Interview with TALES OF HALLOWEEN’s Dave Parker

To celebrate the October 16th release of the horror anthology Tales of Halloween, Daily Dead spoke to the filmmakers behind the movie to discuss the project, their individual contributions and more.

Writer/director Dave Parker has been part of the horror scene for many years, coming up through Charles Band’s Full Moon Features (where he directed his first feature, The Dead Hate the Living!) before going on to direct the excellent The Hills Run Red and ColdWater. His short “Sweet Tooth” kicks off Tales of Halloween in terrific fashion with real Halloween atmosphere, gore, and wickedly dark humor. Parker talks about the origins of his cautionary tale, the casting of some beloved genre stars and the pressures of going first.

So you know you’re going to be making this anthology with your filmmaking friends and you know you have free reign to do whatever you want. Where do you start coming up with the idea for “Sweet Tooth?”

Dave Parker: Mike [Mendez] and I talked a lot. Mike’s one of the other producers, along with Axelle [Carolyn] and Epic [Pictures Group]. At the initial stage, we had talked about getting Adrienne Barbeau. And we were like, “Hey, what if she’s a radio DJ?” Wow. I wonder how I came up with that? So I thought it might be interesting, since we’re asking her to do this, let’s have her be one of the last stories and have her star in it. So my initial thing was thinking of a story that would star Adrienne. But for whatever reason, my brain was faltering and I couldn’t come up with anything…

During the couple weeks that all the filmmakers were coming up with their ideas, I would come up with something but then I would see someone who would take a similar story with Halloween traditions or folklore and use it. So I thought, “Well, that’s better…they did it.” If they got their story in first, you kind of defer to them. So it was really kind of crunch time, and I was sitting with a friend of mine and he said, “Well, what about a candy monster?” But with the budget and time we had, it would be too hard to make a monster that looked like he was made out of candy.

But then it hit me, that conversation, and I thought, “What about a monster that eats candy?” And within the space of 30 seconds to a minute I had the whole thing mapped out: he eats candy, you have to leave it out for him, his name is "Sweet Tooth."

It was one of those things where I remember as a kid going trick-or-treating, and at least one Halloween where I came back and gorged on all my candy and was sick to my stomach. Well, what if the parents in this neighborhood had a story to tell kids so they wouldn’t do that, so they wouldn’t get sick at the end of the night.

One of the things I really like about your short is that—kind of like in Mike Dougherty’s Trick ’r Treat—it sets up very clear rules for Halloween, and the people who don’t follow the rules of Halloween are punished.

Dave Parker: I think Trick ’r Treat was on everyone’s minds a little bit because it’s so fucking good. It’s such a good movie that we had all seen—probably at the same screening together. The advantage that Mike had—and that some of the other filmmakers on ours had—was that he was using already established Halloween rules and Halloween traditions. I was sort of out there trying to make a brand new one that would still feel like, “Oh, wait, I’ve heard of that story before…”

When you were all originally putting the screenplay together, did you know that you were going to be first in the finished film?

Dave Parker: The order of the shorts was different initially. That came after all the shorts were done. Mine was originally next to last. It was just something that the producers, Mike and Axelle, and the other filmmakers decided on. I didn’t have a say. I mean, it was flattering that they were like, “Yeah, we think in terms of initially evoking what the movie is trying to be, this one quickly gets you in.” The Halloween aspect’s very prominent and it’s also not too comedic. It’s trying for scares and trying to be atmospheric while still having some dark fun.

When the Adrienne Barbeau stuff starts the movie, I knew right away that I was in really good hands with Tales of Halloween. Then your segment plays and it only strengthened that feeling—I was so on board, right down to the casting of Robert Rusler and Caroline Williams. You could have heard me stand up and cheer in the theater when they appeared. How did they come to be involved in your short?

Dave Parker: Caroline is someone I’ve known for a couple of years. The nice thing is that most of us know each other—we are a pretty big extended family within the horror community within Los Angeles, and now outside of it, too. I’ve known her for a while, and it was just like ,“Yes, I want her.” It was just that easy. She was so supportive and so excited. It was great. And she suggested Robert. She kind of put some pressure on me, because she said, “This is going to be my first onscreen kiss ever, so please get someone good-looking.” I said, “Yeah, but you kissed Leatherface in [The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2]…” and she said, “That doesn’t count.”

She really liked Robert and they knew each other, but they hadn’t worked together yet. He loved the project and he wanted to do it, so it was very easy.

I know you’ve worked with a lot of these filmmakers in the past, but from being on set and watching everyone direct their shorts, was there anything you picked up or learned in the process?

Dave Parker: What was interesting being on almost everyone else’s set (besides getting to do several cameos) was watching how each of us directs differently—just watching everyone’s techniques. And certainly you get the reverse when it’s your time and everyone stops by to visit and is watching at the monitors. It’s great to have that support, but it’s always like, “Ahhh, they’re watching.” It’s sort of in the back of your mind. They’re watching. They’re sizing you up. It’s kind of funny.

Having directed a number of features, how was the experience of working so quick and dirty? You have just a couple of days, you’re writing for a different format… was it something you would want to do again?

Dave Parker: Well, a lot of my stuff has been pretty quick and dirty. But what I’ve learned is that each experience is its own thing and should be its own thing. So I just embraced it. What was great about it was just having the experience of the other things I’ve directed and being able to have that knowledge and be very confident in knowing what you wanted. The really nice thing was the support from the other directors and Mike and Axelle as producers, and also from Patrick Ewald and Shaked Berenson. As producers, they were great. Even though it was limited time and it was a limited budget, within reason I had everything I needed. They really trusted and supported all the filmmakers.

You always want more time. You always wish you had more time. Sometimes certain shots have to be compromised or changed because of that. But ultimately, I’m really thrilled with what we managed to get down. It’s very, very close to what I had envisioned in my head and sometimes exceeded it.

What makes a great horror anthology?

Dave Parker: Diversity in the stories is a huge thing, so people don’t feel like it’s going on too long or get burned out. Each story has its own flavor and its own feel. What helps is that there’s one unifying element that ties everything together, whether that’s Halloween for us, or Creepshow had the comic book.

Because of the diversity, the audience never feels secure in knowing where they’re going next. Each story is a surprise. That’s what we were trying to do. Each story is a gift, a Halloween treat.

What’s your favorite segment from any horror anthology?

Dave Parker: My favorite segment from any anthology ever would be “The Crate” from Creepshow. I love all of Creepshow; Creepshow is the movie that made me want to make this movie, so it was pretty amazing to be asked to be part of an anthology. I love anthologies. But with that one, the story was really strong. The monster was awesome. The lighting, the music—everything came together for it to be the total package. And it scared me to death as a kid.

Tales of Halloween will be released in theaters and on VOD on October 16th from Epic Pictures Group.