Hot Picks

- There's No Such Thing as Zombies 2020

- Ready for My Close Up 2019

- Heavyweight 2025

- Our Happy Place 2024

- Maxxie LaWow: Drag Super-shero 2024

- Watch the Skies 2022

- Dream Hacker 2025

- Love and Comminication 2022

- If I Could Ride Again 2025

- Freak Off 2025

- Lavender Men 2025

- Lost Cos 2023

- Sound of the Surf 2022

- The Stillness 2025

- Frankie Freako 2024

- The Texas Witch 2025

- Cannibal Mukbang 2023

- Bleeding 2024

- No Choice 2025

- Nahual 2025

- Bitter Souls 2025

- A Very Long Carriage Ride 2025

- The Matriarch 2024

- Oxy Morons 2025

- Ed Kemper 2025

- Piglet 2025

- Walter, Grace & the Submarine 2024

- Midnight in Phoenix 2025

- Dorothea 2025

- Mauler 2025

- Consecration 2023

- The Death of Snow White 2025

- Franklin 2025

- ApoKalypse 2025

- Live and Die in East LA 2023

- A Season for Love 2025

- The Arkansas Pigman Massacre 2025

- Visceral: Between the Ropes of Madness 2012

- The Darkside of Society 2023

- Jackknife 2024

- Family Property 2: More Blood 2025

- Feral Female 2025

- Amongst the Wolves 2024

- Autumn 2023

- Bob Trevino Likes It 2024

- A Hard Place 2025

- Finding Nicole 2025

- Juliet & Romeo 2025

- Off the Line 2024

- First Moon 2025

- Healing Towers 2025

- Final Recovery 2025

- Greater Than 2014

- Self Driver 2024

- Primal Games 2025

- Grumpy 2023

- Swing Bout 2024

- Talk of the Dead 2016

- A Killer Conversation 2014

- First Impressions Can Kill 2017

- Star Crash 1979

- Strangler of the Swamp 1946

An Interview with Walter Ruether, Creator, Co-Writer, Co-Director of Death by VHS (formerly Scream Machine)

by Mike Haberfelner

September 2011

Films directed by Walter Ruether on (re)Search my Trash

 

Quick Links

Abbott & Costello

The Addams Family

Alice in Wonderland

Arsène Lupin

Batman

Bigfoot

Black Emanuelle

Bomba the Jungle Boy

Bowery Boys

Bulldog Drummond

Captain America

Charlie Chan

Cinderella

Deerslayer

Dick Tracy

Dick Turpin

Dr. Mabuse

Dr. Orloff

Doctor Who

Dracula

Edgar Wallace made in Germany

Elizabeth Bathory

Emmanuelle

Fantomas

Flash Gordon

Frankenstein

Frankie & Annette Beach Party movies

Freddy Krueger

Fu Manchu

Fuzzy

Gamera

Godzilla

Hercules

El Hombre Lobo

Incredible Hulk

Jack the Ripper

James Bond

Jekyll and Hyde

Jerry Cotton

Jungle Jim

Justine

Kamen Rider

Kekko Kamen

King Kong

Laurel and Hardy

Lemmy Caution

Lobo

Lone Wolf and Cub

Lupin III

Maciste

Marx Brothers

Miss Marple

Mr. Moto

Mister Wong

Mothra

The Munsters

Nick Carter

OSS 117

Phantom of the Opera

Philip Marlowe

Philo Vance

Quatermass

Robin Hood

The Saint

Santa Claus

El Santo

Schoolgirl Report

The Shadow

Sherlock Holmes

Spider-Man

Star Trek

Sukeban Deka

Superman

Tarzan

Three Mesquiteers

Three Musketeers

Three Stooges

Three Supermen

Winnetou

Wizard of Oz

Wolf Man

Wonder Woman

Yojimbo

Zatoichi

Zorro


Your upcoming film Scream Machine a.k.a. Death by VHS - in a few word, what is it going to be about?

 

Scream Machine is about a rogue group of Military elites/high officials who are testing out a new mind control weapon on our own troops, the goal is to use this weapon to cause hallucinations, & make the enemy kill off themselves thru mind control, yet something goes horribly wrong ...

 

With Scream Machine's anthology-format, you stay true to your earlier films. What is it that makes these omnibus movies so endearing to you?

 

I've always loved anthologies, & I think I'm heavily influenced by Rod Serling & other TV-hosts that presented their stories, like Hitchcock etc.So naturally I fell in love with the idea of hosting my own films.

 

For Scream Machine, you retired your horror host Scarlet Fry, who appeared in all of your previous films. Why, and will there be a wraparound story in Scream Machine at all?

 

I retired Scarlet Fry because I just felt like I was making the same movie over & over. The Horror Hosting scene has gotten really popular in recent years, but they don't really acknowledge a Scarlet Fry-type host, they really are more purist & traditional, & so if you're not hosting a film thats already been made, such as Night of the Living Dead etc, & presenting it to the viewer in a format similar to something Elvira does, then they don't really care. Although i did host one TV-show where we ran Carnival Of Souls, an old black & white film from the 60's. This will be included on the Scarlet Fry's Junkfood Horrorfest special edition coming out Oct 18th 2011.

 

As far as the wrap around story for Scream Machine, it's going to be more like the old Amicus anthologies, where there will be a story intertwined that ties it all together, which will be the military doing the experiments on soldiers - each story you see will be a subject's hallucination

 

What were your inspirations for the individual tales of Scream Machine?

 

Definitly not Troma Or Herschell Gordon Lewis films like in the past [Herschell Gordon Lewis bio - click here]. Scream Machine is definitely more influenced by the old Amicus anthologies like Asylum, & what we've shot so far reminds me of those goofy Tales From The Darkside-episodes back in the eighties.

 

On Scream Machine, you share directing duties with David Sabal. A few words about him, and what was your collaboration like?

 

David is probably the most creative cameraman I've ever worked with, a lot of times we will be on set & he will ask me to approve a shot he took, & I know I don't even need to look, he is that good, I have full confidence in his ability, I believe he is currently involved with a hit series called Western X.

 

How would you describe your own directorial approach to Scream Machine?

 

Like I said I try to put as much faith in my people as possible & let them do their own thing, I'm really there to just coach them when I feel it's needed, & to oversee everything, I spent a lot of time doing most other duties as well, except cameraman, Dave Sabal, who is also the co-director on this film, which is why you will see a big difference in the shooting style in this film. I wanted to go a lot more handheld this time & get creative with shots, Nightmare Alley was mostly shot on a tripod.

 


Scream Machine was co-written by Laurence Holloway, who also co-wrote and co-directed your last film, Nightmare Alley. What can you tell us about him?

 

He is a good guy, he is no longer on this project to the degree he was on Nightmare Alley, he is actually co-directing a film called Voices from the Grave co-written by Gary Bradner from The Howling, so he has moved on to bigger & better things, god bless him.

 

Anything you can tell us about your cast yet?

 

So far we got a few unknown actors but I've been in touch with people like Devanny Pinn [Devanny Pinn interview - click here] & Shawn C. Phillips [Shawn C. Phillips interview - click here], we'll see how it pans out. We also have a good amount of local theater talent.

 

Your previous films haven't exactly been for the faint-hearted. How far do you go concerning violence and gore in Scream Machine?

 

Actually we are defintley going to tone down the language in this film, we want to go for more of a traditional horror approach. Of course it will still have that Scarlet Fry-flavor but this time it will be more about the story. We plan to still have plenty of gore.

 

The $64 question of course, when is your film going to be out, tentatively?

 

Sometime in 2012, We will be released on Chemical Burn or World Wide Multi Media, that's already been agreed on. I would say tentatively Summer 2012.

 


While Scream Machine is still a work-in-progress, your second-to-last movie Scarlet Fry's Junkfood Horrorfest has received a quite fancy re-release. Want to talk about the new Scarlet Fry's Junkfood Horrorfest-DVD for a bit?

 

Yes, this is going to be a triple feature special edition, first you get Scarlet Fry's Junkfood Horrorfest as a single release for the first time with bonus Calico Cooper outtakes & bloopers (Calico being Alice Cooper's Daughter), then you will also get Scarlet Fry's Horrorama, which was my first film that was released in 1991 - some say that was my best -, & last but not least the one & only Horror Host appearance I did on TV presenting Carnival of Souls, also there will be lots of special features never seen before. Scarlet Fry's Junkfood Horrorfest's only prior release was in a 50pk box set & was total bare bones.

 

Any future projects beyond finishing Scream Machine?

 

I got a few things in the works, one is a documentary that has nothing to do with the horror genre, & my biggest challenge is I'd like to open a vintage horror memorabilia & DVD rental shop, I've been a lifelong collector & i think with my knowledge I can open a cool shop - but it's hard in today's economy & the market is always changing, so that's down the road.

 
 

Feeling lucky?
Want to
search
any of my partnershops yourself
for more, better results?
(commissions earned)

The links below
will take you
just there!!!

Find Walter Ruether
at the amazons ...

USA  amazon.com

Great Britain (a.k.a. the United Kingdom)  amazon.co.uk

Germany (East AND West)  amazon.de

Looking for imports?
Find Walter Ruether here ...

Thailand  eThaiCD.com
Your shop for all things Thai

Your/your film's website, Facebook, whatever else?

 

Scream Machine has a Facebook page :

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Scream-Machine-2012/170689946303343

 

Anything else you are dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?

 

I just wanted to mention that I'm now the Vice President of Acquisitions for Chemical Burn Enterteinment & World Wide Multi Media. So far I have signed some great titles like Indemnity, The Curse of Blanchard Hill, Below, Fell (Jeff Dylan Graham), Gr30k, Fetish Dolls Die Laughing & more, so if you're an indie horror filmmkaker (doesn't have to be horror) please shoot me an email waltruther@yahoo.com.

www.chemicalburn.org

 

Thanks for the interview!

 

No problem, anytime. Thanks for having me.

 

© by Mike Haberfelner


Legal note: (re)Search my Trash cannot
and shall not be held responsible for
content of sites from a third party.




Thanks for watching !!!



 

 

In times of uncertainty of a possible zombie outbreak, a woman has to decide between two men - only one of them's one of the undead.

 

There's No Such Thing as Zombies
starring
Luana Ribeira, Rudy Barrow and Rami Hilmi
special appearances by
Debra Lamb and Lynn Lowry

 

directed by
Eddie Bammeke

written by
Michael Haberfelner

produced by
Michael Haberfelner, Luana Ribeira and Eddie Bammeke

 

now streaming at

Amazon

Amazon UK

Vimeo

 

 

 

Robots and rats,
demons and potholes,
cuddly toys and
shopping mall Santas,
love and death and everything in between,
Tales to Chill
Your Bones to

is all of that.

 

Tales to Chill
Your Bones to
-
a collection of short stories and mini-plays
ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
from the post-apocalyptic
to the weirdly romantic,
tales that will give you a chill and maybe a chuckle, all thought up by
the twisted mind of
screenwriter and film reviewer
Michael Haberfelner.

 

Tales to Chill
Your Bones to

the new anthology by
Michael Haberfelner

 

Out now from
Amazon!!!