PopHorror Interviews Drew Marvick, Director of Pool Party Massacre

Some horror fans go above and beyond their love for the genre, following their dreams of not only watching horror movies but also creating them. Luckily for us, that means we get more indie films that are made with passion and knowledge versus all of the mainstream stuff. Drew Marvick is the director of the upcoming horror film Pool Party Massacre and PopHorror received the opportunity to talk to him about his love for horror, his current projects, and more!

PopHorror – Thanks for taking the time to talk with us, Drew! What inspired you to work in the film industry?

Drew Marvick – I have been a big fan of movies for as long as I can remember. I got that from my parents. My mom was always at Video Lake (our local video store in El Toro, California) on New Release Day. She would rent a giant stack of movies and then spend the whole day recording them all onto blank VHS tapes so we could watch them later. We had a huge wall unit full of her bootleg VHS tapes growing up. Luckily for me, she wasn’t too worried about censorship either, so my friends and I had free access to tons of horror classics and raunchy comedies. There’s nothing like a Poltergeist/Porky’s double feature. And much like most filmmakers my age, I also channeled my love of film into making my own horrible short films on my parent’s VHS recorder as a kid. I wish I still has some of those… Actually, maybe I don’t. (laughs)

PopHorror – That’s amazing! So many of us begin our passion for films and horror at a young age. Clearly, you love everything about horror. What is your favorite decade for it?

Drew Marvick – Without hesitation, I can say ‘80s horror for sure. I love ‘80s horror! But that’s not necessarily because I think the best horror movies of all time came out of the ‘80s – not at all. It’s because my favorite horror movies of all time came out of the ‘80s. Fairly often, there’s a big difference between “my favorite” horror movies and “the best” horror movies, but I suppose that has a lot to do with nostalgia. Nostalgia can be a real bitch sometimes!

PopHorror – Woot, woot! The ’80s are my favorite, too! What was the first film you ever were involved with?

Drew Marvick – I got my start in commercials, so it was several years before I ever had the opportunity to work on a film, aside from a couple random office PA jobs on features that rolled through Vegas. But I won’t count those since I was always just making copies in a portable office somewhere miles away from the set. The first real narrative film project I worked on was a great short film called The Bet, written and directed by Michael Dunn. I learned a lot from that experience and I would have learned even more if didn’t have to miss the last weekend of shooting to watch my son being born – kids ruin everything (laughs). After that, the first feature film I ever worked on was Astro Zombies M4: Invaders From Cyberspace with cult filmmaking legend Ted V. Mikels. I played at least 3 different characters in that film and I loved every minute of it.

PopHorror – I’ll have to check some of those out! You wrote, directed, and are starring in Pool Party Massacre. Where did you get the idea for this film and what it is about?

Drew Marvick – The idea for the film was actually a happy accident that came out of a bold faced lie. You see, I used to spend a lot of my time on commercial sets trying to convince everyone else that they should make a horror movie with me. For years, I would bug people but nobody ever wanted to commit. For some reason, they all thought it was a great idea until I got to the part where I said, “And we don’t even need any money, we can just do everything ourselves.”

But luckily for me, one day my friend Brian Mills – who would later become my co-producer, cinematographer, and editor of Pool Party Massacre – called to tell me about his new camera package. While we were talking, he also mentioned that he wished he had the opportunity to shoot a feature film with it. Well, there was no way in hell I was going to let this opportunity slip through my fingers, so I quickly lied to him and said that I had a script ready to shoot. He asked what it was called and I just blurted out the words, “Pool Party Massacre.” He totally bought it and asked me to send the script over to him, so I pulled the old “Let me just take a couple days to clean it up” routine and then locked myself in my office for a week. When I came out of the office a week later, Pool Party Massacre was born.

PopHorror – I love happy accidents… well, don’t we all? When can horror fans expect to be able to watch Pool Party Massacre?

Drew Marvick – A rough cut of the film has actually played a couple festivals already in New York and Portland, but the finished film won’t be done until probably the beginning of February. With that finish line in mind, I am shooting for an April VOD and Blu-Ray release of the film. I don’t have an exact date locked in yet, maybe on 4/20 because it would probably help our ratings if people were high when they watched it.

(both laugh)

PopHorror – That’s great! Well, I, for one, can’t wait for it to be released. Beyond Pool Party Massacre, do you have any other upcoming projects?

Drew Marvick – There is another project that I produced and starred in that was actually shot before Pool Party Massacre and it will hopefully be getting a 2017 release. It’s called Bob Freeman: Exterminator For Hire. It is a super fun horror comedy full of monsters, cults, demons, and my big dumb face. I am also in pre-production on my next feature. Hopefully, shooting will begin the day after Pool Party Massacre comes out, but I can’t tell you much about that other than the fact that it will be a bloodbath!

PopHorror – I’ll have to check that one out as well! To be honest, I think anything you’re involved with will be great. You’re such a fun dude! What is your all-time favorite horror movie and how has it influenced your career?

Drew Marvick – Oh man, I am really bad at picking an all-time favorite. One day it’s Evil Dead 2, the next day is Return of the Living Dead or Dead Alive. I guess I really like movies with the word “dead” in the title because Dawn of the Dead and Shock ’em Dead are also two of my favorites. I have issues! But all of those movies influenced me tremendously by showing me that horror and comedy can go so well together if you know what you are doing.

PopHorror – That’s hilarious and those are all fantastic films. You should make a film with the word “dead” in it then. If you could work with anyone in the industry, who would it be and why?

Drew Marvick – There are so many talented people in the industry that I would love to work with, I wouldn’t even know where to start. But if I have to pick just one, it has been my goal to work with Lloyd Kaufman and Troma since I was in high school. I know that isn’t exactly the loftiest of goals since Lloyd is so supportive of new filmmakers and seems very open to helping out schmucks like me, but until I can cross him off my list, he will remain at the top.

PopHorror – I love Lloyd Kaufman. He’s a great dude! Last but not least, if you could play any horror villain who would it be?

Drew Marvick – Honestly, I would be too afraid of ruining one of my favorite franchises to play any of the best horror villains. I couldn’t do it. But I would love to play a zombie for Romero or a Cenobite or even a backwoods mutant in a Wrong Turn movie. Who am I kidding! I will take pretty much any role that is offered me, especially if I get to die.