Interview with Barbara Crampton

Ahead of Horror Channel’s UK premiere broadcast of WE ARE STILL HERE on Sat Jan 14, legendry actress Barbara Crampton talks exclusively on the revival of her career, her approach to challenging roles and why she loves the genre, but not the over-used label ‘Scream Queen’!


Q: Suddenly you are back in the genre spotlight after many people thinking you had retired.  What happened between your 80s heyday in movies like REANIMATOR and FROM BEYOND and the more recent YOU’RE NEXT? 

BARBARA: I had retired. But it wasn't really intentional. I was in my late 30's and hadn't been offered anything significant in quite a while. Roles in my age bracket for women were slim. Around the same time I met my husband Bob, got married and became pregnant. He had a career in a more stable business and was offered a great opportunity in San Francisco. I suppose I was ready for a change and a chance to build a family life with him, so off we went.

Soon after our first son was born, I was consumed with motherhood and then was also expecting my second child - a girl. I embraced this new chapter in my life and was not thinking about acting or movies, except as a spectator, for a long time. I'm glad though that I had the break to focus on my kids and be there to help out at their school and build a life I had dreamed about but seemed to elude me for many years.

The offer for YOU'RE NEXT came literally out of the blue and I was grateful my agent hadn't lost my number as we hadn't even spoken in something like six years. I believe I was really lucky to return in a film that was really successful and seemed to receive a lot of attention for the film makers involved. So once people knew I hadn't keeled over, I began to get a few more inquires for work. I think being older has helped me also. I'm playing mothers, caretakers, doctors and soon a woman running for Governor.


Q: WE ARE STILL HERE receives its UK premiere on UK’s Horror Channel on Jan 14, 2017. What attracted you to the project?

BARBARA: Firstly, I’m thrilled the Horror Channel is broadcasting the film. They really are dedicated to the genre in a passionate and intelligent way.

What attracted me to the project was that I responded to the depth of misery Anne was experiencing. She lost her only child in an auto accident. How does someone recover from that? The challenges interested me as a performer and I wanted to bring as much truth to the role as possible. It also felt very 80's to me with a Lucio Fulci vibe. How could I possibly turn a gift like this down? That's what this part felt like to me - a gift.


Q: You met WE ARE STILL HERE director Ted Geoghegan because he was the publicist on YOU’RE NEXT. Were you flattered he wrote the part of Anne for you?

BARBARA: Of course! Although he didn't tell me initially he HAD written it for me. I think he was nervous about that, for whatever reason. When I first read it I was immediately drawn to the character and felt a connection to Anne. So after a time I was thrilled he had secured the financing and knew we'd be on our way.


Q: To prepare for the role of grieving mother Anne, you talked to two women who had lost their sons in car accidents. What were the most important things you learned during this research process?

BARBARA: Interviewing these two women was pretty difficult, yet thankfully they both were more than willing. It was important for me to understand their grief as much as possible and do them justice in portraying their pain. Both ladies are very strong and not surprisingly this loss is the most devastating and significant thing that has ever happened to them. They told me how their relationships with their husbands suffered. How they themselves wanted to die. How tired they were all the time. Grief is really exhausting. They each talked about moments when they felt ok and could even share a light or fun moment with someone and then would feel immediately guilty for having done so. The pain was always there and is always there. It becomes absorbed in your DNA forever. I carried their answers with me every day on pieces of paper. I would read them each morning before filming and talk to Ted about these feelings on set as if they were my own to put myself in their head space. Ted would sit with me and he was such a calm and gentle presence and he would sometimes hold my hand. I think we created a space not unlike what those two women may have experienced when they would speak to a confidant about their sorrow.


Q: Many critics have pointed out the Lucio Fulci inspirations in WE ARE STILL HERE. Did you know who he was? Were you, and have you remained, genre savvy? 

BARBARA: I had seen Fulci's THE BEYOND and HOUSE BY THE CEMETARY and rewatched HBTC a number of times when Ted told me it was one of his favourite films and wanted a similar feeling for our movie. I think I've become more genre savvy since my return to acting with YOU'RE NEXT. I realised that I wanted to rededicate myself to my career and specifically to the horror genre so I'll confess I've become more educated of late, watching movies I may have missed along the way. I try now to watch a few old and new movies each week to keep up with what's happening, trends and influences. Even so there are movies I've missed. GREEN ROOM has been queued up about five times only to be interrupted by another movie or a family crisis. I've become more of a genre fan recently. I've always liked horror movies but now I love them. You can tell any story in a genre movie.

Q: WE ARE STILL HERE is a supernatural ghost story. Do you prefer that type of horror film than the all-out splatter fest?

BARBARA: There are so many sub genres in horror. The ones that appeal to me are ones with an interesting or unique story and dynamic characters. I like to see people challenged by something and rise up to overcome obstacles, either outside forces or something within themselves. Splatter and gore are great fun but just to show a cool SFX gag that isn't supported by a greater foundation in story doesn't really move me. I want to feel something.


Q: You say the house in WE ARE STILL HERE is its own character. Can you explain a little more?

BARBARA: The house was the site of some terrible happenings and it had absorbed the horror and terror. The feeling of the movie was on great display through the remarkable work of our DP Karim Hussain. It's moodiness, pain and suffering was felt in the angles and lighting used. "Place" is an important element for an actor in a movie and no time ever for me as much as in this film in this character. I thought my deceased son had followed us there. He was present to me when the baseball drops down the stairs and I heard his voice speak to me when the townspeople were descending upon us. I felt him in the walls. At the end of the movie I make a choice that involves staying in the house forever. Did I mention how cold it was? The temperature outside was -27 and the heat inside did not work very well. I was either bracing myself against its chill or leaning in to feel the warmth of a dear departed loved one who appeared to inhabit its space.


Q: Just like Stuart Gordon with REANIMATOR, Ted Geoghegan was making his feature debut with WE ARE STILL HERE. And you produced and starred in BEYOND THE GATES, the feature debut of Jackson Stewart too. Is it more exciting working with up and coming new talent?

BARBARA: It's exciting to work period. Most actors who have a career do a handful of movies a year if they're lucky. Most of your time is spent not working and doing regular everyday things. Fortunately, the film festival circuit is quite robust and I've spent the last few years promoting movies I'm in and traveling the states and abroad. It's very satisfying to be around like-minded people who love movies and really get what we do. Also I enjoy meeting other film makers and actors and fans.

As far as working with up and coming directors is concerned, these guys were so on it in terms of telling a story and already had vast and deep knowledge of the genre. Ted and Jack had worked in the film biz in various capacities before directing their first films and were completely comfortable with what they were doing. RE-ANIMATOR was the first film experience for Stuart but he had honed a lot of skills in the theatre and any moving picture technology he didn't understand was greatly helped by our DP, Mac Ahlberg. I find today that the industry is a lot more collaborative and especially in Los Angeles where directors screen rough cuts for other directors and they all give each other notes before any additional shooting or reshoots. That really helps a young director.


Q: Judging by all the movies you’re starring in at that moment either completed or in post-production, you are back with a vengeance! What’s the difference between making movies then and now?

BARBARA: I'm older and wiser and know when to speak my mind. I love the complicated parts I'm being offered now too. Everything is faster because of digital and most people on a set are capable of doing various jobs. It's also harder to get a movie financed at the level you'd like and to sell the movie to a company that will give you the funds to make your money back. You have to be really tenacious and have a strong attitude and be willing to lose money and still do such a bang up job that people notice you so that you can move up a level.

Also people watching movies illegally and not realising how much this hurts the industry is a real problem. Not everyone is successful, some leave the business and do other things. I'm talking directors but it's really competitive for performers as well. There are so many people in Hollywood. How do you distinguish yourself? Why or how are you unique? Embrace that. Starting as young as possible is a good idea, creating your own content, making movies with your friends, networking...


Q: You’ve recently stated you don’t like the term ‘Scream Queen’ even though you once embraced it. What’s changed? You are now a Horror Icon, do you prefer that description?

BARBARA: The term didn't used to bother me as much before. But as time has gone by I feel it's really reductive, overused and not reflective of the kinds of deep and more interesting stories we seem to be telling in this generation. It's a clichéd moniker given to ladies who are doing amazing work and have had long careers with varying roles. It's a term that has had its time and is now being used by actresses who have been in one or two movies and who self-proclaim themselves to be a “Scream Queen". It just doesn't feel special anymore, if it ever was.

For additional thoughts on this by myself and other film makers click on this link..
http://birthmoviesdeath.com/2016/12/15/barbara-crampton-dont-call-me-a-scream-queen

We Are Still Here is broadcast on Horror Channel, Sat 14 Jan, 10.50pm.

Competition: Win Satanic on DVD

Satanic is out on DVD on January 2nd And to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 3 copies of the DVD to give away.

Synopsis:
Four friends on their way to Coachella stop off in Los Angeles to tour true-crime Satanic Panic-era sites, only to find themselves interrupting an apparent human sacrifice.

They save the young victim, but she turns out to be much more dangerous than the cult from which she escaped, unleashing an evil spirit who will hunt the friends down one by one...

Starring Sarah Hyland (Modern Family), Justin Chon (Twilight Saga), Clara Mamet (Bad Neighbours 2), and Anthony Carrigan (Gotham).


Check out the release on Amazon by clicking the links below:
Satanic [DVD] [2016]

To enter all you have to do is answer this easy question...


Competition Closed

Terms and conditions
1. Closing date 09-01-17
2. No alternative prize is available
3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.
4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

Film News (UK): Horror Channel kicks off 2017 with seven premieres including WE ARE STILL HERE

There are seven fearful film premieres on Horror Channel in January 2017, including the UK TV premiere of Ted Geoghegan’s terrifyingly taut ghost story WE ARE STILL HERE, starring horror icon Barbara Crampton. There are also network premieres for Roman Polanski’s supernatural biblical puzzler THE NINTH GATE, starring Johnny Depp and Daniel Stamm’s possession nightmare THE LAST EXORCISM, produced by Eli Roth.

Horror Channel are also giving a UK TV premiere to Daniel Stamm’s intriguing remake of 13 BELOVED, 13 SINS, starring Ron Perlman. Other UK TV firsts include Quilez’s Colombia-shot supernatural suspenser OUT OF THE DARK; and Steve Wolsh’s monster mayhem thriller MUCK. Lluis David Brooks’ siege thriller ATM receives its Network premiere.


Fri 8 Jan @ 22:55 – MUCK (2015) * UK TV Premiere

After escaping from a possessed ancient burial ground underneath the Cape Cod marshes, Mia (Lauren Francesca) and her friends take shelter in an abandoned house. Unfortunately, the house has an evil spirit of its own. They are now trapped between malevolent entities, forcing them to stay and fight, or go back the way they came. Also stars Kane Hodder.


Sat 9 Jan @ 21:00 – THE NINTH GATE (1999) *Network Premiere

Corso (Johnny Depp), who finds rare books for wealthy collectors, is hired by Balkan (Frank Langella) to locate a book of satanic invocation, reportedly written by the Devil himself. The search takes Corso all over Europe and into various conflicts with other maniacal collectors (Lena Olin and Barbara Jefford), and a mysterious, nameless Girl (Emmanuelle Seigner). Corso learns that the book contains clues to a puzzle that will allow people to call up the devil, and certain people will stop at nothing to find the missing parts of the formula…


Friday 13 Jan @ 21:00 – 13 SINS (2014) *UK TV Premiere

What better way to celebrate Friday the 13th than with 13 SINS? Heavily in debt and with a pregnant fiancée, an autistic brother, and an ailing father to care for, down-on-his-luck salesman Elliot (Mark Webber) is thrown an unusual lifeline. A mysterious phone caller offers him cash for completing thirteen challenges, each more difficult than the one before. However, should he fail one, he loses everything. As the stakes rise, Elliot must decide whether the risk is worth the reward. Ron Perlman is the detective drawn into Elliot's increasingly destructive game…


Sat 14 Jan @ 22:50 – WE ARE STILL HERE (2015) *UK TV Premiere

The producers of THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL and CHEAP THRILLS serve up a tense ghost story in the Italianate Lucio Fulci/Pupi Avati tradition. After their teenage son is killed in a car crash, Paul and Anne (Barbara Crampton) move to the New England countryside to start a new life. But the grieving couple unknowingly becomes the prey of a family of vengeful spirits that reside in their converted funeral parlour home. And so begins a terrifying fight back against the living hiding a terrible secret, and the malicious dead demanding a sacrifice that threatens to pull their cursed souls into hell.


Fri 20 Jan @ 21:00 – ATM (2012) *Network Premiere

One late night after an office party, co-workers David (Brian Geraghty), Emily (Alice Eve) and Corey (Josh Peck) make a late-night stop at an ATM. What should be a routine transaction turns into a desperate struggle for survival when an unknown man appears outside the vestibule. With the wintry temperatures dipping below freezing, and the morning sunrise still hours away, they have no choice but to play the man's deadly game of cat-and-mouse.


Sat 21 Jan @ 21:00 – OUT OF THE DARK (2014) *UK TV Premiere

Sarah Harriman (Julia Stiles) has moved her family – husband Paul (Scott Speedman) and sprightly daughter Hannah (Pixie Davies) – to a small Colombian town to work at the paper mill her father (Stephen Rea) owns. As they settle into their home, surrounded by a forbidding jungle landscape, Hannah begins to act strangely and suddenly disappears. As Sarah and Paul frantically search for her, they delve deeper into the town’s superstitions and discover a shocking secret about their family; a secret they must uncover in order to save their daughter.


Sat 29 Jan @ 21:00 – THE LAST EXORCISM (2012) *Network Premiere

Disillusioned by years of defrauding poor believers out of their hard-earned cash, evangelist preacher Cotton Marcus has decided to put the record straight by starring in a fly-on-the-wall documentary exposing the con tricks of his demon-busting trade. A letter from a poor southern farmer begging for help in driving evil off his land seems to give Cotton the perfect opportunity to expose the phoniness of his satanic ministry. But then he meets the farmer’s disturbed young daughter, Nell, and everything changes. Produced by Eli Roth.

www.horrorchannel.co.uk | twitter.com/horror_channel | facebook.com/horrorchannel

Interview with Kurt Brokaw By David Kempf

Professor Kurt Brokaw has taught advertising courses at The New School for 32 consecutive years. He's senior film critic of The Independent and has taught film and literature courses at the 92nd Street Y for the past 14 years. He was an original "Mad Man" starting in 1961, and has been a copywriter and creative supervisor at three top-ten New York ad agencies as well as creative director at RCA Records. Kurt holds M.S.and B.S. degrees from The University of Wisconsin, and authored the trade bestseller, "A Night In Transylvania: The Dracula Scrapbook," a cross-cultural history of Dracula.



Interview with Kurt Brokaw By David Kempf

Tell us how you became interested in the Dracula legend.

Horror movies were a genre passion since writing for my Indianapolis high school newspaper 1952-56, and becoming the film reviewer for the U of Wisconsin student newspaper 56-61. My undergrad/grad majors were in advertising, and I migrated to Madison Avenue as a “Mad Man” for 30 years. One high spot was developing a television commercial for Vanish (bathroom cleaner) with master magician Harry Blackstone, Jr.
In ’75 I was on assignment for The Monster Times, a well-remembered fanzine in Manhattan, researching a long Transylvania travelog and Vlad Dracul history, and photographing all the key sites.

 Later that year, I was curating and hosting a film series in Scarsdale (north of Manhattan) called Preacher Features, with local ministers, priests and rabbis giving their take on art films. On impulse I decided to try a slide show with music plus a screening of “Horror of Dracula.” And instead of inviting a local clergy person, I invited Radu Florescu, the mainstream Dracula scholar along with Raymond McNally, to come down from Boston. To my astonishment he accepted, the local paper gave it a big play, and we sold out a huge community hall.

An editor from Grosset & Dunlap publishers was there, and tasked me to expand The Monster times travelog into a book-length exploration of the historical figure, plus Bram Stoker’s fictional legend and all nine yards of popular culture. That became “A Night in Transylvania: The Dracula Scrapbook,” launched in ’76 on the 500th anniversary of Vlad’s death, with an intro by Florescu and McNally. Their support plus friendships with Jeanne Youngson who ran The Count Dracula Society and The Vampire Empire in New York City, and Elizabeth Wilson, an eminent Dracula scholar based at the University of Newfoundland, helped the book enjoy healthy runs in hardcover and trade paper.


How much research on Dracula did you do before going to Transylvania?

The key texts were Florescu and McNally’s “In Search of Dracula” and their “Dracula: A Biography of Vlad the Impaler 1531-76.” A favorite film book was and is Lotte Eisner’s “The Haunted Screen” on early German cinema. And because I partly worked my way through college and early parenthood as a magician at children’s birthday parties, I studied The Vampire Block routines, a classic magic illusion that can entertain all ages. I’ve also watched automatons perform in the Robert Houdin museum in Paris as well as in Ricky Jay’s superb stage performances, and while these mechanical moving dolls aren’t vampires, they’re a kind of special Undead.


What is your favorite Dracula movie?

Hammer’s “Horror of Dracula” is the one I’ll revisit most often. “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” with Lugosi reprising Dracula turns up when my three grown daughters and son are visiting. (Even my wife will watch that one.) Werner Herzog’s “Nosferatu” with the inimitable Klaus Kinski still stays with me. My #1 contemporary vampire film remains Kathryn Bigelow’s “Near Dark” which my son initially recommended.


Name some of your other favorite horror films.

I reviewed “The Babadook” as senior film critic for The Independent (Independent-magazine.org) quite highly. Ti West’s “House of the Devil” has a teenage-girl-trapped-in-haunted-house sensibility that’s timeless. My Hammer favorites next to “Horror of Dracula” and “Brides of Dracula” are “Hound of the Baskervilles” with Cushing/Lee, and especially “Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde,” with Martine Beswick’s scream queen performance matching young Ralph Bates, who might have grown into another Cushing. “The Mad Magician” with Vincent Price in 3-D was a favorite magic horror. And Julie Adams’ 3-D lake swim in “Creature from the Black Lagoon” still gets my pulse racing.

Why do you think horror films remain popular?

Having unsuccessfully pushing around proposals for similar travel “Nights” books on Frankenstein and The Mummy, I’ve come to believe Dracula films combining sexuality with eternal life will always reign. Frankenstein is a bucket of bolts, and The Mummy is this entombed dusty geezer. But when Frank Langella played Dracula on Broadway against Edward Gorey’s super-stylized black-and-white set, and then mounted this poor trembling gal, opening his shirt and ripping a trail from his neck on down with a sharp fingernail, releasing little rivulets of bright red blood down his handsome bare chest, the audience actually gasped. It was as close to the Grand Guignol as Broadway’s ever gotten.

Also, Anthony Hopkins told me late one winter night after I’d watched him shoot an outdoor scene locally in bitter cold, and then invited me into his trailer for tea, that he could play Hannibal Lector more than once without endangering his career. This wasn’t always the case with actors, as Tony Perkins discovered doing the “Psycho” cycle. The late Don Westlake told my “Pulp Fiction” college class that his 1987 screenplay of “The Stepfather,” a serial killer outing, had big trouble casting the psychopathic lead (finally played by a fine Terry O’Quinn).

But audiences today are more flexible and enlightened, and thus big names can freely take on dicey roles that once would have been too risky. In 2010 Casey Affleck could play the sadistic, lunatic killer Lou Ford in Jim Thompson’s “The Killer Inside Me,” and six years later be up for an Oscar as the mopey loner in “Manchester by the Sea.”


What are your latest projects?

As I’m closing in on 80, I’ve found careers (teaching at The New School and 92nd Street Y, reviewing for The Independent, and collecting/selling 40s paperbacks and 30s/40s pulp magazines through much of my life) that jell. In these pursuits, age has never worked against me, and as I go from “old” to “ancient,” people assume there’s maturity, mystery and wisdom at work. It’s all misdirection and smoke-and-mirrors, but it’s helping keep me young even when everything but my head aches in the morning.


Please in your own words write a paragraph about yourself and your work.

I’ll turn it around a bit: Your interview with my nephew magician and inventor-builder of magic illusions Michael Baker is touching and satisfying. It was my pleasure to introduce young Michael to magic, "most of my beautifully airbrushed equipment was acquired in the early 1950s" and he made magic first his passion and then his lifelong career. I sit at his feet now and consider myself his student, so we’ve come full circle.

Links
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9823486-a-night-in-transylvania
http://www.newschool.edu/public-engagement/faculty-list/?id=4e6a-5935-4e67-3d3d
http://independent-magazine.org/authors/kurt-brokaw/

Competition: Win Fear The Walking Dead: The Complete Second Season

Fear The Walking Dead: The Complete Second Season is available on Blu-ray and DVD from 5th December, courtesy of Entertainment One - And to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 2 copies on Bluray to give away.

Synopsis:
After witnessing the burning of Los Angeles, Madison, Travis, Daniel and their grieving families board the ‘Abigail’, still unaware of the true breadth and depth of the apocalypse that surrounds them.

But as Operation Cobalt goes into full effect and the military bombs the Southland to cleanse it of the Infected, the Dead are driven toward the sea. As the group head for ports unknown, they will discover that the water may be no safer than land.

Win This:
Fear the Walking Dead - Season 2 [Blu-ray]

To enter all you have to do is answer this easy question...


Competition Closed

Terms and conditions
1. Closing date 12-12-16
2. No alternative prize is available
3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.
4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

Interview with Michael Baker by David Kempf

Michael Baker is a talented magician who has combined two great things that go together - Magic and Halloween. Michael has brought back a classic magic trick The Vampire Block Escape. As an amateur magician, I really appreciate owning a great trick the way it was always meant to look. Now you can see for yourself why magicians in England and America are praising this talented artist.

When did you first become interested in magic?

I was about seven years old. I received a magic set for Christmas. After playing with it a bit, it found its way to my closet. My uncle saw it and decided to show me the cool magic that could be done with “my” stuff. I was hooked at that point.


How did you get involved in fantasy/horror themed tricks?

This probably started very early on, and very likely with a book called “Spooky Magic”. From a very young age, I loved Halloween, and all things monsters. Combining the two was a natural occurrence, and although I would include magic that leaned toward horror on occasion, I did not totally theme my shows in this way for quite a number of years.

How did you go about finding venues to perform?

This really began by getting known first as a magician. Aside from the inclusion of a horror or geek routine or two, the opportunity to work a full horror illusion show came much later when I was asked to become part of the entertainment at a large Halloween haunt in Birmingham, AL.

I worked this month-long venue for ten years. Once I had established myself, I then wrote a majority of the shows, created the illusions used, and built them and the stage sets. I had the opportunity to work with some other great acts, from fire dancers to sideshow freaks. Even though we built these shows on a shoestring budget (we wanted the majority of the paycheck going into our pockets!), it was a great opportunity to be very creative. In that regard, we were basically given carte blanc.


Tell us about your version of The Vampire Block Escape. 

The Vampire Block Escape is a classic trick. A wooden block is placed into a tube-like box, and locked in place by a spike that runs through the sides of both the box and the block. As I was increasing the list of items that I could build, I naturally wanted to include as many spooky Halloween effects as I could. But as with all the props that I make, I wanted to give the Vampire Block Escape my own spin.

Typically, these were a bit cartoony in appearance, either stenciled ghosts, bats, against a full moon. Every version I saw seemed more appropriate for kid shows. I wanted something a bit darker, and well, “cooler”. Giving the thing a more “Victorian goth” look was more in line with how most adults would envision a vampire, so I had to first give them a scarier vampire. A block with a bat just wasn’t going to cut it. I came up with the face, somewhat based on Nosferatu, and a bit of the vampire from “Salem’s Lot”. That’s a scary vampire!

The box (tube) needed to be more than a box with random spooky stuff painted on it. Even though it had to still be a square tube in order for the trick to work, I painted the front to resemble a toe-pincher coffin and gave the top a more gothic appearance. I had to opt for a slightly different method in order to pull off the look, and I think it all came together nicely. I have made these for several years, in three different sizes, and they continue to be popular sellers.


Is Halloween your busiest time of the year?

Regarding shows, when I was a full-time performer, it was definitely one of them. Working the haunt was actually easier than say, booking a month of shows at different venues, such as happened at Christmastime. Halloween was still quite busy, because I worked the haunt almost every night through the month, but I was still booking other shows during the day and early evenings.

These days, I do not try to book shows, as I am more of a magic builder now. But, I do still manage to get involved with a handful of Halloween events each year. As a builder, I have a busy time leading up to the holiday, as my line of Spooky/Halloween items sell well as other magicians add new magic to their own Halloween shows.


What are your favorite horror books?

I’ve never been much of a novel reader, but I am a huge fan of technical books. Books on special effects make-up, illusions that lean toward the horror themes, behind the scenes stuff on films, running haunted houses, and obviously, anything on the Spookshow masters like Bill Neff, and the Baker brothers (no relation).


What are some of your favorite horror movies?

First love is definitely the classic Universal Monsters. I also love the Hammer Films Dracula series with Christopher Lee. I saw most of those at our local Saturday Horror matinee. But, I will always have a place in my heart for the older B horror movies. Our local TV had a Saturday midnight monster show called, “Acri Creature Feature”. As young teens, my brother and I were even on that show as “Creeps of the Week”. To us kids of that era, this was akin to winning the World Series of horror.


What do you consider your greatest accomplishment as a magic/ illusion designer?

I think just being able to make a 30+ year career doing what I love is accomplishment enough. All the milestones along the way are just part of that bigger picture.
             

Do you have any advice for new magicians?

Read books. Read books about magic. Read about the tricks, and read about the history. The current trend is to find info online and learn “visually” via video. While there is some good info to be found that way, I feel that books give the magic student a higher level of learning. (Forgive the following gender-specific statements. Both male and female are assumed inclusive.)

The reason is simple. When a magician reads a book to learn a trick, he has no choice but to envision himself in the role of the protagonist. He automatically imparts some of his own character into that role. From that point on, the magic comes from within, and is part of his soul.

When a magician learns a trick by watching a video, he adopts a role of mimicking the person he sees on the video. He becomes an imitation of that other magician, and risks never bringing forth the magic from within himself.
     

What impact has the internet had on revealing the secrets to magic tricks?

The arguments are relative. Years ago, magicians were all up in arms over books that exposed magic tricks. Decades later it was the video that became the demon. Now, it is the internet. Of course, with the internet, information travels further and faster. But, the amount of information increases proportionately. The information regarding magic is out there for anyone to find it, but by and large, the only people finding it are those interested in magic, and perhaps a few bored people who haven’t yet settled in on better ways to occupy their time. There may be a few of those out there who want to bust the magicians, but most normal people won’t waste their time, and still prefer to be entertained by magic.

The one true problem with magic on the internet is that anyone can post anything, without any governing on quality. There is going to be a lot of crap, but it’s really a bell curve, I think. The bad is balanced by the really good stuff, but most is going to fall somewhere in between.

The way I see it is, most people feel more comfortable in any conversation if they know something about the topic at hand. When the lay public encounters magic on the internet, it gives them more of a reason to engage me in conversation. I see it as opening doors that may not open by themselves.

What are your current projects?

Right now, it’s a balance between working on standing requests and exploring new items to make. My business is the epitome of a cottage industry. Because I work from my home, in a very small workshop, I am limited by how much I can produce at any given time. If I make an item that proves popular, it typically sells out and then I get requests to make more.

But, I don’t want to simply crank out the same stuff day after day. I could get a job in a factory and do that. In order to satisfy the artist in me, I have to be creative. I have to work on new projects that I find interesting. Fortunately, I have been able to do a lot of that. One of my customers, who is also now a very good friend, has over 200 different items that I have made. I don’t think too many other builders can say that… at least they aren’t that crazy! Ha!


Please in your own words write a paragraph about yourself & your work. 

If I was to describe myself, it would be to say that I am an artist at heart. I have reinvented myself a few times in my life and explored different vehicles by which to express my art. My early career aspirations were to 1) be a chef with my own restaurant. I then became 2) a performing magician. Now, I am 3) a builder of high quality magical apparatus (fancy term for trick boxes). In all cases, I think I have been successful, even if only as a big fish in several small ponds.

Links:

http://themagiccompany.com

Competition: Win All Through The House on DVD

All Through The House is released on DVD November 21st And to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 3 copies on DVD to give away.

Synopsis:
Fifteen years ago, a peaceful Christmas neighborhood was engulfed by fear when five-year-old Jamie Garrett was mysteriously taken from her bedroom never to be seen again. Now on Christmas break, Rachel Kimmel comes home from college to find her neighborhood struck again by a reign of terror.

A violent killer is hiding behind a grisly Santa mask, leaving a bloody trail of slaughtered women and castrated men to the steps of the Garrett house. Rachel finds herself in a horrifying nightmare as she discovers the twisted secret behind the mask.

Win This:
All Through The House [DVD]

To enter all you have to do is answer this easy question...


Competition Closed

Terms and conditions
1. Closing date 02-12-16
2. No alternative prize is available
3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.
4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

Film News (UK): Horror Channel to broadcast eleven film premieres for November

Sky 319 / Virgin 149 / Freesat 138 / Freeview 70

Horror Channel will be screening eleven weekend film premieres this month, including the UK TV premieres of Brandon Cronenberg’s darkly disturbing skin crawler ANTIVIRAL, Tommy Wirkola’s crowd-pleasing, carnage-driven DEAD SNOW 2: RED  VS DEAD, Jon Knautz’s demonic gem THE SHRINE, Tyler Shields’s stylish mash-up of Scream and La Femme Nikita, FINAL GIRL, and Ben Kital’s underground possession thriller BENEATH.

There are also network premieres for Matthias Hoene’s ultra-splatter comedy horror COCKNEYS VS ZOMBIES starring Michelle Ryan, Wes Craven’s demented classic THE HILLS HAVE EYES, Leigh Janiak’s acclaimed HONEYMOON starring Harry Treadaway and Rose Leslie, John Grissmer’s gloriously gruesome slice of ‘80s slasher, BLOOD RAGE, Steve Miner’s hilarious cult favourite HOUSE, and Eugenio Martin’s Spanish/British train-terror, HORROR EXPRESS, which stars Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Telly Savalas.


Full details of premieres in transmission order:

Fri 4 Nov @ 21:00 – COCKNEYS VS ZOMBIES (2012) * Network Premiere
 
There’s Geezer Gore galore in what director Matthias Hoene calls Evil Dead 2 meets Withnail & I. Workers on a Docklands building site uncover a burial ground sealed up in 1666. However some of the corpses aren’t Brown Bread at all, and before you know it London’s East End is infested with hungry zombies. Can bank robber brothers Terry and Andy Macguire get to the Bow Bells Care Home, run by their granddad, in time to rescue everyone? The Raspberry Ripples are under siege with only their Zimmer frames and wheelchairs to kick some zombie Khyber Pass. Would you Adam and Eve it? Richard Briars and Honor Blackman are amongst a sparkling Brit cast.


Sat 5 Nov @ 22:50 – HORROR EXPRESS (1972) *Network Premiere

Alexander Saxton (Christopher Lee), a British anthropologist researching in the Russian Far East, boards the Trans-Siberian Express with his latest discovery, a frozen specimen he hopes to prove is the missing link. But passengers begin to turn up dead, and terror engulfs the train as Saxton and his partner, Dr. Wells (Peter Cushing), struggle to contain a mysterious -- and increasingly murderous -- force with the power to control minds.


Sun 6 Nov @ 21:00 – ANTIVIRAL (2012) *UK TV Premiere

In a dystopian near-future, Caleb Landry Jones stars as Syd, a haunted young man employed by a corporation which markets celebrity viruses. His employer has an exclusive licensing arrangement with the world's biggest female star, Hannah Geist (Sarah Gadon). One day Syd is given the important job of picking up a sample of a new disease she has. Obsessive and addictive, Syd injects himself with it and finds that the sickness he shares with Hannah is more serious than he thought. Also stars Malcolm McDowell.


Fri 11 Nov @ 22:55 – THE SHRINE (2010) *UK TV Premiere

Three reporters sneak off to an isolated Polish village, eager to investigate the disappearance of a backpacker. They arrive on European soil to find hostile villagers and a strange fog hovering over the neighbouring forest. A foray into the woods leads to the discovery of a horrific artefact and the unfolding of equally horrific events. This is demonic forces, served up European style.


Sat 12 Nov @ 22:45 – THE HILLS HAVE EYES (1977) *Network Premiere

Wes Craven followed his compelling cult classic The Last House on the Left with this violent morality tale about a bloody war of attrition between two families. The Carters travel across the Californian desert in search of an inherited silver mine. Stranded in the middle of a former nuclear testing site, their attempts to find help lead them into the territory of a savage family of cave-dwelling cannibals. No one is spared from the ensuing nightmare as the family's "values" are clearly drawn and anything goes in a race to survive.


Sun 13 Nov @ 21:00 – FINAL GIRL (2015) *UK TV Premiere

Ever since she was a young girl, Veronica has been groomed by her mentor to become a lethal assassin, with her sights set on devil-may-care murderers who think they are above the law. Her latest targets are a pack of wild child American Psychos who love nothing more than hunting distressed female prey in the woods. But when the wolf pack is manipulated into picking Veronica as their latest victim, they learn pretty fast they chose the wrong girl. Famed photographer Tyler Shields makes an impressive feature debut.


Fri 18 Nov @ 21:00 – BENEATH (2013) *UK TV Premiere

When environmental lawyer Samantha (Kelly Noonan) returns to her childhood home to celebrate her coal mining father George's (Jeff Fahey) retirement, she is persuaded into volunteering to work with him in the mine on his last day. When drilling triggers a cave-in, panic starts to set in. As they frantically search for a way out, something unknown seems to take over their bodies one by one, causing them to strike out against one another violently. Is there something truly evil down below, or is it all in their minds?


Sat 19 Nov @ 23:00 – HOUSE (1986) *Network Premiere

A cult horror comedy that went on to spawn three sequels, Roger Cobb (William Katt) is a best-selling novelist trying to get over the end of his marriage and the mysterious disappearance of his son. When Cobb’s aunt commits suicide, the author moves into her home. Initially, he enjoys the solitude, however he soon begins to realise that the house is haunted. Eventually the evil zombies in the house force Roger to endure a harrowing journey into his past…


Sun 20 Nov @ 21:00 – HONEYMOON (2014) *Network Premiere

Young newlyweds Paul and Bea travel to a remote, romantic lake in the country for their honeymoon. Shortly after arriving, Paul finds Bea wandering in the forest for no apparent reason. As her behaviour gets increasingly peculiar, he begins to suspect something more sinister than sleepwalking took place deep in the woods. Harry Treadaway (Control) and Rose Leslie (Games of Thrones) give captivating performances as a couple taking new love to disturbing depths.


Fri 25 Nov @ 22:45 – DEAD SNOW 2: RED VS DEAD (2014) *UK TV Premiere

Director Tommy Wirkola improves on his Nazi zombie original in clever ways that don’t betray the core conceit of witty and heartfelt non-stop action. Sole survivor Martin crashes his getaway car in the mountains after fighting SS officer Herzog for control of the vehicle. Waking up in hospital Martin discovers he's blamed by police for all his friends' murders, and he's had Herzog's severed arm attached to his shoulder by mistake, meaning he now has the zombie creating power; something which will come in use when Herzog's dead army advances towards the small town of Tarvik.


Sat 26 Nov @ 23:00 – BLOOD RAGE (1987) *Network Premiere

Twins Todd and Terry seem like sweet boys - until one of them takes an axe to the face of a fellow patron at the local drive-in. Todd is blamed for the bloody crime and institutionalised, whilst twin brother Terry goes free. It’s now ten years later, and as the family gathers around the table for a Thanksgiving meal, the news comes in that Todd has escaped. But has the real killer in fact been in their midst all along? One thing’s for sure; there will be blood and rage! Shot in 1983 but not released until 1987, the cult classic was re-cut and shown in theatres as Nightmare at Shadow Woods.

TV: Sky 319 / Virgin 149 / Freesat 138 | Freeview 70
www.horrorchannel.co.uk | twitter.com/horror_channel | facebook.com/horrorchannel

Interview with James Moran

James Moran (born 5 March 1972) is a British screenwriter for television and film, who wrote the horror-comedy Severance.

He works in the horror, comedy, science-fiction, historical fiction and spy thriller genres.

“Who the hell wouldn’t want to see Alan Ford smashing Zombies to bits?”

Ahead of the Horror Channel’s network premiere of COCKNEYS VS ZOMBIES on Friday 4 November, 9pm, writer and self-confessed genre junkie James Moran  reflects on the making of the film, writing a new Zombie script and why the original Dawn of the Dead is his favourite Zombie film.


Q: What movie did you see growing that inspired you to become a writer?

JAMES: It all started with Doctor Who, which I've been watching since before I can remember - I used to sit and watch the entire end credits to see what all the names and jobs were, and made up my own stories to fit into the show. Later, I watched a lot of "making of" shows, that explained how the effects were done, the stunts, showed the directors on set - that made me want to get into the movies because it seemed like so much fun. The first movie that made me aware of the writing was A Nightmare on Elm Street (I was WAY too young to watch it, but did anyway), because it was the first horror movie I'd seen which allowed the victim to fight back, and fight back really well. It opened my mind and made me realise, I can tell stories in any way I want.


Q: Where did the idea of Cockneys Vs Zombies come from?

JAMES: Matthias Hoene, the director, had a title and a pitch, and really wanted to make a funny zombie movie with no-nonsense Cockneys dealing with the supernatural shenanigans in typically down to Earth ways. He and the producers asked me to write the script, but I was too busy in TV at the time. A year later, they had a script but wanted to go in a new direction, so asked me to start again from scratch. I went back to his initial pitch, approached them with some ideas I felt strongly about, they liked what I'd thought of, and I went from there.


Q: Did it change much from first draft to the final version?

JAMES: Not very much - there were a few more characters that got trimmed to save time, and for a film that's already got tons of characters, it initially had several more! One of the pensioners got combined with another one, and two more hostages got deleted because they didn't affect the plot (an excellent reason to cut anything). But mostly it stayed pretty much the same, just got tighter.


Q: Were you restricted by budget?

JAMES: Not in my head! I just went full on one thousand percent, assuming that for every five ideas I threw in, one or two would survive. I didn't think for a minute that everything would be achievable, there are always things cut out for budget reasons, so I made sure to overstuff it with mayhem so that there'd be plenty left. But they managed to do everything within the budget, I was amazed. The only thing we couldn't do was a bus crash, but it ended up being a funnier joke anyway, so I'm happy.

Q: The cast is amazing; did you write with anyone in mind?

JAMES: Alan Ford. Right from my very first meeting with Matthias, James and Mark (the producers) I said they absolutely had to get Alan Ford, because who the hell wouldn't want to see him smashing zombies to bits?! Also the storyline I'd come up with required a cool granddad character, and I wrote it for him from the very first line. I didn't know who else would play the other parts, and I was massively surprised every time there was a new casting decision, I kept asking if the actors had read the script or if the producers had tricked them into it... But I like to think I write fun parts to play, so even the smaller roles have something cool or crazy for the actors to do. I'm incredibly honoured that they took the roles and enjoyed them.


Q: Are you a writer who likes to be on set or once you’ve written your script you let the director “do what they want” with it?

JAMES: I like to be on set, but am very respectful of the director's authority - you have to have one person in charge, and I'm not one of those writers who stands there coughing if anyone changes a word, I'm just there to watch and help if I'm needed, or just enjoy the show if I'm not. I try to be there for big dialogue days in case the director or actors want some line changes or alternate options, which happened a couple of times. I'm not precious about the lines, we're all there to make a good movie, and that's my priority.


Q: Would you like to return to the zombie genre?

JAMES: Definitely! I've got another zombie script floating around that I'm hoping we can get made soon, and if something else came along in that genre and felt right, I'd jump at it. I've always, always, always wanted to make a zombie movie, I love them.


Q: What’s the best zombie movie ever made and do you prefer runners or walkers?

JAMES: Dawn of the Dead, the original (although I love the remake too, they both exist as their own movies and do different things). The original is glorious. I have nothing against runners, but I prefer walkers. Walkers are way scarier because they seem silly at first, but they'll wear you down, quietly, you won't even know there's one behind you until it's taken you down. You think you've found a hiding place, you think you've got away, but they'll just keep coming, and coming, and coming, shuffling towards you, gaining in number, and they'll always - ALWAYS - get you in the end.


Q: You’ve written for a number of different mediums but which do you prefer?

JAMES: They each have their pros and cons, I love them all in different ways. With TV, you get the thrill of knowing that tons of people are watching your show right now, at exactly the same time. With movies, you get to sit in a room full of people and see, hear and *feel* their reaction. With comics, you get an unlimited visual fx budget. With the web, you get instant feedback and see exactly where your audience is. They're all fun, because I get to make up stories for a living. With this screening of Cockneys on the Horror Channel, I get the best of the TV and film worlds, because it's a movie I wrote going out on TV! I'm very honoured it's playing on the Horror Channel, where it belongs.


Q: So, what are you working on at the moment?

JAMES: Mina Murray's Journal, a modernised vlog-style adaptation of Dracula, with Mina and Lucy as the heroes - I'm calling it a Vladaptation... The first season is online now, at www.minasjournal.com. We're still taking Connie around to festivals, that's a short film written & directed by my partner Cat Davies, we produced together, and I edited. I wrote episode 3 of the current series of Eve on CBBC, I've got another couple of shorts I want to direct, a couple of features in the pipeline, and a TV series in development.

Cockneys Vs Zombies is on Horror Channel, Fri 4 Nov, 9pm.

Links
http://jamesmoran.blogspot.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/JamesMoranWriter

Full Movie (USA Only) - Death Wish 3 (1985) - From The Paramount Vault

When architect-turned-vigilante Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) returns to New York City, he discovers that one of his friends has been murdered by gang members. After the cops bring Paul in for questioning, he receives a tempting offer from the police chief (Ed Lauter) : Paul can have free rein to eliminate the gangsters, as long as the police get the credit. Paul agrees and goes to war against Manny Fraker (Gavan O'Herlihy) and his vicious gang of thugs.