PopHorror Let's Get Scared
After speaking with Najarra Townsend, star of the film Dementia Part II, I couldn’t wait to pick the brain of her co-star, Graham Skipper. I loved his role in the film, and I wanted to know more about what went into it.
PopHorror: So to get started, I see you’ve got a ton of familiarity with the horror genre, both on and off screen. I did a little watching of your Reanimator the Musical stuff. That was a lot of fun. What attracts you to the horror genre?
Graham Skipper: It’s a little bit like chasing the dragon. When I was a little kid, I was obsessed with the idea of monsters, but I was always too afraid to watch the movies with those monsters. I was like, “Oh, they’re gonna scare me too much!” So my thinking was that if I watched the scariest ones first, then everything else after that will be fine. I’ll be fine to watch them, so I asked my dad. “What’s the scariest movie ever made?” He said, “The Exorcist.” And, and so at age 11, I asked my parents to show me The Exorcist. And it was the first time in my life that I really was able to appreciate a director’s craft, the filmmaking craft, because I knew this thing wasn’t real but it still scared me. And so I was like, “How did you do that to me?” And that really started me off.
And after that, I’ve admired the skill and technique that it takes to to make an actually scary movie and also to be able to take the subject matter like you find in horror films and make scary fun. You know, make them silly. You know what your goal is, to effect the audience that way, and I’ve just always responded more to that sort of stuff than like Shakespeare or love or whatever. I guess that’s why I love it. It’s a comfort blanket to me, and it’s the only sort of movie that still gets a rise out of me.
PopHorror: So, a comfort blanket combined with figuring out the magician’s craft sort of thing? I see you’ve got a lot of experience both in front of and behind the camera. Do you have a preference between the two?
Graham Skipper: It’s whole lot easier to be in front of camera, frankly. It’s a very different job in front of the camera when you’re acting. You get to focus on one very specific thing. You’re focusing on your character. But when you’re behind the camera, you know the scope of your job is that much larger. They’re very different. I love directing, because it allows me to really craft the world and be the person in charge of creating the entirety of that universe. But I also love acting, because I get to really just worry about what I’m doing and making my role the most. And my performance is as truthful that it can be, which is part of the joy of acting.
PopHorror: Speaking of joy, I just recently had an interview with Najarra, and she mentioned that you and your role were constantly a source of humor on set. Do you want to comment on that? Do you have any fun or funny stories you’d like to share?
Graham Skipper: Well, I was very lucky that Matt and Mike basically told me do whatever I wanted to do and that the tone of this was funny. So it was really just them letting me loose and make whatever jokes I wanted to make. It also being being pals with both of them—especially with Matt who is the source of a lot of vitriol in the movie. So when somebody says, “Hey, make fun of your friend on camera. Say whatever you want to say and be as gross as you possibly can,” that’s an opportunity you don’t get very often. So it was just really fun to play around with. It really was just about finding the tone and then being free to play, which is a very rare thing to find on the set. And I think that we all really appreciate that.
PopHorror: Well, if it’s any consolation, I think you definitely found the tone. You were one of my favorite parts of the film, and you vibe very well with the kind of Reanimator/Evil Dead 2 vibe I got from the project.
Graham Skipper: Nice, nice. Good! Well, that makes me happy to hear.
PopHorror: Here’s a general horror-related question that I asked Najarra as well. What is your favorite scene in a horror movie?
Graham Skipper: Favorite scene in a horror movie… It’s hard. I guess the first thing that pops into my head is the the ending scene of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, the original. I think you know that that ending sequence is just an all timer. You know, it’s like the opening scene of Halloween. Talking about Evil Dead 2, the scene where the headless girl dances.
PopHorror: Oh, that’s just a stop motion classic.
Graham Skipper: It’s wonderful, and I laugh every time. I guess those are three examples.
PopHorror: If you could pitch Dementia Part II to your average Joe on the street to try to get them to check it out, what would be your elevator pitch be?
Graham Skipper: The average Joe, that’s the hard part. Imagine a Twilight Zone episode, but packed with excessive amounts of gore, pitch black humor, and an indie sense of doing whatever you want. Shove that onto a midnight movie screen in a very dark basement, open it up with a couple cases of beer with your friends, and that’s what Dementia Part II is.
PopHorror: I’d say that’s a pretty apt description. Both of you both describe it as a midnight movie, perfect for friends, and I completely agree. On a final note, was there anything else you’d like to talk about, anything you’d like to discuss or promote?
Graham Skipper: The only thing is that every Wednesday at 8pm, I host a show on Spoon Network. That’s not a fork and a spoon; it’s an app you can get on your phone. It’s essentially a live podcast app where people can chat with me live while I’m talking—as well as Colin if they want to—and it’s called Down to the Basement. It’s every Wednesday at 8pm Pacific, and we talk. We have a great time. So if anybody’s looking to continue the conversation, come join me Down in the Basement every Wednesday at 8pm Pacific. That’s spelled like the kitchen utensil, S-P-O-O-N. Yeah, if you search in your app store, you’ll find it.
DEMENTIA PART II hit select theaters on May 21, 2021, and will be on VOD, Digital HD, and DVD on June 1, 2021 from Dark Star Pictures and Bloody Disgusting.
