Ed Wood Extra! An interview with Andrew J. Chambers, director of 'Orgy of the Dead 2'

It's finally time to go back to the cemetery.

Director Stephen C. Apostolof and screenwriter Edward D. Wood, Jr. never got to do a proper sequel to their infamous 1965 nudie cutie Orgy of the Dead, which tells the story of a square couple (Pat Barrington and William Bates) who survive a car crash but end up witnessing a strange occult ritual presided over by a mysterious robed Emperor (Criswell) in an abandoned California cemetery. The film remains Apostolof's best-known by far, and he did plan to do a follow-up in his later years, but the project never came to fruition. He died in 2005, seemingly putting the final nail in the sequel's coffin.

A long-delayed sequel.

Well, thanks in part to an Indiegogo campaign, maverick filmmaker Andrew J. Chambers has changed that. His raunchy, scatological comedy Orgy of the Dead 2 is now available on Blu-ray and can be streamed on YouTube and Google Play. With its gore, gross-out jokes, and topical references, this bizarre film differs markedly from the now-quaint original. And yet, it carries the official seal of approval of Steve Apostolof's youngest son, Chris! When I saw this movie, I realized that I needed to know more, so I reached out to Mr. Chambers, who happily consented to the following Q&A.

What initially made you want to write and direct a sequel to Orgy of the Dead (as opposed to any other movie in the history of movies)?

Other than it being a perfect fit for my style? I really saw a lot of potential for improvement. I loved the idea of the original, but being from a different time, I found it boring throughout most of the film. In the '60s you didn’t need much other than dancing naked ladies to capture the attention of the audience because that’s what nudie cities were for. Now that everyone is desensitized, it needs a little more. Some other writers and directors might think it needed a good story line and better acting. Not me. I think it needed comedy and gore.

Steve Apostolof wrote his own sequel script for Orgy of the Dead. Did you take any ideas from that or was the script totally yours?

I actually haven’t read Steve's script. Chris wanted a script before he agreed to a sequel deal, so I wrote exactly what was floating around in my brain in the months leading up to our first chat. He offered to let me read it after my script was finished to see if I wanted to pull anything from it, but ultimately we decided it was best to have something completely fresh. He did tell me it was written as a comedy, though.

Chris Apostolof is one of the film's producers, and the end credits say that the movie would not have happened without him. How did he get involved and what exactly was his level of involvement?

I had the idea to make the movie and spent a month or two trying to track down anyone who knew who held the rights to the film. The studio had been closed down, and everyone involved with the movie was long gone, so I was asking distributors for clues. Eventually someone said they would contact the rights owner and leave it up to them if they wanted to talk to me. Then one day I got an email from a Christopher Apostolof, and it hadn't even occurred to me to look for Steve's kids. He was interested, so I wrote up a script and he was happy with the fresh take on the story and gave his blessing. After chatting with him I was inspired by his stories and added a nod to the original in the script. So basically he allowed us to make the film, inspired some scenes, and helped me with my technical issues when my computer crashed 90 percent of the way through editing.

How did you go about casting the film?

Casting was a mixture of knowing exactly who I wanted for some roles and auditioning for local talent. I had worked with Jessa Flux in the past and knew she would be perfect. I let her read the script and pick the role she wanted. As for Adam Peltier I had a chance to see him in action when I spent some time as a PA on the set of Troma’s [still in production] Power of Positive Murder. He was the hardest working actor I've ever seen and an improv wizard. Penny Aphrodite sent me an impressive and sultry audition video that made it impossible for me to think of anyone else as the Princess of the Night. I've known Nick Somers since he was a kid and knew he had the chops to work with Adam and Jessa. When it came to the Emperor I got a bunch of video auditions of people imitating Criswell. Mike Fantastik didn’t even bother with the Criswell act. He was authentic and funny which really caught my eye. The comedy mattered more to me than trying to replicate someone else's character. Most of the dancers were local girls I knew or had worked with previously other than Katie Kadaver who I wrote the Emperor's Lover role for.

Orgy of the Dead 2 was largely shot in a cemetery. Was this an active cemetery and, if so, did you have the permission of the owners?

The cemetery was a mixture of an active cemetery and a prop. However, no humans were buried there. It was a pet cemetery at an outdoor haunted attraction called Sinister Sidney in Sidney, Iowa. The owner of the haunt (Mike Ross) also played the wolfman and built the mausoleum, throne, and crosses just for the movie.

How do you think Steve Apostolof and Ed Wood would have responded to Orgy of the Dead 2?

Honestly I hope they would have enjoyed it. We are poking fun at their movie a little, but in a loving way. I feel like the important thing to them would be that we kept it both spooky and sexy.

What inspired you to have an animated musical number in the film?

That actually wasn’t even in the script and just kind of happened. Aaron Gum and Mike Fantastik had decided they wanted to do a song together for it, and the idea was that we would just have him break into song at that point in the movie and it would just be a musical number. That scene kept getting pushed back because of time constraints, and the last night we covered both the set and costumes in fake poo not even thinking about how we still had that pushed scene to film. We were then going to film it as a music video and actually shot some green screen footage. Then, John Silecchia offered his services as an animator. I thought it would be funny if we put Mike's face into animation kind of like how they do in South Park.

What were the biggest challenges or obstacles you encountered while making the film?

Time and money. I thought for sure we would have a huge successful crowdfunding budget because everyone knows who Ed Wood is. There was a whole Tim Burton and Johnny Depp movie about him. Turns out not that many people know Ed Wood or care to fund the sequel to a 60-year-old boobie movie. So we had a very small budget and only four days to shoot the movie. Those fuour days turned out to be the hottest four days of the year which posed challenges as well. The last thing I need is to have actors die on set so we had plenty of water and fans. 

Have there been public screenings of Orgy of the Dead 2? And how can people watch the film if they so dare?

We have had screenings in 3 states so far and I plan to slowly hit more states throughout the next couple of years. As of right now it is streaming for rend or purchase on both YouTube and Google Play. I think it will be hitting Fawesome soon and possibly Troma Now.

Is Orgy of the Dead 3 a possibility?

I hadn’t planned on it but I guess nothing is out of the realm of possibility. Perhaps the 3rd movie could take place in the underworld.