Jen and Sylvia Soska were born on April 29, 1983 in Canada. The twins graduated from
Argyle Secondary School. Their love of horror began at an early age, when their mother gave in to their constant begging to watch
Poltergeist. Initially, they tried becoming actresses and extras, but were unsatisfied with the stereotypical twin roles they were being offered. They decided to work in the horror movie field soon thereafter.
Dead Hooker in a Trunk Jen and Sylvia briefly attended film school and wrote and directed
Dead Hooker in a Trunk as a final project. The film was shot for $2,500 and released by
IFC. It received an overall rating of 80% from critics at
Rotten Tomatoes (4 fresh and 1 rotten review). The twins starred in the film as twin sisters – Badass (Sylvia) and Geek (Jen). Highly inspired by
Robert Rodriguez's
Rebel Without A Crew, the Soskas sought out
El Mariachi star
Carlos Gallardo to play the character God. An absurdist dark satire,
Dead Hooker in a Trunk originated as a faux trailer the sisters created, annoyed when their film school cut the budget for their final project. The film had a screening cancelled by one movie theater in Saskatoon after the theater received anonymous complaints.
American Mary Following their first project, the twins wrote
American Mary which was shown at
Film4 Fright Fest,
Toronto After Dark Film Festival and Monster Fest. The twins cast Canadian horror star
Katharine Isabelle (
Ginger Snaps) as Mary Mason, and had special effects created by Masters FX. Wanting to be respectful to the body modification community, the sisters hired flesh artist Russ Foxx as a consultant to ensure authenticity. The film was awarded the Special Jury Award at Fantastic Fest. Following the success of the film, the Soskas announced an
American Mary television series, writing on social media: "I know a lot of you are excited and curious about an American Mary series, after Rabid we connected with Cronenberg's producers at Prospero who have been champions in developing the series. We are currently making a sci-fi thriller called Unseen together with Radar & Film Mode. In the meantime, we have been enjoying connecting with fans of the film and hearing what they want to see in the television series version. It's always been a passion to explore these characters and their lives more deeply. To understand their struggles and see their wins."
ABCs of Death 2 The sisters directed a segment in
ABCs of Death 2 titled "T is for Torture Porn", which follows an actress, Yumi, as she auditions for an adult film scene. Yumi is revealed to be a hentai monster. The film was produced by XYZ Films.
See No Evil 2 Jen and Sylvia Soska made two films for
WWE Studios:
See No Evil 2 and
Vendetta.
See No Evil 2 again featured Katharine Isabelle.
Vendetta The first film in the Lionsgate and WWE Studios Action Six Pack was the Soska Sisters' action film
Vendetta, written by Justin Shady. The film stars
Dean Cain as Mason Danvers, who goes into prison in pursuit of the man who killed his wife.
Rabid The Soskas co-wrote and directed
Rabid (2019), a remake of
David Cronenberg's 1977
film of the same name, starring
Laura Vandervoort and professional wrestler
CM Punk.
Rabid had its premiere on the closing night of the 20th Annual Fright Fest in London.
On the Edge In September 2022, the Soskas announced the premiere of their new film
On the Edge, to take place at the London FrightFest Halloween festival on October 29. The film was shot and produced in Canada and co-stars
Aramis Sartorio,
Jen Soska,
Sylvia Soska and
Mackenzie Gray. The festival synopsis of the film reads, "Family man Peter gets more than he paid for when he books a 36-hour session with the sadistic Mistress Satana who seems more intent on making him suffer for his sins. Is it blackmail? Is it torture? Or is it the Devil come for his soul? Will Peter’s faith save him from his own personal Hell or is he already damned? A brilliant depiction of how Kink Culture can heal past trauma and be a source for shocking redemption."
Festival of the Living Dead A sequel to
George A. Romero's
Night of the Living Dead,
Festival of the Living Dead was directed by the Soska Sisters in 2023 and released on Tubi April 5, 2024. The film follows Ben's grandkids and their friends 55 years after the incident. The film stars Ashley Moore,
Camren Bicondova, Andre Anthony, Gage Marsh, Christian Rose, Maia Jae Bastidas,
Keana Lyn Bastidas, and Shiloh O'Reilly. ==Other work==