Quotes

Bruce Campbell is great in Sundown [Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1989)]. Bruce Campbell doing Van Helsing you can't really beat.

The one I was most disappointed with, the one that should've been a great movie because it was a great script but they fired me from it, was Prince Valiant (1997). That was supposed to be like The Princess Bride (1987) or The Holy Grail [Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)], that's how it was meant to be, but the Germans didn't want that at all. If you're making a totally different movie than the financers want, it's always going to be a nightmare. It's fine to make the same kind of movie tone and just argue about cuts and such, but when they think they're making Braveheart (1995) and you think you're making Monty Python, that's trouble all the way.

[about the casting of Knife Edge (2009)] The funny thing is we got Peter O'Toole's son, Lorcan; Knife Edge is his first movie! He looks just like Peter. We also got Richard Harris' son as well as Mick Jagger's. It's hysterical. I told the producers they should have "O'Toole - Harris - Jagger" on the poster!

[about working with Steven Seagal] He is a nightmare! He's impossible; he doesn't turn up, he refuses to say any line that's written, it's just ridiculous. I sat back when I was making it [Submerged (2005)] and said "I'm a better director than this" so I went back to what I like to do, which is write and direct horror.

[on the challenges of making his earlier films on low budgets] Every director always wishes they had more time or a bigger budget! I'd love to have $20 million. It's only a hindrance not having money, but it does keep your energy up because you're always doing so many set-ups a day. You certainly lose weight; that's the only advantage. It isn't directing; it's compromising. You just do the best you can.

[on Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat] Sundown got so messed up, which was upsetting because it was my second movie. I had a three-picture deal with Vestron and they were going to release it right after Earth Girls Are Easy. They said if that movie didn't make any money they'd fold. So I went to the premiere of Earth Girls Are Easy and just saw Sundown going down the drain. So Vestron went down and Sundown went with it!

Waxwork is just a great premise. I especially like Waxwork II because I went so over the top, even though we shot it for like a hundred bucks. If you look, none of the sets had walls!

[on Jill Rips (2000)] Originally Tom Berenger was supposed to play the cop, which he would have fit perfectly because he's got that perfect look. Then at the last minute they said, "Tom Berenger has pulled out, here's Dolph Lundrgren!". It's pretty awful. I loved the locations though! And Dolph Lundgren is a very sweet guy, fun to work with. But the producers went back and shot all this weird S& M stuff that wasn't meant to be there. It was nice to be in Toronto, though!

[on Waxwork 3] There's always someone coming to me about doing another Waxwork but it never quite happens.