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‘Student Body ’ class of horror being led by women, including Worcester’s Sandra Leviton
Richard Duckett
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Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK
In the thriller/horror movie “Student Body” (which became available for purchase on digital platforms like Amazon, iTunes, and Apple TV on Feb. 8), the chills are compounded by the claustrophobic setting of Allendale Preparatory High School.
Its privileged students are so well protected that it can be impossible to actually break out of the school when danger threatens. Which is what happens when five students who have stayed after school to play a prank find themselves suddenly being hunted down by a costumed, sledge hammer-wielding psycho with the school doors and windows all closed and smash proof, unlike their heads.
But on another level, “Student Body” is a breakout horror movie in a far more encouraging respect.
The film’s protagonist, student Jane Shipley (played by Montse Hernandez), the writer, director and co-producer Lee Ann Kurr, and co-producers Rachel Liu and Sandra Leviton, are all women.
Leviton, who is originally from Worcester, has an extensive background in producing and development and is the founder of the Under The Stairs Entertainment production company, said she had been “looking for some strong projects, female-driven works.”
She likes horror films, and had seen an early draft of the screenplay for “Student Body” that Kurr, a writer and director whose background includes theater and short films, had sent to her.
Liu, a filmmaker and producer who also grew up near these parts in Massachusetts in Dover-Sherborn, said she met Kurr while working on another project and also got to read “Student Body.”
“I absolutely loved it. It felt so real to me, and so resonant,” she said.
Then Liu and Leviton met — they both now live in California — and there was a meeting of minds.
“I don’t know many other female producers in horror,” Liu said.
Leviton noted that she and Liu shared a taste for a lot of the same things, including appreciating the merits of the draft of “Student Body.”
“It spoke to me on so many levels,” she said.
Soon they were on a Zoom conference call with Kurr about “Student Body.” Kurr would direct and be a co-producer (her first full feature movie directing), with Liu and Leviton working together as producers for the first time.
“From our perspective we think there’s a really important message in this movie. We
Producers Rachel Liu,left, and Sandra Leviton on the set of “Student Body.” SUBMITTED
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want to promote women in horror,” Liu said.
“The cast and behind the camera. We really want people to see the film and recognize the talents of everyone,” she said.
“We’re extremely proud of our cast and crew, and our director who really worked well with our cast,” said Leviton.
In “Student Body,” Jane is a bright student but her intelligence, especially in solving math problems in class, is getting in the way of her relationship with her best friend since childhood, Merritt (Cheyenne Hayes).
Merrtitt acts cool, isn’t shy talking about her rich if apparently distant parents, and leads a small coterie of fellow students.
But when their math teacher, Mr. Aunspach (Christian Camargo), behaves weirdly to Jane and oversteps his bounds after class, Merritt pushes Jane into a reprisal that is further than Jane had really wanted to go.
Then, when Jane, Merritt and three other students are in school after hours alone, strange things start happening.
The tension slowly builds, and although “Student Body” isn’t a gore fest, characters are destined to meet violent ends. The film’s investment in having us sympathize and root for Jane makes her fate the most important outcome.
The performances are all credible, with Camargo (a familiar face from movies and TV such as “The Hurt Locker” and “Dexter”) having an air of latent menace. Hernandez (credits including NBC’s “Night Shift” and CW’s “Jane the Virgin”) sympathetically conveys what her character is thinking without clumsily appealing for sympathy.
And while the film is in the horror genre, the cast are able to elicit some laughs as an ensemble before the hammer hits.
“Student Body” is “The kind of film I wish I had been able to watch growing up,” Leviton said. “It’s scary, but it’s also not so scary that people are going to turn away from it. It’s having that connection to these characters.”
As producers, Liu and Leviton were “involved from the beginning, working with Lee Ann, helping the crew and cast,” Liu said. “There are so many people involved in making a movie. As producers we really help put that together. Figure out who the best people are for all the jobs. The creative side, logistic side. Making sure everything is a safe working environment.”
Leviton said, “Particularly on independent films like this one, we’re very intimately involved with the creative process. Whatever that means, that’s what we do. It’s a big job being a producer on something like this.”
“Student Body” was actually shot in Georgia pre-pandemic in 2019.
“Any film in general takes a long time (from filming to post-production),” Liu said. “This was complicated by the pandemic.”
The extra time was “used to our advantage” in refining the editing, Leviton said.
Now “Student Body” is finally in session as of Feb. 8.
“We want as many people possible watching it and enjoying it,” Leviton said.
“It’d be super awesome to see people dress up in Halloween costumes for our movie, and if anyone wants to share social media. We just want people to have fun with it,” she said.
Leviton said she grew up in the Tatnuck Square area of Worcester and went to Doherty Memorial High School before moving on to Worcester State University and then graduating from Emerson College in Boston. She is also a Tribeca Film Institute alum. Her brother, Andrew Leviton, was an associate editor on “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.”
“I got my first television producing jobs in Worcester, working for cable access channel WCCA, when I was in high school,” she said.
“I produced everything from music videos, celebrity interviews, to news packages, and even helped produce coverage of the Cold Storage fire in 1999 featuring Vice President Al Gore. One of the firefighters lost that day was Denis Leary’s cousin. Denis Leary’s activism in firefighter safety led him to co-create the Emmy nominated show, ‘Rescue Me’ on FX, which I eventually helped oversee (seasons 4-7) at the network when I worked in Development and Current Programming at FX.”
Her previous produced film, “ZONE 2,” stars Anne Ramsay (“A League of Their Own,” “Mad About You”) and is available on Shudder and Amazon via Etheria Season 2.
Liu went to Dover-Sherborn High School and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Bioengineering and Entrepreneurship. Then she produced her first feature film, “Sleepwalkers,” which won Indiewire’s Project of the Year.
Her debut feature film as a writer and director, “Abnegate,” is in post-production and she currently has projects in development with Cartoon Network and Adam F Goldberg Productions. She is a Sundance Collab Advisor and a twotime Tribeca Film Institute alum.
“Student Body” was the first time that Liu and Leviton worked together, and they evidently got along.
“Oh we hate each other,” Liu said.
“We got very very lucky that we were able to find each other and find Lee Ann in the process,” said Leviton.
More projects working together are likely. “Absolutely,” Liu said.
They may involve different genres (”I love horror, I love thrillers,” Leviton said), and a different location.
“We’re both on the lookout for projects to work on back home,” Leviton said of Worcester and Dover-Sherborn.
“It’s such a great place to shoot.”
A scene from “Student Body.” SUBMITTED PHOTOS
Montse Hernandez stars in “Student Body.”
Unholy Trinity
Volbeat, Twin Temple look ahead to DCU show with Ghost
Jason Greenough
Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK
For the better part of the past decade, Swedish metal phenoms Ghost and Danish rock quartet Volbeat have consistently upped their respective games through epic albums and heavy riffs in the studio, as well as mesmerizing stage performances in front of droves of devoted fans all over the world. Now, they’re making their way to our neck of the woods together to show us their latest evolution.
Bringing their co-headlining North American tour to DCU Center on Feb. 11, the doublebarred barrage of rock and roll will not only come fully loaded with the excitement that comes along with unleashing new music to a live crowd, as Ghost gears up for the March release of their upcoming full-length album "Impera," and Volbeat is still riding high on the release and reception of 2021’s "Servant Of The Mind," but also the pent-up energy of two bands that haven’t had the opportunity to do what they do best, and dazzle crowds with their unshakable stage presence and productions for the past two years.
It’s been quite the roller coaster to start the tour, as is the nearly universal vibe in the industry with the current everchanging nature of the pandemic, but night in and night out, the bands have delivered from top to bottom to give fans an undeniable barn-burner of an experience — but it’s truly three’s company that makes the whole night a well-rounded bacchanalia.
For Twin Temple, the “Satanic doo-wop” duo who answered the call to kick off every night of the tour with a mesmerizing spectacle of their own, the chance to hit the road and travel all along highway 666 with their good friends is simply a dream — or rather, a nightmare — come true.
“It’s a sacrilegious experience,” says frontwoman Alexandra James. “We’ve loved Ghost for a long time, and we got to play with them in Salt Lake City a few years ago, while also having the carnal pleasure of touring with Volbeat on a short run last year, so it’s like one big, evil, happy family on this tour.”
When it comes to making their way back to Massachusetts, and introducing their unique style to Wormtown, both James and her (creative and life) partner Zachary aren’t too sure what truly entices crowds to their music. Perhaps it’s the imagery of ritual goats and fresh blood, or their masterfully-crafted arrangements and lyrics that not only tout the styles of an often overlooked genre but also promote messages of inclusion, love and staying true to yourself. Whatever it is, Twin Temple have dialed it in with their desire to not only expose as many people as possible to Satanism, but also, perhaps equally as much, the oldies. Additionally, while they’ve ruffled quite a few feathers along the way by laying down the Beelze-beats, they’ve let the music speak for itself, and that in and of itself has worked wonders already.
Grammy Award-winning rock band Ghost will co-headline the DCU Center with
Volbeat. NATIONWIDE ARENA
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And then, of course, there’s Volbeat.
Wielding the ability to captivate their audience with a fire fueled by the rebel spirits of Johnny Cash and Lemmy, frontman Michael Poulsen is excited to make his way back to Worcester as part of this tour’s lineup with his trusty gang of rock and roll gunslingers by his side. With a renewed energy both as a result of the extended time away from the stage and the fresh batch of songs the band has brandished over the course of the first few dates of the cross-country trek, Poulsen is excited to share in the experience of live music with the band’s New England fans once again, and although there isn’t much intermingling between the bands backstage due to COVID protocols to keep their crews safe, Poulsen feels a definite connection with the other two powerhouses on the bill regardless, and has enjoyed the camaraderie and support within this unholy trinity from a distance.
“These are two great bands that we’re out here with, and the only sad thing about it is that everyone has to stay in their own bubbles at the arenas we’re playing,” says Poulsen. “Normally, we’d be hanging out, but everyone is staying behind closed doors in their dressing rooms, so we don’t really see each other all that much aside from maybe chatting if we meet up in the hallways, so that part is sad, but we really need to take care of each other on this tour, because there’s always another positive case, and it’s a huge challenge to make the puzzle right. So, even though we do want to hang out and get to know each other a little bit better, we just have to stay in separate spaces, but we do check each other's shows out, and we’re just happy that everyone wanted to do this and try this out, and every show so far as been great.”
While a brand new album often spells the next chapter of a band’s career, especially one that curates another No. 1 single (“Wait A Minute My Girl” is the band’s ninth chart-topper), the time in quarantine gave Poulsen both the optimum level of comfort and an extended opportunity to really reflect on the band’s bustling career and revisit the hard-driving and heavy sound that the band introduced themselves with years ago.
For Poulsen, there was a refreshing and undeniable feeling reminiscent of starting all over again attached to the new record, and while he and his bandmates had the opportunity to shake the rust off in a live setting last year, to have the opportunity to throw up the metal horns with their passionate fans once again is enough to keep them going, night after night.
“It’s all about the crowd, and being out there with our fans,” says Poulsen. “Walking out on stage and getting into the set, and seeing those happy faces out in the crowd, that’s the greatest gift to us when we’re on stage, so I’m really looking forward to that.”
Twin Temple PHOTO COURTESY HARRY EELMAN
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