H13: Tommy Creep – Graveyard Calling Horror Records
Written by Gaz E
Friday, 31 October 2014 03:45
Tommy Creep’s Graveyard Calling label releases horror-themed bands on cassette…and does a frightfully good job in doing so. This Creep pointed some of H13’s victims/band members in the direction of this year’s 13 Days of Halloween so how could Uber Rock thank him? Why, by giving him his very own chance to answer the butcher’s dozen questions on October 31st itself…..
1.) What are your most vivid childhood memories of Halloween?
Mainly simple things, like getting excited over bottles of fake blood and plastic vampire fangs. Other than that I don’t remember a lot, I’m more than making up for it now though!
2.) Why do you think that the worlds of horror and metal/punk have always been so closely linked?
I think that music is just a great medium for horror. People were mixing the two brilliantly long before bands like the Misfits; Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and Screaming Lord Sutch being perfect examples. Some people, myself included, have little interest in music that focuses on love and politics and prefer music that explores sinister/morbid themes whether lyrically or musically. Bands like the Misfits and Rob Zombie have done well for horror-themed metal/punk but there’s so much great horror music in other genres too, you just have to know where to look; which is kinda what I’m trying to do with Graveyard Calling Horror Records.
3.) Has there been a horror remake yet that has bettered the original movie?
Not really, because no-one ever seems to try to remake bad films. Klaus Kinski’s Nosferatu is a brilliant film but I don’t think anyone could say that it is better than the original, it’s probably the best example of a film coming close to bettering the original though! Everyone always used to hate on remakes, myself included, but people still go to see them, either out of curiosity or because they’re the only horror films on at the cinema, so it seems like now people are giving up on fighting them. I’d much rather see a bad sequel rather than a bad remake, you’re more likely to encounter some new content that way.
4.) What’s the greatest ever horror movie kill?
Perhaps the scene in Frankenhooker where all the prostitutes explode after taking super-crack!
5.) Who is the baddest ever horror movie villain…and why?
That’s a hard one! Most horror villains seem pretty badass until they get killed off by a teenage girl in the last 5 minutes. I’m gonna go with Dr. Heiter from Human Centipede: I’m sure there’s a better answer but I think Dieter Laser did a brilliantly sinister job! A lot of the people don’t think the film lived up to the hype but it seems like ages since evil scientist films were in the cinema so it’s cool to see one!
6.) Who is the greatest ever Scream Queen?
Fay Wray, one of the first and best. Brilliant in The Vampire Bat, one of my favourite films from the ’30s!
7.) Name your Top 5 favourite horror movies of all time…and tell us why!!
House of the Devil – A flawless film. I don’t think there has been a horror film that good in a long long time. Slow and suspenseful, beautifully shot, a tribute to the ’80s without ever getting too cheesy, I would recommend this to everyone.
Vampire Girl Vs Frankenstein Girl – Anyone not familiar with special fx artist/director Yoshiro Nishimura should go look up every film he’s been involved in; check out Dead Sushi, Robogeisha, Machine Girl and Tokyo Gore Police! Blood always pumping out in over-the-top fashion and just utterly bizarre scenes. VG vs FG is definitely my favourite though, it’s hilarious, like an overdose of sugar and gore on the senses, go check out the trailer now!
At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul – I only recently delved into the films of Brazilian-filmmaker Coffin Joe but already I’m in love. At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul is the first film of the “Coffin Joe Trilogy”; about an atheist undertaker who looks down on the superstitious, god-fearing residents of his town and isn’t afraid to wipe out anyone that stands in the way of his quest to continue his bloodline! Though shot in 1964, visually it looks very much like a Universal Monsters film from the ’30s which definitely adds to the atmosphere. The second in the trilogy, This Night I’ll Possess Your Corpse is also one not to be missed!
Bride of the Monster – I loved this the first time I saw this, which was long before I was familiar with Ed Wood. Bela Lugosi is awesome as the evil Dr. Vornoff and Tor Johnson as the iconic Lobo. Add to that a killer octopus and a brilliant Lugosi monologue, the film has it all!
The Lost Boys – I wasn’t sure what to go with for my last choice, I was going to go with Dracula (1931) which I adore because Lugosi and Dwight Frye are both brilliant in it; I went with The Lost Boys because it’s one of those films I can sit down and watch any time and feel good.
8.) What underrated horror movie would you recommend to our readers just in case they have never seen it?
Howling II! This may be controversial but I think the first Howling sucked and that part 2 is an ’80s masterpiece! So much awesome in one film, I think it’s on par with other ’80s classics like The Lost Boys and Return of the Living Dead. It has a brilliant ’80s-y theme tune, Christopher Lee, a werewolf orgy, need more convincing?
9.) What is your guilty pleasure, the trashy horror flick that you hold dear but everyone else runs away from?
I love The Blair Witch Project! Everyone I’ve met seems to hate it. I didn’t see it until years after all the hype about it had died down though and watched it in the perfect atmosphere, on my own, in the dark. The woods remind me of the Forest of Dean near where I grew up so I found it pretty easy to get into!
10.) What is the greatest ever horror movie poster?
I really like the Poltergeist poster (even though the film sucks); it’s really simple and striking. I Spit On Your Grave is another good one, such an iconic image!
11.) Have you ever had a ghostly supernatural experience?
I’m a skeptic so can’t really say I have, however there was one time when I was dragging a life-size rubber skeleton and a deck-chair along deserted country lanes, on my own, in the middle of the night, to take some photos of it “sun-bathing” in this remote, old, graveyard and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t freaked out at every sound!
12.) What ‘star’ of the music world would you like to see slaughtered in gory horror movie style?
All of them! Luckily I don’t really encounter too much pop music on a day-to-day basis; are boy-bands still a thing? They could all be chucked in a blender like the zombie-baby in Braindead!
13.) What are your plans for Halloween this year?
I’m putting on a gig on the 30th in Bristol, it’ll be the debut of my new horrorpunk band Lupen Tooth and the first Travelling Morgue Horror Night – A series of horror music events around the UK, a collaboration between Graveyard Calling and new UK horror label Undead Artists. So although it’s the day before, that’ll be my main Halloween celebration!
http://graveyardcalling.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/GraveyardCalling
[With thanks to https://www.facebook.com/CarlyTurnerPhotography]