Joshua Malkin [Interview]

Welcome to Day 21 of Trainwreck’d Society’s Annual Month of Horror Showcase! We have a fully loaded month of all things horror for you fine folks! October is our favorite month for this very reason, and we are so excited to share 31 full days of film showcases and interviews with some of the finest folks from the world of horror, just as we have been doing for the last 6 years. What started as a simple 5 day showcase, has now blossomed into a full blown month long event. You’re going to love this! Enjoy!

Some of our most beloved folks in the world of horror are most definitely the storytellers. While we love those who work on screen and give their heart and soul to the roles they play, for me personally as somebody with zero knowledge or ability as an actor, I love the writers. I love anyone who is able to conjure up a thought, and in this case a very bizarre and horrifying thought, and put it out into the world in such a way that it will entertain the masses. It’s an absolute personal dream of mine to do the same, but for now I am very happy with hearing and showcasing some of the fine Folks who have done it themselves.

And 10 years ago, or wonderful guest Joshua Malkin did just that with one of my absolute favorite horror sequels in recent history, Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever. Malkin personally saw to it that the world initially created by Eli Roth remained a strong force to be reckoned with in the world of horror by creating a story that is just as compelling as the original. And in the final product that would be the film still as the perfect amount of Rider Strong in it as well! Which is always a good thing, in my opinion.

We were fortunate enough to steal a few words from Mr. Malkin, to ask not only about CF2, but about his experience overall in the world of entertainment. He has worked in just about every outlet available in the vein of art creation, to include writing a graphic novel that will hit stands this fall! He’s done some pretty amazing work, and we are so excited to have him with us here today. So Folks, please enjoy some wonderful words from the great Joshua Malkin!

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What inspired you to get into the world of entertainment? Was it an early aspiration you can always remember having since your youth, or did you just find yourself in this world one day?

Very specifically: the movie Poltergeist. I first saw it at a friend’s slumber party – I vividly remember the other boys peeling off one by one… scared, bored, whatever. By the end, I was the only one left – it was the middle of the night – so I rewound the VHS and started it over from the beginning. It was in that moment I recognized: “Whoa. Might’ve just found ‘my thing.’”

What was your first paid gig in the world of entertainment? And were there any kind of lessons learned from this project that still affect your work today?

I was an Art Department PA on a low-budget alien invasion movie of which I’ll never-ever reveal the title. At any rate, it was a hectic, over-ambitious endeavor with ridiculously long days. Towards the end of shoot, the producers not-so-subtly began pitting the PA’s against one another. The assumed reward was more work… and we were all young, hungry, an inexperienced enough to let that gambit work. We pretty much stopped sleeping, breaking for meals, constantly on the ready.  On the the next to last day, I fell asleep while driving and crashed the production van into a wall. I pretty much discovered the importance of personal boundaries and limits right then and there.

In 2009 you helped bring the world the absolutely brilliant horror sequel, Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever. So what drew you to work in this franchise, and how did you enjoy what would be the final version of the film?

I was – and remain – close friends with Lauren Moews who produced both the original and the sequel. I wrote multiple different versions, with multiple different tones/characters/filmmakers/settings. Of them all, what emerged was certainly the most outlandish.  I mean, that scene in the bathroom stall…

In your own personal opinion, what do you believe it is that makes the horror genre special? What sets it apart from other genres you have worked in?

The element of unpredictability, the sense that things won’t necessarily “work out for everyone in the end.” Horror is all about throwing the audience off balance.

What is your favorite scary movie? 

An American Werewolf in London will always have a special place in my heart.  It was the first horror film to scare the piss out of me… make me laugh hysterically… and that truly awed me all at the same time.

Do you have any plans for this coming Halloween? And fun traditions that you try to stick to every year?

I try to seek out at least one or two amateur haunts every season. The professional ones are great too – especially in a city like Los Angeles – but for me, nothing quite says “Halloween!” like an elaborately (or grotesquely) decorated front yard.

What does the future hold for you? Anything you would like to plug to our readers? 

Like most in this peculiar business, I’m in the superstitious habit of never “counting chickens before they’ve hatched.”  That said, I’m working on two “True Story” horror screenplays for some amazing filmmakers that I’m very excited about. Plus: my graphic novel (co-written with filmmaker Don Handfield) – called The Source – hits stands in late Fall!

What was the last thing that scared the hell out of you?

I had a tarot reading done by a renowned psychic. In fact, went in with a formidable chip of skepticism on my shoulder. By the time he was sharing names of distant relatives, I had started to sweat. When he described details about a chilling encounter I had in a “haunted” hotel as a kid… I nearly fainted.

What was the last thing that made you smile?

I smile a lot. I’m actually smiling right now.