready to meet your latest film obsession.
The peak of Motern Media’s monster movie period, Don’t Let the Riverbeast Get You!, is a hilarious creature feature about a tutor (Farley) attempting to prove the existence of the deadly Riverbeast to his local community. Professional Athlete Frank Stone, Muckraking Journalist Sparky Watts, Sheriff Paultique Hanson, and an assortment of unsuspecting Picnic Babes are just some of the memorable characters that you will learn to love in this idiosyncratic horror-comedy that boasts dialogue as overly verbose as its title and a lovingly rendered monster suit for the Riverbeast itself.
dir. Charles Roxburgh, 2012
United States, digital projection
99 mins
7:30 PM DOORS
8:00 PM SCREENING