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Exclusive Interview With David Ury From Rob Zombie’s ’31’

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Rob Zombie announced a few days ago that filming for 31 has finished. Over the past couple months, he’s been making casting announcements, with a few more still to come. One of those was David Ury, whom many know best as Spooge from Breaking Bad (the meth head that got his head crushed with an ATM fairly early in the series), who will play the role of Schizo-Head.

Update: Check out a pic of Schizo-Head from the film

Ury has been in numerous films and on even more TV shows (including Grimm and American Horror Story). He also co-wrote a children’s book for adults, wrote and directed a horror short, and works on all kinds of stuff really.

We caught up with Ury to ask him about 31, his love for horror, and the rest.

iHorror: I understand you’re a big horror fan. What are some of your favorites?

David Ury: There were a few movies that I used to watch over and over again starting when I was about 7 years old.   Motel Hell, Creep Show and  The Return of the Living Dead (Which had a great soundtrack) were ones that I probably watched more than a dozen times.  As well as The Stuff, Children of the Corn.  As far as more modern stuff, I like a lot of the Japanese films Ring, The Grudge, Chakushin Ari.   American film-wise I like Eli Roth’s stuff, I loved Slither, and of course The Devil’s Rejects.

iH: So 31 is done shooting. Without giving anything away, do you have any interesting or fun behind-the-scene stories from the project?

DU: Well,  when I got the job I had no idea that film legends Malcolm McDowell and Tracy Walter had also joined the cast.  I don’t have fan-boy moments too often anymore, but I had a pretty severe Clockwork Orange obsession in college, so I was a bit giddy to get to work alongside “Alex”. It really helped sharpen me up and made me ready for a bit of the old ultra-violence.

iH: What are your thoughts on working with Zombie? What’s he like as a director?

DU: Working with Rob Zombie is pretty much as good as it gets. He’s a very warm and friendly guy and he makes an effort to make sure that all his actors are comfortable on set.  He is very inclusive.  It’s quite fun to watch him work, you can tell that he is laser focused on his vision.

iH: In 31, you and Lew Temple are playing a pair of murderous brothers who live in Murder World. Anything else you can tell us about your character(s)?

DU: Well, I can’t really give you any details just yet but I  will say it’s certainly the craziest s**t I’ve ever done on film.

iH: I was looking at the set photos from Breaking Bad on your website and it occurred to me that Spooge actually looks perfect for a Rob Zombie movie, complete with the “Wine her, dine her, 69 her” shirt. I actually went back and watched the ATM scene again, and I could easily see Spooge in one of Zombie’s films. Are there any similarities between Spooge and Schizo-Head?

[youtube id=”etInps8K6Gk” align=”center” mode=”normal” autoplay=”no”]

DU: Hmmm. I could definitely see Spooge walking off the Breaking Bad set and into a Rob Zombie movie.  But character-wise they’re not too similar.  Spooge definitely uses the word “skank” way more that Schizo-Head.

iH: In Breaking Bad, you played one of the most memorable small roles on the greatest television drama ever created in my opinion. Please tell me about your experience working on the show and with that cast and crew.

DU: Only the first season of the show had aired when I started shooting.  It was critically acclaimed but it hadn’t quite caught on yet.  I don’t think that , at that time, anybody suspected it would rise to the legendary status it has achieved today.  It seemed like it was flying under the radar, but on set you could tell that everyone knew they were part of something special.  The actors and crew I met were all really happy to be there and there was a certain undefinable energy humming through the place.  Aaron Paul was great to work with, and I also got to do a scene with Charles Baker “Skinny Pete”  who’s a fantastic guy/actor.   It was a really fulfilling job, definitely one of the highlights of my career.  I’m a huge fan of Breaking Bad and Walking Dead.  They’re pretty much my two favorite shows.  Hence this video.

[youtube id=”DBCq94ocNeY” align=”center” mode=”normal” autoplay=”no”]

iH: What was your experience like working on American Horror Story?

DU: I had a very tiny role on the show and I was only there for a day.   I was in a scene with Eric Stonestreet who had been my improv comedy coach back when I first moved to LA, so that   was interesting. It’s always fun to end up working with one of your teachers.  I’m hoping to get another shot at working on AHS as I’d love to take on a meatier role…maybe alongside Pepper (Naomi Grossman).

iH: You’ve appeared in a number of movies, but it seems like the vast majority of your work is on television. Do you prefer one over the other?

DU: I don’t really have a preference as long as it’s a fun project to work on.

iH:  You wrote/co-directed a horror short called Augustine? The premise sounds very fun. What can you tell us about that project?

DU: I wrote Augustine with actor Tahmus Rounds (The Crazies) who I met on the set of Bones in 2011.  On Bones we played two guys working on a corpse farm where scientists study how human bodies decay.   Tahmus is a crafty artist who had been working for years on these crazy robotic toys. He’d always wanted to do a project with them so we wrote a little short around them. We wrote in a role for ourselves as a creepy pair of brothers.  Soon Co-Director David Neptune came aboard and camera man Otis Ropert (The Shield) and we shot a 10 minute short horror/comedy.  It’s sort of an homage to the low budget horror that we grew up with like Evil Dead.  We used the classic 80’s horror plot of a group of drunk and horny college kids heading to an abandoned cabin…and then they die. The leads are Shelby Young (A.H.S. season 1, Nightlight)  and Reid Ewing (Fright Night, Modern Family). David Neptune and I had previously worked with them on a little commercial parody that won a comedy award years ago.  Augustine will be available on line after it finishes its festival run.  We will make sure to let all you iHorror readers know when it’s posted.

iH: Tell us about your book Everybody Dies. How did you get involved with Ken Tanaka and that project?

DU: Everybody Dies: A Children’s Book for Grown Ups is an illustrated parody of a children’s book that helps adults understand the inevitable fate that awaits us all.  It should appeal to all you sick and twisted horror lovers out there.

 We also made a funny promo for the book with some Breaking Bad cast members (Skinny Pete/Charles Baker   and Marco Salamanca/ Luis Moncada)

[youtube id=”SjoIDBuVAGo” align=”center” mode=”normal” autoplay=”no”]

Co-Author Ken Tanaka is my long lost Japanese identical twin brother who I met through YouTube (long story) and in the past few years we’ve collaborated on various projects together. He illustrated the book and we wrote together. He’s a very good looking chap. We’ve done a lot of YouTube videos together. “What Kind of Asian are You?” is our most famous with over 7 million hits.

[youtube id=”DWynJkN5HbQ” align=”center” mode=”normal” autoplay=”no”]

We followed that up with a zombie parody of the video that nobody watched but iHorror readers might dig it.

[youtube id=”FlBoHVcWblA” align=”center” mode=”normal” autoplay=”no”]

iH: Any other projects you’re working on that you’d like to talk about?

DU: I play the coroner Dr. Death in Playstation’s new series Powers. This was a really fun project for me because I got to be a good guy. I’m almost always playing a sketchy perp of some kind (except on Disney/Nick shows)  so getting to be a professional who works for the police was a fun change.  You can watch it for free on PS plus or buy the episodes/season on their website.  The first episode is free on Youtube and Crackle. It stars Sharlto Copley (District 9, Chappie) and the amazing Susan Heyward, Eddie Izzard, Phillip Devona and a slew of other talented folks.  Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need a Playstation to watch the show, you can buy the episodes in their store and watch on your computer.  I also play the venomous “Sir Pent” in the film Little Boy out April 24th with Kevin James,  Tom Wilkinson, and Ric Sarabia.

For more on 31, check out our post 31 things we know about 31.

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Brad Dourif Says He’s Retiring Except For One Important Role

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Brad Dourif has been doing movies for nearly 50 years. Now it seems he is walking away from the industry at 74 to enjoy his golden years. Except, there is a caveat.

Recently, digital entertainment publication JoBlo’s Tyler Nichols talked to some of the Chucky television series cast members. During the interview, Dourif made an announcement.

“Dourif said that he’s retired from acting,” says Nichols. “The only reason he came back for the show was because of his daughter Fiona and he considers Chucky creator Don Mancini to be family. But for non-Chucky stuff, he considers himself retired.”

Dourif has voiced the possessed doll since 1988 (minus the 2019 reboot). The original movie “Child’s Play” has become such a cult classic it’s at the top of some people’s best chillers of all time. Chucky himself is ingrained in pop culture history much like Frankenstein or Jason Voorhees.

While Dourif may be known for his famous voiceover, he is also an Oscar-nominated actor for his part in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Another famous horror role is The Gemini Killer in William Peter Blatty’s Exorcist III. And who can forget Betazoid Lon Suder in Star Trek: Voyager?

The good news is that Don Mancini is already pitching a concept for season four of Chucky which might also include a feature-length movie with a series tie-in. So, Although Dourif says he is retiring from the industry, ironically he is Chucky’s friend till the end.

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Editorial

7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch

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The Scream franchise is such an iconic series, that many budding filmmakers take inspiration from it and make their own sequels or, at least, build upon the original universe created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase these talents (and budgets) with fan-made homages with their own personal twists.

The great thing about Ghostface is that he can appear anywhere, in any town, he just needs the signature mask, knife, and unhinged motive. Thanks to Fair Use laws it’s possible to expand upon Wes Craven’s creation by simply getting a group of young adults together and killing them off one by one. Oh, and don’t forget the twist. You’ll notice that Roger Jackson’s famous Ghostface voice is uncanny valley, but you get the gist.

We have gathered five fan films/shorts related to Scream that we thought were pretty good. Although they can’t possibly match the beats of a $33 million blockbuster, they get by on what they have. But who needs money? If you’re talented and motivated anything is possible as proven by these filmmakers who are well on their way to the big leagues.

Take a look at the below films and let us know what you think. And while you’re at it, leave these young filmmakers a thumbs up, or leave them a comment to encourage them to create more films. Besides, where else are you going to see Ghostface vs. a Katana all set to a hip-hop soundtrack?

Scream Live (2023)

Scream Live

Ghostface (2021)

Ghostface

Ghost Face (2023)

Ghost Face

Don’t Scream (2022)

Don’t Scream

Scream: A Fan Film (2023)

Scream: A Fan Film

The Scream (2023)

The Scream

A Scream Fan Film (2023)

A Scream Fan Film
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Movies

Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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