This is a true indie filmmaker, Troy Escamilla, he has wrote and directed his first film Party Night, is gaining great reviews and has started his a Kickstarter campaign for his second film Stirring a Christmas slasher.  He has done this all while working not a professional filmmaker by trade just a true desire to show his idea of horror, and started his own blog and gaining ground in the horror community.  These are his ten questions:

     Steve (S) 1.  Any formal training for filmmaking?

     

     Troy Escamilla (TE) 1.  Believe it or not, Party Night was the very first film set I ever stepped foot on.  To say I was completely overwhelmed and intimidated is definitely an understatement!  However, since I wrote the screenplay, I had a very clear vision in my mind as to how I wanted scenes and the overall film to look and for characters to react.   I feel I was able to do a great job communicating my vision to the cast and crew and certainly learned so much about the process of filmmaking along the way that I am eager to apply to my next project.

     S:  That shows a true desire to make a difference in your life, trying something that you were unaware of what to do, but perseverance paid off of with your film work.

      S: 2.  Who was your biggest influence in horror?

      TE 2.  Definitely Stephen King.   I started reading his novels at a very early age and was in awe of his talent as a storyteller.  He's the one who got me into writing short horror stories and as kid I remember studying his style, syntax, and voice to help me improve my own writing.  As far as filmmakers, Hitchcock and Carpenter are the two the I probably most strongly admire. 

     S:  I am not a huge King fan, surprise, I prefer H.P. Lovecraft but whatever gets you into that mind set is awesome, I have been writing myself since middle school, and your filmmaker choice would be hard pressed to find any argument with them.

     S:  3.  Who introduced you into horror films?

     TE 3.  My parents took me to see Poltergeist when I was about six years old.   It scared the absolute crap out of me, and I've been hooked ever since!  I'm grateful that my parents are also huge horror fans and had no issues sharing the genre they loved with my at such a young age.

      S:  That is awesome wish I had parents like that they don't watch movies or sports they aren't normal.

       S:  4.  What is your all time favorite horror film?

 

My favorite horror film is definitely 1974's Black Christmas.  I do not think it receives anywhere near the credit it deserves for its influence on the genre.  It's influence can been seen in several genre classics such as Halloween, Friday the 13th, Scream, etc.  For me, it truly is the perfect horror film and my next project Stirring is my personal homage to it.

       S:  Wow nobody has said that was their favorite, but I see your point in it's influence on modern day classics.  It truly paved the way for a lot of what we see today.

      S:  5.  How many stories do you have you're considering for script treatment?

      TE  5.  I have two other completed slasher screenplays that have been gathering dust for years how.   However, honestly, I do not know if I will ever pursue getting them filmed (even though one is very near and dear to my heart) simply because after making two slasher films (fingers crossed that Stirring makes it funding goal on Kickstarter!!), I feel like I want to push myself to do something different.  I actual have a project in mind that is a complete departure from the slasher genre, but I'll keep it a secret for now.  All I'l say is it will be a huge undertaking, but deals with a topic that has completely fascinated and frightened me for the past several years.

      S:  I would personally be very into something near to my heart but would hate the way people like to pigeon hole people.  You can always come back to it after next features, let's get Stirring funded and filmed.

      S:  6.  How long have you been writing?

      TE  6.  I really developed my passion for writing in the third grade.  My teacher assigned us to write a short story that was only supposed to be a paragraph long.  I chose to right about a haunted house and my story ended up being eight pages!   From that point, I began writing short stories on a very regular basis.  I was one of only two students in my district selected to go to a writing conference when I was in sixth grade.  By high school, I had written two stories that were well over one hundred pages (once again, about a haunted house!),  I took creative writing classes in college to hone my craft and spent ten years as an English teacher teaching my students to become better writers.   Writing truly has been such a huge part of my life.

      S:  I have interviewed an author for this very blog he teaches a much younger bunch of kids but is a great author, I never went to college for squat but I try to write stories and have wrote a short screenplay, finished, and many others that have been started I just need the equipment to film.

      S:  7.  Ever consider being an author?

       TE  7.  I am thinking that writing screenplays count as being an author?   But as far as writing novels, it's something at one time I was very interested in, but since my passion has shifted to screenwriting and filmmaking.

       S:  I feel the same I have the acting bug, since my friends started filming and asked me if I would play a role she wrote for me, that was the best year I've had until my future woman came into my life.

       S:  8.  What do most people not know about you?

       TE  8.  I taught High School English for ten years and currently am a Librarian at a High School.  I think one thing many would find surprising is that I was involved in pageants for quite a long time.  I was a local director for Miss America preliminaries in both Iowa and Illinois and still enjoy judging when I get the opportunity.  I know----horror movies and pageants are quite the combination!

      S:  That is a strange combination for sure, that is why this is my favorite question and I have to ask everyone.  I get the most fascinating answers, yours is definitely up there.

     S:  9.  Your new Kickstarter campaign has scream queen legend  Brinke Stevens, who would you love to work with if you had no budget restrictions?

       TE:  9.  Oh wow.  What a tough question!!   So many possibilities and people I want to say.  Because i am such a huge 80's slasher fan and have a special place in my heart for kick ass final girls and Scream Queens, I'd say it would be amazing to work with Danielle Harris.   She's a true icon in the genre and her performances in both Halloween 4 and Halloween 5 rank among the best in the genre in opinion.   She genuinely has a true respect and passion for the genre, so I think it'd be awesome to create a role for her and watch her do her thing!

      S:  I see no wrong answer hear you made a fine choice, she has grown into such a great actress, she is a true champion of children actors. 

      S:  10.  How did you come up with making Fright Meter?

        TE:  10.  In addition to being a horror fan, I am also a huge film awards buff. I am an Oscar trivia machine and diligently follow awards season. It has always bothered me massively that the horror genre is virtually ignored by mainstream awards. There have been some truly great performances in horror films—performances that rival, or are often time better than those that won Oscars their perspective years. Several years ago, I started a personal blog called Fright Meter, where I posted reviews of horror films, etc. I decided to combine my love of horror and awards by giving out my personal awards on an annual basis. After getting to know some other horror bloggers, I got the idea to put a committee of horror lovers together to help with the awards. The result is what you see currently; we have a committee of over fifty members involved in various aspects of the industry who are responsible for determining the Fright Meter Award nominations and winners each year.   The awards are gaining notice and attention within the horror community and we have been able to actually award our custom to trophy to several winners including Lin Shaye, Traci Lords, Tom Savini, The Soska Sisters and Leigh Whannell.   The goal is to become the premiere award given to the genre.

      S:  This I started as a suggestion from my woman, she said I needed a hobby, so far I have no complaints, I have met a group of wonderful people and some great filmmakers and authors, and the group still keeps growing, you included, I am going to start following your blog, not for any competition but for the growing masses of fans.

     This has been an honor to interview you, I wish you nothing but the best in the future.  I honestly feel you have a great future ahead of you in filmmaking cause of your desire and unwillingness to compromise.  I put Troy's Stirring campaign below check it out and donate if possible........great perks too

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1488629688/stirring

     This is a great up and comer to the writing world.  Skirting the outside with such tenacity that he want his shot at the big time.  Kent Hill has a plethora of books and short stories inside of many anthology, he just wants the proper promotion to back his writing talents.  I have read a few and I must say he deserves all the attention you can muster.  I interviewed him for my 10 question segment:


​Steve (S) 1.  When did you first realize that writing was in your future?

Kent Hill (KH) 1.   When I was not yet four years I saw a one a one hour special that not only blew my mind but set me on the path I am still on today. That special was called SPFX: The Empire Strikes Back. It was a retrospective of special effects up to and including Empire and for the first time I saw movies being made and I thought to hell with being a fireman or a cop (not that those are not noble pursuits) like all my friends wanted to be. I wanted to be in pictures. I went to my folks immediately declared this. I recall my father saying, "What can you do to start off?" I said I can write the story that will become the movie; in my mind it was the easiest thing I could think of to get the ball rolling, so that's what I did. I started writing down ideas for movies, so I guess that was where it all began. Plus it was and still is easy. I need very little to start me writing.

S  2.  Did you take any schooling for being an author?

 KH 2.    No. I think creativity is the same as being able to tell a joke, you can either do it or you can't. I think courses that claim they can teach you how to write creatively are a rip-off. Sure they can perhaps teach you some structural fundamentals, but no one can give you creativity. The only thing I can safely say, as far as someone educating mean with regard to my writing was (A) when I was still in primary school or elementary school as you call it, we had regular classes that were called composition classes. The teacher would give us a theme or a topic or an object and we had to write a story about it, and (B) I have been working on a screenplay of late with my friend and fellow author Michael Kanuckel. In venturing to have Russell Mulcahy (director of Highlander) write an intro for the book Michael wrote, Russell became enamoured with the story and wanted to develop it into a film. The quest still goes on and Russell, as I write this, is set to read the new draft. In his absence, due to commitments with his TV show Teen Wolf, I had other filmmakers and screenwriters give me their opinion along the way. The draft I have recently completely went through a top to toe rewrite inspired by the master class I received from screenwriter Matthew Greenberg (Reign of Fire, 1408.) Now I went to film school, but this relatively brief period of analysis and notes provided by Matt was the best screenwriting lesson I've had. If you want to learn, learn from a pro. Not from someone on the same indie circuit, I mean a pro, I guy who has been making a living from his writing in the big leagues for years. I was very fortunate sure. But had I not met Matt and I was truly looking for someone to help me out. I would seek someone with his credentials, they same goes for fiction writing, and get them to give me pointers. Most people who claim to have all the answers are better at writing 'how-to' books. The pros don't talk about what they do, cause their work speaks for itself and they've been doing it for years. Seek them out, you'll find if you ask they might just be willing.

S  3.  How would you describe your writing style?

 KH 3.    My stuff tends to take the form of the character either narrating the story or it's tone or flavour is a precedent that has been associated with the genre. The stuff I've down in books like Sword Dude and The Last Barbarian; the tone of the text comes from R.E. Howard and Henry Kuttner. I can't match those cats for style and mastery but I can mimic the tone. With the likes of DeathMaster the style is dictated by the voice I hear in my head that is the protagonist narrating the story. I had a fan of my stuff tell me that each of my books have a different voice to them so no one is the same as the other, which is a really splendid complement but also speaks to what I was trying to accomplish while writing them. That is that the flavour of the peace dictates the tone or the style. I love B movies so that is an influence. When I was writing Alien Smut Peddlers from the Future I was listening to Neil Young's Dead Man score constantly and that flavoured that piece. So, I guess you might say I adopt the style that is either dictated by the kind of story or the kind of genre I'm working in. But always with my slant to it.

S  4.  How difficult was it to co-author (with Craig Mullins) a whole novel?

 KH 4.   Well the best thing about it, aside from the fact that Craig is a really good writer, is that neither of us had ever done it. I remember him asking me, "How do we do it," and I said, "I write a bit, you write a bit." So I kicked it off and Craig really dug what I was doing and that got him inspired for his sections and thus we went along. The only work came when I noticed our tones were different. In order for it to appear reasonably seamless, I had to got back over and make sure everything sounded similar, but that was the only thing. There was one time during the writing that I asked Craig to write something in particular. While in the middle of writing a new segment and suddenly I saw the ending for the story. I told Craig I was stopping to write this ending and instructed him what I would need in his final segment to tie it together. What he delivered was astonishing and it was so easy wrapping it up neatly. All this combined with Sean Ferrari's fine editing and art provided by Brian LeBlanc, my Frazetta on a budget; we put out a great barbarian book. It was a grand adventure both in the writing and on the page. I look forward to the day Craig wants to do it again, it was an awesome experience.

S  5.  What's your favorite horror film ever?

 KH 5.    I can't really say it's my favourite, (my favourite I'd probably say is John Carpenter's The Thing) but one horror flick that left quite an impression on me was Poltergeist 2: The Other Side. Now the movie didn't and doesn't scare me, but the first time I watched it, in particular that scene where Craig T. Nelson (Steve Freeling) is drinking and he swallows the worm and then proceeds to spew up a fucking demon, then it turns and it's got Julian Beck's (Kane) face, man, I wasn't scared like I've said but I ran outside and hurled my guts up. I was checking my drinks for weeks after that.

S  6.  How do you come up with these off the wall ideas to write about?

KH 6     Usually it's a scene or a title or even a sentence that starts me off. Then I have to figure out the ending. After that it's just a case of filling in the middle. Alien Smut Peddlers began it's life as a single scene with a spacecraft crash landing, guy walks over to the wreck, alien slimes out, crawls up his ass and takes him over. Plus, back when I was captain of the drinking team, you'd be surprised the stories and adventures you pick up. A good writer is a keen observer of life. After all, there are some truly amazing moments during one's existence that fiction just can't touch. (Spoiler Alert)  The scene in my Retirement Village of the Damned with the old dude who shits on the hood's of parked cars - true story. So yeah, I crib from my own life, friends, family, conversations I hear. This world is an off the wall kinda place. It's there for the taking. Never pontificate in front of a writer.

S  7.  Your favorite novel that you wrote and why?

KH 7      DeathMaster. It is one that I thought about for a long time before I wrote it. I remembering hearing Jim Wynorski talking about his film Lost Empire and saying if he never got to make another movie he was going to put everything he ever wanted to see in a movie into Lost Empire. That was kinda how DeathMaster began. It started life as a screenplay which was going to have everything in it that I could get. Pay homage to all the things I loved about the movies that were precious to me plus more. Figured, like Jim, if I only get one shot then I'm going to leave not stone unturned. There is an uncut version I'm going to put out this year. I made trims for pacing initially, but the director's cut will see the light of day.

S  8.  Your all time favorite author?

 KH 8    It's a two horse race that is just too close to call, with the runners being Charles Bukowski and Joe R. Lansdale. Hank I love for his elegant simplicity and Champion Joe for that dude's ability to do it all, I mean that cat has written horror, comedy, thrillers, mysteries - everything from the richly bizarre to comic books. His story On the far side of the Cadillac Desert is still one of best things I've read.

S  9.  What do most people not know about you but are willing to share?

KH 9     Good question. When I was two I crapped in my undies and so as not to get caught I  buried them in the backyard. I then quickly ran inside slid on a clean pair. Thought Mum was dumb see, that she wouldn't notice I'd gone from Spiderman underwear to He-Man underwear. Never underestimate your mother.

S  10.  Your greatest supporter who isn't family?

 KH 10      My hats off to Don Noble. Till my number is called and I buy the farm I will sing the man's praises. He took a chance on me after I went three years and across three continents of publishers' rejections. A little book about smut peddling aliens made him laugh - the rest is history.

https://www.amazon.com/Kent-Hill/e/B00MB32Z84/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

and

https://www.facebook.com/KHPscribbling/

Those are the sites to buy his books or check out his work, I say you won't be disappointed.  Thanks Kent for the pleasure was all mine doing this interview was awesome.

The Man Himself

     This classy horror host has a show local to Clevelanders and all over YouTube my new interviewee is Janet Jay AKA Janet Decay or The Mummy from The Mummy and The Monkey Show.  She is re-opening her thrift store again, and bringing new episodes of her show back soon, I wanted to show people what she is all about, at least I tried my best.  If you've gone to any conventions around you've probably seen her a time or two.  I had the pleasure of getting to interview her for my blog the were her ten questions:

    

     Steve (S):  #1  How did you come up with the mummy and the monkey idea?

     Janet Jay (JJ):  Well it was a collaboration, a monster mash up of sorts. James Harmon AKA Grimm Gorri had his own show on cable public access and for a short time(2013-2014) my character Janet Decay hosted The Daughter Of The Ghoul Show on cable public access in Northeast Ohio for DMK Productions. There was no ghoul relation, many people ask about that.

 Grimm Gorri and Janet Decay were doing a Halloween appearance and giving out candy to kids and we heard children shouting "Mummy!", "Monkey!". We even have it on video and several months later after The Daughter Of The Ghoul was cancelled we decided to name our show ,The Mummy And The Monkey. Since then we have two seasons and several holiday specials and our characters have evolved into our brand.

     S:  #2  Any films you've acted in worth mentioning so the readers can look up your work?

     JJ:  Ha ha yes! One cult film that is fun to watch and a tip of the hat to the 1950's sci-fi flicks is "Revenge of the Spacemen".

Recently it was picked up by Troma for distribution and It's a great feeling to say that I'm officially a Troma Scream Queen.

Another one that has had a  cult following is Easter Casket about a killer Easter Bunny. This film is more adult and may be offensive to some, but has that fun cheesy Troma feel.

I've worked on several straight to video flicks for RAK Films and those guys are always great to work with.

There's other projects in the works, but too soon to announce anything.

     S:  Sounds great I will need to look those two up and see what RAK films has to offer.

     S:  #3  Horror Conventions seems to be a great passion of yours, how many are on tap for 2017?

     JJ:  These conventions keep growing like weeds and we always attend at least 4-5 per year. We'd like to be guests at more shows this year and possibly travel more. We've also attended comic cons and anime shows since many of these fans cross over into the horror genre's. We love our fans and our convention families!

     S:  Sounds like your laying the groundwork for greatness, I have seen you and Grimm Gorri at a few.

     S:   #4  Name your favorite horror film?

     JJ:  EVERYONE asks me this and it's super tough to just pick one, Like a certain potato chip, you can't watch just one.

One of my fave 1970's gore movies is the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

As for classic universal flicks I have to say Dracula, because well, Bela Lugosi was awesome.

As for Mummy and Monkey movies there's the Original King Kong, and the Hammer Mummy movies I favor more so than Universal's The Mummy, and The New Mummy movie looks crappie.

     S:  I grew up with Hammer horror films and Universal so I am impartial there but new Mummy does look crappy otherwise I prefer Boris Karloff's Mummy films but original Dracula was meant for the menacing Bela Lugosi.

     S:  #5  Your TV show has a great following is there anyway fans outside of Cleveland can watch it?

     JJ:  Oh my, of corpse! We are on the biggest channel of them all....THE INTERNET! It drives us bananas when people ask what channel we are on.

We're on YouTube, and Roku channels so you can pretty much watch us anywhere, anytime on anything.

     S; Great people get out and enjoy watching new horror hosts as we used to watch the classic ones of a bygone era.

     S:  #6  Did you have any formal training in school or college?

     JJ:  My partner in crime, Grimm Gorri went to the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, and I took community college courses for art and linguistics.

We've both had our art displayed at shows and galleries. As for learning video and editing we learn as we go through trail and error and we learn what not to do from seeing other movie's and shows. We try to be creative and fun while being on a low budget.

     S:  That seems to be the consensus college is for the rich (unless talented) and everyone loves to be set ablaze with a trial by fire way to go.

     S:  #7  How long have you been the Mummy and when did Monkey (James) join in or has it always been a tandem project?

     JJ:  My mummy character started in 2010 when I was putting together a costume for a charity zombie walk. Everyone was being a zombie and I wanted to be undead, yet a little different. In 2012 I gave my mummy a name. When I'm an actress in independent movies I'm Janet Jay, so Janet Decay was the undead extension of myself I suppose. She has a whole back story of being a silent film actress that was mummified from a cursed movie prop and she wakes up about a hundred years later to become a horror hostess.Originally she was more dark and sinister, but Decay evolved into being a perky goth monster girl sort of like The Munsters show, funny,goofy, yet cute and undead.

As for James, He's always loved King Kong,ape-like monsters and TV horror hosts. So this fueled and inspired him to create Grimm Gorri, The flatulent fun loving monkey man  and co-host for our show.

     S:  It's great that you put so much thought behind your character, even a back story which is awesome someone should write a script for that and starring you.

     S:  #8  What do most people not know about you but should?

     JJ:  Tough question, there's a lot I keep private. One thing is, it's very difficult for me to relax. I'm always working on something and keeping busy. Even when watching a movie I could be mending my costume or doing arts and crafts with James. When we go out we usually bring a note pad to jot down show ideas or have a "to do " list handy. I've lost some friends the past few years who were artists that I know had unfinished projects that were left when they passed.

     S: I do the same with note pad always be ready when ideas strike, I enjoy my relax time it don't happen often so must take advantage of it, but I do understand always being busy.

     S:  #9  What was your first recollection of being introduced into horror?

     JJ:  Watching Universal monster movies on AMC in the 1980's and 1990's. On channel 8 my little brother and I watched Big Chuck And Lil' John.

James also grew up watching our local late night TV horror hosts. In the 1980's we had Super Host, Frank and Drac, Big Chuck and Lil' John, The Ghoul, Elvira depending if you had cable, oh and The Crypt Keeper!

     S:  I never had cable growing up, but I remember Super Host, and Big Chuck and Hoolihan was right before Lil' John joined him, days of yesteryear sigh.......

     S: #10  Who in the horror community (famous, fictional, or not) is your biggest influence?

     JJ:  Vampira for me. She was the first TV Horror Hostess that made it big and still has a following to this day. Wish I could have met her.

For James and I Big Chuck and Lil' John are a HUGE influence on us. If you are from Northeast Ohio  these guys are known as local TV legends.

    

     S: Big Chuck and Lil' John were hilarious and had the best skits, I never heard of Vampira till I got older and my dad (I believe) had a huge crush on Elvira.

Also big shout outs to all those great B movie directors that make horror hosting enjoyable.

Janet thanks for taking time out of your busy life to make my blog enjoyable, she can be seen in person at nerd (utmost respect I am one) conventions all over Ohio and hopefully expanding outside to other states soon.  She and James own and operate a thrift, antique, and collectables thrift store in Cleveland, so if your in town check them out and show some love.  And as always SUPPORT INDIE FILMMAKERS