Ben Rock

Interview by: Uncle Creepy Now here's a thrill for me! As a huge "24" fan I never thought I'd ever get a chance to interview Carlos Bernard (Tony Almeida). Then he made a horror movie, and well, carpe diem, right? The best part? The movie kicks ass! Of course I am referring to Ben Rock's Alien Raiders, and if you haven't seen it yet, I suggest you make it a priority! Listen to the interview below or just scroll down and give it a read! When you're done, don’t forget to VOTE FOR US ON PODCAST ALLEY! Click here to download our interview with Carlos Bernard as an MP3! Click here to listen to the interview on your computer! Click here to subscribe to the Dread Central Interviews podcast! (iTunes) Click here to subscribe to the Dread Central Interviews podcast! (non-iTunes) Uncle Creepy: Hey everybody. Uncle Creepy here for Dread Central, and joining us today is one of the stars of Alien Raiders, Carlos Bernard. Carlos, how are you, my brother? Carlos Bernard: I’m good, I’m doing good. How are you doing? UC: Pretty good, man. A little scared right now, though, since you brought up that dude, you know, in Chicago who has the name Steve Barton that screwed up the game for you guys in 2005. I’m sorry I share his name, but I’m telling you, dude, I’m not him. CB: (Laughter) You know I’m going to need proof of that. But it seemed you were in a hat with headphones over the baseball hat before you stumbled. UC: It's very funny, man. I had no idea that that’s that dude’s name, but I guess I’m changing my name in Chicago for sure. I don’t need to get lynched the second I get there. (Laughter). CB: Oh no, you don’t, you don’t. UC: But anyway … Alien Raiders, what a cool little movie, man. CB: Yeah, it was a cool -- it definitely is a cool little movie, you know, I -- when I signed on, the name was Supermarket, which I loved that title. I really like that title, and I’m really -- I was extremely bummed when they changed that name to Alien Raiders because really, if you watched the movie, it sort of gives it away. It sort of ruins a bit of the movie with the name but... UC: Yeah, totally because if you’re watching it -- like the first time I saw it -- for the first like 15 or 20 minutes I had no idea what was going on. CB: Yeah, it looks like a heist movie, you know, and -- but anyhow … but it is a cool little movie. There were a great bunch of people working on it, and it felt very much like a sort of guerilla film. We were all getting together to kick it out as quickly as we could and as well as we could. And, you know, obviously it was a lower budget movie, probably around five million or so. And with those cases, because it's often hard to find the right sort of scenario, there's still the most fun because you’ve really got to sort of put your heads together and get creative as far as doing things to really pull it off well, you know, and that makes it much more fun. UC: Yeah, and that’s one thing about the movie. I mean when the shit hits the fan, dude, the shit really hits the fan, you know. And it turns into just one hell of a ride. Now, is this the first time you did a horror movie? CB: Yeah. Yeah, first time, you know, I -- its not that I’m opposed to doing them, it’s the first time that I found a script that I thought was interesting to me as far as the different characters and the scenarios and the setup. And I had been approached many times before, and I just really liked this one. And then it happened to be being produced by Tony Krantz, who was one of the original producers of "24", and I had a lot of faith in Tony. I was also a big fan of Blair Witch Project, and you know, Daniel Myrick was involved and Ben Rock as well, and so it just worked out, you know. And it was really a lot of fun to shoot -- a very collaborative environment, you know. UC: Now, speaking of Ben Rock … what an absolute saint of a man, but what an absolute lunatic as well. CB: (Laughter) Yeah, well, he knows the genre pretty damn well, you know. He’s a big, big fan of the genre and so that really -- he brought all that to the set, you know, and that was a huge help. UC: You know, I don’t think it’s physically possible for us to get on the phone, Ben and I, and have something less than an hour-long conversation. CB: When you start talking about movies that you love and things that you love... UC: And before we know it -- I don’t even remember what we really called each other for. It’s like “Oh yeah…" CB: And you know he’s such a great guy, and it is that way. You’ll talk, and next thing you know it’ll be an hour later. UC: Now, for a lot of TV fans this is a huge movie to geek over because you've got yourself from "24" … It is so good to have you back! I mean last season sucked without you, but I’m not going to get into that because it’s not your fault. (Laughter). CB: (Laughter) No, it's not. UC: But you've got -- you from "24", Mathew St. Patrick from "Six Feet Under" and, you know, of course there’s Rockmond from "Prison Break". What a cast, man! CB: Yeah, Rock was something else, dude. Rock is -- he is really a talented dude and so funny and really just -- I think he’s just a fantastic character. UC: Now, speaking of doing things a little bit different, being that this was your first genre movie. What did you think about all the effects and dealing with creatures and shit like that? Because that’s a little bit of a departure for you, too, I guess. CB: Yeah, it was. Obviously all the action stuff I felt very at home with all that, but the effects -- you know the great thing about -- one of the things that drew me to doing the film was, you know, these guys know that less is more, that they -- you know, the less you show, the scarier it is because it leaves it up to the audience’s imagination, and that’s always -- those are the films that I really dig within that genre. The ones where, you know, the filmmakers really leave it up to the audience to fill in the blanks. UC: Yeah, and you really just -- you gave such the perfect tortured-guy-trying-to-do-the-right-thing performance. And the good thing about sci-fi and horror movies is even though you might die, there’s always room to kind of come back. (Laughter) CB: Well, it’s not just horror movies, "24" can prove that obviously. (Laughter) UC: Oh, dude, when you showed up, my mouth dropped. I was like, “Really?” CB: (Laughter) Well, you know, big fans of "24" know that that was possible because, you know, the hall -- the hallway was done back in the 50’s and they definitely left the door open for, you know, there’s no style like clogs, they really -- they really left it open for the character to come back. Now, as far as Alien Raiders goes -- yeah, I mean I suppose within that genre it’s definitely possible. UC: Would you come back for a round two because the story doesn’t end man, there’s more to tell? CB: It always depends on the script, you know, it always depends on the script. Obviously I love the people that did the first movie and it would be a joy to work with them again, but it always depends on the script and whether it makes sense and whether, you know, I think it would be fun to do. UC: Well, I got to tell you, dude, it was an absolute thrill watching you kick some horror movie ass for a change. That was really cool. And I hope you come back to the genre, man; we’re definitely hungry to see you do a little bit more. CB: Oh, well thank you. And I really hope -- I hope people enjoy it. I think it’s a good little film, and you know, hopefully people will enjoy it. UC: I think they’ll eat it up. But hey, man, I know you’re insanely busy so wrapping up, thanks so much for your time. CB: Oh, my pleasure. You take care now. UC: All right, brother. This is Steve Barton, Uncle Creepy, signing off for Dread Central. Discuss this interview in the Dread Central forums!

Interview by: Uncle Creepy Who is Ben Rock? While the name may not immediately spring to mind, I'm sure you're well acquainted with his work dating back all the way to The Blair Witch Project. Ben not only created the iconic stick-man, he also directed the two stellar documentaries, Shadows of the Blair Witch and The Burkitsville Seven. Now all these years later he's back behind the camera to give horror fans something new to scream about -- Alien Raiders, and allow me to say right now, you guys are in for a treat! Recently Ben and I sat down to talk about the movie and all things horror! He's truly One of us! One of us! Click below to listen in, and don’t forget to VOTE FOR US ON PODCAST ALLEY! Click here to download our interview with Ben Rock as an MP3! Click here to listen to the interview on your computer! Click here to subscribe to the Dread Central Interviews podcast! (iTunes) Click here to subscribe to the Dread Central Interviews podcast! (non-iTunes) NEW! Don't feel like downloading? Scroll down to read the entire interview transcribed! Uncle Creepy: Everybody I’m Uncle Creepy here for Dread Central and joining us today is the director of Alien Raiders, Ben Rock. Ben, how are you brother? Ben Rock: I have never been better, okay, I was better once but, you know… UC: [laughter] so, dude, Alien Raiders, let me just say I watched it last night, what a kick-ass little movie. BR: Oh, thanks. UC: Yeah, man. I mean of all the Raw Feed movies, I’ve been a fan of some of them like Otis. I really dug Otis. But, I definitely think Alien Raiders is one of the most fun man, I mean we need more monster movies, dude. It’s good to see one finally. BR: I mean that’s one that I really going for. I just wanted to make a kind of movie that I wanted to see and you know, those are movies, well, a lot of the same kind of movies that you grew up on I grew up on and stuff like the things. And you know, in any way that I could I wanted to try and try and be in that school, you know what I mean? UC: One of the things that was really cool about was that it reminded me a lot of The Thing. It reminded me, like the cross between the things, a couple of movies -- a little about movie Splinter from Toby Wilkins. I don't know if you saw that, thrown in? BR: I haven’t seen it yet man. People keep telling me I have to see it though. I’ll definitely check it out. UC: It’s good stuff. It was a really cool atmosphere thing. You know what I love movies that take place in one night. You know what I mean? Just something about them; there’s no time to be bored because the shit automatically hits the fan. BR: Well, I also think, I am not a big fan of lengthy exposition. And I feel like when you are in a situation like that, you can err on the side of not having people explain everything for you. I mean like we understood what was going on. It’s not, you know, an excuse for not having the full story. We have the full story, but how much of the story does anyone say out loud in the movie where there is no time for exposition. There’s only really time for action. And you know, I am -- well, obviously I am a big fan of TV show ”24”, you know. But -- I like that too, I like that kind of the potboiler kind of an effect… UC: I’d never guess that considering one of your casting choices. BR: Oh god, yeah. When I got brought on to do the film, you know, you always have to start like with the casting director. And you have to start making up lists of who you want. And Carlos [Bernard] was literally on the first list that I sent out. You know, to me, he was always perfect for that role. He knows how to handle a gun. You could believe that he’s the scientist and you could believe that he would do a horrible thing and that he would regret it and still do another horrible thing. He’s still intense. He’s really good at that kind of intensity. It is no wonder that he’s doing what he’s doing. I am loving him on the new season of “24”. Jesus Christ. UC: Yeah, dude. I mean I guess Alien Raiders would be a good reprieve for him to have not have Kiefer yelling at him through his teeth every three seconds. Because lord knows he has doing a lot of that in the new season of “24”. BR: Yeah, quite a bit. Well, actually like we shot during the writers’ guild strike last year was -- December 2007. And the last day that they were shooting on what is now the season of “24” was our first day. So, thanks to the writers’ guild for going on strike, we were able to get Carlos. UC: You got to dig on that, dude. Now,the movie was originally called Supermarket, right? BR: Yeah, yeah. UC: Now, why was -- what’s the deal with the title change? BR: The title change is definitely a Warner Bros. question. When I was brought on it was called Supermarket, and I knew that was a kind of ill-fated title, even though I like it a lot actually. But, because like I was making Alien Raiders right after they finished Rest Stop 2, so I knew there’s the possibility out there that if it did well, that they would want to do a sequel. So, they called it Supermarket, what will be the ads that’s Supermarket will take place in the supermarket, you know, be kind of contrived. UC: Right… BR: So, I knew that was ill-fated. For a long time it was Inhuman, which I love. I thought that was a good title. And you know, Warner ultimately decided to do this, you know, it was definitely their call. I have to say they were really cool with me. I guess any of our casting choices, any of our script changes. You know, they watched the dailies, they were involved but they kind of let me make the movie that I wanted to make. If the title is the big concession that I have to make then that’s not a big deal for me, you know? UC: Well, you know, what’s cool about the movie, and it’s something I really dug because it doesn’t happen often. It started and I am watching and I am digging on the proceedings. But, what I really liked about it is you had no idea what the fuck was going on, other that something urgent was going down, you know what I mean? BR: Yeah. UC: And I love that. I do a lot of complaining and I’m sure you know that if you’ve ever listened to any of the podcasts. BR: And I have. UC: You know, one of my main pet pieves is shaky camp because I think at times it’s over-used and it doesn’t really give you that franatic, you know, feeling that it’s like usually at directors are trying to convey. You know what? You had hand-held camera work in this movie and you got that franatic kind of feeling. But, I could actually see what was going on. So, God bless you for that. BR: Well, I have to give a lot of credit to our cinematographer Walt Lloyd who’s been around for--I mean he shot while -- he’s like the camera operator in the original Hitcher which is probably my favorite of all his credit, obviously. But, he shot like sex, lies and video tape and Short Cut and all those stuff. He is the cinematographer with just an amazing control of his craft. He knows how to give you the exact amount information that you need to see and not give you too much and not to give you too little. Also, again thanks for the writers’ guild strike; we got most of our camera crew from “Lost”, the TV series. And they do a lot of hand-held and out A camera operator was Bobby Hoffman, actually Robert Hoffman’s son. I think if you watch “Lost”, you’ll see a kind of similar style and it’s because the same guy hold of the camera. But, you know -- and we went really shaky like when you see the alien, there’s -- we literally attached the motor to the camera t shake it. To really, to really shake it. Walt -- I can't say enough great things about Walt. He just really had amazing control over what he does. He leaves very little to chance, you know, and he makes sure that you have got it in the can before you move on, you know what I’m saying? UC: Totally. And again, not one point of the movie was I disoriented. BR: Oh, cool. UC: And because that shit, like fucking 30 Days of Night, dude. I wanted to love that movie, you know what I mean? You have this kick-ass vampires and the weather, doing your special effects and every time the vampires do anything they shake the camera like it is a fucking epileptic fit, and it drives me crazy. BR: Oh, you know, I mean and there’s the utility to it, because shaking the camera gives you -- you know, it can make it more scary, it can obscure the monster. But, also like everything else it falls into cliché after a while. You have to, as one of my writing teachers once said, avoid the cliché like the plauge. UC: Totally. Now in terms of the alien, because obviously people know it’s an alien, I guess because it’s not really a spoiler, given the title. But, what was the general idea for the monster, was it always something that would be kind of like The Hidden, and inside or…? BR: Well, I mean The Hidden definitely is a huge inspiration but like when I was brought on, there were two versions of the script. Basically, when I was brought on David Simpkins who had been writing it up at that point of life that has just given birth to twins. He kind of couldn’t work on it anymore, so Julia Fair was brought on to do the rewrite literally, the day after I was brought on to direct it. And she and I sat down and kind of talked morphology. I knew, we knew two things basically; one, Dan Merrick, my executive producer, basically did not want a dude in a big rubber alien running around looking goofy. I personally didn’t want do a CGI creature because, to me, that would look goofier than the goofiest alien that could be ever made. UC: Wait. Hold a second. Let me hold on to that for a second. You didn’t want to do a goofy CGI creature. Thank you. Okay, go ahead, continue. I just, when I hear things like that I just want to hold to them for an extra second or two. Go ahead now…. BR: And you can let that haunt me later in life when I do a CGI goofy creature. UC: I am not going to let you Ben. I refuse to let you. BR: If you ever knew that I’m doing one you can like come and just pull out the hard drive. UC: I’m- -- I’ll be there. BR: I mean, you know -- you kind of like escape from CGI. I mean obviously we have a little bit of CGI, but we tried to do it in a minimal ways possible,using it for things like removing wires, adding sparks filled in the sky, stuff like that. There’s like two or three moments that we probably could have done on our budget what we did without using CGI. But, I tried to do it as minimal as possible, you know. I used to be a special effects make-up artist, so I have an enormous love for the craft. To me kind of following that guideline of no goofy rubber aliens suit and no CGI, like the original version David have written. It was kind of like we where the alien was kind of like wearing human masks. You know, I thought it was cool but I have seen it before. But, Julia and I came up with an idea, actually I was inspired by their… this may be too much information but I’ll tell you anyway. There’s a barnacle that invades a certain breed of green crab. And it takes over the crab, and it walks like a crab and talks like a crab. It’s neutered so it can't be reproduce, it still eats and everything. Then it dies and its shell splits up and a bunch of these barnacles flowed out. I had the idea of what if it was something like that, what if it was something that kind of burrowed into you and kind of took you over and you still kind of looked like you, and talked like you, and walked like you but you weren’t you anymore. I like the idea also like the next question is well how is, it a monster? So, we came up with the idea that when it is threatened, it is like a puffer fish inside your body, and it just ruptures. It just explodes and it shoots you up with like, you know, hormones and adrenalin and whatever, you know, imagine like steroids that work almost instantaneously. It can literally take you back from the dead and just give you super strength. It doesn’t make you immortal or anything like that, but it makes you fairly impervious for a while and that way you can get away and infect somebody else. I like that idea. You know, just- -- Sorry, go ahead. UC: That crab thing is the most heinous thing I have heard in my life. BR: Look it up man, its creepiest shit. UC: That is the most -- that’s the movie right there. Because what happens if somebody eats one of those fucking crabs… BR: I don’t think people eat green crabs, but they are really, really small, but… UC: What if like somebody -- alright, it’s like a crab McNugget. [laughter]. Like fuck I’ll eat that thing. Now, seriously that is just an insane idea, man. This is why I don’t need shellfish when shit like that happens. Ohh fuck. That’s a great premise for your creature. BR: Yeah. You know, honestly I read that probably 10 years ago and I’ve been carrying it around in my. There’s a magazine that I recall The Freudian Times, the Journal of the Weird Phenomena, that’s full of shit like that. I read it every month and I love it because you know, I have -- I’ll pick up an idea like that and you know, one day I’ll be able to apply it in some weird way. I mean it was all in aid of figuring out a way to make this thing be a special effects make-up application. So, really an actor was doing the monster and that, you know, not a stuntman, in a suit and god forbid a guy in a cubicle somewhere. UC: Amen, man. Really, really good, creepy stuff. Now, “24” fans are totally going to be pleased. But, I think “Six Feet Under” fans are going to be just as happy as Matthew St. Patrick’s around. It is so good seeing him out again, man. I don’t think I have seen him in anything since “Six Feet Under”. BR: He has done a couple of things, but yeah, I mean I think this is one of the first big things he has done since -- it shouldn’t be called big thing, but yeah. UC: Like when him and Carlos had their first eye-to-eye scene, I was like this is -- I am in like geek heaven. BR: I know. Well and you know for me a third TV show that I am huge fan of is “Prison Break”, especially the first season. And getting Rockman Dunbar involved was, you know, honestly one of the most experience g guy who play Cain. Honestly, it was like “Six Feet Under”, “24” and especially the first season of the “Prison Break”, three of my favorite shows for the last 10 years. And I actually -- I do some freelance journalism and I actually interviewed Rockman for Backstage West few years ago and because nobody at the backstage who was watching “Prison Break” but me. I remember what a cool guy he was and when the casting director Jack Johnson brought him up I was like, fuck yeah man. I would love to, you know, to get an opportunity to work with him, but it was still nice and you know, I can see him playing the character that austesibly the bad guy. But not making him sound like the central casting evil mean guy who enjoys hurting people bad guy, just the pragmatist who has to say the uncomfortable truth that no one else wants to say, you know what I mean. UC: Not totally. Yeah, good casting choices man and great performances too. It’s one of the few movies that I’ve seen where nobody in the movie got on my nerves. You know, because there’s always that’s fuck-up in the movie that you just like it’s either their performance or their something like please just dispose this character immediately. But, everybody in the movie, I mean it was just a lot of fun man. And the score was minimalist and incredible. I love that. I love that it plays at Christmas time and all that all mayham going on all these Christmas carols playing over the stores Lound. There’s just a lot of really good stuff about it, man. BR: Oh, cool. Thanks. Yeah, I especially hate Christmas music and so my -- I thought if I can at least -- I can disturb -- if I can put the image of people dying in somebody’s head when they hear “Jingle Bells”. Just one person, I have done my job, you know? UC: Oh, god bless your black little heart. Now, you are no stranger to the horror genere too man you were involved a lot with a lot of Blair Witch stuff. BR: Oh, yeah. UC: And I just first of all I want to say that the “Burkitsville 7” and the “Shadows of the Blair Witch” were really kick-ass. I think I liked, I mean I love The Blair Witch Project, fuck everyone who’s like saying that movie sucks because it’s like in vogue to hate that movie now for some reason. BR: Hype kills everything good, you know? UC: I know. But, you know one of the things I loved about the Blair Witch was just the back story stuff, the mythology itself was almost 10 times more interesting than the movie and I don’t think you could really appreciate the movie till you see all the back stage stuff and the behind-the-scenes stuff and just the back story, you know? BR: Yeah. Well and “Burkitsville 7” has a special place in my heart in a lot of ways. It was the first thing I ever get hired to direct and I hadn’t been in LA that long so I was really excited and scared shitless that I was about to destroy my career, you know, whatever. But Artisan had green lighted this weird fucking idea that I pitched to them they wanted a special for show time that didn’t talk about the first Blair Witch at all and didn’t reveal anything about the sequel and so, I pitched in this weird idea and I showed them -- I showed them the Fredrick Wiseman documentary Titiecut Follies. I don't know if you ever seen that. UC: I have heard of it but I haven seen it. BR: I’m sure I havent seen as many horror movies as you have but I have seen a fuck load, the Titicut Follies to this day remains the most-disturbing film I have ever seen. UC: Really? BR: It’s just a documentary in an institution for the mentally or the criminal insane in Massachusetts in the late -- in the early 60’s. “Burkitsvilled 7” kind of documentary within a documentary where you see Kyle Brodie and his celluloid stuff like, you know -- But, we didn’t pull, with the exception of the nose feeding which is the most famous theme from Titicut Follies and what we did in no way is nearly disturbing as what they did. You know, we just -- got made to put it like it could have been it Titicut Ffollies and that actor Davived Gramer, who played Kyle Brodie just went there. He was a force of nature. He’s an amazing actor. UC: Yeah. He was all over the place and that thing dude. He was a scary dude. BR: Yeah. I was scared being in the room shooting that stuff with him. I mean he was -- I wouldn’t say he was out of control because he was not an out of control guy. But, he kind of put himself into that place. I come from theater, and so I have a lot of respect and admiration for actors who can do that. You know, when you are working with somebody like David, really your only job is to just gently move them in the direction you need them to go in and protect them for the rest of the crew asking him stupid questions. David, I mean David freaked me out and I do think we’ve -- you know, again Artisan was a great company to work with because they were really supportive about that project being as disturbing as possible, you know, and it’s not yet another fake documentary, you know like -- who would even think to do that, you know And it’s not a fake documentary in the same vein as the Blair Witch was. It’s not a fake documentary in the same fence as even “Curse of the Blair Witch”. UC: You know what is going to be kind of cool, like after people listen to this like the VHS sales of that shit is going to go up to the roof. BR: I hope so, man. I’m really proud of it and you know, also like my good friend who is no longer with us Neil Fredericks who’s the DP on it. UC: Yeah. He was an amazing talent, man. BR: Neil was was a phenomenal guy. He was so much fun to work with. He was just starting to shoot, and you know, I am just lucky to have collaborated with him and he shot “Burkitsville 7” and “Shadow of the Blair Witch”. And you know, we were able to shoot those on film, you know, that would never happen today. I mean you would bring up film and everyone would laugh you out of the room but like we shot the whole fucking thing on film. UC: Good stuff. BR: Both of them, actually. UC: And Neil is very much missed. He is the talent that was taken from us way, way too soon. BR: Yeah, yeah. I mean it bums me out and you know, we still talk about him a lot and I mean my wife and I had dinner with him like right before he left us, shooted last film, I don't know what with everybody else, but yeah… UC: Yeah. Let’s bring up the tempo just a little bit. BR: Honestly, it’s great to work with him. And you know, people should see his work, you know what I mean? UC: Now absolutely because he did -- I mean so many -- in a short career he turned out a lot of really good stuff and one’s we’re talking about right now are definitely evidence of that, for those that haven’t seen “The Burkitsville7” and “The Shadows of the Blair Witch”, I highly recommended it. It’s really good stuff. BR: Also, he was probably my biggest horror nerd buddy in LA. He’d call me up and he’ll be like, hey dude “you want to go see Ed Gein, hey dude you want to go see Dahmer. You know, it’s like nobody else -- nobody else would have ever called me up to see if I wanted to go see Ed Gein and of course I did, you know. UC: No, totally. You know horror -- it’s just when you have friends that are into it, there’s a certain amount of camaraderie that goes with that you just love. Because you don’t feel like Mr. Sicko or who wants to see Dahmer, you’re just all right let’s go out and have some fun, you know? And that’s good stuff. It’s cool that your first directorial thing was actually in horror genre, with “The Burkitsville 7” and “Shadow of the Blair Witch”, am I correct? BR: Oh, yeah. UC: And now you are continue it with Alien Raiders. So, apparently you are well equipped for this genre. I am wondering if you have anything else coming up? BR: Well, actually I am working right now with the Ed Sanchez, Rob Cowry and Greg Hill and the writer names Mart Patt and I don't know if you know Mark. UC: I know Mark. BR: Okay. It is the script called World Famous. I’ve been developing that with those guys for probably about three or four months right now. Actually Mark sent me the draft today. I think we’re getting pretty close to the draft that they wanted to go out with. They are really happy with the direction we are taking in. Basically, a mistaken identity serial killer movie, in a sense the parallel of the Alien Raiders, it doesn’t take place in real time but it takes basically over the course of a day. It’s not a whole a lot of time to sit around and talk about what is going on, you know, there’s a lot of action. There’s a lot of suspense. And some really kickass set pieces hopefully! We’ve have been working on it for few months. So, there’s that I’ve been also working with a writer named Bob De Rosa, I don't know if you know Bob? UC: I don't know Bob BR: Well, my wife and I developed a script with him called Oblivion that’s kind of mind-fucking thriller. It’s not a supernatural thriller, it’s a metaphysical thriller is what I would call it. UC: As long as not a psychological thriller with supernatural overtones… BR: No. UC: [laughter] I hate those motherfuckers that say shit like that. It drives me crazy. Like dude you are making a horror movie, admit it. BR: I get into arguments with people like I was talking to somebody recently who was telling me that Silence of the Lambs is not a horror movie. And I am like just because it won best picture, does not mean it is not a horror. I said dude making a suit of the skin’s people, to me, I said that is a horror movie. I mean it has thriller elements and I don't know… UC: Some people just don’t realize it. It is like some people think The Birds isn’t a horror movie. Or Jaws is not a horror movie, it’s like what the fuck was wrong with you? BR: I guess they think and it is unfortunate that to a certain degree, genres stuff kind of gets gettoised for a reason that I will never understand. You know, it is like genre stuff typically sells better than anything else. You know, it is a pretty predictable -- I don't know I shouldn’t pick predictable but it is something that when it is done a certain way tends to make money back pretty predictably and you know, people dig it. And then when it’s done, you know, creatively well, you know, those become our favorite films of our entire life. It’s not just guys like you and me. But you know how many people still quote Silence of the Lambs to this day. UC: Find me one person the will quote Dr. Zivagho please. BR: Exactly. Nothing against -- I love all kinds of genres but, you know, I just -- I don’t agree with kind of that sensibility that is somehow that needs anybody to do it. I think that it’s a genre where you don’t need a much budget to make a movie. You don’t necessarily have to have an all-star cast. In fact, an all-star cast might work against you. Because like when you have a really big star in it, you know they either going to have a big death scene or they’re going to live to the end. But the probably going to live to the end, you know. Samuel Jackson in Deep Blue Sea is probably the only time that I’ve ever seen anybody superb my expectations on something like that. I mean that will not happen other time. UC: That was so damn funny. BR: That movie, I mean, it’s yeah, the best moment in many movies. UC: Yeah, good stuff, good, good stuff. BR: Well, like you know, give me -- it’s always a source of kind of frustration that people -- it’s not beneath anybody -- there’s, you know, there’s some of the best work ever that has been done in horror movies or science fiction movies or whatever. You know, I am not going to sit here and say you know, well comedies are less adventurous because I am not a big fan of them. It’s like some people want to watch those, some people want to watch horror movies and a good movie no matter what the genre is something we’ll going to want to see. You know, it doesn’t -- Silence of the Lambs is probably the perfect example. But also Let the Right One In, you know, I don’t know anyone yet who hasn’t liked that movie. UC: If only for the swimming pool scene at the end… BR: Motherfucker that was great. I saw at Fantastic Fest, which is by the way a fucking cool film festival if anyone can go to it. And I had -- I didn’t even know what the movie was about when I went to see it for the first 20 minutes, I thought it was going to be about the serial killer next door mentoring the kid. UC: Right. BR: I had no idea -- I didn’t know, I don’t even what to say what the path was, but you know, in case somebody else is listening who just hasn’t seen it. But the time you get to that end that end shot was a piece of art. It is just beautiful. UC: Yeah, it is. BR: It is beautiful and surprising and perfectly executed, you know, on the one hand like I hope the remake works. On the other hand, I hope they don’t try and copy too much of the original in the remake. UC: I am waiting for them to announce it, the casting of like Dakota Fanning and then I am just going to shoot myself right into the face. BR: Well, you know, the guy who did the Cloverfield doing it and he might have the right touch. I don't know. I hope he does. You know, actually at Fantastic Fest there was -- they do the fantastic debate where they have a debate thing and the audience decides by applause meter. And it was too close, they made the two sides fight literally and like they box. One of them was about remix and it was Jay Slaughter from Dark Side magazine in the UK and Scott Wineberg from Fear Net. And they were -- obviously you can tell a litany of movies that you like, yeah that remake was an abortion why did they do it. And then, you know, Wineberg goes up there and says I have two words for you, The Thing. And of course, like, yeah I can’t argue with that. You can't cut up the good with out the bad too, you know. I wanted or the bad with out the good. I would take every crappy remake ever made if I can have the thing, you know? UC: Well, did -- I mean for me, the only thing that I hope about remakes is they encourage the person to seek out the original material. And that in case, it’s win -- this is fucking can of worms, man for all of the stories. BR: If the material is approached with respect. I’m big believer in focus groups like I show the script to a lot of people. We show the cuts to a lot of people you know, I want to know how people are going to receive it. But, it’s kind of when you are making a project, when you are making a movie, you kind have to be a kind of benevolent dictatorship where like you take that as counsel and do what you’re going to do. If you focus group everything with an inch of its life and you focus group who the cast is, you focus group where the location, whatever, you end up getting a movie made by a committee. And movies made by committees are the problem, not remakes, you know? I mean a great remake is a great movie and should stand on its own. You know, I mean I do think when I hear the remaking Let the Right One In. I was like, you know, that you got to tread carefully there because Let the Right One In is maybe one of the movies that 10 years from now is considered the masterpiece. UC: Right. BR: You know, I would consider it as masterpiece right now, like when somebody want to remake Pan’s Labyrinth I would have a problem with that. It was like it was made right once, you don’t need to remake it righ away. But at the same time if they can go back to the source material and pull something that I didn’t see out of it, I would go and see it with an open mind, maybe. UC: Well, and I think that’s just one of the many curses that we as horror fans have that we’ll go see anything. BR: Oh, yeah. UC: Even if we know that it’s going to suck, we’re still likely to be at cash in hand going to right -- please, in the words of Tom Atkins, fucking thrill me, man. Give me something. BR: Like I wanted to see my wife and I want to see My Bloody Valentine last week, and we were expecting it to suck, we were just expecting it to suck out loud. It looked like in the trailers they were going out their way not to show you any of the movies which is a dead give-away. And we both loved it, you know? UC: Yeah. BR: To me it’s like if you wanted to see My Bloody Valentine in 3D, there you got it. It’s not -- it’s exactly is what it says it is. UC: And you know what, Alien Raiders, you look at a movies like that and pick yourself up. It just has to be a fun movie with the title like that. It can't possibly be something that’s going to be overaught or pretentious. It has to be fun and that was your movie definitely was. And it was a hell of a good time, dude. BR: Oh, thank you. UC: It was a hell of good time. And I think we are just about out of time because it seems like you and me could see -- we’ll go over this for another three fucking hours but I don’t think anyone’s going to listen. BR: I can talk about the shit forever. And I mean, you know, it’s one of my -- this is one of the -- I can assure you the same way, like the running conversations that I have with people a lot, you know. I feel like I haven’t plug the movie enough. That’s it, buy it. UC: Well, let’s do that now; The release date of Alien Raiders on DVD is -- this is your cue. BR: Is on February the 17th. UC: Okay. And it’s from Warner Home Video via the good folks at Raw Feed. BR: It will be available on iTunes and Net Flix, and everywhere that you buy fine motion picture products. UC: So, do that shit, see it, love it, experience it, geek out for Almeda and a gun and aliens and that’s all you really need to do. Man. Ben, thanks so much for your time, brother. BR: Thank you too, man! 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Interview by: Uncle Creepy It's amazing how much the landscape of film has changed. It used to be that direct-to-video features were where all the junk was sent; now it's where all the good stuff is! Such is the case with Ben Rock's Alien Raiders. Aside from being a damned good film, it sports a damned fine cast. Recently I sat down with one of the movie's stars, Mathew St. Patrick, to talk the movie and horror in general. Listen to the interview below, or just scroll down and read it for yourself! Don’t forget to VOTE FOR US ON PODCAST ALLEY! Click here to download our interview with Mathew St. Patrick as an MP3! Click here to listen to the interview on your computer! Click here to subscribe to the Dread Central Interviews podcast! (iTunes) Click here to subscribe to the Dread Central Interviews podcast! (non-iTunes) Uncle Creepy: Hey everybody, Uncle Creepy here for Dread Central, and joining us today is Mathew St. Patrick, one of the stars of Ben Rock’s Alien Raiders. Matthew, how are you, buddy? Mathew St. Patrick: I’m going great, my man, how you doing? UC: Pretty good, man. So hey, Alien Raiders, what a kickass little movie. MSP: [laughter] You know, I thought so as well. I got the script, they sent it to me on a Saturday and said, hey, you know, would you like to be a part of this, and I said, well, let me check it out, take a read. They told me it was kind of a horrorrish film, and I was familiar with some of Ben’s work with regards to other projects that he’d done and Blair Witch and stuff like that. And I have wanted to do a horror movie and I got my chance. UC: Yeah, I mean it was it was a little bit different than I expected it to be because what was cool about Alien Raiders is if it weren’t for the title, for the first few minutes of the movie, you don’t know what the hell is going on. MSP: Exactly! And that, I got to tell you, that was the thing when I read the script that I was hooked on. I kept thinking to myself, what the hell is going on, and that’s good for me because that’s the kind of guy I am. I like to go to the movies and think about, you know, what’s going on, who’s done what and how. I liked to take it apart so that was good for me. UC: Yeah, I mean the movie was a lot of fun from start to finish, you know. There was a lot of guesswork, and man, when the shit hits the fan, the shit really hits the fan. MSP: [laughter] Yeah, kind of goes haywire all at once. UC: Yeah, you know it. Number one, it was great seeing you in a movie because I haven’t seen you in anything since "Six Feet Under" which was, I was a huge fan off. MSP: Oh, thank you very much, man, thank you very much. We had a lot of fun. That was definitely an honor and a blessing to be able to be a part of that. UC: Oh, that show, I’m still pissed off your character went out the way he did, man. MSP: [laughter] You know, I am too. I kept thinking, wait a minute, how come I got to catch the hot lead? [laughter] UC: Keith was a little bit too smart for that, for me, man. MSP: What’s that? UC: Keith was a little bit too smart for that. MSP: Yeah, exactly. I kind of felt the same way. I’m like, wait a minute, he owns the company, why is he out there with his fat ass wobbling around in his gray hair, delivering money by himself? It didn't quite work, but you know, it is what it is and you know…. UC: You ought to call up Alan Ball and be like, “Listen, let me be a vamp in 'True Blood', so I can bite you on the ass, man.” MSP: Yeah [laughter], I think he’s got enough calls going on over there. They’re doing a good job with that show. UC: Yeah, it’s good stuff. MSP: A really good job. UC: But let’s get back to Alien Raiders ‘cause I can talk about "Six Feet Under" for like years, and that’s not where we’re here to do. [laughter] MSP: All good with me. UC: You know what is cool, too? I mean, I got this movie, I really was expecting nothing from it, right, and I popped it in and all of a sudden, there was you who I've said I totally dig for ‘cause I’m a big fan of "Six Feet Under", and not only that, but you’re starring opposite motherfuckin’ Tony Almeida! You know, Carlos Bernard from "24". Dude, I’m in geek heaven at this point. MSP: [laughter] Yeah, that was, you know, that was a lot of fun, it was a hell of a shoot. It felt like, you know, we slammed it all together in two weeks. It took longer, but it was a heck of a shooting schedule, you know, and the cast … the ensemble was really great, you know, really great. I wanted to be a part of it and just kind of jumped in, man. UC: Yeah, when you had your scene with Carlos, it was like two worlds coming together when you finally went face to face, it was ….. MSP: Yeah, yeah, I kind of [laughter], I kind of felt like I was getting my chain pulled, and he was calling all the shots and I finally had him. I got to say wait a minute, listen asshole, you know, this is the deal. I’m here to get my daughter and all the rest of this nonsense is great, but I need to see my daughter. I need to see her now and I’m not doing nothing else until that happens. UC: [laughter] Now, is this the first kind of horror movie you’ve been in? MSP: Ever. UC: What was it like working in a genre movie? ‘Cause, I’ve got to tell you, I’ve been on a lot of sets, man, and horror movie sets, they’re always so much freaking fun. MSP: Yeah, it was, it was creepy because you never knew what you were going to see when you came to work. [laughter] No idea and because, you know, I love what we do, as actors, a lot of times, when I’m not shooting, I’ll just show up and watch, really kind of sink my teeth in and spend some time with the directors and the DP and check out how they’re setting up shots and why they have chosen to do that, those kinds of things, and just kind of watch the whole process because I’m interested in the entire process. But you know, it was my first time and I loved it; that’s what drew me to it. It’s like a horror movie, absolutely. You know, give me the script, I’ll take a look at it. For me it was about expanding my foundation and doing something completely different. I would watch these shows and go, wait a minute. I'd like to jump in, you know, sink my teeth into something like this, and then this thing came along, and it was a great time. We were just about doing a strike and I got a call from these guys and read it and called them back and said, "I’m in." UC: You know what’s really cool about your character in the movie, and also, it could either be you’re a real good actor but I kind of get the feel, your personality as well, you’re a very rational guy. MSP: Yeah. I would definitely say that UC: You know, and your shit is crazier shit. In the movie, you know, things are going on in the supermarket, it’s out of control, but outside, you’re like the voice of everyone else going, what the hell is going on in there? MSP: Yeah, I mean because, you know, when you think you hear all these crazy noises, you hear screams, you hear stuff that doesn’t sound like it’s from this world, and you can’t even imagine, I mean you really, you know, it takes your imagination on the wild ride. Sometimes you think it’s out of control in there, and other times it seems like things are under control and it’s just, it makes you think a great deal about the potentials. And until you start to talk to, you know, people on the inside, and start to try to put the pieces of the puzzle together, you are completely in the dark about what’s going on in there, you know, some people are kind of taking it serious, other people aren’t, and you know, my thing is that, my daughter is in there. You know, in the midst of this craziness, so it was a pretty wild ride. UC: Yeah now, speaking of wild -- Ben Rock. This dude is a madman. MSP: [laughter] You hit the nail on the head, my man; he is definitely a wild one, and I’ve gotten a chance to spend some time with him off the set. I mean, he is a really, really great guy, and I look forward to working with him in the future. We’ve definitely talked about that, but he's a wild man. He’s very humble as well because I didn’t know, you know, what he had done before until I kind of started digging a little deeper. I knew that he was associated with Blair Witch but to what degree I didn’t know, and it was only because of other people that have worked with him and his wife actually… UC: Alicia, yes, she’s a sweetheart. MSP: Alicia told me, you know, what he had done, but he’s very, very humble. And he’s got really a good eye, is patient…. UC: He knows exactly what he wants. MSP: He does, very creative, very, very creative, yeah, and he knows what, you’re right, he knows what he wants. And you know, he likes to collaborate, which is really great. Anytime you get a director who really has a certain idea for what they want, but at the same time, they’re really willing to open up and get your opinion and let you kind of go to the places your own way, I think there’s a great future for those types of directors. UC: Yeah, and I’m totally with you on the humble thing ‘cause I was talking to my girlfriend Debi, and I’m a huge Blair Witch fan … I love that movie, and she says, you know, he made the stick man, right? MSP: Yeah, how about that, right? [laughter] UC: I went, what? [laughter] Really? And then I called him. I’m like, Ben, you made the motherfucking stick man? [laughter] MSP: Yeah, he’s very humble, man, he’s really, really humble, but what a great guy and really creative, you know, he really is. I’m just happy for him. I talked to him the other day, and I just told him, I said, you know, I’m glad that you’re happy with your first feature piece, that it was all you, you know what I mean? I mean that’s a big accomplishment. UC: And you know what? I sit through a lot of movies as you could well imagine, but this movie I think it easily could have gone theatrical and what he did was fine. MSP: You know, thank you for that, and I hope you told Ben that. I haven’t had the chance to see it at all. I haven’t seen the finished product at all, but I will be checking it out, I think on Thursday, there’s a screening of it on Thursday, and I’m going to go and see it, and he’s going to be there. Looking forward to checking out some of the cast members, Samantha Streets, you know, Rockmond, I don’t know if he is going to be around, but some of the other actors. I’m looking forward to seeing them again and checking this thing out. But I’ve been hearing nothing but great things, you know, in terms of reviews, and I look forward to it, man. UC: Yeah, I mean it’s really well done, and the second it was over, I was like, you know, I could easily have gone to see it in the theatre and even gone again, to just take it in again, you know. MSP: Wow! Okay, now you’re getting my expectations way up, you know that, right? UC: Well, as long as you could see it… MSP: Great things, but you're really pumping this up. [laughter] UC: Well, don’t blame me if you don’t like it, man. I don’t want the angry phone calls at three a.m. going, listen bitch, you know. MSP: Of course, I’ll like it, come on now, come on, I’m sure I’ll like it. You know, we talked about the whole theatrical thing, and you know, we just said, listen, go knock them out. It’s a video, but then that will open up the doors for the other possibilities. It’s nice, too, as a director, of course, as an actor, you want to be a part of the big dance, you know, the theatres, and you know, I respect that a great deal, I understand it. We’re passionate, we love what we do and we want our pieces and whatever we do to be seen by the biggest audiences, but I think, for Ben in this particular case, I think it’s really great, I think this is going to give him a real opportunity to do something in the feature world that he really, you know, that is looking forward to. And he will have this to say he’s proven himself, he’s not, you know, it’s not like he’s doing a feature and then they say, oh , you know what, it was terrible, why don’t we give you this straight to video type deal, you know what I’m saying? He’s shown, as far as I’m concerned, he has really shown what he can do with the budget and the time period, the time constraints and all those things, I mean, I don’t know that that guy got two hours of sleep the entire time we were shooting, I mean, he was just… UC: I don’t think he's slept yet, man. MSP: No, I don’t think so at all. [laughter] I don’t think so. I hope he is getting some sleep now. [laughter] I hope he is getting some sleep now. UC: So hopefully, I think it will open the door for Ben, but also I really dug seeing you working within the horror genre. Would you do another one? MSP: Absolutely, absolutely. I’m actually looking at a psychological thriller right now that we’ll have some idea about on Monday, whether it's going to happen or not, but yeah, I would love to do a horror project, man, I would love to. And just for the people out there that are fans, when I first read the script, I wanted to play the character that Bernard got, you know, that was the character, but he was already there, they already had the offer out to him. He was like, “I want to be something different, not only do I want to do it in a different genre, but I want to play a different character.” But you know, if you want to be a part of it, and that’s already offered, you still get to be a part of it and then you get to pick something on the next project. UC: Well, we look forward to seeing you …. MSP: Part of the building blocks, man. UC: Totally, dude, we look forward to seeing whatever you got cooking, brother. MSP: Oh, thanks a lot, man. You know, I have been working, I have been working, definitely. I did a project with Jet Li and Jason Statham for Lionsgate called War, and that was, you know, that was pretty good. I’ve done a couple other TV shows, written a one-hour drama, and I’m doing rewrites on something right now, and I’m trying to take that out during the buying season in July, and I’ve got a documentary that I’m producing, so I’m busy. UC: Wow, good for you, man. Sounds like your plate is pretty full. MSP: Yeah, but I always make room. [laughter]. I always make room. This has been great, man. Thank you very much. UC: Totally, dude. We’re just about out of time, but really, thank you so much for taking time out of your I’m sure real busy schedule to just bullshit with us for a little bit. MSP: Nah, man, this has been great. I’m just, you know, I’m glad that we could make some time to get it in. UC: Yeah, man. MSP: Thanks for your opinion about the film. We definitely appreciate it, man. We put a lot of hard work in. It’s really nice, you know, I’m really happy for Ben. I can’t say that enough, the willingness of the guy to be under the pressure and all of those things of making the project in the time period. When you set goals, when you have to get it together … I mean, all of those things … for him to come through the way he did, I never saw that cat lose his temper, not once, not once. And that’s a hell of a, you know, that’s a hell of a situation to be in and not blow it once. And I was there pretty much, you know, every day, but even simpler, even when he was frustrated, he'd just kind of carry through and got it done, and you know, I look for more things that come from him. UC: God bless. [laughter] MSP: Absolutely. UC: Matthew, thank you so much for your time, brother. MSP: You got it, man; have a great weekend. UC: You too. This is Uncle Creepy for Dread Central signing off. Discuss this interview in the Dread Central forums!