THE MIND'S EYE: Graham Skipper Interview: The Eyes Are The Windows To The Soul

Graham Skipper first appeared at Midnight Madness in 2013 in Almost Human. He brought kinetic energy, a wide range of emotions and compassion to the film as his character Seth Hampton dealt with the disappearance and subsequent reappearance of his best friend Mark Fisher (Josh Ethier). Michael Caine has said this about acting, "You cannot lie to the camera. If an actor feels the emotion internally, it will show in the eyes. If not, your eyes will betray you."

Anyone who has seen Mr. Skipper in film or on stage can attest to his eyes convey a lot of emotion. Graham returns to Midnight Madness with writer, director Joe Begos in The Mind's Eye. Mr. Skipper has channeled some serious intensity with his portrayal of Zack Connors. I recently had the opportunity to speak with Graham about acting.

It is fascinating to learn about the genesis of an actor. How did you get started in acting?

I've been acting since a very young age. My father was an actor in LA (where I was actually born) and then in Texas as I was growing up, and my mother was very involved in our local theatres, so both of my parents were very supportive. I did lots of plays and musicals as a kid, including one film when I was 12 that ended up going to Sundance, so you could say acting has been in my blood from the beginning. I went to school for it at Fordham University in NYC, and have been acting professionally ever since!

What have you learned about the craft of acting while making Almost Human and how did you apply that knowledge  to The Mind's Eye?

As with anything, I just try to be as truthful moment to moment on-screen as I can be - and I think that's especially true with horror films. It's so easy to comment on something at outrageous as some of the scenarios you find yourself in with a horror movie, but it's so much more effective to live it honestly and react truthfully to the ridiculousness going on around you. If you're believing what's happening to you, then the audience will, too. I think that was the main thing I kept with me coming out of Almost Human: I had to do my best to ground Seth in what was going on so that the audience would take that ride with me. The same I feel is true for The Mind's Eye - or any role, really. It also should be said that having worked with Joe on Almost Human just helped to solidify our friendship and make working together on The Mind's Eye that much easier. There's a shorthand we developed really quickly on Almost Human, and that just continued on into The Mind's Eye. Plus it just makes it fun!

Making a film can be such a surreal experience. Do you have any funny anecdotes from your time on film sets?

There was a really weird, hilarious moment on the set of Almost Human that was thankfully captured in the special features on the blu-ray and DVD, that is truly one of those things that only an actor would ever find themselves doing. I had to record some wild lines at the end of a long day out on a cold forest road - it was freezing cold, it was getting dark, we were all exhausted, and they had to get several takes on audio of me yelling various obscenities - "fuck, shit, goddammit" - all the things my mother would have hated hearing me say. And so there I am, screaming these curse words at the top of my lungs, covered in blood, freezing cold, just shouting them into the air while like twenty people just stood around watching me. It wasn't til it was over that we all burst out laughing. Such a weird, surreal moment.

As an avid aficionado of horror films are there any performances that you have drawn inspiration from?

Oh man, there are so many... Bruce Campbell in Evil Dead 2 is one of the greatest cinematic performances of all time. Same with Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West in Re-Animator. It's not exactly a horror film but Stallone in First Blood is like one of my favorite performances of all time. Also Sam Neill and Isabelle Adjani in Possession are two just totally remarkable performances, in what must have been a tremendously difficult film to wrap your head around as an actor. Marilyn Burns in the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a testament to commitment as an actor - any time I would ever get tired or sore or whatever, I would think to that performance and remind myself of her and what she went through, and that I needed to suck it up and push through. I really admire the work of some of the old greats - Peter Lorre, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Vincent Price...there's an elegance mixed with madness that they brought to every role that I think every actor should study. Oh! And who could forget the great Robert Englund! There's so many...!

THE MIND'S EYE screens:
Tue, Sept 15, 11:59 PM RYERSON
Thu, Sept 17, 3:30 PM BLOOR HOT DOCS
Sat, Sept 19, 7:00 PM SCOTIABANK

Interview with the writer/director of ALMOST HUMAN

Midnight Madness got a crack at ALMOST HUMAN director Joe Begos for some insider info on his gritty indie splatter flick.

Don't be fooled by his cunning disguise. That's him.

Midnight Madness Blog: Give me three words that describe the film.

Joe Begos: A fun low-budget alien abduction splatter flick. (WAY more then three, but I was drawing a blank for about 5 minutes, haha)

MMB: That's cool! With so many horror films going the post-apocalyptic route, I can't remember the last time I saw a straight-up alien abduction film. What inspired the decision to go extra-terrestrial?

JB: I lived in very small towns surrounded by lots and lots of woods growing up. Since most stories of Alien Abduction seem to take place in these type of areas, it was one of the things that interested/scared me the most as a little kid. As I grew up i really started to realize what and absolute LACK of alien abduction movies there were, never mind good ones. It's such a cool thing and there are SO MANY ways and directions to go, I think it's fairly shocking at the drought of them.

MMB: I love how you never once see a cell phone in the film. Was the decision to stick to avoid depicting popular modern technology a deliberate one?

JB: Very deliberate. Modern horror movies always have cell phone service and you NEED to find a way around it, or make it a part of the plot, and it's annoying. Same thing with google. I HATE scenes of people just sitting there googling shit. At least libraries looked cool. You make it a period piece and all of that goes away AND it dates your film WAY less.

MMB: You've worked on the stage production of Stuart Gordon's Re-Animator. Did he inspire or inform your use of practical effects in ALMOST HUMAN?

JB: I've had a love of practical effects since I started watching movies, and that love has only grown more as time passed. There was no question in my mind that everything in my first movie was going to be 100 percent practical. That being said, once I began working with Stuart, I quickly realized he still adores the use of practical effects just as much as I do. Talking with him and hearing some of his stories definitely sparked some creative thoughts in my mind, and his advice was awesome. When you're asking for advice from someone and it includes an amazing story from the production of FROM BEYOND, you can't really go wrong.

Catch all the alien-abduction-low-tech-practical-effectsy goodness Tuesday night at Midnight Madness!

ALMOST HUMAN Screening Times:
Tuesday, Sept 10th, 11:59 PM RYERSON
Wednesday, Sept 11th, 7:15 PM SCOTIABANK 3
Friday, Sept 13th, 2:30 PM SCOTIABANK 9

Midnight Madness at Trailers from Hell: The Return of Stuart Gordon

Midnight Madness alumnus Stuart Gordon has returned to Trailers from Hell with a commentary on Ruggero Deodato's Cannibal Holocaust.
 

One of the most brutal and controversial horror films of all time, Ruggero Deodato's fake snuff movie is heavily influenced by the makers of Mondo Cane. Banned in many countries due to inexcusable animal cruelty and all-too-realistic-looking gore scenes, it has been hailed as an anti-imperialist media expose and condemned as racist torture porn. Shot on location in the Amazon with a "found footage" format, it presages both The Blair Witch Project and that most terrifying of modern horrors, The Reality Show.

Viewers under 18 and those of a sensitive disposition be warned, Stuart Gordon discusses Cannibal Holocaust beyond this link.

Midnight Madness at Trailers from Hell: Stuart Gordon

Trailers from Hell was born of belief, a belief that there should be a website devoted to horror and exploitation film trailers and that these trailers should include the commentary of current filmmakers. It was born of the belief that, "Any movie can be great at 2 1/2 minutes!"

Trailers -- you know -- those fast-paced 2-to-4 minute theatrical promo shorts that have preceded the Feature Attraction since the dawn of sound? An exciting montage of all The Best Parts of a movie the exhibitors want you to NEED to see! Full of swirling letters screaming hyperbolic promises of THRILLS! ACTION! MYSTERY! ROMANCE! Packing all the highlights of a whole picture into its own mini-movie in just a few minutes!

TRAILERS FROM HELL is the brainchild of film director Joe Dante, new media entrepreneur Jonas Hudson, graphic artist Charlie Largent and producer Elizabeth Stanley. The series was born out of their mutual love of classic films of all types, but particularly horror and exploitation films.

TFH is the premier showcase for a breathtakingly eclectic assortment of trailers from classic era films both in their original form and punctuated with informative and amusing commentary by contemporary filmmakers.

This mandate is oh so compatible with Midnight Madness, though Midnight Madness is dedicated to the idea of 90 awesome minutes. Fortunately, Trailers from Hell has invited some Midnight Madness alumni to choose films and provide their commentary.

First up is director Stuart Gordon, whose movie Stuck premiered at Midnight Madness in 2007.

At Trailers from Hell, Gordon adds commentary to four film trailers:

William Castle's, Mr. Sardonicus



Nightmare Alley with Tyrone Power and Joan Blondell



The Thing With Two Heads co-starring Rosey Grier and Ray Milland. (And one of my sentimental favorites)



and the classic, True Grit, starring John Wayne and Kim Darby

Coming up on Friday, September 2, Gordon will be presenting the trailer for Cannibal Holocaust. From Trailers from Hell's newsletter:

One of the most brutal and controversial horror films of all time, Ruggero Deodato's fake snuff movie is heavily influenced by the makers of Mondo Cane. Banned in many countries due to inexcusable animal cruelty and all-too-realistic-looking gore scenes, it has been hailed as an anti-imperialist media expose and condemned as racist torture porn. Shot on location in the Amazon with a "found footage" format, it presages both The Blair Witch Project and that most terrifying of modern horrors, The Reality Show.