This month saw the release of #Horror (HashtagHorror), the directorial debut of actress and former Imitation of Christ designer, Tara Subkoff, a film that takes the conventions of traditional horror films and adds a very modern dimension – cyberbullying. Subkoff’s film casts Lydia Hearst and the initimable Chloë Sevigny, who plays Alex, a mother who finds her life besieged by murder and gore.
To celebrate Subkoff’s debut, PAPER Magazine’s latest issue "Fandemonium" features several actresses (Stella Schabel, Lydis Hearst, Annabella Dexter-Jones) shot in outfits inspired by slasher or creeper movies, with the inside story focussing on #Horror. The shoot was conducted in timely fashion – on Halloween – and one of our favourite actresses Chloë Sevigny recreates a look made iconic in 1976 when Sissy Spacek brought Stephen King’s telekinetic loner Carrie to the big screen.
“The absentee mother, I think that’s a character that reoccurs in horror films,” says Sevigny, who worked with Subkoff for her avant-garde fashion line Imitation of Christ. “It made my character not so sympathetic, but she has her own faults. She’s struggling with her addiction, and she’s damaged in her own way.”
Subkoff also reveals that #Horror was inspired by her own traumatic experiences with bullying. “I was bullied as a kid pretty intensely on the bus. I dreaded the bus,” she says. “But after the bus trip, I knew the bullying would be over. Now, it never ends. It’s always there. Even if you don’t look at your phone or online, you know that it’s still going on. It can last your entire life and affect you getting a job or getting into college.”
"Fandemonium" is out today.
