Gregory Lamberson, Part II
September 14, 2005
Jumping back a few months or so, you’ll recall a particular weekend column when I introduced the local reading populace to Gregory Lamberson, a Fredonia High graduate who is quite quickly making a name for himself traveling the horror festival circuit with his ‘80’s B-horror films and his first novel, “Personal Demons”. Since then Lamberson has been busy, busy, busy, most recently appearing on the cover of the Gusto (mine was first mind you, but who needs jealousy to cloud a joyous occasion), promoting his second Midnight Movie Madness film festival, held Saturday nights, and early Sunday mornings, at the great Amherst Theater in Buffalo, which Lamberson happily manages when not on the road with his product. For a long time it had been in the works to feature Greg in this column again, but for various different reasons, including a few cancelled local book signings, it never came to pass, but now the time has come, and Fredonia’s number one horror buff son will be appearing at the Brown Bean on Wednesday night to sign copies of his book, read excerpts of his highly addictive, funny and scary prose, sell pre-release copies of the first ever DVD edition of his splatter classic “Slime City”, and in general revel in the warmth a good coffee house crowd can project upon a featured artist.
I read “Personal Demons” over a furious two-day span in March where I could hardly put it down, and I fully endorse it’s unique mixture of cop fiction and horror fantasia, and to boot, any programmer who puts together a film festival featuring such enduring classics as “Planet of the Apes”, “Alien”, and “The Shining” (part of a series of Kubrick masterpieces showing at the festival) in one month’s span is well worth the praise. But I’ve said enough already, I’ll let the man himself do the talking for the rest of the piece, for not only does it make my job a lot simpler (two paragraph intro, followed by long interview, equals a lazy, hazy weekend), but it also benefits the greater good of Western New York horror appreciation and the betterment of it’s pasty, sheltered individuals, myself obviously included. So now, without further stalling, is a casual chat between a Dunkirkian fanboy and his Fredonian literary and filmic column subject, filled to the brim with cinematic devotion and promotional goodness.
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Adam Suraf: Your book seems to be a mixture between fantastical horror and cop genre noir; did you have any specific literary, or filmic, influences in blending the two, or separately. I’m a big fan of Raymond Chandler, one of the great noir writers of the ‘40’s, do you draw inspiration from Chandler, Hammet, Thompson, Ellroy, in the noir category, or just draw off of classic movies like “The Maltese Falcon” and such?
Gregory Lamberson: “The Maltese Falcon” is one of my favorite movies, and I’m a big fan of noir in general. A morally ambiguous character who must ultimately choose between right and wrong, good and evil, is one that readers can identify with, and lends itself to multiple genres. Even if people don’t normally appreciate horror or science fiction stories, there’s a good chance they’ll like my character Jake Helman, and how he reacts to fantastic situations.
A.S.: For this book, you won something called the Anubis prize for horror writing; what is that, how prestigious is it, and did they give you a cool mantle piece, maybe something shaped like Frankenstein’s neck bolt or Dracula’s fangs?
G.L.: I won the first—and so far, the only—Anubis Award for Horror for my novel, “Personal Demons”. The prize consisted of $500 and a publication contract for both a limited edition, signed and numbered hardcover and a trade paperback. I know a lot of small press writers who have been published in trade paperback, but very few who have seen their first novel published in hardcover. The judge for the award was T.M. Wright, one of my favorite authors; I read at least a dozen of his novels in the ‘80s, including “A Manhattan Ghost Story”. Winning the award has definitely opened some doors for me, but at this point, I think it’s more important that the book has received such positive reviews. I have the award on my mantle: it’s a beautifully sculpted statue of Anubis with his front paws resting on top of a book. You’ll see it on display at the Brown Bean if you come down to the signing.
A.S.: There is a kind of ironic discourse between religion and horror action in the book, with the climax taking place between fictionalized, monsterized versions of Caine and Abel; is there deeper meaning in this, to your own religion, or just something you came up with, possibly fueled by the importance of religion in horror, i.e., satanic ritual and such, especially in “The Exorcist”.
G.L.: Others have described the novel as “spiritual,” which came as a surprise to me, because I just wanted to create an action packed yarn that blended my favorite genres. The novel’s hero is a fallen Catholic who discovers that the corporation he works for is creating genetically engineered monsters, and he comes into conflict with Biblical entities as well. I pit scientific extremism against religious extremism, very contemporary issues, and present a universe in which God and evolution might co-exist. If I preach anything, it’s to be open-minded.
A.S.: Are you working on anything now?
G.L.: I’ve been working on a second novel, “Johnny Gruesome”, which takes place in a fictionalized version of Fredonia, but I’ve been too busy promoting “Personal Demons” and my films to spend much time on it.
A.S.: Speaking of which, what’s the status of your films on DVD? Is there any set release date?
G.L.: My first film, “Slime City”, which I directed in 1986 when I was 21, and my third film “Naked Fear” are being released as a double feature DVD on October 13th. I’ll be selling advance copies of it at the signing on Wednesday. The DVD includes a making of documentary, trailers, and director commentary on each film. It’s a terrific package, and I’m really happy with the new letterboxed transfer of “Slime City”.
A.S.: You’ve been doing some traveling to certain horror festivals promoting your book and movies, how has that been, are you getting good feedback, and do people come up to you knowing who you are?
G.L.: It’s been unreal! My distributor has been arranging for me to screen “Slime City” at horror conventions and film festivals, and I do readings at them as well. I’ve appeared in Ohio, Baltimore, and Toronto, and I still have the Great Lakes Film Festival in Erie, Pa., the Halloween Horror Picture Show in Tampa, Florida, and the Chiller Theatre Expo in New Jersey ahead of me. Not bad for an obscure little horror film that I directed 19 years ago. Not only do people ask me to sign the new “Slime City” DVD, but they ask me to sign the video versions that came out in 1989 and 1999, and take pictures with them. It’s pretty exciting to be a pseudo-celebrity at a horror convention, but I always have to go back to work the next day and sell popcorn.
A.S.: I read in the Buffalo News that you have plans to direct a new movie, tell me a bit about that, what stage it’s in, financing, writing, and such.
G.L.: David Williams, the Buffalo publisher of Red Scream Magazine, has hired me to direct a screenplay that he wrote and is producing. The title keeps changing, but the film is a cross between “The Blair Witch Project” and “The Haunting”. It will be a very mean, very intense film, and we’re shooting it at Mansfield Reformatory, a supposedly haunted prison in Ohio, this November.
A.S.: Cool, maybe I’ll crash the filming and make myself a nice little cameo?
G.L.: Come on over, it can be a press junket of one! But dress warm, the prison isn’t heated and it’s going to be freezing.
A.S.: So far, how is the second midnight film festival going? Are people digging the mini-Kubrick fest? I’ve seen those Kubrick films a million times, but I’d imagine there’s something special about walking out of ‘Dr. Strangelove’ at two in the morning giddy about how darkly funny it really is. I’ve never seen Dario Argento’s “Susperia” (screening October 29th), should I do everything in my power to try and make it down for that screening?
G.L.: There’s been a lot of excitement about this series. We sold out the first show, “A Clockwork Orange”, and did almost as well with “Dr. Strangelove,” which was a nice surprise. I love to hear a packed house applaud after seeing a great movie. I’ll be at the Chiller Theatre show in Jersey Halloween weekend, but “Susperia” is known for its innovative sound design, and I can assure you that we’re going to make the most of it with our system.
A.S.: Last time we talked about the state of horror, coming to a conclusion that Asia is still the market to beat, and America is still just a bunch of garbage recycling the stale old formulas and bringing nothing new to the table; has that changed at all in the past months, and does October, the month when the most horror films are released on average per year, look to offer anything good this year?
G.L.: Well, I skipped the two horror films that most fans enjoyed this year, “Saw” and “The Devil’s Reject”, because the subject matter didn’t appeal to me. And even my cinematic hero, George Romero, disappointed me with “Land of the Dead”. For me, it’s all about DVD. I just watched an ‘80’s slasher film called “Just Before Dawn”, which is similar to “Deliverance”, and I thought it was well directed. This Halloween will see the DVD release of the Val Lewton collection—classic films of quiet horror like “I Walked With a Zombie” and the original “Cat People”, also “Cemetery Man”, a very stylish Italian zombie film, and of course “Slime City”!
A.S.: Let’s talk about recent movies, still perplexing to me, but can you tell me why nobody went to see “Murderball”, in my opinion one of the five best movies of the year. What’s been the biggest hit at the Amherst this year?
G.L.: “Murderball” was a fantastic film, one of the best of the year, but I think that most sports fans aren’t interested in documentaries, documentary fans aren’t interested in sports films, and neither camp is apparently interested in paraplegic rugby players. I also think that the guys from the film were overexposed in their promotional appearances. Why pay to see what you’re getting for free on ESPN? “Crash” was the big surprise of the summer, and rightly so. My college classmate, Jim Muro, who directed “Street Trash”, which I screened at the previous Midnight Movie Madness series, was the cinematographer on “Crash”, and he’s probably going to get an Oscar nomination.
A.S.: How did you come upon the Brown Bean as a venue to make your triumphant Fredonia return?
G.L.: I’ve done a number of signings in Buffalo, at Talking Leaves Books and various Media Play locations. I usually sit at a big table, surrounded by my book and my Anubis Award, and sell copies to some of the nice people I meet. I wanted to do a signing in my home town, and The Brown Bean offers me the chance to do something that I usually only get to do at horror conventions: read selections from the novel. I’ll also be selling advance copies of “Slime City”, which I don’t get to do at bookstores, and I’ll discuss independent filmmaking and small press publishing with anyone who’s interested. Derek Welle, the owner, is enthusiastic about the event, which should be a blast.
A.S.: So, you’ve got this book signing in Fredonia, you’ve got plans for a new movie, you’re traveling around promoting your wares, the Amherst is still showing great great movies, and you’ve recently been featured on the cover of the Gusto, things are good right now for Gregory Lamberson, am I right?
G.L.: This has been the busiest, and most rewarding, year of my life. I’m doing the signing at The Brown Bean on the 21st; I’m screening “Slime City” at the great Lakes Film Festival on the 23rd; I’m showing “Planet of the Apes” at the Amherst on the 24th, and then I’m back at work on the 26th. It’s been like this all summer! And my wife Tamar is pregnant. So yeah, 2005 is definitely a year I’ll remember.
Gregory Lamberson can be seen at the Brown Bean on Wednesday night from 7 to 9, and the Midnight Movie Madness film festival runs through October 29th. All this and more can be found on his website, www.slimeguy.com.
by Adam Suraf