Kevin Lane's Spill Your Guts

Another Halloween has come and gone, and I hope you all had sufficiently spooky time. Lots of candy and fake blood and sexy costumes…why can’t it be officially Halloween week? Soon it will be that most festive of holidays and I have to say, I love that one as much (full disclosure maybe more) because the sinister side of Christmas is masked by the most wholesome of veneers. We’ll have lots of Christmas episodes for you unwrap but that’s still a couple weeks out so in the meantime, we return you to our regularly scheduled programming.In this episode we are joined by one of the busiest guys in the world of horror filmmaking. He has produced a series of films that have become huge hits financially and created a new slasher icon in the mold of Freddy or Pennywise.He has a new film out that he directed titled “Stream”, and it has nearly every horror icon you can think of is in the cast (though friend of the podcast and genre royalty Jeffrey Combs really gets to shine here).The film also features and appearance by a genre legend that we have just lost, the formidable Tony Todd. I had the great privilege of having a friendship with Tony for almost 20 years and his talent, humour, thoughtfulness and kindness was unmatched. So, this episode is for Tony. Who loved his craft. Who loved movies, the people that made them and the people that watched them.Back to “Stream”, it’s a raucous, funny, gory, inventive occasionally touching movie that brings the goods and then some. And again, there’s the fantastic Jeffrey Combs performance! “ Stream” is streaming now.Joining us to talk about producing the hijinks of Art the Clown in “The Terrifier” films and taking on directing “Stream” is producer/director Michale Leavy. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

The horror genre, particularly the slasher part of it, has a long-standing history of “final girls”. Many of them brilliant and iconic and for good reason. My guest today has had the rare privilege of becoming one of the few great final guys in a series that has established its place in the horror hall of fame.He has also starred in many other horror films, most fiercely independent ones, and even directed one. He’s been in plenty of non-horror films as well including working with auteurs such as David Fincher and Christopher Nolan (with whom he has worked with several times). He has evaded being typecast and always brings the kind of gravity and thoughtfulness that makes his presence in any film a highlight. Maybe the best way I can describe him and his contributions to the genre is to say that if he’s in something, I’m going to see it. I don’t need to know anything more about the film than that for it to become something I’ll watch. It’s a system that thus far has served me well as he has given some of my personal favourite performances and led me to some films that I admire that I may not have seen otherwise.My guest today is Josh Stewart.Many of you know Josh from his role as Arkin in the beloved films “The Collector” and “The Collection” (there’s a 3rd on its way at long last). Arkin immediately became an outlier in pantheon of horror leads in that not only is he a rather reluctant hero (if you can call him that at all) but he is relatable in that he has is own real-life problems and a psychopath, who sets up an elaborate series of traps that would make Jigsaw proud, seriously screws with his day. It’s a quiet and heavy hitting performance and one of the great ones in the history of horror.Let’s pull up a chair with one of genres finest actors, Josh Stewart! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Our first guest of season 4 has been on the show once before to discuss his work and the then recently released, now a genre favourite, “Psycho Goreman”. His work continues to be both a love letter to the 80’s genre films that inspired him but also a voice that is distinctly his own.His newest film, “Frankie Freako”, about Connor, who bored with life, decides to shake things up by inviting some mischievous goblins into his home, has already become a hit on the festival circuit and hits theatres October 4th. I love the film and I can wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who has a place in their hearts for the movies like Ghoulies, Puppet Master and anything by the great little monster maker, John Carl Beuchler. Welcome back Steven Kostanski! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

We’ll be taking a couple weeks to get things ready for a very VERY big season 4. Just wait until you see what we have in store for every horror fans favourite month of year. I’m so excited I could just burst! Like that guy in “Scanners”. What are some other movies where someone just bursts? Anyway, thank you to our amazing team and our sponsors, Audio Process and Cinema 1, for another season of sitting down with horrors best and brightest and spilling guts. Now, let’s get into it.For any actor, playing a major character on a tv series that not only garners tons of adoring fans but also enters into the pop culture zeitgeist and becomes a phenomenon is a major achievement. Especially when their character is a particular fan favourite and ends up in video games, comic books, made into toys and more. Then you add the element of that series enduring the test of time to become inarguably classic television.I’ll one up that now. How about doing that twice?Our guest in this episode has a vast filmography of dynamic and versatile roles but her performance as vampire Darla on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and its spinoff series “Angel” and as “Rita”, the wife of everyones favourite serial killer on the Showtime sensation “Dexter”, have made her a true genre star.In this episode we are joined by the radiant and brilliant Julie Benz!Julie sat down to talk with me about getting her start working on the George Romero produced, Dario Argento directed segment of the film “Two Evil Eyes”, when she realized that Buffy was becoming an important series, the benefits of working on two shows back to back that both had stars, Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz respectively, that were also great leaders. We talk about the excitement of getting cast to work opposite a virtuosic actor like Michael C. Hall and be a part of a critical darling like Dexter but also the heartbreak and feeling of betrayal that came later when she was written off the show.I have to say that personally I have been a longstanding fan of Julie’s being a hardcore Buffy/Angel fan and then later a “Dexter” devotee. Julie is the kind of actor and person that anyone who speaks to people about their craft as a profession dreams of having as a guest. As thoughtful as she is open and real and man, is she ever a lovely human being. Ladies and gentleman, Julie Benz! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

There’s a reason we love to see our favourite monsters return time and time agin but recently its been a period of transition. Shy of the original master slasher Michael Myers, who’s reign of terror thankfully continues, many favourites have been benched or transitioned into the world of television like everyone’s favourite good guy doll.So, the time was ripe to unleash some new ones.Our guest today has been a part of crafting the way forward for two iconic horror heavies. In one as the writer of several of the franchises most adored entries and the other, a work of his own creation.In doing so he has cemented his place as one of the contemporary masters of horror and in my estimation, one of its greatest filmmakers.The two franchises I’m referring to are “Saw” and “The Collector” and the filmmaker is the masterful Marcus Dunstan.I should note that the two “Collector” films are among my personal favourites. With taut, stylish, nail biting direction from Marcus and a pitch perfect performance by the films star, the indispensable Josh Stewart, “The Collector” films have become an audience favourite so I think I can safely say we’re all rather excited for the upcoming third film (more on that later).Marcus has a new film titled “#AMFAD All my friends are dead” that is one of the most fun times you could have with this years crop of horror films. Equal parts terrifying, scathing and laugh out loud funny, it’s decidedly lighter brand of Marcus Dunstan film and yet also fits into his roster perfectly. Original and with a hell of an ending, well, horror fans are in for a serious ride with this one.“#AMFAD” is in select theatres now and is available on streaming.Marcus and I discuss the happy accident the got him his first writing gig on a Saw film (he wrote 4 of them), his commitment in creating “#AMFAD” to not sticking to the usual tropes of a film about social media obsessed characters, how “The Collector” films could be so grizzly but still have heart and oh yes, some details on the 3rd film.Alright, let’s join the terrifying and twisted world of Jigsaw and the Collector with writer/director Marcus Dunston! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Rising to the height of its popularity in the 80’s with franchises like “Friday the 13th”, “A Nightmare on Elm Street”, “Halloween” and many others, the slasher genre has proven itself to be one of the most enduring sub-genres of horror.Its popularity has of course ebbed and flowed with a resurgence in the 90’s thanks to the success of films like “Scream” and “I know what you did last summer” but the slasher genre has also seen more than its share of duds with filmmakers mistakingly believing that all that an audience expects from a slasher film is a killer in a mask and nubile flesh for him to dispatch.It is the successful deconstruction of the slasher sub-genre in films like “Scream” and the less seen but equally clever “Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon” that have allowed the slasher film to evolve past the tropes that had begun to hold it back.One new film that embraces, innovates and captures the true spirit of the slasher film is “Deer Camp 86’” and in this episode we are joined by three of the films stars, Jay J. Bidwell, Brian Michael Raetz and Josh Dominguez.“Deer Camp 86’” is available now on blu-ray and streaming but I recommend you grab the blu-ray from our friends over at Cinema 1 and listen for a discount promo code during the episode.We sat down to talk about what makes Deer Camp 86’ stand out from the slasher crowd and how the film begins and feels like one kind of film but ends up becoming something else altogether. Why steps forward in inclusiveness are vital to the future of horror. The challenges of shooting on location and building a rapport in an ensemble cast and why the director chose to use a pseudonym for his billing on the film.So, pack your mosquito repellent and throw on your camo and let’s visit “Deer Camp 86”! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Our guest today is a virtuoso of the genre having worked as either the producer, star, production manager, second unit director, or assistant director (sometimes a combination of a few of these roles) on a panoply of iconic films including several movies with the “Godfather of Gore” Herschell Gordon Lewis, “American Nightmare”, “Terror Train”, “My Bloody Valentine”, “Humongous” and the cult classic sequels to “Prom Night” that turned Mary Lou into a horror anti-hero. These and many, MANY more.We are joined by the “Wizard of Gore” himself, Ray Sager.Ray is a master storyteller on the making of independent films. His early career began working with Herschel Gordon Lewis, who became his mentor. He also starred as Montag the Magnificent in the classic Lewis film “The Wizard of Gore”. Many projects later, Ray established himself as a producer during one of the most prolific eras in Canadian filmmaking. The mid 70’s to early 80’s saw an unprecedented amount of films being made due to hefty tax deductions for film investors and Ray produced a slew of them. Sometimes as many as 3 three features a year. Ray knows every trick of the trade.He’s one of the most dedicated producers to work in horror and generous instructor for how to avoid the many pitfalls of independent filmmaking. This episode is a must listen for our indie filmmaker listeners.Let’s pull back the curtain and learn about the magic of horror filmmaking with celebrated producer Ray Sager! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★