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As America
entered the 1980s and '90s,
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00:00:23,849 --> 00:00:27,509
popular culture was as inundated
with violence and death
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00:00:27,636 --> 00:00:30,376
as it had ever been.
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00:00:30,508 --> 00:00:34,688
But now, the advent
of 24-hour news on cable TV
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00:00:34,817 --> 00:00:39,687
delivered an endless cycle
of these disturbing stories.
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00:00:39,822 --> 00:00:42,302
They call it the work
of the Green River Killer,
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00:00:42,433 --> 00:00:44,613
probably one man who has
murdered 13 young women
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00:00:44,740 --> 00:00:47,400
near Seattle, case unsolved.
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00:00:47,525 --> 00:00:50,655
Coverage of violent
crime was sensationalized
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00:00:50,789 --> 00:00:54,529
and seemed to suggest peril
around every corner,
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00:00:54,663 --> 00:00:56,673
while new terrors emerged
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00:00:56,795 --> 00:00:59,755
as a mysterious disease
was introduced,
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00:00:59,885 --> 00:01:04,925
adding yet another layer
of worry and dread.
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00:01:05,065 --> 00:01:09,325
Manicured suburbs were filled
with anxious teenagers
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00:01:09,460 --> 00:01:11,810
and their stressed-out parents.
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00:01:11,941 --> 00:01:16,691
There seemed to be
no safe place to hide.
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00:01:16,815 --> 00:01:18,505
Motive-less, random killings,
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00:01:18,643 --> 00:01:20,783
sometimes thousands
of miles apart.
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00:01:20,906 --> 00:01:22,646
A Justice Department
investigator calls it
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00:01:22,778 --> 00:01:24,478
"terrifying, an epidemic."
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They're known as serial killers,
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00:01:26,869 --> 00:01:28,479
and according to
law enforcement officials,
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00:01:28,610 --> 00:01:30,350
there are at least 35 of them
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00:01:30,481 --> 00:01:32,741
roaming the country now,
stalking victims.
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00:01:32,875 --> 00:01:34,615
Teenagers processed
the onslaught of news
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00:01:34,746 --> 00:01:36,746
as kids will do--
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00:01:36,879 --> 00:01:40,489
feeling vulnerable, alone,
and insecure about everything--
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00:01:40,622 --> 00:01:42,322
from their place in the world
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00:01:42,450 --> 00:01:45,240
to their awakening
sexual feelings.
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00:01:46,454 --> 00:01:49,634
Audiences were subjected
to a seemingly endless cycle
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00:01:49,761 --> 00:01:51,891
of exploitative news,
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00:01:52,024 --> 00:01:54,514
presenting threats
from every angle,
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00:01:54,636 --> 00:01:59,116
suggesting a dangerous world
for new modern terrors.
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00:02:01,121 --> 00:02:05,131
The horror genre became
dominated by slasher films
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00:02:05,255 --> 00:02:07,865
where sexualized teenagers
were killed
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00:02:07,997 --> 00:02:11,347
by merciless, inhuman monsters
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00:02:11,479 --> 00:02:14,789
punishing them
for their transgressions
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00:02:14,917 --> 00:02:17,697
and while neither they,
their helpless parents,
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00:02:17,833 --> 00:02:20,443
nor the police were able
to protect them
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00:02:20,575 --> 00:02:24,225
from these seemingly
unstoppable monsters.
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00:03:16,805 --> 00:03:18,625
I was a teen in a small town.
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00:03:18,763 --> 00:03:20,853
I had the typical
small-town upbringing,
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00:03:20,983 --> 00:03:24,473
and so the things that scared me
were the idea
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00:03:24,595 --> 00:03:25,725
that someone could break
into your house
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00:03:25,857 --> 00:03:27,597
and get you when you're asleep.
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00:03:27,729 --> 00:03:28,859
I was scared of the dark.
I was scared--
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00:03:28,991 --> 00:03:30,601
I always thought
someone was under the bed.
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00:03:30,732 --> 00:03:32,042
I thought there was
someone in the closet.
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00:03:32,168 --> 00:03:34,478
And I wasn't necessarily
scared of monsters
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00:03:34,605 --> 00:03:36,825
and ghosts and aliens
as a child.
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00:03:36,955 --> 00:03:39,475
I was more scared
of the serial killers.
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00:03:43,614 --> 00:03:45,444
I grew up in the '80s,
when not only
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00:03:45,573 --> 00:03:46,883
were serial killers
in our movies,
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00:03:47,009 --> 00:03:48,659
like in Halloween
and Friday the 13th,
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00:03:48,793 --> 00:03:50,493
but they were also in our world.
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00:03:56,018 --> 00:03:57,798
You know, with Bundy and Gacy
and Dahmer
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00:03:57,933 --> 00:03:59,673
and all of those, you know--
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00:03:59,804 --> 00:04:01,554
serial killers became
household names back then.
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00:04:01,676 --> 00:04:03,106
The assailant
entered a house in a quiet,
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00:04:03,243 --> 00:04:05,723
middle-class neighborhood
in the predawn hours on Sunday
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00:04:05,854 --> 00:04:07,254
through an unlocked window
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00:04:07,377 --> 00:04:09,117
and attacked the couple
while they slept.
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00:04:09,249 --> 00:04:11,639
It just terrifying to me
'cause I lived in a small town
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00:04:11,773 --> 00:04:13,213
where we didn't lock our doors.
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00:04:13,340 --> 00:04:14,690
And that scared me
'cause it was real.
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00:04:14,819 --> 00:04:16,209
Stand by. Ready?
Three, take three. My cue.
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00:04:16,343 --> 00:04:17,873
Ready, camera three.
One center up.
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00:04:17,996 --> 00:04:19,516
Good evening.
I'm David Walker.
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00:04:19,650 --> 00:04:21,910
And I'm Lois Hart.
Now here's the news.
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00:04:22,044 --> 00:04:24,924
CNN started broadcasting
in the 1980s,
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00:04:25,047 --> 00:04:27,617
and the '80s were packed
with sensational stories
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00:04:27,745 --> 00:04:29,355
about serial killers.
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00:04:33,925 --> 00:04:36,795
Like the trials of Ted Bundy,
John Wayne Gacy,
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00:04:36,928 --> 00:04:38,708
the Hillside Stranglers,
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00:04:38,843 --> 00:04:40,933
and the capture
of Henry Lee Lucas.
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00:04:41,063 --> 00:04:42,763
They started getting
great ratings
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00:04:42,891 --> 00:04:44,591
showing all of the murders
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00:04:44,719 --> 00:04:46,419
that were happening
in your neighborhood.
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00:04:51,639 --> 00:04:53,159
In New London, Connecticut,
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00:04:53,293 --> 00:04:56,773
police say a man apparently
upset over a family problem
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00:04:56,905 --> 00:04:59,075
went on a shooting spree
aboard an Amtrak train
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00:04:59,211 --> 00:05:01,691
en route from Washington
to Boston.
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00:05:01,823 --> 00:05:04,743
The brand-new network that was
suddenly in everyone's homes
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00:05:04,869 --> 00:05:07,089
telling you what was happening,
and what they were showing you
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00:05:07,219 --> 00:05:10,569
is that the world you live in
is unsafe
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00:05:10,701 --> 00:05:12,491
because killers are out there.
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00:05:12,616 --> 00:05:13,436
They're in your neighborhood.
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00:05:16,838 --> 00:05:19,188
The serial killer next door
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00:05:19,319 --> 00:05:22,669
had become all too real.
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00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:26,800
In one gruesome case alone,
26 victims' bodies
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00:05:26,935 --> 00:05:30,975
were carried out of
John Wayne Gacy's home in 1978.
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00:05:31,113 --> 00:05:34,123
In all,
Gacy had sexually assaulted
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00:05:34,246 --> 00:05:36,986
and murdered 33 young men
and boys
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00:05:37,119 --> 00:05:39,989
over a six-year period.
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00:05:40,122 --> 00:05:44,952
And as always, the horror genre
reflected real-life fears
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00:05:45,083 --> 00:05:48,043
as filmmakers incorporated
this national obsession
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00:05:48,173 --> 00:05:50,053
with psychotic killers
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00:05:50,175 --> 00:05:53,215
by perfecting
the modern slasher movie--
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00:05:53,353 --> 00:05:56,973
90 minutes of teenagers
being chased by a relentless,
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enraged, usually masked killer.
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00:06:00,751 --> 00:06:02,801
The stalker classic Halloween
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00:06:02,927 --> 00:06:06,927
and films like Friday The 13th
and Nightmare on Elm Street
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00:06:07,062 --> 00:06:09,542
sent teens flocking
to the movies
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00:06:09,673 --> 00:06:11,153
and launched horror franchises
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that dominated the multiplexes
throughout the '80s.
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00:06:15,157 --> 00:06:16,897
And that's kind of what '80s
horror movies were all about.
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00:06:22,033 --> 00:06:25,993
They personified evil
with this omniscient force
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00:06:26,124 --> 00:06:28,394
that could not be
fucking stopped.
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00:06:28,518 --> 00:06:29,998
You can throw bullets
at these fuckers, man,
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00:06:30,128 --> 00:06:31,738
throw them off roofs and shit.
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00:06:31,869 --> 00:06:32,909
Like, they can't be stopped.
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00:06:33,044 --> 00:06:35,094
Like death, they're relentless.
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00:06:35,220 --> 00:06:36,870
So, you know,
it was a wonderful metaphor
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00:06:37,005 --> 00:06:38,215
for a young Catholic kid
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00:06:38,354 --> 00:06:40,014
who was already fucking obsessed
with death
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00:06:40,138 --> 00:06:43,708
that like, you know, even--
I didn't need CliffsNotes
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00:06:43,838 --> 00:06:47,668
to understand, like,
oh, we all die eventually.
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00:06:47,798 --> 00:06:49,628
With the advent
of cable television
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00:06:49,757 --> 00:06:51,887
and the emergence
of video stores,
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00:06:52,020 --> 00:06:53,720
viewers could channel surf
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00:06:53,848 --> 00:06:56,848
between real monsters
and imaginary killers.
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00:07:01,856 --> 00:07:03,066
The first horror movie
I ever saw
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00:07:03,205 --> 00:07:05,855
was Friday the 13th.
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00:07:05,990 --> 00:07:07,730
And for whatever reason,
I was left alone
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00:07:07,862 --> 00:07:09,782
in front of the television
when I was too young.
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00:07:09,907 --> 00:07:11,077
I was eight or nine years old.
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00:07:11,213 --> 00:07:13,003
And it was definitely
one of the worst,
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00:07:13,128 --> 00:07:14,908
scariest nights of my life,
and I didn't see a horror movie
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00:07:15,043 --> 00:07:16,653
for about two or three years
after that.
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00:07:16,784 --> 00:07:17,924
But it had a great effect on me
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00:07:18,046 --> 00:07:20,786
and clearly informed me
in later years.
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00:07:20,918 --> 00:07:22,658
I had been working
on a couple children's shows,
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00:07:22,790 --> 00:07:24,750
and they got put on hold.
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00:07:29,187 --> 00:07:32,097
I came up with the title
Friday the 13th,
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00:07:32,234 --> 00:07:34,894
and I took out
a big ad in Variety saying,
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00:07:35,019 --> 00:07:37,369
"The most terrifying film
ever made.
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00:07:37,500 --> 00:07:40,760
Friday the 13th, coming soon."
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00:07:40,895 --> 00:07:42,765
And I didn't have anything.
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00:07:42,897 --> 00:07:45,247
I got a bunch of distributors
and countries
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00:07:45,377 --> 00:07:47,027
where they wanted
a piece of something
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00:07:47,162 --> 00:07:48,952
called Friday the 13th.
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00:07:58,086 --> 00:07:59,036
When we first came up
with this notion
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00:07:59,174 --> 00:08:01,794
of Friday the 13th,
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00:08:01,916 --> 00:08:04,786
it was like all these
strange little deaths.
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00:08:04,919 --> 00:08:07,309
Who was gonna go next,
and who's gonna survive?
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00:08:07,443 --> 00:08:09,883
So when we were trying
to figure out an ending,
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00:08:10,011 --> 00:08:13,231
and there were-- [chuckles]--
this took some doing.
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00:08:13,362 --> 00:08:17,062
I decided that the killer
was gonna be Jason's mother.
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00:08:17,192 --> 00:08:19,802
Betsy Palmer has a public image
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00:08:19,934 --> 00:08:23,684
of being the nicest person
in the world.
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00:08:23,807 --> 00:08:25,197
So I thought that
we could get
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00:08:25,330 --> 00:08:28,070
at least a few moments
of people relaxing.
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00:08:28,203 --> 00:08:31,253
"Oh, Betsy Palmer's here.
We know she's nice."
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00:08:31,380 --> 00:08:33,820
Did you know that
a young boy drowned
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00:08:33,948 --> 00:08:36,168
the year before
those two others were killed?
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00:08:36,298 --> 00:08:39,208
The counselors weren't
paying any attention.
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00:08:39,344 --> 00:08:41,914
They were making love
while that young boy drowned.
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00:08:44,132 --> 00:08:47,222
His name was Jason.
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00:08:47,352 --> 00:08:49,182
You wouldn't question
that a mother would,
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00:08:49,311 --> 00:08:51,921
you know, seek revenge
for the death of her kid.
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00:08:52,053 --> 00:08:53,973
So the first movie is
definitely horrific,
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00:08:54,098 --> 00:08:56,098
but, like, it also had
this fucking great twist
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00:08:56,231 --> 00:08:58,711
where it's like,
oh, this lady is the killer?
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00:08:58,842 --> 00:09:00,242
That's kind of crazy.
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00:09:00,365 --> 00:09:04,935
And then the very next movie,
suddenly a star is born.
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00:09:05,066 --> 00:09:07,066
But they found a way to make
Friday the 13th continue
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00:09:07,198 --> 00:09:10,158
by being like,
"Oh, never mind the killer mom.
168
00:09:10,288 --> 00:09:12,768
The boy-- he lived.
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00:09:12,900 --> 00:09:15,030
He's the fucking bad guy
from now on.
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00:09:15,163 --> 00:09:16,953
And we're gonna put
a fucking bag on his head!"
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00:09:17,078 --> 00:09:18,858
Not real great marketing.
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00:09:18,993 --> 00:09:19,993
But then they got
to the third movie,
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00:09:20,124 --> 00:09:21,304
put a fucking hockey mask
on him,
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00:09:21,430 --> 00:09:23,130
and that changed everything.
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00:09:23,258 --> 00:09:24,828
Aaah!
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00:09:24,955 --> 00:09:26,345
Oh!
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00:09:29,612 --> 00:09:32,182
You see that on a little icon,
you're like, "That's a horror."
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00:09:33,442 --> 00:09:37,052
My first horror movie,
like, besides Gremlins,
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00:09:37,185 --> 00:09:40,575
was Friday the 13th Part III
in 3D.
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00:09:45,019 --> 00:09:47,199
And it was coming out
in the movie theaters,
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00:09:47,325 --> 00:09:49,885
and I wanted to see it
more than anything.
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00:09:50,024 --> 00:09:54,034
Friday the 13th
Part 3 in 3D.
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00:09:54,158 --> 00:09:57,898
- Aah!
- A new dimension in terror.
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00:09:58,032 --> 00:09:59,952
I begged my parents.
I begged and begged and begged.
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00:10:00,077 --> 00:10:01,857
And they were like, "No, no, no.
186
00:10:01,992 --> 00:10:04,042
Under no circumstances
can you see that movie.
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00:10:04,168 --> 00:10:05,998
You're too young.
You'll have nightmares forever."
188
00:10:06,127 --> 00:10:10,347
Because these are
Jason's woods.
189
00:10:10,479 --> 00:10:13,919
And nobody leaves them alive.
190
00:10:14,831 --> 00:10:18,271
So they were going away on a ski
weekend with their friends.
191
00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:20,270
And they had
my babysitter, Jill,
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00:10:20,402 --> 00:10:22,452
who lived across the street,
stay with me.
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00:10:22,578 --> 00:10:25,318
And I remember very vividly
them, like, giving Jill
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00:10:25,450 --> 00:10:27,320
the rundown of, like,
"Here are the rules.
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00:10:27,452 --> 00:10:29,892
Here's the food and some extra
money" and yada, yada, yada.
196
00:10:30,020 --> 00:10:32,370
And they were like,
"One last thing.
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00:10:32,501 --> 00:10:34,291
She's gonna try to get you
to take her
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00:10:34,416 --> 00:10:35,936
to see Friday the 13th."
199
00:10:36,070 --> 00:10:38,160
In 3D.
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00:10:38,289 --> 00:10:41,989
"Under no circumstances--
and I mean no circumstances--
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00:10:42,119 --> 00:10:44,079
is she allowed
to see that movie."
202
00:10:44,208 --> 00:10:46,248
And Jill's like,
"Okay, like, how hard is it
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00:10:46,384 --> 00:10:48,174
to not take a kid to a movie?"
204
00:10:48,299 --> 00:10:51,129
Like, pretty easy.
We have a super-fun night,
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00:10:51,259 --> 00:10:53,219
watch TV, have popcorn,
listen to Madonna.
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00:10:53,348 --> 00:10:57,048
We go upstairs and go to bed,
and I hear talking downstairs.
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00:10:58,440 --> 00:11:04,100
And I snuck downstairs,
and I see Jill on the couch
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00:11:04,228 --> 00:11:08,408
wearing my mom's nightgown
with her boyfriend
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00:11:08,537 --> 00:11:12,187
underneath the quilt
that my grandmother made!
210
00:11:12,323 --> 00:11:17,073
And I was like, "Oh, we're gonna
go see that movie."
211
00:11:17,198 --> 00:11:19,368
And the next day I said to Jill,
212
00:11:19,504 --> 00:11:22,204
"I'm gonna tell your parents
and my parents
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00:11:22,333 --> 00:11:25,033
if you don't take me to see
Friday the 13th in 3D
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00:11:25,162 --> 00:11:26,212
in the movie theater."
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00:11:26,337 --> 00:11:28,297
And she was like...
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00:11:28,426 --> 00:11:31,906
So, sure enough,
Saturday matinee.
217
00:11:37,479 --> 00:11:40,479
It was the scariest--
Am I allowed to swear?
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00:11:42,484 --> 00:11:45,274
The scariest fucking thing
to this day
219
00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:47,970
I have ever, ever seen
in my life.
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00:11:50,405 --> 00:11:52,885
I won't go see 3-D movies
at all now,
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00:11:53,016 --> 00:11:54,056
at all, because of it.
222
00:11:54,191 --> 00:11:55,321
It was so fucking scary.
223
00:11:55,453 --> 00:11:57,933
My parents were 110% right.
224
00:11:58,065 --> 00:12:00,195
I should never have seen
that movie.
225
00:12:00,328 --> 00:12:02,158
I mean, still to this day,
I have nightmares.
226
00:12:02,286 --> 00:12:04,846
But I never told my parents
why I was having nightmares.
227
00:12:08,075 --> 00:12:10,985
Fucking hockey mask, man.
228
00:12:13,341 --> 00:12:16,211
I swear I felt like I was born
to play that character.
229
00:12:16,344 --> 00:12:18,224
It felt so natural,
even from the beginning.
230
00:12:23,264 --> 00:12:25,964
Villains are so scary
behind a mask.
231
00:12:26,093 --> 00:12:28,403
It has to be the unknown.
232
00:12:28,530 --> 00:12:30,310
I mean, that has to be
a factor to it,
233
00:12:30,445 --> 00:12:33,005
that you're looking at someone,
you don't really know
234
00:12:33,143 --> 00:12:34,143
what they really look like.
235
00:12:36,494 --> 00:12:38,934
And not that you'd
necessarily want to,
236
00:12:39,062 --> 00:12:41,372
but just that mystery of,
237
00:12:41,499 --> 00:12:44,329
"Who could possibly be
behind that mask?"
238
00:12:44,459 --> 00:12:48,459
and the expressionless-ness
of it,
239
00:12:48,593 --> 00:12:51,423
whether it's Michael Myers
or Jason,
240
00:12:51,553 --> 00:12:53,213
it never changes.
241
00:12:53,337 --> 00:12:59,427
So it's just a scary,
unknown entity,
242
00:12:59,561 --> 00:13:02,221
I think, is what makes it
so terrifying.
243
00:13:02,346 --> 00:13:04,476
The truth is,
Friday the 13th started out
244
00:13:04,609 --> 00:13:07,609
with a reality-based killer,
more or less.
245
00:13:07,743 --> 00:13:11,313
You know, it has turned
into this sort of iconic story
246
00:13:11,442 --> 00:13:16,842
about this abused kid, Jason.
247
00:13:16,970 --> 00:13:19,490
And I think that inside
of that story is something
248
00:13:19,624 --> 00:13:24,194
that's so irresistible
to a lot of people.
249
00:13:24,325 --> 00:13:27,145
It's like Revenge of the Nerds
on steroids, you know,
250
00:13:27,284 --> 00:13:29,244
and you get to kick ass
251
00:13:29,373 --> 00:13:31,593
all these people
that are bugging you.
252
00:13:31,723 --> 00:13:34,163
And I think
it is very dependable.
253
00:13:34,291 --> 00:13:36,121
If you're gonna go see
a Friday the 13th movie,
254
00:13:36,250 --> 00:13:38,470
you know at this point
what you're gonna get.
255
00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:41,300
And we always try to deliver
on that, and then a little more.
256
00:13:41,429 --> 00:13:45,039
Probably the biggest thing
about Jason
257
00:13:45,172 --> 00:13:48,132
that the audience fears
258
00:13:48,262 --> 00:13:52,742
is the unstoppable nature
of the character.
259
00:13:52,875 --> 00:13:57,395
No matter what you do to stop
that guy from coming after you,
260
00:13:57,532 --> 00:13:58,932
it doesn't work.
261
00:14:00,187 --> 00:14:02,017
You light the guy on fire,
262
00:14:02,145 --> 00:14:03,925
you blow him up,
263
00:14:04,060 --> 00:14:06,240
you stab him,
264
00:14:06,367 --> 00:14:09,197
you hack him with an ax...
265
00:14:10,371 --> 00:14:11,461
...he still keeps coming.
266
00:14:14,766 --> 00:14:16,116
After Friday the 13th,
267
00:14:16,246 --> 00:14:18,246
it looked like
these little movies,
268
00:14:18,379 --> 00:14:20,559
you know,
relatively low-budget movies
269
00:14:20,685 --> 00:14:24,035
that featured a lot of blood
and special effects
270
00:14:24,167 --> 00:14:25,687
were going to be successful.
271
00:14:25,821 --> 00:14:29,301
The success
of this new wave of genre films
272
00:14:29,433 --> 00:14:32,353
attracted exciting young filmmakers
273
00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:36,310
and inspired them to make horror
films infused with fresh ideas,
274
00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:40,100
creative storytelling,
innovative cinematography
275
00:14:40,227 --> 00:14:43,357
and spit-and-glue
special effects
276
00:14:43,491 --> 00:14:46,021
to get the biggest bang
for their buck.
277
00:14:51,891 --> 00:14:55,501
The only reason we ever got
into horror in the first place
278
00:14:55,633 --> 00:14:57,423
for my first film, Evil Dead--
279
00:14:57,548 --> 00:15:00,198
we were terrified of losing
the investors' money.
280
00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:08,560
And we knew that horror films
was a staple that was out there.
281
00:15:08,690 --> 00:15:10,210
You could get them
into drive-ins.
282
00:15:10,344 --> 00:15:12,174
You didn't have to
get in fancy theaters.
283
00:15:12,302 --> 00:15:14,302
You could use no-name actors
284
00:15:14,435 --> 00:15:17,085
wearing regular clothes,
driving regular cars.
285
00:15:17,220 --> 00:15:19,090
Nothing had to be that fancy.
286
00:15:22,312 --> 00:15:24,712
Why have you
disturbed our sleep,
287
00:15:24,836 --> 00:15:28,486
awakened us
from our ancient slumber?
288
00:15:28,623 --> 00:15:33,283
Sam I met in eighth grade.
289
00:15:33,410 --> 00:15:35,500
I was walking down the hallway,
West Maple Junior High School.
290
00:15:35,630 --> 00:15:37,630
He's sitting in the middle
of the hallway
291
00:15:37,762 --> 00:15:40,462
dressed like Sherlock Holmes,
playing with dolls.
292
00:15:40,591 --> 00:15:43,071
I was like, "Oh, man.
293
00:15:43,203 --> 00:15:44,603
I'm going around that guy."
294
00:15:44,726 --> 00:15:46,466
I mean, he really left
an indelible mark.
295
00:15:46,597 --> 00:15:47,727
I'm like, "People don't do that.
296
00:15:47,859 --> 00:15:49,689
They don't dress like
Sherlock Holmes."
297
00:15:49,818 --> 00:15:51,858
And he claimed later
he was making a movie.
298
00:15:51,994 --> 00:15:53,434
I'm like,
"I didn't see a camera.
299
00:15:53,561 --> 00:15:55,261
I didn't see it anywhere.
300
00:15:55,389 --> 00:15:56,959
I think you were just being
a little whack job."
301
00:15:58,609 --> 00:16:02,739
Oh, God. Look at this.
302
00:16:02,874 --> 00:16:07,624
Sam Raimi took a class
and read about the Necronomicon.
303
00:16:07,749 --> 00:16:10,579
It was like
the Egyptian Book of the Dead.
304
00:16:10,708 --> 00:16:13,278
And he thought,
"Hey, that's cool.
305
00:16:13,407 --> 00:16:16,407
Like, that's just this weird
book that has conjurings,
306
00:16:16,540 --> 00:16:19,280
and once you conjure them,
like, what happens?
307
00:16:19,413 --> 00:16:20,633
I don't know."
308
00:16:20,762 --> 00:16:22,422
So that was really
intriguing to him.
309
00:16:22,546 --> 00:16:24,716
And so I think
he brought that up
310
00:16:24,853 --> 00:16:27,203
when we decided
to make a horror movie.
311
00:16:28,204 --> 00:16:30,254
This guy was a real turd,
you know.
312
00:16:30,380 --> 00:16:32,340
Everybody hated him. Everybody.
313
00:16:32,469 --> 00:16:33,469
Like you, kinda.
314
00:16:33,601 --> 00:16:35,471
Released in 1981,
315
00:16:35,603 --> 00:16:38,483
The Evil Dead is the story
of a group of friends
316
00:16:38,606 --> 00:16:42,646
that unleash an ancient curse
conjured from a Sumerian text.
317
00:16:42,784 --> 00:16:44,664
The film did what horror
does best--
318
00:16:44,786 --> 00:16:48,266
created a meta world
with layers of subtext.
319
00:16:48,398 --> 00:16:50,398
You never see the villain.
320
00:16:50,531 --> 00:16:53,581
The evil spirit possesses
these kids one by one.
321
00:16:53,708 --> 00:16:55,408
As one critic put it,
322
00:16:55,536 --> 00:16:58,276
"The monster is
the camera itself
323
00:16:58,408 --> 00:17:00,538
and whoever is behind it."
324
00:17:00,671 --> 00:17:03,281
In other words, the viewer
is part of the scene,
325
00:17:03,413 --> 00:17:05,463
whether they want to be or not.
326
00:17:05,589 --> 00:17:07,849
You hear an incantation.
Something comes up.
327
00:17:07,983 --> 00:17:11,473
It possesses you, you know,
and has malevolent intent.
328
00:17:11,595 --> 00:17:14,335
So you open--
you opened the wrong book, man.
329
00:17:14,468 --> 00:17:17,168
And so I think Sam kind of
ran with it from there.
330
00:17:17,297 --> 00:17:18,337
And Evil Dead came along.
331
00:17:29,004 --> 00:17:31,664
Evil Dead is the most
simplistic plot ever,
332
00:17:31,789 --> 00:17:34,659
and it's one that we see
to come over and over--
333
00:17:34,792 --> 00:17:37,492
group of kids go to a cabin,
334
00:17:37,621 --> 00:17:39,411
they find
some fucked-up shit there,
335
00:17:39,536 --> 00:17:40,886
and then the movie
just keeps going.
336
00:17:41,016 --> 00:17:43,496
But what Evil Dead did
is at a time period
337
00:17:43,627 --> 00:17:45,457
where if you were going
to a cabin,
338
00:17:45,586 --> 00:17:48,626
you were going to encounter
a maniacal redneck killer.
339
00:17:48,763 --> 00:17:51,463
Instead, the entire house
is demonic.
340
00:17:51,592 --> 00:17:53,772
Everything is cursed around it.
341
00:17:53,898 --> 00:17:57,548
And just by being there,
you're getting the curse, too.
342
00:17:57,685 --> 00:17:59,855
Our special effects
were very crude.
343
00:17:59,991 --> 00:18:01,431
Tom Sullivan's like,
"I know how to make these
344
00:18:01,558 --> 00:18:02,858
special, cool molds.
345
00:18:02,994 --> 00:18:04,614
We'll make a mold
of the actor's face,
346
00:18:04,735 --> 00:18:05,905
and then you can sculpt it
347
00:18:06,041 --> 00:18:08,651
and then put an appliance
on their face."
348
00:18:08,783 --> 00:18:11,873
Right?
So we'll use plaster of Paris.
349
00:18:12,003 --> 00:18:14,273
Well, anyone who's used
plaster of Paris knows
350
00:18:14,397 --> 00:18:17,617
it heats up and as it dries.
351
00:18:17,748 --> 00:18:20,268
Well, okay, so we put
a light coating of Vaseline
352
00:18:20,403 --> 00:18:21,713
on Betsy Baker's face.
353
00:18:21,839 --> 00:18:23,839
She was the first guinea pig.
354
00:18:23,972 --> 00:18:26,802
This thing starts to heat up.
She's like, "How much longer?"
355
00:18:26,931 --> 00:18:29,501
So finally like five minutes
later, we go,
356
00:18:29,630 --> 00:18:30,890
"Okay, Betsy, no problem, we're
gonna get you out of that."
357
00:18:31,022 --> 00:18:32,722
So all you have to do
is lean forward, right?
358
00:18:32,850 --> 00:18:36,330
'Cause the weight of it,
of the plaster of Paris,
359
00:18:36,463 --> 00:18:37,993
will pull it off your face.
360
00:18:38,117 --> 00:18:40,677
So it did-- went right off
her face, right into her hand.
361
00:18:40,815 --> 00:18:43,425
She looks into the mask,
and all of her eyelashes
362
00:18:43,557 --> 00:18:45,947
were in the mold.
363
00:18:46,081 --> 00:18:48,951
It pulled all of her eyelashes
off of her face.
364
00:18:49,084 --> 00:18:52,614
And she said, in the most
kind of remarkable way--
365
00:18:52,740 --> 00:18:55,530
she was like more fascinated--
she goes,
366
00:18:55,656 --> 00:18:57,826
"Those are all my eyelashes."
367
00:18:57,962 --> 00:18:59,832
We're like,
"Yeah, Betsy. Sorry."
368
00:18:59,964 --> 00:19:01,144
And that was just the beginning.
369
00:19:10,714 --> 00:19:12,594
And then when it finally
did come out,
370
00:19:12,716 --> 00:19:15,366
we started to get some
pretty bad reviews.
371
00:19:15,502 --> 00:19:16,812
A paper in Atlanta called it
372
00:19:16,938 --> 00:19:19,938
Evil Dead:
The Sickest of the Sick.
373
00:19:20,071 --> 00:19:23,601
Sam Raimi took every bad idea
he's ever had..."
374
00:19:23,727 --> 00:19:25,857
Ever had.
He only made one movie.
375
00:19:25,990 --> 00:19:29,210
"...and put it into
a low-budget blender."
376
00:19:29,342 --> 00:19:32,432
I'm like, "What a dick.
What a dickish thing to say."
377
00:19:32,562 --> 00:19:34,522
But this new kind
of filmmaking,
378
00:19:34,651 --> 00:19:36,521
one that threw in everything
379
00:19:36,653 --> 00:19:38,873
audiences come to love
about horror films--
380
00:19:39,003 --> 00:19:41,703
the campy special effects,
ham-fisted dialogue,
381
00:19:41,832 --> 00:19:43,832
and handsome action hero--
382
00:19:43,965 --> 00:19:46,485
impressed the one guy
that mattered.
383
00:19:46,620 --> 00:19:48,620
Enter Stephen King.
384
00:19:48,752 --> 00:19:50,622
He sees it
at the Cannes Film Festival.
385
00:19:50,754 --> 00:19:52,634
It's a horror movie.
Let's go see it.
386
00:19:52,756 --> 00:19:56,626
And he writes an article
in Twilight Zone Magazine
387
00:19:56,760 --> 00:19:58,850
and calls it
"the most ferociously original
388
00:19:58,980 --> 00:20:00,810
horror film of the year."
389
00:20:00,938 --> 00:20:03,378
We spit our coffee.
We're like, "Wait a second.
390
00:20:03,506 --> 00:20:04,806
Stephen King said that?"
391
00:20:04,942 --> 00:20:06,862
And I don't even know
how we tracked him down.
392
00:20:06,988 --> 00:20:10,028
But, "Sir, could we please--
please, can we use that quote?"
393
00:20:10,165 --> 00:20:11,815
He goes, "Yeah."
394
00:20:11,949 --> 00:20:13,689
We were like, "Oh, my God."
395
00:20:13,821 --> 00:20:16,221
So that's on the poster
to this day.
396
00:20:16,345 --> 00:20:19,215
Stephen King--
I mean, what an endorsement.
397
00:20:19,348 --> 00:20:21,388
Evil Dead was banned
in most countries
398
00:20:21,524 --> 00:20:22,704
and slashed by censors.
399
00:20:22,830 --> 00:20:25,010
It was also on
the video nasties list.
400
00:20:25,136 --> 00:20:28,356
Sam Raimi made Evil Dead
as this homespun,
401
00:20:28,488 --> 00:20:30,748
guttural exploitation film,
402
00:20:30,881 --> 00:20:32,581
and it's really freaking scary.
403
00:20:32,709 --> 00:20:35,059
We forget about how scary
the original Evil Dead is
404
00:20:35,190 --> 00:20:37,450
in light of Evil Dead II
and Army of Darkness
405
00:20:37,584 --> 00:20:38,724
and everything to come.
406
00:20:38,846 --> 00:20:41,536
But that first film
was horrifying.
407
00:20:41,675 --> 00:20:43,065
It's violent.
408
00:20:43,198 --> 00:20:46,068
The decision to make
a completely carnage-filled
409
00:20:46,201 --> 00:20:50,551
horror movie was also
a business decision of like,
410
00:20:50,684 --> 00:20:51,824
"We don't want to get lost
in the shuffle.
411
00:20:51,946 --> 00:20:53,986
We have to--
This has to be, like,
412
00:20:54,122 --> 00:20:55,692
something people
remember when they watch it."
413
00:20:55,819 --> 00:20:58,779
Aaah!
414
00:21:06,265 --> 00:21:07,825
The Evil Dead was a hit.
415
00:21:07,962 --> 00:21:09,922
Audiences ate it up,
416
00:21:10,051 --> 00:21:13,791
and Sam Raimi had a franchise
on his hands.
417
00:21:13,924 --> 00:21:15,844
My theory is that horror works.
418
00:21:15,970 --> 00:21:18,630
It's one of the few genres
that can get
419
00:21:18,755 --> 00:21:21,885
an audience to react viscerally.
420
00:21:22,019 --> 00:21:24,109
You know, after we put
the first Evil Dead out,
421
00:21:24,239 --> 00:21:28,289
we would sit in movie theaters
to watch it play with audiences.
422
00:21:28,417 --> 00:21:29,897
And we didn't care about
the movie after a while.
423
00:21:30,027 --> 00:21:32,067
It was, we just watched
the audience.
424
00:21:32,203 --> 00:21:35,693
You'd see a couple, they got
a jacket over their head,
425
00:21:35,816 --> 00:21:36,856
and they're screening the movie
426
00:21:36,991 --> 00:21:38,951
through their sleeve
of the jacket,
427
00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:41,950
'cause they only want to see
parts of the screen.
428
00:21:42,083 --> 00:21:44,913
They love that feeling
that they got of like,
429
00:21:45,042 --> 00:21:47,742
"I'm dead. I'm gonna be dead."
430
00:21:47,871 --> 00:21:49,921
And then after the movie,
"I'm not dead."
431
00:21:50,047 --> 00:21:53,747
It's probably very cathartic,
why horror works.
432
00:22:01,276 --> 00:22:03,706
As if teenagers didn't
already have enough to fear
433
00:22:03,844 --> 00:22:05,634
in their waking hours,
434
00:22:05,759 --> 00:22:07,199
Wes Craven came up
with something
435
00:22:07,326 --> 00:22:11,106
even more terrifying
to torture their subconscious.
436
00:22:11,242 --> 00:22:11,942
We think of
Nightmare on Elm Street
437
00:22:12,069 --> 00:22:13,849
as being mainstream now,
438
00:22:13,984 --> 00:22:16,474
but it was a bit alternative
back in the day.
439
00:22:20,948 --> 00:22:24,598
I think the original fans
were dorm rats
440
00:22:24,734 --> 00:22:26,744
passing around
the same old video
441
00:22:26,867 --> 00:22:28,297
and heavy-metal kids
442
00:22:28,434 --> 00:22:29,834
and then their brothers
and sisters
443
00:22:29,957 --> 00:22:31,787
or their younger brothers
and sisters,
444
00:22:31,915 --> 00:22:33,085
and then, you know,
it just began
445
00:22:33,221 --> 00:22:35,921
to permeate the entire culture.
446
00:22:36,050 --> 00:22:39,010
The idea for
A Nightmare on Elm Street
447
00:22:39,140 --> 00:22:41,970
came to Wes Craven
after he read stories
448
00:22:42,099 --> 00:22:44,969
about healthy young adults
screaming incoherently
449
00:22:45,102 --> 00:22:48,762
before dying in their sleep,
a mysterious disorder
450
00:22:48,889 --> 00:22:53,019
that came to be known
as Nocturnal Death Syndrome.
451
00:22:53,154 --> 00:22:55,984
Craven conjured up
the story of a villain
452
00:22:56,113 --> 00:22:58,683
that terrorizes you
in your sleep.
453
00:22:58,812 --> 00:23:01,862
And if you die in your dream,
you're done for.
454
00:23:01,989 --> 00:23:04,029
While writing the script,
455
00:23:04,165 --> 00:23:07,775
Craven named the nightmare
killer after a childhood bully,
456
00:23:07,908 --> 00:23:09,388
Fred Krueger.
457
00:23:09,518 --> 00:23:11,388
Nightmare on Elm Street
started on a Friday.
458
00:23:15,002 --> 00:23:17,052
And I couldn't get anyone
to go see it with me,
459
00:23:17,178 --> 00:23:19,048
'cause I wanted to see it,
like, at noon
460
00:23:19,180 --> 00:23:20,140
and nobody would go
and see it with me.
461
00:23:20,268 --> 00:23:22,008
So I had to go see it by myself.
462
00:23:22,139 --> 00:23:23,009
And, of course,
who's in the theater at noon?
463
00:23:23,140 --> 00:23:24,970
Nobody. Me. Just me.
464
00:23:25,099 --> 00:23:26,709
So I'm sitting
in the theater by myself,
465
00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:28,540
and I'm in Greenville,
North Carolina.
466
00:23:31,975 --> 00:23:33,885
And I start watching
this movie,
467
00:23:34,021 --> 00:23:35,681
and I get so scared...
468
00:23:35,805 --> 00:23:36,935
Shit.
469
00:23:37,067 --> 00:23:38,067
...and I get a cramp
in my leg.
470
00:23:38,199 --> 00:23:39,639
I had to walk up and down
the aisle
471
00:23:39,766 --> 00:23:40,846
'cause I wouldn't
leave the theater.
472
00:23:40,984 --> 00:23:42,514
I had to see
what was gonna happen.
473
00:23:46,599 --> 00:23:49,079
And I changed seats
and I moved closer to the exit.
474
00:23:49,210 --> 00:23:52,300
And, I mean, I was terrified.
That movie really scared me.
475
00:23:52,431 --> 00:23:54,821
It actually scared me
the first three times I saw it.
476
00:23:54,955 --> 00:23:56,735
I had to go back
and see it again,
477
00:23:56,870 --> 00:23:59,090
and it scared me almost more so
than the first time
478
00:23:59,220 --> 00:24:00,700
because I knew
what was gonna happen,
479
00:24:00,830 --> 00:24:02,830
so I was scared
before it happened.
480
00:24:02,963 --> 00:24:04,923
That movie was awesome.
481
00:24:05,052 --> 00:24:08,842
Nightmare on Elm Street
is about a serial killer,
482
00:24:08,969 --> 00:24:13,019
Freddy Krueger, who haunts you
in your dreams, you know?
483
00:24:13,147 --> 00:24:16,927
And he is-- he's taken revenge
on the children of Elm Street
484
00:24:17,064 --> 00:24:18,154
for something
that their parents did.
485
00:24:18,282 --> 00:24:19,982
And he comes to them
in their dreams,
486
00:24:20,110 --> 00:24:21,940
and if you die in your dreams,
you die for real.
487
00:24:22,069 --> 00:24:23,109
Dreams are a safe place.
488
00:24:23,244 --> 00:24:24,904
Dreams are where
fun things happen.
489
00:24:25,028 --> 00:24:27,768
Dreams are where you wake up
and it's over.
490
00:24:27,901 --> 00:24:30,341
And the idea that
whatever taunts you
491
00:24:30,469 --> 00:24:33,119
and stalks you in your dreams
can come to reality,
492
00:24:33,254 --> 00:24:35,344
or if you die in your dreams,
you die for good--
493
00:24:35,474 --> 00:24:37,614
I mean, that's beyond
your control. That's terrifying.
494
00:24:42,045 --> 00:24:46,395
As a horror theme
and as a trap,
495
00:24:46,528 --> 00:24:49,968
the nightmares-- the dream,
the bad dream, the gimmick--
496
00:24:50,097 --> 00:24:51,707
it's universal.
497
00:24:54,014 --> 00:24:56,154
To have also it inhabited
498
00:24:56,277 --> 00:24:59,757
by this man
that lives in that world...
499
00:25:03,110 --> 00:25:06,510
this boogieman
that inhabits the dream,
500
00:25:06,635 --> 00:25:07,895
once you've heard of him,
you know,
501
00:25:08,028 --> 00:25:08,938
he can get to
your subconscious...
502
00:25:09,072 --> 00:25:10,942
Who are you?
503
00:25:11,074 --> 00:25:13,774
...and take you down,
down the stairs
504
00:25:13,903 --> 00:25:15,953
into the nightmare
boiler room.
505
00:25:18,081 --> 00:25:21,001
That movie had
such a deep impact on me.
506
00:25:26,046 --> 00:25:27,526
Took place in the suburbs.
507
00:25:27,656 --> 00:25:30,176
I grew up in the suburbs,
newly integrated suburbs.
508
00:25:30,311 --> 00:25:33,051
So there was sort of a feeling
of unease.
509
00:25:33,183 --> 00:25:34,973
You didn't know how
your neighbors felt about you.
510
00:25:35,098 --> 00:25:36,538
You didn't know
what would pop off.
511
00:25:36,665 --> 00:25:38,225
We had people throwing tomatoes
against our house
512
00:25:38,362 --> 00:25:40,152
and all kinds of stuff.
513
00:25:40,277 --> 00:25:42,717
So the suburban horror feel
had me from hello.
514
00:25:42,845 --> 00:25:44,975
Wes wanted that.
515
00:25:45,108 --> 00:25:48,938
He wanted this sort of
damaged suburbia.
516
00:25:49,896 --> 00:25:52,936
And he was making the adults
in these movies
517
00:25:53,073 --> 00:25:55,213
vulnerable and flawed.
518
00:25:56,206 --> 00:26:00,556
That meant the kids were sort of
without adults for advice.
519
00:26:02,299 --> 00:26:03,869
It really dealt with the sins
of our fathers.
520
00:26:03,997 --> 00:26:05,087
I mean, these children
were pretty innocent.
521
00:26:05,215 --> 00:26:06,515
It was what their parents did
522
00:26:06,652 --> 00:26:07,962
that they were
being punished for.
523
00:26:08,088 --> 00:26:09,128
It was out of their control.
524
00:26:09,263 --> 00:26:10,873
This man was coming for them
525
00:26:11,004 --> 00:26:12,404
because of something
their parents did.
526
00:26:12,527 --> 00:26:14,307
So that sort of
"sins of our father" theme
527
00:26:14,442 --> 00:26:17,232
that ran through that movie,
I thought was really scary.
528
00:26:17,358 --> 00:26:20,358
There's something about the way
Freddy moves
529
00:26:20,491 --> 00:26:23,971
that's animal-like,
that's cat-like,
530
00:26:24,104 --> 00:26:26,244
that's even reptilian at times.
531
00:26:26,367 --> 00:26:28,277
And I think that
that's what I bring
532
00:26:28,412 --> 00:26:32,112
to sort of Freddy's
scare factor.
533
00:26:32,242 --> 00:26:36,122
The claw with the knife fingers
534
00:26:36,246 --> 00:26:38,986
on the old gardening glove--
535
00:26:39,119 --> 00:26:42,909
that not only manifests great
in silhouette and shadow,
536
00:26:43,036 --> 00:26:46,206
but it's something about it
extending evil
537
00:26:46,343 --> 00:26:50,043
or amplifying the evil
that is just Freddy.
538
00:26:50,173 --> 00:26:52,263
That is the scariest thing--
those knives,
539
00:26:52,393 --> 00:26:56,273
the taunting nature
of his attacks.
540
00:26:56,397 --> 00:26:59,967
Freddy Krueger definitely
was my scariest villain.
541
00:27:06,581 --> 00:27:09,451
The push is on
to find a cure for AIDS.
542
00:27:09,584 --> 00:27:12,984
Since June of 1981, about 1,800
cases have been reported,
543
00:27:13,109 --> 00:27:14,549
mostly in the gay community,
544
00:27:14,676 --> 00:27:17,326
and more than 600 people
have died.
545
00:27:17,461 --> 00:27:19,861
In the early '80s,
nothing was more terrifying
546
00:27:19,986 --> 00:27:21,336
than an unidentified virus
547
00:27:21,465 --> 00:27:23,285
that could incubate
in the body for years
548
00:27:23,424 --> 00:27:26,954
and, when it struck,
was a death sentence.
549
00:27:27,080 --> 00:27:29,430
There was panic in the air
as the AIDS epidemic
550
00:27:29,560 --> 00:27:33,000
decimated a generation
of gay men.
551
00:27:33,129 --> 00:27:35,919
During the process, many people
lost their sense of compassion
552
00:27:36,045 --> 00:27:38,785
and replaced it with homophobia.
553
00:27:38,918 --> 00:27:40,528
And AIDS generally caused
554
00:27:40,659 --> 00:27:43,969
and believed to be caused
by homosexual promiscuity.
555
00:27:44,097 --> 00:27:46,137
While doctors tried
desperately to save lives
556
00:27:46,273 --> 00:27:49,283
and scientists pieced together
how to fight it,
557
00:27:49,406 --> 00:27:52,056
the Reagan administration
ignored the crisis.
558
00:27:52,192 --> 00:27:56,242
But horror filmmakers did not.
559
00:27:56,370 --> 00:27:58,980
When I moved to
New York in the early '80s,
560
00:27:59,112 --> 00:28:01,812
AIDS did not exist
in anybody's awareness.
561
00:28:06,510 --> 00:28:09,380
And then there was this thing
called "gay cancer"
562
00:28:09,513 --> 00:28:12,343
in the Village, which just
seems arbitrary and strange.
563
00:28:12,473 --> 00:28:14,133
And then suddenly
it had a name-- AIDS.
564
00:28:14,257 --> 00:28:15,427
And then suddenly
people were dying.
565
00:28:15,563 --> 00:28:18,263
And it was
a slow-motion horror movie.
566
00:28:18,392 --> 00:28:20,312
I'd been diagnosed
with AIDS-related complex
567
00:28:20,437 --> 00:28:22,137
for two and a half years now,
568
00:28:22,265 --> 00:28:24,005
and there's absolutely no drug
I can take,
569
00:28:24,137 --> 00:28:26,097
and I'm slowly getting worse
and worse.
570
00:28:26,226 --> 00:28:28,316
That's why we're here,
to make a point.
571
00:28:28,445 --> 00:28:31,445
It took something
which was potent and magical
572
00:28:31,579 --> 00:28:33,189
at that point-- sexuality--
573
00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:36,410
and mixed it with
the possibility of death.
574
00:28:36,540 --> 00:28:38,500
I was just coming into my own
as an adult
575
00:28:38,629 --> 00:28:41,149
during the AIDS crisis,
and I moved to New York,
576
00:28:41,284 --> 00:28:46,384
where The Village Voice was
writing all of these articles
577
00:28:46,507 --> 00:28:49,247
on the lack of response
the government had
578
00:28:49,379 --> 00:28:51,289
towards the AIDS crisis,
and all these people were dying.
579
00:28:51,425 --> 00:28:52,985
You know, you were like,
580
00:28:53,122 --> 00:28:55,122
"Is being my true self
gonna kill me?"
581
00:28:55,690 --> 00:28:57,170
The political climate was such
582
00:28:57,300 --> 00:28:58,480
that they didn't even
speak of it.
583
00:28:58,606 --> 00:29:00,426
And so AIDS
was a very terrifying thing
584
00:29:00,564 --> 00:29:03,264
because there was so much
that was unknown about it.
585
00:29:03,393 --> 00:29:05,483
It is hard to explain to people
586
00:29:05,613 --> 00:29:09,183
who didn't live through
the AIDS crisis how bad it was.
587
00:29:09,312 --> 00:29:11,232
AIDS is surreptitiously spreading
588
00:29:11,358 --> 00:29:13,098
throughout our population,
589
00:29:13,229 --> 00:29:16,359
and yet we have no accurate
measure of its scope.
590
00:29:16,493 --> 00:29:19,413
I've asked the Department
of Health and Human Services
591
00:29:19,540 --> 00:29:21,020
to add the AIDS virus
592
00:29:21,150 --> 00:29:23,460
to the list
of contagious diseases
593
00:29:23,587 --> 00:29:26,197
for which immigrants and aliens
seeking permanent residence
594
00:29:26,329 --> 00:29:29,329
in the United States
can be denied entry.
595
00:29:33,119 --> 00:29:34,419
You had people in Congress
596
00:29:34,555 --> 00:29:36,555
saying you could get AIDS
from mosquitoes,
597
00:29:36,687 --> 00:29:39,387
water fountains,
someone spitting at you.
598
00:29:39,516 --> 00:29:41,476
You had idiots like me
believing stories
599
00:29:41,605 --> 00:29:43,165
that someone at the mall
was gonna scratch me
600
00:29:43,303 --> 00:29:45,043
with a needle and give me AIDS.
601
00:29:45,174 --> 00:29:47,224
We were out of our minds
with panic.
602
00:29:47,350 --> 00:29:50,660
Movies like The Thing
and The Fly
603
00:29:50,789 --> 00:29:54,529
acted as a release valve
for the feelings of helplessness
604
00:29:54,662 --> 00:29:58,492
against a killer
no one could see.
605
00:29:58,622 --> 00:30:00,622
And you find
that vampire fiction pops up
606
00:30:00,755 --> 00:30:03,145
and gets super popular
when there's a disease around.
607
00:30:06,413 --> 00:30:09,163
Fright Night is
a perfect example,
608
00:30:09,285 --> 00:30:13,455
which really encapsulates
all those fears of the sexually,
609
00:30:13,594 --> 00:30:16,124
you know, dick-slinging dude
who lives next door.
610
00:30:18,164 --> 00:30:21,564
Like, what's
he's spreading around?
611
00:30:21,689 --> 00:30:25,079
When I did Fright Night,
which would have been in '84,
612
00:30:25,214 --> 00:30:28,444
uh, there was just
some kind of disease
613
00:30:28,565 --> 00:30:30,215
that seemed to be affecting
a lot of gays,
614
00:30:30,350 --> 00:30:31,960
but nobody knew why.
615
00:30:36,617 --> 00:30:40,267
I was losing gay friends
that I loved.
616
00:30:40,403 --> 00:30:43,233
And I lost somebody
that I really cared about.
617
00:30:43,363 --> 00:30:45,193
But we-- it was a sickness.
618
00:30:45,321 --> 00:30:48,501
We knew it, but we didn't know
what the hell it was.
619
00:30:48,629 --> 00:30:50,239
People were starting to die.
620
00:30:50,370 --> 00:30:52,420
But the word "AIDS"
was not around.
621
00:30:53,329 --> 00:30:56,509
You don't have to be
afraid of me.
622
00:30:56,637 --> 00:31:00,637
I know what it's like
being different.
623
00:31:00,771 --> 00:31:04,951
Only they won't pick on you
anymore or beat you up.
624
00:31:07,169 --> 00:31:08,129
I'll see to that.
625
00:31:10,651 --> 00:31:12,441
All you have to do
is take my hand.
626
00:31:12,566 --> 00:31:14,656
When I had Evil Ed,
627
00:31:14,785 --> 00:31:17,265
and Jerry says,
"Take my hand"--
628
00:31:17,397 --> 00:31:20,357
Jerry Dandridge, the vampire,
says, to Evil Ed, the boy,
629
00:31:20,487 --> 00:31:23,227
"Take my hand and I'll make sure
they never bother you
630
00:31:23,359 --> 00:31:26,149
or bully you in school again,"
631
00:31:26,275 --> 00:31:27,925
and that was speaking
to every gay kid out there
632
00:31:28,060 --> 00:31:31,240
that felt different and
that couldn't come out about it.
633
00:31:38,548 --> 00:31:42,548
I put the gay overtones into it.
634
00:31:42,683 --> 00:31:45,473
Billy Cole's relationship
with Jerry Dandridge--
635
00:31:45,599 --> 00:31:48,519
he's the Guardian, the ghoul,
636
00:31:48,645 --> 00:31:50,555
the one who protects him
during the day.
637
00:31:50,691 --> 00:31:53,041
But they could be lovers.
Who knows?
638
00:31:56,740 --> 00:31:59,220
What are you--
639
00:31:59,352 --> 00:32:00,662
All that was in there
and it was meant
640
00:32:00,788 --> 00:32:03,968
to promote tolerance, you know,
641
00:32:04,096 --> 00:32:08,446
but in the day when
that was not fashionable at all.
642
00:32:08,578 --> 00:32:11,798
So, yes, that was in there,
and that was because
643
00:32:11,930 --> 00:32:15,720
I was touched and I was moved
because I was losing friends.
644
00:32:15,846 --> 00:32:19,456
Horror movies
are where we talk about
645
00:32:19,589 --> 00:32:22,589
what we don't want to talk about
in day-to-day life--
646
00:32:22,723 --> 00:32:26,383
outcasts and marginalized people
who society feared.
647
00:32:26,509 --> 00:32:29,819
And I think it's a very,
very short step sideways
648
00:32:29,948 --> 00:32:33,598
to get to gay men and the fear
of them during the AIDS crisis
649
00:32:33,734 --> 00:32:37,354
and how sex and death
and marginalized people
650
00:32:37,477 --> 00:32:39,387
were all linked together.
651
00:32:39,522 --> 00:32:40,482
When I came out
with Fright Night,
652
00:32:40,610 --> 00:32:41,740
it was about vampires,
653
00:32:41,872 --> 00:32:43,402
and I went around
with everybody,
654
00:32:43,526 --> 00:32:45,176
all the studios were saying
to me, "Vampires?
655
00:32:45,311 --> 00:32:46,751
Nobody wants to see vampires."
656
00:32:46,877 --> 00:32:49,357
Because nobody wants to see
vampire killers anymore,
657
00:32:49,489 --> 00:32:51,269
or vampires either.
658
00:32:51,404 --> 00:32:53,754
Apparently all they want
are demented madmen
659
00:32:53,884 --> 00:32:57,194
running around in ski masks,
hacking up young virgins.
660
00:32:57,323 --> 00:32:59,243
The vampire genre
was dead and buried.
661
00:33:01,805 --> 00:33:03,545
One of the things that's
also really interesting
662
00:33:03,677 --> 00:33:06,507
about vampires is they're
the monster that looks like us.
663
00:33:06,636 --> 00:33:09,286
They live amongst us undetected.
664
00:33:09,422 --> 00:33:11,252
Hello, Charlie.
665
00:33:12,207 --> 00:33:14,207
We don't know
if our neighbor is a vampire.
666
00:33:14,340 --> 00:33:15,470
I mean, they don't
go outdoors at night.
667
00:33:15,602 --> 00:33:16,562
There are no mirrors
in their house.
668
00:33:16,690 --> 00:33:18,560
They don't cast a shadow.
669
00:33:22,174 --> 00:33:25,534
There's something very funny
at the idea of that--
670
00:33:25,655 --> 00:33:29,305
of a boy,
of a teenage horror fan
671
00:33:29,442 --> 00:33:32,662
trying to convince the police,
his mother, his friends,
672
00:33:32,793 --> 00:33:34,843
that there is a vampire
living next door.
673
00:33:34,969 --> 00:33:36,539
That's a funny idea.
674
00:33:36,666 --> 00:33:39,316
You hear that idea,
and you smile and giggle.
675
00:33:39,452 --> 00:33:42,242
They did kill a girl
over there.
676
00:33:42,368 --> 00:33:43,198
How late did you
stay up studying?
677
00:33:43,325 --> 00:33:44,715
Mom, I'm not sick!
678
00:33:44,848 --> 00:33:46,628
The guy did have fangs,
679
00:33:46,763 --> 00:33:48,553
and a bat did
fly over my head,
680
00:33:48,678 --> 00:33:50,418
and a second later,
he stepped out of the shadows.
681
00:33:50,550 --> 00:33:52,330
Don't you see
what that means?
682
00:33:52,465 --> 00:33:53,805
Wait, let me guess.
683
00:33:53,944 --> 00:33:55,424
What?
684
00:33:55,555 --> 00:33:58,335
He's a vampire.
685
00:33:58,471 --> 00:33:59,651
A what?
686
00:33:59,776 --> 00:34:01,516
If you look at Fright Night,
687
00:34:01,648 --> 00:34:04,828
it's Charley Brewster,
the kid next door,
688
00:34:04,955 --> 00:34:07,515
trying to stop
the bloodsucker next door.
689
00:34:07,654 --> 00:34:10,354
And his girlfriend is in danger
of being seduced.
690
00:34:10,483 --> 00:34:14,183
But the real hero's journey
is Peter Vincent.
691
00:34:15,836 --> 00:34:17,706
Peter Vincent's
a great vampire killer
692
00:34:17,838 --> 00:34:21,318
because he's a ham actor
and his whole life
693
00:34:21,450 --> 00:34:24,020
is built on
what he considers a lie.
694
00:34:24,149 --> 00:34:25,759
Vampire killers?
There are no vampires.
695
00:34:25,889 --> 00:34:28,849
That's the most ridiculous thing
in the world, and then...
696
00:34:28,979 --> 00:34:30,759
- Come on, let's get out of here.
- Just a minute.
697
00:34:30,894 --> 00:34:32,724
That goes for you,
too, Ed.
698
00:34:32,853 --> 00:34:34,513
I expect we have a lot
of the same interests,
699
00:34:34,637 --> 00:34:36,637
you know, in horror movies
and the occult.
700
00:34:39,816 --> 00:34:41,506
Something wrong,
Mr. Vincent?
701
00:34:41,644 --> 00:34:44,734
Peter Vincent rises
to the occasion.
702
00:34:44,865 --> 00:34:48,385
He goes in with Charley
into the Dandridge house
703
00:34:48,521 --> 00:34:51,311
to do battle
with the most ferocious vampire
704
00:34:51,437 --> 00:34:55,527
and his ghoulish assistant,
Billy Cole.
705
00:34:55,658 --> 00:34:58,528
He finds his courage.
He's The Cowardly Lion.
706
00:34:58,661 --> 00:35:01,621
He does that
because he likes the kids.
707
00:35:01,751 --> 00:35:03,801
He likes Charley,
and he likes Amy.
708
00:35:03,927 --> 00:35:05,887
And if he doesn't help them,
709
00:35:06,016 --> 00:35:08,756
Jerry Dandridge is gonna
turn her into a vampire.
710
00:35:08,889 --> 00:35:12,329
A horror movie is effective
in direct proportion
711
00:35:12,458 --> 00:35:14,588
to how much you care
about the people
712
00:35:14,721 --> 00:35:16,681
whose lives are in danger.
713
00:35:16,810 --> 00:35:19,250
Ah! Ah!
714
00:35:19,378 --> 00:35:20,728
Aaaah!
715
00:35:20,857 --> 00:35:23,157
No!
716
00:35:31,738 --> 00:35:35,608
In 1987, the criticism
of aggressive capitalism
717
00:35:35,742 --> 00:35:36,872
in the Oliver Stone film
Wall Street
718
00:35:37,004 --> 00:35:39,054
was somewhat lost on a public
719
00:35:39,180 --> 00:35:42,750
that saw glamour and status
in the pursuit of more money
720
00:35:42,879 --> 00:35:47,539
or drugs or cars or everything,
721
00:35:47,667 --> 00:35:52,017
a culture
that celebrated excess.
722
00:35:52,150 --> 00:35:56,630
But horror films like
Poltergeist and Society
723
00:35:56,763 --> 00:35:58,773
made their own commentary
724
00:35:58,895 --> 00:36:02,325
about America's
conspicuous consumerism
725
00:36:02,464 --> 00:36:04,954
and economic inequality.
726
00:36:05,075 --> 00:36:08,635
Just a year after Wall Street
was released,
727
00:36:08,775 --> 00:36:11,685
They Live tackled
America's existential crisis
728
00:36:11,821 --> 00:36:14,561
of averse and greed
729
00:36:14,694 --> 00:36:17,654
and the conflict between
the haves and the have nots.
730
00:36:18,437 --> 00:36:22,697
I have come here to chew
bubble gum and kick ass.
731
00:36:26,009 --> 00:36:28,969
And I'm all out of bubble gum.
732
00:36:29,099 --> 00:36:32,489
My favorite two films
are The Shining and They Live.
733
00:36:32,625 --> 00:36:33,925
Like, the first time I ever
heard of They Live
734
00:36:34,061 --> 00:36:37,021
was a friend of mine
in middle school,
735
00:36:37,151 --> 00:36:40,681
and he couldn't remember
the name of the movie.
736
00:36:40,807 --> 00:36:42,457
But he kept telling me about--
he's like,
737
00:36:42,591 --> 00:36:43,981
"There's this film
where this guy,
738
00:36:44,114 --> 00:36:46,734
he puts on a pair of sunglasses
and he sees aliens."
739
00:36:46,856 --> 00:36:49,816
And I thought he was completely
making it up.
740
00:36:49,946 --> 00:36:51,426
I've got one that can see.
741
00:36:56,083 --> 00:36:57,483
They Live is sort of a movie
742
00:36:57,606 --> 00:36:59,906
that's light-years
ahead of its time.
743
00:37:00,043 --> 00:37:03,443
It's really a film about
the reality that we live in.
744
00:37:03,569 --> 00:37:06,569
They Live is incredibly
about Reaganomics.
745
00:37:06,702 --> 00:37:08,232
Like, that is the focus of it.
746
00:37:12,795 --> 00:37:15,095
We see this guy.
He is working-class.
747
00:37:15,233 --> 00:37:18,763
He's going from gig to gig,
trying to start-- find jobs.
748
00:37:18,888 --> 00:37:21,938
The movie even opens with him
in kind of an encampment
749
00:37:22,065 --> 00:37:24,715
in downtown L.A.,
trying to find another gig
750
00:37:24,851 --> 00:37:27,851
and figure out what's next.
751
00:37:27,984 --> 00:37:29,204
And through a course of events,
752
00:37:29,334 --> 00:37:30,904
he happens upon
a pair of sunglasses
753
00:37:31,031 --> 00:37:33,861
that literally reveal
the world to him
754
00:37:33,990 --> 00:37:35,860
and show him that everything
755
00:37:35,992 --> 00:37:39,782
that he has believed
about society is utter shit.
756
00:37:39,909 --> 00:37:43,609
You're always looking
for a visual way in movies
757
00:37:43,739 --> 00:37:45,259
to get your point across.
758
00:37:49,963 --> 00:37:52,443
And in this case, in They Live,
759
00:37:52,574 --> 00:37:53,924
I wanted to show the difference
760
00:37:54,054 --> 00:37:56,974
between the reality
that we all live in
761
00:37:57,100 --> 00:38:00,450
and the reality that exists
for the aliens,
762
00:38:00,582 --> 00:38:02,502
which is very different.
763
00:38:02,628 --> 00:38:05,498
So I came up with sunglasses.
764
00:38:05,631 --> 00:38:06,891
What's your problem?
765
00:38:07,023 --> 00:38:08,943
With the glasses on,
you see the truth.
766
00:38:09,069 --> 00:38:12,899
You take the glasses off,
it's all deception.
767
00:38:13,029 --> 00:38:15,469
I said,
what's your problem?
768
00:38:15,597 --> 00:38:17,817
The first time I saw
769
00:38:17,947 --> 00:38:19,817
you know, the reveal,
it's like,
770
00:38:19,949 --> 00:38:21,649
"That shit's creepy."
771
00:38:27,217 --> 00:38:29,347
I was like, you know,
"What was the inspiration
772
00:38:29,481 --> 00:38:32,011
for that," you know?
And I asked John and he said,
773
00:38:32,135 --> 00:38:34,005
"Well, it came to me
in a dream one night,"
774
00:38:34,137 --> 00:38:36,837
and I said, "Whoa. I don't want
to be in your head."
775
00:38:36,966 --> 00:38:39,486
Well, the role in They Live
of John Nada
776
00:38:39,621 --> 00:38:41,581
was a working man.
777
00:38:41,710 --> 00:38:43,840
He was a guy who works
with his hands.
778
00:38:43,973 --> 00:38:45,853
He was working poor.
779
00:38:45,975 --> 00:38:50,845
So a movie star-type guy
doesn't-- I don't believe.
780
00:38:50,980 --> 00:38:54,550
But Roddy I believed
'cause he came from the streets.
781
00:38:54,680 --> 00:38:56,900
He had some mileage on him.
782
00:38:57,030 --> 00:38:58,810
He was perfect for the role.
783
00:38:58,945 --> 00:39:01,895
Frank and Nada met
as two homeless guys.
784
00:39:02,035 --> 00:39:03,555
There's a place
over on Fourth Street.
785
00:39:03,689 --> 00:39:05,129
They got hot food
and showers.
786
00:39:05,255 --> 00:39:07,475
I'm going that way
if you want me to show you.
787
00:39:09,477 --> 00:39:12,867
And what we represented
was the working homeless.
788
00:39:13,002 --> 00:39:15,002
Nobody ever talks about that.
789
00:39:15,135 --> 00:39:16,955
But there are a lot of guys
who are homeless.
790
00:39:17,093 --> 00:39:19,143
They just can't afford housing.
791
00:39:19,269 --> 00:39:25,319
It reeks of how our government
does not take care of us.
792
00:39:25,450 --> 00:39:26,800
In the richest country
in the world,
793
00:39:26,929 --> 00:39:28,759
still you have all this,
you know,
794
00:39:28,888 --> 00:39:30,978
devastating homelessness.
795
00:39:31,107 --> 00:39:34,587
You have, you know,
a lot of haves.
796
00:39:34,720 --> 00:39:39,120
And nobody wants to deal
with the have nots.
797
00:39:39,246 --> 00:39:41,676
They Live doesn't feel like
a lot of '80s horror films,
798
00:39:41,814 --> 00:39:44,124
because when we look at 1980s,
what we're seeing
799
00:39:44,251 --> 00:39:46,041
is these really flashy
horror films,
800
00:39:46,166 --> 00:39:48,036
and they're about
upper middle-class kids
801
00:39:48,168 --> 00:39:50,778
who are ripped from their,
you know, fancy lives
802
00:39:50,910 --> 00:39:52,830
and forced to deal
with a killer.
803
00:39:52,955 --> 00:39:56,215
But They Live is talking about
poor society from the beginning.
804
00:39:56,350 --> 00:40:00,530
It's a marginalized group who is
fighting this massive machine.
805
00:40:00,659 --> 00:40:02,049
Look, you crazy mother--
806
00:40:02,182 --> 00:40:04,712
- Put these on.
- Hey! Stay away from me.
807
00:40:04,837 --> 00:40:07,057
I'm telling you,
you dumb son of a--
808
00:40:07,187 --> 00:40:08,877
I think, like, the thing
that I found most impressive
809
00:40:09,015 --> 00:40:12,575
about the film initially
was the big fight scene...
810
00:40:16,109 --> 00:40:18,889
...that they just did this long
sequence without any music,
811
00:40:19,025 --> 00:40:21,715
and it's just these characters
beating up each other.
812
00:40:21,854 --> 00:40:23,514
I don't want to fight you.
Stop it!
813
00:40:23,638 --> 00:40:25,028
No!
814
00:40:25,161 --> 00:40:28,901
Roddy Piper,
the actor who plays John Nada,
815
00:40:29,035 --> 00:40:30,905
is a professional wrestler.
816
00:40:31,037 --> 00:40:34,817
And what better opportunity
than to do a very long,
817
00:40:34,954 --> 00:40:38,784
involved, extended fight scene?
818
00:40:38,914 --> 00:40:41,094
And Keith David was his costar,
819
00:40:41,221 --> 00:40:44,091
and Keith was absolutely
ready to go.
820
00:40:46,313 --> 00:40:51,103
So they rehearsed
for a month and a half,
821
00:40:51,231 --> 00:40:53,841
and in the backyard
of our office.
822
00:40:53,973 --> 00:40:56,113
Jeff Imada
was the stunt coordinator,
823
00:40:56,236 --> 00:40:57,666
and he worked with them,
and they came up
824
00:40:57,803 --> 00:40:59,153
with this big fight,
825
00:40:59,282 --> 00:40:59,982
and we shot it in an alley,
downtown L.A.
826
00:41:08,770 --> 00:41:10,080
God, we had a good time.
827
00:41:10,206 --> 00:41:12,946
I loved working on that fight.
It was great.
828
00:41:13,079 --> 00:41:16,909
The worst part was fighting
in that stinky-ass alleyway.
829
00:41:17,039 --> 00:41:19,089
They had to put rubber
on the floor
830
00:41:19,215 --> 00:41:20,955
and paint it like it
was the ground
831
00:41:21,087 --> 00:41:23,867
so we wouldn't have to be
on a nasty, you know--
832
00:41:24,003 --> 00:41:26,483
'cause downtown L.A. is no fun.
833
00:41:27,920 --> 00:41:30,530
Fuck!
834
00:41:30,662 --> 00:41:33,802
And it wasn't until years later
that I looked at that
835
00:41:33,926 --> 00:41:35,706
and I realized
that the reason that works
836
00:41:35,841 --> 00:41:37,711
is because it's not
a pointless fight scene,
837
00:41:37,843 --> 00:41:40,763
is that that's a fight scene
that represents
838
00:41:40,889 --> 00:41:42,889
sort of the reality we live in.
839
00:41:43,022 --> 00:41:45,852
It represents the differences
in people's political beliefs
840
00:41:45,981 --> 00:41:49,901
and the fact that you can't
change somebody's mind
841
00:41:50,029 --> 00:41:50,899
in a very simple way.
842
00:41:54,033 --> 00:41:55,953
That's the American way.
843
00:41:56,078 --> 00:41:58,908
They want us to fight
with each other.
844
00:41:59,038 --> 00:42:01,558
But our cause is common.
845
00:42:01,693 --> 00:42:05,223
They pit the poor Black man
against the poor white man
846
00:42:05,348 --> 00:42:08,128
and tell them that he's better
than him, he deserves--
847
00:42:08,264 --> 00:42:11,184
when, you know, together,
you're far more powerful
848
00:42:11,311 --> 00:42:14,011
than you are apart.
849
00:42:21,103 --> 00:42:26,893
They Live is about what happens
in our American society
850
00:42:27,022 --> 00:42:29,942
when greed is unchecked...
851
00:42:32,114 --> 00:42:38,954
and the society loses
its core values.
852
00:42:39,078 --> 00:42:41,078
The underground
terrorist network
853
00:42:41,210 --> 00:42:44,000
has been destroyed
here on the west coast.
854
00:42:44,126 --> 00:42:48,086
Well, I've tried to avoid
statements in my movies
855
00:42:48,217 --> 00:42:50,957
since I think they don't work.
856
00:42:51,090 --> 00:42:54,010
But in this case,
in the case of "They Live,"
857
00:42:54,136 --> 00:42:58,396
I was so fed up
with Reaganomics.
858
00:42:58,532 --> 00:43:02,752
What I mean by that
is unrestrained capitalism.
859
00:43:04,582 --> 00:43:06,022
It was a cry in the darkness
860
00:43:06,148 --> 00:43:09,198
because Reagan was
enormously popular
861
00:43:09,325 --> 00:43:11,235
and no one else
saw things the way I did.
862
00:43:11,371 --> 00:43:14,811
And I just had to.
I had to do it.
863
00:43:14,940 --> 00:43:16,860
- ...like shit.
- What happened?
864
00:43:16,985 --> 00:43:19,765
So that's what They Live
is about.
865
00:43:19,901 --> 00:43:22,031
It's about [chuckles] the fact
866
00:43:22,164 --> 00:43:23,994
that Reaganism
is controlled by aliens.
867
00:43:24,123 --> 00:43:26,133
-
- You're moving on.
868
00:43:26,255 --> 00:43:28,775
Hey, what's wrong, baby?
869
00:43:34,133 --> 00:43:36,353
By the late '80s,
after a decade of hits,
870
00:43:36,483 --> 00:43:38,223
the great slasher franchises
871
00:43:38,354 --> 00:43:40,974
seemed to have
burned themselves out.
872
00:43:41,096 --> 00:43:43,966
The genre seemingly stalled.
873
00:43:44,099 --> 00:43:48,149
By the early 1990s,
Gen-Xers turned disinterest
874
00:43:48,277 --> 00:43:50,277
into a cultural trend.
875
00:43:50,410 --> 00:43:52,890
Disaffected and cynical,
876
00:43:53,021 --> 00:43:54,941
the so-called
"slacker generation"
877
00:43:55,067 --> 00:43:58,107
was bored of everything,
including genre films.
878
00:43:58,244 --> 00:44:00,384
The horror movie tropes
were played out.
879
00:44:00,507 --> 00:44:02,287
Audiences knew all the rules,
880
00:44:02,422 --> 00:44:05,292
or at least
they thought they did.
881
00:44:05,425 --> 00:44:07,115
Well, I'm getting ready
to watch a video.
882
00:44:07,253 --> 00:44:08,953
Really? What?
883
00:44:09,081 --> 00:44:11,001
Oh, just some scary movie.
884
00:44:11,126 --> 00:44:13,256
- You like scary movies?
- Uh-huh.
885
00:44:13,389 --> 00:44:16,219
In 1996,
I was working on my PhD
886
00:44:16,349 --> 00:44:17,919
at Florida State University.
887
00:44:22,529 --> 00:44:24,009
There was a knock on my door.
888
00:44:24,139 --> 00:44:25,309
A guy I know from class,
he said,
889
00:44:25,445 --> 00:44:26,965
"Hey, man,
I'm taking you to a movie."
890
00:44:27,099 --> 00:44:28,749
And I said, "No, I'm halfway
through a story.
891
00:44:28,883 --> 00:44:30,493
I gotta do this," and he said,
"No, I'm taking you to a movie."
892
00:44:30,624 --> 00:44:32,024
And it was Scream.
893
00:44:32,147 --> 00:44:33,977
Why do you want to know my name?
894
00:44:34,106 --> 00:44:36,716
'Cause I want to know
who I'm looking at.
895
00:44:36,848 --> 00:44:39,328
And I was there myself alone
for the next six nights.
896
00:44:39,459 --> 00:44:41,289
I saw Scream seven nights
in the theater,
897
00:44:41,417 --> 00:44:43,417
in its first run, I guess.
898
00:44:43,550 --> 00:44:46,290
And ever since then, I watch it
probably every four weeks,
899
00:44:46,422 --> 00:44:47,422
if not more.
900
00:44:47,554 --> 00:44:49,904
I think it is fairly genius.
901
00:44:50,035 --> 00:44:51,905
Is this some kind of joke?
902
00:44:52,037 --> 00:44:54,687
More of a game, really.
903
00:44:54,822 --> 00:44:56,392
The idea for Scream
was a little twofold.
904
00:44:56,519 --> 00:45:00,259
I wrote a one-act play
in college about a young girl
905
00:45:00,393 --> 00:45:02,183
on the phone
with a serial killer,
906
00:45:02,308 --> 00:45:04,398
and it just sat in a box
and nothing ever happened to it.
907
00:45:04,527 --> 00:45:07,307
And I forgot all about it,
and then years later,
908
00:45:07,443 --> 00:45:10,273
I was housesitting for a friend,
and I walked into the den
909
00:45:10,403 --> 00:45:12,453
and I saw
that the window was open.
910
00:45:12,579 --> 00:45:15,319
And I went, "Has this window
been open the whole time?"
911
00:45:15,451 --> 00:45:17,321
And I got so terrified
and called a friend of mine up.
912
00:45:17,453 --> 00:45:19,283
And I said, "All right,
I think someone's in the house."
913
00:45:20,239 --> 00:45:22,889
So I got a knife
and I walked through the house,
914
00:45:23,024 --> 00:45:24,424
just like a final girl,
915
00:45:24,547 --> 00:45:27,067
and I was looking through the--
in the shower.
916
00:45:27,202 --> 00:45:29,202
I was looking under the bed.
I was looking in the closet.
917
00:45:29,335 --> 00:45:31,465
And I got so scared,
and my friend was on the phone,
918
00:45:31,598 --> 00:45:33,378
going...
919
00:45:33,513 --> 00:45:35,433
Terrifying me, scared.
920
00:45:35,558 --> 00:45:37,208
And then we got into this
big debate about horror films,
921
00:45:37,343 --> 00:45:38,743
and then I went, "Oh!
922
00:45:38,866 --> 00:45:41,256
I wrote a comedy about this
in college."
923
00:45:41,390 --> 00:45:45,090
And so I dug it out
and I brushed it off.
924
00:45:45,220 --> 00:45:46,050
That was the first scene.
925
00:45:49,268 --> 00:45:51,358
Scream was another one of
those kind of like, you know,
926
00:45:51,487 --> 00:45:54,267
touchstone kind of horror movies
for me growing up,
927
00:45:54,403 --> 00:45:57,023
one of the best theatrical
experiences I ever had.
928
00:45:57,145 --> 00:46:00,495
And I was so blown away
by especially the first
929
00:46:00,627 --> 00:46:02,977
like six or seven minutes
or whatever it is
930
00:46:03,108 --> 00:46:04,328
with Drew Barrymore.
931
00:46:04,457 --> 00:46:06,017
Drew Barrymore opening up
a horror film
932
00:46:06,154 --> 00:46:07,244
and then dying, you know,
in 10 minutes--
933
00:46:07,373 --> 00:46:09,773
that was unprecedented.
934
00:46:09,897 --> 00:46:13,027
That's the alternate ending
to the movie.
935
00:46:13,161 --> 00:46:15,251
She lives.
936
00:46:15,381 --> 00:46:17,781
It was a calculated risk,
and we didn't know whether
937
00:46:17,905 --> 00:46:21,035
the audience would even
forgive us for that.
938
00:46:21,169 --> 00:46:22,479
They did, thankfully.
But yeah.
939
00:46:22,605 --> 00:46:25,215
It was a very risky film
in many, many ways.
940
00:46:25,347 --> 00:46:28,437
That first opening scene
was like, I think--
941
00:46:28,568 --> 00:46:30,398
I think still probably
one of the best sequences
942
00:46:30,526 --> 00:46:32,266
in any movie,
not just horror movies.
943
00:46:32,398 --> 00:46:34,398
It's one of my favorite
of all time.
944
00:46:34,530 --> 00:46:38,840
I think that the film resonated
with a large audience
945
00:46:38,970 --> 00:46:44,150
because it was this beautiful
blend of camp and culture.
946
00:46:48,675 --> 00:46:50,285
It felt extremely relevant.
947
00:46:50,416 --> 00:46:52,366
Okay, bye now.
948
00:46:52,505 --> 00:46:55,635
If you hang up on me, you'll die
just like your mother!
949
00:46:55,769 --> 00:46:57,419
I remember my parents--
950
00:46:57,553 --> 00:46:59,253
like, when my dad
got a cellphone in the car,
951
00:46:59,381 --> 00:47:00,821
like, that was, like,
mind-blowing, you know?
952
00:47:00,948 --> 00:47:03,298
Like, the killer having
a cellphone in your yard?
953
00:47:03,429 --> 00:47:06,299
It's like, what?
954
00:47:06,432 --> 00:47:08,482
Like, that is brand-new
for the killer to be like
955
00:47:08,608 --> 00:47:11,128
also really, like,
technologically savvy.
956
00:47:11,263 --> 00:47:13,003
Horrifying.
957
00:47:15,658 --> 00:47:19,658
Before Scream, slasher movies
had kind of existed
958
00:47:19,793 --> 00:47:22,713
in a side world where there were
no slasher movies.
959
00:47:22,840 --> 00:47:24,230
What Scream did was it allowed
960
00:47:24,363 --> 00:47:27,153
that Halloween existed,
that Jason Voorhees existed,
961
00:47:27,279 --> 00:47:30,109
that this whole history
of slashers existed.
962
00:47:30,238 --> 00:47:32,678
And, to me,
that was revolutionary.
963
00:47:32,806 --> 00:47:34,416
You know, Scream was sort of
the first movie
964
00:47:34,547 --> 00:47:39,117
that I feel like actually talked
about horror movies so openly
965
00:47:39,247 --> 00:47:42,157
and allowed them to be exposed.
966
00:47:42,294 --> 00:47:44,474
There are certain rules
that one must abide by
967
00:47:44,600 --> 00:47:47,560
in order to successfully
survive a horror movie.
968
00:47:47,690 --> 00:47:49,560
The rules of horror--
I had the luxury of the '80s.
969
00:47:49,692 --> 00:47:51,302
I had the luxury
of all the tropes.
970
00:47:51,433 --> 00:47:52,653
When I went into Scream,
I was able to look
971
00:47:52,782 --> 00:47:55,262
at all the movies
that had come before it
972
00:47:55,394 --> 00:47:57,054
and sort of acknowledge them.
973
00:47:57,178 --> 00:48:00,658
Scream revitalized the genre.
974
00:48:00,790 --> 00:48:05,140
The meta, self-referential winks
and nods to the horror films
975
00:48:05,273 --> 00:48:06,543
the audience
had grown up watching
976
00:48:06,666 --> 00:48:09,356
thrilled fans
and sparked renewed interest
977
00:48:09,495 --> 00:48:11,275
in scary movies.
978
00:48:11,410 --> 00:48:13,890
Scream treated its audience
with respect
979
00:48:14,021 --> 00:48:17,331
by acknowledging
all the clichés of the genre
980
00:48:17,459 --> 00:48:21,199
and then using them anyway
to scare the hell out of them.
981
00:48:21,333 --> 00:48:24,603
Once again, clever filmmakers
were elevating
982
00:48:24,727 --> 00:48:26,507
and refreshing the form,
983
00:48:26,642 --> 00:48:30,172
and the audience
was the true winner.
984
00:48:30,298 --> 00:48:31,558
You know, what I love
about Scream
985
00:48:31,691 --> 00:48:33,611
is that it's a love letter
to the genre,
986
00:48:33,736 --> 00:48:36,386
but it's a love letter
that calls out the formula,
987
00:48:36,522 --> 00:48:39,312
the conventions,
the excess of the genre.
988
00:48:39,438 --> 00:48:41,308
But it's not the kind of parody
989
00:48:41,440 --> 00:48:43,400
that undercuts
and seeks to destroy.
990
00:48:43,529 --> 00:48:45,569
It's a kind of parody that hopes
to burn off the excess
991
00:48:45,705 --> 00:48:49,225
and let the genre
move through better.
992
00:48:49,361 --> 00:48:51,361
This is the moment
when the supposedly dead killer
993
00:48:51,493 --> 00:48:54,453
comes back to life
for one last scare.
994
00:48:54,583 --> 00:48:56,413
Ah!
995
00:48:59,545 --> 00:49:01,415
Not in my movie.
996
00:49:01,547 --> 00:49:05,287
I think Scream, because
it was able to summarize
997
00:49:05,420 --> 00:49:07,810
all the great things
that we loved about these movies
998
00:49:07,945 --> 00:49:13,205
and kind of also do a really
good version of that itself,
999
00:49:13,341 --> 00:49:15,211
it's almost like the genre
really peaked there
1000
00:49:15,343 --> 00:49:17,653
because, you know, after Scream,
1001
00:49:17,780 --> 00:49:21,390
there wasn't a ton to say
'cause they kind of said it all.
1002
00:49:21,523 --> 00:49:23,443
They at least summarized it.
1003
00:49:23,569 --> 00:49:24,699
First test screening we had,
1004
00:49:24,831 --> 00:49:26,351
and the only test screening
we had,
1005
00:49:26,485 --> 00:49:27,965
the test scores
went through the roof.
1006
00:49:28,095 --> 00:49:30,525
I just had the feeling
filming certain scenes
1007
00:49:30,663 --> 00:49:33,233
that this was extraordinary
stuff, you know?
1008
00:49:33,361 --> 00:49:34,541
I had no idea
how big it would be.
1009
00:49:34,667 --> 00:49:37,017
I had no idea
its everlasting impression
1010
00:49:37,148 --> 00:49:39,758
or its everlasting effect
that it would have on horror.
1011
00:49:39,889 --> 00:49:42,459
I just wrote a movie
I wanted to see.
1012
00:49:42,588 --> 00:49:44,238
I was just trying
to get noticed.
1013
00:49:44,372 --> 00:49:45,592
I was just trying
to get a career.
1014
00:49:45,721 --> 00:49:47,551
I just wanted to tell a story.
1015
00:49:47,680 --> 00:49:49,290
I wanted to tell a horror story.
1016
00:49:49,421 --> 00:49:51,681
It's been always my goal
to do my Halloween.
1017
00:49:51,814 --> 00:49:54,304
I look back at it as just
a bunch of memories, you know?
1018
00:49:54,426 --> 00:49:56,336
It was all my memories
with Wes Craven.
1019
00:49:56,471 --> 00:49:57,781
He was always a mentor to me.
1020
00:49:57,907 --> 00:49:59,777
He was always selfless
and giving of his time,
1021
00:49:59,909 --> 00:50:02,869
and he always had answers
to my questions.
1022
00:50:03,000 --> 00:50:04,700
I remember asking him, like,
1023
00:50:04,827 --> 00:50:05,997
"What does it feel like
to be the master of horror?"
1024
00:50:06,133 --> 00:50:07,573
And he would look at me and go,
"I don't know.
1025
00:50:07,700 --> 00:50:09,530
You should ask John Carpenter."
1026
00:50:09,658 --> 00:50:11,568
I think horror is
a funhouse mirror
1027
00:50:11,704 --> 00:50:17,014
that reflects society's
anxieties and dreads back at us.
1028
00:50:19,451 --> 00:50:21,841
Horror is most vital
in times of stress,
1029
00:50:21,975 --> 00:50:26,455
be it political, economic,
environmental, whatever it is.
1030
00:50:26,588 --> 00:50:28,458
I think horror is always
a pulse on our society.
1031
00:50:28,590 --> 00:50:30,330
It never really goes away,
you know?
1032
00:50:30,462 --> 00:50:31,682
So horror stories allow us
to process through
1033
00:50:31,811 --> 00:50:33,511
from beginning to end
1034
00:50:33,639 --> 00:50:35,379
of whatever the bad experiences
in our life.
1035
00:50:35,510 --> 00:50:37,560
Horror lets us imagine
1036
00:50:37,686 --> 00:50:39,036
a light at the end
of the tunnel.
79317
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