Webmaster/Actor Interview:

KEEPER OF THE ASYLUM Chatting with www.Horror-Asylum.com Webmaster Philip Davies Brown

Now the Webmaster is branching out – Phil is moving from behind the keyboard to before the movie cameras with a slew of new flicks pending. He has a cameo in the Stephanie Aldridge (’Blood Beneath the Moon’, ‘Slice N’ Dice) movie, a part in the new Ruben Rox flick ‘The Chubby Killer’, and yet another cameo in Kimberly Lynn Cole’s latest short film. He also is assuming the starring role in the new gruesome gore opus ‘Rip Cage’ (www.savagedogfilms.com/ripcage). The man has a lot on his plate. So it was time to turn the tables on the “keeper of the asylum” --- and interview the interviewer.

Owen: Hey Phil, how's it going?  Did you have a good Halloween?

Philip: Hi Owen, unfortunately no I didn’t. I had fun the weekend before with friends but no one makes an effort here in the UK. I must head to America for Halloween one year; I hear it’s the best.

Owen: First off I want to hear about your site www.horror-asylum.com -- It's one of the very best ones out there.  How did it come about?

Philip: Thank you. Yours isn’t too shabby either. The Horror Asylum was four years old on Halloween, but existed in a different form prior to that. I joined the team in 2003 and have worked really hard for the past couple of years turning the site into what it is today along with my Webmaster who works hard behind the scenes.

Owen: You do a lot of interviews for the site --- do you have a favorite interviewee to date?

Philip: Oh God, too many to choose from. I have enjoyed interviewing most people but I get nervous when they are huge idols of mines. I was so honoured when William Butler agreed to an interview and Julie Strain was a personal highlight too. I love when people are able to be honest with me and many interviewees have been. I guess I most enjoy interviewing indie talents as they have more time for you. That’s not to say that the bigger names have been rude or anything, they simply can’t offer as much time although I don’t know why? It’s not like they’re shooting 6 different movies at once whilst doing conventions and about a million other interviews and favours to friends, which commonly occurs in the low budget field.

Owen: So do you have a first memory of why you were attracted to horror?

Philip: I think I probably liked horror so much because my dad was really into it but I wasn’t allowed to watch it (for obvious reasons). I would see him come in with all these videos with cool cover art and would hear him watching things like The Exorcist in the next room but my mum would be like “stay out of the living room”. I guess I was intrigued to know what was going on. He would go on about The Howling and The Fog and my uncles and cousins would tell me about Freddy Krueger and I would be anxious to see what all the fuss was about.

Owen: You are making me feel old! It’s so cool that you are also moving into the performing end of horror films --- tell me about your lead role in 'Rip Cage'?  First off how did the role come about and then maybe a brief plot synopsis.

Philip: Rip Cage is a strange project and my involvement has been equally strange. I began doing a little press for the movie when it was first announced and then they asked if they could add my picture to one of the visual effects sequences. Through that, I became pals with Lennie Overgaard and Vanessa Mason who are both incredibly talented, cool and encouraging.I was participating in an online chat with Lennie and some of the crew one night when he suggested that I shoot something for the film and that grew from an additional part to one of the seven leads.

I can’t say too much about the story as none of the cast (as far as I know) have read the full script, but I do know that it will be visually complex and interesting.

Owen: And also I heard you did a short film for Kimberly Lynn Cole?  What's the name of the movie and how was that experience?

Philip: Well, Kimmy is a dear friend as is Luc Bernier who wrote the script. The project is a short film titled Mistress Elsa and it’s about an artist who basically sells her soul to the devil in order to achieve fame and success (although in this version the devil takes the shape of a gypsy fortune teller). I play Louis Rigg manager of the International Rigg Museum who is basically this arrogant arsehole. I had fun shooting my part but found it challenging to be nasty to Kimmy’s character as she is such a sweetheart.

Owen: While we're on the subject --- tell me too about your supporting role in the horror flick 'Chubby Killer'.

Philip: Well, I just loved that title and was already in touch with Ruben Rox so I asked him about it and suggested I play one of the chubby victims. After having to convince him that I was “chubby enough” I then had to convince him to let me play Evan. Being that I am in the UK and the film is a US production he thought I would find it easier to play a role where the character interacts by phone. I was like “no way man…let me get chased and slaughtered”.

Owen: Any other projects in the offing?

Philip: I’m supposed to be filming a cameo for the latest Stephanie Aldridge movie, I’m currently co-directing a gritty drama here in Scotland and I’m also in talks regarding various other projects at the moment too.

Owen: So as a true horror flick fanatic I'm eager to hear what are your ten favorite horror flicks?

Philip: Oh God, that’s a tough one. I could never pick just ten, but for the purposes of this interview I would probably highlight Psycho, Halloween, Black Christmas, Candyman, The Fog, Scream 2, Ringu, Ju’on, Halloween H20 and Nightmare on Elm Street 3 as some of my favourites. Some people may laugh at that, but I’m what I consider to be a true horror fan and that to me, is someone who can appreciate any movie in the genre from any time period judged purely under its own merits. It was actually Scream that brought me back to the genre world after a number of years away from it having become bored by the endless repeats of classic movies.

Owen: Phil I also have to know your preference - zombies, vampires, werewolves, psychos, aliens, creatures, or some other and why?

Philip: Definitely psychos. The things that people can do others are some of the most chilling things imaginable and you can’t stop them either. Every creature ever created can be contained or destroyed but there is always a billion other people out there waiting to strike.

Owen: With your journalism background, acting experience and horror connections is it safe to assume there will be a horror screenplay sometime in your future?

Philip: There already have been. I’ve written a bunch of shorts before but as of yet not an entire feature length screenplay. I’m not one of those “journalists” who longs to be a writer; I just want to make horror films.

Owen: As a horror connoisseur what is your stance in the CGI vs. on-site effects debate?

Philip: CGI sucks. I feel that people were so in awe of 80’s horror because it was largely done on set and in-camera. Those guys couldn’t just flick a switch or push a button so they had to be more creative. CGI is really useful but I’d feel kind of sad if I was working on a film and they went “ok just stand there and react to that piece of foam and we’ll do everything later in post”. Where’s the challenge in that? It’s probably really time consuming for the talented tech guys but it takes away part of the fun of filmmaking. Don’t get me wrong, when it is used correctly it’s great, but I think it’s more fun to do it on set.

Owen: What frightens you in real life?

Philip: People. I definitely find characters like Michael Myers more frightening than say The Creeper who verges on the fantastical.