Kier-La Janisse

Kier-La Janisse

Birth : , Winnipeg, Canada

History

Kier-La Janisse (1972-) is a Canadian film writer, programmer and producer, founder of international horror school The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies and author of A Violent Professional: The Films of Luciano Rossi (FAB Press, 2007) and House of Psychotic Women: An Autobiographical Topography of Female Neurosis in Horror and Exploitation Films (FAB Press, 2012). Her first feature film as director/producer, Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror is due out from Severin Films in 2021.

Profile

Kier-La Janisse

Movies

The Devil Down Under: Satanic Panic in Australia from Rosaleen Norton to Alison's Birthday
Narrator
A video essay about satanic panic in Australia from Rosaleen Norton to Alison's birthday,based on Alexandra Heller- Nicholas's chapter of the same name from the book "Satanic Panic : pop cultural Paronia in the 1980s".
Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror
Self
Explores the folk horror phenomenon from its beginnings in a trilogy of films – Witchfinder General, Blood on Satan’s Claw and The Wicker Man – through its proliferation on British television in the 1970s and its culturally specific manifestations in American, Asian, Australian and European horror, to the genre’s revival over the last decade.
Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror
Writer
Explores the folk horror phenomenon from its beginnings in a trilogy of films – Witchfinder General, Blood on Satan’s Claw and The Wicker Man – through its proliferation on British television in the 1970s and its culturally specific manifestations in American, Asian, Australian and European horror, to the genre’s revival over the last decade.
Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror
Producer
Explores the folk horror phenomenon from its beginnings in a trilogy of films – Witchfinder General, Blood on Satan’s Claw and The Wicker Man – through its proliferation on British television in the 1970s and its culturally specific manifestations in American, Asian, Australian and European horror, to the genre’s revival over the last decade.
Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror
Director
Explores the folk horror phenomenon from its beginnings in a trilogy of films – Witchfinder General, Blood on Satan’s Claw and The Wicker Man – through its proliferation on British television in the 1970s and its culturally specific manifestations in American, Asian, Australian and European horror, to the genre’s revival over the last decade.
Blood In The Streets: The Quinqui Film Phenomenon
Producer
Quinqui cinema encompassed a series of Spanish crime films with a unique national sensibility, as they reflected the times of the Franco dictatorship transition. Guided by academics Mery Cuesta and Tom Whittaker, this featurette explores this explosive subgenre.
Blood In The Streets: The Quinqui Film Phenomenon
Director
Quinqui cinema encompassed a series of Spanish crime films with a unique national sensibility, as they reflected the times of the Franco dictatorship transition. Guided by academics Mery Cuesta and Tom Whittaker, this featurette explores this explosive subgenre.
Tales of the Uncanny
Producer
David Gregory and Kier-La Janisse take a detailed look at the history of horror anthology films with the help of more than sixty writers, genre specialists, and members of the film industry.
Tales of the Uncanny
Self
David Gregory and Kier-La Janisse take a detailed look at the history of horror anthology films with the help of more than sixty writers, genre specialists, and members of the film industry.
S.W.A.L.K. II
Writer
John Galliano, Nick Knight and SHOWstudio continue their creative partnership, revealing the Maison Margiela S/S 21 co-ed collection. S.W.A.L.K first began with the opening up of the Margiela Atelier, following the creation of the A/W 20 artisanal collection. This second chapter revives a distant memory of tango dancers in Buenos Aires, whilst realising a bewitching proposal for the marriage of the Maison's artisanal and ready-to-wear lines via a fashion film cum documentary and a series of stills.
From the Woods to the Cosmos: John Leman Riley on the History of Soviet Fantasy and Sci-Fi Film
Producer
Documentary tracing the history of Soviet fantasy and sci-fi films. Included on Severin's release of Viy.
From the Woods to the Cosmos: John Leman Riley on the History of Soviet Fantasy and Sci-Fi Film
Editor
Documentary tracing the history of Soviet fantasy and sci-fi films. Included on Severin's release of Viy.
From the Woods to the Cosmos: John Leman Riley on the History of Soviet Fantasy and Sci-Fi Film
Director
Documentary tracing the history of Soviet fantasy and sci-fi films. Included on Severin's release of Viy.
Tights Worship: Inside the Practices of The Rita
Producer
The film traces Sam McKinlay’s early days as a punk skateboarder through his academic development as a conceptual artist into a highly esteemed noise practitioner whose work bridges the gap between the gallery world and the sleaze of exploitation film imagery. It documents the physical processes of his work and the distillation of visuals into sound, most notably addressing the appeal of abstraction—from the cheap effects of old monster movie makeup to the ‘masks’ created by the heavy cosmetic makeup of 1920s flapper culture and actresses like Pamela Stanford in Jess Franco’s Lorna the Exorcist (The Rita has albums or EPs named after several eurotrash actresses, including The Nylons of Laura Antonelli (2009) and Monica Swinn/Pamela Stanford (2016)).
We Always Find Ourselves in the Sea
Executive Producer
A windswept ghost story set on England's southeastern coast.
Raw, Rough and Rabid: The Lacerating Legacy of Cinépix
Herself
A featurette looking back at the early years of the celebrated Canadian production company, including interviews with author Kier-La Janisse and special make-up artist Joe Blasco.
Parasite Memories: The Making of 'Shivers'
Self
"Parasite Memories" is a brand new retrospective piece on the film produced by High Rising Productions with lively contribution from effects artist Joe Blasco, actresses Lynn Lowry and Barbara Steele, actor Allan Kolman, and Canadian critic Kier La-Janisse.
Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's “Island of Dr. Moreau”
Self
The story of the insane scandals related to the remake of “Island of Dr. Moreau” —originally a novel by H. G. Wells—, which was brought to the big screen in 1996. How director Richard Stanley spent four years developing the project just to find an abrupt end to his work while leading actor Marlon Brando pulled the strings in the shadows. Now for the first time, the living key players recount what really happened and why it all went so spectacularly wrong.
Eurocrime! The Italian Cop and Gangster Films That Ruled the '70s
Producer
A documentary concerning the violent Italian 'poliziotteschi' cinematic movement of the 1970s which, at first glance, seem to be rip-offs of American crime films like DIRTY HARRY or THE GODFATHER, but which really address Italian issues like the Sicilian Mafia and red terrorism. Perhaps even more interesting than the films themselves were the rushed methods of production (stars performing their own stunts, stealing shots, no live sound) and the bleed-over between real-life crime and movie crime.
Celluloid Horror
Herself
Celluloid Horror explores Kier-La Janisse's tireless crusade to bring obscure cult horror film to the masses through her independently run international film festival.
Terminal City Blues — Vancouver Onscreen In Out of the Blue
Writer
A video essay discussing the Vancouver shooting locations in Dennis Hoppers's Out of the Blue. Included as a special feature for the Severin Films DVD release.
Terminal City Blues — Vancouver Onscreen In Out of the Blue
Producer
A video essay discussing the Vancouver shooting locations in Dennis Hoppers's Out of the Blue. Included as a special feature for the Severin Films DVD release.