PopHorror Let's Get Scared
All right, Zombie fans! We are only a week away from the theatrical release of the highly anticipated return of the Firefly clan in Rob Zombie’s latest, 3 From Hell. Hope you’re all excited, because Otis B. Driftwood is back, and he’s just as bad as you remember. I was lucky enough to speak to Bill Moseley, the mastermind behind the crazed killer, and we talked about his favorite on-set memory, what he’s got coming up, and, of course, horror movies.
PopHorror: Hi, Bill! I know you’re super busy, so thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me! I watched 3 From Hell about two weeks ago. It’s so great, and I am super excited for everyone to see it. I can’t wait to hear what people think.
Bill Moseley: It really is cool. It’s so funny, because I hadn’t seen it. I saw a rough cut about nine months ago, and then I started doing interviews in the last couple of weeks, and everybody that I talked to had seen it, so I guess that put me at a disadvantage. I was like, “Wow! How did that turn out?” So they finally gave me the password, and I did finally see it. I thought it was fantastic.
PopHorror: What I wanted to know is: how did it feel to step back into the character of Otis after 14 years?
Bill Moseley: It’s funny, because I do a lot of horror conventions, so I’m always in contact with the fans. It really just seemed like Otis, certainly from House of 1000 Corpses (2003 – read our retro review here) and The Devil’s Rejects, is still very much in the house. But when Sid Haig and I got the invitation to lunch with Rob and Sheri a couple of years ago when they first announced we were getting the band back together, it was a little daunting. I was trying to figure out… it’s been 14 years. Otis has been in prison, so he’s obviously changed in certain ways, although he’s certainly no stranger to prison.
But the question is how to do the Otis character in Devil’s Rejects. How to do him justice. And in addition, how to move the character along, and how to evolve the character and create basically a new Otis for 3 From Hell. I certainly read the script a bunch of times. I thought about it. As an actor, my big preparation is just to meditate on the story, the characters, the history, what we’re doing, where we’re going… Just sit with it; let it ruminate. What do you do? You steep a tea bag. Kind of steeping everything. Then just get to the set and go with what you’ve got. That’s pretty much what I did.
I was a little nervous at first. There was a scene where I was dropping my lines a little bit, stumbling over them. I just sat down, and I heard this voice saying, “Get out of the way, Bill. I’ve got this.” It was Otis basically telling me, an insecure Hollywood actor, to get out here. Take a break. Go have a sandwich, and let me do this. Soon as I figured that out and got out of the way, I had a ball.
PopHorror: That’s awesome! I was able to speak with Richard Brake [read the interview here] about two weeks ago, and I asked him what his fondest memory of filming was. He said it was joining the family. So I’d like to ask you the same thing, what was your fondest memory of filming?
Bill Moseley: That’s a good one on his part. My fondest memory was actually having both my kids comes to the set. So it was very much a family affair. My older daughter, Jane, and my younger daughter, Marion, came out to the set. Marion actually came out the day of the machete fight and was rooting for her dad to survive.
PopHorror: I love that!
Bill Moseley: She’s still got another year of college to go, so we’ve got to keep Dad alive to at least 2020. That was fun. And also my wife, Lucinda Jenney, plays Nebraska. Nebraska is the female bounty hunter. Yes, good ol’ Lucinda. It was great to have her in the mix, too, and I really appreciate that from Rob, creating a role for her. And it was also funny, and, I mean, it’s a spoiler alert, but also when he told me about it, he said, “I’ve got a great part for Lucinda, this great character named Nebraska. By the way, you get to kill her.” And I was like, “Oh, that’s awesome!” In horror movies, you know, that’s the highest praise is to actually getting to cut the face off your loved one.
Those were some of my fond memories. Certainly working with Sid again, and Sheri. It was basically like old home week in a way. Once we all got to the set, actually got into the work, stopped worrying about all the other stuff in life and politics and world events, and we just got down to playing in this movie, we all just had a ball. It was like we had stepped away for a couple of months, or a year or two, not like 14. We just picked it right back up.
PopHorror: It definitely shows that you guys are comfortable together. While I am a big fan of the movies that you’ve made with Rob, one of my all time favorite movies of yours is Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008). You’ve made quite a few horror movies in your expansive resume. What draws you to the horror genre?
Bill Moseley: At the very beginning, there was Texas Chainsaw 2 [1986 – read our retro review here], working with not just Tobe Hooper and playing Chop Top, but also working with the King of Splatter, Tom Savini. Then my next big job was when Tom was given the reigns to the color remake of Night of the Living Dead (1990) a couple years later, and he sent me a script because we were buddies. Then there was Johnny.
It’s funny how Chop Top seems to have brought me a lot of work. It certainly brought me my relationship with Rob Zombie. It brought me a relationship with Sam Raimi, who cast me in Army of Darkness [1992- read our retro review here]. So, you know, you start making those connections, the fans were very supportive and liked the stuff that I did. I’m not necessarily tied to the horror genre, but I love the horror genre. I’m comfortable. I’m happy. That’s why I would say I’m not doing romantic comedy. That’s not to say I can’t do it, although I’ve never tried. But for me, I like the blood and the chainsaws and the crazy monsters and the supernatural and backwoods psychos. To me, that’s really the most fun.
PopHorror: What are you currently working on?
Bill Moseley: Right now, I’m actually working on an album with band called Warbeast. We’ve formed a new little band called Mr. Machine. I’m working on a new EP with Housecore Records, the same label as Phil Anselmo from Pantera, his label. I worked with Phil and did that EP called Bill and Phil: Songs of Darkness and Despair. I’m still singing, which is good. And I’m working on a couple – two, actually- two different screenplays right now. I’m in preparation for hitting the road. My busy convention and appearance season starts Friday. I’m actually flying to West Virginia, and I have a gig there Saturday. Then the following weekend is Louisville. I just start flying hither and yon. I’m looking forward to it. I’m feeling like the Willie Lohmann of horror with my little sample case from hotel to hotel. But it’s a lot of fun to see the fans, and September 16 is when 3 From Hell opens, so I’ll be back in LA for the premiere.
PopHorror: Awesome! What is your favorite scary movie?
Bill Moseley: My favorite scary movie? I still think, just in terms of who’s number one, everybody has their own list of favorite scary movies. I still think that The Exorcist is number one. There’s a lot of contenders, but I still think The Exorcist is just awesome. And I just want to give a quick shout out to some of the new movies like Mandy [2018 – read our review here] by Panos Cosmatos. I loved Midsommar [2019 – read our review here]. I just saw that. Ari Aster. He did Hereditary [2018 – read our review here]. I loved Get Out [2017 – read our review here], I loved A Quiet Place [2017 – read our review here]. There’s a bunch of new, cool… Annihilation, I loved. [There’s] a great new crop of directors. I can’t wait to see the Soskas sister’s version of Rabid. There’s a ton of new stuff bubbling along. It’s not all corporate horror, although that’s doing very well. I’m excited. I keep working. To me, it’s the most fun genre by far.
Thank you so much to Bill Moseley for taking the time to speak with me. Tickets for the September 16/17/18th nationwide release of 3 From Hell are available at FathomEvents.com/3FromHell.
