Actress Missi Pyle is an icon of sorts here at Films In Review. A favorite of FIR’s editor and a native of my hometown in Shelby County, Tennessee − she’s fully capable of character driven drama, yet is probably best know for her comedic performances.

She virtually stole the film GALAXY QUEST from a massive cast full of leading actors with her portrayal of Laliari, an alien with a slight naiveté for all things Earthlike. With her cover girl looks and height (5’11), she’s practically unrecognizable under prosthetic teeth and make-up as Fran Stalinovskovichdavidovitchsky, the deadliest woman on Earth with a dodge ball for the endeared film DODGEBALL: A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY.

When not in front of the camera, she can be heard and seen on stage as half of SMITH & PYLE; a desert country-rock band she formed along with fellow actress Shawnee Smith of television’s BECKER and the SAW franchise.

This November, The Weinstein Company will release Michel Hazanavicius’ THE ARTIST, where she will share screen time with Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell and Penelope Ann Miller. The film had its premiere at last May’s Cannes Film Festival and tells the story of a silent film star desperate to fit in with the advent of “talkies.”

Months ago, I had a chance to ask Miss Pyle a series of questions that seemed to center on her natural comedic abilities and her love of performing music.

Bryan Layne: Do you have any websites or new projects coming out your fans can look for?

Missi Pyle: Yes, there’s www.smithandpyle.com and I also made a couple of things on funnyordie.com. Just look my name up on there.I also did a short film called BARRY MUNDAY which was released last year. Also, my band is in the process of pitching a reality show based on our music. We would very much like to build a fan base for our music because it is so much fun to do.

BL: Tell me about your music. How’s it going and how did it all come about?

MP: Basically, I met Shawnee Smith on a television pilot. I told her I had always wanted to be in a band and she agreed to start a band with me. I told her not to “f” with me. She said she had already been in one and had a bunch of songs ready to record. I had written a few songs, but they were mostly comedy songs like, “I Wish You Were Dead.” Then, low and behold, she happened to know Chris Goss who is a musical genius out of Joshua Tree. He’s produced the White Stripes and is heralded as the Godfather of desert country rock. Our music is country rock. So, add Chris Goss and we created a new genre…Desert Country Rock. Yes, a genre all to ourselves. But i-tunes hasn’t picked up on it yet, so we are just country on i-tunes… where you can buy our full-length album, which would tickle me if you did.

BL: I know most of your work from comedic performances. I was wondering where you developed your penchant for humor and who do you find funny?

MP: Well, to be honest, I think it developed in high school and college where I did a lot of plays. The movie PRINCESS BRIDE which I watched over and over again as a kid was an influence. I may have seen that one a couple hundred times. I couldn’t believe how funny it was. I think my brain has somehow been sculpted by Mandy Patinkin and Albert Brooks… not necessarily in that order. When you are on stage and you can make an audience laugh, well, there is really nothing like it. You have a palpable connection with them. You can hold out and make them wait to laugh. God it’s fun. Making someone laugh I think is maybe one of the greatest gifts you can give someone. But mainly, I am a giant and I auditioned my balls off for drama and lawyer shows. I was always too freakishly tall for the male lead. So, if anyone was looking for a weird alien, well…

Who do I find funny? Sarah Silverman. I love her. She always goes just a little too far, but she never apologizes and I think she has really opened a lot of doors for women. She is always “on,” like an old vaudevillian stage performer. Who else? Trey Parker and Matt Stone. I think SOUTH PARK is the most genius and funny piece of social commentary there might have ever been. Lucille Ball… Mercy. John Michael Higgins, Catherine O’ Hara and Wendi McLendon-Covey from RENO 911 and BRIDESMAIDS have always made me laugh.

BL: You stood out in GALAXY QUEST and that title had a massive cast that is capable of carrying a film on their own. Is it complicated or easier to take on such a role against so many seasoned actors?

MP: Well, I was completely in my element and I barely spoke. So, that was easier. I could just stand there and be weird. I actually loved it. That cast was incredibly generous. Alan Rickman ate lunch with us every day. And he had his own giant trailer. You know, most stars – they just don’t do that. And Enrico Colantoni was a great alien leader. God we had so much fun.

BL: What did you first think of the make-up they put you in for DODGEBALL: A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY?

MP: I thought it wasn’t enough. She should have been a wee bit more gruesome. When I auditioned, I drew in a unibrow, put weird Princess Leia braids in and painted on giant red lips. I was so glad the audition was not in a building where there was a parking valet, and I had to go to the front desk to see people. It was in the upstairs of a place like a strip mall. I parked, went up the stairs and walked in. The girl at the desk almost did a spit take and I thought, “Ahhh. I am going to get this job.”

BL: Does hiding behind make-up that totally changes your appearance enhance a comedic performance?

MP: I don’t know. I think that it can hinder it, too. I think it just depends on the actor, the role and the director. I think in SOCCER MOM, which is a kids movie in which I wore prosthetics, it hindered me. It was just too much. It was four hours to get into and then we had to worry about it melting. I was almost lost in it all. On the other hand, a good wig and some simple make-up can take you just enough outside of yourself to find a character that you might have never been able to find on your own.

BL: How is Tim Burton as a filmmaker?

MP: He is awesome. I think he really sees the film from the very beginning to the end in his head. He is extremely gifted visually in that way. He knows what he wants, but he also really wants you to bring yourself to it. And damn is he loyal. He has a whole crew that he works with over and over again. CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY is truly one of the last epic movies. We were on 16 soundstages at Pinewood Studios. And you know, the studios, they still let him do whatever he wants. I think with all the digital effects, you lose something wonderful. I think you lose wonder. And magic.

BL: Which of the roles you’ve portrayed are you most recognized for?

MP: It varies.TWO AND A HALF MEN I get a lot. Also, SOUL PLANE, BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE and CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY. What’s really great is young kids, like 14 year olds who say they loved GALAXY QUEST. I think that’s great because that film is 10 years old and parents loved it so much they are making it a staple for their kids to watch.

BL: Is there a preference between television and films?

MP: I like film better. I think my performances can often be too big for television. I sometimes tone down the life out of them, yet I am dying for the stability of T.V. the older I get. I would love to do an old fashioned sitcom that was really funny.

BL: What film do you seem to watch over and over on your own time?

MP: I still watch THE PRINCESS BRIDE. Also, LADY JANE. Cary Elwes gives an insanely beautiful performance in that film.

BL: Is there anything you’d like to talk about or promote that I may have failed to bring up?

MP: You? I don’t even know you…

Roy Frumkes’ Top Ten (or Twelve) DVDs, BluRays, Theatrical & TV releases.

I see two theatrical features a week, and try to watch one DVD or BluRay every night. At that there are those who see three or four times what I do, but I haven’t figured out how to reduce my other activities like showering, exercising, going to the bathroom, and sleeping. So I remain behind the front guard of cinema enthusiasts in terms of viewing. Still, I’ve seen a lot, as have FIR’s other writers, so here are a few TopTen lists for the year we left behind:

My DVD & BluRay choices first: At a certain point, these are no longer in order, but the first few are…

NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (Criterion) The archeological restoration of the year, this immaculate BluRay transfer is accompanied by a 2 1/2 hour compilation doc of equally pristine outtakes from the film, with sound, so that one can hear Charles Laughton directing, can see and hear the little girl chiding Robert Mitchum for forgetting his lines, Shelley Winters praying in Hebrew, the boy warmly following directions even though he comes off stiff in the final version, and countless other wonders. It’s one of the great treasure discs of all time. It’s been around for years, but has been updated slightly for this, its first home theater release.

THRILLER (Image/Universal) 14 DVDs containing 67 episodes. Though almost all the episodes have dated in one way – they now appear padded in an effort to support the hour time slot – they are still remarkably well lit (PIGEONS FROM HELL has the lowest key lighting I ever remember seeing on TV), elaborately scored by such luminaries as Jerry Goldsmith (with many M&E tracks isolated), dripping with fun star power (Henry Daniell is in five episodes – the first times I remember his being in the same films with Karloff since THE BODY SNATCHER in 1945), introduced and occasionally featuring Boris Karloff, and accompanied by insightful commentary tracks. It’s the best-produced DVD release of the year in terms of marshalling outside forces to bolster the original material. THE ALIEN QUADRILOGY, for example, is even more packed with phenomenal commentaries, featurettes, alternate cuts, etc. It’s astounding, to be sure. But all that material was within relatively easy reach. The producer of the THRILLER package had to think out what material would best accompany each of the 27 commentary-supported episodes without becoming redundant, and then go out and hunt down appropriate commentators, and he’s done a miraculous job. As examples: For THE FINGERS OF FEAR, a pre-meditated mixture of THE HANDS OF ORLAC and MR. SARDONICUS, about a pianist (played by SARDONICUS’ Guy Rolph) whose obsession with a rival performer leads to doom, the commentary track is all about horror filmusic, and for THE HOLLOW WATCHER, which has a vaguely Western theme, the commentary focuses on Horror Westerns.

METROPOLIS (Kino) Refer to Ben Peeples’ review, though it is better served on DVD, considering the format and degraded condition of the recently restored footage.

THE LEOPARD BluRay (Criterion) You don’t need a 3D TV, or 3D glasses, to get the depth effect here. The film is so gorgeously transferred, and Visconti layered it so elaborately with art direction, that you feel you are looking into those vast period rooms with bewildering dimensionality. Both versions are available, and there’s Nina Rota’s magnificent score.

THE ELIA KAZAN COLLECTION (Fox Home Entertainment) Plus a heartfelt doc by Martin Scorsese. This is a beautifully packaged, near-inclusive slew of Kazan films on DVD, showing his progression from stage-bound flicks to fully cinematic works.

THE ALIEN ANTHOLOGY (Fox Home Entertainment) This BluRay update trumps the earlier DVD release, something I didn’t think was possible. There are more supplementals, but just the increased sound quality alone is astounding.

KING KONG (Warner Bros Home Entertainment) Better than ever on BluRay.

THE HAMMER ICONS OF SUSPENSE COLLECTION (SONY Pictures Home Entertainment) – THESE ARE THE DAMNED, CASH ON DEMAND, THE SNORKEL, STEP ME BEFORE I KILL!, MANIAC and NEVER TAKE CANDY FROM A STRANGER. This was a genuine surprise – that so late in the game, six delightful non-horror Hammers would see the light of DVD. Pictorially they’re all fine. In terms of execution they vary in quality, but all of them are compelling, and CASH ON DEMAND and STOP ME BEFORE I KILL! Particularly so.

THE AFRICAN QUEEN (Paramount) – Refer to my review earlier in the year. On BluRay, it’s better-looking than it was when originally released.

GONE WITH THE WIND (Warner Bros) BluRay. Like film… And in a beautifully designed collector box.

DALI & DISNEY: A DATE WITH DESTINO (Disney) BluRay. I liked the end result of the long-buried, never completed short produced by Walt Disney and directed by Salvador Dali. But I loved the feature documentary made about the ill-fated venture. It captures their two creative personalities, and the times, and follies of creativity and genius.

OCEANS (Disney) The old True Life Adventures were never like this. From Monstro the Whale (in the flesh) to vast schools of fish doing head-trips on us, it’s an overwhelming experience.

TOP 12 THEATRICAL & TV releases:

THE SOCIAL NETWORK

BLACK SWAN

TOY STORY 3

THE GHOST WRITER

THE TOWN

HEREAFTER

TRUE GRIT

TRON LEGACY

WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS

MOVIES & MOGULS (Mini-seies)

FISH TANK

FROZEN

Bryan Layne next…

FATHER DUFFY: “A corpse, is a corpse, is a corpse.”

ARTHUR: “Father, if I’ve learned anything over the years, it’s that you never, ever trust a corpse.”

Never has a truer declaration been uttered by one of the many characters that inhabit the squalid setting of I SELL THE DEAD. Every backdrop the action and dialogue revolve around seem to be muck covered graveyards or desolate pubs that serve ale in sullied steins. More to the point, the dead don’t stay so dead in this amusing tribute to the classic films of Britain’s Hammer Studios.

I SELL THE DEAD is Dublin-born director Glenn McQuaid’s debut full-length feature, which was based off his thirteen minute short film THE RERSURRECTION APPRENTICE shot in 2005. It encompassed a similar premise together with much of the actors used in I SELL THE DEAD, including filmmaker Larry Fessenden who reprises his valuable role of Willie Grimes. Glenn McQuaid got his hands dirty in the world of film by creating CGI effects for movies like THE ROOST and Fessenden’s THE LAST WINTER. A long time friendship between Fessenden and McQuaid has been growing ever since. The two had known about the I SELL THE DEAD story for several years before they both could commit to it and bring it to life for the public. The movie has also turned out to be production companies Glass Eye Pix and Scareflix’s costliest film to date and the money was put beyond well use. The production values are astounding. The combined talents of the director, cast, art and wardrobe departments all deserve recognition and will leave a lasting impression on any viewer of this DVD; horror fan or not. Director McQuaid is a true talent to keep a lookout for and I’m impatiently waiting for his next project to hit the streets. Not only are there elements of horror, gore and explorations of the supernatural, there are infinite scenes of genuine humor that will truly having you chuckling. I also enjoyed the quick frame inserts of artwork reminiscent of the classic EC comics.

Larry Fessenden’s directorial efforts always produce great looking films, but the resolution to his movies have always let me down, excluding the brilliant SKIN AND BONES he provided for the NBC television show FEAR ITSELF. Having said that, the guy can act. He’s superb in front of the camera with his portrayal of Willie and I look forward to catching him in more leading roles and less supporting or uncredited cameos. His performance alone is a major reason to purchase the DVD, along with the production crew’s efforts. I can see potential for the character of Willie becoming a fan-favorite for the horror genre. His dim-witted and sleazy demeanor plays off nicely against Monaghan’s slightly straighter character. Within the world McQuaid has created, the situations Arthur and Willie could find themselves getting in and out of are virtually endless. Thus, I recognize a possibility for a successful film franchise.

I SELL THE DEAD is a daring and rare type of film. It’s a period piece. It’s a horror film. It’s a buddy film. It’s a scathing laugh-out-loud comedy about people who steal corpses.

When we first meet unhygienic alcoholic Willie Grimes he is on the verge of being beheaded via the Guillotine. Arthur Blake, Willie’s partner and best friend, is incarcerated in a dungeon and unleashes lengthy confessions of his grave robbing crimes to Father Duffy. Arthur and Willie had been providing corpses to the unscrupulous Biologist, Dr. Vernon Quint. When digging up a corpse for Quint they discover the body is wearing a necklace made of garlic, along with a wooden stake through its heart. When they remove both items they astonishingly discover it’s a vampire. They deliver the vampire’s corpse to Quint and when he removes the stake in its heart it kills him. Willie and Arthur are now free from Dr. Quint’s extortion attempts to get them to rob graves, but they decide to continue digging up the undead because the money is good. This leads to a conflict with The House Of Murphy Gang who have cornered the undead market for years. Their leader, Cornelius Murphy, snorts ground-up human skeletons and once strangled and devoured his pet rabbit just to spite his father. Word gets to all characters involved that there are three undeads stranded on an island not far away. The price on their heads is astronomical, and a violent quest begins to claim the bounty.

The true winning aspect of this feature is Glenn McQuaid’s seemingly flawless script. His ability to combine comedy with horror without letting either of the two genres overtake his story made the film fun from the first to the last frame. My favorite characteristic of the movie is the friendship between Willie and Arthur. These two truly do deserve each other and their banter is some of the wittiest I’ve heard in a horror film in years. It must be noted that this movie was mostly shot between New York’s Staten and Long Islands, yet had a remarkably believable 18th century setting. When considering this, along with the final budget McQuaid, Fessenden and Phok had to work with, I feel it speaks volumes for the talent involved. They have managed to make a modern day metropolis full of known landscapes and landmarks practically unrecognizable.

As of writing this, Scareflix Productions is planning a sequel for 2011. Myself, I’m impatiently counting down the days until I can see what McQuaid has planned for furthering the adventures of the two grave-robbing leads.

BEST OF THE DECADE By FIR’s Editor Roy Frumkes

I chose twenty. Sorry. Couldn’t help myself. But as you’ll see, some come from diverse new media.

JENIFER – Dario Argento paves new ground on cable TV, where you thought filmmakers had already gotten away with just about everything, and on the DVD release he seems genuinely confused that two major cuts were made in his treatise on men’s fatal obsession with female flesh over all rational thought. The two scenes exist on the DVD, and you can splice them in (though with sound problems) via computer.

THE KITE RUNNER – An insightful, novelistic, deftly directed study of cause and effect. Provides an understanding of international rifts and mistrust where compassion and trust are needed.

TAKEN – A great exploiter, partially from the guy who gave us LEON: THE PROFESSIONAL. Unfortunately the girl in the story doesn’t generate much excitement, either as a performer or as an teenage sexpot (a la Natalie Portman), and the final car/boat chase should have been trimmed. But Liam Neeson is marvelous, and the script has some terrific payoffs. As you can see, I have mixed feelings about it, but I’ve had mixed feelings about every film I’ve seen since NOTORIOUS.

RAMBO/ROCKY BALBOA – A profound nostalgic experiences. Stallone triumphs in both, and the third act of RAMBO, CGI’d by STREET TRASH alumnus Scott Coulter, delivers possibly the largest amount of unmitigated, cathartic gore in a non-horror film since THE WILD BUNCH. (One could clump GRAN TORINO into Cinema-Nostalgia as well; it’s not as directly obvious, but certainly resonates with Eastwood’s career. Differences here are that a) Eastwood has not had to make a comeback, which greatly empowers the Stallone films, and b) GRAN TORINO closely emulates THE SHOOTIST, which was John Wayne’s fantasy-persona cinematic-immortality-wish, whereas Eastwood’s would have been HONKYTONK MAN.)

THE MELTDOWN MEMOIRS – I know. I know. It’s my film. Well, if you saw it, I’m sure you would agree. (And please do: on the STREET TRASH double-disc release)

BUSH VS. ZOMBIES – An internet parody of a Bush White House lawn press conference, in which the topic of zombies comes up, and the President expresses great concern about this ever-present threat to humanity.

THE PIANIST – Polanski’s best film. And exactly the right balance of story (someone else’s) and memory (his).

SHREK – It changed everything in the animation biz, as much or more than the introduction of Pixar, because it was a shift in the realm of ideas rather than technology.

DEADWOOD – The profane, addictive cable series took us back to a time in our history when the new West was operating on the level of The Decameron or The Canterbury Tales. I enjoy wondering how Pasolini would have done helming an episode or two…

Episode 10 of The Sopranos, 5/5/01. Directed by Steve Buscemi.

OUR LADY OF THE ASSASSINS – The first feature shot in Hi Def, according to director Barbet Shroeder, who told me that if he hadn’t had the mobility and reduced presence of that camera, without question both he and the crew would have been killed.

(TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE – I have to see this again, but as I recall, it was one of a few films to challenge STREET TRASH’s democratic offensiveness, and like ST, all in the service of good, not necessarily wholesome, entertainment. The DVD has a prime moment restored, which pushes it merrily over the edge, where it belongs.)

PARANOID PARK – The new millennium’s REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE. Important in exactly the same way, and this time with realistic age-casting.

JAR CITY – A noir from Sweden, dripping with mise-en-scene, that tells us much about that country’s damaged psyche.

IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH – The best use of applied research since 1974′s THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123.

THE LIVES OF OTHERS – A beautiful study of political paranoia and the human tragedy in its wake.

AMERICAN DREAMER – The best main-stream experimental film of the decade.

A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE – Compare it to near-miss EASTERN PROMISES to see just how right Cronenberg got this one.

MY VOYAGE TO ITALY – Scorsese’s wonderful and personal 3-hr. documentary enlightens us about Italy and Italian cinema.

BAD EDUCATION – Almodovar is my pick for the best director of the 00s. TALK TO HER equally deserved to be on the list. I tossed a coin. Mark Gross picked the other.

Continue to Guglielmo Anthony’s Choices…

Although he now lives in Hollywood, you just can’t think of a Larry Cohen film without synonymously thinking of New York City. His insurgent style of filmmaking has helped to capture the best and worst of the greatest city in the world to the point where the city itself became an essential character in many of Cohen’s films. Born in Manhattan’s Washington Heights, Cohen got his education in film from the City College of New York, as well as New York University.

Cohen has virtually spent his entire life working in show business. A career that began in the 1950′s as a page for NBC. There he witnessed how teleplays were brought to life by cast and crew alike, most shot live- an aspect of television that’s not been practiced in prime time for decades.

He quickly broke into writing and developing television shows, such as THE DEFENDERS, BRANDED, and ARREST AND TRIAL, to name a few. He conceived THE INVADERS series from the ground up and CBS just recently released the DVD set, for which Cohen contributed new supplemental content.

His first film as director was 1972′s BONE and featured Yaphet Kotto in a brilliant performance in the leading role. Cohen’s screenplay included his trademark penchant for satire. The combination of those factors did earn BONE a momentous following. Cohen secured his spot in the history of the blaxploitation genre a year later with BLACK CAESAR, which ultimately led to its sequel HELL UP IN HARLEM. That same year, Cohen simultaneously shot the film that made him a contender in the independent horror genre with IT’S ALIVE. It was the story of a mutated baby born into an ordinary family and continues to be the one film of Cohen’s that garners him the most recognition. IT’S ALIVE is also well-noted as being the film on which he employed legendary film composer Bernard Herrmann to create the film’s score.

Cohen continued to write, direct and produce numerous noteworthy films, including the two sequels to IT’S ALIVE, GOD TOLD ME TO, Q: THE WINGED SERPENT, MANIAC COP, THE STUFF, I, THE JURY and A RETURN TO SALEM’S LOT.

In 1989, he directed screen superstar Bette Davis in her final film, WICKED STEPMOTHER, which was released as direct-to-video fare due to Davis’ ailing presence in the film. In 2002 and 2004, Cohen possibly reached a whole new and much wider audience to date with the screenplays to PHONE BOOTH and CELLULAR, both released by major studios and directed by established filmmakers.

His last directorial effort was for the MASTERS OF HORROR cable network series, entitled PICK ME UP and stood out as one of the best from both seasons. It was an artist at the top of his game. The story of competing serial killers, and sports Cohen regular Michael Moriarty in the leading role, as well as Cohen’s unmistakable sense of humor.

Cohen’s remarkable power to remain a valuable name in show business for over fifty years is proof enough of his ability and talents to tell a story, both on paper and on the big screen. He is steadily having his body of work rediscovered by new contemporaries of moviegoers and filmmakers. And despite the fact that he feels that his pictures aren’t “horror” films, being included with a mere handful of directors considered to be Masters of Horror isn’t such a bad thing after all.

Bryan Layne: Do you remember any early films that might have influenced your decision to enter the entertainment field?

Larry Cohen: When I was a kid we went to the movies at least twice a week. It was always a double feature, so I usually caught four movies during that week. There was no television back then, just radio programs. I always looked forward to seeing a movie and tried to sit through the feature a second time before the manager threw me out of the theater. I particularly loved The Warner Brothers movies. They were hard-boiled, fast-moving, very swiftly edited and they had high-energy actors like Bogart, Cagney and Edward G. Robinson. They were usually very gritty stories and that’s the kind of movies I tended to like. I also liked the movies with Errol Flynn: ROBIN HOOD, THE SEA HAWK and THEY DIED WITH THEIR BOOTS ON. I liked YANKEE DOODLE DANDY, also with James Cagney. That’s probably one of my favorites. They were all directed by Michael Curtiz. I always found that most of the pictures I enjoyed were directed by Curtiz. He’s not too well-remembered today, but he directed CASABLANCA and won an Oscar for that title. He was the number-one director on the Warner’s lot for a number of years. Those were the kind of films I liked and later on, when I made BLACK CAESAR, it was kind of an homage to the Warner Brothers gangster movies.

B.L.: You got your start writing and developing television programs in the 1960′s. Is there anything about television you prefered back then as opposed to they way the television business is ran today?

L.C.: When I worked in television, you usually only dealt with two people – there was a head of development, and somebody else would be present. When you went in to pitch an idea, you usually only pitched it to two people. Today, when you go to a network, you go into a room and they bring eleven people into that room, all with yellow legal pads. The notes you will receive come from so many different people. Also, very often when you are pitching an idea today, you’re pitching it to people who do not have the authority to buy it. They simply write down their version of what you tell them, then they go down the hall and attempt to retell the story to their bosses in a capsulized version. You can imagine how accurate the similarities between what you pitch and what the studio executive, who is the only one who can buy the property, finally hears. It’s only coincidental, at best. It’s harder to sell something because you’re not pitching ideas to the people who can buy it, and you’re having too many cooks spoil the broth.

B.L.: I’ve always been a big fan of your very first film, BONE. Any memories come up when I mention that title?

L.C.: I did that one because it had a very small cast and a limited number of locations. I saw it as a way to break into the business as a director and take the time to learn my craft. I actually think it’s one of the best pictures I’ve ever made because the script was so good. I was lucky to get a wonderful cast, as well. It was a pleasure to work on that film.

B.L.: How did your blaxploitation films come about?

L.C.: I did two pictures back in the 1970′s and then another one in the 1990′s called ORIGINAL GANGSTERS. It was a reunion picture of all the black exploitation stars. The first one, as I said before, was an homage to the Warner Brothers gangster movies and it was called BLACK CAESAR. It was similar to LITTLE CAESAR, only it had a black cast. I got involved with that one when I was approached by the manager of Sammy Davis, Jr., who was tired of playing stooge to Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra in their pictures. He wanted to do something on his own. He asked me if I had any ideas for Sammy and I suggested redoing LITTLE CAESAR as an all black gangster movie. The gangsters in the Warner Brother films, like Jimmy Cagney and Edward G. Robinson – these were little guys, like Sammy, yet they were able to play tough guys. So, we agreed to do a BLACK CAESAR treatment and they were going to pay me $10,000. I went ahead and wrote that. It wound up that Sammy didn’t have the money to pay me. They claimed he’d gotten in trouble with the IRS and didn’t have the dough anymore. I got stuck with the treatment and later on I ran into Sam Arkoff, who was the head of American International Pictures. He told me that he was looking for something in the genre of SUPER FLY and SHAFT; a black action film. I just happened to have that treatment ready to go. We showed it to him and made a deal right on the spot. That’s how that one all came about, really.

B.L.: Those films were massive hits financially for you and the studios, correct?

L.C.: Yeah, we all made a lot of money on those pictures. I honestly feel that the first one was an extremely good picture and the second one [HELL UP IN HARLEM] was fair. We really only made the second one to kind of cash-in on the first one because it was such a big hit. I think Sam Arkoff thought, “Larry Cohen can handle that film because he directed Yaphet Kotto in BONE and got such a good performance out of him.” As if there is any difference directing a black actor from a white actor – which there isn’t. I went ahead and did the project and BLACK CAESAR was my first box-office hit.

B.L.: Did you learn anything from your earliest work in television that you still apply to filmmaking today?

L.C.: When I first started working it was in live television and it really has become a lost art form. With live television, the writer was around all of the time. He’d be there for the reading with all of the actors and then you’d come to rehearsals, as well as the day of the show. That was all because sometimes you had to write an additional scene or delete some things to account for the running time of the show. The program had to be an hour long and sometimes they’d run too long or short in rehearsals. You’d work like this and an hour or two later the show went on the air across the country. So, you were involved with every phase of the production in live television.

Then, when filmed television came along, the writer became less involved. In the early days I got a chance to work with actors and witness the characters being developed. I also picked up the way the directors were staging those shows. I thought I learned a lot from that, but basically you do it all from your own instinct. I find that to be particularly true if you’ve written the script, because you already have in your mind what the scene is supposed to look like, and when you direct it, you just bring it to life.

I did find out that I was good with actors – that I could talk to the actors. I could relax them and make them feel comfortable on the set. I could make them feel appreciated. I always felt that was the best way to get a great performance; not to try to intimidate them or to throw your authority around, but rather to just make them feel like you are having a wonderful time watching them work. It gets them to relax and they try things that they may not try otherwise. You wind up getting surprisingly good performances.

B.L.: When you started filming the sequel to BLACK CAESAR, HELL UP IN HARLEM, you also started filming IT’S ALIVE simultaneously, correct?

L.C.: Yes. AIP wanted the sequel for immediate release to cash-in on the success of BLACK CAESAR. Fred Williamson, the star, was tied up with projects for six months. I said to him, “What are you guys doing on Saturdays and Sundays?” He agreed to do my film on the weekends. I had the crew shooting IT’S ALIVE already, so I kept them on for Saturdays and Sundays to shoot HELL UP IN HARLEM.

B.L.: How did you find the experience of shooting two films simultaneously?

L.C.: I knew what was going on. Everybody else was kind of dazed. They weren’t exactly sure which picture they were shooting. I had the film editor piecing one picture together for three days a week and then the other picture the remaining days. So, half of the time he wouldn’t know what the hell picture he was going to be working on that day. We all got through it though.

B.L.: Would you film like that again?

L.C.: No. I guess I could do it again, if I had to. You’re only doing it for a limited period of time, maybe four weeks. I think you can do anything for four or five weeks, as long as you realize it’s going to be over. If it was going to be a picture that took six months to shoot, then it would be a different story. Once you’ve begun to shoot the first couple of days on a film that consists of an eighteen or twenty-four day shooting schedule, you start to realize that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. You know it’s going to be over soon.

B.L.: How did the concept for your classic horror film IT’S ALIVE come together?

L.C.: The period in which that film was made, which was the early 1970′s, was a period of big change for family life in America. Teenage kids were growing up wearing their hair long and they were listening to music that was kind of alien to their parents. They were using drugs – they were doing a lot of things that separated them from the normal family life. The parents were starting to feel like they had a stranger living under their roof. I had read in the paper that one father actually shot his son with a shotgun because he felt his kid had turned into a monster. I said, “How about a movie where people in a normal family give birth to a monster as an allegory for what was going on here.”

B.L.: Is IT’S ALIVE the film of yours that gets the most recognition?

L.C.: Yes, it’s well-remembered and it was a big hit. It made a lot of money and it still continues to bring in a great deal of revenue. Then there is the remake that was recently released.

B.L.: Have you seen that version of your original film?

L.C.: It’s a terrible picture. It’s just beyond awful.

B.L.: I take it you were not involved with the remake?

L.C.: Not at all. I did give them a script and they, more or less, ignored what I gave them completely. I did make a lot of money on the deal, so I really can’t complain. I certainly didn’t want to give them their money back, so I’ll just have to live with it. I would advise anybody who likes my film to cross the street and avoid seeing the new enchilada.

B.L.: How about your film GOD TOLD ME TO? That’s a great film. What inspired that story and film?

L.C.: I have no idea. That was one of those films that I just sat down and wrote from scratch. I didn’t really ever know where it was going or what I was going to do next with the story.

B.L.: It is a unique film.

L.C.: Yes, it was very different and special. We used documentary production values to tell a kind of science fiction fantasy story and nobody else did that before us. I guess things like THE X-FILES owe a little bit to that picture when it comes down to the style we used.

B.L.: That film is also well-known for featuring comic Andy Kaufman in a bit role. I have to ask you about his involvement.

L.C.: Andy Kaufman was a performing comic at The Improv in New York and I went in one night to see him. I thought, “This kid is terrific.” I wanted him to be in my movie because I could just tell that someday he was going to be a star. I offered him the role of a cop at a St. Patrick’s Day parade and Andy was anxious to do it. I remember saying to him, “I’ve got to get you a policeman’s uniform, so tell me what size shirt and jacket you wear.” He said, “I don’t know. I wear my father’s old clothes.” I figured he was probably about my size, so we got stuff that would fit me and we directed him down to the St. Patrick’s Day parade on 5th Avenue. We got him dressed as the cop in a bathroom of one of the luncheonettes that was right off the street there. Then we put him into the parade. He was thrown into the ranks of the actual cops that were marching. We just moved him into formation with all of the other officers. They all thought we had permission to be there with all of the cameras. There were four crews covering the parade like a news event. We were actually just winging it and didn’t have any permission to be there at all. Today, with Homeland Security, we’d all be thrown in jail for doing something like that.

Andy only had one line of dialogue at the end of the movie. We didn’t have any microphones or sound recording equipment at the parade. So, there wasn’t any way to record his voice and he just mouthed his line. Later on, when we got into the mix, I did the line myself. That’s actually my voice coming out of him. Andy saw the picture and he said, “How did you get my voice?’ I told him that it wasn’t his voice and he said, “No, I know my own voice when I hear it. Don’t tell me that. That’s me.” I said, “Andy, how could it be you? We didn’t have any microphones.” He said, “Well, I don’t know how you did it, but that’s me.” For years after that, every time we’d run into each other, he’d get into an argument with me again about whether it was him or me that did that line in GOD TOLD ME TO. I did speak with him a few weeks before he died and he was still demanding to know how I got his voice.

B.L.: How often did you film in New York without permits and is that something you would still do today?

L.C.: Not anymore. What has happened is that the whole world has become too litigious. Nowadays, if you do anything, you’re subject to getting sued by somebody. With the things we used to do and get away with – I just wouldn’t try to do those things anymore because there are just too many legalities and too many lawyers running around trying to file a lawsuit against you.

Today, if you shoot something and somebody is standing in the background who is recognizable, there is always the possibility that you are going to get a lawsuit. So, I just don’t do that kind of thing anymore. Maybe I’m just too comfortable now and I don’t want to put myself at risk. In those early days, we could get away with a lot more. There weren’t a lot of lawyers running around, and people just didn’t seem to care as much. We did shoot a lot of stuff without permits, and I usually did it in New York because the city is so teeming with life and character that you only need to hide the camera and point it, because you are guaranteed to see something interesting. It’s a living back lot. You just don’t want to bring in a bunch of professional extras and close down the streets when you film in New York because you don’t get the same feeling of reality as if you shoot on the real streets. I mean real life and real action is going on before you. We got a lot of that for BLACK CAESAR and we got a lot of that for GOD TOLD ME TO, as well as THE AMBULANCE which was probably the last film of mine I shot on the sidewalks of New York City.

B.L.: Do you have problems with the crew shooting in that manner?

L.C.: No, they do what I ask them to do. They get used to it after a couple of days. I’ve had to dispense with a couple of cameramen who didn’t understand the way I work, but then I was able to get somebody else to step right in who went with the flow. After they get used to it, they start to like the way I run a film shoot. At first, I’m sure it scares them because they’re used to getting a shot list before they come to work. I just can’t do that. I want to see the actors performing and then decide where I want to put the cameras.

B.L.: In 1977 you filmed THE PRIVATE FILES OF J. EDGAR HOOVER. What did you think of the man himself and your finished film?

L.C.: Well, that picture tells both sides of the story, much like the film PATTON did years earlier. I tried to show the good side of the man, as well as his bad side. He was certainly far from perfect. He hurt a lot of people and did a lot of damage, but he also did a lot of good. He did a great job of keeping the FBI free from political influence; neither the Republicans nor the Democrats could control the FBI. You didn’t have the kind of scandals with the FBI while he was in control that you’re having nowadays. It seems that every week there’s some other public official who’s being outed. He managed to control that, keep it quiet and keep the government rolling at the same time. He had the whole town of Washington wired, and he knew everything that was going on.

B.L.: To the extent where he was getting away with doing things the FBI just can’t get away with today.

L.C.: Absolutely. The FBI can’t do anything like they did during Hoover’s administration. I don’t know if that’s a good thing, necessarily. I think we’d be better off if the FBI did have a little more leeway to operate. Today everything is in the newspapers, everything is subject to scrutiny and criticism. You’ve got to remember that Hoover was in there for forty-eight years. That’s an amazing amount of time for anybody to stay in power without any real challenge toward his job. If he hadn’t died at the age of seventy-seven, he probably would have lasted another two or three years. As soon as he was gone, what happened? The administration collapsed completely. The attorney general was indicted, key members of the President’s staff were indicted, the President himself had to resign and narrowly escaped being prosecuted. The entire seat of government collapsed with J. Edgar Hoover’s death. So, for example, if he had been around, there probably wouldn’t have been any Watergate. As far as the film goes, it’s one of my films that I’m the most proud of and we just had a great reception to it at The New Beverly Theater in Los Angeles, where we played it about a year ago for three weeks. It was received very well by recent film-goers, so I was happy about that.

B.L.: Do you prefer to shoot on the lot when you deal with major studios?

L.C.: Well, many of my pictures were financed by Warner Brothers, American International or New Line – they were studio pictures, but they weren’t shot on the lot. It was just way too expensive. By the time you build the sets, pay the overhead and all the other things that they lay on you when you shoot on their studio lot, you’re paying for the guards at the gate and everything else like that. It doesn’t make any sense to shoot there if you can get the real set someplace else. I like to shoot on practical locations and real places, rather than go in and construct a set. Many of my movies were financed and approved in advance by the studios. We did RETURN TO SALEM’S LOT for Warner Brother’s, as well as IT’S ALIVE 3: ISLAND OF THE ALIVE. Even ORIGINAL GANGSTERS was done for Orion Studios and we shot the whole thing in Gary, Indiana. So, I’ve done a lot of films for the major studios even though I may make my films with an independent mentality.

B.L.: How do you feel about dealing with the major studios?

L.C.: I’ve never had any problems. We’ve gotten paid profits on quite a few pictures; some not. I’d say at least half of the movies I’ve made have gone into profits and everybody got paid. They are thieves of the worst kind, but if you make a low budget picture the profits do come in. They probably only pay you a fraction of what you should be getting, but you do get paid and you’re making pictures. The nice thing about it is that if the picture is a flop and they don’t make any money, nobody calls you up and asks you to give back the money that you were paid. You get to keep it anyway. Even if the picture is a failure, you keep the money. So, that’s not such a bad deal.

B.L.: How about distribution? Any problems concerning your films in that respect?

L.C.: Oh, yes. Absolutely. THE PRIVATE FILES OF J. EDGAR HOOVER received very, very limited distribution in America because the company was afraid of promoting a picture that was critical of the FBI. They thought they’d have some sort of repercussion – that the Bureau would take it out on them in some way. The movie companies rely upon the Bureau to police the copyrights that are on the beginning of every DVD and VHS cassette. So who’s going to want a dispute with the FBI? We ended up playing that film at The London Film Festival where it had the highest attendance and then they picked it up for distribution in England. It played at a wonderful theater for eight weeks. Eventually, the BBC bought it and we wound up getting a lot of exposure from it being televised. They also didn’t have any axe to grind over there politically. They could care less about the FBI in England. There also weren’t any Democrats who felt offended because of the way we portrayed Kennedy, or Republicans who felt offended because we mistreated Nixon. In America everybody had a vested interest, one way or another, in being negative about the picture because we were not kind to anybody in the film. Everybody got the shaft, but they deserved it.

B.L.: Why explore horror so much in your films?

L.C.: Well, I’ve never made the so-called slasher movie like THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE or titles like that. I try to make suspense movies; thrillers. I don’t consider them to be 100% horror films, or what you’d consider to be the traditional horror film. I like to make my own type of picture. What I like is for people to say, “Hey, I saw a picture the other night on television and I missed the beginning of it, but by the time I watched it for fifteen minutes I knew it had to be a Larry Cohen movie.” That’s the best compliment I could get if somebody can identify one of my movies without seeing the title. Where people would say, “This looks like something Larry Cohen would do.” Q: THE WINGED SERPENT certainly isn’t a horror film. It’s got some of the elements of a horror movie, but it’s much, much more than that to me.

B.L.: Any possibility that you might update a remake Q: THE WINGED SERPENT?

L.C.: I hope not. I don’t think I could make it as good as my first attempt. I wouldn’t doubt that somebody else may want to attempt a remake of that title, but most of these remakes of classic horror films are not very good. They are done just by the numbers or title alone and are usually completed as a botched job. I realize that sometimes you can’t resist the money being offered, but I’m done with that title and don’t really see the point of anyone re-filming that picture.

B.L.: I really dug Q: THE WINGED SERPENT and can’t see the Chrysler Building anymore without thinking of that film.

L.C.: Yeah, I thought the Chrysler Building was a very beautiful structure and that it needed its very own monster movie, much in the way that Kong had The Empire State Building. We shot that way up at the top of the building – about eighty-eight floors above the street. The entire cast and crew was hanging on by our fingernails to keep from getting blown off the building. There were no protective rails and it really was like standing on a platform that was eighty-eight stories high. You could have gone off of it at any second, but nobody did.

B.L.: It has seemed to me that mainstream critics didn’t appreciate some of your films upon their initial release, but came around years later and gave you the praise you deserved. Do you feel that’s accurate and what’s your feelings toward critics in general?

L.C.: Well, we did get very good reviews on THE STUFF from top critics and we got some on THE PRIVATE FILES OF J. EDGAR HOOVER, as well. The reviews in America for J. EDGAR HOOVER were very, very good and were even better in England. If you were to read some of those you’d have thought that they were writing about LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. The problem with all of that is not so much that you get the reviews, but that the movie company is willing to go ahead and take out the advertisements in the newspapers to reproduce the reviews. The review is only effective if the studio goes ahead and promotes it by taking out a big, full-page ad. We got very nice reviews on ORIGINAL GANGSTERS, but the company didn’t want to spend the money to take out those big ads that are necessary to reproduce the reviews and create some buzz on the picture. So, after awhile people are not aware that the picture was well reviewed. I’ve got posters on my walls with all the quotes and if you looked at those you’d think, “Wow, every one of these movies got rave reviews.” And they did, but you wouldn’t know about it because they weren’t carried in the newspapers. They thought that those types of films are not so-called “review pictures.” Gene Siskel gave Q: THE WINGED SERPENT a terrific review. It was one of his favorite films of that year, but that really doesn’t make much of a difference if you don’t promote that fact. Every time I’ve had a movie that’s been properly advertised and promoted it’s turned into a hit. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case for every title.

B.L.: I love the way you handle humor in your films and I was wondering where that dark sense of humor might have come from?

L.C.: Oh, I think that’s one of the trademarks of my films – that balance of humor against suspense. The humor can only be attributed to me, meaning that’s just my own personal sense of humor up there on the screen.

B.L.: You cast legendary superstar Bette Davis in your film WICKED STEPMOTHER during the last years of her life. How was that experience?

L.C.: I always loved Bette Davis and I saw her at a Golden Globes award show one year. She was very crippled and frail. She just looked terrible. After that, I started to see her making the rounds on various talk shows and I realized this poor woman wanted to work more than anything else in the world. She was doing all of these appearances hoping somebody would give her a role in a film. She was getting a lot of dinners and honorary things thrown for her to celebrate her past, but nobody was hiring her. I decided I was going to write a script for her. So, I wrote WICKED STEPMOTHER and we sent it to her. She eventually called me up on the phone and said, “You wrote this just for me, didn’t you? I’m very flattered.” I told her we needed to meet and I went over to her house. She was in terrible condition and my agent thought I was crazy for wanting to do this picture with her. I said, “Yeah, but when she starts talking you realize that it’s Bette Davis. It all comes through and as long as we keep her talking…she’s Bette Davis.” So, I took a chance and, of course, it was a mistake because she really wasn’t well enough to do the picture. It was mainly her dentures that gave out on her; not her body. I guess anybody at any age can have dental problems. When her bridge broke, she couldn’t talk anymore, so that was the end of her being in the film.

B.L.: I love filmmakers who will constantly reuse the same actors in their films and a lot of my favorite horror directors seem to have a “go-to” actor for just that in their films. Yours seems to be Michael Moriarty. How did you two guys wind up working together so many times?

L.C.: I had seen him on Broadway and on television with HOLOCAUST. I also saw him in BANG THE DRUM SLOWLY. I considered him to be a superior actor. One day we were sitting in the same restaurant at adjoining tables and I pointed him out to someone who was with me. I was telling my friend how great an actor I felt he was and Michael overheard all of it. So, he came over and we chatted. I said, “I’ve got a movie that I’m going to be starting in a week or two. Maybe you’d like to be in it.” I sent him over the script to Q: THE WINGED SERPENT and he said he’d love to do it. That was it and we’ve been in business ever since.

B.L.: How about his eccentricities?

L.C.: Well, Michael is a very strange fellow and he has a wonderful sense of humor. I love to be around him, but every once in awhile he’ll go off on a tangent about some fantasy concerning some kind of conspiracy or the problems of American politics. One time he decided he was going to leave America and move to Canada because he couldn’t stand Janet Reno. It was that kind of stupid thing that really may have damaged his career. He quit his role on the hit television show LAW & ORDER, went off to Canada and ran a big ad in Variety.

The problem with Michael is that he’s one of those people who can be very happy when he’s in terrible financial difficulties, but when he becomes successful and has a huge bank account balance, then suddenly he becomes miserable. He has to destroy it all. As long as he was struggling, he was happy. As soon as he became financially stable and he had a success, he’d have to destroy that somehow. He had to only exist in a state of chaos. Some people are like that – especially people in show business. It’s like they have to be in a chaotic situation. They just can’t be comfortable and live a peaceful life. They have to have this churning madness going on and that’s Michael. I wish him the best and we always have a great time working together. He’s wonderful at improvisation, which is what I go for, but there’s no way you can alter his life by using common sense towards him and what he believes. Also, to be quite honest, maybe he’s right and I’m completely wrong about his beliefs, you know? A lot of people think I’m crazy because of the way I go out and make movies – shooting without permits, shooting without schedules, without production managers, without a board and just basically making the entire picture in my head. People react to that by saying, “Well, this guy is crazy.” That’s probably why somebody like Andy Kaufman liked me, because he thought I was just as crazy as he was.

In 1985, filmmaker John McNaughton was busy making documentaries and industrial films, while bicycling prints from place to place for a Chicago-based video equipment company known as MPI.

Near the end of that year, the owners of MPI – Waleed and Malik Alie – gave him the opportunity to direct a feature film. Over a four week shooting schedule, McNaughton delivered on his promise to create a horror film unlike any other made in that genre with a budget just over a hundred thousand dollars.

That film was HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER and it was plagued with release problems and controversy due to the film’s content and subject matter. McNaughton filmed HENRY almost entirely from the point-of-view of its central character: a brutal murderer of mostly young women. He admittedly drew inspiration for HENRY from ABC’s television news magazine 20/20 that featured a piece on real-life serial killer Henry Lee Lucas.

On the right, Buddy G. On the left, FIR's editor. In the middle, John McNaughton. London, late 80s.

While most horror films are universally panned by mainstream critics, HENRY was a different story altogether. It became a revered film among critics and appeared on sseveral top ten lists for movies released that year; a remarkable accomplishment for a low-budget horror picture.

From there he went on to direct play writer/actor Eric Bogosian’s one man show, SEX, DRUGS, ROCK ‘N ROLL and one of my favorite underrated horror films, THE BORROWER. That film was about an alien sentenced to Earth as punishment for crimes committed on his own home planet. When the human body he overtakes to disguise himself disagrees with his alien genetics, he’s constantly on the lookout for victims to decapitate to continue living unnoticed amongst American society.

McNaughton’s continued success caught the eye of Hollywood filmmaking legend, Martin Scorsese, who brought McNaughton on board to direct screenwriter Richard Price’s MAD DOG AND GLORY. The movie stared Robert DeNiro, Uma Thurman and in a very brave decision against typecasting, McNaughton brought in comedic actor Bill Murray to play a vicious gangster. It was Murray’s first successful dramatic role.

My personal favorite film Mr. McNaughton has directed was 1998′s WILD THINGS. Just like HENRY, WILD THINGS was met with similar contention regarding the sex and violent capacity of his homage to the film noir movies of the forties and fifties.

This interview was months in the making. John McNaughton had been suffering from a savage bout of the flu that he just couldn’t seem to shake. While he did get better, when I spoke with him, you could tell by the sound of his voice that he had yet to return to his completely healthy self. Yet, through it all, he was kind enough to carry out the promise he made to me that an interview would be conducted between the two of us.

I like John McNaughton. He’s a very cool guy who doesn’t hold back on his opinions about the absurdity and tribulations of the film industry. He’s funny, polite and charismatic. But, most of all, I like John McNaughton the filmmaker. In my opinion and for my twisted tastes, he’s simply one of the greatest directors in the business.

One of many horror films released by the Weinstein’s genre-based film company, Dimension Extreme, and they’re doing some really great things with these titles–some originally produced, some purchased from foreign markets. These are titles that will never see the darkness of a major cinema in my part of the country and that really is a shame, especially with this particular film coming in from the UK.

James Watkins has a history with these kinds of movies, having written the scripts to MY LITTLE EYE and GONE over the past decade. He’s recently secured a deal to help construct the screenplay for the eagerly anticipated sequel to THE DESCENT, which should allow him even greater exposure here in the United States. In his directorial debut, Watkins has crafted a fine looking horror/revenge picture that takes full advantage of its locations that unfold in natural daylight. The result is vivid, bright colors surrounded by deep wilderness that helps the viewer relate to the main characters’ confusion as they fight for survival from the brutality that is occurring all around them. These are films that were all over the place in the seventies and continued to be rediscovered throughout the eighties by virtue of home video. It’s a premise where the lead characters are terrorized by a group of malevolent strangers. Films like: LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE or DELIVERANCE, where the only element that technically allows it to be categorized in the horror genre is the film’s cruel, realistic violence and the grim possibilities that would arise for everyday people thrown into this predicament in real life. As a general rule, these films typically provide some of the most shocking and despicable villains in the history of moving pictures.

The title EDEN LAKE refers to a gated community that is under construction near a flooded quarry. Jenny and Steve travel to the location for a short holiday, where Steve has plans to propose. Upon arriving, the young couple has one bad encounter after another with Brett and his gang of detestable teenagers. Steve takes a stand against the gang and, as a result, Brett steals his Jeep, wallet and cell phones. While demanding the return of these items, Steve accidentally kills Brett’s vicious pet Rottweiler. Brett proceeds to peer-pressure the remainder of his gang into cruel acts of hostility against the couple, and a determined game of cat-and-mouse develops. The actions of the central characters escalate to the point where violence is the only solution to both parties involved.

The two leads, Kelly Reilly and Michael Fassbender, are talented and instantly likable. Kelly Reilly will undoubtedly be compared to another UK horror heroine, Shauna Macdonald of THE DESCENT, due entirely to being covered head to toe with the remnants of the most disgusting dumpster in Europe. Jack O’ Connell is despicable as Brett and will have viewers cringing every time the film is dedicated to his appearance. I feel that James Watkins is a talent to keep an eye on, both as a writer and a director. His script is virtually flawless and his courageous decision to resolve the film in ways you really don’t expect, helps make this title stand out as unique entertainment born out of a previously used idea. His new talents as a director are flexed to the fullest with his ability to center and sustain the action of the chase from beginning to end.

I remember a time in the UK when movies like this couldn’t even be shown in that country–much less get made. They were called “Video Nasties” and I have to admit that there has never been a greater collaboration of two words to take on a whole new meaning since the creation of language. “Video Nasty” is just fun to say. It’s simple and direct. It’s brilliant and comical. In this country we get unimaginative and lazy descriptions such as “gorenography” or “torture porn,” two sub-genre metaphors that make me literally squirm and grind my teeth every time I hear them articulated. EDEN LAKE is what’s great about the possibilities of direct-to-DVD fare. It’s the best horror title released from the UK last year and, one can only hope, will help revive and preserve the term “Video Nasty.”

Lance Henriksen as Frank Black in the 'X-Files'

The road to securing an interview with actor Lance Henriksen was a painless one, thanks entirely to a man known as J.P. Henraux. J.P. is the hard-working and polite manager for Mr. Henriksen, as well as others. He’s also a film producer (SEE YOU IN SEPTEMBER.). J.P. got word to me that Lance would be perfectly happy to do the interview, but showed a tiny amount of concern because his client liked to do such things from his home during the weekends– a time when most people were out of their office. My attitude from the start was one of excitement for three reasons: I got to speak with Mr. Henriksen, I got to write an article and… I got off my weekly yard-work duties!

I’ve been a huge fan of Lance Henriksen’s since I was twelve years of age, where I discovered him amongst the giant, talented cast of Philip Kaufman’s THE RIGHT STUFF. I’ve been following his career ever since and preparations for the interview took little effort. I simply waited for Saturday to roll around and showed the lady of the house the proper way a dainty little thing like her should hold a massive Bolens twenty-four inch, ethanol-fueled weed whacker. Over my most restrained imitation of R. Lee Ermy’s Sergeant Hartman from FULL METAL JACKET and her tears, I waited for the appointed hour to contact Mr. Henriksen.

Lance Henriksen is a journalist’s paradise. He’s a wild man; not unlike some of the maniacal characters he’s portrayed over the years in his remarkable career. He is filled to the rim with entertaining stories and happily supplies them, one after the other. My experience interviewing him is one that could be best described as braving the rapids of a vicious river on a homemade raft with a slightly effective rudder. In this allegory, my questions would represent the rudder and Mr. Henriksen’s answers, most certainly, represent the raging water. The rudder is giving some effective guidance, but then you realize the rapids are doing a much better job. So, you merely keep a loose hand on the rudder, hang on tight and let the rapids do their magic. In the end, you realize that the journey was a safe one and you feel exhilarated: it’s an experience you won’t soon forget.

Never have I had the opportunity to speak with a personality who has remained essential to mainstream films, as well as genre pictures– which is where I’ve had my greatest writing success. Lance has collaborated with some of the greatest directors in the business, among them: Sidney Lumet, Steven Spielberg, Stuart Gordon, James Cameron, Don Coscarelli, Sam Raimi, and Walter Hill, just to scratch the surface. A street kid from New York City, Lance was such a fan of films that he never abandoned his dream of performing for the cameras. It was a long, hard road that involved triumphing over his inability to read and tons of hard, unrelenting work.

Near the beginning of the month of June, I spoke with the charismatic, warm and humorous actor, and might very well have had one of the greatest experiences to date in my writing career.

Continue to Interview

I was watching my DVD of DISTURBIA and I came to an appalling realization about my daily work routine. My work life is not that dissimilar to a teenager forced into house arrest. This was heart breaking for two simple reasons; I’m way beyond the age of a teenager (physically, at least) and I’m technically free to go about as I wish. Yet, for twelve hours a day, I rarely stray far from my home or computer keyboard. When taking on the role of a questionably employed freelance writer, one seems to have endless free time to workout the wording structure on that next paragraph to make the article a true masterpiece, at least in the author’s mind. That leaves lots of time to throw that tennis ball against the office wall and see if you can catch it without rolling your chair, lots of time to come up with new ways to stick it to telemarketers and, yes… lots of time to stare out your window, from the privacy of your own home, and see what the neighborhood is doing. While I never resorted to a spyglass or a pair of binoculars, I have swiveled my chair around to look out the window and caught my neighbors going about their lives, unbeknownst to them. It is a strangely entertaining way to pass the time, weather you have dedicated your brain to what you are seeing or not.

Lead character Kale (brilliantly portrayed by youngster Shia LaBeouf) loses his father in a horrible car accident. Over the preceding year he develops resentment toward others and a bad attitude in general. Upon punching out his Spanish teacher, Kale is sentenced to house arrest. He goes about his life in his kick-ass house, at first, as usual. Then his mother cancels his X-Box and iTunes account, along with her services as the maid of his unkempt room. Kale’s best friend is on vacation in Hawaii for the beginning of his sentence and with nothing left to entertain his young brain he takes to checking up on his suburban community. There’s the couple across the street from his bedroom window where the husband is banging the family maid. There are the three young siblings that Kale owes retribution for taking advantage of his recent legal predicament. There’s the neighbor behind him, Mr. Turner, which mows his lawn twice a day like clockwork. Then there is the new family directly next door with a young and beautiful daughter, which he hasn’t been able to meet, thanks to his recent legal troubles.

Due to several local news reports about a series of violent murders against women, Kale begins to suspect his neighbor Mr. Robert Turner (the great character actor, David Morse) of the crimes. But, what does a teenager know and it seems that his suspicions are unwarranted. He finally works out a gimmick to meet his lovely new neighbor and his best friend arrives back in town. He gets them involved with the unlawful surveillance of Mr. Turner’s house.

Former sidekick to director John Badham, director D.J. Caruso does a good, yet harmless job of moving the suspense and action of this film. He captures the greatest feelings of living in suburbia that has only been topped by Steven Spielberg. I immediately thought back to the fun scenes of suburban life that were conveyed in the films E.T.: THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL, POLTERGEIST and THE ‘BURBS, all films Mr. Spielberg is a part of, whether directing or producing. I loved the scenes of Kale marking his legal territory with kite string so he could move about his outdoor property without his ankle-alarm going off. It began to look like a guideline for scientists in Antarctica afraid of losing their way in blinding snowstorms. Shia LaBeouf has broken away from the young supporting role with this feature. He proves his likeability and talents by taking on the role of young Kale. David Morse, who should be well on his way to earning an Emmy for his role of a revenge-seeking cop on the hit television show HOUSE, M.D., as expected, is remarkable. He gives off a vibe that is enjoyable, yet creepy. But, is creepiness a customary trait of all serial killers? The whole cast in this feature is well worth mentioning, but I must single out Matt Craven as Kale’s father. I’ve enjoyed the surprise appearance of character actor Craven since his nerve-calming turn as the chemist in JACOB’S LADDER. You’ll wish he appeared a little longer than four minutes. Brand new young starlet Sarah Roemer is one to watch out for; she was simply the perfect choice to play against LaBeouf.

I truly enjoyed all aspects of the special features to this DVD. The commentary with the director and two of the stars was entertaining yet informative, as was the ‘making of’ featurette. David Morse refused to fraternize with anybody from the teenage cast to add to the mystery of his character. Morse also shattered his hand while filming and conducted business as usual for further takes, not stopping due to the pain.

This film is endlessly compared to Hitchcock’s REAR WINDOW (I did my best not to bring it up). I love REAR WINDOW, but the fact of the matter is that this film has way more fun with the audience by never denying it is a rip-off of that classic feature. While at times DISTURBIA seems to be nothing more than just a film slightly above a television movie of the week, I have to admit you could spend your time in more useless ways. Just writing this I’ve already crammed forty grape tomatoes in my mouth and gotten twelve pencils to stick in my ceiling. Alas, it seems more and more like house arrest everyday to me. DISTURBIA is recommended.

Lion’s Gate

The After Dark Horrorfest of 2006 was first brought to my attention by way of the editor of this very publication. He knows that the majority of my published contributions about film fall directly into the horror genre. I’m intrigued by the history of violence in cinema and the effects it has on the film industry and society itself. Plus, to cut to the chase, I just really dig horror films. When he asked me what I knew about this film festival, I disappointingly had to admit that I knew very little, except that it existed. It felt as though I was losing touch with the horror genre bloodline. Roy claimed that it looked quite interesting and I agreed, adding I was game for ANY horror film festival that did NOT feature a movie by Eli Roth.

The After Dark Horrorfest is affiliated with Lion’s Gate Films, who owes their complete success to the horror genre and I believe they know this. When they advertised the Horrorfest, I was promised films that were too disturbing and disgusting for regular theatrical viewing. I immediately figured this was a moneymaking ploy for movies that should be released as straight to video fare. I guessed that Lion’s Gate saw a way to add more money to features that they were afraid to back-up with advertising dollars. After all, you were getting “8 Films To Die For” and they only had to run one advertisement.

When the Horrorfest was released theatrically you got two bonus films, SNOOP DOGG’S HOOD OF HORROR and David Arquette’s recently released THE TRIPPER. The film I was extremely excited to see was Nacho Cerda’s THE ABANDONED, simply because I loved the director’s previous work and was anxious to see what he could do with a larger budget. On this home video release the movie company left THE ABANDONED out because it did receive mediocre financial and critical success. Currently, Lion’s Gate is busy milking it for all they can, thus, leaving it in theaters and having it missing from the boxed-set entirely. It does throw a wrench into their “8 Films To Die For” advertising tagline. The cover art for each title are effective and perhaps the most exciting posters for films released last year. The seven films available are ready to buy as a festival boxed-set or separately by title.

UNREST
This film is probably the reason for the advertising statement that the Horrorfest films are too disturbing for regular release. This title was filmed entirely in an actual hospital morgue and features real-life cadavers in supporting roles. To me, this could help or hinder the success of this film. I don’t think I would pump-up the fact that actual dead people soaked in skin-altering formaldehyde were featured in my movie. Once you learn this, it’s hard to get out of your mind. Especially when you see the decaying, pale film that forms over the dead extra’s eyes. However, this was one of the few films in this group that I totally enjoyed. The cast is quite good for a horror feature and includes Jessica Alba’s prissy little brother.

Destitute medical student Alison Blanchard is forced to live right down the hall from the hospital morgue while she awaits clearance for her financial aid. Her first day in class with teacher Dr. Blackwell goes horribly awry. The rest involves respect for the dead, demonic possession, Aztec theology and supernatural suspense that was quite effective. Irish actor Derrick O’Connor is a true highlight as the head of the gross anatomy class. This feature had potential to be shown by itself as a theatrical release and is worth seeing on its own. I’m looking forward to future horror films from director Ipson.

THE GRAVEDANCERS
Great horror film that falls apart at the end. The cast is excellent, the effects and cinematography are top form, but the resolution just goes to hell. Still, until the ending, the movie, as a horror feature, is quite disturbing and has some true style to it. Looking forward to this director’s future also.

Three friends from college attend a former alumni’s funeral. After the service, they head to a bar for a night of drinking and decide to visit their friend at the graveyard one last time While there, one of the trio finds a card at the base of a headstone that has a strange poem written on it. They sing the poem aloud while dancing upon a few grave plots. The poem is actually a curse that allows the dead to haunt whoever desecrates their graves. The grave sites happen to be where that state’s government buries their undesirable derelicts and criminals, including, a psycho woman who axe-murdered her many husbands, a child pyromaniac, and a sexual degenerate. The disrespect shown to them is dished back in a terrifying showdown between good and evil. This was quite enjoyable, except for the last ten minutes. Istanbul-born actor, Tcheky Karyo, steals the whole film as a paranormal scientist. The midget that stands in for the pyro-loving child for safety reasons was unintentionally comical.

WICKED LITTLE THINGS
An eerie spin on the zombie/ghost story. I was slightly reminded of John Carpenter’s THE FOG and, of course, the zombie films of George A. Romero. Plus, I was told that Tobe Hooper was originally attached to this feature, which could have went either way with him directing. However, I like Mr. Hooper and would love to have seen his take on this title.

Karen Tunny moves her two young daughters to a home she inherited from her recently deceased husband. It’s located in a tiny town in Pennsylvania. The facts she doesn’t know is that back in 1913 a mining accident happened where twenty children (or more) were buried alive due to the uncaring mining foreman and various adults. It was a tragedy that could have been avoided had anybody cared. Now, at night, the dead children emerge to seek revenge on any poor bastard they wonder upon.

This film conveyed a genuine creepy feeling and Ben Cross was excellent as a local who knows exactly what he’s dealing with when it comes to the zombie children. He looks like a degenerate out of the film DELIVERANCE, but at least looks and acts like one capable of having earned a GED.

DARK RIDE
This was a horrible waste of time. This would be the slasher film contribution to the Horrorfest. It was a rip-off of Bob Clark’s BLACK CHRISTMAS and Tobe Hooper’s FUNHOUSE, but that had nothing to do with why I hated it. The actors were deplorable and the characters they portrayed were even worse. The ending will make you want to destroy something. I’m looking forward to this director’s family talking him into taking up dental school.
Five college friends and a female hitchhiker go to an abandoned “Dark Ride” carnival attraction located at Asbury Park in New Jersey. A decade earlier two young girls were murdered there. The psycho that committed the killings escapes the looney bin and returns to his old stomping ground. Every single actor in this film is mind-numbingly annoying, but then again, their characters are written horribly. The writers give the murderer a name like Joshua and give him a semi-effective mask, but he’s NO Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees. The surprise twist at the end is insulting. Terrible.

PENNY DREADFUL
This film had some terrific horror scenes and I loved the possibilities of the premise. It started up with an entertaining opening title sequence that wasn’t topped last year for a horror film. It falls apart right at the half-way point in running time. Great effort, but it doesn’t deliver.

Penny’s parents died in a violent car wreck. She remembers it. She’s developed a phobia of riding in automobiles ever since. Mimi Rogers portrays the shrink who is going to help Penny get over her terrifying anxiety. She takes Penny on a cross-country drive to a cabin in the mountains to get her used to the automobile experience. On the way, the psychologist accidentally slams a hitchhiker, and this guy is unique to say the least. Turns out he is a sadistic serial killer who takes pleasure in mentally torturing his potential victims. The whole movie practically takes place in an automobile. The filmmakers used horror icon Michael Berryman in a uniquely effective way. Great independent attempt, but has many flaws.

THE HAMILTONS
This was a disturbing film that is constantly compared to THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. The resemblance is more from the director’s use of the camera than the actual plot. This film has also been criticized for its surprise ending, which I enjoyed. The twist at the end solidified the actions of the characters for me. I was hating this movie entirely until the revealing conclusion. The film is cheaply shot, uses very little gore and has quick editing that contributed to the creepiness of it all. THE HAMILTONS is quite awful and you’ll either love or hate the ending.

The Hamilton siblings reside in a tiny suburban community located in California. They are trying to contend with the unexpected death of their parents while doing their best to seem like an everyday all-American family. The four Hamilton children are far from normal. The oldest, David, is attempting to step up and be the parental figure to the rest of his family. At night he picks up homosexuals to kill and bury in his basement. The sadistic Wendell enjoys kidnapping young girls and keeping them hostage for days at a time. Wendell has a twin sister and the twins enjoy sexual encounters with each other. The youngest brother, Francis, is doing his best to distance himself from his brothers and sister. He does everything he can to avoid Wendell’s wrath while contemplating turning his family in to the social worker who visits once a week.

REINCARNATION

The last in a trilogy by Japanese filmmaker Shimizu. I’m not big on horror from Japan, so I was destined to dislike this title. It’s a supernatural thriller that had some frightening imagery throughout. Shimizu is responsible for the Americanized version of his Japanese films THE GRUDGE and its sequel, perhaps two of the worst horror films I’ve ever seen. He is capable of keeping my interest with his off-the-wall and eerie visuals. If it’s a Japanese horror film by anyone other than shock expert Takashi Miike, I’m not interested.

A horror director takes his cast and crew to a hotel where a mass murder took place. He intends to make a film about the grisly tragedy. The lead actress is haunted by visions of the murders and the rest of the cast is being killed in the same manner as the original catastrophe. Comparisons to THE SHINING are slightly warranted. Stylish film, but not recommended.

Films and Features:

UNREST
Directed by: Jason Todd Ipson
Produced by: Gary Chun, Jason Todd Ipson and Adam M. Lebovitz

Starring: Corri English, Scot Davis, Joshua Alba, JayJablonski, and Derrick O’ Connor
Running Time: 88 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Special Features: Commentary by director Ipson
Unrest: Behind the scenes featurette

REINCARNATION
Directed by: Takashi Shimizu
Produced by: Takashige Ichise

Starring: Yuka, Karina, Kippei Shiina, Tetta Sugimoto,Shun Oguri
Running Time: 96 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Special Features: The Making Of Reincarnation featurette
Deleted scenes with optional commentary
Memories Of Reincarnation with director
Introduction by director Shimizu

THE GRAVEDANCERS
Directed by: Mike Mendez
Produced by: Al Corley, Lawrence Elmer Fuhrmann, Jr., Bill McCutchen, Eugene Musso and Bart Rosenblatt

Starring: Dominic Purcell, Josie Maran, Clare Kramer, Marcus Thomas, Tcheky Karyo and Megahn Perry
Written by: Brad Keene and Chris Skinner
Cinematography by: David Armstrong
Music by: Joseph Bishara
Running Time: 96 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Special Features: Commentary by director Mendez and music composer Bishara
A Grave Undertaking featurette
Making The Ghosts featurette
Deleted scenes with commentary option
Trailer with commentary option
Storyboards

THE HAMILTONS
Directed by: The Butcher Brothers
Produced by: Mitchell Altieri and Phil Flores

Starring: Cory Knauf, Samuel Child, Joseph McKelheer, Mackenzie Firgens, Rebekah Hoyle and Brittany Daniel
Written by: Adam Weis and The Butcher Brothers
Running Time: 86 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Special Features: Commentary by the directors and actor Cory Knauf
Deleted Scenes
Bloopers

WICKED LITTLE THINGS
Directed by: J.S. Cardone
Produced by: J.S. Cardone, Boaz Davidson, Danny Lerner and David Varod

Starring: Lori Heuring, Scout Taylor-Compton, Chloe Moretz, Ben Cross and Geoffrey Lewis
Written by: Jace Anderson, Adam Gierasch and Ben Nedivi
Running Time: 94 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Special Features: Commentary by director Cardone and actor Lori Heuring

DARK RIDE
Directed by: Craig Singer
Produced by: Daniel Bickel and Chris M. Williams

Starring: Jamie-Lynn DiScala, Patrick Renna, David Clayton Rogers, Alex Solowitz and Andrea Bogart
Written by: Craig Singer and Robert Dean Klein
Running Time: 94 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Special Features: Commentary by director Singer and producerWilliams
Ticket To Ride featurette
Behind The Mask featurette
Deleted Scenes
Storyboards
Theatrical Trailers

PENNY DREADFUL
Directed by: Richard Brandes
Produced by: Richard Brandes, Braxton Pope and Andrew Weiner

Starring: Rachel Miner, Mimi Rogers, Michael Berryman, MickeyJones and Chad Todhunter
Written by: Diane Doniol-Valcroze, Arthur Flam and Richard Barnes
Running Time: 92 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Special Features: Behind The Scenes featurette
A music video