Interview with Kansas City's madman of Horror Todd Sheets conducted by Chris Weisbach. The interveiw took place over the phone in May of 1998.
CW: Todd, I hear you are finally done with "The Shivers."
TS: Well, not completely, but soon it will be. 18 months of Hell. Actually, it was pretty darn fun. I had the best cast I had ever worked with and a great crew. It was great fun. Why it took so long is because the film is full of digital effects. 33% of the flick is digital, so it took quite a while, then we did a big score for it and I had to record some "metal" type songs at my buiddy Dan Smith's home studio. That alone took 9 months or so, during midnight sessions. Two or three times a week. It's so damned ambitious. We were crazy to undertake this type of movie on such a low budget.
CW: So you feel that it is a good movie?
TS: No, I feel like it's a great movie! Look, when you shoot a movie like this, it is a miracle that it ever gets done, much less look any good. We couldn't even buy a good used car for our budget here, yet it looks professional, it's got great camerwork and lighting, good sound and awesome effects. We had tons of make-up effects also. A huge project. For the stuff I see coming out in today's Horror video market, we are more than ready to compete.
CW:Today's Horror video market?
TS: Well, yeah. I mean you either get big budget BS like "Scream," which I hated for many reasons, or you get zero budget stuff that people are shooting on camcorders. I started that way, too. My early movies are abominations to me now... but then I thought I was the king of directors. (Laughs) It just goes to show what learning and growing up can do for ya. Many of the peopple making these backyard epics never read a book, took a class, or even tried to understand how a film is made. I was lucky and had lots of help from producers like David Decoteau and J.R. Bookwalter. I also buy every book I can and read it cover to cover.These guys are making even worse mistakes than I did. I mean, the number one rule is "DON'T BORE THE AUDIENCE" and they break that one from beginning to end.
CW: Tou had a problem with "Scream?"
TS: I knew you'd ask about that! I hated it and here's why: My best friend Jerry and I went to see and almost fell asleep. It opens SOOOOO good! Then it's "Beverly Hills 90210" with a slasher in it. Also, it made me mad when Wes Craven did all those interviews in Fangoria and stuff saying how it's a true return to Horror. Bullshit! It was a cop-out commercial poofy movie! Craven should be forced to watch his own dreck 24 hours a day, that bastard. Talent like Sam Raimi, John Carpenter and Peter Jackson goes without notice and that freak has a gazillion dollars for a shitty movie like that. The public, the teeny boppers out there have forgotten what a good Horror film is.... Who could blame them, not many people have the guts in these idiotic POLITICALLY CORRECT times to make real Horror movies anymore. Realize this: In this day and age we would NEVER get to see a movie like Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Evil Dead get made. Much less movies like Gates Of Hell, Make Them Die Slowly, Demons, Zombie.... Hell, even The Thing by John Carpenter would get ruined if they made it today!!! Too many digital effects and not enough slime! I don't care what people say, real slimy monsters look way better than computer ones, period.
CW: true. Computer aliens and monsters look very clean and perfect.
TS: And a rubber monster, when done right, looks real. It IS real. They can act with it and light it and everything. By the way, Godzilla is thought of as a computer monster, but the rea; story is that he was a rubber creation! Make-up guys made him. The models were shot and fed into a computer for enhancement and blue creen work. Same with Lost World and Jurassic Park.
CW: You spoke earlier of "Backyard Epics." What does this mean exactly?
TS: Some people still think of us as making Backyard Epics, too. I am not saying I am better than anyone. Hell, I have a belief that all Backyard film makers should lose their egos and pull together to learn from each other and help each other with production and distribution. I mean, I have gotten some pretty bad ones to screen. Tale Of The Urban Werewolf is so bad. The guys who made it had some good ideas, but it was so dull and boring. Bad lighting, bad sound, bad angles. Too many wide shots will kill a movie. Burglar From Hell is another one. The guys that made it seem to like what they are doing and everyone seems to be having a ton of fun, but it's dull, badly acted and isn't shot, lit or edited right. They have gotten better since, but that movie got released and it took them a long time to live it down. I am just now being cleared of my past mistakes. My early work was dreck. I had no idea what I was doing except having fun with a buch of friends. Most directors hide their mistakes in a closet... I let mine get worldwide distribution! But the one thing I did have in my favor was that they were bad, but NEVER dull or boring! So keep this in mind. If we are going to survive, we should have fun BUT take the production of the movie very seriously. It wasn't until I made Zombie Bloodbath in 1992-93 that I even really CARED. I consider that my first movie. The 10 before it were just fun and practice. And it wasn't until Moonchild in 1994 that I started getting good reviews. With Zombie Bloodbath 2 and Violent New Breed, I started winning awards and getting critics on my side and now I have The Shivers to back me up.
CW: Tell us about the music you make for the movies.
TS: Well, the scary stuff is basically keyboards, some guitar and a bass... A drum machine here and there. Some wierd sounds. It takes time, but that's because I usually do it alone. Then there's the Metal stuff. I loved that! I wrote all the tunes and played most of the instruments, except the drums that Dan Smith, who owns the studio, played. Kenny Tuna did some acoustic and wild solo stuff and Brian Milum did some guitar effects stuff... It was a hoot. The songs are kick ass and I am shopping them to a few labels who have expressed interest. You never know. I use the band name Enochian Key for all my music. I have had the name for 10 years or so and even though the band broke up, I kept the name and still use it today. If anyone wants a copy, all the need to do is e-mail me for a tape and I'll send one along.
CW: And the next movie is?
TS: Whispers In The Gloom. It's a cool movie so far. Supernatural, action packed and violent as hell. The script is killer. We start shooting in late July or early August. It's about a town of beings and a late night talk show host who gets trapped by them. That's all I wanna say right now. It is the biggest one yet. I am crazy for being so ambitious, but why not shoot for the stars? I'll never, ever settle for anything but the biggest and best. I don't want to be a schlockmeister anymore and I will never settle for less than what I am capable of doing. Plus, my partner Brian won't let me. He pushes me when I get tired of pushing myself, but I'll tell ya one thing.... He is one of the greatest people I have evr known in my life. Period. I owe him more than I'll ever be able to pay.
CW: Thanks for your time and we can't wait for that next one!
TS: Thanks to you! Any fans can write me anytime and I will reply, guaranteed!