ORMSBY TALKS DEATHDREAM
Screenwriter Alan Ormsby, whose last produced genre script was Paul Schraders 1982 remake of CAT PEOPLE, is suddenly back on the horror radar thanks to the recent release of the cult classic DEATHDREAM on DVD. The film, which marked the second and final collaboration between Ormsby (who also handled the makeup) and director Bob Clark, has enjoyed a significant reappraisal in the last couple of years, climaxing with Blue Undergrounds blue-chip disc (see review in FANGORIA #235, now on sale). Blue Underground did a great job on DEATHDREAM, Ormsby says. It looked better than it did in the theater.
Ormsby contributed an audio commentary to the DVD: Doing that was fun, although its a little weird revisiting these things after all these years, seeing yourself as you were in your 20sa different person, really, with no gray in my hair! The movie seems quite bold to me nowI cant imagine it being made today.
Although a DEATHDREAM remake is currently in the works (with the ubiquitous Eli Roth attached), Ormsby himself is not involved, and is looking to return to the fright field with an original script and fresh angle of his own. I have several new projects nearing completion, two of which are horror-related, he reveals. I wont go into details, except to say that one of them is based on a true incident. I believe anyone interested in the horror genre is searching for a contemporary metaphor that will express current anxieties. The problem is that life at the moment is out-terrorizing fiction. How can you compete with 9/11 or videotaped beheadings?
Ormsby recently completed his first novel, and also recorded another commentary track for Anchor Bay UKs release of his first film with Clark, CHILDREN SHOULDNT PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS, although the disc has apparently been delayed until a better print of the film is found. And even though he has stayed out of the horror limelight over the past decade, he did sell a script called THE POOL (unrelated to the Euroslasher of the same title released to U.S. video by Artisan in 2002) a few years ago that never got off the ground. THE POOL was one of my favorite scripts, Ormsby recalls. It was a black horror/comedy, sort of a combination sitcom/monster movie. Joe Dante wanted to produce it, although it would have been a perfect project for him to direct as well. John Carpenter was interested in it, as were several others. It was up and running a couple of times, but finally Universal pulled the plug and put it into turnaround. I still get calls about it, so who knows? One day it might get made. Or, I might turn it into a comic book.
Courtesy of Fangoria
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