eVil Sublet
A couple finds their dream apartment in New York’s East Village (AKA the eVil). Who cares if it’s haunted by a horde of murderous ghosts if the rent is cheap and it’s got an eat-in kitchen, right?
This horror/comedy stars viral video performer Jennifer Leigh Houston and features the legendary Sally Struthers in her full-length horror debut.
eVil Sublet has won awards at multiple festivals, including BEST FEATURE at the Coney Island Film Festival, BEST OF THE FEST at the DC Independent Film Festival, TOP FEATURE at San Francisco's Another Hole in the Head, BEST COMEDY FEATURE at Haunted House FearFest, BEST HORROR COMEDY FEATURE at the New York City Horror Film Festival, and BEST ACTRESS IN A FEATURE at HorrOrigins Film Fest.
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Allan PiperDirectorMarried and Counting, Starving Artists
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Allan PiperWriterMarried and Counting, Starving Artists
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Beth Ann MastromarinoProducer
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Jennifer Leigh HoustonProducer
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Chris PearsonProducerDan Vs.
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Jennifer Leigh HoustonKey Cast"Alex"Married and Counting, Crime After Crime
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Sally StruthersKey Cast"Reena"All In The Family, Gilmore Girls
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Charley TuckerKey Cast"Ben"Law & Order
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Pat DwyerKey Cast"Ned"Married and Counting, Hamlet in the Golden Vale
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Stephen MosherKey Cast"Lorne"Married and Counting
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Leanne BorghesiKey Cast"Allan Piper"Pig Hunt
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Patrick WangKey Cast"Oliver"In The Family
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Helen HongKey Cast"Madame Moon"Inside Llewyn Davis
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Project Type:Feature
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Genres:Horror, Comedy
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Runtime:1 hour 45 minutes
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Completion Date:January 2, 2023
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Country of Origin:United States
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Country of Filming:United States
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital 4k
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Aspect Ratio:2.35:1
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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Coney Island Film FestivalNew York, NY
United States
May 6, 2023
World Premiere
Best Feature -
Grossmann Fantastic Film & Wine FestivalOrmoz
Slovenia
June 20, 2023
International Premiere -
HorrOrigins Film FestTucson, AZ
United States
October 1, 2023
Southern U.S. Premiere
Best Actress Feature Film: Jennifer Leigh Houston -
Haunted House FearFestNew York, NY
United States
October 6, 2023
Best Comedy Feature, Best Ensemble, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Comedy Actress: Sally Struthers -
Another Hole in the HeadSan Francisco, CA
United States
December 2, 2023
West Coast Premiere
Top Feature Film -
New York City Horror Film FestivalNew York, NY
United States
December 10, 2023
Best Horror Comedy Feature -
DC Independent Film FestivalWashington, DC
United States
February 23, 2024
DC Premiere
Best of the Fest
Allan Piper may be best known to some viewers for his live fact-checks of the former president. Allan was NowThis' supervising politics producer throughout the Trump presidency, which was a different kind of horror story.
eVil Sublet is Allan's third feature film. He produced and directed the George-Takei-narrated documentary, Married and Counting, which tells the story of two men in pre-marriage-equality America who celebrated 25 years together by traveling the country to get married in every state that would let them. Huffington Post called it “one of the most relevant, heartfelt, and timely documentaries of the year… a brilliant gem.” Allan’s first feature was the cult comedy, Starving Artists, which the Boston Globe called one of “the best films you’ve probably never seen.”
Having worked as a filmmaker for both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, Allan is the only person ever to do online video rapid response for multiple presidential nominees. Allan also has produced and/or edited TV shows for networks including ABC, CNN, Bravo, MTV, TLC, Discovery, Food Network, History Channel, Travel Channel, Animal Planet, and PBS.
Strange things happen in the apartment I share with my wife, Jennifer Leigh Houston. Doors open on their own. Objects fly off shelves. Alone at night, Jen's heard crying voices and been grabbed by a cold hand in the dark. But none of this would push us out, because we're lucky to have an affordable New York apartment of a size that almost only exists on sitcoms.
Inspired by these mysterious events (some of which we've captured on video and audio and edited into the movie), we developed this project with our friends Beth Mastromarino and Emmy-nominee Chris Pearson (Dan Vs.).
We funded this picture in part with the offer to turn anyone who gave even $20 into a ghost. Ghostified faces of over 200 contributors are hidden throughout the movie in the dark shadows of the eponymous apartment.
Our team was set to shoot eVil Sublet in March and April, 2020. When covid struck, Jen and I figured out how to film part of the movie in the apartment by ourselves, devising ways to rig special effects and create camera movements even sometimes with no one behind the camera. We shot the rest with a small team in 2021.
eVil Sublet satirically skewers the failures of the modern economy, the affordable housing crisis, the banking industry, political divides, sexual politics, and the pharmaceutical industry.
Our picture celebrates groups historically underrepresented on screen. Four of the five leading roles are LGBTQ+ characters played by LGBTQ+ actors. We proudly join the emerging movement led by movies and shows like Jakob's Wife, Yellowjackets, and Everything Everywhere All At Once, to represent women in their 40s and 50s on up as heroic, sexy powerhouses. The women of eVil Sublet have roughly twice as many lines as the men.
But social commentary aside, eVil Sublet is an R-rated, scary, funny, gory, sexy rollercoaster ride of a movie that will be fun for all mature audiences.