Even after almost 30 years, Re-Animators still incredibly anarchic.
I think you have to if youre going to do a job like that.
I think that, somehow, managed to make its way into the movie.
How did makingFrom Beyondcompare to makingRe-Animator?
Yes, I remember.
I think thats another film thats aged well.
I think its because Lovecraft was so far ahead of his time.
And his writings become more popular, if anything.
What do you think it is about his work that remains so fresh?
And all the science stuff thats in his stories is fairly accurate he did a lot of research.
I think he was very interested in how things actually worked.
He had an analytical mind, didnt he?
He was very interested in all kinds of science and historical things.
You see Lovecrafts influence even in films that arent directly adapted from his work.
I dont know if you sawPrometheus, but theres all kinds of HP Lovecraft ideas in that.
Yeah, thats true.
I just saw today that HR Giger just passed away.
Which really is just too bad.
That was such a sad loss.
HP Lovecraft was a big influence on him, too.
His first big collection of paintings was calledNecronomicon.
Was Giger an influence on you?
I lovedAlien that was the first time I saw his work.
Would you do what Ridley Scott did withAlien, and do a prequel toRe-Animator?
About a young Herbert West, perhaps?
I cant imagine anyone other than Jeffrey Combs playing that part, so finding someone younger wouldnt feel right.
But I keep seeing Herbert West-pop in figures showing up.
Theres one in the new series,Penny Dreadful the guy playing Frankenstein [Harry Treadaway].
He reminds me a lot of Herbert West, and the cast are very young.
Another great film of yours isDolls.
Werent you planning on making a sequel to that?
I read somewhere that you were, but that it never happened.
But we never got around to making that film, unfortunately.
Do you think thats something you might return to, one day?
Oh, it would be wonderful.
But its been so long since we made that movie, I dont know.
Plus, the actors who played those roles, the dollmakers, are no longer with us, unfortunately.
They were wonderful actors, who again, I couldnt imagine replacing with anyone else.
Robot Joxhas become such a cult favourite, hasnt it?
It seemed like I was getting deja vu withPacific Rim.It seemed like… wow.
He borrowed so heavily from it.
Including the way the robots worked.
It was almost like it was a sequel.
Were you flattered by that or annoyed?
But he never did.
Another film I liked wasDaughter Of Darkness.
Oh yeah, thats one that was seldom seen, unfortunately.
Its a shame, because it has a great cast, including Anthony Perkins.
Yeah, and he was fantastic to work with.
I really loved him.
We got to be good friends.
His style of acting reminds me a bit of Jeffrey Combs, actually.
I always thought that Jeffrey was like a young Tony Perkins.
That would have been fantastic.
Was it after that you madeFortress?
Well, I did a couple of movies in between.
I did a version ofPit And The Pendulum.
Jeffrey Combs gets that great line, Go and torture some heretics!
[Big belly laugh] Stop bothering me!
I was wondering if you could talk about makingFortress, because that was a real fun science fiction film.
That was a lot of fun, because we shot it in Australia.
We were in a place called Surfers Paradise, which was the most beautiful beach in the world.
The contrast was pretty incredible.
You had Kurtwood Smith in there, whos a brilliant villain.
Ah, a terrific actor.
Kurtwood, what I remember working with him was, hed say, Let me do another take.
I can do it better.
And so Id say, Okay.
And hed do another take, and it would be better.
Then hed say, Let me do it one more time.
I think I can do it even better…
I realised after a while that we could just keep shooting for ever with him, you know?
He always found a way to improve.
Then he has that great line, Random intestinations!
[Unapologetic laugh] Yeah, I know.
I have a feeling he still says that from time to time.
Was that in the script, that line?
It almost feels improvised.
Was it in the script?
But he made it his own.
One of the films I dont think enough people saw wasKing Of The Ants.
It was such a different film.
Even in the context of your body of work, it stood out as being quite unusual.
It was, yeah.
It was more of a crime story than a horror film.
But I read the story and loved it.
I really enjoyed working with Charlie Higson; he was very funny.
And also theYoung Bondbooks…
Yeah, thats right.
Your works always pushed boundaries, from your stage plays to your movies.
Do you think that filmmakers in general are still doing that?
Well, no I dont.
But I think that there are still people who are making movies that are still pretty interesting and disturbing.
I sawA Serbian Filma few years ago and that totally knocked my socks off.
Ive never plucked up the courage to watch that.
Oh boy, its a terrific movie.
Very, very strong, very well made.The Human Centipedewas another one.
A really great concept.
An extremely disturbing film.
So, you know, people are still making those kinds of films.
Are you still looking to get your Edgar Allan Poe projectNevermoremade?
We tried doing a Kickstarter campaign on that and it didnt work out.
Its an interesting subject matter.
Yeah, and Jeffrey Combs is amazing in it.
Aside from Jeffrey Combs, what other actors have you enjoyed working with?
Well, its a long list.
I enjoyed working with Edward James Olmos on a film calledThe Incredible Ice Cream Suita few years ago.
Clifton Collins Jr, who Ive worked with twice, was also in it.
It was a lot of fun, and very different from most of the other films Ive made.
Its based on a story by Ray Bradbury.
Another great American writer.
He was a good friend of mine, and the whole thing was such a pleasant experience.
I think it was the most fun I ever had making a film.
But its a film that not many people had the chance to see.
I keep hoping someone will take a stab at makeThe Martian Chroniclesagain.
Yeah, Id love it if someone did it properly.
Recently you did yourRe-Animatorstage play.
Ah, that was fun we did it as a musical.
The musical was wonderful, and written by a guy named Mark Nutter.
We took it to the Edinburgh festival two years ago, which was fun.
It would be great if you could bring it to London.
Weve been talking to some theatre owners about that, actually.
It could happen we havent worked out the details yet, but were pursuing it.
Im doing a play right now calledTaste, which is getting amazing reviews.
Weve also had people fainting in the audience during the performance its really strong.
It happened in Guttenberg, Germany about 10 years ago.
We actually have characters cooking on stage!
Stuart Gordon, thank you very much.
Re-Animatoris out on Blu-ray on the 2nd June from Second Sight Films.
