‘Trauma, or Monsters All’ Sets November Release

Larry Fessenden is bringing the monsters back together. Trauma, or Monsters All, the veteran filmmaker’s latest feature, will open theatrically in New York on 4 November before expanding to Los Angeles and other markets, with Dark Sky Films also setting a nationwide VOD release for later in the month.

The 119-minute film brings together the vampire, Frankenstein creation and werewolf threads that have run through Fessenden’s earlier work, including Habit, Depraved and Blackout, folding them into a new story about memory, guilt and the damage communities choose to bury.

Leading the film is Cassandra, played by Laëtitia Hollard, a visiting writer who arrives in the quiet upstate town of Talbot Falls to research a book on George Washington Carver. While working at the local library alongside new friend Agnes, played by Aitana Doyle, Cassandra publishes an article exposing disturbing elements of the town’s past.

That investigation proves less academic than expected. As secrets begin to emerge, so do figures that would be familiar to anyone who has followed Fessenden’s career, with a werewolf, vampire and Frankenstein-like creation forcing Talbot Falls to reckon with generations of fear and suppressed trauma.

The cast includes Hollard and Doyle alongside Addison Timlin, Alex Hurt, Alex Breaux, John Speredakos, Marc Senter, Micheál Neeson, Joshua Leonard, Barbara Crampton, James Le Gros and Fessenden himself. Emily Bennett and Toby Poser also appear.

“I’ve spent my career reimagining classic monsters because they reveal something deeply human about us,” said Fessenden. “Trauma, or Monsters All brings those stories together into one film about memory, identity, and the wounds we carry.”

The release continues a long-running relationship between Dark Sky Films and Fessenden’s Glass Eye Pix. Their shared history stretches back nearly two decades and includes titles such as Ti West’s The House of the Devil and The Innkeepers, alongside Stake Land, Late Phases, Bitter Feast and Fessenden’s own Blackout.

Ahead of the new film’s release, IFC Center will also host Optic Nerve: A Tribute to Glass Eye Pix from 28 October, a seven-film retrospective celebrating the production company’s 40th anniversary and Fessenden’s wider body of work.

The New York opening of Trauma, or Monsters All at IFC Center will include special cast appearances and a Q&A, while the film will also screen at Lumiere Music Hall in Los Angeles before moving into additional markets.

Trauma, or Monsters All opens at IFC Center in New York on 4 November 2026, with further theatrical dates to follow and nationwide VOD available from 24 November.

Trauma, or Monsters All trailer