Writer/director Jeff Lieberman is widely known in horror circles as the mastermind behind the cult favorites "Squirm" and "Blue Sunshine." The former was a bona fide drive-in hit in 1976, while the latter received a very limited release in 1978, only to find a huge cult following years later on television. His subsequent genre work included the overlooked slasher film "Just Before Dawn" in 1980 and the bizarre sci/fi thriller "Remote Control" in 1987. For almost 16 years he's been out of the genre spotlight, focusing mainly on television work. Fortunately for fans, the last couple of years have brought on a Lieberman renaissance of sorts. First came the beautiful widescreen DVD release of "Squirm" (finally uncut). Then last year Synapse DVD released the special edition of "Blue Sunshine," complete with a soundtrack CD and amazing commentary by Lieberman. This year the writer/director comes full circle with his first full-on horror outing in over 20 years. "Satan's Little Helper," a new DV production, is a black satire that comments on, among other things, pop culture and the nuclear family. It stars Alexander Brickel as a 10-year-old video game fanatic who meets up with the wrong masked maniac one Halloween. The cast also features the wonderful Amanda Plummer as Brickel's oblivious mother and Katheryn Winnick (Hellraiser: Hellworld) as his sister. (You can find more information on the film at www.satanslittlehelper.com.)

Lieberman took some time out of his busy PR schedule to talk with That Snow Ghost about his acclaimed genre work - and his highly anticipated new film.

You started your career in educational films (the subversive anti-drug short "The Ringer" is available as an extra on the "Blue Sunshine" disc). Was it a conscious decision on your part to pursue the horror genre? Were there certain films from that period that were particularly influential to you as a writer/director?

I never thought about pursuing any particular genre of film, horror included. I suppose I gravitated to horror because it's naturally subversive and allows you to say and do things that you can't do in other forms. It's a place where 'sick' is a good thing. But, funny enough, the film that hooked me into wanting to make movies was "Blow-up" which is not a horror movie at all. So go figure...

One of your trademarks as a director is your ability to finesse strong performances from relatively unknown actors. How did you find your leads for "Squirm;" Don Scardino and the amazing Patricia Pearcy? Was there any rehearsal period?

Don had been one of the revolving Jesuses in the "God Spell" cast, which was produced by Edgar Lansbury and Joe Beruh, the same producers as "Squirm." So they knew Donny well and what he could do. And we hit if off right away. Pat Pearcy just came in through normal casting channels as I recall it. Far as rehearsals, I only remember rehearsing right there on location before the shooting of a scene. And that was my first experience of learning how important it is that I am also the writer of the movie because during that first rehearsal on set, if something sucks the big one, you have to get that Bic pen out and make the thing work.

"Squirm" was a pretty big hit for you in 1976. Why was it so difficult to secure funding for "Blue Sunshine?" You'd think that the independent film companies would have lined up around the block to finance your follow-up...

If the equivalent thing happened today, a 26-year-old writes and directs a horror film that's well received all over the world, companies would line up to get him on their next film. But back then, it was fairly routine that small independent horror films got theatrical runs, so, yeah, the door was open for me but I still had to hustle like everyone else.

"Blue Sunshine" has one of the most insidious scores to ever grace a '70's film - horror or otherwise. (It was a genius move for Synapse to include the soundtrack CD in their special edition DVD release, but they neglected to credit composer Charles Gross.) It's hard to imagine the film without the music over that memorable title sequence. What was your working relationship with Gross or was his participation solely independent from yours?

No way! One thing I always do is work very closely with my composers, just like with my cinematographers and editors. Charles Gross is a genius, plain and simple. I'll never forget working on "Blue Sunshine" with him. After hours and hours of talking theory, it always comes down to me saying 'come up with something and we'll work from there as a reference. If I don't like it, at least it's a start because by carving away what I don't like will lead to what I do like and hopefully what the composer likes too. He or she must like it as much as I do or it ain't gonna be great. Anyway, Charles calls me up and says, 'Come to my apartment I want to play something for you on the piano.' He sits me down, then mounts up behind his baby grand and play these simple single five notes: da - da, da,da,da. I got the proverbial goose bumps. How could something that simple be that creepy and that on the money? I got a flash back to the first time I heard the little boy's voice singing the "Squirm" theme. Bang! You just know. Charles, wherever you are, kudos and Don May of Synapse left his credit out only because he was not sure the producer had cleared rights or something. A big mistake because they're cleared. By the way, on my new film "Satan's Little Helper," I had a great working relationship with a composer named David Horowitz and the resulting score he produced is nothing short of fantastic.

For budgetary considerations (on "Blue Sunshine"), you had to substitute California for New York. Were there any other changes made from the original script?

Tons of them. The flashbacks to the 60s campus was the biggest. You got to see all the players ten years before buying and taking the bad acid.

"Just Before Dawn" was the first genre film where you did not actually have a hand in the writing. Is it more difficult, from a directing standpoint, to work with someone else's material?

Well, as I've pointed out in countless interviews by now, I certainly DID have a hand in the writing. And my arms, legs and several internal organs in it too. It was actually based on a script called 'The Last Ritual' that was pre-sold providing one of a short list of directors would sign on, me being one of them. The script, in a word, sucked-- it centered around some hillbilly snake ritual in the Smokey Mountains written by a guy named Marc Arywitz. I took the thing with the proviso that I could do anything I wanted with the script as long as I kept the character's names the same so a foreign buyer doing a quick flip through wouldn't say, 'Yikes, this isn't the movie I bought!' Anyway, I didn't take a writing credit because I never would have created a kids lost-in-the-woods horror movie on my own, but I did it under a pen name, Gregg Irving which is credited as co - writer. It's a combination of my nephew's name and my father's. I've exchanged e-mailsÊwith the guy who wrote the original recently, seems like a nice enough guy. Only met him once back then, but he didn't play any role in the massive re-write I did, which I continued to do throughout the filming. A lot of the set pieces in that movie were non-scripted and done on the fly.

There are some great gonzo Lieberman touches in "Dawn," not the least of which is the unconventional climax.

The basic premise of five campers going up to the mountains was in the original. Most of the dialogue was changed and they had hillbilly twins who not only talked but was supposed to marry one of the girls in the group. I think that's where the snake ceremony came in, too long ago to remember.

And did the actors (including "Airport's" George Kennedy) contribute at all to the dialogue?

George stuck to the word on the page, but Mike Kellen was real Actor's Studio. So the first day of his shooting, we sat down in that church together and re-wrote all his dialogue.

"Dawn" is one of the few slasher films from the early 80's that managed to be both scary and subversive. When did you last view it and what are your thoughts on the film now?

It was screened at the Cine Muerte Film Festival in Vancouver two years ago where I was the special guest. I hadn't seen it in several years before that. I think it holds up pretty good. Lots have movies have ripped off elements of it since then, and many have accused ME of ripping off "Hills Have Eyes" and "Texas Chainsaw" which to this day I haven't seen either of. Maybe like demented minds think alike, but the only thing I ripped off elements of in that film is "Deliverance."

Is there a special edition DVD release planned in the near future?

No. Everyone's chomping at the bit to put it out on DVD but the owners of the film don't seem to be interested. A real shame because I know (no one) likes that dark, grainy 80's Paragon video.

How did "Remote Control" come about? Though it was written and directed by you, it doesn't feel as though you had as much control over the production as your earlier work.

You're right, I didn't. It was actually made on 'remote control' by a company that did seven low budget movies all at the same time. It was my most unpleasant film experience to date and I rarely talk about it.

Was the casting of Kevin Dillon in the lead studio-imposed?

Actually, no. I saw him in "Platoon" and was impressed by him in that film.

"Satan's Little Helper" looks like a return to the edgy, social satire that was so prevalent in the independent horror films of the '70's. Can you tell us a little about the premise?

A little kid named Douglas is obsessed with this video game called Satan's Little Helper and dresses up as the character for Halloween. Pissed off at his sister for bringing some dorky boyfriend back from college with her when he had his heart set on trick or treating just with her, he sets out on his own looking for Satan. Luck would have it that some psycho dressed in a Satan costume is out on a local killing spree, killing people in their houses and dragging them out in broad daylight and propping them up in their Halloween lawn displays. Instead of the locals calling the cops, they ask him to pose for pictures thinking it's all in the spirit of Halloween. When Douglas happens by, it sure looks like his game to him, so he asks Satan if he could kill his sister's new boyfriend and send him down to hell, and of course, if he could also be Satan's Little Helper.

From what I've read, "Satan's Little Helper" sounds like it's the most intimate of your genre work yet, though thematically it appears to be the most ambitious. Is the young protagonist (played by Alexander Brickel) and his relationship with the silent killer a comment on the desensitization of violence with America's youth?

Yep. The line between 'pretend' and real is getting thinner and thinner with each new version of Play Station. Hologram violence is right around the corner and soon the only way a kid'll know for sure he didn't actually kill someone is if he can pass his hand through his victim. If he can, it's pretend and he's scored ten points. If he can't, it's off to juvenile court.

Amanda Plummer is such an amazing, underrated actress. Was she familiar with your work?

Yeah, she seemed to be a big horror freak and loved "Squirm."

How did you like working with HD video? Is it a medium that you would work with again?

It's got its advantages and many disadvantages. The lighting actually takes longer than film, because to get the film look you need to light pretty much the same way. But it takes extra time to flag off all the hot spots that you wouldn't have with film, which has far more latitude. On the plus side, you save big time in time and money in post and effects.

What is your next project? And can you promise me, and the film gods, that you wont wait another 16-some years to make it?

It just might be a thing I wrote some time back called "Scream School." If it happens, it's going to be in more like 16 weeks than 16 years.

One last question, just for That Snow Ghost... What are the odds that you would work with Don Scardino and Robert (Blue Sunshine) Walden again? Maybe in a cool '70's period horror film satirizing indie exploitation - set around a drive-in theater? You know it would be one of the most amazing films ever!

I think Donny's acting days are over, he's a very accomplished director now and has a Broadway show on John Lennon coming up next year. Walden may want to do something of that nature, but I think I'd rather leave the 70's behind where they belong. "Satan's Little Helper" is as far back as I want to think. It's made me... as they say in the business... 'current.'