Woman (In Horror) Crush Wednesday: Jen and Sylvia, The Soska Sisters

As we all know, my Little Monsters, February only has 28 days or 29 when we happen to be in a leap year. And while Women in Horror Month officially ended yesterday, I’m going to buck the trend and add one more day…Just because I feel like it. Frankly I believe that the talented women in horror, or women in general for that matter, should be recognized and celebrated EVERY day of every month. So without further ado, lets get this show on the road.
The horror genre got it’s hooks into Jen and Sylvia at a very young age, and the movie responsible – Poltergeist. The precocious pair would also tear through Stephen King novels as quickly as they could get their eager little hands on them. And much like the rest of us genre fans, in the heyday of VHS and video stores, the impressionable pair would take pleasure in perusing the horror section of their local video store for the ideas that would ultimately inspire their creativity.
At the beginning of this pair’s foray into the the motion picture industry, they appeared primarily as extras  or faces in the background. They would also quickly find that there was an extreme sense of banality when it came to casting identical twins, and became disillusioned with the cliche roles offered to such distinctive siblings. Rather than dissuading the sisters from trying to achieve their goal, it emboldened them.
In order to bolster their skill set, Jen and Sylvia attended film school for a brief period. During this time they studied martial arts and took part in an intensive stunt training course. And when time came to make the film for their final project, the meager pittance they were budgeted to produce the the film was rescinded. Again they would NOT be denied, so with $2500 of their own money and an unbreakable will,  Jen and Sylvia made the film for their final project. OK, “made their film” doesn’t really say it. These two wrote, directed, produces,  starred and even performed their own stunts in a little film they called Dead Hooker in a Trunk.
Unfortunately, despite their added experience, the two found themselves grappling with the difficulties that many women have experienced while trying to find work within the industry. But again the industry would find that they would NOT be denied,  and thus they formed heir own production company, the aptly named Twisted Twins Productions.
Since going out on their own in 2008 the twins have directed four feature films (including my personal favorite, American Mary), a segment of the horror anthology ABC’s of Death 2 and over a dozen short films. They also each have over 20 acting credits to their names, including most recently their stint as the wicked Masterminds of the horror themed, challenge based game show Hellevator. Their next big projecton the horizon for the duo is the highly anticipated remake of David Cronenberg’s 1977 film Rabid.
These ladies just happen to be big wrestling fans. Well, maybe not big, since they’re about 5′ 4″ a piece. Let’s just say they LOVE wrasslin’. And they even had the opportunity to direct on of their all time faves, Glenn “KANE” Jacobs, when he reprised his role of Jacob Goodnight in See no Evil 2.
Jen and Sylvia are also VERY avid comic book fans. A fact most people could probably gather from their lobbying to direct “The Merc with a Mouth” in Deadpool 2. Personally, I was really hoping for that one especially after their plans for a Painkiller Jane live action film are shelved for the moment. But despite that, in 2015 they got to realize a dream by getting to write a story for Marvel’s Secret Wars Journal #5, which featured the character “Night Nurse”. They got the chance to write for Marvel again, this time writing the story for Guardians of Infinity #8, which featured the “Guardians of the Galaxy” They have also created their own graphic novel, entitled Kill-Crazy Nymphos Attack!, with the help of Rob Dumo and Daniel Way. If we are extremely lucky the Soskas will get to direct Deadpool 3 should there be a third one (PLEASE LET THERE BE ONE!). Let’s all keep our fingers crossed that they might also get back to Jane in the not too distant future.
The Soska sisters are definitely a pair who have an affinity for blood and it shows. Every year the Twisted Twins make a short film PSA (that’s public service announcement to me and you, Rusty) during Women in Horror Month to raise awareness about the importance of blood donation. These ladies are also very outspoken on the subject of gender rights and show strong support for equality within the LGBT community.
There is so much more I could tell you all about these two amazing, warrior women, but I think that perhaps you owe it to yourselves to try and find out more about Jen and Sylvia on your own. I tell you what my Little Monsters, I’ll give you a hand. To find out any more about the Twisted Twins, you need only look for them on Facebook, Twitter, the Twisted Twins official site  or Jen and Sylvia’s official IMDb pages. Go…do it, do it NOW…these are two ladies you DON’T want to disappoint.