"Shockmasters"
by Loris Curci, Fantasma Books, Florida, 1996
Cool book! Highly recommended!
Interviews with most of the "Greats" in the horror genre (Dario Argento, Kenneth Branagh, John Carpenter, Wes Craven, Robert Englund and many more) .
For further information, please contact the publishers: Fantasma Books, 419 Amelia Street, Key West, Florida 33040 USA
COMBS: Nothing whatsoever. And I really mean nothing ... Herbert is asexual. On an unconscious level, probably.
I tried to convey it in BRIDE OF REANIMATOR, in the scene where he watches Bruce Abbottt and the girl make love. Herb is a little confused, he doesn't know what intimacy is. It's something that he's very frightened of; he's so involved with life and death, that perhaps he can't even see beyond that. One of the reasons why he is so obsessed with rebirth is that he cannot live like any human being, so he longs for a different life.
Now, it's very difficult to have something in common with such a character ...
You know, it's not that I turn down movies with Sean Connery or Steven Spielberg. You really have to stick to what you're offered. If I had my choice, I would do all kind of different movies, but the film industry tends to think of you in one way, and then you have to make a living; it really is all so frustrating. What I'm trying to do here is work, get some exposure and have a natural progression of my own.
(picture taken from the above-mentioned book)
Problem is that most of these films go out on video, and don't get release theatrically. So the major studios don't see them, and the exposure for me just isn't there. But maybe LOVE AND A .45 and CASTLE FREAK will reach wider audiences.
COMBS: Well, that's what they say. But I'm not so sure.
You know, this thing is supposed to go out unrated, and you know how difficult things get when you've got a movie that will not be shown to the MPAA. So how many theatres do you think we'll do? Festivals, perhaps, but not a wide theatrical release.
Q: Are you happy with H.P. LOVECRAFTS NECRONOMICON?
COMBS: Well, it's an honest horror film. Quite scary, in a way. I think we did a great job with bringing Lovecraft on screen, although it's really very difficult to accomplish this, because some of his stories are actually unfilmable.
In BRIDE OF REANIMATOR, there's this sequence when dead things come out of the wall ... and that's right out of Lovecraft. In his philosophy, when you throw things behind a wall, be sure they will always come back to get you. Even the opening of BRIDE ... is directly inspired to an early original story of his, and then CASTLE FREAK is full of Lovecraftian cliches, Dennis Paoli and Stuart Gordon actually took inspiration from one of the writer's short stories.
Q: In your opinion, was FROM BEYOND respectful of H.P. Lovecraft's philosophy?
COMBS: Yes and no. We wanted to make a serious horror movie. Mostly because we were a little surprised by how humorus people found REANIMATOR. We were taking it very seriously when we shot REANIMATOR, you know...
Q: You mean the film wasn't intentionally funny?
COMBS: Stuart had no intention to insert humor in it, not to that extent, at least. His will was to make a dramatic horror film, but I don't think he was disappointed when he saw the audience's reaction to it. I'm not particularly satisfied with what we did on FROM BEYOND. It was a very difficult shoot, I had to walk around bare most of the time, and there were too many contradictions in my role.
I feel very strongly that in order for horror films to work, you have to reach a perfect balance between the acting , the special effects and the story. And in FROM BEYOND, some of the scenes were cut out, scenes that sort of justified things happening or being done. Whenever it came down to a choice between cutting down special effects or a justification, they alwas leave the effect in.
If the film makes little sense, it's because they cut out all the logic.
Q: Full Moon's CASTLE FREAK reunites the original cast of REANIMATOR, with director Stuart Gordon coming back on board. What was the atmosphere like, on the set?
COMBS: Not much different from the first time, although the two films really don't have much in common. REANIMATOR was a lot of fun to do, whereas CASTLE FREAK had me suffering. A very difficult role from an emotional point of view, and I had this feeling that the character was haunting me. Even when not shooting, I could really never release myself from the sense of guilt which persecutes the guy I was playing. Not a bouquet of roses, from my personal perspective.
Q: When we first met, a few years ago, you seemed particularly satisfied with your involvement with BRIDE OF REANIMATOR. An excellent sequel, you said ....
COMBS: Yeah. I'm very satisfied with it. It's got a lot of color, it's grand and it's funny; definitely the best sequel you could ever make out of REANIMATOR.
Q: Did you miss Stuart Gordon, in the director's chair?
COMBS: In some ways, yes. He came and visited us, a couple of times. It was his choice not to be involved, perhaps a suggestion from his manager or the people he works with.
But then if he had accepted, it would have been a different story altogether ...
Brian and Stuart had written one that was completely different, though Stuart decided no to do it, and there were problems as for as what sort of participation he would have if Brian used his story. So they had to start from another idea...
Q: Is that the reason why Barbara Crampton wasn't cast?
COMBS: I'm not sure, but originallly there was a scene in which she was supposed to be in. BRIDE ... had to start right where the other one left off: it's all dark and Barbara comes alive, and a lot of hands try to grab her. It was a short scene, basically a cameo, and she didn't want to do it.
Q: Do you think you'll ever be remembered for CYCLONE or THE PHANTOM EMPIRE, your collaborations with Fred Olen Ray?
COMBS: (laughs) Good Lord, I certainly don't think so! CYCLONE was not a great movie, pretty small budget. I only worked on it three days. Fred is a nice guy, one day he calls me up and tells me that he's putting up his own money to make a movie. In one week! This was PHANTOM EMPIRE, and I thought that it could have turned out an interesting adventure, so I did it, but then I wish I hadn't.
I've learned a lot from that, most important thing is that you can't make a movie in one week. Impossible.
You know, Fred and I used to be neighbours, before I moved. One day his kid was playingin front of my garage, and he wanted to sell me a toy model or something ... strange guy ... but very positive.
He makes a lot fo fun out of the whole genre.
Q: And REANIMATOR 3?
COMBS: REANIMATOR 3 is in a limbo. The film has been announced and cancelled so many times already. Brian (Yuzna) wants to shoot it in Eastern Euope, and he did come up with some idea on how to develop the story and character. So I don't know. We might even to it one day, perhaps with Stuart Gordon directing again. I'll keep you posted.