If you’re in Minnesota, create a new tradition this spooky season by seeing some horror-themed theatre. The Twin Cities Horror Festival has been providing such delights for twelve years now; this October, I’m thrilled to be a part of the festival as a producer and playwright. My play, The Hand That Washed Ashore, joins the ranks of ten other one acts that promise thrills, chills, laughter, and frights.
But just what is this play? The official synopsis reads:
“The Hand That Washed Ashore follows a construction crew that, following an unusual storm that threatens their livelihood, must clean up a tourist island on Lake Superior. Their plans are delayed when a vengeful disembodied hand is discovered among the debris. As the hand strangles its way to power, the team must overcome their differences to defeat the evil entity and save their necks!”
Unofficially, I would add that it takes inspiration from a number of campy horror films such as Evil Dead II, Tremors, Killdozer, and even The Thing (both Howard Hawks’ AND John Carpenters!) The play is my love letter to campy B-movies from the 1950s-1980s, a time in horror when monster movies concerned themselves with increasingly absurd creatures. Sometimes they were genetically modified beasts (Tarantula, The Monster That Challenged the World) or visitors from another planet or dimension (Little Shop of Horrors, those pesky Deadites); but they were distinctly different from the Gothic monsters of old such as vampires or the more human-based terrors of slasher flicks.
Those genres are much beloved; however, my play about a killer hand owes more to the deceptively-simple genre of “camp”, which always rings true when the storytellers involved play the reality of the situation – no matter how comic is may seem to a viewer. Unlike a parody, the best examples of camp classics are not tongue-in-cheek; in contrast, they take themselves and their thematic messaging seriously. Where they may falter are in those elements beyond the talents’ control: a shoestring budget, cornball dialogue, or a rushed production schedule. This contrast between artistic intent and artistic outcome is the sweet spot.
Sam Rami’s Evil Dead II (1987)
And while camp can certainly be intentional, as with Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show or The Old Dark House by James Whale, my play owes more to the unintentional. Think of the works of Ed Wood or the less renowned films of Jack Arnold; like them and their movies, my heart is completely invested in The Hand That Washed Ashore. This play is about more than a disembodied hand run amok; it is about class struggle, the consequences of globalism, and fraternity. As in The Thing, we follow the struggles of a tight-knit group of individuals. They all have their flaws and redeeming qualities; they’ll quarrel one moment and have each others’ backs the next. Then after years of steady work their lives change when they are confronted with the loss of employment; and just like the appearance of a killer hand, this challenge is beyond their control. What comes next is a desperate fight for survival, in more ways than one.
Of course, my vehicle for telling this story involves lots of blood and more than a few rubber hands. Which, you know… is a silly concept. So it’s fun too! And like any campy monster movie, that’s the way it should be. Please come out and enjoy The Hand That Washed Ashore at the Twin Cities Horror Festival. Tickets and more info can be find below.
Tickets now available at www.tchorrorfestival.com
THE HAND THAT WASHED ASHORE
by Vincent S. Hannam
Directed by Patrick Kozicky
FEATURING:
Ellen Apel
Amanda Chial-Stewart
Gary Danciu
Lewis Youngren
and Derek Dirlam as “The Hand”
Stage Manager: Nora Sonneborn
Sound Design: Armando Rivera
Movement Consultant: Callie Aho
Image Design: Lucas Rolison, Max Hannam
Blood Master: Mike Swan
Produced by: Max Hannam, Vincent Hannam, Armando Rivera, Mike Swan
VINCENT HANNAM 