Exclusive Interview: Graham Skipper Talks Disturbing DEMENTIA PART II
Michelle Swope
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Are you making an effort to watch independent horror? If not, you are truly missing out on some of the most creative genre film out there. Actor/producer/director Graham Skipper is extremely well known and respected in the indie horror community. He directed Sequence Break (2017) and has starred in numerous indie films. Including The Mind’s Eye (2015), Psychopaths (2017), and Bliss (2019).
Also Read: Behold the Disgusting & Bloody New Trailer for DEMENTIA PART II
Multi-talented Actor/producer/director Matt Mercer is also a favorite in indie horror. He has starred in films like Beyond The Gates (2016) and Psychopaths (2017). Mercer teamed up with Cinematographer/director Mike Testin (The Salesman, Dementia) to write and direct the new film Dementia Part II, which Mercer also stars in, along with Graham Skipper. The film also stars the wonderful Najarra Townsend (Contracted, The Stylist) and Suzanne Voss (The Lords of Salem, Dementia).
The horror/comedy, Dementia Part II, was shot in four days in black and white. It was an official selection at both FrightFest and Sitges Film Festival in 2018. The film follows a guy named Wendell, played by Matt Mercer. He is on parole and trying to find a job. Before his coldhearted parole officer Reggie (Graham Skipper) has him thrown back in jail. Then Wendell takes a handyman job at the home of a kindly elderly lady named Suzanne (Suzanne Voss). But all hell breaks loose, and things go from weird to icky and gooey surprisingly fast.
Dread Central was delighted to have the opportunity to talk with Graham Skipper about Dementia Part II. Plus working with co-stars Matt Mercer, Najarra Townsend, and Suzanne Voss. And also the gory practical effects, and a lot more. Read on to find out what we talked about!
Also Read: Graham Skipper’s SEQUENCE BREAK Premieres on Shudder This Month
Synopsis: Wendell (Matt Mercer) receives a threatening phone call from his parole officer Reggie (Graham Skipper). If he doesn’t find a job immediately, he will face serious legal repercussions. Wendell wrangles some home maintenance work for a seemingly benign older woman, Suzanne (Suzanne Voss). She persists in giving him increasingly absurd tasks to complete around the house. As the workday progresses, Wendell is thrown into an ever-escalating nightmare, and comes face to face with an unexpected evil. Suzanne hides a dark secret. And it’s up to Wendell and Suzanne’s daughter, Sheila (Najarra Townsend) to put an end to her madness.
Dread Central: I watched Dementia Part II and I loved it! It’s so much fun!
Graham Skipper: It’s pretty bonkers, isn’t it?
DC: It is, in the best sort of way! It was written and directed by Matt Mercer. He also stars in the film. I know that you worked with Matt on The Mind’s Eye. What appealed to you most about being part of this project and playing the role of Reggie?
Graham Skipper: You know really, Matt just gave me a call, he and I are friends, we talk all the time, and he gave me a call and said, “Hey look, we’re going to film this movie, we have to do it in four days. Are you willing to come and play the total sleazebag asshole for a day?” And I said, “Sure, sounds great!” That was really it.
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I just love working with Matt and Mike on everything, and of course Najarra Townsend is in it. I’d always loved her work but never got to work with her before and it was like, let’s go hang out on set for a day and have some fun, and that’s really what it was. I tend to play good guys I guess, so the idea of playing a sleaze like Reggie just really appealed to me, plus I got to berate Matt Mercer relentlessly for an entire day, which was also fun.
DC: Yeah, Matt’s character is having a tough time in this movie. You definitely did! What was it like working with Matt and Mike as co-directors on this film?
GS: It was great. I’m buds with both of them, they’re both extremely talented. Mike Testin can make anything look beautiful, including me and Matt. They both just knew what they wanted, or at least knew the direction they wanted to go, and because we are all friends and collaborators anyway, it lent itself to an air of just general collaboration on set where we were able to play and figure out what we were doing. And also, the fact that we had to shoot it so fast, where you just had to make a bold choice and go with it, you had to move on, that helped a lot too, it was just a blast.
DC: This movie is a lot of fun and it’s unbelievably gory. It looks like everyone had such a good time making this movie. How much fun was it, behind the scenes, while you guys were making this?
Also Read: Exclusive: Graham Skipper Talks The Mind’s Eye, Re-Animator the Musical Album, and More
GS: It was really fun. I was only there one day, the whole movie I think was shot over four days and so all of my stuff was shot in one day, which was crazy. I think the night before Matt sent me all my pages and I was like, “Okay, how many pages are we doing tomorrow?” Because normally, I don’t know, you’ll do eight pages in a day, something like that, and he said, “Oh no, we’re doing all of them.” [laughs]
It was fast and loose, very relaxed and fun. To my recollection, it was me, Matt, Mike, Najarra and I think Matt’s mom dropping off lunch, and that was it. It felt a lot like, and I mean this in the best possible way, if you’re with your friends and you’re in middle school and playing dress up together and pretending to be knights of the woods or something, it felt like that. We were all friends, having a great time and yes, we were under a huge amount of stress to get the thing done in time but there wasn’t a negative soul on that set.
DC: You mentioned Najarra Townsend, I’m a huge fan of hers as well. She stars in the film, and Suzanne Voss, who is hilarious and so crazy in this movie! What was it like working with the two of them on this?
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GS: I mean yeah, it was great. I’ve been a fan of Najarra for a long time, so it was really fun to get to work with her. She’s just so nice and sweet and very, very friendly. We got along very well immediately, and then Suzanne; I’d never met her before. It was funny because when I arrived, she was already in her, you know, goopy state. [laughs] She was already pretty far gone, wearing the contacts and everything, so that’s the way I met her, but it was great.
She’s a pro, we had fun, we figured out some fun little moments together and we really bonded when the film played at FrightFest in London a couple years ago. Me and Matt, Najarra and Suzanne were all there together and so we got to hang out quite a bit there. That was really fun. I like Suzanne a lot and I think she is frigging incredible in this movie. I’m petitioning for her to get a Chainsaw Award for this when that comes back around.
DC: I’m not going to give too much away in terms of what happens, especially with your character Reggie. There are some pretty insane, over-the-top practical effects, including some with your character. What was that like?
Also Read: Pump Some Quarters in This Trailer For Disturbing Sequence Break
GS: I mean, I love getting messy, and at this point it’s kind of par for the course for me when I step on a film set, you know at some point I’m going to get bloody. This was really fun because it was Matt putting stuff on my belly, putting blood on me and trying to decide what looks the gnarliest. Again, that just lent to that sense of fun. Being on set with a bunch of friends, figuring out what looks the gnarliest, what’s going to be the grossest, and how are we going to gross people out the most, laughing about it and then we shot it, and now it’s coming out in theaters, it’s crazy.
DC: Dementia Part II is coming out on the 21st, but I also want to know what else you’ve been working on. I think I might have seen you on Twitter mention something about working on a new movie with Jeremy Gardner. Can you give me the scoop on that?
GS: Sure. I’m trying to remember what was in the press release. It’s a movie by Eric Pennycoff called The Leech. It’s super fun, it’s a comedy, and it’s me, Jeremy, and Taylor Zaudtke. It is a fun little horror/comedy where I play a priest, and I am doing my best to be a good soul and help out Jeremy and Taylor and things go really horribly, horribly wrong. It’s really fun, I’m really proud of the film. Basically, getting to be in a COVID bubble with Jeremy and Taylor and the few people on the crew, it was a really fun experience.
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That was its own challenge, filming during COVID but yeah, the movie is great, totally bonkers. I can’t wait to see it and I know it’s going to feel pretty electric when it’s finished. Getting to act off of Jeremy, and Taylor for that matter, there was just such an awesome chemistry that we found. I’m very excited to see our performances and very excited for other people to see them and I think this movie is going to be pretty wild. People are going to be excited to see this one.
Dark Star Pictures and Bloody Disgusting will release the midnight horror film Dementia Part II in theaters on May 21st and on VOD, Digital HD and DVD on June 1st.
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