Sally Struthers has a screen acting career that goes back more than fifty years, with one of her earliest appearances being in the 1970 Bob Rafelson / Jack Nicholson classic Five Easy Pieces. As the decades have gone by, she has racked up more than seventy more credits, including a memorable role in Gilmore Girls, a role in the 1972 version of The Getaway, and of course the gig she’s best known for, playing Gloria Bunker-Stivic in 184 episodes of the sitcom All in the Family. A character she also played in 5 episodes of the follow-up Archie Bunker’s Place and 22 episodes of her own spin-off, Gloria. But while Struthers has done a lot of work, one genre she never ventured into was horror… Until now. She has worked on a few thrillers, but her first all-out horror movie (actually, horror comedy) is called Evil Sublet – and Deadline reports that Lion Heart Distribution has acquired North American rights to the film.
Evil Sublet (those involved with the film type it as eVil Sublet) is currently making the festival rounds and will receive a wider release later this year.
Directed by Allan Piper, the film follows the misadventures of a New York couple who think they have hit the jackpot when they move into a cheap apartment. They soon discover they have landed landlords quite literally from hell, who want them to pay the rent with their lives. Deadline notes that Evil Sublet is based on real-life mysterious events in Piper’s own apartment, which he shares with his wife in New York’s East Village (aka “the eVil’).
Piper’s wife, Jennifer Leigh Houston, is in the cast with Struthers. Piper and Houston also produced the movie with Beth Ann Mastromarino and Chris Pearson.
Piper had this to say about the real-life events: “Doors fling open. Objects fly off shelves. 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, sitcom-sized New York apartment.“
Lion Heart CEO Jerome Courshon said, “The filmmaking team behind this exceptional movie has crafted a terrific horror-comedy, sure to satisfy genre fans — and will even surprise mainstream audiences with its funny and wicked social commentary sprinkled throughout.“
And Struthers added, “I’d rather be part of the scaring than be scared. Horror films frighten the poop out of me. And then they stay with me. eVil Sublet is sure to leave creepy images permanently emblazoned in people’s minds.“
Does Evil Sublet sound interesting to you? Are you glad to see that Sally Struthers has finally made a horror (comedy) movie? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.
And while you’re scrolling down, here’s a first look image of Struthers in the movie: