Interview: Talking Horror with (Chuck Dakota – Bass) of The Chuck Norris Experiment

In this interview we talk horror with bassist Chuck Dakota of Swedish rock band, The Chuck Norris Experiment.

1. What’s some of your earliest memories surrounding horror films and at what age do you think you experienced your first one?

A friend of mine had an older brother who had a copy of “Friday the 13th” on VHS. I think we were about 10-12 years old at the time. Albeit a slasher movie, but I thought it was so scary at the time.

2. What effect do you think it had on you, either positive or negative?

Hopefully positive. I haven’t run a knife though a camp attendee yet and we even wrote a song about Jason on our latest album.

3. Do you have a particular moment in horror, be it a specific film or even a scene, that defined your childhood?

I’ve always despised the scene in Pet Sematary where Gage lies under the bed and cuts Jud’s Achilles tendon off. It still gives me the creeps thinking about it.

4. What used to scare you?

To down in quicksand. As I grew older I realised that quicksand isn’t that much of a problem in Sweden.

5. How did your early experiences blossom into a love of all things horror?

I think I fell in love with the suspense, never knowing when the killer will strike and trying to find out who the killer is or trying to find out who will survive. That has followed me over in other movie genres as well. I’m a huge fan of unpredictable movies that tries to screw your mind.

6. Do you have a particular era or style of horror that you deem the best? If so, which one, why, and what are some examples of the best of that era/style?

I like sci-fi and I find the mix of horror in a space futurism style pleasing as it covers both grounds really well with movies such as Event Horizon and the Alien movies.

7. How about genres – are you a slasher fan, paranormal lover, gorefest enjoyer, etc, or is a little bit of everything ok with you?

I like them all. I like the slasher classics as much as the weird and eerie ones. And for the most time I find the gorefest movies just funny as they are often very much over the edge in gore.

8. What’s the best horror film to watch alone and why?

I don’t know which the best one is to watch alone. Last one I saw on my own was Ghost Ship, and it was a good one. But I guess any one of the horror movies that is set in a house environment makes you check if you locked the doors and windows before you go to bed at night.

9. Likewise, what’s the best horror film to watch with a group (beers and popcorn included) and why?

If it is with my friends, then it is the classics. You got Halloween, Friday the 13th, Alien, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Exorcist and so on.

10. What is an overrated film or franchise? Please explain.

Every remake ever made. They seldom make the original story any better. Just want to make more money and that is a shame.

11. What is a modern horror film (the last ten years) that you just loved and why?

After the first time I saw Saw, I was so happy. Because I couldn’t figure out that Jigsaw was the other person in the room. It was a good movie with a solid tension factor and an unexpected ending, just the way I liked it. Unfortunately all the sequels didn’t hold up to the standards of the first one.

12. What scares you now?

What will come first – the world going bankrupt or the world turning into a nuclear barbeque.

Thanks for the questions!

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