Killroy
October 3rd, 2007, 03:20 PM
Let's shift gears a bit and get into the mindset of '80s slashers. If you are not a fan of this genre, then you might as well not read any further. If you do not hold a special place in your little black heart for the bottom of the barrel slashers, then you might as well join the others and stop reading as well. I am a fan of the slasher movie, both the good and the bad. Part of this is because of nostalgia, of the days spent perusing the video stores to see the horror titles staring back at me, trying to decide which one to rent based on the cover alone. Since there was no internet to use and most of your info came from Fangoria magazine, a lot of a horror fans early movie rentals were done blindly. Occasionally you hit pay dirt and snagged a Black Christmas (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071222/) or The Prowler (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082951/), sometimes the Slasher Gods did not smile upon you and you went home with Goremet: Zombie Chef From Hell (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0144223/) or The Ripper (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089922/). But more often than not, you would end up with a low-budget slasher that by all definitions was a bad film laden with horrid acting, crappy score, asinine plots and scenarios. But whether it was the abundance of tits, the gore, or a combination of both, the film had just enough going for it that you ended up actually liking the film, even if you felt guilty admitting it and even if it was because of how bad it was.
That's the case with this film for me. A movie whose memorable cover showed 4 young people hanging by hooks, with one living female in a bikini looking quite horrified at the instrument being held by an unseen killer. The tagline stated:
By Sword
By Pick
By Axe
Bye Bye
That's right, today we will be discussing:
http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/6727/mutilatorfg8.jpg
First off, before I go further, let me say that I am, admittedly, a bit biased when it comes to talking about this film. Three years ago I had decided to put an article together for this film as well as get some shots of the shooting locations since it was in the same state as me. In the process of doing the research, I actually talked with a gentleman named Tom Outlaw. Not only is he in the movie and gave me a lot of information, but he then got me in touch with Bill Hitchcock, who plays Ralph in the film. Bill gave me a lot of insight into the film and even answered some impromptu questions I had put together. Extremely nice guy and the info he gave me about the movie and how it came to be just makes me enjoy the film on a different level. So with that out of the way, here we go...
The Mutilator begins with a mother and son preparing for their fathers birthday. They are keeping it simple as the mother makes a small cake and Ed Jr. decides he will surprise his father by cleaning all of his father’s rifles in the gun case. Ed Jr. places a handwritten sign on the case which states “Happy Birthday Daddy! All cleaned by me!”, and removes one of the rifles. While cleaning, Ed Jr. pulls the trigger on the rifle, unaware that it is loaded, accidentally committing matricide as the bullet finds its way into his mothers back. She is dead before she hits the floor and only seconds before Ed Sr.(Jack Chatham (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0154048/)) arrives home. The scene is not hard to figure out…wife dead from gunshot to the back, Ed Jr. looking guilty as hell with a rifle lying nearby…so Ed Sr. does what any father would do in this situation and backhands the shit out of his son. He then drags his wife’s corpse out of the kitchen and props her up against the couch, pinning Ed Junior’s handwritten note to his wife’s chest. Sitting beside her, waiting for the police to show up, he begins drinking liquor while also pouring some of the alcohol into his dead wife’s mouth. This entire scene is somewhat surreal as it has no dialog, aside from a dubbed “Momma! Momma!” and is scored only by a keyboard. The camera pulls back and fades to black with sirens being heard in the distance.
When the camera fades back in, approximately 10 years later, we now see Ed Jr. (Matt Mitler (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0593919/)) as a grown man in college. He is sitting with his friends at the local watering hole, all of who are drinking and complaining about not planning anything for Fall Break aside from playing the "video game machine". Their problem is solved when Ed's father calls him and ask that he go to their beach front condo and prep it for winter. With nothing else better going on, and seeing that this would at least be 5 days at the beach with a free stay at a beach front condo, they all decide that this didn't sound like a bad idea at all. So Ed Jr. and his girlfriend Pamela (Ruth Martinez), hop into the hard-to-start convertible and head to the coast. Going along for the ride are the horny couple, Linda (Frances Raines (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0707049/)) and Mike (Morey Lampley), as well as the groups resident smart-ass\comedy releif, Ralph (Bill Hitchcock) and his tolerant girlfriend, Sue (Connie Rogers). With that, 10 minutes into the film, The Mutilator theme song begins and the opening credits begin as we watch the teenagers drink-and-drive on the way to the condo, the start of a Fall Break some of them will never forget. You see, little do they know that this is all a sinister trap set by Ed’s father. He has never gotten over the death of his wife, and has never forgiven his son for being the cause of it. After all these years, Ed Sr. has finally snapped and has lured his son to the beach-front condo so that he can kill him.
That’s it. That’s the setup. Pretty straightforward and to the point with no time wasted trying to be clever or cover any unnecessary back-stories. There is no pesky character development or witty dialog to be found here. Just a bare-bones plot that gets a group of teen-agers into the killing zone of a homicidal maniac. It would be way too easy to point out all that is wrong with the film, from the bad lighting, amateur acting, silly dialog, etc…besides, any lover of the slasher film comes to expect some of this even from what is considered a good slasher. So what I will mention is what they did right with the film. First and foremost, the killer in this film is revealed immediately. There are no twists, whodunits or masked killers in The Mutilator. Ed Senior is shown the moment they get to the condo, hiding in the garage, and is shown in all the on-screen deaths. Why weigh the film down with flashbacks of parents or some convoluted plotline? In a film like this, who cares?
The gore effects are another thing The Mutilator has on it's side. Mr. Cooper got pretty lucky getting the effects he did out of the budget he had. The violence in the film should quench the thirst of any gorehound with mutilation by outboard motor, impalement via pitchfork, amputation by battleaxe, decapitation by machete, and in the most infamous scene that people talk about…a gaff through the vagina. The effects were all created by Emmy award winning SFX artist, Mark Shostrom (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0795197/) (X-Files, Phantasm II, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and help keep the film watchable, as in all honesty, that’s the reason why myself and others even watch these types of films to begin with. They are done well and on the bloody side, and in the case of the outboard motor, one of the funniest deaths in a slasher movie.
The Mutilator also has something you do not normally find with no-budget horror, and that is a full-fledged theme song that was mentioned earlier. It is a complete piano-and-sax driven song called "Fall Break" (the original title of the film) and performed by Peter Yellen and The Breakers (one of the members of The Breakers just happens to be Buddy Cooper). It sticks out like a sore thumb because of just how out of place it is. The song sounds like it should actually be playing at the beginning of a low-budget teen comedy. The song does not make the movie better as much as it is just another one of the things that makes this film stand out over some of the others of the same caliber.
I like The Mutilator. It’s not a great film, and I guess I could see where people would even state it’s not even a good film. But I think it is nowhere close to being one of the worst horror movies made and definitely not one of the worst slashers. No doubt, the kills make the film, but The Mutilator is also a film I like to point to when trying to give an example of a horror film being so bad it’s good. Also, when you learn some of the background on how it got made, it helps give the film a little extra charm. Buddy Cooper, Atlantic Beach entrepreneur, wanted to make a movie and by god, that's exactly what he did. Using his own property, family and friends, they created a film that is nowhere near being classified as belonging in the upper tiers of the slasher elite, but a film that is still talked about, both fondly and not-so-fondly, to this day. So if you have not seen this film, but like these type of slashers, grab some brews, turn off your brain and watch Big Ed go to work.
Code Red (http://www.codereddvd.com/), the guys responsible for releasing a decent Don't Go In The Woods (http://www.codereddvd.com/code_red_dvd_vers5_webpage_009.htm) DVD as well as other obscure horror titles, announced that they were working on the first full-fledged, Region 1 DVD of this film, completely unrated and with bonus material to include commentary from Buddy Cooper. But until that actually happens, be sure to get your hands on the German DVD by Dragon. It is the only completely uncut version that has been released. The US theatrical version, as well as the UK video released in 1993 removed 26 seconds of gore. The UK DVD and VHS re-issue in 2000, dubbed "The Extreme Version" is less censored and only removes 7 seconds from the gaff-in-the-cootchie scene.
Links
IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0124014/) | Code Red (http://www.codereddvd.com/) | Fall Break MP3 (http://www.dreamindemon.com/Audio/FALL%20BREAK%20mix.mp3) (Special Mix provided by Michael Minard)
Pictures
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Bill Hitchcock Interview
Here is the email "interview" I had with Bill Hitchcock. Sorry for some of the cliche questions, I had no clue that I would actually be talking to a cast member of the film I had chosen on that day :) :
I was curious how you got involved with The Mutilator? Were you hired by an agency or were you a local resident of Atlantic Beach at the time? (reason why I ask is because out of the starring teens, you were the most convincing...Tom Outlaw stated that a couple of the teens were from L.A.)
It was by pure luck that I found out about the movie. I was playing "tourist" and vacationing in Atlantic Beach. While sitting in the lounge of a restaurant, a fellow sitting beside me asked what I did. I told him. He informed me of the movie about to be made by Buddy Cooper. Oddly enough, Buddy Coopers offices were about 100 feet away from the restaurant
You may have answered this in the first question or bio, but your accent in the movie sounded to real to be a fake southern accent. Born and raised in NC?
And here I thought I had laid the accent on too thick!!! No-that is not how I normally sound. Actually I have somewhat of a confusing accent. I was born in the mountains of Tennessee. My father is from England. My mother is from Ohio but her family came from Scotland. I spent my "growing up years" in the Chapel Hill/Durham area. I lived in NYC and now live along coastal NC. So mix all of that together and you come up with how I talk. And it's getting even more confusing. My fiance' is from Poland.
Any memorable moments while filming? You know, mishaps, problems, any pranks or issues? What about any dirt on any of the other characters at the time of filming. You were all young, any hookups?
There were many memorable moments during the production of the film. But I can't go any further without adding this. Buddy Cooper was wonderful to work for. He took care of us all both on and off set. Hook ups? Well, let's just say that the on screen relationships got somewhat intermingled off screen. No real issues as often occurs when dealing with "talent". (It used to bother me when the AD would call for "Talent on the set". So I would respond, "But what about me". So the AD started saying, "Talent on the set. And Bill too")
Have you kept in touch with any of your co-stars? I am trying to get in touch with as many of the main characters as possible. I have found that a couple of characters are Atlantic Beach natives (especially the Coopers). But aside from seeing that Matt Mitler and Frances Raines both starred in Breeders I am having difficuly locating any of them.
I spoke with Matt about a year ago. He is still in NYC and evidently doing quite well. I saw Buddy Cooper around the same time period. Buddy was thinking about doing another movie a bout 7-8 years ago. I went to the auditions, not for myself, but for my daughter. It was the first time I was ever nervous in an audition-watching my daughter read!!!!
The house the majority of the movie was filmed at...any knowledge of who owned the house at the time of filming? The Mutilator actually has a fan club and a horror movie website creator actually drove out there and found the house...he has alot of pictures up on his website. Was curious if you may also have any info on who owns it now?
I have no idea who owns the "Condo at the beach". But it is very easy to
find the place. It is located between the Oceanana and Sportsman's Piers in
Atlantic Beach.
What are you up to now? Tom Outlaw actually steered me to your location and stated that you did some fishing reports for the news, but when I finally found your website, I see you have been up to a LOT more than that. You seem pretty busy.
With the exception of one acting job (I played Richard in a professional theatre production of "The Lion in Winter"), I have done nothing but film/television production since "Fall Break". I formed my own company,"Hitchcock Broadcasting" in 1989. We primarily do things for the networks, large industry, state/federal government, the military as well as create some of our own programming. Our emphasis over the past several years has been to move everything over to the internet, where we concentrate heavily on live and pre-produced video/audio content. http://www.ncwaterman.com (http://www.ncwaterman.com/) is a good example of this.
One of the SFX artists that you worked with (Mark Shostrum) went on to work on some Nightmare on Elm Street films along with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. This leads me to one of the cool deaths in the movie...your pitchfork death. How long did that actually take to film?
My death scene was shot over several nights and had many components to it. I don't know how detailed you want me to get but I will say this. The base for the blood was Caro Syrup. Nothing like having syrup poured all over you for 4-5 nights in a row!
Who came up with the hide and seek game played by your characters in the movie? Was this an actual game any of you had actually played before filming? (Didn't know if this was any type of nod to Friday the 13th's Strip Monopoly, or just a way to get the characters seperated).
The hide and seek game was in the script. (By the way-I still have the final shooting script with all notes in it). And I guess you could say there were a lot of "games" and "hide and seek" being played off camera. Hey-It's a movie-What do you expect from a bunch of actors and crew members!!!!
Were you aware that this movie, made 20 years ago, would still be being discussed by horror fans to this day? Wether or not if they liked it, it says something to even have the film still being talked about. Tom Outlaw thought I was joking at first (I still think he does:) ). How does you feel about starring in it? Any regrets?
It is difficult to imagine that 20 years have passed. I had a blast working on that project. At first I was surprised by the following it garnered for all the years after its release. But when you realize that there are websites like this, magazines, organizations, etc. that are all dedicated to this type of film, then it becomes understandable. I thought it had great potential for becoming an audience participation film like "Rocky Horror Picture Show". My greatest ambition or rather "dream" for the film has always been to make it on "Mystery Science Theatre". I think it meets all of the criteria. I only have one regret about the film. Buddy Cooper sent me a copy of the video sleeve of the Asian release of the video. I immediately called Buddy and asked if the film had been subtitled or dubbed. To my chagrin, it was subtitled. Life would have been complete to see myself dubbed in Japanese. But I guess it best. Otherwise people would have been looking for the strings or for some giant moth flying in the background.
What's your marital status? Any kids? I only ask as I was curious how your family likes the movie or if you would ever allow them to watch it at all?
I am currently divorced, but my ex-wife and daughter have watched the film. But not while I was around. In fact, I have never seen the film from start to finish, just bits and pieces of it. All of the actors were brought to the film's theater premiere. I sat through the first half of the film with an empty popcorn bucket on my head. It occurred to me that this may not be what the film's producer would have me to do, so I got up and left. I figured I knew the plot and how it ended so what's the point.
Some closing ramblings:
In the scene where I go into a store, buy beer and leave. The interior was one of the first things shot. The exterior was one of the last things shot. I had lost 30 pounds between the two shoot dates (Breach of contract). I went in weighing 160. Bought the beer at 190. Left at 160 again.
At the beginning of the film I am wearing sunglasses. When we make it to the "condo at the beach" I hung my sunglasses on the collar of my sweater. If you watch the film carefully-my sunglasses magically disappear from one scene to another. I lost them and continuity didn't pick up on it.
In any scene that you see us drinking beer-Ginger ale was put in it's place- So the producer's thought.
In the beginning of the film as we are driving, the car suddenly stops, I get out and run in a field, take a whiz (I told you we were really drinking beer) and then the car pulls off with me chasing behind it. That was not in the script. It was a spur of the moment thing that Matt and I came up with. The producer's had no idea what was going on.
***SPOILER***
The final scene where Big Ed dies was written on the spot. There use to be a turn style bridge that crossed from Morehead City to Atlantic Beach. Big Ed was to be killed by being ripped apart as the bridge opens, but the state "killed" that idea at the last second.
Michael Minard Interview
It took me a little while to track him down, but I finally found Michael Minard, the man responsible for the theme song (Fall Break) for The Mutilator as well as the films score. Aside from providing the score for Ms. 45 and Return to Salem's Lot, Mr. Minard also teaches and is working on an opera. I emailed him and simply asked him if he remembered anything about his involvement with the film and how he became attached to it.
About the song, Fall Break
There are some interesting things to note, particularly about the song "Fall Break": I wrote it with Artie Resnick who also wrote the song "Under the Boardwalk" for the Drifters. I was working with him at the time and A.B. "Buddy" Cooper, Jr. was thrilled that I could bring him on the project because of the "confluence" of subject matter... there was something else. "Under the Boardwalk" was one of the great "shag" dancing hits of the outer banks of North Carolina, and all of the people involved with the movie were from Carolina and were shag maniacs. Shag (dancing and music) is slightly slower than standard hyper rock and roll, something that I didn't know at the time. It's a bit like a jitterbug on quaaludes. Sexy and more intimate than what we normally associate with the early to mid fifties.
So when we got into the studio (using the actual mixing board that had been used for Springsteen's "Born to Run" with Larry Alexander who was a huge, but local, engineer) "Buddy" kept asking me to slow the tempo down. In an "executive" decision that I now regret, I gainsayed him and said "No way, let's keep it lively and up. The faster the better". He gave in to my greater authority, though he kept referring to this "shag" music that his friends and he were immersed in down South. Several months later, at the premiere in North Carolina, when everyone including the parking attendants were "shagging" up a storm, I realized it would have been far more idiomatic to have slowed the tempo slightly... Who knows? It might have made it eerier as well.
None of the singers (including Peter Yellen) had a low enough voice for the "pickup" into the chorus... the spoken "we're goin' on a..." We all "auditioned" for it and then gave up. We took a break and went outside to Franklin St. in Nyack, where the studio was located. A very congenial, tall African-American man was walking by... it was late at night... we'd been working for hours. We asked him to say "We're goin' on a..." He did, and the timbre of his voice was perfect. We asked him if he would come in and do the line. He was delighted! We put him in the booth, strapped the headphones on, and we were able to finish the piece!
About the film's score
As for the writing of the "score" itself, "Buddy" Cooper was very hands-on, almost dictating the notes as we went along from scene to scene. I acceded to this process, but I think it made the musical ride of the movie a bit bumpier.
One scene, with the killer, a girl and a gaffe, I think it was... I never actually watched the movie. It made me so uncomfortable I just scored it to the sound of her screaming. I'm told it worked out okay.
Also, the P.O.V. shots of the killer watching the kids on the beach: originally those were to be without sound, but at the mix it seemed too "dead". So they put me in the sound booth and we "freestyled" some foley by having me do some heavy raspy breathing. I can improv that kind of thing pretty well...
By the way, the whole production team of "Fall Break" aka "The Mutilator" were a great bunch of people. It was always fun to work with them.
Thanks, Michael, for taking the time to reply to my email (even though I kept spelling his name wrong) and providing all the information.
That's the case with this film for me. A movie whose memorable cover showed 4 young people hanging by hooks, with one living female in a bikini looking quite horrified at the instrument being held by an unseen killer. The tagline stated:
By Sword
By Pick
By Axe
Bye Bye
That's right, today we will be discussing:
http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/6727/mutilatorfg8.jpg
First off, before I go further, let me say that I am, admittedly, a bit biased when it comes to talking about this film. Three years ago I had decided to put an article together for this film as well as get some shots of the shooting locations since it was in the same state as me. In the process of doing the research, I actually talked with a gentleman named Tom Outlaw. Not only is he in the movie and gave me a lot of information, but he then got me in touch with Bill Hitchcock, who plays Ralph in the film. Bill gave me a lot of insight into the film and even answered some impromptu questions I had put together. Extremely nice guy and the info he gave me about the movie and how it came to be just makes me enjoy the film on a different level. So with that out of the way, here we go...
The Mutilator begins with a mother and son preparing for their fathers birthday. They are keeping it simple as the mother makes a small cake and Ed Jr. decides he will surprise his father by cleaning all of his father’s rifles in the gun case. Ed Jr. places a handwritten sign on the case which states “Happy Birthday Daddy! All cleaned by me!”, and removes one of the rifles. While cleaning, Ed Jr. pulls the trigger on the rifle, unaware that it is loaded, accidentally committing matricide as the bullet finds its way into his mothers back. She is dead before she hits the floor and only seconds before Ed Sr.(Jack Chatham (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0154048/)) arrives home. The scene is not hard to figure out…wife dead from gunshot to the back, Ed Jr. looking guilty as hell with a rifle lying nearby…so Ed Sr. does what any father would do in this situation and backhands the shit out of his son. He then drags his wife’s corpse out of the kitchen and props her up against the couch, pinning Ed Junior’s handwritten note to his wife’s chest. Sitting beside her, waiting for the police to show up, he begins drinking liquor while also pouring some of the alcohol into his dead wife’s mouth. This entire scene is somewhat surreal as it has no dialog, aside from a dubbed “Momma! Momma!” and is scored only by a keyboard. The camera pulls back and fades to black with sirens being heard in the distance.
When the camera fades back in, approximately 10 years later, we now see Ed Jr. (Matt Mitler (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0593919/)) as a grown man in college. He is sitting with his friends at the local watering hole, all of who are drinking and complaining about not planning anything for Fall Break aside from playing the "video game machine". Their problem is solved when Ed's father calls him and ask that he go to their beach front condo and prep it for winter. With nothing else better going on, and seeing that this would at least be 5 days at the beach with a free stay at a beach front condo, they all decide that this didn't sound like a bad idea at all. So Ed Jr. and his girlfriend Pamela (Ruth Martinez), hop into the hard-to-start convertible and head to the coast. Going along for the ride are the horny couple, Linda (Frances Raines (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0707049/)) and Mike (Morey Lampley), as well as the groups resident smart-ass\comedy releif, Ralph (Bill Hitchcock) and his tolerant girlfriend, Sue (Connie Rogers). With that, 10 minutes into the film, The Mutilator theme song begins and the opening credits begin as we watch the teenagers drink-and-drive on the way to the condo, the start of a Fall Break some of them will never forget. You see, little do they know that this is all a sinister trap set by Ed’s father. He has never gotten over the death of his wife, and has never forgiven his son for being the cause of it. After all these years, Ed Sr. has finally snapped and has lured his son to the beach-front condo so that he can kill him.
That’s it. That’s the setup. Pretty straightforward and to the point with no time wasted trying to be clever or cover any unnecessary back-stories. There is no pesky character development or witty dialog to be found here. Just a bare-bones plot that gets a group of teen-agers into the killing zone of a homicidal maniac. It would be way too easy to point out all that is wrong with the film, from the bad lighting, amateur acting, silly dialog, etc…besides, any lover of the slasher film comes to expect some of this even from what is considered a good slasher. So what I will mention is what they did right with the film. First and foremost, the killer in this film is revealed immediately. There are no twists, whodunits or masked killers in The Mutilator. Ed Senior is shown the moment they get to the condo, hiding in the garage, and is shown in all the on-screen deaths. Why weigh the film down with flashbacks of parents or some convoluted plotline? In a film like this, who cares?
The gore effects are another thing The Mutilator has on it's side. Mr. Cooper got pretty lucky getting the effects he did out of the budget he had. The violence in the film should quench the thirst of any gorehound with mutilation by outboard motor, impalement via pitchfork, amputation by battleaxe, decapitation by machete, and in the most infamous scene that people talk about…a gaff through the vagina. The effects were all created by Emmy award winning SFX artist, Mark Shostrom (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0795197/) (X-Files, Phantasm II, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and help keep the film watchable, as in all honesty, that’s the reason why myself and others even watch these types of films to begin with. They are done well and on the bloody side, and in the case of the outboard motor, one of the funniest deaths in a slasher movie.
The Mutilator also has something you do not normally find with no-budget horror, and that is a full-fledged theme song that was mentioned earlier. It is a complete piano-and-sax driven song called "Fall Break" (the original title of the film) and performed by Peter Yellen and The Breakers (one of the members of The Breakers just happens to be Buddy Cooper). It sticks out like a sore thumb because of just how out of place it is. The song sounds like it should actually be playing at the beginning of a low-budget teen comedy. The song does not make the movie better as much as it is just another one of the things that makes this film stand out over some of the others of the same caliber.
I like The Mutilator. It’s not a great film, and I guess I could see where people would even state it’s not even a good film. But I think it is nowhere close to being one of the worst horror movies made and definitely not one of the worst slashers. No doubt, the kills make the film, but The Mutilator is also a film I like to point to when trying to give an example of a horror film being so bad it’s good. Also, when you learn some of the background on how it got made, it helps give the film a little extra charm. Buddy Cooper, Atlantic Beach entrepreneur, wanted to make a movie and by god, that's exactly what he did. Using his own property, family and friends, they created a film that is nowhere near being classified as belonging in the upper tiers of the slasher elite, but a film that is still talked about, both fondly and not-so-fondly, to this day. So if you have not seen this film, but like these type of slashers, grab some brews, turn off your brain and watch Big Ed go to work.
Code Red (http://www.codereddvd.com/), the guys responsible for releasing a decent Don't Go In The Woods (http://www.codereddvd.com/code_red_dvd_vers5_webpage_009.htm) DVD as well as other obscure horror titles, announced that they were working on the first full-fledged, Region 1 DVD of this film, completely unrated and with bonus material to include commentary from Buddy Cooper. But until that actually happens, be sure to get your hands on the German DVD by Dragon. It is the only completely uncut version that has been released. The US theatrical version, as well as the UK video released in 1993 removed 26 seconds of gore. The UK DVD and VHS re-issue in 2000, dubbed "The Extreme Version" is less censored and only removes 7 seconds from the gaff-in-the-cootchie scene.
Links
IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0124014/) | Code Red (http://www.codereddvd.com/) | Fall Break MP3 (http://www.dreamindemon.com/Audio/FALL%20BREAK%20mix.mp3) (Special Mix provided by Michael Minard)
Pictures
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Bill Hitchcock Interview
Here is the email "interview" I had with Bill Hitchcock. Sorry for some of the cliche questions, I had no clue that I would actually be talking to a cast member of the film I had chosen on that day :) :
I was curious how you got involved with The Mutilator? Were you hired by an agency or were you a local resident of Atlantic Beach at the time? (reason why I ask is because out of the starring teens, you were the most convincing...Tom Outlaw stated that a couple of the teens were from L.A.)
It was by pure luck that I found out about the movie. I was playing "tourist" and vacationing in Atlantic Beach. While sitting in the lounge of a restaurant, a fellow sitting beside me asked what I did. I told him. He informed me of the movie about to be made by Buddy Cooper. Oddly enough, Buddy Coopers offices were about 100 feet away from the restaurant
You may have answered this in the first question or bio, but your accent in the movie sounded to real to be a fake southern accent. Born and raised in NC?
And here I thought I had laid the accent on too thick!!! No-that is not how I normally sound. Actually I have somewhat of a confusing accent. I was born in the mountains of Tennessee. My father is from England. My mother is from Ohio but her family came from Scotland. I spent my "growing up years" in the Chapel Hill/Durham area. I lived in NYC and now live along coastal NC. So mix all of that together and you come up with how I talk. And it's getting even more confusing. My fiance' is from Poland.
Any memorable moments while filming? You know, mishaps, problems, any pranks or issues? What about any dirt on any of the other characters at the time of filming. You were all young, any hookups?
There were many memorable moments during the production of the film. But I can't go any further without adding this. Buddy Cooper was wonderful to work for. He took care of us all both on and off set. Hook ups? Well, let's just say that the on screen relationships got somewhat intermingled off screen. No real issues as often occurs when dealing with "talent". (It used to bother me when the AD would call for "Talent on the set". So I would respond, "But what about me". So the AD started saying, "Talent on the set. And Bill too")
Have you kept in touch with any of your co-stars? I am trying to get in touch with as many of the main characters as possible. I have found that a couple of characters are Atlantic Beach natives (especially the Coopers). But aside from seeing that Matt Mitler and Frances Raines both starred in Breeders I am having difficuly locating any of them.
I spoke with Matt about a year ago. He is still in NYC and evidently doing quite well. I saw Buddy Cooper around the same time period. Buddy was thinking about doing another movie a bout 7-8 years ago. I went to the auditions, not for myself, but for my daughter. It was the first time I was ever nervous in an audition-watching my daughter read!!!!
The house the majority of the movie was filmed at...any knowledge of who owned the house at the time of filming? The Mutilator actually has a fan club and a horror movie website creator actually drove out there and found the house...he has alot of pictures up on his website. Was curious if you may also have any info on who owns it now?
I have no idea who owns the "Condo at the beach". But it is very easy to
find the place. It is located between the Oceanana and Sportsman's Piers in
Atlantic Beach.
What are you up to now? Tom Outlaw actually steered me to your location and stated that you did some fishing reports for the news, but when I finally found your website, I see you have been up to a LOT more than that. You seem pretty busy.
With the exception of one acting job (I played Richard in a professional theatre production of "The Lion in Winter"), I have done nothing but film/television production since "Fall Break". I formed my own company,"Hitchcock Broadcasting" in 1989. We primarily do things for the networks, large industry, state/federal government, the military as well as create some of our own programming. Our emphasis over the past several years has been to move everything over to the internet, where we concentrate heavily on live and pre-produced video/audio content. http://www.ncwaterman.com (http://www.ncwaterman.com/) is a good example of this.
One of the SFX artists that you worked with (Mark Shostrum) went on to work on some Nightmare on Elm Street films along with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. This leads me to one of the cool deaths in the movie...your pitchfork death. How long did that actually take to film?
My death scene was shot over several nights and had many components to it. I don't know how detailed you want me to get but I will say this. The base for the blood was Caro Syrup. Nothing like having syrup poured all over you for 4-5 nights in a row!
Who came up with the hide and seek game played by your characters in the movie? Was this an actual game any of you had actually played before filming? (Didn't know if this was any type of nod to Friday the 13th's Strip Monopoly, or just a way to get the characters seperated).
The hide and seek game was in the script. (By the way-I still have the final shooting script with all notes in it). And I guess you could say there were a lot of "games" and "hide and seek" being played off camera. Hey-It's a movie-What do you expect from a bunch of actors and crew members!!!!
Were you aware that this movie, made 20 years ago, would still be being discussed by horror fans to this day? Wether or not if they liked it, it says something to even have the film still being talked about. Tom Outlaw thought I was joking at first (I still think he does:) ). How does you feel about starring in it? Any regrets?
It is difficult to imagine that 20 years have passed. I had a blast working on that project. At first I was surprised by the following it garnered for all the years after its release. But when you realize that there are websites like this, magazines, organizations, etc. that are all dedicated to this type of film, then it becomes understandable. I thought it had great potential for becoming an audience participation film like "Rocky Horror Picture Show". My greatest ambition or rather "dream" for the film has always been to make it on "Mystery Science Theatre". I think it meets all of the criteria. I only have one regret about the film. Buddy Cooper sent me a copy of the video sleeve of the Asian release of the video. I immediately called Buddy and asked if the film had been subtitled or dubbed. To my chagrin, it was subtitled. Life would have been complete to see myself dubbed in Japanese. But I guess it best. Otherwise people would have been looking for the strings or for some giant moth flying in the background.
What's your marital status? Any kids? I only ask as I was curious how your family likes the movie or if you would ever allow them to watch it at all?
I am currently divorced, but my ex-wife and daughter have watched the film. But not while I was around. In fact, I have never seen the film from start to finish, just bits and pieces of it. All of the actors were brought to the film's theater premiere. I sat through the first half of the film with an empty popcorn bucket on my head. It occurred to me that this may not be what the film's producer would have me to do, so I got up and left. I figured I knew the plot and how it ended so what's the point.
Some closing ramblings:
In the scene where I go into a store, buy beer and leave. The interior was one of the first things shot. The exterior was one of the last things shot. I had lost 30 pounds between the two shoot dates (Breach of contract). I went in weighing 160. Bought the beer at 190. Left at 160 again.
At the beginning of the film I am wearing sunglasses. When we make it to the "condo at the beach" I hung my sunglasses on the collar of my sweater. If you watch the film carefully-my sunglasses magically disappear from one scene to another. I lost them and continuity didn't pick up on it.
In any scene that you see us drinking beer-Ginger ale was put in it's place- So the producer's thought.
In the beginning of the film as we are driving, the car suddenly stops, I get out and run in a field, take a whiz (I told you we were really drinking beer) and then the car pulls off with me chasing behind it. That was not in the script. It was a spur of the moment thing that Matt and I came up with. The producer's had no idea what was going on.
***SPOILER***
The final scene where Big Ed dies was written on the spot. There use to be a turn style bridge that crossed from Morehead City to Atlantic Beach. Big Ed was to be killed by being ripped apart as the bridge opens, but the state "killed" that idea at the last second.
Michael Minard Interview
It took me a little while to track him down, but I finally found Michael Minard, the man responsible for the theme song (Fall Break) for The Mutilator as well as the films score. Aside from providing the score for Ms. 45 and Return to Salem's Lot, Mr. Minard also teaches and is working on an opera. I emailed him and simply asked him if he remembered anything about his involvement with the film and how he became attached to it.
About the song, Fall Break
There are some interesting things to note, particularly about the song "Fall Break": I wrote it with Artie Resnick who also wrote the song "Under the Boardwalk" for the Drifters. I was working with him at the time and A.B. "Buddy" Cooper, Jr. was thrilled that I could bring him on the project because of the "confluence" of subject matter... there was something else. "Under the Boardwalk" was one of the great "shag" dancing hits of the outer banks of North Carolina, and all of the people involved with the movie were from Carolina and were shag maniacs. Shag (dancing and music) is slightly slower than standard hyper rock and roll, something that I didn't know at the time. It's a bit like a jitterbug on quaaludes. Sexy and more intimate than what we normally associate with the early to mid fifties.
So when we got into the studio (using the actual mixing board that had been used for Springsteen's "Born to Run" with Larry Alexander who was a huge, but local, engineer) "Buddy" kept asking me to slow the tempo down. In an "executive" decision that I now regret, I gainsayed him and said "No way, let's keep it lively and up. The faster the better". He gave in to my greater authority, though he kept referring to this "shag" music that his friends and he were immersed in down South. Several months later, at the premiere in North Carolina, when everyone including the parking attendants were "shagging" up a storm, I realized it would have been far more idiomatic to have slowed the tempo slightly... Who knows? It might have made it eerier as well.
None of the singers (including Peter Yellen) had a low enough voice for the "pickup" into the chorus... the spoken "we're goin' on a..." We all "auditioned" for it and then gave up. We took a break and went outside to Franklin St. in Nyack, where the studio was located. A very congenial, tall African-American man was walking by... it was late at night... we'd been working for hours. We asked him to say "We're goin' on a..." He did, and the timbre of his voice was perfect. We asked him if he would come in and do the line. He was delighted! We put him in the booth, strapped the headphones on, and we were able to finish the piece!
About the film's score
As for the writing of the "score" itself, "Buddy" Cooper was very hands-on, almost dictating the notes as we went along from scene to scene. I acceded to this process, but I think it made the musical ride of the movie a bit bumpier.
One scene, with the killer, a girl and a gaffe, I think it was... I never actually watched the movie. It made me so uncomfortable I just scored it to the sound of her screaming. I'm told it worked out okay.
Also, the P.O.V. shots of the killer watching the kids on the beach: originally those were to be without sound, but at the mix it seemed too "dead". So they put me in the sound booth and we "freestyled" some foley by having me do some heavy raspy breathing. I can improv that kind of thing pretty well...
By the way, the whole production team of "Fall Break" aka "The Mutilator" were a great bunch of people. It was always fun to work with them.
Thanks, Michael, for taking the time to reply to my email (even though I kept spelling his name wrong) and providing all the information.