Wow
"1984" I was in high school and Metal
ruled the world and I wasn't even Tattooed Steve®yet!
I
didn't know Warren yet, so I wasn't able to take
part in the creation of "Drive-In
Madness". But it was a time when I met
a kid named Shawn T. Reich who shared my love of
horror movies and a magazine called "Fangoria".
We were like Jay and Silent Bob back then, just
cooler. ;0)
I
had met Shawn in Science class when I was
seated next to him. We didn't talk for the first
few weeks because I thought he was too F'n
quiet, and he thought I was a retard metalhead
stoner (Never touched the stuff not even cigs).
Anyway he put his open gymbag on the floor
one day and all I saw was a "Fangoria"
magazine. I asked him "If he was into
horror movies?" and all he said was
"Yes..." that was it a few minutes
later we were talking directors and an alience
was born.
A
week later during summer vacation I
was at "The Monmouth County Fair" and
saw a face painter named "Ricky Dick"
who owns "Castle Blood" in PA. and
is on a few of the "Mehron" makeup
packages. I was going through his makeup book
and saw all the cool gore stuff he did as well
as the face painting. I told him I liked his
work, he gave me a card and then I was cutting
school every other day to help in "The
Costume Shop" in Red Bank N.J. Ricky and
his then business partner "Doug
Clayton" taught me all the basics of horror stage
makeup and appliance makeing. And through them I
had met Tom Savini. The Shop was later bought by
Bennett Camhi and his Wife Diane and moved
it to Keyport N.J. Bennett is also the
owner of Mr. B's Entertainment and had taught me
acting and voice acting as well as
entertainment contract writing and promotion.
All that time at the store (When I was in high
school) had cost me a summer in attendence
make up, but it was more than worth it.
The
second Shawn and I were back from summer
vacation we had both signed on for the TV
production calss offered by R.B.R. H.S. and
we had taken to it like ducks to water. It was a
three period class so we were always
filming, editing or writing. Our teacher Mr.
Steve Geller was really impressed with our
dedication to it and made sure to show us
all he knew from his time working in the field.
And any project we did had to have a script,
story board, schedual of completion and a
working budget. In return we were given
hall passes so we could film where needed.
So Shawn did the directing and camera work while
I did the effects and acting. And we
both did the writing, lighting, later sound
effects and editing. Then during the end of our
seinor year my uncle Bob had worked for Warren
on "The Bloody Dead" and got me in
touch with him. The only night Shawn and I
missed filming on "Flesh Eaters" was
when we were at our high school graduation (Our
parents were not letting us dodge that, movie or no
movie). And I had acted in a short
film written and directed by Shawn back
then called "Out in the cold". I
had played a disturbed induvidual who
thought he was snowed in during a power
outage, then proceeds to kill himself. When in
reality it was just the reverse because the
power outage happens during the summer. And
after he paints the wall with his brain
(Two coats) the power comes back on. It
took Shawn five months two film the
exteriors because we didn't have a snow
machine. So "Mother Nature" gets the
credit for scene decorator.
