H13 : Lee Roy – Lifer
Written by Gaz E
Sunday, 23 October 2011 04:00
Don’t believe the rumours about all the dead bodies…..they are just people who fainted while reading Uber Rock’s 13 Days Of Halloween! Today we dissect a home-grown horror as Lee Roy, guitarist with the ten legged doom machine that is Lifer, brings the noise to URHQ. Like the very best underground movie, Lifer possess the spirit and suss to succeed without compromise. But can you stomach the most vile experiment ever devised? Your nightmares will never be the same again…..
What are your most vivid childhood memories of Halloween?
I remember being about 10 years old and I’d just finished off carving a face into my turnip (couldn’t afford a pumpkin and couldn’t find one down the local Spar) so the turnip was done, I was pleased and slightly pissed off as this turnip took me ages to carve. My mum came in the kitchen with a new Halloween costume for me to try out – I was very displeased at her choice, but never the less I went upstairs to try it on. My sister and her goofy arsed boyfriend proceeded to take the piss out of me in this costume and mask that my mum had bought for me – I was raging at this point so I slipped on the clown mask and stabbed her violently as her goofy arsed boyfriend stood there in utter horror! The turnip was good training,she broke apart easily with each pounding stab. It was now his turn so I stabbed him in the ear so he could hear the blade invading his tiny pea brain; I liked this as he gargled on my own steel invasion. I then stabbed my mum as her choice of jack o’ lantern and clown costume was simply appauling. Then I stopped daydreaming and turned back to watch this creepy movie that I’d so been on about to my mum. I blame her for my horror fixation 🙂
Why do you think that the worlds of horror and metal/punk have always been so closely linked?
I blame Black Sabbath, they destroyed my life hahaha. It’s the whole imagery and subject matter, the whole sound of metal and the way that it can come across with suspense and thrills in the music. Naturally it would go hand in hand for some styles of metal. Still keeps my imagination flowing to this day.
Last year I asked if remakes and rehashes were killing horror, now it seems to be the in-your-face turkey that is 3D – what are your thoughts on this money-grabbing gimmick that is souring cinemas and the state of current horror in general?
I gotta be honest, I’m not a great lover of a horror remake or rehash, but I am always intruiged at another director’s vision. I don’t think they are killing the horror genre but I do believe that most are a total cash in and are there to make a buck, but none the less it keeps horror alive to a certain extent. It would be up to the fans to seek the gems from the cheese and we can, easily. There are a couple of remakes I do like and think that the directors have added to an already great movie – Rob Zombie’s Halloween I did enjoy. One of my personal worst remakes would be The Wicker Man with Nicolas Cage – absolute balls up of a movie. Listen, Cage…get the fuck outta horror!!!
Has there been a horror remake yet that has bettered the original movie?
In a word, NO, but I’m optimistic. Personally I would like to see Guillermo Del Toro tackle a remake of the old Hammer classic The Devil Rides Out. I think his vision of this already great film could possibly be outstanding and very otherworldly when it comes to depicting the blackest of arts. It may happen yet, eh???
What’s the greatest ever horror movie kill?
I like brutality in a kill so I lean towards a quick sharp brutal shock when death is on the cards. For me it would be a death scene from Friday The 13th Part 2 when a guy is trying to impress his girlfriend by doing a handstand and walking on his hands, Jason Voorhees just hacks him with one blow with his machette from balls to head. It’s so quick and brutal and the guy just crumples like a rag doll to the floor – hahahhaha, ‘effin brilliant \m/ and makes me laugh.
Who is the baddest ever horror movie villain…and why?
Michael Myers aka ‘The Shape’ – he don’t say nothing, robotic in his presence, total psychopath, probably listens to LIFER, loves to kill. He’s like a shark, he has one thing on his mind – KILL KILL KILL and of course he wears a blank white mask, expressionless and totally nihilistic in his outlook….even though the mask is modelled on William Shatner’s face on a bad day, hahaha. Also he works on the creepiest day of the year, what a job….
Who is the greatest ever Scream Queen?
My missus if she ain’t got twelve cans of Guinness in the fridge for me and my dinner ready on time, hahaha. For me it would be Jamie Lee Curtis – I could say some classics but sorry, I’d stab the unholy shit out of Jamie Lee Curtis, hahaha – it’s personal!
Name your Top 5 favourite horror movies of all time…and tell us why!!
I just knew you were going to ask me this – arrrrghhh! But I love so many;
1) The Wicker Man – The whole sinister plot, great acting, awesome theme tracks, the subject matter.
1 and a half) Halloween – It’s Myers/Curtis/Pleasance and the way it’s filmed from behind the Shape’s mask – sheer brilliance.
2) The Devil Rides Out – Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing are top notch together and the subject matter of the film.
2 and a half) Night Of The Living Dead – George Romero’s direction and creepiness….and a harsh ending.
3) An American Werewolf In London – Love the black comedy in this one and David’s twisted dreams of becoming the wolf. Effects are top notch, not too over the top, great locations also.
3 and a half) The Texas Chain Saw Massacre – Psycological tension is tremendous and the sheer brutality of Leatherface.
4) Susperia – The sets, tension and the whole creepy feel; fave Dario Argento movie.
4 and a half) The Thing – Love the claustrophobic-ness and the gore.
5) The Fog – I’m a sucker for a good ghost tale.
5 and a half) The Omen – Creepy little fucker of a kid as the antichrist.
What underrated horror movie would you recommend to our readers just in case they have never seen it?
Possession! 1981 movie, directed by Andrzej Zulawski. Mark (played by Sam Neill) returns home to Berlin to find his wife Anna (Isabelle Adjani) is leaving him for unclear reasons. He initially suspects an affair and hires detectives to track her, but gradually discovers clues that something far stranger is afoot. Instead, his wife leaves him and her lover, Heinrich (Heinz Bennent). What follows is a series of horrific, compelling and surreal events. I can tell you no more about this old gem as I would spoil it for people who have never seen it, but you’ll be shocked and grossed out at particular scenes. Big thumbs up from me.
What is your guilty pleasure, the trashy horror flick that you hold dear but everyone else runs away from?
I love the movie The Living Dead At The Manchester Morgue, that would be my guilty pleasure as the acting is terrible but the repertoire between the lead character (who plays a chauvanistic free loving hedonistic hippy) and a fascist police sergeant is tremendously funny, the zombies are creepy as fuck also. Oh and the fact of the ridiculous plot as to how the zombies came to be zombies is bonkers also. The sound effects are analog and add to the feel of the creepy zombies. GREAT MOVIE 🙂 lol
What is the greatest ever horror movie poster?
My choice would be The Wicker Man poster as it gives the ending away; when I see a wicker man I think of this movie and of all things pagan; once you’ve heard all the music in this movie, it’ll stick with you.
What ‘star’ of the music world would you like to see slaughtered in gory horror movie style? How and why?
There’s quite a few music celebs I’d like to see slaughtered and splashed all over a horror movie like paint was going outta fashion. Lady GaGa would be one, possibly brutally tortured over the entire movie, firstly drilling those teeth of hers then pulling them out one by one, followed by pins in the eyelids and tattoo her eyeballs with mercury, then resort to the old FLOWERS OF DISEASE first movie type thing and hack her up bit by bit slowly. If she’s still alive when there’s only her head and torso left then I’d slowly squish her head in a meat press while she’s attempting to sing one of her hit songs……fuck knows we all have endured her music so it would be a treat to give something back to the world, hahahha! It would be lavishly directed by my keen eye, of course 🙂
What are your plans for Halloween this year?
I was thinking of smearing my missus’s body parts all over the woods of my hometown while chanting black majick incantations to applease the devil and all his minions, but seeing that I don’t believe in the devil, she shall be spared. It’s a possible Halloween costume ball and a ghost hunt for me and my scream queen at Craig Y Nos, reputedly haunted grounds. Good beers, good food and good company while staying at a creepy place – that’ll make it memorable. Oooooooo. can’t wait \m/
[Photo kudos to Tim Evans, Ian Cates, Jez Walshaw & Owen D Richards]