On the 8th day El Diablo created the FDCs. Joey Strange, lead bass player with JD and the FDCs, may be one of the younger victims of Uber Rock's 13 Days Of Halloween but that doesn't mean he doesn't know his shit when it comes to horror flicks. When there's no more room in Hell, the Strange will walk the earth. Click that blood red link and enter a world of the macabre....

What are your most vivid childhood memories of Halloween?

Halloween was never a big thing when I was a kid. I've always loved Halloween but nobody around me was ever that interested. I do vaguely remember one year there was a Halloween party at school and I won a prize for bringing the best Halloween food. There was some kind of pink marshmallow Fluff kinda stuff around at the time and I used it to make some kind of finger-looking things. I can't remember whether they were nice or not but the obviously looked cool!

Why do you think that the worlds of horror and metal/punk have always been so closely linked?

Well I guess they're not the happiest of genres so if you're not gonna write songs about girls then you might as well write songs about zombies and dead children instead! It makes perfect sense to me.

Last year I asked if remakes and rehashes were killing horror, now it seems to be the in-your-face turkey that is 3D - what are your thoughts on this money-grabbing gimmick that is souring cinemas and the state of current horror in general?

Firstly, I think the whole 3D thing is utter bullshit. Not just for horror movies but across the board. If I want to see something in 3D I'll look out of the fucking window! I don't need to pay extortionate amounts of money to sit and stare at a screen for 90 minutes thinking about how, firstly, this movie really doesn't need any shitty gimmicks to make it better and, secondly, how the 3D is awful! I don't want to go and see a film to see how good the effects are, I just want to see an awesome film. Look how good Star Wars was before Lucas went and fucked it all up.

As for the state of horror, I'm kinda on the fence. On one hand there are some really cool and original ideas but then on the other hand there are still a fuckload of remakes around. Don't get me wrong, some of the remakes are great but was there really anything wrong with the original? I think it gets a bit silly when Hollywood starts to remake (or, let's say, bastardise) modern original horror. Let The Right One In is a great film and one of my favourite horror movies of the last few years so why there was any need for Hollywood to get hold of it, dumb it down and set it in America within two years of the original being released is beyond me.

I think the film industry is similar to the music industry in a way. The good, original ideas generally tend to come from the little, unknown filmmakers but the big studios won't take the chance of releasing their film in favour of some rom-com full of big names. It's pretty much the same story as record labels not taking a chance on a new band and just releasing a Nickelback b-sides record instead. I think things need to change for both industries to move forward but that's not my decision to make.

Has there been a horror remake that had bettered the original movie?

That's a tough one! I think the remake of Dawn Of The Dead is great and as a stand-alone zombie movie I'd be giving it a lot of praise. However, Dawn Of The Dead it is not. I thought Rob Zombie's Halloween was good too and I like that it had a lot darker feel than the original but still, the original is a classic and you can't fuck with the classics.

What's the greatest ever horror movie kill?

I dunno about the greatest ever but the liquid nitrogen kill in Jason X is pretty fucking cool! Not so sure about the rest of the film though! I like the one in Rob Zombie's Halloween where Myers picks up the guy by the throat, stabs him and leaves him hanging on the wall held on by the knife. That's some no-bullshit killing, there.

Who is the baddest ever horror movie villain... and why?

I've gotta go with Leatherface. He's just all-round fucking cool. I'd like to try some of that chilli.

Who is the greatest ever Scream Queen?

You know what, I've never really thought about that. I'm just gonna go for Jamie Lee Curtis because Halloween is on my mind.

Name your Top 5 favourite horror movies of all time... and tell us why??

5) Halloween - I love that Michael Myers doesn't say a word and doesn't give a fuck. Just killing folks left, right and centre.

4) The Evil Dead II - The film starts off by recapping (although it was all re-shot) the first film so there's really no need to watch it. Groovy!

3) The Texas Chain Saw Massacre - As I said, best killer ever. I never get tired of watching this film. Or any of the top 5, for that matter.

2) Shaun Of The Dead - It might be a horror-comedy but it's a work of pure genius nonetheless. Great scriptwriting, great kills and great gags.

1) Dawn Of The Dead - George Romero's original is, for me, the best film ever. I love every minute of this film from the storyline down to Tom Savini's 'special effects' that were way ahead of their time. Plus it had some great quotes!

What underrated horror movie would you recommend to our readers just in case they have never seen it?

I love Invasion Of The Body Snatchers. The '56 original and '78 remake are both great.

What is your guilty pleasure, the trashy horror flick that you hold dear but everyone else runs away from?

I know it's pretty bad but I really like Pet Sematary. Maybe it's because I'm a Ramones fan, who knows? Anyway, it's pretty pants but I'll happily watch it again and again.

What is the greatest ever horror movie poster?

It's not really anything special but I always really liked the Evil Dead poster. We even used it and edited it for a Halloween gig once.

What 'star' of the music world would you like to see slaughtered in gory horror movie style? How and why?

Every member of Nickelback, especially that horse-looking motherfucker. They deserve it for the utter shit they've spewed into the world over the last ten years or so. How? It doesn't matter how. All that matters is that you can't tell where one member ends and another begins. The bloodiest mess you could imagine. I think I'd start by making Chad Kroeger eat his own tongue to get him to shut the fuck up.

What are your plans for Halloween this year?

Nothing concrete as of yet but I believe a street party and chilli dogs have been mentioned.

www.jdandthefdcs.com

[Photo kudos to Rob Dray & Craig Lamont]