Probably best known for directing 1999's HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL - a box-office record breaker and arguably the only worthwhile entry from Dark Castle Entertainment - William Malone seemed to slip off the genre radar for a time, after a rather chilly critical reception for his follow-up, FEARDOTCOM. Thankfully, Malone has recently returned in top form with the highest-rated season one episode of Showtime's MASTERS OF HORROR series, "Fair-Haired Child."

Scheduled for release on DVD this fall, this episode is a nightmarish adult fairytale that represents, for my coin, everything a horror tale should be: taut, suspenseful, and filled with indelible images of horror and beauty. It showcases the director's skill in the television horror format - a skill honed in numerous genre series, including the short-lived SLEEPWALKERS and PERVERSIONS OF SCIENCE, and most notably, two memorable episodes of HBO's TALES FROM THE CRYPT.

It turns out Mr. Malone is just the kind of renaissance man we take a shine to in these here parts; his many hats include monster mask-maker, musician, painter, and avid collector of movie memorabilia (including the original Robbie the Robot from FORBIDDEN PLANET), to name just a few.

William kindly took a break from preparations on his latest film project to chat with Monsters at Play about some of the little things we all hold dear... monsters, movies and Rock & Roll.

GSB: I was excited to learn that you were once VP and chief designer at Don Post studios, and conceived some of their coolest masks ever. The only Post mask I was lucky enough to own myself (and which unfortunately was stolen) was the Creature from the Black Lagoon - I think the version from the late '70s or early '80s. Wasn't that one of yours?

WM: The Creature mask that was produced in the mid- through late '70s was a version that I did. The original DPS (Don Post Studios) mold was, by that time, worn-out. Actually, I think that was the first thing I sculpted for DPS. I was working in the paint department, painting 300 line Frankensteins, and I saw how bad the creature had become, so I offered to sculpt one in my spare time. The mask suddenly started selling really well, so Don Sr. asked me to redo some of the other characters... The Mutant was next, I think, and that's how I started out over there.

Is it true that BLACK LAGOON was your first serious horror movie experience? It was my first horror movie, although I wasn't lucky enough to see it on the big screen. Did that film mark the beginning of your obsession with monsters and the macabre?

CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON was the first horror film that I saw. I was very young (6 or 7) and my mom took me to see it on a rainy afternoon where I grew up in Lansing, Michigan. It was in 3D. I was terrified when the Gillman swam out of the screen.... but when I got home I was enthralled with the images that played back in my head. I was hooked. It's still probably my favorite horror picture.

Did your years of design experience at Don Post help you with your film and TV work in the years to follow?

Yeah it did... a lot. It made it possible for me to be very specific when I discuss make-up FX with the guys who are doing it. I'm probably a little annoying in that way sometimes. I can be very picky because of it and something of a pain in the ass.

Many people who saw your 'Only Skin Deep' episode of TALES FROM THE CRYPT consider it one of the creepiest in the series. Did you design the 'mask' that the character wears in that show (which turns out to be her actual face)?

Yes. The character of Molly is described in the script as being featureless with pinholes for eyes. I felt that that wouldn't be interesting for a whole show. I thought it might be more interesting if she looked like an old porcelain doll from the late 1700s, something that got thrown away. I did some research and found a book on very old dolls and roughly based the design on that. Also I wanted Molly to look both beautiful and creepy at the same time. In that case, it was easier to sculpt it myself than to try to explain what I had in mind. I did the sculpture, then gave it to the make-up guys to cast and paint. They were very understanding (I think).

HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL was the first opportunity to make your visual imprint on a grand scale, and I've seen a certain signature look in your films ever since. Did you have this in mind from the beginning?

I think at the time it just seemed like a natural progression. I had been struggling for a long time, then got a break doing CRYPT. On that show I started doing a lot of the things that I had been experimenting with when I was out of work and had a lot of time on my hands. When I got the call about HHH, it was great because I had been thinking for several years that I wanted to do a haunted house movie. There had been no ghost films for a very long time then. It never occurred to me that I was doing anything bigger or grander. It just felt like I had more toys to play with.

Regarding my style: If I have one, it's not something I can really help. I've been told that my style is rather eccentric and creepy. It's probably just from growing up in Michigan in the '50s-'60s. It was real life 'Leave it to Beaver'... except there was this weird undertone of something hidden and twisted going on that you couldn't put your finger on. It warped me, I guess... thank God.

I've seen some of the concept sketches and paintings you've done for your films, and they're often very close to the finished product. Do your visual ideas more or less emerge fully-formed from your imagination, or do they evolve gradually?

I usually settle on things pretty quickly. The only exception was Jeannie from FEARDOTCOM. That was a long battle. I went though a lot of designs before finally settling on her look. The key to that was that someone in wardrobe brought me a picture of a fashion model wearing an old leather neck-brace... I thought that was great, and that started me in the final direction.

You recently returned to the TV medium for the MASTERS OF HORROR episode 'Fair-Haired Child.' This is far and away my favorite episode of the series. Did Mick Garris grant you total autonomy to create it?

The whole premise of the show was to let the directors do their thing unhindered. We all actually got final cut, which had never happened to me before. On "Only Skin Deep" I had final cut, but that was just because by that time the producers didn't care about the show anymore. That's probably how I got hired in the first place. Everything else I've done has been tinkered with in one fashion or another. It's terrible to get slagged on for things I didn't do.

I've noticed many visual homages in your work - there's a great tip of the hat to Fellini in FEARDOTCOM, and to Ulmer's THE BLACK CAT in HAUNTED HILL. Were you referencing early German expressionism in the flashback sequences of 'Fair-Haired Child?'

Because of the fact that the main characters were classical musicians, I thought It might be cool if their dreams and fantasies were of a classical nature as well. The imagery is as much WUTHERING HEIGHTS and GREAT EXPECTATIONS as it is CALIGARI.

Film-school questions aside... this episode features your creepiest monster ever. Did you come up with the initial design for it?

From the first reading of the script I knew that I wanted something simple. I was stumped for a time, then I reread the script and noticed that in the opening the wind chimes are described as looking like the Edward Munch painting "The Scream". I had always thought that that would be a cool demon or ghost but never had a use for it. This seemed perfect to me, so I spent an afternoon doing little paintings based on it. I tried it out on a few people and they all thought it was pretty creepy, so that was it. The interesting thing about the Johnny/demon was that the more frightened it looked, the scarier it was... It was very weird.

The monster moves in a very disturbing way that recalls some of the twitching apparitions from HAUNTED HILL. Is this motion created by under-cranking the camera, or is it a combination of elements?

It's all done with under-cranking the camera (about 6fps). I always shoot a 24 fps version just for protection, because you can never be sure how it's going to come out. This may be the last time I'll do that. I've pretty much mined all the good stuff that I can in that area... time to move on.

As most of our readers know, MASTERS OF HORROR is basically the creative product of an informal coffee klatch comprised of horror-movie directors. Were you a part of this circle from the very beginning?

What happened was I had an idea that it would be cool to get a bunch of horror guys together to have a regular coffee klatch. It seemed we all like the same things but had never really spent any time together. I told my friend Mick Garris about the idea and he thought it was a very cool notion. He organized it, and we would all meet at various restaurants. It was great fun. Mick got the idea of turning it into TV show.

Will you be directing an episode for Season 2?

No, I was asked to be a backup in case one of the bigger names that they wanted fell out. 'Fair-Haired Child' was the highest rated of the season, but people don't really know my name, so I guess they wanted more marquee value.

I hear you're gearing up for a new feature called PARASOMNIA. Can you clue us in on it?

PARASOMNIA is a little thriller that I just wrote. It's a modern fairy tale more, like 'Fair-Haired Child' than anything else I've done. I'm very excited about it. I've wanted to do an indy movie for a long time. I can't tell you too much about it yet, but I think you'll see some cool familiar faces in it.

Is it true you once planned on starting a rock band? Did that ever materialize?

Okay, so this is really weird. I actually had a rock band in High School called The Plagues. We came out at the height of Beatlemania. We use to play concerts in and around Michigan that were like things you'd see in HARD DAY'S NIGHT. Girls would jump up on stage and throws their knickers... it was wild. We put out three 45s ourselves and actually got air play. We made something like #20 on the local charts. It's very heady stuff when you're 17 years old and you're in High School and the local radio station is playing your record. I remember being in the car with the other members of the band and suddenly hearing our record on the radio. We just went wild.

Okay, so there's more... flash forward to about a month ago (and 40 years later). I did a search for our band's name on the internet (thinking nothing would come of it) and I came across a small mention of us on a website in Norway. I'm thinking, 'This is crazy... it must be another band called The Plagues...' but then I realize they are talking about us. It leads me to another website in the US and it turns out we're BIG. People are talking about how collectible our records are and how they'd pay anything to get one. So now I'm thinking, "This just can't be true." Then someone mentions that one of our records is on EBay. I started watching the auction... The 45 of I've Been Through It before" (our last record) goes for $900.00. YIKES! There were bids from Japan, Norway, the UK, and Australia. Go figure! A rock star after all these years (chuckling)...

It's clear that music also plays an important role in your films. Do you have a certain musical style going through your head when you're working on a film, or do you decide this after the film is cut together?

It really happens both ways. In the case of 'Fair-Haired Child,' I knew that I wanted to use the Brahms piece and the Beethoven piece as well, as soon as I read the script. I had Matt Greenberg (the screenwriter) put them in the script straight away. It doesn't always happen that way though. Sometimes you just find the right things later. That's what happened with 'Only Skin Deep,' which has one of my favorite scores.

Just for giggles... since your website describes your first two features as 'those other ones I'd like to forget,' I promise only one question about CREATURE, and it's only because I'm an avowed Kinski fanatic: how was your experience working with Klaus? Was he difficult as his reputation would suggest?

Kinski was a madman... REALLY. Probably certifiable. It was my first experience with a troublesome actor, so it was sort of trial by fire. After him, I was ready for anything. He did light up the screen when he was on camera, though.

Thanks very much for lending us your time, William, and best of luck on your new project. I'm really looking forward to picking up "Fair-Haired Child" on DVD.

Thank you... and thanks to those who have stuck with me.