Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Horror movie questions take 2!

 Horror movie questions take 2!

Thanks to Freddy In Space, I decided to tackle yet another list of horror themed questions!

  1. Scariest kid character in a horror movie?
    Gage Creed from Pet Sematary. For those who have had the pleasure of reading the novel, he's so much worse. In he book he's decomposing, and due to the horrible accident, the undertaker was unable to really put his body back together right. It goes into vivid detail of how his head budges in different directions, one eye staring up to one side, and how half his head is nearly caved in. Seeing that this is supposed to be just a two year old it's terrifying.
  2. 2) Best sex scene murder?
    Not really a sex scene, but we do get to see breasts! I will go with the scene in the original Fright Night when Charlie spies on Jerry with the hooker through his bedroom window. The score seriously makes the entire scene. Even though the actual murder isn't seen on screen since Jerry pulls the shade down, you know exactly what's going to happen when he pops out the good old fangs!
  3. Creepiest dead body?
    The dead body that falls out at the end of Pieces. I never saw it coming and actually jumped when it happened.
  4. Horror musical you enjoy?
    Have never really been into musicals, but I did have the pleasure of seeing a friend of mine back at school a few years back perform in a production of Evil Dead The Musical. As a huge Raimi fan I really enjoyed it!
  5. Funniest horror movie character?
    Nubbins from Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. I loved that Chop Top just carried him around. I told my sister if I ever get run over my a truck I want her to do that to my body. She somehow doesn't get it.
  6. Favorite woman in the world of horror?
    Hum going to have to go with Linnea Quigley. I'm yet to have the pleasure of meeting her, but I really respect her. First off in the 80's she was a total knock out! She used her “talents” and was in some really truly awesome movies. Also doesn't hurt she was married for five whole years to the very handsome Steve Johnson. I airbrushed a really shitty painting based off their wedding photo and turned Linnea into a zombie. Creepy...I don't think so!
  7. A horror you'd be in?
    A horror movie? Um, I would love to die in either one of the early Friday the 13th movies or Hatchet films. Those kills are amazing! Or maybe Evil Dead II. Then I would seduce Sam Raimi in his younger days.
  8. Favorite alien-related horror movie?
    Aliens. Hands down.
  9. Best horror TV series?
    Friday the 13th the series. The first two seasons are VERY underrated. I urge anyone to give them a try. Yes their sorta dated, and yes they have nothing to do with the films but trust me, it's a good thing. Great show that give a lot of the 80's horror themed shows a run for the money.
  10. A serial killer you hate?
    I hate them all but Manson takes the cake. What a pussy, brain washing young drug addicted girls to do your dirty work? Also what he had done to Sharon Tate is horrible. Not to preach or anything but her unborn son could have grown up to be a doctor, lawyer, director, writer, artist...who knows. Such a waste...
  11. Most ditzy character?
    In a horror movie? Tina from Halloween 5. Her voice is forever burned into my memory.
  12. Favorite horror movie from the past year?
    I really enjoyed The Conjuring. I've read up on the Warrens before and it's pretty interesting stuff. But my favorite so far has to be Hatchet III. Epic ending to a great trilogy and seeing Zach Galligan in a sheriff's uniform. Mmmm!
  13. Best impalement?
    The couple having sex in Friday the 13th part 2. Classic!
  14. Killer who has the best weapon?
    Christine the car. She used her own body!
  15. A horror love story?
    Believe it or not it's a tie between three movies. All not typical “love” stories but if you truly think about it, makes perfect sense. First is Christine, second is Candyman, and third is the original Hitcher. If you closely watch these films you'll see all are tragic love stories.
  16. Best throat slicing?
    I seriously can't for the life of me remember her name, was it Wendy? Fuck I can't remember. The virgin girl from the original Prom Night. She's the one who's asshole boyfriend gets pissed off and leaves her in the locker room. Love the slow motion shot of his gloved hand going over her mouth and her eyes bugging out as the piece of glass is dragged across. Perfect music, and camera shot.
  17. Favorite sequel to a horror?
    I have a few. Waxwork II: Lost In Time, Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II, Warlock II, Dawn Of The Dead, Amityville II, and Psycho II. And that's just part II's, I in general love sequels!
  18. Best horror movie in the woods?
    Love the first 4 Friday the 13th movies, mostly part III and of course Evil Dead II.
  19. An actor you enjoyed to watch get murdered?
    She didn't actually “die” or at least that's what the audience thinks...but (SPOILERS!) Danielle Harris in Hatchet III. Myself along with two friends actually cheered when she was impaled onto the tree branch. We're sick...I know...
  20. Most attractive horror movie killer?
    Zach Galligan in Cupid. Man was rocking that cross bow long before The Walking Dead!
  21. Best family in horror?
    Sawyer family from TMC2. Just love how they sit down and have dinner every night.
  22. Worst recent horror movie you've seen?
    Amityville Haunting. I spent five dollars for the DVD and overpaid.
  23. Favorite 70's horror?
    Phantasm.
  24. Favorite horror theme song?
    Yet again Phantasm, ha, ha, ha. Also love the Waxwork II theme.
  25. Best version of Jason?
    Love him in Jason Goes To Hell.
  26. A horror you can't wait to see?
    Curse Of Chucky. Yep, guilty as charged. I'm a sucker for these movies.
  27. Best be-heading?
    The triple one from Jason Lives.
  28. Favorite B-movie horror?
    I have a lot but I'll go with Waxwork II even tho I feel it's an A+++ movie!
  29. Most righteous killer?
    Mrs. Voorhees from the original Friday the 13th. LONG before any hockey masks graced the screen, the original Friday the 13th is a very underrated thriller. In fact I get down right mad when people complain it's boring and long. Guess what, it's called pacing and suspense. Mrs. Voorhees was a woman driven insane due to the loss of her child. It goes to show how far a person can go when they are pushed to the limits by grief and revenge.
  30. Horror with an ending you didn't expect to happen?
    Sleepaway Camp. I had to complete pleasure of not knowing anything about this movie when I rented it over ten years ago. This was sorta when the internet was just starting to take hold and I didn't know how to look up spoilers. Great epic ending I honestly don't think they could double again even if they tried.

Exciting new up coming releases!

 Exciting new up coming releases!

Today was a pretty dandy day for new and exciting news via DVD and shirt releases in the world of horror.

Well at least for me!

Shout! Factory aka Scream Factory is tackling YET again feat in winning over my heart as one of the best companies to re-release classic horror titles in amazing SE formats. It seems coming in 2014, Scream Factory will be re-leasing Night Of The Demons and Witchboard. Details to come later in the year. Kevin Tenney's two amazing 80's classics are finally getting the true treatment they both deserve. Now I do know that Night Of The Demons is in the process of getting the SE treatment, I don't know for sure if this is going to be it. Also will it be a double feature or separate? Hopefuls we'll get some awesome new artwork and plenty of extras! These two movies are HUGE personal favorites of mine and I've had the pleasure of speaking to Mr. Tenney several times. Guy is a class act. Here's to hoping that Scream Factory will continue in getting the ball rolling with releasing more classic titles. Hey, who knows maybe someday Waxwork and Waxwork II. "Sigh..."

The next big update is from my favorite T-shirt company Fright Rags. After many years of waiting they have FINALLY and rightfully so got the Halloween license. Today the photos of the up coming T-shirts, hoddies, and SE packages due to ship in October hit the internet. Pre-ordering for these babies will be in early September. 

I'm blown away by how stunning the Halloween 4 shirt looks. Who knows, maybe I'll cough up the cash to get it in a hoodie! 


Stay tuned for lots of new updates. Also, on another note tomorrow night I'm picking up my good friend Melissa from the airport. She's flying in from Chicago to stay with me over the holiday weekend to celebrate my 25th birthday. We're making the haul up to Maine on Saturday to do the Stephen King tour. Get ready for lots of lame and awesome photos to come!


Sunday, August 25, 2013

Amazing Tales From The Crypt artwork!

 Amazing Tales From The Crypt artwork!

So a couple of months back, I noticed some truly killer artwork from a girl by the name of Tara Sasarak. She was the person responsible behind the amazing Pet Sematary flyers for the up coming documentary. Curious, I became friends with her and asked if she did custom work. Lucky for me, she said yes. Torn between wanting her to make either a Waxwork piece, or artwork from my favorite episode of Tales From The Crypt Strung Along, I decided to take the first step in getting the tattoo I've been wanting for a while, and have her do the Strung Along one. Are we noticing a Zach Galligan theme anyone?

Tara put her heart and soul into this piece and made sure I was very involved in her process. She sent me constant photos and updates on it, and kept asking me what I thought. Finally, the wait was worth it when last week the piece was finished and mailed to me. Now sitting in a frame, I'm beyond thrilled about how this came out. Tara is crazy talented, and does all of this work with colored pencils. I'm hoping to base my next tattoo off this piece and then have her this winter start working on my epic Waxwork idea. 

Check out Tara on facebook, she has an Etsy account and like I said her work is nothing short of stunning!

 

Weekend of booze and horror!

 Weekend of booze and horror!

So this weekend after a very long week I decided to kick back and relax in style. Friday night I decided to start the weekend off with watching The Hatchet movies, mainly part III and finally crack open the lobster wine my sister gave me for my birthday last year. Now I don't think I'm a light weight when it comes to drinking, but I downed that entire bottle in under a half an hour. Safe to say I retired for the night early unable to feel my face.

Yesterday, hungover me, my sister, her husband Sean, his friend Matt, and my father went out on my dad's boat for a little day fishing. We went cruising up and down the river, and I got a little sun for once. Afterwards as tired as I was I headed up to the city to catch an original print of The Monster Squad with my friend Nate and his friend Dam. After a few drinks I was able to sit back and watch one of my all time favorite childhood movies on the big screen.


The movie looked awesome, and as tired as I was hearing Rock Until You Drop put a huge smile on my face.

Afterwards I met up with some new friends of mine and Alex, my friend Kristy's boyfriend was awesome enough to give me my The Midnight Hour VHS tape that I gave to him to bring to Monster Mania and have signed by Lee Montgomery, who left one of the nicest voicemails on my phone last week. I couldn't thank Alex and Kristy enough. This is going on my wall of fame in my office.


I'm now spending my Sunday relaxing and cleaning. I just bought Amityville Haunting, which I'm regretting buying. This movie is seriously a huge piece of shit. Ehhhhh whyyyy!

So all in all a great weekend filled with horror and booze!

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Horror questions

Horror questions 

So lately, I've noticed a bunch of these horror themed questions floating around on Facebook. Bored, and spending my evening watching Behind The Mask while petting one of my dogs, I decided to kill a little time and fill one of these bad boys out. So here goes...

 1) Favorite horror movie? - Hum, that's a tough one. I think it's sorta unfair to make a horror fan just choose one. So I'll pick my top four. Fright Night, Phantasm, Waxwork, and Christine.

2) Horror movie you watched the most times? - Gonna have to go with Waxwork and Waxwork II Lost In Time. I could seriously do a one woman show of those two movies.

3) Favorite villain?- I'm a huge Jason fan, but for the underrated ones I'll go with Toby from Popcorn, Victor from the Hatchet series, and Bill from Intruder. 

4) Favorite heroine?- Stretch from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.
5) Favorite hero?- Mark Loftmore from Waxwork and Waxwork II. 

6) Favorite female killer?- Aunt Felice from The Kiss.

7) Favorite supernatural killer? - Christine the car.

8) Favorite mortal killer? - Jerry Blake, The Stepfather.

9) Favorite killer animal? - Bruce the shark from Jaws.

10) Favorite Stephen King movie? - Christine and Pet Sematary.

11) Favorite Wes Craven movie? - Deadly Friend.

12) Favorite John Carpenter movie? - Christine and The Fog.

13) Favorite movie from the 70's? - Original Halloween, Jaws, Race With The Devil, and Phantasm.

14) Favorite movie from the 80's? - Friday the 13th 1-5, A Nightmare On Elm Street, 1,3,4. Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II, Fright Night, The Burning, Return Of The Living Dead, Night Of The Demons, and Witchboard.

15) Favorite movie from the 90's? - Body Bags, Popcorn, Waxwork II, Warlock 2, Scream, and Jason Goes To Hell.

16) Favorite movie from the 2000's? - Cabin Fever, Saw, Wolf Creek, Behind The Mask, and Hatchet.

17) Scariest villian? - Whatever that doll was in the opening of the Conjuring. Holy shit...

18) Villain you felt the most sorry for? - Sam from Deadly Friend, and Toby from Popcorn. Two very tragic characters.

19) Stupidest villian?- Mrs. Loomis from Scream 2. Dumbest twist for one of the better sequels in a slasher series.

20) Least scary villian? - Critters. Love those little rolling fur balls.

21) A remake you liked better than the original? - Typical...but John Carpenter's The Thing.

22) Worst remake? - There have been a lot but the worst has been The Hitcher.

23) Favorite non-horror movie? - I have a few. Um, Heathers, This Is Spinal Tap, Inception, Die Hard, Summer School, and Valley Girl.

24) Favorite song from a horror movie? - I adored the original Fright Night soundtrack. Utter perfection. For scores I would say Phantasm and Day Of The Dead.

25) Last horror movie you watched? - Hatchet III, and I'm currently watching Behind The Mask.
26) Most disappointing horror movie?- Lords Of Salem. I know a lot of people loved it, and I'm sure it's going to grow on me in time but ehhhh. What a total let down. I live close to Salem so this movie had a lot of hype building up...the final result, a complete mess.

27) Death that upset you the most? - Fisher Stevens In The Burning, and Joel David Moore in the Hatchet movies.

28) Favorite horror movie actress? - Linnea Quigley

29) Favorite horror movie actor? -  Zach Galligan.

30) Favorite horror movie director? - Sam Raimi.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Happy birthday Texas Chainsaw!

 Happy birthday Texas Chainsaw!
Today the iconic cult classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre turns 39, but the supposed actual events in the movie take place forty years ago today! Yep in August 18th, 1973 a small group of teenagers made the fatal mistake of going down an old deserted country road after running out of gas in Southern Texas.

Today, still feeling a little out of it (came down with a pretty nasty head cold Friday and had a high fever most of yesterday.) I decided to relax on this lovely Sunday morning before I take off for a makeup gig later on today. How am I relaxing? Well I'm watching the original Chainsaw of course!

I faintly remember my mother renting this movie for my sister and I way back in the mid 90's when we challenged her on which movies were actually scary or not. I faintly remember she started us off with the original Halloween, then moved on to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I remember being an idiot child laughing and fooling around with my sister, making fun of how dated the movie when when suddenly the iconic villain finally showed his skin masked face. All noise in that room died down within second as we were glued to the TV. Never before was I was nervous and scared when our final girl Sally was scrambling to get into the back of the truck while Leatherface chased after her with his buzzing chainsaw.

I've always been a fan of this movie simply because Hooper did something that really hadn't been done yet. Taking pieces of true stories, and weaving them into his own idea he made a gritty horrifying tale of young teens being picked off by a masked killer long before the slasher boom happened. This was the 70's, everything was gritty, dirty, and real. In fact it almost feels like you're watching a documentary when you watch this film. Now I'll admit, the chainsaw series doesn't really get as much play as it deserves. Well, at least the first three movies. I HATED the stylized remake and prequel. I mean yeah it looked beauitfuil on film, but maybe if they spend a little less time on the set design and how flashy the camera shots looked I would have rooted a little more for these characters. Also The Next Generation...yeah. I remember renting that movie when I was 10 or 11 and even then I knew it was stupid. 

The original will always be a classic. What Hooper captured on such a low budget I honestly don't think you could do again. It truly was capturing lighting in a bottle.


The sequel, which came about fourteen or so years later was placed at a very odd time. It was the mid 80's and with slasher movies being pumped out one after another, villains like Jason and Freddy were getting all the play. I feel bringing Leatherface back was just another way to maybe see if some money could be made from another killer. Still, even though fans didn't really get the black comedy, and bizarre nature of the film, it gained a strong cult following and is now looked at as one of the more beloved sequels of all time in the horror community. I've always loved the sequel. The fact that Hooper returned after all these years to make a sequel so unlike the original I really have to give him props. Everything about that movie is utter perfection and deserves to be along the ranks of the original. Yeah it's not nearly as scary, but it's just as iconic.

The third movie yet again was released at a very odd time and is very underrated. With a great director fresh off The Stepfather II, this movie was filled with an amazing cast, plenty of action, and a very creepy setting. Just like part 2 the effects were amazing!


Also where else would there be a deleted scene of a very young and handsome Joe Bob Briggs getting killed!

 
The Next Generation was total shit and so weren't the remakes. Then just this past winter audiences were treated to something different. We got to see The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D. A strange reboot/sequel that was a MILLION times better than the two shitty remakes. Now I know these movies don't get a lot of love. The cast was unlikeable, and the timeline was really something that pissed many of us off. I mean honestly how hard would it have been to simply make it take place int the early 90's or just cast older people. I feel these young actors brought zip to the movie. Also lots of people hated the character development of Leatherface, saying he was turned into a complete pussy. Well guess what! He was a mentally disabled, inbred scared disturbed young man. The main reason why he killed the teenagers in part one was simply because they were coming into HIS house, going on his property and scaring him. Yeah it's not justified, but after years of being taught to protect his home, he was just doing what he thought was right. I mean even after he kills some of the kids there's a scene where he looks overwhelmed and scared and sits down in his living room. To him he had to kill these people invading his home. He was simply taking care of these strangers so his family/home wouldn't be discovered and taken away. You need to remember, this was all he ever knew.


I mean in part 2 the guy saved Stretch because he has "feelings" for her and has...well if you wanna call it that, a very intimate love scene with her.

I think the direction they took his character was perfectly fine in Chainsaw 3D. I loved the opening taking place just mere moments after the original. Fans have spotted that in the opening you can see the dead truck driver from the end of the original hanging there. Also seeing Bill play the cook was a nice little Easter egg for horror fans. I liked the rich history it served and the ending. Seemed fitting since the saw after all is family.


So in closing, I feel four of these movies out of the entire series, counting sequels, remakes, and reboots are worth watching. 

So happy birthday Texas Chainsaw, hope to see more of you soon.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Did you know?

 Did you know?
In the epic sequel Terminator 2 Judgement Day, in the scene where Sarah has the vivid nightmare of watching her younger self with John when he was just a baby before the nuke drops, the baby playing John was actually Linda Hamilton and Bruce Abbott's son Dalton. 

Linda and Bruce were married for nearly seven years and had Dalton shortly before they separated. What's awesome about this certian scene is that the young Sarah is played by Linda's identical twin sister Leslie. 

In fact last year at HorrorHound when I had the complete pleasure of meeting Linda who was a total sweetheart, she remarked that Dalton has moved to my area of Boston to live with his long term girlfriend. Pretty cool since I clearly remember always getting scared shitless at this scene.



I also still to this day crack up over the casting of John in these movies. I mean for the time Edward Furlong was perfect casting as the young ten year old (yeah fucking right more like twelve or thirteen) with the cracking voice and classic one liners. In 1991 he seemed like the coolest and cutest guy on the planet. In fact he racked up a few pretty legit roles. His last being Detroit Rock City. Then...well we all know what happened.

= No fucking words.

In fact I also met Mr. Furlong at last year's HorrorHound along with some other cast members from T2. Now T2 was seriously my favorite movie growing up. I think I was the only little girl in Kindergarten who had a T2 sweatshirt and dolls. Meeting the cast was a big deal for me, but the second I walked into that autograph room and saw Edward with his ponytail and looking as if he had been under water for 10 years...my childhood was shit on.

Or maybe it happened the night before when Patrick from The Monster Squad did a drunken keg stand with us.
Maybe...

Anywho Edward was in a complete daze and even though he was pleasant whenever he looked at a photo of himself from one of The Crow movies and said he looked like a weird lesbian I nearly died.

Oh wow...

Just to think, Linda + Michael Biehn = that. I shutter to think.

John has been played by several other actors, including Mr. Nick Stahl who looks the closest to resembling Linda and Michael. But we all know what he's been up to lately...is he even still alive?

Anywho goes to show you...maybe they should have just stuck with Dalton.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Hatchet blu-ray marathon!

 Hatchet blu-ray marathon!
Today marked a very special event for horror fans alike. Today was the DVD/blu-ray release of Hatchet III, the final installment in Adam Green's epic old school splatter horror trilogy. It honestly feels just like yesterday back in 2007 when I first watched the original Hatchet. Three years later, I watched the balls to the wall sequel with a friend of mine back at school. Then this past spring I was lucky enough to attend Adam Green's Hatchet marathon in which the cast and a special audience had the privilege to watch the third and final installment two weeks before it was released. This was the first time Mr. Green and the cast got to see the final cut of the movie all together. Safe to say, I had a blast.

Sadly Hatchet III was not released in theaters, I fact I think maybe a total of four country wide were screening the film, which meant most of us had to either download it on I-tunes or watch it on demand. Well today fans of this series were finally able to complete their collection in buying the third movie which in my eyes after the first is the next best one. Sorry part II!

Tonight I'm spending a typical Tuesday drinking pumpkin flavored beer (is it October yet?!) and watching the Hatchet films backwards. All ready tons of awesome memories are coming back to be watching these movies and making me yet again remember why I love them so much. 

So I urge anyone out there even if your not a Hatchet fan to go check out the third movie. Or what I like to call the Aliens of the series. With an epic ending, some great cameos, and Zach Galligan packing heat, it's worthwhile for a great time!   

Jason Goes To Hell turns 20 today!

 Jason Goes To Hell turns 20 today!
Twenty years ago on this very day in 1993 Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday was released in theaters. 

Wow, I feel old as shit!

Jason Goes To Hell is my ultimate guilty pleasure and drinking movie. Maybe it's because the movie is so odd and unlike all of the other Friday the 13th movies, or the fact cutie pie John D LeMay is in it. I don't know.

Still, as much as fans love or hate this movie you really have to hand it to this movie for having hands down one of the all time greatest cliff hangers of all time which took nearly ten years to later be turned into Freddy Vs. Jason. I still clearly remembering renting this movie and screaming out loud at that last shot. Utter horror perfection.

So tonight crack open a beer and pop in one of the best "final" installments of the Friday the 13th series!

Monday, August 12, 2013

The Babysitter books - R.L Stine - Fear Street childhood memories.

 The Babysitter books - R.L Stine - Fear Street childhood memories.

So last month when my friend Kristy Jett was visiting for the 4th of July weekend, we wandered into a used book store up in Salem NH. There we went straight to the young adult section and seriously couldn't believe our luck in the sweet finds we found. It was the complete meca of R.L Stine Goosebump books and Fear Street gems.

I was super excited.

Anywho, after buying what seemed to be fifteen or so books, I noticed I had snagged the first three books in Stine's Babysitter series. Quickly flipping through them I noticed that his books are what I like to call "fluff". Now this isn't me insulting the man at all. In fact I'm sure I speak for a lot of people my age, these books...mostly the Goosebump titles were HUGE parts of growing up. Some of his stories are a million times better than half the bullshit that's made into movies today. 

Well by fluff I mean these books were being cranked out one after another (remind you of the slasher era anyone?) and these books all had a common theme, weren't exactly going to find their way on best seller lists, yet had a huge following, were amusing, and had some pretty good gems among the millions of titles that were released. 

I'm a huge reader and I was able to read The Babysitter I, II, and III in less than a week. Each book is less than 200 pages, which for me is a breeze. Much like awesome 80's horror movies, what caught my eye to these movies was the artwork. 

The babysitter series follows a young high school girl named Jenny who is offered a babysitter gig late one fall on the other side of town in this huge creepy rundown house. What unnerves Jenny is the fact that a series of horrible breaks ins have occurred in town, all of which are targeted at young babysitters. Once she starts looking after the adorable little boy Donny, she begins feeling as if she's being watched. Between strange phone calls that keep repeating that company is coming, Donny's strange overprotective father, and a new boy that can't seem to stop scaring her, Jenny soon begins getting stalked by someone who wants to hurt her. Someone she knows...but who?

Without giving away too much, the ending twist I believe it or not didn't see coming. Pretty well written! 

The Babysitter II takes place a year later with Jenny in therapy trying to recover from that faithful night the year before. After a bitter breakup, and a new mysterious boy in town, Jenny decides to move on and start to babysit a new boy named Eli from a new family. Strange thing is this new little boy is strange...very strange, and the phone calls begin again, telling Jenny company is coming.


The ending of this book wasn't nearly as good but nevertheless still very creepy. The little boy character Eli was pretty unnerving and a few of those chapter cliff hangers were great.

The last book I finished from the series was part III which follows Jenny staying with her cousin for the summer a year after part II. Here she's convinced a ghost from the past is coming after her, trying to kill her. Yet again, a pretty awesome twist that if it was written for an adult audience could have been a whole lot better. 

I'm still yet to read part 4, I gotta order it. I'm pretty interested to see where the series finally ends and what happens to Jenny once and for all.

I plowed through these books and it seemed they got a little more lighter after the first book. Don't expect blood and guts in these books, their aimed for a younger crowd but still had some creepy moments. Like I said, complete fluff, but still lots of fun. 


I just finished The Beach House, which I'm sure I'll review (that's a cover I couldn't seem to stop remembering from my childhood.) but as if right now I'm gonna read all the Fear Street books I got and enjoy these little guilty pleasures. Way to feel eight years old again!


Saturday, August 10, 2013

Interview with Zach Galligan

   Interview with Zach Galligan.

Tonight I am joined by an actor who I feel many of us grew up watching and associated with our childhoods. An actor who starred in one of the most popular cult classics of the 1980's and went on to star in several very memorable roles along with very over the top and bizarre sequels. An actor who just recently made a very memorable comeback in the last installment in Adam Green's Hatchet trilogy. I am speaking of none other than Mr. Zach Galligan.

I have spend years watching Zach act, and had the pleasure of meeting and talking with him several times this year. Tonight via Skype I had the complete pleasure of chatting with him and instead of doing the regular lowdown on the Gremlin movies, I decided to ask Zach about his more underrated pieces of work, mostly my favorites Waxwork and Waxwork II Lost In Time. Zach was nice enough to take the time to talk with me about his thoughts on fans getting these movies released on blu-ray, and some of his fond memories of working in the business over the last thirty or so years.


Twenty-five years later, are you still surprised that Waxwork has a strong following?
I am still surprised by the amount of fans I've come across in life, but in some ways it's more popular now than it was back in the day. So that I find kinda surprising, some of the things that I thought would handicap it. Like the cheesiness of the 80's ended up being sorta a good thing.

What was the most memorable scene to film in Waxwork?
Every time I think about Waxwork I think about shooting the ending because it was just total chaos. It was good fun and it was kinda silly. I think we shot the ending, closer towards the end of the filming so it was very fitting. I would say that was super fun. Also the scene where we meet Michu Meszaros for the first time. I don't think a lot of people know this but a lot of the laughter that's going on in that scene is genuine because Michu's English was very broken. I mean it was a lot better than our Hungarian but it was very broken. So when he would say (Hungarian accent) “Please a do come inside!” he was sorta making it up as he was going along. So he would make new lines all the time and we would be cracking up because he had a funny kinda high pitch voice, he didn't speak English very well, he didn't seem to completely know what he was doing and it was kinda hilarious and improving at the same time. I mean, the guy is 2'9, he's thirty-three inches tall!

Yeah I was surprised when I saw that photo of him and Sean Clark pop up. I thought he passed away years ago.
Yeah me too!


What was it like working with director Anthony Hickox? I know you guys worked together on a few projects.
Well that was the first time I had worked with him, and we later went on to be best friends for years before we both moved to different cities and stuff like that. Then it became very difficult maintaining a friendship when your thousands of miles away from someone. But he was great! He was super hungry, I was about twenty-three, he was a few years older than me. He had just come to LA and was really hungry to make it. It was one of those things where everyone was young and excited to do it. Think about it, I'm twenty-three, a year out of college.

The following year you reunited with actor David Warner in Mortal Passions. Any memories about making that movie?
Yeah that movie was interesting. I was working with these two guys Wayne Crawford and Andrew Lane. And Andrew had just produced this movie I did called Rising Storm that Wayne starred in. We shot that down in South Africa, and it was so strange to be down there in 1988. I mean Nelson Mandela was still in prison on the island. So afterwards Lane who was the producer of that movie was trying to get his directing career off the ground and he wanted to know if I was interested in Mortal Passions. So I did it and I just happened to be paired with David again. Which I enjoyed because I love David, he's a great actor and an awesome human being. The thing I remember most about that movie is I have a scene where David I think is my shrink and I have to scream at him, and I did it so many times and misused my vocal cords so badly because I hadn't had my vocal training or how to support them when your screaming that I actually ruptured a polyp in my vocal cords. So I had to have surgery on it the following year.

Oh my God, that's awful!
Yeah, I went on to do a movie called Psychic which was filmed right after Mortal Passions and by then I started sounding like Tom Waits. I couldn't get hired because I looked like this sweet innocent twenty-three year old baby faced kid and I sounded like Tom Waits. I basically sounded like Louie Armstrong but I looked like C. Thomas Howell. It was a very very weird thing so I had to go in and get the surgery so I could sound a lot like myself, which I did as soon as I had the surgery. In fact I've never been able to recover the top quarter of my range after having that surgery. 

 
Wow...thanks Mortal Passions. (Laughs)
Yeah I kinda fucked that one up.
I'm a big fan of Psychic, you filmed that up in Canada?
Yeah we shot it up in Toronto in the winter of 1990/91 so it was half December, half in January.

What was that like?
Cold, really really cold. I had a great time on that movie. There were some really terrific people on that film. Catherine Mary Stewart was great, Michael Nouri was a real sweetheart, really loved him and got along well. I like Toronto a lot, I was staying in a really nice hotel called The King Edward Hotel, everybody calls it the King Eddie Hotel, it's a huge actor place where people come to stay when their shooting stuff. There's probably actors staying there right now. It was actually really funny, it was 1990 like I said and The New Kids On The Block were staying there also.

Oh God...
So I would come home after work, and you gotta remember I was about the same age as The New Kids On The Block at that time, I was in my twenties. So I pull up in a car and all of these girls with New Kids signs outside the hotel screaming like I'm the Beatles, and I step out of the car and their screaming and screaming and then they see me and obviously I'm not one of The New Kids On The Block so the screaming stops within half a second and they all start looking at me like “You asshole you fooled us” And I'm just a guy getting out of a car , I didn't do anything!

Which I don't really get at that point people would have known who you were and it's not like your ugly or something. (Laughs)
They recognized who I was, but they were so pumped up for New Kids On The Block , and I wasn't a New Kid. If your looking for Justin Bieber and fricking like Jake Gyllenhaal walks out your like “Your not Justin Bieber! Your...you.” 

 
So did that go on your business cards from that point on. Like...Zach Galligan...not a New Kid On The Block.
God, I don't think I used a business card until I was like thirty-five.

Wow...thirty-five, that's ancient...kidding.
(Laughs) I was a knuckle head, I was like “I don't know, I'll just say hi to people and shake their hand!”

(Laughs) And that worked for a little while.
Yeah it did for a while (laughs).

After the Waxwork films you appeared in Warlock 2, and Hellrasier III: Hell On Earth. Can you tell us how you came about doing cameos in those two movies for Hickox?
Well they both came out the same way, he was working on a movie and they were made about a year or two apart. Like I said we were best friends so he would call me up and ask me to visit the set. So I came to the set and I remember for Warlock 2, I got there and asked where he wanted to go for lunch and he says “You gotta do your part first.” and I had no idea what he was talking about and he goes “You need to do your role, opposite Julian Sands.” and I was like “Dude stop being ridiculous.” and the wardrobe woman came up and started sizing me and I just look and go “What are you doing?” and Anthony goes (English accent) “Your doing a party today with Julian Sands, go get changed and here's your lines.” So he hands me a page of dialog and I thought “Oh my God, don't tell my agent about this!” And I didn't.


(Laughs)
So I basically ran to the dressing room, threw on my clothes which were like velvet pants...and I went out and met Julian. And Tony says “Your gonna do this scene with Zach.” I did three or four takes, two different angles, and left and had lunch with him. The whole thing took forty minutes. Then when I came for Hellraiser III I was wise, I was like “I'm not doing a speaking part in Hellraiser III.” because at that point my agent was like “Dude you need to stop doing these horror movies all the time, you gotta try and do some more mainstream stuff.” So I went there and he's nagging me saying “Come on, be in the film!” and I told him my agent is gonna kill me! So he goes “What if we do a cameo, a really short cameo “ so I go “Like what?” and he says (English accent) “Get impaired with a pool cue.” So I went “Oh my God that's so ridiculous.” and he said “Come on, it will be fun!” They put a lot of pressure on me so I just thought, let me just do this. It was one shot.


It was, your in it really quick. You have to freeze the DVD to see you.
Exactly! So I went with one of my agents to the screening because one of his other clients was in there and he asked “Is that you?!” and I said “Noooo...”

(Laughs) Well I love that you did those parts, nice little Easter Eggs for horror movie fans. So when were you first approached to do a sequel to Waxwork?
Well Tony told me he was writing it. And this is my recognition of it. It came about very quickly, and he wrote it very quickly. Which is one of the reasons it's like bat shit crazy. I feel, and I could be wrong...but I think he wrote it in less than a week. I know there was a lot of pressure to get it out so he started throwing everything in but the kitchen sink and he whipped it out. When he gave me the script and I read it I was like “Um...okay...” I just thought it was kinda wild. Then we started shooting it and the only thing I remember about shooting that movie was that I was in practically every, close to every shot. So they had two units going. An A unit, and a B unit going. So I would do my A unit stuff and they would rush me over to the B unit and I would shoot that. I was going like fourteen hours a day, six days a week. For like six weeks. It was kinda blur to me, I remember a few things like shutting down the Westside Pavilion and shooting the zombie Dawn Of The Dead sequence which was awesome. And then the sword fight with Alexander Godunov, we did that on a Universal back-lot which was great. We had a lot of fun shooting that movie, but it was very chaotic.

Yeah you said the filming seemed very fast.
Well it took a while but I think it felt so fast because I barley sat down. It was one of those things where it just kept going and going.

Almost five years later form the original Waxwork you returned to the character of Mark Loftmore. How was it like returning to that character and what was it like teaming up with a new leading lady that replaced the Sarah character?
Well you know it was strange, it was completely expected because Tony dated Deborah Foreman, had a relationship and dated her for like two years. Then the relationship fell apart about six months to a year before they decided to do Waxwork II. So I knew he wasn't going to work with her again because things between them weren't going well. So I knew they had to find a new actress. I was very surprised with the person that he chose because she's so totally and completely opposite 180 degrees different than Deborah. In terms of looks and style and everything. There wasn't even the tiniest attempt to have any kind of continuity from one to the next. So that was a little strange. Also she had no acting experience of any kind so she was very nervous the first couple of days, then eventually she calmed down. I acutely thought she did kinda a nice sweet job in the movie. They cut around some of her awkward moments and she's fine. 

 
The ending to Waxwork II was left kinda open ended. Was there ever any talk about returning for a part III or doing another project with you and Hickox?
Well after Waxwork II I always thought Hickox and me would do another project. Then it never really panned out. If you do look I did do Prince Valiant with him. But the weird thing about this which I still don't understand is he kept giving me these stories of investors wouldn't take me because I wasn't a hot enough name or something like that. But then Stephen Moyer who was a 100% complete unknown gets cast as the lead and I who had been in two movies of his and made half a billion dollars worldwide, it never made any sense that I wasn't a hot or big enough name so they would go with total unknowns. I mean maybe that's the way it works like “Oh this person is hot and up and coming.” So their more likely to gamble and take a chance. I mean some of the people I would get replaced for I was kinda surprised. I suppose you could say he's vindicated on True Blood and everything, but also if you go back and look he didn't do anything from 1997 to 2005. He had eight years where he was pretty much some unknown British actor. So the whole thing that's very strange for me is I didn't understand why I started getting cast in these really tiny roles. I mean in Prince Valiant I have five lines. And some of these English actors you've never heard of before had like fifty! The whole thing sorta left a bad taste in my mouth. I went over there and basically spend five weeks in Berlin and a little time in London and a big chunk of time in Whales, and here I was in this big movie with all these big people and I ended up having maybe half a day where I actually worked. The rest of the time I literary was a guy who stands in the background with a sword. I kinda thought to myself...the whole thing just doesn't make sense.

Would you have done a Waxwork III with him after your experience working on that film or did you feel it was time to shift gears?
It wasn't that I had a problem with a Waxwork III per say, I felt I should kinda stop doing horror movies in general. I feel I was starting to get pigeonholed. And you know what it's like when your young, you feel like “I wanna establish myself as a serious actor!” which I am, and I feel I did do. I just didn't want to keep going back to doing special effects stuff. I wanted to do a few movies where I'm sitting on a couch talking to people about things and relationships.
A few years you were able to show audiences a spooky side of yourself in a film called Cupid.. Tell us a little bit about how you got into the character of Eric Rhodes, the psychopath who murders his girlfriends on Valentine's Day?
(Laughs.) Well I told you the story of how my mother gave me the biggest compliment of my acting career because of that movie right?

Yeah I remember you mentioned how she couldn't finish watching it.
Yeah so I gave my mother a copy to watch while I was staying with her, so I went upstairs to bed and the next morning I asked her what did she think? She told me she turned it off after forty-five minutes. I was like “What? Why did you do that?” And she was like “You know that scene where your talking to yourself in the mirror?” and I said “Yeah?” She said “There was no part...that I couldn't recognize watching on the screen and it unnerved me.

(Laughs)
So I said “What do you mean?” and she said “Well I'm used to watching you, I'm used to watching Zach...like act.” and she goes “I didn't know who that person was on the screen talking that way into the mirror and acting that way and it weirder me out so I shut it off.


Oh my God...
Yeah, and that's my mom!

That's insane! That must have been creepy, I mean you really were scary in that role.
Am I?

(Laughs) You were scary, I never thought the kid from Gremlins that I grew up watching could be so creepy. I watch it every Valentine's Day now and yeah, you're scary in it Zach. You should play more villains, I think you have a knack for it.
I think so too.

My friend Tara, I'm sure you've seen she's an artist and she's working on a beautiful piece for myself of you from the Tales From The Crypt Episode Strung Along. Have you seen it?
She actually tweeted me some of it and it's excellent!

Yeah, she just finished it and mentioned that she'll try and make sure you get some prints of it, which leads me to my next question. The first thing I actually ever saw you in was that episode from Tales. What was it like appearing in such a popular TV series and working with director Kevin Yagher with all the animatronic puppets?
Well of course I was super used to that and I think that's one of the reasons Kevin casted me in that. Because he knew I was good with puppets and stuff. But the most fun thing about that was the casting director Victoria Burrows. After I read for her and the producers, they left the room and I was like “What's going on?” and Victoria came back in and she goes “Come with me?” and I asked “Okay, where are we going?” and she says “We're going going down to the costume fitting.” So it's the only time in my career that I auditioned and got the part right then and there and went and got fitted for the costume. So I call my agent and they asked how it went and I said “Um, I got fitted for the wardrobe and I start shooting tomorrow afternoon.”


Yeah everyone I talk to always remembers that episode, I don't know if it's the clown puppet but your part was very memorable and yet again played the villain!
(Laughs)
Yeah I think it worked out well because of Patricia Charbonneau who plays the shrillish wife who's pretty good and I think there's a nice physical chemistry between us even though nothing ever happened. The kiss we had I felt works out really good for our characters. Gives the audience the idea, that wow...these people were really hot and heavy lovers and that's why they murder the guy.

I actually just showed a few friends of mine that episode a few months ago, and it's always fun watching it with someone who's never seen it before because they were upset at first when the wife character throws you out. In fact one of them yelled at the screen “Don't throw Zach Galligan out! He's the friend!” But as soon as you stepped out of the other room at the end, they gasped. It was so awesome to see that kind of response because so many people aren't used to seeing you as the villain.
Right.

I just had the pleasure of watching you for the first time in Round Trip To Heaven. What was it like puking pizza on a woman's breasts?
That movie...it was made at such a strange time in my life, that I really don't have a whole lot of recognition of. Not that I was out of my mind on booze or something but the whole thing was shot very quickly and it's just kinda of blur. I basically signed onto it because I was dating one of the girls in it, Julie McCullough and we were living together and our relationship was just a disaster! And I thought maybe if we did a movie together it would somehow bring us closer and we would have fun...but we shot on different days, she was gone a lot, there were all these naked girls around. The whole thing was a fiasco. It was just a miserable shoot.

That's terrible! That poster always makes me smile you and Corey Feldman sitting on the limo together!
Well I had one of the stupidest haircuts ever created in that movie.


(Laughs)
It was seriously one of the dumbest haircuts ever, so what I found out later was that the director Allan Roberts had done all sorts of Time Square cheep crappy exploitation movies and if you watch Round Trip To Heaven you notice I don't think the camera ever movies. It's like static. But he just sets it up shoots, sets it up shoots. I think I have a few funny moments in the movie though with the Russian girl. Like when I find the money and go “These are fake!” and she looks down and says (Russian accent) “These are not fake!” and I go “No the bills! (Laughs) That scene still cracks me up.

I love the scene where your trying to buy the condoms and your throwing tons of stuff on top of them and she ends up holding them up. I think it's so funny that in 1984 you and Corey Feldman were in Gremlins together, and you know he was like the little boy who got to see the mogwai and then you two are trying to get laid together a few years later. Goes to show what a few years difference can make.
Oh yeah...

What are your thoughts, as you know I'm trying to kick start the two Waxwork movies to be released on blu-ray. I'm in talks with different people, trying to raise fan's support and just try to get these two movies that I think a lot of fans love released on blu-ray. What are you thoughts on fans having a passion and wanting to see these movies in blu-ray twenty-five years later?
Well I think you know the fans have an expectation that the technology will keep up for the stuff that they love. If there is the technology to see Waxwork one or two on 10.80p blu-ray then they wanna see it. So obviously it comes down is it worthwhile to spend a little money on the packaging and the this and the that. I think you just need to let Lionsgate know that there's a ground swell of people who want it. I think some online petition or something would be a way to go about it. You go to them with thousands of signatures their not gonna sneeze at a fifty-thousand dollar shipping sales or something.


Yeah that's what a lot of people have been telling me. The more support you have from fans the studios can't ignore it and I think after all these years these two movies are still loved. I mean I was born the year the original Waxwork came out and it's one of my all time favorite movies. So if there's any way we can get a special edition blu-ray of both these movies and get you on the commentary I know I'm not just speaking for myself but that would be a lot of fan's dream come true.
I would be happy to do the commentary on both of them because I find when I watch the movies again it really stimulates my memory and a lot of stuff comes flying back that I haven't thought about in years.

Okay well my last question Zach is are you a suspense, thriller, or horror fan? And if so what are your favorite titles?
Well those are three very different genres, so the answer to all three is yeah! My favorite horror movie is definitely John Carpenter's The Thing. That's the perfect horror movie and I love it. The original Dawn Of The Dead I saw in theaters was very seminal for me. I really liked The Decent, that's kinda an amazing movie. I really liked the Conjuring that I just saw. I thought that was one of the best made horror movies in the last three or four years, and Insidious. I like James Wan a lot. I'm sure I'm forgetting some. Suspense movies? Um...name a couple and maybe it will jog my memory.

Um, Rear Window...The Brain De Palmer movies...
Oh yeah! Well Rear Window is an incredible movie. It might be Hitchcock's best. I love that movie, that movie is awesome. Oh...and this is sorta a guilty pleasure but I love The Exorcist III.

I love that movie too!
I love that movie and that single shot in the hospital...

The nurse scene. Oh my God...
That static shot is an absolute masterpiece. That scared the crap put of me. You know what also scared me a lot. It's cheap but it made me scream a lot is this low budget movie called Grave Encounters.

I haven't seen it yet but a lot of people are raving about it. Do you recommend it?
I would...oh you know what movie I loved. The original Spanish movie REC.

Oh my God yes!
That movie is pronominal, I love that movie!

Have you seen the sequel yet REC 2?
I haven't yet.

You'll love it. I highly recommend it.
I hear REC 3 isn't that good.

No, I haven't heard one good thing about that one.
Yeah and you know I actually enjoyed the first Paranormal Activity movie. I also just saw recently but more as a guilty pleasure was a movie called Troll Hunter?

I saw that, I surprisingly really liked that movie...it made me very nervous.
Yeah I really liked that...I really like the whole found footage thing when it's done well. Which is not that often. But when it is done well I definitely like that. But that REC movie scared the crap out of me.

Oh yeah it's terrifying.
Yeah that was a good one. So yeah a little sampling for you right there.

Well I'll definitely have to check out those movies. You got great taste Zach.
Thank-you.

With Hatchet III coming out on blu-ray this up coming week, do you think you might appear in movie horror movies now or are you trying to stray away from it?
Well at this point I just wanna work. So it really doesn't matter to me that much. I don't know I'm kinda attached to something right now. I don't really wanna talk about it simply because I don't wanna screw it up for the guy. Not that being attached to it would screw it up for him but people get very cautious when things are sorta in development stages. They don't wanna jinx anything or have anything leak out or get annoyed for some bizarre reason. It's a good script though and I'm really excited about it. 

 
Well I just want to thank you Zach so much for taking the time to do this interview and speak with me. As you know I'm a huge Waxwork fan and you have been a huge part of my childhood, so thank you again from the bottom of my heart.
Of course!

 Special thanks to Kristy Jett and Zach Galligan.