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Horror Pride Month: Actor Theo Kemp
For Theo Kemp, his love of horror came early.
“The first film I ever remember seeing is Jaws,” he told me. “I was like six and I was watching Jaws and I was so into it!”
The road between that six year old and the energetic young actor I met when I was conducting interviews for iHorror’s Horror Pride Month series has been a long and sometimes difficult one.
You see, Theo hasn’t always been able to be himself. In fact, for the trans actor, just referring to himself for the first time as “he” was a big hurdle.
He had been bitten by the acting bug long before that admission, though, and he says he used to track down talent agents online and email them pretending to be his parents only to have to field phone calls and cajole them to go along with his ruse.
They might have taken the phone calls, but his parents insisted he wait until later to start really acting. He landed a few parts after graduating high school, and he admits he might have one of the most unique acting reels of anyone acting today and certainly among the actors he knows.
“I was working before I transitioned so now my acting reel has both pre- and post-transition video,” he laughs. “I’m always worried when I send it out that it will confuse directors as to which direction my transition is going.”
At the age of 22, while studying Meisner Acting Technique in Atlanta, Georgia, he finally spoke his truth to the world at large.
“I actually came out on National Coming Out Day in a live Facebook video,” Theo said. “I knew the only way I would get through it is if I couldn’t back out.”
Get through it, he did, though, and there was no turning back despite his intensely religious upbringing which supplied him with a lifetime’s worth of internalized guilt. Still, with a host of supportive friends, he was well on his way to really becoming who he was meant to be.
There was one special man, though, who became his rock. Not many trans people can say that their romantic partner pre-transition stood by them without ending that romantic relationship.
“I’ve been with my boyfriend, Zach, for 8 or 9 years, now,” Kemp explained. “He’s been with me through every step of this process. As a matter of fact, I came home one day before I came out and I was crying because of something someone had said. He was trying to get me to talk about it but I just couldn’t and he finally just said, ‘If you’re not going to tell me, can I guess?'”
Zach told Theo that sometimes, he was certain that Theo was a man, not a woman, and had been waiting for the actor to just say the words. Their relationship, though there were ups and downs, never faltered after that.
And through it all, Kemp has continued to hone his craft. His constant study has really paid off, and indie audiences will soon see the actor in his first role as a leading man.
The role is a man named Joe, and the film is called Fang, a new spin on the werewolf archetype.
“I was really nervous when I auditioned because I’m thin and not the typical leading man type,” Kemp said laughing. “It turned out that Joe has a drug problem so it wasn’t a problem at all for him to be thin and frail looking! He’s not a real stand up guy. He’s kind of bouncing from place to place with his girlfriend when she decides to visit family, which is where the real adventure begins.”
And by adventure, he means bloodshed, violence, and all the things he’s grown to love in the horror genre.
He also credits his director, Adam Steigert, for taking a chance on him.
“I love Adam so much. We had talked about working together before I left for Atlanta,” Kemp said. “I got back and saw that he was making Fang, but I looked a lot different than I did the last time I’d seen him. I called him up and he was so excited to hear from me. It didn’t phase him at all. Before I knew it, I was auditioning and had been cast.”
So, what is it in horror that attracts the young actor time and again?
“There’s this sort of cliche character in horror where the male protagonist has to go through some sort of protagonist to become stronger and develop into the hero,” the actor said. “I find characters who make a big transformation are easy for me to relate to because I’ve been through so many myself.”
He intends to continue working in the genre, as well, for as long as he can, and he even has a bucket list.
“It’s nothing like winning an Oscar,” Kemp explained. “I want to be the guy leaning through the door who whispers ‘Run!’ right before hands pull me into the dark. I want to crawl through an air duct. I want to do that film noir thing looking out from under a hat with a lit cigarette in my mouth.”
Personally, I hope Theo Kemp gets every one of those chances.
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Movies
‘The Strangers’ Invaded Coachella in Instagramable PR Stunt
Renny Harlin’s reboot of The Strangers isn’t coming out until May 17, but those murderous home invaders are making a pit stop at Coachella first.
In the latest Instagramable PR stunt, the studio behind the film decided to have the trio of masked intruders crash Coachella, a music festival that takes place for two weekends in Southern California.
This type of publicity began when Paramount did the same thing with their horror movie Smile in 2022. Their version had seemingly ordinary people in populated places look directly into a camera with an evil grin.
Harlin’s reboot is actually a trilogy with a more expansive world than that of the original.
“When setting out to remake The Strangers, we felt there was a bigger story to be told, which could be as powerful, chilling, and terrifying as the original and could really expand that world,” said producer Courtney Solomon. “Shooting this story as a trilogy allows us to create a hyperreal and terrifying character study. We’re fortunate to be joining forces with Madelaine Petsch, an amazing talent whose character is the driving force of this story.”
The movie follows a young couple (Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez) who “after their car breaks down in an eerie small town, are forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. Panic ensues as they are terrorized by three masked strangers who strike with no mercy and seemingly no motive in The Strangers: Chapter 1 the chilling first entry of this upcoming horror feature film series.”
The Strangers: Chapter 1 opens in theaters on May 17.
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Movies
‘Alien’ Returning to Theaters For a Limited Time
It’s been 45 years since Ridley Scott’s Alien hit theaters and in celebration of that milestone, it is headed back to the big screen for a limited time. And what better day to do that than Alien Day on April 26?
It also works as a primer for the upcoming Fede Alvarez sequel Alien: Romulus opening on August 16. A special feature in which both Alvarez and Scott discuss the original sci-fi classic will be shown as a part of your theater admission. Take a look at the preview of that conversation below.
Back in 1979, the original trailer for Alien was kind of terrifying. Imagine sitting in front of a CRT TV (Cathode Ray Tube) at night and suddenly Jerry Goldsmith’s haunting score begins to play as a giant chicken egg starts to crack with beams of light bursting through the shell and the word “Alien” slowly forms in slanted all caps across the screen. To a twelve-year-old, it was a scary pre-bedtime experience, especially Goldsmith’s screaming electronic musical flourishes playing over scenes of the actual movie. Let the “Is it horror or sci-fi?” debate begin.
Alien became a pop culture phenomenon, complete with kid’s toys, a graphic novel, and an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. It also inspired dioramas in wax museums and even a frightening setpiece at Walt Disney World in the now-defunct Great Movie Ride attraction.
The film stars Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, and John Hurt. It tells the tale of a futuristic crew of blue-collar workers suddenly awakened out of stasis to investigate an undecipherable distress signal coming from a nearby moon. They investigate the source of the signal and discover it’s a warning and not a cry for help. Unbeknownst to the crew, they have brought a giant space creature back on board which they find out in one of the most iconic scenes in cinema history.
It is said that Alvarez’s sequel will pay homage to the original film’s storytelling and set design.
The Alien theatrical re-release will take place on April 26. Pre-order your tickets and find out where Alien will screen at a theater near you.
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News
Home Depot’s 12-Foot Skeleton Returns with a New Friend, Plus New Life-Size Prop from Spirit Halloween
Halloween is the greatest holiday of them all. However, every great holiday needs amazing props to go with it. Luckily for you, there are two new amazing props that have been released, which are sure to impress your neighbors and frighten any neighborhood children who are unfortunate enough to wander past your yard.
The first entry is the return of the Home Depot 12-foot skeleton prop. Home Depot has outdone themselves in the past. But this year the company is bringing bigger and better things to their Halloween prop lineup.
This year, the company unveiled its new and improved Skelly. But what is a giant skeleton without a loyal friend? Home Depot has also announced that they will release a five-foot tall skeleton dog prop to eternally keep Skelly company as he haunts your yard this spooky season.
This bony pooch will be five feet tall and seven feet long. The prop will also feature a posable mouth and LCD eyes with eight variable settings. Lance Allen, Home Depot’s merchant of decorative Holliday gear, had the following to say about this year’s lineup.
“This year we increased our realism within the animatronics category, created some impressive, licensed characters and even brought back some fan favorites. Overall, we are most proud of the quality and value we are able to bring to our customers with these pieces so they can continue to grow their collections.”
But what if giant skeletons just aren’t your thing? Well, Spirit Halloween has you covered with their giant life size Terror Dog replica. This massive prop has been ripped out of your nightmares to appear frighteningly on your lawn.
This prop weighs in at almost fifty pounds and features glowing red eyes that are sure to keep your yard safe from any toilet paper throwing hooligans. This iconic Ghostbusters nightmare is a must have for any fan of 80s horror. Or, anyone who loves all things spooky.
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