FANTASTIC FEST 2025 REVIEW! This is going to sound a little weird, but hang with me for a second. Sean Cisterna’s Silver Screamers is like this wholesome and heartwarming blend of Cocoon and American Movie. Now, what does this mean? Well, there are no aliens and a bunch of older adults going off to live the good life in another galaxy, but what transpires is a rejuvenation of both the bodies and the souls of a bunch of elderly volunteers who, after a lifetime of experience, decide to embark on the adventure of making a horror movie.
And believe me, you’re never too old to make a horror movie. Cisterna begins the narrative with the harsh truth. As many filmmakers are aware, movies cost money, and if you can’t get finance or pay for the picture yourself, then, sadly, it ain’t getting made.
So, after swallowing the red pill and disappearing down the rabbit hole of a funding opportunity which is on offer for those interested in developing programs for the senior members of our society, the concept of making a movie whilst including and educating the participants in the craft, with the endgame being a finished film, The Rug.
With the response to the call to action and excitement on the set of movies proving patchy in the early going, Cisterna soon assembles his team, which includes participants from every walk of life, with ages ranging into the early nineties. They place the volunteers in the positions that best align with their existing talents, and soon the show is underway.
“…a bunch of elderly volunteers who… decide to embark on the adventure of making a horror movie.”
What results is a fun, fascinating, and engrossing look at how the movies, and even via the process through which we create them, bring us all together into what director George Miller once called collective dreaming. The seniors talk about their histories and presents, hopes and dreams, triumphs and tragedies. They also discuss their take on horror movies. Fans or not, what we unearth is that somewhere along the way, we all collectively dream about and through the movies.
Though production starts slow and awkward, soon, the elders show that age is simply a number and rise to the occasion as the camaraderie and creativity lift spirits and motivate this collection of people who thought the wonders of life were through with them. Not by a long shot. Together, the director and his Silver Screamers bring The Rug, a tale of elderly romance and murder, to the big screen before a packed house. The jubilation that spills from the screen as you witness this vital spark return to the eyes and smiles of this generation slipping into antiquity is awe-inspiring. Your eyes will glaze over.
So, like the culmination of seeing Mark Borchardt will Coven into reality in Chris Smith’s timeless tale and filmmaking and friendship, or Ron Howard’s magical final sequence as Wilford Brimley and company depart for the stars via fishing boat on the wings of James Horner’s score, Silver Screamers comes together. Finally, it is the vivacious participant Lucia Paterra Catania who says it best, while also summing up why I love this movie, and indeed all cinema when she says, “Always, when I was a child, I wanted to be in the movies, and then you see, that message got across the universe, and there I am making a film with the most beautiful people.”
In the end, Silver Screamers shows us the exquisiteness of life and the cinema, and how the two can come together to create a movie about a flesh-eating rug. In a word, wonderful.
Silver Screamers screened at the 2025 Fantastic Fest.
"…you’re never too old to make a horror movie."
