HAUNT (2019) w/ Damian Maffei | Haunted Attractions!

It's new theme time, Pillow Frighters! With the smell of pumpkin spice in the air and the tease of cooler weather just around the corner, that can only mean one thing to us here at Pillow Fright - HAUNT SEASON IS HERE! We're talking about haunts & attractions this time around and what better way to kick off this theme than with 2019's Haunt? We aren't alone, though; we are joined by the Devil himself, actor Damian Maffei to talk more about his experiences on Haunt, The Strangers: Prey at Night, his voiceover work on The Texas Chain Saw Massacre video game, and more! 

So sign those waivers and and let's get into the HAUNT! 

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Pillow Fright theme by Brandon Scullion

Chapters

• 0:00 News & non-spoiler chat
• 16:01 Spoiler Discussion
• 1:05:24 Interview w/ Damian Maffei

Transcript

[00:00:00] Welcome to the Pillow Fight Podcast. I'm Elissa. I'm Kay. And I'm Ama. And we are your three besties, keeping you in the loop with all things horror. It's September now, so the weather is starting to, cool down. Or it should be cooling down a few degrees. You can find Code Orange at every strip mall, and there's pumpkin spice in the air.

We're talking autumn, friends, and you know what that means? That means the start of Haunt season, baby! So we're celebrating Haunted Houses, attractions because it is Haunt Month. And to kick things off, we are starting with 2019's Haunt. All right, guys, well, let's talk the news. What's going on this week?

We're getting another sequel in the Wolf Creek franchise where American tourists are Haunted [00:01:00] in the outback. it's planned for a 2025 shoot and John Jarrett is back as killer. Mick Taylor, love Wolf Creek so much, such a great movie. the first one was 20 years ago, right? Yeah. Oh my gosh. Yeah. It made 30 million global off of a 1 million budget, which is bananas.

it follows the 2013 TV series. Yeah, that was 2013. The TV series. it follows the 2013 TV series. And for years there was talk of third movie and it didn't really pan out until now. and I think that's pretty much the gist.

I'm interested in how they will transition that to the new world we live in at 2024. Oh, man, that's exciting. Mick Taylor's scary, man. He scares me so much. He is a [00:02:00] brutal MF. All right, well, I've got some news. Lowell Dean, the guy who brought us Wolf Cop, is back with a new movie called Die Alone. it's.

It's his first movie, I think, since then. It's coming out October 18th on streaming VOD. the little synopsis here is, Lost in a world reclaimed by nature and overrun by mysterious creatures, a young man with amnesia teams up with an eccentric survivalist to find his missing girlfriend. That sounds like it's gonna be serious.

It doesn't sound like it's going to be like horror comedy. Oh, I like that. Post apocalyptic stuff. So I'm in for it. Wolf Cop is fun. So it'd be interesting to see what he does with a more serious. Yeah. Well, if you're ready to traumatize yourself, we have more in the Twisted Childhood universe. That is the entire [00:03:00] Pooniverse that has brought us Winnie the Pooh Blood and Honey, Winnie the Pooh Blood and Honey 2, and it's also going to be bringing us Winnie the Pooh Blood and Honey 3, as well as Bambi the Reckoning.

the latest trailer that we've gotten is for Peter Pan's never ending, Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare. So if, if you haven't seen the trailer yet, it follows Wendy as she is going to rescue her brother Michael from the clutches of a extremely disturbing Peter Pan. And this seems like it's going to be slasher.

There might be some supernatural mystical elements. the trailer showed a lot, but still left me completely. just what is going on with this movie. so if you want to watch the trailer with me or see my reactions, it is on our Tik Tok and our Instagram. the trailer itself is available and this isn't going to be the only one from [00:04:00] this twisted childhood universe.

We are going to have a Snow White. We have a Pinocchio Unstrung, which is, I'm, that's going to be super creepy. Puppets and, Sleeping Beauty as well. Do you guys remember that Pinocchio movie, Pinocchio's' Revenge something like that. Yes. That was a cover that traumatized me growing up, and I have no idea why it was in the horror section with Pinocchio, but I don't know.

It all comes full circle. We're going back at it. We're gonna. Traumatize more youths. It's very exciting. No, no story is safe from the clutches of the Pooniverse. Do not mess with the Pooniverse! I'm so excited. Oh my gosh, we need our friend of the podcast Andrew Scott Bell to come on sometime and give us all the hot goss on.

Oh my gosh, I want to watch these with him. I just want to know how the people who are designing these [00:05:00] masks and these prosthetics and these creatures, I just want to give them like a cup of cocoa and a warm blankie. Yeah, maybe, you know, whatever their comfort level is, because these are like, I couldn't even look at the cover of Pooniverse or of Winnie the Pooh and just seeing like him, I was like, it's interesting because like when some of these movies came around the first time when we were kids.

it was easy to get them or find them because they were like on the shelves at the video store. So I wonder if kids these days, are they flipping through, you know, VOD looking for this? are they, you know, searching for Pinocchio and then they're like, oh my gosh, you know, the new one. Oh my God, that's not really paying attention.

just like here, Winnie the Pooh, have fun. My two year olds. And then, well, that's, therapy for another day. so, back to Haunt 2019, [00:06:00] today is such an exciting episode because we've got a special guest that's going to join us later, but for right now, we're going to discuss Haunt first, so let's get into it.

Haunt is, on Halloween, a group of friends encounter an extreme haunted house that promises to feed on their darkest fears. The night turns deadly as they come to the horrifying realization that some nightmares are real.

Now, this movie to me is, I don't know the entire origins, I don't think it's an old enough movie out there for there to be like deep dives on it, but from what I understand, had a hit with Quiet Place, right? That happened first. And then Eli Roth was like, what else you guys got? And they're like, well, and then this came from that, right?

I think so. I think so, too. That's [00:07:00] wild. That's luck. Wow. Imagine trying to make movies for years, and all of a sudden you get a global hit. And then they're like, Hey, you want to make your own movie? It is like winning the horror lottery. That's awesome. I mean, it just came out one year after and, I honestly, if I had not looked on IMDB, I would not have known that it was the same team that made A Quiet Place.

I thought this was like an indie film that got picked up and I saw it on Shudder for the first time and was like, Oh, this is an awesome Halloween movie. And it came out around the same time that all the other haunted attraction movies were coming out. So what did you guys think of this movie? I really had fun with it.

I had no idea what it was about going into it. I saw there was a couple other hot movies that I saw before this one. I think Hellfest was one of them. And I thought, okay, so what's going to be different with this one? I really liked it. It went. Places that I [00:08:00] did not expect, which was very interesting and I thought it was beautifully shot and my favorite thing about it was the acting, honestly, which I can't wait to talk about because I actually was very pleasantly surprised on the acting and characters and I really love the lead girl Harper.

She's awesome. But no, I mean, as far as like the cast goes, especially considering they're, you know, they're college kids, they fit the college kids, tropes really well. and, but without with them still being like people and just being like, Oh, you know what? I probably would have met these, guys at college.

Yeah, they were grounded. They were real characters and they weren't caricatures, which I really appreciate about the writing there. Yeah, I thought it was fun. It's definitely a movie that I put on around Halloween every year because it feels like a good, atmospheric holiday movie and, you know, surprisingly, if you think about it, there's not enough horror movies that have that, quintessential Halloween feel.

Right. If you think [00:09:00] about how many movies are actually set on Halloween, it's a lot less than you'd expect. It really is, and I What I think is cool about this approach to is it's not just a big theme park haunt or anything. It's what was the one call that was here where you have to sign a waiver, like Alone, like McKamey McKamey Manor.

I can't pronounce that ever. and I, most of them, you see like a big theme park mass people. Oh, you know, it's a show watching it, but this one, because it's so intimate, you honestly don't know what's real and what's not. And I think, cause those haunts go to the extreme. So I think it's cool. I played on that.

Well, I wait, until last because I've watched this movie, like I swear, I've watched this movie a billion times. It is probably in the top five for films I've watched of all time. I mean, it's filmed in Illinois. it was Rock Island, Illinois. And this definitely felt like the haunted houses that I would go to when I was in the Midwest, because as far [00:10:00] as big ones, we only had six flags.

And that's like in the Chicagoland area. It's like you had to drive and go to that. that was kind of like the closest to like a big one. Other than that, we had corn mazes or we had small creepy ass little haunts, which technically you don't know who runs these things. Like I went to one in the border of Wisconsin that was just, you know, warehouse in the middle of nowhere.

And that this looked exactly like that. And I'm like, but that, you know, we didn't question it. We're like, yeah, okay. I, there's this cool haunt. I just looked it up. It's got like a physical flyer. It's definitely not a trap. but this is what we, that's what we did. So this definitely feels like it like this.

so this movie, to me, I don't know, this would have been my experience if by chance, one of those haunted houses had actually murdered me. Cause this is what I did in college. We went around to find these like small haunted houses. We drove around, the middle of Illinois to find like an [00:11:00] actual corn maze or the ones that were on expansive amounts of land.

And I thought that they did this so well, if that is it was grounded in a realism that I myself experienced. And I mean, none of the ones I went to actually had, as creepy a dudes as this one and as good as scares, but, I thought, I just know I watch this movie every year on Halloween. I watch this movie every time it comes on streaming, which it currently is streaming on Shudder, if you want to watch it and, yeah, I want the masks.

I want that ghost mask on my wall. It's, my favorite of them. I mean, I want everyone except for the clown, to be honest. I'll get the clown. I just don't know if I would like, I don't want it like to flip on my lights and be like, clown! Imagine that, just seeing that in the dark as you pass to go to the bathroom.

No. No, or it falls [00:12:00] off my wall in the middle of the night due to a perfectly logical earthquake or something. But I'd be like, nope, haunted out. Now I know what to set up around the set where you least expect it. I just give away my fear all the time. And then, I mean, when you talked about like the haunts that we had, and you mentioned McKamey Manor, which is in Haunter's Art of the Scare.

And so if people don't know about that haunt, it is not a thing anymore. It is super shut down. And I'm pretty sure that dude's going to jail or is in jail. Oh, yeah. Did you guys watch this kid? I'll look it up later and put it in our notes because it's so cool. This kid recently in the last six months or so, Or maybe it's been a year.

he's a, YouTube like investigative journalist? Yes. And he doesn't cover, and he's the person who brought down McKamey Manor. Oh. And it was the cool, I was obsessed and I'm like. a big [00:13:00] person that goes on YouTube, like looking for stuff. But I watched his first video and I like could not wait for the next one to come out.

the next one, I think he met them so bad. Got the cops involved. He got his like LLC taken away. It's so cool. Was this before or after he moved to Tennessee? Because I know he got shut down in San Diego. And then I think this was in the last year. Oh, yeah. Okay. Then I think I know you're talking about because I went down a YouTube rabbit hole about the other ones.

I think I came across that. Yeah. Well, and there They put out a documentary on Hulu this year about it as well. So it was a huge thing that it ended, but Haunters came out years ago. Great documentary. It covers more than just McKamey Manor. It's just that's just part of it. But the McKamey Manor part.

Just knowing what was in the documentary. I'm I remember trying to get a group of people to go and you needed a doctor's note. You needed a 40 page waiver signed. [00:14:00] and it was like, Oh, it's free. You just donate canned dog food for because and I was like, this sounds so wholesome. And then watching that I was like, I am so glad I did not go.

I, that wasn't, that was like a haunt in the same way that Human Centipede is a horror movie. Well, my friend John directed Haunters and every time I see him, for some reason, we go back to a conversation about McKamey Manor because I always have so many questions to ask him about Russ and about, you know, what he saw when he was shooting it.

And, you know, there's so much stuff that didn't even make it in the documentary. he could actually make a second documentary just on him. And, yeah, it's, wild. But that's, you know, at least Haunt is, a, It's a movie, not a hero.

I mean, [00:15:00] if this is the, thing that like haunt is the reason that sometimes you should be scared to go to the backwoods, and it kinda, it also came and not maybe around the same time, but there was the other Halloween haunted house found footage movie. The House That October Built. Oh yeah.

Yeah. That's all about that. And that, I mean, that movie is I love that movie too. I watch this all the time. Creepy. But this is this is an elevated, it's a full story. It is a full movie. It is stunning. It is practical effects. It is a full set. I mean, this. This is the heightened but still completely horror, not horror comedy, and all the other ones that came out around this time had a bit of that horror comedy to it.

This one had it's a horror movie with a comedic relief to guys, so you're not sitting there the whole time being like,[00:16:00] 

But it's it like, I love this film. I absolutely adore this movie. It is so disturbing and thank you for shooting in the Midwest.

All right, guys, we are getting into spoiler territory. So if you have not seen Haunt 2019, it's time to pause this episode, go watch the movie on Shudder and come back and join us for the rest of the conversation. So essentially Haunt starts out with, you know every horror movie trope. We need our teenagers, but these are college kids.

So above teens. and it centers around Harper, who is our, she's been going through some shit. She doesn't want to go out on Halloween. And it's, there has been a lot with her current creepy stalker boyfriend, ex boyfriend, boy, guy, and then also centering around that she has childhood [00:17:00] trauma.

And I, a lot of it, like this movie is a survivor. It's like a, about survival because. What horror movie isn't, but they definitely introduced that with Harper that she's in a bad situation and her friends are doing what they can to get her out of it, which is what friends are supposed to do. And that's why they're, you know, you have to go out.

It's Halloween. Oh, I don't have a costume. It's Halloween. we're all going to look weird. It doesn't matter. And she did have a costume. She's already wearing a red sweatshirt. boom. I loved that in college. there were people that would go all out and there were people who would literally be like, wearing a t shirt with a name tag.

And they'd be like, this is my Halloween costume. It doesn't matter. Halloween in a college town. You're out. You could look like it does not matter. You're out to drink. What do you think it was in college? Do you have one costume you remember? I do, for sure. I, [00:18:00] Halloween was a little iffy for me at this time, but I, I did Poison Ivy and I went all out.

I had my grandma actually help me sew the ivy on my corset and I have a picture that I will try to find. And, I, that was the one that I remember the most from college. I was very excited about it. I did the Andy Warhol, Marilyn. And I was fully purple with the yellow wig and you know, all done up.

So that was my favorite Halloween costume that won't get me in trouble. I went as like Sean of the Dead, like five years in a row. Easiest thing ever. Like I missed the like sexy, you know, you missed the sexy bandwagon. Hey, Sean is sexy, okay? Yeah, I was Sean, I was just Sean of the Dead and just walked around, you know, I was, a straight edge kid too, so I didn't drink until I was out of college.

I was no fun. I mean, that's not no fun. There was, but I think that's just this, the part [00:19:00] of this is, you know, you're in college, you're gonna make dumb decisions with your friends, you're gonna go out drinking on a Monday, a Tuesday, a Wednesday, a Thursday, you're gonna go out every night, it doesn't matter because you're in college, you're free, you're able to do whatever you want, including going and getting, Yeah, you know, but they've been going to the bar and then meeting up, even with these people that they end up like hanging out with where they like kind of don't know each other, but it's college like you do, you know, everyone through the nth degree, like Kevin Bacon of it all.

I love the part where she thinks that the guy is like waving her over. Yeah. Under the booth. Oh, I've been there a few times. I think that's why I kind of relate to her a lot. And I love her character a lot too. Because at first I thought I'm not even going to be able to see this movie. Is this going to be too hard?

Because You know, my dad passed away on Halloween. The first year I worked [00:20:00] Horror Nights, Halloween, 2009 I was in haunt right when he passed away. And there was an after party, like a day later or something. And grief does weird things because I ended up going to that party. I was Peg Bundy. I have pictures of me like having fun, but I don't remember anything else.

So when they're like, come out, And you see this life passing by, you having fun, people drinking and you want to be a part of that, but you're like disassociating. So I don't know. I felt like a special, weird connection to her in this. And I thought it was cool how they did that. Like she, she really communicated that well, I think just trying to have fun and, you know, disassociate.

she needs to have this fun. She tries, she doesn't want to be out. She doesn't, she wants like at any point, if she has the opportunity to Irish goodbye, she was going to take it. But her friends were really good at knowing that is exactly what she was going to do. They were like, we're going to keep this going.

We are going to go to this next place. We like it's Halloween, we're gonna have fun on and [00:21:00] which is good, you know, everyone wants to have a friend group like that, you know, think about sad things. So she has good friends, good college friends. But when they do go somewhere, unfortunately, they make the choice to just find a haunted house on Yelp.

or they're caught like their version of it basically just being like, Oh, this one has good reviews, which yeah, okay. We see people leaving this haunt as they're getting there. So they just wait till the last people of the night on Halloween. that was their target. Like they gave everybody else a good season, a good show.

Well, I hear screams. Yeah. Somebody said they saw people, leaving the haunt. And this is the one I thought Go on. So, I pulled the movie up on the side because I wanted to check them on, basically. But, like, when they're pulling up to the haunt, one thing I like is it's haunted house in one of those road signs, but the -Ed House part is, slightly dim, so it just says haunt.

They said the movie! [00:22:00] Something weird just happened. My light just turned on. out of nowhere. And we're talking about haunt, and that scared the shit out of me. We're haunted. so when we pull in, it's not people leaving, it's a group going in ahead of them. Yeah. Okay. and then you hear the screams and that's what makes them decide yeah, this one's going to be good, which like we were at, Midsummer's Scream where they put all these mini haunts in one room.

And I, you can't go through them all when, you know, we have so much other stuff going on. So how to decide wasn't based on line length. I was trying to decide based on this, if I heard people screaming. I did not hear people screaming in there. I was like, okay, then that's probably not going to be the one we're going to go to.

Let's pick this other one, which I think we made good choices. So yeah, I do too. This is when I also have to, I'm sorry. this is when I thought also that her ex would, I think that was the point all along to think, you know, Oh, he's involved from the start because [00:23:00] then the truck is following them there.

And they made this whole big deal about your abusive ex. Just break it off. I thought maybe he might have been in, in the beginning, like the guy in the beginning, yeah, giving them the waivers. Oh, the clown? Yeah, I thought he was gonna be like one of them and they just had a, my brain went crazy.

I'm like, okay, it's a cult. He's in a cult and they all blame this. They all brought them there to kill her.

But that's an extra, that's an extra level. Yeah, my brain went places. Sometimes murder's just for murder. It doesn't have to be. And I like that. Well, I don't like the murder, but I like that aspect in movies. But I mean, even from when that clown is doing, is like talking to them, you know, signing this insane waiver that needs your address, handing over your cell phones.

there's so many red flags about this, but then thinking about it, [00:24:00] I'm like, ugh, but if I was a college kid in the Midwest, no, I'd be like, okay, here's like my social security card. Sure, yeah. My house keys, don't worry about it. My exact class schedule, we weren't as, you know, you're not as cautious sometimes.

You're just out having fun, plus they're drinking. So, What do they think? Like they're not, they're just out to have a good time on Halloween. It'll work well. But as soon as we get in to the movie, as soon as we get in, like it does look like it's going through all of the fun haunt things, which I really did love.

I loved the coffin doors you have to enter, the cheesy fake spider webs, like all the go this way to for the scary and not scary like this that's this is that realism that it really did have with oh we're just going through like a homemade haunt it definitely felt like someone just a group of people built [00:25:00] this, versus like Halloween Horror Nights or something extravagant and has like a huge production value.

but after when you watch it and you look back at those original, parts, there's so many things where you're like, Oh, that was not, that should have been another flag. That was a bad sign. I love the feeling for the body. I love that old Halloween game. It feels great for his eyeballs. Yeah.

Yeah. So we do see when they, the first kill, we have to, I don't want to skip the first kill. Oh, And that's before the, that's the witch, right? Yeah. The cage. Yeah. One by one, we get to meet all the people that work in this haunted house. And even though the ghost and the devil are definitely going to be in the clown are the ones that like everyone remembers, there are other, you know, there's other characters that did a real [00:26:00] good job.

so one of the other ones we meet is the witch who puts on like a little interactive show. Cause when you. You know, that's part of working in haunts. It's all the choosing that they get to do, but there's actors and scare actors who work in them. And, but it just being something of no, please. so it's too easy.

Like it didn't even have a story with it. It was just like a straight up torture thing, which, you know, in the end you're like, okay, but in the beginning I was That's like a lame kill. The scenario though, if you were on that end, it's always scares me, especially when I was working at a haunt that you could technically be in serious danger.

And it's very likely people would think it was all a joke, even until the end, you know, and that. Situation is so terrifying to me. It's like the Scream 2 situation with Jada Pinkett Smith where she's like on stage like after she's [00:27:00] been stabbed bleeding out and everyone's screaming and clapping because they think it's part of the show.

Right. Yeah, it's, I mean, That's one of those that's one of those hard things of we also, we decided to suspend disbelief. So we've suspended so well. I mean, how many people go through these other haunts and just in real life where it's like, McKinney Manor went on for a long time and people weren't like, No.

Yeah. No. Until they shut them down. So having that be the first kill, it just is like the rest of the haunt. All these like, innocent things that they walk through, and then just to have you later on be like, Oh no, the whole time, how did I not pick up on this? I know my first watch, I was well, when's the scary stuff going to happen?

This is just a haunt. Oh, I just, the whole time, Yeah.

You know, when they have to crawl through, they have [00:28:00] to start, Die Hard-ing there's, a water slide or something? Well, they have that in, at two places in Vegas. At the new thing at the, Baggins. Museum. Yeah, they have a thing where you have to crawl through this like tiny area now, like no, it's you know, and I'm just, I did it and I'm just like, why did I just do that?

That's terrifying. Nope. That's where I pass. so this is a real thing that exists, that people put themselves through to go to like immersive experiences. Oh my gosh. And I've done both. So I can't say that I would, that would be a red flag for me because I've done it. I mean my least favorite thing in a haunted house that is used so much is where they do the compressed sides and it's like you have to squeeze through.

Yes, I hate that. When they, I've done it like a couple times where one, it was just like, you just get that and you're like, Oh, this sucks. I did it at the Rob Zombies, American. Oh yeah. Crawling through a vagina. That's where [00:29:00] I lost my hat. I know. I was like, this is funny. This is fine. But then I did one where they were in it and they were grabbing at you through that and you were compressed and you couldn't go anywhere.

It was one of the ones where, I did give permission to be touched, so, you know, I knew what I was signing up for, but that was just an extra level of, oh god, I'm already, I'm physically trapped, and now there is someone who's grabbing at me through this while you're like compressed.

It was, what, is the fear? The claustrophobia was real in that. Crawling through something like this, though, that, that same thing, I, don't want to do that. That sounds awful. But it's all about making you disoriented and putting you in like this heightened state that all haunts want to do with that, like that tunnel that spins and you get it's all these things that just work to put, to bring the scare.

And that's why it's so [00:30:00] effective. And another reason why I was like, yeah, you know, they're working with what they have. They only have pallets, good for them. They built a very unsafe walkway and everyone's getting splinters. That's the fear right there, getting splinters everywhere. But I mean, I love that when they did go to that, that room with the touching body parts and that little take on that childhood game and that's where we got our first taste of violence.

Yeah. It's that other thing of Oh, you think you're, safe. Cause we're just playing. We're just having fun. We're just having a good old time. And the, effects of that slice on her arm, where it's I'm fine. And then it just appears was well done.

actually having something really mess with you and grab you. That sounds like I would have, I would pee myself and my heart would explode. that's [00:31:00] horrifying. But yeah, that, that was like such a good, first injury after they've had a couple scares. I was really like, that's, and it just gets ramped up from there.

that's, Awesome. And we've also lost someone. Oh yeah, this was then. Okay. That's right. Cause they split up. They went through the two different doors and then, yeah. Okay. The flapper. Yeah. Yep. I forgot her name. The kitty, is injured. Flapper is gone. Flapper's just a nurse. Nurse, baseball player and the onesie remain, which I love that comedic relief was just like, I'm a sexy mouse.

Duh. Just doing what he wants. All right. So let's get down to what we all came for. The kills. This, we've gotten the one, but we didn't know her like she wasn't important to our lives. She was, the main character in [00:32:00] someone else's story, but not the one we're currently watching. she could have had a very rich backstory that we were not privy to.

but as far as our five friends who are all still alive, just one is a little bit injured. One is separated and she comes back. Yes. Not in a great way. Real Stabby way. . Real stab. Stab way. Well, it's interesting because they've already established the witch in that show, and so it's is it real, is it not?

I think that they do a good job at keeping the suspended belief of our characters for quite a while. Like even with injuries, they're still like, Oh no, it's just for fun. Your friend's waiting for you outside type thing, like whichever one gets you. But, you know, it's interesting that they make it work for so long in one location with people getting hurt.

Yeah. Well, the way that they did [00:33:00] the first show, like the performance, is they cut, they close the curtains as it's going in. So if you are actually watching it, it would happen so fast that your brain wouldn't be able to compute of wait, was that real? Was that not? Was that just like really well timed?

So there is the possibility that they'd be like, that was just good. That was so good. Yeah. And no, it was so good because it was. Legit was, then they don't. But when it happens to one of their own, and our girl in the flapper dress gets the exact same thing, it's like, what? That's when they start to be like, Oh my god, like something's not right.

But even still, they're trying to logic themselves out of it. I'm like, one of them is literally sitting there profusely bleeding. Yeah. And they just watched one of their friends die. And they're still like, I don't know. This is gonna be fine. Was the girl, [00:34:00] the flapper, was she also the one that got the spiders on her?

Yeah. Yeah. She was the one that got separated. She had a bad night. Yeah, this was not her night. That's I mean, and after basically after that, it just ramps. But they're not messing around at this point. No. And. I love I mean, they're basically like the and they're locked in a room like it started it got so real so fast of this is not just your typical haunt.

And I love that the comedic relief is yeah, and I also pick locks. Because it's just so I thought it'd be cool. I gotta be real guys. During the pandemic. My husband got really into lock picking like he was buying like sets and learning on this guy on YouTube. And even like, when he got really fast, he was never as fast as that guy.

that is unbelievably fast. I mean, I think it's a useful skill to [00:35:00] have. You never know when you're in a situation like this and you have to just be top speed. I mean, but movies, the movies get it wrong. Like I watched him do it over. It's like having to find the, like the right rule. I love when they just take like a bobby pin and it's doo, open!

MacGyver! I wish MacGyver was real like that. I wish that was a thing. just like that's how easy it was. Probably save us from so many haunt situations, but unfortunately, nope, not to them. Yeah. but I did love. I don't know, I still love the dynamic of these three girls are just like, well, we're gonna die.

And the guys are like, no, we've got this. They're the strong men, stay back. Then I will say like this, [00:36:00] the next scene is one of my favorites. Like visually, it's super felt like a haunted house. when they're like, oh, we're going to go get help. And he walks into the mannequin rooms. Oh yeah. With the sheets.

I, that's like a big, anytime I see mannequins in a horror movie or in a game, I'm just like, well, nope. So you must have loved, I Know What You Did Last Summer, that whole sequence. With Sarah Michelle Gellar. Oh. I mean, do you guys remember, I swear, it wasn't like a, it wasn't a Goosebumps book.

It was the other one. It was like that came out in the same time. and they had, there was one about mannequins where like the mall, if you got stuck in the mall after closing, you would turn into a mannequin. Oh, wait, that sounds familiar. Well, as Patty says, this is a room full of nightmares. But I mean, this is also where we get to meet my favorite character in the whole thing, which I know it should be the kids, but it's 100 percent [00:37:00] it's Ghostface, dude.

I love that mask. This is a boy. Is that Mitch? That's Mitch. Mitch. Mitch. And they make this whole thing about what's your name, bro? What's your name? But he's just Mitch. Mitch. Mitch. he could have said, you know, Appalachian Trail, and But he's Mitch. Mitch. There's no proof that his name is Mitch, like, why do you guys care?

I kinda wish, if he just made it up, it's that's the first name he could think of was Mitch. Mitch. Mitch. Yeah. Mitch. I mean, that is it. Like they, they want to know his name. They, that they don't make him take off his mask. They're not at they're, and then the only smart thing she does is okay, but give me your, keys.

Yeah. Yeah. And one thing that I think confused me and I don't know why it was such a big deal. Maybe I missed something, but when they're like interrogating [00:38:00] Mitch or and baseball hats looking at him and he, has the full, like his costume goes to the ground and he's like gym shoes are showing and they focused on that and he pulls his gym shoe back under.

And I was like, okay, but why is that important? Every time I've watched this movie, I'm like, why is that so important? I guess yeah, maybe like recognizable shoes or I don't know, I never noticed that I don't know why I notice it because it they make such a look at the shoes and then he like pulled back under and I was like, did his mom write his name in his shoes or something?

And they like, maybe no, they're custom made and have Mitch written all over them., Chekov's Nikes.

yeah, I mean, I really love that scene. That's another one that's 100 percent like classic horror movie. and just to have Mitch come in and be like, guys, I don't, we never, this never happens. And we're so sorry. This is [00:39:00] finally in the film, there is somebody who responds and he's Oh, I think the day is saved.

But, Oh, jokes on you. I know about it. No. She's gonna go back to where you came from and do it. Yeah, I mean, you can go forward, you're like almost done if you go forward and they're like, no, we're not going forward. I don't, at least they are smart because sometimes it does drive me crazy in horror movies where they're You're like, bro, I understand the fear of the moment, but there's the fear of the moment.

And then literally making the dumbest possible choice. They're trapped. Give me the keys is a good one. And then being like, no, we're going to go back, but Mitch, you're staying in the middle. So I can watch you because I don't trust you, man. Your weird shoes. I feel like your shoes, Mitch. Your stupid shoes.

Why would you let me look at your shoes? Well, like, why would you be like, take off your mask? Okay. Yeah, it's [00:40:00] not like it's take off like a full prosthetic makeup that they applied to you. It's literally a vacuum form type of mask that should be like my wig stands are wearing them. It's not even like a thing, you know, it's not you can just take it off.

And then that confused me too. I mean, I'm glad they don't. Cause it's definitely one of the best parts about the movie, but still it's one of those things where it's like, suspend disbelief maybe? Save it for the reveal. And there's also the chaos factor of it, you know, you're just like, everyone's freaking out.

But we do get to meet the devil and, I think, I want to say that these are like our hero villains? Would that be a way to describe them? the devil, the ghost, and the clown? They're your lead villain. You know, you're a witch. The lead antagonist. Yeah. And they're all three, causing chaos.[00:41:00] 

well, I don't know what the other people are doing. are they haunting other humans? what, are these other what, we have the Frank, we have the zombie, the witch, and then there was one more dude, right? They like, they're just part of the group that legitimately just likes to scare. Well, okay.

So there's a ghost, a witch, a devil, a vampire, a clown, and a zombie. Yeah. What was that? I never remember the vampire. Because they just show a few cool shots of him. I don't know how much deeper they get into him, right? I forgot about that. he's got the cool shot, sort of over his shoulder. She is getting chased by the devil.

The hero and the, our heroine, is getting chased by literal devil while she's having these flashbacks of like her traumatic childhood. Yeah. Which is like kind of crazy that they added that in because they could have just made this like a very one tone horror movie like that. And I wouldn't have been mad like everything is here but then they're adding this in [00:42:00] to make you not relive but like I don't know, to like, to heighten the stakes for the character and to bring you along with it versus just like telling you like, hey, she's been through some shit.

Because that is one thing about final girls. It's like Sidney had her mom get murdered. I don't know. Jennifer Love Hewitt was too pretty. I don't know what her drama was. She was just too pretty. Didn't she say that she was raised in a haunted house? Or am I really misremembering that? No, I'm pretty sure that line is said twice.

Okay. Okay. How convenient. Yeah. That her house was like, you know. Because her dad was, abusive. Yeah. Okay. So. And it comes into play later, like they're physically like, this is why, but like her, the chases that she starts to go through [00:43:00] and with the devil, and then it's cutting to the clown who's I'm putting cell phones in microwaves.

Like this food is, this dude's getting the funnest job, side jobs. But he's also trying to steal their info. What are they doing? They're, like stealing people's identities and like trying to get phones open. If the phone doesn't work, we're going to fry it. Like they got to get that money for that body mod.

The guys did get that money. How do you build your own little terror, like kill rooms? Yeah. Got it. And do it in a whole nother place once a year, you know, that's gotta add up, you know, so I guess identity theft is one way to do that. Exactly. Credit card is the only way they can do it. Just build an elaborate haunt.

And you're set. Credit card information and murder fake. Yeah. Fake Yelp reviews. And it's real elaborate. A lot of work put into this plan. [00:44:00] This one. They're like the Wet Bandits, just a little more specific. I was going to say, when she said, Oh, I was raised in a haunted house. I thought it was going to take like a home alone kind of turn.

She was going to set up these drafts, do these haunts herself, pop out. Yeah, that's what I was thinking with her. She's making smart decisions. I was like, okay, so she's like a smart errand. She's earning final girl. yeah, but I don't know. There's something my favorite scene is. Well, I mean, it's not just one scene.

It's the three scenes in one, but this is my favorite part of the whole movie is when We have the crazy shit happening with the clown. We have her being chased by the devil. But then the scenes with the ghost are so just so you still want to see my face? Oh, yeah, that was creepy. That was genuinely creepy.

Him and the devil are terrifying in separate ways, like completely opposite ways. And they're both so good. But [00:45:00] the way that the ghost does it. And then his kill is so gruesome. Teeth stuff, man. I just like the reveal of the face. best reveal too, because we get the like the clown. It's awesome. He's a clown.

so that one wasn't a stretch for me, the clown, the devil with all the piercings being like, you know, horns all over. But the level that they went to for the ghost, I was not expecting that face. Yeah. Never in my wildest dreams could I have come up with that face. just thinking what could be under that mask.

The, those skin stretching and everything is just absolutely terrifying. Innocent as that guy was acting for a minute. He, was like, I just haven't earned it yet, but maybe you, [00:46:00] maybe.

I love the way that the kills start to go and then. We also get the ex boyfriend coming back into play. I was just gonna say, the one thing before I have to leave, was that I really expected the ex boyfriend to be a bigger part of this than he was. I thought he was either gonna end up saving them and she's still fuck you, or, you know, he was gonna be involved somehow, but I feel like he just kind of shows up and then he's oh, shows up to be red herring and then he's gone.

He's there. For the escape vehicle. Exactly. He's there to provide, yeah. You know, it was one of those things where you know that they were like, it's got to be a truck so they could do their like, Texas Chainsaw ending. And, you know. They built him up so much and that's in the scenario so much that I wanted her to get hers with him and just be like, stand up to him and.

Yeah, same, But she's there to add to the body count and for the [00:47:00] escape vehicle. I did think if this is as much as this is definitely being like a survivor final girl's story for her the fact that she wasn't there for it and had nothing to do with his kill besides the fact that like he was stalking her which still makes it like he had everything to do with his it's his own damn fault yeah but like she didn't get Any of it besides being like, Oh, well, I guess he's here and I'm going to take his car.

yeah, that was kind of frustrating. Yeah. Yeah. She deserved more, I guess. Especially considering it's her story. She is the lead in this. So she does, she, yeah, she does have a lot of redeeming moments and they bring it back to the childhood trauma. But that was one where I was like, I feel like that could have gone differently and maybe it would have been a little more satisfying.

Yeah. did the childhood stuff like give you [00:48:00] guys some taken vibes? Maybe because it was under a bed, but It's just I have a special set of skills. It's to blow your fucking head off, red devil. I don't know, it freaked me out. That's all it did to me. that was very, I don't know. that was another that was just like, so realistic of hiding under a bed from something.

And then that creepy fucking jack in the box, which I was like, I don't need that life there. Don't need that under the bed. That's for sure. So poltergeisty. I have to, I have to return some videotapes. I'll be right back. Is it number one or number two? And of course our, five has to go down because it's a horror movie and we get a great kill of our comedic relief with the ghost reveal and that really gruesome [00:49:00] jaw stuff, which was nasty.

It was so bad. you tried, And then we also have our nurse who gets the pit, the pitchfork. I kind of love that one. I know it's brief, but a pitchfork. It's really quick. It feels like a good fall kill. I agree with that. you know, if they had a little corn maze and the Satan's pitchfork, but you know, but like real and gruesome, yeah, they should have had a corn maze.

They should have had a corn maze. If she had to run through a corn maze, that would have been sick. And it's Illinois. There's definitely corn. We don't have a lot else. soy? Can't really go through a soy maze. It doesn't grow high enough. That sounds so L. A. too. we don't have a corn maze. We have a soy maze.

Oh god. It's gluten free. There's [00:50:00] kombucha if you get to the end. I'd do it. I'd do it. I do so well, but then we get from her the bedroom and this creepy ass Jack in the box while she's being chased by Satan. we do get our final friend death, which like, I think is like a really sick way to do it of who we think we're getting another masked character.

And like the first time I saw it, I was like, Oh, if they're saving him for the end, this is going to be like the biggest baddie ever. No, that was so good though. Yeah. Oh, that was rough. And Making, putting this girl who's been through so much and putting her through Tori, just like one more thing.

She's going to be my best friend. Yeah. She was definitely the only reason why you're here. But also she's probably the only reason why you would have ever get out of that abusive relationship you were in. And she was totally had your back and everything. And now you're going to stab her. Well, not stab.

She like shoots her. Just. [00:51:00] No. Wait, how does she kill her? I can't remember. I know. Well, I know she gets the gun eventually. Yeah. I know that she

Was it the pitchfork? No. You're like scrolling through the movie. I am. I see the vampire. I see her in the skull mask because she's death. Yeah, she is death. That's pretty bad. but I think it actually it's after Satan dies. So before, before we get to we have our final three, we got three down, three still alive.

And we get a final girl villain battle. with the Satan that's been chasing her around who's triggering all these past memories of her father and the pop goes the weasel being the shotgun when [00:52:00] she turns the key is so crazy. and like such a, that it's just traps. This haunted house is just full of traps.

It's like an escape room. Yeah, because it's almost like they're giving her the opportunity to escape. But then it's we're kidding. It's JK. You're still gonna, you're still gonna go boom. but when, but like her stabbing him in the eye is so nasty. Yes. And I love how upset he gets when I'm like, dude, if you're really mad about your eye, you should go look in a mirror because you're going to be crazy upset.

Added to his look. I know. His eyes were really nasty though. I love a good like sclera. Yeah. especially with his look, and I mean, and a ghost having the same, like their eyes match their outfit, like the care that they went into [00:53:00] designing these monsters underneath where, them matching the masks and going as deep as even the contacts are messed up, which, still keeps them from being like too human because they are monsters.

They're not like monsters in the sense that we get, but as far as people go, they are monsters. They're murderers for fun and for no agenda other than to purely torture and kill. Imagine the work that they did to make these characters. I mean, it's, a lot with like just the vintage Halloween masks into going is to like what they should look like underneath.

Yeah. And we don't even get to see all of them in that sense. We don't really get to see the vampire or the zombie. I'm wondering though, is there behind the scenes? Did they? Did they do? Did they put them in the makeup? Or at the very least, did they do a mock up? Well, I know that they show At the end of the movie where they do that sort of like [00:54:00] dream sequence type thing, like they show other faces.

I'm like, I wonder if those were like people that we've already seen previously in some way. Yeah, do we see, we don't see the witch. She's on the roof. Yeah, then no. The witch is on the roof. Oh, okay. Yeah. I'm just trying to remember if we actually get to see her. No, I don't think she's in that last scene either.

Not to get too far. We do have to, you know, our final girl gets a battle win. And I think the way that she kills Satan is super cool and so messed up. As far as earning a gruesome death, like he definitely earns like a really, cool death. Yeah, he had it coming. But I'm so happy for him, you know, he went out the way he lived, real, real fucked up.

Oh, we do get to see, we do get to see the zombie. [00:55:00] He's just covered in piercings and like, he's the one that gets, that shoots the intern. Oh, okay. So the zombie shoots the intern, but the zombie just has like piercings and he's like kind of just he's like just starting the face. Yeah. I think he's, he's had some work done, but not like a ton.

It's still like kind of natural, you know, he's working on it. but the witch still has her mask on when she gets like, when, they're on the roof and she gets like a big duel. the dual kill and all you really see of it is when they're breaking the mask. You see like the mask pieces come off and then you get the face reveal, which I think is another fun way because like how many times can they face reveal?

The devil takes his off. He's the one he like willing. Yeah, the clown they do a behind the head until they finally show you him the [00:56:00] ghost. He it's only after he's murdered. Yeah. Do they see it then and the zombies like Oh, hey, I'm here. The witches one I think was like a really well done reveal. It's probably the best done reveal.

It almost it's like an extreme version. Have you ever done those face masks that like the zombie face masks that make your skin all like crap? Yeah, I love it. It's like that but extreme. Yeah, I want to do those. They're so good for your pores. And then we and then they're just like escaping while getting chased by the clown who's also The clown is so chill.

He's just like, all right, well, it's done. I'm going to go start a fire, like wandering throughout the house and or throughout the haunted house and just burning it to the ground. this is just like what he, well, don't they say it's oh, they use oil of all the walls. I wonder why they did that.

Like doll, [00:57:00] you know, a fire is going to be at some point that way. Yeah. that was the whole, which, how many times have they done this? How many places have they done this? Yeah. that they have, the ending. It's not oh, something went wrong. We have to burn it. It's no, this was the plan from the get.

He gets like a nice hero moment when the fires are burning and he turns around in the blue light. And it's like the reflection, because as much as I hate clowns, I really love that they did the hollowed out of the nose. Yeah. He seems like an older gentleman. he's a whisper older than the other guys.

Yeah, he's been there a little longer. That's why he's like the manager. He's a little more in charge. It's like someone's dad. Oh, I hope his kid wasn't the intern. My dad made me do this. I don't even want a face. But even though the, zombie and the witch, and I am assuming, I think the intern [00:58:00] was the vampire.

I mean, I don't know. We can double check. they don't get a lot in like the actual haunt. At least they do get, like everybody gets a good. death. The zombie gets to come back as they're running and he chases them over the fence and then gets beat with a bat. But okay, so one thing that when you guys kept saying it, I was confused.

When you're talking about this dream sequence, do you mean when she goes home to her mom? Isn't that a dream? No. Really? It happens after the hospital. She gets released and she goes home to mom. In my head, for some reason, I thought that it cut back to her being in the hospital. Well, she leaves and they find the car, the ex's abandoned vehicle, with the door open or it was like, why did this dude leave in such a hurry that he left his door open?

Like he wandered in to this place to get murdered. Yeah. Why did he leave his door open? I don't know. I don't know. But maybe I'm misremembering. Maybe they drove it off or something. I don't know. That could be maybe they [00:59:00] drove it off and then just left it like that. but then it's very final movie like they're driving and then the cop and the am the one cop car and one ambulance are driving the other way and it's like you're going to need so much more than that.

I'm so sorry. and I'm assuming they're only coming because of the fire. not all the murder. Yeah. And then there is the hospital because her boyfriend, her new boyfriend, they're totally gonna, I see a future. or they're never going to speak again because they don't want to remember the night all their friends died.

Exactly. Would go either way. And cause he's hurt, but then she takes the truck and the ring that he got for her and she goes home and like the door that she's had all these like trauma things of going to finally opens, but it's, I'm assuming it's her mom. It's like someone who looks like her, who is that age where she would be like a mom.

Throughout the movie, the first time [01:00:00] watching it, I was like, okay, so dad killed mom and that's why you're upset. And then in the end of the movie, all of a sudden, mom's, father, so like mom got out of this bad relationship? Well, you're right. It says on the synopsis that I have that it was a real event that happened.

I think it's, shot a little it's got that sort of like a little fuzzy, like a little, like it feels a little dreamy, kind of like the end of Nightmare on Elm Street. And it feels like it's out of place. And the fact that her mom's still alive, which I'm very confused about. Wait, no, you're right, because it does go back to the hospital.

I'm confused too. Oh god, this is why. Does she go back to the hospital after finding her mom? Because now the ring's there? All right, I'm a little confused. And I've watched this movie so many times, and maybe it's because it's the least interesting part to me because there's no murder. So I'm like, I don't need your catharsis at the end.

The boyfriend [01:01:00] gets the ring back for her. He does. Yeah. And maybe that's just her. Maybe it's not real. And it's just her and her mom bonding because she survived and she deserves to have a moment. I don't know. I definitely have questions. It does seem a little convoluted to me. Right. But the final scene, which I think is way better than us getting like a happy little mother daughter reunion, which is yes, good for the character.

Good for so many things. But it's a horror movie. I need a little more. and I, really love that she's my house, I grew up in a haunted house and now it's a haunted house for you too. She doesn't say it, but that's, I think. Yeah. And she like sticks her shoes to the floor, right?

Yeah. The clown. Cause he has her address from the waiver and she didn't put her college dorm. She put her like home address. Yeah. Okay. The [01:02:00] clown. had what he brought a sledgehammer. He was not planning on doing anything nice. He was not making balloon animals. So, but that was like, that was kind of a fun, like he, it's crazy that he came to finish the job because in the same time, what, who, what was she going to tell?

To endanger him in any way that his own face of I'm sorry, if I was working at like a 7 Eleven and a dude who like modified himself to be a clown walked in, the first thing I would do is call a cop. No second if I saw that dude just like in a car and I was going the opposite direction 911 would be my first.

Though, I feel like he'd be easily identifiable, especially if he's committed other crimes like the guy. with the visible markings of a clown on his face. the cops probably know who this dude is. So what's, the point of like [01:03:00] Witnesses unless it's like a revenge thing of my friends, or he's the one that funded all their plastic surgery.

And he's I don't have the money right now to make a bunch of other people have messed up faces. And now I'm kind of pissed about it. You need a new gang. He does. He's the only one left. Oh, how does it, did you return the tapes? What the fuck is she doing? I returned the videotapes. Well, hey, I'm back, guys.

What did I miss? The whole thing. We were debating on whether the end is a dream or not. And it is a bit evoluted to figure out. But I think the entire end. Like the whole end when the clown comes? no. the part, so she goes to the hospital, guy is like getting patched up, she drives the truck home and, then the door opens and it's her mom, but then she wakes up in the [01:04:00] hospital and the ring is still there, but she still goes to that same door.

the clown ends up going to that same door and she's there. So is that real? Was it just a catharsis thing of surviving and feeling like she survived and when her mom couldn't survive. So that's why they're hugging. Yeah, I kind of, I thought it was a dream sequence. Yeah, I don't know. And it, but it's, and it's the same door though.

What I'm wondering is so she owns the house? Is her dad? She mentioned something about, going home and being afraid of who's behind the door. Oh, yeah. Could it be her dad? I thought her dad was The clown? No, she, like, when she's, you know, in one of the times when she's talking about, my, it's a haunted house.

I'm pretty sure she talked, one of the lines is something about, I'm all, I'm afraid of who opens the door. And then they do it, but they do it twice. And technically, the second [01:05:00] time, she's the thing to be afraid of that's behind the door. against that clown, which like, yay, give clowns nightmares.

But yeah, I guess I don't know if it's open to interpretation because I don't feel like I don't feel like that's the vibe of do this what you will. I feel like I just I'm confused. I remember thinking, oh, this is real. But then it wrapped up and then it flashes to her in the hospital. And then I thought, oh, it was a dream.

That's how I took it. I didn't feel like her fever, you know, hospital dream. I guess that's I think that's where I'm going now is that it was catharsis. of her surviving and getting like her brain giving her that moment with her mom who couldn't survive. But she did. And so it's like her brain gave her a little reward of one last hug.

but I do love, you got to love a final girl getting the final girl, final kill scene, [01:06:00] like Sydney getting a to shoot him twice or all that like she went from being such like a meek character who had an endless who seemed like she was going to be stuck in an endless cycle of abuse. Yeah. that's like kind of the where she was at in her story in the beginning.

was trapped in that cycle. And then in the end, she gets to be a complete badass. So I like that growth for her. I love that last scene. So I, don't know. I think that's another, that's, I don't know. That's just a really good part of that movie that I liked that they did that when they focus so much on the trauma that they don't make her weak.

Yeah, she definitely wasn't a weak character. I like that. Well, guys, we've given our opinions on it, but wouldn't it be completely awesome to hear from, I won't say the horse's mouth, I'll say the devil's mouth. That's right, Pillow Frighters, we've got a special guest. you know, I know [01:07:00] everyone in horror loves a good final girl or the hero of a movie, but we love the bad guy.

And so we have an actor who is known for being the bad guy. He has been the foreboding man in the mask in Strangers Pray at Night, as well as the creepy deer skull in Wrong Turn. And, of course, the devil in Haunt. That's right. If you haven't guessed it by now, we have Indy Darling and actor producer extraordinaire Damian Maffei with us.

Damian, welcome to the Pillow Fight podcast. Thanks, for having me. Well, we have some questions that we'd like to ask. So, do you want to do the honors by starting those out? Alright, so, The Brattle? Coolidge Corner or The Brattle? What is it? Coolidge Corner, or the Brattle, theaters, Boston. Oh, Coolidge.

Yes. Those are my people. I, that's the theater [01:08:00] I miss so much. The guy that runs, Mark, who runs, Coolidge after midnight, he had reached out to me about a haunt thing there in October. Oh, nice. Are you going to do it? Yeah, if I'm here, I may not be here. but if I'm here, I definitely do it. Sure.

That's awesome. That's so cool. Well, I would love to go back to the beginning of your journey and some research, I saw that one of your first roles was playing Audrey II in a high school production of Little Shop of Horrors. And as a one musical theater kid to another, do you think that showed some, foreshadowing of you playing iconic masked villains?

Before I did that, or I guess when, was that? That was, 10th grade. So around that time, me and my friends were also filming, Friday the 13th sequels on camcorder. [01:09:00] And I would always play Jason. So we thought they were great. We thought they were going to be officially licensed sequels. I never know.

They're not so good. so I was, well, cause we wanted to make horror movies, Friday the 13th did great. Someone had to play Jason and I was the tallest. so it was me. so that was really probably the first go, but yeah, Audrey II was, That was my first thing ever really first like organized thing and that was I was a big movie fan.

I don't think that I had designs on being an actor. Like it took the acting class and you had to audition for the musical. They only did one show a year and it was a musical. So you had to audition for it and the first year [01:10:00] was Annie. And I auditioned and I got a small part of Cordell Hall was on the cabinet.

And, I didn't do it because I was playing sports. Then the next year, the little shop and everyone was like, you're going to get the dentist, you're going to get the part of the dentist, like the dentist. And I knew the movie, both of them. And, I was like, ah, that's cool. I do it. And then they cast me as, Audrey II.

I was like, yeah, I'll do this. So, but I still wasn't on stage. I did the voice from the pit, but it was certainly the start of something. I mean, that was the start of everything really, because yeah. And all I did was an impression of Levi Stubbs from the movie. Like it wasn't acting, it was just an impression.

I think it was a really good impression too. Like I just listened to that. I watched that movie every day and, and I got spot on, I think. And I mean, I wasn't a good, student, probably a great human being. Everyone thought I was on [01:11:00] all the drugs and I wasn't on any drugs. So it was even more of a mystery as to why.

I was the way I was, had definitely a temper problem and I wasn't doing any schoolwork. And then when I started doing theater, you know, it was just more well, what the fuck is up with this guy? But then, you know, I did this voice and plant and people were just like losing their minds. And it was like, You know, just the applause and accolades and like the staff was even more confused, but it was like, Oh, he's just like some fucked up artists type.

So yeah, I loved all that shit. So I was like, I'm gonna do more. You do voiceover as well. So I've done the the, one the video game. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Texas Chainsaw. Nice. I mean, but that video game is like, going crazy right now. Yeah. Yeah. It's, I mean, that's a cool thing. I mean, I play, I don't play my character talks a little too much.

And, yeah, I mean, like when they [01:12:00] came up to me for that game, I'll just start answering questions or rambling. So you have to stop me. But yeah, like they, I was doing a convention, and they came up to me in the hall afterwards. Yeah. And they were introduced to me and they were like, we're from Gun.

And, I was like, Oh, Friday 13th. yeah, I mean, it's incredible. I love Friday 13th. what are you talking to me for? And they said, you're on the top of the list. You know, hopefully we, you know, we get you to play one of the characters in this new game we're doing, which we can't tell you what it is, but we're in Texas and I was like, what do you mean?

Like mocap? So I'm like, well, you know. The voice and I was like, like me, like why it did make sense. It still really doesn't make sense because like the only thing that these people could have known me for or any horror fans whatever at that time was, you know, strangers, which I [01:13:00] don't talk at all or haunt, which I have five lines in and I, you know, did a whole thing with my voice there.

So it was, it was bizarre to me that someone would come to me for a voice. Part, but, they had heard me talking on a panel somewhere and they were like, oh, this guy's like arrogant and sarcastic and yeah, man, he's like the perfect guy for this asshole. I was like, great. I mean, that's, but that's really crazy that's where they picked you from.

And they were like, they hear, they heard you and they're like, that's it. That's our dude. Yeah. Like I, I still have not gotten a crystal clear answer on how all that happened. Like why me, but man, whatever. That's been the only thing I've done so far. Oh, I did an audio book, too, but it hasn't come out yet.

Ooh. You have a long working relationship with genre producer John Wagner. So, is there a story behind how you work together so much? And that story is [01:14:00] continuing. It's a secret. Oh. Another big one coming. John, Johnny, John, Danger. Yeah, I love him. I met John on a movie called Closed for the Season.

That's not what it's called now. I forgot what it's called. It has another title now. Carnival of Fear? I don't know. Closed for the Season is what it was called. And it was, yeah, it was in Ohio, that movie. And, it was filmed in an abandoned amusement park. which was really cool. And that was John's first producing job.

He was just out of college. And he was the line producer on that. That's it. And I mean, it was a pretty low budget movie. It was probably like 125 grand or something. And, a lot of people returning home was mostly Ohio natives. And, John was originally from Cincinnati. He was in LA at the time. it was a tough, shoot.

but I met [01:15:00] John and just, you know, you just meet people. Sometimes you instantly have A chemistry or you know, reaction, especially not crazy. I mean, that place had been abandoned for 30 years at park. So it was like wacky place in the middle of nowhere, Ohio. So, it was a tough production, like I said, so it was like, we glommed onto each other and he was, you know, he's got my sense of humor.

So, just kind of stuck together. And then after that, he directed a short film called Wildfires. He did that in LA, but he wanted me to play the lead in it and, you know, flew me out there. And I was like, I was very appreciative of that. I was like, you know, you were in California, you could throw a rock out the window and hit an actor, but I appreciate you bringing me out for that.

that never came out, but, we tried to do things here and there, failed [01:16:00] miserably, you know, but we kept trying. And then he, he moved back to Cincinnati. And, you know, everyone was like, What are you doing? You can't leave California like you're ruining your career. But you move back there. And he was right away.

He was a producer on Bone Tomahawk, which is fucking awesome. If you haven't seen it. And then, I quit acting or I just stopped trying because it wasn't happening anyway. And I moved to Maine. Ooh, man. Because I was like, I'm done. I know like this miserable. Everything's the worst. Like I'm gonna go.

Where no one can find me. Main, my next stop , like good luck trying to find me there. And, I was there for a few months and then John called me up and, he was like, Hey, we're, I'm doing this sequel to, strangers. And I was like, oh, it's been like 10 years. that's cool. and you know, he was like, you know, I think, you should play the [01:17:00] bad guy.

And I was like, the guy with the bag on his head. And he was like, yeah. I was like, you know, man, I don't think so. And, he's you love horror movies and all this stuff. I was like, yeah, but I'm an act. That guy doesn't talk. He's just like set dressing. it's just gonna aggravate me. And I quit anyway.

But, he sent me the script. You know, I was like, oh, this is pretty cool. so we did that. And then, man, it's been, you know, ever since. So, although he doesn't have to go to bat for me. I can do it myself. Yeah, he's a good guy. He is one of the genuine good ones in, in this game. That's why I like him.

And it's great that you have someone like in your corner who like always believes in like what you can bring to a project. He did. See me, you know, for acting stuff instead of, you know, just the killing or [01:18:00] whatever, which is fine too. But you know, he does, John will probably say I'm the best actor. He knows it.

No doubt. so that's, you know, he's, always had that in mind, you know, like with the strangers thing, it was like, yeah, he loves hard and but he's a good actor. Like you want to get in here and do shit with this. So, yeah, he's good. That's enough about John. All right, well, speaking of strangers, and I, we were not going to get into a ton, but you know, you're in one of the most iconic scenes in modern horror, full stop, not just oh, this is a cool scene for movie, it's a scene that's going to go down in history.

How much of the pool scene in Strangers did you get to do? Versus did you? I know that there was a stunt double listed in the credit. So is it mostly you or is it him or both? I mean, overall, it's mostly me. I mean, I guess, you know, you're talking about submerged stuff. The [01:19:00] submerged stuff is probably a lot of that is him or probably, you know, like the.

The wrestling thing, when you could see Lewis's face, he was with my stunt double. And then I would throw down with his stunt double. It's cause otherwise we would just kill each other. And it was like, it's, crazy. Like under there, like the bag was just spinning around on your head and stuff.

And I was like, I mean, I don't need to do this stuff. It was like some things. Like they'd be like, listen, you know, I'm going to do the truck scene. I was like, I don't need to be in an exploding truck. So, he, did quite a bit of the stuff there. Matt is his name. but I mean, a lot, I did whatever, you know, I was comfortable with.

You know, it was a fair amount [01:20:00] of fairly physical, but I'm not an idiot, you know, I don't want to kill Lewis. He's a lovely boy. So, big movie star now, too. Imagine if I killed him, he never would have gotten away. When you walked into that set of that pool with all the palm trees and stuff, were you just this is going to be awesome?

Or were you like, I don't know what this has to do with the strangers? No, Like when we first got there and street clothes, Lewis and I blocked out the fight choreography. And we, did that for a couple of hours and then we left, got dressed and we're like that whole movie. You couldn't start filming till about 9.

PM. until it was nightfall. So, you know, I remember coming back and the way that was like, this is a crazy park because it's in a, it's in a state park. So like the base camp. Had to be all the way over. I remember us like coming down and it was like, the pool is at the bottom of this hill. So I remember [01:21:00] seeing off in the distance, like the palm trees and stuff.

And I'm like, what the fuck is going on? And coming down, it was really cool just to see that it was, of course the music wasn't playing, but it was, we did a bunch of takes of that swinging at him. There was one time there was like a reset. I was like, I think this is really cool. I don't know if I knew how cool people would think it was or whatever, but I thought it was pretty cool.

But then again, I was like, well, you know, maybe it's just there's pool scenes all the time. I don't know. who the cares about this pool? Some movies, the whole thing's in the pool. It's true. It's true. It's me, you know, knowing of the future. But, I mean, I had a little idea. I remember thinking.

I think this is probably pretty cool. Well, it was. it's amazing. They had the three cameras going, they had a crane above us. Just [01:22:00] everything about the lighting, the music, the choreography, I think everything just went together in a very beautiful way. What's that DP? The DP, Ryan Samuel, is a fucking mad genius.

He did Haunt. Yeah. Incredible. He's another one of my favorite people on the planet. love. He's yeah, he's amazing. All the credit goes to him. I mean, of course we're gonna, we're gonna talk about Haunt and we're gonna, you know, your characters, then your villain characters and everything, but you are a very physical actor, especially in parts where you know, you don't have lines and you still are conveying so considering that, you know, a lot of people know you for your talents where they can physically see you how what was the experience like voicing a video game character and having to have all of that come through in a, you know, slightly different way.

The video game present problems. I wasn't prepared for or, you know, I did all that one day the first [01:23:00] go. and it was like 200 degrees in the studio, which I thought was them simulating Texas conditions, but someone accidentally hit into the thermostat. I mean, really the biggest issue for me doing that was like, I knew that they cast me, asked me to do it because they wanted like this, The growly thing for Johnny, you know, you know, you're all gurgle and no guts or whatever the hell he says, but like the majority of his dialogue is from people either hiding or running away from them.

And the mic was like right up in my face. And you know, I'm used to the movie things or not speaking at all, but like movies, you know, the mics are on you doing that whisper thing that less is more. So I was just never loud enough. It was like, no, you got to you got to throw it out there.

And then so the more I would throw it out there, you [01:24:00] know, you can run, but you can't hide. I'm like, Oh my God, Johnny can't sound like this. He sounds like Mickey Mouse. So, like I was trying to keep that raw. Thing that they wanted me for that was the biggest problem for me wasn't too You know, it's kind of a bit of a funny ride because like sometimes I won't be talking at all They'll be on screen and sometimes guy doesn't shut the fuck up Yeah, but Audrey too prepared me for all that.

There you go. To be heard but not seen. Always goes back to the first, role. Now I'm gonna have to, I'll have to play as your character now. I mean, I'm a Nancy or sissy guy, but yeah, Johnny's cool. Yeah, you like it. Ready to get into Haunt a little bit, if that works. So, speaking of Haunt, how did you, 

initially just get involved with it in general, John Wagner. We had finished strangers in August. Now, that'd [01:25:00] be July. So ended in July started in May ended in July. And then I went back home. And then a couple of months later, John had said, there's an Eli Roth movie coming here and I'm the line producer on it.

And I was like, Oh, Scott and Brian, like a quiet place was filming at the same time as Haunt. So good year for them. So saying their names to people didn't do anything. Although I had seen, there was a movie that they had directed was on shutter. It was called, nightlight. I think, which is from the POV of a flashlight.

Very interesting. It's kind of a found footage thing. it's it's it's a horror movie. It's people in it. It's sort of like a manhunt kind of thing. But it's like the POV is from the flashlight. I'm not making it sound very. So he was like, and there's a lot of bad guys in it. And like they know you played a man in the mask.

So they're like [01:26:00] they're into, you know, looking at you for it. And I was like, oh, when is it filming? And he said, it starts in October, it goes from October to November. So it was like the end of October because we were there on Halloween filming, which is pretty cool. And my third kid has got a due date, November 8.

And he was like, Oh, forget. I was like, What do you mean forget it? He's We'll get together in the next one. I was like, hold on a second, what are you talking about? He's I'm not gonna be a party to you missing the birth of your son. I was like, I was there for the other two. Yeah, I don't need to be there for the third.

It all happened the same way. I was like, hold on a second. I need to do cool things. Yeah. And I need you to get me in there. I'm sure the mama understands mama, bear understands no, I'm not. I was like, why [01:27:00] are you this way? Don't be this way. So I was like, forget it. And I wound up.

reaching out to back in woods myself. And I was like, I am Damian. I am the man in the mask. I heard you doing a movie whatever. And I was like, I reached out. And I got ahold of them. I all that stuff, I set that up. And then they were in the offices. And they went up to John, they're like, we want to ask you about this Damian, Maffei guy, John's I'm not

Maybe this was going to come up later on, but I did not miss the birth because it was scheduled for November and I Katie up against the chain link thing took my mask off. I was like, Who's Sam? And then I got out of there and I flew back and then the child was born and we were like, Yeah, and then I went back and picked up filming.

[01:28:00] Wow. That's like somebody who that's a Matthew Modine Full Metal Jacket shit. Yeah. Even though it wasn't in the movie, did, Woods and Beck give you a backstory for your character? Of what, nothing? No, nothing. They claimed to know the backstories and stuff, but they weren't sharing. And, I mean, I didn't need to know.

I didn't need to have that information to do that. And it was the same thing with the Strangers movie. People are like, what does he do? I don't know, man. He works at a deli. No, I had read some interviews where they had said Oh, yeah, you know, it was integral to our process to have this backstory and everybody on the set knew the backstory.

I want to know the backstory. Yeah, maybe, there is, you know, there's a line in there. You know, tattoo [01:29:00] artist. Yeah. The group and it was assumed it was the devil. But yeah, they were tight lipped. And I never asked. So, Interesting. Well, behind that devil mask, you reveal some pretty serious, not just prosthetics, but looks like piercing, skin, like augmentation.

He's gone. He's gone through it. How did that help with your creative process once you physically got there? Well, that was, I mean, cause you read that script and it's okay, piercings and stuff. I wasn't aware of how transformative. It would be, like I thought it'd be like, you know, like my chin or whatever, but they added all this, stuff on, cause I was going to have a little goatee, a little devil goatee.

I mean, it does, it changes everything, you know, for, you know, like you're doing like theater or anything, you're [01:30:00] like, You put on the suit when you're doing guys and dolls over and over again. Like I have, you know, when you put on that suit, it does, it helps you, you know, changes your posture and you're kind of the, you know, the way you move and all that stuff.

And that's, you know, no difference with, movies and, putting on that, you know, that 2 robe they gave me, you know, intentionally awful Halloween outfits. I remember the fashion show, you know, They were trying on all different robes that they like picked up from Spirit or whatever. Like that, you know, even the robe thing, you know, like that changed you.

But the, face thing, what I look like now, like I, I don't have to try to be scary. This is scary on its own. And that same, scene there where I Katie up against the, the chain link fence and I take the mask off [01:31:00] and, you know, I'm saying the lines. I remember. Brian coming over and be like, on the next take, like just lighten it up a little bit because it's all so crazy.

Like maybe now I was like, I totally get it. Totally get it. this is doing everything. Like you don't need to be. Try to be scary. Anyway, I don't know if I answered any question there, but that's what I'm sticking with. Is your preparation for a role different from a creature character or a mask character versus if you're just doing a normal everyday Joe character?

It depends on what that creature is, whatever. I, they're probably going to revoke my douchebag acting card. It's shenanigans. What? I don't need to like get in a dark place, whatever, like stab the guy in the head or, you know, it's funny that these guys is that normally you like movie villains [01:32:00] or, you know, any, villains, you know, in acting class, they'll tell you, it's, it's, you don't play the bad guy.

Like you don't think you're bad. You know, it was like most, you know, the interesting bad guys think they're right. Or, you know, they have, you know, whatever Hans Gruber, you know, it's justified. It's, you know, and totally like those two guys there. I mean, they know they're diabolical, like they know they're evil.

and they're reveling. it's, it's their, you know, passion, but there's no depth to it. I don't need to go to dark, you know, recesses and whatnot to do that stuff. I can for other things. And have, you know, parts coming out where I've had to, you know, dust off the acting.

But for those, it's you know, it's shenanigans. Hey, you know, respectful answer really is. So you said you guys were we're shooting on [01:33:00] Halloween. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So did you get up to Halloween shenanigans you guys like dress up or do anything fun on set? I was already dressed up. I went to a gas station.

I didn't have the prosthetics on though, so I just had the mask, and like a hood and like I, I really had to go to the gas station. I snuck off, said, John will never hire me. . And I went to the gas station and I mean, it was Halloween. It's totally, fine. some of the people got up to Halloween shenanigans.

I didn't really. I'm kind of a, I don't go out too much, you know, hide, live in the dad life. Yeah. You know, that was in Kentucky. So Kentucky is parts of that area of Kentucky is trapped in time. So [01:34:00] with a place that I was staying at across the street was this diner. With the wood paneling on there and you go there and the people just smoking inside I was like, you know, what year is it in here?

So like I would love going in there you know, I had the bald head and I would just go in there and that was the first place I ever had a BLT 2017 and someone was eating a BLT. I was like that looks really good I don't really like tomatoes, but I was like, I want this BLT and I've been eating them ever since thanks to Pepper Pods in Kentucky, but that's, what I wound up doing.

I went there with a couple of people from just like the crew, most probably 80 percent of that crew was on Strangers. So it was already like a family affair. That's cool. That's awesome. What was it like working on a set that kind of was like a haunted house? That was cool. That was really cool. [01:35:00] That was a, it used to be a dairy factory, I guess.

That was great. They had the maps up in places of the whole layout because like you'd get lost. I like to sneak off and just visit so you like visit the graveyard was probably the coolest like the graveyard with the slide into it. They did such a great job with that. That was a lot of fun.

Was there any room in particular that like actually creeped you out? No. You know, it was probably creepier was that place just on its own without the haunt in it because it's like an old factories, like all old shit in there. It's all metal pipes. You know, it looks like, Freddy's basement or wherever hell that is.

So that was pretty scary on its own. Yeah. The BTS photos of it looked amazing. Like it looked like, you'd be like the most visceral experience because it's, it, is all just right there and [01:36:00] you guys like built You guys, they built the haunt. that's really cool. it's not just hollowed out, you know?

You know, there's a guy does, on set cinema, Kenny Caperton. You know, he does screenings of movies where they filmed and he's done, The Strangers twice at the pool. and he wanted to do one in the haunt factory, but it's storage units. Oh no! do you have any good stories from set? Any I wouldn't say juicy, but just good stories.

You said good? Yeah, any stories, just any, Nothing juicy. Nothing juicy? I tripped. There's probably ten solid minutes of me tripping. Is there a trip compilation? Is it the ropes? It was the robes, they were too long. And eventually, it was like, he's gonna kill himself or someone because sometimes [01:37:00] I had to pitchfork and like trip and, you know, be going towards the crew.

So they if you don't see my feet in the shot, they would sew them up. But yeah, like I tripped a lot. It's like a horrible place, you know, a lot of it is just metal and rough, and all that stuff. And it's not soft. But it was like a comedic amount of tripping. What else? The only scene that I didn't film was, I was supposed to go down the slide, and she does it, and I'm like, yay, and I'm like, alright Damian, you're ready, and I'm standing there and Brian turns and goes, oh, pitchfork, okay.

he's maybe you shouldn't go down the slide with the pitchfork. And I was like, man, I want to go down the slide. I was like, I'll just send the pitchfork down first, like yell points. [01:38:00] And then I'll come down after. He's I don't think so. But I was curious. It's I was like, there's no cool way to make going down a slide.

Like you can't look good going down. And that was the same thing with the brawling through the. Crawl space like doing that. That was one of the first things I did. I was like, what is this movie? this isn't cool at all. It's crawling thing. this is weird. It's like this character's lame But a good story.

Yeah. Yeah good story. Let's see. That was a good story when I met Chaney For the first time, who played Ghost. They shaved all of our heads. And Chaney's, he's a smaller guy, and you know, he's got a look to him, but shaved head, that look is meth addict. And so when he walked up on set and he was like, hey man.

I was like, oh, guy, you can't be here. ha And he's I'm, on the movie. I was [01:39:00] I told one, I was like, there's this meth guy out in the parking lot. And he was like, Oh, that's the meth guy. And he was, I was like, he's, his head's all shaved. And he was like, your head's all shaved.

I was like, Oh shit. I was like, what do you got against bald people? I was like, usually nothing. Yeah. But yeah, What else? it was, what else happened? Like the contacts, they put those, things. So I wear contacts and I must, or I walk into things. So, they had to do a piggyback.

Yeah. Where they put them over. And so, but those things like wrap around your eyeballs and it's like clockwork. Aren't me. In me down and put them into my eyes That was probably the worst part of that and they dry out. So these guys are following me around putting droppers in there And, a guy had been working on my voice, which I was like, maybe I should make it lower or, you know, like [01:40:00] a kind of thing, whatever.

And then, 30 seconds before I'm about to speak, they were like, Oh, shit, we got to put the teeth in to blacken out your teeth. And then he gives, they give me this mouthpiece. to cover my teeth and it just like it created this like hollowing thing and I was like oh my god did you hear this is this how I sound now so that's how I sound in the movie is because of this mouthpiece.

No you sound menacing in the movie, truly. Yeah. Sounded menacing just a minute ago. I'm sure there's better stories. So was there ever talk of you guys doing another one? well, you know what's funny about that is, Scott and Brian are kind of known now famously for not wanting to do sequels to things or like they don't want to do sequels to things.

So like they didn't want to do A Quiet Place [01:41:00] 2. Like I think you have your blessing to continue it, but like they just want to kind of move on and do their own stuff with just, you know. You know, absolutely. And then a year ago, maybe more now, I don't know, whatever it was, they announced on some podcasts that there was going to be a haunt sequel, which was very interesting to, to hear.

I don't know anything, else about it. So that's all I know. And that was like two years ago. I'd be very surprised if they directed it or even wrote it, but I don't know. I'm not too interested in, revisiting that, I don't want to know about this guy, you know, working part time at, you know, tech too.

And as an accountant, I think like people think they want to know, but then you find out and then you're like, oh, yeah, the mystery's gone. This [01:42:00] person's not scary. I love Haunt I love Strangers. I have a genuine affection for them and I'll celebrate them, you know, till my last breath, but I didn't really want to do them again.

Although of like Scott and Brian, you know, they're brilliant. So it's like they think something's worth doing. Maybe it is. And they wouldn't tell me anyway. you don't, hear about this crap. Like I don't hear about this stuff. I just read it and bloody disgusting. They're doing eight more Strangers movies.

Ha! I think it's, really interesting that, you know, this, new one, the chapter one or whatever. It is pretty much a remake, not shot for shot, but it's very close. But it, for people like me who gravitated towards Prey at Night because it took the original idea and it was like, let's, you know, Give it acid and some cocaine and yeah, and it's like it was taking an [01:43:00] interesting idea and making it bigger and making it something new and creative.

It makes it stand out that much more. It's you know, let's give it Christina Hendricks. That's just Johannes. That movie is just he's probably like the funniest guy I know. And, he's just lovely to be around and just his energy like, like I remember sitting in the van. And gonna stab Martin and you have to be in the back and he's just I think I'm going to put an 80s love ballad here.

And they're like, that's all the time you'd like. I think an 80s love ballad. And it's just you know, he was like, Oh, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to remake Christine now. Like the truck would be on fire chasing and stuff. it was just like, Oh, this movie's fun. And everyone, Involved knew that would come out and get torched like we knew that I've been a horror fan all my life I know that no one hates horror movies more than horror fans [01:44:00] So it's like what?

You've ruined art and all that shit like the new york times reviewed it. It's like the new york times reviewing a Slasher movie where I wrestled with someone to like total eclipse of the heart like, you know, like we weren't surprised But you know what? I think we're doing this work. I think was the New York Times I think said that we ripped off The Mutilator.

Oh no, and I like looking at I was at The Mutilator. Random. I know just cuz there's a pool. Am I To believe that this New York Times critic has seen The Mutilator, but then I met the people that made The Mutilator and I was like, you know, bright night. They said, we ripped off your movie. isn't that crazy?

And they were like, Oh, it's the pool scene. And I was like, there's. pool scene in The Mutilator. Very different. Yeah. Very different. Right. I think the tides are turning though. I think it's giving people [01:45:00] the, hey, maybe I should re examine this bonkers movie. That's, part of the beauty of, of the horror community.

Genre and social media is that time heals these wounds, especially because there's always, people are always going to be jumping in there and rebooting and remaking and, you know, legacy sequels and we'll forget the first eight and, you know, be a direct sequel to, you know, part one. So I suspected, and I'm sure there's the people back me up on right night, I was like, it's going to take five years or so, but I think You know, people start to come around once it heals and I've experienced that so much people all the time will be like, I hated it when it first came out now it's my third favorite movie and I knew when Renny Harlin was making a Strangers movie that it was going to come out and it was going to send people back to [01:46:00] embrace I was like bright nights about to have a big uptick.

in love, because in one, all of a sudden it's Oh my God, how dare you ruin this precious stranger's prey at night with its 9 percent on rotten tomatoes or whatever it is. You're like, hold my beer. So what do you have coming up next? Yeah, well, that hasn't been announced yet, but I'm spoiling it here.

in November, I have a movie coming out called Black Eyed Susan, which just had its premiere at the Fantasia Festival in Montreal. It's a Vinegar Syndrome production, one of their first productions because they've just been like a distributor for decades. It's a big change for me, no matter what. that movie is, I turned it down like three times.

The producer reached out to me. He was like, Hey, Damian. I was like, Oh, like this is a producer I've been trying to work with. whatever you're going to say, I love it. And he was like, Hey, I'm doing this movie called Black Eyed Susan. it's written and directed [01:47:00] by Scooter McRae, which was the name.

That's incredible. Fabio Fritzi is doing the score that, you know, did all the, you know, Fulci, movies. And Vinegar Syndrome is the production company. I was like, Oh my God, what is this? Can we do it now? And then he was like, you know, just so you know, this is what it's about.

And you're going to be very exposed in it physically, and all this other stuff. And I was like, Oh, you got the wrong guy. You got the wrong, this sounds amazing, but like you, it's just not me. Like I like, Doritos and stuff. I'm like, I don't wanna be . So did you have to like, get fit for it? is that what you're saying?

Well, what I am actually saying is, that, because like I'm not a method actor and obviously, you know, I use the word shenanigans a lot, but I do have, there is a thing in me there, there is a few, I mean, I'm a serious actor and I do have a pet peeve about. [01:48:00] actors who don't physically match their characters.

You know, it's like, where's this guy have time to go to the gym? He's just been like, fighting a whale for nine months, whatever, like, where are the abs coming from? It's it just doesn't make sense. Or whatever, you know what I'm saying? So I just can't get rid of that. And I was like, this character is, he's recently homeless.

He's just a guy. He's eating out of a dumpster literally. And he's got a drinking problem, like he's not going to be a physical specimen, top physical. So I was like, that's the truth. And I, must do that truthfully as an actor, but should I, because if I do that and I bear it all on screen, it's going to be like, whoa, especially with all these Texas Chainsaw fans.

Like I, you know, like I have all these people who are like, When you get to be nude in a movie, I'm like, it's not gonna go the way you think. Oh god! I was like, I'm gonna lose all [01:49:00] these fans. but I did it anyway. Cause it was like the most brilliant script I had read. I couldn't put it down. And I couldn't stop thinking about it.

Remember, I read it, and I put it down, and I was like, oh boy. And I read it again right away, which I never do. And then it was like 3am and I was sitting in the dark. I was like, I got a problem. And I was like, yeah, I have to do this. And it does scare me the whole thing. So it's a crazy movie. I was shot on film too, which was another thing.

It was like, that was the first movie I was going to shoot on film. That's awesome. So I don't know, but I did it. So I got that coming out Black Eyed Susan. It's definitely gonna be Something whether it ruins me or whatever But I had to do it. Awesome. Now. What else got to Another movie coming up here.

I think believe with Mr. Wagner, which I unfortunately can't [01:50:00] talk about right now, and it's a movie called Dark Circles, which has been in, post production for 40 years, probably two or three. I don't know. It's one of my favorite scripts of all time. it's about this, peeping Tom who gets arrested.

Put through the system and he discovers, it's really great. it was directed by Hannah Fierman. It's, one of my best friends in the world wrote the screenplay. It's brilliant. And, really looking forward to that fucking thing. Finally being finished and coming out. It's at 99. 9%. It's almost done.

So, got that and, more Texas Chainsaw stuff coming up. I keep doing voices for that. that's probably all the good stuff, I think. Awesome. It's a lot of good, stuff. Well, thank you so much for, you know, making yourself available for us and for doing this interview and dealing with all the tech demons.

All the tensions with the tech demons. [01:51:00] You have been a confidence boost because I've just been sitting here with my working screen the whole time. Usually I'm like the worst. The worst. We're happy to be that for you. We are. We are that. Thank you so much. Thanks so much for coming in and doing this interview.

We really appreciate it. And it's. really excited to talk about, you know, not just Haunt but you know, your genre, your work as a genre actor, it's, great to talk to someone who's, I'll keep doing it as long as it's, doing stuff that I want to watch. And Haunt is interesting because it's like still more people than not, you know, like they've never heard of it or don't know it.

And yet it has more merchandise than anything. I was gonna say, I was gonna say they have got masks, which I have. Like the fans of it are these like horror slash like Halloween fans were like ravenous for it, but I hope it keeps picking up. And, [01:52:00] you know, so this was, I appreciate doing this. That was the whole point of my 10 minute.

sentence there. No, that's great. Thank you so much. Well, that was our episode on Haunt. We hope you enjoyed it. Let us know what you think of the movie. Let us know down below. We also have a Patreon that you can follow us on you could support us on that we have all of these episodes uncut for your viewing and listening pleasure.

Yeah, we guarantee a pretty good time there. And if you want to follow us on our socials for horror news, movie, trailer, watches, movie recommendations, basically all things horror, you can follow us - PillowFrightPod on Instagram and on TikTok as well as YouTube. And we just want to say thank you so much to Damian for such a great interview and sharing all of your insights with us.

Hope you come back again soon. But until [01:53:00] then, sweet screams everybody. And whatever you don't fall asleep first.