A
Trail
of
Blood
from
Jo’burg
to
Texas
-
JONATHAN
LIEBESMAN
During
the
“video
nasty”
era
of
the
1980s
many
of
us
got
to
see
movies
banned
on
our
soil
by
the
former
government
who
claimed
to
have
our
best
interests
at
heart
(further
expanding
their
knack
for
oppression
to
include
movie
fans!)
But,
thanks
to
the
Betamax
video
cassette,
many
tapes
filtered
through
our
borders,
ending
up
as
grainy
third
generation
copies
in
our
VCRs.
Besides
the
obligatory
Debbie
Does
Dallas
pornos,
classic
horror
titles
like
The
Exorcist,
Evil
Dead,
Maniac
and
of
course
The
Texas
Chain
Saw
Massacre
made
its
way
to
our
TV
screens
in
bleary,
bleeding
quality
-
but
watch
them
we
did,
multiple
times.
And
hey,
look
P.W.,
none
of
us
are
mass
murderers!
How
‘bout
you?
(And,
Botha
the
Groot
Krokodil,
dying
in
Wilderness
on
Halloween
is
just
beyond
ironic).
As
these
vivid,
shocking,
yet
fascinating
images
radiated
at
us,
little
did
we
know
that
several
decades
later,
one
of
these
legendary
controversial
underground
titles
would
get
a
mainstream
remake,
and
that
a
South
African
born
director
would
helm
its
subsequent
prequel.
Jonathan
Liebesman
had
his
big
Hollywood
break
with
the
box
office
success
of
Darkness
Falls.
Jerry
Bruckheimer
chum
and
power
player
in
his
own
right
Michael
Bay
produced
the
Texas
Chainsaw
Massacre
remake
a
few
years
back,
and
saw
Liebesman
as
the
right
man
to
realize
the
origins
of
the
cannibalistic
family
terrorizing
the
Texan
wasteland
in
TCM
The
Beginning.
I
must
admit,
while
in
London
in
September
of
this
year,
it
felt
quite
patriotic
to
see
the
movie’s
poster
in
the
subway
–
another
chapter
in
a
global
phenomenon
directed
by
a
South
African
(a
country
not
exactly
renowned
for
it
Horror
cinema,
but
rather
the
horror
of
Leon
Schuster-style
slapstick!).
With
leaps
of
this
magnitude,
going
from
a
film
school
short
movie
to
a
financial
hit
and
on
to
a
legendary
franchise,
rubbing
shoulders
with
A-list
producers,
we
are
foreseeing
great
things
for
Liebesman.
Paul
Blom
caught
up
with
him
recently
for
a
little
Q&A:
How
did
you
get
into
movies?
I
went
to
a
film
school
in
South
Africa
called
the
SA
School
of
Film,
TV
and
Drama
after
high
school.
I
then
attended
NYU.
My
thesis
short
film
Gesis
and
Catastrophe
got
me
agents
in
Hollywood.
How
did
you
get
into
horror
and
the
more
macabre
side
of
cinema
in
particular?
Horror
is
usually
where
young
director
who
have
not
had
much
experience
with
commercials
or
music
videos
get
their
break.
Do
you
feel
comfortable
in
the
genre
or
are
you
planning
on
expanding
beyond
its
parameters
soon?
I
am
planning
on
expanding
very
soon.
Many
aspiring
SA
movie-makers
are
always
encouraged
to
see
someone
from
our
part
of
the
world
cracking
it
abroad.
Give
us
a
little
rundown
of
your
path
to
success.
Just
get
a
reel
going.
The
internet
makes
the
world
a
small
place.
People
can
see
your
reel
all
over
the
world.
Don't
be
discouraged
if
it
all
feels
so
far
away,
just
make
a
short
film
or
a
spec
commercial
or
a
music
video.
Enter
film
festivals.
What
are
your
most
fond-,
and
worst
memories
of
South
Africa?
I
love
South
Africa.
My
friends
and
family.
Game
reserves,
going
to
watch
cricket
at
the
Wanderers...
Worst
memories
are
getting
car
jacked
and
tied
up
at
gunpoint
in
my
house.
Is
it
easy
for
you
to
juggle
entertainment,
commerce
and
artistic
expression?
It’s
always
a
challenge
to
do
a
movie
for
the
right
reasons.
I
believe
the
most
successful
directors
are
those
most
adept
at
making
the
correct
decisions
under
those
constraints.
What
are
your
top
5
movies
of
all
time,
and
your
top
5
horror
movies
in
particular?
The
list
changes
all
the
time.
Top
5
films
today
are:
1.
Braveheart
/
2.
Jaws
/
3.
Exorcist
/
4.
Terminator
2
/
5.
Seven
Samurai
Top
5
horror
films:
1.
Jaws
/
2.
Exorcist
/
3.
Aliens
/
4.
Rosemarys
Baby
/
5.
Seven
What
do
you
think
is
the
future
of
horror?
Hopefully
the
end
of
torture
horror
brings
back
more
interesting
stories
like
Rosemary's
Baby
and
real
old
school
stuff
like
Nosferatu.
What
can
we
expect
from
you
next?
Hopefully
something
great!
-
Paul
Blom
Click
below
for
Darkness
Falls
&
TCM
Beginning
reviews
|