H13: Laurence & Drew – Fearless Vampire Killers
Written by Gaz E
Thursday, 25 October 2012 03:33
If you name your band after a classic Roman Polanski movie then you deserve a stab at answering the 13 unlucky-for-some questions splattered all over Uber Rock’s 13 Days Of Halloween. Fearless Vampire Killers have just been confirmed for next year’s Kerrang tour alongside the likes of Black Veil Brides, Chiodos and Tonight Alive and, in even bigger news, Laurence and Drew from the band become the latest victims of H13. Thanks to them this evil will now be able to spread itself across the world…..
1.) What are your most vivid childhood memories of Halloween?
Laurence: I remember staying around my friend Lawrence’s auntie’s house in the middle of nowhere. We went trick or treating in this little village nearby and got to this one house where no one answered. As we were about to leave this guy jumped out of the bu
shes and covered us in whipped cream. I was pretty sure he was dressed as a Mexican wrestler. Weird. He gave me a pound though, which I’m pretty sure was one of the biggest sums of money I’d ever held up to that point. Lawrence’s auntie used to say she had an alligator or a crocodile in her pond. I believed her. In fact it’s only now I realise that obviously wasn’t true!
2.) Why do you think that the worlds of horror and metal/punk have always been so closely linked?
Drew: I guess it’s because they both explore the darker side of things. Punk and metal (generally speaking) is more visceral and aggressive and lends itself to exploring darker themes and of course horror, whether it’s up on screen or on the page, stems from our fascination with fear, gore, violence and unease. Slam those two together and you’ve got the perfect, psychologically imbalanced metaphorical sandwich.
3.) Has there been a horror remake yet that has bettered the original movie?
Laurence: Well, depends what you mean by ‘better’. The new Dawn of the Dead is twice as scary as the original and a fucking awesome film. It’s probably better than the original, but naturally old Romero’s film has a certain atmosphere you can’t really match.
4.) What’s the greatest ever horror movie kill?
Drew: Off the top of my head I’m going to go for the scene in Day of the Dead where Captain Rhodes gets ripped apart by a horde of zombies – it’s brutal, fantastically gory and that guy’s such a dick throughout the film so it’s one of those fist pumping “Hell yeah fool!” moments too. That mocking salute by the trained zombie he’d been mocking and abusing is just the icing on the cake. Also, you’ve gotta love the homage to that death scene in Shaun of the Dead.
5.) Who is the baddest ever horror movie villain…and why?
Laurence: By baddest if you mean worst acted or most pathetic, then its got to be the goblins from Troll 2 and the manic woman that leads them. If you mean most bad ass, then it’s got to be Robert Carlyle’s villain in Ravenous.
6.) Who is the greatest ever Scream Queen?
Drew: As she’s on my mind at the moment after desperately searching for the DVD box set so me and Laurenzo could finish season 2 last night (we failed miserably, I’m sad to say) – I’m going to say Sarah Michelle Geller, the Buffmeister herself. Not only did she seem to always pop up and play those characters that you just really want to die in stuff like Scream 2, but she is THE SLAYER with a heart of gold and a strangely dissimilar stuntwoman for every occasion. Mon the Buff!
7.) Name your Top 5 favourite horror movies of all time…and tell us why!!
Laurence:
Ravenous: It’s more than a horror film, it’s a film about desperation, loneliness and greed. But it’s also fucking scary!
Day of The Dead: Paved the way for the more physiological zombie films (ala 28 Days Later)
Fearless Vampire Killers: More comedy than horror, but a whole childhood’s obsession with vampires was drawn from this film. That and a band.
Silent House: Foreign film, shot all in one long take, utterly terrifying. Like Blair Witch without the snot.
Hound of the Baskervilles (Jeremy Brett version): Once again a childhood obsession. What’s more terrifying than being stuck on desolate moorland with a ghoulish hound at your heels?
8.) What underrated horror movie would you recommend to our readers just in case they have never seen it?
Drew: I would thoroughly recommend a film starring Evil Dead’s main-man (and the man with the best chin this side of the Golden Age of superheroes) Bruce Campbell called Bubba Ho-Tep. We watched it around Halloween last year and it’s absolutely bizarre – it didn’t feel like anything I’d seen before. It’s part horror, part comedy, part action, part drama and all 
awesome. Basic premise being – Elvis didn’t die he’s stuck in a retirement home with another guy who thinks he’s JFK while people are being hunted by a mummy with a penchant for sucking souls out of his victims’ anuses. If that doesn’t intrigue you, you’ve got a heart of stone!
9.) What is your guilty pleasure, the trashy horror flick that you hold dear but everyone else runs away from?
Laurence: Scream 4. I loved it.
10.) What is the greatest ever horror movie poster?
Drew: Tough call, but I think I’m going to go for the poster to the original Halloween. I don’t know what it is, it’s just so striking, eerie and iconic. It completely sums up the tone of the film and looks badass to boot, JOB WELL DONE. But, a honorary mention for the Army of Darkness poster because that’s just fucking rad!
11.) Have you ever had a ghostly supernatural experience?
Laurence: When I was very young I was staying over a friend’s house. It was a pretty old house and had probably seen a fair few families pass through it. My friend and I were in bunk beds, and at about midnight, maybe after, I woke to see a man’s legs and the lower half of his torso at the foot of my bed. He appeared to be in some kind of leathers, like a highwayman or something. I remember being terrified and hiding under my quilts and forcing myself back to sleep. The next morning my friend, who’d been sleeping on the top bunk, complained of seeing a man with a wide brimmed hat and greasy hair at the end of his bed. I must say I freaked out.
12.) What ‘star’ of the music world would you like to see slaughtered in gory horror movie style?
Drew: They’re not really stars anymore but I think the band Aqua for tormenting me with the song ‘Barbie Girl’ at every school disco I sat in the corner for over about 10 years! Even as I type this it’s stuck in my head, mocking me. Perhaps a Raiders of the Lost Ark style face melting is in order…
13.) What are your plans for Halloween this year?
Laurence: We’re playing Koko with Wednesday 13 and we’re also doing a load of other things we’re not yet allowed to talk about! It’s going to be awesome though. We’re going to OWN Halloween.
http://fearlessvampirekillers.co.uk/
[Photos by Scott Chalmers Photography]
