Talking Cock with Drew Bolduc (The Taint/Science Team)

Drew Bolduc is the mind behind and face of The Taint - only one of the best movies I've ever discovered as a reviewer of stuff and fan of obscure horror. The Taint, for the uninitiated, is a revolting, beautiful thrill ride about Misogyny, the end of the world and raging erections. Bolduc is currently following up The Taint with Science Team, which is, in the words of the man himself, about "violence, drama" and "telepathic aliens." Personally, I can't wait. I had the chance to speak with Mr. Bolduc about all things Taint and Science Team. The two questions I really wanted answering: (1) what makes a good cock? (2) When am I gonna get a sequel to The Taint?

Joel H: Hi! Thanks for taking the time to talk to us. How are you?

Drew Bolduc: Very good.

JH: How is work coming along on Science Team?

DB: We are doing fundraising now and starting preproduction.

JH: What can we expect from the film?

DB: Violence. Drama. Telepathic aliens.

JH: Will you be acting in this, as you did The Taint?

DB: I don't think so. I would prefer to focus on being behind the camera this time. It is very hard to go from being a character to know what is going on.

JH: Can we also expect a VHS release of this?

DB: There is a good possibility.

JH: What do you make of the recent cult resurgence of VHS technology?

DB: I don't think it is irony or anything like that. There is a permanence to VHS.

JH: You first came to our attention with The Taint, which you acted in, co-wrote and directed. Was the film well received by audiences?

DB: Yeah, surprisingly. It did really well.

JH: How did the idea for that film come about?

DB: I wanted to do horror, I wanted to shoot by the James River and I wanted to do a parody of misogyny in movies. We were men making the film, so it is a fine line to where the joke really begins and ends. The movie had to be hypocritical to work.

JH: We were particularly impressed by the many representations of cock in the film. What, in your opinion, makes for a good drawing of a cock? Length? Girth? Jizz coming out of the end? 

DB: Character.

JH: Thanks to The Taint, my friends and I enjoy screaming such things as “no! She was so hot!” whenever an attractive actress dies in a horror film. Have you had anyone quote lines from the film at you yet?

DB: Yeah, I think so. That was one.

JH: How did Troma come to be involved with its distribution?

DB: We played at Tromadance and they contacted us about it from there.

JH: Have you met Lloyd Kaufman?

DB: Yeah, I worked on special and visual effects for his most recent film, Return to Class of Nuke 'em High.

JH: What are your ambitions?

DB: Right now, all I want to do is make Science Team.

JH: Is there anyone out there that you'd like to work with in a future film or project?

DB: Hm. Lots of people I guess. Anybody who is passionate and cares about what they do really.

JH: Which are your favourite horror movies?

DB: The Shining, The Thing, Evil Dead 2.

JH: Finally, as an enormous fan, I have to ask - do you think we'll ever see a sequel to The Taint?

DB: That is very hard to say.

JH: Drew Bolduc, thank you!

DB: Thanks!

In Conversation with Robert Englund II: a horrortalk interview.

One of the highlights of 2011 was interviewing horror icon Robert Englund in regards to his film The Moleman of Belmont Avenue. I could probably have died a happy chap there and then. But recently I got to do it all over again, as Horrortalk.com invited me to speak with Mister Englund about his latest film: Inkubus (which I reviewed too, here). I managed to hold back the fanboy hyperventilation for long enough to ask him a few questions:

JH: What attracted you to the project?

RE: The real drawing card was that I was going to get to work with William Forsythe, the great character actor. I've been a fan of Bill's for years. We almost butted heads years ago. I was up for the skinny version of one of the two brothers in Raising Arizona. I was looking forward to having William Forysthe playing the nemesis of Inkubus. And I think it's a very original story. It's very nasty, in the best sense of the word. I put my stamp of approval on it. It's down and dirty and nasty.

JH: It seems like a while since we've seen you play a properly villainous character. Is this something you've actively tried to avoid?

RE: Coming out of the make-up at my age, after 20 years of Freddy, Phantom of the Opera and my Stephen King films, I was older and my face was starting to change. I went in a boy and came out a man! By the time I was done with Freddy, I looked like Trevor Howard — a little bit of Klaus Klinski. It's natural for me, once or twice a year, to do a Vincent Price or Klaus Klinski role. Because I'm paid better for genre films. It's the natural way for me to go. Occasionally I'll have some fun doing a horror comedy, like Strippers vs Werewolves, 2001 Maniacs, things like that. I've been doing traditional acting too; I worked with Brian Cox on a film called Red.

JH: I really enjoyed seeing you pop up in Red. It's a great film.

RE: I would do anything to work with Brian Cox because I'm such a fan of his. That's a great little slow-burn movie. There's this real Don Siegel/Sam Peckinpah thing to it. And I'm hoping to work down the line with Lucky McKee again. There's a lot of controversy about it here in the states, but I thought it was a great film — his new movie, The Woman. It's really terrific.

The full interview, as ever, can be found at Horrortalk.com, where he talks some more about Inkubus and the perils of typecasting.

In conversation with: Robert Englund (via Horrortalk.com)

This article comes with massive thanks to horrortalk.com, who not only gave me the opportunity to carry out the following interview, but hired me as staff reviewer too. Show them some love, do.

At the inception of my love for all things horror, there was Robert Englund. Before I even knew horror was a 'thing', I was stood in a VHS rental shop with my parents, browsing the cassettes. Every time I visited a video shop, aside from all the Disney (hey, I was nine), it was the Freddy Krueger videos that always caught my attention. I would covet those Nightmare On Elm Street cassettes - with their gaudy, terrifying cover art - not even able to imagine the fateful nights when I would gleefully work my way through the Elm Street box set collection, from A Nightmare On Elm Street to Wes Craven's New Nightmare. In the corner of that video store stood a cardboard cutout of Freddy Krueger; the embodiment of my future of a horror fanboy. Years later, I watched Freddy's Dead, late at night, on TV after bedtime. From there, I was hooked.

Robert Englund is perhaps the biggest name in horror. The One True Freddy Krueger, Mister Englund is a genuine icon. His latest movie is The Mole Man Of Belmont Avenue, in which he plays a cranky tenant menaced by the titular Mole Man. I was lucky enough to speak with Mr. Englund. The full interview can be found at Horrortalk.com.

What can you tell us about The Mole Man of Belmont Avenue?

It's a low budget slacker Ghostbusters. I'm one of the tenants of a building inherited by two slacker brothers; and there's a creature that's eating all the pets. The tenants band together like vigilantes.

What attracted you to the project?

Both Mike and John's reputation preceded them – I knew they were a great comedy duo – and then I got the script and I loved it. I was laughing, I didn't put it down. I immediately called my agent up and said “I'd love to do this.” They had these incredible locations. They have such a great talent pool in Chicago that they can borrow from. I don't get to do a lot of comedy - it's always a gift when somebody lets me do it.

Do you look for anything particular in a role?

My rule has been, since Freddy vs Jason, that I will go where I'm wanted. The blessing for me is that horror and science fiction movies are huge internationally. I just finished a film in Bulgaria. And I was in your neck of the woods (England) in June. I just did a movie in the Shaun Of The Dead tradition called Strippers vs Werewolves.

Robert Englund everybody.

The full interview can be found at horrortalk.com, where I also talk to the movie's writer & director duo, John LeFlamboy and Mike Bradecich, and hear Mr. Englund's thoughts on horror comedies and details on a potential new franchise amongst other things. See Molemanmovie.com for more details on The Mole Man Of Belmont Avenue.