Milicent (2020)

MILICENT 2020

A Night in the Mind of MILICENT PATRICK. A Mid-Century Monster Romp.

REVIEWS:

“Millicent Patrick was a costume designer whose most famous work was the Creature From The Black Lagoon.  This short film from Laurie Garner is both a tribute to Patrick’s imagination as well as an impressionistic look at the obstacles women working in the Hollywood film industry faced in the mid-20th century.” 

- https://brokeassstuart.com/2020/09/23/mr-holeheads-weird-and-warped-film-festival-begins/

“Next we look at Milicent; the tale of a woman being harassed at a 50’s era-tiki  bar by some real Mad Men style rubes. Good thing for her the things she draws come true… and monsters are her muse. Obviously (at least to the boils n’ ghouls that read my wicked words anyway) this is a fanciful look at Milicent Patrick; the un-sung genius who created universal’s iconic Gill-man featured in the Creature From the Black Lagoon trilogy.

Created by writer/director Laurie Garner, and shot on 16mm film, Milicent is full of lurid color, plus it has an ass-kicking, drink slinging, Gill-man! It’s a fun, bite-sized treat featuring a legend of the horror biz, and I loved every second of it!”

• Review from HorrorFuel.com

“Having more depth despite its very brief running time is Laurie Garner’s “Milicent.”  The titular woman is 1950s costume designer Milicent Patrick.  Filmgoers familiar with 1950s science fiction will have seen her most famous creation The Creature From The Black Lagoon.

Garner’s glimpse at an evening inside Patrick’s mind takes place in a bar.  The designer’s there for a quiet drink and some inspiration.  But a trio of male louts see Patrick’s sitting alone as license to make very audible and visible lewd remarks about her.  Yet instead of anger, Patrick finds a far different outlet to express her feelings about the obnoxious trio.

Could “Milicent” be considered anti-male because the title character imagines the film’s other male characters as monsters?  Not really.  The Creature From The Black Lagoon costume put on the bartender gives him a sort-of nobility visibly lacking from the sexist and grotesque louts.  Also, such creature designs are a more creative response than fighting an unfortunately common bit of period male behavior.  The men who harassed Patrick without a second thought may be forgotten now.  But the costume designer and her work is fortunately still remembered.

• https://beyondchron.org/reviews-from-the-1st-mr-holeheads-warped-dimension-film-festival/

deerly beloved (2019)

We made this film with only 100 feet of 16mm film as part of the Kodak Film Lab Atlanta Challenge. We wanted to evoke the magic of classic silent films like those of Melies, and we took inspiration for our set from Reinhardt & Dieterle's 1935 "Midsummer Night's Dream".

REVIEWS:

"This brings us to writer, director, and editor Laurie Garner’s Deerly Beloved, a tale of a faun, Bigfoot… wait… and Krampus… double ‘wait’ with a splash of “what the fuck now”… and a Leprechaun… okay, what in the hell… aaaand it’s over.

Ever want to experience The Bard’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream by way of the Patterson–Gimlin film mixed with 90’s creature-feature insanity? Well Deerly Beloved is the film for you… and with a runtime of just over a minute, this is like a rabbit punch right to your monster kid sweet spot

An absolutely over-the-top injection of cryptid-based poetry, Deerly Beloved is a must see for those of us that grew up with Bigfoot and Wildboy and Masterpiece Theater.

Again, 5 Skulls doesn’t cover this awesomeness, but it’s all I've Got!" - HorrorFuel.com

LAURIE GARNER

A FILM DIRECTOR FROM ATLANTA GEORGIA.

SELECTED DIRECTOR CREDITS:

- “MILICENT” - 16mm Short Film. Writer, Director, Editor. 2020. Premiered at Atlanta Film Fest Kodak Film Challenge at Plaza Theater Drive-In July 2020. Sweden Film Awards Winner 2020 Best Director, Best Cinematographer, Best Actress Super Short Film July 2020. Official Selection & Screenings at Georgia Film Fest 2020, Mr. Hole Head’s Warped Dimension Film Fest 2020 (San Francisco), Oregon Short Film Fest 2020, Austin Micro Short Film Fest 2020, Solaris Film Fest 2020 (Nice, France), WIFTA Showcase (Atlanta).

- “Deerly Beloved” - 16mm Short Film. Writer, Director, Production Designer, Editor. 2019. Premiered at Atlanta Film Fest Kodak Film Challenge at Plaza Theater in Atlanta 2019. Official Selection & Screenings at Georgia Film Fest 2019, Mr. Hole Head’s Warped Dimension Filim Fest 2020 (San Francisco), Nashville Film Fest 2020, Spook Screen 2020 (Cork, Ireland).

- “Another Rudolph in the Wall (Part 2)” - Official Music Video/Short Film Released Dec 2018.

- "Siren Song Isle" - Short Film. Premiered at Buried Alive Film Fest Sinema Challenge in Nov 2017. Official Selection BLOW-UP · International Arthouse FILM FEST · Chicago 2018.

- "Love & Only Love" - Official Music Video for K. Michelle Dubois & Wicked Superb Records from her new album HARNESS. Released November 2018.

- “HOA” Ep.3 of SPY GAMES - An Episode of a Comedy Web Series. Premiered at Get Shorty Showcase at Relapse Theater in Atlanta 2019.

- "Julian Assange's Embassy Suite" - 9 Episode Comedy/Satire Web Series. 2019. Watch First Season at www.assangeembassysuite.com

- "Warhol Taught Me" - Official Music Video for K. Michelle Dubois & Wicked Superb Records Released in 2015.

- "The Rock-A-Teens Tour/Album Release Promo" - Official Tour/Album Release Promo for The Rock-A-Teens & Merge Records in Support of the 2014 Tour.

- "Blue Christmas" - Official Music Video for the Release of the Classic Christmas Favorite Performed by Laurie G-Force. 2014.

- "Sunglasses After Dark" Proof of Concept. 2018. TV Series Script & Novel Written by Nancy A. Collins.

***MEMBER of ALLIANCE of WOMEN DIRECTORS (AWD)***

SIREN SONG ISLE

FILM REVIEW: 

Director Laurie Garner’s Siren Song Isle is an effectively haunting short chiller with echoes of classic Rod Serling, although closer to his Night Gallery than his Twilight Zone, that concludes with a zinger finale more germane to Showtime’s Masters of Horror. The screenplay by Michael Stark (part of the creative team behind the Wolverton graphic novel) packs an impressive amount of story detail into the film’s 10-minute running time, and Garner keeps the action gliding along on eerie atmosphere and slow-building suspense until a couple of essential and shocking narrative details, coyly withheld during the film proper, are revealed throughout the end titles (one of them literally under a magnifying glass).

                  A highlight of Siren Song Isle is the standout performance by actor John Wilkins III, whose physical appearance suggests that The Evil Dead’s Bruce Campbell was somehow swallowed alive by Scrubs’ John C. McGinley. Wilkins portrays the mysterious proprietor of an oceanside antique store, where an unsuspecting window-shopper (K. Michelle Dubois) is drawn to a vintage necklace steeped deeply in the island’s local lore. His dialogue-heavy role is very much at the core of the story, and under Garner’s direction Wilkins makes the offbeat character at once disturbing, amusing, and compellingly charismatic. 

                  Other notable elements include special effects by Shane Morton (the horror guru behind Atlanta’s live Silver Scream Spook Shows), and a tastefully understated but extremely effective original music score – redolent with ominous piano notes – by Mauricio Carey. Dustin Diamond’s crisp cinematography serves the production well, making efficient use of reflections to establish setting and mood, most notably in a complex sequence where characters change identities within a mirror. Director Garner expertly coordinates all these assorted elements, making Siren Song Isle a film as haunting as the call of the ocean from inside a seashell.  – Gregory Nicoll 

LAURIE GARNER - PHOTOGRAPHY

Laurie Garner sees the world through her own lens. 

Her keen eye for composition plays well with her love of light and color,

as well as her infatuation with shapes of dark and light in black & white.