Terrance Zdunich (REPO) Interview

Interview with Terrance Zdunich About “Repo” and “The Molting”
Interviewed by Maggie Roberge

Terrance Zdunich is one of the creators of “Repo! The Genetic Opera,” a rock opera about a company that repossesses organs in a post-apocalyptic world where an epidemic of organ failures has taken place. “Repo” originally started out as a stage production, but was eventually turned into a film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and starring Anthony Stewart Head, Alexa Vega, Sarah Brightman, Bill Moseley, Paul Sorvino, and many other great actors. Terrance also stars in the film as “Graverobber,” a seedy character who sells an addictive painkiller on the black market. Though Graverobber should be seen as a criminal, he’s seen by his fans in a very different light. He also functions as a sort of Greek chorus in the film, giving details about the characters and the world of the film. Aside from creating “Repo,” Terrance also draws and writes a comic called “The Molting,” a story of a dysfunctional family living in Anaheim, California in the 90’s. as of yet, he has only published two issues, which are currently available for sale on his website terrancezdunich.com.

I personally, am a HUGE fan of both “Repo” and “The Molting,” as well as a fan of Terrance himself, so getting to do this interview and reviewing his comics was a big honor for me. I love his writing and artistry, so I highly recommend seeing “Repo” and reading “The Molting” for everyone who loves horror or just dark, dramatic stories in general.

Repo

I started out the interview asking Terrance about the movie that’s been his ticket to stardom: “Repo! The Genetic Opera.” I wanted to know if, when he was helping to create Repo, he had any idea that it would eventually be a movie, and acquire such a large cult following.

When Darren Smith and I were first writing the stage play, I knew that some of the elements they were putting into the play, such as the futuristic plot and the amount of effects we’d need for the bloody scenes would need to go beyond what we could do for an on-stage production.

As for the cult following aspect, there was really no way to tell how fans would react to a story like this, so essentially I had no idea as to how many people would love the movie.

I asked him what he thought about how fans were reacting to Repo

Of course, I’m quite flattered and very appreciative of all the Repo fans. I’m even a bit surprised (but still very happy) about the good reception that my character Graverobber has gotten. I think that while on stage the character is seen as a monster, but when he’s put on the big screen he’s suddenly seen as sexy, leading to fanart, fanfiction, and cosplayers (people who dress up like movie or TV characters).

I had heard a rumor that Repo was being called the next “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” so I asked what Terrance thought about this.

Though there ARE similarities between “Rocky Horror” and Repo, like the shadowcast performances, “Repo” is still very much its own thing and very unique. Of course Darren Smith and I are hoping for the same success over the years that “Rocky Horror” has had, and that the shadowcasts will continue over the years. Of course with the shadowcasts, you get the audience call-outs, though they aren’t like the “Rocky Horror” ones, due to the fact that each place that performs “Repo” has their own bunch of unique call-outs which are still in development, while the “Rocky Horror” ones are pretty much the came from place to place.

Finally, I asked Terrance whether or not there would be a sequel to “Repo” (another rumor that’s been flying around).

Although Darren and I would like to “explore the Repo universe more,” it’s unlikely that there will be any sequel made anytime soon. The main concern we have is our budget. There’s slight possibility that there could be a sequel, but it would depend on producer motivation, or if it would be profitable to make another movie.

The Molting

I asked Terrance why he started drawing comics.

All my life, I’ve been an artist. I grew up drawing, and attended school for illustration. The interest in drawing comics specifically didn’t come until recently. I started drawing comics because it’s a good medium for telling complex and unique stories that are also visually appealing. I’ve been specifically developing the story idea for “The Molting” for years, so eventually I decided to put it in comic form.

I asked what artists (if any) had an influence on his specific style.

While I was growing up, old cartoon shows are mainly what influenced my art. As I got older, I was greatly influenced and inspired by the works of Frank Franzetta and H. R. Giger. With these influences in mind, I went on to develop my own style that could effectively tell a story. My style changed from the first chapter I wrote. The second chapter is closer to the style of art I used for the animations in “Repo,” though in the comic the art uses more black, and is a bit more “grungy” than the art used in “Repo.”

As of now, the only place where “The Molting” is available is on Terrance’s website, so I asked him if he ever wanted to get his comic distributed to stores.

While I would love to see “The Molting” sold in comic stores, I haven’t actively been trying to get it distributed. It takes a lot of time to get comics in stores; I “just want to create,” spend most of my time actually drawing and writing the comics, and I would rather have fans discover them for themselves.

To finish up the interview, we talked about what comes after “The Molting,” if he had any ideas.

Since “The Molting” is a “huge undertaking” and will take at least “2 years” to complete, he really doesn’t know what will come next. If it’s absolutely necessary, he may even have to put “The Molting” on hold for a while, if he needs more time to concentrate on film roles.