Adam Marcus interview: Tell your story, not someone else’s

Adam Marcus – Oh, the horror- Courtesy of Regal Films, Twentieth Century Fox

Oh, the Horror!

1428 Elm: You did musicals like Chicago and non-horror fare. Why did you choose horror? What is it about the genre that you found attractive?

Adam Marcus: I think most people are making movies about movies now. They’re not making movies about their lives or their experiences. I find so many filmmakers are immersed in film but I think you have to live a life. What snagged me was how afraid my brother, Kipp was of horror movies.

I was 9 and he was 7. We were over at a friend’s house and they showed the original The Fly with Vincent Price. I loved the movie. I was just amazed. My brother was petrified.

Then we both got in trouble because Kipp’s reaction was so severe that my mother was furious about it. Because I am such a theater guy, it is all about the reaction that you get from the audience.

You want laughter, screaming, singing, all of that. There hasn’t been a day since I have been 9 years old where I haven’t been making movies or working toward my goal.

Adam Marcus – The Raimi-Romero Connection – Courtesy of Image Ten

The Raimi/Romero Connection

1428 Elm: Any particular films or filmmakers that inspired you?

Adam Marcus: The original Friday the 13th because of Sean and my connection to his family.

I remember being absolutely terrified of Evil Dead; it was such a rush. Here’s the thing about that movie, the acting isn’t good and the photography is too dark.

Despite all of these problems, it was so raw and intense and a little angry. I remembered thinking; ANYONE can do this! If you really love this, you can go and make a movie for very little money with your friends. And you can change the world!

George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead coupled with Dawn of the Dead which I saw very early on, made such an impression on me. Those two movies are not about zombies. They are about the culture at the time.

Night of the Living Dead starts off being about the Vietnam War but then it becomes a beautiful polemic about the Civil Rights movement. Unbelievable!

And then Dawn of the Dead is this masterwork about consumerism about when we become zombies, we go to the place where we want to be. So, we go to the mall???? Everyone that saw those films got the lesson whether they realized it or not.

1428 Elm: What I like about those Romero films is that we were being given a message but we were entertained while we were receiving it because he was telling us a story! It isn’t like today where all you get is the message and there is no story so you end up getting hit over the head.

Adam Marcus: Absolutely! We’re either hit over the head or the thing that we are watching is so vacuous and empty its like eating a cheeseburger. You have no idea, there is no personal value whatsoever. So, it’s like that’s an okay cheeseburger but you will forget it tomorrow.