CU: Hey Jeff!Thanks so much for asking me to do this! Thrilled and honored to do it!!
CHC: Hello Cory! Can you tell us a little about your soon to be cult classic "INCEST DEATH SQUAD"?
CU: First, I just want to thank you for asking me to do this! Incest Death Squad, man, where to start. I wrote the script about 7 years ago, right around the time I started to do some professional screenplay writing for a company out of Costa Mesa, California. My experience with them was anything but pleasant, but I learned a great deal about how to format a script, etc. I sat on it for a while, because, honestly, at that point I had no point of reference on how to make a film. Granted, I had gone to school for multimedia arts and video production, sound production and editing, but to make a feature film? No clue. I sent the script off to a few script competitions, and let me just say if you're planning on doing something like this-DON'T BOTHER! Its' a complete racket, and anyone who has submitted their script or their completed film to film fests knows that it's not about your film, it's about who you know, plan and simple. So, probably 2 and a half years ago, I was surfing the Troma website and saw an ad that Lloyd (Kaufman) was looking for his next feature film script, so I sent him Incest Death Squad and he actually took the time to call me on the phone and tell me how much he enjoyed it, how I was on the "right track" and to keep at it. I met him about 6 months later, and talked to him about the script and he told me to "make my own damn movie" and if I ever did to make sure I called him and he'd come and be in it for me. That was the catalyst to actually put the wheels in motion to make the film. So, I sat on the idea for a while, but decided I was kind of in the right place, right mind set to give this feature filmmaking thing a shot. I had been doing short films, and I loved doing that, but a feature is a totally different animal altogether. So, I had a casting call, got basically the main cast in place, and just made the damn thing. We went into production in March of 09, wrapping up the first week of June 09, had post done by July, premiered it in October and I have been sending it everywhere around the world since then! The premise of the movie is an incestuous brother and sister who kill tourists in the name of God. Tom Lodewyck plays a reporter sent to the northwoods to do a story on "dead hookers" by his boss (played by Lloyd Kaufman) but winds up falling for a motel owner and finding his curiosity on the disappearances of tourists in that area too much to handle, and winds up getting caught up in the bloodlust of the Wayne family. The story stemmed from George Bush and his "pipeline to God" mentality, and also from a fishing trip with my father in law, where I heard him say the "f" word for the first time ever when our quiet day of beer drinking and bluegill fishing was interrupted by some jackass on a jet ski. The holy angle came from Bush, and the kill tourists angle came from that. The movie itself is hard to categorize, and I hate that in this country, hell, across the world for that matter, that we all have to categorize everything. You are black, you are white. This is horror, this is comedy. Incest Death Squad melds about 4 different genres, but at the end of the day it's just exploitation with a heart.
CHC: Any trials and tribulations during production?
CU: You know, I can't say that making Incest Death Squad was easy, because it wasn't. The one thing I've always said about the filmmaking process is that the minute you finish the script from that point forward it's nothing more than a series of compromise, and you have to be able to roll with that. You can't be so in love with each and every minute detail of your script, otherwise you're going to lose your mind every single shoot. Especially when you make a movie for 48 cents. Initially in the process I had some weird e mails from some religious freaks, how they caught wind of it, I have no idea, but yeah, had to deal with that, they had supposedly called some of my locations and bothered them, told me they would disrupt shooting, etc. Finally I told the maniac who was e mailing me that I'd meet him for a debate anytime, anywhere. That was the last I heard from him. So there was that, which freaked me out, set production back a few weeks. Also some people jumped on me saying I made it up for press, which I did not. So not only was trying to get a cast of totally awesome pro actors behind what I was doing difficult, but I also had some people I trusted back out on me last minute, pull locations, had the bible thumpers and the phony Madison liberals all up in my ass, but then to try and make a decent movie! Yeah, it was hard, but I wouldn't change a thing. I learned so much on that movie it's insane. Screw going to film school, make a movie! You'll spend less and learn more! I edited the film as I went along, so we'd shoot and I'd head back home, ingest the footage and edit it together, so that helped in the matching up of footage process, even tho there are some transitions in the movie that make my skin crawl, but it was still cohesive enough to make sense when it was all said and done! I've said that about the no budget indie filmmaking process, you, as director, and also I'm DP on everything, and editor, and writer, throughout the process you're influenced by different things, so your film at times tends to take on a different "feel". IDS worked in that way because it comes across as a romantic comedy, a drama, a horror film, an exercise in perversion and a rock video all at different times. But when it's all said and done, it's a complete movie with a beginning, middle and end and great actors and characters. So I'm fortunate in that regard. CHC: Nice title by the way, its an eye catcher to say the least. Sounds like something that would have gone great on a double bill with "I DISMEMBER MAMA". How did you determine the name?
CU: I actually didn't come up with the name! When I wrote it it was called "Moonshine" which is a SHIT name! There's no exploitation value in "Moonshine". So when I was getting it ready to send to Lloyd, I knew there was no way in hell he'd bother reading a movie called "Moonshine", it means nothing. So, I called my good friend Bill Rebane (director of cult classics "Giant Spider Invasion" and "Rana Legend of Shadow Lake) who is also good friends with Lloyd and I said, "Bill, I have this script I'm sending to Lloyd. Here's what it's about. What do I call this thing?". And he didn't even hesitate, "Call it Incest Death Squad: A Tale Of Boobs, 'Shine and Slime". I didn't keep the tagline but Incest Death Squad?? Greatest title EVER! Bill denies giving me that name, too. He actually was at the premiere and came up to me afterwards and said, "Buddy, you did it, that's a great movie, but you gotta change that fucking name! Where did you even come up with that??!" So Bill denies it, but I owe Bill a great deal for coming up with that title. And can you even imagine a double bill of "I Dismember Mama and Incest Death Squad"?? I told a friend of mine a while back that I was born about 30 years too late. I'm making movies 30 years too late, because if I were making these movies in the 70's, I'd be retired in the Bahamas by now!
CHC: Can you confirm theres no real incest in the movie? You did shoot this in the mid-west of course.
CU: Ha Ha! There's no REAL incest in the movie, no. There is some simulated brother and sister blood-sex, and some weird dialogue between the characters, but there's no REAL incest. I think that's one thing that people are confused about, I do NOT condone incest! I've had weird fuckers on Facebook try to friend me because they are into incest! Needless to say, those friends requests get denied. But I mean, come on, it's a movie for God's sake. It's exploitation, it's fantasy, it's entertainment. Are we going to crucify HG Lewis because of Blood Feast? Does HG really like to feast on blood? No! And I don't condone incest, I think it's repulsive and anyone who condones such an awful thing should be taken out back. But what better way to make people sit up and pay attention than to just shove their nose in it!? Oliver Stone once said "in order to point out the ridiculous, you yourself must be more ridiculous", and that's something that's always stuck with me. That's what I did with Incest Death Squad. It's not anti-Jesus, or anti-God or pro-incest. I'm pointing out how insane people are in a ridiculous way in order to get you to pay attention. If I formatted the movie like an A&E documentary special, who would have cared? Toss in boobs, blood, bad words and some rock music and bang! Exploitation!
CHC: Have you gotten any heat on the subject matter of IDS?
CU: Oh sure, as I said in the previous few questions I've had religious weirdos get on me, I've had people into incest try to get in touch with me, and I just ignore the whole bunch. People are crazy, bro. And I know a lot of exploitation and horror fans hate it when the writer or director says "yes, it's a filthy movie, but there's a plot and a point, and a social statement, etc", but that's really what Incest Death Squad was, a social statement on using the Bible and Jesus and God as a weapon for your own delusions and personal gains. CHC: One of the things I really enjoyed about IDS, was Lloyd Kaufman (co-star of INCEST DEATH SQUAD, Troma films president) .The guy is very funny. What was it like working with such a legend of the genre?
CU: As I said, Lloyd was the catalyst for me even making the film. If it wasn't for Lloyd, I would have never even thought for one second about making the film. Lloyd is one of the most caring, and generous, intelligent, warm and funny people I have ever met. I consider Lloyd a "friend" in that we trade dirty e mails about Justin Bieber at least twice a week. He asked me to write a segment for his next book, and also has taken my new documentary "I made my own damn movie (and lived to tell about it)" and will be including that on some upcoming boxed set or something. I really care deeply about Lloyd and respect who he is and what he stands for. He really cares about his fans, too. He remembers EVERYONE! I'm hoping to make some time in October at Cinema Wasteland to hang out with Lloyd and our mutual friend (and star of Incest Death Squad 2) Paula Waterman (theataraxiaexperiment.com), because spending time with Lloyd, just Lloyd the man, is transcendent. His company, on the other hand, is just like any other company. I tried for a year to get a distribution deal for IDS through Troma, and can say it wasn't an awesome experience. But it was then I learned to not only separate business from personal, but also separate Lloyd from Troma. To work with Lloyd is challenging at times, though I have to say. The script pages for his scene in Incest Death Squad were maybe 2 pages long. The scene, in the initial cut of the film, ran almost 5 minutes! He was just spitting out pure gold, "gramma blowjob", "green mysterious fluids in her gashes", I couldn't cut any of it! I don't think he read one sentence of the script pages before we shot. Which was fine. But I think that also, in some films, is the kiss of death, because Lloyd is in so many movies that that persona comes out in each film he does. I'd really love to get Lloyd in a nice, serious role in a film. But yes, I love Lloyd, and I have to cash in on that full swallow blow job he promised me at HorrorHound in March.
CHC: You've also been fortunate to work with the great Ted Mikels and Charles Band . Do they inspire your work at all ?
CU: I consider Ted V Mikels to be my muse. Whenever I'm ready to toss in the towel and say "fuck this film shit", I talk to Ted and he reminds me that I'm an artist at heart. I have to do this, not because I think I'll be a millionaire, but because it's just what I do. He's the same way. Ted is 82 years old, and has the outlook of a 22 year old making his first film. Ted is the warmest, kindest man I know. I love Ted, and am happy to consider him a friend. Ted was the reason I ever got interested in fringe cinema as well. If you remember, and I'm sure you do, "The Incredibly Strange Film Show" with Jonathan Ross from the late 80's, Ted was a profile on the show. I saw that when I was like, 11 or something. It started out with Ted in the desert playing an accordion, then doing ventriloquism, then they went into the movies, his castle, his castle ladies. And there was Ted with his Dali mustache, his massive boar's tusk necklace. Larger than life! But when he spoke, you could just feel his passion for film, his genuine love of film, and his actors. And years later, to write for Ted is still my proudest accomplishment in life. I wrote "Demon Haunt" and his brand new "Astro Zombies M3: Cloned", and can officially say that work on "Corpse Grinders 3" has begun. I have been to Vegas many times and always visit with Ted, my recent trip was to see the world premiere of "AZM3: Cloned" and what an experience! Tura Satana, Ted, a packed house at the Palms watching his new film. I was so happy for Ted, and so happy to have a little tiny bit to do with the film.
Charles I have known for probably 4 years, and Charles is another gracious guy, although I go 6 months at a time without hearing from him. Charles is very "L.A." and I'm very Midwest. I'm ready to rock constantly on things, and Charles tends to be a bit "last minute". But Charles is a wonderful man, loves his fans, great to his friends and is one of my inspirations from childhood. When I started to put names with movies, he was at the top. Troll, Ghoulies. He made all of my favorites when I was a kid, and to know him, and be friends is amazing.
CHC: Whats on the slate for you now?
CU: Right now I am about a week away from having "Incest Death Squad 2" ready for reviewers!! This one was a hard one. Sophomore jinx I guess. But it was not a fun experience. I was ready about 10 different times to fold the tent, piss on the fire and go home. But my cast and crew were so awesome and so supportive and so into it, that we stuck it out and we made a thousand times better film than Incest 1. We are premiering the movie live and free online on September 17th at HorrorSociety.com. I was going to do a "proper" premiere but found that A-I find that pretentious and B-too expensive and not ONE theatre in Madison, WI was willing to work with me on it. Not ONE. So, fuck 'em, the fans around the world get it, and they are the only ones that matter anyway. I am also currently raising money and completing the script for a film called "Mediatrix" which is based on the Necedah Shrine in Necedah, Wisconsin. I won't go into all the details, but it's about a woman who was a "spiritualist" from a young age, born into it, just an awful, insane woman who in the 50's started to be visited by The Virgin Mary. She parlayed that into power over people and her own cult. She really was an evil, sick woman, but she was able to start a cult, which is still functioning to this day. Another example of an evil person holding religion over people's heads in order to satiate their own obsessions for power. And another chapter in my "Christsploitation" genre! We will be shooting in October, hopefully have the film done right around the first of the year (2011). Right now, as I said, I'm raising money, and I wish I could announce the casting plans, but once I reach $1000 I'll announce the actress who will be playing The Virgin Mary, and this is something that I've wanted to do for a long time, work with this actress. It's going to be amazing. I'm updating the movie to take place today, as 5 grand isn't going to be enough to make a proper period piece. I'm also changing the locations and names so I don't get sued or killed. It's not a horror film, it's just a filthy, frightening view into a woman's downward spiral into insanity. I'm calling it my "There Will Be Blood" with more boobs. "There Will Be Boobs", maybe?
CU: Thank you, Jeff, for all you have done for exploitation and grindhouse! And if anyone wants to see Incest Death Squad, just log on to incestdeathsquad.com and pick up a copy of the film! I'll also be at the Underground Horror Fest in Tulsa on July 10th, and in Minneapolis in November for Crypticon! People can find me on Facebook and if anyone is an oil sheik and wants to invest in "Mediatrix" just go to www.indiegogo.com/mediatrix and pledge some money!!!
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