These days, it is hard to pin the popular Mr. Lobo down. What with his involvement in one of the upcoming Plan 9 From Outer Space remakes (believe it or not, there are two remakes in the works), hosting of the documentary Virginia Creepers: The Horror Host Tradition of the Old Dominion, and his incessant verve as he guides us through all those bad movies we just misunderstand on Cinema Insomnia, I was lucky to get a few questions in edgewise. Of course, the first thing I had to know was how Miss Mittens, his houseplant, was doing…
I must ask you, how is Miss Mittens doing these days?
She’s working with a private gardener and her leaves have “filled out”…she’s looking better.
She’s was transferred to a new planter after getting out of rehab. She also still has some personal problems that she’s working out. She blames me for a lot of it. We’re spending some “time apart”. We almost thought she wasn’t coming back to the show as my co-host. She wants to come back to work. To her credit she’s willing to set that aside our differences for the sake of the show. She doesn’t want to negatively effect the 10th Anniversary stuff and the new syndicated season.
What drives you to be an advocate for bad movies?
First of all, “They’re not bad movies–just misunderstood.” That’s a turn around from the post Golden Turkey/Mystery Science Theater approach of “let’s bring the ugliest girl to the dance—and make fun of her.” The reality is you validate these films by presenting them and even Ugly girls “get lucky” on a Saturday Night. And secondly, these misunderstood movies drive me. I’m dedicated to these films and always trying to find new ways to advance B through Z Movie genres.
I believe B-movies are “movies of the people”. They are leaner and meaner and have no pretensions of winning awards or breaking box office records. They deliver entertainment and are cheaper and more available than bloated A-movies. They are programmed in small revival houses, the precious few remaining Drive-Ins, and on late night TV shows like “Cinema Insomnia.”
What makes bad movies so misunderstood?
The worth of a film is subjective…its worth must be discovered on a one to one basis. Every movie is somebody’s favorite movie. These Movies are thought of by critics as trash or somehow less valid than star driven multi-million dollar epics from a major studio. B-Movies are the underdog and don’t have the option of shoveling millions at a movie to bamboozle audiences. B-Movies are like an off-Broadway play. I think it’s funny that people would accept two people sitting on chairs in front of a curtain as being on an airplane in a stage play but mock it in PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE.
In Japan, they understand visual cues standing in for real objects that the viewer completes and brings to life. They know that a guy in a rubber suit with a toy boat is standing in for a real monster and a real boat and they accept it as such. But on another level I like seeing the strings and wires and the rubber monster suits…there’s some real ingenuity and craftsmanship there. Also, because the financial stakes are lower, more risks are taken and you see things you’d never see in an A-Movie. It’s an acquired taste to appreciate misunderstood movies…but there are a lot of fun and great ideas there in both the treasures and the train-wrecks.
I’ll admit I don’t understand Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. It creeps me out, really. Can you help me with this one?
Mr. Lobo loves that movie. That movie is very self aware…it knows what it is. If you watch the DVD of my Cinema Insomnia X-Mas Special…Mr. Lobo will take you through it a step at a time…mixed with my commentary and some old toy commercials…it’s like getting into a warm bath. (ZocNote: I listen to Mr. Lobo and I obey; just ordered it!)
How did your persona–the dark suit, the setting, your unique approach–Mr. Lobo–evolve?
The suit is my uniform. We all wear a uniform–it’s just some of us don’t admit it. The dark suit is classic horror host attire. Radio had the MAN IN BLACK, TV had Rod Serling from THE TWILIGHT ZONE and film had Alfred Hitchcock. In real life the priest, the magician, the hypnotist, the undertaker and other guides to the unknown are dressed in the black suit. I think, psychic and horror host of PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE, Criswell said “If you dress nice and speak well, that people think you know what you’re talking about.”
The minimalist black backdrop makes me seem out of time and culture and like THE TWILIGHT ZONE. From there you can go anywhere. To Me, when the host is on a space station set…and he shows TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA–it kinda seems like an off week. If you in a CASTLE DUNGEON and you present TEENAGERS FROM SPACE–it feels like bait and switch. Plus, I didn’t want to paint myself into a corner…I felt I could always add but it’s hard to go back on something once you’ve put it in the show.
“Mr. Lobo” on TV is not to much different than who I am in real life…My ex-wife says it’s all my annoying traits amplified…I’d like to say it’s all my annoying traits finally free. We made each show and made little changes each time…if it worked we’d do it more…if it didn’t we cut it out.
You’ve described the horror host tradition as American folk-art. What do you mean by that?
I think Sandy Clark or Michael Monahan on AMERICAN SCARY first observed that–But I agree. It was a national phenomenon that was repeated on a local scale…most of these guys never saw each other. It’s passed around like a campfire tale. People across the country write me and say my show reminds them of DR. MADBLOOD or M.T. GRAVES or MORGUS or DR. PAUL BEARER or whoever their guy was from when they were eight years old–but I’ve never seen those guys. There are a lot of traditions that are unwritten that are unconsciously played out by everyone who tries to do this job.
Host, head writer, bad movie maven; where do you find your inspiration when hosting each movie?
The movies tell me what I should do. I just watch them…sometimes 5 times for a show…and the hosting segments just happen…I try to counter or complement what’s happening in the movie…I need it and it needs me. That’s why this treatment doesn’t work as well with more er, understood movies.
You keep Cinema Insomnia a retro-styled and thriving, exemplary, show for us bad movie fans: how is this possible in our day and age?
I’ve always been captivated by things that are before my time. I also make the shows evergreen–I try to avoid topical humor or obvious trends. Horror Hosting on TV came out of the 50’s and 60’s and I try to honor that as well as my own childhood obsessions of the 70’s and 80’s. It’s also important to connect the history of this stuff with “the now” and I define that as part of my job as well. I don’t worry if it’s possible…I’ve been told by many that it’s not. Yet somehow I’m still here. I try to have one foot in the past, one foot in the future and one foot in the present…I fall down a lot.
Who were your heroes of horror as you grew up, and what made them special for you?
I was always drawn to the archetype of THE GUIDE TO THE UNKNOWN like Rod Serling, William Castle, Alfred Hitchcock, The Phantom Stranger, Orson Welles. They were all influences–but Bob Wilkins is my main influence on me as a horror host because I had a deeper connection with him.
Some of my earliest memories were of me watching Creature Features on TV. I was so terrified by those movies! I was the kind of kid who ran in the other room when The Skipper would yell at Gilligan–so Hammer Horror was pure torture! I wanted to be close to my dad who was asleep in the recliner. But it was Bob who was calming me down and talking to me between fits of fright–Not Dad. He was a calming presence–he didn’t wear a Dracula cape or make up like other hosts. And as an emerging odd-ball who didn’t fit in, he was a person who seemed very comfortable being square. He didn’t care how he came off, so to me he seemed cool!
Meeting him as an adult changed my life. He was so unassuming and enormously supportive of everyone he came in contact with. He would encourage you to pursue your dreams and if he thought you were particularly gifted–he’d open a door and kick you in the pants. He taught me that your connection to your audience is the most important part of the show—even more important than the cleverness of your material.
Bob had no competitors–only colleagues…I’ve never met a broadcaster who knew him who didn’t respect him. As I said before, he actively advised me until he was to ill to do so…I continue to take inspiration from Bob’s life–-he helped people. He made the world a better place not because he showed “cheesy” movies but because he was a funny caring and brilliant man you wanted to hang out with on a Saturday night.
I said this at his memorial but I will say it here…I used to think Bob Wilkins was the kind of Horror Host I wanted to be. I’ve since learned that Bob Wilkins is the kind of Man I want to be.
What was the first horror movie (or just bad movie) that grabbed you and didn’t let go, and why?
For shock value-I think it was LADY FRANKENSTEIN–there was a scene, I saw when I was like 5 or 6 years old, where the monster grabs a bird out of a tree and eats it. It scared me so bad and gave me horrible nightmares. I often think of the impact of that 4 seconds of film…but PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE is a movie I saw on TV as a kid and that I still refer to almost daily.
How did you become involved with the Virginia Creepers documentary?
They asked me and I said “yes”.
I suppose it’s a bit more complicated than that…Virginia is very important to my history…it was the first place to pick up my show in syndication and I’ve developed associations with many horror fans and filmmakers all over Virgina. I’ve been involved with a number of releases made in that great state including: MARK OF THE DAMNED(2007), ROCK & ROLL EULOGY(2004), THE DECEPTORS(2008), SKELETON KEY 2(2008), PLAN 9(2009), TASTE THE BLOOD OF FRANKENSTEIN and now VIRGINA CREEPERS Virgina is a horror magnet and there’s something weirdly cool about the people who live out there.
I’m hoping that fans accept me in the role BECAUSE I’m an outsider, and BECAUSE I’m a host, and BECAUSE I’m a fan. We’ve had some wonderful horror host documentaries recently but most of them are NOT hosted! I hope this film will punctuate the importance of the hosting by actually implementing it. I think Virgina’s role in horror host history is important on a national scale. There are some things in this film that are going to shake up what we thought we knew about this stuff.
Tell us more about your involvement in the Plan 9 From Outer Space remake.
I cannot say anything of the script. Johnny Johnson in Charlottesville, VA, who has made a number of micro-budget direct to video horror films, has tapped the last surviving cast member of the original film–Conrad Brooks, myself and some indie horror mainstays, to tell a serious and effectively scary version of Ed Wood’s camp classic for it’s 50th ANNIVERSARY. I will essentially be CRISWELL but no one can ever really BE CRISWELL. We are similar in that we are both real guys who have a TV show and will be in the movie. But THIS time the narrator who PREDICTED these future events is actuually IN the story and WITNESSES the evil unfold…I will be doing stunts and everything. I’m very excited.
What’s the one question you would love to be asked and what’s your answer?
The question would be “Would you like a million dollars, Mr. Lobo?” and the answer would be “No. If you don’t mind, I’d like 60 million dollars.”