Editor's Note: This was originally published for FANGORIA on October 5, 2015, and we're proud to share it as part of The Gingold Files.
Kane Hodder has been a solo slasher in many a film, and now Old 37 gives him a perfect partner in crime: fellow horror veteran Bill Moseley. Fango visited the Old 37 set and spoke to Hodder about his latest horrific vehicle.
“Vehicle” in this case is literal: Old 37 (on VOD and DVD from Epic Pictures in the U.S. and Anchor Bay in Canada) casts Hodder and Moseley as Jon Roy and Darryl, deranged brothers who drive their own ambulance of death. Intercepting 911 calls, they pick up victims from accident scenes and take them to their compound in an auto junkyard, subjecting them to horrible fates. During a break in a scene in which the psycho siblings terrorize heroine Amy (Caitlin Harris), Fango sits down with Hodder (who, for most of the film, wears a mask over the lower portion of his face) in the makeup trailer.
You’ve been attached to Old 37 for some time now, ever since writer/producer Paul Travers first approached you about the project at a FANGORIA convention. Have you had any input into your part over that period?
I haven’t, really. If something isn’t in the works or funded, I don’t normally do too much changing character stuff until I know we’re really going, and then I start having a lot more input. I can’t say how much has changed on this from the very beginning, because I don’t know if I ever read a script early on that was much different from what we’re doing now.
How has the experience of the shoot been so far?
It’s fantastic. The crew is great, except the makeup and hair are bitches, man. [Laughs all around] No, it really is a great crew, and everybody seems to be enjoying themselves. And I was able to bring on my buddy Rick McCallum to help with the stunts; he and I have been working together for more than 30 years.
Has acting opposite Bill Moseley been a highlight?
That is the best. When Paul called and asked my opinion on whether we should get Bill to play my brother, I said, “I can’t think of a better idea.” He and I have done films together in the past—we did Fallen Angels and The Devil’s Rejects—but we never really had any scenes together. And then there’s the fact that we’re roughly the same age; he really is three years older than me, and that’s what Darryl is supposed to be to Jon Roy. I just thought it was a fantastic idea, because Bill and I have known each other for a long time, and we’ve got a great chemistry and a long history together, and we can put that into play as far as playing brothers.
Have the two of you come up with bits of business between yourselves to further develop that relationship on screen?
Yeah, and we’re doing some of that tonight. There are some very subtle things, which is the kind of stuff I always did with Victor Crowley, too. I would add little touches that hopefully the audience picked up on; even if they didn’t, they may have gotten them subconsciously. That’s what I’m trying to do with Jon Roy, because sometimes when you try too hard, it doesn’t work. You know that old saying, less is more? Sometimes, less works.
You and McCallum have done some dangerous-sounding stunts for Old 37.
Yeah, I think I made some people nervous driving the car [laughs], cutting in front of Rick, right in between his car and the camera car. The camera was on a crane and I actually brought my car in under that, so Jeremy, the key grip, had to be on his game—which he’s very good at. He had to make sure he watched my car so that I didn’t hit the camera.
There’s also a gag where a girl is standing on two moving cars, which is pretty ambitious for an independent film like this.
There was a lot of coverage on that because the stuntwoman, Hannah Scott, was doubling two different characters, so it took a while to do. They have been pretty fair with the budget for the stunts. They’re not trying to undercut anything, and they’re not asking me to do anything unsafe. In that respect, I’m very happy with the production.
Have there been any highlights in terms of the scenes you’ve been doing as Jon Roy?
Well, it was very cool to meet a younger version of my character the other day, when I saw the kid they chose to play Jon Roy at age 11. The only other time I’ve worked with a younger version of me was when Rileah [Vanderbilt], Adam Green’s wife, played young Victor in the Hatchet movies, and she was under prosthetics. That was very odd—a beautiful 20something woman playing my character as a kid! There’s something weird there…
Was the boy portraying your younger self aware of you and the films you’ve done?
Yeah, they both were, the younger Darryl too. I don’t know if they’ve seen the movies, but certainly, it’s hard to not be aware of the Jason character. Whether you’ve watched the films or not, he’s just so widely known.
Old 37 is one of those films—and this doesn’t happen to me very often—where it’s actually going to be a downer when it’s over, just because it has been so enjoyable. The only other times were probably my first Jason movie [Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood], and the Hatchet movies are always like that because Adam creates a fun, fun set, so you never hate going to work.
You’ve played so many villainous characters by this point; do you find it difficult to find roles that give you something fresh to do, like Jon Roy does?
It is a little bit difficult. I’ve killed so many people on film that you would think I’d get a little tired of it, but I just like the motivation for my character in this one, and for Bill’s character also. It’s a different type of motivation toward violence than anything I’ve ever done before. Usually it’s retribution or just psychotic rage or something, but this has a bit of a backstory to why we do these things. That makes it more interesting and understandable for me. Paul and the rest of the team are very open to listening to my and Bill’s ideas about character stuff, and that makes it great. It doesn’t mean that everything we suggest is right and works, but they’re always open to listening to it, and very often say, “You know what? That’s pretty good. Let’s try that.” That’s the ideal situation for an actor: to have open-minded filmmakers. It makes the experience that much more enjoyable.
As you go further on in your career, do you find yourself less willing to go through prosthetics for three hours or however long it takes to apply?
Yeah, a little bit [laughs]. I said recently that I would never do another prosthetic role unless it was for Adam Green. That’s just how I feel. I would do it for Adam because I love his writing and his directing, but I’m getting a little tired of it. I don’t want to say that I’m too good for it or anything, because that’s not the case, but it does start to wear on you when you’ve done it so many times. It’s such a pleasure to come into a trailer on a movie like this, get 10 minutes of straight makeup and go out and shoot.
