Michale Graves is a singer who
began his career with his band the Mopes in Lodi, New Jersey, and is probably
best known for singing for the late 1990's re-incarnation of the horror punk
rock band The Misfits. While in the band, Michale wrote songs with titles
like "Dig Up Her Bones", "The Shining", "The
Haunting", "Witch Hunt", and "This
Island
Earth". Given that most of these song titles are derived from some
of the most famous horror films ever made, House of Horrors recently spent a
few moments with Graves while he busily signed autographs prior to performing at a
horror convention.
Jonathan Stryker: What horror films do you like?
Michale Graves: I like the old ones, you know, like POLTERGEIST, FRIDAY
THE 13TH.
Jonathan Stryker: "Old stuff"?! I grew up on that
"old stuff"! (laughs)
Michale Graves: (laughs) I know!
SALEM'S
LOT was a good movie. I don't like a lot
of the new ones. The horror films that are coming out now - to me, the
gory stuff doesn't cut it if there isn't a good storyline behind it or
interesting characters. I find it to be just like porn, you know, you're
just getting the blood and guts. I need a good story to go along with
that.
Jonathan Stryker: What were some of the movies that you saw when you
were really young that impressed you?
Michale Graves: POLTERGEIST was the first movie that I ever saw and it
scared the hell out of me. I saw it on Betamax.
Jonathan Stryker: Betamax! Oh, jeez! (laughs) The
loser to VHS. I saw POLTERGEIST twice in a row with one of my best
friends two days after it was released in a theater. I remember that KILL
SQUAD was playing next door and he wanted to sneak in and see that, but I
pressed him to sit through POLTERGEIST again. I then owned it RCA's CED home
video system, a format which probably only myself and Bryan Norton
remembers!
Michale Graves: I also loved the FRIDAY THE 13TH series and
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET.
I was one of those kids who was heavily into vampires. As I got older I
saw THE SHINING and HALLOWEEN. That's when I was in my teens.
Jonathan Stryker: Are you a fan of the films that have been made from
Stephen King's work?
Michale Graves: Some of them. That's gotta be one of the toughest
things in the world, you know? To take a Stephen King novel and turn it
into a film.
Jonathan Stryker: Have you seen any of Dario Argento's films?
Michale Graves: No.
Jonathan Stryker: You should seek out PROFONDO ROSSO and SUSPIRIA
because Argento likes to work with people in the music industry. Goblin
is a group that he helped put on the map, and they wrote some wild score for
those films.
Michale Graves: I'll have to look those up!
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