If the master of body-horror, David Cronenberg, decided to make a horror comedy, it would something like the old-school monster movie subject of this article. Lots of early Cronenberg and John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982), a cult classic that this year is turning 40 and looks as astonishing as always, are clear references and influences in Cyst (2020).
Set in the early 1960s, a small-town doctor invents a machine that uses laser technology to remove skin abnormalities. He pulls out all stops to make sure his final chance to get the patent on his “Get Gone” machine goes smoothly but his nurse thinks the machine is dangerous and not ready. The struggle between the two causes the machine to malfunction creating a cyst monster that goes on a rampage in the doctor’s office.
This is the new film of awards winner Tyler Russell after the comedy Here Comes Rusty (2016) and the crime western Texas Cotton (2018). He has been the producer and co-writer of the screenplay together with his frequent collaborator Andy Silverman.
The main cast in Cyst (2020) is formed by Eva Habermann, George Hardy, Greg Sestero, Jason Douglas, Gene Jones, Darren Ewing, Torren Davis, Terri Merritt Bennett, Keturah Branch, Francesca Santoro, and special effects artist Kyle Roberts as the Cyst Monster.
Cyst (2020) has been present in several international genre festivals in the past 2 years including Splat!FilmFest Horror Film Festival in Poland, B-Movie, Underground & Trash Film Festival in the Netherlands, Popcorn Frights Film Festival in the USA, and Frightfest London and Soho Horror Film Festival in the UK. This week it had its digital and DVD release.
Watch here the highly gory and funny trailer for Cyst (2020).
