Necro-Phil: Here's your interview! Now you can take your clothes off! Even if I can't see it, It's still nice to know you're naked because of me!

Zombie-A-GoGo: Uh...sure Phil. Tell us about your childhood, Necro-Phil.


NP: I grew up as a very happy child in an upper class neighborhood with a very loving and supporting family. No, wait a minute, I was an orphan, and the nuns used to beat me horribly! It was a terrible and tragic childhood!!! Or was I a test-tube baby raised by two lesbian Vegas showgirls? Hey, that one sounds good, we’ll stick with that!!!

ZAGG: How long have you been dead and how did it come about?

NP: I was killed in 1998 by a horrible chainsaw accident. I was cleaning it, and it just went off.


ZAGG: How did you manage to land the Dead of Night with Necro-Phil gig?

NP: I created it! That’s how! Most people are stupid and leave their life insurance to their family or some crap, I left me my own fortune! Then I used it to start the show, which makes a ton of money and gets me laid by hot chicks on a regular basis. It’s great!

ZAGG: What is your most memorable moment on the set of The Dead of Night?


NP: Geez, that’s tough, normally I’m so drunk I don’t have ANY memorable moments. It would have to have been the day we had screenwriter Mike Watt on the set. I had five circus clowns beat him into a coma! That was great! Then we stuck him in a box with dirty tampons and mailed him to France. HA!! He was pissed for weeks!! HA HA HA!!!!


ZAGG: You’re an accomplished author, with titles like I’m Just Amazing, Don’t You Wish You Could be Me? and the best seller Top Ten Things to Do with Your Hands while Reading a Book by Necro-Phil. Do you think you’ll try you hand at some fiction in the future? Any ideas?

NP: Sure I could write fiction, but where’s the fun in that? It’s much more fulfilling to write about how much better I am than everyone else.

ZAGG: You’re friends with writer John Grisham…how did the two of you meet?


NP: I taught his wife a trick or two, which I guess she showed him later. It helped their marriage work out, so he forgave the… uh… indiscretion and now we’re pals.

ZAGG: You make an appearance in The Resurrection Game—how was that experience for you?

NP: It could have been better. I was supposed to play the lead, of course, but budget cuts, scheduling conflicts, and my perpetual drinking got in the way. Still, there were a few hot chicks on the set, so it was OK.


ZAGG: How were the filmmakers to work with? I hear that Bill Homan can be a little unpredictable…can you vouch for that?

NP: He’s just an ass! That guy is so controlling, always thinking he can make me say certain words or do specific things! It was like the guy always had his hand up my ass! What a jerk…..

ZAGG: I understand there was some sort of embarrassing mishap on Severe Injuries concerning your naked body missing its head…you want to explain that? How do you feel about your own nudity in film?

NP: Yeah, that sucked… There was some broad on the set who kept comin’ on to me, and I thought she said she wanted to give ME head, but she wanted to give My head, to her mom. I guess I should listen when people talk, but she was wearin’ a real tight t-shirt, and I figured, who cares what she’s sayin?!?! As far as MY nudity in films? There should be more of it. In fact, I’m not even wearing pants right now!

ZAGG: You’ve been making the convention rounds…how has that been for you? Any particular moments you’d like to share?

NP: Conventions are great! One night stands in cheap motels!! What more could a dead guy want? Genghis Con was the best so far. There was this one really hot tampon-caddy, and while I was watchin’ her ass, she dropped her wallet and wandered away, so I went right over there and took it! There was $32 in there!

ZAGG: Where do you see yourself in ten years?

NP: Rotting inside an eighteen year old lap-flounder, part of me anyway, who’s name I won’t even know!

ZAGG: Anything in the works for Necro-Phil that fans can look forward to?

NP: I’m working on a college girl exploitation piece called “Girls Gone Dead” with my new sidekick, Mini-Phil, who is really just a smaller, less perfect version of me. Completely original!

ZAGG: What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?

NP: Snappy Turtle, there’s even a song about it-

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What made you decide to delve into the zombie subgenre?

I've always been a fan of horror and unfortunately, not until early 2003 did I first see Day of the Dead. I honestly didn't have a clue who had directed the film, but it was a guilty pleasure of mine. Then in early 2004 I saw Dawn of the Dead and loved it. In my last semester of college for my thesis I decided to write and direct a short film entitled The Night They Came Back, which basically kick started The Day They Came Back. I also find the historical aspect of the walking dead quite fascinating. I think that what takes away from a zombie film being believable is running zombies, such as the zombies in theDawn of the Dead 2004. Even Romero said that zombies need to be slow, mindless, and filled with sorrow.

George Romero is a major influence for you. Which of the dead films influenced you most, and which of his non-dead films were influential?

I love all of George's Dead Films. They are all great. Land of the Dead was sub-par, but I think within time it will become a classic to the fans. Day of the Dead is great because of Tom Savini's special FX make-up. And I'll be honest with you, if they used those effects from 1985 in Land of the Dead instead of CGI, then the first would have been much better. As for non-Dead Films, I really enjoyed Creepshow.

Who’s your favorite zombie in a film and why?

I'd have to go with picking Bub from Day of the Dead. George revolutionized those scenes and set it up for a possible sequel down the road in where zombies could actually start picking up and remembering human activities, and to me it makes sense. I do think that Tarman is another great character zombie from the 80's as well.

How do you generally feel about the zombie subgenre as it is now, and where do you think it’s going?

Independent filmmakers are trying to bring it back. As of right now, going into 2006 we have all of these "zombie" films such as 28 Days Later (which is more of a virus film), Dawn of the Dead, and they go against what zombies really need to be. The walking dead need to be slow, and not angry. For The Day They Came Back, they had to be slow. I am a fan of George and his slow zombies and believe that the walking deadwalk that way.

What very recent zombie films have you found pleasing?

Within the past 15 years, I'd say it's a very minimal number of films that I found pleasing. One of the recent zombie films I have enjoyed that comes to my mind is Tom Savini's remake of Night of the Living Dead. Tom knew what George wanted and made it into his own version and style. Patricia Tallman was great as Barbara, and you even have a cameo from Bill Moseley as Johnnie.

In The Day They Came Back, what sort of zombies should we be expecting?

Slow zombies. I do not believe in the running zombies and it defeats the whole purpose of them being zombies. The walking dead are supposed to be filled with sorrow, pain, and agony. Even though they cannot feel those feelings, they still possess those memories of what they used to do.

There’s always a lot of focus on directing the main actors and such, but what about the zombies? What sort of direction did they get? How simple or difficult was it to get a group of people all to portray what you wanted to see?

I had to tell all of the featured zombie extra's for The Day They Came Back to walk slow, and as if they were mindless and filled with sorrow and agony. I told them no screaming and to not yell the word "Brains!". Certain days on location, I was very busy with the main actors, and 1st AD Eric Ramos was filling in the featured zombie extras with that information. Ultimately, for the sound of the zombies, Marinho Nobre created the zombie groans and grunts in studio.

I understand that there was a kind of zombie make-up transition from the early shoots to the later shoots. Given what you learned in that experience, what sort of make-up/effects advice do you have for those aspiring zombie film makers?

On the first day, we quite honestly didn't know what we were doing. Chiko Mendez, who played the lead of Enrique Hernandez in The Day They Came Back came down on the first day--since we were shooting the zombie scenes in the neighborhood that day--to help with the makeup. We had a great turnout on the first day. It was the first weekend of April 2005 and the weather was nice out, and everyone was in high spirits. Three weeks later, we found two special FX make-up artists: John T. Farley and Sacred. This was John's first time doing zombie makeup and he basically turned the whole project around. He wasn't afraid to try new things for the zombies. My advice for aspiring zombie filmmakers would be to hire someone who has experience in the special FX make-up area and learn from them, because if it wasn't for John and Sacred, I would not have been able to learn what I did during this project.

In your own words, please describe the appearance of the zombies we can expect to see for The Day They Came Back.

The zombies in The Day They Came Back are the type that have just come out of the grave due to a toxic experiment by the government. Think of the zombies from Return of the Living DeadDay of the Dead, but on a much lower budget. The film was shot on $3,000 and we had maybe $1,000 for the special FX make-up supplies the whole shoot, so we had to be careful and not go over budget with the money we had.

What are some other favorite horror/creepy films?

I like all types of horror films. I am very much into 80's slasher films. If you asked me my two favorite horror films of all time, I'd have to say Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Halloween. Both are classics and had revolutionized horror. Being turned onto Halloween, I am also a fan of The Fog and They Live.

Books?

I've been so busy with my independent filmmaking career that I've been unable to read the number of books I'd like to. I do however read horror stories online and write in my spare time.

Any other influences that you don’t often get asked about that you’d like to share here?

I'd say that life influences me. If I have an idea or situation in my life that I want to touch base on through filmmaking, I'll do it. Other filmmakers and artists can only influence you to a certain point, but you have to have your own style as well.

I don't see myself doing anything other than filmmaking. Nothing else would be an option. If I wasn't making films or being creative, that what otheroption is there? For me, it would have to be something to do with film since I love it so much. It's like love for me.

I have some self-produced, short horror films in pre-production right now which we will be shooting throughout 2006. All I Want For Christmas is one of those films, as is another film that is currently untitled--both starring veteran actor Chiko Mendez. In Spring 2006, I will be working with Paul Kratka (Friday the 13th Part 3) again on a film entitled Breakthrough.

Beyond upcoming projects, where would you realistically like to see yourself in the near future?

I think any filmmaker wants to see their film get out to the masses and do well. I want people to enjoy the films that I will continue to make and my goal is for them to enjoy themselves. I see myself making films for a long time.

What are the chances that we’ll be seeing more zombies form you at some point?

As of right now, I am working on a couple of potential projects, which are in different category types of the horror genre. It wouldn't be a bad idea to do another zombie film. The only problem is the budget. For the type of scenes and zombie make-up I'd love to do, you need to have more than $3,000. Otherwise, I'd be happy to make another zombie film.

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