H13: Andrew O’Neill – The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing
Written by Gaz E
Wednesday, 24 October 2012 03:33
Day 6(66) of Uber Rock’s 13 Days of Halloween and it’s time for the incredible melting Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing. The band’s frontman, Andrew O’Neill, is generally regarded as the ‘occult comedian’, so who better to throw these 13 questions in the direction of? This may be the reason why The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing cannot be killed by conventional weapons. Yes, simply typing the title of the band’s great album fills up a whole lot of space…..
1.) What are your most vivid childhood memories of Halloween?
Disappointing masks, a nip in the air and realising that here was something here that spoke directly to my soul. I couldn’t understand why everyone else kept all the spooky stuff for one day a year. It remains one of favourite things.
2.) Why do you think that the worlds of horror and metal/punk have always been so closely linked?
Metal comes out of horror films. From Black Sabbath naming themselves after a horror film and directly wanting to be the musical equivalent of horror, to the death metal bands of the ’80s fashioning themselves after their favourite video nasties, they have been synonymous. The thrill I got from metal when I was a young teenager was exactly the same as I got from horror films. Both metal and punk deal with negatives, as does horror. They’re the flip side to the mainstream coin.
3.) Has there been a horror remake yet that has bettered the original movie?
Hammer’s Dracula is way better than the lumbering, clunky Universal version. And whilst The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is one of my very favourite films, I actually really like the remake, because it told a different story. It’s disturbing in other ways. Most of the others can fuck off, though. While there isn’t a mainstream version of The Call of Cthulhu there is no need to re-hash old films.
4.) What’s the greatest ever horror movie kill?
Hmmm…. Peter Cushing’s Victor Frankenstein pushing Professor Bernstein to his death in The Curse of Frankenstein still has the ability to shock after fifty-five years. It’s beautifully played. They have dinner, exchange pleasantries, clearly enjoy each other’s company, then Frankenstein shows his true, cold-blooded nature. Or the overkill bedroom scene in Scars Of Dracula. Christopher Lee getting very stabby, then shoving his face in the wound. That’s a surprisingly gory film, actually. And contains mild Dennis Waterman.
5.) Who is the baddest ever horror movie villain…and why?
Without shadow of a doubt it has to be Mocata from The Devil Rides Out. Charles Gray plays him as dapper, charming, thoroughly English and completely evil. He was loosely based (in the novel) on Aleister Crowley, though Crowley was far from evil (despite the nickname he 
encouraged as “The Wickedest Man In The World”), and Mocata is a Satanist, whereas Crowley would never have restricted himself to one flavour of ice-cream, no matter how devilishly seductive. Mocata is the villain I most want to be.
6.) Who is the greatest ever Scream Queen?
The best scream ever is not in a film but in the Doctor Who story Terror Of The Autons. Barbara Leake as Mrs. Farrel just fucking GOES FOR IT. There’s also the relentless screaming in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, which gets horribly wearing. That’s Marilyn Burns.
7.) Name your Top 5 favourite horror movies of all time…and tell us why!!
The Wicker Man, because it’s got the best slow build-up of dread and a feeling of uncanny. Plus Christopher Lee is amazing as Lord Summerisle. The Devil Rides Out is pretty much Hammer at its peak. Night Of The Living Dead was a total gamechanger, and like all great zombie films has a horribly downbeat ending. Halloween is a masterpiece of film craftsmanship. It’s a blueprint for how to make horror. The sequel is really good too, but less creepy – more horrific. An American Werewolf In London manages to mix comedy and horror without the join showing. It’s a seamless crossover. And it’s got Rik Mayall in it. Damn. It’s hard to pick just five.
8.) What underrated horror movie would you recommend to our readers just in case they have never seen it?
Threads. 1984 film about nuclear war, made by the BBC. Easily the most disturbing film ever made, because it’s real. The scariest part is the list of doctors and professors credited as advisors at the end. That threat is still very real.
9.) What is your guilty pleasure, the trashy horror flick that you hold dear but everyone else runs away from?
Hmmm…. I don’t really do trashy. Guinea Pig is a film I’d never ever recommend anyone actually watch. It’s just 40 minutes of torture, with no plot. Extremely disturbing, without the gloss of modern ‘torture porn’ films. It just leaves you feeling abject. And on a very different tip, Night Of The Big Heat is hugely enjoyable, but not actually very good. Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Patrick Allen and no budget.
10.) What is the greatest ever horror movie poster?
Jaws. There’s a lot of competition – The Evil Dead, The Exorcist and Halloween all come close, but Jaws is the most iconic.
11.) Have you ever had a ghostly supernatural experience?
As someone who’s been vegan for 13 years, my farts are pretty haunting. I recently tried having my arse exorcised, to no avail. (The priest fell out the window and broke his neck on the stairs outside.)
12.) What ‘star’ of the music world would you like to see slaughtered in gory horror movie style?
I have previously pledged £1 million to anyone who kills and rapes the Jonas Brothers. I stand by this.
13.) What are your plans for Halloween this year?
The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing are doing TWO zombie-themed gigs in October, at the Intrepid Fox on 13th AND the Leicester Square Theatre on 30th. We’ll be dressing up and singing our song ‘Victoria’s Secret’ which is about how Prince Albert never actually died – he remained undead. Hence the need for a ring to keep his rotten genitals in place…. grim, eh?
The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing play Cardiff Bogiez on Oct 28th, and then London Leicester Square Theatre on Oct 30th – as part of a ‘zombie comedy’ night!
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