We sat down with documentary and film director, writer, producer, and showrunner James “Buddy” Day, who is known for his true crime docs and series such as “Fall River,” “Florida Man Murders”, and “The Shocking Truth”. His latest series is all about horror, titled “Blumhouse’s Compendium of Horror” which delves into the history, evolution, and influences of the horror genre throughout the decades, a must-see for fans of the genre. This was the topic of our discussion. Check it out.
Buddy: “Where are you from?”
Kelli: “I’m from Georgia.”
Buddy: “Georgia will be featured in the new season of Florida Man Murders.”
Kelli: “Oh, really? That’s awesome. You know, whenever I hear “Florida Man” I know it is going to be crazy.”
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Buddy: “Yeah [laughter]!”
Kelli: “I’m a big fan of True Crime, so I’ve actually seen quite a few of your projects. I really enjoyed them. Fall River was great.”
Buddy: “Oh, thanks! It’s a labor of love.”
Kelli: “Tell us about your new series, Blumhouse’s Compendium of Horror?”
Buddy: “It’s a retrospective on horror movies. It explores horror films, both new and classics, and the evolution of and the history of horror over the past hundred years. That’s the premise.”
Kelli: “I love that. I’m a huge fan of both horror and history, so to get a combination of the two is fantastic. Can you give us an example of one of the films it explores?”
Buddy: “We look at hundreds of movies. The first episode is about the 1920s and 30s. We look at Universal monsters like Frankenstein and the wolfman, films like that. Then we look at the censorship era then in later episodes we look at everything from The Exorcist to Carrie, to Get Out, Halloween, and the Paranormal Activity franchise. There are a lot of movies.”
Kelli: “That’s awesome! While making the series, what was one of the facts you learned that you weren’t expecting?”
Buddy: “I think most people don’t realize how complex horror movies are. There are a lot of them that aren’t just about a stalker or kids going into the woods and getting killed. Often the movies are allegories for something more. For example, Godzilla, at first glance, was just a guy in a rubber suit stomping on models. At its heart, it’s about Hiroshima and nuclear war. Modern-day Godzilla is really about climate change.
Kelli: “You nailed it. What’s your favorite horror movie?”
Buddy: “My favorite would have to be Friday the 13th and of course Texas Chain Saw Massacre.”
Kelli: “We have something in common. Friday the 13th was my first. It started it all for me. I saw it at 9 and have been in love with horror since.”.
Buddy: “Oh, yeah? The first Friday the 13th, the original?”
Kelli: “Yes sir. I slept under my bed for two weeks after, but I was hooked.
While examining all these classic films, did the subject of the Halloween franchise come up?”
Buddy: “Yeah, yeah. We talk about it a lot throughout the series. We have John Carpenter talk about it. And we have Judy Greer from the new Halloween trilogy. They talk about the movies and Michael Myers in depth.”
Kelli: “That’s a hot topic right now. Out of curiosity, which film from that franchise is your favorite?
Buddy: “The original is hard to beat. Personally, I liked Rob Zombie’s remake. Not everyone shares my opinion [laughter].”
Kelli: “To tell you the truth, and I’m going to get some backlash for saying it, but I like Zombie’s franchise, but the original is number one. I like Green’s trilogy. To me, it’s all about, you know, compartmentalizing the movies, separating them without comparing them to each other. Seeing them as multiple franchises instead of one.”
Buddy: “Right. I see them all different from each other.”
Kelli: “Right. You have done so much work in the true crime genre, In your opinion, how does true crime connect to the horror genre?”
Buddy: “I think with the advent of cable, suddenly murder was all over TV. They started talking about serial killers and the “evil” in society and that gave filmmakers the inspiration for killers in franchises like Halloween, Friday the 13th, and American Psycho. That gave birth to a whole subgenre. That began a cataclysm. The idea that killers are just walking around and that you aren’t safe anywhere gave rise to a lot of movies.
Kelli: “That makes a lot of sense. I don’t care what anyone says, the 80s were the best decade for horror. What was your biggest wow moment while making the Blumhouse series for Epix?”
Buddy: “Every interview was all great, but getting to work with Robert Englund was so awesome. He’s so friendly and I don’t think people understand just how incredibly talented he is. He’s so much more than just Freddy.”
Kelli: “He’s super talented.”
I can’t wait to binge Blumhouse’s “Compendium of Horror.” If your interest has peaked, go on over to Epix and check out the first episodes now. We’ll keep you posted on future projects from James “Buddy” Day. Head over to ID where many of Buddy’s works are available and be sure to visit Epix of and Blumhouse on Twitter for more on this series and others.
