The Temple of Horror speaks with director,
Nico Mastorakis.

From beginnings as a scriptwriter in
the early 70's, Mastorakis' directorial debut came in
1974 with Death Has Blue Eyes. With a
full tapestry of projects to his credit his
focus has been on action/thriller type films with
departures to the comedy and science fiction
genres.
Mr. Mastorakis' works
include:
.com for Murder
(2002) "Kalinichta
Mama" (1998) TV Series "Horismenoi me paidia" (1995)
TV Series Hired to Kill (1992) The Naked Truth
(1992) In the Cold of the Night (1991) Ninja
Academy (1990)
Nightmare at Noon
(1988) aka Death Street USA (USA)
Glitch! (1988)
The Wind
(1987) (V) aka Edge of Terror (UK)
Terminal Exposure (1987)
aka Double Exposure
The Zero Boys (1986)
Hamos
sto aigaio (1985) aka Blown Sky High
(USA) aka Sky High (USA)
The
Next One (1984) aka Taxidiotis tou
chronou, O (Greece) aka The Time Traveller (USA: DVD
title)
Blind Date (1984)
aka Deadly Seduction
Koritsi
vomva, To (1976) aka Death
Has Blue Eyes (UK) aka The Para Psychics (USA: VIDEO
title)
Pedhia tou dhiavolou, Ta
(1975) aka A Craving for Lust (USA)
aka Cruel Destination aka Devils in Mykonos
(USA) aka Island of Death aka Island of
Perversion (Australia) aka Psychic Killer 2 (UK:
VIDEO title)
Mr. Wrong: Firstly I'd like to thank you for taking
time out to answer a few questions regarding The
Zero Boys. I'm
going to jump right in with the question that really has
been burning in my brain. Of course, I was a kid when I
originally caught it on its cable rounds in the 80's
and was too young to really make a connection. Years
later it really seemed that the horrific case of
Leonard Lake and Charles Ng has some influence in the
setting. Did that have any influence on creating the
setting?
Nico Mastorakis: Yes, your connection had a foundation as
the movie's foundation was in reality. Without even
realizing it, we usually get an idea rooted in the
news, even if they are not news anymore.
MW: Another element that seems glossed over is
the aspect of the snuff films that are being made at the
house. I'd say we were still a few years from this
becoming something of a mainstream element in suspense
films. Did you get a lot of attention about this
aspect at the time the film came out?
NM: Like all semi-prophetic movies, Zero
Boys unintentionally included trends to surface
later and this was also based on reality. It seems
that such facts are sensed before they become facts,
proving later that there are no prophecies, just
subliminal messages embedded in our subconscious.
MW: Despite this film being generally
bloodless in the visual aspects it's still decidedly
brutal in many aspects. Really, The Zero
Boys left more to the imagination rather than
lopped limb prosthetics being tossed around at the time
in the slasher genre. Was there still any elements
that gave the censors difficulty at the time?
NM: Strangely enough, the movie had no
censorship problems anywhere, not even in the UK where
the censors are antiquated and one-track minded. I
intended from the beginning to deepen brutality without
the gore and I fought against my instincts (on the
set) to succumb to every horror movie director's
temptation... a slasher scene.
MW: It
seemed by cross pollinating the genres of suspense and
action you had two effective groups of hunters facing
off. Did this really give you any difficulties
during writing or shooting? Normally a film like this
would have a hunter(s) and a group of victims until
only one stands to become the actual protagonist. You
actually turned the genre on its ear a bit by having
protagonists smarter than the average slasher genre
hero. Was any of this due to being sick of watching the
helpless and dim witted victims of other films and
wanting to make a statement about it?
NM: We
(directors), often underestimate the audience, we see it
as if in a right-hand mirror of a car, forgetting the
label "objects in the mirror may be closer than they
appear to be". The audience is breathing down our neck
and at the time I made Zero Boys, the
breathing got heavier as the cliche had overtaken the
purpose. It's always risque to reverse the cliche
but when it's done with guts, it's appreciated by
generations as yours!
MW: I've seen the film marketed as an
actioner, a suspense film, and a slasher. Really it's
all three in one but what would you say is the
dominant theme?
NM: I
like to call it 'a suspense thriller'. All other terms
will fall short in one segment or the other. I believe
that, in its totality and especially at the very
end, ZB is a clean cut suspense thriller indeed.
MW: Was the reason for limiting the onscreen
violence part of the film crossing genres? The film
could have become a gore shocker as was typical of
the time but it seemed you restrained yourself.
NM: For all the reasons I explained and for
one more: I had experienced an overkill of perversion
and violence when I did Island Of Death, my
second film, back in 1976. Toning down the gore in ZB
was an attempt to redeem myself!
MW: The film has been in circulation for
twenty years now, is there anything that really stands
out that you wish you had done differently in the
film now that so many years have passed and you can
reflect on it?
NM: Watching it again recently, when I did
the digital 16:9 transfers at Technicolor in London, I
found it unbelievably young for its age. I shot it
in 17 nights and one day and I can't think of anything I
could have done better for the shoestring budget and
the miniscule schedule. Of course, if I had five million
bucks and sixteen weeks, boy would I have done a better
job!
MW: A criticism I've heard occasionally is
that the killers in the film are a little too faceless.
Keeping them without firm identities increased the
terror level but did you ever have plans to explain them
more?
NM: Nope, I love faceless killers, unseen
villains, lurking threat. It's either that (when your
focus is on the protagonists) or you focus on the
killer(s) and flesh them out properly. I prefer to side
with the audience, and in this case the audience sided
with the protagonists.
MW: There was also the character with her foot
in the cast. I assumed the actress just happened to have
a broken foot and you ran with it. Was there any
back story involved?
NM: Wrong. The actress was just fine (and, by
the way, had great legs). I added the cast as an
additional peril. It proved itself to be a good tool
in the chase scenes, going up and down stairs etc.
MW: By
far my personal favorite scene is the trap door in the
roof and the following five minutes of screen time. Any
favorite scenes that you really feel went over the
top for being effective?
NM: That scene is also one of my favorites but
I would add the one where Joe Esteves (Phelan) walks on
the wooden platform near the deserted shack and the
kids are below, trying not to scream when a rattle snake
crawls all over them.
MW: It
honestly seems a lot of people spring boarded into
entertainment careers from just this film alone. It's
obvious people had good experiences working under
your guidance and learned something. Any
thoughts?
NM:
Love to work with new talent and love it when, later on,
I'm proven right in my choices when the talent makes it
big, as in the case of Kirstie Alley and Valeria
Golino (Blind Date), Hans Zimmer (Terminal
Exposure) and so many
others. It's
simply wonderful to see them at the top and be able to
say "hell, I gave them their first break".
MW: What are your thoughts on the current
state of the horror genre?
NM: Too much Avid, no real feeling. Could
anyone duplicate the delicious simplicity of the great
Alfred by doing freeze-frames, strobes and slow mo?
MW: In reflection was there anything that
sticks out at the time The Zero Boys was
released? Critical reviews? Critics thoughts on the
film?
NM: We
had great reviews all over the world, best review that
of The Hollywood Reporter.
MW: Is
there any directorial style you feel was dominant in the
filming of The Zero Boys? Any particular
directors that you like for their style?
NM: From Hitch to Carpenter and Brian De
Palma, I love them all and they have certainly
influenced my visual choices and my
style.
MW: Any current projects planned for the
horror genre?
NM: Perhaps Same Island, Different Death, a
sequel to my 1976 cult horror.
We thank Mr. Mastorakis for taking the
time to talk with us.
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