Max Brooks
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“I think what terrifies me most is the follower. That’s the monster of society, the person who doesn’t think, they just do what they’re told. To me, that’s evil incarnate. Hitler was not as scary as history makes him out to be. It was the millions of followers who were truly frightening. They went along with it without doubt, without cause, without question. Followers come in all distinctions: There are gutless followers, mindless followers, but they’re still following.”
— Unofficial zombie defense provost Max Brooks is the author of The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, which has been adapted into a film starring Brad Pitt. It’s slated to hit theaters in December 2012.
Next: Frank Darabont
Frank Darabont
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“Pretty much everything in The Exorcist frightens me. It’s hard to get frightened as an adult, especially if you’re a geek and grew up with this stuff. It’s hard to get that frisson of fear. I think the first time The Exorcist hit DVD, there was a sequence cut together from the outtakes of Regan walking down the stairs bent over backwards like a spider. When I saw that — that was on a supplement of that first DVD — that really creeped me out. I got that feeling right back up my spine that went into my brain. I thought, ‘Oh my god, this is the most horrifying thing I’ve ever seen.’ It was great.
Then they rereleased another version of it on DVD and they put that scene back into the movie and did some digital work on it, and that took all the power out of it. The version that I saw on the first DVD release, as a supplement, that was the one that really kicked my ass, that was the one that was really frightening, I think because the first version was rougher. It wasn’t digitally enhanced. Man, did that creep me out. When that happens, I’m actually very grateful, because it’s the moment when you go, ‘Oh, they got me,’ and you get that sense of unease, that disquiet, and suddenly you’re locking your doors. It’s very cool. I love when that happens.”
— Three-time Academy Award nominee Frank Darabont is probably best known for his work on film adaptations of Stephen King’s work (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile and The Mist) but most recently, he became the catalyst behind the zombie apocalypse, serving as director and producer for the first season of AMC’s widely praised adaptation of zombie comic The Walking Dead. Now in its second season, the show airs at 9 PM ET on Sundays.
Next: Guillermo del Toro
