Interview with Brad Twigg of WrestleMassacre (Fuzzy Monkey Studios)

As soon as I saw the title and art for this film I tracked down Mr. Twigg.  How could I resist the call of a film such as WrestleMassacre?!  Running his own film company (Fuzzy Monkey Studios), Brad does what most of us can only dream of:  he makes movies he wants, and does it his own way.  From the man that brought you such classics as 2015's MILFs vs. Zombies, and with an IMDB showing everything from lighting and production design, to directing and acting, I got the chance to have Brad join me at the announcers' table to answer my questions and cut a promo for WrestleMassacre!

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Thanks for taking the time to do this interview, Brad.  We're here today to talk about your upcoming film WrestleMassacre, so why don't you give our readers an idea of what this film is about.  Also, are you a wrestling fan yourself?

 

You're very welcome. WrestleMassacre follows Randy, an awkward groundskeeper who is obsessed with professional wrestling. Longing for a sense of belonging with grandiose dreams of becoming a wrestling superstar, Randy is only met with abject humiliation and alienation. A brutal shaming at a local wrestling school pushes Randy over the edge and lights the spark for his blood lust. Donned in wrestling gear and armed with homicidal rage, Randy sets out on a blood soaked rampage to punish those who wronged him. The only hope of putting an end to his reign of carnage lies with Becky, an understanding client who is one of the only few to ever show him kindness. I've been a wrestling fan since I was a kid and still enjoy watching it.

 

I'm a huge wrestling fan so I have to ask:  How did you get ECW legend, Mr. Blood Sweat and Beers himself, The Sandman (Jim Fullington) to be in this film?

One of the actors in the film is also a pro wrestler and happens to be friends with Jim. He asked him if he'd be interested in playing a role in the film and he was all for it. I think people will really enjoy his character and his trademark kendo stick makes an appearance. 

 

 

While checking out your IMDB in relation to WrestleMassacre I saw that not only did you write this film's story, but you're also producing, directing, and editing it.  With how busy your 2018 already looks on there, where do you find time get all of this done?

 

It's tough but I like to stay busy. Movies are my life so I always find time for them.

Your film company (Fuzzy Monkey Films) is based out of Martinsburg, WV.  Out of curiosity (and because I'm originally from the Western PA area)  do you find a lot of like-minded horror and independent film people there or do you end up getting a lot of awkward looks from neighbors as "that horror movie guy?"

Unfortunately there aren't a lot of actors or filmmakers in the area. Most of the people I work with come from surrounding states where there are much larger filmmaking communities.

Once WrestleMassacre is complete are you planning on hitting any film festivals with it?  I'm sure the New Orleans Horror Film Festival down here would love it.  Also, when and where will it be available to the public for people that need to have this for their collection (my copy will go between my blu-ray of Wrestlers Vs. Zombies and CM Punk DVD)?

 

I do plan to submit WrestleMassacre to film festivals. I don't have any specific ones in mind but hope to enter it into as many as possible. The limited edition DVD will be available from the Fuzzy Monkey Films website in August. 

 


Finally, is there anything else you'd like to mention?  Other projects, conventions you might be at, cut a promo talking smack on another company in your run for the title?



I'll be at Scares That Care Weekend in Williamsburg, VA August 3-5 as well as Monster Mania Con in Hunt Valley, MD September 28-30. We recently launched the Indiegogo campaign for my next film Shriekshow. It's going to be a crazy flick with tons of atmosphere and some really creepy characters. Thanks for the interview.

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WrestleMassacre will be coming out this August 2018.  Thanks again to Brad for doing this interview and feel free to click on the links to Shriekshow and Fuzzy Monkey Studios for info on his other past and future projects.  Also, if you need more convincing, here is the trailer for WrestleMassacre!

13 Days of Christmas Day 4: Santa's Slay (2005) 1h 18m

Holy sweet goddamn did I luck out with this one!  I had no previous knowledge of this film aside from the title alone but look right above that!  Bill fucking Goldberg!  WCW/WWE wrestler Bill fucking Goldberg gets top billing in this film.  Do you know why?  He's Santa in this!  I honestly don't know why I'm even writing this and not rushing to buy every last copy of this from the $5 bin at Wal-Mart to stuff each copy into my husband's stocking.  He doesn't care about wrestling but I can't justify buying those all for me, but if I say it's a gift for him...

Santa's Slay has a simple premise: Santa is actually the spawn of Satan.  One-thousand years ago an angel challenged Santa to a curling (the ice sport, not weightlifting) competition and won.  In return Santa had to stop being a dick and instead only commit good deeds for a thousand years.  Now that the deal has been fulfilled Santa goes on a murder spree with his buffalo reindeer drawn viking slay.  Can some lame teenagers stop him?  I don't care so long as Bill Goldberg keeps delivering one liners and killing people!

This film knows exactly what it is and turns that awareness into its greatest strength.  When carolers are out in the day the main characters question why, but it's a setup for Santa to wreck some carolers.  We know that, and the film knows that, so we're okay with it.  The opening scene has Fran Drescher, Chris Kattan, and Rebecca Gayheart in it and they only exist to be the first kills that set the pace.  There are some other recognizable faces in here too but I'm still too hyped on Bill Goldberg killing people as Santa.

Speaking of which, Bill has never been great on the mic.  Mind you, he's better than some *cough*Brock Lesner*cough* but every line delivered by him is great.  Sure, we get a lot of holiday puns but we do get some golden ones like "I'm Santa Claus, not fucking Dracula!" which I think I want etched on something when I die.  I don't know what yet, but somewhere, on something.  My only regret with this film is that Santa didn't give anyone the Jackhammer finisher, although I do think he speared at least one person.

I give Santa's Slay 5 ripped Santas out of 5:

Friday's Choice Cuts: Horror in Pro Wrestling

WCW's The Yeti... not really a Yeti, more of a TP monster

Let's all be honest here.  If you're a horror fan then odds are you're also a pro-wrestling fan.  I don't know of many people that don't have that cross-over.  "Sports entertainment" has evolved from just the standard heel/face battles into developed characters with costumes.  I still remember being a kid and The Undertaker coming out with Paul Bearer.  We had Paul's spooky high pitched voice talking about the dead man returning from the grave with the Undertaker rolling his eyes back.  It was creepy.

There's Kevin Sullivan who embodied the role of a satanist at a time when that was unheard of.  Stables like the Dungeon of Doom, the Brood (existing because White Wolf worked with WWE to create the wrestler Gangrel to go with their LARP game), and the Disciples (which crucified the owner's daughter by the titontron) created an ominous presence.

 

In modern times we have Bray Wyatt speaking of supernatural powers, a spirit known as Sister Abigail, and practically crab-walking around  the ring.  He also was the reason we had the amazing "House of Horrors" match which involved the shittiest Halloween haunted house and a KO-by-refrigerator.  I wish every gimmick match was as awesomely bad as that.

Speaking of gimmick matches, sometimes you don't even need the characters to keep things evil.  Barbed wire, cage matches, hardcore matches, backyard wrestling, Japanese Death Matches, "C4" matches, all things that push the limits.  While WWE has pretty much banned any blade-ing (when a wrestler uses a concealed razor blade to cut their forehead during a match), there are still matches in other federations where you can catch some insanely bloody scenes.

Before I forget, there's Lucha Underground which is essentially everything you could want with wrestling and strange story lines.  Mil Muerte was introduced as having the souls of 1000 dead men inside of him.  Their plots blur the lines of reality in a way that we haven't seen since the late 80's/early 90's.  We also have New Japan Wrestling which literally has a character that is just named Evil and comes out holding a scythe and a stable of crazies.

I could go on and on.  I was going to post the video of Sandman vs. The Zombie from ECW (when they got picked up by the Syfy channel) because it's hilarious, but Hulk Hogan meets the Dungeon of Doom is so much funnier.  Plus it's a tiny B-movie in its own.