Romance of Mystery

My, my, is it September already, children? Time sure does fly, as the saying goes. But I do not mourn the passing of the summer. Quite the contrary, I am pumped for the fall season to begin as soon as possible. The air is already starting to cool down here and the wind has begun to pick up, its chilled breath bringing back memories of autumns past. And when my mind waxes all-nostalgic-like, I think back to afternoons spent with Grandfather Creepy.
Grandfather Creepy is the man whom you all can blame partly for my current obsession with all things... well, creepy. It was in his dusty hearse that we patrolled the streets of the innocent village, eagerly pillaging any paperback book store we came across and stopping in the local diner for a healthy heaping of burgers and fries. His guiding influence took me on the path to discover new names in horror that I had yet to come across in my burgeoning genre-loving days. We also delighted in staying up at all hours of the night, watching old and familiar faces like Karloff and Price with shared admiration.
So when I approached my grandfather in the crumbling abbey that he calls home with the proposition to share a Demented Dialogues session with him, he nearly stirred straight out of his coffin, startling the bats that had been napping in his hair in the process. What follows is a transcription of the exchange that took place by the flickering glow of a candle in the windswept eastern tower of the castle. It was great digging into the twisted mind that was responsible for influencing my own warped brain. I hope that you'll enjoy our little chat just as much. So stick around, kiddies. Tuck your cloaks tightly (but not too tightly!) under those slavering jaws of yours and prepare yourselves for this morbid morsel I've concocted for you that truly is from beyond depraved...
*The above photo was the closest one we could dig up that depicts Grandfather Creepy's actual features. All the ace photographers that we sent to his home either suffered fatal heart attacks or disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
Q: We�ll start with a pretty general question to get things going. In your own words, what is it about horror that continually draws and attracts people despite its morbid content?
The morbidity itself is the attraction. Society as a whole lives by the laws and moral codes of the land (heh heh, don�t we?) Watching graphic episodes of hanging, skewering, beheading etc, allow the viewer to visit those areas where law abiding folks don�t go.
Q: Now that we�ve got you warmed up, let�s move on to our first topic: film. What were some of the very first fright flicks that you saw and what impact did they have on you?
The 1930�s Universal classics were my introduction to the genre. From enjoying the best (Dracula, Frankenstein), I was drawn into the weekly ritual of the late night Saturday night horror show on television, and I watched them all, good and bad.
Q: If you had to pick, who (or what!) would be your favorite film monster of all time from the Golden Age of Horror (1920s-1950s)?
Bela Lugosi�s Dracula!

Q: If you would please, summarize for us how you believe Universal Studios contributed and impacted the horror film genre.
It appears to me that Universal was the only major American studio to produce horror movies, during the 1920�s to 1950�s. Universal started the ball rolling by generating a fan base that eventually caught the attention of other studios. Without Universal�s brave expedition into horror movies, the culture may have been restricted to books and radio for decades longer.
Q: Were there any notable movies outside of the Universal Horror circle that you remember fondly?
The theaters were loaded with fine movies in many genres: adventure; comedy; romance; animated cartoon features; westerns and of course, the long list of war pictures that bloomed during WW2. One of my favorites from the late 30�s was "It Happened One Night" with Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert.

Q: Speaking of Universal, let�s discuss one of the hot topics concerning two of their leading actors. Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. Do you prefer one over the other? What is it about each of them that attracts you to their work?
A long, in depth study of both of these fine actors would fail to produce an absolute answer to this one! A response can only be made based upon personal preference, and by that basis, I must choose Bela Lugosi as my favorite. Having responded in favor of Lugosi, I must immediately provide my admiration for Boris Karloff, a quiet spoken gentleman in real life who brought the very best in professionalism to every role he played, even to his narration of "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas!" Admittedly, other roles played by Lugosi did not match his performance as Dracula, but to me, his rendition of the Master was enough to weight my ballot for him.

Q: Some horror fans of today may look back at these older films and shrug them off as being hokey and cheesy. In your belief, is this part of their charm? Why do you think we should appreciate these movies?
When I am watching an old favorite, I don�t dwell on the technical properties at all. I let myself be entertained by the film, even if the music is scratchy, the film grainy, actor�s movements slightly exaggerated, and hardly any movement of the camera during a scene. I don't consider those very small imperfections to measure against my enjoyment of the work.
Q: What are some of your favorite horror films from the modern era (1960s-present)?
The modern films are not hampered by the strict censorship as were films of the 30�s and 40�s. In the earlier films, there was no letter rating system, the censors simply cut any offensive (in their eyes) material out completely. This has allowed the horror movies to become so much more graphic. I am not a huge fan of most of the slash and chain saw movies, but I did thoroughly enjoy the entire "Halloween" series, and Nicholson�s version of "The Shining" is one of my favorites. I cannot leave this question without recognizing Alfred Hitchcock�s "Psycho" and "The Birds."


Q: We all know that there are horror films out there that are completely terrible in every aspect, but for some reason we can�t help but love them. What are some of your so-bad-they�re-good movies?
I am going to assume that you are asking about bad as in content, rather than in technique. In that category I would nominate "Night of the Living Dead" and it�s sequel "Dawn of the Dead." There is precious little good that can be said about legions of "living" dead folks who eat human flesh, flowing through the movie in seemingly unstoppable waves. It is gory enough for the most seasoned horror maven when the live folks start getting chunks of flesh ripped from their bodies by the zombies, but when retaliation starts and the walking corpses are getting slashed, bashed and/or crushed, the screen really becomes grisly. Sooo� even though these films are highly gaggable, I love to watch them!


Q: Although not strictly limited to this, today�s films seem to be mainly geared toward the teenage crowd and amp up the violence and sexual content within them. What are your thoughts on this? Do you believe that horror films have always been like this in some form or another?
I wouldn�t say so. There was virtually no sexual contact or even overtures in the original Universal pictures. The censors would not allow any kissing, neck biting, or rising out of coffins in the films, so it is a given that they would go ballistic if they discovered some good old he-ing and she-ing. Sex has been around in books for quite some time. The magazines started talking about it around the 60�s, and started publishing nudity in photos in the 70�s. If I recall correctly, movies followed the magazines by a year or two. The violence and sexual content in contemporary movies can be a very good thing if brought along as part of the script, and not just thrown in with no apparent purpose.
Q: On to our next topic: horror in literature. What are some of the books and short stories you remember reading as a young monster boy?
We had a grade school teacher who (bless her soul) would read Edgar Allan Poe stories aloud to the class. I have always felt that those readings were what steered me towards horror stories. I also consider myself very fortunate to have been around when EC Comics made their debut, and we could purchase every new issue at the local drug store magazine rack, until the brand was outlawed!

Q: Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft are usually looked upon as two of the earliest masters of the genre. Like Lugosi and Karloff, do you have a keener fondness for one over the other? What are the strengths of both writers?
I have to say that I am more impressed with Poe, only because I am more familiar with Poe. I must admit that I have a lot of Lovecraft to read yet, and I have that chore on my "to do" list, my "bucket" list and my "just shut up and do it" list!

Q: When it comes to horror in modern fiction, the name the public generally thinks of is Stephen King. What are your thoughts on this macabre scribe? Has his writing improved, declined, or stayed consistent over the years in your opinion? Why do you suppose he is revered so much?
Anyone who has consistently read King must realize what a creative genius he is. King does not write down to us, he writes as one of us. His dialogue fits his characters perfectly and keeps the reader turning pages for more. I feel that "Carrie" was one of his better stories, so I will opine that his writing has stayed consistent over the years. I must say here that some of his stories are not as good as others, but on the whole, I rush to buy any new King effort as soon as it is released.

Q: Outside of King, who are some of your other favorite practitioners in fearsome fiction? Any recommendations?
John Saul and Dean R. Koontz. If Stephen King had not come along, Dean Koontz would have been the current king of macabre.

Q: One of the mediums that seems to be forgotten in today�s horror world is the thrilling radio programs of yesteryear. What was the experience like hearing these lurid terror tales when they were first broadcast?
I must admit that I did not have a wide exposure to the radio horror shows. They typically aired just about the nightly bed time, and were not loud enough to carry to the bedroom. The greatest impression I have of those times is that wonderful squeaking door that welcomed listeners to the "Inner Sanctum!" That sound, and the short verbal intro was enough to unleash mind pictures of moldy old buildings peopled by dark fiends of every sort.
Q: Sound effects and suggestion were commonly used in these audio dramas. Do you feel that the images projected by your imagination while listening to these programs surpassed what you could see on the silver screen?
I believe that personal imagination provides a more vivid picture of the story than what is presented on the screen. A motion picture shows us what a director wishes us to see. Imagination allows us to create a scene built from personal observation and memories. I was much younger when the horror programs were aired on radio, and my life�s experiences were much more limited when compared to my stock of memories with which I can fuel my imagination today. I can safely say that I enjoy the present day tapes of old horror shows more at this time than I would have in the past.

Q: Going along with the subject of old time radio, did you ever read any of the pulp magazines that radio programs usually drew inspiration from?
When I was growing up in the tail end of radio�s hey day, my literary interests was purely in comic books along with an occasional hardcover "ghost story" book from the library. I didn�t discover pulp magazines until much later in life. I found that I enjoy pulp fiction for the same reason I enjoy radio; it leaves me room to activate my imagination in forming a picture of what is happening.
Q: If you could have your own horror/mystery radio show, what would you name it, what would your host introduction be, and what type of material would you feature?
This is an entirely new line of thought for me, and it is a highly attractive premise! I would love to adapt horror and haunting works of contemporary writers to radio programs. These stories would run the gamut from grave robbing and mortuary misconduct to homes pestered by demons or poltergeists. Each tale would be introduced by the admitting attendant at the hugely intimidating insane asylum, who would have a threatening stature with a very soft, refined voice (possibly Nick Nolte?). The name of the show might be "Ward 13."

Q: Horror seems to be everywhere you look these days, even on television. What do you remember as being some of the first horror programs you saw that debuted on the idiot box?
Two programs that come to mind are "The Twilight Zone" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." They were both excellent shows that I made a real effort to be by the TV set when it was time for them to show.


Q: Do you have any mind-scarring, eerie episodes that you can recall?
I consider myself a pretty level headed person, and I would say that I am more "thrilled" by a horror movie, than "frightened" by one. There is one instance, however, where a scene gave me the willies for quite some time. It was the bathtub drowning scene in the Simone Signoret movie "Les Diaboliques." For a long time, that pale, dead face would float into my range of vision during quiet moments!

Q: We are controlling your television set. There is nothing you can do. Any last words?
Let the party begin! I know without a doubt that I will be regally entertained until "control of my television is returned."
Q: Do you think there are any advantages that horror stories on television have over horror films at the theater?
Only the apparent advantage of being in the comfort of your own home. In my mind, comparing TV horror with movie horror is like comparing vampires to mummies. TV horror anthologies are richer in overall content, as from necessity they must provide a new production for each show, on a very strict and demanding time line. Because of the sheer number of smaller productions, TV provides a more varied total experience. Movies, on the other hand, although working on a self imposed time schedule, do have the luxury of much more time to attend to details in the one production.
Q: Now on to a subject you�re very familiar with: the EC Comics of the 1950s. You read the originals as a boy did you not?
This question caused me to really sift back through the memory bank. As I recall, EC Comics were not available at the local drug store in my home town where I usually purchased my comics. I would spend considerable vacation time at my liberal Grandmother�s home, and this is where I would find the EC Comics, on newsstands in Springfield, Massachusetts. I think my Grandmother bought issues that became available while I wasn�t staying there, and had them waiting for me on my next visit. I believe this magazine only ran for 2 or 3 years, then was taken off the market. The only reason that reached my young ears was that it was too "gory." Back in those days, we didn�t know about "graphic."


Q: Did you ever read any of the horror comics from the other publishing companies? Were any of them as good as EC�s titles? How was EC alike or different from them?
The only other comic that came close to horror was the "Golden Classics" that presented their adaptations of stories from Poe, Stevenson and that direction. As far as toe curling, hair straightening horror, I can�t recall any competition.
Q: Black humor was prevalent in EC titles such as Tales from the Crypt and The Vault Of Horror. Did you enjoy this or was it a distraction from the spooky stories?
The black humor was an essential element in EC stories. I think without this treatment, the tales would have appeared to be sadistic and overly gruesome. The touch of humor tempered the stories into an experience that horror lovers could enjoy. The horrible, yet humorous introductions by The Old Witch and The Cryptkeeper took the edge off any nightmarish quality of the yarn and invited the reader to have a good time working through the story.

Q: EC had a line of extremely talented artists working for them during the company�s short lifespan. Do you have any particular favorites or ones that stick out in your mind?
I wouldn�t single out any of the artists as being my favorite. They all had wonderful talent, although I would be very reluctant to ask any of them what, or who, they used for models!
Q: Are there any single stories that you can gleefully recall as having tickled your depraved fancy?
One story stands out, a tale about a funeral director who takes pleasure in taking liberties with his clients when preparing them for burial. In one case, the subject was a large woman on whom the mortician discovered pimples, apparently from an over active sweet tooth. The nefarious embalmer decided to cater to her habit by replacing her brain with a very fancy birthday style cake. Of course, he was the only person who knew about this after he replaced the crown of her skull. The story ends with the mortician strapped to his embalming table with his former clients coming out of the shadows with knives, axes, machetes, corkscrews and other implements, ready to send him off, as nicely as he has done to others in the past.

Q: Did you ever have any aspirations to go into the comics industry at any point in time after reading these horror rags?
I can�t say that I did. I was satisfied often just by going to the EC feast for another huge helping (with all the trimmings!).
Q: Controversy later surrounded horror comics due to their gruesome content and were blamed for causing juvenile delinquency. Having lived during that actual time, what was experiencing that like? Have your feelings changed over the years?
I was very disappointed when the publication of EC was terminated. I considered EC Comics as entertainment then, as I still do now. I read and watched many Superman episodes, yet never attempted to jump from a high building and fly. Reading EC stories never compelled me to rob graves or dismember neighbors. These are entertainments, folks!

Pheew that was a lot of ground we covered. Now on to some fun (and deeply probing) questions.
Q: Have you ever spent a night in a haunted graveyard or a decrepit castle in the mountains?
Not as such. I have spent sunny afternoons in some decrepit cemeteries, and I have had some experiences with haunted places.
Q: Your tales of having to fight off dinosaurs and Indian tribes on your way to school as a child are very well-known amongst your clan. As having also worked on the railroad for many years, have you encountered any tall tales, legends, or folk tales of the darker variety during your time there?
By its nature, the railroad can be a very dangerous place to work, and it was even more so as we look back in time. From horrible wrecks and other tragic events, there are a great number of haunted spots on the properties. For almost a year, at a point where my train had to wait for another train, in the wee early hours, our crew was bothered by a very playful spook. From talking with other crews that worked in the area, we found that over 40 men had had some kind of experience with this ghost.

Q: How is the body snatching business working out for you?
Not very well! The laboratories that formerly purchased product from me are getting their stolen bodies much cheaper from China! The county is delaying the issue of my business license renewal. They claim my business is a mining operation!
Q: Using mathematical formulas, solve the following problem: if Dracula is on a train headed west traveling at 100 mph and the Wolf Man is on a train headed east at 120 mph, at approximately what time would Frankenstein�s monster and King Kong need to duke it out in order to destroy each train at the same time?
Train A (X) 100 divided by Pi squared + Train B (X) 120 plus 50 states, over the square root of the speed of light (X) 4+867-3/5 = xzb(X)l4hours,27 minutes and 36 seconds, which comes to 8 PM, the start of prime time!

Q: According to the rumor-mongering magazines that I voraciously read while I�m in the bathroom, you have a film that is in the planning and development stages. Can you give us a little sneak peek into it story- and casting-wise?
I am a little concerned that word of this project has leaked out. The employee beatings will have to continue until the leaking is stopped. The working title is "The Phantom Of The Kitchen." There is an evil tenor that lives in the caverns deep below a kitchen. One fateful evening, just at the end of dinner service, the evil tenor captures the beautiful soprano chef�s apprentice and carries her to the caverns. The evil tenor constantly wears a George Bush mask, and one day as he is playing the organ and singing, the soprano sneaks up behind him and tears off the mask to reveal��.Cary Grant! The only lukewarm commitment we have so far is we may have Cyndi Lauper to play the soprano. Just off the wire!! We might have the Harlem Globe Trotters to play the waiters!


Q: How much wood can a woodchuck chuck?
There is a companion question that has been making the rounds of the continental papers. How much would Natalie Wood upchuck if Natalie Wood would up chuck? A woodchuck would chuck a chuck wagon full of wood, if he could. Natalie Wood would up chuck 5 pounds into a 3 pound bag. That is called a blivet in the business.
Q: Those same rumor-mags I told you about inform me that you�re friends with the Hunchback of Notre Dame himself. How is he doing these days and can I get an autograph?
Quasimodo is a great success at a constipation clinic in Bayonne, New Jersey. He scares the crap out of people! I�ll have him wash his hands and send you an autographed photo of himself. He signs them with a piece of bell rope dipped in victim�s blood.

Q: Do you have any last words for our readers regarding the horror genre or other related insanity?
The most fitting closing that I can think of comes from a macabre tombstone that I saw somewhere... "Rest In Pieces."

And off goes Grandfather Creepy, eager as a beaver to get to the Halloween sale at Michael's in time before all the vultures show up! I'd like to thank his Creepiness for all his time in conducting another rousing episode of Demented Dialogues. If you're interested in taking part in a future installment of DD, be sure to email me at joemonster24 [at] yahoo [dot] com. And until next time, may your hearts keep the horror alive.

Labels: Demented Dialogues, Grandfather Creepy, Interview

Some of you may know her as Simon, and some of you probably know her as that ol' sunnuvagun, but no matter what name or stolen identity she may go by, Ripley McCoy, the resident writer and cinemaniac of the blog Four Of Them has one of the most distinctive voices in the blogosphere. She's a writer whose trademark sense of biting humor is only enhanced by her intense passion for all that is film.
Ms. McCoy's short but always sweet notes and thoughts on the movies she watches are light on the eyes, good for the funny bone, and stimulating for the skull meat. Go on to her place and see what she has to say about the flickers for herself. But not before you get to hear what the girl has to share in this most awesome installment of Demented Dialogues.
First and foremost, thanks for stopping by From Beyond Depraved to have a little Demented Dialogues session with us.
Q: Let�s get to the meat of it right off the bat�what does horror mean to you? Do you think this meaning applies to society as a whole?
A: Horror, I think, means (technically) a threat against the established order of things. It's why a lot of movies use death as shorthand for horror; being dead is as anti-conformist as you can get.
Q: You�re obviously a film fanatic and have a wide, eclectic taste. What began your passion for cinema?
A: I saw a list somewhere about the most notorious films of all time, I forget where, but the head of it was August Underground's Mordum. And then, of course, Wikipedia has way too many links.

Q: Do you find it more pleasurable to go to a theater or stay at home when watching a movie?
A: If the theatres abandoned, and I can sit way up front (because fuck the back row, who decided those were the best seats?), I prefer there.
Q: What were your first delvings into the genre like?
A: A lot of pausing, and lot of screaming at Youtube for buffering every five minutes.
Q: It sounds like you witnessed some pretty savage cinema at a tender young age. Do you think you were desensitized by what you had seen? What did you think about it at the time?
A: I like to think I'm desensitized, but if I saw a real dead body, I'd probably lose it. I never really think of myself as desensitized to movie violence until we're watching a movie, Romeo + Juliet or something, and all the girls in the class start gasping and screaming 'Oh my god, I can't watch this' when Mercutio gets killed.

At the time, I thought torture porn and Gorn (same difference, I guess) was as bad as you could get in a movie, violence without any emotional or mental justification.
Q: What is it about Asian cinema that makes it so unique in the horror genre and cinema as a whole?
A: I really don't know. I just started out watching movies that looked interesting, and didn't notice they were all from South Korea until my fifth Park Chan-wook film. Probably, because that society (not that I'd know, being a white suburban Jew who's never been away from the East coast) has been so traditional and torn (war and otherwise) and confined that when they finally let out with some modernized cinema, they let out hard. Playing on those traditions, you end up with bizarre Ye Olde opera-type things with cell phones. It's nothing an American can easily ape.

Q: Oh, those crazy Italians! What film(s) in your mind best exemplifies that surreal style we have all come to know and love from spooky spaghetti cinema?
A: Suspiria. Duh.

Q: Do you see exploitation as mere shock fodder, stimulus for intellectual discourse on social/psychological ties, or a bit of both?
A: A bit of both, but it always depends on the filmmaker. Cannibal Holocaust, for example, had some interesting ideas behind it, about what we classify as savage, but I think Deodato (we'll, of course, need some damn spell check) went about it wrong, reveling in the violence he was supposed to be criticizing.

Q: Do you feel that the genre is currently in a rut (here in the U.S. and elsewhere)? If so, what do you think should be done to revitalize it?
A: It's in a rut for mainstream theatres. Overseas and indie (House of the Devil) are going pretty strong. And nothing can really be done about it, because one could always argue that studios just put out films that people want to see. Though they're probably mistaking wanting to see something with going to see whatever's playing. If anything, we must mobilize the snobs and hipsters, rile them up, get them at their douche-iest, and sick them on an unsuspecting public.
Q: Your love is not strictly contained to ghosts and goblins. You watch many movies of varying ilk and background. Do you have a favorite genre at all or do you simply love movies period?
A: I don't have a favorite, but I'll watch anything that isn't a crime thriller. I fucking hate those. I get it, you're a tough guy who wants to get out of them game, but you just can't, you got that one last job, boo fucking hoo, stop moping demurely, that tree isn't going to solve your problems if it loses the staring contest. Goddamn.
Q: What do you personally seek out in a film for enjoyment? That is, what are some of the recurring elements in a movie that tickle your fancy?
A: Batshit nuns, lovely sets, not-terrible acting, homeless vagrancy, horror-comedy, weird creativity, David Bowie.

Q: What character from the silver screen would say best exemplifies your personality?
A: Probably someone from a movie I haven't seen. I'm, like, complicated and junk.
Q: Are you drawn more towards classic or modern cinema?
A: Classic horror, modern everything else.
Q: Who are some of your favorite creative forces working in film (director, actor/actress, writer, etc.)?
A: Bong Joon-ho, Park Chan-wook, David Bowie (he's the distant uncle I hope I have), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (despite what may be traces of hipster douchebaggery), Lauren Bacall, Quentin Tarantino, Dario Argento if he weren't giving me a headache with this post-Phantom of the Opera shit, Greta Gerwig, Donald Glover, Bret Easton Ellis, Jonathan Lethem (any author who's writing screenplays, basically), Tommy Wiseau (there's a difference between Ed Wood ragtag-bunch-of-misfits bad movies, let-the-debauchery-continue Richard O'Brian bad movies, and this guy's bad movies), and...Rain. Stupid, sexy Rain.
(inhale) Mila Kunis, the lady who made Xiaolin Showdown, Stephen Fry, any and all offspring of Douglas Adams, the cast of Misfits, the cast of Community, Cracked.com (I heard they're writing a screenplay or something), TV Tropes and they're immense influence on all things meta, the future John Dies at the End movie, and David Lynch, that crazy motherfucker.
Q: Speaking of directors, in your mind, what is it that makes a unique and truly effective filmmaker?
A: A guy who spent ten years in a mental asylum on false charges, escaped by tricking the guard into punching himself unconscious, stole an ambulance full of international spies, had them pool their money so he could buy some burgers, went home, kissed his wife, and sat down for some Czech Alice in Wonderland adaptations.

Q: Are you as big into literature as you are with film? If so, what are some of your favorite pieces of fiction or non-fiction?
A: I read a lot, yeah. I don't really prefer anything (no romances and no airport thrillers and no celebrity memoirs. Even I have standards), but right now I'm reading The Tin Drum, if that says anything.

Q: Going along those same lines, what has been one of the better book-to-film adaptations you�ve seen during your cinephile years?
A: The Da Vinci Code, as it improved, however slightly, on the book.
Q: Is there one sinister story that you believe could never be properly committed to celluloid?
A: House of Leaves. But then, they said that about all the others...

Q: Have any television obsessions?
A: I dig Community with a passion, and I quite like Ugly Americans and Futurama (we brought it back WOOT!)

Q: What other weird, lurid, decadent, or subversive areas of culture do you also revel in?
A: The whole rent boy thing. Damn you, Mysterious Skin...
Q: Have you ever aspired to make your own films?
A: Oh, sure, but it's of all the entertainment mediums, it's the most likely to lose its purpose, integrity, and/or vision. Also, working with actors sounds like a bitch.
Q: When did you decide that you were going to blog about your intense passion for film?
A: When my YA-book blogging sister insisted I create an account so she could reach 200 followers, then insisted I create a film blog so she doesn't have to listen to my humble rambling anymore.
Q: Where did the name Four of Them come from exactly?
A: We flipped through The Book Thief until we found a proper-sounding phrase. Now, every time I find the phrase in another book (it's not terribly uncommon), I'm just kind of like "Yo!"

Q: Have you succeeded in achieving the goals you originally set out with for Four of Them?
A: I really had no goals, so yes.
I hope you brought your waffles along, cause we�re about to get sticky. Did that make any sense? I have no idea! So on with the weirdo questions!
That made more sense than anything I've heard in my life.
Q: It�s doubtless in your years of film viewing that you�ve stumbled across some wretched work. What has been some of the most "eye-bleeding-bad" movies you�ve seen? Do you have any guilty pleasures for them?
A: Million Dollar Baby. Seriously, fuck that shit. Also, Homecoming. But for the most part, I avoid movies I think I won't like.

Q: Has there ever been a movie that has forced you to feel uncomfortable in the region of your pants?
A: ...I'm not sure...
Q: Why do all of the Dick Tracy villains have such funny faces?
A: Because whenever Dick Tracy comes down the street, their balls shrivel up and it's quite a shock.

Q: There haven�t been any movies about mutant killer hair dryers yet (yes, they must be mutant AND killer). Why is this?
A: Because the world isn't ready.
Q: Your airplane ticket to Paris has been replaced with a one-way trip to Sealand*, leaving you stranded amongst the flippered citizens of the country. What is the one film you hope to find upon opening your luggage?
A: But Sealand does exist!** It's a dock out by Switzerland that this one dude claimed was a country because during WWII, Germany thought enough of it to try and invade it, and nobody's gonna argue with attempted World Domination, are they?
The Seventh Seal. Get them nice and existential before I demand use to the Royal Toilet.

*Disclaimer: Let it be known that no such place exists. The country of Sealand is entirely fictional and the product of starved imaginations. Any resemblance to a real country, living or dead, would only be completely freaking awesome.
**Disclaimer-Disclaimer: Upon a quick Google search, it was discovered that Sealand is in fact an actual principality. Current status for this topic: completely freaking awesome.
Q: Due to a radioactive meteor colliding with the earth, the Hallmark Channel has decided to film a cinematic biography on your life. Who are the actors that are cast in the roles of you, your best friend, your parents, and your evil arch nemesis?
A: I want Morgan Freeman to play me. I think that'd be best. And Nikola Tesla would be my ally. And my arch nemesis would be a black hole. I like a challenge.

Q: Mustaches: discuss.
A: I bet I could grow one faster and more luxurious than you.

Q: Do you think that a clove of garlic is really gonna keep the vampires from biting?
A: Only if they're opening a pizzeria and trying to cut costs so they can put in a TV. For the kids.
Q: Argento: what the hell happened?
A: Something ungodly. But there's still time. To the Batcave!
Q: William Shakespeare rises from the grave, slaps you in the face with a glove, and challenges you to a duel. What next?
A: Ask him if Ariel was supposed to be a boy or a girl. Then tag in Teddy and Nikola's child, the only man suited for the job.
Q: If you had to choose, what giant monster would you like to see destroy your fair city?
A: Mothra.

Q: Is it safe?
A: Only for them.
Q: Do you have any last words for our readers regarding the horror genre or other related insanity?
A: Remember, kids: drugs are the real horror.
Thanks again to Ripley for joining us for this great interview. Like I said, take a stroll down on to Four Of Them if you haven't already. I'm sure you'll definitely like what you see, especially if your eyes hunger for the images on the silver screen. If you're interested in having a Demented Dialogues session with us, just give us a ring at joemonster25 [at] yahoo [dot] com! And in the meantime remember: it's only a movie!

Labels: Demented Dialogues, Four Of Them, Interview

Yes, my pretties, it's that time again! Time for another creepy correspondence with other obsessed chroniclers of the horror genre! I hope you've got your plastic fangs at the ready, because this juicy little morsel is sure to get your black hearts thumping and your bloody mouth slobbering!
Our ghoulish guest for the day is one Will Errickson, a man about town who enjoys his literature the way he enjoys his women... reanimated, multi-tentacled, and with many, many pointy teeth.* He is a purveyor of those molding terrors of the fleshy paperback persuasion that line the shelves of the most arcane and forbidden of bookstores. Yes, Will is a lover of terror literature, and through his blog seeks to inform the masses on all the quiet shudders and slithering abominations that lie there within.
Too Much Horror Fiction was one of the very first blogs I ardently followed and I continue to gush over it to this day. Will's passion and biblio-sleuthing abilities are enough to make any Lovecraftian or Jamesian antiquarian blush in shame. So it was with great excitement that I received Will's request to go through a session of Demented Dialogues which I most graciously accepted! Be sure to read this interview as you would an ancient tome of the damned, the crackling pages making the sounds of the shadows' whispers...
*Joe Monster did not bother to check the validity of this statement.
Q: Yes, we have to suffer through the prerequisite question that I put everyone through. As a fan, lover, and chronicler of horror, what would you say is the attracting force behind the genre? Why do so many people like it even at its creepiest and grossest?
The old answers are still the best: people have always loved the sensation of fear. The love of the creepy gross-out factor is also like teenage rebellion, antisocial but social at the same time. Mainstream hit movies like Silence of the Lambs, Alien, Scream or Psycho show that virtually everyone loves that frisson of terror, if only a little bit. I just like it a lot. And honestly I don�t really get scared by horror; I just love the aesthetics of it, plus the humanizing factor of violence and how we cope with it.
Q: What was it that first attracted you to horror? Did you instantly realize that it was going to be a lifelong love of yours?
As far back as I can remember, it was there, that love, whether it was Jaws or King Kong or dinosaurs or the old Universal movie monsters when I was 4, 5, 6 years old. Then as a teenager in the �80s, movies like Re-Animator, Evil Dead II and Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, hit hard, as well as reading King, Lovecraft, and Barker: that all cemented my passion for the genre. Plus I loved its outsider status; very metal, very punk, of course.



Q: Were there any occasions, in either reading a book or watching a film, that you were positive that you were going to need a change of pants?
TV commercials for movies like The Shining or Bigfoot stuff really scared me. Later, books like the original Dracula and some early Stephen King got me good. I read Dracula in 8th grade study hall and the scene where he climbs down the castle wall head-first completely freaked me out. It was so wrong it gave me chills in the middle of a sunny classroom filled with classmates at 11 a.m.

Q: If you could be any character from horror literature or cinema, who would it be and why?
Boone from Nightbreed, based on Clive Barker�s short novel "Cabal." The monster as hero! As it said on the book�s dustjacket, "Finally, the Night has found its hero." Or maybe Johnny Depp in The Ninth Gate, trailing old antique occult books only to discover the Devil is Emmanuelle Seigner.


Q: Your blog is unique in that it focuses solely on horror literature. Do you like the reading experience more than the viewing experience?
Well, you never have to worry about bad FX in books. Even if it�s bad writing you can still imagine it something amazing in your head. But I couldn�t say I seriously prefer one experience over the other. I�m a bibliophile as much as a cineaste. He said, consulting his thesaurus.
Q: In your opinion, is what you imagine in your mind while reading a book more frightening than what any filmmaker can depict on screen?
Usually yes, but "frightening" is subjective; a filmmaker doesn�t need millions of dollars to make a scary movie, as I�m no Blair Witch hater. Of course I�d love to see Del Toro pull off At the Mountains of Madness, but it still probably won�t be as astonishingly full of dread as what I see when I read the book. Preferably to Iron Maiden�s song "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son."

Q: What are some of the better book-to-film adaptations that you�ve seen?
Rosemary�s Baby is still the most faithful adaptation I�ve ever seen, horror or not. David Cronenberg always does a great job, as in Crash, Naked Lunch, (two non-horror books every horror fiction fan should read) and The Dead Zone. I did like Dagon, too. The BBC version of Dracula from 1977, Count Dracula, is often regarded as the best adaptation of Stoker�s novel. The image in my blog header is from that film. And I think the people who wrote the Karloff Frankenstein movies were brilliant in taking away the monster�s ability to speak. How about book-to-song adaptation? The Ramones did a pretty amazing job with "Pet Sematary."

Q: Your blog hones in on horror literature released during the 60�s through the 90�s. Is there any particular reason for this?
That�s the golden age of paperback horror, there was the most outrageous cover art, and the authors were putting out cool books at a fast clip. Obviously I have an inordinate fondness for it. I read so much of that stuff as a teenager, and it�s been fun revisiting those books, and finding new stuff I missed the first time around. Everybody else who blogs about vintage paperbacks covers crime/pulp fiction or erotica or romance or science fiction. Gilligan at Retrospace wondered in a post why no one covered vintage horror fiction, and that was what set me off. It was a niche waiting to be filled. I�ve even had a couple authors find my blog and comment on it, which is pretty cool.

Q: What elements make for the "perfect" cover of a horror novel?
Don�t be too obvious; try to have something to do with the story itself. I love the paperback �Salem�s Lot and Lansdale�s Drive-In covers. The UK covers for Barker�s books are usually stellar. The old Gothic stuff, dark ladies in flowing nightgowns, Barbara Steele-style, are great too. Nothing Photoshopped, creepy kids are a horrible cliché now, no author�s name in foil-stamped lettering, no eyes staring over a forest or a lake, or vampires in high heels, which is all you see these days. It�s all so over-determined and unimaginative. Blech.


Q: Based solely on the quality of frightening output, what decade would you say had the best to offer in horror fiction?
From 1975 or so until 1985 or so, you had King at his peak, lesser-known writers like Karl Edward Wagner and Ramsey Campbell, Peter Straub was putting out big novels, Barker was just starting out. The short story anthologies and magazines were incredibly prominent too. After the Dell/Abyss line folded in about 1993, I really lost interest in new horror fiction.

Q: Do you have a favorite subgenre within horror fiction?
I love novels/stories that deal with horror writers, or professors or literary types, like in most of Lovecraft�s stories; sort of self-referential horror, as in Lieber�s Our Lady of Darkness. Thomas Ligotti does it, and it�s in some of TED Klein�s stuff. There�s a novel called The City of Dreadful Night by Lee Siegel that�s a meta-novel about a professor who goes to India to study vampire lore. Michael Chabon�s mainstream novel Wonder Boys touches on this too, right in the very first paragraphs. Bill Denbrough from King�s It is probably the most obvious character of that type, though honestly I�m not a big fan of that book. He said, looking around furtively.

Q: There are some that argue that horror fiction is at its strongest in the short form. Do you agree or disagree?
Usually I agree but one of the most popular novels of the 20th century is without a doubt King�s The Stand; the exception that proves the rule. The sequence in which Larry Underwood tries to navigate the Lincoln Tunnel� 28 Days Later copped that completely. But you don�t need fully-drawn characters in horror; you just need fully-drawn horror. The reader/viewer will fill in the rest. Short stories can build to a single crescendo of horror but a novel has to sustain that, and that can be difficult.

Q: Do you typically enjoy it more when a book is out-and-out horror or when it�s a little bit more ambiguous in its classification?
I love an unapologetically full-on horror novel like Song of Kali by Dan Simmons or Live Girls by Ray Garton, but I�m a pretty big reader so I like horror that isn�t horror too. Lots of J.G. Ballard�s fiction could be classified as horror, as well as writers like Georges Bataille and the poet Charles Baudelaire. The House Next Door, by mainstream Southern fiction author Anne Rivers Siddons, is fantastic. As horror critic Douglas E. Winter put it, horror is not a genre, it�s an emotion; and it�s an emotion in everyone from Melville to Hemingway, Borges to Dostoevsky, Patricia Highsmith to Daphne Du Maurier. Horror isn�t just Jason and Freddy and the latest vampire romance at a Walmart checkout; horror can be found everywhere.


Q: Hot button! Stephen King: overrated?
It�s funny to me how King�s reputation today seems to rest more on his Dark Tower series than his horror fiction. I haven�t read a new King work since 1989 (although I liked On Writing and his son�s short stories), a couple short stories here and there but I wasn�t overly impressed. However his early novels are in my DNA now and his influence on the field is inestimable. I find it hard to be objective about writers like King, or Harlan Ellison or Clive Barker or Lovecraft, because they are so personal to me. Those guys are in my head and in my heart.

Q: Who are some of the less-than-famous writers you�ve stumbled upon that deserve more attention than they get?
I don�t read current horror but �80s and early �90s writers like Thomas Ligotti, Kathe Koja, and Thomas Tessier are still favorites and I don�t think modern readers would be disappointed with them. I�m glad Joe Lansdale has been getting more and more popular over the years, and most of his stuff is back in print today, although mostly he works in crime fiction today.


Q: Have any horror fiction pet peeves?
Overly happy endings, terrible covers by artists who never read the book (although that�s probably the publisher�s fault), horror that seeks to comfort people by killing off the monster, fonts that are too large (you wouldn�t believe how often I see that), writers who try too hard to sound cool or edgy, or ones who sound too stodgy. And anything with a Twilight Zone twist at the end.
Q: At times it appears that horror books contain more grisly and horrific elements than some of the "extreme" films that are currently released. Why do you think books can get away with this? Does this brutal content necessarily make for a better reading experience?
There�s no MPAA rating system for books. Reading American Psycho in 1991 is still one of the more disturbing reading experiences I�ve ever had but it was leavened with black humor. Honestly, horror isn�t even the most brutal genre going; James Ellroy�s L.A. Confidential and The Black Dahlia are some of the darkest books I�ve ever read. Every horror fan should read those. But if the writer can depict awful violence with skill and oddly, good taste, then I�m all for it and yes, that makes for a better reading experience.

Q: In a similar vein, horror authors tend to think outside the box, coming up with new, fresh, and terrifying ideas that serve as reminders that the genre still has massive amounts of potential. Do you think filmmakers are less willing to take these kinds of chances? Would that explain why horror films based on books are only made when the source novel has proven to be at least somewhat successful?
Movies cost too much money to be truly innovative. I don�t think horror filmmakers have utilized the literature enough. Although I just heard Koja�s The Cipher is being adapted into a movie, 20 years after publication.

Q: Let�s be honest. Horror still has its haters. Do you think the general public will ever fully accept the genre or is it simply one of those things that weren�t meant to be?
In a way I myself hate horror because it often is reduced to lowest common denominator junk. But when it works, as in Bride of Frankenstein, At the Mountains of Madness, Pet Sematary, The Birds, or Haunting of Hill House, it has an illicit power and strange beauty no other genre can touch. Elsa Lanchester as the Bride is as graceful and feline and alluring and mysterious as Audrey Hepburn or Ingrid Bergman, and I mean it.

Okay, now it�s time to get funky. And by funky I mean I�m going to ask you some really weird questions.
Q: Has there ever been a book so terrible that you couldn�t finish it?
No, a bad book almost begs me to finish it, or at least skim through it, but a lot of books cause me a vast indifference, which is worse in its way. Still the worst book that I�ve skimmed just because it boggled my mind in its terribleness was R.L. Stine�s 1995 novel, Superstitious. I couldn�t believe that an adult man could try to pass that off as "writing."

Q: Horror film aficionados typically have a list of movies that are so-bad-they�re good. Have you ever encountered that type of thing in any of the fiction you�ve read?
A lot of the splatterpunk fiction has dated poorly, mainly because the writers were trying to be so au courant and blasé and bad-ass about extreme violence and making a "statement." But there�s an energy and courage there you can�t deny. I�m enjoying rereading those books but it�s not fair to say they�re so bad they�re good. Bad writing is just bad writing and I take no real pleasure in that.
Q: While we�re on the subject, got any cinematic guilty pleasures as well?
My girlfriend, who was a great help in this interview, says I have a fetish for movies, and things in general, that I hate. I refuse to feel guilty about loving horror, so my guilty pleasures are elsewhere. The worst movie I�ve seen is Smokey and the Bandit III. But I will watch it every time it�s on and lately HBO has been playing it a lot. That is some cringe-inducing shit. Most bad horror movies are just difficult and boring to sit through.

Q: As far as you can remember, what was the worst/most embarrassing Halloween of your life?
I�ve missed a few Halloweens because I was too lazy to dress up, missed a few parties I heard about later, even one at an old house of mine where a Bettie Page got a spanking by a priest in front of the entire party. Also, one year I dressed up as K-Fed. Oh, yeah, and another year within recent memory I dressed up as Dracula, fake fangs and fancy cape, and felt like the dorkiest dude at the bar. Don�t believe True Blood or Anne Rice, fangs just give you a doofy smile all the time and you don�t feel hot or sexy at all.

Q: You�ve lost your tickets to the Adrienne Barbeau Vs. Jamie Lee Curtis Cage Match! What do you do, bro?
Something like this really happened to me in 1989: my friends and I had tickets to see the Ramones in Philly but the club wouldn�t let us in because we were underage. We were hanging out looking despondent when these guys came out of a pizza shop and told us to go around back and bang on the fire exit. Sure enough, it worked; somebody opened the door without the alarm going off. A well-known locals trick, apparently. But we�d scalped the tickets before we got in so we actually made money! So I would just try that again.

Q: If I could strand you in the snowy wastelands of the Arctic (and don�t think I can�t), what would be the one horror novel/collection that you would request to bring with you?
Something I could read over and over again, horror but with a real human element; let�s say King�s Different Seasons, or Barker�s Imajica.

Q: What is with your unhealthy Jaws obsession?
My girlfriend said it�s a healthy obsession! It�s a nightmare thing, of course, shark attacks and all that, but come on, that is one incredibly well-made film, easily one of the greatest of all time. Of. All. Time. And while it�s an adventure movie too, at its base it is about the most primal of human fears: that we are not special, that we are not made by a god that cares for us; no, we are only meat to be eaten by other creatures and nothing besides. I find that empowering and humbling all at once.

Q: Have you ever considered writing fiction yourself?
I have, and have done so, but I think I mentioned in a post that I was a better reader than writer. I�m not a bad writer; I just can�t finish a story. Unless somebody out there is interested in a screenplay based on Gilles de Rais.
Q: It�s the end of the movie and Haley Joel has just told you that you�ve been dead this entire time. Have any words for our viewers?
I guess no one who ever saw that movie watched an episode of the Twilight Zone. Although it fooled me because I first saw just the middle of it on cable and thought the wife was really dead, so when I watched it all the way through I was concentrating on that.

Q: The chef has informed you that the stripper was accidentally baked into the cake. Do you keep eating?
But of course! But watch out for silicone.
Q: The climax of King Kong vs. Godzilla kind of upset me. What should I do to ease my depression?
Watch the 1933 original.
Q: Was it these same emotional issues that drove me to actually pay to see The Ring 2 in theaters?
Well, look, watching Naomi Watts explains a lot. I�ll give you a pass.

Q: If you had ONE chance to shout ONE sentence to ONE horror personality, what would all those ONE�s be?
To Clive Barker: "Please get back to writing epic horror/fantastique novels that only you can do!"

Q: What the hell ARE you talking about, Willis?
Arnold Jackson, master of rhetoric. I think of that as a Zen koan.
Q: Do you have any last words for our readers regarding the horror genre or other related insanity?
There�s too much good stuff out there to waste time with the bad. He said, turning on Smokey and the Bandit III again. Just kidding. I love horror and I love introducing people to stuff they might�ve missed, or reintroducing them to stuff they�d long forgotten about. That�s the main point of my blog, I think, for me and for anyone reading it.

More wonderful words from another avid fan! Let's all thank Will for spending his time with us and filling us all in on the awesome world of horror fiction. Be sure to stop by his site; any fan of horror and literature will be introduced to a darkly fantastic world that they may have never known before. Be sure to tell Will that I sent ya! If you would like to participate in an episode of Demented Dialogues, be sure to email me at joemonster25 [AT] yahoo [dot] com. And as always, stay depraved.

Labels: Demented Dialogues, Interview, Too Much Horror Fiction