Directing Madness With Emir Skalonja
This week we have something extra special for the Mutilated Crew. All the way from New York, we have Emir Skalonja. This absolute badass is known for his crazy brutal films such as Casting Couch Slaughter, Confessions of a Homicidal Prostitute, and Holland Road Massacre: The Legend of Pigman. He also makes music with the solo black metal project known as Gravis Terrae. He is a writer, producer, actor, director, musician, and so much more. Today, however, he joins up with the Mutilated Crew to tell us a little bit more about this badassery.
Tell us a little bit about yourself, your history and what got you into the art that you create nowadays?
I’m 34, I was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. I came to USA in 2002 with my parents and my sister. I’ve always liked movies. I’ve watched all the classics with my father, as far back as I can remember. The first 2 films I remember watching were Rocky and T2: Judgment Day. So it all stuck with me from the early days. But I guess you can say that my love for horror comes from all the crap I’ve lived through as a kid, fleeing war torn Bosnia and seeing religion and nationalism at their worst.
What inspired Fox Trot Productions?
FoxTrot (the name) was inspired when I was watching a movie called Saints and Soldiers, a WWII film about a group of Allied soldiers trapped behind enemy lines during the Battle of the Bugle (Germany’s last offensive to turn the tide of war). One of the characters yelled “Fox Trot to Tango, Fox Trot to Tango…” the rest is history haha. I took it because I’m a huge history nut and buff and I also love foxes more than any other animal…well, maybe tied with wolves.
Funny Drills And Slaughter Films
Would you say that you enjoy extreme horror films, if so what are a few of your favorite extreme horror films?
I do enjoy extreme movies, for sure. Now that I am the father of 2, my days of watching unabashed gorefests are rare, but I still find some time. If we’re talking Hollywood level extreme films, my favorite horror films are definitely the Saw franchise…but my true gems that I grew up watching and movies I borrow a lot from are the Nightmare on Elm St films. Those are my childhood and will always be on the highest pedestal for me. If we are talking indie films and low low budget, my friend Sam Salerno made a film I absolutely adore, called Dark Side of The Womb, which is all about a guy’s quest to climb back inside a woman’s vagina…so he can like be reborn or something like that. The movie is nuts.
What drives you to make extreme films like the Casting Couch Slaughter? What about these grimy grindhouse style films inspire you creatively?
Casting Couch Slaughter is one of my most popular films. I remember when we first made it, it was streamed over 176 times in one night…which to me, for a movie made on $100 budget is…insane haha. But the film started honestly as a joke. We started filming my movie called Anthropocene (a post apoc film about climate change and the breakdown of our society) right before covid and then covid happened and we had to adjust to everything. The film is so grim and dark and it has such a depressing ending, and on top of it, it’s super violent and graphic. Once we screened it, we were like, “Ok let’s do something more light hearted, almost cartoony, something we ca just unplug our brains and just be wild and fun with it. So, we brainstormed and Casting Couch Slaughter is what we came up with haha. I mean, 80s VHS slashers and cable porn…it’s just a funny mix. Plus the whole thing looks like it was shot on a VHS. So the film in the end was a joke, albeit a popular one. But I am a huge fan of 70s and 80s films, the horror genre, combining the two and seeing what the product is in the end. Grindhouse will always be a filmmakers pure and raw expression. Unrestrained by social norms and expectations and doing whatever the hell you want to do.
What are your opinions on mixing horror and comedy? Can you have one without the other?
Of course they can exist without one another, but with our current times and the way our world is, irony is everything. But I like mixing the two. Horror has come so far that a lot of its cliches are consideredpart of comedy now and that’s where the modern horror in my opinion is waning, because it truly takes itself too to seriously. I like to think of the Purge series…like ok yes this stuff is scary and can you imagine if that was our reality. But then the irony kicks in and you think of our current social and pollical climate and realize “wow, there are Neanderthals that would do this or want to do this.” So again, it comes down to irony I guess.
When making a film, more specifically the more extreme ones, do you have any lines that you will not cross at all?
I will never show harming of a child or an animal, two of the most pure and innocent beings on this forsaken planet.
What era or eras of horror are your absolute favorite?
Definitely the 80s…I mean, The Nightmare on Elm St, Friday the 13 th , Childs Play…cannot compete with those. I mean these are FUN movies, it’s what movies are SUPPOSED to be.
How do you feel about the horror genre as a whole today? Do you feel that the horror movies today compare to other eras of horror?
It’s a tough question, but at the end of the day, I’m going to say horror is not what it used to be. Everything has become watered down, it’s all about ghost possessions, found footage etc (although one of my favorite RECENT horror films As Above, So Below happens to be found footage). People have become too sensitive to anything and everything. Listen, I am as liberal left as you can get. I really don’t hide my politics. But even this lefty will tell you that people have become TOO sensitive. So now everyone is walking on eggshells. Of course you gotta watch what you say or do at times, everyone deserves to be happy and feel safe, but damn people are taking their frustrations on films, music, books and stuff. Of course there are things from 80s, 90s…Hell even from 10 years ago that didn’t age well. Doesn’t mean we need to go and rewrite it all. I always tell my wife I’d love Mel Brooks to make a film today…see what people say haha. Also, in about 80% of my films the main character is a strong and independent woman who mainly comes out triumphant at the end. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve had my films called misogynistic, sexist etc…even though a lot of my films have been co written by several women at that given moment…
What do you think it would take to have another golden age of horror?
People need to chill the fuck out honestly and take their self righteous sticks out of their asses. We need to go back to having fun which is what honestly movies should be. Sure a film can have underlying social, political etc themes and still be fun. I mean look at Idiocracy and Don’t Look Up.
What advice would you give people looking to make films? What are the hardships they should expect?
If you are doing it to become a star, to end up on Netflix or whatever in a week or two, just don’t do it. You’re doing it for a wrong reason. Honestly, any art is about self sacrifice, you get out as much as you put in. Unfortunately in the age of tik tok where a girl shakes her ass or a guy shows his abs in a 15 second clip is a lot more important to people these days than any sort of creativity. You have to love it to do it. If your sole goal is to be a star, then do yourself a favor and just quit. My most important advice is to have fun…for the love of everything just have fucking fun. Be a decent person, treat you partners right and have fun doing whatever it is you’re doing. Adapt to different scenarios, improvise, look at things with an open mind.
Mayhem of The Music
Tell us a little bit about your music.
It’s dark, fast, cathartic…it’s black metal. I am into most of extreme music that transcends conventional mainstream metal but I gravitate most towards black metal. I have many friends from the black metal scene, some of them pioneers, legends; I am friends with my personal hero, Sakis Tolis from Rotting Christ, Heljarmadr from Dark Funeral etc. Heljarmadr did the music for my film Veronika, and Sakis Tolis did the music for my film Gravis Terrae.
What does the name Gravis Terrae come from? Is there any inspiring force behind it?
Gravis Terrae (Latin for Earthly Grave) is actually the tile of the last horror film I made about a a young woman who finds a mysterious root on her hike and she starts experiencing awful, violent and grotesque hallucinations upon bringing it to her house. I knew it was going to be my last film for a while as I wanted to take a break from filming. What better thing to do than pick that as a name of a black metal band.
Medieval Cross of Doom is your most recent release, tell us about what his album is supposed to capture?
The album is fairly simple, without too many deeper messages. It is about Satan basically being reborn on Earth and ushering in the age of reason once we are unshackled from the binds of Abrahamic religions, hence the very first opening track Behold, The Morning Star.
When listening to your music I get both black metal and death metal vibes. How would you define your music?
I’d say it’s mostly black metal, but I guess you can say labels are for people that like to be constrained, confined haha so yeah there are definitely some traces of death metal, honestly even some post metal, a bit of drone etc.
What is your goal with Gravis Terrae? What does success look like with this project?
Pretty much everything I do, from films to music, my goal is…if I can reach one person and stir something inside, it’s a success. It’s interesting what people measure as success in our society today. Sure, if more money comes, that’s always welcome (that’s actually a paraphrase of a quote that I live by, by my hero Sakis Tolis). If one person buys my CD and they tell me it made them feel something that’s a great success (said in Borat voice). Same goes with film.
What advice would you give those looking to make music? What about extreme music? What should people be aware of?
This is a loaded question…so I’ll take some of what my good friend Heljarmadr said, into my own words…again, everyone wants to be a star, a rock star, famous etc. And everyone thinks if they have 7 different guitars, 4 basses, 2 drums, a studio, audio engineers, they’re shit is going to be amazing. It’s not. You need yourself, your guitar/base, maybe some keyboards and a laptop. Go nuts, go wild, have fun, experiment, learn as you go. Sure, it’s good to have some agenda of what your goals, what you want to play, how you want to play it…it has to start somewhere. I, for instance listen to A LOT of black metal. I had to get a second iPod just to fit all the albums I have. It’s good to listen to the genre you want to be in but don’t limit yourself. Listen to other genres. Anything can be turned into anything. Many riffs can be played black/death/doom style so experiment, explore.
As an artist who seems to make more extreme styles of art, what do you want people to feel when they look at your work?
Honestly, I know most people will be repulsed, turned off. And that’s ok, because I know many people will find it relaxing, cathartic, eye opening (I know that sounds strange). And yes, when watching my films I want people to be repulsed, grossed out, scared etc. Music…I want them to let go of that anger.
What is your goal with all of your projects? Where would you like to be in 5 years?
Who knows really…maybe sell a few more CDs, get a few more listeners on Spotify, Bandcamp etc…get some more films streamed. I’m ok with that. If more money comes along the way, that’d be great, if not, I am happy and comfortable where my life is right now. My 4 year old daughter always wants to scream into the microphone so I included a couple of her screams into my last album Medieval Cross of Doom, in the song called Upon The Cross of Bones. I hope she will keep wanting to do that, and I hope my boy will do something similar. In truth, in like 10 years, both will be like, “wow dad you’re weird.”
What are some final words of wisdom that you would like to give to anyone curious on pursuing different types of art.
Art is subjective. Everyone likes different things, everyone has different tastes. Find what makes you happy. Other people will find it. Trust me. When I was making Casting Couch Slaughter I was like, “oh yeah, someone will definitely love seeing this dick get drilled up close.” And I was right hahaha. But seriously, there is an audience for everything. The most important thing is to do what makes YOU happy. You are doing it for YOURSELF. Not for others. If people fall in and follow what you do, that’s awesome! It takes time. Don’t get discouraged. Realize that there are a million other people doing what you do and some probably do it better than you. Everyone has different skills, resources, finances…improvise, adapt, compensate…you’ll get there if you keep focused and don’t lose the sight of why you’re doing it.
To stay up to date with Emir and his projects! FoxTrot Facebook Page, FoxTrot Films, Emir Skalonja’s Facebook Page, Gravis Terrae FaceBook Page, Gravis Terrae on Spotify, Gravis Terrae on Bandcamp.