Okay, so back in August, I was given the privilege of watching this groovy little indie film called "The Night They Returned" starring Melantha Blackthorne, Suzi Lorraine, and Liz Faure. I had known about Suzi from another review I had done of "Cold Blonded Murders," but this was the first I had ever heard of the mysterious Blackthorne. Based on what I uncovered about her on the Internet, I mistakenly made Melantha out to be this really gothic, dark, brooding, and serious actress who takes her horror WAY to seriously. I couldn't have been more wrong. I discovered that Melantha is anything BUT serious and brooding. Instead, she's as rabid a fan of horror as the rest of us, but she also has a very healthy (and twisted) sense of humor. Just pick up a copy of "The Night They Returned" and watch her little dance when she scores a firearm. Also worth noting is her huge role in creating "Sinners and Saints" a twisted, and disturbingly funny foray into the world of independent horror. With that, I give you, Countess Bathoria, a.k.a. Melantha Blackthorne!!!

Horrorwatch: So Melantha, you’re responsible for putting this great little film in my hands called “Sinners and Saints.” Please give us some background on the making of the movie, and let us know what we can expect in the future from Robomonkey Productions.

Melantha Blackthorne: Jason Cavalier and I met on the set of another independent shoot. We were hired as lead actors and the director’s goal was to sell the film to my legion of fans. However, the outcome was somewhat disappointing, as the film contained no "genre elements", was long and overly "verbose". We both felt that the fans would be terribly unsatisfied and knew that we could do a much better job, and that is what we set out to do. ‘Sinners and Saints’ is a no budget film however we did our best to keep things fast paced packed full of action, gore and nudity.

"Sinners" was shot for under $100,000.00 over a period of three years. The main cost was for equipment and props, set construction, etc. For the most part, the crew consisted of Jason, Jan Pivon [who also plays Officer Stryker], Dean Leslie [who plays Officer Reese] and myself. Not only did Jason and myself work as the directors, producers and actors but also as cameramen. When I was in front of the camera Jason was behind and vice versa. Jan set up all of the lighting for the film…he literally worked wonders with a few construction lights and some gels. As for future film projects…we are currently in pre production with a project entitled ‘Countess Bathoria’s Graveyard Picture Show’. It will be a compilation of Zombie shorts 'Creep Show' style in which I will be hosting live from my throne chair.

HW: As I said in my review, “Sinners and Saints” was a wild rollercoaster ride filled with action, humor, sex, and gore. A lot of independent horror storywriter/director/producers aren’t able to pull off so many elements without the movie becoming a cluttered mess, yet the movie was extremely entertaining and cohesive. How’d you do it?

MB: Thank you for the fabulous compliment!
Our number one rule has always been "don’t bore the audience". Adding all of our favorite genres to the mix was an absolute must; we wouldn’t have had it any other way!
How’d we do it?
1 - We took our time.
2 - We surrounded ourselves with creative people.
3 - We tried not to take ourselves too seriously.
4 – Lots of perseverance.
5 - Embraced our limitations, and tried to excel past them!

HW: “Sinners and Saints” has quite a bit of twisted and disturbing stuff, and I know that you take full credit for it. Let us gaze into the bizarre mind of Countess Bathoria for a moment, how or where do you come up with ideas that you know are going to shock and disgust?

MB: Unfortunately, I am desensitized to what is considered shocking these days but do consider it a complement when I hear groans of disgust sputtering through a theatre audience i.e. Fantasia. The creation of ‘Sinners And Saints’ was a way for me to express my insatiable craze for violence, sex and death. I obviously would have delivered much more grotesque sequences if given a budget but who or what company is going to fund a film that has moments like these…a robotic baby forcing it’s way inside a woman’s womb by hammering through her crotch, a violent rape scene which takes place on top of a grave, followed, is a camera pan into the ground where we see an aroused corpse masturbating. And a guy getting kicked in the balls by Necrotia [Queen Of Hell] forcing his genitals to make their way up through his intestinal tract [the camera follows x-ray style] until eventually they pop out of his mouth and ears. Necrotia then takes advantage of the situation by ripping the now hanging by a thread penis meat from it’s skin coating and throws it into the mouth of Sryker who is cowardly attempting to flee the scene. Having the meat now lodged in his throat, Stryker begins to give himself the Heimlich maneuver until the penis meat is set free. The scene ends with a homeless dog, skillfully played by Tigger Johnson, eating the remainder of the meat. There are many scenes throughout ‘Sinners and Saints’, which are extremely original and to my knowledge have never been done in another film. I have never conformed to societies so called norms and will continuously find alternate ways to put my creations out there. This is one of the reasons why Jason and I started our own production company ‘Robomonkey Productions’.
Where the ideas come from…*thinks to self*… let me ask the little girl that lives in my fridge.

HW: Even though “Sinners and Saints” is full of the aforementioned disturbing content, it never seems to take itself too seriously. For instance, during the credits, Jason gets hurt doing a “Starsky and Hutch” slide over his car and you’re just whooping it up off camera. What other kinds of things would have turned up on the “blooper reel?”

MB: Taking ourselves too seriously would have been a HUGE mistake. We had fun and the audience can sense that, making the experience that much more enjoyable for them.
Upon the DVD release of ‘Sinners and Saints’ there will be two disks. One dedicated entirely to behind the scenes footage, bloopers and ‘the making of’. Caution…. the bloopers may be even more disturbing than the film.

HW: How about Liz Faure’s topless nun fight scene? That had to be good for more than a few laughs.

MB: Liz’s topless scene was Jason’s homage to Ching Siu Tung’s ‘Duel To The Death.’ Great flick!!!

HW: Aside from bathing in the blood of virgins, devouring the flesh and organs of some poor hitch hiker, or ruling the underworld while decked out in leather and latex, what are some of the things you enjoy doing in your personal time?

MB: Let’s see…I go to church every Sunday, campaign for Bush’s re-election……………
……..had you fooled for a second didn’t I?
I am very reclusive and like to spend many a quiet evening watching movies or listening to music. Sometimes I may get the urge to indulge in acts of sexual gratification that most would generally heave upon… but hey, you only live once.

HW: You are also a main character in SV Bell's “The Night They Returned” which I loved! How much of a blast is it to work with SV?

MB: It’s always been a tendency of mine to test an individual’s boundaries by telling unusual or politically incorrect jokes. If the person is amused I usually immediately click with them knowing that they are as unconventional as I am. Needless to say SV and I took to each other quite well!!! SV has a timid side to him as well, which can be quite charming. I look forward to our future collaborations.

HW: Tell us about some of the other upcoming SV Bell projects you are working on, or slated to work on.

MB: We just finished filming ‘Purple Glow’ which should be released sometime this spring.

“Astronomers across the world are watching the sky as a meteor is reported on a collision course with our planet. When the rock gets to crash on Earth, some campers in the neighborhood decide to venture in the woods to find that relic from outer space before the authorities. Problems arise when one of the pretty ladies touches the alien rock and turns into a monster that feeds on sex and human flesh.”

Summer 2005 we will be shooting ‘Rise Of The Ghosts’ [working title].

“A group of young scientists set out to investigate and experiment in an abandoned prison for women. The inmates who once stayed at the prison were condemned to death and their souls are now trapped in the walls. The scientists attempt to bring one of the female ghosts back to from the dead and are successful… they soon realize that they may have made the biggest mistake of they’re soon to be short lived lives.” The story is based on an idea by Zacary Park and written by Danny Pelletier.

Winter 2005 I will be shooting a few other projects unrelated to SVBI Films. One is a ‘KillerBGirls’ production entitled ‘Tender Flesh For Zombie Goddess’. It will be Patrick Aird's [Co-director of ‘The Night They Returned’] directorial debut! I am very excited about this one…Patrick has a great deal of talent dying to be unleashed! Expect perfectly composed shots and creative story telling!

“When a group of friends decides to stop at Chief's Campground for the weekend, little do they know that for more than 60 years now, the Mother of all zombies, a by-product of WW2, has been roaming the face of the Earth on a tight leash. Nurtured, cared for, and kept in bondage by the reclusive Chief, Zombie Goddess, an 86 year old sexy zombie that feeds exclusively on female flesh, will break free this upcoming summer. Witness the sexiest female flesh eating extravaganza ever seen. At last! Zombians* will roam the face of the Earth!”

*ZOM-BI-AN n. A reanimated female corpse whose flesh eating orientation is to women.

Other projects I will be involved with are Kevin Woodhouse’s ‘Random’, Christian Viel’s ‘Dead Like Them’ and Tony Watt’s ‘Project X’.

HW: It’s not a secret that I love Scandinavian Death Metal. Give us the rundown on your musical tastes. I know it will be appreciated by more than a few Horrorwatchers.

MB: Some of my favorites include Therion, Dimmu Borgir, Tristania and Cradle Of Filth.

HW: Which begs the question: Sinners and Saints had a *ahem* killer Death Metal soundtrack that really went well with what was going on. Who were some of the bands? Were they handpicked by you?

MB: In my opinion we have some of the most exquisite songs ever to grace a motion picture ranging from orchestral black metal to haunting yet memorizing violins. Included are tracks from Tvangeste, Ashes To Ashes, The Evil Boys, Bordello, Festerguts, Atargatis, Season Of Mourning and Pnevma. I did indeed handpick these bands and was thrilled by their willingness to contribute!!! Miron and Naturelle of Tvangeste are currently creating some original music for the film as well. Stay tuned!

HW: Aside from Coffin Joe and Takashi Miike, who are some of your other influences? What are some of your favorite movies in the genre? Any particular “Scream Queens” you care to mention?

MB: Well, I discovered José Mojica Marins after the filming of ‘Sinners and Saints’ so I can’t really say that he influenced me but I do admit to being a huge fan. Takashi Miike is an absolute genius as well as Sam Rami and Peter Jackson! As for scream queens…Vampira is my favorite!!! Outside of greater L.A. Nurmi's work was sadly overlooked; but still she managed to present the world with an eternal paradigm of sex, death and humor that continues to this day. Oh yes… and I wouldn’t kick her out of bed for eating bat heads.

HW: Any appearances you’ll be making anytime soon? Horrorcons? Haunted Houses?

MB: Indeed…I will be hosting The Vampires' Masquerade Ball in Salem Massachusetts this Halloween, and will be sharing a booth with SV Bell at the CON*CEPT convention in Montreal Canada on November 13th and 14th.

Damn this west coast! Well Melantha it’s been a bloody good time! I’ve also enjoyed the hell out of chatting with you via e-mail, let’s keep it up shall we. And in the meantime, keep us here at Horrorwatch posted as to your whereabouts and goings on!