THE GODFATHER OF GORE SPEAKS! AN INTERVIEW WITH H.G. LEWIS
Stephen Gladwin: Let's talk about Blood Feast 2. So what was it like getting back in the director's chair after all these years?
Herschell Gordon Lewis: The word that best describes returning to directing is exhilarating. I had anticipated making this film, with some pleasure ... but actually doing it proved to me how much I
had missed making films.
SG: How has the industry changed for you?
HGL: What has changed is that making movies is so much easier than it was. I was shooting with film rates at 25; we rated the film for Blood Feast 2 at 250, which meant
subtleties of lighting were possible. My camera was a rack-over Mitchell. This one was an elegant Panavision. And where I had to guess whether a shot was centered or a
microphone had wandered into the scene, now I could check and re-check on a television monitor.
SG: There can't be an H.G. Lewis film without misshaps. Any interesting ones? Perhaps an actress pulled a "Connie Mason" and was difficult?
HGL: This certainly was the most cooperative group I've ever worked with. In fact, I was treated with veneration, which was somewhat unsettling since I hadn't regarded myself as
a passed-from-the-scene icon. The only (and quite minor) problem was the first day's shooting with the new Fuad Ramses, whom we cast an hour before beginning the
shooting. He exploded that first night after we drove him hard ... but then realized that for the rest of his life he'd be known as the actor who played Fuad. For the rest of the
film, he was 100 percent cooperative. My only personal frustration was trying to get the young actresses to pronounce one word -- "get" instead of "git."
SG: Did your son have anything to do with the film?
HGL: My son Bob now has a successful career in IT (whatever that is) and couldn't come down from Minneapolis to New Orleans to squeeze some eyeballs.
SG: How did the MPAA react to the violence? Did you have to trim it?
HGL: My understanding is that Jacky Morgan plans to release the film unrated. Independents have little standing with the MPAA.
SG: Prior to executive-producing Blood Feast 2, what has your pal Dave Friedman been up to?
HGL: Dave Friedman lives in Anniston, Alabama, still runs carnivals and shows, and is a frequent guest at sci-fi/horror film festivals. His wife died last year, and I felt it was
therapeutic for him to be back on the set again.
SG: In your opinion, have you succeeded and accomplished what you wanted to in Blood Feast 2?
HGL: Blood Feast 2 is positively the most outrageous film ever produced (editor's note: Lewis's savvy advertising still lives!). I saw to it that so much black humor was injected, balancing the over-the-top gore, that the audiences
will be off-balance throughout.
SG: Were you able to meet up with past cast/crew over the years? Bill Kerwin? Mal Arnold? Ann Louise Downe?
HGL: No one from the old days was involved. Bill Kerwin died about six years ago. Mal Arnold is in the real estate business, and I had suggested some sort of reprise, but the
script didn't really call for it.
SG: What do you think about the current state of horror? In your opinion, have there been any true exploitation movies lately? Is exploitation dead?
HGL: In my opinion, today's sophisticated audiences are almost impossible to horrify. The television generation sits there, challenging us: "Come on, scare me. I dare you." Phony
promotion-driven films such as "The Blair Witch Project" have inspired a slew of would-be horror films, most of which damage the impact a little more.
SG: How exactly did you reconcile with Friedman after the Stan Kohlberg fiasco?
HGL: Dave Friedman and I didn't speak for two years after what you so aptly describe as the Stan Kohlberg fiasco. We met at a theatre owners' convention and hugged. We
had missed each other too much to stay angry.
SG: Will Blood Feast 2 be the last H.G. Lewis film?
HGL: The crystal ball is cloudy. I have no idea whether this is my last film or not. After all, I had thought "The Gore-Gore Girls" would be my last film. And I certainly would like to
make my long-desired "Herschell Gordon Lewis's Grim Fairy Tales."
SG: What about that "Gore Machine" movie?
HGL: "Mr. Bruce and the Gore Machine" has gone the way of all flush. I don't even have any notes on that one. But "Grim Fairy Tales" -- as I just told you -- is one I'd like to
tackle.
SG: Have you heard of foreign horror directors like Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, Amando de Ossorio or Paul Naschy?
HGL: Of course I've heard of Dario Argento. The others are unknown to me.
SG: How do you feel about the resurgance of interest in your films lately?
HGL: Who wouldn't be delighted by a resurgence of interest? The greatest satisfaction comes from being regarded as a film-maker rather than an outlaw.
SG: What were you doing prior to Blood Feast 2?
HGL: My Web site, www.herschellgordonlewis.com, explains my professional position. My 26th book, "Effective E-Mail Marketing," is scheduled for publication this spring.
Stephen Gladwin would like to thank Mr. Lewis for making this interview possible!
Copyright Stephen Gladwin, 2002