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Lucifer, Zombies, and Public Nausea: The Fulci Interview
By Mike E. PurfieldLucifer Fulci is the author of the brilliantly disgusting novella "Siki City." He is also the bassist of Penis Fly Trap, a filmmaker, and an unconditional lover of horror.
Siki City has to be one of the most gratuitously gory books since "Exquisite Corps" and "American Psycho." Was that intended or was story intended first?
SIKI CITY was intended to be a Story of Splatter at first, no more, no less. It was -in a personal way- a homage to the great Splatter stories that inspire me…such books as Jack Ketchum's OFF SEASON and its sequel, OFFSPRING, Chas Balun's NINTH and HELL STREET as well as the deepest, most notorious Horror staples seen in the words written by David J. Schow or John Skipp and Craig Spector. Authors such as these are immortal inspiration. Old School Clive Barker was just as amazing in its own way…well crafted GORE stories!
Pretty much there is no 'good guy' running through the story. You do toy with a police detective, almost hinting that they would be the hero, but then you scratch that in the end. Did you find it difficult to move forward without a traditional protagonist?
No, not really...for me, story development such as this leans almost on the same angle as an 'anti-hero' does in a film…like George Clooney's character in FROM DUSK till DAWN…or even better, try to think like a Munster, where Monsters and Beings from Beyond have a perspective that is equally important as a common protagonist.
You said, " I am not a writer. Jack Ketchum, Chas Balun, Dave Schow…THOSE are writers. What I am is someone with a story to tell, something in me that needs to get out. Same as a song, film or clarified verbal dedication to the genre."
What do you think makes a writer, and why don't you fall into it?
Perhaps what I was meaning to say with that quote is that I am an artist of Horror that firstly plays the bass in Penis Flytrap...if I wrote as much as I played in PFT I would have a slew of books with my name all over 'em! Also, I look up to these ghouls such as Dave Schow or Chas Balun not only because of their obvious talent but also because they have befriended me when they did not have to and supported my Family Of Horror's endeavors. I wanted to recognize that distinction in my compliments to them.
The ending is somewhat pro-Christian: Evil meets an evil end, a fate worse than death. Is that a safe interpretation?
I would say that the end of the book unfolds into something completely NON Christian. There is no Christian belief that I have so I would not intend to speak of that kind of thing in one of my stories. There is nothing about that belief that interests me right now. I find it all very small minded and crippling to the truth that we all know is out there, beyond Time and Space.... on the tale end of that, if you will, try to think of SIKI CITY as a Gorehound's 'Simarillion' of sorts...a story of Horror that only hints at the beginnings of something wicked, something much bigger than your average Hobbit.
You've been on the Dark Delicacies Bestsellers list for a few weeks now. Did you expect that to happen, to be on anyone's list?
Maybe on a Catholic Church's hit list. Dark Delicacies rules. I love Sue and Del.
What was the most bizarre reaction you received form a fan who read your book?
I have been told that I am sick since I was in the 3rd grade telling other kids how cool it was to see Gene Simmons spit blood and breathe fire. I got similar reactions on SIKI CITY. I guess I am not really surprised but it does make me giggle. I would be surprised if someone read it and found the meaning of life or something.
Any bad public reaction?
Yeah, I was told that Hot Topic would not carry it…and a younger sister of a close ghoulfriend of mine had borrowed it and took it to high school where an interested teacher asked to read a small bit of it. Upon first glance she -from what I was told-began to gag and sigh. She took the book, made the younger sister an example in front of her class and called the parents. The parents, from what I am told, told the teacher she would not bring the book back again. Ah, Higher Learning.
I understand that you are busy with a film and making music with Penis Flytrap, but can we expect a new book sometime in the future, possibly a full novel?
Yes, for sure. I love the mythos of Lovecraftian Lore and Tolkien adventure and fantasy. I love the continuity and the imagination of entirely new and Horrific worlds. I imagine SIKI CITY as a platform for a continuing bloodline, a story that will unfold Terror and Splatter into massive structures within the blackest of minds. What I am working on now is a full novel...who knows when I will finish it. I have several bloody, gory, fucked up and Horror filled chapters happening right now, but with the new Penis Flytrap album, (DISMEMBERMENT), just coming out and a tour before me I have to focus on that end of the spectrum. The new book is called -so far- 'Of Horror, Darkness and Halloween'...it continues-far far into the future of the SIKI CITY world after Darkness and Demons, Beasts and Bloodbaths have taken over the everyday walk of life. Instead of Baseball and Politics on the covers of newspapers, its Cannibals and Inhuman Mutations that feast on the brains of infants every fucking day, and the few survivors in this Undead-World may or may not make it through sundown. There is something that has plagued the Earth. Its force is nothing you could witness without dissolving into a pile of fleshen, mangled pulp.
What is your film about and how was it made?
Actually, my film endeavor on the Cinematic scale is called GOREHOUNDS and remains unfinished due to money. That's about the time I decided to really do some writing. That's a one man army there...no need for a lotta dough and outside influence. I commend Rob Zombie for even completing his film. BEHIND the WALLS of GORE is the DVD that Wormfood Horror and Horde Entertainment will be releasing this Halloween, 2002. It's a Documentary on the inner workings and personal viewpoints of some of the coolest independent and major Horror Players in the Genre. We celebrate their work and contributions to Horror in these interviews and oversights...all set to a Horror filled, humorous tone backed by some of the heaviest and most ghoulish tunes this side of Dunwich. This is only Volume 1; we just began shooting on Volume 2 a few Nights ago when we interviewed Bob Muraski-the awesome Sam Raimi editor- and Sage Stallone of GrindHouse Releasing
Thanks for the time Lucifer.
For more information on the work of Lucifer Fulci just head to any of the following sites.
Critical Raves for Mike Purfield's "Dirty Boots."
"If you're looking for a good read, something you've never experienced before, then this is the book for you." Paul Kane of Terror Tales.
Rated 3 out of 4 by Unhinged Magazine.
-Click the cover to find out more-