Marv Blauvelt is a new actor to the indie horror scene. He is also a writer and body builder. Marv has been in BEEF: YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT and SCULPTURE for Pete Jacelone and Screamkings/THR Productions. He's also set to act in Screamkings' upcoming production THE GREEN MONSTER and just had a part in Jason Stephenson and NFTS Productions' horror anthology TERROR OVERLOAD. His other upcoming acting jobs will be in Anthony Sumner's SLICES OF LIFE, Alan Rowe Kelly's DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT remake, and Patrick Desmond's CUT TO PIECES. Marv is also an organizer of the Dark Carnival Film Fest in Indiana, a show that specializes in showing various indie horror films and has many genre stars and indie filmmakers and actors as guests. Welcome Marv and I hope you enjoy my following Q&A session with him.

When did you first become interested in horror films?

I grew up on a farm in Southern Indiana so there really was not much to do. My older brother would watch a late night horror show hosted by the Indiana horror host Sammy Terry. I was about 7 and it terrified me, but then I became fascinated with the old Universal monsters, Frankenstein, the Wolf Man, Dracula, etc. Later, I was obsessed with the Hammer horror films. I loved the gothic sets, great actors like Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Ingrid Pitt, the blood and gore, and of course, the gorgeous women. As I grew up, I would see them all. From the 70's satanic films (THE EXORCIST, THE OMEN, THE SENTINEL), the 80's slasher flicks (HALLOWEEN, FRIDAY THE 13TH and the more obscure ones like HELL NIGHT and THE FUNHOUSE) up to the big studio and independent horror films of today. I truly am (and always have been) a horror geek!

While growing up, were becoming a body builder and an actor two of your main goals in life? Which did you find yourself pursuing first?

Actually, both came out of the blue, and were really never planned. Growing up, I was always the smallest kid in my class. When I was 15 I remember complaining about this to my dad (who was a very strong man from hard farm work and lifting weights). He taught me how to train with weights that he kept in our garage. I quickly packed on muscle and saw my body change. When I was in college I got a job as a bartender/bouncer and had to put in a lot of gym time to do that job. After college I joined a local gym where many bodybuilders trained and was inspired to enter my first bodybuilding competition in 1992. Placing second in my class, I got the bug to continue competing.

I then met my best friend, Gary Dean, a successful competitive bodybuilder and nutritionist who took me under his wing and I started winning at a regional level and was asked to start competing nationally. A promoter in the audience spotted me on stage and said I had a very marketable "West Coast" look (even though I am from the Mid-west) and my photos started appearing in fitness magazines, websites, nutritional ads and even the cover of a Christian music CD. I retired from competitive bodybuilding in 2002 after competing in over a dozen shows, but I still train six days a week and eat as healthy as possible. The acting came about because of the website www.northamericanbodies.com, a website that features hundreds of bodybuilders and fitness models and gets them work (print, acting, appearances, etc.).

I got an email from the site that the company Screamkings/THR Productions was casting for a film called BEEF about a serial killer who was targeting bodybuilders. Since this combined my two hobbies, I jumped at the chance to audition. We shot the audition in Indiana, and Pete called me a couple of weeks later and offered me the part. I had such a great time shooting BEEF that when I returned home I got an acting coach. (We did a trade out. I trained him in the gym three days a week and he gave me acting lessons twice a week.) I really owe all of this to Pete Jacelone and Alex Pucci of Screamkings/THR Productions and Mike of www.northamericanbodies.com. Big thanks!

What are your favorite horror films?

I still think that THE EXORCIST is the scariest movie of all time. I have a 13-year-old daughter and the thought of being powerless while a demonic force takes over your child scares the hell out of me (no pun intended). But I love so many films. I love werewolf films (my favorites: CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF, THE HOWLING, AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, DOG SOLDIERS and GINGER SNAPS), like I said, Hammer films (VAMPIRE LOVERS, COUNTESS DRACULA, VAMPIRE CIRCUS, THE REPTILE and THE GORGON), anything by Lucio Fulci, THE DEVIL'S REJECTS, RE-ANIMATOR, DAGON, SLITHER, THE MIST, THE BLOOD SHED, INSIDE and FRONTIERS (the French are making some kick ass horror films right now). The list is endless!

What is your opinion regarding today's horror films and the remakes of classics that Hollywood has been churning out constantly? Which most recent ones have you enjoyed or disliked?

I think remakes can go either way. Some films can be remade to be somewhat different, yet still interesting and some are entirely pointless. I really enjoyed the remakes of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, THE HILLS HAVE EYES, and DAWN OF THE DEAD, and while I am a huge fan of Rob Zombie, I am also a big fan of the original HALLOWEEN and found his remake pointless and not very interesting. I am not thrilled about a FRIDAY THE 13TH or NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET remake and if anyone gets the idea to remake THE EXORCIST they need to simply watch the awful remake of THE OMEN and forget it!

I do feel that there are some films that can be remade a little differently to be just as interesting as the original (Alan Rowe Kelly has hit the nail on the head with his plans to remake DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT and I am excited to be in the cast). Lately, I have seen very few horror films out of Hollywood that have impressed me (with the exceptions of last year's awesome THE MIST and 30 DAYS OF NIGHT). We just keep getting big budget crappy films like I AM LEGEND (what a piece of shit!). Right now, indie horror filmmakers are making some very disturbing and very good films! (And Hollywood could learn a lot from these filmmakers). One of the most disturbing horror films that I have seen in years was the recent French film INSIDE, controversial, graphic, and relentlessly frightening. This is what true horror is about, and Hollywood would never have the guts to make a film like this, let alone release it to the big screen!!

Let's discuss BEEF: YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT. How did you get the part of Professor Vincent Daniels and was it your first time acting? What was it like working with Pete Jacelone and Screamkings/THR Productions the first time around?

After Pete saw my audition tape, he later told me that part of the reason I got the role was my enthusiasm for the horror genre. I helped him come up with the incredible twist ending in BEEF and even helped write some of my character's dialogue. Pete credited me as one of the associate producers on the film. BEEF was my first acting gig and what a "juicy" role (still no pun intended) to start with. I modeled Prof. Vincent Daniels on two characters, the obvious one is Anthony Hopkins' "Hannibal Lecter." Like Lecter, Prof. Daniels is a psychotic genius, and will stop at nothing to achieve immortality with the "perfect" physique. The second (and not so obvious) is the soap actress Kimberlin Brown who played the best daytime villain of all time, the psychotic nurse Shiela Carter, on both THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS and THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL. Kimberlin Brown could go from cold and calculating to raving lunatic in the blink of an eye. A truly great actress who would be great in horror films!

BEEF went on to get great reviews (including on www.fearzone.com) and was even named by www.filmthreat.com as one of the top 10 best "unseen" indie films of 2007. It can be purchased at www.screamkings.com. Working with Pete and Screamkings on BEEF and (later on SCULPTURE) was an incredible learning experience and I really think BEEF is an interesting and unique little film. Pete and his wife Fran have become great friends to my family and I and we talk every week. That alone makes working together a very enjoyable experience!

How did you get your part in the film KILLFLOOR which has yet to see release? Could you tell us a little more about the movie and the production company?

KILLFLOOR was shot in 2006 by Impact Productions. It was shot in some very creepy locations (an old abandoned state mental institute that was supposedly haunted, a real slaughter house, etc.). I play a white trash thug who thinks with his muscles instead of his brain and picks a fight with the wrong guy. This was my first fight scene and I felt like I got hit by a bus the next day. I would like to say that I got the part because of my acting skills in the audition, but I really think it was because of my sleeveless T-shirt (LOL!). The title of this film has changed several times and it is an "unofficial" sequel to Impact Productions film RAGE (it has been called RAGE 2 and also SEEDS OF RAGE). It has a good story, great locations and lots of gore but I hear that there is a legal dispute with the distributor, so I don't know when (or if) the film will come out.

Stephen Hicks, the special effects artist on BEEF, has also done effects for DAS HAUSE for Screamkings, Terry West's FLESH FOR THE BEAST for Fever Dreams Productions, and worked as executive producer on EXHUMED for Brian Clement and Frontline Films. His most recent effects work is, of course, SCULPTURE. What was Stephen like working on the sets of BEEF and SCULPTURE?

Stephen is awesome and we became good friends on the set of BEEF. He actually took my family and I shopping with him to buy items for "guts" for a scene in that movie. We stayed friends after BEEF and it was so great to work with him again on SCULPTURE. His work in SCULPTURE is going to blow everybody away. He is a true horror geek like me!

Let's discuss SCULPTURE which you just did for Pete and Screamkings. I understand it's a very intense, violent, and gory movie. It has a great cast including Raine Brown, Susan Adriensen, Misty Mundae, Jeff Dylan Graham, Alan Rowe Kelly, Michael Thomas, etc. What was the production like?

SCULPTURE was kind of born during the Dark Carnival Film Fest last year. I had just picked Raine Brown up at the airport, with Marcus (100 TEARS) Koch. We were driving to the fest because BEEF was playing as a double feature with 100 TEARS that night. Pete called and said that he and Paul Quintero (one of the writers of BEEF) had an idea about a female artist who was murdering bodybuilders. After the fest, Pete, Paul and I worked online for about six weeks writing SCULPTURE. We included Raine, because we knew we wanted her as the lead character, Ashley Steele. SCULPTURE was shot in June and July at Roller Coaster studios (and surrounding locations) in New Jersey. It was a blast to shoot and the cast and crew all became great friends. The story is very intense and controversial and everyone involved gave 110%. I think SCULPTURE is going to far exceed the expectations of true hardcore horror fans because it was made by horror fans for horror fans!

What was it like working with Raine, Susan, Misty, Jeff, Alan, and the other cast and crew members?

Everyone was awesome! Raine and I had worked together before at the DCFF 2007, and a lot of horror conventions. She is a true professional, great actress and still has a lot of fun on the set (occasionally pulling practical jokes on people). I did not have any scenes with Misty/Erin, but I did hang with her several times and she is very sweet, incredibly intelligent and her knowledge of all things horror blows me away! Susan Adriensen is incredibly funny! I fell in love with her when I saw her play the inbred Daisy Duke character, Sno Cakes, in THE BLOOD SHED and suggested her to play my abused wife, Rose, in SCULPTURE. Our scenes are so intense and Susie cracked me up so much that I had to be in a different room away from her about 30 minutes before we would shoot!

Jeff Dylan Graham and I became good friends also on the set of SCULPTURE. He is incredibly nice, very laid back and a great actor. He put a lot of humor in his character in SCULPTURE. He is a Special Guest at this year's DCFF and we are talking about doing another project together. Like me, he truly loves the horror genre!

What can I say about Alan Rowe Kelly, one of the nicest and most energetic people you will ever meet (he actually talks more than me!). I love THE BLOOD SHED and approached him about SCULPTURE and was honored when he accepted. His character is hilarious. He really camped it up!

The actor that plays my son, Dustin Kerns, also a very nice guy and great actor, has a pilot this fall on NBC called KINGS. He is someone to keep an eye on! And bodybuilders and first time actors David Gilkey, Jeremy Mulkey and Austin Dossey all did incredible jobs. I predict we will be seeing more of these guys too! (After SCULPTURE, Davie Gilkey co-starred with me in NFTS Productions' TERROR OVERLOAD and has been added as a special guest at DCFF 2008). The rest of the cast and the crew were all incredible. I made some life-long friends shooting SCULPTURE and I am sure we will work again on other projects in the future.

You're going to be working for Jason Stephenson and Not For The Squeamish Productions in Minnesota on TERROR OVERLOAD. I understand it's an anthology film and the segment you act in was written by Joe Knetter. Can you tell us a little bit about the segment and the part you play?

I met Jason at the Fangoria con in Chicago in 2007. I loved his zombie film DOOMED TO CONSUME and begged him to put me in one of his films if he had the right role for me. He called me in early summer and told me about his anthology TERROR OVERLOAD which is about a satanic truck driver (Joe Knetter) telling three horror stories to a female hitchhiker. I play the lead in the "Lot Lizard" segment which is about a cocky truck driver who is coerced by his friend (David Gilkey) to visit a certain "roadhouse" that is well known as a place to pick up beautiful and promiscuous women. Unfortunately the women I pick up have a far more sinister plan for me than just a wild night of partying! Working with Jason and Joe Knetter was loads of fun and we shot at a very sleazy roadhouse/bar in the back roads of Wisconsin. The third installment in the anthology, "Mongo Chupo" stars my friend, first Jason in FRIDAY THE 13TH, Ari Lehman!

You're next acting job after TERROR OVERLOAD is going to be the new Screamkings/THR production entitled THE GREEN MONSTER. What's this one supposed to be about and what character do you play? Is Pete directing again?

THE GREEN MONSTER has a very 80's horror film vibe (think MOTEL HELL) and was written by my writing partner, Trevor Wright (who collaborated on the screenplay for SCULPTURE). I play a charming but corrupt, southern sheriff who works in a suburb of Boston where the residents take justice in there own hands. Pete and Alex Pucci are producing the film but it is being directed by the very talented (and young) Nolan Ball and Bryan Roberts who have collaborated with Screamkings on several projects.

I understand you'll be working on the next Dark Carnival Film Fest in Bloomington, Indiana this September. What was last year's show like and what are some of the films and guest appearances on the slate for September?

Last year was our first year and it was very successful. We had special guests like Raine Brown and Ari Lehman and screened some incredible indie horror films (THE BLOOD SHED, NYMPHA, 100 TEARS, BEEF, DEATH BY ENGAGEMENT, CANNIBAL FLESH RIOT, W.O.R.M. and SMALL TOWN FOLK just to name a few). We had screenings at a local drive-in (with attendance of around 400 people) and two days at the historic Buskirk-Chumley Theatre in downtown Bloomington, Indiana. We even ended the event with a 70's-80's slasher-themed costume-dance party. We had about 1400-1500 in attendance over the weekend.

This year we are twice as big. One of our sponsors is the incredible Rue Morgue Magazine. Our awesome guests include Ken Foree, Tiffany Shepis, Ari Lehman, John Dugan, Alan Rowe Kelly, Susan Adriensen, Jeff Dylan Graham, David Gilkey and many, many more! We are screening some incredible indie horror films including DARK REEL, HOME SICK, BONNIE AND CLYDE VS. DRACULA, EEL GIRL, UNDER THE RAVEN'S WING, the world premiere of Alan Rowe Kelly's A FAR CRY FROM HOME and the festival premiere of the SCULPTURE and PSYCHOSYMATICA trailers and much, much more! DCFF grows every year and I do believe that it will become one of the premier indie horror film festivals in the country. Check out the website at www.darkcarnivalfilmfest.com and make plans to attend!

It seems like you'll be pretty busy well through the end of 2008 and into 2009. I understand that after the Dark Carnival Film Fest, you'll be acting in Anthony Sumner's anthology film SLICES OF LIFE which will be shooting in Chicago. Who all is set to star in this one and what will the segment you act in be about?

I first saw Anthony's short W.O.R.M. at last year's DCFF. It is incredible and won best SPFX at DCFF and won a lot of other awards at other fests. Anthony is a very nice guy and contacted me in February about playing a main character in the wraparound story of SLICES OF LIFE. I play an elderly owner of a run-down old hotel in Chicago. As the movie progresses, the audience finds out that this "elderly'' gentleman is not quite what he portrays and has a very sinister alterior motive for the young female employee that he and his invalid wife took in off the streets. Anthony is an incredible writer and filmmaker, and I am thrilled to be working with him. He is also co-directing and co-producing DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT with Alan Rowe Kelly.

By late 2008/early 2009 you'll be acting in Alan Rowe Kelly's remake of DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT. I see that Debbie Rochon, Raine Brown, Terry West, Jeff Dylan Graham, Jerry Murdock, etc. are all set to star. What character will you be playing? Are you looking forward to this one?

I am looking forward to this one for many reasons:

1. I am working with the great Alan Rowe Kelly and Anthony Sumner.

2. Like SCULPTURE, an incredible cast.

3. It is being shot an hour away from my home in Southern Indiana. (Very little travel for me. YEAH!)

4. My daughter, Aubrie, has been cast in a small role (how cool to appear in a film with my daughter).

5. And of course, to be in the remake of a classic grindhouse film from the 70's!

I play Dan the telephone repairman and if you have seen the original, you know what happens to him. I am sure that Alan and Anthony are going to make it very graphic and disturbing. My scenes will be with the incredible Terry West and Debbie Rochon. How lucky am I!

I understand that in 2009 you'll have a part in Patrick Desmond and New Illusions Pictures' CUT TO PIECES which has some pretty big horror names attached including Kane Hodder, Michael Berryman, and Tony Todd. What's this one supposed to be about? Do you think it will be a fun production?

Patrick approached me about playing the lead detective in CUT TO PIECES which is based on true, grisly murders that took place in the Mid-west. He does have several big genre names interested in this project. It looks like it will shoot sometime in 2009. Check out his website at www.newillusionspictures.com.

Besides acting, you also are a writer. Are you working on anything currently?

Right now I am finishing a script with Trevor Wright called STRONGER THAN DEATH. While we were writing SCULPTURE one of my best friends died on his birthday of a terrible drug addiction. He was only 39 years old. Watching someone you care about fight and eventually succumb to an addiction is more horrifying than any movie that I have seen. This had a terrible impact on me and has haunted me everyday! A few months ago I decided that it would be very therapeutic to write a horror script around drug addiction. I teamed with Trevor (who is an amazing horror writer) and we have come up with a very dark and disturbing script that combines the pain and suffering of an addiction (not only by the one addicted but also by that person's friends and family) with supernatural elements. I already have some very talented filmmakers and actors interested when the script is finished!

Before we conclude, are there any other indie filmmakers or production companies you have not yet worked with that you hope to work with in the near future?

I have been very lucky to have the fortune to work with Pete and Alex of Screamkings (and would work for them again). The same goes for Jason Stephenson and Joe Knetter. I am thrilled to be working with Alan Rowe Kelly and Anthony Sumner (a dream come true). I would love to work with all of the "Jersey" crew: Joshua (AUNT ROSE) Nelson, Susan (UNDER THE RAVEN'S WING) Adriensen, Stolis (CROSSED) Hadjicharalambous, Bart (VINDICATION) Mastonardi. You guys rock! Also, Fred Vogel of Toe Tag Pictures (THE REDSIN TOWER is very disturbing), Mel (CLOSET SPACE, WALKING DISTANCE) House, and Ryan (LIVE FEED, GUTTERBALLS) Nicholson just to name a few! I would also like to do a movie with Tiffany Shepis (what guy wouldn't?). So if any filmmakers need to cast "muscle" in their next project, please consider me! (You can contact me on my MySpace page; Marv Blauvelt. Or by email at bodyblauvelt@yahoo.com).

Mario, thanks so much for the interview and your interest. I am sure we will be talking again soon!

Thank you for your time. We the fans are certainly looking forward to SCULPTURE, TERROR OVERLOAD, and all the others.

You can visit Marv on MySpace at www.myspace.com/201517614