A Q&A WITH JOSEPH A. CITRO
I first started writing to Mr. Citro during the summer of 1999. It first started as a "fan-email" to him. But he responded. After that I felt like the little dog running around Spike in the old Tom and Jerry cartoons, but the tables have yet to turn and I don't think they ever will. But instantly I noticed something about Mr. Citro that I found rather interesting. He was very honest about quite a few things. He also came across as a rather nice person. While there has never been any "regular" correspondence, he has always been very approachable. So below is a short Q&A that I asked him to answer, that became a rather lengthy Q&A thanks to his answer on the movie question. All in all, since Mr. Citro was the first to be the subject of fan mail from me, he has made it a great experience. I hope you enjoy this little stop. I hope to have an interview up eventually.
1. Name, Date of Birth, Occupation, are you married and if so any kids:
Joseph A. Citro,
1/5/48,
Writer,
Not married,
No kids.
2. First thing you do after writing a book:
Generally I encounter a feeling of minor depression which I battle by
taking a little vacation.
3. Who are some other authors you enjoy and would recommend:
There are
so many. My earliest influences were probably Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,
H.P.Lovecraft, and John Steinbeck. Today I enjoy books by Jim DeFilippi
(whose novel Duck Alley just came out), Ernest Hebert (a fine novelist
from New Hampshire), and James Ellroy. But there are so many I like. I
could go on and on. My favorite author, at the moment, is probably
Howard Frank Mosher
4. How do you feel about the way "Horror" novels seem to be getting more
and more graphic with sex and violence:
I agree. For the most part I stopped reading horror novels long ago.
5. What is a constant source of inspiration to you:
The unknown. There are so many mysteries. There is so much we don't
know.
6. What is you most recent project:
I'm working on a book about the Connecticut River, trying to collect
much of the lore and legend associated with that 411 miles of water.
7. What type of music do you enjoy:
Generally quiet stuff that helps me
sustain a mood when I'm working.
8. What are you favorite Horror movies:
(Mr. Citro was nice enough to pass along this article he wrote for a magazine to me. I hope you enjoy it!)
It is difficult to isolate five "favorite" horror films from the hundreds I've seen and the dozens I love. One thing makes the choice a little easier: I've been asked to identify "favorites" rather than "best," so my judgment is subjective rather than critical. To make the process more painless I have eliminated favorite films that, arguably, belong in genres other than horror. For example, two of my all time favorite movies are King Kong and Jaws, but strictly speaking these might be called "giant animal" films rather than horror. There is no element of the supernatural in either. I have also excluded favorites such as Psycho and Silence of the Lambs as they are "psychofilms," with no preternatural component. Same for Invasion of the Body Snatchers and War of the Worlds -- great, but science fiction. As much as I hate genre labels, I have, for the purposes of this exercise, confined my choices (and my definition) to scary films involving the supernatural. Even with such artificial restrictions the choice is not easy. My favorites? Well, I guess they are the films that I repeatedly recommend with great enthusiasm. The films I keep coming back to. The ones I've seen several times and would eagerly watch again. So, in no particular order, my choices are:
#1. NIGHT OF THE DEMON a.k.a. Curse Of The Demon (directed by Jacques Tourneur, 1958) is a film about conversions. The main character and the audience evolve from doubters to terrified believers as the reality of preternatural danger becomes more and more convincing. It is not that we suspend disbelief only while the movie is running; afterwards we're left with the unsettling notion that malevolent occult forces may well exist. This depth of experience would not have been possible in lesser hands. Charles Bennet's script is intelligent; Tourneur's direction is masterful. The villain -- based on Aleister Crowley -- is one of the screen's best. DEMON frightens because it attacks our beliefs and our sense of reality. (Related favorites: The Exorcist and Pumpkinhead)
# 2. BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935) is by far my favorite Universal monster movie. For me its power comes from its insistence, right from the beginning, that everything is a little misaligned and abnormal. There is no point at which the viewer feels at ease, no comfortable frame of reference. Where is the action taking place? When? Why is there an ongoing sense of disturbed sexuality? Why are all the births -- from Dr. Praetorius's alchemical homunculi to the monster's electrified bride -- unnatural? James Whale's magnificent vision is a perverse nightmare -- one that forces us to laugh even as we suffer. Visually magnificent, completely odd, totally unforgettable. (Same era contenders: Frankenstein and Devil Doll)
# 3. THE BODY SNATCHER (1945)-- This time we know exactly where we are and why we're there: 1831, Edinburgh. Producer Val Lewton and director Robert Wise pay careful attention to period and historic detail making the grim reality of medical grave robbing all the more vivid. The supernatural element is ambiguous and therefore -- at least to me -- stronger and more compelling. Performances by Boris Karloff, Henry Daniell and Bela Lugosi are perfectly matched to the material. All of Lewton's remarkable films are fixed forever in my memory because of horrific scenes and unsettling images. There are several of both in The Body Snatcher, but the pace and ghastly imagery of its climax make one of the most horrifying episodes in film history. (It is difficult to explain why this is my favorite Val Lewton film. Close contenders are Cat People and I Walked with a Zombie)
# 4. THE HAUNTING -- Robert Wise also directed this favorite. Released in 1963, some of the styles, dialogue, and pseudo-scientific jargon have not aged well. But if one can get past that, this is probably the most nerve-wracking haunted house picture ever made. Psychic investigators take up residence in a long-unoccupied haunted mansion somewhere in rural New England. One psychic's disturbed mind acts as a catalyst to release the house's pent-up evil. The resulting terror is almost painful. Forget the remake. (Other ghostly favorites: The Uninvited, The Innocents, and...)
# 5. THE LADY IN WHITE -- On one level my affection for Frank LaLoggia's modern classic is easy to explain: the film's world is similar to the world I grew up in: small town, Italian grandparents, loving blue collar parents, cronies interested in monsters and ghosts, all innocently played out against a nearly invisible real-life background of racial tension and horrifying adult crime. Writer-director LaLoggia so perfectly recreates the 1960s childhood experience that one totally identifies with young Frankie Scarlatti (Lukas Haas) as he's caught up with murder, ghosts, a benevolent madwoman, and a precious family friend who feigns love while plotting Frankie's murder. Strong stuff, but executed with intelligence, sensitivity, wit and an appealing gentleness of spirit (none of which lessens the razor-edged Hitchcockian suspense). I have probably watched this film and recommended it more than any other. (A second favorite modern ghost story is THE SHINING (the Kubrick version, not the lunkheaded TV mini-series).
9. How do you feel about Charles Shultz retiring:
He deserves a rest.
10. Who is your favorite character on "The Simpsons":
Maggie. Because there is still hope for her. But my real affinity is with Homer. He is my Mr. Hyde. Or maybe my Dr. Jekyll.
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