Movies
‘Behind the Mask’ Director Shared With Us Another Fun ’70s Horror Easter Egg
Last month we had a little chat with writer David Stieve, the man who penned the brilliant meta slasher flick Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. As we shared with you, Stieve told us that in his mind when he wrote the script, actor Scott Wilson’s character Eugene (Leslie’s mentor) was intended to be Billy from the original Black Christmas, and when we went back and revisited the 2006 film, we realized that it all added up. Eugene notes that he was a prolific killer in the late ’60s/early ’70s who was never caught, which damn sure sounds like Billy to us.
Pretty cool, right? Of course, this connection between Black Christmas and Behind the Mask was just a bit of fun rather than any sort of official link between the two films, but in any event, it’s hard to ever watch Behind the Mask again without thinking of Eugene as Billy. An amusing little tidbit that adds an additional element to the film, and really nothing more than that.
So relax. Don’t get mad at us for having a little fun here!
In the wake of posting that article, Behind the Mask director Scott Glosserman reached out to us to reveal another little Easter egg that put a smile on my face. If Eugene was indeed a prolific slasher in the ’60s and ’70s, it would stand to reason that Black Christmas wasn’t his only gig, and this Easter egg suggests that maybe he was also responsible for The Toolbox Murders…
Here’s Eugene’s monologue from Behind the Mask, which hints at his past:
It was a whole different world back when I was in the game. I had a good portion of my success in the late ’60s, ’70s. Back then, it was about quantity of work – how many jobs can you fit in a year, how many places can you hit? Ya know, we didn’t have all this preparation these guys use today. There’s always been hacks out there. People mucking it up. One-hit wonders who make a bloody mess of some sorority somewhere and get killed… or arrested. Makes it bad for all of us. Cheapens it.
Jay, Fred, Mike… there weren’t nobody like them in the early years. We just hit hard, wiped everybody out, and disappeared as soon as we could… without ever giving a thought to coming back. Those boys lifted it to a whole other level, they made an artform of it. Turned themselves into legends, by returning like a curse over and over again. That was a radical change in philosophy. Changed the whole business.
Again, this is all for fun. Take it or leave it!
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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