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You are one of the directors of the upcoming anthology movie Treasure
Chest of Horrors - what can you tell us about the film as a whole and your segments
in it?
Yes I’m the director of
three of the four segments and the wraparound segment, overall it’s a fun
and campy anthology horror comedy. The whole movie is a fun collaboration
between Shawn C. Phillips [Shawn C.
Phillips interview - click here], James Cullen Bressack [James Cullen
Bressack interview - click here] and Jarret Cohen (the
producers of the overall movie) and me!
Especially in horror, anthology movies have a long tradition. Any
explanation for that, and your favourite horror anthologies?
Horror anthology
movies seem to have a big spot in the heart of the horror genre, mainly
because it’s a lot of fun to see different story lines take place in one
movie. And of course the different scenes of blood and gore towards
unsuspecting victims! I absolutely love the horror anthology movies, my
favorite would have to be Creepshow 2 and the ultra gory SOV german
flick The Burning Moon, I like bringing that up whenever I can because
it doesn’t have the notoriety it should!
How did Treasure
Chest of Horrors come into being in the
first place, and a few words about the movie's executive producers James
Cullen Bressack [James Cullen
Bressack interview - click here] and Jarret Cohen?
Well,
Treasure
Chest of Horrors
came into being after the other soon to be released anthology from
James and Jarret was full to the brim with shorts. It was brought up by
James Bressack to be called Treasure
Chest of Horrors
after they
decided to make a different anthology project. So that is how it came to
be! As for Jarret Cohen and James Bressack, they are pretty cool guys who
are not afraid at crossing different boundaries in terms of creativeness.
They both are very awesome at
seeing what other people have to offer.
About the host segments ... why a pirate?
The title Treasure
Chest of Horrors
came first, so therefore we figured a kooky pirate would be the
best fit for a host.
What were your inspirations when writing the individual segments?
The inspirations came from
every direction possible! The segments Rotten Classmates and Resident EMO were made
back in 2007 when I was in high school. They have been shelved up until Treasure
Chest of Horrors
came about. As for inspirations,
Resident EMO was made at a time when the EMO trend was at it’s
most high, so its a satirical mix of emo zombies and political
shenanigans. Rotten Classmates was made after an article I read on
classroom bullying and the negative effects it had on the victims. Mama
it’s a Mannequin was written specifically for the Treasure
Chest of Horrors
anthology, the inspiration was mainly thinking of how fun and
creepy it would be to see a family birthday party be destroyed by an evil
sexually assaulted mannequin that kills everyone in it’s way. I thought
it would be a great fit for the overall campiness of the movie.
Treasure
Chest of Horrors is labelled a horror comedy. So what can you tell us
about your film's brand of humour, and its ways of delivering the shocks?
You will laugh
at the expense of the characters basically. Treasure
Chest of Horrors
is a
great film to relax and enjoy a big bowl of garlic powder popcorn! Turn
your mind off and watch the carnage and hilarities ensue on screen. The
humor is more on the satire side filled with quirky ridiculousness, BUT
never at anytime is it self aware of itself! Which makes the shocks come
in more of a serious yet still ridiculously violent but funny tone.
One
of your stories features Troma-legend
Lloyd Kaufman. How did you get him, and what was it like working with him?
And to what extent have Lloyd Kaufman and Troma
influenced you as a filmmaker?
Back when I was in high
school, filming Resident Emo, the whole urge to even start making
my own movie was after watching Toxic Avenger and seeing Lloyd
Kaufman have a PSA at the end speaking about making your own damn movie.
In reality, it was Lloyd Kaufman and Troma
that really pushed me to want
to make my own movies. I called up Lloyd and left a message asking if he
could play a role in a no budget movie. He agreed and the rest is history! The ubiquitous Shawn
C.Phillips [Shawn C.
Phillips interview - click here] has not only contributed a segment to the movie as a director,
he also pops up in one of your stories. What can you tell us about
directing him, and have you two at all coordinated your contributions to Treasure
Chest of Horrors?
Shawn’s short Vampire’s Lust is one of the four segments in the movie. Shawn is
a great guy to work around and I'm very glad we both are in high
contribution towards Treasure
Chest of Horrors. He also pops up as a hobo
in my segment Mama It’s a Mannequin - don’t want to ruin it but
his scene is hysterical. You yourself also pop up in all of
your stories. What can you tell us about Doug Waugh, the actor?
Acting has always been a
favorite of mine. The characters I play in each segment of Treasure
Chest of Horrors
were mostly the ones that nobody else wanted to play! I really
have no limits to what I won’t do on camera. For example one scene
involves a characters head being smashed in a filthy mop bucket, nobody
wanted to do it so I ended up doing it. Same with a character who rapes a
mannequin and gets his testicles yanked off, I ended up playing him too,
haha!
A
few words about the rest of your cast and crew? One interesting thing about
the cast in all my segments is that they also served as crew. So a huge
thank you to all the people who were in my segments. Too many to name so
I'll clam it till the credits. The $64
question of course: When will the film be out, tentatively? It is scheduled for a June
release this year! The sequel will hopefully be out a few months
afterwords. As
far as I know, Treasure Chest of Horrors
II is already in the works.
What are we to expect from that one? Bigger, better and more of
what we wanted in the original! Part 2 also stars the famous Miles Dougal
(Detroit Rock City, Chillerama) in a segment about a giant evil baby
(played by Shawn) that kills all the babysitters that enter the house.
Some of the newer segments in Treasure Chest of Horrors
II involve a caged
girl in drag, a vicious gum bacteria that causes a man to rip apart his
gums, a giant evil baby and MORE! So the gruesome fun will continue! What got you into
filmmaking in the first place, and did you receive any formal education on
the subject? Really my love
of growing up with horror and comedy movies sparked me to want to jump
into the filmmaking field. My grandma used to show me a bunch of horror
VHS tapes that she had, I absolutely loved being afraid yet being
entertained at the same time. That's when I knew it was something I wanted
to either make a career or a hobby out of.
Any past or future movies of yours you want
to talk about? The shorts you will see in Treasure
Chest of Horrors
are really the only ones I started with. In your as
of yet short career, you have assumed almost every moviemaking position, producing,
writing, directing, acting, editing and whatnot. What do you prefer, what
could you do without? I actually enjoy doing
everything. However, since I'm not rich, producing and financing is
probably the most challenging. When I want to make a new film, I usually
wait until I save enough money from my work and use that as production
money. It all works out in the end! Most of the projects you are
involved with somehow seem to have to do with horror. Coincidence, or is
horror a favourite genre of yours, and why?
Horror is my all time
favorite genre, not today's horror films, but the ones of the 80’s. I
grew up with 80's horror movies and love them to death. Really horror is
the only genre I've seen where there are constant fan conventions held, and
that is by far one of the coolest things around. There is just so much you
can do in the horror genre. Filmmakers
who inspire you? Lloyd Kaufman,
Andreas Schnaas, Adam Rifkin and Mark Pirro. Your favourite movies?
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Blood
Diner, Short Circuit,
Toxic Avenger, Sleepaway Camp 3, Ghoulies 2, Microwave
Massacre, Death
Wish 3 and Critters. Im also a HUGE fan of the Three Stooges, same
with screwball comedies like Night Patrol, Police Academy 2
and Stripes ... just to name a FEW! ...
and of course, films you really deplore?
Texas Chainsaw Massacre:
Next Generation!!!!!!!! Also any BIG budget studio film that becomes
overrated... like Transformers... ugh. I really don’t like that stuff. Your website,
Facebook, whatever else? Yes, the link to my facebook
is right here:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1721072940
I usually do most updates on there. You can also go on my IMDB
page:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3986921/
Anything else you are dying to
mention that I have merely forgotten to ask? No you pretty much picked my
brain to the bone! I'm all good! Thanks for
the interview!
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eThaiCD.com
find Doug Waugh at adultvideouniverse.com
