Adam Rockoff: Diving into Wicked Lake with the Master Slasher. By Brian Kirst
It’s rare that a book can be both seminal and entertaining, but author Adam Rockoff accomplished that feat with the highly praised Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film. This tome of appreciation for a much beloved, critically ignored genre was so influential that it was eventually made into a well crafted documentary with the help of none other than Rob Zombie.
Rockoff wisely rode the wave of this success by co-writing an affectionate, soft pulp homage to the films he loved, Wicked Lake. This femme powered, backwoods opus, utilizing the musical talents of Ministry’s Al Jourgensen and starring Full Moon horror regular Tim Thomerson, recently hit the store shelves like a pack of horror divas running from some knife throwing baddies and hopefully will help insure the friendly, talented Rockoff a permanent place in that scabrous horror hall of fame.
Though, currently busy working on future projects, Rockoff generously took some time to answer a few questions – giving all Horror Society readers an early, bloody (though thankfully non-caloric) Halloween treat.
Brian: What were the first horror films that inspired you? Love Story? Steel Magnolias? Dying Young? (Whoops – those are just boring movies where people die – not horror films – my bad!)
Adam: Inspired? Probably the original Friday the 13th, although I know that’s not a real exciting answer. But the first one to scare the hell out of me was Disney’s The Watcher in the Woods. To this day, it’s one of only a handful of films that I have trouble watching alone with the lights off.
Brian: How did you go from a lover of slasher movies to writing a book about them? Was it someone’s suggestion or one day did you just decide – Hey, I better do something substantial with this useless obsession?
Adam: Just fulfilling the dreams of every mother who wants their son to grow up to be a doctor, lawyer, or slasher film enthusiast! When I realized I didn’t have the smarts for the first two, I opted for the third. But really, it was a combination of a love of the genre and the fact that there was really a dearth of material written about slasher films. There was Vera Dika’s early Games of Terror and Carol Clover’s Men, Women, and Chain Saws, but these were more academic works, especially Clover’s which took a gender-based reading of the films. I wanted to take a more, for lack of a better word, populist approach, and tell the stories behind the making of these films. As I was writing the book, I put myself in the position of the reader—what would I want to read about? And what I wanted to read about was the rigors of making My Bloody Valentine in an actual mine, not some didactic about how a knife wound looks like a vagina.
Brian: What is your favorite obscure horror film – even something that you didn’t cover in Going to Pieces?
Adam: I have to tell you, with DVD and the Internet, obscure ain’t what it used to be. I say to someone, “You ever hear of a little forgotten slasher called The Forest?” And they say back to me, “Heard of it? I have the widescreen version with the director commentary.” And while it’s great that these films are now all readily available, I have to admit that I miss the old days when you could find a VHS copy of The Mutilator for buck in the bargain bin of your local video store.
– But that totally didn’t answer your question. Favorite obscure horror film? I’ll give you a few. I, Madman. Nightmare, the Hammer one. Maybe Class Reunion Massacre. It’s just so freakin’ weird. I also really like The Kiss, which I’m sure most people consider nothing more than a cheesy psychological thriller from the 80’s.
Brian: Do feel like slasher movies have an actual social-artistic impact – or are they just plain subversive fun in your mind?
Adam: At risking of sounding naïve, I’m not of the school that thinks that slasher films, or at least the genre’s golden years from 1980-1983, were a reaction to the zeitgeist. Lots of critics now see them as a direct response to Reaganomics and the Conservative Revolution. This makes for interesting copy, but what you have to remember is that many of these films were conceived under Carter, who was supposed to be this great hope but turned into an unequivocal disaster. To me, slasher films were the result of one thing—success. Had Halloween flopped, I can assure you that Costa-Gavras wasn’t going to appropriate the conventions of the slasher to make a political statement.
Brian: What was your initial inspiration for Wicked Lake?
Adam: Really nothing more than I wanted to write an old-fashioned exploitation film with my friend Chris McKay. Sort of hearken back to the days when Craven and Cunningham just threw caution to the wind and went for it. But then John Carchietta, a producer at Fever Dreams, read the script and it took on a life of its own.
Brian: Were you all fan boy psyched when genre names like Tim Thomerson, Angela Bettis and Will Keenan were attached to Wicked Lake?
Adam: You bet I was, but I was equally psyched about all the new blood (no pun intended) involved. As much as I think these actresses all want to move on to bigger things, as well they should, all of them were 100% committed to the project.
Brian: What was the most significant aspect or memory you have about the making of Wicked Lake?
Adam: I wasn’t really involved in the making of it at all, although the producers were nice enough to fly me down to the set for a few days. One afternoon me, Carchietta, Chris Sivertson, and Marc Senter went to a local strip club and ogled dancers with fresh Caesarian scars. That was a memory I won’t soon forget, as much as I might want to.
Brian: If you could create your dream project, what would it be? – As in the type of film, cast, director…
Adam: Jeez, that’s a good question. I’ve always wanted to do an ultraviolent, semi-hardcore version of Alice in Wonderland. There’s a great Australian film with Rachel Ward from the 80’s called Fortress that I’d love to remake. I’ve always loved coming-of-age stories, something like Stand By Me. I’d also really like to write a comedy, but not being particularly funny, that’s kind of a roadblock.
Brian: Lastly, any future projects or words of wisdom (IE: Never have underage sex in the woods on any major holiday when your cousin, the hooded maniac, has just escaped from prison) that you would like to leave us with? And, thanks, man! It’s been a slice!
Adam: Yes, have as much sex in the woods as you possibly can. Because when that hooded maniac inevitable comes, you don’t want to die a virgin!
