INT: Blood Types #7

Last Updated on July 27, 2021

Part 7 of 10
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CHARLES HALL INTRO:

They
have terrorized the likes of Jamie Lee Curtis and Linda Hamilton, and have
walked down the aisle with Uma Thurman. They did battle with a flesh-eating
creature, demon-hunting brothers, and a possessed doll. And they unleashed upon
the world a sadistic serial killer, a vengeful tooth fairy, the deadly Ocularis

Infernum, and a silver-eyed antihero. For them, it’s all in a day’s work.

Over the past few months, I
had the pleasure of interviewing the ten individuals described above. These
‘blood types’ include actors
Courtney Gains (Malachai, Children of the
Corn), Travis Schiffner (Jeepers Creepers II), Elias
Toufexis (Decoys, TV’s Supernatural),
and
Alex Vincent
(Andy Barclay, Child’s Play, Child’s Play 2).

Also in the mix
are actor/former special FX makeup artist
Christopher Nelson (Kill Bill:
Vol. 1 & 2), and actor/stuntman
Christopher Durand (Michael
Myers, Halloween: H20).
Rounding out the pack are scribes
Kieran
Galvin (Feed), Joe Harris (The Tripper, Darkness Falls),
Neal Marshall Stevens (Thir13en Ghosts, Hellraiser: Deader),
and
Ken Wheat (Pitch Black, The Fly II). Together,
they have helped shape our darkest nightmares.

In addition to thanking the participants, I would like to extend special thanks
to John Fallon
and Christopher
Showerman
for their generosity and encouragement. I hope readers enjoy Blood Types
as much as I enjoyed creating it.

HALL: Which horror films, if
any, left a lasting impression on you? Why?

NELSON:
There were two, actually. The Exorcist, for many obvious reasons. It
dealt with a human condition and a fear within everyone. It was a reflection of
its time in both style and content. It made evil and the devil palpable within
the most vulnerable of vessels. It’s William Friedkin’s best work. The other is
John Carpenter’s Halloween. I remember it was near Halloween and my
mother called from California to tell me she saw it and to watch out and be
careful when I went trick-or-treating. I could go on and on about this film. A
good example of everything working together in independent filmmaking to create
a classic. Oh, and George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead scared the
livin’ sh** out of me. I lived in Pennsylvania, and it made me feel there was a
zombie around every corner. Needless to say, the social message, which I’m not
entirely convinced was planned.

HALL: Psycho, Night
of the Living Dead, The Omen, and other landmark horror films have
been remade in recent years, and there are more remakes in store. In general,
how do you feel about remakes?

SCHIFFNER: If a movie still holds up over time, it was magic. Take Psycho,
for instance. If I sat down and watched that movie by myself now, it will still
scare the crap out of me. I guess I feel that if the movie was really good, it’s
tough to do remakes. I mean, just look at Star Wars. No offense to people
who loved the prequels, but the originals were true cinematic magic. It’s hard
enough, I think, to make a really good movie, but to try and remake a classic —
that’s some tough shoes to fill. I haven’t yet seen The Omen remake.
We’ll see.

HALL: What is your fondest
memory of working on Thir13en Ghosts?

STEVENS: I think it was probably my dealings with Joel Silver, who is a
pretty impressive (and intimidating) guy. In a business where a lot of people
will smile and pat you on the head, and then wait until you’ve left the room to
screw you, Joel Silver, whatever else you might say about him, will tell you
exactly what he thinks. That obviously can be pretty scary all by itself, but
I’d much rather work with somebody like Joel Silver than a lot of other people
that I’ve worked with over the years.

HALL: If you were given a
chance to do it over, is there a moment or a period in your film career that you
would revisit, revise, or perhaps change altogether?

TOUFEXIS: I auditioned for an episode of Masters of Horror last year.
[Note: Toufexis refers to 2005.] It was probably my third or fourth time I
auditioned for the show. It was an on-tape audition and there was no director at
the first casting session. That same day I had an audition for another TV show
that, for some reason, I deemed a better part.

So I
focused mostly on that other audition and went to the Masters of Horror
one with a kind of “let’s get this one over with so I can get back to working on
the ‘more important’ audition” mentality. So I didn’t get the part on Masters
of Horror, obviously. Only to learn that the episode was directed by John
Carpenter! I’m such an idiot. It goes to show you never know. Audition your ass
of at every audition…I didn’t get the other part either.

HALL: What was the last horror
film you saw in a theater? What was the last horror DVD you rented or purchased?
Did the films live up to your expectations?

VINCENT
[circa July 2006]: I saw Saw II in the theater. It was good. I liked
the first better. I recently rented The Hills Have Eyes. I never saw the
original, but I thought the new one was pretty good. Most horrors are a little
cheesy to me.

HALL: Horror fans are famously
loyal. Could you tell us about some of the more interesting fan correspondence
you’ve received? Have there been any memorable festival or convention
encounters?

WHEAT:
I got a couple of cute notes from kids after I did the Ewok movie, but I’ve
received virtually no correspondence from horror fans. [Note: Wheat co-wrote and
co-directed Lucasfilm’s Ewoks: The Battle for Endor.] I did get a nice
email once from a guy with a Pitch Black site, which I set aside with the
intention of doing a nice long reply, and then never got to it. I’ve always
regretted that, although I was amused to discover later that he found some
comments I made to friends at a writing newsgroup, which he edited to express
(perhaps too candidly) some of my thoughts about the film.

I’m afraid
I’ve never been invited to a festival or convention, so I can’t report on any
encounters of that sort. (Hint, hint.)

HALL: The range of horror
films–from the psychological suspense of Rosemary’s Baby to the visceral
terror of Hostel–is evidence that different things scare different
filmgoers. What scares you?

DURAND:
I fall into the psych category. The best way to scare me
is to set the stage and then back off so I scare myself.

HALL: Which single horror film
do you consider the most underappreciated or misunderstood? Why?

GAINS:
I can’t speak to that.

HALL: Tell us something about
yourself that we don’t already know and may be surprised to learn.

GALVIN:
I was born without a navel. Really. No, just kidding. I was 37 years old the
first and only time I ever voted in an election. Will that do?

HALL: What’s next for Joe
Harris?

HARRIS:
I have more movie and comic projects in the pipeline. Stay tuned and I’ll
reveal everything, in time.

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