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A
Friendly Neighbor to the North
I
really am one of the luckiest fags alive, people. See, my
horror puberty (the point when you realize that horror films
are not just blood and guts, but actually SEX, blood and guts)
can more or less be crystallized in one horror moment: the
shower scene in Creepozoids. Most people
remember the scene because Scream Queen Linnea Quigley
is hot and lathery, and that's perfectly fair. But I remember
the scene because there was a beefy male ass on display (attached
to one Ken Abraham), something that my little
13-year-old self wasn't expecting in a cheap, campy Alien
rip-off.
Following
this formative incident, I came across a few other gems by
the same twisted filmmaker, most notably Sorority
Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-o-Rama, which manages
to marry several of my favorite themes: demons, sorority initations,
Linnea Quigley, and bowling. A batshit, zany, and completely
original horror comedy classic, Sorority Babes manages to
be sleazy without being threatening, gory while being funny,
and stupid without being insulting to anyone's intelligence.
It remains one of the finest B-flicks from the 80's, or ever
-- they just don't make them like that anymore.
So
imagine my sheer delight in being able to offer here an interview
with the brains behind these (and literally dozens of other)
flicks, the fecund and charming Dave DeCoteau.
Dave was kind enough to take time out of his production schedule
and brittle Canadian winter to answer a few of my silly questions
about being a gay filmmaker in the horror biz, staying in
sync with the horror market, and boys in undies. |
Dave DeCoteau Teaches Us How to Score
(the classic Sorority Babes) |
The
Interview
Let’s
start at the very beginning (a very good place to start): what was
your first break in the film business?
Well, I started working for Roger
Corman at New World Pictures when I was
18, skinny with big hair.
A
popular look at the time. Were you a fan of horror films growing
up?
I was a fan of all types of movies. Horror
was great because it was usually a rollercoaster ride.
Early years: you directed Creepozoids, Nightmare
Sisters, and Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama
– which many people might consider the ultimate cult movie
hat-trick. This is quite an impressive feat
right out of the gate – what drove your success?
Wanting it more than anything. I didn't have a life. I lived and
breathed the movie industry. Nothing was going to stop me. I lucked
out and met Charlie Band who made all my dreams
come true. He is a great friend to this day.
You worked a lot with the scream queens in their early years. What
was the atmosphere on the sets and in LA at the time?
You could make anything and it sold. This
was the free spirit of B movies back then. You took risks that the
majors couldn't because the budgets were low and there was this
new market called HOME VIDEO. You literally couldn't make enough
movies to fill the demand. This led to a fun and playful attitude
on the set. This was my adopted family and I
had a blast getting paid to make crazy movies.
Did you expect these films to have the lasting impact they’ve
had?
No not at all. I felt they would come out
make money and then disappear. Fred Olen Ray and
I get together for dinner when I'm in LA and we talk about how we're
known for making our most notorious movies, Sorority Babes and Hollywood
Chainsaw Hookers.
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The Horrors of Interstellar Babysitting
Revealed
(from Creepozoids)
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Can
you tell me anything fabulous about working with Linnea,
Brinke, and Michelle at
the same time?
Well they liked me because they are
fag hags at heart and love working. I also tried to keep
their clothes on as much
as I was allowed. I loved them because they could act, are
good friends and have a sense of humor about movies.
About
the nudity -- are you trying to tip the scales in the other
direction with your nekkid boy horror flicks from Rapid
Heart?
T&A was big back then. There aren't
any naked boys in my movies now. Just dudes in undies.
Your filmography on IMDB lists 51 movies in 18 years (it’s
probably even higher). How much coffee do you drink?
Too much but I'm slowing down. Moving
to Canada was a way of cooling off (literally) and going
into semi retirement. I just turned 43 but feel much older.
They say its not the age but the mileage! Its true.
Remember
I was 18 when I moved to LA. GAY+18+LA= Too much damned
fun. I lived as a swinging bachelor for years burning the
candle at both ends, drinking, partying, hot and cold running
boys, living out of a suitcase, shooting all over the damned
planet. Way too much living. I needed to settle down and
grow up. So I bought a condo in Canada and am relaxing.
3 or 4 movies a year, not 8!
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To
what do you credit your staying power and success?
I realized long ago that having any kind of
success in this business is not achieved using exact science. There
isn't a rule book in the most desired craft in the world. You have
to be clever, hard working and lucky. I'm not saying I've had success
in this business, its just that I have been a working director for
18 years now and that must mean that I must be doing something right.
Can
we talk about Ellen Cabot (one of Dave's many pseudonyms)?
I really need to know the story behind this one. Was she your favorite
aunt or something?
Just a drag name. All gay boys need a drag
name. I love high camp and movies just haven't been the same since
Divine died.
So
you went from horror and camp horror to erotic thriller, and
moved in your last career shift back to horror, more specifically
targeted at teens. Is that safe to say? Why the teen shift
– was it simply the success of the Scream
business model?
I'm a slave to the market like any working
Director. I've done em all. Comedy, Family, Horror, Action,
Sci Fi. Scream made the Teen genre commercial again. It still
is.
Tell
me about Rapid Heart – it’s quite
an ambitious project, and it seems to have been very successful
thus far. What’s the goal?
If I had to direct horror movies I wanted
to make the kind I would want to see. Horror is a great genre
to experiment in because if you stay within a certain formula
you can do some cool things. Take chances.
Your recent films are soaked in homoerotic imagery and themes.
Why no explicit gay content?
I've answered this question so many
times in my commentary tracks on DVDs. Lets just say expect
more homo action to come. I'm just easing into this genre
one pubic hair at a time.
That's quite a visual. My local Blockbuster
is stocked to the walls with gay films all of a sudden, but
I know that in the past they’ve been quite conservative
in their library. Did you ever have problems getting your
films in?
Blockbuster has been a great customer
of mine. They have picked up my last 20 or so movies. Blockbuster
picks up films they can make money with. My movies make money
for them. I have a track record and there buying decisions
are made based on that.
Some critics suggest that your recent films are simply “D&A”
movies that are just excuses to look at cute boys. How would
you respond?
Everyone has an opinion. As long as
they keep renting the movies I couldn't care less why. Like
I said, I am making the kind of horror flicks I want to see.
So far it seems like many others agree with my taste - worldwide.
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Abercrombie & Leech
(some of the fellas of Leeches!, one of Rapid Heart's recent
titles) |
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Is
that a phallic symbol in your pocket, or are you just happy
to see me?
(from The Brotherhood 2: Young Warlocks)
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Do
you identify with the gay lifestyle? How do you feel that
your sexuality informs your understanding of horror?
I am openly gay. I am fearless about
my filmmaking. Maybe being in the closet for so long and
then coming out has allowed me to not have any more secrets.
I guess that would affect my point of view when making a
film.
Leather
Jacket Love Story really stands apart from the
rest of your canon. I’ll go out on a limb and say
it’s a more personal project? Are you really a romantic
at heart?
Totally romantic. I'm an old fashioned
queen. Not tired, just sleepy.
Queer artists throughout the years have made enormous contributions
to the horror arena. What is the thing that you’d
most like to be remembered for – not that we’re
ready for you to kick it, of course. But long-term?
Remember, Walt Disney
made a film about Ed Wood. There is hope
for me yet!
Would
you have any advice to young gay horror filmmakers who might
have misgivings about being out in their professional life?
Coming out is the best thing to do
no matter what business your in. If people have a problem
with you being gay then they're in for a long hard life.
What’s next for Dave DeCoteau?
Just finished The Sisterhood
w/ Barbara Crampton & Witches
of the Caribbean w/ Joanna Cassidy
in the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Bahamas. Killer
Bash and The Brotherhood 4 in
Vancouver, British Columbia. Looks like I'm heading to Italy
next month to direct The Pool 2. Of course,
I am doing Voodoo Academy 2 in Eastern
Europe this year as well.
You
see, I am slowing down!
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..."One
Pubic Hair at a Time"
If
"slowing down" means only making 3 or 4 films a
year, I guess you could classify the pace of the majority
of other filmmakers as "glacial". While I may have
missed the boat on some of the recent teen-targeted fare from
Rapid Heart (being, sadly, not so close to being a teen anymore...
*sniffle*), I am thrilled to have been able to pick the twisted
brain of a man who is truly a homo horror hall-of-famer, having
provided the gay horror audience with camp, skin, blood, and
laughs for nearly 20 years and counting. I myself eagerly
await the full-on homo horror extravaganzas that Dave hints
may be on their way. For now, I'll settle for Linnea, Brinke,
and Michelle in a bathtub (in Nightmare Sisters).
Huge
thanks to Dave DeCoteau for sharing his time
and thoughts with CampBlood.org, and best wishes for continued
successes with Rapid Heart and other ventures.
For
more info on what Dave's currently up to, check out the official
site of his production company. His Rapid Heart
features will be premiering the HereTV network
in the US and Pridevision TV in Canada. |
 Scream
Queens sing the praises of Dave's camp classics
(from Sorority Babes) |
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