Glitter and Horror

In 1983, young filmmaker John Landis was at the peak of his career and about to release Trading Places after making Animal House, The Blues Brothers and An American Werewolf in London. And it was after seeing the last of these that Michael Jackson called Landis and said: “I want to turn into a monster. Can I do that?”  The result was THRILLER, a 14-minute mini-film that rewrote the rules for the music video, opening up undreamed-of creative possibilities - and, in the process, helping MTV on its way to world domination.  It also became the bestselling music video ever.

“I’ve always liked ghost stories. As a kid, I liked sitting around the campfire or some dark room at night and having friends tell scary stories. There’s a collective energy that goes through the people that are listening and a great sense of anticipation. There’s a giddiness you feel, like you want to scream, but you really shouldn’t. Then there’s a great release moment where the tension breaks and you  scream in terror. Of course, it’s not only fun to listen to those stories, but it’s fun to tell them too. At least for me.” Sam Raimi

“For me scoring is all improvisational. After the movie is cut, I synch my synthesizer to the cut footage and just start playing. Mostly I play all the parts. Sometimes I get a line based on a sound I hear driving to work. Sometimes the tempo of the temp music track inspires me. There’s something about synthesizer sounds that drives and underlines certain moods and tempos. And when the electric guitar was invented suddenly there was rock & roll. Check out the score for The Exorcist. It still sounds modern.” John Carpenter

Did you know that Director Tobe Hooper lobbied for an MPAA PG-rating for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre? Rightfully so. The film had NO sex or sexual situations, NO drug use, NO hard profanity, and a low level of graphic violence. Despite fitting the MPAA PG-criteria, the film received an R-rating due to its intense tone.

A comic book bridged the gap between Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan and Jason Goes to Hell.  Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday followed Jason after he was dipped in toxic waste in a New York City sewer, and his killing spree all the way back to Camp Crystal Lake. It also explains why the FBI has a task force specifically for Jason. 

Many of the Friday the 13th films were given fakes names during filming and production to help preserve the plots. David Bowie songs were used for the following:

Friday the 13th Part III — Crystal Japan
Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning — Repetition
Friday the 13th part VI: Jason Lives — Aladdin Sane 
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan — Ashes to Ashes 

Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, was filmed under the fake name ”Ashes to Ashes” while in New York City to avoid fan interruptions. The fake title was also used in the script to prevent auditioning actors from knowing and revealing what film they were making. In the fake-titled script, Jason was renamed “Ethan”. 

Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood was originally intended to bring Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger together onscreen for the first time. But when Paramount Pictures (at that time was holding the rights to the “Friday the 13th” franchise) and New Line Cinema (who holds the rights to the “Nightmare On Elm Street” series) couldn’t agree behind the scenes, the script was rewritten to pit Jason up against the telekinetic Tina Shepard instead. 

“Working with Tom Savini was both a lot of fun and very inspiring. His creative intensity is contagious, and being on the set was a blast. What many people do not know is that the famous final scene was not in the original script; originally the only scene for me was the drowning scene. Savini asked me not to show the new mask to anyone until after the shoot, so when I jumped up out of the water, my dear friend Adrienne King, playing Alice, jumped clear out of the boat and into the Lake with a yell!” Ari Lehman, Jason Vorhees - Friday the 13th

“I’m a big horror film fan and I remember Drew (Goddard, Cabin director and cowriter) coming to the Dollhouse set to talk to Joss about locations. I was peering over their shoulders and getting all geeked out. But I had no idea how cool it actually was. I was like, “A lake? Kids get killed?” I’ll see that movie. I had no idea where it was going.” Fran Kranz, The Cabin in the Woods

“I believe that the best genre in film, when done right, is horror.  Being scared is the most amazing feeling!  It connects you so deeply to life. No other genre has the emotional potency like horror.” Matthew Currie Holmes

Tom Savini, the special effects makeup artist for the first Creepshow, plays The Creep in Creepshow 2.

“When I looked down there was a man very much like Freddy walking along the sidewalk. He must have sensed that someone was looking at him and stopped and looked right into my face. He scared the living daylights out of me, so I jumped back into the shadows. I waited and waited to hear him walk away. Finally I thought he must have gone, so I stepped back to the window. The guy was not only still looking at me but he thrust his head forward as if to say, ‘Yes, I’m still looking at you.’ The man walked towards the apartment building’s entrance. I ran through the apartment to our front door as he was walking into our building on the lower floor. I heard him starting up the stairs. My brother, who is ten years older than me, got a baseball bat and went out to the corridor but he was gone.” Wes Craven, sharing a childhood story that served as the beginning inspiration for Freddy Krueger

“Who’s the scariest guy in America? Probably Jack Ketchum.” – Stephen King