ZenWeasel Films recently had the opportunity to sit down with Vito Trabucco, one of the five directors from the upcoming classic anthology film Slices, for an interview.
ZenWeasel: Can you tell us about your segment The Exterminator came about?
Vito: The first script idea was very different from what you see now. It originally revolved around a slave, back in the 1800's, who encountered an escaped convict with a time portal. After several rewrites, which took budget and locations into consideration, the story evolved into the dystopian near-future in which The Exterminator and pals now operate.
ZenWeasel: How does The Exterminator fit in with the other segments in Slices?
Vito: Blood? (laughs) I mean, it's horror/sci-fi so it fits genre-wise. It's different enough from the rest of the segments to stand alone as its own story, but at the same time it's actually a fairly straight forward horror and torture film that really works.
ZenWeasel: How did Chuck Williams become involved with your film project?
Vito: A special effects acquaintance of ours knew Chuck Williams, and had mentioned the Slices
ZenWeasel: And you've worked with Kevin Bangos before?
Vito: Yes, I've known Kevin from the Florida days. I remember one film he was in, playing the Sheriff's deputy. He was the perfect "yes man", complete with a weasely voice. He was an obvious choice for the snivelling bureaucratic assistant to Chuck. I had him in mind before I even started casting around.
ZenWeasel: The set and costume design for The Exterminator?
Vito: There were several elements that went into the overall look of the film. The underlying style is heavily influenced by the middle-eastern beheading videos that shocked so much of the western world a few years back. Bound and hooded captives, harsh lighting techniques, no escape from what you know is coming. The uniform that Sebastian Gonzalez wore (as the titular Exterminator) was loosely inspired by the seminal comic book series Sandman Mystery Theater. Maybe not exactly a classy look, but it definitely adds a layer of sophistication. An earlier script version had Sebastian's role being much older - in his eighties! - which would have lent an almost gentleman-like quality to the costume pieces. Trenchcoat, pocket watch, gas mask, etc.
ZenWeasel: How long did The Exterminator take to shoot?
Vito: It was a total of three days. One day for shooting the office and bedroom scenes, and then two days for the majority of the torture/interrogation scenes. Chuck Williams was a great sport about that - he must have spent over sixteen hours tied up in that chair. Lots of water, lots of breaks, lots of air to circulate. The plastic sheeting did hold in a lot of heat, mind you... and when that heat combined with sweat from all the crew crowded into the room, it wasn't too pretty in there. Add in all the gross effects we added, including fake vomit, blood, partially digested foods; you get the idea.
ZenWeasel: You've mentioned several script versions. How many revisions were there?
Vito: Hmm, a lot. It went through many different stages. The final filmed version is its own beast, as well. In the final read with the cast, we were still changing and adapting the script as needed. There were some great changes, moving from being a simple metaphor about "big business" to something much larger and sinister. When it came time to shoot, the script itself went out the window and all dialogue became improv. That's a mistake I'll never make again. (laughs) The biggest lesson I learned is that the F-bomb gets dropped like candy without proper direction, and that is extremely difficult to monitor while also operating the camera.
ZenWeasel: How did suddenly becoming improv affect editing?
Vito: (laughs) That would be a whole 'nother interview. It would probably take an hour of tape to detail all that. I'm glad you brought that up, though. We ended up with almost no references for editing, even though we had the arc story. Even the simple opening dialogue between Chuck and Kevin became extremely difficult to piece together, because there were no two takes that were the same. Our editor, Steven Richards, was very creative. I'd say that the idea of shooting an everyday unscripted conversation sounds appealing, but no, it definitely was not as far as editing goes. That's just one of those things to take in stride, while being able to look back and just say, "Lesson learned."
ZenWeasel: Who created the special effects?
Vito: Rich Knight provided some of the prosthetic body and limb pieces, and Al Cortez worked on the body fluids; blood, puke, etc. It worked out well, having two SFX gurus on set, each with their own department of effects to monitor
ZenWeasel: How did Trent Haaga end up as the host for Slices the movie?
Vito: I've always been a fan of Trent Haaga, having seen just about every Troma film he's in. Matt Olivo, who was helping on the wraparound, knew Trent personally and simply asked him if he'd be interested. Two weeks later we're shooting Trent in his hilarious role of Professor Lucius Phibes, the bumbling occultist. We were extremely lucky to get him and a lot of people say that he's actually their favourite character, in the entire film Slices, even though he is not in an actual segment per se.
ZenWeasel: I was told there is some lost footage?
Vito: You mean the footage with David C. Hayes? It's not so much lost, as reserved for special events. David recorded an opening sequence similar to the Herschell Gordon Lewis introduction to the trailer for Blood Feast. That's all I'll say about it, for now.
ZenWeasel: Thanks for the interview, Vito!
Vito: Any time. Thank you. Don't forget to get your own copy of Slices
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