I am a certified Halloween enthusiast! I love everything about Halloween. So, I decided to scare up some Halloween themed questions and shoot them out to some bands. This batch went out to Tony from Deserts of Mars!
Are you superstitious?
I’m not that superstitious, but I think I would classify myself as a “Supernatural Agnostic” or a “cautious observer.” I’ve encountered enough strange stuff and weirdness in my life, and I’ve had friends who had some extremely out-of-the-ordinary experiences that I have a hard time believing there aren’t things we don’t really have the context to explain. I tend to be a bit cautious about the supernatural, so I’ve never messed with an Ouija board, and I don’t really do anything with true occult stuff. So, maybe the fact I went to Catholic and Southern Baptist churches until High School had something to do with all of that.
Why do you love Halloween?
I dig the whole vibe; the air feels electric, sometimes a bit more chaotic, but somehow comforting. Tons of cool horror movies come out or get their due in October, and that is great. It’s a time when a lot of us weird horror and metal kids get our time to shine and feel slightly more “Normal” about being “Strange.” Metal has also been a big deal to me since junior high, and the intertwining of horror, metal, the occult, and macabre has been my comfort zone for most of my life at this point. For a while, I was also in the industrial scene; with that aesthetic along with the goth scene, this feels like the holiday for all of us on the fringe. It wasn’t so great during the Satanic Panic era, but there’s a part of me that keeps a bit of Halloween going year-round. I am into it enough that I co-host a horror movie podcast called the Castle of Horror Podcast, and we have 444 episodes and counting, keeping horror and the Halloween spirit going throughout the year!
Do you scare easily?
I don’t think I’m particularly easy to scare, but a good jump scare in a movie is always fun. Growing up in a small town as a metalhead/nerdy guy, I am always much more wary of people and how scary the wrong person looking for trouble can be. I’m less scared of horror movie stuff and more concerned about real-world things and if my loved ones are safe. Creepy things and ghosts I feel like I can deal with on a case-by-case basis
What’s your favorite Halloween movie?
I go through phases, but I always come back to “Trick or Treat” from 1986/1987. Metal and horror with an outcast protagonist (I could relate!!), Gene Simmons and Ozzy cameos, and one of the best soundtracks in any movie courtesy of Fastway make it all-timer. I have an import version, and I’ve bought the soundtrack multiple times. It’s great!!
Also in my rotation are The Haunting (the original black-and-white version), Shocker (more metal in the soundtrack), The Thing, Nightmare on Elm Street 3 (and 1), Hellraiser 1 and 2, and some newer horror like Terrified (from Argentina). I have a pretty big collection, but I tend towards the classics during spooky season, in addition to trying to catch the latest ones in the theater and on Shudder and other services.
What’s your favorite Halloween song?
I’m going to continue with “Trick or Treat” or “After Midnight” from the Trick or Treat soundtrack.
I have a good honorable mention list of “Dream Warriors” from Dokken, Thriller, “Nightmare on My Street”, “Monster Mash” (I actually dig the Misfits version), “London After Midnight” and “Silent Darkness (Smothered Life,)” from Wrathchild America, as well “Waking the Dead” by Suicidal Tendencies. Metal and Horror are so intertwined I tend to put on horror-adjacent metal like Rigor Mortis and others, as well as some good gothy atmospheric stuff during October. Local band Suspiriorum has been playing on my list a lot lately, as well as some classic Jacula and the Crow soundtrack from back in the day.
What’s your favorite Halloween candy?
I dig Milk Duds, 100 Grand, and Reese’s Pieces are my faves in the Halloween bag. I do miss Whatchamacallit and those white and brown peanut butter bars from my childhood, though.
I always got a pretty normal candy haul when trick or treating, but it was also a disappointment during the Satanic Panic era when you got Jack Chick tracts about “THE DEVIL!” or some nonsense. C’mon, just give kids candy!
On a spooky note, we did get offered a spell at a gig from a very tattooed Levay looking fellow who dug our industrial band at the time. He wrote these runes down on a scrap of paper and told us to burn it “if we ever needed help.” I instantly told my roommate/bandmate that I had seen enough horror movies and that I wouldn’t advise that. So maybe I’m superstitious after all. The tales of Faust and the like are too prevalent not to be at least a little wary, right?
Favorite horror monster or villain?
In addition to Sammi Curr from Trick or Treat I mentioned above, I think Freddy Krueger and Pinhead are tops for me in the modern era. As far as all-time greats, Lugosi and Christopher Lee’s takes on Dracula top almost everyone else. I have a soft spot for Universal and Hammer Horror since Universal Horror was what got me into the genre as a kid. Karloff’s portrayal of The Monster captivated me, and I was hooked. I also really love the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Milicent Patrick designed one of the most iconic creatures in horror history!
One of my dream jobs was as lead animator on a PS1 game that starred kid versions of Universal Monsters, and I was REALLY bummed when it got canceled right before release. I loved bringing those characters from my childhood to life in game form. I wish everyone could have played it because as a horror kid from way back, I put my heart and soul into it.
(you can see some old demo reel animations I rendered from the PS1 assets here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC4TESjbATk)
What was your favorite Halloween costume as a child?
In the 1980s, we had costumes that were just a mask and a plastic poncho, usually telling people exactly who the character was. I just remember getting a Star Wars one, and at the time, that was the coolest thing EVER!
Do you prefer gore or thrillers?
Over the years, I have definitely moved from being more of a gorehound to preferring thrillers or supernatural horror. I still dig a good squirmy practical effect and some well-placed gore, though. Especially if it is a well-crafted, practical VFX. We used to actively seek that out in the VHS era, so I go back to that well from time to time. These days, I tend to steer clear of horror that is more true-crime-based or too close to reality. The news is always so depressing and awful I prefer a little bit of escapism, even in my terror and mayhem. Give me a good B movie or Eurotrash movie and I am in my horror “happy place.” (or perhaps “Ghoulish Place” might be a better term, I suppose.)
Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees (if you had to choose)?
That’s a tough one! Jason is way more iconic in horror culture, especially after he gets his mask in part 3 (that’s still my favorite; see it in 3D if you can!). So, I can say Jason wins out for me as far as movie monsters go.
However, Carpenter is still a master of horror, and Halloween set the stage for the modern slasher in a major way. The cast and music are pitch-perfect, and Michael is perfect in that first movie as just an unexplainable force of evil and chaos. That’s one of the scariest things about him, the idea that somehow someone is just born evil and can get you, that is bone-chilling.
Massive thank you to Tony for a very entertaining interview. I appreciate you taking the time to answer these questions. As for the rest of you, please take the time to click on the link so generously provided below and bask in some deliciously good tunes. You will not be disappointed.
~El Pedo Caliente (aka Uncle Jameson from the Fistful of DOOM show)
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