H13: Ginger Wildheart
Written by Gaz E
Wednesday, 31 October 2012 03:33
Yeah, like this guy needs an introduction. It’s October 31st, so who better to hit the final nail into the coffin of Uber Rock’s 13 Days Of Halloween than the fella who wrote ‘Splattermania’?!? We didn’t just save this until last because we’ve always loved this guy’s music either – Ginger Wildheart knows his horror and provides one of the finest H13 interviews of this, or any other, year…..
1.) What are your most vivid childhood memories of Halloween?
Like a lot of English kids of my generation it was one of those occasions that my family didn’t celebrate. In fact it wasn’t until I left home that I started staunchly adhering to the celebration of Halloween. I guess the only thing I remember about Halloween when I was a kid is that there was always great horror films on telly. I was a mad horror buff even at the earliest age I can remember, and having two or three horror films to watch was my idea of heaven. Still is really, I’m just a lot more picky these days.
2.) Why do you think that the worlds of horror and metal/punk have always been so closely linked?
It’s all outsider stuff, isn’t it? These days punk and horror have become so mainstream that no-one is offended but when I was younger you were a weirdo if you loved watching people getting slaughtered by monsters and villains, just like if you were into punk. Music and visuals really could affect people back then to such a point that nothing really has that effect now. Not even global tragedy and corruption in the news startle people. We’re an unshockable bunch these days, so now I think the link between punk and horror is that it looks cool. But I remember a time when the link was attributed to a social outcast factor, and many of those social outcasts went on to make great waves in the music and film industry. Some obviously went on to direct and play utter shit in order to pander to the lowest common denominator, but that’s commerce. People can lose their need to make a statement when they start getting xmas cards from their bank manager. Still some of us punk and horror buffs stayed true to our cause.
3.) Has there been a horror remake yet that has bettered the original movie?
There’s no way of gauging if Carpenter’s The Thing and Cronenberg’s The Fly were in any way better than the originals, but they certainly catered for my taste in disgusting content more than the originals. If a remake can offer anything on the original then it has a reason for living, in my opinion, and if not then it’s just a cheap cash in aimed at morons. Turning a quaint old black & white sci fi movie into a bloody full on assault of the senses has value. Remaking Friday the 13th is the inexcusable plundering of great ideas by people without any ideas of their own. And I personally think that the everyone involved in remaking Martyrs with a happy ending, as the producers of Twilight are apparently doing, should be stricken with hideous skin diseases. Cunts.
4.) What’s the greatest ever horror movie kill?
That’s a tough one. Savini blowing his own head off in Maniac was pretty incredible, as have most of Savini’s kills in other movies, and the fishing gaff kill from The Mutilator was pretty disgusting, due to the fact that the hook pulled out a blood bag from the dummy belly which looked like guts. John Cassavetes’ exploding death at the end of The Fury is an all time motherfucker, as is the head exploding in Scanners. But then the decapitation by basketball in Deadly Friend was an unexpected delight. And then you’ve got some amazing stuff in Street Trash, and first two Toxic Avenger movies. And what about Haute Tension? Ah, let’s face it, I can’t answer this question.
5.) Who is the baddest ever horror movie villain…and why?
Pumpkinhead. Stan Winston’s most amazing creation and what a cold motherfucker. It can be argued that Godzilla would take him, weight advantage and all that, but no one looks more purely bad ass than Pumkpinhead. I guess he’s not technically a villain though, is he? He is more the dark deeds of man manifest. Still, he looks fucking awesome and that’s enough for me.
6.) Who is the greatest ever Scream Queen?
The biggest crush I ever had on anyone was for Linda Blair. I was besotted with her as a kid. I think my fascination began with Exorcist II where she began blossoming as a woman, just at the time when I was blossoming as a horny little bastard. My current favourite is probably Diora Baird, but as gorgeous as she is she can’t hold a candle to Ms Blair, for whom the light burns eternally bright.
7.) Name your Top 5 favourite horror movies of all time…and tell us why!!
MARTYRS: because it crushes with brutal fucking horror, full stop. I recommend this movie to anyone who tells me they’re tired with the genre, and I love to see their shaken disposition after seeing it.
THE EXORCIST: because it is the greatest horror movie ever made. Script, pacing, cast and just general sense of helplessness. It still rules over everything made before or since.
THE BEYOND: because it is Fulci at his most wild and unflinching best. Multiple eyeball violence, blood pumping freely from wounds, accompanied by waterfall noises, and a seriously eerie ending. Fucking righteous. This movie is why he’s my favourite director of all time.
DAY OF THE DEAD: because Savini is on fire in this one. His gore effects never looked more convincing and brutal, and every list of favourite horror films should feature something Savini has been involved with. This is my favourite movie of his whole career.
ABOUT 100 MORE MOVIES THAT I CAN’T CHOOSE FROM: because choosing five favourites is impossible. Toxic Avenger is more fun than you could have back in ’80s without a crack pipe. Delamorte Dellamore is a perfect movie with a stunning cast. Ichi: The Killer is another perfect one with zero flaws. And who could even pick a favourite from the Hammer movies? Nope, I can’t do five favourites, sorry.
8.) What underrated horror movie would you recommend to our readers just in case they have never seen it?
Martyrs, absolutely. Just don’t go in expecting Scream or some other watered down modern rubbish. Wait for the remake for that. Martyrs is full bodied, fuck-you-up horror that will stick with you the rest of your life. Enter at your own risk. Definitely not for the squeamish or faint hearted.
9.) What is your guilty pleasure, the trashy horror flick that you hold dear but everyone else runs away from?
Probably Toxic Avenger, but there are so many of those cheesy ’80s horror flix that I adored as a youngster. Demons was another fanstastic cheeseball of a film. I was an avid reader of Fangoria and worshipped anything that came at me with enough blood and gore. It was the age of the video nasty but I was able to get in before the craze killed the industry, so video stores were crammed with uncut horror from US and Italy. I literally couldn’t watch enough of them when we first got a video player. Golden days.
10.) What is the greatest ever horror movie poster?
The one that made me salivate with dread and curiosity was It’s Alive. I mean what could have been in that fucking pram? Okay, it was a hokey rubber monster but that’s besides the point, the poster was a masterpiece. I think my imagination was fueled for decades to come by the ingenuity of that poster.
11.) Have you ever had a ghostly supernatural experience?
Yeah, I’ve seen a bunch of really fucked up stuff that got me really into the supernatural on a kind of ‘I’m on a mission’ level. It got to the point where I booked a haunted castle to record vocals for The Wildhearts’ self titled ‘white album’. We set up the mics in the most haunted chamber and I slept in the most haunted room. And guess what we found? Absolutely fucking nothing. Since then I’ve calmed on my conviction and appreciate that it’s all probably a bunch of rubbish. I’m very willing to be proven wrong, but since I’ve stopped believing in things that go bump on the night nothing has gone remotely bump on any night since. I think our imagination can fill in a lot of gaps if we want it to.
12.) What ‘star’ of the music world would you like to see slaughtered in gory horror movie style?
I don’t really care about stars of the music world enough to choose anyone. I don’t keep up with pop music so I don’t know who everyone’s hating these days, and there are some people from the world of rock that are so ridiculous that I refuse to give them any credence by mentioning their names. So I will say me. I’d like to be slaughtered horribly. And I suspect that Rich Jones and Scott Sorry would never forgive me if I got slaughtered gorily without them, so they’re also my choices. Me, Rich and Scott. As horribly as possible. I bags the guts.
13.) What are your plans for Halloween this year?
Same as I do every year. Dressing up in mad costumes with my little ‘un and my missus and going off terrorizing the pensioners in the neighbourhood for sweets. Works every year. He’ll come back and eat them all, and we’ll drink some horrible concoction we’ve knocked up for the occasion. Next day we all nurse Halloween hangovers. It’s tradition.
http://www.gingerwildheart.net/
[Photo kudos to www.musicphotographer.co.uk and www.bandsonstage.co.uk]
To pick up some of Ginger Wildheart’s music on Amazon – CLICK HERE
