Melantha Blackthorne Interview
By Vaughan Dyche

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Now I wouldn't say that Melantha Blackthorne was evil, far from it. She is in fact a very pleasant level headed person whose love of horror happens to occasionally drench her in blood whilst wearing the odd fetish outfit. Nothing wrong with that, but don't be fooled into thinking that our Melantha is a one trick pony, capable of nothing more that showing her curves and vamping it up! She is indeed one smart cookie whose staring roles in independent genre productions such as The Night They Returned and Sinners and Saints has gained her not only a whole gaggle of loyal fans but, in the case of the latter film, valuable production experience. Melantha has a veracious screen presence which is hard to ignore so we just had to track her down for an interview which she very kindly agreed to do. Here are the results.......

Could you start off by telling our readers a little bit about how you got into the genre movie scene?

My taste for horror began at a very young age; I was always writing stories or making mini home movies…each with more blood or violence than the last. As I grew my taste for horror evolved into something of a fetish and I began exploring new and unique ways of expressing myself. In 1999 I created the web site Bathoria.com dousing myself in a fantasy world of sex and death. Little did I know that the site would gain popularity from those who shared my same love of the genre and I acquired (what seemed like over night) a large fan base. Shortly after, I was contacted to play the lead role of a vampire in a locally based independent film.

Perhaps one of your biggest cinematic endeavours to date is your film Sinners and Saints which you co-wrote, directed and stared in. Could you tell us a little about the film and how it came to be?

The film is about a priest who is tormented by his clairvoyant dreams, which in turn drive him to fight crime and the forces of evil. The demon slaying priest and his partner, Sister Jordan Merrick, get more than they bargained for when summoned by the Queen Of Hell to bring justice to the Hell dimension. After meeting on the set of another independent film Jason Cavalier and I discovered that we had a couple of mutual interests, which were filmmaking and horror/exploitation cinema. We decided to embark on a project of our own, one that would reflect our unique sense of humors and paranoid conspiracy theories. Three years later, Sinners And Saints was born.

You produced Sinners and Saints through your own company Robomonkey productions, which you co own with fellow actor Jason Cavalier. Could this mark the beginning of a behind-the-scenes career or can you reassure your many fans that you will still be vamping it up in style?

It is indeed the beginning of a behind the scenes career but I will never give up performing. Trying my hand at directing/producing has taught me many things and because I now have a greater understanding of cinema as a whole, I am able to grow in all aspects including acting.

Sinners and Saints has some pretty energetic fight sequences in which you seem to lap up, especially whilst squaring up to fellow Robomonkey owner Jason Cavalier. Was it fun using your womanly charms to kick his ass and did Jason give you any pointers as far as the physical demands of the shoot?

The fight scenes were a blast! Although I do have some martial arts training Jason is a professional stuntman/coordinator and his expertise made this scene a success. Unlike some of the other fight scenes in Sinners And Saints, we only had three days of training to prepare and it was the first time I had ever picked up the sai (a Japanese martial arts weapon). Thanks to Jason, the sequence holds it’s own along side the others in the film...perhaps my womanly charms had something to do with it too (Bats Eyelashes).

Your debut film role came in 2004 with SV Bell’s highly entertaining tribute to b movie drive-in horror The Night They Returned. Was it fun to play one of the twisted Taggart sisters along side Suzi Lorraine and Elisabeth Faure?

If you consider hanging out with two deadly vixens, a fabulously cool crew and spending the day munching on intestines fun…. then yes! Overall it was a great experience! I’m actually looking forward to working with Suzi again next month on the film She Demons Of The Black Sun. It’s been said that we have a lot of chemistry on screen but we also have tons off screen… almost like real sisters.

You also have a couple of other Sv Bell projects up your sleeve due out during 2005 including Purple Glow and the previously mentioned She Demons of the Black Sun. Could you tell us a little about these films and the roles you play?

Purple Glow is about a meteor that crashes on earth and some campers in the neighborhood decide to venture in the woods to find it before the authorities. Problems arise when I touch the alien rock because it turns me into a monster that feeds on sex and human flesh. I’m not sure if I would consider that a problem but hey, it’s what the synopsis said. The majority of this shoot took place outside which was a nice change and should definitely add to the cinematography. Also, the cast and crew were so much fun to work with…it truly was a labor of love!!! Overall, I think Purple Glow will be SV Bell’s best film to date. I believe She Demons Of The Black Sun is SV Bell’s tribute to the cult classic Mantis In Lace and although my character wasn’t in the original I have the honor of playing the epitome of all evil…Lucifer.

Sniffing around the internet as one does from time to time; I noticed that you are currently playing the lead role in KBG Films Tender Flesh For The Zombie Goddess. That is one cool title but what the heck is it all about and, as the Zombie Goddess will you be chewing on raw meat again?

Directed by Patrick Aird (co-director of The Night They Returned) Tender Flesh For The Zombie Goddess is about a group of friends who decide to stop at Chief's Campground for the weekend. Little do they know that for more than 60 years, the Mother of all zombies (myself) has been roaming the face of the earth on a tight leash. Nurtured, cared for, and kept in bondage by the reclusive Chief, Zombie Goddess, an 86-year-old sexy zombie that feeds exclusively on female flesh, will finally break free! For all of you cannibal fans out there, I will be chewing on raw girl meat this time….yummy!

I suppose it would be a totally stupid question to ask what your favourite film genre is as I already know that, like the rest of us, you are a horror freak to the core. To a non-horror fan, it can sometimes be hard explaining why we love that scary, grossed out feeling. What does the genre mean to you?

Laurell K. Hamilton said it best…
 "...why I'm so sympathetic to the monsters. The answer is simple. Because I am one."

What are your thoughts on the current trend to remake/rehash old horror movies including successful Japanese fright flicks? Do you think that mainstream cinema is struggling to find original ideas and do you think that this is a good thing for independent producers who aren’t afraid to make something different?

I am a huge fan of Japanese cinema and am fortunate because I live close to a large urban area where these films are accessible to me. I realize that there are a lot of people out there that don’t have this privilege and most of them will likely see the American versions of The Ring, The Grudge and now Dark Water before viewing the originals. The good thing about remaking these films is that it will motivate viewers to track down the original versions as well as turn them on to a whole different world of cinema.

What would be the one thing you’d like to be remembered for during your movie career?

Just to be remembered would be nice. But if I had to choose it would most likely be for my uninhibited tastelessness. People should worry less about what others think of their work and instead concentrate on doing what they love…this is what true art is all about.