Part 6 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?
SCHIFFNER: I’ll start by saying that I saw The Blair Witch Project
before the cat was out of the bag about it being fake. And if you saw that movie
and didn’t know it wasn’t a real documentary, it was some truly scary shit. The
first and very lasting movie that just scared the crap out of me was The Evil
Dead. I think, if I’m not mistaken, I caught it on TV at the ripe age of
nine or ten. Wow! Those poor bastards in that cabin. I don’t think I was old
enough to make the connection that it might not be real. So to this day, that is
one of the things that I feel could really go down. After that, I have always
had a huge love for zombie movies. Favorites being The Evil Dead, and for
some reason I really loved The Return of the Living Dead. The end of that
one really creeped me out. Other than that, I really like horror movies that
have a real feel to them. That’s what makes a movie scary. If I can’t sleep that
night then it was good! Movies that have done that for me were Serpent and
the Rainbow, The Ring, The Exorcist, Psycho, etc.
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?
STEVENS: I know that a lot of people don’t like the idea of remakes, but as
I’ve said before, The Maltese Falcon — the John Huston version that we
all know about, was actually the third version of the movie committed to the
screen. The original The Thing from Another World was great. The John
Carpenter remake was also great. On the other hand, Carpenter’s Village of
the Damned remake was unwatchable.
Obviously,
the real question comes down to what your approach is and whether you’re
bringing something new or different to the original material. Obviously, a lot
of remakes are lousy, but the same is true for a lot of original movies.
HALL: What is your fondest
memory of working on Decoys?
TOUFEXIS: I came mostly from dramatic theatre, Decoys was the first
time I had ever been in front of a camera. I had a blast; made some great
friends that I still have today and used it as an opportunity to learn how films
are made. I hung around the set constantly, whether I was in the scenes or not,
just trying to take everything in. I had a great time working with the cast and
with Kim Poirier, who went on to get chopped in two with a chainsaw in the
Dawn of the Dead remake. I also learned a lot about special effects, both
CGI and prosthetic. It’s amazing to watch these guys at work. Decoys was
a fun little movie and I had a great time working on it. It’s got something of a
cult following and I love that.
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?
VINCENT: I can’t say for sure…most of my career was out of my control
because I was so young. Looking back, I may have forced myself to stay in the
business a little longer.
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?
WHEAT
[circa November 2006]: This actually worked out to be a double bill. Before
going to see Saw III at a theater, I caught up with Saw II on DVD,
since I’d somehow missed it on both the big and small screen. I thought Saw
was a very clever example of low budget filmmaking, since the nature of its
story made dim lighting, lots of talk, claustrophobia, and a small cast its
whole point.
As sequels
go, I thought Saw II worked pretty well. I liked having a bit more setup
with the Donnie Wahlberg character and his son (complete with a little sunlight
and a few exteriors), and having the larger group working with and against each
other kept things moving along.
There were
still clues to its low budget, but maybe things like the tacky paint job on the
hallways looked better on screen than on TV. I’ll confess that sadism and
torture wear me down after a while, but audiences seem to love it in this
series, and Saw II delivered it to them in an efficient package.
Saw III,
on the other hand, felt like a step back. Maybe that’s just me. And maybe it
results from seeing the two of them back-to-back. But this one felt slower, more
sadistic, less suspenseful, and as claustrophobic as the much lower budget
Saw. It’s weird, because I prefer Angus Macfadyen as an actor to Donnie
Wahlberg, but Macfadyen didn’t work for me at all. That must mean his character
didn’t work for me at all, and since it all revolved around him, I’d call this a
problem.
Oh, well…
It made a ‘gajillion’ dollars, and they’re already gearing up for next year’s
Saw IV, so what do I know?
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?
DURAND:
Most of the fans are not only loyal but really nice people. There is a
couple that I have seen on opposite coasts that always make my day. They are so
supportive that they always make my day.
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?
GAINS:
I like a story I believe can really happen.
HALL: Which single horror film
do you consider the most underappreciated or misunderstood? Why?
GALVIN:
A very difficult question to answer. 28 Days Later, which is a kind
of horror-thriller-sci-fi hybrid, comes to mind. It’s probably underappreciated
because of its genre-bending. But for a zombie film shot on HD on a relatively
small budget it looks pretty good and is memorable for its scenes of a deserted
London. I also love the way it goes haywire (a bit like From Dusk Till Dawn)
and ends up with a military standoff on the grounds of a large estate. An early
film for Cillian Murphy, who’s a bit of a freak just by himself!
HALL: Tell us something about
yourself that we don’t already know and may be surprised to learn.
HARRIS:
I also write comic books. I worked for Marvel for a while when I was too
young to appreciate what an awesome thing that really was. I launched titles for
the Spider-Man and X-Men lines, as well as wrote other books for other
companies. I worked with Steve Niles putting The Tripper comic adaptation
together recently, which Image is publishing. And I have new stuff coming out
this October — horror comics published by Fox Atomic.
HALL: What’s next for Christopher Nelson?
NELSON:
Lots! Concentrating solely on acting. Auditioning and writing. I wrote a
horror/thriller film that I have had three offers on, but want to do it right
with the right people. It’s for me to play a really interesting part in. I
figured since I have seen, worked on, read, and loved so many horror films it’s
time to throw my name in the hat. I play a very interesting character in David
Arquette’s The Tripper, coming out soon. I’m also in Rise: Blood
Hunter, The Dead Girl, and Undead or Alive: A Zombedy. I’ll be
a regular on a new TV series called The Factory on Spike TV. I’m writing
a TV pilot. I would love to get more involved in the genre, as far as acting
goes. So if anyone needs a badass actor in your horror film…let me know.
STAY TUNED FOR
PART 7 OF THIS FEATURE -COMING SOON TO THE SITE!