Owen: Hey Phil, how's it
going? Did you have a good Halloween? Philip:
Hi Owen, unfortunately no I
didnt. 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 its 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 isnt 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. Thats not to
say that the bigger names have been rude or
anything, they simply cant offer as much
time although I dont know why? Its
not like theyre 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 wasnt
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! Its 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
cant 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 its
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 Kimmys 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:
Im supposed to be filming a
cameo for the latest Stephanie Aldridge movie,
Im currently co-directing a gritty drama
here in Scotland and Im 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, thats 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,
Juon, Halloween
H20 and Nightmare
on Elm Street 3 as some of my
favourites. Some people may laugh at that, but
Im 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 cant
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. Ive written a
bunch of shorts before but as of yet not an
entire feature length screenplay. Im 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 80s horror because it was
largely done on set and in-camera. Those guys
couldnt just flick a switch or push a
button so they had to be more creative. CGI is
really useful but Id 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
well do everything later in post.
Wheres the challenge in that? Its
probably really time consuming for the talented
tech guys but it takes away part of the fun of
filmmaking. Dont get me wrong, when it is
used correctly its great, but I think
its 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.
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