Horror movies &stuff Interviews "Slime City Massacre" Star Craig Sabin
Our "Slime City Massacre" Interview series continues! This time we spoke to one of the films stars, Craig Sabin. Sabin, who plays nefarious cult-villain Zachary in the sequel to the 1988 cult-horror-hit, also played suicidal-cult-leader Alex in the original. In this interview, Sabin tells us the difference between both characters, the similarities, and what it's like to be back in "Slime City" after 21 long years!
MR. H:For those who don't know, you played Alex in "Slime City", and now, 21 years later in the sequel "Slime City Massacre", you're playing Zachary. What's it like doing another one of these movies so long after doing the first one?
Craig:As with any project, casting is key. Greg was smart enough to write a role that I could play credibly-- that of a morally bankrupt demagogue with a weakness for orgies. He was also wise enough to pass on the lead to the next generation (Kealan and Lee), and restrict me to background cameos. The experience on this film was totally different from the prior production. For instance, I didn't have to have my head chopped off, so there was no reason to encase my head in plaster or cover me in slimy applications. It was consequently a much more comfortable shoot.
The most involved special effect for me was slashing my wrists. It took maybe an hour to put on and remove the wound appliance to my arm, and I had to be careful with how I held the knife-- that's it. On our last day, Kealan came in in full slime, to show Greg how the new face looked. Slime dripped down his nose, ran through his hair. I thought "Oh, you poor bastard." He met us for drinks later that night-- it took him hours to get de-slimed.
Finally, this was a much larger production than Slime City. Greg had a team and resources he didn't have twenty-plus years ago. He's also a better writer, with a larger vision. Bottom line, Nicky-- this shoot was a blast. I'm only sorry I couldn't stay on the set longer and meet more of the rest of the team.
MR. H:Do the characters of Zachary and Alex share a connection at all?
Craig:Yes. For starters, they're both played by me. But they both are children, in their way. Alex's whole reality boiled down to one question-- "When will I get laid?" His selfish and insatiable need for pussy is what drove him to take the Himalayan Yoghurt roadway by way of the Elixir Express. There are lots of people who didn't get laid in college-- they don't all throw their souls down the crapper. Zachary shares this single-minded pursuit of the venal.
It turns out that lack of sex isn't Zachary's problem, but he wants to live forever. What is sad about both characters is that they have so much going for them. Alex has the (chaste) love of a good woman, while Zachary has a family and devoted followers who love him, would die for them. But rather than accept what they have, they turn into mere brains crawling across linoleum or urban wreckage-- which is rough on the trailing ganglia.
MR. H:Tell us about Zachary in "Slime City Massacre". How does he fit into all of this craziness, and what's he like as a character?
Craig:Greg resists the obvious comparison to "The Godfather Part II", but structurally, it applies. Zachary is back story, the origin of the slime. We see him meet and corrupt a pretty young woman, turning her into one of his minions, before leading them all in a Jim Jones-esque-apade. All of this plays out in sections throughout the movie's main narrative, which takes place in the post-apocalyptic future. We see the theory behind the slime, the reason that this whole thing got started.
Zachary began as a typical evil warlock type, complete with black robes and tapering nose. If you take a peek at Slime City, you can see a picture of him on the back of Flesh Control, glowering and rail-thin. For this movie, Greg re-imagined him as sort of a beatnik self-help guru, a la Kerouac/Leary. I applaud the change-- there's just more to play in an actual human being with a point of view beyond "I want to be immortal." Having had a little experience with self-help stuff, I decided to make Zachary all about empowerment. He sort of became a giver, someone who reached out to the untouchables and gave them purpose and power.
Then he finds out that he's dying, and he realizes that it's time to put up or shut up. The surprise to Greg was how sympathetic Zachary became. This is what happens when you give someone a family. A wife and "child" who love him and are prepared, nay, eager, to follow him to their graves, taking his word that they'll live on in a Mason jar filled with slime? This guy had to have some serious mojo. In short, I don't believe that they could love him if he didn't love them. Loving others makes your character instantly sympathetic, no matter how much havoc you cause after the apocalypse.
MR. H:What are some big differences between Alex and Zachary, and what are some similarities between the two characters?
Craig:I like Zachary a lot more as a character. Alex's main problem is, he wants to be corrupted. He has a small moment in Slime City where he realizes where his decisions are taking him, and he turns away from the slime-- but it's a weak moment, and short-lived. Alex is dying for someone like Zachary to come along and steal his soul, provided he gets what he wants. As a screenwriter, I can relate, but he lacks integrity and faith in himself.
Zachary, on the other hand, has been through the fire and has come out the other side with something to offer others. He has a point of view that he's earned. I choose to think he's not completely aware of what the negative aspects of possessing others through ectoplasm are, so it can even be argued that he is nothing less than a 50's Ponce De Leon who actually delivers a true elixir of immortality. So you get a little slimy and kill a few hobos-- it's a small price to pay for conquering death.
MR. H:I notice a lot of the people involved in "New York Vampire", are involved in "Slime City Massacre". "NY Vampire" being a low-budget 90's vampire flick. Are you guys disappointed at all that movie didn't take off as you had hoped?
Craig:I had very little to do with NY Vampire (aka Undying Love) and was brought in primarily because Greg has immense loyalty and wants to use the same actors in various projects. It was Tommy's picture, and his glowering presence really made it something to see.
When you make a low-budget movie, it's like you're throwing a hail Mary pass. There's so much riding against you that you have little or no control over. All you can do is make the best movie you can, and hope that it connects. Although NY Vampire never connected the way Slime City did, I still think it's a great picture, and hopefully others will come around when they see it on the Lamberson Grindhouse collection.
It should also be mentioned that NY Vampire came before the internet, Youtube and Twitter. The opportunities now for cultivating an audience for your movie are tremendous, and Greg is emerging as something of a master of self-promotion. For a guy who can't stay on the phone longer than the two minutes it takes to tell you something, who hates Hollywood-style parties and would rather hang out with his daughter watching Tarzan than hang out at the Starbucks with a computer and cell phone, Greg is quite the networker. Probably that has to do with his accomplishments and his no-bullshit style. I think it bodes very well for the release of Slime City Massacre, which already has a cult following even though the film's just wrapped.
MR. H:Give us a full rundown of all the villains we'll see in "Slime City Massacre". I know there's a lot of them.
Craig:Technically, there's not a good guy in the movie. Our lead characters are four homeless junkies, and their antagonists are cannibals and para-military corporate types, as well as a Slime killer from the past. Greg created a world where the villains of Slime City are the heroes of this post-apocalyptic landscape-- in a world turned upside down, only slime monsters will stand up for personal freedom and integrity. It's a bitter world view that Greg has put forth. But it's been a rough eight years.
My favorite "monster" has to be the tub creature. In the first movie, Alex is warned "The slime must be appeased," but he's never told (and we never find out) what happens when the slime isn't appeased. In SCM, we find out. The result is the tub creature, a sentient pool of slime with an occasional head or limb-- very creepy. I didn't see them shoot it, so I'll have to wait until the movie comes out to see it completely visualized.
MR. H:How does "Slime City Massacre" 2010, differ from "Slime City" 1988, do you think in terms of story and style?
Craig:Like night and day. Slime City is a relatively intimate film-- few exteriors, few characters, with one set piece scene (the kitchen dismembering) that takes place in one room-- it's almost claustrophobic, that scene. And though Greg made thematic connections to the greater city, the streets were always empty, the parks uncrowded-- it was just Alex and his entourage.SCM is painted on a much broader canvas.
It's an infinitely more ambitious picture, with crowd scenes, fight scenes, explosions, mass slaughter-- it's ironic that Greg left NYC, and had to go to Buffalo to get his crowd scenes. The story is more complex, jumping back and forth in time, creating a futuristic landscape-- with a cast of characters, such as a Mayor with a fetish for human outerwear, cannibals and Gung-ho mercenaries. Originally there was only one brain to crawl across the floor-- now there are four! To put it frankly, SCM is Greg's most ambitious and best screenplay to date-- and if the footage I've peeked at is any indication, it'll be his best film by a long shot!
MR. H:While attending cons and such, do you find a lot of people recognize you as Alex from "Slime City"?
Craig:Nobody recognizes me as Alex-- and frankly, I'd be appalled if they did. I'm not aging as nicely as Mary Huner, but it's not that bad!
MR. H:What do you think was the appeal of "Slime City" to a certain segment of the genre population?
Craig:Dude, have you seen the movie? It's disgusting! I always enjoy watching it with an audience, because you get a glimpse of what presses their buttons. The moment when Alex wakes up all slimy after having the weird dream, that's the first big reaction. It's powerful. I think Greg somehow tapped into something that queases people out.
But then he takes it over the top in the final scene, lets you know that it's okay to laugh, and you really enjoy yourself. And let's face it-- we got zombies, vampires, wolves, and a busload of psycho killers-- not a lot of slime. It's an aspect of the genre that has yet to be fully realized-- until Slime City Massacre. (Do you notice in shows like Bones or CSI, how fascinated we are by mouldering remains? Greg got there first!)
MR. H:If you were asked to come back for a third movie, would you be interested? And what character would you like to play, Zachary, Alex, or someone else?
Craig:If Greg calls, I answer-- it's as simple as that. How about this-- Zachary finally comes back, in complete control, only to find himself haunted by the spirits of those he possessed in the past. It's a battle royale to the finish between Alex and Zachary. Slimefest 2318! Who will survive? Starring me-- twice!
End.
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