Date: 2014-08-06 00:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Reference; General
Description: First Scream to the Last offers an intriguing insight into the horror movies of the Eighties. Extremely comprehensive without being bloated, this essential companion is supported with various interviews from filmmakers and writers of the time, amongst others. An often misunderstood and under appreciated genre, the '80s was arguably its golden era. With the creation of iconic characters and visual images never seen before on film, it remains a special time for anyone involved and the avid horror enthusiast alike. From giallo to slasher, First Scream covers the highest (and not so high) moments
Publisher: Lulu.com

First Scream to the Last

Adrian Roe

Copyright © 2014 Adrian Roe

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof in any form. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored, in any form or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical without the express written permission of the author.

KINDLE edition

PublishNation, London
www.publishnation.co.uk

Introduction

As most horror fans will tell you, there is something very special about genre pieces from the eighties. The decade seemed to produce some of the most endearing characters, and unforgettable movies. This was also evident in the box office returns, with Horror films becoming a serious sell and a home video market in its infancy that was quick to embrace, and exploit this.

I would often believe that the affection for these movies was simply limited to the generation that had grown up with them, and remained loyal to the cultures that defined it. That would certainly offer a logical explanation, but I quickly realized the popularity of these films ran much deeper than that. Speaking with fans of the genre from varying age groups, the inescapable fact was that many of the favorite films chosen were from the eighties. Whether a teenager or someone much older, we all seem to be very familiar with this decade. What is it that had created this almost subconscious awareness? The decade seems to have generated a presence and left an indelible mark on the genre, and our conscious.

Films, and most in particular Horror films, are a reflection of society and the cultures present, and the eighties was the perfect storm. Not only the dawn of the video age, this decade was extremely diverse and vibrant, particularly for the younger generation. Horror films tend to (but not always) focus on our adolescent years, and here lies the secret to the riddle. The eighties was the last major Cultural Revolution for the young, with music and technology evolving at an exciting pace, it gave a colorful and entertaining backdrop for all of these movies. Such an influential period it was, that its influences are still seen and felt today.

The explosion in popularity for these films began in the late seventies, where the seeds were planted with such classics as Halloween, The Hills Have Eyes, Black Christmas, Carrie, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, to name just a few. There is the argument that this decade spawned the true classics of the genre, and that is perhaps a story for another day. This book however will focus on the genre’s phenomenal popularity that was enjoyed in the eighties, and explore the films that made it happen.

Covering every single film from the decade would have been virtually impossible, so apologies if your favorite movie is missing. I have tried to offer an insight over an extremely broad spectrum however, and within these pages we will attempt to catalogue and review some of the key moments that this fantastic decade had to offer.

Throughout the course of writing this book, I have been honored to have many directors; actors, producers and writers of the time contribute toward the work. First Scream to the Last not only represents a passion of genre fans, but also the very people that made it possible.

Supported with exclusive interviews from some of the key directors and producers of the time, it offers a fascinating insight into what has remained a very special time in film making for all involved, and fans alike.

Special Thanks

I would like to extend a special thanks to the following individuals, for their involvement and contribution towards this work.

Collaborators and associated interviews include:

Wes Craven                     A Nightmare on Elm Street / Shocker

Tom Holland                   Fright Night / Childs Play

Brian Yuzna                    Re-Animator

Tom McLoughlin            Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives

Dee Wallace                    The Howling / Cujo

Joe Augustyn                  Night of the Demons

Victor Miller                   Friday the 13th

Neil Affleck                    My Bloody Valentine

Eileen Davidson             The House on Sorority Row

John Philbin                   Return of the Living Dead

Adrienne Barbeau          The Fog / Creepshow

Marsha Dietlein              Return of the Living Dead Part 2

Mick Garris                    The Fly II

Barbie Wilde                  Hellbound: Hellraiser II

Cortney Palm                 Silent Night

Felissa Rose                   Sleepaway Camp

Chapter One

1980

Friday The 13th

When do the cultures and social climate that define a decade truly begin? Does everything change on December the 31st at midnight? This is of course not the case, and film along with all other art forms will evolve at it’s own pace following previous material and influences.

By the end of the Seventies the blueprint had been well and truly laid down for what was to become an explosion of Horror film. Towards the end of the decade we had been left with an established sub-genre that was becoming ever increasingly popular – The slasher film. With titles such as Black Christmas, Tourist Trap, When a Stranger Calls, and of course Halloween, proving to be a huge hit with fans, we should not have been surprised with how the Eighties began, as it picked matters up where the previous decade had left off.

After John Carpenters 1978 ‘Halloween’, which is still regarded by many to be the best slasher film ever made, 1980 was about to provide us with another cult classic which owed a great deal to its predecessor.

Inspired by the success of Halloween, Friday the 13th was a film produced and directed by Sean S. Cunningham. Filming actually began during September of 1979, so I cannot think of more suitable film to begin with as we usher out the Seventies and bring in a brand new decade.

The film centered on a group of young camp counselors, who would work at Camp Crystal Lake throughout the summer. Crystal Lake has a dark past, and one that will come back to seek revenge on the councilors in brutal fashion.

In what Halloween offered in suspense, Friday the 13th had in violence and gore, in a movie that offered the audience far more blood than had previously been seen in a slasher picture.

Cunningham, who did not even have a script when releasing promotional advertisements for the film, had previously worked with Wes Craven on ‘The Last House on the Left’. Convinced that his title would lead to success, he rushed out an advertisement in Variety magazine in the hope that it would flush out any potential lawsuits regarding the title. Once the title was secured, focus could be placed on the script for this future classic.

Victor Miller, who interestingly drew on his own childhood fears when writing the story, wrote the script. I had the pleasure in interviewing Victor in 2013:

Where did the inspiration come from to write Friday the 13th?

Poverty and a family of origin, which lent itself well to the idea of a mother who would kill to punish anyone for mistreating her son. My mother, sad to report, was not that kind. My childhood fears were all used in the crafting of this screenplay.

Were there any other horror films of that time that you enjoyed, and helped to influence the story?

Halloween and Psycho.

Were there any aspects of the movie that did not follow your original story line?

Only the scene with the motorcycle cop which was not of my writing, because it cut against the idea of a location which made it impossible for the kids to be aided by cops, militia, National Guard, Cavalry, etc.

As a fan, what is your favorite scene from the movie?

Mrs. Voorhees recalling her son and vocalizing for him in her insane state. And Manfredini’s score using those words.

Did you visit the set at all during production?

I was on set when Tom Savini and his assistant shoved the arrow through Kevin Bacon’s throat, a physical impossibility, but a dramatic triumph.

Friday the 13th went on to become a phenomenal success; did you have any idea when writing it that this would be the case?

I would have been happy if it had earned its investment back.

In your opinion, do any of the sequels follow the same tone as the original – and if so which one(s)?

I would not know. My intention had nothing to do with Jason as a killer in as much as he was dead dead dead at the beginning of my film.

What are your thoughts on the sequels?

I don’t know. I have not seen any of them.

Years later, and with the benefit of hindsight – is there any part of the story that you would have changed if you could turn back the clock?

Not really. I am so impressed by Savini’s special effects I would hate to see it in CGI. And Harry Manfredini’s music is at least as important as any of the other aspects that made this film a hit.

Finally, of all the great slasher films made in the eighties, do you recall any one film that you particularly enjoyed?

Halloween.

Filming for Friday the 13th actually took place on a Boy Scout camp that is still open to this day. Tom Savini, who was quickly becoming an established special effects artist, having previously worked on ‘Dawn of the Dead’, was onboard to supply the incredible special effects. The soundtrack for the film was written by Harry Manfredini, and is widely accepted as a key to the movie’s success (much like Halloween before it).

Friday the 13th’s blend of atmosphere and high body count in gory detail ensued the film’s success, and paved the way for what was to become a huge franchise.

With an estimated budget of $550,000 it went to take over $39.7 million at the US box office, making it one of the most profitable slasher movies of all time.

The Shining

If the horror genre has a masterpiece, many would argue that The Shining would be just that, even seminal perhaps.

Released in May of 1980, this adaption (albeit not direct) of the Stephen King best seller was directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick, who left us with an extremely powerful and eerie vision.

Shot mainly at the EMI Elstree Studios in Britain, The Shining took just under a year to shoot. It was one of the first movies to use the ‘Steadicam’, enabling Kubrick to capture such scenes as Danny riding through the hotel, and the hedge maze. Upon the film’s release Stephen King was not overly impressed with Kubrick’s adaption, as the movie does differ considerably from the novel. King was quoted as saying,

‘It's like a great big beautiful Cadillac with no motor inside, you can sit in it and you can enjoy the smell of the leather upholstery – the only thing you can't do is drive it anywhere. So I would do everything different. The real problem is that Kubrick set out to make a horror picture with no apparent understanding of the genre. Everything about it screams that from beginning to end, from plot decisions to the final scene.’

Kubrick’s own defense of his movie as quoted from a previous interview,

‘With The Shining, the problem was to extract the essential plot and to re-invent the sections of the story that were weak. The characters needed to be developed a bit differently than they were in the novel. It is in the pruning down phase that the undoing of great novels usually occurs, because so much of what is good about them has to do with the fineness of the writing, the insight of the author and often the density of the story [...] Diane and I talked a lot about the book and then we made an outline of the scenes we thought should be included in the film. This list of scenes was shuffled and reshuffled until we thought it was right, and then we began to write. We did several drafts of the screenplay, which was subsequently revised at different stages before and during shooting.’

There have been countless stories of record breaking takes being made, and actors (namely Shelly Duvall) experiencing incredibly difficult times on set resulting in illness. Jack Nicholson became so familiar with the constant changes in script that he would eventually resort to learning his words a few moments before filming, after abandoning the countless scripts he was given in frustration.

The Guinness Book of Records actually has the scene of Wendy swinging the baseball bat at Jack while backing up the stairs being taken 127 times. This has been disputed, but with other scenes taking an even higher number!

With a budget of $19 million, the Shining went on the take over $44 million domestically.

There are actually three versions of the film, the original release running at 146 minutes, the US cut at 144 minutes and the international cut which runs at 119 minutes. The US cut removed a hospital scene at the end of the film, with the international cut removing various scenes that were away from the hotel. All versions are approved by Kubrick, making for a popular debate as to which version is the ‘genuine’ and completed film.

With its finely balanced mix of suspense, gore, eerie atmosphere and a tight cast, The Shining has succeeded in pleasing not only horror fans but also mainstream cinemagoers alike.

As with many of Kubrick’s films, The Shining has become regarded as classic through time, and held up by many as the best horror film of all time.

Maniac

One of the more gritty and darker exploitative films from 1980 was William Lustig’s ‘Maniac’, which was written by Joe Spinell and C.A. Rosenberg.

Spinell also played the lead role of Frank, who as a middle aged loner would prowl the streets at night in search of female victims to scalp and murder. Once in possession of this trophy he would return home to dress his collection of mannequins with the bloody scalp. After dressed to his satisfaction, Frank would sleep and talk with the chosen mannequin, as he felt the trapped victim belonged to him forever.

Spinell, who was previously seen in Rocky, gave a genuinely disturbing performance as Frank and was instrumental in the film’s success and future cult status. Tom Savini was on hand to provide the special effects, and also had a role in the movie as one of Frank’s unsuspecting victims. It was probably the goriest moment in the movie as we see him have his head blown off with a shotgun!

Filmed between October ’79 and January 1980, Maniac had an estimated budget of $350,000 with a US gross return of $6,000,000. Being shot under such financial restrictions, many of the scenes were shot without the correct city permits, and therefore had to be completed incredibly quickly with a hasty retreat before the police turned up!

Caroline Munroe was the heroine of the movie, who interestingly got the role due to her then producer husband putting $200,000 into the film.

Maniac gave us a twisted and dark insight into the mind of a serial killer and the graphic, gory killings ensured that this film quickly became recognized as a cult classic. So much so that a remake was released in 2012.

The Fog

The 70s had already seen director John Carpenter team up with Jamie Lee Curtis with huge success, so what better way to start the 80s than with another film starring the scream queen in waiting!

Written by Carpenter and Debra Hill (who also produced the movie), The Fog offered a more supernatural premise. An eerie fog bringing the ghosts of a vengeful shipwrecked crew to the sleepy town of Antonio Bay. This was the backdrop for what was Carpenter’s first theatrical release since Halloween.

Carpenter and Hill were actually inspired by a visit to Stonehenge in England, where they witnessed an eerie fog in the distance. The story was also inspired by the British film ‘The Trollenberg Terror’.

Carpenter’s then wife, Adrienne Barbeau, was cast as the female lead with Tom Atkins cast as Nick Castle. Jamie Lee Curtis was given the role of Elizabeth, and commenting on the role she said ‘That’s what I love about John. He's letting me explore different aspects of myself. I'm spoiled rotten now. My next director is going to be almost a letdown.’

Shot in 30 days and made on a budget of $1 million, The Fog was a commercial success bringing in domestic box office returns of $21,378,000. A remake was also made in 2005.

The Fog offered a strong cast, a classic haunting atmosphere and a pace that kept the viewer interested. What was missing in early cuts of the film was gore.

In fact Carpenter was so unhappy when first viewing the first cut that he added several other scenes to ‘beef up’ the horror element and offer a more complete movie. Carpenter commented, ‘It was terrible. I had a movie that didn't work, and I knew it in my heart’.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Adrienne Barbeau in 2014, about her lead role as Stevie Wayne:

How did the opportunity arise for you to audition for The Fog, and what appealed to you about the film and subsequent role?

I never had to audition for The Fog. I was fortunate enough to be married to the director, who wrote the role of Stevie Wayne for me. I loved Stevie, loved her strength, loved her heroism, and loved her job. Imagine, she didn't have to get dressed up or put make-up on to go to work, she got to listen to the music she loved all day long, and work in the most amazing locale! I think Inverness and Point Reyes, the locations for Antonio Bay, are as much valuable characters in the film as the cast.

You were of course married to John Carpenter at the time, how was it working with him on set and how was he to work for in general as a director?

I met John when he directed me in Someone's Watching Me, so I knew him as a director before I knew him socially. I love working for him; trust him completely. You couldn't ask for a finer director. We only had one disagreement on the set in all the films I did for him. It was a scene of me alone in the lighthouse. John said, "Okay, take a seat and we'll shoot." "Oh John," I said, "I think she's too anxious to sit in this scene." And John said, "Okay, stand up and we'll shoot." Who wouldn't love working with him?

Jamie Lee Curtis and Tom Atkins also starred in the movie, and featured in other horror movies of the time, like yourself – what were they like to work with?

Tommy was a dear friend of mine before we did The Fog and he's still one of my beloved friends all these years later. And although we've been in at least four films together (I think I'm forgetting one), I'm not sure we've ever had any scenes together. Maybe Two Evil Eyes, but I just don't remember. He's one of my favorite actors, though. I could watch him non-stop. And I never had any scenes with Jamie Leigh, either, but she, too, was a friend.

What was the hardest scene to shoot?

I guess the hardest scene to shoot was the final one atop the lighthouse where I'm being pursued by one of the pirate ghosts. I explain that scene in detail in my memoir There Are Worse Things I Could Do. This was long before CGI remember, and we were working with 'fog juice' that wasn't easily controlled. They could shoot it into a scene, but couldn't make it recede. And since that's what the scene called for, we shot it in reverse sequence and then John printed the film backwards, or upside down, or something, making it look like the fog disappeared at the end of the scene. I guess it's easier to understand in my book. All I know is I had to act the scene and accompanying emotions in reverse order.

Was there any research or inspiration involved on your part to make Stevie the fantastic and memorable character that you did?

There was a well-known disc jockey on a New York radio station in the late 60s or early 70s named Allison Steele. She had a very distinctive, low, sensual voice, as I recall. I kept her in my mind as I was creating Stevie.

The special effects throughout the movie are great. What are your memories of the prosthetics and makeup used on set, and of course the creation of all that fog!

I do remember the fog juice. I think it was a combination of oil and kerosene or some other vile smelling liquid. It was dirty and oily and smelled to high heaven.

Do you stay in touch with any of the cast that you met during that film?

I keep in touch with all the cast and especially look forward to the conventions that bring us all together. A little trivia: James Canning, who played the fisherman on the boat whose body falls out of the cupboard onto Jamie Leigh, was with me on Broadway in the original production of Grease in 1972. He played Doody and sang Magic Changes. I was the original Rizzo. We spent a week together last year in NYC, rehearsing the songs for a fortieth anniversary benefit.

Have you seen the re-make and what are your thoughts?

I've never seen the remake. From what I hear, I haven't missed anything.

Prom Night

After her roles in Halloween and The Fog, Jamie Lee Curtis was quickly establishing herself as the ‘Scream Queen’ for the 80s, and Prom Night would help to further secure that honor. In fact according to the director Paul Lynch, even finding financing for the project was proving to be difficult until Jamie Lee was on board.

A Canadian film released during July 1980 with a budget of roughly $1,6000,000, Prom Night was a relatively successful movie making a US box office return of $14,796,236. Leslie Nielsen stared alongside Curtis as her father, and also the Head Master of Hamilton High.

With a body count of eight, Prom Night followed the popular cliché of students at high school getting sliced up by a mystery masked killer! This revenge based storyline was to become the blueprint for countless other slasher films during the 80s. Lynch managed to achieve the atmosphere and feel of a ‘who done it’ mystery thriller, but at the same time making what was unmistakably a horror movie. This was a formula that worked well, making for what was to become known as suburban horror or the teen slasher movie.

Modern horror has long since enjoyed becoming a parody of these clichés, but these were innocent times and the movie going audience couldn’t get enough of the ingredients that was almost essential if the film were to attract its target audience. The creepy caretaker, students smoking dope and losing their virginity, nudity, the red herring and the gory death sequences were all present in Prom Night and many other teen slashers to come.

Prom Night was followed by 3 sequels, and a remake was made in 2008.

Terror Train

After the completion of Prom Night, Jamie Lee Curtis was in demand for her next horror film, Terror Train, which was filmed immediately after.

Another Canadian film, Terror Train had an estimated budget of $3,500,000 and was released during October 1980. With the classic stereotypical premise, Terror Train was almost identical to Prom Night in its structure, dealing with an act of historic wrong doing being dealt with by a bloody revenge campaign. In fact the film’s producer, Daniel Grodnik, even described the film as ‘Halloween on a train’.

Terror Train was Roger Spottiswoode’s debut feature, and was written by T.Y. Drake.

The unique situation that the victims found themselves in within this scenario however is that they could not run away of course, and this environment worked extremely well with regard to building up tension and the inevitable chase sequences.

David Copperfield, who was of course a real life magician, played this role within the movie. Unlike many other slasher movies of the time, the killer in Terror Train would wear several different masks while mixing with the potential victims. This would increase the mystery and drama of the events as they unfolded, making many fans pick this movie as one of the superior offerings of the year.

The film offers less gore than some of its counterparts, but certainly made up for this with superior suspense and atmosphere created by some extremely inventive camera work. John Alcott, who had helped create the outstanding visions in The Shining, provided the cinematography.

The majority of the film was actually shot in a warehouse, with the train carriages having been modified to enable enough room for the crew and cameras. Filming would take place at night with the train being rocked back and forth to give the illusion of movement.

Terror Train went on to take $8,000,000 at the US box office, and was Jamie Lee Curtis’ 4th horror film in just 2 years.

City of the Living Dead

During the 1970s, Italian horror movies were breaking into the mainstream and becoming increasingly popular. High on gore and with close up shots of killings in all their detail, this became indicative of the Italian horror film or the ‘Giallo’ genre.

One of the key releases during 1980 was Lucio Fulci’s ‘City of the Living Dead’. Although Fulci had been making films since the 1950s, it wasn’t until the 80s that he broke through and made his presence known to a much wider audience. City of the Living Dead was the first in an unofficial trilogy of films made by the aptly named’ Godfather of Gore’.

The story centers on the Gates of Hell being opened, unleashing zombies onto an unsuspecting town. The main characters, played by Christopher George and Catriona MacColl, must then battle the gory carnage that follows in order to close the portal before the dead take over the world.

Due to the high level of gore the movie was banned in various countries, and released with heavy cuts in others. In the UK the infamous ‘head drilling’ scene was cut, with an uncut version not being available until 2001.

Catriona MacColl would go on to star in the two follow up films to City of the Living Dead, and her name has become synonymous with Lucio Fulci’s work.

City of the Living Dead opened with a mixed reaction when finally released in the USA in 1983, but has become a cult favorite amongst horror fans. These movies offered a very different form of entertainment from the countless teen slasher movies of the day, with the creepy atmosphere and ultra gore. Fulci knew what fans expected, and certainly delivered the goods.

The House on the Edge of the Park

Another Italian shocker from 1980 was Ruggero Deodato’s ‘House on the Edge of the Park’, which starred David Hess who had of course shocked movie goers back in 1972 with his role in ‘Last House on the Left’.

In fact it was his previous role in Wes Craven’s infamous film that made him the first choice for Deodato. Hess was given half the rights to the film, such was the importance of his involvement.

A dark vision of human nature and desires, the movie follows Hess and his friend as they terrorize a small group of partygoers that have bitten off more than they can chew. Although largely shot in one location, the movie succeeds in compelling the audience due to its disturbing atmosphere and mature themes. Once again, an interesting alternative to the teen slasher movies of the time.

Made in just three weeks on an extremely low budget, House on the Edge of the Park generated huge controversy upon its release. When reading the initial script, Deodato said in an interview;, ‘I thought it was too violent. I make violent films, but softer ones. But this film was full of violence, and that made me uncomfortable. When I met David Hess, I thought that with my direction I could make him do anything. But when I first read it, I found it quite disturbing’.

Initially banned in the UK, it wasn’t available until 2002, and even then was subject to cuts of over 11 minutes.

The House on the Edge of the Park remains one of the most controversial movies made, securing its place as a cult favorite for horror fans to this day.

Eaten Alive!

The subject of 80s horror movies would not be complete without the mention of a subculture known as ‘Cannibal-Rape’ films.

The general premise of these movies was as the description would suggest – explicit nudity, castration, rape, animal abuse, and graphic gore – about as nasty as things can get on a visual level.

‘Eaten Alive’ was directed by Umberto Lenzi and was one of three well-known cannibal films of the time. This movie actually used a lot of footage from other films for the gory shots, while wrapping a story around them. This story involves the main character searching for her sister who has disappeared in the jungles of Asia. What follows is a gory struggle against the local cannibals!

Lenzi would follow up with another cannibal film in 1981 titled ‘Cannibal Ferox’.

Cannibal Holocaust

Perhaps the most controversial of all the cannibal films was Ruggero Deodato’s ‘Cannibal Holocaust’.

The story follows the fate of a missing documentary crew in the Amazon Jungle, whose demise we learn via the discovery of a film reel that was taken during their expedition. The Blair Witch Project used this ‘found footage’ method of story telling, along with countless other films some 20 years later.

Deodato came up with the idea for the movie while watching a news report on terrorism, whereby all the focus was on the violence. His film was intended as a reflection of the Italian Media.

The film itself created more controversy than any other release, with the animal killings being a huge issue for many involved. Actor Robert Kerman walked off the set during the killing of a coati, and tensions were extremely high throughout production. Shelley Duvall also starred, who of course is best known for her role in The Shining.

Included also are scenes of rape and mutilation which were indicative of the Italian exploitation films of this era.

When released, all hell broke loose with director Deodato actually being arrested for obscenity, and murder (this charge was later dropped). The film was banned in numerous countries and remains so in many to this day. While the exploitative nature of this film was too much for some, its importance within the horror genre cannot be ignored and it is widely regarded as one of the greatest horror films of our time.

Inferno

Dario Argento’s first film of the decade was ‘Inferno’, which was the sequel to the hugely successful ‘Suspiria’.

Filmed largely in Rome, with a few scenes shot in New York, Inferno was not given a wide theatrical release and did not manage the same level of success as its prequel. Argento has gone on record as stating that this was one of his most challenging films, and he was actually bed-ridden with hepatitis for a short period, having to direct some scenes from his bed! The special effects were handled by the legendary Mario Bava whose son (Lamberto Bava) was the film’s assistant director. Part of the ‘Three Mothers Trilogy’, the story was designed to follow on from Susperia, with another of the evil sisters’ dwellings being discovered in New York.

Starring Irene Miracle and Leigh McCloskey, Inferno still offered the audience a stylistic movie that had Argento’s classic style written all over it. Although perhaps not as controversial or shocking as Suspiria, Inferno still had the visionary imagery and visuals that one would come to expect and enjoy from the Italian master.

The movie was followed up by the final part of the trilogy (eventually) with ‘The Mother of Tears’ in 2007.

The Boogey Man

Written, directed and produced by Ulli Lommel, ‘The Boogey Man’ gained notoriety as a video nasty of the 80s and was placed on the banned video list in the UK from 1984. It wasn’t until 2000 that the uncut version was finally released.

Appealing to the slasher fans of the time, The Boogey Man dealt with the story of a child murdering his mother’s abusive partner. Twenty years later the spirit if this man returns for a very bloody revenge…

Dealing with possession, abuse, and murder in a very graphic nature, The Boogey Man was one of the first 80s horror movies to really cash in on the rapidly growing video market of the time. With an estimated budget of $300,000 the movie managed to bring in $35,000,000 worldwide.

The film was followed by 2 direct to video sequels.

Chapter Two

1981

An American Werewolf in London

In 1981 we saw a horror film win an academy award for best makeup. This was the first year the category was introduced, and ‘An American Werewolf in London’ was the deserving winner. Written and directed by John Landis, this classic offering tells the story of an American tourist being bitten by a werewolf while in Yorkshire. The story follows this unfortunate victim to London where he is initially treated for his superficial wounds. However, the nightmare quickly unfolds as his true condition becomes apparent and we are treated to breathtaking effects and stirring imagery.

Landis actually wrote the story in 1970 while working on ‘Kelly’s Heroes’, where he witnessed a gypsy burial that stirred his imagination.

A joint British and American venture, the film was shot in the UK, with a budget of $10 million. Box office returns were in excess of $61 million, and the film went on to become a huge success that was praised by critics and fans alike.

Rick Baker created the award winning special effects, with the first transformation sequence still being hailed as one of the pivotal moments for the horror genre. In many peoples’ eyes these effects raised the bar, and still stand out to this day, making this film a cult classic.

A sequel titled ‘An American Werewolf in Paris’ was made in 1997.

The Beyond

Following on from his previous film, ‘City of the Living Dead’, Lucio Fulci directed the sequel (and second part of the trilogy) ‘The Beyond’. Not only cited as the best film from the ‘Gates of Hell’ trilogy, many critics argue that this was Fulci’s finest hour and his seminal movie.

Catriona MacColl was called upon once again and took the main part playing the role of Lisa, with David Warbeck co-starring as Dr. John McCabe. This time the gates of hell are located under an old hotel in Louisiana, and MacColl’s character (who inherits the building) quickly discovers the unwanted side effects of living above hell!

The movie delivered on all levels for the dedicated horror fan, offering the trademark Fulci gore with a surreal apocalyptic vision that is both dark and unsettling.

Shot in Louisiana and Rome, The Beyond was not released in America until 1983 and was heavily edited. It wasn’t until 1998 that an uncut release was finally made available to the public, with subsequent releases ever since.

The sequel and third part of the trilogy, ‘The House by the Cemetery’, was released shortly afterwards.

The Burning

With the huge success that Friday the 13th enjoyed in 1980, it was no surprise that countless other movies tried to emulate this proven formula. Perhaps the one movie that came very close was Tony Maylam’s ‘The Burning’. Written by Peter Lawrence and Bob Weinstein, The Burning was one of the first films produced by Harvey Weinstein.

The template for the film was the classic revenge story, with a caretaker who had been badly burnt in a prank gone wrong, exacting revenge on all involved at camp Blackfoot…

The Burning featured future stars Jason Alexander, Fisher Stevens, and Holly Hunter, and was shot in various locations including New York. The film managed to hold its own with plenty of lively characters, decent enough acting and very gory effects that were handled by the legendary Tom Savini (who turned down Friday the 13th Part 2 in favor of The Burning).

Another movie that was quickly added to the banned ‘video nastie’ list in the UK, The Burning also struggled to obtain a release in the States. With a limited theatrical release and the DVD not being made available until 2007.

All this of course has helped to secure the film’s legacy as a cult classic, and another favorite within the slasher fraternity.

Cannibal Ferox

After Eaten Alive, Umberto Lenzi wasted no time with his follow up in the form of ‘Cannibal Ferox’.

Following three friends who are out to prove that cannibalism is simply a myth, we are treated to an endless supply of animal cruelty, rape and violent murder (and let’s not forget cannibalism)! Once again this sub-genre of cannibal horror pushed the boundaries, and offered a visually disturbing film that unsurprisingly came under attack upon its release.

The real life animal killings proved too much for many, with actor Giovanni Lombardo Radice refusing to participate in such scenes, therefore forcing Lenzi to use a double.

Although initially released uncut in the UK, it wasn’t long until it was banned outright and added to the ever increasing video nasties list. The uncut version is still unavailable in the UK, however the full version was released in the states during the late 1990s.

The Evil Dead

Sam Raimi’s ‘The Evil Dead’ was loosely based on the short film Within the Woods, which he had written and produced as a vehicle to help fund The Evil Dead. Originally titled Book of the Dead, this iconic movie was Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell’s feature debut, after years of growing up together making super-8 films.

Shot in Morristown, Tennessee the production was self-funded with numerous stories of how Raimi was forced to literally beg for money from anyone who would listen in order to complete the film. The cabin used was actually a real cabin, but had to be worked on somewhat due to the deplorable condition it was in. The scenes in the cellar were shot at a separate location however due the cabin not having one.

The Evil Dead was the product of passion; initiative and a self believe that ensured this project would succeed. Where funds were not available, innovative and creative intervention would prevail. The scenes that involved the evil force chasing down its intended prey in the woods were actually achieved by a camera being attached to a piece of wood. Two cameramen would then run around and give the effect of a real chase. Many of the actors were inadvertently hurt, or thrown around while filming in a truly hands on project. Some of the actors have since stated that this remains the most difficult production they have been involved in, mostly due to the freezing conditions and Raimi’s long shots.

Raimi’s style of direction and the raw gritty atmosphere that was created left us with a horror movie, which is cited by many as the greatest cult film ever. This was maverick film making at its best, and the end result left us with an enduring legacy that is still enjoyed as much now as it was upon its release.

Upon its release in 1981 The Evil Dead was somewhat of a slow burner at the box office, but as the word spread it eventually pulled in an impressive $600,000 domestically. The growing home video market was to be the film’s true mark of its success however. The Evil Dead became the best selling video of that year, even outselling films like The Shining, which of course boasted bigger stars and an even bigger budget.

Controversy was inevitable, with some counties simply banning the movie and others enforcing cuts to be made for video release. It was considered easily the most violent and notorious horror film of its day, which quickly gave it the label of a video nasty. In the UK the film was released with the infamous tree rape scene being cut completely.

The Evil Dead spawned two sequels and a remake that was released in 2013. This series of films has become one of the most successful cult trilogies of all time, and enjoys an enduring legacy which thrives to this day. The careers of Raimi and Campbell were launched with the success of this movie, with Campbell’s role as Ash in The Evil Dead still being regarded as his best.

Final Exam

Perhaps one of the less well-known campus slasher films of the time was Final Exam.

Written and directed by Jimmy Huston, the movie involves a killer on campus who is slowly working his way through the student body. Shot in just six weeks with a budget of $60,000, the film starred Joel S. Rice and Cecile Bagdadi.

Most of the cast and crew were actually friends and students of Huston’s. When interviewed, Huston stated that he wanted to avoid the usual clichés of a horror movie, and focus more on the young characters than the gore.

This decision to have minimal gore and violence didn’t impress the movie going audience of the time, with the movie being received poorly by critics and fans alike.

This approach seems to have created an interest in the film over time however, with Final Exam generating a growing fan base as the years have rolled by. A DVD was finally made available in 2008, and Huston’s focus on the characters seemed to have finally secured a place for this film within the horror fraternity. A fun, perhaps even a safe and enjoyable viewing experience that has become a popular alternative.

Friday the 13th Part 2

Following on from the huge success of Friday the 13th, a sequel was planned almost immediately, and this of course marked the birth of what was to become the first of numerous sequels and one of the most successful horror franchises of all time. Written by Ron Kurz and Phil Scuderi, the story was the first to feature Jason Voorhees as the killer, and was set 5 years on from the original killings at Camp Crystal Lake. Adrienne King reprised her role for this second outing, albeit for only a very brief scene at the beginning. She had suffered abuse from a stalker after the success of the original movie and this unfortunately perturbed her from any major involvement. The film starred Amy Steel and John Furey as a couple of counselors attempting to open a new camp only a stone’s throw away from the infamous killings of the first. Needless to say the killings begin shortly thereafter, as Jason begins his bloody revenge for the death of his mother.

Directed by Steve Minor and produced on a budget of $1.05 million, the movie was a commercial success and drew over $21 million at the box office. Gory enough with the slasher fans, even with cuts being made to avoid an X rating for its release. With a high body count and the introduction of one of cinema’s most prolific killers, Friday the 13th Part 2 ensured that this new boogey man was here to stay for a very long time.

The Funhouse

Horror fans were all too familiar with director Tobe Hooper’s work after his iconic 1974 film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Salem’s Lot in 1979. Written by Larry Block The Funhouse was directed by Hooper and starred Elizabeth Berridge and Cooper Huckabee. Kevin Conway also appeared as all three ‘barkers’.

Tapping into many childhood fears, The Funhouse follows a group of teenagers as they spend the night in the local fair after deciding to sleep in the Funhouse. Hooper manages to successfully build a creepy atmosphere within the backdrop of the fairground, using the typically fun environment against the viewer as our teens are confronted with a dire situation.

Mutated animals as a fairground attraction, strippers and a badly deformed masked killer make up for what was an original concept and a movie that has held its own to present day due to this. Shot in Miami, Florida, The Funhouse was a commercial success grossing almost $8 million in total, and has since become a cult classic of the era. Although not the goriest of horrors at the time, the film found itself as being classified as a ‘Video Nasty’ and didn’t pass for an uncut release until 1987.

Halloween 2

Halloween was (and still is) one of the most successful and respected horror films of our time, so it was no surprise that the executive producers invested generously for the sequel. Written and produced by John Carpenter and Debra Hill, Halloween 2 was directed by Rick Rosenthal on a budget of $2.5 million. Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence reprised their roles in a sequel that literally picked up where the first film had finished.

The general style and pace of the film was very similar to the original, with the one noticeable difference being the increase in gore and nudity. It was in fact Carpenter who insisted upon this, much to the frustration of Rosenthal who was keen to keep things toned down.

We follow Laurie as she is taken to hospital after the horrors of Halloween, where she is followed by Michael Myers who continues his pursuit and hacks through many a victim in order to reach her. We discover in this sequel that Laurie is Michael’s sister, and this is the motivation behind the chase. Fans were keen to see the return of Michael Myers, and Halloween 2 made over $25 million at the box office in a film that was originally meant to be the last featuring Myers.

The home video release was cut in the UK with 17 seconds of gore and nudity in the Jacuzzi scene removed. Finally an uncut version was available in 2002. With the success of Halloween 2, we were to see six further sequels and two re-makes in years to come.

Happy Birthday to Me

As the 80s slasher genre got well under way, movie makers were looking for more and more bizarre and innovative ways to shock their audience. Perhaps one of the most well known images from this era was the advertisement for Happy Birthday to Me, which featured a kebab skewer rammed through a victim’s mouth (complete with meat and veg)!

Happy Birthday to Me was directed by J. Lee Thompson and starred Melissa Sue Anderson and Glenn Ford. Filmed in Canada the story centers around a popular group of students (known as the top ten), as they slowly begin to disappear one at a time while suffering violent deaths.

This was one of two horror movies produced by John Dunning and Andre Link in 1981, the other being My Bloody Valentine. Interestingly, Happy Birthday to Me was actually the highest grossing Canadian film (albeit for only a year) until Porky’s was released in 1982.

Many cuts had to be made prior to release in order to achieve an R rating; these cuts included much heavier gore throughout the kebab skewer and motorcycle death scenes. Various shots of the brain surgery also had to be trimmed.

The movie pleased viewers with plenty of gore and original murder sequences that included a kebab skewer, a motorcycle wheel and a set of lifting weights amongst others. With twists and turns throughout the story line and an intriguing ‘who done it’ plot, the movie is regarded as one the stronger slasher offerings of the time and has established itself firmly as a cult classic.

The House by the Cemetery

Following hot on the heels from The Beyond, Lucio Fulci completed his ‘Gates of Hell’ trilogy with The House by the Cemetery.

Filmed in Scituate, Massachusetts the plot involved a family moving into their new house, which is harboring a very dark secret. To star in the film Catriona MacColl was called upon once again, and Paolo Malco and Giovanni Frezza featured as her onscreen family. A creepy house, violent gory murders and a locked basement containing the infamous ‘Dr. Freudstein’ were the ingredients for a movie that many argue was one of Fulci’s better offerings.

The movie successfully builds on a creepy atmosphere, and over the top gore from beginning to end as any fan would now come to expect from a Fulci picture. Upon its release the film caused problems in the UK, being heavily cut for theatrical release and subsequently banned on home video. A cut version was made available in 1988 with various other releases throughout the years, all of which were cut in one form or another. Finally in 2009 the uncut version was made available on DVD.

The Howling

1981 not only saw more than just one werewolf film, but the start of another soon to be successful horror franchise. The Howling arrived on the big screen in this year and was based on the novel by Gary Brandner. John Sayles wrote the screenplay, with Joe Dante in the director’s chair. Both had already worked together on the 1978 film, Piranha.

The film starred Dee Wallace (The Hills Have Eyes) as a news reporter being stalked by serial killer. After a successful police operation leaving the killer dead, Wallace’s character is in need of treatment suffering from amnesia. While at this retreat named ‘The Colony’ all is not what it appears, with a resident nymphomaniac, shape-shifters and bloody werewolf attacks. The Howling kick started the werewolf story for a whole new generation.

Rick Baker was originally on board to handle the effects, but ended up working on American Werewolf in London instead, leaving the work to his assistant Rob Bottin. Much like American Werewolf, The Howling was praised for its cutting edge special effects with the transformation sequences being hailed by fans and critics alike. The film also starred some well-known faces of the time such as Patrick Macnee, John Carradine and Kenneth Tobey.

The Howling went on to take almost $18 million at the box office with a budget of $1.5 million; this secured the future for what was to become a successful franchise with five sequels to date.

Both producers Michael Finnall and Dante later had the opportunity to work on Gremlins, due to the success of The Howling.

I had the privilege of interviewing Dee Wallace, about her role in The Howling.

Dee, thanks so much for talking with me for First Scream to the Last.

Before we discuss your role(s) within horror movies of the 80’s, I can’t speak to you without mentioning ‘The Hills Have Eyes’. This was of course your first venture into the horror genre. Can you please tell me briefly how the experience was, and were you keen to return to the genre?

It was a real challenge!  All of us were in the same trailer, in the middle of the desert! We were freezing at night and baking during the day. But there was a real “let’s put on a show” attitude and we managed a lot of fun!

How did the opportunity arise for you to audition for The Howling, and what appealed to you about the film and subsequent role?

I guess I was submitted for the role through my agent. I did have some nice film by then. I got the role, and our producer, Dan Blatt, asked if I knew anyone who might be right for Bill. I stammered and pretended I didn’t know his last name, but Chris Stone…or Smith?...might work. He got the role after his audition, and then they found out we were engaged.

What was asked of you in the audition process in order to play the part of Karen White?

I think I did three scenes. I’m sure I had to do some emotional work for them. It was a long time ago, baby!

The special effects were groundbreaking at the time. What are your own memories of the make-up, and prosthetics used on set?

My memories are more of what the other people went through. I really had very little except for a bit of neck hair and gold eyes at the end. (The final Karen wolf is an animatronic.) Robert had the most extensive, and I know it took a really long time. What I remember most was Rob’s dedication to the effects from beginning to end. He was so involved and passionate.

Your transformation sequence at the end was amazing! Can you please tell us how that scene was shot?

I can’t! I was shooting Cujo at the time. That is an animatronic. I did ask Joe to let me try to do my own scream right before the turn, which they ended using with an echo.

How was Joe Dante, and the rest of the cast like to work with?

I adore Joe. He is talented beyond measure and a genuinely nice guy. All the cast really worked together. We had to on that budget! Chris and I would bring Honey Baked Hams to the set so the crew would have more to snack on. Good times.

Were you surprised that the movie spawned the successful franchise that it ultimately did?

Especially after I read the second script!

My Bloody Valentine

My Bloody Valentine was one of two horror films to be produced in the same year by John Dunning and Andre Link (the other being Happy Birthday to Me). Written by Stephen Miller and directed by George Mihalka, the movie has gone on to become a cult classic and a firm favorite amongst horror fans.

Shot in Nova Scotia, My Bloody Valentine focuses on the small town of ‘Valentine Bluffs’ that has not celebrated Valentines Day for many years due to a dark secret within its history. A mining disaster 20 years ago left only one survivor. That survivor took his revenge on the town a year later, and massacred those he blamed on Valentines Day. Not heeding the warning to never hold another Valentines Day dance again, the town soon discovers the grisly reality of the curse.

Mihalka successfully achieves a gritty, realistic and intense atmosphere that made for an enjoyable experience for the audience. This was partly due to large sections of the film being shot within real mines located hundreds of feet underground. Although a logistical headache for Mihalka, this hardship paid dividends in the final look and feel of the film.

Staring Paul Kelman, Lori Hallier and Neil Affleck, My Bloody Valentine had a notoriously difficult time with censorship issues, thus strengthening its cult status even further. Every death sequence was cut heavily in order to achieve an R-rating, and it wasn’t until 2009 that an uncut version was finally made available to fans via DVD.

The cult status of this film generated interest in a remake that was released in 2009.

To follow is an interview I conducted with Neil Affleck, who played one of the lead roles in the movie – Axel.

How did the opportunity arise to be cast in My Bloody Valentine?

I had just been fired from another Canadian feature film – “Ticket to Heaven” in Toronto, summer of ’80 – or was it ’81? Another story for another time. I’d done a strong audition for this film then hit the proverbial wall during rehearsal—I was very inexperienced, to put it mildly. However, on the basis of that strong audition, a Montreal-based casting agent called me about the MBV film and advised that producers were interested in having me play one of the principal roles. So the timing was good – I’d just fallen on my face in rather spectacular fashion, and needed to pick myself up off the floor.

It probably didn’t hurt that one of the MBV producers was going out with a classmate of mine from theatre school – suspect he’d seen me work onstage and knew I wasn’t a complete wanker.

The Casting agent and producers I met all emphasized that while “Valentine” was a genre film, it was not a “B” picture. From the start they emphasized that it was to be an “A” picture. I wasn’t sure what that meant back then, and I’m not sure I do now.

What was asked of you in the audition process in order to play the part of Axel?

Very little as best I recall. I remember going to the Astral Studios offices in Montreal, having my mug-shot taken and reading a few pages of script. Can’t remember who for. Suspect it may have been director George Mihalka and perhaps one of the producers. I had the impression that they wanted me for the role from the get-go. A few days later my agent called to tell me they were offering me the role. I don’t recall that I was particularly thrilled or excited by the news. I guess I was in recovery mode from my previous bad experience. However, I was pleased enough – it was a second shot at a sizable film role. A chance to redeem myself perhaps.

Worth noting that at that time my character of Axel wasn’t officially the designated killer. This was by design. It was decreed by the producers and writers that the decision was yet to be made as to who the killer was. This was designed to build suspense amongst the cast – which of the six miner guys is the crazed killer? About which more later.

At what stage did you meet the director George Mihalka and how was he to work for?

I think I first met George at the single audition. Although given that English-speaking Montreal was and is a relatively small community, it’s possible that our paths may have crossed prior to that.

From a young actor’s perspective George was relatively hands-off. He was practical, enthusiastic, extremely focused and generally upbeat. He didn’t intellectualize the script or agonize over performances. If it worked it worked, and if he liked what you gave him his face would be wearing a big grin when he called, “Cut!” If not, his expression would be thoughtful, perhaps a bit bemused. It was pretty straightforward. I learned to calibrate my work accordingly, and looked forward to seeing that big grin.

What kind of research (if any) did you have to do for the role?

For me personally not that much. I was playing a white guy in my mid-twenties who worked in a coal mine somewhere nominally in the Eastern USA. Apart from the country and the profession, not much to dig into and really not much of a stretch, character-wise. One thing I struggled with was to try to find and maintain a working class sensibility in my portrayal of Axel. Like most of the rest of the cast I came from a middle class background. Can’t say as I nailed it, to be frank. Keith Knight did though!

There was some talk that we cast members should try to divest ourselves of our tripwire Canadian vocalisms – our ehs? oots and aboots in deference to the American market, but I don’t think that went anywhere to be honest. Watching the film thirty years after, the accents sure sound Canadian to me. And why the hell not - the film was produced in Quebec and shot in Atlantic Canada.

Far more significantly, the producers arranged for the male cast members to go down in a working Cape Breton coal mine about a week before we started shooting. The twenty-second Colliery in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, now closed. That was something very special indeed. One group went all the way down to the coal “face” several miles out under the Atlantic sea floor, while the other group stayed at the pit-head and was given a tour of the workings there. We were introduced to chewing tobacco. An acquired taste. I always regretted that I wasn’t in the group that went all the way to the face. But I did get to meet a crew of Cape Breton coal miners at work, one of whom informed me with pride that “I been thirty years underground.” That was an encounter I’ll remember, and one of the high points of the whole experience for me. Miners are a breed apart.

What was the most enjoyable scene to shoot, and what was the hardest?

I enjoyed performing the fight scene in the mine cafeteria over and above everything else. It had a touch of an ol’ Western to it, and it grew quite organically out of the scene that preceded it. It was great fun to rehearse and perform. I loved how Keith Knight’s character inserted himself into the fight between T.G. and Axel then rings the curtain down. I’d like to credit the fight choreographer, but for the life of me, I can’t remember his name. Keith Knight died five years ago at age fifty. Too soon gone.

There were many scenes underground that were difficult to shoot due to the logistics of working in the mine museum, but for me personally the hardest scenes were at the top of story when the guys drive away from the mine after work. We were asked to do our own driving and make it look fast and edgy and a tad dodgy. I could drive but sure as hell wasn’t an experienced driver along those lines, and I didn’t feel safe doing so. Stage fights I’m happy to do, but I’m not a stunt driver. My buddy Peter Cowper – who played the Killer Miner and Harry Warden- on the other hand was happy to do so – he was a good old’ country boy who’d been messing around in cars and trucks since he was in elementary school. Peter ended up doubling for me and driving my old grey Ford in most of the truck stunt shots you see in film. Credit where credit is due.

The gory effects in the film were fantastic, what memories do you have with regard to these creations on set?

There were two guys from L.A. who were specialists in gore SFX who handled all of the on-set blood ’n’ guts. Again, I forget their names. They were pretty into it. I was impressed by their ingenuity and commitment to getting it right.

In terms of SFX I do have one significant story to recount. I mentioned that the producers were playing up a “Who is the killer?” suspense-builder during the shooting of the film. A gimmick, certainly, but it did stir the drink. In the final page of the script, the killer miner has his arm ripped from his body by a rock fall underground and his severed arm ends up in Sara’s hands. Well, about a week before we were to convene in Cape Breton to start the shoot, I was sent to a SFX house in Toronto to be measured for a prosthetic arm… Hmmm… suffice it to say that I was in the know from that point forward that my character Axel was to be the designated boy with a pick-axe and a problem.

A key part of the story was the love triangle between yourself, Lori Hallier and Paul Kelman – how did you three get on and what were they like to work with?

Lori was and is a lovely lady. I enjoyed every minute of working with her and was impressed by her professionalism and stamina over the haul of the shoot. She had by far the toughest schedule of anyone in the cast, but never complained. She was a trooper, always ready to rehearse a scene and listen to someone’s ideas or propose her own. Even tho’ Lori was starring in the picture, she was just one the gang so far as how she interacted with the cast and crew. Very genuine and laid back. We were basically kids just out of theatre school getting our first taste of being film actors.

Paul was less approachable, and more reserved. He was a good five years older than the rest of us, the most experienced actor, and the only cast member who was married. (his wife appears in a small role in the cafeteria party scene.) Simply put, he was more grown up than the rest of us, and he was definitely savvier about the nature of the business than I was. I suspect he considered me pretty naive and something of a self-important twit at times. I also suspect he was right. Paul did have a wicked sense of humour, and could surprise you with it.

What is your fondest memory of being involved with this movie?

No single memory stands out. But I remember the people, some of the fun stuff we had, hanging out, partying, music. I also remember the local people I met from Cape Breton and Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia, some of whom worked on the picture. Cape Breton is a truly unique and unusual corner of Canada – some Gaelic is still spoken by the older generation – and I met some remarkable people from there. I also remember a day trip I and some friends on crew made to the upper reaches of Cape Breton Highlands – beautiful country.

I understand that the film was shot in a real mine some 900 feet underground! What memories do you have of that experience?

To be accurate it was shot in a Mine Museum – The Princess Mine in Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia, a former working mine – The Princess Colliery – that was closed then converted into a museum.

I enjoyed being underground and shooting underground. I found it to be a strangely calm environment and could begin to appreciate to a certain extent the miner’s expression the “lure of the mine”. But it was definitely rigorous and it could be dangerous if you wandered off – the museum docents were former miners and they kept us on a pretty short leash! And you were always glad to get back to the surface when your work was done.

Your character transpired to be the killer in the end, and we see you disappear wounded through the mine – was there ever any talk of your role being reprised in a sequel?

I heard vague rumblings of a sequel from time to time, but it never came to pass. Life carried on. I left acting five years after we shot MBV and went to film school in Los Angeles, then spent almost twenty-five years working in Animated Film, including ten seasons on “The Simpsons” and twelve years at Nelvana here in Toronto. Strange as it may seem, I’ve only recently resumed work as an actor in the past four months here in Toronto, as a result of a series of serendipitous events. It’s too early to say whether it’s just a flash in the pan, or whether it’ll take hold, but I’m enjoying myself.

The movie has become a cult classic over time, are you still stopped and questioned about your role to this day?

Nope. No recognition factor at play there, and in any event, I’m sixty now and though I fancy myself a well-preserved sixty, there’s no reason for anyone to connect me with the character or the film, should they meet me casually.

I did get some mileage out of MBV when I was at UCLA film school in L.A. (1985 > 1988) and I ended up acting in a number of student films while I was there. My fellow students were obviously curious about my experience as an actor, some even a bit impressed, but they quickly got over it. Similarly when I worked on “The Simpsons”. Once in a blue moon somebody will find out about my past life of crime and pose questions etc. but that’s very rare. My daughter (now seventeen) didn’t see the film until she was twelve. I’d mentioned to her growing up that I had acted in films, but I don’t think she took me seriously.

How do you think the movie has stood up to the test of time?

MBV is an original, well crafted genre film. Personally I find the film far more watchable now than when it was first released. But perhaps that’s just me. The film-makers – the producers at Astral, George Mihalka and D.O.P. Rodney Gibbons – got some important stuff right. The gritty “rural – industrial” look of the small town; the horror movie set-pieces that are executed with panache and skill; the working class vibe of the characters and locations; the well-constructed story line and character arcs; the audaciousness of the original concept – to shoot a feature film underground in a mine – that pays off creatively in so many ways. Most of the performances are solid if not airtight. My favorite, as you may have gathered from earlier comments, is Keith Knight as Hollis.

Have you seen the re-make? What are your thoughts?

I was frankly astonished that anyone would want to remake the film. The possibility of that ever occurring wasn’t even on the radar for me. Despite working in the entertainment industry I was completely unaware that MBV had somehow attained cult status. I think that applied to most of the cast members as well, and perhaps even George Mihalka as well! After MBV opened in 1981, I didn’t look at it again for almost 12 years, and in my own mind I had largely relegated it to my intemperate youth, pardon the expression. So I was frankly gob-smacked when someone mentioned to me that someone was remaking it. I honestly thought they were pulling my leg.

I’ve never seen MBV-2 in a theatre, only on DVD small-screen, so I’m at a bit of a disadvantage in terms of assessing how the 3-D effects work and whether they support the story or are a distraction. The one big difference in the two pictures that jumps out at me is that in MBV the underground scenes – and the underground experience – were integral to the film. They were what the film was about, where it came alive and lived most intensely, if you will. In MBV-2 however, the underground sequences are basically ephemeral and don’t carry the same weight. In other words, you get a lot more mine for your money in the original movie.

The great thing about the remake coming along when it did was that it precipitated a renewal of interest in the original MBV and led to some local “revival” screenings, and ultimately to a series of get-togethers of cast and crew MBV alumnae in the past five years. Many of us live in the Toronto / Southern Ontario Region and we try to get together a couple of times a year. In fact this coming weekend, some of us will gather to watch Tom Kovacs, who played Mike Stavinsky in the film, and who has subsequently become an accomplished singer/guitarist perform a show in a local venue. It should be a fun evening!

The Prowler

Legendary special effects artist Tom Savini once named The Prowler as his best work, and you can certainly see why. Produced and directed by Joseph Zito, The Prowler has become well known as being one of the goriest slasher films from the early ‘80s.

The film starts by following the plight of a returning WWII solider, who returns from the war to find his girlfriend with another man. After swiftly addressing the situation with a double murder, we fast-forward to 1981 where a group of college students are being picked off in the most brutal fashion.

The Prowler may suffer from a lack of pace during some stages, but the homage to great horror films of the time cannot be ignored within its story line. The silent, tense stalking reminiscent of Halloween or the graduation dance backdrop hinting shades of Prom Night. Then of course there is the ultra violent murder scene in the shower that would have made a certain Alfred Hitchcock very proud!

A girl being pitch-forked to death in the shower, a throat being slit in the swimming pool, and a death sequence involving a head being blown apart by a shotgun, ensured this film’s cultural status within the genre.

Although perhaps coming in as second best to My Bloody Valentine upon release, the sometimes breathtaking gore from Savini has increased this film’s notoriety over time with many now regarding its entry as one of the genre’s best-kept secrets.

As with many of the gorier slasher movies of the time, cuts were initially made to the movie upon its release with the uncut version being made available in 2002. Zito would go on to direct Friday the 13th The Final Chapter due to his work on The Prowler.

Chapter Three

1982

Amityville 2: The Possession

In 1979 Stuart Rosenberg left us with The Amityville Horror, a story based on the events surrounding the Lutz family within the infamous property. In 1982 the prequel hit our screens, offering us a story that was loosely based on the DeFeo family and the birth of the Amityville Horror.

Written by Tommy Lee Wallace and directed by Damiano Damiani, Amityville 2 was filmed in a studio in Mexico and was a very different affair from the original. The film was far gorier, focusing more on demonic possession to the main character with bloodier effects to match. A darker movie in many respects as we witness child abuse in the form of violent father, and even incest as the demonic force possesses the oldest son in its quest to insult the church by the most evil methods imaginable.

The film was also helped by some strong performances, including Burt Young (of Rocky fame) as the abusive farther. James Olson and Rutanya Alda also starred while Jack Magner played the role of the possessed son.

Met with mixed reviews by fans and critics, Amityville 2 proved to be too dark and violent for some while not staying close enough to the roots of the original for others. It was popular enough to hit the top spot in the box office however, and secured the franchise for many more sequels to come.

The Rats aka Deadly Eyes

A Canadian film that was loosely based on the James Herbert novel of the same name, The Rats was directed by Robert Clouse and starred Sam Groom, Scatman Crothers and Sara Botsford. The premise for the movie follows the main character played by Groom, who is a schoolteacher trying to battle giant rats that have invaded the town. Groom teams up with a local health inspector as the pair try to discover why this has happened and how to stop it. Sub-plots involve various murder sequences involving Grooms’ students who get attacked and killed by the marauding vermin.

James Herbert was quoted once as being ‘displeased’ with what the filmmakers had done to his novel, which does differ from the movie quite significantly. An interesting piece of trivia regarding the effects is that Dachshunds were dressed in rat suits to appear as the giant rodents!

Basket Case

The phrase ‘cult film’ is often overused, but Basket Case is certainly the very definition of this term. Writer and director Frank Henenlotter wrote his story while wandering around Times Square soaking in its ‘seedy, wonderful atmosphere’ as he called it.

Shot on 16 mm film, his story centers around the bizarre case of a boy born with a deformity in the shape of a living ‘freak’ attached to his side – his brother. As the years pass his desperate father is forced into seeking the help of medical professionals to perform an unlicensed operation to separate the two, allowing the boy (Duane) to live a normal life while discarding the unfortunate deformed brother.

Needless to say the boys are not impressed, and shortly after taking revenge on the father, set out to track down and punish the doctors responsible for the operation.

Henenlotter captures the atmosphere of a run down and seedy side of New York perfectly, while offering horror fans an original monster movie that not only delivers the gore, but uses an original idea that plays out well.

The effects are mostly stop motion, with some scenes of the creature attacking its victims actually being a hand puppet worn by Henenlotter. A hands on and passionate movie that has become a cult classic, Basket Case went on to spawn two sequels and a large cult following to this day.

Creepshow

Written by Stephen King (who actually featured as a farmer within the film) and directed by George A. Romero, Creepshow is a horror anthology paying homage to the classic horror comic books of the 1950s. The five short stories were tied together by a wrap-around story involving a young boy taking revenge on his father, after being punished for reading comic books.

The formula of blending comic book images with film proved to work well, with Romero crafting an enjoyable and darkly humorous movie based on five entertaining stories. These five short films included a dead father returning from the grave, a farmer witnessing a meteor fall from the sky carrying a deadly organism, a couple being buried in the sand and drowned before returning to take revenge, a mystery creature hidden in a crate, and killer cockroaches!

The film had a strong cast that included Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Fritz Weaver, Leslie Nielsen and Carrie Nye amongst others.

Most of the filming took place in Pennsylvania with Tom Savini handling the special effects; he also made a short appearance at the end of the film.

Creepshow was a success with the fans, offering more of a lighthearted option in comparison to the violent slasher movies of the day. It went on to take over 21 million and hit the top of the charts at the box office. Two sequels have also followed.

During conversations I had with Adrienne Barbeau in 2014, she was kind enough to answer the following questions regarding her role in Creepshow:

How did the opportunity arise to be involved in Creepshow?

My agents sent me the script with an offer and I read it and thought, "Oh no, this is much too gory and bloody and vile for me to do." John insisted I reconsider, explaining that George Romero was brilliant and I'd be nuts to turn it down. Tommy Atkins had already been cast and so I called him and he explained the comic book approach George was going to take with his direction, and that it would be very stylized and not at all the way I was reading it. So...I took the job. And it's one of my all-time favorite roles.

I have seen the film more times that I can remember, and I have always found The Crate to be the most enjoyable story within the anthology. Your performance as the drunk and overbearing Wilma was fantastic. Can you tell us a little about what was asked of you and how you went about making Wilma the character she was?

The one thing that was vital to me in portraying Wilma was understanding why she acts the way she does. No one who is seen by others as a bitch thinks of herself that way. Why does she drink? What's happened in her life to cause her to treat Henry as she does. I really put myself in George's hands and trusted his direction. Especially when it came to the size of her performance. She's pretty over the top, but George knew what would work and I tried to give him what he wanted. And I don't drink. I never have. So I haven't got a clue what it's like to be drunk, or even tipsy. Just had to use my imagination and powers of observation. That wasn't easy either, because I've rarely been around people who drink to excess.

What were Hal Holbrook and George A Romero like to work with?

Both Hal Holbrook and Fritz Weaver were dreams to work with. I enjoyed them both so much. And of course, George – I'd follow him anywhere.

What do you recall of the creature and the effects used by Tom Savini for those scenes?

I don't remember anything about working with Fluffy (I think that's what they called the creature in the crate). I couldn't even tell you if it was a man in a creature suit or some kind of animatronic. I just remember enjoying Tom Savini's artistry.

Were you involved in any of the other stories within the anthology?

I didn't have any involvement in any of the other segments of the film. I have a feeling I assiduously avoided E.G. Marshall's episode – staying as far away as possible from the roaches. I've worked with rats, snakes, tarantulas, bees, bats – but they couldn't pay me enough to do what E.G. did.

Friday the 13th Part 3

Steve Minor, who directed Friday the 13th Part 2, was back in the director’s chair for the next installment. This third film transpired to be of great historical significance due the fact that the infamous hockey mask was introduced for the first time. The 3D effects supervisor was on set with a bag full of hockey gear due to being a huge fan, and pulled out a goalkeeper’s mask during a light test. Minor loved the mask, and the rest is history.

The film was also released in 3D, and this was the first Friday the 13th movie to be recorded in Dolby Stereo.

The story picks up the day after events in the previous film, and follows a group of young holidaymakers as they discover that these are the wrong woods to be in. Amy Steel, who had starred in Friday the 13th Part 2, was given the opportunity to reprise her role for this film but declined. The movie starred Dana Kimmell, Paul Kratka, and Tracie Savage. Richard Brooker took the role of Jason.

The film offered fans gory scenes of campers and bikers being violently cut apart by a pitchfork, harpoon gun, machete, meat cleaver and even a knitting needle! This time the audience enjoyed the death scenes in 3D, with one memorable eye-popping scene as a victim’s head was crushed by Jason’s bare hands. Many of the deaths scenes had to be cut to avoid an X rating for release.

The film had a budget of 4 million and took well over 36 million, making it a huge commercial success and creating the demand for a continuation of the series.

Halloween 3: Season of the Witch

Perhaps one the most off-beat sequels within this genre was Halloween 3, which had no direct link with the previous movies and abandoned the slasher genre for a more science fiction themed thriller.

Michael Myers was out, and instead we have the story of a mysterious corporation run by an even more mysterious man producing Halloween masks. It transpires that these masks are designed to kill anyone wearing one upon viewing a specific TV special on Halloween. This corporation uses robots to kill anyone who happens to stumble across the macabre plan, giving us a blend of sci-fi and the supernatural. The plot builds around our two main characters (Tom Atkins and Stacey Nelkin), as they try to get to uncover the dark secrets and foil the plan.

John Carpenter and Debra Hill, whose initial plan was to create a different story for each new Halloween film, returned as producers while Tommy Lee Wallace made his directorial debut in addition to re-writing the screenplay. The other noticeable difference was the lack of gore in comparison with the two previous Halloween films, which was another distinct shift in direction.

Upon release this decision to abandon Michael Myers and the established Halloween storyline did not prove a popular one, with the movie only making $14,400,000 at the box office. This was the worst performing Halloween film of the time, and one that ensured the return of Michael Myers for the next sequel.

Over time some have argued that the movie holds its own as a separate entity. With some enjoyable performances from the likes of Atkins, many still enjoy this film as a ‘midnight favorite’.

The Living Dead Girl (La Morte Vivante)

One of the more prolific European horror movies form the 80s was Jean Rollins’ The Living Dead Girl.

Francoise Blanchard played the role of young woman who returns from the grave, and begins to drink the blood of the living in order to survive. The film is largely based in the mansion where she once resided, as various victims end up mutilated and hidden in the cellar.

Rollins achieves an unsettling and eerie movie that focuses as much on the friendship forged by Blanchard’s character with a would-be victim, as it does the horrific nature of her existence.

The movie offers an interesting spin on the vampire tale, drawing the viewer in and successfully building curiosity around the dead girl’s history. For horror fans the gore was inventive and brutal, with an uncut version not being made available in the UK until 2007.

The New York Ripper

A great example of the exploitative gore that typified the Italian giallo film is Lucio Fulci’s New York Ripper. A year after he had wrapped up his ‘Gates of Hell’ trilogy, Fulci was back with one of his most gruesome and controversial offerings.

The story involved a New York detective attempting to solve a number of gruesome murders involving young women. The killer would make taunting phone calls to the police, bragging about his actions and intentions. He would disguise these phone calls by using the voice of a duck, and as odd as this sounds it does bear relevance in the climax of the movie.

This would be the last time that Dardano Sacchetti would contribute toward the screenplay, with many fans arguing that this signaled the end of Fulci’s best work. Catriona MacColl who had starred in all three ‘Gates of Hell’ films was offered the lead role, but the subject matter proved a little too controversial and she declined.

The movie itself focused on extreme violence toward women, while building on an extremely seedy and sleazy backdrop. Critics would point to the fact that this film crossed the line into violent sexual perversion, while horror fans welcomed the ‘no holds barred’ gore and violence that Fulci delivered in abundance.

With the killer using razorblades, broken glass and a switchblade to mutilate his female victims’ anatomy, this film was for the extremely broad minded and still causes offence to this day. It was of course banned in the UK, with the chief censor ordering that all copies be escorted to the airport for deportation! In 2007 a DVD release was finally made available with 19 seconds of cuts still being made for release.

Poltergeist

One of the most successful and popular supernatural horror movies of the 80s was Tobe Hooper’s Poltergeist.

Hooper, who had already given us The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Funhouse, left us with another classic of the time that went on to become a successful franchise. Based on the story and screenplay written by Steven Spielberg, the movie follows the story of a Californian family living an idyllic suburban existence until the arrival of some unwanted guests in the form of ‘Poltergeist’.

The tension builds as the family’s experiences become more harrowing, eventually resulting in the disappearance of the youngest child and a fight with the ‘other side’ to get her back. We are left with not only a good horror film but also a tense drama, which unfolds with identifiable characters and a strong, enjoyable storyline.

Much evidence points to the fact that Spielberg had more than just a ‘helping hand’ in the directing of the movie, with many reports stating that he was responsible for many of the directorial decisions.

With a budget of over $10 million Poltergeist benefited from high production values and fantastic special effects. This gave us everything from visions of a parallel dimension, through to gorier effects such as flesh being ripped of a face to keep the hardcore horror fans happy.

We are also treated to some great performances from Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Williams, and Beatrice Straight. The film successfully taps into many of our childhood fears, with Spielberg using the clown and a tree outside a child’s bedroom window, due to these two images actually scaring him as a child.

Poltergeist became the highest grossing horror film of 1982 and the 8th highest grossing film of the year receiving three Academy Award nominations in the process: Best Original Score, Best Sound Effects Editing and Best Visual Effects. Critics and fans alike praised the film, ensuring that Poltergeist is now firmly regarded as a true classic of the genre.

Tenebrae

Written and directed by Dario Argento, Tenebrae is a story that was actually inspired by a crazed fan that had stalked Argento in 1980. In Tenebrae, a famous author is being harassed by a fan who would write letters advising that the murders he commits are inspired by the author’s books. To complicate matters, the author’s ex-wife is also following him, as the killings begin to increase.

Tenebrae was a return to the more classic giallo film for Argento, with a storyline that echoed a mystery thriller, but with extremely gory murder sequences that often focused on sexual deviancy.

The visual imagery is unforgiving as we are treated to bloody sequences against a backdrop that was kept brightly lit, ensuring that nothing is left to the imagination. One classic scene within the movie involved a two and half minute continuous shot around the perimeter of a victim’s house. A crane was used to achieve this, as we look inside the house from a unique POV moving around the building.

The film starred Anthony Franciosa, Christian Borromea, and Mirella D’Angelo, with John Saxon also taking a smaller role. After a wide theatrical release throughout Europe, Tenebrae suffered heavily from the censors for video release, as many other violent films of the time did. Banned in the UK and added to the ‘Video Nasty’ list, it was eventually released uncut in 2007 on DVD.

A strong Argento favorite with fans, the film manages to hark back to the earlier giallo films of the 70s while offering the increased shocks the audience had come to expect.

The Thing

A loose re-make of 1951’s ‘The Thing from Another World’ and directed by John Carpenter, The Thing starred Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley and Keith David.

Blending sci-fi with horror, the film was shot in northern British Columbia in freezing conditions with additional scenes shot at sound stages in Los Angeles. The story line follows an alien creature being thawed out and attacking a small group at an isolated research station, who in turn are absorbed and imitated by the parasite one at a time.

Dean Cundey was the cinematographer, who had previously worked with Carpenter on Halloween and The Fog.

The Thing broke boundaries with its incredible special effects that were handled by Rob Bottin, who had a team of 40 under him. We witness humans (and dogs) morphing with the parasite resulting in bizarre and graphic mutations that set a new benchmark for special effects within the genre. With a budget of $10 million the film was John Carpenter’s first movie with a major film studio, and a film that he has reportedly stated is still his favorite.

Although not doing as well as was expected at the box office, The Thing went on to become extremely popular within the home video market, successfully building on a cult following. It is now firmly established as a groundbreaking genre piece, which has become more popular throughout the years.

A re-make was also released in 2011.

The Slumber Party Massacre

Originally written to be a parody of the horror Genre, producers changed their mind and used Rita Mae Brown’s story to create a straight genre piece. Directed and produced by Amy Holden Jones, The Slumber Party Massacre contained almost every cliché you could think of and remained fairly humorous in tone due to the original parody concept.

A killer has escaped and is on the rampage with his power tools sharpened and ready for action! What better environment for an 80s slasher movie than the sleepover party of a bunch of 18 year old girls who quickly get to meet the killer up close.

Starring Michelle Michaels, Robin Stille and Michael Villella, The Slumber Party Massacre delivered the gore and all elements that were expected from an audience enjoying a staple diet of teen slasher movies. On a budget of $250,000 the film was given a limited theatrical release, but really made a name for itself in the home video market as many other movies of similar nature were doing.

The film has generated somewhat of a cult following and has managed to spawn three direct sequels.

Chapter Four

1983

A Blade in the Dark

Lamberto Bava directed and produced the giallo film A Blade in the Dark that was written by Elisa Briganti. Bava was not new to this genre, being the son of Mario Bava and having previously worked with Dario Argento on Tenebrae.

The general premise of the movie involves a composer who is staying at a secluded villa, while writing a score for a new horror film. Murders start to occur and women go missing, leaving our composer with the task of trying to figure the mystery out.

The film was similar in tone with that of other giallo offerings of the time, blending a mystery thriller with extremely shocking murder sequences and gory effects. One such scene involving the murder of a young woman in the bathroom became extremely infamous, and caused issues with the censors upon the movie’s release. The film was actually shot entirely in a real Italian villa, with no sets being used at all.

While perhaps not regarded as highly as work from the likes of Argento, A Blade in the Dark has managed to successfully leave its mark, and generate a legion of fans to become a cult favorite.

Christine

After completing The Thing in 1982, John Carpenter was straight back in the director’s chair for Christine. Based on the novel by Stephen King, Christine is the story of a teenager’s car that had a life of its own. We follow the violent actions of the car as the consequences spiral out of control, affecting the boy’s life (Arnie) and all around him.

The 1958 Plymouth Fury was the car of choice for this story, and has become an iconic image ever since. Carpenter builds an enjoyable opening to the movie, with good character development as we follow the lives of our teen cast and Arnie – the school nerd.

From the restoration of the car through to taking his girlfriend out in Christine, we see how the axis of power shifts, as the car allows Arnie to overcome all social difficulties and start to take what he wants from life. Arnie quickly becomes a different person as we see his life unravel, with a dramatic climax in an attempt to end the car’s seemingly unbreakable hold over the boy.

With a budget of $9.7 million, Christine took over $21 million at the box office and entered the chart at number 4 on its opening weekend. Starring Keith Gordon, John Stockwell and Alexandra Paul, Christine lacked the violence and gore of your typical 80s horror movie, but the popularity of its author at the time (Stephen King) ensured its success. Richard Kobritz, who had already produced another Stephen King adaption with his work on Salem’s Lot, was once again employed as producer.

Cujo

Christine was not the only successful Stephen King adaption to make it onto the big screen in 1983.

Based on a novel that King claims not to remember writing due to his alcohol addiction at the time, Cujo tells the story of a rabid family dog that ends up terrorizing a mother and her young son. Produced by Robert Singer with cinematography by Jan de Bont, Cujo starred Dee Wallace, Danny Pintauro, Daniel Hugh-Kelly, and Christopher Stone.

Much like many of King’s novels, Cujo’s storyline involves our main characters dealing with many social challenges, and Teague directs a tight story with intriguing character development. This results in a movie that generates a real sympathy and interest as we watch the dilemma unfold. We follow the story of a young family whose life is torn apart by the discovery of the wife’s affair. While the husband is on a business trip to gather his thoughts, the already distraught wife and mother takes her car to a remote farmhouse to be repaired by the local mechanic. It is here that the mother and son are attacked and trapped by the rabid St. Bernard, as escape seems impossible.

The sight of the seemingly rabid dog was impressive, and it came to pass that egg whites and sugar was used to simulate the froth around the animal’s mouth. To successfully have the dog attack the car, the animal’s favorite toys were placed in the vehicle to achieve the desired effect. Dee Wallace, who was now becoming a popular figure within the horror genre, gave a strong performance; in fact King himself has sighted it as the best performance by anyone, in any of his screen adaptions.

The film itself was a commercial success and was the fourth highest grossing horror film of 1983. With a budget of $8 million it went on to take over $21 million at the box office.

I spoke with Dee Wallace in 2014, about her memories of filming Cujo.

I have always loved the compelling drama that is Cujo, it is of course much more than just a horror movie. What appealed to you about the film and role?

Are you kidding? It was a tour de force part, and a huge challenge (which I love)! Obviously, protecting children is dear to my heart.

The dog was one of the main stars of the show. I understand that numerous dogs were used for filming different scenes. Can you please tell us a little as to how this worked?

There were actually 13 amazingly talented and trained dogs thanks to Karl Miller. They were trained to go after toys, so it was really a game to them. Karl would yell “Dig for your toy” and they would go bonkers. We had to tie their tales down with fish cord. There was a vet on set at all times, by the way. They were taken VERY good care of!!

The scenes of Cujo attacking your car looked extremely genuine! How was this achieved?

Camera magic and….a stunt man. He did the scene where he rammed the car with his head. But the real dogs did 95% of all the shots. They were, simply, amazing.

Working with animals can often throw up complications. Did all go to plan, or were there any difficulties that you can recall?

Well, sure.  Like we couldn’t get them to jump through the window at the end. So we tried a black lab in one of the stunt suits. No go. Then the stunt guy. Looked fake. Finally one came through, and we got that amazing slow motion shot.

What was the hardest scene for you to shoot, and why?

Damn. Every scene in the car. Take your pick! And the love scene. Weird. Doing a love scene with your real husband in front of a crew is like your mom sitting at the foot of your bed while you’re losing your virginity. Weird!

The House on Sorority Row

Joining the growing list of teen slasher movies, The House on Sorority Row was the next installment to this increasingly popular sub-genre.

Written and directed by Mark Rosman the film was shot on location in Baltimore, Maryland and has become one of the genuine cult classics of the genre. Director Rosman actually lived in the sorority house during filming, but all bathroom scenes had to be shot at the Baltimore School of Dentistry due to the house not having a communal bathroom. The story focuses on a group of sorority sisters as they organize a party in their sorority house, only for plans to be dashed by an overbearing housemother. A prank is set up not only to exact revenge on their antagonist, but also to enable the party to go on.

The plan backfires leaving us with a dead housemother, and the start of a killing spree that results in many of our girls meeting their demise throughout the evening. We are left with one final twist as we discover the consequences of the girls’ actions along with the secrets of their deceased housemother.

The movie contained all the vital ingredients for the dedicated fan that included attractive girls, innovative murder sequences, and enough gore and shocks to satisfy the loyal audience.

The cast included Kate McNeil, Eileen Davidson, Janis Ward, and Robin Meloy, with John G. Clark producing the film.

With a budget of just $425,000 the movie went on to take $10,604,986 at the box office, making it a commercial success. The film was also re-made in 2009.

Eileen Davidson spoke to me in March 2014 about her role as Vicki:

How did the opportunity arise for you to audition for The House on Sorority Row?

My agent submitted me, I think, and I went and read for the part. I was being considered for both Vicki and Katie.

What was asked of you in the audition process in order to play the part of Vicki?

I believe I had to read the scene where Vicki is trying to convince the girls to cover up the accidental killing of the housemother.

At what stage did you meet the director Mark Rosman?

I met Mark at the first audition.

What kind of research (if any) did you have to do for the role and did you have any initial concerns with taking part in a horror movie?

No research. I was thrilled to be paid to act!

What was the most enjoyable scene to shoot, and what was the hardest?

It was generally fun to shoot the movie. The most difficult was probably being slapped repeatedly by Kate Mc Neil. Or being in the grave all night.

One memorable scene was that of Mrs. Slater damaging the water bed while you were in it! What do you remember of that sequence?

Just being uncomfortable with the nudity. Mark let me wear the shirt. He was very sensitive to my being uncomfortable and worked around it.

Vicki eventually met her demise being attacked with the (now famous) cane – what do you recall of that scene and the effects used?

The effects were done in LA long after we wrapped in Maryland. It was cool to have a prosthetic made and learn how special effects are made and utilized.

What were the rest of the cast like to work with?

Fun, great to meet other actresses from around the country.

The movie has generated a huge cult following over the years, why do you think this is?

It’s well directed and acted. I think it raises the bar for most of the teenage slasher films.

Do you stay in touch with any of the cast that you met during that film?

Over the years I have. I know Kate Mc Neil’s husband well because he is a stage manager and we have worked together on other shows. Kate and I did the commentary on the latest HOSR DVD release.

Have you seen the re-make and what are your thoughts?

I went to the premiere with Kate and Mark Rosman. It was fun. I said then it was like the original on steroids. Very fast paced and brutal. But at the end of the day I think it kind of disappeared and the original was more cutting edge for its time.

The Keep

Based on the novel by F. Paul Wilson and directed by Michael Mann, The Keep is a story set in World War II Romania, and centers on an abandoned ‘Keep’ soon to be occupied by the German army as they take control of the local area.

Starring Scott Glenn, Alberta Watson and Jürgen Prochnow, the film was originally shot with a running time of over three hours, which had to be cut down to an hour and a half. A supernatural horror that didn’t fair incredibly well at the box office, The Keep follows the plight of the Germans as they soon discover that they are not alone, with an evil being occupying the creepy citadel.

The sets for the interior of The Keep were shot at the Shepperton Studios in London, while the scenes for the Romanian village were actually filmed at a disused slate quarry in North Wales. Michael Mann once described his film as ‘A fairy story for grownups’, however few horror fans were interested in this fairy story, and with a budget of $6,000,000 The Keep failed to succeed at the box office (USA) and took just $3,661,757.

Oddly enough the movie has yet (as of 2014) to see any DVD or Blu-ray release, which has made the original laserdisc release somewhat of a collector’s item and the movie has gone on to achieve a cult status throughout the years.

Psycho 2

Tom Holland had the rather important task of writing a screenplay that would become the sequel to Alfred Hitchcock’s classic Psycho. Holland once said of this job, ‘I approached it with more trepidation because I was doing a sequel to Psycho and I had an overwhelming respect for Hitchcock. You didn't want to mess it up, you really had almost a moral obligation to make something that stayed true to the original and yet updated it at the same time. It really was the next step, what happens when Norman gets out’.

Directed by Richard Franklin and produced by Hilton A. Green, many argue that Holland did indeed achieve what he needed to with his screenplay, and Franklin made a movie that successfully follows the cult classic, pleasing most fans of the original while creating an up to date and original movie in its own right.

The story follows Norman Bates as he is released from the mental institution and returns to his motel, the scene of the original story. After befriending Mary, a girl whom he works with at the local diner, Bates invites her to stay with him at his Motel. They soon experience some confusing and disturbing incidents that convince him he may well have returned to his murdering ways. With strange sightings of his mother, missing people and apparent evidence of murder within the motel, the movie successfully builds on the Hitchcock suspense, while playing out a plausible and enjoyable storyline that follows Bates’ torturous condition. At the movie’s climax we are also treated to a surprising yet relevant twist to add more intrigue to the Bates’ saga.

Anthony Perkins was not keen to reprise his role initially, but thankfully changed his mind and joined Vera Miles, Robert Loggia and Meg Tilly. The original house was actually still standing at Universal Studios where the film was shot, with some of the additional set pieces having to be re-built. Many props from the first movie were found and used, and Franklin ensured that his new film was also a respectful homage to Hitchcock and the original classic.

With a budget of $5 million and box office taking of $34,725,000, Psycho 2 was not only a financial success but also a hit with the fans.

Videodrome

Horror fans were already familiar with David Cronenberg’s unique brand of film making, having created such films as Shivers, Rabid and Scanners. Videodrome was written and directed by Cronenberg and starred James Woods, Sonja Smits and Deborah Harry.

Videodrome was an original and surreal offering, as you would expect from Cronenberg, and dealt with the concept of a television studio executive discovering an underground channel broadcasting extreme torture and violence.

After searching for the source of the broadcast we are treated to a bizarre and imaginative sequence of events, as our lead character (Woods) experiences horrific hallucinations as he attempts to solve the mystery. The special effects were just as subversive, but although gory and disturbing, were portrayed within the context of a surreal fantasy rather than bloody violent shocks. One particular image was that of Woods’ torso opening up to become some kind of VCR player, whereby objects are inserted and removed from his body.

Videodrome opened at number 8 on the box office charts and pulled in $2,120,439 on a budget of $5.952 million, making it a commercial failure.

Although perhaps proving to be just too ‘weird’ for the contemporary audience of the time, others recognized Videodrome as an inventive and groundbreaking film. Andy Warhol once described it as ‘A Clockwork Orange of the ‘80s’ and it has gone on to be considered as one of the milestone movies of the genre.

Xtro

A violent British movie that capitalized on the sci-fi interest at the time, Xtro was written and directed by Harry Bromley Davenport and produced by Mark Forstater.

Concerning the story of a father who is abducted by aliens only to return 3 years later in a bloody resurrection in search of his family.

Starring Bernice Stegers, Philip Sayer, Simon Nash, and Maryam d’Abo, the movie has developed a cult following over the years due to its shameless gore and exploitative narrative. One bloody scene involves the return of the father, which sees a woman attacked by a half alien creature, which results in her giving birth to the fully-grown man with umbilical cord attached!

Xtro has spawned two sequels to date, although neither is connected directly to the original.

Boogeyman 2 aka ‘Revenge of the Boogeyman’

Ulli Lommel returned to write and direct the follow up to his 1980 film Boogeyman with a sequel that hasn’t managed to gain many fans over the years.

This is mainly due to the fact that almost the entire first half of the movie is built up from footage of the first film. So not a great deal of original material, which comprises mainly of a few new murder sequences.

The story follows a group of filmmakers who attempt to recreate the events that occurred in the original. A piece of the broken mirror turns up, and the killings promptly begin. Lommel himself stars in his sequel and Suzanna Love reprises her role as Lacey. Released in 1983 the film was actually made in 1981, and although receiving a mostly negative reception, a director’s cut was released years later that contained even more footage from the first movie.

Curtains

Although filming for Curtains actually began in 1980, it took until 1983 to complete after being shelved for a year due to production difficulties. The film was written by Robert Guza, Jr. and directed by Richard Ciupka. It was due to disagreements between Ciupka and producer Peter Simpson that various delays were experienced, with Simpson wanting a straight slasher movie, and Ciupka looking to direct more of a thriller.

The film, which starred John Vernon, Linda Thorson, Samantha Eggar, and Anne Ditchburn, was shot in Canada on a budget of $3,700,000. The plot revolved around a group of six young actresses who are auditioning for a part in a movie at the director’s secluded mansion. In true slasher style, one by one the girls fall victim to a mysteries killer in various murder sequences. Not generating a great deal of interest at the time, Curtains has since gone on to build up quite a sizable underground following.

Sleepaway Camp

Sticking with the summer camp formula that was working so well at the time, Sleepaway Camp is probably one of the lesser-known titles, but don’t let that fool you. Written and directed by Robert Hiltzik, the story focuses on Angela, a young girl who witnesses her farther and brother killed in a horrific boating accident.

Years later she is sent to summer camp with her cousin, as her unusual nature makes her the target of bullying from the other kids. It isn’t long before gruesome murders are taking place all over the camp, with Angela’s behavior becoming stranger and stranger…

Perhaps accused by some of cashing in on the success of Friday the 13th and The Burning, Sleepaway Camp certainly held its own, offering an original sub-plot and jaw-dropping climax. It was a massive draw at the box office, grossing $11,000,000 on a budget of $350,000.

The film starred Felissa Rose, Jonathan Tiersten, Karen Fields and Christopher Collet. Three sequels have also been made to date.

Felissa Rose kindly spoke with me in 2014, about her leading role as Angela.

How did the opportunity arise for you to audition for Sleepaway Camp?

I was looking for representation, and I had met with an agent who challenged me with three auditions. The challenge was if I got booked for any of them then I got in. And luckily for one of those auditions was SC.

Being very young at the time, were there any concerns with you participating in a horror film?

I had no real concerns about appearing in a horror film at that age. I know my parents were happy for me to do it. Their only concerns were about my safety. I was just thrilled by the challenge of playing a baddy. Filming was such a blast, and I was kept very safe and secure by the crew.

I wanted to perform from the minute I could speak. I loved performing in front of anyone; in shopping malls, family gatherings, on a bus.... So I think they were just happy that I finally had an outlet for my passion.

What was asked of you in the audition process in order to play the part of Angela?

Apparently Robert Hiltzik the director - was looking for a wide-eyed, flat chested, quiet, thirteen-year old. Well, two out of three ain't bad.

When I met with Robert he really just wanted me to do some improv' situations with him. I remember he had me sitting on a chair and told me to pretend that I was eating a candy bar and just completely stare into space. So I thought that was so hilarious, I mean I was only 13 years old but I took that as something really bizarre. And I sat there and pretended to eat a candy bar and I started picking my teeth with my fingers for some reason he enjoyed that. Well it must of worked!

Sleepaway Camp was your debut movie of course, what was the experience like overall?

It was such a fun script and Robert was such a cool guy that we really trusted he’d make something intense. I liked that it was so different. I couldn't wait to get to the set and have fun. I was thirteen. I wanted to meet boys and get out of school for 2 months. In seriousness it was a dream come true for a young girl who wanted more than anything to perform, and what a way to perform.

I remember that before the movie came out some of the kids at school were kind of mean so the “tough” girls protected me until the movie came out…then everyone was afraid of me! lol

The funniest onset memory I have is we all went to see The Amityville Horror at the theatre. Being that we were making a horror film, we didn't think we'd be too scared. Little did we know! I think we screamed the whole film. It was a great bonding experience for the cast and the crew.

There were some fantastic murder sequences with plenty of gory effects! What are you memories of the makeup and prosthetics used on set, and does any particular scene stick in your mind?

Well my Mom was on the set with me the whole time so she was very involved in things that I was allowed to do and things that I wasn't allowed to do. They wanted me to do all the killings, they wanted my hands, my Mom right away said that she really didn't want me to do that because she felt like it would kind of disturb me at age 13. She decided that maybe they should put in my written contract that they would get somebody else to portray the hands.

They ended up using Jonathan Tiersten's hands which worked out perfectly. I think it also added to the whole film because I have very little thin hands you would probably know that it was my hands rather than suspecting other cast members.

The final scene when your true identity is revealed has been hailed by many as the most shocking climax to a slasher movie ever! Can you please talk us through that scene as you remember it, and did you have any idea of the narrative at the time?

I was very aware of the narrative, it was always in the script. I knew what was going on. I remember feeling so happy that I knew the big reveal and all my friends didn't. Little did I know it would go down in horror history.

I remember shooting at night and it was cold. The production crew had previously made a mould of my face all I had to do was make the infamous face. I never had to do anything else. The rest (sorry to ruin the magic) was that mold of my face put on a college boy's body. The poor guy had to get drunk so he could get through it. To this day I have never met the man who played my male genitals since the shoot. I think it would be cool to track him down and get him to a convention. I only met him briefly the night the final scene was shot. He didn't have a whole lot to say. I still find it incredible that people are still amazed.

What were the rest of the cast and crew like to work with, and do you stay In touch?

John Dunn who played Kenny is my best friend to this day. We never lost touch and we were really tight on the set. I was always like his little sister. I adore him and I’m so lucky he’s in my life.

Everyone was really, really brilliant. Jonathan Tierstan and I had to work a lot together and he was sweet...I had a crush on him during production. I have been blessed to work with him again. I was lucky to get back together with most of the gang on the set of 'Return to Sleepaway Camp'.

Chris Collet was really, really nice...There was nothing but a lot of fun going on and everyone had a good time...everyone worked really well together...it was very comfortable.

Sleepaway Camp was a surprise hit, and still has a huge following to this day. What are your memories of its initial release and success?

The first time I saw the movie was in a theater with my eighth grade class. The movie theater was packed in my hometown and I think everyone was pretty shocked. I remember closing my eyes as the last shot appeared. I had never seen a penis!

I remembered looking at myself on the screen and asking, "Is that what I really look like?" I thought the film was terrific! I snuck into the movie theatre a couple times after opening night with my cousin and we'd be eating popcorn and laughing that I was on the big screen. It was a great experience.

I didn't really register that the movie had become such a cult film until the birth of the internet. That was when the people who loved the film found each other and then they found me! And it was more a shock to me than anyone.

Does your role in Sleepaway Camp still play a part in your career today?

I love horror, and being a part of Sleepaway Camp has really given me the opportunity to carve (excuse the pun) myself a place in horror history. I feel horror has strongest community behind it. I feel like I am part of a big bizarre family and I love it.

I have worked with some fantastic people in the industry and even some of the cast of Sleepaway Camp. I recently got to return to camp (so to speak) in a movie called Camp Dread. I got to play a fictional version of my real life self. A woman who was once the star of a summer camp based horror film.

I love the escapism and challenge that horror brings me as an actress and I hope my career continues. I also like the idea going behind the scenes in the genre. I have just fully produced my first film (No Solicitors) out soon. And if the phone rings for me to return to camp as Angela then so be it.

Chapter Five

1984

The Company of Wolves

A British production that was based on Angela Carter’s short story of the same name, A Company of Wolves is a fantasy-horror dealing with werewolf mythology in a gothic and original style that is arguably the ‘adult’ version of the Little Red Riding Hood fairytale.

Directed by Neil Jordan and filmed at the Shepperton Studios in England, the story centers on a young girl called Rosaleen who dreams of a fairytale existence whereby she lives in a forest with her parents. While in this dream state, her sister is killed by wolves. Rosaleen then moves in with her grandmother who gives her warnings of the impending threat. Matters are complicated with Rosaleen’s involvement with a stranger who transpires to be a werewolf, as the inevitable becomes reality and Rosaleen herself becomes one of the beasts.

The viewer is also treated to various other sub-plots or short stories that shift away from the main storyline, as several of the characters tell tales to Rosaleen. We witness these tales that involve werewolves and different consequences, in a surreal and innovative style.

The film starred Sarah Patterson, Angela Lansbury, Stephen Rea, and David Warner, and was produced by Chris Brown and Stephen Woolley.

In a film that required many special effects on a limited budget, many of the scenes involving ‘real’ wolves actually relied on Belgian Shepard dogs. Their fur was dyed to give the appearance of being wolves, and this of course helped also with regard to the safety of the cast.

Although a fairly modest opening at the box office, The Company of Wolves went on to take over $4,000,000 on a budget of just £410,000.

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter

Although billed as the end of the franchise upon its release, this of course was not the case and numerous other sequels have subsequently been made. The Final Chapter continues the story of Jason Voorhees as we pick up quite literally where the last film finished, as paramedics take Jason’s body to the morgue. We soon discover that the Crystal Lake killer is indeed not dead as he promptly murders a couple of workers at the morgue, before making his way back to the lake. In the meantime a group of youngsters are heading their way to the woods, to rent a house that sits opposite a family who reside there.

It’s not long before Jason can return to his bloody best and start disposing of as many people as he can (13 in this movie), in gloriously detailed murder sequences. Our new hero is a young boy called Tommy Jarvis (played by a very young Corey Feldman) who lives in the family home. Tommy, whose mother is one of Jason’s latest victims, has the last word as we witness him hack the killer to death with his own machete.

Many fans argue that this is perhaps one of the better entries in the serious, and Joseph Zito does indeed direct a well-paced movie that injects as much entertainment as it does horror. The casting works well, and we have some great performances, notably from Crispin Glover and Corey Feldman.

Tom Savini supervised the special effects, and this entry contained more gore and nudity than the previous films, proving to be a hit with the fans at the box office. On a budget of $2,600,000, The Final Chapter went on to take almost $33,000,000 making it the highest grossing horror movie of the year. This of course ensured that this would not be the end of the franchise.

A Nightmare on Elm Street

1984 saw the introduction of one the most enduring and iconic horror characters of the modern era. Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street starred Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger in a movie that was to become the first in an incredibly successful horror franchise. Craven began writing Elm Street in 1981, after being influenced by a news story about a young Cambodian refugee who was convinced he was going to die in his sleep due to disturbing nightmares that he was suffering from. As predicted he did indeed die one night, and thus gave Craven a springboard for his vision. During his own childhood Craven witnessed an old man staring back at him from outside his house, this image stayed with Craven and became the catalyst for the Krueger character.

Craven’s story involves a group of teens that start to suffer from the same nightmares about being attacked by a burnt man with a glove made of knives. The group of youngsters slowly becomes victims in their sleep, with Krueger killing them off in bloody murder sequences. The main character Nancy starts to research Krueger and his history, only to find that their parents are harboring a disturbing secret about the town’s past and their own involvement.

After discovering the reasoning and strenth behind Krueger’s existence, Nancy sets about trapping and destroying the razor fingered killer in a final showdown to end the nightmare.

Elm Street has become known as one of the first ‘suburban’ horror movies, whereby the safety and tranquility of this idyllic family setting was torn apart by the unseen evil. The fact that the movie successfully dealt with blurring the line between dreams and reality, means it has been credited with changing the horror landscape forever and influencing many movies since. The special effects were extremely innovative for the time and included a revolving room for a blood geyser sequence, a bottomless bathtub and a staircase made of pancake mix to give the effect of melting! Over 500 gallons of fake blood were used during production in a film that gave the audience value for money, with plenty of gory and bloody murder sequences. Robert Englund’s makeup alone would take roughly 3 hours to apply!

The film starred Heather Langenkamp, Robert Englund, Johnny Depp, John Saxon and Nick Corri. Elm Street was made on a budget of $1.8 million and made over $26 million at the box office, guaranteeing a sequel.

In addition to numerous sequels a television series was created and a re-make was released in 2010.

I was fortunate enough to speak with Wes Craven in 2014 about his creation:

Having already made The Hills Have Eyes and Last House on the Left in the 70s, do you feel that these films and others of the time helped to influence the genre moving into the 80s?

I suppose they did, along with Romero and Hooper’s work, to name just two others. There weren’t that many of us working in the genre back then.

Where did the inspiration come from to write A Nightmare on Elm Street, and what is it that you wanted to achieve as a director with this movie?

The inspiration came from a newspaper article about a boy who tried to stay awake, and did for days, and then died as soon as he fell asleep. It was such a frightening concept, it obsessed me. I also had nightmares as a kid…

As to what I hoped to accomplish? Just to get what I’d gotten down on paper down on film, on a very limited budget.

Was it all plain sailing getting the Elm Street project off the ground once you had the script, or were there obstacles to overcome?

There were three years of obstacles. Obstacle One: nobody in Hollywood thought very much of the script. Obstacle Two: Bob Shaye, then of New York, loved it, but couldn’t raise the money for it for almost three years. And even that fell out just a week before shooting. He somehow managed to piece back together from other sources, but we had to shut down until that time.

Freddy Krueger has quite literally become an iconic character from the 80s. Can you please tell us a little of where the idea for his appearance came from?

I simply wanted a mask that was frightening, but capable of expressions and allowing the actor to do dialog. Freddy was chatty.

Robert Englund gave an incredible performance. Was he always in mind for the role of Freddy, or had anyone else been considered?

Lots of guys were considered, for about five minutes, but Robert was the only one that wasn’t just interested in the job, but was passionate about getting to play such a despicable character. That showed real courage on his part, I think.

What do you recall as being the most difficult or stressful scene to shoot, and why?

Probably the very last moments, with Freddy picking the kids up for school. That was Bob’s idea and I hated it. But he got the money to make the movie, so we compromised. Bob wanted Freddy to be driving the car, but allowed me to simply have the car suggest his presence by the stripes on its roof.

One of the most visually compelling scenes was that of Tina being dragged across the ceiling! Can you please tell us a little of how that sequence was shot?

That was a complicated scene, involving a set of a room that could rotate 360 degrees on an axis, without anything in the room showing the effects of gravity except for Tina. She was loose, but everything else was either starched, glued down, or strapped to the floor, which is what we did with her boyfriend.

Was there any part of the movie that you were left dissatisfied with, or would change if you could?

I don’t look back.

As a filmmaker, what was the most satisfying personal achievement that you have taken from the whole Elm Street success?

It was one of only four films that I’ve made that I both wrote and directed, and with that one especially, I created a title and a villain that has remained in the public consciousness of pretty much the world, for thirty years. Not bad.

What are your thoughts on the sequels, and did any of them have any qualities that you enjoyed?

The novelist Bruce Wagner and I co-wrote the first drafts of NIGHTMARE III, and I think the concept is strong and original. I thought the rest had a lot of visual originality, but that the stories weren’t as strong. Of course NIGHTMARE VII ain’t bad either.

The 1980s seem to be remembered as a golden era for the horror genre, with enduring characters and films that are still influencing cinema today. Why do you think this is?

The Vietnam War made us all crazy. Really.

Finally, what were your thoughts on the Elm Street re-make?

I never went to see it.

Razorback

Only in this fantastic horror genre would you see a film about a killer pig (or boar to be precise), and with Russell Mulcahy’s Razorback that’s exactly what we get!

Based on the novel by Peter Brennan, Razorback centers on a huge boar that has been responsible for bloody murders in the Australian outback. A man whose son had been killed years beforehand, and the husband of another of its latest victims, team up and attempt to track down this powerful creature and destroy the animal that has killed those close to them.

As bizarre as the concept sounds, Mulcahy managed to create an enjoyable movie that is well paced, with plenty of entertaining characters to keep the film moving along in a light hearted fashion.

The film starred Gregory Harrison, Arkie Whiteley, Bill Kerr, and Judy Morris, with Hal McElroy as producer. Razorback grossed $801,000 at the Australian box office and was also given a limited theatrical release in the United States.

Silent Night Deadly Night

Certainly the most controversial film of the year was Silent Night Deadly Night, which suffered the unusual fate of being withdrawn from release after just two weeks due to its controversial marketing and ad campaign.

The film tells the tale of a young boy who witnesses his parents being killed by a man dressed in a Santa outfit. Unsurprisingly this event leaves him traumatized, as we see the young boy being raised in a strict Catholic orphanage with some adjustment issues.

As the boy becomes older he slowly becomes a killer himself as he is haunted by the trauma experienced as a child at Christmas. The holiday season and all associated images and themes send him over the edge, as he himself now slips into the Santa suit and starts the killing.

Paul Caimi wrote the story and the film was directed by Charles Sellier on a budget of $750,000. The movie starred Robert Brian Wilson, Lilyan Chauvin, Gilmer McCormick and Toni Nero.

The production itself was a solid genre piece that offered all the popular clichés for the slasher picture. Although the movie had the violence and gore that you would expect, it certainly didn’t break any boundaries, and the content was on par with that of its counterparts. What landed the film in trouble was that a group of parents who had seen the ad campaign were unsettled by the image of Santa being portrayed as a killer. That and the fact the film was released at around the Christmas season created a backlash and a wave of protests. Finally after just two weeks the PTA won the battle and the movie was withdrawn from theatres. Interestingly, Silent Night, Deadly Night opened on the same weekend as Wes Craven’s genre classic, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and it actually had the higher takings of $2,491,460 on its opening weekend.

The film was re-released two years later with a different marketing strategy being employed, that unsurprisingly avoided the image of Santa. Due to the controversy the movie generated upon its release, it has generated a huge cult following over the years, and a re-make was released in 2012.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Cortney Palm in 2014, who featured in the re-make, titled Silent Night. It was interesting to hear the thoughts of someone who was not only involved in this movie, but who is involved with many of today’s new generation of horror film.

Quickly becoming a popular and familiar figure within the horror genre, were you a fan of horror films before becoming involved with them? If so, what are your favorite movies?

I love horror films. They have always been my favorite movies to watch. At a very young age I watched Chucky, It, Amityville Horror, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Boogeyman and Gremlins. I like most of the remakes as well. I love practical effects because it makes a movie much more fun and I have a background in theater where CGI doesn't exist. More recent horror films that I love are: Mirrors, The Ring, and my favorite The Descent.

The 80s are regarded by many as a special time for the genre, why do you think this is and what films from this era do you enjoy as a fan?

Well, I think horror in the 80s was new for audiences who were brought up on classy Audrey Hepburn films and Gone With the Wind. I know that when Silent Night came out people were so upset that they were protesting the movie! To me, it's like Disney princesses, you can't have just one. Therefore, audiences needed more psycho killers out there to sate their lust. Freddy Krueger, Killer Santa, Jason, Chucky, etc.

How did the opportunity arise for you to star in Zombeavers, and what can you tell us about the audition process?

My manager sent me on an audition at CAZT studios for the Untitled Jordan Rubin project. I fell in love with the script and Zoe, my character, immediately. The audition for me was the last scene in the film. I heard other girls had to scream and cry, and there were call-backs and chemistry reads that I wasn't there for. I just booked the part off of my first audition. Probably because the producers already knew I could scream and... get naked! haha.

Director Jordan Rubin has stated that he wished for Zombeavers to be a homage to the fun and gory films of the 80s, was this the aim on set and how was this achieved?

When I officially met with Jordan after the casting process, the first thing he told me to do was watch The Thing (the original) in order to get a feel for what our movie was about. On set, we just played the scenes straight as actors should, and the FX team and the editors are who really made the movie feel the underlying themes Jordan was aiming at.

You also featured in the remake of the 80s classic Silent Night, Deadly Night. Had you seen the original before taking part in this reboot?

I watched Silent Night Deadly Night a week before I was scheduled to shoot Silent Night by Steven Miller in Canada. I thought it was so funny, because the blood and gore were so PG and I knew that working with Vincent Guastini from VGP Effects, our blood and gore would be so much more than that.

The murder sequence that you were involved in was a great scene! Can you tell us a little about those dramatic shots? Firstly your fall from the building, and then of course the gory shots involving the wood chipper?

I did all of my own stunts in Silent Night. I enjoyed every minute of it. I was hanging out the window and everyone was so worried, but I didn't want to hold back and I wanted to make the fear as real as possible. I was tied down of course, for safety! The fall was in front of a green screen and at first I had no idea what I was doing, because it was second unit. But then Jaime King who plays Aubrey came over and told me how to look realistic in the fall. It was great! ...The wood chipper scene was so much fun. First of all I am covered in blood and have blood coming out of my mouth! The machine was gutted so I was safe, but it is still scary! My mother actually cried during the scene (at our screening). Right before we rolled the first take, I couldn't move because with all the blood and (me lying on the metal) I was STUCK! They had to pour water all over me so I could slide down the chipper or else I would stick to it from all of the blood!

How do you think the remake compares to the original?

I like the remake because I like the cinematography and Steven and Joe's lighting concept. I also liked more revealing bloody scenes that were practical but more realistic. Nothing can ever beat an original, but I think our movie is very close!

Can you tell us a little about the upcoming horror movies that you will be involved with?

I have worked on countless horror films. Most recently is Zombeavers, and I have a project coming up with Vincent Guastini again doing a fun SFX film that is mostly thriller, but I love the genre and want to keep at it.

As an actress familiar with the genre, can you give me one female lead role from an 80s horror movie that you would have enjoyed to play?

I would love to be Nancy Thompson in A Nightmare on Elm Street. The movie was remade.. not sure where I was! haha.

What has been your most enjoyable movie to date and why?

The most enjoyable movie to date is a hard question to ask. But my favorite character to play was Sushi Girl. I had so much fun on Demon Legacy, Silent Night, It's Not a Date, and Zombeavers, because my characters gave me as the actor so much to work with, and I love to play.

What are your aspirations for the future, and would you like to stay active within the horror genre?

I have always been a fan of horror and would love to continue down that road. Yet, I am a sucker for Tennessee Williams and would like to do strong character pieces as well.

Night of the Comet

Written and directed by Thom Eberhardt, Night of the Comet offered the viewer a horror/science fiction crossover that was reminiscent of the B-movies of yesteryear.

Earth is about to be left in the wake of a comet in an event that hasn’t happened in 65 million years, when the dinosaurs were wiped off the face of the planet. Two teenage sisters wake the next morning to find that all trace of life has seemingly vanished, leaving only piles of red dust, zombies and a group of scientists with their own hidden agenda.

As our girls battle through the dangers they find another lone survivor, Hector, and between them try to solve the mystery and make sense of what has happened.

Catherine Mary Stewart, Kelli Maroney, and Robert Beltran, starred in the film that was produced by Andrew Lane and Wayne Crawford. An entertaining movie that didn’t take itself too seriously, Night of the Comet took $14,418,922 at the box office on a budget of $3,000,000.

The Initiation

Daphne Zuniga plays Kelly, a college student who has be plagued by nightmares all her live about a burning man. At college she attempts to understand these recurring nightmares by seeking the help of her psychology teacher who looks into her troubled childhood for answers. In the meantime Kelly has pledged to a sorority that will require her to perform an initiation ritual that involves her breaking into her father’s department store in the dead of night.

Once in the store they can’t escape, and the blood begins to flow as a mystery killer picks the girls off in brutal fashion.

The scenes within the shopping mall were actually shot at The Dallas International Market. The crew had use of the center after 7.00pm when it was closed, and had to complete the night’s shoot within 12 hours before the mall re-opened. Directed by Larry Stewart, The Initiation stared Vera Miles, Clu Gulager, Daphne Zuniga and James Read.

C.H.U.D.

C.H.U.D. (Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dweller) is a film directed by Douglas Cheek and written by Shepard Abbott.

The story revolves around a number of gruesome murders that have occurred in New York City, with the culprits appearing to be a group of deformed cannibalistic vagrants.

A small group comprising of a journalist, policeman, and a bum with inside knowledge, work together in an attempt to overcome the mutated creatures.

Andrew Bonime produced, and the movie starred John Heard, Daniel Stern, Christopher Curry and Kim Greist. Although given just a limited theatrical release, C.H.U.D. grossed $4,654,423 at the box office on a budget of just $1.25 million.

Although receiving a tough time from most critics upon its release, C.H.U.D. has gone on to claim somewhat of a cult status, and helped to usher in many of the ‘splatter’ films that the 80s became best known for.

A sequel was released in 1989.

Children of the Corn

Based on the Stephen King short story of the same name, Children of the Corn was written by George Goldsmith and directed by Fritz Kiersh.

The story involves a rural town in Nebraska, which is inhabited by children who have murdered all the adults in a ritual killing to secure a good corn harvest. Any adults that pass through the town are also sacrificed for the harvest, and become victims of this child cult.

We follow two characters played by Linda Hamilton and Peter Horton, who come across the town when driving cross-country and encounter the bizarre situation. There they also find children who do not want to be a part of the murdering cult, and look for a way to escape and end the madness.

Filming was done in Iowa and California on a budget of $800,000 with Donald P. Brothers and Terence Kirby producing the movie. Goldsmith’s screenplay differed from King’s novel in that less of a background story is told on the children, and more emphasis is put on the violence.

Children of the Corn was a success at the box office grossing $14,568,589, and to date seven sequels have followed, along with a television remake that was aired in 2009.

Splatter University

Originally shot in 1981 at a running time of just 65 minutes, Splatter University had additional scenes filmed in ’82 to lengthen the running time and was finally released in 1984.

The crew had just one week to use Mercy College during spring break, and would sleep in the classrooms to maximize the time there and ensure completion.

Directed and produced by Richard W.Haines, Splatter University delivered exactly what the title suggested. A mental patient who kills a staff member to escape an institution, visits a college years later, and murders one of the teachers. The following term, a group of students and the replacement teacher have to endure the apparent return of the killer, as we witness numerous murder sequences as our killer works his way through the student body and faculty.

Starring Forbes Riley, Ric Randig, Dick Biel, and Kathy LaCommare, Splatter University was distributed by Troma Entertainment, a company that would go on to release numerous horror movies during the 80s. Troma has become best known for their independent horror releases that would tend to focus on extreme gore and nudity, or otherwise known as ‘shock exploitation films’.

Chapter Six

1985

Re-Animator

Based on the H.P. Lovecraft story ‘Herbert West, Re-Animator’ and directed by Stuart Gordon, Re-Animator was released in 1985 and offered the audience a breath of fresh air. The movie was produced by Brian Yuzna and was a science fiction based horror film, using the age-old theme of a Frankenstein tale in very modern fashion. With a well-balanced blend of comedy and horror, Re-Animator also benefited from gloriously over the top special effects that left nothing to the imagination.

The storyline follows a medical student, Herbert West, who arrives at Miskatonic University, New England with the aim of pursuing his own research and experiments. After renting a room from another student West, embroils his new roommate into these experiments, which involve a re-agent that brings dead tissue back to life. West’s roommate Dan is also dating the daughter of the school’s dean, and matters take a turn for the worst when the dean discovers these unauthorized practices before being killed off by one of West’s reanimated zombies!

Complications arise further still when the dean is re-animated himself, and his daughter is also dragged into the madness. To make matters worse, a teacher at the school will stop at nothing to acquire West’s re-agent for himself, as we see a bloody battle in which many bodies are reanimated and various body parts brought back to life!

Stuart Gordon originally embarked on the project as he wished to see more Frankenstein films, as there were too many ‘Dracula movies’. It wasn’t long until he met with producer Brian Yuzna who was himself excited by the script, and struck a deal for the film to be made.

The cast included Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott, Barbara Crampton and David Gale. Combs received praise from critics and fans alike for his performance as the obsessed medical student, and it is a role he is remembered fondly for to this day.

Re-Animator was a huge hit grossing $2,023,414 at the box office with a budget of $900,000, and was also received well by the critics.

Two sequels were later released, Bride of Re-Animator in 1990 and Beyond Re-Animator in 2003.

I spoke with Brian Yuzna in 2013 about the first movie and his involvement in the series:

When and how was Re-Animator first brought to your attention?

I went to Chicago to meet Stuart Gordon on the advice of Bob Greenberg, a friend in LA. In LA I had been looking for a director for a movie that I wanted to make about a guy on death row who is electrocuted and reincarnated as a potato. It was based on a comic book by the great Kim Dietch. Well, basically, I was just determined to get into the film business and so I advertised for a director in Variety and got an unbelievable amount of replies – but that is another story. Anyway, Bob said that Stuart was a guy I should meet, that we would get along great. Stuart wasn’t a movie guy, he was a theater director, actually the creative director of the Organic Theater, but he did all kinds of transgressive theater, as well as popular more mainstream stuff, and according to Bob was not only a good director, but a hard core horror fan.

So, it was Thanksgiving weekend of 1983 and I went to Chicago, freezing cold at that time of the year. And I watched a couple of Stuart’s plays, and was very impressed when he took questions from the audience on one of the plays that was in development. What impressed me was that he listened attentively to everyone’s comments, positive and negative, without getting defensive or making it personal in any way. Later we went to Stuart’s apartment for dinner, I think, or at least for a beer. Stuart was a kind of downtown city kind of guy, wearing a leather jacket and a kind of tough attitude for a theater guy. We got along really great. I immediately felt comfortable with him because, as advertised, he was the real deal when it came to horror. And he had a couple of ideas for a horror movie. The one that I liked was Re-Animator. He had already developed a script for a TV show based on HP Lovecraft’s short stories, but when I told him that I wasn’t interested in television, I wanted to make a feature film, he never hesitated, he said he and his writing partners would go in that direction. Exactly one year later we were shooting our first film: H.P. Lovecraft’s Re-Aninimator!

What qualities did you like about the story that made you want to be involved?

What I liked was that it was a real horror tale with the dead coming back to life and grisly madness. I had read Lovecraft when I was younger and wasn’t really that impressed – it seemed like the couple of stories that I read ended with the hero fainting right at the climax when it was just getting good. Of course, later I read everything I could by Lovecraft and am a serious aficionado. I know that the Re-animator stories are not typical of Lovecraft since they are traditional horror narratives and don’t include the ‘mythos’, but I really like that sort of thing. But what sold me on Stuart’s (and Dennis Paoli + Willian Norris’) TV script adaptation was that it read like a real story. Especially the end. In the TV version the story ends with Meg’s father, the Dean, getting killed and reanimated, and during the wild conclusion Herbert is fatally injured and is dying. In his last act he hands the syringe of reagent to Dan to bring him back to life. I loved that. It felt like a true horror story. So that’s what sold me.

After I began conversations long distance with Stuart and the writers about how to adapt it to a feature film, we expanded the story to include more elements from the original stories. Especially the doctor carrying his head around in his hands. I loved that. I have always been a fan of ‘head’ movies (Donavan’s Brain, etc), and one of my formative films was Wm Castle’s House on Haunted Hill. I never forgot the scene of Vincent Price carrying the severed head down the hall. Gotta have the headless guy with head in hand leading an army of zombies! That pretty much turned the TV script into a movie script because now there was a second half. And I must say that those guys really did a fantastic job of adapting Reanimator to Re-Animator!

Were there any aspects of the movie that gave you difficulties as a producer?

Since I financed the whole film myself (from savings and investors) the difficulties I mostly encountered were basically my own lack of experience. I had brought my production manager friend from North Carolina (where I lived before moving to LA), but we were both fairly new to the game. Luckily Bob Greenberg was there to show us the way. Greater luck was that Stuart just happened to be a really talented and hard working guy who prepared extensively for his film debut. And he was really knowledgeable about actors, so our cast was good and he made them better. Everybody on the show had more experience than I did, so that helped. And I learned from them all. Bob Greenberg brought in Bob Burns as art director. Since Burns had been the art director of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, we thought we really had the real deal in him, a connection to horror greatness. He also introduced me to Tony Doublin for special fx.

The biggest problem was making the movie in the sixteen days that we could afford to shoot between Thanksgiving and Christmas 1984. That’s a lot of shooting in a short time. And remember this is 35mm days. A next big challenge was getting the cinematography to look great. Originally Stuart wanted to shoot at his theater in Chicago and suggested shooting in black and white on 16mm. He thought a very rough look would be more scary. But I had not gone to Hollywood to make b+w movies, I wanted a real Hollywood production. So during the shooting I was very concerned with the dailies. I wanted our sixteen day shoot to look like the ‘big time’. Eventually Mac Ahlberg came in to put a steady hand on the keel of the camera. Then came the challenge of the editing. The first cut was over two hours long, and I was not sure why the movie wasn’t working so well. Luckily our editor Lee Percy took me to school on that one. Watching over his shoulder I saw how editing can really make a movie come to life. Finally the challenge I faced was recouping the money. And that one didn’t turn out so pretty. Naive me had made a deal with Empire Pictures (who owed me money at that time) to represent the movie sales and distribute domestically. My inexperience in this arena meant that most of the success of the film never found its way into my bank account or that of my investors. By the time I concluded a successful lawsuit against Empire it was already defunct and the monies were never to be recaptured.

Many critics praise the movie for being a refreshing breath of fresh air at the time, and unlike anything else around – would you agree with that?

Yes, on both counts.

Refreshing because we were introduced to a new directorial voice with a strong, fun, uncompromising theatre sense of narrative. Refreshing because of the unapologetic approach to horror that the film represents. Unlike anything else out there at the time, because Re-Animator is a unique entertainment that still stands out for its tone and commitment to genre, it’s well told story and its solid production values in spite of budget.

Is it completely different from the films of that time? Don’t think so. I would say that two film’s released at the same time, though they are totally different from Re-Animator, are definitely each of them a ‘breath of fresh air’ and ‘unlike anything else out there’. They are “Evil Dead” and “Return of the Living Dead”.

As a fan, what is your most memorial scene?

You can’t beat the ‘head giving head’!

Jeffery Combs became an instant hit with his outstanding performance, was he always a favorite for the role?

He was great and is still known for the role. Credit to William Norris who (according to Stuart) was mostly responsible for creating the West character in the script, but Jeffrey definitely did what great actors do when they can sink their canine teeth into a role – he rocked and made it his own.

Little known fact: Miguel Ferrer read for the role and would have been great as well!

But, Jeffrey was something special and deserves all the kudos he gets.

Of all the actors auditioning it was only Jeffrey who was a no-brainer once he read for the role. We all loved him. He was Herbert West!

By the time we were doing the third movie, Jeffrey was an essential part of the story development as well. Nobody understands West the way he does.

Re-Animator was certainly one of the goriest films at the time, did you run into difficulties with the censors?

No – because I chose not to submit it to the MPAA rating system and it was released unrated.

Empire Pictures had a ‘TV Version” and “R Rated Version” created using scenes that had been cut out. But even though we have included them in the special edition DVDs, and I do think that Stuart has a soft spot for some of the excised scenes, I think there is only one Re-Animator and that is the original.

Some foreign countries, of course, cut the movie for censorship, which is their right under licensing agreements. Nowadays, however, it is mostly released in its originally intended form.

Were you left with any aspect of the movie that you weren’t happy with?

I guess I never was very happy with how retro Meg was as the girlfriend. I mean, she was afraid to tell her dad that she was sleeping with her boyfriend, afraid to move in with Dan, really had no part except as the damsel in distress. But my hypocrisy rears its ugly head when I whole heartedly applaud the traditional genre film exploitation of Barbara Crampton’s beauty.

What was your fondest memory of being involved in the whole Re-Animator experience?

The whole experience of making a real horror movie in Hollywood is an incredible memory. But perhaps one of the most incredible memories was at the very first screening of the ‘answer print’, which was at midnight at the Star Theater in Cannes. It was my first time at the festival/market, I had no idea what to expect. It was raining all day and night and when I got to the cinema the line of people waiting to get in went down the block. I just wondered how they even knew about the screening and what prompted them to come out at midnight. I had left a note for Roger Ebert at his hotel asking him to come, but that was the total of my efforts to scare up a crowd. What sticks with me about that night wasn’t that we had to add another screen to accommodate the over capacity crowd, but the experience of seeing the completed movie for the first time with a real audience. They loved it. And as the credits rolled the audience clapped and stomped their feet to the rhythm of the music!

Did you have any idea that it would become the cult classic that it is today?

I knew that it would be popular with the fans – because I was a fan. In fact I immediately set up a screening for Fangoria Magazine in NYC because I knew they would love it (Tony Timpone has since told me that on his first day working at Fangoria he went to that very screening!).

But, I never expected the reviews to be so good, for it to make a couple of top-ten lists for that year – or that thirty years later it would be considered a classic horror movie.

When was it discussed that a sequel was on the cards?

We spoke of a sequel almost immediately. However, the first idea was to make the sequel be “Dagon” (based on “Shadow Over Innsmouth”) using the same actors. While Stuart and I were in Italy shooting From Beyond and Dolls in ‘85-’86, we spoke of a sequel called “Bride of Re-Animator” in which Dan is on the lam and has taken the re-animated and violent Meg with him. The whole thing ended in the White House.

As you know, “Dagon” didn’t end up getting made for another twenty five years and not with any of the original Re-Animator actors. And Bride of Re-Animator didn’t end up even having Meg in the movie. The White House story is still pending as the un-made “House of Re-Animator”.

How did the opportunity arise for you to direct?

After having to take legal measures against Empire Pictures regarding the sales of “Re-animator”, I was unable to work with them anymore. They had financed both “Dolls” and “From Beyond”, and I had been developing “Robot Jox” with them. So I went on to work on other projects, but had the frustrating experience of having three of the projects fall apart due to directors leaving. So I thought I could more effectively control whether a movie got made or not by trying directing the next one. Also, after having produced a few films I was also feeling like I would like to try directing. I liked the idea of making so many of the creative decisions on a movie.

A friend of mine had started up a company to produce genre movies and we made a deal for me to direct two of them – one of which would be a Re-Animator sequel.

What was the toughest scene to make during the movie and why?

I guess I would have to say that the toughest scene to shoot on the “Bride of Re-Animator” was the grand finale of the movie, when the Bride comes to life and tears out her heart and Hill’s army attacks as West is taken down by the ‘failed experiments’ and the crypt collapses. The reason being, of course, that it was so full of action and special effects.

But, I could also make a case for a number of other scenes which, although they weren’t near as complicated, were very difficult because they were less – or poorly – prepared for by me. For example, the exterior when the ‘army’ attacks the house and chases Francesca and company down into the basement lab. That had the problem of not being clearly designed as well as having little time to shoot, so it had to be pretty much improvised. And I think it shows. There are a number of scenes like that in the movie. It is perhaps my most serious weakness to try to do too much and end up having to improvise.

Did it all go to plan, or were there any obstacles that needed to be overcome?

The production went according to plan – I had some great producers on board, Gary Schmleller and Michael Muscal, who made sure we had a fighting chance to shoot the ambitious plan of shots. The main obstacles were budget and schedule, as is always the case in shooting a movie. But with a movie like “Bride” there was the added challenge of special fx. We worked with a number of great fx artists and companies on the movie, each was chosen based on their special type of work. Remember that this was in the days before digital fx, so to erase wires or make a head fly we had to shoot old fashioned ‘blue screen’ and composite it on film. Very difficult. A simpler but just as critical challenge was designing the makeup fx and costuming for the ‘Bride’. Getting just the right amount of skin, muscle and metal for her was important so that she would be an iconic horror character. And the costume went through a lot of versions. An early version used the mummy-type of bandage wrap on her which I didn’t like at all – and we actually had to abandon shooting the first scene we had scheduled with her so that we could redesign the costume. This meant that we had to move the scene from shooting on a practical location and instead build a set that we hadn’t budgeted for in order to shoot the delayed scene.

Did you feel under pressure given that the 1st movie was such a success?

Definitely – I felt a tremendous pressure to not let the fans down.

We certainly didn’t manage to match the first film as far as a completely consistent and entertaining film. But, we did do our best, and in spite of some notable lapses in story and acting (due to bad directing), I think we made a very entertaining horror film. It certainly was something I loved, a kind of operatic delirium by the end. At the end of the year, Fangoria readers voted Bride of Re-Animator as the best horror movie of the year and it made me very relieved to have the fans accept it.

What is your personal favorite scene from the film?

I guess it would be a toss up between the scene where West gives his “God speech” and the scene where the Bride pulls out her beating heart and offers it to Dan.

It was great to see all main cast members back for the sequel, were there any difficulties in managing that?

It was difficult to get the cast together from the first one. Bruce Abbott was on board from the beginning, but Barbara Crampton didn’t accept to reprise Meg for a prologue scene. Jeffrey Combs was on the fence, but finally accepted to be West again, and thank god he did! David Gale actually called me about continuing the Hill role. When I reminded him that Hill’s body had exploded and Hill’s head was crushed in the first movie, it didn’t daunt him. “This is Re-Animator, Brian!” he reminded me.

Is there any scene from the film that didn’t go to plan?

I think that it all went according to plan – insofar as there was a plan. There were scenes that were never really solved in the script and which were then more or less improvised as we proceeded through the production. Those scenes didn’t really work very well. Some scenes that included special fx came up short due to my trying to do too much and not having the time and budget to really preview and develop the special fx before shooting. This is an unfortunate habit that I have of trying to do too much with too little. I think it comes from having gotten into this business without really knowing what I was doing or how to do it. So, because I just decided to get into the movies with no real preparation, I had the experience of just blustering forth and not being daunted by lack of resources. Since often times this has worked out for me, I then tend to continue the habit – which often leads to failure.

So, for example, deciding in the script to have the detective’s arm cut off by West (so that we could have West attach it to the dog) was an easy decision to make. But in the rest of the movie when the detective had to be one-armed, we were not really prepared for how difficult it would be to shoot all that complicated action with his arm missing. It had to be hidden, and he had to do things one handed – it got to be a mess and really didn’t work out very well. Remember, no digital fx back then to erase the arm. That problem was not having prepared properly and the scenes reflected it. Linked to that was the scene with the dog having the detective’s arm in place of his foreleg. The special fx of that scene never really satisfied me because rather than prepare a real special fx for that, we just winged it and stuck a man’s arm out from behind the door. That wasn’t what I had in mind – but I deserved it for not having prepared properly.

Is there any part of the movie that you were not left happy with?

Of course – quite a few scenes came up short in my opinion.

I don’t mean to come off as being negative, because there is so much about the movie that I really love. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t see the weaknesses.

A lot of the acting was not what I wanted, and that was a result of my weakness as a director of actors. Also there were story points that I never worked out and resulted in a narrative weakness. For example, in the prologue I knew I wanted West to introduce the iguana and to state the goal of “creating new life” for this movie. However, having Dan get injured and held by West as we segued to the credits made no sense whatever. We never used the idea of Dan having been injured in the story thereafter.

The very end is also not very satisfying to me. Lots of action, a cave-in of the crypt, and Dan and Francesca embracing, but it didn’t really feel like a resolution to me. What was intended throughout the story was that Dan couldn’t give up Meg, wanted to bring her back in spite of the horror of the gimmick for doing so – whereas all the time there was a real live girl at his side ready to love him. So at the end he needed to turn from the macabre and embrace the present. Well, it is all there in the action (when he rejects the Bride) – but I didn’t get the feeling of closure in the last shots, it seemed rushed and clipped.

Another area that wasn’t well worked out was how in hell Dr. Hill (’s head) is able to call up the detective and the re-animated corpses in the Sefton Asylum to come to him. This was just a matter of shooting what was essentially a first draft of a script, I think. I wanted Hill to lead the re-animated corpses to attack West and I wanted to do it like it was in the original Lovecraft stories, so I put it in the script. But in the Lovecraft stories, Hill still had his body at that time – he could walk over to the asylum and get the corpses. We had already done away with Hill’s body in the first movie, so all we had left was Hill somehow calling them psychically. Kind of a stretch, at least how it was staged.

I am also a fan of the 3rd movie and I understand that there is the possibility of a 4th, what is the situation with the 4th Re-Animator?

I too like the 3rd movie, Beyond Re-Animator. Although (once again) the fx aren’t so good at the end, I thought that the story was worked out much better than in the Bride. I loved staging it in a prison and was mostly interested in working out the NPE idea which I think came across pretty well.

We tried to get a 4th movie going bringing back all the originals, Stuart, Dennis Paoli, etc., in “House of Re-Animator” which was West in the White House. But the financing fell through. It is a very tricky time for independent film financing, and bringing back all the original people requires House to have a bit of a higher budget. I spent quite a bit of money trying to get it going and couldn’t. However, I haven’t given up – not on “House”, nor on “Re-Animator Unbound!” which would be the end of the Herbert West saga.

Day of the Dead

Following on from Night of the Living Dead (1968) and Dawn of the Dead (1978), came George A. Romero’s third entry into his ‘Dead Series’.

Once again written by George A. Romero, Day of the Dead focuses on how a lack of communication has caused things to fall apart for the remaining survivors. The story focuses on a group of scientists who co-habit an underground bunker with a small military group. As the dead overrun the world outside, the scientists are carrying out research on the zombies in a bid the stop the outbreak. As tensions rise between the two groups, things finally reach breaking point when the army discovers that their own men have been used in the grisly experiments.

No longer willing to work together all hell breaks loose as zombies finally enter the bunker, and things quickly turn into a bloody game of survival.

The aboveground scenes were shot in Florida at various locations, while all of the underground scenes were shot at a disused mine shaft in Pennsylvania. The mineshaft’s high humidity was a constant problem for many of the mechanical props and effects, causing them to fail.

Romero’s original vision for this film was on a much grander scale, however the budget was cut in half due to the fact that he wished to release the film unrated. Most of the zombie extras were actually locals from Pittsburgh, who volunteered and were given a hat reading ‘I was a Zombie in Day of the Dead’ for their participation.

The film starred Lori Cardille, Joseph Pilato, Terry Alexander, and Richard Liberty, and was produced by Richard P. Rubinstein. Tom Savini was onboard for the special effects, and his work on this film earned him his second Saturn Award.

Day of the Dead didn’t enjoy the same success as its predecessor’s and commercially was the least successful, grossing just $5.8 million domestically at the box office on a budget of $3.5 million. It did however fair much better overseas, bringing in an additional $28.2 million and went on to do well in the home video market.

To date, Romero has released three more entries into his ‘Dead’ series; Land of the Dead (2005), Diary of the Dead (2007) and Survival of the Dead (2010).

Demons

In 1985 Lamberto Bava gave us probably his most infamous offering with Demons. Produced by Dario Argento who also contributed to the screenplay, Demons was an all out attack on the senses that ushered in a new subgenre. Not a zombie film but a ‘Demon’ film, Demons typified the 80s with its heavy metal soundtrack and over the top blood and gore.

The story itself focuses on a group of people as they attend a preview of a new horror film at a local cinema, the Metropol. The cinemagoers comprise of an entertaining bunch including the courting teens, middle-aged couples, prostitutes with their pimp, and even a blind man?! The film plays with the boundaries of reality, as we discover that the danger within the horror film is actually spilling out into the cinema audience.

It isn’t long until the contagion spreads through the cinema, as the trapped victims inside cannot escape the massacre that ensues. We even have a group of coke snorting punk teenagers turn up to join the madness, which turns into a colorful experience that was fairly unique at the time. The climax involves a helicopter crashing through the roof, allowing a couple to escape only to discover that the outside offers no sanctuary…

Most scenes inside the ‘Metropol’ were actually shot at a real disused cinema, and filming took place in Italy and Germany. The film starred Urbano Barberini, Natasha Hovey, Paola Cozzo, Karl Zinny, and Geretta Giancarlo, with Dario Argento’s own daughter Fiore also taking a part.

Demons did incredibly well in the home video market over the coming years, and was the introduction of Italian horror for many. With its high octane action and non-stop gore, it was a successful formula that would be repeated with a sequel in 1986.

Friday the 13th: A New Beginning

With the huge success that was Friday the 13th:The Final Chapter, it wasn’t long until we quickly discovered that there was more to come. The general premise for A New Beginning was to follow Tommy Jarvis years after he had killed Jason, as we see him somewhat disturbed and living at a mental institution.

While at the home another troubled patient hacks a teenager to death, and is promptly taken away by the police. We then witness a catalogue of murders in and around the home; with seemingly no motive we are questioning whether Jason has indeed returned. Tommy is haunted by images of Jason, and struggles harder than most to deal with the carnage due his past experiences. Eventually Tommy confronts the killer who is dressed as Jason, and we soon discover who is responsible for the murders and why.

Written by Martin Kitrosser and directed by Danny Steinmann, A New Beginning was produced on a budget of $2,200,000 and made $21,930,418 at the domestic box office.

The film starred Melanie Kinnaman, John Shepherd, Shaver Ross and Richard Young. Initially Corey Feldman had been written in to reprise his role as Tommy, but due to commitments filming The Goonies, he could only contribute a cameo appearance that was used at the beginning of the film.

Although commercially successful, A New Beginning was not popular with the die-hard fans of the series who were disappointed that Jason was not the killer. Due to the fact that the idea backfired, Jason would indeed return for the next installment.

Fright Night

Vampire films had been fairly scarce up until this point in the 80s. All that was about to change in 1985 when Tom Holland wrote and directed Fright Night, which became a surprise hit and the 2nd highest grossing horror film of that year.

Fright Night was a well-balanced blend of horror and comedy, with likable characters that helped to give the movie a depth and charm that the public responded to. The film involves a young man called Charlie who discovers that his new neighbor, Jerry, is a Vampire. Despite witnessing various murders by this creature, he struggles to convince anybody else so asks the help of a fictional ‘Vampire Killer’, Peter Vincent, who hosts a late night horror show. Despite planning to convince Charlie that he’s mistaken, Peter and Charlie’s friends soon discover that the story is true. As the Vampire attempts to take all who are close to him, Charlie and Peter Vincent battle with the vampire in a special effects laden climax.

The film starred Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Amanda Bearse and Stephen Geoffreys. Roddy McDowall also starred as the Vampire Killer, Peter Vincent. Chris Sarandon received extremely positive reviews for his portrayal of the suave Jerry Dandrige and the diabolical  vampire.

Fright Night seemed to strike a popular balance of fun and horror, which proved a successful formula. The effects were fantastic as we are treated to werewolf transformations and Vampires morphing into bats, amongst other visual treats (the makeup for Jerry’s final transformation took eigth hours to apply)! The tempo was fast, and in the absence of any action on screen the likable characters kept the viewer hooked.

The fictional name of ‘Peter Vincent’ was actually made by combining the names of past horror stars, Peter Cushing and Vincent Price. Fright Night was a huge success and grossed $24,922,237 at the box office on a budget of $9 million. A sequel was made in 1987 and a re-make hit the screens in 2011, which in turn generated its own sequel in 2013.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Tom Holland in 2013 about his movie:

Where did the inspiration come from to write Fright Night?

I was writing Cloak and Dagger, which was based on The Window, Cornell Woolrich’s adolescent version of Rear Window, and thought how funny it would be if a horror movie fan became convinced his next door neighbor was a vampire.

I didn’t have a story until I thought of Peter Vincent.

How long did the story take to write?

I thought about it for a year and a half and did a first draft in three weeks, but I didn’t have a girlfriend. I finally realized it and went back and wrote Amy in.

Prior to writing the story, what was your favorite Vampire movie at that time?

Dracula, of course, but at the time Vampires were dead, commercially anyway. The big movie with Frank Langella has crashed and burned and the farce, Love at First Bite, was a minor success, but that was it.

Farce is the last gasp of a genre (look at the last several sequels of Child’s Play) and indicate it is exhausted.

I did vampires because no one else was.

What was your own personal favorite scene from the movie and why?

Oh, boy, I like all of it. The seduction scene where Chris bites Amanda and the blood runs down her naked back?

I mean, everything with humor and warmth and charm. The actors were all so good, and Roddy was the cheerleader. It was a great experience.

What was the most difficult scene to direct/film and why?

Anything with a lot of makeup. Evils Ed’s transition from werewolf back to human, and his death. Chris Saradon’s transition from vampire to human form in Charlie’s room, when the pencil is stabbed through his hand.

Many view the film as being responsible for successfully bringing the Vampire story into the modern era – would you agree with this and was it your intention?

Yes. It was a dead genre, as explained above. Now we’re 37 years on? Is that right? (No Tom – 28)

It seems the Twilight series indicate a similar exhaustion in the genre, but it’ll take a breather, and someone will reinvent it.

Vampires are a metaphor for so much. That’s what makes the horror genre so exciting. It can be constantly reborn to reflect what is going on and comment on the current culture.

Every 2 to 3 years it’s wash and rinse with popular culture, and therefore horror. At least I’d like to think so.

With such a fantastic cast, did you feel that any actor in particular exceled within their role?

All of them were great. I really mean that. A group of lovely people with whom I am still happy to spend time with. Also, it introduced me to Chris Sarandon, who I have continued to work with.

What was Roddy McDowall like to work with?

Wonderful. Avuncular and paternal at the same time. He supported the other younger people in the cast, and became good friends with Bill Ragsdale. Roddy was a walking oral history of Hollywood and I learned much from him. I can’t say enough good about him.

I always wanted him to write his autobiography, but he wouldn’t. He did know where all the bodies were buried. I met so many stars at his house at dinner parties.

He was good-hearted, unless he didn’t like you, and he could puncture pretense with a rapier like wit.

Were there any obstacles that needed to be overcome, in order to realize the vision you had for Fright Night?

Yeah. My lack of experience. LOL. I had a great team around me. Shell Schrager, who was head of production at Columbia at the time, surrounded me with superb craftsmen.

Best among them were Richard Edlund, who had just finished Ghostbusters, and John DeCuir, Sr. and Jr. I was working with people who has done huge movies on my 1st small production.

I was dumb lucky.

The special effects for the film were fantastic and still hold their own today – which scene did you feel most satisfied with involving effects and why?

When Jerry gets hits by sunlight and jumps over the balcony. He transitions to a bat on the way down, while in a shadow on the wall. These were Richard Edlund’s visions. Then Jerry turns into a bat puppet, made and operated by Steve Johnson and Randy Cook.

Look up the credits on these people. Just amazing, the talent of the people who helped me. I was blessed.

Did the film go to plan, or were there any changes that had to be made along the way that you had to deal with?

The studio pressured me to cut some of the end sequence in the fight with Jerry Dandridge, but it didn’t hurt. We were a small throw-away at the studio. All eyes were on Perfect, the big hot talent studio production. I had total control and no interference. 1st movie. Never happened again. Ah, well, so it goes.

In this business, you never know.

Was there any part of the movie that you were left unhappy with?

None really. Only one I can say that about.

What is your fondest memory regarding the whole Fright Night experience?

Shooting it. It was a great experience. I thought they pulled marketing support too early, which is to say after the opening weekend. Coke had just taken Columbia over, and moved their MBAs in. Those guys produced graphs showing that although the movie had opened strongly, they wouldn’t up their profit margin, given how much they’d put into it, based on more marketing.

The corporatization of Hollywood. (sigh)

Did you have any idea whilst filming that it would be the success that is was?

None. I just wanted to survive the experience. After you’re well into production, it just became a matter of physical survival. You physically sag in the middle and then begin to gain energy as you approach the end.

Shooting is an endurance contest, you against your body (and sometimes sanity).

Why do you think the film has become so enduring and regarded as a classic within the genre?

It has a heart. You care about the people. Hard to find today. It also has humor and warmth. Also not easy to come by.

I cared about the people when I was writing it. I am/was Charlie Brewster. It’s my love letter to horror movie fans, of which I was one, back in the day of Hammer and AIP.

What were your thoughts on the sequel (1989), and did you have any involvement?

None. God Bless. Tommy Lee Wallace is a very nice and talented man.

When did you first hear that a re-make was planned?

I can’t remember.

What were your thoughts on the re-make?

It was quite good, but it didn’t have anything to do with my original. Amazing, isn’t it. Same general story lines, with none of the things that made the original so enjoyable. No humor, no warmth, no charm.

I assume they wanted to make their own movie. Go with God again, but finally it is “voice”. I have mine, they had theirs, good luck to all of us, but, please, see the original before passing judgment.

Do you have any personal memories or stories from the production of Fright Night that stick in your mind to this day?

All the friends I made during that film, and all the good memoires I have.

Ghoulies

Although Ghoulies had been unfairly rumored by some to have cashed in on the success of Gremlins, the concept for it actually started in 1983, a year before Gremlins’ release. Originally titled Beasties and written by Luca Bercovici, the intention was to have Charles Band direct with Stan Winston handling the special effects. Things changed however, and Bercovicic took the directorial honors himself with John Carl Buechler managing the effects.

We follow the story of Jonathan Graves who has surprisingly inherited a rather large house previously owned by his father. Moving in with his girlfriend we soon discover that the house has a dark secret, with a history of black magic and the occult that was practiced by its previous owner. It doesn’t take long for Jonathan to become curious about his father’s past activities, and continue the morbid obsession. Things get out of hand with the resurrection of pint size demons (Ghoulies), and Jonathan’s father himself returning from the grave to reclaim his position.

Ghoulies starred Peter Liapis, Lisa Pelikan, Michael Des Barres and Jack Nance. The movie actually caused some controversy, with numerous parents filing complaints about the poster depicting a Ghoulie coming out of the toilet. This was supposedly due to the fact that it was causing some children to be scared of visiting the toilet after seeing this image. Ghoulies was a hit on the home video market grossing $35,000,000 domestically on a budget of $1,000,000. Three sequels were also produced due the film's surprising success.

The Hills Have Eyes Part II

Due the success and cult status enjoyed by the 1977 classic The Hills Have Eyes, it was no surprise that Wes Craven would return to write and direct the sequel.

This time we follow a biker team as they travel to an event and decide to take a short cut through the desert. The team is hoping to promote a new ‘super fuel’ that has been invented by the owner, who happens to be the survivor from the original film, Bobby. Although Bobby does not take the trip due to his difficulty in overcoming the past, his partner does go along to manage things. The partner is Ruby, one of the cannibal family members from the first film who has since joined society and left her brutal past behind her. Our team is unaware of their colleague’s past, until the bus breaks down and they come under attack from the cave dwelling cannibals. Slowly the truth of the desert’s bloody history is realized, as the team attempt to outsmart their attackers and survive the madness.

Wes Craven has since voiced his own dissatisfaction for this film, which had been shelved half way through production due to budgetary concerns. It was after the success of A Nightmare on Elm Street that the project was able to continue, and finally be released in 1985.

The movie starred Michael Berryman, Janus Blyth, Kevin Spirtas, John Bloom and Tamara Stafford. The Hills Have Eyes 2 didn’t fair too well at the hands of the critics or fans, who were generally disappointed with this follow up to its infamous predecessor.

A remake of the original was released in 2006, and this produced its own sequel a year later.

Howling II

In this sequel, which was the only Howling film to follow the events of the original, we follow the brother of Karen White who was the star of the original movie. After attending the funeral of his sister Karen, Ben is approached by a stranger who tells him of Karen’s werewolf past, and of more dangers that exist in a distant country. Ben and a colleague of his deceased sister must travel to Transylvania to confront a werewolf queen who threatens all of mankind. Inspired by new wave eroticism, the movie included bi-curious werewolves, mutilated priests, dwarves, and numerous other visual oddities.

Gary Brandner and Robert Sarno wrote the screenplay, while Philippe Mora directed the film.

Shot mainly in what was Czechoslovakia at the time, and at the Barrandov Studios in Prague, this meant that Mora was given a ‘government assigned’ assistant director who knew very little of the film making business. Other difficulties included the unsuitable clean communist streets, and the difficulty in gathering large groups together without the attention of the local authorities.

Howling II starred Christopher Lee, Annie McEnroe, Reb Brown and Marsha Hunt. Unfortunately the movie did not impress many, receiving poor responses from fans and critics alike. Three more sequels were to follow during this decade alone however.

The Mutilator

Written, produced, and directed by Buddy Cooper, The Mutilator was aimed at slasher fans who demanded unlimited gore.

The movie follows our main character Ed as he is given the task of cleaning his father’s condo while he is away. Ed has a strained relationship with his father to say the least, and this is due to the fact that he killed his mother in an accidental shooting when he was younger, something that his father has never forgiven him for.

So Ed takes up this offer and his friends go along with him to turn the exercise into a break at the seaside condo. Before long the youngsters are picked off one at a time in true slasher fashion in a number of innovative and gory killings. This includes a disembowelment sequence with an outboard motor, impalement through the throat with a pitchfork, and the infamous ‘fishing gaff’ killing whereby a young girl is hooked in the crotch in a scene for hardcore horror fans only!

Ed and his girlfriend end up in a battle with the killer, in a climax that ensures the killer won’t be getting up again anytime soon!

The film starred Matt Mitler, Ruth Martinez, Bill Hitchcock, Connie Rogers, Frances Raines and Morey Lampley.

Although the film was never going to receive positive praise for its acting or production values, something about the movie just works. It does deliver a certain charm of its own for an audience looking for this specific form of entertainment, and doesn’t try to be anything else.

This is probably why The Mutilator has gone on to build a sizable cult following over the years, and has gained notoriety for the various unrated murder sequences.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 2:Freddy’s Revenge

Wes Craven had not intended for Nightmare on Elm Street to have sequels or become a franchise, so he had no involvement with Freddy’s Revenge whatsoever. The film was written by David Chaskin and directed by Jack Sholder, with Robert Shaye as producer once again.

This sequel moved in a very different direction to the original, with Freddy Krueger able to enter the real world to attack his teenage victims. A new family has moved into 1428 Elm Street, as the story of the original family has become a bit of a local legend. Jesse, the teenage son, sleeps in Nancy’s old room and suffers from restless nights and nightmares of Freddy and the boiler room. As time goes on Jesse finds himself seemingly controlled by Krueger, who wishes to use him to kill his friends and family around him. Jesse’s girlfriend Lisa helps him to fight the possessive force that is Krueger, forcing him out with the aim of destroying him once and for all.

The film starred Mark Patton, Kim Myers, Robert Rusler, Clu Gulager and Hope Lange, with Robert Englund reprising his role as Freddy Krueger.

The film was another huge success, grossing $30 million at the box office on a budget of $3 million. Despite the financial success enjoyed by Freddy’s Revenge, the movie did receive a lot of negative criticism due to the different approach taken from the original. This hardly damaged the fledgling franchise however as the 80s alone would give us three more sequels, with more to follow over the years.

Phenomena

Phenomena was written and directed by Dario Argento, and is a film that he has cited as his personal favorite. Produced by Angelo Jacono, the story tells of a young girl who is sent to a Swiss boarding school and has the ability to communicate with insects through psychic powers. While at the school a series of bizarre and brutal murders are taking place, and with the help of a local entomologist her powers are used to find the killer.

Like previous work from Argento the movie offered an original concept with plenty of imagination and flare. We witness maggot-invested corpses, a chimpanzee with a switchblade, a huge swarm of flies, and a child with a badly deformed face (this deformed child was actually played by a 26 year old dwarf in makeup). Argento works to a strong plot, which mixes surreal dream sequences with brutal murders to offer a varied and entertaining experience.

Originally the film was shot to run with an additional 30 minutes, which was deemed to slow the pace of the movie down too much, so was subsequently cut for its USA release, which was also re-named ‘Creepers’. These cuts were also made for censorship reasons with many of the murder sequences being cut down to remove excessive gore. Over the years the film has been released onto the home video market under its original title, with all cuts being restored.

Phenomena starred Jennifer Connelly, Daria Nicolodi, Dalila Di Lazzaro and Donald Pleasence.

The Return of the Living Dead

The Return of the Living Dead is based on a novel written by John Russo who had previously written Night of the Living Dead with George A. Romero. Russo had retained the rights to use the title ‘Living Dead’ in any future ventures, while Romero went in a different direction with alternative titles. Dan O’Bannon wrote the finished screenplay, and also ended up in the director’s chair in a role that was originally destined for Tobe Hooper.

Dan O’Bannon’s film was a horror/comedy, that although focused on the Zombie genre, used its own set of rules in which the Zombies would run and only want to eat human brains! The movie was set against a Punk Rock soundtrack, with characters that bought the sub-genre bang up to date in a witty and stylish production.

The story centers on a young lad, Freddy, who has a job at the local morgue working alongside his manager Frank, played by James Karen. While at work Frank tells a tale about a load of army barrels that are secretly stored at the morgue, after an experiment that went wrong. Frank takes Freddy to see the barrels and winds up accidently opening one, which results in toxic fumes filling the air causing both men to pass out.

In the meantime Freddy’s friends are waiting for him to finish work and partying in the graveyard next door. When Frank and Freddy awake they both feel unwell, and their health slowly deteriorates. We quickly learn the horrific effects of the leaked toxin, as a corpse that is being stored in the freezer is bought back to life.

Chaos ensues as our panicking team attempts to burn the corpse in a furnace with the help Frank’s friend, Ernie the mortician. Making matters worse, gas from this incineration results in the dead rising from the graveyard causing a war to break out between Freddy and his friends, and the marauding dead. As the threat escalates, the army is brought in and left with only one solution to avoid the outbreak spreading…

The film was shot in California and starred Clu Gulager, James Karen, Don Calfa, Thom Mattews, Beverly Randolph and John Philbin.

O’Bannon creates a film that is fast paced, humorous, and with a cast that is appealing and enjoyable to watch. The soundtrack included songs by The Cramps, The Damned, and 45 Grave amongst others, which helped create the punk culture theme that runs through the movie.

Return of the Living Dead was a commercial and critical success, grossing $14,237,880 at the box office on a budget of $4 million. Four sequels have also been produced to date.

I spoke with John Philbin in 2014 about his role as one of the punks, ‘Chuck’:

When did you first hear about Return of the Living Dead, and how did the opportunity arise to audition?

My agent, Steve Dontanville, set up a reading meeting, and then rehearsals with Dan and Stanzi Stokes.

What do you remember of the audition process for the role?

The audition process was long and nerve racking, because Dan had a very specific idea of what he was looking for, and the chemistry between the actors had to be just right.

At what stage did you meet the director Dan O’Bannon?

At rehearsals.

What was the most enjoyable scene to shoot, and what was the hardest?

The worst scenes to shoot for me were the nighttime outdoor water scenes because we had to get hosed down before each take. The most enjoyable scene was the party in the graveyard, we were dry and happy and trash danced for us!

One memorable scene was that of the party at the graveyard as you all wait for Freddy. What do you remember of that sequence?

I remember being nervous, excited, and shocked when Linea took her clothes off!

The movie was fast paced, and you were involved in numerous scenes running from the crazed zombies! What was it like filming such scenes, and what are your memories of all the makeup and prosthetics involved on set?

I never got any makeup or prosthetics, but I remember being disturbed by the Tarman’s unbearable process and the waiting we had to do, but then he stole the show with his performance, what an artist!

Return of the Living Dead broke the boundaries for the zombie genre and has become a cult classic. Did you realize at the time this would be something a little special?

I hadn’t a clue what was to become of this small quirky film, and am so stoked to be a part of it now and to see the cult following grow around it.

What were the rest of the cast like to work with and do you stay in touch?

I love everyone in the cast absolutely and forever, they are like family to me.

The movie remains relevant and popular to this day, why do you think this is?

ROTLD was the first ‘zomedy’ and Dan’s original thought was genius, many have followed, but he created the genre.

You have had a very successful and varied career since Return of the Living Dead, but does your role and the film in general still come up in conversations today?

My work in ROTLD only comes up when we do horror conventions, cast reunion screenings, or I’m asked to do an interview about 80s movies. Fun times!

Silver Bullet

Based on the Stephen King novel ‘Cycle of the Werewolf’, Silver Bullet was directed by Daniel Attias and produced by Dino De Laurentiis.

The general premise of the movie involves a young handicapped boy, Marty, who discovers that the murders happening in his quiet sleepy town are in fact due to a werewolf. After Marty runs into the werewolf one night and damages one of its eyes with a firework, he enlists the help of his sister in an attempt to track down the culprit who would of course bear the damaged eye. The siblings soon have their suspect, and try to convince Marty’s uncle, Red, to help them catch the werewolf. While Marty’s parents are away Red begrudgingly agrees to humor them, as we see a final battle between the family and the Werewolf.

Production of the film was hampered somewhat by a disagreement between King and producer Laurentiis regarding the look of the werewolf. King wanted less of a monster and more of a plain creature, which wasn’t to the producer’s liking. While the disagreement continued the original director, Don Coscarelli, started filming all the scenes he could that didn’t involve the creature. After completing these scenes the argument had still not been resolved, resulting in Coscarelli leaving the project. King finally got his wish regarding the look of the werewolf, and filming continued with Attias taking over as director.

The cast included Corey Haim, Gary Busey, Megan Flowers and Everett McGill.

Silver Bullet was shot on a budget of $7,000,000 and grossed $12,361,563 at the domestic box office to mixed reviews.

The Stuff

Written and directed by Larry Cohen, The Stuff was an addition to the splatter brand of horror, dealing with a discovery of a strange substance oozing from the ground that is surprisingly tasty!

Starring Michael Moriarty, Andrea Marcovicci, Garrett Morris, and Paul Sorvino, the film was produced by Paul Kurta.

After the discovery of ‘The Stuff’ that is found coming out of the ground, it is marketed and sold as a new food which is extremely tasty and addictive. This new taste sensation is such a hit that is begins to put the traditional ice cream sales at risk.

This prompts an investigation into The Stuff, and it is discovered that this new craze is actually a deadly organism turning the consumers into zombies! Our small team of infiltrators embarks on a mission to the distribution center, where it is discovered a lot more is going on than meets the eye.

Various products were used as props for the stuff depicted in the film, including yogurt, ice cream and even fire extinguishing foam!

The movie was shot on a budget of $1,700,000 and given a limited theatrical release.

Chapter Seven

1986

Friday the 13th part VI: Jason Lives

Following the negative reaction from fans after Friday the 13th Part 5, producers of the series decided to take the franchise in a new direction. Originally it was intended that Tommy Jarvis would become the new killer for the series, following on from the ending of the 5th film. After this idea was scrapped, director Tom McLoughlin was brought in to write a new storyline and direct this next film in the franchise.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Tom Mcloughlin in 2013 about this assignment;

Were you a big Friday the 13th fan before writing ‘Jason Lives’, and what was your favorite Friday film up to that point?

I was a fan of the first ‘Friday the 13th’. I was a HUGE Halloween fan and loved watching the reaction it had on the audience. The first ‘Friday the 13th’ was of course a lot bloodier than Carpenter’s film, but the twist with Jason’s mother being the killer was terrific. After that, Joe Zito’s Part 4 was my favorite. It was well crafted and I thought a good end to the franchise. But of course it was far from the end of the series. And then some asshole writer/director turned Jason into an Undead Killing Machine in Part 6 and now he can never be killed.

How did you first get involved with ‘Jason Lives’, and where did the inspiration come from for the general storyline?

I had written and directed ONE DARK NIGHT. It was seen by Frank Mancuso Jr. at Paramount. He basically had one marching order for me...‘Figure out how to bring back Jason.’ My first question was, “Can I have a sense of humor in my approach?” Frank said, “Yes, but don’t make a joke out of Jason.” I had no plans of that, but I did want to make his victims likable with some comedy touches and give the entire presentation a classic gothic horror style with an occasional tongue-in-cheek touch. Thus the ‘true inspiration’ was the Universal Horror movies of the 1930s, primarily ‘Frankenstein’ and ‘Bride of Frankenstein’. I didn’t go back and study any of those films again. They were just a part of my cinematic DNA from countless viewings on television as a kid.

Where did the idea come from to make Jason a ‘Zombie’ type character for this sequel?

Frankenstein. Purely sub-consciously I went the classic horror approach starting with an oncoming storm, the protagonist (Tommy) with his side-kick (Hawes) are heading to the graveyard on a mission. As did Dr. Henry Frankenstein and Fritz in ‘Frankenstein’. Both dig up a body but for two totally different reasons. Dr. Frankenstein needs the corpse for its brain. Tommy just wants to be sure Jason is dead and to burn his body to blacken bones. But Tommy’s memories overwhelm him and he loses it. The Lightning Bolt of Life strikes and the dead are resurrected. My original title for Part 6 was ‘Jason Has Risen’.

I am a massive fan of the 4th installment, so was pleased to see Tommy Jarvis return – was this always going to be the plan?

No. Every Friday the 13th, up to then, was looked at as ‘this could be it’. Especially Part 4. The Final Chapter meant just that. But its box office success spawned yet another sequel. But the fans were pissed that it wasn’t really Jason. Rather than end the series on that disappointing note, one more was to be made as inexpensively as possible and see what happens. I originally kept the ending a bit more nebulous. I returned Jason to the spot where he drowned as a child anchored on a chain. The last shot was a slow move in on Crystal Lake. We know where he is...will he come back? Then AFTER the closing credits, for those who remained in the theatre, I had had the Sheriff’s deputy Rick yelling for help in the jail cell where Tommy and Megan put him. He hears someone coming in. He’s relieved. But then he sees someone approaching ‘we’ don’t see. Rick is horrified (There was also an ending scene that I wrote but was never shot. We meet Jason’s father).

Was Thom Matthews always the favorite for the lead role?

He is now! No, seriously I love Thom and can’t ever imagine anyone better than him for Tommy. But originally Frank wanted to have John Shepard from Part 5 reprise his role as Tommy. I wrote it basically with that in mind. Tommy goes off the deep end in the institution and eventually gets better... well, enough so to escape with his crazy obsession to see Jason burn in hell. BUT John Shepard had no desire to do part 6. So THOM was the favorite!

‘Jason Lives’ marked a major turning point for the series, with the successful mix of humor and a far more supernatural feel to it – were you nervous about making that change?

Of course! To change the style on a pre-existing formula is very dangerous. But I had to make it the way I felt I would want to see as a horror movie fan. My hope was if it surprised and entertained me, maybe other fans would feel the same. I was incredibly blessed to have Frank allow me to do it. I know some fans did not approve of everything I did, but I can take full responsibly for it all...well, other than all the MPAA’s censorship cuts.

What was your own personal favorite scene from the film and why?

Impossible to pick one. Seriously. Not that I thought it was all brilliant by any means. Many compromises due to lack of budget, time, and experience as my 2nd feature film.

But I have a fondness for the scene with my wife Nancy and Tony Goldwyn in the VW bug ending with the floating American Express card. I had built in an additional laugh that an audience member always provided. By holding long on the card... ”Don’t leave home without it!” was always shouted out since that was the slogan of American Express at the time. The crowd always laughed, and the guy who shouted it felt like a comedy king.
Certain images are favorites... Jason carrying Sissy’s headless body past the windows of the girls’ cabin and little Nancy sitting up in terror. Sheriff Garris’ back breaking kill. Tommy yelling at Jason as he’s killing Megan, saving her life by making Jason come after him on the lake. Taunting him with “Come get me, ya pussy. Come on, ya maggot-head.”
Horror and dark comedy is obviously a favorite of mine.

What was the hardest scene to shoot and why?

It’s funny. I didn’t think of this at the time but Spielberg warned all us film-makers after JAWS to avoid scenes that take place in water. I had no ocean scenes to deal with but Nancy’s death in the big mud puddle and Jason and Tommy’s fight on the lake were the most difficult. Keeping Nancy’s head underwater and dealing with below zero weather was painful and difficult for her. But she was a real trouper.
ALL the lake shots in the freezing real lake in Georgia, then the fire and fight section shot at the USC Olympic pool, and finally all the underwater shots in the small pool at my parents’ house in Culver City. Every aspect of this sequence was challenging ESPECIALLY for a low budget film like this. Fact is, I was way over ambitious with my Friday the 13th with this scene, a car chase, the RV crash stunt, using children, wind and rain effects... but I’m happy I managed to get a lot of what I wanted on screen. Not all, but a lot.

Were there any obstacles in your way that caused you any difficulties in making the film?

Time and money. Sometimes money and time.

Was there any part of the film that you were left unhappy with?

Yes. The scenes where I needed more time or more money. And shooting all nights... the sun ALWAYS came up too early.

‘Jason Lives’ revived the series, and has gone on to become one of the most popular entries – did you have any idea it would be so successful?

No. Certainly I never expected it to have the incredible longevity it’s had for all these decades. I get more weekly fan mail now than I ever have. Every generation of horror fans seem to look at it as the last Golden Age of Monsters: Michael Myers, Jason, Freddy, Leather Face, on and on. I feel very honored to be a part of something that strangely has lived on in infamy.

All of the main characters seem to blend really well and give great performances – did any one actor/actress stand out in your opinion?

It was such a perfect ‘ensemble of actors’. Casting is everything to me. I LOVED what Jennifer Cooke brought to the Megan role, of course Mr. Matthews, David Kagen, the wonderful Vinnie Guastaferro, Renee, Kerry, Tom Fridley, the paintballers: Whitney, Ann, Matthew, Alan, and Wallace, Darcy DeMoss, little Courtney, Bob Larkin, Ron Pallillo (now sadly departed), Tony, Michael Swan, Michael Nomand (also our stunt coordinator), Roger, Cynthia, of course the incredible C J Graham as Jason, and finally the cute redhead in the mud, Nancy McLoughlin([God, I hope I didn’t forget anyone).

Did you feel under pressure given that this was part of a successful franchise?

Not really. The critics hated it. The box office had dropped considerable with the last one. AND the fans were pissed that Part 5, while it delivered the horror, sex, and gore...it was not a JASON film. So I was fairly optimistic that I could deliver something new to the franchise and hopefully restore the series. I think the thing that literally shocked ALL of us was how great the reviews were. THAT had never happened before. But it was the irreverent humor at itself that made the critics take notice. The Daily Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, L.A. Times, Joe Bob Biggs, and many others all quoted the “Some folks have a strange idea of entertainment” line that the graveyard employee says directly into the lens. Somehow the kills and horror where more acceptable to them with the comedy.

Did you enjoy the subsequent sequels, or have any involvement at all?

I’ve had no involvement in anything other than the FRIDAY THE 13th TV SERIES. The other films all had something I liked or thought was cool. But part of why I approached mine with a touch of satire and winking-at-the-audience was because I thought there was not a lot more to be done within the genre. I apparently was wrong. I do regret Frank and I didn’t do ‘CHEECH and CHONG meet JASON’. We both thought that would have been a hell of a lot of fun.

What was your fondest memory of being involved with the whole ‘Friday the 13th’ saga?

The cast and crew. It was a great team!! We were all basically in our 20s and early 30s and just had a blast together.

Why do you think ‘Jason Lives’ worked so well at the time?

I don’t have a clue. You never know why anything works when it does. There are all kinds of theories before, at the time, and in retrospect. But nobody ever knows for sure or they would attempt to follow that paradigm and have a hit every time.

Do have any regrets at all, or anything that you would have done differently if you could turn back the clock?

I’m sure there is. But I have so many positive memories that they have pretty much erased whatever was difficult at the time. After the 40 or so films I’ve made I tend to remember a film as either a great time or a fecking nightmare.

Jason Lives was a great time!

The film was a pivotal moment for the franchise, in a gamble that paid off. Deciding to turn Jason into a ‘zombie’ type killer gave a fresh direction and returned him to our screens, which proved popular. The story itself centered on Tommy Jarvis as he attempts to end Jason’s existence for good, by returning to his grave and destroying the remains. Jason is brought back to live by a bolt of lightening and the killing spree begins.

As Jason returns to Camp Crystal Lake, which has now been renamed Forest Green, Tommy must not only try and convince the local police of the impending danger, but also the councilors and kids staying at the lake. The film ends in a dramatic climax at the lake, as Tommy must return Jason to the site of his original death for the massacre to end.

Jason Lives used elements of comedy and action that had not been seen in previous entries, and this again proved popular with the fans and critics alike. The movie was shot in Covington, Georgia on a budget of $3,000,000 and made a return of $19,472,057 at the domestic box office. The film was the first in the Friday the 13th series to receive positive praise from the critics since the original movie, and injected a new lease on life into the flagging series. It wouldn’t be long until we would see Jason return in another installment. The film starred Thom Mattews, Jennifer Cooke, David Kagen and Renee Jones.

April Fools Day

April Fools Day was written by Danilo Bach and directed by Fred Walton. The movie has been blamed in some quarters for causing the decline in the teen slasher movie due to its misleading marketing campaign. Ironically director Fred Walton had never intended for the film to be a genre piece, but all subsequent advertisement and marketing for the movie would depict it as such. This of course lead to a large number of hardcore horror fans being left disappointed upon viewing the film.

The story itself involves a girl called Muffy, who holds a get together over the Spring break at her parents’ mansion for her and her friends. Right from the start we see that Muffy has set up practical jokes and pranks to trick her friends.

Things get more serious when the jokes turn into panic, as people go missing and bodies start turning up, appearing to have been murdered. The theme turns into a murder mystery type scenario, as the remaining friends try to work out who is responsible for the apparent killings. When we are left with just a couple of survivors confronting the killer, we discover that there has in fact been no murders, and the whole weekend has been set up by Muffy to secure the mansion’s future as a murder mystery location.

The movie offered the fans the basic ingredients of a teen slasher, and was a well paced and entertaining offering supported by a strong cast. The film perhaps lacked the gore that other slashers offered at the time, and this is of course explained in the end with a conclusion that left many feeling ‘cheated’ of a true horror experience.

The cast included Jay Baker, Deborah Foreman, Deborah Goodrich and Ken Olandt. April Fools Day was shot on a budget of $5,000,000 and grossed $12,947,763 at the box office.

Demons 2

Once again written by Lamberto Bava and Dario Argento, Demons 2 was the direct sequel to Demons, and offered us another high-octane blood soaked experience.

This time the massacre takes place in an apartment building, with a plot similar to the original, but with demons entering our world through television rather than the cinema. As various tenants are watching a film that depicts the events of the first demon outbreak, we see that one television becomes a gateway for a demon as he pushes his way into our world and attacks the viewer.

The infection soon spreads as before, and the entire building becomes a demonic playground with the trapped tenants inside battling to survive.

The television sequence was filmed with an actor wearing a mask and pushing himself through a latex screen. Two actors who had appeared in the original movie actually returned for this sequel but as completely different characters, while the daughter of Dario Argento (Asia) made her screen debut in this movie.

Lamberto Bava directed the film with a cast that included David Edwin Knight, Nancy Brilli, Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni and Asia Argento.

The soundtrack was also a prominent feature of the movie that included new wave British bands such as The Cult and The Smiths, rather than the heavy metal theme of the first.

The Fly

David Cronenberg directed The Fly, which is a loose re-make of the 1958 classic of the same name. Cronenberg also contributed to the screenplay, in what was to become his most successful film at the time and receive critical acclaim along with various awards.

The plot differs quite significantly from the original George Langelaan story, and involves a maverick scientist by the name of Brundle (played by Jeff Goldblum), who has been working on teleportation and invented some prototype pods. The problem with the pods is that they cannot work with living beings, as Brundle discovers when attempting to transport a baboon that is quite literally turned inside out! Over time Brundle believes that he has fixed matters and uses himself to test them, while unwittingly transporting a fly at the same time.

This fly is spliced with Brundle on a genetic level, as we slowly see him deteriorate physically and transform into a mutated hybrid between human and fly.

The race is on for Brundle as he tries to figure out how to reverse this process, and will not stop at anything to achieve this.

The movie offered the audience an extremely gory experience with high production values and a strong cast. Goldblum was particularly praised for his role, as were the special effects that were created by Chris Walas and went on to win an Academy Award. The Fly was a huge financial success grossing $60,629,159 at the box office on a budget of $9 million, and remained at the number one spot for two weeks.

Starring alongside Goldblum were Geena Davis and John Getz, with a sequel being released in 1989 that Cronenberg had no involvement with.

From Beyond

Just one year after Re-Animator, Stuart Gordon returned to direct From Beyond, which was also based on an H.P. Lovecraft story. Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton were cast due to their work with Gordon on Re-Animator, and they were joined by Ted Sorel and Ken Foree.

Much like Re-Animator before it, From Beyond was a gory and visually entertaining movie, using innovative and graphic effects. The story involves a scientist who has created a machine that will stimulate the Pineal gland. This enables the user to see creatures from another dimension, opening the gateway to a dangerous new world. After these creatures take the inventor of this ‘Resonator’, his assistant sets out to prove the credibility of the work to a disbelieving psychologist. This results in the inventor re-entering the world as a disfigured creature, determined to destroy his guests and remain in the conscious world around him.

Gordon uses the subject matter to build a surreal and fantastically gory experience that offers everything from grotesque mutated bodies, through to the sexual exploitation of Barbara Crampton’s character. All this wrapped into a fast paced film that never lets up, which typified Gordon’s directorial style.

The film was produced by Brian Yuzna and was shot in Italy, with an Italian crew to keep costs down. Four special effects teams were used to handle the massive task, and just like Re-Animator, medical advisers were consulted for any relevant scenes. From Beyond was a success with fans and critics alike, grossing $1,261,000 at the domestic box office and remaining a cult favorite to this day.

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

Bringing a harsh dose of disturbing ‘reality’ horror to 1986 was Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. Shot on 16mm in 28 days, and on a budget of just $110,000, the film is loosely based on the confessions of serial killer Henry Lee Lucas. Written and directed by John McNaughton, the film was produced by Malik B. Ali and Waleed B. Ali, who had originally put the funds in place for a documentary that didn’t get off the ground. So a horror movie was planned, and McNaughton came up with the idea for the film after watching a program on Henry Lee Lucas.

Following Henry from a POV perspective, we witness him kill with no apparent motive or conscience. We are treated to genuinely disturbing sequences that offer none of the ‘gloss’ that many of the slasher movies of the time did. Henry shares a flat with his ex cellmate Otis, who quickly gets drawn into the morbid activities as the pair begin to commit the crimes together. Things get complicated when Otis’s sister moves in and grows found of Henry, who ends up responding in the only way he knows how. The innovative audio flashbacks of the killings, as the camera focuses on the victim after the attack, are particularly effective in building up a haunting and eerie tone to the already dark narrative.

Due to the budgetary restraints friends and family were used where possible, and real pedestrians had to replace the luxury of extras! Although given a very limited release in 1986, it actually took another four years for the film to achieve a nationwide theatrical release. This delay was mostly down to the producers’ lack of confidence in the finished article, resulting in hesitation and doubt as to what the ideal way to market the movie would be. Once confidence was restored with successful festival screenings years later, the film was introduced to the wider audience.

Critics and fans reacted well, with the film being praised for its gritty and realistic tone that was a breath of fresh air at the time. The disturbing murder sequences, coupled with Michael Rooker’s acclaimed performance as Henry, helped to make the film become a huge success within the genre. The film unsurprisingly ran into some censorship issues, with the full-uncut version not being made available in the UK until 2003.

Henry starred Michael Rooker, Tom Towles and Tracy Arnold, and is established as a huge cult classic within the genre.

A sequel was released in 1996

House

Lightening up the mood in 1986 was the horror comedy House, directed by Steve Miner and produced by Sean S. Cunningham.

The film starred William Katt as Roger Cobb, a Vietnam veteran turned writer. Roger carries with him plenty of emotional baggage, having recently been divorced and also suffering from disturbing flashbacks and images from the war. We also discover that Rogers’s young son had previously disappeared, and that his aunt has just committed suicide by hanging herself in her own house. Roger decides to spend time in his Aunt’s old house to complete his latest book, and gather his thoughts. While writing about his experiences in Vietnam, we not only learn of Roger’s haunting past but also witness another dimension opening up, threatening Roger and making him confront his deepest fears.

The film offered a fun and lighthearted experience that didn’t take itself too seriously, while still offering a few healthy scares along the way with an eerie and suspenseful atmosphere. While not being overly gory, the large effects team worked well to create some interesting creatures, with plenty of action to keep the film moving at a good pace. House also starred George Wendt, Richard Moll and Kay Lenz.

With a budget of just $3,000,000 House went on to take $22,144,631 at the box office, proving that the blend of horror and comedy with likable characters was a winning formula. There are currently three sequels to date.

Neon Maniacs

Written by Mark Patrick Carducci and directed by Joseph Mangine, Neon Maniacs was a movie that was unfortunately hampered with various production problems that didn’t help the end product.

The movie focuses on a group of teenagers who discover a dozen killer monsters living under the Golden Gate Bridge.

One of the teenagers, Natalie, manages to escape a massacre whereby her group of friends is killed by the mutated killers. She struggles to explain to any of her friends at school what had happened, but is soon approached by a younger girl who has also witnessed these creatures. After eventually coming to terms with what is occurring, and being joined by her new boyfriend Steven, Natalie and her friends work out a vital weakness that will enable them to battle the Neon Maniacs…

The film suffered from financial difficulties, and was actually put on hold for three months causing changes in both cast and crew before re-starting. This inconsistency didn’t help production, and we are left with a movie that had bags of potential but perhaps didn’t quite deliver what it could have. Plenty of imagination and ideas are stalled by an awkward plot, which seems to struggle along rather awkwardly. Besides this, the film did have a limited theatrical release and became a favorite on the video shelf, which has seen it become a cult favorite with many who viewed it at the time.

Neon Maniacs starred Clyde Hayes, Leilani Sarelle, Donna Locke and Victor Brandt.

Night of the Creeps

Written and directed by Fred Dekker, Night of the Creeps was intended to pay homage to the genre. Essentially a zombie film, the movie also had sci-fi and comedy elements with enough clichés in the script to cover every base!

Aliens send an experiment crashing to Earth, which finds its way into the hands of a college lad who is quickly infected by the invading parasite.

The boy is frozen to avoid any further infection, until he is defrosted and escapes twenty-seven years later. As the slug type parasites escape their original host, they start to enter the brains of whomever they can, leaving the infected turning into zombie type creatures creating a battle for survival!

The film starred Jason Lively, Steve Marshall, Jill Whitlow and Tom Atkins.

The script for the film was written within a week, and Dekker wanted to emulate the tone of a B movie as much as possible. His original idea was to actually shoot in black and white to help achieve this. With exploding heads and ‘brain-worms’, Night of the Comet offers enough gore to please the horror fraternity, while the humorous dialogue within this parody make for an entertaining film.

Although not commercially successful at the box office, Night of the Comet has become a massive cult favorite.

Poltergeist II: The Other Side

Following on from the hugely successful original, Poltergeist 2 was written by Michael Grais and directed by Brian Gibson.

The original cast returns as we follow the Freeling family one year after the events of the first film. The family has since moved in with Diane’s mother, as the site of their previous home has become a paranormal dig. It isn’t long before the evil entity returns to try and claim Carol Anne once again, this time through a toy phone as all televisions have been removed after previous experiences! After this fails the evil arrives in human form, and eventually makes contact in the form of a Mezcal worm that is drunk by Steven. It soon becomes apparent that they must return to the site of the original terror, to enable them to end the nightmare once and for all.

Sadly Dominique Dunne was murdered by her boyfriend shortly after the release of the first film, so is the only family member absent from the sequel. It has been said that there is a curse affecting anyone involved in these films, with actors Heather O’Rourke and Julian Beck also suffering untimely deaths after appearing in the movies.

Poltergeist 2 starred JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, Heather O’Rourke and Julian Beck.

The film actually had an original running time of 131 minutes, and this was cut down to 86 for its release. Although a disappointment commercially when compared to the original, the sequel still turned a healthy profit grossing over $40 million at the box office on a budget of $19 million.

Psycho III

Anthony Perkins not only returned to star in Psycho 3 as Norman Bates, but he also took the role of director. The film was written by Hilton Green and also starred Diana Scarwid, Jeff Fahey and Roberta Maxwell.

Psycho 3 was the least successful of the franchise, in a film that Anthony Perkins later admitted that he was not qualified to direct, due to his limited technical knowledge.

The storyline picks up one month after the events of the last film, with Norman Bates still running the motel. A drifter turns up for a job, and a nun that has lost her faith arrives for a room. The other main cast member is a nosey reporter, who is trying to find out what happened to Emma Spool.

Before long a mysterious character looking awfully like Norman’s mother starts to kill anyone in the vicinity of the motel. Has Norman slipped back into old habits, or does one of the new arrivals have a hidden agenda? All is revealed in a climax where yet again Norman must face his demons.

Despite the poor box office returns, the film did benefit from good actors and some original ideas from Perkins on his alter ego Bates, adding some depth to the saga. A very sad piece of trivia is that it was while shooting this film that Perkins discovered that he was HIV positive.

Psycho IV was to follow in 1990, which was a ‘made for television’ movie.

Slaughter High

Originally titled ‘April Fools Day’, the name was changed due to Paramount’s picture of the same name. Slaughter High was written and directed by Mark Ezra and shot entirely in England, with many of the English actors having to fake an American accent.

The general premise for the movie was that of a classic revenge plot, with eight students being invited to a 10-year school reunion party. The school has long since been closed, and another former student who has been bullied and disfigured by these revelers in the past, begins to take revenge and pick his old classmates off in gruesome fashion.

Slaughter High is about as archetypal as possible, with almost every known cliché being played out in a humorous yet gory fashion. The backdrop of an old and abandoned school, coupled with the stalk and slash subtext, make for an enjoyable if not familiar slasher film.

Plenty of gruesome murder sequences that included an exploding stomach, stabbing, melting in acid, chopped to pieces by a ride on a mower, and electrocution!  The killer also chooses to wear a twisted jester mask, which does help to add a disturbing tone to the fun and games.

Slaughter High starred Caroline Munro, Simon Scudamore, Carmine Iannaccone and Donna Yeager. Sadly, Simon Scudamore who played the tormented and bullied character Marty, committed suicide shortly after the production.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

One of the more controversial horror sequels to hit the screens was Tobe Hooper’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. Considering the tone and nature of the first movie, the black humor and big budget gore of the sequel took fans by surprise, and rattled more than just a few critics! Written by L.M. Kit Carson the film starred Dennis Hopper, Caroline Williams, Jim Siedow, Bill Moseley and Bill Johnson.

Picking up 13 years after the events of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, we learn that the family is now residing in an abandoned theme park, with Drayton Sawyer making a living selling his famous chili meat… After a radio DJ witnesses a couple of her callers being killed while on the air, she is determined to find out what has happened.

A former Texas Ranger, who is also the uncle of the sole survivor from the fist film, Sally Hardesty, has been tracking the chainsaw killers for the last 13 years. The two eventually team up, as the climax finds them confronting the warped family on their own turf in a bloody showdown.

The general consensus upon release was that although the movie delivered the blood and guts, it didn’t offer the dark, disturbing tone of the original. After being released ‘unrated’ there were also issues with censorship, with various countries banning it outright for many years. The movie does seem to have increased in popularity over time, with a large cult following and new generation of fans wishing to see a movie that typified many aspects of 80s horror.

Trick or Treat

Cashing in on the huge Heavy Metal scene of the time, Trick or Treat was written by Joel Soisson and directed by Charles Martin Smith.

We follow the story of a young metal fan, Eddie, whose idol Sammi Curr has just died in a hotel fire. Devastated by the news, he soon cheers up when he’s given an extremely rare record by his friend and rock DJ, ‘Nuke’ (played by Gene Simmons).

After listening to the record we discover another great metal legacy from the 80s, hidden lyrics! Upon playing the record backward Eddie stumbles across messages from his fallen hero, telling him how to get revenge on those who have been tormenting him for his musical allegiance. Before long Eddie finds himself in control over those who once ridiculed him, by following the words of advice. Things start to get out of hand however as Sammy Curr finds a way to re-enter the real world, and take things to new a level.

The film also benefited from a metal soundtrack throughout, therefore tapping into a culture  that fans could relate to, and enjoy the subtext. The film starred Marc Price, Tony Fields, Lisa Orgolini and Doug Savant. There were also cameo appearances from Gene Simmons and Ozzy Osbourne.

Metal and horror often go hand in hand, and in Trick or Treat the fans had the complete package in a movie that still has a cult following because of this. The film made $6,797,218 at the domestic box office.

Vamp

Keeping up with the growing trend of bringing the Vampire story into the modern era, was Richard Wenk’s Vamp. Essentially a horror comedy, this entertaining film follows the plight of two college students who must find a stripper to use as a bargaining chip, in order to gain access to a frat house. Enlisting the help of a third student who is more than willing to provide the transport in order to join the fun, the lads set off. Arriving at a town that goes strangely quiet at night, the boys first run into trouble against a gang of albinos before entering the strip club where they hope to acquire their prize.

What should have been a fairly simple task turns on its head, after we discover that the strip club and all of its inhabitants are in fact vampires. After teaming up with one of their old school friends who happens to be a stripper at the club (the non-vamp kind), the lads must not only try to escape the infested building, but the entire town!

Wenk creates a fairly unique tone to the movie with clever usage of green and red neon lighting throughout, which adds to the quirky comic feel. Throw in a fantastically bizarre performance from Grace Jones as the queen vampire, and you have an original and highly entertaining film. The cinematography that was handled by Elliot David was also innovative, and although a humorous film, the special effects gave enough gore to please the horror fans.

Vamp starred Chris Makepeace, Grace Jones, Dedee Pfeiffer, Robert Rusler and Gedde Watanabe. Perhaps not performing as well as it should have done at the box office, some have attributed this to the marketing campaign of selling the film as a ‘comedy’. Even so, Vamp has achieved a cult status, and has since become an iconic movie of its time.

Witchboard

Filmed in Big Bear Valley, San Bernardino National Forest, California is Kevin S. Tenney’s Witchboard. Starring Tawny Kitaen, Stephen Nichols, Todd Allen, and Kathleen Wilhoite, the film was given a limited release in December 1986, although its general release was not until the following March.

This is the story of a young woman, Linda, who becomes possessed by an evil spirit via the use of a Ouija board. Initially the board is used for fun at a party, before Linda later uses the board while alone, making contact with the entity.

After her boyfriend discovers what is occurring, he enlists the help of a mutual friend who can put the couple in contact with a medium. The medium is quickly killed by the spirit after learning the origins of the evil, as the two friends must now solve the puzzle together. In the meantime Linda has now become completely possessed, as we enter a race against the clock to expel the evil before it is free to walk the earth in human form.

The film was made on a budget of $2,000,000 with eventual box office returns of $7,369,373.

Although not a particularly gory movie, its success can be attributed to its use of atmosphere and likeable characters that keep the viewer’s interest. Witchboard has since spawned two sequels, both of which were released in the 90s.

Chapter Eight

1987

Creepshow 2

Michael Gornick, who had been the cinematographer for the original movie, directed Creepshow 2, which was again based on stories by Stephen King. George A. Romero wrote the screenplay, for what was a trilogy of short stories. Initially five stories had been planned just like the original, but due to budgetary restraints only three ended up being shot.

First we have the story of a wooden Indian chief, who comes to life to take revenge on a gang of thieves. These thieves have also killed the owner of a store where he had been stood outside for years, awakening the chief to claim retribution. Then we have ‘The Raft’, which follows a small group of teenagers as they swim out to a raft in the middle of an isolated lake. Once there they discover a strange black blob, which attacks them, making it impossible to get back to shore.

Lastly we have a tale entitled ‘The Hitch-hiker’, where we follow an adulterous wife on her journey home. Things get complicated when she runs over a hitchhiker, seemingly killing him, only for him to re-appear again and again as a bloody mess and attack her repeatedly as she attempts to get home.

As before, a wraparound story tied the collection of stories together, and this element of the movie was done in animation. The collection of stories was good fun, and faired moderately well at the box office, grossing $14,000,000 on a budget of $3,500,000.

The film starred Lois Chiles, George Kennedy, Dorothy Lamour, and Tom Savini as ‘The Creep’. Savini also contributed toward the special effects.

Dolls

Dolls was shot in 1985 but not released until 1987, partly due to the amount of time it took to complete the doll effects in post-production. Directed by Stuart Gordon and produced by Brian Yuzna, the film was set in the English countryside although actually shot in Italy.

We follow the story of a young girl traveling with her father and stepmother, as they find themselves broken down and trapped in the middle of a thunderstorm. Seeking refuge in a large mansion they quickly meet the elderly owners who make them feel welcome, before three more visitors looking to escape the violent storm join them all. The house is full with puppets and dolls, as we discover the owner is in fact a toymaker.

One by one the guests are attacked by these dolls, as the young girl is one of only two survivors left by the end of the night. These two then discover the toymaker’s secrets, and the real truth behind the killer dolls and their agenda.

Dolls ticked all the boxes for many, offering an original and intriguing spin on the ‘killer toy’ sub-genre, within a movie that was as amusing as it was creepy. The film benefited from a strong cast with likeable characters that added warmth and charm. Stephen Lee in particular gave a humorous performance as ‘Ralph’, making for an entertaining horror film that still delivered the goods.

David Allen handled the doll effects, which were both creepy and original. The film starred Stephen Lee, Guy Rolfe, Hilary Mason and Ian Patrick Williams.

Evil Dead 2

Sam Raimi returned to direct a sequel to Evil Dead, having co-written the film with the help of Scott Spiegel. It was decided that Evil Dead 2 would be less of a straight horror movie and involve an element of humor, becoming almost a parody of the first. This formula was a massive hit, attracting a wider audience to the franchise with its gory yet comedic tone.

The storyline can almost be viewed upon as a re-make, with the premise focusing on just the surviving character from the first, Ash. This time it is just his girlfriend Linda who he takes to the cabin, before the Evil Dead possess her and tries to take his soul once again. In the meantime the daughter of the professor, who had been using the isolated retreat for research, is making her way to the cabin with more pages from the Necronomicon. Once she arrives with her companions, they discover Ash and initially believe him to be responsible for the death of her father. After a few bloody encounters with the Evil Dead, they band together in order to try and survive the night and the demonic force that is surrounding them.

With a much larger budget than its predecessor, Evil Dead 2 was shot in North Carolina, with a local high school being used for the interior shots of the cabin. The film had the same raw and gritty qualities of the first movie, with a slick comedic undertone that many preferred. Innovative cinematography and fantastically over the top gore was once again in full force, in a film that has been hailed by many as a crowning glory of the genre.

On a budget of $3.6 million the film grossed over $10 million at the box office, and has become one of the most popular cult movies of all time. The film starred Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks, Kassie DePaive and Richard Domeier.

A third Evil Dead film, Army of Darkness, was released in 1992.

The Gate

Written by Michael Nankin and directed by Tibor Takacs, The Gate was a fantasy-horror that was an enjoyable alternative to the more disturbing and mature themes of the time.

The story follows a young boy who discovers that a hole in his backyard is in fact a gateway to hell. A tree that had been removed from the garden leaves the hole, which is about to unleash demons from an ancient civilization. The boy’s parents are away for a few days leaving the youngster’s older sister in charge, whereby the obligatory party is on the cards!

After the body of a deceased dog has been thrown down the hole, this enables the old gods to enter this world and release pint-sized demons to carry out their wishes. The youngsters must work out the secrets behind the evil demons, and solve the puzzle that will enable them to close the hole and save the world!

The Gate was a movie enjoyed by a wider audience, which was reflected with its PG-13 rating. Although not a gory or violent affair, the film had some fun effects, and the small minions (actually played by actors in suits) proved popular. The film starred Stephen Dorff, Christa Denton, Louis Tripp and Kelly Rowan. The Gate grossed $13,539,458 at the box office on a budget of $2.5 million.

Ghoulies 2

Those pint-sized demonic Ghoulies are back to raise hell, in a sequel that was written by Charlie Dolan and directed by Albert Band.

In a film that some argue was superior to the original, the Ghoulies find themselves as stowaways at a struggling amusement park. Initially hiding out in the ghost house, the little monsters start to pick off the visitors as they draw attention to onlookers believing that they are part of the show. The hero of the movie is the young man who works at the ghost house, who must shift his focus from saving his attraction, to saving his life!

Before long the Ghoulies escape into the fairground, wreaking havoc amongst the amusements and fairgoers. The climax involves a giant Ghoulie, as the small group of amusement park workers must work out how to send the demons back.

A fun creature feature that didn’t take itself too seriously, the film starred Damon Martin, Royal Dano, Phil Fondacaro and J. Downing.

Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2

Having no direct link to the original Prom Night (apart from the name of the school), the movie was originally to be titled ‘The Haunting of Hamilton High’. It was decided however before the film’s release to retitle the project, to try and build on the success of Prom Night.

Written by Ron Oliver and directed by Bruce Pittman, the story involves a former Prom Queen, Mary Lou Maloney, who was killed 30 years ago in a prank gone wrong. We then fast forward to the present day, where one of the pranksters responsible for her death is now the headmaster. His son also attends the school, as the spirit of Mary Lou manages to escape and possess his girlfriend, Vicki.

Once inside Vicki, Mary Lou is intent on getting her revenge on those who killed her. We have an explosive climax as Mary Lou’s soul is finally put to rest, at prom night.

The landscape had changed significantly since Prom Night, and this new film contained far more of a fantasy and dream like vision than a straight slasher movie. There were comparisons to A Nightmare on Elm Street, as the film used visions of Vicki’s dreams as she is slowly being taken over by Mary Lou. The effects were slick, and the film had an enjoyable tone as it blended many elements of the genre in a colorful manner to deliver the goods.

The film starred Michael Ironside, Wendy Lyon, Louis Ferreira and Lisa Schrage. Although not fairing particularly well at the box office, Prom Night 2 did find success on the home video format. A third Prom Night was released in 1990, using the Mary Lou character once again. In fact, Mary Lou Maloney is the only character to be used in a Prom Night movie more than once.

Hellraiser

Written and directed by Clive Barker, Hellraiser was a British/American production and was Barker’s directorial debut. The film is based on Barker’s own novella The Hellbound Heart, and this was going to be the title of the film until the studio deemed it unsuitable for a horror film. So Hellraiser it was, and it was about to tear through the genre like a chainsaw.

In an extremely unforgiving and relentless piece of filmmaking, Hellraiser deals with demons that are sent from hell to claim their victims. These ‘Cenobites’ are able to enter our world by means of a puzzle box, which once solved by its user opens the portal to another dimension.

One such person is Frank Cotton, who enjoys appeasing his dark desires by playing with the dangerous things in life. The puzzle box is an attempt to experience new pleasures, and he soon gets more than he desired as his soul is claimed by the Cenobites. Frank’s brother Larry and his wife move into the house that was the scene of Frank’s disappearance. There we quickly discover that Frank’s sister in law, Julia, had in fact had an affair with Frank and will stop at nothing to get him back. Frank finds a way to escape the Cenobites with Julia’s help, and Larry soon falls victim to their evil plans. Larry’s daughter, Kirsty, must then solve the secret of the puzzle box, to hand Frank back to the Cenobites and send these demons back to hell.

With an extremely dark tone, and dealing with disturbing mature themes such as sadomasochism, Hellraiser is not for the faint hearted. Most of the film was shot in one house, leading to some innovative cinematography with the cramped space available. The use of chains and hooks by the Cenobites in this environment to torture and kill was as brutal as it was gory.

The Cenobites were original and a breath of fresh air for the genre, offering a far darker form of villain than many other films of the time.

The film starred Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins, Sean Chapman, Ashley Laurence and Doug Bradley. Made on a budget of just $1 million, Hellraiser grossed over $14 million and became an important milestone for the genre. A sequel was released in 1988, and a further seven Hellraiser films have been produced to date.

Howling 3

With no direct link to the previous two Howling films, Howling III was an Australian film written by Gary Brander and directed by Philippe Mora who also produced. Philippe Mora had also directed Howling II but was left unhappy with the finished movie. He therefore raised funds himself to make this film, in an attempt to improve on the sequel.

The general premise for the movie centers on a group of Australian werewolves that have evolved, and have become different from the rest of the werewolf species. A female werewolf, Jerboa, runs away from the rest of her kind and winds up in Sydney. There she meets a man who becomes involved with her and offers her a part in a horror film he is making. Things get complicated once Jerboa starts to turn into a werewolf while at a party and has to flee, eventually being taken in by doctors for tests and later giving birth to a baby werewolf!

In the meantime the werewolf species are under attack by soldiers looking to wipe them out, as Jerboa and others of her kind must find a way to try living in secret. Unfortunately the werewolves cannot control their transformations, as we witness a shocking conclusion…

The film starred Barry Otto, Imogen Annesley, Leigh Biolos and Ralph Cotterill. The movie was a success as a rental title on the home video market in the late 80s, and offered an alternative angle to the werewolf sub-genre. With its new and bizarre ideas (such as the birth scene) delivered in a camp tone, The Howling 3 has also become known as a ‘stand alone’ film within the franchise.

The Kindred

A gory piece of fun from 1987 was The Kindred, written and directed by Stephen Carpenter.

John has to clear up his mother’s old house after she dies, but not before she has told him that he has a brother. This is news to John, as he sets off to the house with a few friends in tow to help clear up his mother’s old science equipment. It seems the old lady had a talent for creating genetically mutated creatures using her sons’ DNA, as John is about to find out.

As a strange creature that inhabits the house is attacking John’s friends, things get worse when a colleague of his mother turns up to claim the mutated creation and its secrets for himself.

The Kindred was the very definition of cliché for an 80s horror b-movie, for all the right reasons. Science gone bad, mutated creatures, evil scientists, and plenty of gory effects made for an enjoyable movie. The mutated creature, Anthony, was also an innovative creation and gives for a great climax.

The characters are likable, and the cast included David Allen Brooks, Rod Steiger, Amanda Pays, Talia Balsam and Kim Hunter. The Kindred has become a video favorite for many who wish to indulge in all that was good about 80s b-movie gore!

The Lost Boys

Joel Schumacher’s The Lost Boys was shot in Santa Cruz, California, and was as stylish as it was original. A slick and trendy movie that was a huge box office success, The Lost Boys put a modern spin on the Vampire tale, that successfully attracted a wider audience to the horror genre.

Two brothers and their mother move town to live with their grandfather, who is taking them in as the mother’s divorce is finalized. The seaside resort that they have moved to has a dark secret, with a local biker gang being vampires. The older son Michael quickly becomes involved with this gang and is unwittingly turned. His younger brother must them team up with two new local friends to uncover the gang and end the carnage. Finding the ‘head vampire’ and killing him is essential in freeing his brother Michael from the curse.

The idea of focusing the vampire curse onto a young gang was a refreshing change, and one that enabled the rules of being a vampire to be put into a different context. The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk was used for the amusement park scenes and gives for a great backdrop, as fantastic cinematography creatively captures the vampires not only killing, but enjoying themselves as youngsters would.

Janice Fischer and James Jeremias wrote the screenplay, which originally had much younger children written in as the vampires. Executive producer Richard Donner had intended to direct, but moved on to work on Lethal Weapon, opening the door for Joel Schumacher. Interestingly, it was Schumacher who insisted that teenagers were used rather than children, to enable him to direct the style of film he wanted.

The tone of the movie was a mix of horror and light humor, with a cast that seemed to fit their roles perfectly. Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Kiefer Sutherland, and Corey Feldman starred in a film that grossed over $32 million at the box office on a budget of $8.5 million.

To add to its trendy appeal, the soundtrack included music from INXS, Echo and the Bunnymen, Gerard McMann and Tim Cappello.

Although not particularly gory, the film was fast paced and refreshing enough to please both horror fans and the general cinema going public alike.

Near Dark

Continuing the ever-growing trend of updating vampire movies, Near Dark was the next cinematic offering in this vein. Written and directed by Kathryn Bigelow, Near Dark was a vampire tale blended with a Western. Bigelow originally intended to make a straight Western genre piece, but was persuaded to mix with horror to make funding an easier proposition.

The tale centers on a young cowboy who meets a girl in town, and the two of them drive off together to spend some time alone. During the evening a kiss turns into a bite, and the cowboy, Caleb, is turned into a vampire. The next morning as he awakes in the family home, his skin burns under the sunlight and the young girl, Mae, returns with her gang to collect him.

We then witness Caleb’s struggle as he must either decide to stay with Mae and become accepted by the Vampire gang, or return home to the farm and his family. As Caleb joins the vampires’ violent existence and attempts to become involved, his father searches for him and manages to pull him away. A blood transfusion cures him, and as the vampires return for Caleb, we have a climatic battle that will decide where he belongs.

Near Dark had a haunting and stylish tone which worked well with the Western backdrop, resulting in an original and intriguing movie. Although not fairing well at the box office upon its release, Near Dark has since become well respected by fans and critics alike for its original concept, and enjoys a large cult following.

The film starred Adrian Pasdar, Jenny Wright, Lance Henriksen and Bill Paxton. It grossed $3,369,307 at the box office on a budget of $5,000,000.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors

Having no involvement with the first sequel, Wes Craven returned to write this third movie with Bruce Wagner, which was directed by Chuck Russell. Craven initially had a different concept for the film, involving Freddy entering the real world to attack the actors and crew as they shoot the movie. This didn’t go ahead, but Craven realized his vision years later in New Nightmare. Heather Langenkamp also returned to play Nancy, this time all grown up and a therapist who tries to help a new generation of kids being terrorized.

The story follows a group of teenagers who are in hospital for various reasons, but all suffer from dreams involving Freddy Krueger. As the kids slowly get picked off one by one in fantastic Freddy fashion, their doctor is persuaded by Nancy to prescribe an experimental dream suppressant. This backfires and the doctor is relieved of his duties, leaving Nancy to try and help the victims battle Freddy.

We soon discover that each kid has a unique ‘skill’ while in a dream state, and Nancy must educate him or her on how to use these to defeat Krueger. In the meantime the doctor enlists the help of Nancy’s father, who knows where the bones of Freddy Krueger are buried…

Elm Street 3 was a huge success, and offered the fans what they wanted to see. Krueger dispatches teens in various manners, with innovative murder sequences. These include an overdose with needles for fingers, coming out of a television, using one teen as a live puppet with tendons for strings, and a giant Freddy snake! The concept of the kids being trapped in an environment like a hospital worked well, adding to the hopelessness and frustration of the situation.

The film starred Heather Langenkamp, Patricia Arquette, Robert Englund, Jennifer Rubin and Craig Wasson. Made on a budget of $4.5 million, it went on to gross $44,793,222 at the box office. This result made it the third highest grossing original Elm Street film.

A Return to Salem’s Lot

Written and directed by Larry Cohen, A Return to Salem’s Lot was planned as a ‘straight to video film’, but did end up having a limited theatrical release.

This time the story tells of a father, Michael, who returns to the town of his birth, Salem’s Lot, with his own son in tow. The pair quickly discovers that the town has been taken over by the living dead, with only a few humans scattered around to carry out the mundane day-to-day tasks.

Aware of his history and nature, the vampires ask Michael to write a book about their own existence. Things get out of hand however, and Michael is joined by a Nazi hunter to help battle the undead and escape the town.

Although perhaps missing the atmosphere and eerie tone of Tobe Hooper’s original, it did deliver the textbook ingredients for any 80s horror. With more special effects and gore, the movie relied on these qualities rather than genuine scares. With a concept that was interesting enough, it faired well on the home video format.

The movie starred Michael Moriarty, Andrew Duggan, Samuel Fuller and Evelyn Keyes.

Silent Night, Deadly Night 2

Following on from the highly controversial first film, Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 was written and directed by Lee Harry.

The story picks up years after the original film, with the teenage brother of the original killer now the focus of all the violence. The brother, Ricky, tells his story to a psychiatrist of how his brother’s own demise had caused him to go on a violent killing spree. He then kills the psychiatrist and escapes, making his way to the mother superior who he blames for the death of his brother. Ricky decapitates the mother superior, as the police arrive and shoot him dead. Or did they…

The first part of the movie used extensive footage from the original, for which it received negative criticism. This was blamed on the budget, with the original concept supposedly being a simple re-edit of the first movie. The film starred Eric Freeman, Darrel Guilbeau, Brian Michael and James L. Newman.

Although not a great hit at the box office, grossing $135,913 on a budget of $250,000, Silent Night, Deadly Night 2 has gained a cult following over the years.

Street Trash

Based on a short student film by J. Michael Muro, Street Trash is a horror comedy written by Roy Frumes and directed by Muro.

Its unique and independent style has won a large cult following over the years, with its blend of darkly humorous deaths and gory effects working well together to craft an intriguing movie. The story involves a liquor storeowner who discovers a case of cheap wine in his cellar, which he decides to turn into a profit by selling to local hobos. Unfortunately anybody who drinks this bargain basement plonk will literally melt, leaving a nasty mess behind!

Subplots also involve a Vietnam veteran being tracked by a cop, who is also trying to solve the ‘meltings’ that are occurring over the city.

The cop and two homeless lads must try to avoid the dangers and solve the puzzle. Street Trash was shot in New York and starred Mike Lackey, R. L. Ryan and James Lorinz.

The Video Dead

With an ideal title, given the period and cultural climate, The Video Dead was a horror comedy written, directed and produced by Robert Scott.

An old television set is delivered to a writer by mistake, and the only program that it shows is an old zombie movie. When the couriers arrive the next day to pick the set up, they discover the man dead in his hallway. Months later a teenage brother and sister move into the house before the parents arrive. The boy finds the television, and before long realizes what evil the set is capable of unleashing into the word. He discovers how to send the zombies back, and he and his sister must battle the zombies that are already roaming free and send them back through the television.

The film took over a year to shoot due to budget restraints, which meant the bulk of the filming had to be carried out at evenings and weekends during the cast’s own free time. When originally submitted to the studio they found it to be not gory enough, so found extra cash for some bloodier scenes to be added. A fun enough movie with all the clichés that you’d expect, The Video Dead mixed enough light humor and gore to make for an enjoyable experience. The film starred Michael St. Michaels, Thaddeus A. Golas, Al Millan and Roxanna Augesen.

A sequel was written but didn’t materialize, due to Scott not being happy with the budget offered, which would have been the same as the original.

The Curse

Based on H.P. Lovecraft’s The Colour Out of Space, The Curse was directed by David Keith.

It involves a local farmer who is trying his best to keep his farm in order, and halt the advances of a developer who is snapping up various properties in the area. During a violent storm a strange meteorite crashes onto his land, and slowly leaks a glowing liquid into the earth.

Before long, farm animals and family members start going mad as the meteor’s liquid contaminates the family’s water supply. We then witness the infected start to mutate and become disfigured, as the seemingly unstoppable disease takes hold. We are left with two unaffected siblings who must escape as the whole farm comes crashing down around them.

The Curse benefited from a good cast, and a strong storyline from the imagination of H.P. Lovecraft. With plenty of gore and shocks thrown in, the somewhat slow pace is often saved by the creepy tone of the movie.

Starring Will Wheaton, Claude Akins, Malcolm Danare, Cooper Huckabee and John Schneider. Three sequels have also been released to date, all of which are unrelated to the original.

Chapter Nine

1988

Bad Dreams

In the 70s, a cult run by its brainwashing and psychopathic leader commits mass suicide by burning themselves to death. One survivor, Cynthia, is rushed to hospital and ends up being in a coma for 13 years.

We then fast forward to the present day (13 years later) as Cynthia awakens from her coma to find herself in hospital, and eventually on a ward for those with mental health issues.

As she starts to suffer from horrific flashbacks from the fire, she forms a bond with her doctor, who is convinced that something more sinister is going on. As the doctor starts to get closer to the truth he is fired and kicked out of the hospital. We are then left with a race against time to discover who is responsible for the sudden deaths on the ward, and Cynthia’s sinister flashbacks…

Written and directed by Andrew Fleming, Bad Dreams was a decent offering that gave an innovative spin on the ‘dream-state’ storyline. With a strong cast and good script, Bad Dreams was directed at a tight pace with enough clever surprises along the way to keep the viewer entertained. The film starred Jennifer Rubin, Bruce Abbott, E.G. Daily, Richard Lynch and Dean Cameron. It was made on a budget of $4,000,000 and grossed $9,797,098 at the domestic box office.

The Blob

The remake of the classic 1958 film, The Blob was written and directed by Chuck Russell. This time around The Blob is a man-made organism designed for warfare, but winds up crash landing in a small town before going on a killing spree!

The Blob falls from the sky and begins its rampage by attacking the arm of a homeless man. This poor soul is rushed to hospital, only for the doctor to quickly discover that he has been slowly melting away and killed. The escaping Blob that is also growing in size then kills one of the teens that rushed the vagrant to the hospital, as his girlfriend looks on screaming! The girl, Meg, teams up with the local rebel, Brian, in an attempt to track down this oozing killer and discover its source.

After witnessing many glorious and colorful killings from this murderous entity, the duo discovers the armed forces and scientists that know all to well the secrets behind The Blob. We then witness a battle in the heart of the town, as the population confronts not only the government agents, but also the blob itself!

The Blob typified the 80s monster movie, with its gory and colorful effects that were wrapped into an enjoyable storyline that didn’t take itself too seriously. All the clichés are there to be enjoyed, including the jocks, rebellious outsider, the small town under attack, and enough face melting gore to satisfy.

Shot in Abbeville, Louisiana with a cast and crew of roughly 150, a large amount of filming had to be done at night, meaning most of the team slept during the day. Tony Gardner, who had a crew of 33 under him, handled the special effects. The film starred Kevin Dillon, Shawnee Smith, Donovan Leitch and Jeffrey DeMunn.

Brain Damage

Frank Henenlotter returned in 1988 to write and direct Brain Damage. An entertaining and original movie, Brain Damage typified Henenlotter’s off-beat style, and has become a popular cult film due to its alternative and creative narrative. The story involves a young man named Brian who unwittingly becomes involved with a brain-eating monster named Aylmer. Aylmer must suck the brains of his human victims to survive, and will use Brian to enable him to find victims and kill. In return, Aylmer will inject Brian with a powerful and highly addictive hallucinogenic. So the relationship becomes reciprocal, with each depending on the other.

Unfortunately for Brian this arrangement doesn’t do his social life much good, and he starts to lose those close to him, becoming more and more reliant on Aylmer’s drug. Brian then tries to fight the addiction, and break free from his controlling friend. The dramatic climax sees Aylmer’s previous ‘owners’ try and claim him back, as Brian finds himself under pressure from all sides…

With a balanced blend of horror and comedy, Brain Damage was a treat for Henenlotter fans with its innovative visuals and heavy gore. In fact, there was even a cameo appearance from Duane Bradley and his basket, from Hennenlotter’s previous film, Basket Case.

The movie had plenty of gore, with many cuts having to be made to secure an R-rating. The creature, Aylmer, was entertaining and refreshingly original, with his camp rhetoric and humorous manipulation of situations. The film starred Rick Hearst, Jennifer Lowry and Gordon Macdonald.

Child’s Play

In this year, horror fans were introduced to the killer doll ‘Chucky’, in Tom Holland’s Child’s Play. Written by Don Mancini, the film was to be a huge success and was the start of a new horror franchise.

Charles Lee Ray is a murderer on the run from the police, who winds up getting shot in a toy store during a chase. He practices Voodoo however, and before he dies manages to transfer his soul into a doll. This doll eventually ends up in the hands of a six year old boy, Andy, as his mother gives it as a gift for his birthday. Before long strange things start to happen, as this new best friend gives Andy orders, to enable him to exact revenge on those who betrayed him.

This possessed doll, Chucky, also plans to transfer his soul into Andy to become human again. With the authorities now thinking that Andy is delusional, it is left to his mother to convince the police and stop Chucky’s murderous rampage. With the same policeman that shot Charles Lee Ray in the toy store now being attacked himself, we witness a dramatic climax as they attempt to destroy the doll and keep Andy safe.

Shot in Chicago, Illinois for location scenes and in California for studio filming, Child’s Play was a huge success. Holland successfully created a film with charm and character that gave for an entertaining experience. All the boxes seemed to be ticked, with an original narrative, great effects, and some great acting. The film did run into some trouble however, as it was met with protest upon its release due to its subject matter. These protests were based on the logic that the film would insight violence in children.

Child’s Play starred Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, Alex Vincent and Brad Dourif. The film was made on a budget of $9 million and went on to gross over $44 million at the box office, securing the start of a very popular franchise.

I spoke with Tom Holland in 2013 about his movie.

Where did the inspiration come from to write Child’s Play?

There was an original screenplay that was like an episode of Twilight Zone. The question was how to make it work for a wide release.

What I liked was it keyed into the universal fear we have all had when we were small children of our play things. What if my doll did come alive? What if my Raggedy Andy did try to strangle me. Is that damn stuffed bear looking at me in the dark?

I finally solved it when I created Charles Lee Ray. When I finally had a bad guy, a serial murderer, inside the doll, I had a story people could identify with.

What was your own personal favorite scene from the movie and why?

It’s a series of visual set pieces. I like all of them, but my favorite is when the mom realizes the doll doesn’t have batteries, which leads her to threaten to throw it into the fire, forcing Chucky to reveal himself. If you look at it, it starts in the kitchen and then builds moment by moment, until the reveal.

Sustained suspense.

What was the most difficult scene to direct/film and why?

All of them with the doll. There was no CGI, hadn’t been invented yet, all had to be done in the lens. Had a crew of puppeteers working to make Chucky come alive. Had to use everything from forced perspective, to a little person, the fabulous Ed Gale, to using Alex Vincent’s 3 year old little sister (when the doll runs behind Dinah Manoff, the baby sitter).

Were there any obstacles that needed to be overcome, in order to realize the vision you had for Child’s Play?

You have no idea. Making the doll work burned a lot of time. Which made the studio nervous, etc.

Did the film go to plan, or were there any changes that had to be made along the way that you had to deal with?

It was constantly a game of improve to make the doll work, or seem to work.

Was there any part of the movie that you were left unhappy with?

Not very much, but at the time I was anxious about maintaining the illusion of a possessed doll. What I learned was if the audience wants to go with you, cut it tight and they’ll forgive you a lot.

What is your fondest memory regarding the whole Child’s Play experience?

When I first previewed it and the audience laughed and yelled, and I knew it was a success. They loved Chucky, cause he was such a profane evil little shit.

Did you have any idea whilst filming that it would be the success that is was?

None.

Why do you think the film has become so enduring and regarded as a classic within the genre?

It works, and, once again, you cared about the mom and her little boy. Also, Brad Douriff was fab.

You’re only involved if you care about the people in the story. There is very little as strong as Mom trying to save her son, even if it’s from an evil doll.

What were your thoughts on the sequels, and did you have any involvement?

None. Never gotten all the way through any one of them.

What are your thoughts on the planned re-make?

CGI city. Should be practical with CGI sweetening, but some bean counter will probably figure that’s too expensive.

There has been controversy surrounding the movies – what are your thoughts on this?

Means it worked. I got a ton of letters written by grade schoolers in Britain, urged on by their teachers, accusing me of ruining their playthings with Child’s play.

I hope not. I deliberately leavened it with a lot of humor. I think those criticisms have lost their sting with the passage of time, and the increasing silliness of the sequels.

Remember what I said about farce indicating the genre is becoming exhausted.

Somebody will revive the evil doll genre with a new take on it. Probably won’t be Chucky. Think James Wan tried and failed, but I didn’t see it.

Brad Dourif’s voice has become instantly recognizable as Chucky’s voice – was he always a favorite for the role?

No, I tried to electronically treat it to match the quality of the dolls of that period and it didn’t work. I had Jessica Walters in to voice the doll, but a woman’s voice wasn’t right either.

Ended up right back where I started, with Brad, who, of course, was perfect.

Where did the design for the Chucky doll come from?

I went out and got a “My Buddy” doll (the originally name for the doll, and the reason I couldn’t use it) and a Raggedy Andy, and told Kevin Yaeger to combine the two, the size and body from My Buddy, and the coloring and freckles from Raggedy Andy.

Then I told him to give me a range of expressions from dolls, benign to the meanest SOB doll anybody had ever seen. Obviously he succeeded. I think there were at least a dozen different doll heads with a different expression, which we changed, depending on the scene.

Was it good to work once again with Chris Sarandon?

It is always good to work with Chris. He’s a brilliant actor, and a delight to work with.

Do have any personal memories or stories from the production of Child's Play that stick in your mind to this day?

So many, but there isn’t enough time here, except to say thanks again for all the wonderful actors and technicians who helped me make it. BTW, I think it was Howard Berger’s first job (KMB EFX).

Dream Demon

An all-British affair, Dream Demon was co-written by Christopher Wicking and directed by Harley Cokeliss.

In her debut film, Jemma Redgrave’s character Diana has a murky past. While planning to marry her fiancé Oliver, she is plagued by haunting and disturbing nightmares. Diana is living in her large family mansion at the time, and befriends an American actress who somehow seems to be linked to these violent visions.

As the wedding draws closer the dreams become more bizarre, as the demons that invade her sleep now start to commit murders while she is awake. We soon discover Diana’s past, and the relevance of her new American friend.

Dream Demon was an interesting addition to the popular dream sub-genre, which A Nightmare on Elm Street spearheaded at the time. A ghost story, that also offered an original premise with decent enough effects. The film starred Jemma Redgrave, Kathleen Wilhoite, Jimmy Nail and Timothy Spall.

Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood

Jason Voorhees returned from his watery grave in the seventh Friday the 13th film, which was co-written by Manuel Fidello and directed by John Carl Buechler. It was around this time that plans had been talked about for a Jason vs. Freddy movie, which this film had originally intended to be. Plans were dashed when the two studios couldn’t agree terms however, so Friday the 13th Part VII it was.

Originally titled Birthday Bash, the film picks up with Jason being resurrected from the lake (where he had been confined to in part six) by a girl with telekinetic powers, Tina. Ten years later Tina must return to the lake to undergo medical research under the supervision of her doctor, Dr. Crews. While there, she meets up with a group of teenagers who are celebrating a birthday, and the violent murders begin in earnest. Tina witnesses some of these killings, and is made to believe by her doctor that it is her own fragile mental state causing these violent visions. We then discover that the doctor has his own hidden agenda with regard to Tina, as all around her start to fall under Jason’s machete. The climax will see Tina battle Jason with her telekinetic powers, as she also attempts to put her past to rest.

The film was shot in southern Alabama, and production from schedule to release took just six months in total. This was also the first time that Kane Hodder would play Jason, a role that he would reprise a further three times to date.

The movie suffered from numerous cuts to achieve its R rating, and this shows in the final theatrical release that was noticeably low on gore. In fact, Friday the 13th Part VII suffered more cuts than any other film in the series. More footage has been made available over the years on various home video releases.

The movie was made on a budget of $2,800,000 and grossed $19,170,001 at the domestic box office. The New Blood starred Lar Park Lincoln, Kevin Blair, Susan Blu, Terry Kiser and Kane Hodder.

Ghost Town

It’s not too often that we see the horror and western genres cross paths, but Richard Governor’s Ghost Town was a rare example. Co-written by Duke Sandefur and David Schmoeller, Ghost Town was originally to have been directed by Schmoeller, until Governor took the reins in what was to be his only film to date.

It follows the story of a local lawman sent to the scene of an abandoned car in order to track down a missing woman. It transpires that this woman has been captured by the un-dead, and is being held at a ghost town nearby. The town is populated by the spirits of its past residents, and the only way to end the curse and free their souls is to rescue the girl from the lead gunslinger.

Perhaps more of a western than a horror, the film was low on gore but an intriguing concept nonetheless.

The film starred Franc Luz, Catherine Hickland and Jimmie F. Skaggs

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers

Audiences were disappointed with the absence of Michael Myers in Halloween III, and it wasn’t long before producer Moustapha Akkad wanted a forth film that would see Michael’s return.

The film was originally to be written by John Carpenter and Dennis Etchison, and to be produced by Debra Hill. This concept soon fell apart however, when the script was rejected prompting Carpenter and Hill to also sell their remaining rights over to Akkad. This then enabled Akkad to produce the film he wanted, and Alan B. McElroy was hired to write the new script.

Filming commenced in March, and took place in Salt Lake City, Utah. Due to shooting a Halloween film at this unseasonal time of the year, leaves had to be imported to reflect the desired season. The storyline picks up ten years after the first two movies, and sees Myers being transported to Smith’s Groves Sanitarium. Myers escapes during the ill-fated journey and makes his way back to Haddonfield, being tailed by Dr. Loomis (who is once again played by Donald Pleasence).

In Haddonfield we discover that Michael has a young niece, Jamie, who will now become the new target of his violent rage.

During Halloween night Jamie’s teenage stepsister Rachel will take her trick or treating, as the event slowly turns into a fight for survival. Many of Rachel’s friends die at the hands of Myers, and the two girls run in an attempt to evade the unstoppable killer. As locals and police slowly band together, it becomes a race to stop Michael and save his young niece from almost certain death.

After completion it was agreed that the film wasn’t bloody enough, so John Carl Buechler was brought in to add some extra gore. Although receiving a generally negative reception from critics, the film did gross $17,768,757 at the box office on a budget of $5,000,000.

The movie starred Danielle Harris, Ellie Cornell, Donald Pleasence and George P. Wilbur. The following year would see a sequel that follows the events of Halloween 4 and the return of the main characters, exactly one year after.

Hellbound: Hellraiser II

Based on a story by Clive Barker, who also returned to produce this sequel, Hellbound was directed by Tony Randell due to his experience in working with Barker on Hellraiser. The storyline follows Kirsty Cotton once again, as we discover that she is staying in a psychiatric hospital after the events in the original film. It transpires that her doctor, Channard, is all too aware of the history and the realm of the Cenobites. He will stop at nothing to use Kirsty’s situation and knowledge to his advantage, and open the doorway to these new dimensions for himself. Channard manages to bring back Julia from a bloodstained mattress before using a young patient, Tiffany, to open the Lament Configuration box.

Now crossing over into the Cenobites’ domain, Channard soon gets more that he planned for, and is turned into a Cenobite himself. All the while Kirsty is searching for her father within this realm, but instead finds Uncle Frank who continues to torment her over her father’s death. Kirsty takes her revenge by killing Frank, before facing Channard in a bloody climax.

Hellbound was very similar in tone to Barker’s original, if not slightly gorier and more violent. The noticeable difference with this film however was the added history toward the Cenobite characters. The audience is made aware that these demons were in fact human, before being turned themselves. The film had originally intended to be the end for Pinhead, but his popularity was cemented after the movie’s release, and these plans were scrapped.

Hellbound starred Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence, Kenneth Cranham and Imogen Boorman. Upon release, the film grossed $12,090,735 at the box office.

Barbie Wilde played the female Cenobite in Hellbound, and in 2014 I spoke with her about the experience:

How did the opportunity arise for you to audition for Hellbound?

Doreen Jones, the Casting Director on Hellbound, contacted London Management, my agent at the time, and they sent me for the audition. I’m not sure why Doreen chose me to audition. It could have been the fact that I was a classically trained mime, and Clive was very interested in mime as an art form. Also, it was popular at the time to have mime artists play the roles that required heavy prosthetic makeup or mask work (for example, I also auditioned for one of the roles of the apes for Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes [1984]).

Were you familiar with Clive Barker’s Hellraiser, and what were your thoughts about appearing in the sequel?

Absolutely. Everyone in the biz was very excited when the first Hellraiser film came out, as it marked a big resurgence in the British horror movie industry. I went to see the film and was quite enthralled. That kind of imagery, sensuality and violence was really innovative for its time. I thought that Clare Higgins was brilliant at portraying Julia’s sexual obsession with Frank. In many ways, those two are the real monsters of the piece. I thought the Cenobites were totally unique and intriguing creatures.

To be honest, I almost didn’t go to the audition, as the first Hellraiser film disturbed me so much. I thought that I was going up for the part of the Chatterer and I hated mask work (I nearly passed out in a mask for a commercial for Wrangler’s Jeans directed by Godley and Crème in the early 1980s. The mask had just been made the morning of the shoot and still stank of chemicals. It was almost overwhelming).

However, I did go to the audition, had a short chat with Tony Randel, where we debated about whether “Cenobite” is a real word or just something that Clive had made up. I knew it was an actual word, as I’d looked it up in the dictionary before the audition, so I prevailed in that argument.

What was asked of you in the audition process in order to play the part of the female Cenobite?

All I remember is talking about my experience working as a mime, what I’d done previously, that sort of thing (and the aforementioned discussion on the origins of the word “Cenobite”). I don’t think I read any lines from the script, but to be honest, I can’t really remember. It was quite a brief audition.

What kind of research (if any) did you have to do for the role, and what was asked of you with regard to portraying the character?

I read The Hellbound Heart, the novella that the first two Hellraiser films are based on. I fell in love with Clive’s writing: so muscular, descriptive and sexy, yet at the same time, with an underlying dark humor.

In many ways, the whole makeup process was part of my character. Once you look in the mirror and see the face of the female Cenobite looking back at you, it really goes a long way to defining the character.

Your makeup was incredible, what can you tell us about the application process and the prosthetics used on set in general?

First, the makeup crew had to make a bust of my head. A skullcap was put over my hair and a rubbery alginate applied to my skin, which would harden into a flexible cast. Then plaster bandages were applied over the alginate, to protect it. This was pretty scary if you’re a bit claustrophobic, as I am. The only contact with the outside world is the air you are breathing. Contrary to popular knowledge, they don’t use breathing straws up your nose. One of the makeup crew’s only jobs was making sure that the nose airways are kept clear during the process.

When the plaster bandages are applied, they start to harden immediately and the chemical process warms the air coming up into one’s nostrils. When I sensed that the air was warming, I panicked, thinking that the airways were blocked, but the crew assured me all was well.

On and off set, the makeup crew encouraged us to not talk very much, as any movement could disrupt and damage the prosthetic makeup around our mouths. We even had to drink through straws. However, I had a real problem with this as I’m a bit of a chatterbox, so I did get scolded a lot. There was a fair amount of makeup management on set. After virtually every shot, a makeup crewmember had to repair the damage.

In the end, the only parts of my face that weren’t covered in prosthetic makeup were my mouth and my eyes.

I remember your demise involved being speared through the neck! What do you recall of that particular scene?

Well, the “spear” was actually one of the Channard Cenobite’s tentacles. For my death scene a penis-like appendage was glued to my “vagina” like throat, so you can imagine the merriment on set at my expense.

During the death scene, I had to react as if I were just struck by the tentacle. In the meantime, another special effects crewman was kneeling at my feet with two balloons filled with Kensington Gore, which were linked up to my throat wound by tubes. When “action” was called, I’d throw my head back, the special effects guy squeezed the balloons, and gouts of fake blood erupted from my throat wound like a miniature Old Faithful. Then I fell backwards onto a mattress on the floor.

What were the rest of the cast and crew like to work with, and do you stay in touch?

The rest of the cast and crew were a delight to work with. The crew was very patient with this particular whinging female Cenobite especially! The Cenobites were rather isolated in the makeup area, so we did some very strange things to keep our spirits up. I remember singing songs from the musical Cabaret (in full Cenobite makeup) to LittleJohn, one of the makeup crew. Simon “Butterball Cenobite” Bamford did the Cancan in his costume, and Nicko Vince and Doug Bradley liked to tell stories and jokes.

I’ve been lucky enough to be invited to a lot of conventions in the last 10 years and Doug, Nicko, Simon, Ashley Laurence, Ken Cranham and Clare Higgins and I have managed to stay in touch because of them. I’ve also met up with makeup wizard Gary J. Tunnicliffe, Pete Atkins (writer of Hellbound, Hellraiser III and Hellraiser: Bloodlines) and Christopher Young (the composer of the Hellraiser 1 & 2 soundtracks).

As well as being visually stunning, the Hellraiser movies have gained a huge cult following – why do you think this is?

I put it down to the extraordinary imagination of Clive Barker. He invented two new types of monsters. Some in human form: Julia and Frank, and the extraordinary Cenobites. It’s also the mythology of the Cenobites that has piqued peoples’ interest over the years, something that I explored in my story, “Sister Cilice” (which detailed the metamorphosis of a sex-starved nun into a female cenobite) in the anthology Hellbound Hearts (edited by Paul Kane and Marie O’Regan, with a Foreword by Clive Barker and an Afterword by Doug Bradley).

I always thought it was a shame we lost the original Cenobites after Hellbound. Was there ever any talk of your role being reprised for further sequels?

No, the whole production moved to the United States and the Pinhead character was the only cenobite that was rejuvenated for the next film. At the time, everyone thought that it was the character of Julia that would be the driving force of the franchise, but it turned out that Pinhead would be the iconic character of the Hellraiser films.

Howling IV: The Original Nightmare

Although a sequel within The Howling franchise, Howling IV is actually based on the same novel as the original movie. In fact, it has been noted by many that this film is a more faithful adaption of the Gary Brandner novel. Directed by John Hough, the film centers on an author, Marie, who is suffering from violent visions. She retreats to a quiet town named Drago, for some much needed rest in the hope that her condition will improve.

Far from helping matters the visions and dreams get worse, as Marie becomes convinced that there are more sinister matters to blame. She is not alone in her fears as she soon discovers when a holidaymaker, Janice, visits her. Janice explains that her best friend, a nun named Ruth, was found in the town after disappearing, and died soon after. Sister Ruth had also been appearing in Marie’s visions, confirming that all was not right with the town of Drago.

After a local woman who transforms into a wolf bites Marie’s boyfriend, she discovers that the town’s inhabitants are all werewolves, and the visions had been premonitions. Marie must trap the townsfolk inside the local church, were she can burn them alive and escape the nightmare…

Howling IV starred Romy Windsor, Michael T. Weiss, Anthony Hamilton and Susanne Severeid.

Maniac Cop

Part action and part horror, Maniac Cop was written by Larry Cohen and directed by William Lustig.

Set in New York City, a serial killer is on the loose murdering people while dressed as a police officer. As the city attempts a cover up, a young cop, Jack, just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. After being caught cheating by his wife, she is then brutally murdered, and Jack becomes the main suspect.

Jack is swiftly taken in for interrogation, as it becomes apparent that the real killer has set him up. We then have a race against time, as Jack and his girlfriend must discover the true identity of the killer, and put an end to the carnage.

Although the movie was not well received at the time of its release by critics, it has gone on to develop a cult following. The blend of action and horror has proved popular with many, and Maniac Cop was a successful film on the home video market. With a high body count of nineteen and a fairly violent narrative, Maniac Cop went on to spawn two sequels to date.

Maniac Cop was given a limited theatrical release and grossed $671,382 on a budget of $1,100,000. The film starred Tom Atkins, Bruce Campbell, Robert Z’Dar and William Smith.

The Nest

For fans wanting plenty of colorful gore, The Nest did not disappoint. Written by Robert Lansing and directed by Terence H. Winkless, The Nest was a cliché creature feature that was shameless in giving the audience exactly what they expected.

Set in an idyllic small island town in New England, the local sheriff discovers that he has a roach infestation in his house. He is then warned by the exterminator that the whole island is about to have a very bad roach problem! It transpires that a greedy corporation has been developing and breeding mutant roaches, as the island’s population comes under attack from these giant bugs. The roaches also have the ability to mutate into whatever creature they have killed, giving a fantastic opportunity for further visual shocks!

A film about giant man eating roaches delivered exactly what was expected, with various sequences of sticky, flesh melting gore. A good example of the splat filled 80s creature feature that was geared specifically toward its target audience. The film was filmed at Bronson Caves, Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park in Los Angeles, with some scenes being shot in Malibu.

The Nest starred Robert Lansing, Lisa Langlois, Franc Luz and Terri Treas. After being given a limited theatrical release, the film was released the same year on home video.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master

Freddy Krueger returned for his fourth outing, in what was to be a phenomenal success for the series. Written by William Kotzwinkle and Brian Helgeland, the film was directed by Renny Harlin and co-produced by Robert Shaye.

The film introduces us to a new protagonist, Alice, as the storyline returns to Elm Street and the new teenagers that now live there. Three of the teens from the previous movie are also living back on Elm Street, Kristen, Joey and Roland. It isn’t long before Krueger returns to kill these three that escaped him, meaning that all of the original Elm Street kids are now dead.

Before Kristen is killed she drags Alice into her dream and passes her powers over to her, equipping her with what she needs to fight Freddy. Alice’s power is that she can enter the dreams of others, therefore helping them to fight Krueger. After she witnesses many of her friends being killed, Alice takes Freddy on in a battle that will see him banished from our world once again – or is he?

Harlin created a film that is well paced, humorous and visually impressive. Krueger’s persona was becoming more comical, with various one liners delivered by him as he kills his victims. A huge team that included Bill Barschdorf and John Carl Buechler handled the effects, which included a girl turning into a cockroach, and an impressive ‘chest of souls’ toward the end. The murder sequences were becoming more innovative and well polished, in a film that broke many boundaries for the series.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 was the highest grossing horror film of the 1980s, and the highest grossing Elm Street film until Freddy v Jason in 2003. The film was made on a budget of $13 million, and grossed $49,369,899 at the box office. It held the number one spot for the first three weeks of its release, and didn’t drop out of the top ten for eleven weeks.

The film starred Robert Englund, Lisa Wilcox, Andras Jones, Tuesday Knight and Ken Sagoes.

Night of The Demons

Written and produced by Joe Augustyn, Night of the Demons follows the classic formula of teenagers having a party on Halloween night. Directed by Kevin S. Tenney, this fun slice of demonic entertainment is set in an abandoned funeral parlor.

Angela is throwing a Halloween party and has invited her friends to join her at Hull House, an old deserted funeral parlor and place of local legend. As the party gets underway in this eerie setting, stories are told of the evil history that is attached to the mortuary, and the spirits that supposedly possess the property. An underground stream that surrounds the building keeps the supernatural entity inside, and a huge wall is built on top of this stream. It isn’t long before one of the teenagers becomes possessed by this evil, and the party starts to descend into chaos!

The demonic force then starts to possess the rest of the partygoers one at a time, until we are left with only two survivors. As their now possessed friends start to attack them from every angle, escape looks almost impossible. The demons have until sunbreak to roam the property in search of their prey, as the kids try in vain to escape the building and flee the madness.

The film was shot in South Central, Los Angeles and took roughly two months. Night of The Demons managed to generate a raw and gritty tone, which was helped along by entertaining performances that gave us some memorable characters. The effects were solid and handled by Steve Johnson, while the haunting backdrop of Hull House offered a suitably eerie environment.

Night of the Demons performed well on a limited release at the box office, grossing $3,109,904 on a budget of just $1.2 million. The film starred Cathy Podewell, Amelia Kinkade, Linnea Quigley and Alvin Alexis.

I spoke with producer and writer Joe Augustyn in 2013 about the film:

Where did the inspiration come from to write Night of the Demons?

I have always been a horror fan and wanted to write something really scary that could be produced on a low budget, which at the time (pre-HD video; having to be shot on film) meant about one million dollars.

I liked the format of the Friday the 13th movies but didn't want to do a "knife kill" movie. I prefer supernatural horror. "The Exorcist" was one of the scariest films ever made, and compared to other types of horror films, few had dealt with demonic possession. I liked the idea of getting into a demon's head. How would they act once they took hold of a corporeal body? Mimi's dance scene was a demon's celebration of their new physical body, exulting in its feel.

Hull House was the perfect location for this movie in my opinion, but did you have other ideas on the table before settling for the funeral parlor?

When I came on board in pre-production the company had a location manager working in house. I asked to see her files and she showed me six house files that she acquired from a pay location service. Not one was even remotely suitable. They were pristine upscale homes. I was appalled and sent her off after explaining that we needed a haunted looking house.

A month later I called her in again. She presented exactly the same six files. She hadn't lifted a finger, although she was collecting a very nice salary. I complained to the supervising producer who had hired her, and learned she had been his nanny when he was a child in New Orleans. He didn't have the heart to fire her, but he knew she was a cypher and gave me permission to do so.

We brought on Ed Parmelee who found us our Hull House and made a phenomenal deal. For a total of 65K we had a secure location where we could leave all our production vehicles, all the sets we needed, as well as extra rooms for offices and departments to use for hair, make-up and efx.

Ironically, years later when I was between agents and hunting for one, I was given a recommendation by friends of a good literary agent. When I phoned to query, none other than the nanny from hell answered. She was now working as the agent's receptionist. Needless to say, she blocked me out, assuring me with a spiteful tone in her voice that she'd pass my message along to her boss.

Such is life in Hellywood.

Were there any major changes to storyline or script from conception through to finished movie?

In the original script there were a handful of major differences.

The characters of Max and Frannie were a gay teen couple. The exec producer didn't think the public was ready for that.

The brick wall around the property was a wooden fence made of whitethorn set up years ago by the townspeople to keep the demons inside. In the climactic scene instead of Judy being pulled over the top, her rescuer picked up a long branch of whitethorn and rammed it through the fence, impaling Angela.

Originally the two survivors were Judy and her little brother. He still appears in the film early on, but his role was greatly reduced due to cost concerns. The law requires an on-set tutor and restricts the amount of hours a minor can act in one day. So I rewrote it. In the first draft, he sneaks off after his sister to crash the Halloween party.

The wraparound was also different.

The ‘wrap around’ story with the old couple was a nice touch – where did that idea come from?

The original draft opened with a William Castle-like touch. A priest sat at his desk, talking to the audience about demons and possession. As he talks the scene goes from normal to creepy and finally the lights go out, leaving the audience in darkness briefly before the story begins. I wanted to set a tone. The execs and Kevin the director argued it might come off as comedic, starting the film off on the wrong note.

I acquiesced, and came up with the new wraparound.

The underground stream under the property was another infamous hallmark of the movie – where did that idea come from?

When the art director insisted he couldn't afford to build a fence out of tree branches on his budget, I agreed to rewrite the fence as a brick wall, which existed on the location. But to make it work I needed a new "magic" reason to keep the demons inside.

Suzanne’s lipstick being pushed through her breast has to be one of the most memorable scenes in horror – please tell us how that idea came about!

In my original draft she draws a 666 on the center of her chest and pushes it through. Steve Johnson proposed changing it to the nipple for practical reasons. It was easier to make it work from an EFX standpoint. The added kinkiness was a plus.

Were there any other horror films of that time that you enjoyed, and helped to influence the story?

I started watching horror films when I was a tot. I loved all the Hammer films. They generally had great production values, fine British actors and attractive casts. I loved drive-in B movies as well. Night of the Living Dead, Texas Chainsaw, and dozens of other low budget movies with sexy babes and good stories. Sex is important in horror films, whether it is subliminal or overt. It arouses another primal instinct that plays off the survival instinct, enriching the emotional experience. One of the most powerful moments in the The Exorcist is when the virginal victim violently masturbates with a crucifix.

The 70s were a great era for high class horror. Besides The Exorcist there was the Cat People remake, Wolfen, The Sentinel, etc. Special EFX make-up saw great advances, making for more effective, unsettling scares.

Are there any parts of the film that were added during production, and not part of your script?

I retained creative control of the screenplay in both Night of the Demons and Night of the Demons 2. The only thing ever added without my involvement was the "snake effect Angela" at the end of #2, which I personally detested because it came off like a cheap carnival sideshow gimmick.

As creator of this story, what is your favorite scene from the movie, and were there any scenes that you did not enjoy or agree with?

I love most of the film. When I first saw the ending I felt it dragged on too long on the wall, but after getting feedback from audience members I learned that many liked it that way, so I accepted it as a subjective opinion on my part.

Part of the success of the original film was due to the casting, with a real chemistry between genuine characters that helped to bring a sense of gritty reality to their situation – were all the main characters as you had written them, or did your original script call for something different with regard to the characters portrayed?

The casting is excellent. I had worked with Tedra Gabriel on Hard Rock Zombies and American Drive-In, two ultra-low budget movies I worked on as production coordinator and location manager. I knew Tedra had a knack for finding talented attractive young actors who were easy to work with. I introduced her to Kevin and he liked her. And Kevin and I both liked Linnea in Return of the Living Dead, so we specifically requested her to Tedra and she brought her in. Otherwise Tedra discovered all the actors, many of whom went on to have solid careers and appear in big productions and TV shows. Phil Tanzini is also doing voice work on many video games.

Amelia Kinkade made a great ‘lead demon’ as Angela – was this your vision when writing the story, and for what reason was a ‘Goth Girl’ chosen?

Amelia was great. She was chosen for her acting and dance skills. She was very hot in the Stray Cats video "Sexy & Seventeen", which is a must see for Mimi fans. I was very much into the Goth scene at the time. I loved Bauhaus and all its offshoots and wanted a Bauhaus tune for the dance. Mimi's roommate actually recommended Stigmata Martyr. I think I had originally suggested Terror Couple Kills Colonel. Luckily her roommate made a better choice.

As creator and producer of the movie, what is your favorite character within the film and for what reasons?

I like them all. That said, I somehow always gravitate towards strong female characters. I was the first writer to do a movie about Lilith (before the Lilith Fair musical festival was born) in Night Angel. In my first novel, The Nine Lives of Felicia Miller, I have a teen girl who gets revenge on a gang of would-be rapists by shape shifting into various cats to spy on them and rip them to pieces.

Did you visit the set at all during production, and if so what are your fondest memories?

I was on set every day, often the first to arrive and last to leave.

Kevin Tenney did a great job directing this movie, what was he like to work with?

Kevin was very easy to work with.

Night of the Demons went on to become a huge success; did you have any idea when writing it that this would be the case?

If I didn't believe in it I couldn't have written it. Writing is the most difficult job in movies, and the most under-appreciated. Even a director has a massive support team at his fingertips.

How did the opportunity arise to write a sequel?

Jeff Geoffray and Walter Josten approached me. I was in need of a job. They convinced me to write the sequel on spec, based on a predetermined payoff, and assured me it would get made. They just needed the script to kick start the process with Republic Pictures. I agreed.

I did a lot of rewriting based on their notes, then when the deal was struck with Republic I had to go through the entire "development" process again. That meant sitting at a table with more than half-a-dozen execs who had never written a word between them and try to make sense and satisfy their often contradictory notes. I enjoy a challenge though, and in the end they got their money's worth out of me.

Happy with the first film, they gave me creative control of the script, as long as I satisfied their notes. That meant the director, who tried to meddle in the screenwriting process, was shut down by Walter, who trusted my instincts. However, they later did a reshoot to "pump up" the ending. By that time I was out of the picture and the director got to add his snake scene.

How did you go about creating a new situation that would successfully follow up the success of the original?

Juilliard-trained playwright Jim Penzi had asked my opinion on a spec he wrote that was set in a girls school. He was a very close friend, and his script was an obvious attempt at a Night of the Demons type film. I made a deal with him to use certain elements of his story and got to work.

It was great to see Amelia Kinkade back as Angela; did you toy with the idea of having any other of the ‘original demons’ back for the sequel?

Walter and Jeff decided that only Angela would return, so I started on that note. They also dictated what conventions were to be included (another breast gag, etc.).

Where you happy with the second movie upon completion?

Not really. There were things about it that I liked and a lot that I didn't. I won't go into detail. Some people actually prefer the sequel so again it must be subjective.

Did you have any involvement with the 3rd movie, and what are your thoughts on the film?

I am happy to say I had zero involvement in that one. End of story.

What are your thoughts on the 2009 remake, and how did the finished screenplay vary from your earlier version?

I was not involved on any level with the remake and will not comment on it. Thank you.

Phantasm II

It took almost a decade, but 1988 finally saw the release of Phantasm II, the long awaited sequel to 1979’s Phantasm. Written and directed by Don Coscarelli, the film picked up from the end of the first movie, and featured most of the main cast from the original. A. Michael Baldwin’s character was controversially re-cast, and Bill Thornbury’s character was absent from this installment.

When asked why the film had taken so long to make, Coscarelli stated that he simply could not come up with a suitable storyline. Once he decided to pick the story up from the end of the first film, he had his sequel.

The story line follows Mike as he is released from a psychiatric hospital after the events of the original film. After getting back in touch with Reggie, the pair team up once again in an attempt to track down the Tall Man. Mike is also troubled by recurring dreams that he is having about a girl called Liz, who needs his help. After traveling through various towns that have been left abandoned in the Tall Man’s wake, Mike finds Liz in a town called Perigord. Liz has just buried her grandmother who is now in the hands of the Tall Man, as she herself must also escape his domain. The final showdown between the group of survivors and the Tall Man will take place in the mortuary. A portal is discovered, along with many dangers they must overcome in order to be free from the Tall Man’s clutches.

Phantasm II reflected the decade that produced it, and was therefore more action packed and gory than the surreal original. While some critics claimed the film was an incoherent mess, others enjoyed the depth and the complexity of the Tall Man’s story.

The film starred Angus Scrimm, James Legros, Reggie Bannister and Paula Irvine. Upon its release it grossed $7,282,851 at the box office on a budget of $3,000,000.

Poltergeist III

In the third and final film in the Poltergeist series, Carol Anne is sent to live with her aunt, where the evil forces continue to follow her. Written and directed by Gary Sherman, the only two original cast members to return were Heather O’Rourke and Zelda Rubinstein.

In an attempt to protect Carol Anne, her parents send her to live in a high-rise apartment with her aunt, Pat, and husband, who are unaware of the supernatural history that has plagued her. Unfortunately this change of location does not deter Kane, who initially uses mirrors within the apartment in an attempt to capture Carol Anne.

After various encounters with the evil entity, Pat and her husband are forced to battle Kane, who is opening parallel dimensions within the high-rise in an attempt to take Carol Anne.

The film was produced for a lower budget than its prequels, and received a fairly negative reception from the critics. Grossing $14,114,488 at the box office on a budget of $9,500,000, it was also the lowest grossing film of the series. Starring in Poltergeist III were Tom Skerritt, Nancy Allen, Heather O’Rourke and Zelda Rubinstein.

Heather O’Rourke sadly passed away shortly after filming, while the movie was in its post-production stage. She had been ill for sometime, and was misdiagnosed with Crohn’s disease for which she was receiving treatment for during production. Her death caused serious concerns with regard to the release of the film, with Gary Sherman wanting to shelve the project out of respect. Marketing campaigns were also revisited, for fear of not wanting to appear that the movie was cashing in on O’Rourke’s untimely death.

Prison

Co-written by Irwin Yablans and directed by Renny Harlin, Prison was shot in the former Wyoming State Prison in Rawlins, Wyoming. The film was actually shot in 1986, and took two years to be released due to Empire Pictures’ bankruptcy.

The storyline involves a prisoner, Charlie, who was executed on the electric chair for a murder that he didn’t commit. Charlie was set up for the murder by a security guard named Eaton Sharpe, who watched Charlie fry for the crime. Years later the prison re-opens, and Sharpe is now the warden. Charlie returns and starts to kill off the inmates in gory fashion, in a bid to get to Sharp and claim his revenge.

Harlin creates a gory and fun horror film that was suited to the home video market of the time. It did receive a limited theatrical release and grossed $354,704 domestically while being produced on a budget of $1,300,000. Most of the inmates used as extras were real prisoners from a nearby jail, and therefore under armed guard while filming took place.

The film starred Viggo Mortensen, Chelsea Field, Lane Smith and Lincoln Kilpatrick. Prison was produced by Charles Band and Irwin Yablans.

Pumpkinhead

Pumpkinhead was the directorial debut of special effects wizard Stan Winston, who also co-wrote the story.

Ed runs a small local grocery store in the country, and on this particular day must leave his young son alone for a short while. As he is gone, a group of inner city kids arrive on bikes, and end up accidently killing Ed’s son. Ed is far from happy, and instructs a witch to unleash a demon (Pumpkinhead) to take revenge on his son’s killers.

As this monster starts killing off the kids responsible, Ed witnesses the murders through the eyes of Pumpkin Head. As the revenge continues, Ed becomes aware that he will pay a price for the demon’s participation…

Labeled as ‘A Grim Fairytale’, Winston gave us an original monster with an interesting enough background to produce an entertaining horror film. Pumpkinhead was produced on a budget of $3,500,000, and grossed $4,385,516 at the box office through a limited release. The film did well on the home video format, and has become a cult favorite that has spawned three sequels to date.

The film starred Lance Henriksen, Jeff East, John D’Aquino and Kimberly Ross.

Return of the Living Dead Part II

Ken Wiederhorn wrote and directed Return of the Living Dead Part II, in what was as much of a re-make as a sequel. James Karen and Thom Mathews both return for the follow-up, this time as a couple of gravediggers who get caught up in the carnage.

The infamous 2-4-5 Trioxin is being transported through the town by the army, when one of the barrels falls off the truck, and into the river. The barrel is then discovered by some local lads who manage to break it open, while breathing in the toxic gases. In the meantime two gravediggers in the cemetery nearby, Ed and Joey, are also subjected to the gas which is now polluting the air. After witnessing a body rise from its coffin, they flee into the town, along with Joey’s girlfriend. The dead are now rising from the ground and in pursuit, as the trio seeks refuge in a house occupied by Jesse Wilson and his teenage sister Lucy. Jesse is already aware of the dire situation outside, as he knew the boys responsible for opening the container.

It isn’t long before the dead break in and the group has to join their neighbor in his car to make a hasty retreat! The neighbor happens to be a doctor, and the group decide to retreat to the local hospital. As Joey and Ed start turning into the Living Dead, the others discover that the army has sealed off the town, leaving nowhere to run. A plan is then devised to trap the growing number of crazed zombies, and destroy them all in one final stand!

This sequel was lighter in tone than the original, drawing a lot more on comedy with far less violence and gore. In fact, the film would have been rated as a PG-13, if it hadn’t been for just one single scene. Although not proving as popular as the original with critics or fans at the time, the film did go on to gross $9,205,924 at the box office on a budget of just $6,200,000.

Starring in the movie were James Karen, Thom Mathews, Dana Ashbrook and Marsha Dietlein.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Marsha Dietlein in 2014 about her role as Lucy Wilson:

Had you seen ‘Return of the Living Dead’ before the opportunity came up to audition for the sequel, and what were your thoughts?

I saw ROLTD while I was going through the audition process. I knew that Jimmy and Tommy were going to be in ROTLD 2 and just wanted to see what the fuss was all about. I thought it was really good, super intense and punk rock, and I liked it a lot.

What do you remember of the audition process for the role?

I had to audition several times, maybe 3 or 4 times. At the end, I was paired up with different people, to see who had chemistry, I guess. I remember that I really liked Michael Kenworthy, and I told the director I thought he was great for the part. I was also paired up with Dana, and I thought he was adorable. He’ll probably hate that I call him adorable but it’s the truth! He’s a doll.

Did you have any reservations about working on a horror film?

I thought it’d be a blast. I remember when I got the call for the audition I just laughed and told my agent that it was so cliché to begin a career with a horror film. This was maybe my 7th audition in LA.

I was so excited when I found out I got the part!

At what stage did you meet the director Ken Wiederhorn, and how was he to work for?

I believe I met Ken at my first callback. He was very friendly and supportive. I felt comfortable with him immediately. I had a great working relationship with him and really adored him.

What was asked of you with regard to the role of Jesse’s sister, and how did you set about portraying her?

I think they were mostly concerned with my workout clothes...ha! Seriously, I think the most important thing was to establish a realistic brother/sister connection with Michael. He was so cute, and had a major crush on me, which was super sweet. We really did have a sibling connection that helped the movie, I think.

I also wanted to make Lucy strong, and I practiced working with the shotgun a lot so I didn’t look like a total dork when I had to shoot it.

One memorable scene was that of the ‘head in a bag’ as Joey and Ed seek safety in your house. What are your memories of that sequence and the prosthetics used?

I think it was the first scene that we all shot together. We spent a fair amount of time laughing in between takes as Jimmy just kept getting sillier and sillier with the head. The head was temperamental, as I recall. It was remote controlled and would just stop working occasionally. I do love, though, that all of the special effects in the film were real. There was no CGI back then, so the effects had to look realistic. Kenny Myers is a genius, I think!

Another great scene was when you all escaped in Doc Mandel’s car. I seem to remember you having to drive through hordes of zombies! How was that scene to shoot?

It was really exciting, as some of us got to do the stunt and be in the car when it crashed through the garage and into the crowd. We had a stunt driver, and Michael had a stunt double. The zombies in that scene were also stunt people so they knew what they were doing. I do remember that the windshield of the car broke when a body crashed into it. Nobody was hurt, but they had to hide the broken windshield, as we’d already shot scenes in the car with no broken windshield (Not good for continuity!).

I also remember a fantastic moment when your character blasts a zombie in half with a shotgun! Can you tell us about that sequence and the effects involved?

That scene was intense. They used a real person who didn’t have legs, and did stunts on movies, to be the top half of the zombie. He was amazing! The bottom half was built by Kenny and controlled by remote I think. I always laugh at that scene, because I’m supposed to be some state champion shooter and I flinch every time I shoot the gun, because it was so loud. Guess I didn’t succeed in not looking like a dork!

What were the rest of the cast like to work with and do you stay in touch?

We all got along really well. I used to run into Suzanne and Tommy at auditions when I lived in LA. I’ve seen Jimmy at events over the years, and it’s always so great to see him. I see Dana in NY, as we both live here now, which is awesome. Michael and I have reconnected via Facebook, and he sent me several scanned photos from the shoot which I love having!

I’m also still in touch with Robert Elswit, who was the D.P. on the film, and Linda Hassani, who was Ken Wiederhorn’s assistant.

What do you remember of the movie’s release and the reaction?

It was thrilling for me as I’m from a small town in Ohio and my high school job was working at a movie theater. The owners of that theater flew me back, and I did a ton of publicity for the film all over Ohio. It was so fun to have my high school friends at the premiere at the theater where I worked! (the film did well the first weekend. Its gross put in the top 5, I believe.)

It didn’t get reviewed well, though, and people criticized it for not being edgy like ROTLD. I think it was the first time someone made a blatantly funny horror film, and people weren’t ready for it. Now with movies like Shaun of the Dead, which is probably my favorite zombie movie, people see what Ken was trying to do and it’s appreciated more as time goes by. It’s also an incredible homage to the 80s!

The Return of the Living Dead films have remained extremely popular to this day. Why do you think this is?

I can only speculate but I think they are cult classics. There are die hard zombie fans out there. Zombies are also super popular again with Walking Dead. They’ve made a comeback so to speak, so that helps the genre’s longevity.

Does your role in Return of the Living Dead 2 still come up in conversation today?

All the time! I was doing a play with an actor who was a few years younger than me, and he was kind of snotty towards me until he realized that I was the girl from ROTLD 2. He’d had a major crush on me in high school apparently. From that moment on, he was a dream to work with. I’m amazed by how many people still love and watch the film. My daughter broke her ankle this winter, and her physical therapist owns a copy of the film (it makes me “cool” to a select group of “cool” people who are fans. I think that’s cool).

Scarecrows

Written and directed by William Wesley, Scarecrows starred Ted Vernon, Michael David Simms and Richard Vidan.

Five bank robbers steal three million dollars from Camp Pendleton, and take a pilot and his daughter hostage. One of the thieves decides to take the spoils for himself and jumps out of the plane, landing in a field. His partners in crime quickly follow him, and end up in an old derelict house. The evening starts to get a lot worse for the crew, as scarecrows that are guarding graves in the area come to life, with the sole purpose of killing all intruders. Once killed, the victim will suffer the same curse as the Scarecrow itself.

The film was shot in Florida, and produced by Ted Vernon. Scarecrows was released direct to video in 1988, with both rated and unrated version being available.

Slugs

Based on the Shaun Hutson novel, Slugs was directed by Juan Piquer Simon.

Set in a rural American town, we follow health worker Mike Brady as he starts to discover some rather bizarre deaths. People are being killed in gruesome fashion, with the bodies being left eaten down to the bone. After discovering a giant slug in his own garden (that bites him), he starts to wonder if there is a link. More deaths, and more signs that these killer slugs are responsible, convinces Mike as the authorities laugh at his theory.

After teaming up with a slug expert, the pair discovers that slugs have been mutated due to a local toxic waste dump. The plan is then set to trace the source of these slimmer killers, and destroy them all!

Slugs had some innovative murder sequences that involved the melting of a victim’s face after the gestation of slug eggs, a young couple having sex being eaten alive, and a man having to hack his own hand off before being blown up! The film also had a blend of comedy mixed in, to give a tone that suited the subject matter.

The film starred Michael Garfield, Kim Terry, Philip MacHale, Alicia Moro and Santiago Alvarez.

The Serpent and the Rainbow

The Serpent and the Rainbow was loosely based on the non-fiction novel by Wade Davis. Davis had written his piece after researching the story of Clairvius Narcisse in Haiti, who was supposedly poisoned and buried before being brought back by a herbal brew called Zombie.

Co-written by Richard Maxwell and Adam Rodman, The Serpent and the Rainbow was directed by Wes Craven.

In this often surreal movie, we follow the story of an anthropologist, Dennis Alan, as he is sent to Haiti in search of a drug with powerful properties. Throughout the hunt for this elusive potion, Alan is arrested by the authorities that insist he leave. After refusing, he is tortured and finds himself being dragged into a much bigger game.

Even when finally returning with the drug, the games don’t end, with its powerful properties becoming even more apparent.

The Serpent and the Rainbow drew upon the social unrest and challenges of the revolution in Haiti. Witnessing visions created by the drug, the film has an interesting and creative narrative set against a threatening backdrop.

Starring Bill Pullman, Cathy Tyson, Zakes Mokae, and Paul Winfield, the film went on to gross $19,595,031 at the box office, on a budget of $7,000,000.

Waxwork

In a screenplay that took only three days to write, Waxwork is often cited as one of the first self-aware movies or parodies within the horror genre. Written and directed by Anthony Hickox, Waxwork was a horror comedy produced by Staffan Ahrenberg.

This high energy and colorful horror film centers on a Waxwork museum which houses some unique exhibits. The creepy owner invites a group of college students to a private midnight viewing of the museum, to which they gladly accept. Once inside the museum, they discover that the waxworks are all of horror characters, and monsters. Some of the kids decide to cross the barrier that surrounds the exhibits to get a closer look, and once they do, they enter a parallel dimension. The waxwork character and the scene that it is frozen in come to life, and more often than not kill whoever enters. Two of the kids, Mark and Sarah, escape and upon realizing that most of their friends are now missing, alert the police.

The police meet their own demise as Mark and Sarah soon learn about the dark secrets surrounding the museum’s owner, David Lincoln. Lincoln has collected 18 of the most evil beings to have ever walked the earth, and displayed them in his museum. The plan is to bring them back to life, and let them rule the world once again. Mark and Sarah team up with a family friend, Sir Wifred, in a bid to destroy the museum and its monsters.

Due to the subject matter, Waxwork gave the viewer numerous scenarios to enjoy, which played out as short stories. Included were werewolves, vampires, zombies and even the Phantom of the Opera. Interestingly, the film had also intended to use the Jason Voorhees character from the Friday the 13th movies, but couldn’t due to legal reasons. This variety kept the film moving at an enjoyable pace, with plenty of gore and shocks to give an entertaining experience.

The film starred Zach Galligan, Deborah Foreman, Michelle Johnson, David Warner and Dana Ashbrook. Waxwork grossed $808,144 at the box office on a limited release. The film sold incredibly well on home video, earning an estimated gross of $2 million from sales.

Chapter Ten

1989

976-EVIL

This directorial debut of Robert ‘Freddy’ Englund was co-written by Rhet Topham and produced by Lisa M. Hansen.

The general premise of the movie was that of a young boy named Hoax, who lives with his deeply religious mother and cousin, Spike. Spike is the elder of the two, and discovers a novelty phone line, 976-EVIL, which appears to give fortunes in an eerie and creepy manner. After Spike becomes bored of the service, Hoax takes over, and quickly becomes hooked.

Hoax is unpopular at school and constantly bullied, so the advice 976-EVIL has to offer is a comfort. However, the service is actually Satan himself, using it to enter the souls of innocent victims. Hoax becomes possessed by the evil entity, and starts to take revenge on all those who have made his life a misery. His evil intentions soon focus closer to home, as Spike must battle his cousin to put an end to this demonic force.

With an entertaining collection of young characters, and a witty comedic tone running through it, 976-EVIL provided an original narrative with decent enough effects and gore. It went on to gross $2,955,917 at the domestic box office. The movie starred Robert Picardo, Stephen Geoffreys, Patrick O’Bryan and Sandy Dennis.

A sequel was released in 1992.

Fight Night II

In this sequel to Tom Holland’s hugely successful Fright Night, we see Roddy McDowall and William Ragsdale reprise their roles, as Peter Vincent and Charlie Brewster. Directed and co-written by Tommy Lee Wallace, we follow Charlie as he is now in college, trying to come to terms with the events of the first film.

Charlie is undergoing psychiatric therapy, and he now believes that Jerry Dandridge was not a vampire. Certain that vampires do not exist, his new girlfriend Alex also helps to convince him that it was all in his mind.

This newfound attitude soon changes, when Jerry Dandridge’s sister turns up, Regine, to exact revenge on Charlie, and Peter Vincent. Peter has to convince Charlie of this new threat, before Regine and her group of undead fiends take control.

Tom Holland was asked to direct this second film, but was working on Childs Play at the time. Another member of the original film, Stephen Geoffrey’s, was also asked to return, but was busy filming 976-EVIL. Fright Night 2 was not given the exposure of the original, and had a limited release over just 148 screens. The film did perform well on the home video formats however, and is now an established cult favorite. A third film was being considered, with Tom Holland at the helm. However, the untimely death of Live Entertainments chairman Jose Menendez, put a stop to any potential movie.

Fright Night 2 starred Roddy McDowall, William Ragsdale, Traci Lind and Julie Carmen.

C.H.U.D. II: Bud The C.H.U.D.

A horror comedy sequel to the 1984 horror, C.H.U.D. II was written by M. Kane Jeeves and directed by David K. Irving.

The military have since been using the creatures to develop an enzyme, which will help create supper killing machines. These experiments are ordered to be ceased, with just one last specimen, BUD, remaining.

A group if teenagers accidently wake the creature up during a prank, and this C.H.U.D. starts a murderous rampage in order to create more just like him.

Produced by Jonathan D. Krane, the film starred Brian Robbins, Tricia Leigh Fisher and Bianca Jagger. Although originally intended to receive a theatrical release, C.H.U.D. II was released directly onto video.

The Church

The Church was co-written and co-produced by Dario Argento, and directed by Michele Soavi. The film was originally intended to be a second sequel in the popular Demons series, but Soavi was insistent that this was not to be the case. Although in some quarters The Church is regarded as an official sequel to Demons, there is no direct link between the movies. The only country that marketed the movie as such was Japan.

The story revolves around a church that was built on top of a mass grave. Knights in the middle ages massacred a coven of witches, and threw the corpses into a pit, while a church was built on top of it. Fast-forward to the present day, and the underground catacomb is discovered. The ancient evil that has been dormant for all these years now awakes, and possess those that have reopened the burial ground. All who enter the church become possessed, and therefore become demons. The only people who have not been overcome by this evil are Father Gus, and a teenager named Lotte. Gus must find the secret held within the building itself, which will destroy the evil entity and save mankind.

A popular gothic horror, The Church impressed with its grand apocalyptic visions, and a sense of overwhelming despair and doom. The film starred Hugh Quarshie, Tomas Arana, Asia Argento and Giovanni Lombardo Radice.

Clownhouse

Written and directed by Victor Salva, who also co-produced, Clownhouse was a slick little movie that tapped into our childhood fears.

We follow the story of a young boy, Casey, who has a fear of clowns. Casey and his two older brothers visit a circus while their mother is away. On the very same night, a group of mental patients are being taken to the circus as a form of therapy. Three of the disturbed inmates escape, and kill three clowns while taking their costumes in the process.

Once dressed up in the clown outfits, the three murderous psychopaths start on a brutal killing spree through the local neighborhood. In the meantime, a shaken Casey has returned home with his two brothers to their empty farmhouse. The power is cut off, and Casey’s worse fears are realized as the three clowns enter the house in pursuit of the brothers. Casey must try and convince the others of the dangers, while trying to avoid the carnival loving killers.

Starring Nathan Forest Winters, Brain McHugh and Sam Rockwell, Clownhouse delivered a tight script with plenty of genuine scares. Probably one of the most disturbing facts about the film however, was the legal case brought against director Salva during its production. Salva was found guilty and charged with sexual abuse of the main character, Casey, played by 12 year-old Nathan Forest Winters. He ended up serving 15 months of a 3-year sentence.

Edge of Sanity

Edge of Sanity was an interesting attempt at splicing Jack the Ripper, and the Jekyll and Hyde stories. Co-written by J.P.Felix and Ron Raley, the movie was directed by Gerard Kikoine and produced by Jacques Fiorentino.

Anthony Perkins gives a fantastically unsettling performance as Dr. Jekyll. Jekyll is a well-respected doctor, until he takes a hit of his homegrown drug (a mix of ether and cocaine), whereby he turns into the monstrous Mr. Hyde. Mr. Hyde enjoys visiting the local brothels, as this mind-altering drug allows him to enjoy new experiences, which mostly include the torture and murder of young women – hence the Jack the Ripper element of the story.

As his wife and people around him struggle to understand his increasingly bizarre behavior, he can no longer control the killer within him. Hyde now surfaces without the need of the drug, as the doctor finds himself putting his own wife in danger to appease the sick needs of his counterpart.

Filmed in parts of London, Edge of Sanity offered a sleazy and unnerving piece of decadence. The film was surreal at times, while causing some complaints due to its brutality towards women. Perkins gave a strong performance as the unhinged doctor, while seemingly enjoying every bit of torture he inflicted as Hyde.

The film starred Anthony Perkins, Glynis Barber and David Lodge. Edge of Sanity grossed £102,219 at the domestic box office.

Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan

In this eighth Friday the 13th film, it was decided to take Jason away from Crystal Lake to enable him to be in a much larger setting. New York was decided, however due to budgetary restraints, most of the film is spent on a cruise ship. Written and directed by Rob Hedden, the film was produced by Randy Cheveldave and Barbara Sachs.

We follow a group of graduates as they embark on a trip to New York City aboard a luxury cruise ship. Unfortunately for the students, Jason Voorhees climbs onboard before the ship leaves port. Throughout the journey Jason starts to pick the kids off one at a time, in murder sequences that included being bludgeoned with a guitar, killed with a sauna rock, being axed, a piece of broken mirror to the throat, and many more. Ultimately Jason destroys the ship, and a handful of survivors must escape in the lifeboat.

The group ends up in New York, where the chase promptly resumes. After more killings, we are left with two survivors, Rennie and Sean. We learn through flashbacks that Rennie had encountered Jason when she was a child, and on holiday at Crystal Lake. In a cruel twist of fate, Rennie must find a way to destroy Jason all these years later.

Friday the 13th Part VIII didn’t fare well at the box office, grossing $14,343,976 on a budget of $5,000,000, making it the second worse performing film of the franchise. Hedden acknowledges that the budget was a huge factor, with the parameters of the film constantly changing. Initially the movie had intended to have most of the action set in New York, in a script that kept changing to reduce this time, and cut costs.

The film starred Jensen Daggett, Scott Reeves, Barbara Bingham and Peter Mark Richman.

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers

Set exactly one year after the events of Halloween 4, Halloween 5 was co-written by Michael Jacobs and directed by Dominique Othenin-Girard.

After stabbing her mother at the end of part 4, the character of Jamie Lloyd was intended to become evil moving into the next film. This idea was rejected however, and the storyline once again follows Jamie’s struggle to escape Michael Myers. Jamie has been in a care home since the events of one year ago, and has been rendered mute. She has a telepathic link with Myers however, and witnesses his survival and subsequent killings. Dr. Loomis tries to convince the police of Michael’s impending return, but to no avail. Myers kills Jamie’s stepsister Rachel, before starting to stalk and kill many of her friends.

In the meantime Jamie has seen all these killings through the eyes of Myers, and attempts to find and warn others who are on his kill list. After being chased and almost killed by Myers, Jamie agrees to help Loomis, in an attempt to lure and trap him in the old Myers house.

After a tense chase and struggle, Myers is eventually captured and held at the police station. A mysterious figure arrives however, to break him free. This was the first time that ‘The Shape’ was introduced, indicating a third party was involved with Myers.

The film was rushed into production before a solid script had even been completed, due to the urgency of releasing the film one year after its predecessor. The film was shot in Salt Lake City, Utah and started production on the 1st of May 1989. Many cuts had to be made to the movie in order to avoid an X rating, with various other scenes being cut due to the rushed production. Halloween 5 is the least successful of the franchise to date, grossing $11,642,254 on a budget of $3 million.

The film starred Danielle Harris, Ellie Cornell, Donald Pleasence, and Beau Starr, and was produced by Ramsey Thomas.

Howling V: The Rebirth

Directed by Neal Sundstrom and co-produced by Gary Barber and Harvey Goldsmith, Howling V was written by Freddie Rowe while being loosely based on the Gary Brandner novel.

The scene of a tragic family massacre, a huge Hungarian castle, has been closed for 500 years. The castle in now re-opened, with the plan of becoming a healthy tourist attraction.

A group of people from entirely different backgrounds has been invited to the castle, after apparently being chosen. It isn’t long before stories start to circulate about the wolves that roam the area. Then members of the group start going missing.

Bodies start to turn up with their throats being torn out, as it soon becomes apparent that a murderer is amongst them. We eventually discover the unsettling link between all involved, and the eerie castle itself.

The Howling V was a straight to video release, and was produced on a budget of $2,000,000. Starring were Philip Davis, Victoria Catlin, Elizabeth She and Ben Cole.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child

Returning to our screens for the fifth Elm Street film was Freddy Krueger, in A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child. Co-written by John Skipp, with a screenplay by Leslie Bohem, the film was directed by Stephen Hopkins, and produced by Robert Shaye.

With a gothic and far darker tone to its predecessors, Elm Street 5 sees the return of Alice. Set a year after The Dream Master, Alice and Dan have graduated from school, and have put the nightmare of Krueger behind them. However, Alice starts to experience disturbing dreams once again, with a reoccurring vision of an asylum. Eventually Alice witnesses the birth of Krueger, as the spirit of Amanda Krueger attempts to intervene and help. After this sequence of events, Alice is unable to suppress Krueger, and he starts his new murderous wave by killing Dan. There is now no stopping Krueger as he starts to claim Alice’s friends in gory fashion, seemingly while Alice is awake. In the middle of the confusion, Alice is receiving visits from a young boy named Jacob, who seems to be involved in the desperate situation.

It transpires that Alice is actually pregnant, and Krueger is using the dreams of her unborn child to re-enter the world. Her child is also entering her own dreams, explaining the visits from Jacob.

Alice must now attempt to free the soul of Amanda Krueger, and allow her to claim her son, Freddy, back. This will end the nightmare, and free her own unborn child from further harm.

The Dream Child was the second worst performing film of the series, grossing $22,168,359 at the box office. Made on a budget of $8,000,000, this still equated to a healthy profit however. The movie gave us much darker imagery, and dealt with serious social issues such as teenage pregnancy, and abortion. Some cite this as a reason as to why it actually turned its target audience away, resulting in the disappointing box office returns.

The film has also been praised for these very same reasons however, as well as the striking gothic visuals that were created. Elm Street 5 starred Robert Englund, Lisa Wilcox, Beatrice Boepple, Whit Herford and Kelly Jo Minter.

Pet Sematary

Based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, Pet Sematary was directed by Mary Lambert and produced by Richard P. Rubinstein.

The story centers on the Creed family who have just moved to the rural town of Ludlow. Not long after their move, the family cat is killed after being run over. The cat is discovered by the father, Louis, while his son and wife are away. Louis’s neighbor shows him a small pet cemetery in the woodland at the back of the property, which supposedly brings deceased pets back to life. Fearful of how upset his son Gage will be at the news of the cat, he decides to try his luck and bury the creature. Sure enough the cat returns from the dead, but is not the same pet he once was. Far more aggressive and distant, the process has turned the cat into a different animal.

Tragedy soon strikes the family when Gage is also run over and killed, just outside the house. A distraught Louis decides to bury his son in the pet cemetery, despite desperate advice from his neighbor not to do so. Just like the cat the boy returns, and just like the cat he is not what he once was. Louis must end what he has started, as his reanimated son first kills his neighbor, and then his own wife.

With the acclaimed King story, the film created an eerie atmosphere with a quite tragic narrative. Good performances from its cast helped to make for an enjoyable and engrossing experience. As with many of King’s stories, we see an idyllic situation quickly turn into a nightmare, with disastrous consequences. All of which director Lambert managed to capture within a well-paced movie.

Pet Semetery was shot in Maine, and produced on a budget of $11.5 million. It grossed $57,469,179 at the box office, and starred Dale Midkiff, Fred Gwynne, Denise Crosby and Brad Greenquist.

A sequel was also released in 1992.

Puppet Master

Supposedly inspired by an earlier Charles Band production, Dolls, Puppet Master was written by Charles Band and Kenneth J.Hall, while David Schmoeller took to the director’s chair.

Puppet Master told the tale of Andre Toulon, who has discovered a formula that will enable him to give life to inanimate objects. Toulon is a Puppet Master, and has used his formula to give life to his puppets. The film starts in 1939, and the Nazi’s are on the brink of discovering Toulon’s work for themselves. Toulon cannot risk this powerful secret falling into the wrong hand, so commits suicide before hiding the puppets at the Bodega Bay Inn. Fifty years later a group of psychics meet up at this hotel after having visions about a colleague of theirs, Neil Gallagher, having found the formula.

Each of these psychics has a different gift, and all are experiencing disturbing visions of Gallagher and the hotel. Before long, the group is under attack from Toulon’s puppets, and the killings begin in a creative manner by the pint sized killers. Soon it is discovered that Gallagher has indeed discovered the secret of Toulon’s formula, and has devised a morbid plan to complete his experiments on achieving eternal life. This plan involves murdering the group, and using the puppets to achieve this. We are left with just two survivors, and a twist that will see the tables turn on Neil Gallagher.

Originally to be released theatrically, Puppet Master was eventually released straight to video in October 1989. The seven featured puppets were Blade, Jester, Pinhead, Tunneler, Leech Woman, Shredder Khan and Gengie. Each puppet had its own unique method of killing its victim, depending on their design.

The film starred Paul Le Mat, William Hickey, Irene Miracle, Jimmie F. Skaggs, and Robin Frates, and was co-produced by Charles Band. Puppet Master was produced on a budget of $400,000 and was a huge success on home video.It has also spawned ten sequels to date.

Shocker

Shocker was written and directed by Wes Craven, who also co-produced the film.

A serial killer is committing brutal murders in a suburb of Los Angeles. A local college kid, Jonathan, has the bizarre talent of being linked to the murderer in his dreams, and witnesses his own family being killed while asleep. Jonathan’s stepfather is the detective handling the case so uses his son’s knowledge to try and catch the killer. After the pair manages to discover the murderer’s identity, he exacts revenge by killing Jonathan’s girlfriend. A distraught Jonathan insists that he help his stepfather one more time, whereby they successfully catch their man, Horace Pinker.

Pinker is executed by the electric chair as Jonathan watches on. Before he is killed, he tells Jonathan that he is in fact his real father. Pinker does not die, but has managed to continue living through electric contact, which enables him to jump inside different people and possess them.

After a series of chases involving Jonathan’s friends and loved ones being possessed, he eventually manages to find a way to trap Pinker, and destroy the force that keeps him alive.

Shocker was a well-paced film, with as much action as horror, which gave for an entertaining experience.

Craven had hoped for Shocker to become a franchise, but unfortunately this did not happen due to modest box office returns. The movie was a success however, grossing $16,554,699 on a budget of $5 million, and was shot in just ten weeks. Many cuts had to be made to the film in order to avoid an X-rating, with the uncut version never being made available.

Shocker starred Michael Murphy, Peter Berg, Mitch Pileggi and Cami Cooper.

I had the privilege of speaking with Wes Craven in 2014, about his film.

Shocker was an original, innovative story with plenty of flare. Can you please tell me where the inspiration came from?

From my head, basically. I was looking for another “Universe” that we all lived in but were not much adapted to navigating through – a place where if someone who was native to that world (like Freddy in dreams) and wanted to attack us, he would definitely have the advantage. But I’d done the dream thing, so what was new and unexplored? It occurred to me that the “dreamscape” of film and television as experienced through screens. It also had same power of a place that had been unexpectedly occupied by a killer who had been killed by the proper and law-abiding society of those living on earth. It fit in with my notion that killing someone has the opposite effect of what it’s supposed to do. It doesn’t remove power from that person, it simply releases them into the world of legend, where they can become even more powerful.

Well, at least that was the idea.

Visually the film was thoroughly entertaining due to the subject matter. What was the biggest challenge you faced as director, given the technology available at the time?

I think the honest answer here is not so much what was available at the time. I mean, Star Wars had been out for twelve years with incredible effects. What happened with Shocker is that the system for pulling matts for all the “process” shots, which we had been assured could handle all the special effects shots at a fraction of the cost, simply did not work. Worse, we hung in there with it, partially because we were assured that most had been completed and were being saved so all the effects could be shown to us at the same time. Then, when we finally demanded to see something – anything – there was the admission that there were no shots done. Zero. The technique turned out not to work at all. This was probably the worst technical disaster on any film I’ve done, since we were very close to the time when we had have release prints. What followed was firing the person in charge of the failed attempt, and calling in every favor in town from all the labs, in a frantic race to get the effects done in the way they were usually done. I put my son, Jonathan, in charge of that process, and I probably could be charged with child abuse by today’s standards. Somehow he and all our supporters in all the labs and optical houses in Hollywood pitched in and made it happen. But there was no time for polishing or doing something for a second or third time.

Frankly, I’m amazed the picture survived at all.

The sequence of Jonathan Parker and Horace Pinker skipping through various television channels was great fun. Can you please tell us a little as to how that was put together, and did you achieve the desired effect?

It was done with lots of green-screen work, and lots of imagination on the part of Peter Berg and Mitch Pileggi, since they had to do all the fighting and action on invisible sets, with me just saying “Okay, now a grenade is going off!” or “Dive through the camera lens!” when there was of course no camera there at all that he could dive through. It was a lot of fun, actually, and it’s one of my favorite sequences.

I thought Mitch Pileggi gave a great performance as Horace Pinker. How accurately did he portray the character you had in mind, and was he the first choice?

I think Mitch really made it his own. Mitch had great gravitas in the room. I mean, he definitely radiated a sense that he was no one to be messed with (even though he was a great and sweet guy). And he was a thorough pro to work with. He made Horace Pinker come alive.

BTW, Peter recently Tweeted that he wants to remake SHOCKER, so, who knows?

I understand that quite a lot of work had to be done to avoid an X-rating. Is this correct, and was the unrated version ever released?

No unrated version was ever released. It was something that’s unfortunately all too common with my films, of them getting X ratings due to “undesirable intensity” (MPAA’s words), and me going back and forth with them, trying to get the “R” while I was mixing, each submission being under more and more severe amount of pressure from the studio to deliver the picture with an R. It’s been the worse element of my career, to me, and I haven’t really, if ever, had a picture allowed to be released in the form I wanted it to be in.

I always thought Shocker had the potential to become a franchise. Was this ever discussed?

It might have been early on, but due to its relatively low Box Office, nobody at the studio level was interested. We’ve actually thought about it in recent years, but the ownership is complicated as well. There are three elements, Universal Studios, myself and Shep Gordon, the producer and head of Alive Films, that all have to agree on doing it and under what kind of deal. It might happen some day – especially if Pete is serious – but it will be a reach, and there would have to be some sort of groundswell from the public that they’d go see it.

Hello? Public?

Society

Society wasn’t actually released in the US until 1992, although completed in 1989. It was written by Woody Keith and Rick Fry, and was the directorial debut of Brain Yuzna.

Set in Beverly Hills, California, Society focuses on Bill Whitney who lives in a mansion with his wealthy family. Billy starts to feel increasingly different from his family and friends, who all seem to be behaving very strangely. After hearing a tape recording of his family in what appears to be a strange orgy, he gives the tape to the family doctor. Upon returning for the doctor’s advice, the tape has been switched, with the evidence being replaced with a normal conversation.

Billy is either going mad, or is being lied to by all around him. After various confrontations and bizarre situations, Billy’s worst fears are realized when he crashes a party at his own house. His family and their upper class friends are in fact a different species, and all involved in ‘Shunting’ while stripped down to their underwear. This process involves the participants deforming and melting into each other, while sucking the life from the weak, or any other intended victim. Billy must fight and destroy his sister’s boyfriend, Ferguson, in order to escape the disturbing situation.

Society was a surreal movie that offered an interesting alternative to other films of the time. Rather than blood and guts, if offered deformity and depraved acts of melting bodies, in a sub-genre that was often referred to as body-horror.

The movie was shot in five weeks and did extremely well in Europe, but was shelved in the US for three years before release in 1992. The film starred Billy Warlock, Connie Danese, Ben Slack, Evan Richards, and Patrice Jennings, and was co-produced by Paul White.

Spontaneous Combustion

Written and directed by Tobe Hooper, Spontaneous Combustion was co-produced by Henry Bushkin.

Brad Dourif plays Sam, a man whose parents were part of an experiment researching the atomic bomb. Sam’s parents died due to their dangerous duties by way of spontaneous combustion, but Sam survived, although bearing frightening side effects. He has the ability to control fire and electricity, although this skill leaves his body in a bad way!

Sam is thrown into all sorts of compromising situations due to this dangerous affliction, as the government grows increasingly interested in his powers for their own gain…

Filmed in just eight weeks, Spontaneous Combustion starred Brad Dourif, Cynthia Bain, Jon Cypher and William Price.

The Vineyard

This film tells the tale of winemaker Dr. Elson Po, who has developed his own wine that gives him eternal life. This wine is made from the blood of victims, in order to sustain Po’s own youthful appearance.

Po also makes films, and as his unique wine starts to lose its powerful properties he decides to invite a group of young actors to the Vineyard. The group is under the illusion that they will be auditioning for Po’s new winemaking film. It isn’t long however until the group discovers Po’s morbid intentions, and attempt to flee the Vineyard before it’s too late.

Written by James Marlowe and Douglas Kondo, The Vineyard was co-directed by James Hong, and co-produced by Frank Chan. The film stared James Hong, Michael Wong, Sherri Ball and Karen Witter.

Warlock

Written by David Twohy, Warlock was directed and produced by Steve Miner. Although completed in 1988, the film would not see release until 1991, due to New World Pictures suffering financial difficulties.

In 1691 a warlock is sentenced to death, but manages to escape when Satan appears and sends him into the future, which is our present day. Satan wishes the warlock to find the three separate parts of the devil’s bible, which will enable him to discover the true name of God, and un-create the world. A witch hunter, who must stop him at all costs, also follows the warlock through time.

Trimark Pictures picked up the film and gave it a limited theatrical release in 1991. The movie was a success for Trimark, grossing $9,054,451 at the box office, and spawning two sequels.

The film was an entertaining mix of fantasy and horror, which starred Julian Sands, Lori Singer, Richard E. Grant and Mary Woronov.

The Fly II

The Fly II was co-written by Mick Garris, directed by Chris Wells, and co-produced by Steven-Charles Jaffe.

After events depicted in The Fly, it transpires that Veronica was left pregnant by Seth Brundle. Veronica dies while giving birth to her seemingly normal child, Martin. Martin is far from normal however, and his dormant insect genes are making him grow at an accelerated rate. An evil corporation, Bartok Industries, who wishes to use Martin’s genetic secrets for themselves, adopts him and put him under various studies. By the time Martin is 5 years old he has the appearance of a 20 year old, and is becoming increasingly frustrated with his controlled existence.

Bartok then instructs Martin to try and complete his father’s work on the Telepods, as Martin also discovers the facts behind his father’s demise. It isn’t long before Martin’s dormant genes begin to transform him, as he seeks revenge on those who have used him.

The Fly II was a sci-fi horror film that focused on delivering as much gore as possible. The effects were geared toward violence and gore, with the mutation of a dog being particularly graphic. The film was a success at the box office grossing $38,903,179 worldwide, with a successful run on home video also.

The movie starred Eric Stoltz, Daphne Zuniga and John Getz.

I spoke with Mick Garris in 2014 about his input regarding the story:

How did the opportunity arise to write The Fly II?

At the time, I was working on AMAZING STORIES as a story editor for the show. I was starting to get feature screenplay opportunities because Steven Spielberg had broken the ice by hiring me to write for him, first the series, then a screenplay for what ended up being called *batteries not included. That led to Disney hiring me to write HOCUS POCUS, which led to me being asked by executives at 20th Century Fox to do FLY II. At that time, they wanted Sam Raimi to direct it.

What (if any) criteria was asked of you with regards to the storyline, and what inspired you to create the great story that you did?

Well, it was important to them that it be aimed at a young audience. My original idea (and my first draft) was quite different. I came up with something much closer to the Cronenberg film. In it, Veronica was pregnant with Seth Brundle’s child, and the child, with its special powers, was being recruited to a super-Christian right-wing army, an anti-abortion group that had a much more nefarious agenda that had sociopolitical ramifications all over it. Not the teen horror movie they were looking for at the time.

Were there any other horror films of the time that helped to influence the story?

Well, at that time, lots of other horror movies were aimed at that audience. But really, for me, and the initial direction I took, I was after the same milieu that Cronenberg had so brilliantly created in his movie.

Were you concerned at all about writing a sequel to the extremely popular original?

Definitely. But as David Cronenberg had recommended me for the job, I felt that took the onus off of it a bit. His film was a remake, after all, and was far superior to the 1950s FLY, which, of course, was great in its own right, and in its own way. At that time, sequels were rarely up to the standards of the films they followed, but I had high hopes. I can’t say that those hopes were fulfilled. THE FLY was a masterpiece. THE FLY II was somewhat less than that.

As a writer, what is it that you wanted to achieve with the finished screenplay?

Tension, suspense, a sense of taking the audience somewhere they had not been before, but traveling the road they’d taken with the Cronenberg movie.

Were there any aspects of the film that didn’t follow your original screenplay?

Oh, yeah, a lot of it. When there was a shift in leadership at the Fox studios, they called for something much more conventional. They took out a lot of the things that touched on the politics and social comment of the day, and really did turn it more into a teenage monster movie. There were several other writers on the film after I left it: Frank Darabont was the first, and then Jim and Ken Wheat.

Did you visit the set at all during production?

No. I was never invited. The film was shot in Toronto, and I was in California directing my first feature film, CRITTERS 2.

Were you happy with the adaption of your screenplay once the movie had been completed?

It changed a lot from when I worked on it. It was one of the reasons I was happy to get an offer to direct a movie at the time, as the state of flux at the studio at the time was not conducive to doing anybody’s best work. I must confess to some disappointment with what resulted.

As a fan, what’s your favorite scene from the movie?

In all honesty, it’s been at least a couple of decades since I’ve seen the film, and I don’t remember it well enough to have a favorite scene. That sounds horrible, but it’s a film that changed so much since I was a part of it that I didn’t keep up with it.

Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out!

Rounding off our journey through horror films of the eighties is Silent Night, Deadly Night 3, which was released in November of 1989. Written by Carlos Laszlo, the film was directed by Monte Hellman and produced by Arthur Gorson.

This would be the last Silent Night movie that would deal with the story of Ricky Caldwell, the Christmas killer. This time we follow Ricky as he awakens from a six-year coma, and targets a young clairvoyant girl, Laura, who has been attempting to communicate with him under instruction from the doctor.

Once awake from his coma Ricky follows Laura home to her family’s house, whereby the Christmas carnage begins in brutal fashion!

The film starred Bill Moseley, Richard Beymer, Samantha Scully, Eric Da Re and Laura Harring.

Silent Night, Deadly Night 3 was released straight to video, with a further two unrelated sequels to follow.

Beyond First Scream

So there we have it, our journey through this incredible decade is almost done. The genre would never be the same again, as the ‘90s ushered in a new breed of film, and filmmakers. Movies were to become slicker and morally acceptable, while the arrival of CGI would cause controversy for years to come.

I was going to try and close with a clever summary on the decade, but then realized that there was really no need to. Throughout the course of this work, and I have been privileged enough to speak to some of the incredible people that made it all happen. So who better to close First Scream to the Last, than the individuals who chose to become involved? So a few final reminders, of why the ‘80s spawned such great films.

The Vietnam War made us all crazy. Really.

-Wes Craven

It has a heart. You care about the people. Hard to find today. It also has humor and warmth. Also not easy to come by.

-Tom Holland

All the cast really worked together. We had to on that budget! Chris and I would bring Honey Baked Hams to the set so the crew would have more to snack on. Good times.

-Dee Wallace

I keep in touch with all the cast and especially look forward to the conventions that bring us all together.

-Adrienne Barbeau

There was no CGI back then, so the effects had to look realistic. Kenny Myers is a genius, I think!

-Marsha Dietlein

I think horror in the 80's was new for audiences who were brought up on classy Audrey Hepburn films and Gone With the Wind. I know that when Silent Night came out people were so upset that they were protesting the movie! To me, it's like Disney princesses, you can't have just one. Therefore, audiences needed more psycho killers out there to sate their lust. Freddy Krueger, Killer Santa, Jason, Chucky, etc.

-Cortney Palm

I never expected it to have the incredible longevity it’s had for all these decades. I get more weekly fan mail now than I ever have. Every generation of horror fan seem to look at it as the last Golden Age of Monsters: Michael Myers, Jason, Freddy, Leather Face, on and on. I feel very honored to be a part of something that strangely has lived on in it’s infamy.

-Tom McLoughlin

First Scream to the Last.

-Adrian Roe

Table of Contents

- Copyright
- Introduction
- Special Thanks
- Chapter One1980
- Chapter Two1981
- Chapter Three1982
- Chapter Four1983
- Chapter Five 1984
- Chapter Six1985
- Chapter Seven1986
- Chapter Eight1987
- Chapter Nine1988
- Chapter Ten1989