Christian Sellers is currently the deputy editor of the #1 magazine for horror in the UK,
GoreZone. Recently, he interviewed our own owner, Sarah Jahier (aka Fatally Yours) for an article appearing in this month’s
GoreZone Magazine,
Issue 36. His questions were so in-depth and thorough that we really
wanted to turn the tables and interview him to find out how he was drawn
into the beautifully tangled web that is the horror genre.
Besides being deputy editor for
GoreZone, Christian also runs a
Friday the 13th
page on Myspace, does public relations for Masterplan Film Productions
and has several screenplays in the works! Find out what makes this busy
horror journalist tick by reading our interview with him below!
Fatally Yours: How and when did your love of horror begin?
Christian Sellers: To be honest, my first experience
of being scared was not technically from a horror film. I think I was
about three-years-old when my mother took me to watch
The Elephant Man. The
scene when he walked into the doctor’s office with a bag over his head
scared the Hell out of me; I screamed and cried and eventually I was
taken home. To say I was so young it is such a vivid memory! I think it
was the fear of what could be hiding behind the mask that made the
greatest impression, an aspect of horror that still appeals to me to
this day. I didn’t watch the movie again until I was nineteen and found
it very emotional. I was disgusted with myself for reacting in the way
that many of the characters had, by immediately seeing him as some kind
of freak. I think
The Elephant Man helped shape my interest in certain aspects of the horror genre, particularly the sympathetic monster.
I was lucky enough to have grown up in the ’80′s, which was such an
amazing time for horror. With the introduction of the home video, kids
were able to get their hands on all kinds of gory delights. My friend at
the time had a Betamax, and I remember us watching a movie late one
night called
Massacre Mansion (aka
Mansion of the Doomed),
which had a deranged surgeon removing his victims’ eyes to help save
the sight of his blind daughter. This was my first real introduction to
horror and I found it so terrifying, particularly the scenes of the
victims being held in a cage in the cellar, their empty eye sockets and
cries of pain making my skin crawl. Despite the countless nightmares
that film gave me I became obsessed and immediately watched every horror
that I could get my hands on. My mother has always joked that when I
was younger she would hear screams coming from my room, it would usually
be some slasher movie and she would always walk passed my room just as
some semi-naked teen was being hacked to pieces. Also, Alice Cooper was
starting to make a comeback around this time, and I found his stage
shows and music videos fascinating. But I think the one thing that
really appealed to me were special effects, particularly prosthetics,
which had advanced so much with
The Thing, Michael Jackson’s
Thriller and
The Fly. The first time I saw
Hellraiser,
when Frank’s body regenerated itself from a drop of his brother’s
blood, it blew my mind. After that, I would watch the likes of
The Evil Dead and
Dawn of the Dead religiously, anything that featured dismembered body parts or buckets of blood.
Fatally Yours: What is the one horror film/book/etc. that has affected you the most and why?
Christian Sellers: To me, the
Friday the 13th
franchise represented everything that was both good and bad about the
’80′s. They were excessive, tacky, gory, fun, shallow and entertaining,
yet it was no secret that the first film had been designed to capitalize
on the success of
Halloween, and that each sequel
stretched its credibility more and more in an effort to keep the
business going. Despite killing Jason off after the fourth film (in
fact, even the second movie struggled to justify its existence),
Paramount didn’t lay the series to rest until they saw no more profit in
it. Yet these movies were the perfect showcase for the advancing
prosthetics, with decapitations, disembowelments and other grizzly
FX. Jason Voorhees became a pop culture icon, appearing on lunchboxes,
in comics and even on chat shows. They may have been of the lowest
common denominator, yet for nine glorious years fans were treated to one
film after another, each trying to outdo the last (that was until the
MPAA got hold of them). Looking back on them twenty years later, they
remind me of what’s fun about horror movies. You don’t always have to
claim to like the classics (I find both
The Exorcist and
The Wicker Man extremely boring!), and you shouldn’t feel ashamed if your favourite film is considered by critics to be dumb and worthless.
Friday the 13th is
as dumb as it gets, but they never claimed to be anything more. They
were designed as pure entertainment, and kept me glued to the screen for
most of my childhood!
Fatally Yours: If you could only watch one horror movie for the rest of your life, which would you pick and why?
Christian Sellers: That’s a difficult question. I
get very restless and constantly change my mind about things. My moods
can be all over the place, and my taste in things like films and music
change with it. I guess I would have to go with the one film that I find
entertaining from start to finish, something that’s fun that I can
watch over and over again. I’m not entirely sure, but I’d probably have
to go with
Re-animator! It’s fast-paced, eccentric; it
has an amazing protagonist/antagonist with Herbert West, over-the-top
gore, some great moments of slapstick and a wicked sense of humour. I’m
not sure I would want to be stuck with one movie for the rest of my
life, but at least I know I’d enjoy that one.
Fatally Yours: Do you feel that the United States and UK horror scenes differ? If so, how and why are they different?
Christian Sellers: Oh, absolutely, there are some fundamental differences. Up until the release of
28 Days Later a
few years ago, horror wasn’t seen as a safe sell in the UK. It had been
thirty years since Hammer had last made a feature, and there had been
very few genre films of interest since. We had become more known for our
comedies and feel good movies (
Four Weddings and a Funeral,
The Full Monty) and Cockney gangster flicks (
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels), as well as our period dramas like
Sense and Sensibility and
Howards End. Whilst
Europe was producing unique and interesting horror movies, our industry
had come to a standstill. But, thanks to such filmmakers as Danny
Boyle, Neil Marshall and Christopher Smith, we slowly started to make
horrors that were worth watching once again.
As for the difference in themes and style, American horror films
often seem to centre on a group of teenagers. I am not sure whether this
is because they are their target audience or that the younger the
victim the more of an emotional impact their deaths will cause (anything
younger than a teenager seems to make the viewer uncomfortable). The
UK’s recent take on the zombie genre seemed a little more inspired than
Hollywood’s, with
28 Days Later (a zombie movie at
heart) going for the nihilistic Romero approach. It helped that the
director was not known for his horror work, which meant that he could
approach the material from a fresh angle. The other zombie movie worth
noting is
Shaun of the Dead, which was a homage, as apposed to a spoof like, say,
Scary Movie. The key difference between the two is that
Shaun took
the horror elements seriously, whilst still managing to keep a sense of
humour. As for American horror, when a director manages to keep full
creative control over their work (as John Carpenter did during his
heyday) then the results can be both exciting and terrifying. But,
unfortunately, studio movies are constantly raped by overzealous
producers who feel that they know more about making ‘good’ movies than
the filmmakers. The independent scene in America is very exciting, but
Hollywood seems content on dumbing down the genre.
Fatally Yours: What advice would you give to aspiring horror journalists out there?
Christian Sellers: It’s funny you should ask that,
as I’ve been approached a few times recently for advice on how to write
for a magazine or website. To prepare for journalism, I spent about six
months writing articles on everything from horror to the likes of
Spielberg and the Coen Brothers, anything to keep me writing. I would
gather about fifty pages of notes before I would actually write the
piece, and I found it very important from the beginning to be brutally
honest. If you suck up to filmmakers then your work really
suffers. Don’t be afraid to be cynical, don’t be afraid to be harsh. As
long as your work is well written and you have approached the subject in
an intelligent and professional way, then you are pretty much free to
say whatever you want. It’s a wonderful feeling when an interview runs
smoothly and then the filmmaker contacts you after the article has been
published and says how much they enjoyed it, it makes it all seem
worthwhile, but you have to remember that, as a writer, you have a
responsibility to your readers. They are the ones spending the money (if
you write for a magazine), so you shouldn’t cheapen your interviews
with generic questions. If, for instance, you interview a director, and
their movie had caused some scandal (be it an on-set affair, a poor
critical response or the studio refusing to release the film), don’t be
afraid to ask them. Your readers expect you to tell them something about
a movie or filmmaker that they haven’t read elsewhere, and if your
questions are the same as every other magazine/website then it makes for
a boring read. Being honest may rub certain people up the wrong way,
this is an unfortunate downside, but if you write from the heart then it
really shines through in your work.
As for taking your first steps into the industry, this is when
stalking can sometimes be a good thing. Get a list of contact numbers or
email addresses for every magazine and website that you can find, and
send them an introductory letter, with perhaps a small sample of your
work. Sound confident without being arrogant, but the most important
thing is to show how passionate you are. Some editors may favour
determination over experience, as there are always people who say they
want to be a writer, are given a chance, and then quit as it’s too much
work. If you want to be a good writer then it does involve a lot of
work; it’s badly paid (if at all), you may spend days on an article and
then never see it published and there will always be people who will
criticize your work, though any publicity is good for you. Sites like
MySpace are an invaluable tool as well, you can showcase your work
through blogs, and it’s the perfect place to network and get your name
out there. You will discover early on if this is the right job for you,
as to become a successful writer you have to put in long hours and
sacrifice your social life. I even made myself ill by developing
insomnia from staying up night after night working on various
projects. I wouldn’t recommend taking it to such extremes, but be
prepared to spend long hours sat at your computer. But, if you have the
determination, the rewards are worth it. I still have a framed copy of
the first issue I was ever published in on my wall, and every time I am
complimented on my work I am always extremely grateful.
Fatally Yours: As the deputy editor of GoreZone, what do your duties entail? How did you land this kick ass gig?
Christian Sellers: The role of deputy editor came
from over a year of hard work. I was always writing or planning
articles, and sometimes I would be asked to re-write other
people’s. Almost every month just before the deadline I would be asked
to write more, so it would sometimes be that I would have up to five
articles or interviews in any given issue. I was even writing under a
pseudonym, Sutter Cane (sometimes spelt as Sutton Kane), which was named
after the fictitious writer in John Carpenter’s
In the Mouth of Madness. Eventually,
the work paid off, as I was offered the gig in June. The first thing I
did was create a new MySpace page for the magazine. I had always been
disappointed with the original one; it was never updated and contained
very little news or info, so I set about making one where I could
regularly post interviews, reviews, news and allow for our readers to
interact with us and give suggestions. It has proved very popular and
has allowed for filmmakers and other sites to contact us easier for
interviews, many of which I post as blogs on the page. The feedback has
been amazing! Since becoming editor, I have dealt more with filmmakers
with regards to interviews and promoting their work, though I did try to
do this as much as possible anyway, and I have used the new MySpace
page to get our name out there as much as possible, by interacting with
other sites. I just think that the magazine decided to make it official
with a title.
Fatally Yours: What are your thoughts on the current horror climate?
Christian Sellers: I think it’s such a shame that
there are so many promising independent filmmakers out there that don’t
get the kind of support they deserve, from both studios and
critics. Instead, we are subjected to one remake after another,
pointless
Saw sequels and PG-13 horrors. The movie
industry is a business, and if a product sells then every studio and
producer are quick to jump on the bandwagon.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
is remade and makes a lot of money, so every classic is optioned for
the so-called ‘update’ treatment. I find the concept of PG-13 horror
quite insulting. It seems that studios are trying to cater for the
O.C. and
Sex in the City crowd with dire teen movies like
When a Stranger Calls and
Prom Night. Horror
is not supposed to be sugarcoated and watered down, so those that don’t
like horror movies can tolerate them. It’s called ‘horror’ for a
reason… it’s supposed to challenge you, disgust you, make you face your
fears and feel alive. But when you dilute it with political correctness
and target it towards non-horror fans you lose the essence of what a
horror film really is. And besides, horror doesn’t have to be full of
decapitations and T&A, family movies such as
The Goonies and
Monster House
can be just as effective. The key is to treat the viewer as an adult,
and let them decide what is scary and how much they can handle. If you
are not a fan of horror films then that’s okay, there are plenty of
other genres for you to enjoy.
Fatally Yours: After the so-called “torture porn” boom and
the Asian horror invasion, not to mention the big-studio PG-13 remakes,
where do you think horror is headed next?
Christian Sellers: In all honesty, I think the genre
needed torture porn. Everything moves in cycles, and at the turn of the
decade horror had become more subtle and suggestive. The likes of
The Blair Witch Project and
The Sixth Sense had made horror popular again, after a brief run of slasher movies that were released in the wake of
Scream. Films like
The Sixth Sense appealed to those who had no real interest in scary movies, so slowly the genre was being populated by ‘safe’ films like
The Others. I remember renting out
Cabin Fever and not really having high hopes for it, but found it a really entertaining throwback to
The Evil Dead. So, when I heard the director was making a movie about torture called
Hostel
I was intrigued. The first few films in the torture porn cycle were
well made and felt fresh, I was impressed that the genre had grown balls
once again and was not afraid to be brutal. I was blown away by
Wolf Creek (despite several people walking out), the first
Saw seemed quite inventive and
The Devil’s Rejects
had shown that Rob Zombie was progressing as a filmmaker after such a
dire debut (it also had an amazing soundtrack). But pretty soon, like
all trends, they became monotonous and audiences lost their interest. I
would presume that, as many of the directors I have interviewed recently
seem glad this cycle has come to an end, the genre may become
suggestive once again. Whereas torture porn was quick to show ‘the money
shot,’ it could be possible that, as with the likes of
The Strangers,
that atmosphere and the threat of violence may once again become more
important than the violence itself. If you watch the original
Halloween,
there is very little on-screen violence, the entire film builds up this
sense of dread, a fear that the killer could appear from anywhere. The
scenes where he was stalking them were always more effective than the
moments when he would strike. That’s the mistake that Zombie made with
his remake. And I hope to God that this pointless remake trend comes to
an end soon, it’s depressing.
Fatally Yours: What are some of your favorite current horror
films and/or books? Do you have any promising new directors or authors
that you’re keeping an eye on?
Christian Sellers: I wrote an article back in issue 27 of
GoreZone
called “Directors to Watch Out For in 2008″‘ and I think it was
probably the most fun one to write. I interviewed countless directors,
but unfortunately due to space I was only able to include a few in the
finished article. But I was surprised by how many promising filmmakers
there were, and most were a pleasure to interview. Both
The Kentucky Fried Horror Show’s C. L. Gregory and
Jessicka Rabid’s
Matthew Reel seemed to have a clear vision of what they want from a
horror film, so I’m intrigued to see what they do with that. I love the
promotional artwork for
Gutterballs, especially the homage to
Maniac, so I can’t wait to see that (which I will finally get the chance to do in October at the
GoreZone event in London). Other films I’m curious about are
Children of the Hunt,
No Left Turn (not strictly a horror but it certainly looks atmospheric) and
Netherbeast Incorporated. Again,
I know very little about these movies, but from interviewing the
directors I am curious to see what they are capable of. Other films I am
looking forward to are
Albino Farm and
Pig Hunt
(I know James Isaac isn’t technically a new director, but this could
prove to be his breakthrough movie). And I can’t wait to see what Todd
Lincoln does with
Hack/Slash, I have very high hopes for that one!
Fatally Yours: Looking back on 2008, what has been your favorite horror film so far?
Christian Sellers: Almost every horror that I’ve
written about and been enthusiastic over has yet to be released. And
all the films that I have seen this year were actually made a year or
two ago. Studios seem to be mishandling horror movies of late,
everything from
Mother of Tears,
Diary of the Dead and
Midnight Meat Train
seem to be hyped up by magazines and sites, only for their release to
be delayed for sometimes up to eighteen months. This causes fans and
critics to speculate that the reason for this is due to the film being
poor, so by the time they are eventually released – usually straight
onto DVD – the damage has been done. I am forever writing about movies
that I’m really psyched about seeing, and then it seems to be at least a
year until I finally do get to watch them. So while they’re not
strictly 2008 movies, the ones I have enjoyed the most this year were
probably
Mother of Tears (a great return to form for Dario Argento),
Cloverfield and
Poultrygeist (a
guilty pleasure). Unfortunately, every time I visit a horror site I
hear about yet another pointless remake, so I feel less enthusiastic
about new movies and tend to watch the classics at home.
Fatally
Yours: Besides being the editor and writing for UK’s #1 horror
magazine, GoreZone, how else are you involved with the horror genre?
Christian Sellers: I try to keep myself busy, I get
really restless when I’m not working. About a year ago I was prepping an
article on Steve Miner, who was set to release his
Day of the Dead remake, so I went out and interviewed some of the cast members of
Friday the 13th Part 2 and
3.
I was surprised how pleasant and helpful they were, so I decided to set
up somewhere that I could store my interviews. I created a MySpace page
(
www.myspace.com/fridaythe13thfranchise),
not really giving it much thought that there would be others out there
who would enjoy it. Pretty much straight away I was getting friend
requests and messages off fans of the series saying how much they loved
the page. So I started contacting more people that were involved in the
movies, and most of them seemed really enthusiastic. All of a sudden, I
had people offering to write for the page, offering suggestions and even
a few who had been involved in
Friday the 13th
offering an interview. I was so overwhelmed by everyone’s enthusiasm
that I had to start taking the page seriously. I began focusing on
interviewing everyone I could from the franchise, as well as getting as
much news on the upcoming remake as I could. Some even said they
considered my page their first stop when they wanted news on the movies,
which made it all worthwhile. On the strength of that, I ended up
contributing interviews and articles for the official
Friday the 13th
site. Around last New Year, I was offered the job of Public Relations
for Masterplan Film Productions, a UK-based company that had several low
budget movies in the works, including
The Beautiful Outsiders with Tara Reid and a remake of
The Driller Killer. I also have a screenplay in the early stages that we are hoping to make, but becoming deputy editor for
GoreZone takes up a lot of time.
Fatally Yours: You are one busy man! What are your plans/projects for the future?
Christian Sellers: I have several different ideas
that are being negotiated at the moment, so I’ll reveal more about them
if and when they come to fruition. But I am starting to make contacts –
that’s the great thing about getting to interview filmmakers – and I am
determined to get my name out there as much as possible. It’s funny, I
get told by friends how one-track minded I become when I’m working, how I
manage to ignore everything else and just focus on my writing. I will
finish my work and then suddenly realize I’ve been at my desk for ten
hours without even taking a break. Surely that kind of dedication pays
off eventually! I want to write for as many magazines and websites as
possible, as we all have the same agenda here so we should be willing to
help each other out more, and I definitely want to get involved with
making films. That has always been my end goal. So if anyone is
interested, you know where to find me!
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