Helena,
why don't you start us off with a visual and
describe the place where you are answered these
questions?
Well, I'm sitting in a big
overstuffed arm chair with wooden arms by a
little crackling fire. The walls are stone with
thick red and gold brocade drapes. I have a
cauldron of mulled wine steaming happily on a
side table and overhead are candle lit lanterns
made from iron and bleached animal bones. Ah,
home.
So how does a
poor farm girl from Kansas grow up to be a horror
hostess?
Sheer
luck, doll baby. I was walking down the produce
isle, foraging for cucumbers and eggplant, and
this really sexy guy comes up to me and says
"You should be the next Miss HorrorFest!
You're fabulous". Of course, my attention
was caught! (He was really hot.) Turned out, his
name was Lonnie Martin and he ran a film
production company called Ningen Manga
Productions and he wanted to sponsor me. My
mother says he's looking for hanky panky, but I'm
positive his interest is strictly in my talent.
We made an entry video for the Miss HorrorFest
contest last fall, and of course, I didn't win,
but then he had this brilliant idea for a whole
web-series of me. It's kind of like a reality TV
show. Little snippets of Helena. With a horror
movie twist.
You were
demonically possessed at 12? What are the best
and worst parts of having your body and soul
overtaken by a demon?
It was an
early spiritual experience for me, certainly. I
equate it to an out of body experience: seeing
yourself from a far and all that. I'm not as
scared of death now. Its like, been there, done
that. Oh, and I met my friend Marguerite in hell
while I was possessed, which has turned into a
nice friendship. The constant cravings for split
pea soup are obnoxious though. And the migraines.
Splitting, I'm telling ya.
You say Elvira
is your muse...what are the greatest lessons you
have learned from the Mistress of the Dark?
Never
take yourself too seriously. You have to be able
to laugh at life and at yourself sometimes. And
never underestimate the value of a well built bra
paired with the perfect neckline.
So tell me how
'Drinks with Swamp Thing' came
about?
That was
the first episode of the web-series! I was
planning this big garden party and one day I was
telling Lonnie all about it over and scotch and
knishes. He thought it would be great to film me
mixing one of the drink recipes I'd found. Like a
cooking show! I'm always up for anything, so he
whipped out his camera and presto, we did the
first episode on the spot. It was a quickly shot
episode, I remember. We had to finish before his
wife got home. (Just between you and me, she's a
bit of a tight ass and I don't think she likes me
very much.) Any hoo, what was your next question,
doll baby?
Okay, suppose
a young lady were to come up to you and ask for
advice about breaking into the horror movie
world. What would you tell her?
Sweetie,
follow where your heart leads you and NEVER do
anything you're uncomfortable with. But, if it
interests you and you're having fun, give it
110%! Screw what anyone else thinks.
You have been very
savvy in using YouTube to get your name out there
with films like 'A Deal With
Death', 'Gift
Giving is Child's Play', etc. Do
you have plans in the near future of doing
features as well?
How fun
would a feature be? That would be a dream come
true, but so far, no foreseeable plans to start a
Helena project that would release as a feature.
However, I am hoping that the way we structure
season two will make it feel like a feature if
you watch all the episodes back to back. We're
trying for more of a through-line in upcoming
seasons. The idea is that we'll have one huge
relatively coherent larger project at the end of
each season. So, feature-like. Yes.
So how did
your doing the intro for the Anthem Pictures
release 'Deadlands 2: Trapped'
come about?
Well,
that came about by accident, really. The director
of Deadlands is local to the DC area and knows
Lonnie. So, Gary, the Deadlands guy, saw my
HorrorFest entry and approached Lonnie about the
possibility of getting me to do an intro to his
film for his festival circuit. I said, sure, why
not! As long as I don't have to interact with any
zombies. They're so drooly. So, the intro was
shown with the film for the festival run and then
put on the DVD as an extra feature when Anthem
picked it up. Totally unexpected but, even
better. This little short bit I did to help out a
local filmmaker is now distributed and getting me
some more exposure.
As your fame
increases are you starting to get offers from
horror producers?
Why? Do
you know someone? What have you heard? My email
is Helena@HussyofHorror.com . Feel free to
pass that on if you have connections.
Do you have
any other upcoming projects you want the
racksandrazors readers to know about?
Well, I'm
hoping I'll get to play with the ghouls over at
Monster Madhouse.com soon. I'm also planning to
attend some conventions in 2010. I'll keep
schedules posted on my website as they develop.
Vampires,
werewolves, zombies, witches, creatures, aliens,
telemarketers...what does it for you horrorwise
Helena and why?
I
love vampires, they're so sociable and refined.
Werewolves are great for a date, but not the
commitment kind, if you know what I mean. They
make for one memorable romp though, if you're
looking for some fun. Zombies drool. I don't do
zombies. Wait, what was the question?... what
does it for me horrorwise... creatures. Creatures
totally do it for me. They can take any form and
because their appearance is out of the norm, they
can have any power or attribute you can dream up
and we'll buy it. They're outside our day to day
reality. I prefer that.
What was the
first movie to scare the shit out of you?
'My
Little Pony: The Movie'. 1986.
Okay, we're
pulling into the Helena: Hussy of Horror Drive
In. What three horror flicks are on the triple
bill for tonight and what goodies are they going
to be serving up at the concession stand?
First up,
'Evil Dead 2' followed by 'Friday the 13th Part
7'. To wrap up the evening, Doomsday, with drink
specials at the bar. Popcorn with extra, extra
butter, Raisinettes, Milky Way bars, and fried
pickles are at the concession stand. Yum. And a
full bar.
What is your
dream horror movie role?
I'd like
to play someone who gets to wield a
semi-automatic machine gun. I think that'd be
fun. And kick ass in stilettos. It would have to
be a comedy though.
What's the
best Halloween costume you ever had?
One time,
in first grade, I went as Animala from 'The Lost
Skeleton of Cadavra'. Rowr.
What scares
you in real life?
The color
pink. |