Tales of a Teenage Vaudeville Vampire: An Interview with Dr. Jimmy Terror

Dr. Jimmy Terror, more commonly known as James P. Harris, has been “writing your eyes” shut since 2010 with his horror themed blog, Dr. Terror’s Blog of Horrors (whose name is a play on words derived from the Amicus film, Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors). While relatively new to writing for the internet, James has been creating horror fiction for quite some time with relatively low exposure to the public at large. In the early 2000’s he fronted the band The Vaudeville Vampires, a short-lived Horrorabilly band which saw the creation of a catalog of horror related songs before disbanding (with only one, six song demo ever being produced and distributed). He has had only one on screen appearance to date in the horror short, Ocean Parkway, as maniacal, gloved killer with a hair fetish. Having done some un-credited, behind the scenes work in some low budget genre pictures, he is currently working on his first foray into screenwriting with a demonic, retro gore entry that pays homage to Lucio Fulci, Dario Argento as well as other Italian masters of the genre.

James considers the horror genre to be a passion and an obsession. Comedy combined with horror, when done properly, accentuate the best in each genre. It is this amalgam that is his reason for writing, watching and reviewing horror cinema and literature.

Dr. Terror’s Blog of Horrors:

http://drterrorsblogofhorrors.blogspot.com/

Facebook Page for Dr. Terror’s Blog of Horrors:

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Dr-Terrors-Blog-of-Horrors/113905488629738

Dr. Jimmy Terror on Twitter:

http://twitter.com/#!/DrJimmyTerror

MySpace Page for Dr. Terror’s Blog of Horrors/Dr. Jimmy Terror:

http://www.myspace.com/drjimmyterror

What is the current project you are working on?

I’m always updating Dr. Terror’s Blog of Horrors for starters. Blogging is part journalism (most would say a very small part), part standup comedy and part soap box rant. It’s a work in progress; ever evolving.

Other than the everyday blog I’m working on reforming my band from the early 2000’s, The Vaudeville Vampires. It was an attempt at novelty based horrorabilly ala the Misfits, Boris Pickett and White Zombie. It’s a non-music genre specific band and solely bases its content on the horror genre. You might find a horror folk tune just as soon as you’d find a show tune. We love non-traditional horror cover songs so you might catch us doing songs from the movie The Prowler from the band Nowherefast or something from Return of the Living Dead. Maybe some Dokken. Without music genre to conform to the grave’s the limit.

Also, and this is very exciting for me, I’ve started writing my first screen play. I’ve always wanted to throw my hat into the ring with actual horror movie production, so maybe this is my shot. If we don’t get to actually make the flick at least we can try to get someone infinitely more talented to read the thing and maybe have a go at it.

Have you always been interested in the horror genre?

Ever since I was four years old. My father was somewhat unscrupulous and had me watching the Exorcist and Halloween at a very young age. My favorite was Jaws which I saw on television right around that same time. My dad was always great at putting everything from B horror on Commander USA’s Groovie Movies to classic Universal monster pictures. He had me watching silent movies before I could read to understand them. He also had an amazing assortment of Stephen King novels on the shelf which was also layered with various copies of Dracula, Benchley’s Jaws and The Exorcist. My favorites were his classic copies of Famous Monsters of Filmland and the Creepshow comic adaptation. Between his love of the horror and sci-fi genres combined with being born one week before Halloween, how could I not grow up a genre fan boy?

What inspired you to create your blog?

It was a combination of reading the Bloodsprayer.com especially Saucerman and Kristy Jett. I loved the sites logo and their wit. I always wanted to be a late night horror host, but that’s tricky thing to be with cable network domination of programming. The Networks were all bought out by large conglomerates and now you have to fight to be on TCM or AMC rather than WPIX 11. It’s that or start an internet based show which feels a bit saturated at the moment. Don’t get me wrong, I adore what people are doing. I just don’t know where I fit in. So the blog is my first step toward hosting. Since the internet is the new TV I can see that horror bloggers are the “horror hosts” for this generation.

So the blog is a kind of a thing I’ve always wanted to pursue. It’s my love of horror and megalomaniacal need to spread my opinions about everything over the inter-web. That and my wife hates horror and refuses to talk about it. Everyone needs an outlet you know? Who can you chat up Cannibal Holocaust with?

What is the best thing about having a blog?

The chance to be creative in a genre I love. You can only come up with so many one liners to respond to status updates on social networking sites. Horror fans deserve to laugh. We a fan base who still understand why Abbott & Costello were funny. We love the 80’s. We know why My Best Friend is a Vampire and Student Bodies are funny.

What is the worst thing about having one?

Trying to figure out how to promote it and find the small pockets of readers out there. I won’t say that I write content specifically marketed at horror fans, but I hope that at least some of it is relevant enough to capture their attentions. I’m not writing a “news” blog so that limits the people who actually care to read opinions on older material. You suffer from the same issues that magazines have only you can’t afford to pay for advertising.

That and everything’s been written about. Horror fans leave no stone unturned. There’s probably a blog out there speculating as to the outcome of the role playing game between Joey and Will right before Laurence Fishburne calls for lights out. I truly try not to step on anyone’s toes or tackle a different aspect of some of the obscure, but you’re bound to piss of somebody. If nothing else it forces you to be more creative so as long as I don’t have writer’s block it’s more of a challenge than a problem.

What is the estimated number of projects you have worked on?

If we’re talking strictly horror based products then seven or so. I’ve played in many bands outside of the horror genre. Some of which I actually enjoyed playing in and some I’d rather forget. I’ve done some behind the scenes work in some student films. I got to play a killer with a hair fetish in one. That’s probably out there on the net in black and white and host on 16mm no less (sound track my Cicone Youth). Never let them talk you into standing in a closet with a wool jacket with camera lighting especially with an inexperienced director. Just you try not to sweat.

Who is your favorite filmmaker?

That’s a rough question for a horror fan. It’s really a mood based thing, but Lucio Fulci knows how to push my buttons. If he isn’t grossing me out than he’s giving me the heebie jeebies; his bag of tricks are numerous and eclectic. That damn tarantula scene came as an unexpected surprise watching 7 Doors of Death for the first time (not The Beyond version mind you… and on VHS). His zombies are more disgusting than traditional Romero zombies even though they are extrapolated from Romero zombies. He always used the best soundtrack creators. Favorite film by him varies as to my mood by City of the Living Dead and The Beyond always beat the others out. I’ll watch any of them. Any time. I’m due for another viewing of House by the Cemetery.

The Italian horror directors are my favorite as a whole. Those guys know how to give you just enough gore, deviousness, naked super vixens and taboo twists to keep you entertained. Usually dubbed to imperfection and cut a thousand different ways for American audiences.

How has your life changed since you created your blog?

I sleep less. Writing time with kids in the house is pretty scarce. I wait till everyone makes their way into bed. As soon as I know their asleep I have to write for my life to get my ideas on paper. I love the occasional 5am, can’t get back to sleep blog. I’m truly a morning person; especially in autumn when the weather gets chilly and I can really enjoy a cup of coffee and a blog.

Blogging is therapeutic. You’ll never realize how many demons you can unlock and kill in a few weeks of blogging. It’s one step off Freudian psychoanalysis. At least I bet my readers probably feel I have a number of issues that are therapy worthy. Only my psychologist knows for sure.

The people I’ve met since I’ve started blogging have become true fast friends. The minute you commit to putting out your thoughts people will love to criticize you, but horror fans can be equally loving and as loyal as the toys you had when you were a kid. I wouldn’t trade them for the world and they help to make my shameless self promotion on Facebook or Twitter a pleasure.

What is one piece of advice you can give to someone who also wants to make it in the movie business?

Having not “made it’ per say I’d be guessing, but it’s pretty simple: Work your ass off. Don’t sleep. Drink more coffee and love what you do. Love it because if no one else does, at least you can be proud. Talk to everyone. Everyone knows somebody and even if it yields no “networking opportunities” you have made great friends. Have fun. OH… and WORK… YOUR… ASS… OFF!!!

What do you like to do besides blogging?

It’s the little things really. Mowing the lawn and listening to hair raising death metal. Spending time with my daughter and wife (everyone like’s Scooby Doo so my love for horror is rubbing off somewhere).

I love to play guitar. Even outside of playing in a band. I love playing surf rock stuff ala the Ventures, Santo and Johnny, The Tornados. I love playing Rock N’ Roll. I listen to quite a lot of death metal (all types).

I know it’ll sound silly, but I love to “study” horror movies and literature about horror movies. Cinema in general. I consider myself a lifelong student, my major is horror. It’s very dork of me. If this whole screenplay author/blog writer/horror host/horrabilly performer doesn’t work out I could always teach (Miskatonic University hiring?)

Have you had any other jobs before you decided to create your blog?

Many. Everything from Laundromat attendant, gas station attendant to volunteer for Clean Water Action, record store clerk, Blockbuster video. I was a Census Worker and luckily never encountered Hannibal Lectur. Currently working in the insurance field helping little non profits get insured. I love my job dearly, but water cooler conversations about the I Spit on Your Grave remake don’t always go over well. I’m still trying to figure out how to explain Human Centipede or A Serbian Film to these guys.

What are some of your favorite American films? Foreign films? Television shows?

American Films: Grindhouse. That’s the penultimate for me. It’s the movie that incorporates everything I love into one tight little package. Both parts. Shown together with faux advertisements and trailers. I can’t wait till they put that one back in the drive-in or make a sequel. I’m a huge Rob Zombie fan… movies, music… comics. Jaws, The Exorcist, Any Universal Monster picture. I love Herschell Gordon Lewis’s gore fests from the 60’s. That Crayola red blood is very off-putting. Hostel and its delicious sequel. Eli Roth needs to make more movies. It’s almost better to go through what I don’t like in horror cinema, but those come to mind right off the bat. Creepshow.

Foreign Films: Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors, Tales from the Crypt, Fontier(s), The Troll Hunter, Let the Right One In, [REC]. Most all old Argento and Fulci. For some reason I can’t stop watching Cannibal Holocaust lately. Got to see that on the big screen in 35mm at the Hudson Horror Show in Poughkeepsie, NY this past May and my life hasn’t been the same. I’m a sucker for Giallo, Amicus, American International, Hammer.

Televison: I’m a True Blood junkie. It’s the one show my wife will actually watch with me. I’d speculate she even likes that series more than I do. I love the Twilight Zone and Tales from the Darkside. American Pickers (because I keep waiting for the Halloween edition). I love the Shatner Star Trek. Elvira when I can find her on. I love horror hosts. I miss Rhonda Sheer and Zacherle. I miss Haunted Hollywood and Creature Feature week. I’m working on VHS rip project. I have all these old shows taped by my dad in the 80’s. I’m working on pulling out the commercials and horror host related material.

How would you describe your film education?

I’ve taken a couple of classes in film and sat in on a few classes with friends in college. Best film class I ever took was in High School. We had an English teacher who decided to teach an elective film class, didn’t know what to teach so she found herself a college text book and went to town. We were watching Birth of a Nation, the Bicycle Thief, Un Chien Andalou, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Blue Angel… everything. I still love the term Mise en Scene.

Beyond that I simply watch a lot of movies. I try to make little lesson plans. Little class if you will. I’ll do studies in the horror films of India or Eastern Europe. Sometimes I’ll pick an era or genre. One fun game I play is go through HorrorHound magazine and try to locate as many movies as I can from the VHS archives. Since quite a few of these haven’t been released on DVD it’s a real chore but fun and educational.

I love reading horror non-fiction. Bios. How to books on makeup creation or Lloyd Kaufman. I collect pictorial histories of horror films. I’ve got a couple classics that need to be scanned to the internet for all to see. Maybe I’ll make a blog out of it. You can learn so much from what was popular and put into one of these pictorial feature books. Oh, and in my blog I do a feature currently under “Fangoria for Dummies” which goes back and revisits older issues of Fango. I’m working through every issue I can find. There’s a wealth of horror knowledge in them there pages. Start at the beginning… I’m still amazed at the initial press behind Friday the 13th pre-Nightmare on Elm Street.

How would you describe the film "scene" where you live?

No scene… I suppose you could call it “The Undiscovered Scene”. I live in rural/suburban, northwest New Jersey. New York is pretty close and that’s hotbed of great cinematic activity, but it’s overcrowded, hard to get into. I live 30 minutes away from where the original Friday the 13th was shot. The documentary Cropsey was made a little over an hour away in Staten Island. The Misfits were found in Lodi… an hour east of here. The next big step for Dr. Terror is to make the scene in town. Start with the Vaudeville Vampires band project and then push out into some 35mm screenings of some classics at the local trash theatre nearby. Then push the semi-local drive-in movie theatre to play a double feature of the Blob and Bloodfeast. You make your scene. Maybe there’s one just waiting to pop up. Every time I throw around the idea of making a movie, people raise their hand to help out. They’ll get their change, wallet willing.

But living in New Jersey is living in the largest scene you can imagine. From the moment you get a car, you’re taking girls down Shades of Death Rd. or to gravity hill or to Colby Mansion (RIP) or Blairsden or… name your Weird NJ article. We were hunting ghosts before Ghost Hunters International made it big. So the film scene is an extension of that I suppose. You just have to cultivate that into a creative force. Get the butts in the seats of your horror movie screenings and death rock performances. It’s ripe.

How has social media changed the independent film industry?

The independent film industry has a voice. You can get all your friends to chip in $5 to help make your movie or distribute your favorite classics 80’s horror picture (see Kristy Jett’s Popcorn fundraising project folks… fund it). Everyone’s making a movie. Everyone’s telling you about it on Facebook or Tweeting it. It’s oversaturated for certain. I’m sure they’ll be some attrition and film industry Darwinsim, but that’s the best reason to keep the whole mean green, social networking machine moving. What’s good for horror is more people watching foreign horror pictures; watching more movies from the After Dark series. What’s good for horror is hopping on YouTube and watching horror hosts shake their thing. Best way to find out what’s not sh#t… hop on Facebook and see what the mass is saying. Throw your favorites on Twitter and see if they stick.

They danger in all of this of course is how will the independent film industry survive with the oversaturation. How will they survive when people can’t decide between the latest Blu-Ray release of a classic exploitation flick and The No-Name flick of the hour? The challenge of the Independent Film Industry is find a revenue stream that makes sense. DVD/Blu-Ray sales won’t do the trick. Paying a $1 on iTunes… getting closer. Give ‘em away for free and advertise a tangible product? It’s a slippery slope but if it wasn’t for Acuna Boys Tex-Mex food, how would Grindhouse ever been shown?

What's your opinion on crowd funding?

It’s a great way to fund projects but I think oversaturation could put a quick end to it. When you can’t get funding for pictures of major studios or even B or C players… when there’s no wealthy oil tycoon to fund your picture (and put his son in there to boot) then you either shell out the bucks yourself or you have to ask mom and dad… or you can ask your buddies on the great big social network. I think the key to making a successful go at crowd funding would be to take a business course, read some books, get yourself on some student films at the very least and learn how much you’re really gonna need. I’m going through this dilemma as we speak. Writing a screenplay… how am I gonna fund this thing once it’s written? I’ll probably self fund it. It is a labor of love after all. For the fans (especially fans of 80’s pictures, Italian films and movies about demons). But the thought has crossed my mind to ask the masses. That’s a little bit off, but part of me would prefer to do it on a zero budget than reach out to genre fans. They need to put their well earned dollars into signatures of Zacherle and Claudio Simonetti, damn it!

How does independent film differ from the mainstream?

Mainstream seems to be spending their money on all the wrong things. The big star system isn’t dead, but it’s wasteful (just ask Troma). There’s no reason to spend endless millions on a picture. The money spent hardly makes them scarier. Look at Insidious. What did they spend? A million bucks? A very creepy little film indeed. Look at foreign film producers. They make heart stopping horror films on a shoestring budget. Then some American movie machine comes in and buys the rights, spend an exorbitant amount of a cash and usually ends up making an inferior movie. Horror movies do not need big budgets and that’s the beauty of them. They do well with small budgets.

Also, independent film isn’t afraid of the big, bad R rating. Mainstream Hollywood is turning down excellent, creative ideas left and right to avoid the R rating. I’m not saying you need to have a curse word counter to make a successful movie, but let the directors and writers tell some stories. I can’t tell you how many sequels to franchises are not getting made because R is almost as dirty as NC-17 is in a theatre. That all comes down to the mainsteam money machine. That’s not good for film or horror.

You could go back in time and see any classic film being made. Which film would it be and why?

H.G. Lewis’s, 2000 Maniacs. I’d love to see how the cast reacted to having gallons of fake blood dumped on them after seeing a prosthetic version of their limb be shown to them. Probably a pretty fun set to be on. It’s the mid-60’s and you have the opportunity to change violent content in cinema forever by tackling a pretty controversial topic. I wouldn’t mind cookin’ the whole crew up some barbeque and pouring a nice tall class of Sarsaparilla. I’d love to help out the effects crew.

It’s that or Texas Chainsaw Massacre pt 2. I imagine there was some great chili being served on that set. Get to meet Bill Mosely, Tobe Hooper, Dennis Hopper.

What's your favorite movie quote and why?

I think that I am familiar with the fact that you are going to ignore this particular problem until it swims up and BITES YOU ON THE ASS – Matt Hooper from Jaws.

I love Jaws. I think summer time is where horror lives (aside from the month of October). Think of all the summer camp movies. It’s the perfect time to where fewer clothes. Oh, and you get to watch Jaws and then… go to the beach. Hooper’s character is funny, he’s the voice of reason… He’s up against the mayor of Amityville. He’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington with a boat. Great character. Great line.

You could have any super power. What would it be?

My power would be to be able to insert myself into any film I wished. Think of the movie Waxwork from 1988. You’d get to act, for real, in some of the most fascinating moments in cinema history. The threat of death is real of course. I’d love to go to Sleepaway Camp 2 and meet Ally (Valerie Hartman). I always wondered how I’d fair in a zombie apocalypse, so Dawn of the Dead it is. So many movies. So little time.

What is your opinion on movie remakes?

It’s a horror movie tradition. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not thrilled with bad remakes, exact duplicates remakes or remakes made solely to capitalize on the name rather than having anything to do with the original premise. Thomas Edison made Frankenstein. Years later James Whale made Frankenstein. Add a bunch of sequels and the Hammer made Frankenstein. Some more excellent sequels and somebody else remakes Frankenstein… or Phantom of the Opera or Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde or Dracula. That’s how folklores happen. Constant retelling with variations. Fans will smell the bad ones coming. Good ones will be accepted into the canon of horror legend. When I hear people complaining about Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street remakes as “destroying the childhood heros”, I’m sitting with baited breath awaiting a sequel. No one destroyed your childhood. Robert Englund is still Freddy Kruger, but a new generation needs their Freddy Kruger too.

What is your opinion on book to movie adaptations?

I feel the same about book to movie adaptations as I do about remakes. Book to movie adaptations did well by Universal classics, Hammer studios and on and on. If you want great, original ideas books are field to be harvested. Hell, it will make for a more literate horror fan base. I wonder how many people got into Jack Ketchum’s books because of the film adaptations. Books, check ‘em out (to quote and 80’s commercial for literacy).

What are the pros and cons when it comes to working with your spouse?

My spouse despises horror. She’d actually be really great at writing dialogue. She’s got a gift for creative, “bad ass” sayings. Maybe I’ll consult her in the future. Maybe she’ll have a cameo in one of my movies (if movies there be). Would love to get our daughter into some horror pictures. She’s a natural performer.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

My only regret in writing my blog is that I didn’t start sooner. I hope I get the chance to make a few people laugh and get a few people into some truly excellent films. I hope that my readers realize that Dr. Terror is more than just a ripped off name from an Amicus movie in the mid-60’s, but a name I chose because it embodies everything I love in horror. Maybe I should have called myself Dr. Grindhouse. Maybe. I’ve been Dr. Jimmy Terror since I started with the Vaudeville Vampires in the early 2000’s so this multiple personality disorder called a Blog could take me down a few new paths as it all evolves. Dr. Terror and Mr. Harris I suppose, sans life altering potion. At least I don’t look like Frederic March (after I shower and shave).

Thanks for doing the Interview Dr. Jimmy Terror. Keep me posted on the progress of your screen play. Everyone should  check out Dr. Terror's Blog of Horrors.