MONSTER MAGAZINE WORLD: Freddy or Frankie(stein)?
DAVID ALEXANDER: Definitely Frankenstein -- I love the Universal classics and Frankenstein was my very first monster love. I've still got the Frankenstein model with the glowing head and hands that my dad put together with me when I was really young. It sits on the shelf in my office and is one of my favourite things in the world.
MMW: I notice that you don’t hold back on the gore in the magazine and I know film makers are pushing the limits of bloodletting, even going so far as to spawn the so-called “torture porn” genre. Just what is the future of the horror film?
DA: Well, that's a pretty huge question, and one we attempt to answer in the 100th issue with a big piece that looks at the past thirteen year of horror across the board, from comic books, to women in the genre, to movies, and then looks ahead to the future. There are certain things, such as war, terrorism, environmental destruction and so on, which will continue to shape the genre, but perhaps none so much as the rapid advances in technology.
MMW: Although it had its faults, I really enjoyed Universal’s recent release of THE WOLF MAN remake even though it bombed a bit at the box office. Do you think there is any hope for the return of the classic monster?
DA: Well, it did make over $138 million worldwide, so I don't know if that's quite a bomb, but I'm sure expectations were higher. It depends what you mean by "return to." Those creatures aren't going anywhere, but they are shaped by the times, so they're going to rendered, at least partially in CG and things will get bloodier and more violent. Part of the reason classic horror fans love that Universal stuff is that the films are a product of their time – just like atomic monster movies of the '50s or slasher films of the '80s. It's not an "authentic" experience today to have a black and white creature feature with sweeping dramatic performances, a mono score and pancake makeup, for example.
MMW: If you could wave a magic wand and change or accomplish anything with RM, what would it be?
DA: To finally bring life to our mascot Brucie. No, wait... I guess just try to accomplish a fraction of all the big ideas that our team has for RUE MORGUE. For example, we'd love to see horror continue to gain respect as a genre worth serious investigation, and part of that would be to bring the world of RUE MORGUE to a variety of multi-media platforms. Of course, that sounds like a bunch of corporate-speak, and that's not the vibe around here. To put it more simply, we're working toward more online content, we'd love to have a news-style show some day, and what RM fan wouldn't dig some of Gary and Justin's artwork on their iPhone? Only so many hours in the day, though, so we're working away on it.
MMW: RUE MORGUE magazine has come a long way. What is the health of RM as a print ‘zine and what might the future hold?
DA: I think I touched on future endeavours in the previous answer. In terms of health, we face the same challenges as every magazine in an increasingly digital, recession-rocked world where advertisers are dropping out and specialty companies are going under, but there's a loyal fanbase of RUE MORGUE readers who support us, so as long as they've got our back, we can evolve and be there for them. We do need their support right now, more than ever, if we're going to keep doing cool things, such as the Hymns comp.
MMW: Any last words of wisdom for the readers of the MONSTER MAGAZINE WORLD BlogSpot?
DA: Support your monster magazines! And send us letters, we love to hear from you. After all, RUE MORGUE is by horror fans, for horror fans.
And that concludes the MONSTER MAGAZINE WORLD interview with David Alexander of RUE MORGUE MAGAZINE. Monstrous thanks, Dave, and best of luck with the magazine!
Nice wrap-up to the interview!
ReplyDeleteHad to say "no" to this, though:
" . . and what RM fan wouldn't dig some of Gary and Justin's artwork on their iPhone?"
Because the one thing that makes a piece of art better, is to make it as small as possible! :) ( You kids and your "rock and roll" and your 8-track tapes! :P )