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| 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.
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| 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.
