Online Exclusive: Horror Film Directors Dish About 'Grindhouse' Trailers

Edgar Wright

Edgar Wright is one-half of the creative team (along with Simon Pegg) behind the brilliant Shaun of the Dead and the forthcoming Hot Fuzz (opening in the States on April 30). For Grindhouse, he directed a comedic trailer and implored us not to mention its name (because it's also the trailer's final punchline).

How'd you get involved in Grindhouse?
In 2005, I was with Eli [Roth] in L.Quentin [Tarantino] was telling us about the plan for Grindhouse, that he and Robert [Rodriguez] were going to do a double bill and you two should do a trailer each. A few weeks later I ran across Quentin again in the bar of the Chateau Marmont and I acted out my idea for him. And then I heard that during a meeting with the Weinsteins, he'd repitched my pitch. The image of Quentin acting out my trailer is something that I will never see and never get on camera. But I wish I had.

What was the inspiration behind your trailer?
In the '70s, when American International [Pictures] would release European horror films, they'd give them snazzier titles. And the one that inspired me was this Jorge Grau film: In the UK, it's called The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue. In Spain and in Italy, I think it's called Do Not Speak Ill of the Dead. But in the States, it was called Don't Open the Window. I just loved the fact that there isn't a big window scene in the film -- it's all based around the spin and the voiceover not really telling you what the hell is going on in the film.

Was there any British equivalent to the scummy American grindhouse theaters?
No, it's a different experience in the UK. But famously, there was the "video nasties" scandal in the early '80s: there was a massive witch hunt on horror films because when VHS first started coming out, there was a rating body for films but not for videos. Distributors who had shown films like Zombie Flesh Eaters at the cinema would release them completely uncut and unrated on video. When people got wind of this, it became a huge scandal. The government overreacted and impounded about 100 titles, including The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Exorcist, and The Evil Dead. So there was a long period throughout the '80s where these films were just unavailable. Of course everything that was banned became extremely collectable. I remember being at art college and having a friend who had a lot of the video nasties and I watched a whole bunch of them in a row, which obviously severely traumatized me. I didn't have a VCR, so I used to watch them in the library, which was a mistake. I'd have to tell people who walked by, "Hey, I didn't make I Spit On Your Grave. I'm not the sicko. I'm not even enjoying it that much."