PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Body horror is my jam. Gooey and slimy body horror. The kind that makes me cringe and also makes me thankful it’s not happening to me. But what’s even better? A queer body horror film! And even better than that? The film, Swallowed, from Carter Smith (The Ruins) that was my number one choice out of the Overlook Film Festival 2022.
Swallowed, starring Jena Malone, Mark Patton, and rising stars Cooper Koch and José Colón, follows two best friends on their final night together, with a nightmare of drugs, bugs, and horrific intimacy. Yes, please.
And to celebrate the premiere of the film, I was lucky enough to chat with star Mark Patton in his first interview for the film. We discussed why he wanted to be a part of the project, how he was approached for the part of Rich, why he loves horror, and more!
PopHorror: Thank you so much for speaking with me today, Mark. I’m excited to get the word out about this movie. I watched it the other night and really enjoyed it.
Mark Patton: I have to be honest with you. I haven’t seen it yet. I have literally seen nothing. What I’ve seen of myself is what’s on the trailer, and that’s not very much in the trailer but he (Carter Smith) didn’t want to put me out there. I have some close people who have seen it, and then of course the reviews are pretty good, I have to say.
PopHorror: Yeah! The reviews coming in have been great!
Mark Patton: It’s like I’m getting spoiled already. Somebody said something like, “This is really fabulous.” They were just going on and on. I love this part so much. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I loved it. It’s a real – even if just internally – life changer for me.
PopHorror: That’s so amazing.
Mark Patton: I didn’t think I could do this. There was just no way I could. When I got the script from Carter, we didn’t really know each other, except through social activity online and I’d always liked All the Dead Boys – I didn’t really like the content. I just liked the name. But so he sent it to me, and I thought he just wanted me to critique it. Because the part that I would play, I was obviously far too old to play that, and I said that to him. I was like, “Well, the boys are too young and Jena’s Jena. There’s really nothing in there for me.” And he’s like, “Oh, no. I wrote Rich for you.” And I didn’t even know what to say. I was like, “Really? You thought of me when you were writing this?” But it’s true, he was. I thought about it for a long time, and the very last thing I said to him before we started shooting was, “Please make me still fuckable. I just don’t want to be this horrible creature.” And he said, “Oh, sure. Of course!” I don’t know what he considers fuckable but I don’t know if Rich is actually it. But it was so much fun doing it. I felt like I was not sure until I got to the house even. When I was flying on the plane, I was doing all this self-sabotage procrastinating type of stuff. And then Bobby (Younkers) had my costumes, and I had been very specific about what I wanted. He’d gone and shopped like I was shopping for myself. It was amazing. When I slipped those clothes on, and my hand hit the door of the house, I felt like this holy ghost hit me, and I was just saved because that boy just showed up. He was there, fully blown. And for the first day, I was afraid to ride it because I didn’t want this to go away. But I was afraid to really let it take me away, but then I did and it became really, really fun.
PopHorror: Carter had told me he had written the role with you in mind, and that he contacted you on Instagram asking you to play this part. What was it that initially made you agree to it?
Mark Patton: I had made a contract with myself. I got divorced last year, about a year ago now.
PopHorror: I’m so sorry.
Mark Patton: We lived on a farm, and all of my energy went into really maintaining this relationship and keeping the wheels on it. And when it was over, I realized what I had done to myself personally, over the last couple of years. Where I just threw my whole heart away. And I decided that I’m going to just say yes to everything. Because I get offered a lot, and some of it is bad. I’ve met some really incredible people on the journey. Once I said yes to this, I had my regrets. The truth of the matter is I didn’t think I could do it. I didn’t think I could pull it off and it would be really embarrassing. But it wasn’t. It was really a life-changing experience for me. I think there’s nothing wrong with saying yes.
PopHorror: I don’t either. I think that was a great choice for you. This role is so unlike anything that we’ve seen you in before. How much of the real Mark Patton can we see in your character?
Mark Patton: Very little. Honestly.
PopHorror: That’s what makes it fun, right?
Mark Patton: Yeah, yeah. Well, I think you can see the real me sort of come through like when he’s in the bathtub and he’s giving him the spaghetti dinner. I don’t even know if this is cut in. I loved that. I loved all that really weird stuff. And then he sort of moves back and I say something to the effect of – it was an ad-lib – I said, “I won’t abuse you because people have always abused me. I won’t take advantage of you because people have taken advantage of me.” You can see my eyes. Then you can see me. I think the hallmark of anything I ever do is there’s a tenderness to it that you can tell that there’s a wounded boy down in there some place. A nice boy. So I did that. That’s just the natural part of me that comes into the equation. It’s my eyes. My eyes are pretty transparent. If you can just peel it back and let people look in your eyes, then you can do anything on top of it that you want to do, but they’ll know you’re a human. And that’s what I wanted to make sure, that he was still human.
PopHorror: That kind of leads into my next question. Was there anything that you were adamant about bringing to your character?
Mark Patton: The boots, number one. I had to have these particular boots. I’m pretty costume oriented, you know? I like to like what I’m wearing. Ever since Nightmare on Elm Street, I’ve become very aware of everything that’s on the set. I had never seen anyone cherry pick a set the way they had with that one, and I think everyone put their own Easter eggs in there. So it’s like floating with this symbolism that doesn’t have anything to do with me. So I decided I wanted it chock full of my understory. I’m very clear about what I want my personal space to look like. I’m very particular about what I want my clothes to look like, because I have to be able to move in them. You have to swing around with a gun or catch people on fire and stuff. So the boots. When I slipped those boots on, I swear to God that was the moment. They had been together for like a week before, with Jena, and Jose, and Cooper. They were all living together, and then I came in and we were all living together. We lived in a cabin, like a four bedroom cabin in the middle of the woods together.
PopHorror: Oh wow!
Mark Patton: There’s no getting away from each other. They had bonded on each other, like big time. Like Jena was the head mother, and they were all smoking cigarettes. And then I come in and I’m like the grown up. I don’t really want to give away what I’m doing, you know what I mean? Carter had shown them Scream, Queen, which I wouldn’t have done because it really casts me in a very certain light. Because Rich is a predator. These kids were really young. The two boys were very young. I don’t ever give anybody note. Very rarely do I like to get involved in someone else’s performance. I just said to him at one point – the boy – because he was doing a lot of really interior work, which I really appreciate. I said, “I’m going to walk away with this film. You better get in the game with me because I can’t help myself.” And that’s the way it became. I really couldn’t stop myself from doing these really mean things. Not in our house, but on our set. When it came down to when it’s just the two of us, it was very heartfelt. It was very, very personal. I think it was personal for him, and I’m so glad to see that we’re both getting really good reviews, which evens out the playing field, because I notice if it’s your first film and you’re going to be a star and that kind of stuff. I know that feeling, and being number one on the call sheet for the first time. Jena’s very blasé because she’s worked so much that it’s like not even a glitch in her stride. And then there’s the dynamic of me being so much older than all of them. I said that people would say I blow smoke up my ass all my time about how good I am as an actor. I was a good actor when I was young. But I haven’t really done anything on this level, and I would say yes, yes, yes but deep inside I didn’t know if I could do it. So once that started ticking again I was like, oh my God, I can do this. And then I realized I could do anything I wanted to do. Now with my looks…
Honestly, this is one of the first films where they didn’t have to worry about how I looked, about how old I was, about not appearing straight enough. I was so bound into the lights and standing still and not moving. I was playing a character before I ever got to the set. I knew that I would get a film, not like this but like this. I wanted to have one opportunity in my life to go to the set and not bring all of me to the set. And let me not have to put a mask on before I put another mask on. This was that opportunity, and I realized it’s really, really powerful. Half the crew was gay. There was no judgment. And then they started laughing at me. I don’t know if you’ve ever done anything that’s funny and people laugh, it’s just intoxicating. When I started chasing him through the woods, they had to put their cameras down sometimes because they were so enthralled with what was going on, and the more they did it, the more I would. I did another role after this one. I play a television reporter in a murder mystery and a little bit of Rich slid over on top of him. I wanted to be the weirdo. So they went with me. I’m a weirdo but I’m a different kind of weirdo. I like being a weirdo.
PopHorror: Obviously you’re known for Nightmare on Elm Street so this is not your first foray into horror. What is it that draws you to the genre?
Mark Patton: To be honest with you, it’s because I have access. I know you probably know the story about Nightmare on Elm Street, but when I came back and did this documentary, Never Sleep Again, I was hated. Like really. I would go to conventions and stuff, and people would give the feel like, “Why are you here? Nobody likes your movie.” And part of that was just my own, you know… And part of it was what I was getting. People would come up and get Kim’s (Myers) autograph – men especially – and not want mine. But then I decided I was going to do something with this opportunity that I had, and I really embraced the horror community. I had a three year plan. My first year I was going to talk about bullying and being bullied, when we’re at a convention and not bullying people. The second year I talked about the fact that I was gay, and I let them see me as a healthy gay person. And the third year, I started talking about HIV/AIDS, and the fact that I had AIDS myself, and I’ve recovered from it, in 24 years. And then the crowds started to melt on me, and horror began to change. I’m not saying that I changed the horror community, but I did have something to do with it. I was participating in it. I’m really proud of what’s happened now because everybody in horror is fluid now. Everybody is fluid. It’s a blast. There’s still one or two of those old dudes who run conventions who just want the girls who are in distress. It’s a different theme now. I became the Scream Queen, people call me that. I get recognized. So I had access. I can just call people up and they answer the phone, and generally it’s because they were 13 year old boys who loved Nightmare on Elm Street. I think Rich is going to help me get to the next level where I want to go.
PopHorror: You said that you’re really into saying yes to everything right now. What is up next for you?
Mark Patton: I am going to make a movie called Watchdog. I’m doing a movie with Felissa Rose. Felissa is one of my dearest friends. We’re going to play husband and wife.
PopHorror: Really?! Wow!
Mark Patton: I know everybody is like, “Well who’s the husband?” I’m just so looking forward to doing it with her. We’ll shoot it in Alabama. It’s a really kind of creepy, home invasion kind of thing. So I do that, and then I have two more movies. I have four movies in the can waiting to come out.
PopHorror: I’m really excited for what you have coming up. I can’t wait to see you and Felissa as a married couple. I have just one last question for you. What’s your favorite scary movie?
Mark Patton: When I was a little boy, my mom went to church on Sunday but we would go to the drive-in. Bonnie and Clyde was at the drive-in, and my mother had said, “Don’t take those kids to see that.” My dad said okay, but of course he took us right there. The movies were Bonnie and Clyde, Straw Dogs, Last House on the Left, and finally the final movie was In Cold Blood. In Cold Blood is the most terrifying movie I have ever seen.
Thank you so much to Mark for taking the time to speak with us. You can catch Swallowed now, currently on its festival run.
