Soska Sisters

Jen and Sylvia Soska, born on April 29, 1983, in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, developed an early interest in film, particularly the horror genre. They pursued acting and background work, but found the roles offered to identical twins to be stereotypical. This dissatisfaction led them to explore other aspects of filmmaking. To broaden their skills, they underwent martial arts training with the intention of taking on stunt roles. Their formal film education included an intensive stunt program. During their time in film school, funding for their final short film project was misallocated. Undeterred, they proceeded to produce the film independently, securing a new cast and crew and financing it themselves. This project became their debut, ‘Dead Hooker In A Trunk’.

‘Dead Hooker In A Trunk’ was independently produced, with the twins serving as writers, directors, producers, actors, and stunt performers. They drew inspiration from Robert Rodriguez’s ‘Rebel Without A Crew’ for their low-budget approach. The film gained recognition among horror fans, critically, and at film festivals, earning awards such as Pollygrind’s Favorite Feature, Best Screenplay, City of Death’s Best Director Award, and Cinefantasy’s Audience Favorite Prize. In 2008, they formalized their production entity, Twisted Twins Productions. Their second feature film, ‘American Mary’, served as an analogy for their experiences in the film industry and has since become a cult classic, earning numerous accolades. The lead character, Mary Mason, has become a popular figure for cos-players at Halloween and horror conventions.

Over their careers, the Soska Sisters have advocated for equal rights, including gender equality and LGBT community rights. They actively promote blood donation through annual public service announcements. In 2014, they directed ‘See No Evil 2’ for WWE Studios, featuring WWE Superstar Glenn “Kane” Jacobs. They also contributed a segment, “T is for Torture Porn,” to ‘ABCs of Death 2’, which was later banned in Germany. The twins later ventured into action films with ‘Vendetta’ in 2015, starring Dean Cain and Paul ‘Big Show’ Wight, further demonstrating their directorial range. Their work also extends to comic books, with contributions to Marvel Comics for ‘Secret Wars Journal #5’ (2015), ‘Guardians of Infinity #8’, and a five-issue ‘Black Widow’ series (2019). In 2015, they became the hosts of the game show ‘Hellevator’ on GSN, which ran for two seasons. In 2016, they undertook a remake of David Cronenberg’s 1977 film ‘Rabid’, released in 2019, followed by ‘On the Edge’ in 2022 and ‘Festival of the Living Dead’ in 2024.