by David Byron
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the set, cast, crew, director…on more than one occasion I broke down with the isolation but because of the make up nobody knew! When „Hellraiser II Hellbound" was in pre-production I managed to negotiate creating small holes in the eyes of the mask, which made the experience easier.
I should have asked this first; what prompted you to get into acting? My school‘s headmaster ‗Harry Frost‘ was very keen on theatre and encouraged us to create original productions. This became an obsession for me and eventually I gained part time work (whilst still at school) at the Leicester Haymarket Theatre working with a very talented director Robin Midgeley.
From there it was the usual route of Drama College at ‗Mountview‘ in North London.
It was whilst there that Clive Barker spotted me playing ‗The Fool‘ in Shakespeare"s „King Lear" and invited me to join his theatre company on graduation.
I understand you were also in the Who"s Quadrophenia. I bet that was really a lot of fun, wasn"t it? Awe inspiring, I was only 16, yet to go to Drama College and incredibly naïve and star struck. I had just one scene set in a nightclub in Brighton. It seems odd now looking back but most of the cast were unknown at the time, but it launched the careers of Sting, Toyah Wilcox, Ray Winstone, Phil Davies, Timothy Spall, Michael Elphick and of course Phil Daniels.
Long before the days of digital image manipulation, we spent several days in a club in London (standing in for Brighton) dressed as Mods, in a swirling mist of smoke, with one song played over and over and over again. I still hear it clearly.
You have also done theatre work as well. One of them being THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. Have you ever done anything like Shakespeare?
Stage work is instantly rewarding (provided you get it right) with the audience feeding back spontaneously. I played Seymour Krelbourn in both the first UK tour of „Little Shop of Horrors" and again in rep. We had some beautifully crafted ‗Audrey 2‘s‘ with one hydraulic vast plant which when eating us raised up 20 feet into the air then shot to the front of the stage and thrust its
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pod over the first 6 rows of the auditorium and sent bursts of gas into the audience. Very exciting. Since then I have been involve in many shows and indeed was lucky enough to be involved in an international tour of ‗The complete works of William Shakespeare‘ which allowed me to play Othello, Juliet, Gertrude, Tybalt and dozens of other characters from Shakespeare‘s plays albeit in a tongue in cheek fashion. The show had some audience participation and during one sequence, whilst playing in Cairo, I threatened to kill a member of the audience (in Character). As I did so everyone around this gentlemen gasped and I was aware of a peculiar tension in the theatre. It wasn‘t until later that I was told I had threatened to kill the prince of Egypt. Thankfully he took it in good spirit. I later went on to become associate director of the international touring company ‗Richmond Productions" and last year took a production of ‗Educating Rita" to Kuala Lumpur. I have been lucky enough to work all over the world and won the ‗Best Actor award‘ for ‗Pip‘ in ‗Great Expectations" at the Vassa theatre in Stockholm.
You were also included in the book BOOGEYMEN. I would definitely consider that an honor. How about you? Actually it‘s the movie BOOGEYMEN which includes work from ‗Texas Chainsaw massacre"s" ‗Gunnar Hansen‘ and ‗Nightmare on Elm Street"s" ‗Robert Englund‘ among other Horror icons. Yes, strange to think of yourself in such prestigious company.
How about horror cinema? What is your favorite film? Book?
Difficult to pinpoint one film or book from what is a constantly evolving medium. However I enjoyed ‗David Lynch‘s‘ Eraserhead as it broke new ground and was beautifully surreal. As for books, I devour anything by ‗Steven King‘ ‗HP Lovecraft‘ ‗Peter Straub‘ ‗Dean Koontz‘ ‗James Herbert‘ and of course ‗Clive Barker‘. As a teenager I used to smuggle copies of ‗Fangoria‘ from the local newsagents and was fascinating by their dark graphic content.
Do you have any projects in the works to tell us about?
I run my own production company ‗Captain Carrot" which has been producing theatre work for the past 2 years.
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The „Book of Blood" movie is now in postproduction.
I‘m visiting LA next week to talk through another film as well as having a meeting with the casting director in London… But I cannot reveal any more at the moment…sorry
Well Simon, I want to thank you for being here, and please, feel free to drop by again, okay?
Hey! My pleasure, good luck with the magazine.
*** Filmography: Quadrophenia Dancer Universal Pictures, 1979, Franc Roddam Hellraiser, Butterball, New World Pictures, 1987, Clive Barker Hellbound, Butterball, 20th Century Fox, 1988, Tony Randell Nightbreed, Ohnaka, 20th Century Fox, 1999, Clive Barker
Lost in the Labyrinth, 2000, Christian Levatino and Victor Mendoza Ressurection, 2000, Christian Levatino and Victor Mendoza
Bogeymen Butterball Universal Video, 2001, Clive Barker
Book of Blood, Derek, Seraphim/Plum/Matador Films, 2008, John Harris
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Slasher Profiles Slashers & Splatterpunks
Pinhead
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PINHEAD
ALIASES:
Xipe Totec (name of the Cenobite spirit which inhabits him) Elliott Spenser (human birth name)
SEX: Male
RACE: Human/Cenobite
DATE OF BIRTH: Unknown
LOCATION OF BIRTH: United Kingdom
BIRTH PARENTS: Unknown
RESIDENCE: Hell
HEIGHT: 5'9"
WEIGHT: 175 lbs. (est.)
EYES: Black, no white.
HAIR: None, bald.
SPECIFIC APPEARANCE:
Skin is of a ghostly white.
Head is covered with a grid where individual pins have been
driven in at each intersection point.
Wears a black leather outfit of hellish origin (donned with several
hooks of varying size and style).
IDENTIFICATION MARKS:
Six open wounds on his chest area which are stuck with several
sharp hooks, holding the wounds open.
Several hooks jabbed into the back of his head, holding his hellish
leather outfit up.
One long pin jabbed into and protruding from the center of his
abdomen.
OCCUPATION: Leader of the Cenobites / Human Occupation
Captain in the British Army
MOTIVE: None. He's a loyal servant of Leviathan, God of Order
& Ruler of Hell.
WEAPONS OF CHOICE: Hooks & chains.
PEOPLE WHO'VE DEFEATED HIM & SURVIVED: Kirsty Cotton (Hellraiser / Hellbound: Hellraiser II / Hellraiser:
Hellseeker)
Joanne "Joey" Summerskill (Helraiser III: Hell On Earth) Dr. Paul Merchant (Hellraiser: Bloodline)
BIGGEST RIVALS:
Kirsty Cotton
LeMerchant / Merchant family bloodline
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WHERE IS HE NOW: Hell
NUMBER OF FILMS: Six
ACTOR WHO HAS PORTRAYED PINHEAD:
Doug Bradley
OBJECTS OF OBSESSION:
The "Lament Configuration" is a puzzle box that, when solved, opens a gateway to Hell & brings forth the Cenobites. The box is said to offer the user "an experience beyond the limits; pain and pleasure, indivisible". Although, the price for such experience is your soul & an eternal imprisonment in Hell. The box works both ways as it can send the Cenobites back to Hell, but in the hands of the Cenobites, it can bring forth untold & unimagined horrors.
The "Elysium Configuration" was designed by Phillip LeMarchand in order to destroy the Cenobites as LeMarchand was the creator of the "Lament Configuration" not long beforehand. He saw the horror of its power and worked to undo what he had done. It took centuries for th
is box to be constructed as it was passed down through the bloodline of what became the Merchant family lineage. In the distant future, Paul Merchant was able to construct it out of Earth space station Minos, and once it was put into motion, the Cenobites on board the station (which included Pinhead) were believed to have been destroyed.
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Jason Voorhees
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Jason Voorhees 11-year old Jason Voorhees was attending summer camp when he presumably drowned in Crystal Lake. Mom blamed the camp counselors, but Jason's body was never found. He would return from his watery grave, however, to become one of the greatest figures in horror history. Jason would exact revenge on the same kind of campers and counselors who put him in danger, and his acts were ones of quiet rage and calculation. After ten films and over twenty years, the hockey mask has become an icon of bloodcurdling terror.
Throughout the entire Friday the 13th series, Jason has offed over 100 people on screen with a
Consider this list of weapons
vast array of fantastic devices.
used (which is by no means complete): icepick, barbed wire, straight razor, spear gun, cleaver, pitchfork, fire poker, surgical hacksaw, corkscrew, axe, broken bootle, tree branch, dart, tent spike, party horn, electric guitar, syringe, steam pipe, wrench, pencil, car door, deep frier, barbecue skewer, liquid nitrogen, and, of course, the machete. Yup... with versatility comes longevity.
As the years have passed, the movies and plots have become more jumbled and confusing, at times involving demonic possession and large leaps of logic (and in Jason X, a journey into space and the future). Now, in Freddy vs. Jason, he will finally match up against another horror icon, Freddy Krueger. After being manipulated by Freddy to kill some Elm Street residents, will Jason move aside for Freddy? My guess: not without a BIG fight.
After so many movie appearances, one thing remains true about Jason Voorhees: superstitious or not, everyone feels a slight twinge of uneasiness whenever Friday the 13th comes around. For that, you can thank the guy in the hockey mask.
INTELLIGENCE - 5: Don't know about anything else, but the man does know knives (and all other manner of cutlery). POWER - 9: Shows great strength and staying power.
VILENESS 10: Like his slasher film counterparts, Jason's strength is slicing, dicing, and impaling.
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SWAY - 5: Let's his mask and machete do all the talking. PURITY - 10: Nothing stops this guy. Dumb dudes, hot chicks, and everyone in between are all prospective victims.
PHYSICAL - 8: The hockey mask is a horror icon, and as Jason gets rattier in every sequel, so does the face underneath. TOTAL: 47
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Freddy Krueger
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Freddy Krueger Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) was a disturbed young man who murdered small children, but after lawyers managed to get Krueger off on a technicality, the community of Elm Street rose up in anger. The parents on the street (including those of the murdered children) hunted down Krueger, set his house on fire, and burned him alive.
Because he was killed so violently, Freddy was unable to go to Hell, instead winding up in some nether region where he has been able to stay connected to the Elm Street families by entering their dreams. Attacking the children of Elm Street, Freddy has been able to exact some revenge for his own murder. By killing them in their dreams, the children die in real life. So, it would seem, if you can avoid falling asleep, you can avoid Freddy. It's just not that simple as we have seen in the Elm Street movies.
Freddy's appeal as a villain is universal because everyone has had a nightmare at one time in their life. To think a madman like this could crawl into your head and screw with you is terrifying; when he actually does it to the kids on Elm Street, it is. Part of his advantage in dream land, besides knowing how to manipulate it for his own use, is his signiture look. The hat, the striped sweater, and of course, the glove full of razor-sharp knives.
In the various sequels, Freddy's learned to embrace his sense of humor, torturing the children (and anyone in his way) in deliciously disgusting ways. In 2003, he will finally square off against another horror icon, Jason Voorhees, and perhaps we will discover who will win the long-awaited battle. However, I think we all know Freddy vs. Jason will merely be the Round 1 of a new fight. One can only imagine who else may get involved.
INTELLIGENCE - 5: From the cleverness of the original to the dumbness of the later flicks, it all averages out.
POWER - 8: His only drawback is that he hasn't figured out a way to kill people while they're AWAKE. In dreamland, he rules. VILENESS - 10: Slicing, dicing, and exploding teenagers on ceilings, in beds - he's done it all and more.
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SWAY - 9: Extremely intimidating, but also loves to turn on the charm.
PURITY - 8: A complete nutbag, he's been known to show occasional weakness.
PHYSICAL - 10: The glove is an immortal horror icon. Nothing creeps you out more than this guy in a dark alley.
TOTAL: 50
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Michael Myers
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Michael Myers Happy Halloween. For so many cinematic trick-or-treaters, this holiday is no longer a happy time for eating goodies, either because they're dead or have been forever scarred by encountering a psychopath by the name of Michael Myers. On Halloween night 1963, six-year old Michael brutally murdered his older sister and ended up locked away in the county sanitarium for the next 15 years. On Halloween night 1978, Michael came home... and the rest is movie history.
Michael's primary targets would be found in his own family tree, his rage seemingly fueled by the abandonment for so many years. His sister Laurie Strode, Laurie's psychic daughter Jamie, and Laurie's son John were among subsequent targets. Myers' focus was always "dead on," but anyone - and we mean anyone - who got in the way got dead quickly, and usually in a creative and disgusting way. Getting impaled on something unnaturally was usually the grossest and most effective way to go.
However, no foe was quite as determined to rid the planet of Michael Myers as the legendary Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence). Over a handful of sequels, the good doctor continued to pursue the dark legend, and he became more and more haunted as the bodies continued to pile up. After emptying six bullets into the body of Michael Myers in 1978 and watching him survive, Loomis would never ever give up until the very end.
Played in the original by the guy who directed The Last Starfighter (Nick Castle), The Shape's shoes are often filled by career stuntmen who enjoy taking an ass-kicking, absorbing various stabbings, electrocutions, gunshots, fire, windows, and other usually-fatal acts of mankind. His physical resilience is downright fascinating, and his obsession with revenge is neverending. It seems that no matter what you do, Michael Myers manages to survive... and prepares to return next Halloween.
INTELLIGENCE - 6: Myers' plans are plain, simple, and usually effective. And he knows how to drive a car.
POWER - 9: Deceptively strong for a guy his size, and absolutely impervious to pain.
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VILENESS - 10: Impaling and slashing people has rarely been done better, and with such silent contentment. SWAY - 5 : As a large mute psychopath, Myers can only intimidate non-vocally. Saves him from spouting bad puns, though: "What a cut-up! Ahah, get it?"
PURITY - 9: His obsession with murdering every last remote member of his family is admirable. PHYSICAL - 5 : While the albino Shatner mask is off-putting, most people don't get scared when they see The Shape, even up close.
TOTAL: 44
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Leatherface
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Leatherface Nobody in the world can go into a hardware store and not pass the power tools section without seeing a chainsaw and thinking of one thing: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, one of the most controversial and blo
odiest movies of all time. The movie has become as ubiquitous as its star character, Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen). Adorned with a stitched together mask made of the faces of his victims, he prowls the inside of his family home and waits for the next unlucky lost driver to stop by. Together with his deranged family, Leatherface and Co. are the clan from Hell.
In the original 1974 film, a young girl and her disabled brother are heading out to their grandfather's burial place because of the reports of vandals desecrating the area. Together with three other friends, they drive out, meet up with a crazy hitchhiker (who they soon drop off), and soon find their way out to the grandfather's deserted farm. From there, a path leads to the dark and mysterious home of that same hitchhiker, and Leatherface, who introduces himself to one of the nosy youths in a sudden and deadly manner. One by one, the other kids fall into the trap of entering the home and lose their lives, except for Sally, who manages to survive a surreal dinner with the family and finds her way back to the highway where she gets saved by a passer by.
In the new 2003 remake, the kids are on their way to a Skynard concert when the hitchhiker blows her head off, prompting them to call the sheriff (who is also a Leatherface family member), and before you know it, the chainsaw is being fired up. In this new version, a backstory for the 'Face is revealed: his real name is Thomas Hewitt, and a rare skin condition, never properly treated, has destroyed part of his face, leaving the young man alone and in the dark, away from the taunting and embarassment delivered by strangers. He wears a mask to hide his face, but it's made out of dead people, strangers he's killed who strayed too closely and had to die. And in his spare time, it kinda looks like he works at the meat packing plant across the street. (One incredible addition to the remake, by the way, is the crime scene investigation and what the cops discover.)