News
Eli Roth to Garris: ‘I never thought of myself as a horror film maker’
Filmmaker Mick Garris does a mostly-weekly podcast called “Post Mortem” that serves up the dish with many prominent people in the horror entertainment industry.
You may already know Garris from behind the camera as director of the TV mini-series “The Stand” as well as with his acclaimed television remake of “The Shining” in 1997.
He has put his touch on many television horror/suspense dramas too such as “Pretty Little Liars” and “Ravenswood.” And helped pen the screenplay for perennial fall favorite Hocus Pocus.
Today Mick is using his voice to delve deeper into the who and why of horror.
His hour-long gabfest serves to peel away some of the layers not often explored because of the exclusivity of the niche. Garris talks to some of the most influential people whose livelihood it is to scare people at a visceral level.
Being immersed in the craft himself allows the golden-haired host a certain comradery therefore getting details from artists who would normally give stock answers to corporate media questions.
This week Mick welcomed millennial favorite Eli Roth into the studio to discuss many aspects of his career and find out what this maverick has in store for the future.
Fifteen years ago, Eli’s inaugural full-length feature “Cabin Fever” was a mixed bag of reviews, but to fans it was an introduction to a new talent who would unabashedly make gore a primary character in most of his films such as “Hostel” and “The Green Inferno.”
“You know I never thought of myself as a horror film maker,” Eli tells Mick at the beginning of the podcast. “And I completely understand why people would refer to me as that because those are the movies I’ve made and that’s what I’m known for. But in my mind I was always telling stories I loved I never thought, ‘Oh I’m a horror film maker,’ I just approached it like this is a story that interests me.”
He goes on to say that forbidden subjects are often his inspiration behind the movies he makes. He says anything considered inappropriate was often enough to feed his compulsions: but they had to be sweetened in cleverness to mask their distaste.
Eli goes on to tell the host that he didn’t make “Green Inferno” because he thought it would be a hit, “I’m making it because I thought, you know…there’s no more unexplored territories in the world anymore. Everything has been geo-tagged and mapped and photographed…I liked the idea of these kind of self-righteous justice warrior kids…the cannibals don’t know the difference, they’re like invaders you’re our food supply.”
In Cabin Fever Eli says he was like a kid in a candy store, making reference to all the great horror films that had an effect on him.
“There’s something in a first movie that you do where it’s like every little fetishistic thing, like okay the shot on Marcy’s ass is my ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ swing shot, okay this my ‘Night of the Living Dead’ ending with Jeff getting shot…this is my ‘Evil Dead shot’…for super horror fans it’s like reference after reference after reference…”
For his second film the director says he abandoned that thinking and along with his Director of Photography, Milan Chadima, choose not to follow anyone’s influence.
“I made a very conscious choice on Hostel,” says Eli, “I am going to approach every scene on instinct.”
During the interview Garris references Eli’s talents away from the camera. The director has learned classical piano, boxing and with the help of his wife, surfing.
“it’s great to find something you’ve never done that you’re like I’m going to go for this, I’m going to focus on this, I’m going to really lock in and do it.”
Answering a question from a listener about his 2003 animated comedy short “The Rotten Fruit,” Eli says that he would like to do more with the medium.
“I started in animation,” says Eli. “You know, I looked at Terry Gilliam, David Lynch, Tim Burton. A lot of my heroes started with animation. I started with a series actually for WCW wrestling in 1999 called ‘Chowdaheads,’ my friend and I, we wanted to do ‘King of the Hill’ set in Massachusetts and we were going to call it Massholes.”
We have only skimmed the surface of the 60-minute Garris/Roth interview here. Eli speaks about many things in his works that are probably not on any DVD commentary.
With his next film “Death Wish” currently in post-production, Eli doesn’t seem to be slowing down. He has also written the supernatural mystery “Lake Mead” which IMDb says is currently in post-production.
Eli explains his fascination with the genre and what aspects are used in creating the alloys of horror.
“It’s a combination of loving ghost stories,” he explains, “loving scary stories, having a fascination, like sneaking, sitting with a flashlight, reading ‘Skeleton Crew,’ or reading Stephen King in your bed under the covers at night when you’re supposed to going to sleep. But also always having this reflection of well, you know if you’re not careful what can actually happen; what humans are capable of is far worse than anything we can think of in our imagination.”
You can hear Eli’s enlightening interview in its entirety by clicking HERE.
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Movies
Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed
The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.
Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.
The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.
Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”
Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.
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News
Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween
Spirit Halloween has declared that this week marks the start of spooky season and to celebrate they are offering fans a chance to stay at the Lizzie Borden House with so many perks Lizzie herself would approve.
The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA is claimed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course one lucky winner and up to 12 of their friends will find out if the rumors are true if they win the grand prize: A private stay in the notorious house.
“We are delighted to work with Spirit Halloween to roll out the red carpet and offer the public a chance to win a one-of-a-kind experience at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, which also includes additional haunted experiences and merchandise,” said Lance Zaal, President & Founder of US Ghost Adventures.
Fans can enter to win by following Spirit Halloween‘s Instagram and leaving a comment on the contest post from now through April 28.
The prize also includes:
An exclusive guided house tour, including insider insight around the murder, the trial, and commonly reported hauntings
A late-night ghost tour, complete with professional ghost-hunting gear
A private breakfast in the Borden family dining room
A ghost hunting starter kit with two pieces of Ghost Daddy Ghost Hunting Gear and a lesson for two at US Ghost Adventures Ghost Hunting Course
The ultimate Lizzie Borden gift package, featuring an official hatchet, the Lizzie Borden board game, Lily the Haunted Doll, and America’s Most Haunted Volume II
Winner’s choice of a Ghost Tour experience in Salem or a True Crime experience in Boston for two
“Our Halfway to Halloween celebration provides fans an exhilarating taste of what’s to come this fall and empowers them to start planning for their favorite season as early as they please,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “We have cultivated an incredible following of enthusiasts who embody the Halloween lifestyle, and we’re thrilled to bring the fun back to life.”
Spirit Halloween is also preparing for their retail haunted houses. On Thursday, August 1 their flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. will officially open to start off the season. That event usually draws in hordes of people eager to see what new merch, animatronics, and exclusive IP goods will be trending this year.
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Movies
’28 Years Later’ Trilogy Taking Shape With Serious Star Power
Danny Boyle is revisiting his 28 Days Later universe with three new films. He will direct the first, 28 Years Later, with two more to follow. Deadline is reporting that sources say Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes have been cast for the first entry, a sequel to the original. Details are being kept under wraps so we don’t know how or if the first original sequel 28 Weeks Later fits into the project.
Boyle will direct the first movie but it’s unclear which role he will take on in the subsequent films. What is known is Candyman (2021) director Nia DaCosta is scheduled to direct the second film in this trilogy and that the third will be filmed immediately afterward. Whether DaCosta will direct both is still unclear.
Alex Garland is writing the scripts. Garland is having a successful time at the box office right now. He wrote and directed the current action/thriller Civil War which was just knocked out of the theatrical top spot by Radio Silence’s Abigail.
There is no word yet on when, or where, 28 Years Later will start production.
The original film followed Jim (Cillian Murphy) who wakes from a coma to find that London is currently dealing with a zombie outbreak.
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