HORROR TATTOOS: Part 1. Interview with actor ALMOST HUMAN's Josh Ethier

Horror fans tend to wear their love on the genre on their sleeves; quite literally, in the case of Joe Begos and Josh Ethier, the creative pair behind Midnight Madness' Almost Human. We caught up Josh for a little bit of show and tell about his impressive horror-themed tattoo sleeve.

Midnight Madness Blog: From what I can tell from these photos, you've got a sleeve combining iconic elements from The Thing, Fright Night, Halloween, Evil Dead and Cronenberg's version of The Fly going on. Is there a common thread between these films that made you choose them for your arm?

Josh Ethier: The common thread is that these were films that grabbed me on a first viewing, and still haven't let go. Films that when I first saw them, I had to watch 4 times that week, because I couldn't believe what I was seeing. And aside from STREET TRASH, each film on my arm was released before I was born. But we'll give STREET TRASH a pass, I was six months old when it was released!

MMB: I notice that you've combined poster art/imagery (The Thing, Halloween, Fright Night) as well as actual scenes from the movies (The Fly, Evil Dead). Was this decision purely esthetic?

JE: I started with the poster for THE THING on the back of the arm, followed by a prominent FRIGHT NIGHT placement right next to it. But I quickly realized I was going to need some smaller pieces to start piecing the puzzle together, and make it work better as a sleeve. Plus, as much as I like the poster for AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, it nowhere near as cool as Rick Baker's final creature design growling out of my t-shirt every time I reach for something.

MMB: As popular as tattoos have become, why do you suppose we still don't see a whole lot of them on actors in films?

JE: I think the main reason is because they need to be covered up. I had to get my entire left arm and chest covered for Almost Human. The only ones we left were the smaller, nondescript pieces on my right arm that the character could've possibly had. I'm not sure that Mark Fisher would've had a HALLOWEEN, PHANTASM or TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE tattoo.

MMB:  Would you like to plug your artist?

JE: Absolutely! All the work on the horror arm was done by Mr. Monster, who currently works out of The Electric Pen in North Hollywood, California. We've been working on it in between jobs, and I'm anxious to get rid of the rest of the blank space! Hopefully be back for TIFF '14 with some new pieces!

Read part 2 here. Check out Almost Human, premiering 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

Rev Up for AFFLICTED with 4 Road Trip Movies!

Road trips. They're kind of terrifying. No matter how much you prepare, you’re still launching yourself headfirst into the unknown and it’s impossible to prepare for everything. Thus, it’s no small wonder that there are numerous horror movies about road trips into the strange and unfamiliar. Before Midnight Madness hosts Afflicted, the feature debut of Canadian co-directors Derek Lee and Clif Prowse, let’s reminisce a while on a few of our favorite movies and franchises about road trips gone awry.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

Tobe Hooper's instant cult classic follows a group of friends who pick up a very strange hitchhiker. Things go from bad to worse when they run out of gas and start getting picked off by Leatherface and his family of cannibal freaks.  

The Hitcher (1986)

Although panned by critics upon its original release, Robert Harmon's The Hitcher is a suspenseful psychological thriller about a man travelling from Chicago to San Diego who picks up a psychotic hitchhiker (played by none other than Rutger Hauer). Not to be confused with the film's terrible 2007 remake, it endures as one of the best road horror flicks out there.

Rutger Hauer as Ryder in The Hitcher

Wrong Turn franchise (2003-2012)
On the surface, the Wrong Turn franchise is little more than a knockoff of Texas Chainsaw Massacre: teens on vacation get lost and encounter inbred cannibal family. What sets it apart is smattering of particularly creative and memorable kills, particularly the opening scene in Wrong Turn 2: Dead End which costarred Henry Rollins as a hard-assed drill sergeant!

Death Proof (2007)

In Quentin Tarantino's contribution to Grindhouse, Kurt Russell plays "Stuntman" Mike who has a thing for finding pretty girls and smashing into them with his car. After dispensing with some girls he met at a bar, he targets four ladies cruising in a vaunted Dodge Challenger. He tries his luck but quickly realizes that these plucky girls have some tricks of their own up their sleeves.

Who's up for a game of "ship's mast"?

Hit the road with Afflicted, screening Monday night!

AFFLICTED Screening Times:

Monday, Sept 9th, 11:59 PM RYERSON
Wednesday, Sept 11th, 8:45 PM SCOTIABANK 9