A Conversation with David Zuzelo

David Zuzelo recently wrote "Ascension of the Blind Dead," available in chapbook now (there's the signed & numbered title page to my extra-limited gold cover edition)! He's also the moderator of Eurotrash Paradise, where a Kolchak-a-thon discussion of every single episode is now raging. I've been enjoying these interviews, so jumped at the chance to ask him some questions. Thanks Dave!

1. So what related projects have you been involved in, prior to "Ascension of the Blind Dead"?

Well, I started up my website, Morpho's Lair ( tombofdvd.com ) almost 7 years ago and did a lot of movie reviewing. This led to a few doors opening up, including the co-scripting duties on DV Releasing's Killer Switch (which is a remake of Lucker The Necrophagous with a lot more action and trashiness-if that is possible). I've written a ton of comics that have all been swamped in collobarative delays including Magnificent Shadow Fighters, which is a homage to all those great Robert Tai/ Godfrey Ho ninja flicks (currently in production at Indie Gods). I also scripted a comics adaptation of Killer Switch that seems to gross out every artist that has tried it so far.

But, most likely if you find me running my yap on something it will be on eurotrashy horror films, which I love.

2. How did you get involved with this project?

I ran across a comics project called Sacrament of the Blind Dead on the net and couldn't resist contacting the company working on it. A Blind Dead comic was something I simply HAD to work on. That project sputtered, but I couldn't leave the Blind Dead at rest after pondering all the possibilities. They are my favorite cinematic zombies after all, and it ties in well with my affection for Amando De Ossorio's wonderfully iconic and horrific cinema.

3. I'd sure love to see more of this. Could you be persuaded to tackle a full-on Blind Dead novel? What direction might that take, if you did it?

No persuasion required on that one, I'd love to! It really depended on reaction to this story-and it has been overwhelmingly positive for me. With Ascension... I tried to be faithful to Ossorio's undead knights and to incorporate a few characters of my own in the process. The story is actually a set up for what I think would be interesting as the Templars have a leader, a queen and a new-found crusade.

In the films the Templar Knights aren't really characters as much as they are threats to the various and sundry protaganists. While I don't want to change the cycle of having various people bump across the Knights, I want to have fun exploring exactly what they do AFTER we see them slaughtering their victims in the films. But have no fear, I would never skimp on the young lesbian fashion models, the Jack Taylor styled semi-heroes or the outrageous blood spilling gore. The films are fun and fearful, and I'd want to stay in the same vein... fun and (humanflesh) pulpy.

4. What else are you working on these days?

I've taken my beloved Magnificent Shadow Fighters into prose while waiting on the artwork for the comics and pitted them against the peril of finding the 12 hour print of Ninja Final Duel in a story called “The Terror of Tang Ho” which was fun and will probably beat the release of the comics. Also, I'm writing a hardcore sex n' witchsploitation story called Cauldron of Flesh that will hopefully contain some artwork by the great Billy George of Carnopolis infamy. I've just about wrapped up work on Tough To Kill with friend/co-author Paul Cooke-it covers the hugely ignored field of EuroCult Action films of the 80's-where huts were cheap and John Phillip Law worked even cheaper. Toss in some small contributions to various netgroups such as the ever expanding Eurotrash Paradise and I'm pretty much left with time to swap diapers off my son... and that is pretty where horror brews I've found. Of course, there is an outline for something called The Blind Dead Apocrypha as well.

5. Much of your inspiration seems to come from the period to which this blog is dedicated. What is it about the "Groovy Age" that appeals to you? Horror today seems so disconnected from the horror of that time--in what ways for better and in what ways for worse?

I'm a total nut for the groovy horrors of years past, but for me the “classic” period is the late 60's through the mid 80's. From the atmosphere and gore drenched imports that flooded the markets in the early 70's to the tax shelter splatter of the 80's and back a bit to the gothy 60's when there was a very different mentality in film production than there is today. They seem far less concerned with audience response and truer to the sleazy ideal than the bulk of the DVD/Video releases struggling to find the same audience. Not that there aren't some fun films, but I would rather watch Strip Nude For Your Killer three times than see ninety percent of last years horror productions. The disconnect you mention comes along in my mind when the charge that Italian movie companies ripped off other films to create the deluge of product they were making in the 70's and 80's. They instead used the conventions that were popular to create different films. Take the Giallo for example-they are practically able to reference a single style guide for most films. However, there are so many unique films that happen to use that guide that it is incredibly rewarding to go through as many as are currently exhumed for us to look at. Today's horror productions, in my mind, do not get that. They ape what is popular from the last six months, over and over and over without distinction or in most cases a sense of fun.

I don't want film and filmmakers to go backwards and retread old films, but I certainly would love to see the conventions I love cleverly applied to something that presents a new twist.

6. Another horror blog, Dark, but Shining, recently posted an article denigrating monsters in horror. The author refers to having "said my piece on this issue" in an online comic where one of the characters remarks, "I mean, at what point did it become okay for writers to be so lazy that tossin' a zombie or a werewolf into a story made it 'horror' rather than just plain ol' lazy fiction or some sort of wish-fulfillment power-fantasy crap?" Since your story pits a werewolf against zombies, how would you respond? I know you're a fan of Jack Ketchum (for example), with his more realistic brand of horror; what do you think are the relative merits, appeals, limits, drawbacks, etc. of realistic versus fantastic approaches to horror?

Horror is a fairly large and mercurial genre in my opinion. What sometimes is labeled as a horror story is sometimes a dandied up thriller or even a drama that deals with a serial killer kind of tale. I don't get hung up on defining “true” horror fiction myself. I enjoy a lot of the realistic tales (the above mentioned Ketchum is a prime example, and perhaps a bit of Richard Laymon should be checked out as well), but I enjoy the fantastic more. I don't think it is lazy to creatively apply creatures of folklore or to create your own variety of creatures in the least. Juggling the preconceptions of a monster tale and then engaging a reader to look at what you have on show and showing them something special is HARD. Yes, anyone can write a story and use the “well, that is what vampires do... it just is” mentality, and it may be lazy-but there are many stories that go beyond and use these outrageous and larger than life creatures to create a world for the author to explore. The drawback in fantastic fiction of any kind is that suspension of disbelief has to be gained first. We can pretty much all picture a tale of two guys talking in a truck that ends in a “twist” ending that involves a serial killer because we have seen the handiwork of real killers and the visual eye of the viewer remains unchallenged. But providing a good image of a werewolf battling a set of undead warriors in a buried crypt while under the influence of the Lorelei is, for me, a more difficult trick. Even MORE difficult is getting the reader to see YOUR werewolf and not Paul Naschy's. Is that lazy? Color me lazy then.

Also, I love books that rock out gleefully to the basic ideas of monster horror. Guy N. Smith's Killer Crabs, Shaun Hutson's Slugs or better yet James Herbert's Rats all go for the entertainment value in each page and succeed. I read to be entertained, not to worry if the author has worked hard enough to satisfy me.

7. What are you reading these days? A lot of your influences seem primarily cinematic; what are the strongest literary influences in your work? What are the most important influences from other media?

I'm just finishing up the Ed Lee novella THE PIG, which is a balls out rip your head off offensive marathon of bestiality, religious mayhem and dark humor. I love Lee's work, he pushes the readers limits and never ever fears going to far. I recently finished off Joseph Nazel's groovy age series THE ICEMAN after finding BLACK EXORCIST through this blog. I'm also an inveterate comic book reader, and just finished up the Ghost Rider Essential Collection of 70's books. Amazingly tacky stuff, and while not nearly as good as I remembered them from my childhood-they are so over the top that it is a joy to turn the pages. Watch out for SAAAATAN Johnny Blaze!

The book that really pushed me to the limit as a kid was a found copy of Phillip Jose Farmer's astonishing A FEAST UNKNOWN however. That had a profound effect on me and my definitions of proper boundaries in storytelling. After Doc Savage and Tarzan engage in intestine unraveling combat... it was on for me to try my hand at such things. It may not be groovy, but I do read THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP every year. It's my favorite book and I'd love to contribute something as well written as that someday.

As for other media-I'm a hog for exploitation filmmaking of any stripe, I'll happily feast on it if it's out there. I am utterly fascinated by the films of Jess Franco, as well as his life making them. I love many, tolerate some and feel rewarded by all. His passion to create inspires me in everything I do quite frankly-that is a drive that few can replicate. I've been enjoying a bit of a vision quest through Jean Rollin's world of late as well-his use of scenario and sequence over narrative is amazing, and he has a great eye for naked girls in clown make-up and vampires with gigantic teeth. I don't just enjoy those two directors, I feel enhanced by knowing their work.

8. What's on tap for you this Halloween?

Candy and movies! We already had the all night Eurotrash vampire marathon, so for Halloween it's a day of Mexican Lucha flicks because nothing satisfies more than Blue Demon battling unseemly monsters-while wrestling!

La Verità Secondo Satana and Delirium belong, of course, to that film genre known as giallo--so called because of the yellow-covered books that inspired it. Here are two such books, in my collection thanks to Holger Haase. And by the way, if you haven't checked out Holger's World of Hammer Glamour site, you really must!

Pinky Violence Reviews

"Let me tell you, there's nothing like seeing arterial spray hit breasts that are still bouncing from the sword-stroke!"

Dan from Exploitation Retrospect kindly invited me to review Sex and Fury and Female Yakuza Tale there. The image is from Sex and Fury, and the quote is from my review of it.

And by the way, Dan's got something else cooking, besides ER: The Hungover Gourmet!

The cover story for this issue is by none other than Groovy Age's own German Correspondent, Holger Haase! You'll notice there's also mention of an article on one of my favorite things--LICORICE!! As far as I'm concerned, there are two kinds of people in the world: those who love black licorice, and those who can go fuck themselves with a chainsaw. (Actually, the article is mostly about "Red Vines," but oh well. At least it mentions the black stuff favorably.)

Frankenstein and DARK SHADOWS

Here at Groovy Age, I try to be comprehensive when I cover a theme. When I'm not able to comment on something, I find someone who can. So Don Widby, a long-time Dark Shadows fan I know, was the perfect choice for someone to write up the Frankenstein story arc on the series:

From April 1968, until December 1968, Dan Curtis incorporated the Frankenstein legend into his gothic daytime drama, Dark Shadows.

I wasn't particularly impressed with this story arc, and at the time thought it went on way too long. It didn't help that the other story arcs going on simultaneously were far more interesting, namely the "dream curse" initiated by witchy Angelique, the ghost of Reverand Trask waging revenge on Barnabas Collins, and uber-warlock Nicholas Blair's sinister schemes.

One of the biggest annoyances with the Frankenstein arc was the portrayal of "Adam" by Robert Rodan. Not really a problem with his acting, but the Jeckyl/Hyde mood swings of his character (probably the fault of the writers) really didn't leave me with any sympathy for him, and I yearned for the day the character would be bumped off. I was not to be so lucky, as the character sort of just disappeared from the program. Another annoyance was the protrayal of "Eve" by Marie Wallace. Again, not a problem with the acting, but she was written to be an (almost) voracious tart. In itself this would have been fine, but Wallace went above and beyond in her portrayal, and again I was longing for the demise of this despised character. This time I was not to be denied.

Adapting the characters for a soap opera including making Adam somewhat attractive, but with a few painted on scars and stitches. Eve on the otherhand, just looked like a 60's hottie.

The arc began as a means to help cure Barnabas of his vampiric tendencies. Dr. Lang (the Baron Frankenstein character for our story) had been trying to create life, but needed a life force to get the job done proper. Lang offered to cure Barnabas, if he would provide the life force for Adam. One thing lead to another and Annoy..., er, Adam was born. The arc had Adam fall in love with Carolyn Stoddard, only to be rejected by her. This drove Adam to demand that Barnabas create a mate for him, Eve, or risk the destruction of the entire Collins household. Warlock Nicholas Blair got involved (wishing to learn how to make a super-race for his evil purposes) and summoned the spirit of the vilest woman to be the life force for Eve. Eve immediately rejected Adam, and met her demise shortly thereafter. Professor Stokes (Thayer David), having taken Adam in to his care, suggested that Adam's scars could be removed at a certain clinic. Adam hasn't been seen since.

Curing Barnabas of his vampirism by draining his lifeforce into the new creation was a novel twist. But unknown to Barnabas, he was only cured as long as nothing happened to Adam. If Adam had died, Barnabas would have reverted back to a creature of the night. Of course, they never explained why Adam *did not* become a vampire in the process.

Speaking of Tomb of Dracula, here are some interesting, insightful remarks that Bob Tinnell (of Black Forest fame) posted a while back at the Comix That Witness Madness! group:

As many of you know, ToD is my all-time favorite comic. It gave me no end of pleasure as a kid and was a major influence on my writing. Re-reading everything back-to-back has, alas, taken some of the bloom off the rose - and how could it not? Continuity tends to stray - a victim of time and scheduling conflicts, I'm sure. But in general I still love it.

And as of yesterday, I love it all the more. Because yesterday I read, for the first time, issue 33. Comics distribution being spotty at best in the good old seventies it wasn't hard to miss consecutive issues of any title in my neck of the woods. And that includes stuff like JLA and DETECTIVE. Luck of the draw was the rule. So I missed many issues over the years. Including 33.

Well, now "33" has become my all-time favorite issue (granted I'm not done yet by long-shot). What a story! Dracula has covered his ass perfectly. Quincy is completely fleshed out, his backstory presented in agonizing detail. There's a wonderful moment wherein Dracula actually expresses affection and admiration for his old foe - it's the kind of moment we love in movies - the rival pilot throwing his opponents boots over the airfield kind of thing.

SPOILERS! Don't read if you haven't read 33 unless you don't care.

And then, of course, Dracula being the manic/depressive psychotic that Marv Wolfman created, he has to do something utterly monstrous. And boy does he. The guy takes the urn containing Quincy's daughter's ashes and flings the contents around the room. It was such a moment of utter cruelty and contempt that it floored me. Never did they so utterly define the madness of this demon as in that moment.

The flashback of Dracula attacking Quincy and his wife at the opera is SUPERB. It's heartbreaking. It fleshes out Quincy to a degree the series never attempted before. This whole tragic death dance between the two is vaguely reminiscent of Batman and the Joker - only, to me, far more real, far more plausible (okay, I'll grant you that's silly in a sense). But I felt like I was experiencing Napoleon and Wellington or Patton and Rommel.

The whole series crystallizes in #33. The scope of the struggle and the depth of Dracula's shifting mental state are finally brought into clear focus. His often conflicting behaviors finally make some sense. Order is, for the moment, injected into the ToD universe.

Lastly, I'd make mention of the fact that often the series disappoints me - the repetition of "Your cursed arrows have missed my heart!" or "He's turned to mist again, blast it." It wasn't bad when you had weeks or months between adventures. But reading them back to back these over-used bits are exhausting and disappointing. But in #33 we see two fierce warriors - each with their own weaknesses as well - going head to head and logic prevails. Both are finally presented as superior tacticians.

Bob Tinnell on DRACULA LIVES!

Robert Tinnell is one of the creative team behind Black Forest--which I'm assigning as mandatory reading if you haven't devoured it already (I review it at Cinema Nocturna). Earlier this month, I posted his thoughts on Marvel's Tomb of Dracula. Now here's a Groovy Age exclusive which he graciously wrote at my invitation--a fond look back at Dracula Lives!:

A couple of months ago we got a late winter snowfall. I threw my cross country skis in the car and burned up the mountains to the site of my childhood summer camp. It's a gorgeous place with a couple of small lakes and several camp sites and trails - the CCC built the place during the Depression. And in the midst of all that snow and beauty and ice and swirling clouds my thoughts turn to Dracula. Yeah, Dracula.

It's impossible for me to visit there without being flooded by memories. Summer camp was absolutely idyllic there back in the early seventies. It was wholesome - but with an edge of sorts seeing as we seemed to have lots of hippies as counselors. I had my first toboggan ride there. One of my first fist fights. Even had my first kiss there (and when I came back while in college as a counselor I had a little more than that.) Resting just below that hormonal stuff on the list of firsts was something equally seismic.

You see, early one morning, while most of my camp mates were asleep I pilfered through a pal's stack 'o comics looking for something to pass the time. He had a copy of DRACULA LIVES.

I'm still recovering.

Prior to this watershed event, I had already developed a fixation on all things horror, and especially all things vampiric. DARK SHADOWS was a big reason for that - including the wonderful HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS movie with its rivers of blood. It was about this time that I was also discovering Hammer. I had yet to pick up a copy of FAMOUS MONSTERS or THE MONSTER TIMES or MONSTERS OF THE MOVIES. But all of that was going to hit hard and fast in the next few months/years.

As I sat there thumbing through the book I was transfixed. I thought the artwork was cool, but it was Drac himself that struck a chord. Who was this crazy bastard - too busy kicking ass to bow from the waste? And how about that origin story? This was pre-IN SEARCH OF DRACULA (for me, that is - and call that another milestone in my then short, happy life).

I go back and pull out those stories periodically and I'm stunned at how good they still are. Remember Dracula at the Vatican? How about the pirates hitting Castle Dracula? Cagliostro? Good stuff, people. With hot chicks, I might add.

DRACULA LIVES was truly a doorway for me. I suspect I would have nonetheless discovered FM, etc., anyway. But I found the magazine before TOMB OF DRACULA even (and I can't recall which came out first so maybe that was inevitable). Anyway, the doorway thing I mean is as a writer. I think these guys are in a great way responsible for shaping not only my sense of storytelling - but I'm betting also of folks like Josh Whedon and Stephen Sommers. Particularly the ToD stuff, but really all of it.

It was a glorious time, the early seventies. Every week it seemed you'd get hit with some new monster-related phenomenon - be it PLANET OF THE APES on t.v. or MONSTERS OF THE MOVIES filling in crucial gaps in my filmic knowledge or the heyday of horror fanzines (LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRRORS, PHOTON, GORE CREATURES - these 'zines were amazing). And remember the cool paperbacks like THE DRACULA ARCHIVES, IN SEARCH OF FRANKENSTEIN, A HERITAGE OF HORROR and so on? Okay - I guess I'm just listing now instead of analyzing.

But I guess that's my point. You mention DRACULA LIVES and I take a mental shortcut to the core of my existence. Because it sits at the heart of the most impressionable time in my life.

DRACULA LIVES. Damn right.

Spooky: The Warren Fanzine

Here's something for Warren fans (and who isn't one?!?) to check out! DaveZ passed these along to me, for which I'm really grateful, because this fanzine rocks. I finished one, and enjoyed the exclusive interview with Neal Adams (complete with lots of beautiful Adams art). Now I'm looking forward to reading the next issue's interview with Donald F. Glut. Here's the website. Better hurry--looks like they're selling out fast!