Vince D'Amato is a Film maker originally
out of Canada. His production company, Creepy Six Films, has been
growing constantly into a force to be reckoned with on the independent
scene. I spoke to Vince recently about his Films, his future, and the
special brand of sinful celluloid that he delivers to the masses.
1. You are a master of Horror and Exploitation. Do you remember the films
that first got you into those genres?
Yes, absolutely. When I was
a kid it was almost as much the lurid VHS covers in the horror section of the
video store in the local mall as it was the films themselves. But when I was a
kid, without a doubt, Friday the 13th, The Howling, Halloween, The
Thing, House, and Creepshow. As I got older, I got really into Stephen King and
Clive Barker, and soon after that, it was films like Re-Animator, Big Trouble
in Little China, They Live, The Hills Have Eyes, Evil Dead, all of the Goerge
Romero films up to that point (by now we're talking 1994/1995), David
Cronenberg, Dario Argento (what I could get me hands on at that time, anyway).
2. Your first film was “Corpse O Rama”. How did you choose that as your
first project?
Actually, that was the
second project we chose, after a failed attempt to shoot a feature a year
earlier. Not having another feature film script I was confident in shooting on
a really low budget, we came up with a handful of stories and shot an
anthology. Most people haven't seen this movie, we released it ourselves on VHS
in Vancouver, that was around the year 2000, if I remember correctly. We only printed
50 VHS copies – and I think I still have 4 of them somewhere... probably
lurking in the basement.
3. Tell me about that first shoot; was it everything you thought it would
be?
The first shoot was
amazing, because we didn't know what it would be like- we had no expectations,
other than we wanted to capture our script onto film. And yes, we shot it on
16mm, like the first few films we made. I still remember the high we were all
on – at that time, Creepy Six Films was Nicole Hancock, Peter Speers, Damien Foisy,
and myself – when we celebrated with the cast and crew at the wrap party. Our
first wrap party, but not the last.
4. Your first film is a tricky thing. Some people will always hate your
first film while others will feel it’s the only good thing you ever did. What
has the reaction been to your films?
Well, technically speaking,
Vampires Vs. Zombies (or Carmilla, as it was originally called), was our
first widely distributed film. For all intents and purposes, that was Creepy
Six Films' first one. Worldwide sales and exposure were through the roof – but
everyone (well, a lot of people, anyway), didn't like it because there really
was no vampires vs. zombies in the film! That was what The Asylum, our
distributor at that time, decided to re-name the movie to boost sales and
interest. And it did work, that's for sure. But it really was a bit of a
mis-lead.
5. You mix up your Feature work with Series. Which format do you gravitate
toward and why?
Actually, for me, it's the
story that dictates the format.
6.“Human Nature” was the first film of yours that I came across at
Hollywood Video. I always scroll down to the director to see who’s new on the
scene. Do you remember the moment when you stepped back and said “Wow, people
are seeing my work”?
Absolutely, it was when all
the angry video-renters Emailed in about the misleading Vampires vs. Zombies
title. But you know, at the end of the day, The Asylum did get us a large
audience both with that film and with Human Nature, so what can I say about
that?
7. I know a lot has gone into “The Hard Cut”. What’s it about?
The Hard Cut was actually
two films that were shot back-to-back, and then later cut into a single film.
The first story is about a detective, Roddy Tillinghast, who is hired to find a
missing film - “Catholic Cheerleaders for Satan”. During the story he's
kidnapped by two gangsters named Rocky and Alex. The second film, which was
titled “I Woke Up Screaming the Day I Died”, is actually all of the events and
timeframe of The Hard Cut as seen through Rocky and Alex's point of view. So
you get two sides of the story. Anyway, the finished film is now “The Hard Cut
Double/Feature”. It took over two years to edit together, but we never had to
re-shoot anything.
8. You know I’m a huge fan of “Catholic Cheerleaders for Satan”. What was
the genesis of that kick ass throwback?
That was the
film-within-the-film in “The Hard Cut” story. There's more of those gals to be
seen in the latter film, too. Originally we'd only shot a few minor scenes
(Shots, really), to cut throughout The Hard Cut movie – but about a year into
post-production, we all decided it would be pretty awesome to go and actually
shoot that film in its entirety.
9. Does it fit in with the mythology of “The Hard Cut” and if so, how?
It does fit in, but I
wouldn't say much more about it than I already have.
10. Last year you started a second production company, Brivido
Giallo. How does this company differ
from Creepy Six?
Brivido
Giallo was started in London, UK, after my wife and I moved there in 2011. It
was set up to produce micro-budgeted features in Europe.
11. The first
film to come out of it is “Reversed”. What can you tell me about it?
“Reversed”
was hugely inspired by the Italian Gaillo, the genre Argento has done most of
his work within. I have had a huge affinity for this genre for years now, and I
felt that if I ever had a decent enough idea for a giallo, I'd have to shoot it
in Europe. Part of the attraction of these films are the locations, the actors,
everything that's over on the side of the water. “Reversed” is what I'd tag as
a neo-giallo. At first I though I'd come up with the term, but I've since seen
it around the internet describing films like “Amer”, which I thought was
brilliant. “Reversed” is about a woman who goes on a killing spree. There is
absolutely no dialog in the film at all, and the scenes are played out in
reverse order.
12. You’ve done a lot of work over the past 10 years. Do you have a project
that you’re most proud of?
Hell Hath No Fury, The Hard
Cut Double/Feature, and Reversed.
13. You’re setting up shop all around the world. What’s next for Vince
D’Amato?
I was just talking to our
producer Rob Carpenter about possibly doing another horror/sci-fi anthology (a
la Hell Hath No Fury) with three directors, and I'm going to be writing the
next Creepy Six feature film this September, to be shot in Vancouver in the
summer of 2013. The Hard Cut and Hell Hath No Fury Blu-rays should be out for
the end of January, to coincide with the Shivers Film Festival launching in
Vancouver that month. But that's a whole other story.... you can check out http://theycamefromwithin.com
Thanks for all the
questions!
Very truly,
Vince.
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