“Horror Cafe” (1990)

I’m a big proponent of celebrating the artists and people you love before they die. Once these people pass, there’s an outpouring of tributes and retrospectives and more; but why wait for when those folks are no longer around? To that end, it’s worth revisiting these genre icons in our lives that have, in some way or another, influenced who we are and what we love.

In September 1990, BBC Late Night ran a program featuring horror all stars discussing the genre. Clive Barker, John Carpenter, Roger Corman, Ramsey Campbell, Lisa Tuttle, and Peter Atkins gathered around a table to eat, drink, (smoke a bunch), and talk about their own views on why horror matters, what makes things scary, and some of their own experiences working within that particular section of the library/video store. When BBC reached out to Campbell, he supplied them with the following names while Barker takes point as the erstwhile host of the gathering; it’s basically Dinner For Five sponsored by Fangoria, taking place in a kitchen designed by Tim Burton, and it is all thoroughly engaging.

One of the best parts of the whole event is to see how and when each person lights up at what another is saying—there are more than a few times when the faces of Barker and Carpenter simultaneously turn to utter glee when listening to Corman.

The added element that makes this 80-minute special even more…well, special, is that group begins brainstorming on a new horror film (pitched as the ‘ultimate horror film for the end of the millennium”), using Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde as the genesis to spiral into other aspects, characters, and plot points. It’s an incredibly engrossing exercise that cleverly expands on the previous engrossing conversation while still providing insight into how the mind works of each of the participants.

Be sure to tell these people how much their work means to you now, before it appears in a eulogy or sentimental Tweet; it will do a lot more good for them to hear it while alive and may provide you with a deepening sense of connection to your artistic heroes.