Horror Movie THE CURSE OF WILLOW SONG Releases Sept 26
Karen Lam‘s highly-anticipated The Curse of Willow Song, starring Jennifer Body’s Valerie Tian, has been picked up by Uncork’d Entertainment. The horror pic, receiving great early buzz thanks to its strong special effects, will release on both digital and DVD formats in the fall.
“The Curse of Willow Song has so much to offer. It will appeal for the genre audience but also the Asian community – as represented in front of and behind camera”, said Keith Leopard, President Uncork’d Entertainment. “Karen Lam is truly one of the most exceptional filmmakers out there, and The Curse of Willow Song reiterates that.”
Willow Song, a recovering addict and parolee, struggles to start over. Willow finds herself in a concrete wasteland. Facing isolation and displacement, shadows creep into Willow’s mind and her nightmares become too real.
Statement from the Director, Karen Lam:
When I first wrote the novella and subsequent screenplay for The Curse of Willow Song, there was no way to know that the world would be so utterly transformed two years later. The global pandemic has shaken our lives to the core — and the economic stability that sedated most of us is starting to crumble. Amidst all of chaos, we are finally having frank discussions about systemic racism, about racial inequality, and the tensions of being an immigrant nation governed under white social systems, all while living on stolen land. The Curse of Willow Song serves as my first foray into the cultural discussion of the Asian experience in North America. So many of our cultural stories document the working class immigrant perspective — whereas the focus of my personal experience centers around the unease over wealth disparity. The open hostility and racial tensions targeting the Chinese community has only been exacerbated by the current pandemic culture.
Set in urban Vancouver, the film explores the underlying perception that a new monied class of Chinese immigrants has invaded the city and taken over precious resources, by buying up houses, driving up prices, and dealing in luxury goods and cars — all paid for in cash. It is this anger and hostility that fuels the underlying message of the film. Are the welcoming arms of our Western countries only reserved for those Chinese and Asian immigrants who stay in their own lanes? With the world struggling for ever diminishing resources, how much more anger will be directed towards Chinese communities as the American system (from whom we all take our cues) spirals and diminishes from this social and economic upheaval?
When I directed this film and set it against an almost apocalyptic backdrop of unfinished condos, empty of people, I had no idea how prescient it would come to be. The character of Willow is left alone in an empty warehouse, haunted by her dark dreams and hallucinations, much like those we are collectively experiencing in today’s world of social isolation. The film, shot in graphic black and white, and the systems that the title character Willow Song reflect the very injustices we are discussing at this very moment.
The Curse of Willow Song will release on Digital and DVD September 26, 2023.
