Interview with Edward Douglas, Director of 'The Dead Matter'.

By Geoff Bough

When I first heard about The Dead Matter, I was intrigued because it is described as a very different zombie film which to me equates to originality. Edward Douglas got in touch with me a while back about the film and has also shared his incredible music from Midnight Syndicate.

The Dead Matter is a concept that is 10 years in the making and with some very notable names attached to the project, this is lookng to be quite an interesting film. We spoke with Director/Composer Edward Douglas about the film and his music, check it out...

Rev: The Dead Matter sounds like a refreshing new horror film, can you tell us a little more about the film and what we can expect?

E: The Dead Matter is a very classic horror-themed movie loaded with twists, turns, and surprises -- a real story-driven horror film that will keep fans fully engaged for 90 minutes and give them something to talk about afterwards. I’m excited because The Dead Matter is something different - something I’ve been wanting to see as a huge fan of the horror genre but haven’t lately. It doesn’t ignore or spoof the classic films we grew up loving but instead builds on them, taking the themes of zombies and vampires in some unexpected directions - giving fans of the genre a cool story accented by interesting characters.

The story surrounds a relic with occult powers that falls into the hands of a grief-stricken woman who is trying to contact her dead brother. Both zombies and vampires play a role in the mayhem that ensues. It stars Andrew Divoff (Wishmaster, Lost, Indiana Jones 4), Jason Carter (Babylon 5, Charmed), and Tom Savini. The movie was co-produced by Midnight Syndicate Films and Robert Kurtzman’s (Wishmaster, producer From Dusk Till Dawn) Precinct 13 Entertainment. Midnight Syndicate will be doing the score.

Rev: I have been a fan of your Midnight Syndicate musical scores, with this film it sounds like the perfect marriage of musical composition and storytelling. What can Midnight Syndicate fans expect from this film?

E: It is the perfect match. Like our music CDs, I think fans expect that the movie will take its cues from classic horror films and additionally that it will contain a lot of dark atmosphere in its scenes. The Dead Matter definitely delivers on both those counts. The Dead Matter is actually a remake of a movie I did back in 1995 before forming Midnight Syndicate. Several tracks from my original The Dead Matter scoring sessions became various Midnight Syndicate tracks appearing on our first three albums. So this movie is quite inline with the entire Midnight Syndicate world fans have come to expect.

Fans will get to hear us do some industrial tracks, too. Over the years, Gavin (a huge NIN fan) has been writing industrial versions of Midnight Syndicate tracks for our release parties. He’s writing two new original industrial tracks for the movie.

I think one of the elements that might surprise Midnight Syndicate fans is the dark humor in the movie. We’re not setting out for laughs like Shaun of the Dead, but there are humorous moments throughout the movie that I feel draw you in and provide some needed relief from the dominating ominous tone of the movie.

Rev: You have some very notable cast members on this film, tell us a little about the casting process and how you came to cast the leads...including veteran horror actor and godfather of gore, Tom Savini!

E: I’m a huge fan of Tom’s work, so it started when I approached him to sign my copy of Dawn of the Dead at a Chiller Theatre convention almost eight years ago. I gave him some of our CDs, he really liked them, and our friendship grew from there. He used our music for the pilot of his Chill Factor series. Since then I’d been waiting for the right project to work together on. The Dead Matter is the first “Midnight Syndicate movie”, a zombie flick, predominantly Midwest crew, and we’re shooting a couple hours west of the Monroeville Mall – it was the perfect opportunity. The best part is Tom did such an excellent job. It’s one of my favorite Savini performances, actually – but I certainly encourage others to see and judge for themselves!

Andrew Divoff and Jason Carter came on board because the both really liked the script and believed in the project. That was a tremendous feeling. Like Savini, both these veterans REALLY delivered the goods.
Although I was familiar with Andrew through Wishmaster and Lost, it was while I was working on the score to The Rage that I really got to study his performance in his role as Dr. V. After watching that, I knew we had our top villain. He brought a great intensity to the set that our other actors fed off of.

Jason was incredible – one of the most versatile actors I’ve ever worked with. I can’t wait for fans of Babylon 5 and his other work to see him in the movie. He’s already turned a lot of heads at the test screenings we’ve had – an incredible talent.

For the rest of the cast, we went with some newer faces that I really think folks are going to enjoy. Christopher Robichaud (who has appeared on several Midnight Syndicate Cds over the years as a voiceover artist) is the only actor reprising his role from the original 1996 version. Joining him is Sean Serino (whose performance I enjoyed in The Rage) and Brian Van Camp (New World Disorder). We went across the country and in our own backyard for the rest of our casting. That’s how we found CB Spencer and Donna Williams. Producer, Gary Jones turned us on to Tom Nagel from another project they worked on together. The entire cast really delivered which is critically important for a character-driven story like The Dead Matter.

One of the highlights was being able to cast “Big Chuck” Schodowski. He was the longtime local horror host in I grew up with and a lot of my early education in horror came from watching his show. To have him be a part of this movie was awesome. Another highlight was working with Dick Dyszel (aka Count Gore DeVol) – a horror host from Washington, DC, who now has hosts a show on the web (www.countgore.com). Like the true veterans they are, they came on and delivered in two different, yet very memorable, scenes in the movie.

Rev: You mentioned that The Dead Matter was a previous project of yours, was this something that you felt was done fully initially? Is it a completely different recount of the story?

E: The Dead Matter is a remake of the film I did back in 1995-1996. Co-Producer/DP/Gaffer/FX Supervisor, Mark Rakocy and I shot it on Super-VHS with what little money we had at the time (about $2000). The goal was always to use that version of the movie to help put us in position to remake the film with an actual budget.
It took ten years and the help of so many people (too many to mention here) to make it a reality. From the first tips we got from director Ethan Dettenmaier (Sin-Jin Smyth), to the investors, from folks like DP Alex Esber, AD Phil Garrett, and the folks at Precinct 13 to my fellow producers Gary Jones and Robert Kurtzman who made it possible. Like any independent film, it was an amazing team effort.

When the pieces for a Midnight Syndicate-produced motion picture started falling into place, there was never any doubt in my mind that it would be a remake of The Dead Matter. This is the story I want to tell. That being said, while all this was coming together, co-writer Tony Demci and I spent many months re-working the script. We had had ten years of watching the old version (and watching others watch the old version) as well as ten more years of studying and working in the horror genre. It was a great opportunity to improve the script. The end result was the same production concept but a much different recount of the story. To me, the script is the most important element to a film so we spent a lot of time taking it to people less close to the project whose opinions we trusted, then going back to re-writing and tweaking – until we felt the script was as strong as it could be.

Rev: Where did you shoot the film and how long did production run on the film?

E: The film was shot in and around Mansfield, Ohio, over four weeks in August 2007. Among the locations was the Mansfield Reformatory, a huge abandoned prison that was used for both Shawshank Redemption and Air Force One. It’s an unbelievable location with tons of atmosphere. The feeling of dread and darkness is in the air everywhere you go - particularly intense at night. We got some great stuff there.

The other building we shot at in Mansfield was the Bissman Building (which was also used in Shawshank). It’s a six-story warehouse in the downtown area that served as one of the regions first distribution centers for foodstuffs. Another great place and, like the Reformatory, very haunted. We had several crew members get really creeped out and some have some great stories to tell. I’ve heard that since we wrapped filming, Ghosthunters has scouted it out for a future show.

Precinct 13 Entertainment is based in Crestline, Ohio (ten miles west of the Reformatory), and we were fortunate enough to have the cooperation of the community there as we did in Mansfield – really friendly people. We were able to shoot in their park, tavern, library, an old schoolhouse, and in an old hospital.

Lastly we found a small, isolated 19th century cemetery and abandoned church in the wilderness near the neighboring town of Bellville. That one location supplied us with some of my favorite footage from the shoot.

Rev: What was the biggest challenge during production?

E: The weather. It was the area’s rainiest August in twenty years. During one huge storm while AD Phil Garrett was driving our makeup truck to the next location, Phil and the truck were almost crushed by a falling tree. Not only did that storm hold up production that night but by the next day, a lot of Mansfield had flooded.

I remember driving by the freeway exit I had used the night before - only now all I could see was water and the roofs of sunken cars. Roads were closed and the basement of one of our main locations was underwater as well. We had lost more than a day (in an extremely tight schedule) and we had to rearrange the rest of the shoot in a matter of hours. It’s at times like these that you find out what your crew is made of and ours came through. Everyone from producers to production assistants were pitching in and going above and beyond the call of duty to make it happen.

Rev: Can you recall a funny or memorable experience from the shoot that you care to share?

E: The first day of filming was a memorable moment for me. We were shooting a bar scene. It was the exact same scene we had started off with eleven years earlier. It was always my goal to make this movie happen but in life nothing is certain – so it was a great feeling to be there that day. A lot of things came full circle on this project and that’s just one of those moments I’ll always remember. I still have a bag of peanuts from the bar.

There were a lot of funny moments on set, especially surrounding one particular character. Unfortunately, it’s too much of a spoiler for me to go into details on that now. Needless to say, we have a decent gag reel. I think that through all the challenges, the fun we had making the movie comes through in the final product.

Rev: You have also teamed up with Robert Kurtzman of KNB Effects and Precinct 13, What role did Robert have in production and what has that been like for you?

E: : Amazing. Bob signing on and bringing with him producer Gary Jones was the final piece of the puzzle that made The Dead Matter a reality. Working and learning from them has been one of the highlights of this whole experience.

Bob first contacted me in 2006. He wanted Midnight Syndicate to do the score for his upcoming film, The Rage. Being a fan of his work, I was excited by the opportunity. When I visited the set of The Rage that summer, I saw how he and Gary ran their shows. I knew it would be a perfect match for The Dead Matter. I pitched it to him shortly afterwards and that’s how we got started working together on this.

The Dead Matter is co-produced by Precinct 13, so Bob had his hands in a bit of everything throughout the project. Gary Jones (another driving force at P13) handled production and has overseen the entire project from pre-production on.

Rev: From the pics I have seen, the make-up and effects look totally awesome! Tell us about the FX team working on the film and what we can expect in the way of effects.

E: “The Creature Crew” as Bob calls his guys at Precinct 13 did a great job for us. Although this is not an FX-driven film, the FX we do have needed to be cool and it IS a very heavy special FX makeup film (as you’d expect). Our lead in that department was David “House” Greathouse. He did a tremendous job overseeing everything from makeup to many of the FX props and his work is featured in a lot of the pics you‘ve seen. The P13 FX team was instrumental in building special props and designing our big outdoor set which is one of the central locations in the film.

P13 is handling the visual effects as well. To me, the best CG is the CG you don’t notice (like what P13 did on Devil’s Rejects). That’s what we’re going for on this one although when things start going to hell, things do tend to get crazy for a bit. Nothing takes me out of a film more than obvious CG – that was my big hang up on I Am Legend (the creatures). Wherever we could, we used practical effects and makeup to convey what we needed.

Rev: What draws you to the horror genre?

E: I’ve always loved it. There is something about this genre, something about the mysteries of the dark, something about those things we can’t explain that sparks my imagination. It’s a part of me and where I get my inspiration from, so it’s present in virtually everything I’ve done creatively - from my earliest writing and films through Midnight Syndicate. I enjoy working in it and hopefully sparking others’ imaginations.

Rev: You've already proven yourself to be a man of many talents, who or what has influenced you?

E: Definitely John Carpenter as a director/composer (someone who can do both well). It was Star Wars, Steven Spielberg, and John Williams that got me dreaming of filmmaking as a kid. Stephen King and Tales from the Crypt comics (actually everything EC ever printed) are huge influences. The role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons played a role in the development the production concept for The Dead Matter. Then there are the bands and film composers, of course. More than anything its horror films. I almost always find something I enjoy in any horror film I watch and I try to watch as many as I can.

Rev: Being a musician yourself what kind of music and bands do you enjoy?

E: I listen to a lot of different music, although I would say that I tend to concentrate on heavy metal and movie scores with a penchant for 70’s and 80’s music. In my music library, the bands I have the most CDs of are Kiss, Sisters of Mercy, Black Sabbath, King Diamond, Metallica, The Beatles, Rob Zombie, and ZZTop. Being that I love movie scores and heavy metal, I really enjoy Trans Siberian Orchestra, Nightwish, and Van Helsing’s Curse.

John Carpenter, Danny Elfman, John Williams, Elliot Goldenthal, James Horner, Wojciech Kilar, and Hans Zimmer are some of my favorites composers.

Rev: Hypothetical situation...Zombie Elvis and Zombie Frank Sinatra are both lumbering towards you, you have 1 round left in your .45 who do you put down?

E: Well… Elvis died on the toilet, so I’d probably take my chances with ole’ blue eyes… one less thing to have to deal with in my last few seconds.

Rev: What are some of your favorite zombie and horror films?

E: Night of the Living Dead – even more so that it was an indie film shot in the Midwest. Dawn is a close second along with Pet Sematary. I love White Zombie (which is the take on the creatures we take cues from in The Dead Matter), Dead Alive and Dead & Buried. Recently, I enjoyed 28 Days Later, Slither, and had fun watching the remake of Dawn.

As far as other horror films go This Old House, Psycho, Black Sabbath, Carnival of Souls, Horror Hotel, almost everything Hammer Films produced, Legend of Hell House, Exorcist, Evil Dead, Changeling, Dracula 1979, Lost Boys, Ghost Story, Shining, Aliens, The Haunted, The Others, Frighteners, Sixth Sense, and The Ring are some favorites that come to mind right now.

Rev: You're currently in post production on the film, how has that been going and when do you expect to be showing the finished film?

E: We just locked picture a few days ago. Work on visual effects and the score are underway. We will be releasing The Dead Matter CD in August of this year. It’s a Midnight Syndicate CD inspired by the film which will also include music from the film. I plan on having our first trailer done in time for July’s Comic-Con in San Diego and I expect the movie will be completed by November with a release date after that. The test screenings we’ve had have been going extremely well which is a great feeling.

Rev: What are the plans for the film once it is done? Will you be making the festival circuit?

E: I do plan on taking this on the festival circuit, both here and abroad - as many as I can get to. We’ve had a lot of interest from distributors, so we’ll begin that process once the movie is closer to completion.

Rev: Finally where can fans go to check out more news and info about the film?

E: The official The Dead Matter website is: www.thedeadmatter.com and our IMDb page is: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1055363/.

We also have a MySpace page up at myspace.com/thedeadmatterfilm. The Midnight Syndicate website www.midnightsyndicate.com is another source for updates and also a place for folks to check out our music if they’re not familiar with it.