The Nick Taylor Horror Show

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A GLITCH IN THE MATRIX Director, Rodney Ascher [Episode 70] Feb 11, 2021

Show notes

Rodney Ascher is an American documentary filmmaker, perhaps best known among us horror fans for ROOM 237 - a documentary that focuses on the exhaustively diverse amount of theories surrounding The Shining. Rodney’s other projects include The Nightmare, a terrifying deep dive into sleep paralysis, and Primal Screen, about childhood fears of characters that fall in the uncanny valley.

Rodney's latest movie, A Glitch in the Matrix, explores the widely reported phenomena of Simulation Theory, the terrifying idea that human life is a big simulation as portrayed in The Matrix. Guys, this movie was fantastic; all of Rodney's movies are amazing - he's one of the most fascinating documentarians out there, so definitely check out his other movies like Room 237 and Nightmare, but run don't walk to see A Glitch in the Matrix. It's extremely unique, fascinating, and as always, Rodney's directorial style is downright hypnotic. Also, if you're even remotely interested in this notion of simulation theory, I suggest checking out the Reddit thread, also titled, A Glitch in the Matrix, if you really want to get freaked out by some first-hand accounts of this alleged phenomenon.

This is my second interview with Rodney, and in my first, we get into his director origin story and more of his techniques and processes as a filmmaker, so if you're interested in that, go check out episode 36. In this interview, Rodney and I focused almost exclusively on A Glitch in the Matrix - I always enjoy speaking to him; here, without further ado, is master documentarian Rodney Ascher.

Thank you for listening! Don't forget to subscribe.

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SURVIVING DEATH Director, Ricki Stern [Episode 68] Jan 28, 2021

Show notes

Ricki Stern is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and award-winning documentarian of multiple features and series. She's directed such projects as the Trials of Darryl Hunt, The Devil Came on Horseback, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, Surviving Jeffrey Epstein, and The Preppie Murders. Ricki's latest project is Surviving Death, a 6-part docu-series that explores ideas of life after death and psychic phenomena including mediums, paranormal activity, and reincarnation. Surviving Death is now streaming on Netflix, and I highly recommend it. It is definitely not horror, per se, but delves into matters of the supernatural in a very compelling and beautiful way. I binged through the entire series in a few days and was mesmerized the whole time. She's a dear friend, and I enjoyed speaking to her, so please enjoy this conversation with documentarian Ricki Stern.

Here are some key takeaways from this conversation with Ricki.

Always convey information through the story. In the case of Surviving Death, Ricki wanted the movie to be rooted in wonder and mystery without trying to prove or disprove anything. There was an instance where one of the mediums she profiled was channeling information about a deceased person, which we later discovered was easily found on Facebook. This was discovered entirely through the client of the medium as opposed to Ricki herself. Instead of coordinating her own investigation and intentionally trying to disprove or cast doubt on anything, this piece of evidence naturally uncovered itself, which allowed the story to feel more cohesive and organic, as opposed to like a piece of investigative journalism. This is a big distinction in documentaries; you can always tell which ones have a point to prove and which allow the viewer to form opinions on their own. The latter is always more interesting.

Feed your irrepressibility. Prior to directing her first feature, Ricki worked multiple day jobs but would always spend nights and weekends working on her own projects - mainly because she couldn't help herself. Ricki's drive to tell stories her own way was too strong for her not to moonlight as a director prior to getting an official green light, and in the end, one of those movies was nominated for an Emmy, launching her career. If you have the drive to tell stories, find a way to do it regardless of your circumstances - this drive is something to cherish and maintain because it will dull if you don't nourish it.

Flexibility is key. When shooting a documentary, it's always good to have a point of view and a sense of the story's structure, but don't be surprised if that story changes. When Ricki was shooting In My Corner, she was documenting the plight of two boxers who she thought would go on to the Olympics. When it became clear they wouldn't, she quickly had to regroup and find another lens through which to tell this story. This is a classic scenario in documentary filmmaking and how stories typically do not unfold as you intended - that's ok and can actually work in your favor sometimes, as was the case with Icarus and The Amazing Jonathan Documentary, both of which turned unexpected curveballs into majorly fascinating stories. Good documentarians embrace these curveballs and find the stories anyway.

Thank you for listening! Don't forget to subscribe.

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Monsterforge Founders, Steve Niles, & Shannon Eric Denton [Episode 67] Jan 21, 2021

Show notes

Monsterforge is an extremely exciting new production company specializing on monster related media across films, animation, games, comics, and even toys!

Monsterforge was founded by 30-Days of Night creator Steve Niles and artist/animator Shannon Eric Denton. The company is brand new, having launched in November, so I wanted to catch up with the guys about the founding of the company and what Monsterforge has in store for us all. I will give a heavy nerd alert up front because both of these guys were a blast to talk to, and we all geeked out pretty heavy on a number of things, including The Mandalorian. BUT, we get a really solid understanding of what it takes to launch a monster centric production company. All of this and so much more on today's episode of The Nick Taylor Horror Show. Now, please give it up for Monsterforge founders Steve Niles and Shannon Eric Denton.

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Remembering Stuart Gordon with Brian Yuzna, Larry Fessenden, and Graham Skipper [Episode 66] Jan 08, 2021

Show notes

Welcome back to the Nick Taylor Horror Show! As we put the literal horror show of 2020 behind us, I felt it was important to kick off this year with an episode about someone we lost last year, who left a tremendous void in the horror community, and that, of course, is Stuart Gordon.

To call Stuart a boundary pusher would be an understatement. Stuart taught entire generations of horror directors how not just to push boundaries but decimate them, and by doing so, show audiences the true power of horror. Stuart meant a lot of things to a lot of people, and one of the most recurring themes of conversations I've had with people about him is just how dedicated he was to mentorship and the craft of art.

I was fortunate enough to have conducted one of the last interviews with Stuart last year, and I highly recommend listening to that conversation if you haven't already. My conversation with Stuart was right after he had written his autobiography so he was extremely reflective and was incredibly generous with his wisdom, so check that episode out if you have not already. It's great, and I was pinching myself the entire time.

For this episode, I wanted to dig deeper into Stuart's prolific life by talking to some of those who were lucky enough to work with him. This episode features three separate conversations about Stuart with Brian Yuzna, Larry Fessenden, and Graham Skipper. Each person reflects on Stuart's life, his legacy, and what they learned from him, and I was really floored at how much insight came out of each of these conversations. Each interview turned out to be practical, revealing, and extremely fun.

So, with that in mind, I hope you enjoy these three conversations about the life and work of one of our fallen masters of horror, Stuart Gordon. I'm going to start with perhaps Stuart's closest collaborator, Brian Yuzna.

Brian is a man who needs no introduction. A writer, director, producer, Brian Yuzna produced multiple movies that Stuart directed, including Reanimator, Dagon, From Beyond, and Dolls. Brian directed one of my personal favorite deep cuts, Society, which if you haven't seen, do yourself a favor and watch it, ideally with Joe Bob on Shudder. Brian also directed Bride of Reanimator, Silent Night Deadly Night 4, Beyond Reanimator, Return of the Living Dead 3, which is fucking insane and fantastic, and not enough people talk about it.

Brian and Stuart have a famous collaboration and, in partnership with each other were responsible for some quintessential horror classics. As a duo, they were unstoppable and I was very fortunate to be able to speak with Brian in-depth about their collaboration. Without further ado, please enjoy this conversation with Brian Yuzna.

Larry Fessenden is an American director, producer, writer, and actor. Larry’s career highlights include Habit, Wendigo, The Last Winter, and 2019's Depraved. I always love talking to Larry. As far as indie filmmakers, Larry is such the real deal, and I like to call him the East Coast Corman because he's not only a prolific director but he's mentored and groomed multiple directors like Ti West, Jen Wexler, and Jim Mickle. Larry and Stuart never actually got to work together on a film, but for years had a number of projects that they were developing. This conversation was mostly about what Stuart inspired in Larry as a filmmaker, as well as some details about the lost projects they were working on that unfortunately never came to be. Lots of great wisdom here. Please enjoy this reflection on Stuart Gordon with the great Larry Fessenden.

Graham Skipper is an American actor, director, and writer. He's directed multiple horror movies, including Space Clown and Sequence Break, now streaming on Shudder. He also reprised the role of Doctor Herbert West in Re-Animator: The Musical and starred in multiple Joe Begos movies, including Almost Human and The Mind's Eye. Graham worked very closely with Stuart on Reanimator the Musical and was lucky enough to have developed a close relationship with him. There are multiple wonderful lessons Graham learned from Stuart, and he was gracious enough to share them with me - so please enjoy this conversation with Graham Skipper.

Thanks again for listening!

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WOLFCOP Director, Lowell Dean [Episode 65] Dec 31, 2020

Show notes

Lowell Dean is a Canadian writer and director perhaps best known for his lycanthropic cult classic WolfCop and its sequel Another WolfCop. Usually, I'm not a fan of movies that intentionally embrace campiness, but WolfCop is a different animal, well written, well-acted, great effects, lots of laughs, and overall a lot of fun and unmissable. WolfCop really has the spirit of the midnight monster movie and actually is the closest thing in spirit I've seen to Rob Zombie's Grindhouse concept Werewolf Women of the SS, which I'm still anxiously awaiting in vain along with Eli Roth's Thanksgiving.

Perhaps the best way to see WolfCop is on Season 1 of The Last Drive-in with Joe Bob Briggs, now streaming on Shudder.

Lowell and I talked about the making of WolfCop, his director origin story and major lessons learned from low-budget horror indie filmmaking on this episode of the Nick Taylor Horror Show. Now without further ado, here is WolfCop director Lowell Dean.

Here as always, are some key takeaways from this conversation with Lowell Dean:

Don't just come up with backup plans; communicate them. A lot of filmmakers talk about the importance of preparation and backup plans, particularly Roger Corman, but what doesn't get discussed enough is the importance of communicating your backup plans to your cast and crew. On WolfCop 2, there was an elaborate fight sequence that Lowell had originally budgeted 4 hours to shoot, but he told the stunt coordinator there was a chance they would only have 15 minutes to shoot it if the day got hectic, so to keep that in mind. Of course, to make their day, Lowell ended up having to shoot the scene in 15 minutes, and because of their previous conversation, the stunt coordinator knew exactly what to do, and they pulled it off pretty well.

Movie making is constantly dancing with Murphys Law, and the job of a director is to make your day in spite of your circumstances. So, it's not only important to come up with plans a, b, c, and d, but to communicate them with everyone around you so that when the shit hits the fan, you all can correct course accordingly together, without having to regroup or anybody panicking - all of which costs precious production time.

Be cognizant of who you ask for money. Not entirely sure if I agree with this 100%, but it's something to think about. When raising capital for his movies, Lowell avoids asking people in his circle of friends for money to avoid any potential harm to the relationship. This might seem counter-intuitive, but it's actually pretty smart. As you build your network as a filmmaker, you'll want to nourish it, and the quickest way to change a relationship is to ask someone for money. Be conscious of that, even if you have powerful and well-connected friends, that asking them for funding will change the relationship, and not always for the better. Instead of asking people in your immediate network for money, consider asking them for introductions to other people in their networks who may be able to fund your film. That creates a level of separation which can keep the friendship intact.

The path is never straight, so aim for exposure. Lowell told a great story about pitching his zombie movie to a production company for a long, long time only to find out they were greenlighting someone else's zombie movie. Lowell was given the opportunity to shadow the other director as his assistant, and rather than say fuck that, I'm too good for this, Lowell jumped at the opportunity and inevitably ended up directing that movie himself.

Clearly, nobody could have predicted this, but Lowell put himself in a position for experience and recognition, which is what you as a director must always be doing, particularly if you have zero IMDB credits. Whatever will get you on set and in front of producers is where you need to be going, so even if it feels beneath you, take every opportunity because the path you have in your mind for becoming a director is rarely the one that will work out. Jump at any opportunity that offers experience, education, recognition, or just proximity to real sets and real filmmakers.

Thanks for listening! Don’t forget to subscribe and follow the show on Instagram at @IMNickTaylor and on Twitter at the same handle.

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HOLIDAY BONUS: Stephen Chiodo and Cig Neutron! Dec 29, 2020

Show notes

Welcome back to the Nick Taylor Horror Show!

Stephen Chiodo is an American writer, director, and special effects makeup artist and one of the legendary Chiodo Brothers. The Chiodo Brothers are a trio of special effects and stop motion artists and animators best known for their work on Team America: World Police, Critters, and Killer Klowns from Outer Space which Stephen also directed. The Chiodos also created the claymation sequences for the Large Marge scene from Pee-wee's Big Adventure, as well as the stop-motion elements in the North Pole scenes from Elf.

Stephen’s latest feature is Alien Xmas, an animated feature that he directed. When extraterrestrials attempt to steal Earth's gravity, only the gift-giving spirit of Christmas and a small Alien named X can save the world. Executive Produced by Jon Favreau, don't forget to check out Alien Xmas this holiday season, now streaming on Netflix.

Also on today’s episode is none other than the one and only Cig Neutron. Cig is no stranger to the show and like Stephen is also a special effects makeup artist, director, and creature designer.

Cig has done effects work on multiple movies including Tron Legacy, Suckerpunch, and Star Trek Discovery, and was on Face/Off's season 7 then again on season 11 as one of the Face/Off allstars.

Cig also hosts a podcast that I really love called Cig Neutron's Spewtron, available everywhere, and he does a pretty cool series of livestreams on Twitch where he breaks down his effects techniques so if you’re not already, make sure you follow Cig Neutron on all of the social medias.

We had a pretty wide-ranging conversation. Both of these guys are really fascinating and accomplished artists - we got into everything from creative processes, to practical effects and geeked out about favorite new artists, shows, and movies so get ready for recommendations. Quick note that this interview was done back in May. I hope you all enjoy this conversation with Stephen and Cig as much as I did.

Here without further ado are Stephen Chiodo and Cig Neutron.

Thanks for listening! Don’t forget to subscribe, and follow the show on Instagram at @IMNickTaylor and on Twitter at the same handle.

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ANYTHING FOR JACKSON Director, Justin Dyck [Episode 64] Dec 24, 2020

Show notes

Justin Dyck is a Canadian director who just released Anything for Jackson, now streaming on Shudder. Anything for Jackson is definitely one of my favorite horror films of the year - it really delivers the goods. It’s scary, funny, emotionally poignant, and an extremely unique and different take on ghosts and demons. All in all, it’s a hell of a time and I highly recommend it.

Ironically enough, Justin made Anything for Jackson after making a large number of commercial family films in Canada, which despite the genre really paved the way for his technical abilities as a director. We talk more about Justin’s backstory, the making of Anything for Jackson, and how he pulled off the movie’s fantastic creature effects in today’s episode of The Nick Taylor Horror Show. Now, without further ado here is Justin Dyck.

Here are some key takeaways from this conversation with Justin Dyck.

Tap into the economy of experience. This is a common theme among indie filmmakers but it bears repeating. One of the keys to achieving high production value on a low budget movie is to tap into people’s yearning for experience. Justin was able to get a killer DP for Anything for Jackson for less than his usual fee because he wanted more diverse IMDB credits. This rule also can apply to actors; Justin cast a bunch of very experienced TV actors, whose experience on very big shows tended to get and boring while his indie horror movie offered them a fun and fresh experience so they signed on for substantially less than their usual fee. The movie also offered them an opportunity for more focused screen time which is important for actors as well. Doing this effectively all boils down to the experience you can provide to your cast and crew. If you can’t pay a lot, you have to make it worth their while by going out of your way to make the experience valuable and enjoyable. So find resourceful ways for your movie to provide high-value people opportunities to learn, to do something different, get more exposure, or just to have fun.
There’s humor in realism. There are a number of humorous moments in Anything for Jackson, and they were so natural that they seemed unintentional. The way Justin described the movie’s funny moments was by comparing them to Cohen Brothers movies, where you have ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances which is really on display in Fargo. Observing how real, every-day people respond to crazy scenarios creates a juxtaposition that’s naturally humorous. Justin also cited Blue Ruin as a prime example of this, which I highly recommend. So, if you’re looking to raise the levity of your horror film by using humor, it can be as simple as adding a dose of realism by being truthful. This will let the laughs shine through in very natural but unexpected ways.
Don't turn down any opportunities. Justin entered the industry wanting to make horror movies but was instead, offered the opportunity to direct a family film. Instead of thumbing his nose at the opportunity, he took it because he knew that the experience would be valuable for him as a director. Justin did such a great job on that movie that he ended up being asked to direct multiple other family movies. Despite the fact that these were not necessarily the movies he wanted to be directing, making them became his day job, where he was able to learn countless lessons about working with actors, the pace of the set, camera equipment, and the technical sides of directing. He also built a killer network of crew members, producers, and actors. As far as day jobs go, this is a dream come true for any aspiring filmmaker, because when it came time to direct Anything for Jackson, Justin was able to draw from years of very hands-on experience and executed a great movie with very smooth production. This is a serious reason to consider saying yes to opportunities that are not exactly what you’re looking for at the time because they can make you a better filmmaker.

Thanks for listening! Don’t forget to subscribe, and follow the show on Instagram at @IMNickTaylor and on Twitter at the same handle.

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Blumhouse TV President, Jeremy Gold [Episode 63] Dec 17, 2020

Show notes

Here today, we have the president of Blumhouse TV, Jeremy Gold. Jeremy manages Blumhouse's portfolio of scripted and unscripted TV series, documentaries, and streaming movies. Since coming to Blumhouse in 2016, Jeremy has expanded the Blumhouse brand beyond horror content to explore not only genre material but also dark, provocative subject matter.

Jeremy has worked on such projects as Sharp Objects, multiple films under Blumhouse’s Welcome to the Blumhouse series and previously worked on such major TV hits as Hell on Wheels and Kingdom. Jeremy's upcoming projects include the Showtime limited series The Good Lord Bird, based on the novel by James McBride and starring Ethan Hawke, and FX docuseries A Wilderness of Error, from Marc Smerling, based on the book by Errol Morris.

Blumhouse as a business is very fascinating, and since it’s important for horror directors to be exposed to the business side of filmmaking, I’m going to open the interview format up to include not just directors & creators, but executives who work in horror as well. This interview with Jeremy is a great starting point for that and should provide a very good executive perspective on Blumhouse, specifically their TV department. I’ve said multiple times that as an aspiring filmmaker, Blumhouse TV is definitely a company to keep directly on your radar because they are giving a lot of new and emerging directors a chance to direct features and TV episodes through Blumhouse television.

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CASTLE FREAK Director & SFX Master, Tate Steinsiek! [Episode 62] Dec 03, 2020

Show notes

Tate Steinsiek is an award-winning special effects makeup artist, writer, and director who's highly anticipated Castle Freak reimagining launches today on Shudder!

Tate has worked on multiple films, including Spiderman, Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich, Scare Package, Satanic Panic, Sharknado 2, and Dragged Across Concrete. Tate is also a mainstay effects artist on shows like Saturday Night Live, Law & Order, and multiple titles on The Discovery Channel. Tate is a two-time finalist on FACE OFF, in both Seasons 1 & 5 and one of the show's most beloved contestants.

I've known Tate for years and have been a huge fan of his work. His style is one of the most interesting and recognizable of today's practical effects artists and I have been dying to see his reimagining of Castle Freak since it was announced back at Monsterpalooza. The production stories behind the making of Castle Freak are completely insane. While shooting in Albania, where apparently horror movies are very frowned upon, the team tried to hide the subject matter of their movie, but unfortunately, the actor playing the freak, wearing the full freak bodysuit, briefly went outside in the creature suit and caused multiple local villagers to call in extraterrestrial sightings. Yeah, it was that crazy, and Tate gets into it in this conversation. Anyhow, he's my brother from another mother, and I always love talking to him; without further ado, here is the awesome & fantastically talented Tate Steinsiek.

Deliver the gore without the blood. This is an interesting point that Tate observed from working with S. Craig Zahler. On a lot of Zahler's movies, as brutal as they get, they're not always very bloody. This is perhaps most noticeable in Brawl in Cell Block 99, and the effect is actually quite chilling. When you don't have blood to cover everything thing up with, the audience can observe even more visceral nuances like bones crunching, sinew snapping, internal organs being pulverized, etc. Tate attended the Tom Savini School, so he knows blood, but this bloodless approach to gore was something he was inspired by. I love a blood bath just as much as the next guy, but as a horror director, it's important to learn how to innovate and do things a little differently, so don't be so quick to douse everything in blood; less can be more.

Surround yourself with people that you trust. Filmmaking, particularly low budget filmmaking, is putting yourself at the mercy of Murphy's law - things will inevitably go wrong. As a director, it's important to realize that you’re one person, and you’re incapable of making all of the decisions and executing all of the quick thinking required to address all of the many problems that will plague your production. To try is to quickly & easily burn out and make yourself crazy. Therefore, it's critical to have a crew of people whose opinions you value and who you trust overall to make the decisions for you that will keep your movie on track. Unfortunately, many film sets are plagued with toxic egos, backstabbers, too many opinions, and even saboteurs - all of which can collectively zap everyone's energy and erode the very foundation of your movie. Tate's been working on movies for many, many years and luckily had a number of trusty contacts to call on when it came time to make Castle Freak. It takes a while to find these people, of course, but once you do, do not let them go and treat them like gold. They can make or break your movie and give your production a flow, a speed, and a stability that you simply cannot accomplish by yourself.

Enjoy the tough times. Tate talks about how directing is firing on all cylinders because it taps every single ounce of energy, creativity, reserve that you have. To Tate, this is a wonderful feeling and something to embrace. One thing you notice as Tate talks through all the trials and tribulations that happened on the Castle Freak shoot, he’s never ever complaining. He's never annoyed or resentful for the difficult times; instead, he has gratitude for every ounce of difficulty that this movie presented him with. That's what filmmaking is. As a director, your worth is not always calculated by the quality of the movie that you make but by the severity of the challenges you were able to overcome. That's what a lot of producers look for in directors, is problem solvers. When production challenges present themselves, are you going to buckle under the pressure or prove that you have an iron reserve? Despite the difficulties of the Castle Freak shoot, Tate embraced the growth the experience provided him with. He'd worked on enough movies to expect the journey to be difficult, so he loved every single painstaking minute of the process because he knew it was making him a better director.

Thanks for listening! Don’t forget to subscribe.

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FATMAN Directors, The Nelms Brothers [Episode 61] Nov 26, 2020

Show notes

Ok, guys, we’re going non-horror this time around! Ian and Eshom Nelms are the brotherly directorial duo behind FATMAN - an edgy and vision of Santa Claus that has St. Nick a grizzled and seasoned Mel Gibson who comes under a vicious attack by a hired hitman played by Walt Goggins. The film is a complete and total miraculous genre concoction of humor, thriller, and holiday cheer that doesn’t take its foot off the pedal for a second.

This conversation is a little different and features essentially a long-form origin story behind the Nelms Brothers career, who very graciously told me their entire story. It is a must-listen. Their story is a fundamental filmmaker’s journey, and they get into the detail of all of the twists, turns, and lessons along their career path that began with a $1,500 feature and ultimately led them to the making of FATMAN, their most personal and ambitious project to date. So many great stories in here, I really think you will enjoy this one.

Please enjoy this very enlightening conversation with Ian and Eshom Nelms.

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