I'm proud to present the Dark Mass monsters from Darkmass.com. In particular, I'm proud to present their newest undead member, The Zombie! I recently had the pleasure of chatting with the creator of these moving works of art, David Martino. A self-employed mortician with a band called " Vincent Price is Right". Here's what he had to say to Zombie Can't Love and a bonus video from his band and their first title track " Miss Zombie Beauty Pageant". Enjoy the interview...
For those of us out there who don't know...what is a motionette and how did you get inspired to start making them?
Mechanical monsters have been around forever. the early versions were paper machee. in the late 70's early 80's ( 80's was the horror golden age) Topstone (known for their masks and sculps) began putting out their 4 monster line. Dracula, Witch, Gorilla, Ghost. Then along came TELCO. They coined the word "motionettes" .
Their 1988 line of original characters were the absolute best. I compare them to volkswagens because they were built well on the same platform. They had mail order catalogs and were sold in stores like Harrows, Walmart, Sams Club, & Sears.
Collectors like myself go absolute ape shit for these items because they emit a creepy nostaligia due to their 2ft stature. They were made on wooden bases, had one or double arm motion, light up, and some had sound.
very cool...
The rare models are very hard to come by and are worth small fortunes on Ebay.
So how did you become a creator of these little members of the monster world?
- Glad you asked. Once commercialized the quality and originality of the monsters went down. They were made cheaply and were soon licensed through Universal, which i believe is where they lost their appeal.
- As a kid ( born 1980) i remeber being dragged through Harrows on L.I. with my grandmother during the holidays. On one of those occasions a huge orange box with a REd 2 ft Devil caught my eye! As I got closer i realized that there was an entire cast of ghouls boxed and ready to be carried out of the store. After pleading my case for buying a 2ft Devil, I left the store empty handed. The prices varied from $80 - $200. Which is an extremely hard sell for an 8 year old with a lust for the Devil! Now as an adult ,or at least i think , I stumbled across them on the internet and eventually hunted them all down one by one at all costs.
Telco was based in Hicksville long island and went out of business in the 90's...I've always thought that someone should pick up where they left off. But with superior character sculps and quality materials. That Red Devil today can fetch up to $2500. I wish my grandmother was alive today so we could have a good laugh together.
What else do you do besides make awesome monster motionettes?
I am currently a self employed MORTICIAN, but always have tried to find my way back into the arts which is my true passion. These guys have done that for me. Through creating the MONSTER RACE line I have found a way to give people my art through these very cool and usual collectors items that are sure to cause a SCREAM. My first creation: "the zombie" is the ressurection of everything i have ever loved about horror and the 80's.
How long have you been collecting them?
I have been collecting them for 6 years now, but I started taking them apart and eventually learned how to repair them. They made so many different variations, so i began to realize which ones were made the better. It then dawned on me that i need to make my own, especially since I collected them all. My prototypes took up a good chunk of 2011. I set a goal to have them finished by Halloween 2011, which i did. Now they are center stage for Halloween 2012.
What type of zombie is your based on? The walking dead or the infected?
I tried to create the essential zombie.
What is the essential zombie to you?
I would say that my zombie is a cross between Lucio Fulci's classic and the 1990 romero remake of night of the living dead- along with whatever i sketched out originally.
what is the best way for people to get their hands on one of your zombies or other monsters?
I am currently in production and will have more details soon. I plan to sell them on my site and possible ebay. I would also like to get them in local shops that support independent artists, as well as good friends with internet stores of their own as well.
Can you tell me a few details of the zombie motionette itself?
He is 2ft tall. Once poured in vinyl his brain will glow as well as his eye.- Double arm motion, classic rocking head motion, electric plug in, wood base with a collectors box.
AWESOME!...
Is there anything else you would like to add about your company or about zombies in general?
CONSIDER IT AN HONOR TO STAND WITH MY ZOMBIE COMMUNITY! OFCOURSE, I CHOSE THE ZOMBIE DUE TO HIS INFAMOUS HORROR STATURE. BUT ALSO BECAUSE I WANTED TO PROVE THAT JUST BECAUSE SOME THINGS ARE OVER DONE, DOESNT MEAN THAT CANT BE DONE, AND DONE THE RIGHT WAY!For more information go to : http://darkmass.com/Home.html
Hope you enjoyed this interview...stay tuned for more interviews from artists doing great things with the undead.
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