Roho, Jesse, and Steve

Today we're joined by the creative minds behind Hellbound 2, Roho and Jesse Lonergan and Hellbound blogger Steve Cartisano. Unfortunately screen printer, Joel Gill, wasn't available because he's busy terrorizing the local inhabitants of the New Hampshire Institute of Art. Someone has to do it.

•  What are scarier, thunderstorms, roller coasters, or clowns?
  Jesse: Definitely clowns. I like the other two.
  Roho: How about riding a roller coaster in the middle of a huge thunderstorm with a bunch of drunken clowns?
  Steve: I’m going off the list and go with the dialogue from Attack of the Clones where Anakin profess his love to Padama while they’re hiding out on Naboo. I can’t turn away. I know I should but I can’t help myself. 
• What is your favorite type of horror? Jesse: I think I'll always have a soft spot for zombies. Dead Alive was a movie I just watched over and over again. I also loved Zombieland.
  Roho: I find it hard to be scared with horror in general, most movies make me laugh. I think it needs to be well done, original and unpredictable otherwise it's just a comedy with guts and blood for me. However I can think of examples of movies I like on all the different types. Vampires: Låt den rätte komma in or Let the Right One In (the original Swedish movie) Zombies: Romero's original Night of the Living Dead from '68 Haunted House: The Shining. Classic! Serial Killing: I Saw the Devil (Newish Korean movie not for everyone... As a matter of fact not for anyone) Demonic Possession: Rosemary's Baby (in a way) Psychological Thriller: Cape Fear.
  Steve: Lately, I’ve been a fan of plague movies: 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later, and the far superior The Crazies remake. If you have never seen it and enjoy plague movies, do so. It’s suspenseful and fairly well thought out. I’m not sure why it wasn't more successful. 
• What storytelling media do you think serves horror best? Jesse: I think any medium can do it and do it well, but I get the most chills from movies.
  Roho: Probably prose and film so far but comics can get up there. Hellbound 2 is a good example of that.
  Steve: I’m going with video, movies and TV. What can I say? I’m part of the TV generation. I’m not proud of it. 
• What is your favorite horror story and why?
  Jesse: I'm not sure if it would be defined as horror, but The Masque of the Red Death is one of my favorite stories of any kind. I've always wanted to do a comic based on it. I think what appeals to me about the story is the attempt to lock oneself away from the world in order to stay safe and the inevitability of the world getting in.
  Roho: I think The Raven is a good example of what makes a good horror story there is no worse monster than the human mind.
  Steve: The original Dawn of the Dead, though I’m not afraid to admit that I enjoy the remake too. I can’t walk into a mall without thinking whether it would be a good place to hold off a zombie invasion.  
• What was your first exposure to horror?
  Jesse: Poltergeist, which I wasn't supposed to see, but the bad babysitter let me.
  Roho: Probably The Return of the Living Dead, full of great cheesy 80's punks, or one of them Freddy Kruger movies.
  Steve: Probably Jaws. My mom, yes my mom, took me to the theater to see it. She also took me to see the under appreciated Blood Beach: "The five people believed to have drowned here never even made it past the sand!" How is that for a tag line? 
• What do you like best and least about the horror genre?
  Jesse: I like taking a little walk on the dark side. There's this mundane forced pleasantness in the everyday world that good horror can subvert in order to get to the good and evil, flesh and bone, blood and guts heart of it all. On the other hand, not so good horror can be pretty cornball and just shoots for lowest common denominator entertainment.
  Roho: Least: predictability, gore just for shock value, best: when there is no holds barrel and it takes you for a ride that you don't know where is going to end.
  Steve: What I like best is a story that stays with you. Dawn of the Dead is a perfect example. It’s difficult not to think how I would handle myself in such a situation. I wasn't kidding about what I said about malls. As for the least, torture porn. I’m not sure which is odder, those who conceive it or those who are fans of it. 
• What’s your horror guilty pleasure?
  Jesse: That not so good horror that's pretty cornball and just shoots for the lowest common denominator.
  Roho: True Blood, that is horror right?
  Steve: Tourist Trap. I’m not sure if it made it to the theater but it was all over cable in cable’s infancy. It's a favorite of my brother and me. 
• Who do you consider a master of horror?
  Jesse: Stephen King was the first I read, and his stories seem to stick with me the most.
  Roho: Takashi Miike when he is trying.
  Steve: That’s a tough question. I’m going with John Carpenter. It’s hard to argue against his contributions to modern horror with movies such as Halloween, The Thing, The Fog, and Escape from New York. Yeah, I know the last one is a sci-fi movie but it does contain cannibals and Ox Baker so I’m including it. Also, I grew up on them so there is certain sentimental value to each. 
• Are clowns ever funny?
  Jesse: No.
  Roho: Just when they are sad.
  Steve: That question is offensive. My parents were clowns. They suffocated in a tragic incident involving a car... and twenty-six of their friends. It was awful. 
Thanks to John Hilliard for the awesome drawing!