DEANA DEMKO DOES IT IN CLAY AND ON CAMERA! by Owen Keehnen

Deana Demko is a popular actress among many scare flick fans. She has over 50 films to her credit, many if not most of them in the horror genre with titles like 'Requiem for a Vampire', 'Blood for the Muse' , 'Dungeon of Death 2' , 'Psycho Sisters' , 'Ironbound Vampire' , 'Curse of the Swamp Creature 2' , 'Fatal Delusion' , 'The Ghosts of Angela Webb' , 'Zombie Holocaust' , 'Sorority Slaughter' , 'Chronicles of the Beyond' , 'The Larksville Ghost' , and 'Process' . She is also quite popular on the horror convention circuit for another reason. Deana Demko is a sculptress with her own line of original hand crafted colored clay creations of movie monsters and such called Little Replicants. Deana stepped away from kiln and camera long enough to answer a few questions in this exclusive www.racksandrazors.com interview.


 

  Hi Deana, thanks for chatting with us. Can you start us off at Racks and Razors with a visual and describe the room where you are answering these questions?

I am in a room with my black cat Orchid. There are various horror icons throughout the room and even a Disney horror favorite...Maleficent. 'Pan's Labyrinth' is on a 60" screen and there is clay surrounding me calling my hands to sculpt something. There are two green Frankenstein pillows on the couch, a copy of Rue Morgue and a copy of Fangoria on the table. My Madame Alexander 'A Nightmare before Christmas' Sally doll is on a shelf above my head.

Why don't you tell us a little about your role as Dr. Evelyn Bower in your new film project called 'Chronicles of the Beyond'? It's a chapter film isn't it?

Yes, it will be several stories in one movie. 'Chronicles' was great. Billy Tooma and I have worked together before and it looks as if we will be working together again. Dr. Bower is a doctor involved in reconstructive surgery but it's not your run of the mill surgery...this is the technology of the future.

You have been in a lot of horror movies some of which are 'Curse of the Swamp Creature 2', 'Psycho Sisters', 'The Larksville Ghost', 'The Ironbound Vampire', 'Blood for the Muse' etc. What have been one or two of your favorite horror film projects and why?

It's hard to say. I have done over 50 films. "Ironbound Vampire" seems to be the movie that I am most well known for and I tend to get asked a lot about it so I remember it a lot.

Smaller budgeted horror films are also the frequent settings for insane and hilarious incidents. Any bizzare or hilarious anecdotes from the trenches you would care to share?

I always tell the story of my first film "Sorority Slaughter". I was supposed to have my liver ripped out in a bath tub. They used a real cow's liver that sat out all day, fake sticky karo blood and the hotel was rented. Needless to say, I feel sorry for whoever had to clean that room.

So why is Pumpkinhead your favorite creature?

'Pumpkinhead' was one of the first newer creature movies I ever saw. It isn't my favorite movie but 'Pumpkinhead' was so larger then life...even though it was a guy in a suit...the art work was inspiring to me. I loved Stan Winston's stuff - God rest his soul. Pumpkinhead was different...most creatures don't look like him. The big head...the hands...I don't know...I can't describe it. There have been others that have inspired my art since 'Pumpkinhead' ...like Pan, 'Wishmaster' , Darkness and yes, the 'Jeepers Creepers' monster...Anyone who knows me will tell you that I don't care for CGI effects. Legend is one of my favorite movies...look at the art in it.

Speaking of creatures, you're also a popular sculptor at various horror conventions and the creator of the 'Little Replicants'. Can you tell me a little about that and how you started doing it?

'The Little Replicants' were a trial. I use to sculpt model kits but a lot of people stopped wanting to build and paint their own stuff. They only wanted my built-ups. I got tired of selling off my displays. One Christmas I was sculpting teddy bears in colored clay and I thought that if I could do the teddy bears in color, how hard could it be to do Jason or Freddy or Pumpkinhead in color and the Little Replicants were born. Today there are over 300 one of a kind sculptures all in colored clay. I do not paint any of them.

Do you have any other upcoming projects you would like to let the Racks and Razors readers know about?

Well, since you know about 'Chronicles' ...I am also working on a movie called 'Process'. It's horror. I have another project that I may be doing too. It is a short film that I might be co-writing and acting in. It has no title yet and we probably won't even start until late 2009 but I was excited to have the director take the idea seriously. I also have a book in the works.

Back in the late 50s they had the series of movies 'I Was a Teenage Werewolf' and 'I Was a Teenage Frankenstein'. If they were to make a movie about Deana Demko's teenage years it would be called 'I was a Teenage ___________________' because..........

I was a teenage 'Bride of Frankenstein'. I had scoliosis surgery my senior year and had to wear a back brace most of my teenage years. I got picked on the whole time by cheerleaders and jocks. I was a goth chick that didn't know she was a goth chick then. Believe me; the homecoming queen tracked me down everyday to make fun of me. I never thought anyone would be interviewing me. I hated High School. The people were so mean.

If you could star in a remake of one death scene from any horror movie which would you choose and why?

Wow...that's a tough one and I'll explain why. I would have to say...I would have loved to do the shower scene in 'Psycho'. It is such a classic. It is so beautiful. However, I don't care for remakes. I wish people would stop trying to improve on a classic. I don't think I could do that scene any better then Janet Leigh...but I think it'd be fun to see what it would look like to try to do it with different people.

Okay, we're pulling the car into the Deana Demko Drive In. Which three favorite horror movies are going to be on the triple bill for tonight and what goodies are they going to be serving up at the concession stand?

'Halloween', 'Candyman', and 'Spiral'.. They will be serving popcorn and Low Carb Monster energy drinks.

What scares you in real life?

Cruelty and hatred...how mean people can be to other people...Ok, and really big spiders!