Cheeky Horror-Comedy Hits the Ground Running in Louisiana

After a sold-out “brown carpet” premiere, The Fois: Revenge of Maw Maw Claudette is playing twice daily at the Rice City Theatre in Crowley, Louisiana through Sunday, October 11th.

And boy, are those involved with the film having fun with the whole thing. This morning, writer-director David Rabalais continued a string of local media appearances with a drop-in on the morning show of local TV station KLFY, where he started his career a few decades ago. He brought along a special guest, Anita Terlette, one of several stunt double dummies used during the production.

Fois is slang in south Louisiana for diarrhea. In the film, the ghost of a Cajun grandmother conjures up a cursed case of the fois to retaliate against an individual who dared cook up a questionable batch of gumbo in her prized pot.

The film is showing daily at the Rice City Theatre at 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. (both Sunday October 4th screenings also sold out.) After the Saturday October 3rd premiere, Dominic Felix, one of several first-time local actors featured in the film, shared his excitement about the project:

HOLLLLYYY SHITTT (Pun intended) WHERE DO I BEGIN??? I been working to be in a movie for the last 4 years and on October TURD (3rd) my time came... I just wanna thank David Rabalais for giving me the opportunity to be in this movie. I know SHIT happens but you still owe me them 10 push-ups for missing my last play lol... Make sure you go see The Fois or you’ll end up with the runs. I don’t make the rules.

Alongside a pair of more well-known actors with Crescent State ties - Nick Manning (Nightwatch) and Kristen Renton (Sons of Anarchy) - Rabalais also rounded out his cast with a number of Louisiana content creators including Corey LeDoux and the Cajun Mamas. Rabalais himself also appears in the movie as a private investigator by the name of Magnum Poo Yie.

There are puns galore in the film and in fact, to promote the October 3rd debut, Rabalais engaged the services of fictitious KRAP-TV. Meanwhile, one piece of the special merchandise created for the film is a wooden paddle inscribed with the words, 'You can't handle – The Fois.'

Rabalais's self-proclaimed gumbo ghost story is a triumph of grassroots promotion. The October 3rd premiere sold out through Facebook word-of-mouth and prompted the follow-on showings. Rabalais is also offering brief promotional ads to local businesses before each showing for $150.

[David Rabalais website]