Movies
John Carpenter on “The Walking Dead” and the Current State of Horror
Anyone who’s ever watched an interview with John Carpenter knows that the iconic director is rather short and terse in his responses. He cuts right to the quick of things and doesn’t expand on his answers, preferring instead to let the few words he offers be his final word on a topic.
Recently, Carpenter appeared on an episode of Marc Maron’s WTF Podcast where he was asked a plethora of questions, including his relationship with Kurt Russell, his current musical career, and the lasting impact of They Live. Here, the interview is far more conversational in tone, which allows Carpenter to sound relaxed and interject with his opinions, his anecdotes, and his wisdom.
During that talk, he spoke about the current state of horror, using AMC’s “The Walking Dead” as an example of the state of the genre and how ideas are generated. He explained, “That was a movie that George Romero made back in ’68 [Night of the Living Dead] and they have milked…people have milked it and they’re STILL milking it. It’s unreal.”
Carpenter also weighed in on the current state of horror and how he feels that it’s rather stagnant. “Horror is due for a new beginning. It’s due for a resurgence. They have to change it. We have to change it up. We can’t keep doing these cheap ‘Poltergeist’ movies either. ‘Paranormal’… It’s just a cheap movie. Come on now!”
The esteemed director continues, talking about how horror has been a reflection of what goes on during the times and that the majority are bad, many are average, and only a handful stand out as being really great.
Interesting sidenote, Carpenter also says the The Thing is “…the best” horror movie he made.
A contemporary reimagining of H.P. Lovecraft’s short story Herbert West: Reanimator is on the way, and Deadline has unveiled the first look at the new Herbert West and the pathologist drawn to his orbit.
The original screenplay and storyline come from Jade Sandberg Wallis.
Michael Grossman (“The Originals”, “Pretty Little Liars”) directs.
The new images introduce star Joseph Morgan (“Vampire Diaries“), who plays “brilliant surgeon and scientist Herbert West, who is obsessed with creating a serum to reanimate the dead.” Katie Cassidy (Speed Demon) stars opposite as the pathologist with a troubled past who joins his efforts.
Together, they prove that conquering death may be the ultimate sin against life itself.
The film’s official synopsis: “As a child, Herbert West watches his father Peter reanimate his dead mother Judith in a secret basement lab — only for Judith to mortally wound Peter and nearly kill Herbert before Peter shoots her. The trauma leaves its mark on Herbert, but so does one final image: his mother’s finger, twitching after death. Thirty years later, Herbert West is a brilliant, secretive surgeon still chasing his father’s obsession.
“Pathologist Kate Locke arrives in town and is drawn into his orbit — first through a spark at a hospital fundraiser, then through his secret lab, where he reveals a serum capable of reanimating severed tissue. Kate, hiding a dark past of her own, is thrilled rather than horrified, and moves into West’s mansion to work alongside him. Their early experiments on a cadaver succeed only briefly. West concludes that dead tissue is the problem — they need something fresher.”
Supporting cast includes Scott Aiello, Ira J Amyx, Randall Newsome, Emma Reinagal, James D. Bryce, Kathryn A Bentley, Jack Lancaster, Amy Holland Pennell, John Pierson, Mindy Shaw, Eric Dean White, Tristan Wilder Hallet, Adrienne Lamping, Aaron Crippen, and Drew Patterson.
Makeup artist Jeff Lewis (“Star Trek: Voyager,” “Star Trek: Enterprise”) and cousin Roger Lewis are heading the production via their newly established Woodlake Entertainment.
Lovecraft’s short story, first serialized in Home Brew magazine in 1922, is the first among his works to mention the fictional Miskatonic University. It was most famously adapted into a 1985 horror movie from Stuart Gordon, starring Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West.
Herbert West: Reanimator is set in Alton, Illinois, where production is now underway.
Herbert West: Reanimator. Photo credit: Matt Lief Anderson
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