Q&A: Masters Horror

Last Updated on July 28, 2021

To
be invited to an evening celebration of a film series is always a
treat for a movie geek. But
when that series is the MASTERS OF HORROR, Showtime’s
newest horror anthology series with directors like John
Carpenter, Tobe Hooper, Stuart Gordon, and Dario Argento, you know
its gonna be a night to remember.

The
event was not only about the fact that the first season is being
released on DVD by

Anchor

Bay

(complete with commentaries and multiple featurettes), but also the
announcement that the series has been given the go-ahead for Season
2. With new directors like
Ernest Dickerson, who made the best Tales From The Crypt film DEMON
KNIGHT, Brad Anderson, who made the creepy chiller THE MACHINIST and
creepier SESSION 9, and my personal favorite, the return of master
director Tom Holland, who made the classics FRIGHT NIGHT and the
original CHILD’S PLAY, the new season looks full of promise.

So
I braved the cold and rain, with recorder, video camera (manned, or
should I say womaned by my friend Carmen Carter) and a few
collectables I hoped to have signed, and hit the red carpet to talk
with a few of the Masters of Horror.

First
up, was writer/director Mick
Garris, who made THE STAND, SLEEPWALKERS, as well as the
short “Jennifer” for Season one of the series and was the
brainchild behind putting the Masters of Horror together.

How
does it feel to have the first Masters of Horror be so well received
that your now green lit for a second season?

It’s
pretty amazing! I never
expected to get it going the first time. It was so amazing that we
got it going and when we did, everybody wanted to make it.
And everybody we pitched it to said yeah we want to do it.
It’s just amazing.

What
constitutes a Master of Horror?

Someone
we’ve hired! (Smiles)
The way we choose our filmmakers is people who have made
influential horror features. So
maybe most of their work has been in television or it may not be
really well know, like in the case of Lucky McKee.
We needed somebody at the last minute, he’s done two
features, all of us were knocked out by May, found it incredibly
unique, an original voice and vision.
So it’s somebody who impresses us, somebody who has made a
name for themselves. Preferably
a name brand as far as

Anchor

Bay

is concerned.

Was
it your idea to finally bring Director Tom Holland, who did such
great work like Fright Night and Child’s Play, out of obscurity
and get him to direct a segment for the second season?

It
was me and my producing partners, we talked about it the first year
and that filled up pretty quickly. Tom
had acted in The Stand for me as an actor, he had a small role.
So I’ve known Tom since the Amazing Stories days, when we
both worked on the show. So, yeah a bunch of us got together and
he’s really excited about it.

So
are you directing another story for the second season?

Yeah,
it’s from an original treatment that Clive Barker wrote
specifically for the Masters of Horror and it’s sort of a ghost
story and really…(smiles) sexual, so it’s gonna be a lot of fun.

Next
was director Don
Coscarelli, who directed the PHANTASM films, BUBBA HO-TEP
and the short “Incident On and Off a Mountain Road” for
Masters of Horror.

So
your piece was from the short story by Joe Lansdale, same guy who
wrote the short for Bubba Ho-tep.
Are you planning any future collaborations with him?

Oh
yeah, Joe’s a demented genius from east

Texas

and always looking for an opportunity to work with him any chance I
can get.

Any
plans to direct another short for the Masters of Horror second
season?

You
know, not this year, but maybe on the third season, who knows.
I need to take a break, I put a lot of effort into my episode
and I gotta get working on some of my other projects.

What
are they?

Well,
I’m working on a sequel (smiles) to Bubba Ho-tep called Bubba
Nosferatu: Curse of the She-Vampires.

Then
the ever-bald, bearded and brilliant director Stuart
Gordon, the man behind RE-ANIMATOR and the short
“Dreams in the Witch-House” for Masters happened by to
talk.

Your
work has always been controversial, but was there more freedom doing
the short for Showtime?

It’s
the best experience I ever had in television.

When
is your new film

Edmond

, written by David Mamet, coming out?

It’s
doing the festival circuit right now, but it’s hopefully going to
be coming out, my guess is late summer, late fall.

Whose
words are better, David Mamet’s or H.P. Lovecraft?

(Laughs)
Well, they’re kind of similar sometimes.

Any
plans for a new Re-Animator?

I’ve
been working with Brian Yuzna on a project called House of
Re-Animator, its set in the White House.

The
last director was one of my personal idols.
The great Tobe
Hooper, the genius behind the original THE TEXAS CHAINSAW
MASSACRE, was kind enough to pen sign my original 1974 one-sheet of
the film (now the Mona Lisa of my collection!) and answer a few
questions.

What
was it like shooting Dance of the Dead, your Masters of Horror short
for Showtime?

It
was a great experience.

Did
you write the role of the M.C. for actor Robert Englund or did you
just get him through casting?

No,
that was all a part of the casting process.
It was kind of a role, a kind of post-apocalyptic Joel Grey
cabaret kind of role in a really seedy, messed up world.

Any
new projects on the horizon?

Well,
I’m getting ready to go back to

Canada

to shoot another episode for Masters of Horror.

What’s
it called and what’s it about?

It’s
called The Damn Thing. And
it’s about…The Damn Thing!

Finally,
before I had to go, I spotted the short-in-real-life but
tall-in-the-movies actor Angus
Scrimm, who played the infamous “Tall Man” in
the PHANTASM series. I had a
few things I was dying to ask.

So
did Don Coscarelli write the part of Buddy in Incident On and Off a

Mountain Road

specifically for you?

Yes,
he did write that part for me absolutely, he and Stephen Romano his
co-writer and did a brilliant job of creating some wonderful
dialogue and great character, in fact the role played itself, I did
very little. (Laughing)

So
any news of another Phantasm coming up?

Well,
secretly, we got the Phantasm regular cast back about three weeks
ago and read a script together, but nothing has been decided.

So
tell me what it like to have a doll of yourself?
I mean I have one myself, my own Tall Man and it’s cool,
but what is it like for you to go into a store and see a doll of
yourself?

(Joking)
Well I love it because it looks exactly like Basil Rathbone whom
I’ve always admired!

The
rest of the evening was all about the club “The Ivar”,
which was filled with flashing neon lights, zombie go-go dancers,
psychics, and Vampire Vodka. All
in all a fun night (at least I think so, I had a few!) and I can’t
wait for the second season of Masters of Horror. (Go Tom Holland!)
Special thanks to Sam Dependahl, my cool helper Carmen (love
the jacket!), and all the Masters of Horror for a frightful and fun
filled night! Stay scared!