Parker Brennon’s first feature film, HAUNTOLOGY, heads to Fright Fest this weekend!
Hauntology (2024)
Jazmin takes her fearless runaway younger sibling Venus on a road trip and shares the most chilling tales surrounding their Ohio hometown. And each place they visit has its own ghost story and queer perspective: trans woman Julian casts a spell to become her ideal self but the dark spirit unleashed tries to invade her life; a troubled married couple find a love beyond the grave; an up-and-coming art gallery is forging paintings of a deceased artist with very bloody consequences; and a journalist secures an interview with the eccentric owner of a haunted Victorian mansion.
It’s rare that there are women of color fronting horror films, and it’s even more rare that the history, pain and trauma of women of color is explored within the film. Parker Brennon’s HAUNTOLOGY not only gives us all of that, but puts queerness front and center onscreen. Four individual stories float within the overarching tale of two sisters. Venus, who’s self-doubt and feelings of invalidation have her choosing to pull away from family, Jazmin, who’s trauma and pain has pushed her to depend on her little sister to fight her inner and outer demons.
We got to sit down with Parker to shed light on their inspiration for the film.
Mo Moshaty: There’s so much richness right away as we view the trailer, that this isn’t just a few ghost stories, its the exploration of family trauma and family bonds. Could you tell me where the inspiration for the main characters came from?
Parker Brennon (writer/director): Jazmin was the first character to come to life, inspired by Lindsey McDowell, who I met after being impressed by her work in the web series “MisSpelled.” Originally intended for Lindsey, Jasmine was later portrayed by Samantha Russell, with Lindsey taking another lead role. Venus (Jaidyn Triplett), was initially this blank slate, which evolved when I, as a non-binary person, infused aspects of my identity into the character. Over many drafts, Venus became more relatable, and the film’s stories became for meaningful.
MM: I think that infusion makes the story very self- aware of our culture today. It’s important to see on screen the kind of conversations and self-discoveries that people may have in their lives.
PB: And for me, there are pieces of dialogue that just take this weight off my shoulders, and I hope for other queer people who watch the movie. Because especially, I mean, Venus is only 12 years old, it can be challenging to really understand. I didn’t understand my gender identity until I was in college. That really bled into the first segment of the film.
I didn’t want to include it in the movie because it felt too revealing and weird, and I just remember I sent the script to all of my closest friends and people who I trust. And everyone said no, like, you gotta keep that one. You gotta keep that one in there. So, I kind of begrudgingly said, “alright.”. I had to allow myself to feel vulnerable.
MM: I just appreciate the visibility aspect so much and it’s rare we see one if not many women of color fronting horror films these days. So, I thank you!
PB: I really hope everyone enjoys it, it’s been a big part of my life for over five years.
**Stay tuned for our extended interview with Parker Brennon as they share further insight on the location’s haunted past, the team behind the film and the journey to Hauntology being born.
MAIN SCREEN
Director: Parker Brennon.
FRIGHT FEST
FRIDAY 23 AUGUST – 11.00 PM
With: Nancy Loomis, Samantha Robinson, Naomi Grossman, Zoey Luna.
Mo Moshaty is an acclaimed horror writer, lecturer, and producer whose work combines visceral storytelling with the psychological insight of her Cognitive Behavioral Therapy background. She has lectured internationally, including as a keynote speaker at Nightmares from Monkeypaw: A Jordan Peele Symposium (Prairie View A&M), No Return: A Yellowjackets Symposium (Horror Studies BAFSS Sig), The Whole Damn Swarm: Celebrating 30 Years of Candyman (University of California), and with the Centre for the History of the Gothic (University of Sheffield). Mo has also presented at the BFI, Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies, and Final Girls Berlin Film Festival’s Brain Binge on women’s trauma in horror cinema, Cine-Excess on The Creepy Kid Horror Subgenre and Mother/Daughter Trauma in Horror, and Romancing the Gothic on Cosmic Horror’s Havoc on The Body Electric Her short film, 13 Minutes of Horror: Sci-Fi Horror, won the 2022 Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Best Short Film. As a core producer with Nyx Horror Collective, Mo co-created the 13 Minutes of Horror Film Fest and partnered with Shudder in 2021 and 2022, while also establishing a Stowe Story Labs fellowship supporting women creatives over 40+ in horror. A member of the Black Women in Horror Class of 2023 and featured in 160 Black Women in Horror, Mo’s short fiction appears in A Quaint and Curious Volume of Gothic Tales (Brigid’s Gate Press) and 206 Word Stories (Bag O’ Bones Press). Her debut novella, Love the Sinner, was released July 5, 2024, with Clairviolence: Tales of Tarot and Torment released in October 2025. The first of her five-volume non-fiction series, The Annex of the Obscure: The Afterlife, will be released in 2027 from Tenebrous Press. As the Editor-in-Chief of NightTide Magazine and founder of Mourning Manor Media, Mo champions marginalized voices in horror. Under her leadership, NightTide plans to launch a film festival in 2028, furthering her mission to reshape the genre through inclusivity and representation.
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