Horroryearbook alumni should already be familiar with Ryan Nicholson. He’s an award winning make up artist, writer, director, and all around sick bastard. With over 100 makeup credits to his name and 4 films under his belt as a director, Ryan has become a force to be reckoned with in the extreme horror genre. His latest effort GUTTERBALLS was not only Brain Hammer approved, it also earned a well deserved spot on the horroryearbook top ten list for 2008! I recently had the chance to ask Ryan all about his love of horror and his many projects past and present.
BH: Let’s start from the beginning. What was your introduction to the horror genre?
RN: Monster Movies on late night cable tv Saturday Nights when I was growing up in Edmonton, Alberta Canada. My Father also was big into the more gruesome Sci-Fi stuff like “Alien” and “The Thing.” He took me to see “Aliens” and “The Fly” in the theatre! When VHS came out, I would rent as many horror movies as I could. I’d always say they were for my Dad but they were moreso for me. “Dawn of the Dead” was one of the first VHS rentals I viewed as was “Escape From New York.” 80’s sex comedies like “Porky’s” and “DC Cab” left a lasting impression on me and I think anyone that views “Gutterballs” can see the 80’s comedy theme in there.
BH: Did you have parents that let you watch horror flicks as a kid, or did you have to sneak around and watch them with your friends?
RN: My Father was cool about stuff…not so much “Scarface” or “I Spit on Your Grave,” those were movies I had to sneak into. The slasher stuff too wasn’t exactly impressing my parents either. I think my dad didn’t mind the sci-fi horror stuff because he grew up watching all that stuff. My Grandmother took him to see the original “The Blob” and “Angry Red Planet” in the theatre. So he was good to let me see stuff like “The Terminator” and “Conan the Barbarion” but the teen carve ‘em ups like “Friday the 13th” and “Maniac” were harder to convince my parents of their artistic merit!
BH: What are some of your all time favorite horror flicks, and which ones have influenced your work the most?
RN: “I Spit on Your Grave,” “Zombie,” and “Driller Killer” along with early John Carpenter films like “The Fog” and “Halloween” were all very influential in my style of film-making. Luckily for me, the Plotdigger Family of film-makers that I work with all share the same tastes. All of us our generally the same age and grew up watching all the same stuff.
BH: Was there a certain film or makeup artist that inspired you to want to learn about makeup and special effects?
RN: I was playing around with latex and blood when I was really young. The Romero zombie films really got me into gore. But after seeing “An American Werewolf in London,” I was like “that’s what I want to do!” I started sculpting in clay and started to make molds, eventually that led me to a career in make-up FX. During all that time, I wrote short scripts and played around with the camcorder and stuff, I really wanted to make movies with FX in them. But make-up fx was a good introduction into film-making.
BH: Where and when did you learn about makeup?
RN: I’m self-taught. Like most guys from the early 90’s, none of us went to school. There was no school that taught make-up FX in Western Canada…so I just kept practicing on all my friends and myself, until I had a portfolio to show. I sent it out East and was hire in Montreal in 1995. Up to that point, I had done a few short-films, a couple of indie features…but I really hadn’t worked on a big creature movie.
BH: What was your first “big break” in the business?
RN: Getting hired by Adrien Morot in Montreal for “Bleeders.” The year was 1995 and Adrien was, still is, a genious at make-up FX. He was young like me, but the guy was a prodigy…he’ll win an Oscar one day. There’s very very few people with his skill. Natural talent. He taught me a great deal and I’ll always be grateful for that. Steve Johnson hiring me for his Vancouver shop was also a big-break. I got to work for another one of my FX icons! “Dead Heat” and “Night of the Demons” were always ispirational FX films for me.
BH: You have over 100 credits for your makeup work. Could you pick a select few that really stand out as being special to you?
RN: “Final Destination” is really special for me because it was a huge fx film and it was my first huge fx film where it was my company doing all the fx. “War” was cool, working with Jet Li. “The Pledge” stands out for the mere fact of working with Sean Penn and hearing Jack Nicholson say that the body we made was really gruesome. “eXistenZ” was amazing also, to be in the company of David Cronenberg. I was on a crew of about 25 guys but I still was able to sculpt some cool mutant lizards and the one the gets it’s head chopped off in the Chinese Restaurant was one that I did and it was David Cronenberg who cut the head off!! But after all that, I still think my own movie “Gutterballs,” is the FX movie I’m the most proud of. Myself and my partner Michelle Grady built some really awesome fx for that movie and it was great to shoot them myself, the way I wanted to. On other people’s movies, you’re trusting the director and DOP to shoot your FX right, you can’t exactly tell them what to do…I’ve had a few failed fx that I wish I could erase. I’ll take blame for a couple but sometimes, other people screw-up perfectly good work.
BH: I’m going to jump ahead now to 2004. Let’s talk about TORCHED. What was your inspiration for this brutal short film?
RN: I wanted to have a really tough female character torture a male captive. And of course, take his manhood away! My longtime friend Patrick Coble and I came up with this rape/revenge scenario with a nurse and patient theme. The original script had her working in a hospital burn ward. Through a series of events, she determines the man she has been caring for in the burn-ward, is the man who raped her. She decides to abuse his body and lights him on fire, etc…This concept was only met half-way in the final version…she’s a nurse but there’s no burn ward, no patient…just a cast of men who may or may not be the rapist…but there is some fire action by means of a blowtorch.
BH: What was the reaction to TORCHED?
RN: It was really good. I’m releasing it officially this year. “Torched: The Director’s Cut,” it will be a new edit, new sound-mix…special packaging. It never has had a proper release. This will be the one to have. I think women really dug “Torched.” The idea of a man getting so abused, a rapist getting what’s coming to him, really was the appeal. And showing everything. Not cutting away.
BH: In 2004 you also got to work with the legendary godfathers of horror worship – NECROPHAGIA! Were you a already a fan/friend of Killjoy? When did you first discover the band, and how did you come to work with them?
RN: Killjoy and I became friends through our love for horror. I didn’t really listen to Necrophagia until after I had met him through horror message boards. We got to talking and I ended up loaning out some props for “August Underground.” Toe Tag did some totally wicked practical FX for that. Killjoy recorded his vocals for the last couple of “Ravenous” albums up here in Vancouver and he got me to do the samples, the audio snippets we used from “New York Ripper” and “August Underground Mordum” and other sick movies we both love. We actually have a movie called “Blood Sick” we’re co-directing. Although I don’t see it happening until 2010. I’m too busy with Plotdigger Films and he’s too busy with the new Necrophagia record that has been years in the making.
BH: You have an amusing acting credit as “psychotic boyfriend” in the Necrophagia “Nightmare Scenarios” video. How did you prepare yourself for this role?
RN: I actually disliked the girl I was with at the time, so it wasn’t hard getting into character! I play a bum in my new one “Hanger.” It’s funny to act…it’s hard as Hell! I gotta give all my actors credit because they do a great job and it’s not easy. I was my own worst critic and cut most of my “Hanger” homeless man stuff out…I was drinking a 40 oz. of Old English malt liquor and got smashed! I had the worst headache the next day…but I was just trying to get into character.
BH: LIVE FEED was your next directorial effort, and another very extreme motion picture. Could you tell me a bit about the background on this one?
RN: “Live Feed” was my homage to Category III movies that I love. I wanted to make my own Cat III movie and set it in a porno theatre. We shot on location, at a rancid porno palace and everynight was disgusting! It was hot and steamy in there. Not to mention, all the bodily fluids we had to work around! It was Hell on Earth but it worked to our advantage. I thought it was the perfect setting for an extreme horror movie. Something about sex and violence…the two go hand in hand. I’m re-editing “Live Feed” for a re-release in the Fall of 09. It will tie into the release of the sequel we shoot this May, “Evil Feed.”
BH: Specifically, what films or filmmakers had an influence on LIVE FEED?
RN: I would say Herman Yau who did “The Untold Story” and “Ebola Syndrome.” As well as Billy Tang “Red To Kill” and “Dr.Lamb.” Although that would be more for content than style. I’d say Dario Argento and John Carpenter were very big influences as far as a style goes. Lighting, camera, etc…”Live Feed” is a mash-up of horror genres.
BH: As LIVE FEED was your first effort at directing a full length movie, I’m curious how the experience went for you. Was it a dream come true, or did you feel a lot of pressure to complete the picture?
RN: It was a bit of both! It was a gruelling shoot. But they always are. Being the first feature, I felt a little green for sure but after the first week, I was shooting with both barrels and getting some great stuff from the cast and crew. I really had a fantastic time and not many people can say that they shot a feature length horror movie in a working porno theatre!!
BH: What was the atmosphere like on the set?
RN: It was upbeat! The cast and crew were happy to be in a place so odd and so off limits. It’s not your ordinary set…because it wasn’t a set…it was real and it was old! The theatre was nearly 100 years old! And it was creepy as Hell. We had cast and crew trailers for “Live Feed” so the cast and crew didn’t have to be in the theatre if they didn’t want to…but they always ended up in the theatre just hanging out! I was like “why did we waste money on these damn trailers!?”
BH: I was astounded by how much hate LIVE FEED got, especially online. I’m curious how you feel about your critics, particularly those who claim you are some sort of demented hater of women or even worse, an Eli Roth rip off?
RN: Any critic that calls “Live Feed” a “Hostel” rip-off is very ill-informed because it was announced online a year before “Hostel” was announced. And it was made before “Hostel” as well….so that statement is very incorrect and of course, insulting. But the movies are different anyways…even if you compare them, you won’t find many similarities. I don’t hate women and men die just as horrible, if not worse deaths in my movies. Men are the assholes and women the heros. That’s the way I make movies. Strong female characters. You can see that in “Torched,” “Live Feed” and “Gutterballs”…women kick ass.
BH: What are your thoughts on the term “torture porn?”
RN: The term “torture porn” is not accurate when describing movies like “Saw” and “Hostel” because those movies, although they have torture, are not pornographic. Now, through in some penetration and money shots, then it’s an accurate term. I think the term will go away. People don’t seem to “get off” any more on the torture movies, they’re played out. “Live Feed” didn’t have much torture so to speak…just murder.
BH: I know you pride yourself on being a filmmaker who doesn’t pull any punches, and deservedly so. That said, where do you “draw the line” as a filmmaker? Is there anything you won’t show, or is everything a possibility?
RN: Seeing as what I do is fictional…pretty much everything is acceptable. I have to be interested in what I’m making, I guess nothing is taboo when you’re creating it and not doing it for real. I like to make audiences react…be it good or bad…a reaction is what I’m looking for.
BH: I noticed you have a lot of “haters” on imdb. I also noticed that you personally take the time to answer a lot of their questions and concerns. Why do you give them this personal attention?
RN: I’m a horror fan first and foremost. So when someone calls me out personally, I try and take the time to correct them if they are wrong, or acknowledge when they are accurate. I put my movies out in the public and they will always be scrutinized. I have a thick skin and my movies have been raked over the coals many times. It’s something I learned from “Live Feed,” you cannot argue with a film critic, you will always lose and you make yourself look like a whiny bitch. I find it entertaining to know that someone loathes my movies…I’ve effected that person and they will hopefully remember the movie…it doesn’t matter to me if it’s remembered as the worst piece of shit ever made, which is a common statement some use when summing up my movies…or a masterpiece of cinematic horror…which others call my movies…it’s love them or hate them material…all opened up and spilling out for the public to do as they wish. For me…I love what I do and I truly like the movies I make. I make them for me and horror fans with similar taste. Anyone else who stumbles upon my stuff and likes it, is a bonus I never counted on.
BH: Let’s move on to GUTTERBALLS. Tell me about the inspiration behind that one.
RN: Basically, the idea of a slasher movie in a giant after-hours bowling alley was too appealing for me not to do it. I had to make it. But I made “Live Feed” first and put “Gutterballs” on the back burner until I had a big enough budget and a big enough location. I wanted to do a stalk and slash 80’s stylied splatter movie and everything about the balls and pins, the bowling-bag mask, worked so well. It was a dream come true. I really had a great time making “Gutterballs.” I had the prep time to do everything that I wanted to do.Nothing was sacrificed. What’s on the screen is exactly what I wanted on the screen. I had such a talented cast and crew….they poured their blood, sweat and tears into “Gutterballs” and it shows.
BH: Did you intend GUTTERBALLS to be a black comedy, an over the top horror flick, a parody of 80’s flicks, or perhaps a “homage?”
RN: It is all of the above. It is a mash-up of genres and I think that is one reason why it is a successful film. The timing of it’s release was perfect to because there’s not much like “Gutterballs” out there. It’s quite an original setting for a formula that has been done many many times before. But not done quite like “Gutterballs.” The look of the movie is totally 80’s. Some people actually have thought that it was made in the 80’s! The comedic tone is there but also, the rape, that is very brutal and relentless, so it covers a range of emotions. It’s a rape/revenge film mixed with a giallo film and then add the slasher elements and 80’s cheesy comedy tones to it and that is “Gutterballs.”
BH: What films were the inspiration for GUTTERBALLS?
RN: “The Accused” and “I Spit On Your Grave” inspired the rape scene. “Death Wish” and “Rolling Thunder” inspired the revenge. Whereas “Halloween” and “Friday the 13th” inspired the stalk and slash element. “Porky’s” and “Joysticks,” “Hot Dog: The Movie” and “Up the Creek” inspired the comedy. Plus tons of other movies also from the above genres…it’s a big love letter to cinema in general.
BH: Where was GUTTERBALLS filmed?
RN: “Gutterballs” was shot at “Excalibur Lanes” in Surrey, BC Canada. It’s the biggest 10 pin bowling facility in Western Canada. It also is the coolest looking one. It was a miracle we secured such a massive, awesomely cool location for 15 nights. But it wasn’t cheap! The killroom scene at the end as well as some of the gorier stuff was shot in a studio for 3 days.
BH: The rape scene in the beginning of the film is very tough to watch. I’d like to know a bit more about how that scene was achieved. How long did it take to film? What was the feeling on the set? Was it depressing to film?
RN: It was horrible to film the rape. The actors all are very professional but sometimes, they aren’t vicious enough. The first attempt to shoot the rape scene was not good. Everyone was too uptight and it looked too staged. The guys were handling the actress with kidgloves…so I reshot the rape scene another night, later in the schedule, when peoples nerves were shot and tempers were at a boiling point. Then it was believable…the emotions ran high and it showed. It was a closed set due to the extreme nudity so everyone scattered around the bowling alley could only hear what was going on and not see it, which may have been more disturbing. Listening to the screams and grunts. It was very depressing to shoot but it’s all part of the process. I had shot a rape scene earlier in “Torched” so I knew what I was in store for but this was a gang-rape and it was far more brutal. But everyone was pro and the end result is very powerful.
BH: What was the inspiration for the “death by 69?”
RN: It was simply coming up with a creative death scene that had no blood yet was effective. I wanted the kills fresh and original in “Gutterballs.” DB69 was by far the most fun death to shoot! It was hilarious and my personal favorite. Although I love extreme gore, I don’t think every death scene needs buckets of blood to be memorable.
BH: GUTTERBALLS could be controversial in that it features a lot of brutality against women (and men!) and a fair amount of gay bashing. What are your thoughts on the people who might accuse the film of being sexist or homophobic?
RN: I think the gay audiences actually love my stuff because I like to show male nudity and I like to bring in gay characters in my stuff. So far, “Gutterballs” has been received awesomely by the gay community. They love the “Sam” character and all the funky freaky shit in “Gutterballs.” I have gay friends that love the movie and never took offence to the gay-bashing within the movie because those homophobic characters, “Joey” and “AJ” are also the most “gay” characters in the movie and you can see it watching them. They are just very confused and are lashing out because they can’t accept the fact they love each other.
BH: The splatter in GUTTERBALLS is fucking outrageous! How much fake blood did you go through while filming?
RN: Oh man! A lot!! Many many 5 gallon buckets were emptied and filled only to be emptied again and again. It’s a very bloody movie. At one point, I was hosing down the actors in the “kill room” at the end like I was watering the lawn. It was nuts!
BH: Do you have a favorite death scene in the film? If so, what would it be?
RN: It is Death x 69 tied with the bowling-shoe strangulation. I love how the laces start digging into the actors skin as she presses her boobs into the window while dying. It’s a very brutal death.
BH: GUTTERBALLS earned a well deserved spot on the Horror Yearbook Top 10 List of 2008. How did it feel to know your film had made such a respected and prestigious list?
RN: It was a fantastic honour!! Making movies is very hard and it’s great to get some recongnition from time to time. It boosts the morale of cast and crew that work so hard for very little. It’s good for them to know that they are a part of something special.
BH: Which film are you happier with, LIVE FEED or GUTTERBALLS?
RN: I can’t say…it’s like picking between your own children! Although I’m re-editing “Live Feed” and adding a 5.1 mix, new color correction, etc…it’s still tough to pick. They’re both very near and dear to my heart.
BH: You are currently working on HANGER. What is this one all about?
RN: “Hanger” is my most depraved movie yet! It’s about an aborted fetus who grows up and seeks revenge on the pimp that aborted him from his prostitute mother’s womb. It’s a very odd movie. The characters are all very strange and the movie is very influenced by David Lynch and Alexandro Jodorowsky. It’s very extreme. More so than my last two features. It premieres this Spring at the Philadelphia Film Festival!
BH: Anything else you’d like to share or promote?
RN: Plotdigger Films is currently in pre-production on “Evil Feed,” the sequel to “Live Feed”…the script is very twisted and fans of the first “Live Feed” will not be disappointed! I’m also hoping to gain some new fans with “Evil Feed.” It’s a bigger film than anything I’ve done, it may see a theatre. I can only wish!
BH: Final thoughts?
RN: For updates and online orders of Plotdigger Films Merchandise, please visit www.plotdigger.com.
other sites, www.myspace.com.plotdigger
www.myspace.com/hangerthemovie
KEEP THE BLOOD FLOWING!!!
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