Stephen King Interview:

Stephen King

Interview:

it’s

time

to direct

my

own

movie!’

Stephen

King’s]

autographed

script j

Tom

Savini

cuts

up|

TEXAS CHAINSAW

2

James

Cameron

*

unleashes ALIENS

David Cronenberg

i

catches

THE

FLY

.

Wes

Craven

builds

a

better

zombie

Christopher

Lee

|

hunts werewolves

VAMP:LasVegas bloodsuckers

FROM

BEYOND:

New

Lovecraft

chills

from

the

makers

of

RE-ANIMATOR!

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33 “OVERDRIVE”CONTEST Wina scriptfromStephen King!Wow! 34STEPHEN KING: DIRECTOR Theterrorspecialistputs thepedalto

themetal for hisnewthriller!

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49“VAMP” VICTIMSSultryGrace Jones bitesina bloodsucker epic/ 52CRAVEN’S“DEADLY FRIEND” The ElmStreetcreatordreams up

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55OH,RATSAnin-depth retrospective of “Willard"'skillerrodents. 62

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GilbertRalston, JclTSak,son,PaulSaminon,Tbm Savini,Diana Scarwtd. Milton Subotsky, cast& crew of Vamp,Bob Villard. Jeff Walker, Stan Winston.Frank Wright. BrianYuznaand you and your pet cal Clhulhu. Dedicated to H.P.Lovecraft. ProdactlooAsslatanUi Elizabeth DeJesus, Marla Damianl, PeterHernandez. Evelyn Fermln, JoeDunn.

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The

State of Higher Yearning

T

heHouston cab driver (whosenamewasCharlie)wasalltoo pleasedtolearnthatEd Geln, thereal lifemaniacwhoseantics inspiredPsycho andThe TexasChainsaw Massacre, came from Wisconsin.

“Heain'ta Texan then?” The query camebriefand sharpand quick on the drawl.

Ireplied inthedouble negative asIoftendowhenthere areno English teachers orreally strictgrammarians around.

“Hey,that'sgreat,”thecabbiesaid.“Someofthose movies are giving Texas abad name. People thinkallthecrazies livehere—'steadof in California."

Ididn'thave the heartto tellhim that even aswespoke,Tobe Hooper andTomSavini wereoffinAustin,preparingtofurtherwarp the Lone StarState'sreputationwithTexas ChainsautMassacre 2.Afterall, therearesome thingsthatmanwas not meanttoknow.

Yes.That'soneofthemanylessonstaughttousinSF/horrorfilms. Because despite ournewcovertagline,horrorismore than mere enter-tainment—Itisan educationi (Thoseofyouinschoolmayalsosuspect the reverseistrue.Educationisa horrorl)

TakethisissueofFAN(X)RIA—buyitfiret

—

it’sstudded with academic examples.Ed Gross puts those great screenrats,Willardand Ben,inperspective.And what do they teach us? Simple. Don’tpiss off rats.Writethatdown.It’sagood thingtorememberwhendealingwith authorityfiguresand other small rodents.

Seehowthisworks?

Back whileIwasvisitingHouston—scholarly research, youknow—ace Fango correspondentsMarc Shapiro andPhilNutmanwereoffontheir ownfieldtrips(withnotesfromtheirmothers,box lunches and everything),ShapiroventuredtoHollywoodforVampandNutmanto ItalyforFromBeyond.lt's gotblood. It’sgotgore. It'sgotsex. It'sgot sensuousalumnifromH.P.Lovecraft’sMiskatonicUniversity!

Isupposeifyou canmakeitthere,you canmakeitanywhere. Ahem. Alex Gordon, afellowteacher,always providesa fascinating chronicleofhorrorspast.Thisissue,he takesPit&PentotheGolem movies.You remember the Golem? Big guy. Grim expression. Feetof clay.Elbowsof clay.Ear lobesof clay.NowthatIthinkaboutIt,mostly clay.Agenre VIP, sadlyunsung and underrated.

1mean, Abbott&Costelloencountered everybody: Frankenstein, the Mummy,thekillerBorisKarloff,Captain Kidd. Theirmovie monster dance cardwas alwaysfilled.But didweever seeAbbott

&

CostelloMeet theGolem? Nope.Somebelievetherewas a conspiracy

—

perhaps engineeredby Playdough?

—

butwho’stosay ?One thingTony Timpone and1doknowisthatthere'sa lessontobe learnedfromhismyth.

Never look agiftGoleminthemouth.

Kids!Don’ttrythatathome.AndIwouldn'trecommend attemptingit with a wildwerewolfwomanoroneofthoseInterstellarfacekissersfrom the planetAcheron.They and othersof their ilk

—

thekiller trucks,the baby ducks

—

arealsoonhandthisissueasweunveilararecollection— asDoc Cyclops might termthem—of"genrebiggies.”Charles Band. James Cameron.WesCraven.David Cronenberg.Stephen King. ChristopherLee.TomSavini.Stan Winston.

Eightofthem! That'sonemore than seven.Andalmostenoughfora baseballteam, sportsfans.

Those are the typesofthingshorrorteachesus.To countto nine. Sometimes10.Hmmmm,justa quick lookatour lesson plan (and the Diana Scarwidstory)pointsouta few other truisms. ForInstance, ex-nuns shouldn’t date psychokillers.Andyou hearditherefirst.

FANGORIA.What an education! Pop quiz tomorrow.Anddon'tforget yourbookreports.

Zone

HermanHorrors ...Your FifthAnnual MoviePoil hascomearound again. Letme staterightfrom the beginning that thisisnot a letter to give youmyvote,buttoexpress whatIsuspect tobeo fact.

Ihavelooked atyournomina-tionsfortheyearandhave read themailpublishedinyour magazine fromthe tons.Not

in-cluded orevenmentionedwas themost horror/terror/scare-filledfilm of'85.

Not since Frankenstein,

God-zilo,The Shape, Jason, oreven Freddy,hoveIseenomore frightening figureon the silver screen.Youprobablysuspect whotI’mwritingabout.Iknow, noonehasadmitted to seeing the film, so frighteningisthe pictureitsends chillsdownthe spines ofeventhemost horden-edsoul.

amspeaking about,none other than the score film of'85:

Pee-tVee's BigAdventure.

Iscreamedinhorror os the

firstsight ofPee-Wee Herman's “Fire"Facts

..Irecentlycame upona write-up about amoviecalledEyes of Fire,andthereview didnot prove veryinformotive.Now, I'vebeenbuyingFongofor abouta yearanddon't recoil seeing anything about this oddi-tyinyourhallowed pages.Are yougoingtoletawimpy reporterfromsomerinkydink newspapergetaholdof somethingbeforeyoudo? PleaseshedsomelightonEyes of Fire interms of storyandFX. SamuelRodriguez Eyes of FireisanAmerican fron-tierghoststorysetIn1750. DirectorAveryCrouse avoided on-screengoreand wentfora ValLewtonesqueopprooch for histaleofnakedspooksand prairiephantoms.Aquarius ReleasingIshandling Eyes of Fire'sslowregionalrelease. Yourmove.

Author Accolades

...Thanks somuchfor the

in-terview with Dennis Etchison in Fango#52.His talentdeserves recognition,andanyonewho readsondenjoys theworksof RichardMatheson,Williom NolanandRoy Bradbury should have at leastone volumeof Etchison'sshort fictionInhis/her collection.

JeonFrame RD#1Box 359 Glenmoore,PA19343 Isthisthe face of ultimate

horror? facelitup the screen. Certoinly, thisfilmdeserves bestmakeup award.No onecanlookthat scary withoutmakeup,con they? So,pleose,donotbeafraid. Beproud.Showyourfellow Fangorians thotyoustillhave gutsandaheadonyour shoulders.The ridicule, atfirst,

moybe overpowering tosome individuals,butthen you canbe victoriousand oneofthepeople whocon say;"I SurvivedPee-Wee's Big Adventure."

Dennis A.MakI #206-1 182Adelaide Str.N London, Ontorio Canoda,N5Y-2N5 Video Views

...There hasbeena great deal ofanticipationconcerningSam Roimi'scomic follow-up to The EvllDead,TheXY2Murders. But by the timeIcaughtitlastyeor at the Seattle Film Festival, the

ti-tlehadbeen changedtoBroken HeartsandNoses.Justwhen andifthiswillseegeneral releoseseemstobeoneofthe greatmysteries ofour time.Em-bassy Picturesisshufflingbock ondforth,trying tofigureout howto pigeonholean unclassi-fiablefilm,andinthe mean-time,EvllDead fons wait..and wait...Thisisunfortunote be-causeitisawonderfuland riotouslyfunny film,ifnot a true Fongorion's feast.Thefilm re-mains unclassifioble becauseit Isina class byitself. Itplays with vorious film styles with remock-ablespecificity,spoofingand admiringthecinemaatthe sametime.Raimi,whoolso at-tended the screening,spokeof hisdiscourogementwiththe peopleatEmbassy andtheir wishy-washy distribution plans. Hisfilmissharp,playfularxf permeatedwiththeman's honest love of movies.Itisa piecehe shouldbeproud of.If

Broken Heartsond Noseswas simply releasd,Itwouldfindits

ownaudience.It'sjustthatkind ofa movie.

RonFord Tucson.AZ

Last winter, RIcfcBaker's Incredible MeltingMan dripped into video stores. Your local video storeshoudbe thebest place to find Ratml's Broken HeartsandNoses.Now thatEmbassyPicturesnolonger exists

—

DinoOeLourentIJs boughtthecompany and re-filledItOeLourentlls Entertain-ment Group

—

don'texpecta theatricalrelease for a picture thathasbeensittingonthe shelf forabouttwoyears.TheXYZ MurdersplayedInEuropean theaters asCrimewave.

FANTas?'

'>«Vo/theDe.d.s

“"ElmStreeto^*®'**"*arc

MakeupMentions

..-Your covorage of th« se«n and unsMn Nfghfmoreon £/m Parf2FX,In152was one ofthemore competentorticles of thisnature.IfeelItwouldbe appropriatetogivefurther honorablemention tounsung heroeswho werebehindthe remanifestation ofOld Woffle Face.

Texas tolents BortMixonand GregorPunchatz sculptedand mechanizedthat terribleturgid tongue,teenalltoo briefly In the final cut. BartondGregalso "hada hond" in producing the variousmechanizedsplitting appendoges,alongwith An-thonyShowearnfJohn Blake Dutro.These guys assisted AAork Shostrom with Freddy's vi«eral rebirth,andyoumayolso rememberBart's"oral eyeboir'whichinvolveda IHesizesculpture of the actor’s headfrom the ears forwardond osophisticatedconvoluted understructuretoollowfor lightingthe stand-inFreddy eye (which actuallybelonged to a woman!).Yes, FreddyKrueger liveson In our memories, but then,that'stheneighborhood he has always calledhome.

Martin G. Miglloretti 5555 Hoi lyview #904 Houston,TX77091

...Fango's article In issue #52 onthespeclollyproduced figures,propsondbackground displaysusedinthepopular suspensefilmF/X,warrants urgent clarification.Itstates BryontTausekwas single-handedlyresponsiblefor creatingandproducing the uni-quefiguresandpropsthat played a central role in the film. The article neglects to mention the.primaryroleplayedby Screomers,Inc.,whichwas specificallycontractedbythe producersanddesigners ofF/X tocreatealltheanimated figuresusedinthefilm. Screamersisacclaimed for ex-cellence,andrecognizedby;

manyintheentertainment

in-dustry foritsabilitytocreate, designandmanufacture com-pleteprojectsundershort deadlines.Screamersisa specialtyfirmbasedinNew York City thatmakes custom-madeanimated figures, props, backgrounddisploys,sets, Thetongueoperatorsspeakup

...Ihavebeena John Landis andRickBoker fan forsome timenow.Most people, especiallyFangorians,know that theircareers started pretty mucharoundthesametime, (aboutadecode-and-o-half ogo).Thefirstfilmonwhich both menworkedtogetherwas SehlockIRickalsoworkedon AlP'sTheIncredibhMelting Man.The sculptingdoneforthe makeupsequences in that film wastestimonyenough tosup-portthe existence of the second wordinthetitle;Incredible!

Anyway,the reason formy writingistoask youIfboth of these filmsareon videotape yet.Andifnot,willtheybe soon?1cannotseemtofind either of these filmsinony video outlet inmyarea,

Joe Macchio 46ShermonAvenue PomptonPlains,NJ07444-1727 SchlockIhasjustbeen re-released on tape,courtesy of

Lightning Video,under thenew monikerofBanonoMonster, while VestronVideo refeosed The Incredible MeltingManlast Februory, ...Irecently rented a copy of thenewDarioArgentomovie Creepers thatFangopreviewed inissue #49.twasdisappointed tosee that thismuch hypedfilm wosreallynot that violent. Since thevideocassetteversionof Creepers only runs 82 minutes,I

wouldsuspect that the filmwas cut.What’s the story?

ChrisA. Des Plaines,IL

GaryHertz. a troubleshooter for NewtineClnemo(Creepers' U.S.distributor),tellsusthot Argento'smoviesuffered edits before hiscompanyreleasedIf

InAmerica.However,NewLine didtrimsomeviolenceout (reportedly justafewseconds) toavoidanXrofing.

creoturesandlife-like characters for moviesondthe entertainment Industry.

Itsparentcompony,Spaeth Design,Inc,,Isa 45-year-old organizotion thatisrenowned forthespectoculoronimated ChristmaswindowsofSaks Fifth Avenue, Lord&Taylorond Mar-shallFieldtonamea few.

Manyartistsworkingat Screamers'facilitieswere responsibleforthehighly regardedworkinF/X, in addi-tiontoMr.Tausek,including mold-mokers,sculptors, animatorsandwelders.We believe thotourwholestaffis

deserving of recognition. Dovid P. ^xieth. Pres.,Screamers, Ifk. NewYork. N.Y. FiftiesFavorite ...Imightbealittlelatewith thistetter,butIwantedto let FangoknowthotIenjoyed reading the Interview with hor-ror storBeverlyGarland (Fango #50).Iwasmostdelighted, however, to seeGarlandmake reference to Allison Hayes.

Imustcorrectyour publica-tion onmokingthemistake of billingGarlond as the"Queenof '50s Horrors.'’The truthIsthat Hayeswas muchbigger.Iwould sayshehadGarland beat by some45 feet. At least, thatwas the casewhenthedomineering Hayeslanded the leod role in the unforgettableAttack of the SOFt.Woman.

I'mnot surehow manyofyour fonsare familiar with this film, orhow many wouldever core to knowaboutit.But the factis,

Hoyesmodescreenhistory whenshegrewtothat enor-mousheight,burstout of her clothes,ondwalkednaked across the screen.(Now.Tmjust kidding,but don'tyou wish that wouldhavehappened?)If

Fangocoulddoaprofileon Hoyes,includingherearlier worksbesidestheepicjust mentioned,Iwouldbevery groteful.Heck,Imighteven considera subscription,ifmy arm wastwistedenough. Well anyway,thanks for taking the time to listen,ondI'm glad tobe aboard your sickanddisgusting mogazine.

Jason Strangls 2301St.AnthonyPkwy. Mpls.,MN55418 6FANGORIA4-56

KMpWMehlngthetkiM byBillWtorrwt

ek.Only 9*.M •Maoen.On/y St.M (Volum*IIaityd by puMf/wr—MNlOf bvillbblllty.)

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Inude photoeof letvlew withH.Q. Lewie.John Waters ADULTS (Mlf PLEASe. .... 3.2S Maglek Theatre7—Wecouhfn'l believe thiswhenwe

got III Slant64-pageIssueloaded with articles, stills, reviewsand admats.ContainsmoreInformationthan

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The

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Illlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillllli^

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Georgia.The film, budgeted ata shade under $3 million, starsThom(Returnof the Liv-ingDead)Mathews,Jennifer ("V")Cookeand Ron (We/comeBack, Kotter) Palillo. SpecialmakeupFX are by

Mar-tinBecker’sReelFX (whodid the lasttwoFridaymovies). TherealJasonreportedly returns to stalkagain in Friday the13thPart VI.The body countcontinues this August!

Thom Mathews,a formerReturnof the LivingDead zombie (above),takesover asTommyJarvis in themoviethat yearnedtobemade,Friday the13thPart VI.

"Thisisa reol popcorn movie,” assesses McLoughlin, "I'vetriedtomakethisa better picture bymixingsomecomic sweetnessinwith the horror and gore."

McLoughlin wouldn’tspillthe beans on the plot, but did con-cede that Port VI picks up two yeors after PariVends. "TommyJarvis (ployedby Mathews)hasdecided that the onlywoyhe can stop the hallucinationsandpickup the pieces of hislife istofindout onceandforall ifJasonis

dead." The directorwouldnotgo any further except to confirm therumorthotJasonis

broughtbock tolifebyo bolt of lightningandthatnow"heis

virtuallyunstoppable." Aswith the previous

in-stallments of this series, murder andstuntsplayamajor role.McLoughlin teasingly describesthose in Pari VI as "freshand bigger thanlife."

"There’samaggotscene that’spretty effectiveandwe

have a thinghappenwitha motorhomethat'spretty spec-tacular.Jason does something tosomebody’sbodythat’s pret-tywildondalsodoes a thing withagirl’sheadand a wall that'sprettyneot."

McLoughlinadds that Port VI willfinish off the series' current storyline.(A feature interview with this lotest Jason chronicler appears next issue.) "Butit's

'

left insuchowoythat,"he reveals,"ifsomebody wonted ,

tomakea PortVII. itcould happen."

—

MoreShopiro

TMMO* nUTTPtiVincent Pricesignedontohost Froina Whisper to oScream(Fongo #55), while Rosalind (The Omega Man) Cash andMarline Beswicke(Fango #55) holdup thescreamqueenfront.Price alsonarratestwodirect-to* video onthologies,Fscapesand Vincent Price'sOnce Upono Midnight Scary...Inother costingnews, Dennis (6/ue Ve/vet)Hopperploysa ranger inT^>eHooper'sThe Texos ChoinsowMassocre2, the busy Dick Millerdoes thecomeo sceneInJonathan Kaplon's monkey moviePro/ectX and alsoplaysapimpinFredOlen Ray'sJadeJungle.Jesse"The Body"Ventura joins Arnold Schwar2eneggerinJohn (Nomctds)McTleman's Predotor (o.k.o. Hunter)

...Charles Martin Smith mokeshisdirectorialdebut with Trick or Treat, a DinoDe Laurentiis productioncombin-ing Kiss'Gene Simmons(Fango #37), rock 8roll,andTV evangelism. Smith lost octedin

"TheBeacon" on episode of The TwilightZone andIn'The

Banshee"segmentofRay Srodbury Theoter...AlP legendSamuelZ.Arkoff returns to the land of

in-dependentswithNight Crawler,a reincarnation-possessionmoviethatgoes before thecameras sometime thisyear...Sources describe TheLampasa horror fantasy. The Texas-based film feotures a nasty genieandnrakeups by Reel FX, thesomeoutfit deliveringmass maimingson Fridoythe 13thPort Vi.,.Busy doys atNew WorldPictures. The companyplanson remok-ingThe Blob,IWalkedwitho Zombie, Talesfromthe Crypt ondTheEnchanted Cottage, the lattera fantasy classic to beredoneby Steve (House) Miner(Fango #51).Minerjust wrappedSoulMon,o block comedystorring C.Thomas (The Hitcher) Howell. Alsoon tap;MonsterNight, which, based onRobertMcCammon's They Site, concerns "ghouls whorisefrom their groves to resurrect Saton." Expectall

these projects during 1986-1987...And,ifromance

After lastmakingacameo appearanceInthe British horror comedy BloodbathattheHouseofDeath(seepage1 8), genrelegend Vincent Price returned tosomehosting choresonthe anthologiesEscapes,Vincent Price'sOnce Upon a Midnight Scary and From aIVhfsper toa Scream. andhorrorfitsyour fancy.New #52, 53) finolly found a United LineCinemapromisesMy States distributor in Ascot DemonLover,onFX comedyin Entertainment Group,it'sin which a sweetheart turns into current release, amonster...Demons(Fango ISI

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A customerunwillingly participates in aMountaintop Motet Massacre,a1983slasher yarn currently in releasefrom New WorldPictures.

MOUNTAINTOP MOTIL MASSACRli Anotorious maniocIsreleosedfrom a mental institution, supposedly cured.Onreturninghometoo secluded,rundownmotel, the former psycho begins ex-periencingflashbacksand otheroddoccurrenceswhich eventually resultina deodly relapse.Isthisthe plot of NIWAMICUOtVeteran hor-ror/fantosyproducer Milton Subotsky(Fango #32), founder ofAmicusProductions,isset to unleash anewcrop of big screen chillers within the next 18monthsafter a hiatus of six years.

Amicus, bestknownfor their entertaininganthology movies Asyfum, Dr. Terror’sHouseof Horrors, TortureGorden, The HousethotDrippedBlood, From BeyondtheGrove,and the E.C. Comics adaptations Toiesfrom the CryptandThe Vau/t of Horror, disintegroted during the mid-70swhen Subotsky resignedfrom the company amid powerstruggles ond fierce business bottles. The lastAmicusfilmwosthe A-l-P. co-produced The People thatTime Forgot

Subotsky struck outon his

PsychoIII?Maybe!It'sreally the plot of aNewWorld Pic-tures release, currentlyin

regional distribution,which presentsitssomewhatfamiliar storylineunder thebanner of themostmemorabletitlein

yeors, Mounto/ntop Motel Massacre.

Arkansas-based pro-ducer/directorJimMcCollugh ownwithThe Uncanny, Domin-ique,0 psychologicalthriller,

and the children's horror an-thologyTheMonsterClub,The latterwasbadlypromotedIn Britainandnever properly released inAmerica. By 1980, Subotskybecameembroiled in a legol dispute with former partnerMaxJ.Rosenberg, whichisthemainreason for hisrecent

inactivity.Fortunate-ly,thatisnowallover. "InJonuary,Iwasexpected inNewYork tomakea deposi-tionforthe legal case, butwe finally reacheda settlement theweekbeforeIwas dueto leave,’’ Subotskysoys. "SinceI

hadmodemyarrangements,I

decided tocome anyway. Con-sequently,Iwenttosee every-bodyIknew,and Walter Monley(ofManley Produc-tions)was keento collaborote.

isn’ttooconcerned thatsome moyfind his film too derivative oftherecent Universalhitor other cinematic slasher ex-ploits.Heisa firm believer in the oldaxiomthatthereare justsomanydifferent stories andeverything elseisjusta variationon them.Heeven wondersifPsychoIIdirector Richord Franklineversowthe 1964 William Castle film Stro/t-Jacket,which also shares the samebosic storyline asMoun-talntopMotelMassacre and PsychoII.McCollugh also quickly points out that the plot similaritiesbetweenhisand Franklin’s filmare quite coin-cidental.Hecompleted his thrillerbeforePsychoIIever opened.Thetwofilmseven once shared thesame multiplextheater for pre-release test screenings. Moun-lalntopMotelMassacre reportedlyoutscored the highly hyped19^Universal sequel.

WhythenhasIttaken three years for thismass murder movietoreach the screens? Well,NewWorldinitially pass-ed on releasingit(or fear that PsychoIIwouldovershadow McCollugh’s smaller scale film. McCollugh says therewere other interested distributors, but thathe stuck withNew Worldanyway. While he has produced or directedsome children’smovies, Mounfair)fop sowehod a long meeting.He suggestedwetalkto Vistar, thecompanyinvolvedwith FrightNight.

“Theyhave a financial ar-rangementwithGusBerne who, incidentally, financed Asylumas well as...And NowtheScreaming StartsI

andthey liked the idea of working with Amicus. Walter feelshe canmarketanythingI

make. "We went awayto selecta numberof projects which have potential,"he continues, "and cameup withtwothey like: Screomshow,ananthology withminimal dialogueandlots of oction,andCrozy Planet, a comic fantosy. Both are pro-jectsIcome upwith afew years ago, butIhaddropped the options.Tmcurrently securingthose options again.

MotelMassacreemergesas his

firstforoy into '80s style horror, andMcCollugh trustedNew World to handle his film pro-perly.

’’They’rethe best," the direc-tor soys."No oneelsecan marketthistype of film as well." Eventually,thePsychoJ/

hoopio dieddown andNew Worldcomeback to Mc-Collugh.They took Mountain-topMotelMossocreolong with McCollugh's latest effort,a gentle,family orientedSF film calledAurora Encounter. Their

firstmove wastogive the film

itscurrent alliterativetitle (Mc-CollughfirstlabeledIt Moun-talntopMotel)along withits

catchy advertisingcampaign which features the film's scythe- wielding psycho, Evelyn,sneaking through a moteldoorandthe slogan "Please don’t disturb Evelyn. She alreadyis."

McCollugh adds thatNew World’s addition of theword "mossacre’

to thetitle isan ac-curate one. His tale featureso psychowoman whochecks guests out of her motel very permanently,andoffers cut throats,amputotedhands and sycthes-through-the-faceas extras,olong with other time-wornconventions of the slasherflick.

Oncethatissorted out, we'll havescriptswithin six months. ButevenifIcon'tget the moteriolIwant, there are severalother projectswecan go with.Dueto this state of af-fairs,wecon'trevealwhat thesetwomovies arebased on,butScreamshowpromises tobealotoffun."

Alwaysbusy, Subotskyis

also negotiating witha British companytomakea series of horroranthologies for video-cassette. Alltheproposed pro-jects willbemadeinEngland. The ebullient, affableNew Yorker,based in Britain since hemadeHorror Hotel with Christopher Lee in 1959,is op-timisticabout his future in film fear.“Ifeverythinggoes well, weshouldhave an ongoing relationshipwith Vistar."

—

PhilipNulman 12FANGORIA*56

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TOM

SAVINI

Have

Chainsaw,

Will

Travel

A

makeup

FX

Scream

Great scares

up

hisfuture

film

fears

as

he

revs

up

for

“The Texas

Chainsaw

Massacre 2

.”

ByDAVID

McDONNELL

T

he goalwasa simple one. AskTom Savini—the makei^masterwhohas beeninterviewed fre-quentlybyFangoandwasprofiled inthefirstFANGORIAScream Greats videocassette (Fango *52)— a

dozen oddnewquestionshe hasn't answered bqforeforthismagazine. Wasn’t easy.Still,repetitionwas mostly avoidedby considering the latest possibilities;the future films involvingOeorpeRomero and Stephen Kingstories,therecent vid^releases,and especially the upcoming Texas Chainsaw Mass-acre2.

The interview took place at the Stoiiffer’sGreenway Plaza Hotel in Houston, Texas,siteofaSTARLOG/ FANGORIAFestival(co-produced with themagazines byAdamMalin 6lGaryBermanofCreation Conven-tions).At thetime,overinAustin, Saviniwas deepinpre-production on Chainsaw 2Islated to begin/lim-ingMay5,/InishJune 28 and premiereinAugust).Andthetalk Just naturallyturnedtopirates, scream greats and chairwaws...

FANOORIA: When wefirsttalkedon theset ofCreepshow backin1981. you wanted verymuchtobeinthe castofRomanPolanski’s then-plannedPirates,which hasfinally

beenfilmedforasummer1986 release.Didyou ever get any further ahead on thatidea,realizingyour dreamofplayingapirate ina movie? TomSavini: No.I^essthereasonis Istopped hearing aboutPirates.So,I

lostout. It’sa bigmistakefora fan or anyonewhowantstobeinthis businesstothink thatsome producer ordirectorsomewhereisgoingto thinkofyou and give you acall. That'snothowitworks.1saythis becausea long time ago,afterDawn of the Dead,Iasked George Romero. "What’s Dario Argento doing next?1

wonderifhe'llcallmebecauseDawn ofthe Dead was a successforhim and

IdidtheFX.” That’s nothowIt works. There are atrillionFXguysin 14FANGORIA#56

SaviniandhisFXassistantsonTheTexaaChainsaw Massacre2gather for a photo: (left to right)ClnoCrognale,MitchDeVane,BartMixon.Shawn McEnroe andJohnVulich.

the world.Ithought! could justsit at home—

Fang! No, you haveto getoutthere. Savini:YoubettIshould have sent packagesand tapestoPolanski,butI didn't.Maybe he saw Knightriders andthat’swhy1didn’tgetit(laughs).

Ithoughthewould seeitandmaybe give oldTomacall(laughs). Fang:Howdidyougethookedup with your currentproject,doing the specialmakeupFXforThe Texas Chainsaw Massacre 27 Savini:Well.Tobe Hooper saw the Scream Greats tape on me. Kerry O'Quinn [Fango publisher and video UnitedFilm Distribution failed to marketDagof theDeadproperly, according tomakeup FX Scream GreatTomSavini.

producer]sentTobe a copy because they'redoinghim next andthat’s what gotmethejob. Fang: Really? Savini:Just thinkaboutit.Tobe has worked with Stan Winston, Craig Reardonandothers. It’san honorto do a movie with him.Scream Greats *1isfullof—Inallmodesty— per-sonality.1meanwe’refencingon roofs,1havemybaby.It’sfullof stuff thata directormight notknowabout a particular guy. Tobelikedwhat he saw about the FX.too.So,1got the job.

We’reinAustinandyouknowThe Texas Chafnsau> Massacre wasn't verygraphic,gorewise.It’sgoingtobe more graphicthistime,althoughIhope itkeepsthatdocumentaryfeel.1 helieu-edwhatIwas watchingl.

Oneofthe things thatTobe keeps sayingiswehavetokeepanRrating for Choinsau)2.Tobe has been very carefulaboutwhat we'recreating.But we’re not goingto pullback.We’re go-ingtogoforwhateverwecan.And Tobe saystheJapanese versionwillbe intactbecause they'recrazy aboutthis stuffoverthere. Fsuig:Otherthan themakeup FX.will yougeta chancetoact inChainsau)27 Savini:Idon'tknow.IhopeTobelets meinthere.Thepublicist,Scot Holton, broughtthisguy Barry with him. There wereno deaths planned beyondmy FX list,but duringa meetingwehad while Barrywasthere,wesaid, let's killhim. He'sa Yuppie-looking guy.So,wecast hishead and we're goingto try to kill him.Idon'tknow,maybethere’llbe somethinglikethatforme. Fang: Yuppies arefairgamethistime. Savini: There'sa pointtobemade aboutthemin this film.We’re goingto wipe out alotofYuppies. Fang: For Instance?

Savini:Thefilm’sopening sceneisthis longcarchase between a Porsche and a pickup truck driven by Leatherface and thefamily.The two Yuppiesinthe Porsche didsomethingtooffend the family,though whateveritwas,it uxisn'tenoughtowarrant what's going tohappentothem.Idon'twanttogive

itaway, butitdoesinvolvea chainsaw. Fang: There'salsoa scene where a lady DJistalkingtoalistenerwhenhe's murdered. Savini:Samescene.The Yuppiesin the Porsche are talkingtoheron acar phone.She hearswhat happens and that'swhat gets her turned on sothat sheand a detective goafter Leather-face.

Fang: Leatherfaceisback,what about theother family members? Savini:There’sPlatehead [The Hit-chhiker from thefirstmovie].He’sstill aroimd,buthe'snotalive;he’sdead and they carryhisbody around. They’ve been taking careof thisguy. He’sbreakingup, they've been sewing himup. 'They'vedone somethingtotan his hide, topreservehim,butheisin bad shape.He washitby a truckinthe firstmovie ISyearsago.I'mtryingto convince Tobetosayithas onlybeen five

5rearsbecause Platehead

—

after 13, you’redust.

Plateheadisadummy.I'm doing a lifecastofaNewYork actor that Tobe foimdwholooksJust liketheguyinthe firstfilm.The body actorwillbemade fromthat.This actorwillalsoplay the character’stwin brother,who’s very muchalive.He has aplate in hishead

,

TheRipper featuredabout “60 seconds” ofTomSavini.Heapologized to fans whofeltcheatedbythehomevideo premiere.

For thebookForreatJAekerman,Famous Monsterof Filmland(Fango*54), Savini turnedAckermanintotheFrankenstein monster.BobbieBresee joined the fun.

that’snotamakeupeffectby the way. Therereally isan exposedplate in this guy's head.ShawnMcEnroeofRick Baker'screwisworking withmeon that.

AndGranddaddyis stillaround,too. But he has aged considerably,and I’m reallyexcitedabout doing anoldage makeup onthisactorwe foundin Austinwhoplays him. Pang:What otherFXcan youtellus about without revealing toomuch? Savini:One guygets hishand lopped off.There'saparkinglotscenethat’s goingtobe pretty quick, suggestive shadowsandallastowhat happens. There'sthisgroupofpeoplewho are 16FANGORIA#56

rippingoffa carandthey'reunlucky enoughtobeinthesomeplaceas Leatherfacewithhischainsaw. Pang: After Chainsau)2,what's next?

Savini:There are somanythings happening.Iwas upforthejobof directing TYicfcorTreatforDlnoDe Laurentiis.Theycalledme.1sent themstuffontape.They were very nice.Theysaidtheylikedmystuff, butthey chosetogo with Charlie MartinSmith asdirector.

There are things thatmaybe hap-peningforLaurel.I'm doinganother Talesfrom theDarksideepisode. It's about awerewolfand there are three

transformationsinahalf*hour.I'llbe finishedwithChainsau) 2attheend ofJune,then I'm goingto start pre-productionon the Darkstdeshow becauseIwanttomakethewerewolf transformationdjmamite. Pang: There were reportsofyou directing at leasttwomore Darkside episodesforthenext season. Savini:Myschedule gotinthewayof that. Iwas sent a coupleofscripts that theywantedmetodoandItook thewerewolfone. I’vealready cast thegirl.PattyTallman.Shedidthe stuntinmy"InsidetheCloset” Darksideepisode. I originallywanted hertobeintheepisode,but the pro-ducerswantedsomeoneelse,this prettylittlegirlfrom Canadafor whomtheyhad already gotten a work permit. Shewasgreat,butI

want Pattytodoitthistime.The lO-year-oldguy who's the werewolf isnotcast. Pong:Wewon'tprintthatfact. Savfiii:No.You can runthat,because luckily that'snot theimportantplot point.He turnsintoawerewolfinthe firstfiveminutes.Ialwaystry tosave thecreaturetothe end.You obviously appreciate thator)mu wouldnt say you wouldcutitout. Luckily, itdoesn't mat-ter ifanyoneknowshe'sthewerewolf. Pang: The lastLaurelfilmwasDapof theDead.What do you thinkofthe finishedfilm? Savini:It'snot themovie George wantedtomake. Don’tgetmewrong,I

thinkwedida fabulous jobonit.I'm gettingalotofpraisefortheFXwork. AndIwonthe

^tum

Award fromDr. Donald ReedforBestMakeup. Ar-tisticaUy,I'mnot disappointed, butI

am

disappointedInthewayUFD distributedit.Itseemslikethey got theirmoney back and theydidn'tcare aboutmaking anymoneyforanyone else.Theydistributed itre^onally,why

notablitz?Everybody involvedin It whoIknow,isvastly^sappointedin howUFDhandledit.It^dn’t even cometomyhometownuntileight monthsafter Itwasreleased.People werestillcallingmetogodowntothe movietheater,soIwentanddidsome promos. Butwejustdldn'tcare.Wegot tiredofhearing aboutDap ofCheDead. I’m notdisappointedinthefilm.I'm disappointedinhowUFDhandl^it.

Pang:Willyou codirect The Summon-ing?

Savini:Co-direct?No,they'reafterme to directandtodo the FX.1justgota message onmyansweringmachine fromtheguys doingit.Theyaj^jarently wantmeto talk toinvestors andget somethinggoing.Thatmight be somethingtodoafterTexas Chainsau< Massacre2.

Puig: What’sthe storyline ofThe Sum-moning? Savinl: There's alotofmakeup FXin

it.It’sa revenge/murder mystery/ horrormovie.Itagged‘

'horrormovie’ ’

(Hitothat descripti<nibecauseitdoes in-volvea creature and some voodoo. That'snot giving toomuchaway. Pang:Whatelse is inthe future? Savlni:I'm writinga movie about dreams. I'm tryingtogetthatgoing. Andthere'sagroupinPittsburgh that wantsto startmaking moviesstrictly forvideo.They wanttodo a storyof mine.Ithinktheywould be the second firminthecountry doing direct-to-videomoviesaftertheOklahoma guys who madeThe Ripper[avideo movie

—

Fango *50

—

inwhich Savini appeared). Pang: What's yoin opinionofThe Ripper?

Savinl:Yesterday,atthe conven-tion, Iaskedifanyoneinthe audience had seenThe Ripper.Iaskedthemail tostandup and thenIkneeleddown and apologizedtothemall.Ididone day on thefilm,thenI left.Imean, it'sa nobleeffort,theguys are nice people,but the tape came out andit’s "TomSaviniinThe Ripper’’ and I’m inthelast60 seconds of the moviel Mycrewcalls it"The Ripper does Hamlet" because thelineswerelike readingHallmark cards,things1 didn'tfeelcomfortablesayingso therewas a problem makingit believable.But they paidmevery well.They were nicepeople. TheRip-perwas a niceeffort,butit'sawful. They dwell on theFXtoolong, that'snotmycupof tea.Another reason:Iaskedthem what aboutthis character,the Ripper,intherestof themovie?Theystdd, "Well,wehave astuntmanwho'llberunning around, buthe'llalways beinthe shadows.So,ofcourse,whenyou ap-pear to be the Ripper, the audience willthinkithas always beenyou.’’ Well,the stuntman

h^

curlyhalrl He'stall!Hehasno moustache.So, it was prettysillyand Just alittle em-barrassing, but1hopeitdoeswell. Pang: Are there otherprojectsyou wanttodo? Savinl:Ihad gone over to Japan with ascripta whileback and met two men whos£iidthey would finance almost anythingmy namewason. So,1went, came back andmygoal wasto findascriptIliked,thensend ittothem.The secondscript1read was from John Esposito, a fan from Levittown,NewYorkwhomImetata convention.It’scalledTell-Tale Tavern,oneofthe bestscripts I've readina long time.I'vealsosent that toDeLaurentiis,Cannon Films and

otherplaces.Ihopetogetthat startedwithmeasdirectorand doing theFX.

Pang:What's happening with "GraveyardShift,"theStephenKing NightShi/lstorythatyou were an-nouncedto directas well? Savinl:I

am

upto directit.Here'sa guy, George Demick,whowentto Wilmington.North Carolinaand met SteveKingon thesetofMaximum Oi^erdrive.Heaskedhimforthe rightsto"GraveyardShift’’and Steve gaveittohim, with a deferred paymentif itgetsgoing. Legally,they havetogetan approvedscriptby a certaindate orthey havetopay something, pennies. That’s a token gesturefrom Steve King. Georgeis lookingforthe backing.The screen-writerisJohn Esposito

—

who1

recommendedtothem.They hired him.Now, he's working on thescript. Pang:Andwhat's the status of GeorgeRomero'sadaptationof King’sPetSematary? SaWnl:IthoughtItandCreepshowII wereinlimbo.Therewas a timewhen PetSematarywas hot anditwas go-ing. ItalkedtoGeorge.He said that aroimd January19, "Ifthey haven’t madeadeal,I'm not goingtodoit." January 19 came and went.Ididn’t hear anythingandassumeditwasn't happening.

Then,Igot am»iifromJim Baffico whowasinKnightriders.Hehas a productioncompany.He said that he

and George were doing a moviecalled Apartment Living. They sentmea script. It'sa very funny movie about an apartmentthateatspeople.I

thou^t,this isGeorge’snextfilm. Then.1would meet peoplelikethe costume designerofCre^shomand Kn^htrlderswhowouldsay,"Well, Georgeiscoming backto Pittsbiu'gh todotwomore movies. Apartment Livingand Pet Sematary.”

Then,almost theday beforeIleft forAustintodoChainsaw2.David Ball,thelineproducerforDayof the Dead,calledmeand said heison re-tainer todo Pet Semataryand what's myschedule?So,nowIguessweore doing PetSematary. They’re gearing itup.I’mcrazyaboutdo^git.

Pang:Soundslikeyou have a great manyprojectsintheworks. Savini:I’mmakingall theseconnec-tions,sendingallthesescriptsoutto variousplaces.Eveniftheysay they don’tlikethis project.I'lljustsend another.I'mworkingon one more idea,akindofaction-murder mystery withoutanycreatures,nota splatter film. Itmaysound strange coming from me, but1feeltheless you show, thebetter.Thatwas the magicofThe TexasChainsaw Massacre.Itreallyscaredme. Before

Isawit.1talkedtopeoplewhohad and theysaid,"You gotta seethis movie,man!Theysplitthisguy open andallhisgutsfallout. ”And noneof thatreallyhappensinthemovie, but intheirminds.Itdid. Inbetweenhis nightly knifings, Savinlclownsaround onthe set ofTheRipper.

ofDr.

WM

Cyclops

Exceptwhereotherwise indicated,allvideocassettesare availablebymoilorderfromMARSHALL DISCOUNT VIDEO SERVICE, Box328, Trenton,Michigan46163. SILENTNIGHT.DEADLY NIGHT (USAHOMEVIDEO): Don't ex-pect 0 Christmas in July from the long-awaited,video release ofthe controversial Silent Night,Oeodly Night.It'sjust onother lesser entryinthe slashersweepstakesand nothing else.USAVideo decided to release Silent Night, Deadly Night during the sum-mer, withoutany holidoy fan-fore.Wisemove.The routine storybegins os a bandit Sonto murders the parents of the five-yeor-oldBilly.The kid lives,butsoon developso San-taphobia.Severalyeors pass andtheorphanedBillysuffers atthe cruelhands of strict disciplinarianMotherSuperior (LilyanChauvin).AtageIB, Bil-ly(Robert Brian Wilson),o troubled introvert, gets hired ata toy store.WhenChristmas rollsaround,Billy'sboss coaxeshimintowearing the storeSanta suitandpresto!

The quiet kid snaps, picks up anaxe anddecimates his fellowemployees. Soon, our SantaClawschecks hislistand takescare of the "naughty,"

in-cludingthe lovely Linnea Quigley,whoappears topless here as in her Return of the LivingDeadstint.While the bodycountmounts,Billy

returns totheorphanogeto settleo score with Attilo the Nun. Splotter fansand the very undiscriminatingshould ap-preciate Silent Night,Deadly Night's high mortality rote (12 total),but besidesa sleigh ride sequence that turns into o sloy ridedecapitation, the Noel mayhemlockssuspense, im-agination,and peaceon Earth, goodwill tomen. The bad performances, listless Charles Selllerdirection,severalawful originalChristmas songs,and on onticlimactic ending don't help either. You'llhear plenty ofyawnsduring this Silent Night.Yourown. PRIGHTMAREII(PRISM VIDEO): First off, thisisnota sequel to the killerhorror stor flick Frlghtmare or ony other movie. Cult directorPeterWalker (Fongo #27)helmedthistaut British thriller in1974and releaseditas Frlghtmare.With theotherFr/ghfmore (1981) alreadyoutfrom Vestron Video,PrismVideoaddedthe

sillynumeral to Walker's Fr/ghtmore to avoid confusion, though they don't resemble each otherInthe leost.The bogustitlesortofcheapens thiswell-crafted terror tale. Sheila Keith,aWalkerregular, plays aderangedwackowith an insotiable taste forhumon

flesh.Afterbashing a guy's headin.Keithandhermeek husbandRupert Davies

—

who coversup his wife's problem anddoesn't indulge in her dining habits

—

ore both sent to a mental institution. Fifteen

years later, the elderlycouple are releasedandKeithbegins herfeeding frenzy again. Their caringdaughter (Deborah Fair-fax)suffersfrom herown troubles,mainly raising her ob-noxious sisterwhorunswith a bad crowd andexhibits psychotictendencies of her own. By the movie's end, daughterandparents get together fora pretty shocking reunion.David McGillvray's scriptavoids theobviousand keeps you guessing through-out.Acting-wise, Keith easily gives BetteDavisa run for her moneyin themad ladydepart-ment. She's a real loonandfun towatch. Davies,seen os a priestinDraeulaHasR/sen from the Grove, remains con-vincingandalways believable as theweak-willed hubby. Thoughthe storyandacting works, FrlghtmareIIfoilsapart in the goreFXarea.The ottock scenes look poorly staged.

especiallysomeclumsy pitch-forkandpowerdrillmurders. The blood does flow, but not in anyreolisticfoshion. So, FrlghtmareIIachievesmostof

itsscoresondsuspense through characterizationand plot.What'swrongwith that? BLACUIA (THORNEMI/ HBO): During the late '60sandearly 70s,Hollywood discovered thatblockpeoplegotothe movies! So, in their infinite wisdom,they started tailoring conventional genres into movies like Block Coesor, Blockenste/n, Superfly, etc. Fortunately, Sloculo, a 1972 en-tryfrom AlP, risesaboveits

gimmickyorigins tosucceed as

a very entertoining vampire tale.William Marshall plays Mamuwolde,on African prince who meetswithCount Draeula (played by the very British sounding CharlesMocouloy) to stop theslave trade.The Tran-sylvanianCount turns out tobe somewhotofo racistandputs the biteonMamuwolde

—

dub-binghim Blacula

—

andkillshis atfroctivewifeLuvo (Vonetta 18FANGORIA^56

McGee). A fewcenturies later, twogay art deolers find Blacula s bolted coffinandsend

ittoLosAngeles. Innotime at

oil,the oldvampire getsdown tobusiness in hismodern sur-roundingsondkillsthe pair.A pathology expert(Thalmus Rasulala)followsthetrailof blood,while Blacula falls in lovewith Tino (alsoMcGee) whoremindshimof hislong deedwife. Thoughblackfilmmoker WilliamCraine directed, Bloculasometimesgoes over-board withitsjivetalkin' hipnessandstreet people stereotypes. But, several fac-torsdistinguish flfoculofrom other condescending black-sploitotionmovies, moinlyan imaginative script, clever dialogue, lots of actiononda funky score.Mostofall, Mar-shall'scommending perfor-mance and booming Shakespeareanvoicemoke Sfocuio worth sinking your teeth into. THECURSEOF FRANKENSTEIN (WARNERHOMEVIDEO):While penningHammer'spremier gothic horror offering, The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), JimmySongster realized early on thotitmadelittlesense to competewith Boris Karloff's earlierunforgettable Frankens-teinmonsterportroyal. So, the refreshing thingobout Ham-mer's retelling of theMary Shelleylegendisthatthe ac-centison the scientist, Peter Cushing. His forcefulpresence as the drivenBaron Victor Frankenstein eosily over-shodowsChristopher Lee's

creature completely,where theopposite holds true in the James Whale1931 version. Even with the impressiveand shocking PhilLeakey(Fango #50)makeupon,Leenever makesmuchofanimpression as the Creoture.Hedoesn't even appearuntilneorlyan hour intoThe Curse of FrankensteinI

Cushing excels at villainy in the role,and evenmoreso in thesubsequent sequels like FrankensteinMust Be Destroyed.Anyway, com-parisons aside.The Curse of Frankensteinstillholdsup to-day despite a talkyfirsthalf. The Creature'sspeeded-up un-maskingmanagestoshock evenafterrepeat viewings, though the bloodandgore that causedalittleuproarfrom the moreold-fashioned horror fans ofthetimeremaintameby to-day'sstondards.Terence Fisher,whotopped this the followingyear with Horror of Draeula, directed stylishlyand evenJack Asher's photography adds a richness to the story thatnoteven thisvideo-cassette'sfaded printcan detractfrom.TheCurse of Frankenstein just gets better with age. BLOODBATH AT THE HOUSE OF DEATH (MEDIAHOME ENTERTAINMENT):Carnage, or^j lotsofit,begins this flick as 19 or so folks get sliced, dic-edandvivisectedduring their stay atHeadstone Manor, which inquiring British tobloids soonbrond the"Houseof Death." Thisisn't,however, the slashermovieof theweek.

It'sthe slashermovie parodyof themonth,a growing sub-genre (at least backwhen Bloodbathwaslensed). British videocomedianKennyEverett

isthe star of this piece

—

and he, co-writer/director/pro-ducerRayCameron, and co-writerBarryCryer play the bloodandgore for laughs. Whenitworks,itcanbe uproariously funny.Whenit

doesn't (whichisoften),you can hear pinsdrop in Albu-querque. Here's the premise: years after the opening massocre,a poropsychologicol team(ledby Everett)showsup to visitandinvestigatethe place. ThisLegendof Hell House/The

Hount/ng/Polter-gefstframeworkollows Everett, co-starPomela {Super-manIII)Stephensonand col-leagues to spoofnumerous genre flicks, throwing in everythingfrom the ridiculous (StorWars?) to the sublime (a maddeninglyfunny crozy mom-psychicdaughter floshback send-up of Carrie which

in-volves a can opener!). Vincent Pricehamsitupinan extend-edcameoas thecrimson-clad SinisterMan, headofthe friendlyneighborhood death cult.The funniest bits are awashinblackcomedy:a whole pubsingsabout the murderstothetune of"The 12 Days of Christmos" andmostingeniously,a guy getsmurderedbybeing pulled entirelydowno toilet,

head-first!Flushed todeath! Unfor-tunately, there'solsoon abun-danceof Britishscotological humor

—

flatulencejokesmust be big there

—

that givenew meaningtotheterm "sopho-moric."They aren't funnyond they helpmokethisBloodbath mostlyalukewormdiversion. THEMUMMY(WARNERHOME VIDEO): Here'somovie monster who's always getting abadrap.Hereallyisn'tthat dangerous: the Universol Im-Ho-Tep/Kharis justshambles along, shufflingso slowly that practicallyanyonecould escapehimby,yes, running, skipping orbunnyhopping away. Unless you're aged,

in-firmor just plain too scared witless tomove,there'slittle

reason to getmurderedby the Mummy.Fortunately,when HammerdirectorTerence FisherondscreenwriterJimmy Songster revitalized the Universallegend, they outfit-tednewMummyChristopher Lee for the Olympics. Foron elderlyundying fellowall

wrappedup in musty ban-dages, thisguy con sure move

—

andthat’swhatmakes Lee'sMummyfarmore danger-ous than pastMummies(Boris Karloff,TomTyler,Lon Chaney,Jr). Still,it'sthesame oldMummymyth. Kharis sin-ned yearsagointrying to resuscitatebeloved (albeit dead) PrincessAnonkawith the fabled Scroll of Life.Bad move,Kharis.Hegets his tongue lopped off in flashback andgetsmummifiedaliveos punishment

—

those Egyptions werecertainly strict

—

andmust spend eternity protecting Ananko'stomb.Some4,000 yeors later, archeologist Peter Cushingandcohorts digup the placeondfasterthan you can soyTurhanBeyBrewsTasty TonaLeaves," the curse begins.Cushing'sdadgoes crazyinEgypt. InEngland, cohorts die.Thoughitcan't talk,theMummywolksi TheMummystillthrills,due mostly to Lee'sspeedy work. Thefilmgoesmuchslower (even at a brief 88 minutes), especiolly with the ancient Egypt floshbock (and Lee in priestlythreods)dragging on interminablytillitscrockerjack tongue/amputating semi-finale (ThewoitIsworthit).Thot seemstobe thecompromisein

thisversion:slower story.

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DAVID

CRONENBERG:

Part

One

By

ANTHONY

TIMPONE

Lord

of

The

director of

the

New

Flesh

tackles

a

remake

and

gives

Fango

the

scoop

in

an

extensive

interview!

R

emembertha( classic WoodyAdenlinewhere a fan goes upto theWood-manandsays,‘Tloveyour movies, especially the earlyfunny ones"?Well, gflerexperiencing the mildhorrorsof The Dead Zone, diehardDavidCronenberg fans looking for ghastly sex parasites or exploding heads might have been heard saying,‘Tloveyour movies, Mr.Cronenberg,espectalli/theearly bloody ones."

Well,The Fly returns Cronenberg tohismorehorrific roots,thistime combined with a strong dramatic structureof thekind that main-streamcriticsjirstnoticedinI983's TheDeadZone,Cronenberg’s criticallypraised Stephen King ad(^>tationu^rittenbyJeffl'eyBoam. Even though the co-writer/director says thatThePly's"charactersand dialogue areallmine." he quickly creditsCharlesPogue'sinitial remakescriptfor coming up with whatmanyu>illlabelthe "Cronen-berg touches.’’

Cronenberg seemstobe thelast personyou would expecttohelm a big-budgetremake, especially since he never liked the original version of The Flytobeginu>ith.But,this up-dateappears perfectly tailoredtohis trademarkterrors.Somefamiliar CronenbergthemesemergeinThe Fly— themeslikesciencerun amuck,lossofcontrol,theNew Fleshandothersexploredin

Shivers,The Broodand Video-drome—stqffthatmakesyou think betmeenthemayhem.

OntheOntario-basedsetof The Fly,themild-mannered 43-year-old directorsitsquietlyinhischair whilefirstassistantdirectorJohn Board barks orderstothecreu;. Bet-ween shots and the long set-ups of ChrisWalas' complicated special makeupFX, Cronenberg graciously usheredFango aroundand spoke eAdensiuelyon hisnewsummer moutewhich opensthisAugust. PANGORIA:Whatfirstappealedto you about CharlesEdward Pogue’s script forThe Fly? DavidCronenberg: The reconcep-tualizationoftheoriginal'sbasic premise attractedme, theidea of this scientist'sgradual transformation. Thefilm reallybecomesa metamor-phosis,adifferentkindofstory altogether,not justaquickiehead switch.Thoughitiscertainlytrue thattherehave beenmany transfor-mation films—ithasbecome some-thingofasub-genreinitself— Pogue'sThe Flywas sowelldoneand thedetailswere sointerestingand physicallyright,thatitreallygotme. It'sironic,but thestuff inThe Fly Dislikingtheheadswitch in the original Fly,Cronenbergloved the idea of a gradualmetamorphosisInthenew adaptation.

thatpeoplewillcall"most Cronenberg"was alreadyinPogue's scriptbeforeIrewroteit.Thestuff thattheymight not notice as being mine

—

thecharactersand the dia-logue-are mostly mine.Ihope they notice.

Pang: Didyou ever expecttomakea horrorfilm forMelBrooks? Cronenberg: No, butthat'swhat's niceabout the movie business. These thingscome outoftheblueand sud-denly.unexpected connections are made.Inever thoughtofMelBrooks asan extraordinary producer before hemade The Elephant Man, andI

could have imagined myself asking BrooksifIcoulddirectit.During our meetingsonTheFly,weprimarily wantedtomakesure thatweall felt thesamewayabout theproject in generaland not hold any mistaken

il-lusionsofwhatwewantedto do. Pang: After the producers agreedto letyou rewriteTheFly.whichofthe story'sweaknesses did youdealwith first?

Cronenberg:Ifeltthatthe char-actersweretoofaithfultothe original inthesenseofhaving a kind of’50sflavor.Forinstance,a long-sufferingfaithfulwifewasjust inthe script tohold thescientist'shand as hedeteriorated.I'mbeingalittle hardon thescript;itwasbetterthan that. Plus,therewas an attemptto

createabad guy. The storydidn’t needone.What’s fascinating about The Flyisthatthe lead character Brundle[JeffGoldblum)isthegood guyand the bad guy.It’sreallymore Dr.JekyllandMr.Hydethan Dracula.It'sonemanwho'sboth. Pang:Would youobjectifThe Flyis labeledasyour “monster movie?" Cronenberg: The Flyistheclosest thingI’veevercometomaking a monster movie.Itisamonster movie in a certainsense, thereisamonster initsoIcouldn't resentthat. Pang: Did your legendarycallsfor “more bloodl” come out during The Fly’sfilming? Cronenberg: Actually,Isaid"less blood"atonepoint.Ihave anew favoriteexpressiononTheFly:Ihad tokeeptellingGeena Davis [Gold-blum'sco-star]to"beg morel”Ilike that.“Begmore”isprettygood.But oneofChrisWalas’crew guys oper-atingbloodon a sequence askedmeif

Icouldsay theclassic line. So,Idid say."More bloodl" Pang:Insome ways.then.The Fly downplaystheschlockhorror elementsofyourearlierofferings? Cronenberg: I'm not saying that therearen’tsome very disgusting scenesinTheFly.there aresome very strong scenes anditisa horror filmwithsci-fielements.But (laughs), thfere'salso agreatdeal of

Veronica(GeenaDavis) sticksby her Flyman(Jeff Goldblum)as his condition worsens.

acting,dialogueand characteriza-tion.The movie’s beginningisvery muchthat,asopposedtobloodfrom beginningtoend.It’snothinglike that,thoughI’veneverbeenafraid of blood.The Dead Zone wasrelatively restrainedformebecause thatwas themovie'stone.E^ch project takes itsowntone,and1didn'thaveany impulsetoimpose gore onThe Dead Zone becauseitwasrealiyadifferent story,a psychologicalthrillerrather thanahorrorfilm.The Flyis definitelya horrorfilm. Pang:Were you surprised by someof thefilmsthatHollywood offered you afterTheDeadZonewonsuch respectableacclaim? Cronenberg:I’vebeen getting good offers fora long time. There aresome peoplewhodogettypecast as actors anddirectors,butIreallyhaven’t had that problem.Iwas offered Witness,BeuerlyHillsCop,J\fter Hours and even Floshdancel I’m happy about thatand appreciateit becauseitmeans that peoplewho of-fer scripts todirectors

—

producers, studio executives,etc.

—

realizethat I’mnot agenredirector. I like tohave thatconfirmationthatthey just thinkofmeasa greatdirector, period.For thosewhodoubtedit.The Dead Zone did confirmmyabilityto directactors,thoughIneverdoubted

it.nor the actorsIworkedwith. Inanyfilm I’vedone, there has beengood actingsomewhereinthe movie evenifthere arelotsof special effectsandtheminorcharacters aren'ttoogood.Forthosewho assumed that because1only did hor-ror films.TheDeadZone put that assumptionto rest.Even RobertDe Niro,whoknows Chris Walken very well,saysTheDeadZoneisthe best thingWalken has ever done. Pang:WasPogue involvedinthe rewritesat alland did hevisitthe set? Cronenberg:Pogue wasn't involved inmyrewritesand hasn’tvisitedthe set.He’safriend oftheproducer (StuartComfeld]andwould have beenmore than welcome. Hetold Stuart thathelikedmyscript,which was very generousofhim.It’svery easyto dislikesomebodywhohas rewrittenyourscript.Hedidn’tthink

Idestroyedwhat he had done, just tailored it tomypersonaltastes. Pang:Whydid youeliminate the DeWitt characterfrom your Fly rewrite?[InPogue’sscript,DeWittis an untrustworthy businessmanwho fundsthescientist'sexperiments and attemptsto stealthetelepods, butiseatenby thefinalstage Fly monster.] Cronenberg: DeWitt was a bad guy. buthereallydidn'tdeservetobe

mutilatedno matterhowmanytimes he curses.He wasn't a nice guy. butit didn’tjustifyhim beingkilledby the leadcharacter.1streamlinedthe scriptand gotridofhim and the other unintriguingoffice politics. Pang:As with Shiuers, Rabid, The Brood,and Scanners,TheFly,on the surface,seemstobe saying that humankind shouldn’t meddle with theunknownand thatscientistsand doctorscanmakelifefairly miserableforpeople. Cronenberg:Ihaveneuer

con-sideredthattobeoneofmythemes. Forme,myscientistsarealways heroes.They are peoplewhoare pushing everything to the outer limits.They are exploring, taking chances,and getting hurt and hur-tingother people,butthat'swhat humanbeingsdo.Wedo thatinour personallives,wedoitsociallyand culturally.So,Idon’t particularly singleout themedical profession or the physical sciencesfor criticism. That’s justsomething peopledo.I

could just aseasilyhavemadethese peoplesculptors, artists,or writers and they would do the samething. Theyattempt things that are dangerous.Iconsidermyself amongst them. Fang:AsinVtdeodrome whereMax Renn becomes partoftheNewFlesh andloses hismarbles.SethBrundle ofThe Flyloses hishumanity and bodytotheFly.

Cronenberg:Yes.Asthelead characterbeginstotransform physically,he’salsotransforming mentallyand emotionally into somethingelse.Iwantedtoexplore what happens to the mindwhenthe body changes andvice versa.Can youreallychange one without chang-ing theother? Pang:Whatdidyou want the Fly itselftolooklikeinitsvarious stages?

Cronenberg: The primary image and oneofthe things that the

pro-ducersandIspoke aboutand wanted toauotdwas having Brundle turn in-toa185-poundfly. Itwould besilly if Brundlewas just turninginto this hugefly.and physiologically im-possible,even given the fantasy elementsofanysci-fihorrorfilm. It would have been assillyasthehead switchintheoriginal,anditwouldn’t evenwork aswellas that sincethis isn’tthe ’50sanymore.Iwantedto makesure,asBrundle says, that he was evolvingintosomething that had never existedbefore,areal fu-sionbetweenaninsectand aman thatwouldembody elementsofboth

.

The creature’s evolution was very open,and ChrisWalaswas very hap-py aboutthat. COMINGINPART TWO, NEXT ISSUE: DesigrtinpTheFly.directing theSpace Bug. plus Cronenberg the philosopher,Cronenberg the direc-tor,and Cronenberg theactor/ {QJ FANGORIA#5623

where.Lee’slatestgenreouting. HowlingII,has garnered the worst reputationofany horrorfilm in re-centmemory. Lensed backin1984, noAmericandistributorsapparently wantedtotouchit.Previouslytest marketed as HowlingII;YourSister isa Werewolf, the PhilippeMora (Fango *49)-dlrected sequelfinally turnedup onThomEMI/HBOHome Videolastspring asHowlingII: Stir-ba.WerewolfBftchlDespitethis subsequent embarrassment.Lee— whoplaysa werewolf hunter

—

believ-edintheprojectfromthevery begliming.

Admittedly.JoeDante’sThe Howling comes as a toughact to follow,but Mora’s"different” ap-proachdidn’thelpmucheither.The story picksupaftertheearlierdeath ofTVreporterDee Wallace(ofthe original film),whohad turnedintoa werewolfand was shot on camera be-forea disbelievingpublic.HowlingII opens with a completelynewset of characters.

Thereporter'sbrother.Ben (Reb Brown],comestoLos Angelesto in-vestigatethetruecause of his sister’sdemise.He meets aJournalist (AnnieMcEnroe)and an enigmatic expertInarcane occultlore (Lee) at herfuneral.Thetrio hit ItoffOK, and decidetoinvestigatethis iTefarious lycanthrope conspiracyby hoofingit overtoTransylvania

—

where vam-piresoncecompetedforthevillagers’

jugulars.Theirgallant goal:toput a stoptoStlrba(SybilBanning],anevil Queenwhocontrolsand manipulates herwerewolfdisciples.The story buildstoa climactic comiccampaign to lidtheworldof thismonstrous menace once andfor all.

Accordingto Lee,therewere four aspectsofHowling11 's scriptwhich drewhimtotheiU-fatedproject. "OneisI’veneverdone a werewolf film,"heexplains. ’’I’veneverbeen ina movie aboutwerewolves,and1

thoughtImight aswelldo one before Iquitthesceneforever. Itwould com-pletethecircle.I'vemadefilmsabout almost everythingelse inthe fan-tasy/horrorgenre

—

mtunmies, vam-piresandallsortsofstrange creatureslikethat. [Awerewolf ap-pearsinDr.Terror'sHouse of Hor-rors,but notinLee’ssegment.]

’’Secondly,I’veworkedwith PhilippeMora beforeinAustralia whereIdid amusical-comedy with Alan ArklncalledThe Return of Cap-tain Invincible.IlikeMora andhis approachtomakingfilms,whichIs very low-key,very preciseand very hardworking.Heisaprofessional, and there are not enough profes-sionalsaroimd today, notJust

dlrec-Did

the

horror

legend survive his

appearance

in

the

sequel

debacle?

Christopher Lee's recent horror outingshavebeenlessthan elementary.

T

hingswere looking pretty goodforChristopherLeeIn thelate’70sandearly '80s. Inhisattempttoexplore new non-horror avenues, the former Draculanabbedsomefinecomedic rolesinStevenSpielberg's J941.the satiricalMartin Mull vehicleSerial,

andtotopitall off,a guest host spot onNBC’s Saturday NightLine.Then, thebottomfellout.

BearIsland,The Returnof Cap-tainInvincible,and theall-star horror-mysteryopusHouse of the LongShadows(Fango *26.27] bare-lymadetheirwaysinto

theatersany-CHRISTOPHER

LEE

&