With Horror Film, Uxbridge Filmmaker Gets a Dark Revenge

By Victor D. Infante
Telegram & Gazette
November 7, 2013

http://www.telegram.com/article/20131107/NEWS/311079951/1312/mobile&TEMPLATE=MOBILE

Rome is a long way from Uxbridge, but for local filmmaker and Uxbridge native Skip Shea, the journey proved worthwhile. Not only did his short horror film, "Ave Maria," walk away from the 2013 Interiora Horror Film Festival with the Premio Del Pubblico, or audience award, at the film festival, he got to make a deeply personal artistic statement while doing so.

Shea, an open and vocal survivor of clergy abuse, was able to screen the film —which is to a great degree fueled by the rage and pain of his experiences — on the Vatican's doorstep.

" There was a satisfaction in showing this in Rome," says Shea. "I know people who are dead because of clergy sexual abuse, who killed themselves. In a lot of ways, I carry their ghosts with me. I wanted to make a stand there, to say that I'm alive and that they can't do anything to me. To tell other survivors that they don't have any control or power over you. There's just none."

"Ave Maria" is the sequel to Shea's first short horror film, "Microcinema," both featuring a character named Missy, who exacts a harsh brand of justice on men who prey on women.

"I wanted to change the formula of the rape revenge movie," says Shea. "I wanted to make the woman not be a victim at all when she gets justice. An 'avenging angel' kind of character."