Features

Horror Section return from the grave with their third full-length, Part III: Return To Rot. A title that is as perfectly tongue-in-cheek as the band itself. True to form, they deliver fourteen tracks of stripped-down, infectious punk rock that call to mind the Ramones, Misfits, and Groovie Ghoulies, while carving out their own niche of horror-centered mayhem. This time around, the band pays homage to the infamous “part threes” of horror history, from Friday the 13th and Sleepaway Camp to The Howling and The Amityville Horror. It’s fast, it’s fun, and it may just be Horror Section’s best record yet. We caught up with Teflon Dave to talk slashers, sequels, and the art of keeping punk scary-good.

PRT: What came first? Your love for punk rock or horror movies?

Dave: Punk rock for sure. Music was much more accessible to me as a kid and into my teenage years. I didn't get to watch much horror until I turned 16 and could go to the movies, video stores, etc.

PRT: I’ve always considered horror movies to be the punk rock equivalent in movies in that they share a kind of DIY spirit. Want to make a horror movie but don’t have the money? Find a way to make it work. Do you see that connection too?

Dave: Yeah I would agree with you there. A lot of the great horror movies were made by young and enthusiastic writers, actors, directors, etc. that came with the passion to create something unique and fun. I know playing in bands when you're young and how music shaped my world and I imagine it's a similar feeling for filmmakers. 

PRT: The new album comes with 14 songs dedicated to the third installments in some of horror’s most beloved franchises. When did you come up with the idea?

Dave: Right after we did the second album haha. The first LP was a little scattered on which horror movies they were about. Then for Part II: Rewind Resurrection we focused on sequels but it wasn't as tight lyrically and theme-wise as I would have liked. So for the third album we made sure each song and lyric fit together properly.

PRT: The album’s artwork shows a theater, which ties in to the limited merchandise you have (cup, popcorn bag, movie stubs). Has there already been an idea for merchandise that you weren’t able to move forward with?

Dave: Yes! There is a running list of ideas I have so they may be revisited some time in the future. I tend to think big then have to pull myself back into reality once things become too expensive or just logistically a huge headache or gamble. One example was making some die-cut Halloween wall decorations like what I grew up with in the 90s. I did have some made as a trial but wasn't happy with how they turned out from that particular printer so I shelved that idea for now. I would love to make inflatables like they did for some video store promotions back in the day but don't see how I could make that work financially.

PRT: Speaking of limited… there will also be a limited run VHS, featuring a full video for each song on the album. That sounds like an awful lot of work for a limited run?

Dave: Yes, it was a ton of work but the end result was worth it. It started as an idea several years ago with my friend Brad who helped us out with a VHS of our videos - what if we actually released an album on VHS? Luckily I have talented friends that were willing to spend time editing movies to go with each song and we had some additional original footage filmed as well to help round it out. Shout out to Greg Andersson and Brad Fann for editing videos and Kozmo for making the VHS tapes. Special shoutout to Pat McVay for creating videos AND editing the whole thing AND filming the vignettes as our drippy skull logo come to life - the Curator!

PRT: Maybe a dumb question, but how do you start writing a song based on a horror movie? Is it usually one scene, event or theme that inspires you?

Dave: I usually watch a movie and focus on one character's perspective, whatever resonates with me. The example that comes to mind is on the song Hunger from the new album. It's based on Return of the Living Dead 3 but is from the viewpoint of the character Julie. I knew the song would be about 'zombies' but tried to focus it a bit more to her perspective and how she uses self mutilation to sate her desire to feed / eat brains. Some songs are a bit more broad but even for those I try to approach in a not too obvious way. Or in other words, I don't like to just say the name of the movie in the chorus 10 times haha.

PRT: Has there ever been a part III in any franchise that was better than the first two installments?

Dave: There are some great part 3's out there (Nightmare on Elm Street Halloween) but I don't know if they could top the originals. Closest for me would probably be Friday the 13th Part 3.

PRT: Where does the appeal of horror movies lie for you?

Dave: In a word: fun! I think when I was young I was drawn into the forbidden aspect and that's now evolved into my happy place. No stress or overthinking - just blood and guts.

PRT: And which ones do you prefer? The ones that are genuinely scary, the campy ones or the ones that are so bad they become good again?

Dave: All of the above really. There's a horror movie for whatever I'm in the mood for. Typically I like 80's American slashers, so that's a balance of scary and camp.

PRT: With movies like Midsommar, Heretic, It Follows, Raw, I feel like there has been a shift in horror movies in recent years with things becoming more - for lack of a better word - intellectual. What’s your take on that?

Dave: I like those movies and appreciate the fans of it, but I miss fun stuff. It seems like these days things are either dark/intellectual like you said or they go the opposite direction and try too hard to be funny or silly. That being said, take all that with a grain of salt because I'm pretty behind on modern horror. I feel like 2 new movies drop every week.

PRT: Eli Roth recently started a studio called The Horror Section. Did you consider suing him? Or at least securing a cameo in every future movie?

Dave: Nah. His studio is pretty different from what we do so I don't think there will be confusion between the two things.

PRT: The album will be out around Halloween. What’s up next for Horror Section after that?

Dave: We'll see! We always have a backlog of songs and ideas but nothing is concrete as of now.