Michael O'May Interviews Roy Kynrim
Roy Knyrim has had his fingers in lots and lots of stuff over the last 20 years, from the Toxic Avenger, to Power Rangers to ICP, and more recently directing classic films like Night Skies and Cemetery Gates. Being a native of Rochester NY I wanted to shot him a line for an interview and a look at some of his movies good and bad. Roy was cool enough to do an interview over a few emails and as it would turn out he’s a pretty down to earth kick ass dude.
What follows is a pretty great interview that gives some insight into the unappreciated work of a B movie director and FX artist, people we here at Micro-Shock cherish.
Check out his FX/Production Company and resume at
- First of all Roy please briefly describe who you are and what you do for the uninformed.
I am Roy Knyrim, founder and owner of SOTA. We are a full service make up effects company that has recently evolved into a production company for low budget horror/sci fi movies and music videos.
- What were your influences as a kid? What kind of cinema warped your brain into was it is today?
My biggest influences movie wise were the original Universal horror movies. Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy. I LOVED those when I was a kid. As far as movies warping my brain. My sister and brother would take me to the Lakeshore drive in when I was 3 or 4. I saw double features of films like FROGS and LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT when I was 4. I think that had a lot to do with me liking horror. As far a other influences--Alice Cooper has a huge part in me being what I am today. I wouldn't be doing this if it weren't for his music.
- Your originally from Rochester NY, how did growing up here play into your career in special effects then eventually directing?
When I was 14, I met Pat Tantalo and Derek DeVoe, 2 local artists that went on to do a lot of professional Hollywood stuff. They taught me how to do FX the real way. Not what I was doing by myself in my basement. I was lucky that there were other people in Rochester doing this. It seemed like there was a big creative horror community there for some reason. Also DEG came to town and shot SLUGS locally. That was a big deal to Pat and I. I am still best friends with Pat Tantalo to this day. He wrote and produced Demons at the Door with me. We are currently doing a futuristic car crash movie together.
- How did you get your start in effects? What was some of your early work?
Pat and I were lucky to get the FX for SLUGS when they came to town to film. Basically there was no one else but us to hire. After that I did a little seen film produced by the owner of The Little Theater called CHEAP SHOTS. Some, genre crossing crime kinda movie. I had been communicating with Herscell Gordon Lewis , who was going to produce BLOOD FEAST 2. It wasn't quite going yet but some of the people he was working with knew TROMA. They recommended me for TOXIC AVENGER 2. That's pretty much how I got going. After that, Jerry Macaluso(who I met at TROMA) and I went to LA and started SOTA together.
- What was your experience working for Troma like?
It was great!! They basically let us do whatever we wanted. We were making something ridiculous like $250 a week and sleeping on the floor of an abandoned Masonic Temple, which we were using as a shop. We had a blast. We were 17, away from home for the first time and making monsters!
- Lloyd Kaufman mad genius or cheap Jew bastard?
Definitely a genius!! Lloyd is responsible for creating so many wacky characters. You can totally tell a TROMA film just by the way it looks. On top of a creative side, he is an amazing business man. I have mad respect for him. Ya know maybe they didn't pay a lot, but at least you got it, which is more than I can say for a big genre studio we worked for in the mid 90's.
- You quickly sought greener pastures leaving the east coast for the west, how different are the two environments to work in?
The west coast is completely different, especially for make up effects. We could always tell which coast a movie was made on by the way the effects looked. I always thought the sculpting styles were completely different. I think things here are a lot more corporate. Film making on the east coast is a lot more guerilla style. I haven't worked there in 20 years though so I can't say what its like now.
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What were some of the early productions you worked on? Any funny stories to share?
When we did SLUGS I saw a horse kick over a panavision camera. That was pretty funny. I got on THE ABYSS soon after moving to LA. I actually got to see James Cameron punch his brother Mike underwater. That was awesome.
- Eventually you made your own FX house, SOTA, how did that come to be?
Jerry and I moved out here after TOXIC 2. We worked at a place called Mark Williams Effects for a while. We did PSYCHO COP, SYNGENOR, a few others there. Mark was a great guy, but we were doing all the work for him. So we left and started our own shop.
- SOTA has made quite a name for its self providing great effects to movies on a budget, is this something you aimed for from the start?
I think at the beginning we wanted to get bigger shows and bigger budgets. We actually almost had Texas Chainsaw 3 when we first started. But after a while we got into this position where we could do the little shows as well as the big shows. We kept our overhead low. It was a nice place to be because there really wasn't any compertition in that budget range.
- Now onto your directing career. Did you feel the call or were thrown into it somehow?
No I definitely planned it out. I was in Winnipeg doing FX for a couple movies. It sucked. There was nothing to do there. A real miserable place. The director was a real nice guy, but he hated horror movies. I asked him why he was doing it and he said for a paycheck. I decided I could do just as bad a job, so when I got back to LA I decided to shoot a music video with my own money just to show I could do something. It was for ICP's SOUTHWEST VOODOO. When it was done, I sent it to ICP thinking I would get a T-shirt or something. Within 2 days, they called me and hired me to direct a 30 second commercial for MTV for their next album. After that I got more music video work, and this gave me the ability to get DEMONS AT THE DOOR, CEMETERY GATES, and NIGHT SKIES going.
- Your first film Demons at the Door is not without it’s flaws, frankly we wont pussy foot around the subject it’s a visual enema at times BUT its a lot of fun and that’s what we appreciate at Micro Shock. Please describe how the movie came about and your experiences on set.
LOLOL! Pat T and I wanted to do a film together badly. We were building sets for ICP's Hatchet Rising Tour. We approached my friend, John Schouweiler, who was head of production at IRS Media, and Full Moon for a while. He gave us the money to make it. So off we went. We did WHATEVER we wanted. That movie was made solely as something that Pat and I wanted to see. That's our sense of humor. It makes me laugh when I see people on the net saying how it was a serious movie gone horribly wrong. How can you watch it and not know we were trying to be funny. The other thing that bothers me is people saying we were bigots for some of the ethnic stuff in the movie. If anyone paid attention, any time a demon made some kind of racial slur, weather it was black or Italian or whatever, the demon got chopped up. We were punishing bigots. I guess that was lost on people. I think people are a little too sensitive these days.
- Your casting choice of Rick Castellano is to anyone outside of Rochester NY nothing important but around the flower city he was for quite some time notorious with his role on the controversial cable access show “Life without Shame”. Did this play into his getting the lead part? Please describe the connection to Demons at the Door and Rick Castellano
Rick was a childhood friend of Pat's. Well hanging out with Pat, naturally I got sucked into the world of Rick! He is a great guy. Funny as hell and has a real big heart. He really takes his acting seriously. I knew him before Life Without Shame, but after I saw his Night of the Living Bums episode, I knew I had to work with him. Pat and I are planning on using him in our next film.
- You then went on to do work with the Insane Clown Posse, which are again controversial figures. What are they like behind the stage personas?
Those guys are my Homies for life! I love them and would do anything for them. They gave me my directing career. They are great guys and not phonies at all. They do what they say they will and are about as genuine as anyone could be. When you start working with them it’s like being taken into a family, and you are part of it for life.
- Your second and third movies were much more polished as you seemed more comfortable as a director. In particular you seemed to have a lot of fun with Cemetery gates. In the film you use lots of elements we an Micro Shock demand from B-cinema, nudity, pot joke, more nudity, excessive gore, practical effects and Reggie Banister. Are there intentional elements of your movies?
Yes-- when we were making GATES we intentionally wanted to throw all the elements of a good fun 80s Boobs and Blood movie. I wanted gallons of blood spraying out of every wound!
- The market for direct to video movies is constantly changing, now more and more it seems if you cant get a major retailer interested in your film or play it on the SCI-FI channel you can’t get it made. Has the change from the days of mom and pop video stores to now made it more difficult to be in the business?
It has definitely changed the budgets we have to work with. It used to be if you could make a movie for a million you were guaranteed a profit. Now it keeps dropping lower and lower. I could be directing all the $250k movies I wanted right now if I could keep cranking them out. Its just real hard to make something that keeps being entertaining at that budget level.
- What excites you now as a film maker and effects man?
I think for the most part as a film maker I am excited about what can be done with HD. It really frees you up from the restraints of a big camera. I directed some additional scenes for a movie called CANES with Eddie Furlong and Michael Madsen. It was the first thing I got to do in HD. It looked great. You can instantly see what your footage looks like. As far as effects, I don't think there is anything groundbreaking technically. I am really excited about seeing how STARSHIP TROOPERS 3 turns out. We spent all of 2007 making the animatronic bugs for it.
- What do you feel currently hurts the independent horror scene? What helps it?
It’s a double sided sword. Anyone can get a 24p DV or HD camera and make a horror movie now with Final Cut Pro. That opens up the flood gates for a lotta real dogshit, but on the other hand I'm waiting for some kid in the middle of no where to pick up a camera and make the next Evil Dead. It hasn't happened yet, but its coming. Indie horror is gonna get real interesting in the next few years.
- Ultimately as a director where do you want to go creatively and artistically?
I just want to make films that are entertaining and fun. The worst thing a movie can be is boring. There is a difference between bad/boring and bad/fun. At least a film like Demons at the Door is entertaining and always has something happening. Weather you like it or not at least it’s not boring.
- Finally what can we expect from you in the future? Plug away.
As far as effects goes--we finished STARSHIP TROOPERS 3: Marauder, are currently working on a cool demon movie called FORGET ME NOT, and have been doing a lot of neat promo commercials for FEAR Net. On the directing front--Pat and I are writing a futuristic car chase Death Race meets Twisted Metal type film. It looks like we have it financed and ICP will star. I also have a deal to do an anthology TV show with Alice Cooper hosting that MTV was interested in before the strike. I don't know where that's at now. The strike might have totally done that project in.
Also check out our review of Mr. Krynrim's objects d'art in our reviews section: Demons at the Door & Cemetery Gates
