3/31/11

Horrorhound Weekend Indy '11 Wrap-Up: Part 3- The 80's Slasher Panel Kills!

Ted White, Derek McKinnon, Peter Guilano, Wayne Doba, and Bob Elmore
While Friday was filled with getting to Horrorhound and the Laid to Rest 2 Panel, Saturday was the full day and the most important of the Panel discussions I wanted to attend was the 80’s Slasher Panel featuring a varied group of actors spanning across a number of well known and not so well known slasher films.Attending the panel were Bob Elmore (Texas Chainsaw Massacre II), Wayne Doba (The Funhouse), Peter Guilano, (The Prowler), Derek McKinnon (Terror Train) and Ted White (Friday the 13th Part 5). In fact, nearly forgotten, is that the main page of the Horrorhound site featured the '80's Slashers as a main theme (although Dick Warlock and Bill Mosley who are also shown on the poster to the left did not participate on the panel.) While it was (to me) surprisingly not well attended, the panel was extremely interesting, and the stories the actors had to share were well worth passing on. So, it's about time I get to passing them on.

The panel started off with the moderator asking each of the men how he landed the role as the slasher in their respective films. Ted White began his career in 1949 taking both small acting roles and performing as a stunt man. White recalled how he was called in to read for a part, but when offered the part of Jason in Friday the 13th Part 4, he turned it down as it had no lines. However after giving it some thought he reconsidered and, “made it and killed a lot of them.” Derek McKinnon was just hoping for work as an extra before getting a call only days before shooting letting him know he would be facing off against Jamie Lee Curtis in Terror Train. Peter Guilano, who was working as Assistant Director, was thrust into the part of The Prowler after (the very recently dearly departed) Farley Granger proved to be too old to realistically attack the slasher’s prey. You’ve got to like any story that starts off, “I was working as a tap-dancing mime disco act in Miami.” as does Wayne Doba’s. After being hired to portray the mechanical residents of Tobe Hooper’s Funhouse, he was bumped up to the part of the Frankenstein masked killer. Continuing a theme, Bob Elmore is not the name you find listed if you look up Leatherface in TCM II, there you will find it credited to Bill Johnson. However Elmore was the stunt double for Johnson, and Johnson was unable to wield the 70 lbs chainsaw. So for all but a small handful of scenes, Mrs. Sawyer’s baby boy is played by Bob Elmore.

Savini: Douchebag?
Moving on from the strange similarities of their casting, the discussion turned to the co-workers they had in common. Ted White, Peter Guilano, and Bob Elmore all worked with Tom Savini, and as usual opinion on the special effect maestro was mixed. Ted White clearly had some grudge against Savini calling him, “kind of a thief” and mumbling out a story about Tom selling some kind of memorabilia from Friday 4 that did not belong to him. Bob Elmore also seemed reticent to say much calling Savini a “strange person”. Only Peter Guilano had anything positive to say about him recounting a time Savini disguised him up for a lunch with Peter’s wife and The Prowler’s crew, and no one knew who he was at all. While it was a funny story, it wasn’t really a glowing endorsement of the man. White and Guilano also shared director Joe Zito in common as he directed both Friday 4and The Prowler. White continued in a grouchy vein dubbing Zito “not one of my favorite people”. This was a sentiment echoed in Guilano’s story. When filming the scene where The Prowler sneaks up on a girl in a pool, Guilano’s helmet was filling with water. After a couple of failed takes where Peter couldn’t see what he was doing, he swam over to ask Zito’s advice. The director cared not for his Assistant Director/actor’s predicament and kicked him in the helmet telling him to get back to work.

Hooper: Crazy Wild Man?
Tobe Hooper directed both Bob Elmore in Texas Chainsaw II and Wayne Doba in The Funhouse, and some of the best stories of the panel were about the Texan auteur. Doba recounted on how Hooper had a habit to destroying rental cars and how he (like Werner Herzog) liked to shoot off blanks all around the set to keep everyone on edge. Doba also recalled watching Texas Chainsaw Massacre with Hooper and having the director explain how it “was a comedy”. Doba also saw how Hooper saw the bigger picture while he was filming. During a scene where Doba’s slasher kills a girl in an air vent, Hooper yelled down to the actor, “Now, hump on her like a mad dog.” Doba followed the director’s orders, but later found out that Hooper had just filmed it as something to cut in order to satisfy the ratings board. Bob Elmore had less to say about Hooper, but he called Texas Chainsaw Massacre II “the hardest job and worst conditions” of his career. Of Hooper he noted that, “he was crazy when we started and crazier when we finished.”

Spottiswoode: Dick with a Crazy last name?
Derek McKinnon was the lone star on the panel whose movie, Terror Train, didn’t have a connection to any of the other films. His film was intended to be directed by Carol Wickman, who had formally worked as a sound editor, but she passed directing off to her the beau Roger Spottiswoode who was trying to make the leap from being Peckinpah’s editor to feature director. Unfortunately for McKinnon, Spottiswoode was a cruel taskmaster segregating him from cast and crew and emotionally torturing him to get the performance he wanted out of the young actor. (This is all, of course, as McKinnon recounted.) McKinnon said he was more directed by Wickman who was on the set as dialog director and legendary cinematographer John Alcott (Clockwork Orange, The Shining) who told him simply, “Don’t listen to Roger.” Overall, McKinnon gave the impression that his first experience with film might have been scarier than the movie in which he was appearing.

Next up, the panel was asked about their favorite Scream Queen with which they’ve worked. White first assured the crowd that, “I know you want to hear something dirty, but I’m not going to tell you.” before launching into a tale about being called into Lana Turner’s dressing room during the filming of Portrait in Black in which he was doubling star Anthony Quinn. (He also told a rather hilarious, but rather lengthy tale about accidentally crashing Paramount executive Ed White’s suite during this shoot as well.) Derek McKinnon strayed from favorite Scream Queen memory as well, and instead he turned his attention to Terror Train co-star Jamie Lee Curtis. He first politely called working with her, “an experience”, but then after recounting how cold the actress was to him he commented, “if not for horror she wouldn’t be where she is today.” (So if not for horror, no Activia commercials? I might be able to make that deal if not for The Fog.) Peter Guilano again answered the question loosely with an answer about Annette Benning and the filming of Bugsy. Wayne Doba’s remembrance of Funhouse victim Sylvia Miles was “she masturbated me, and I strangled her. Then after we went to her trailer and had Chinese food. “. Bob Elmore once again echoed how horrible bad Texas Chainsaw Massacre II’s filming was and commented on Caroline Williams being “a trooper.”

The group turned their attention from co-stars to kills and their slasher’s best work. Ted White, who I suspect doesn’t kick back and watch Friday the 13th Part 4 on a Saturday afternoon for fun, summed it up by saying, “Well, I just had a bunch of those suckers.” Derek McKinnon cited his dispatching of Hart Bochner’s Doc Manley in a deserted railcar, and he also noted that many of the kills in Terror Train were filmed with the actors having no idea where, or how, he would be coming after them. Once again invoking his scene with Sylvia Miles, Wayne Doba bemoaned that every time he watches the film, but the scene always bothers him. They had planned for Miles’ last gasp to come at the count of three and Miles expires on four. (I actually watched it when I got home to see, and sure enough though I would never have noticed it if it wasn’t pointed out, Miles’ head snaps back just a little too late.) Bob Elmore talked about one of my favorite TCM II scenes. When Leatherface pops up in the back of the pickup and menaces the preppies with this chainsaw, everything was real there. The chainsaw was live, and between the Leatherface mask and the corpse strapped to his front, Elmore could only barely see where he was going. While cutting the top off the yuppies car, he came within inches of actually cutting off a stunt man’s head.

For a final question, the question of ‘80’s horror versus the horror films of today was put before the panel. Ted White seemed not to know exactly what to say finally stating that, “you guys come up and tell me about a lot of them, and they must be pretty good for you to like them.” McKinnon followed that up with bemoaning the graphic nature of today’s horror films saying, “Nothing is left to the imagination.” He also says that he has plans to produce films in the near future and he might have to get with the times. (Personally, I think anyone who shows up anywhere in a smoking jacket like he was wearing is with the right times.) Peter Guilano offered up the platitude, if it pleases you and you enjoy yourself then it’s a great movie” while Wayne Doba admonished movies for “losing the actor” behind CG dominated effects. Bob Elmore, after all his trash talking about Tobe Hooper and TCM II, stated somewhat contrarily “Texas Chainsaw Massacre started this whole thing and is still the best.”

In closing all the actors on stage thanked the audience and Horrorhound fans. This was Bob Elmore’s first convention appearance and he seemed genuinely shocked that anyone would know who he was much less want his autograph, and Ted White, for all his charming grumpiness, seemed genuinely touched when talking about the response he gets from fans. They were certainly an odd looking bunch (in a line-up they kind of looked like rejected incarnations for the lead in an American Doctor Who show), but each one added to the interesting tapestry that is the story of the ‘80’s slasher era. Of all the guests in attendance, I’m really glad to have seen these fellows tell their stories. Now when I go back and watch favorites like TCM II, The Prowler, and Funhouse, I’ll have a new appreciation for them, and believe you me, reviews of Terror Train and Friday 4 are right around the corner.

This brings to an end the bulk of my Horrorhound coverage. I have one more little treat up my sleeve, but you’ll have to wait to find out what that might be. To anyone out there reading who was at Horrorhound Weekend Indy ‘11, no matter if you’re one of my friends or if we never met at all, I want to thank you for a great weekend. It was my second Horrorhound and my first trip to Indy, and I had a great time. So until we meet again, this is the ever lovin’ blue eye’d Bugg signing off, and hopefully I’ll see you again in Cinnci this Fall.

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3/30/11

Horrorhound Weekend Indy '11 Wrap-Up: Part 2- Hitch on the Horrorhound

As all you loyal Lair-ers know, I love me some Alfred Hitchcock, and I'm always on a the look for Hitch-o-belia where ever I go. Just so happens that at Horrorhound I found this little guy at the table of The Clay Guy. I admired his sculptures last time in Cincinnati, but when he was there he didn't have this little guy....

Here he is a little closer up....



I love this little guy, and even more so because mini-Hitch has a sly little smile on his face. If you're ever at any convention that Clay Guy is at definitely check out his stuff. He has statues of all kind of great genre characters for you to chose from, and there's really something for everyone. I also have to give a shout out to my friend Randy for the backdrop for lil' Alfie. It's a strange little tome called Suspense in the Cinema that I thought was very appropriate for the background.

That's going to wrap it up for today, but I have something very special for tomorrow, the final chapter in the Horrorhound Wrap-Up, The 80's Slashers Panel!
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3/29/11

Horrorhound Weekend Indy '11 Wrap-Up: Part 1- The Celebs

Well, I've made it from the wiles of Indianapolis safely back to the Lair, and after a day of sleep and general recovery time, I'm finally ready to reflect on Horrorhound Weekend Indy. First off, let me say it was a great time. I had an absolute blast. I got to hang out with many old friends and make more new ones. There was really too many of you to list, but you know who you are. Let's get down to the real business at hand.

The number one thing I went to Horrorhound to do was meet Joe Bob Briggs, and after summoning up all the courage that I could muster, I finally had a stammer filled meeting with the Drive-In King. I got to talk to him a bit about how he's inspired me, and he signed my copy of Joe Bob Goes to the Drive In.

After meeting Joe Bob and basking in his laid back cool, I walked directly across the room and experienced the total opposite, the mania of Lloyd Kaufman. He's just as wired and nutty as I expected him to be. How he can keep up that kind of energy on the floor all day is beyond me.

After Lloyd, it was time to check out Graydon Clark's table. Mr. Clark was an incredibly nice fellow, and having read my review of his movie Joysticks, insisted that we get a picture in front of the poster.

Friday I had already sat in on the Laid to Rest II panel, but that didn't prepare me for meeting up with Chromeskull himself Nick Principe later that night.

The next day in a more, shall we say sober light, I met up with Laid to Rest director Robert Hall. Really nice dude, and I had a good time talking shared names with him.

With time running out on Sunday, I still had a couple of signatures to get. While I wisely skipped the $50 Captain Spalding photo op (I've seen some of the results and it was really underwhelming.), I did want to meet Sid Haig. I got to ask him about working with Filipino director Eddie Romero, and he told me a great story about The Woman Hunt director. He really seemed to light up at the prospect of not having to talk about Devil's Rejects.
Last but certainly not least, I got to meet the ravishing Catriona MacColl. Not only was she a lovely person to talk to, she's still as beautiful as when she starred in Lucio's flicks.
I also got a chance to meet Andrew Robinson, who was super great, and talk Deep Space Nine with him, but I missed out on getting a picture taken with him as my camera wasn't with me. The only disappointment to me was Barbara Steele who was charging forty bucks just to meet her with a picture as an extra charge. Overall she looked pretty disinterested with the proceedings. I ended up passing on her to meet Robinson and MacColl instead. I've still got plenty more of The Horrorhound Wrap-Up to come for the next few days with a special "little" Hitch on the Hump tomorrow and a recap of events from the 80's Slasher Panel on Thursday. So slasher fans stay tuned. Until then, here's a few of the costumes I caught on camera this weekend, and then highlights from the Don Post mask exhibit.






And here's a look at some of the items on display in the Mask room to celebrate Don Post studios.










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3/26/11

Chromeskull: Laid to Rest II: The Horrorhound Weekend Report

Hello all! Day One of Horrorhound Weekend is already behind me, and I already have things to report. Apart from getting to meet up with some folks (including Emily from The Deadly Doll’s House, The NOTLP crew, the Bloody Good Horror folks, Grey from The Dark Hours Podcast, Mike from Cadaver Lab, and many more), I also got a chance to take in one of the day’s panels for Laid to Rest II. With director Robert Hall, Chromeskull Nick Principe, and Laid to Rest II star Angela Armani in attendance, the assembled crowd was given a first look at the teaser trailer as well as a couple of scenes.

Laid to Rest II, shot in 19 days down from the original’s 24, picks up right where the action of Laid to Rest left off. If anyone remembers what state the sequel’s titular character was in at the end of the last movie, you might imagine that Chromeskull is feeling pretty put out about it. Getting back to his killing weight and to continue his reign of terror, Laid to Rest II promises to clear up some of Chromeskull’s origins (it appears he’s working for some kind of secret organization), but leave the viewer with more questions and more thoroughly satisfying and gory kills.

Robert Hall and Nick Principe
Principe How many gory kills? Nick Principe stated there were three times more deaths than the first film, and Hall echoed that sentiment stating that Chromeskull: Laid to Rest II is “chock full of f**king violence”.  From the kill I got to see featuring a girl getting half her face sliced off with Chromeskull‘s, they’re just as gory as last time. That kill by the way was what Nick Principe referred to as his third favorite, and if that came in third then I can’t wait to see what one and two look like.

After showing off the footage, the trio of guests took questions from the audience that yielded a ton of great information. Hall stated that Laid to Rest was never meant to be sequelized , but after the strong reaction to the first film, they decided to go into production. When asked if he planned of making Laid to Rest a franchise, Hall mused as to how many films qualified as a franchise and added,  “when I send the fucker to space, is it a franchise?” To approach the second film, the writers looked into the case of a man who had his whole face ripped off by a bear and reconstructed, and consulted several plastic surgeons in order to bring some degree of realism to the film. Also, some of the logic problems that plagued Laid to Rest, namely lack of cops and cell phones, are portrayed more realistically. That means there are plenty of cops, and according to Nick Principe and Robert Hall, there is plenty of cop killing. I don’t know what it says about a Horrorhound crowd, but this got the second biggest cheer, second only to the cheer after the death scene.

Everything is bigger this time around for Chromeskull and Laid to Rest. The cast, which now boast the talents of both Brian Austin Green and adult actress Angela Armani, has grown quite a bit from the first outing. Green appears to play someone connected to the organization which thinks it controls Chromedome, and Armani plays a detective on the killers trail. However, I do have sad news as Armani stated that the clothes “stay on”.  As far as the sequel’s titular killer, while he will be more explored as a character, don’t expect any answers. As Principe stated, “evil is just f**king evil”, and that notion neatly sums up Chromeskull.

As for Robert Hall, when asked about Lightning Bug, he said he would be quite interested in returning to a drama, but he imagined it would still retain a darker tone. Principe talked a bit abut seeing Lightning Bug before he met Hall and how the film captured the feeling that he had as a young man moving from the East Coast to Hollywood to gamble on a career in the movies. Hall also briefly mentioned filming Lightning Bug in his actual hometown (the thought of which made him shutter) and encouraged independent filmmakers to set their own first films in their respective backyards. Hall plans on making a third Laid to Rest film, but he also mentioned one of his other scripts, Old Scratch, which concerns a musician who plays his own records backwards only to find hidden messages to himself. From the way Hall described it, it sounded like Memento meets Metal, and I can’t see how anyone could pass that up.

Well that about wraps it up for day one and my coverage of the Laid to Rest panel. I have to admit after poking fun of Laid to Rest and liking Lightning Bug, I’m more than a little interested in what Chromeskull: Laid to Rest II has in store for us. The film should make its debut in September after bouncing around the horror convention circuit a little later this year. It sure looks to me like Robert Hall has an interesting eye, and there just might be something to his tricked out slasher after all. I’ll see you folks tomorrow (or Monday lets be honest) with more Horrorhound goodies, and remember, because it bears repeating, “evil is just f**king evil”,
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3/24/11

Get to Know Your Horrorhound Weekend Indianapolis 2011 Attendees

As I wasn’t able to get around to as many of the Horrorhound Weekend attendees as I wanted to, I thought I would compile this little primer out of the Lair’s archives for myself and anyone else that's going to be in attendance.

I guess I’ll start off with top billed Corey Feldman. While I recall liking some of the two Coreys movies when I was a lad, they haven't really stayed with me, and as one of the few horror fans who could care less about The Lost Boys, Feldman doesn't really excite me much. He was in Gremlins though, and here's a review of the film from a previous Ladies Night that never mentions Corey at all.

Now, let's move on to people I actually look forward to seeing if not getting a chance to meet.

First off, Barbara Steele. I'm totally stoked she's going to be in attendance, and I am definitely going to meet her. I don't have anything brilliant to take to have her sign so I might try and find something once I am there. I hold Ms. Steele in the highest regard, and I have fond memories of old favorites like Black Sunday and She Beast as well as more recent watches like The Horrible Doctor Hichock,

Then there's Sid Haig. Ask ask of my friends and they'll tell you that I love this guy. Plus he worked with Eddie Romero, and I'm interested to ask him about any recollections of The Woman Hunt. (review is about halfway down the page). He's also appearing for a special ($50) photo op in his Captain Spalding makeup. It's kind of going to be hard to pass that up, and well, I might not.

Andrew Robinson,sheesh. You're talking about a guy who co-starred with Pinhead and Dirty Harry. Robinson looks like a creep naturally so I expect to see him and be creeped out. But he did also play Garick on Deep Space Nine where he co-starred with.....

Jeffery Combs who played the serially cloned character Weyoun..... and yes, I am a dork on many levels. Maybe I can reinstate some horror cred with these reviews of Castle Freak and The House on Haunted Hill. (Though probably not because it is shameful I haven't wrote a word about Reanimator and that Castle Freak review is ancient and quite cringe-worthy.)

You know what thrills me? An appearance by

'cause he's a badass. He was a highlight in Two Evil Eyes, one of the best parts of The Fog (a movie that is awesome to begin with), and of course Night of the Creeps. Mr. Atkins is appearing at this convention as part of a Halloween III: Season of the Witch reunion along with a couple of his costars including Dick Warlock (who also played Micheal Myers in Halloween II). I'm not a big fan of Myers, but I am a fan of anyone with the last name Warlock (and it has nothing to do with Charlie Sheen.).

There's also going to be a House by the Cemetery reunion including the lovely...
and the very annoying...

....who in my mind will talk with the same shrill overdubbed voice even as an adult. I hate to blame the guy for someone else's voice, but.... yeah, I'm gonna.

Just a couple of days back  I was talking about....

..and his film Lightning Bug. He's also bringing along his buddy Chromeskull. I wonder how many runs to AutoZone will have to be made for polish ?

Also I understand Tim Burton's ex will be on hand.

I haven't reviewed anything she's been in, but I do look forward to seeing her in person.

Anyhow, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. I love it. Not as much as the first one, but it is pretty close. That's one reason I'll be bringing along my own stock of Shiner Bock, the un-Official beer of TCM2 (seriously it's everywhere in that film), as my adult libation of choice. I met Bill "Chop Top" Mosley last time..

,This time Bob Elmore, who played Leatherface unbilled in several TCM2 scenes, will be on hand. I will also be on hand to bitch about the good old days when you could tell someone you were a fan of Saw and it didn't  conjure images of a little puppet on a trike. But I digress..

Last week I wrote about Peter Giuliano who played the prowler in The Prowler. I hope he has on a all black WWI outfit so I know it's him.
.
A pair of supporting actresses from Susperia are going to be there, but....

...was in Cut and Run which in my eyes makes her that extra bit of awesome.

Speaking of being awesome, let's speak about...

Not only does this bring the count to three Devil's Rejects alums, but it also means that Black Santa is making the scene. Ok, seriously, Foree was in Dawn of the Dead which topped my list of favorite sequels a couple of years back.

The next to last one here is a late choice that just got added as far as I call tell...

That's right! Dan Hicks! One of my favorite parts of Intruder, a film I didn't like so much, but I really wanted to like more. One of the main reasons is Dan Hicks who also has memorable little roles in Sam Raimi's Evil Dead II and Darkman.

Just the other day I talked about Joysticks and how much I can't wait to get my copy of Black Shampoo signed by...

But the Numero One-o person that I am going to Indy to meet, it has to be...


I already have my copy of Joe Bob Goes to the Drive In laid out and ready to go. As far as writing about movies, I doubt there has been a bigger influence on my writing than Joe... Mr. Briggs....(no need to worry about what I'm going to call him I likely will be struck dumb.)

Well that's a little look into who's going to be there celebrity-wise. There's tons more, but either I haven't seen anything they were in or they're Boondock Saints. I'll probably not post anything while I'm at the convention so join me back here Monday for my recap of the weekend!

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