Chainsaw Sally Interview

Chainsaw Sally a.k.a April Burril, says she has been a performer of one sort or another as long as she can remember. She has trained in voice, dance, and is a leading member of the Baltimore theatre troupe JamO . She is also an accomplished musician, and plays several instruments, her favourite being her black Fender Telecaster guitar.

She is the self-proclaimed girl of your screams! Think of Elvira, crossed with Vampira, crossed with Tank Girl, and then give the result a chainsaw! That's Chainsaw Sally!

Sally promotes the horror show Silver Scream, has a brilliant website and is about to star in her own film!

Mad, bad and dangerous only half describes her! But against my better judgements I dared to interviewed her, and lived to tell the tale - just about!

Hello Sally, how are you doing?

Both fine and dandy.

I see you brought your chainsaw with you! You are going to keep it switched off, aren't you?

Ummm.. yeah, sure.

So, for all the folks out there who don't know who you are or what you do - who are you and what do you do?!

I am a - ummm... horror web hostess I suppose you'd call it. And I basically do whatever I damn well please. Generally it pleases me to review DVDs and movies - preferably obscure ones that don't normally get a lot of press. When I have time (and it's been awhile), I like to kill annoying people in amusing ways in "Prime Cuts". I promote anything the group "It Came From Planet X" (formerly "JamO") is doing. Which currently is my movie. They're the folks behind "Silver Scream".

Brilliant graphics on your site (and you look great in them of course!), I like the Linkenstein one especially! Do you do the graphics yourself?

I do some and my partner does some. It's become so mixed, it's hard to tell who did what anymore!

When did your interest in horror first occur?

When I watched the movie "The Blob" (the original) and it kept me up all night. I was 5. Been twisted ever since. Though my parents would claim that I was always a little weird... What is your favourite horror movie? Not Texas Chainsaw Massacre by any chance?! Why, yes! It is! How did you ever guess? And - for those living under a rock - that's the ORIGINAL Texas Chainsaw Massacre from '72 (I think I have the year right). The one that was the first movie of it's kind. It was a groundbreaking piece in many ways.

Who are your favourite horror film directors?

Tobe Hooper, George Romero, John Carpenter, JimmyO Burril

Which are your favourite good bits in horror flicks? By this I mean which are your favourite gory scenes from horror movies?

The meathook scene in TCM... the scene in Halloween where Michael Myers sticks the jock to the wall and his feet are several inches off the floor.... the barrel roll in 2000 Maniacs... the twisted doctor scene in Bloodsucking Freaks, also the backgammon scene in the same movie... the opera room scene in The Dentist... there's more, but that's a good list.

What is your stage show, Silver Scream, all about and how long have you been doing it?

Let's see... It's the last night at the historic Saenger Movie Theater. The owner, Mr. Friedkin, is going to sell it to someone who'll tear it down and turn it into a parking garage. Tobe and George - 2 horror fans in their late teens - are in the audience, heckling Mr. Friedkin during his farewell speech and trying to get him not to sell out. Tobe's sister, Shelley, horribly embarrassed, tries to quiet them down, to no avail. The boys try to convince Friedkin that the theater is haunted and is sacred ground to all horror movies that have shown there. Friedkin announcing that it's all a big story, brings down the wrath of the theater. In an attempt to save itself from destruction, the Saenger sucks Tobe, George, Shelley and Friedkin into the movie world, where they fight each other, the boys as heroes, Shelley as the victim, and Friedkin as the villain in various horror films from Nosferatu and Dracula to the more recent slasher films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Guiding them through their journey is The Count - an obvious tribute to the late great Bela Lugosi. The play is a musical, but believe me, it sounds nothing like "Cats!" Very original compositions put together by musical composer James M. Taylor and lyricist and author, Jimmyo Burril, along with amazingly original choreography by Katie Hutchinson make this show into something wonderful that really defies accurate description.

I see from your bio page that you play lots of musical instruments and sing! What sort of stuff do you play and sing?

Depends on my mood. Sometimes it's just jam sessions - making it up as we go along. Sometimes stuff like Violent Femmes (but with electricity), Concrete Blonde, Veruca Salt, the Ramones, the Beatles, etc. I'd like to start getting into psycho-billy which is one of my favorite music genres to listen to.

What are your other interests outside of horror? Anything that would surprise us?

Lots. Anything that has to do with the art or horror worlds. As far as anything surprising... I recently have started working on children's book illustrations.

The animations are great on your Prime Cuts page! Any plans for any more, and what would you like to send up in the future?

Yes, plans for more. When I can. They're very time-consuming to make and, until the site becomes my full-time day job, there's no telling when I'll have time to do more. But they are great fun to make! No specific victims in mind as of now. I 'm always open to suggestions...

What is Balticon and why is it so important to you?

Balticon is a nice little sci-fi fantasy convention that's been going on in Baltimore for many years. It's important because I hosted their film festival in May and had a great time. Bunch of fun people there!

Tell us about the new film! What's it about, and who's in it apart from your good self?

The movie is about me, Chainsaw Sally, and how I defend my and my little brother's home from evil nasty land developers. So, even though I'm a slasher, in my eyes, I'm a hero! You get to see a little history of why I'm so twisted - that's where celebrity, the original Leatherface, Gunnar Hansen, comes in. He plays my father when I'm a child. He dies defending me and my baby brother, Ruby, from some robbers. Of course, he uses a chainsaw to do that. Thus, a significant part of my twisted beginning. Ruby and I move to a little trailer on our dead parents' property and raise ourselves, unbeknownst to all. I go out, earn a living and keep us and the world safe from anyone I think needs to just .... disappear, thus giving new meaning to "bringin' home the bacon!" Ruby doesn't ever really leave the house. He's.... a little off. Actually, he's one of my favorite characters in the movie! Aside from Gunnar Hansen, Herschell Gordon Lewis ("Godfather of Gore") appears as the hardware store owner who sells me my saw, along with local filmmaker, Rock Savage and George Stanton (a local actor who's played in many of John Waters' films).

How will you be spending Halloween this year?

Scaring the bloody hell out of people, duh.

Well, you're a hot, sexy chick and the interview is over and we have some time on our hands! What do you suggest we do?

(*slowly smiles**reaches down**whiff of 2-cycle*)

(*getting nervous*) Er ... well ... that was great Sally, er ... thanks for that. But why are you now picking up the chainsaw?! Why are you switching it on?!! WHY ARE YOU APPROACHING ME WITH IT - WITH THAT FUNNY, EVIL LOOK IN YOUR EYES?!!

(*keeps smiling*)....... (*yanks the cord*).... (*revs the saw*)