Magnus Blomdahl
Allgemein

Interview with Magnus Blomdahl (Revisiting Melancholie der Engel) (en)

Das ist die englische Originalversion dieses Interviews.

Hello Magnus, I am very glad that you took the time for a few questions. We’ve known each other for some time, so I’m all the more pleased to be able to show the genre lovers more of you. Please introduce yourself first, for the ignorant among us. Who are you and how would you describe your work?

I’m a 43 year old man, a dirty old man, born and raised in Sweden. Since I was very young I’ve been interested in horror. It started with American slashers and continued with Italian giallos and German gore. Like so many others I believe. My work is a struggle. Like life itself. It’s a race against time. Since I can’t make a living writing books or making films I have to work extra as an editor. But the dream would be, of course, to support myself, and my family, as a writer/director. Unfortunately the interest in extreme violence/art-cinema isn’t that big. Yet!

Most of us will be familiar with Revesiting * MDE, which memories do you associate with this time?

The time I had with Marian Dora, shooting RMDE, will always be one of my greatest memories. Although it was a stressful experience it was also peaceful and exciting. What I remember most are our long walks, we really walked for hours and hours. There was a lot of silence. But also discussions between the two of us and long anechdotes covering everything from Bergman to Deodato. For me as a cinephile it was great spending time with Marian, he’s like a living dictionary. He shared some great stories about Jess Franco as well as Deodato. It is also great spending time with someone who doesn’t judge. For me it was a bit like speaking to a shrink, or maybe a (satanic) priest.

How did you come to work with Marian Dora?

I tried to get in contact with him several years ago for an interview, but I gave up. After a while I tried again. I basically sent out requests to anyone I knew had been in contact with him. Actors, directors, producers, festival arrangers, journalists. I might have sent out twenty e-mails. And finally I received a short answer from Marian. So I bought a ticket to Germany and met up with this guy I’d only heard rumors about. It was both frightening and exciting meeting a person whose appearance you had no idea about. How could I even know I was meeting the right guy, or girl? Anyways, he turned up and I asked my silly questions, we emptied the mini bar and I fell asleep drunk but happy. But when listening to the interview later in Stockholm I couldn’t help feeling disappointed in myself. I had even more questions than I had before! The ideas of making a documentary started to grow…

Was there any difficulty shooting? Or did you have negative experiences afterMagnus Blomdahl publication?

The difficulties … Well I could definitely had planned things a bit better, but at the same time that would have made it all feel a bit forced I guess. I’ve had some negative experiences, but nothing I can really talk about. It has to do with me questioning my own morals.

Your work is not just about turning films, you are writing books yourself and you have already been able to publish them, please tell us something about the content of the already created works.

I write interview-books. It’s my way of living a life outside of my family life. I meet people whom I find to be fascinating and I interview them. So far I’ve met up with people like Jörg Buttgereit, Srdjan Spasojevic, Joel M Reed, Tom Six and many many more. There are so many fantastic creators in this world!

Do you already have new projects in view, for the coming year?

Yes, right now I’m working on a more porn-based project. I’m interested in porn made without the purpose of excite. Standard porn is pretty boring. But today there are so many interesting creators bringing ”filth” to a completely new level, like Marco Malattia, Sylwia Lajbig or Daikicha Amano for example.

The topic of underground horror is becoming more and more interesting.Films like; Melancholy of angels, vomit-gore or even necromatics get a steadily growing fan base, what do you think about this art? What do you think is the appeal of this very special subgenre?

I’m interested in everything that makes me react strongly. If the reaction is good or bad isn’t really that important. There are so many things today that doesn’t cause any reaction at all. When it comes to MDE I feel that it is a movie that deals with life and death in a completely new way. It is serious, daring and beautiful.

Horrorfilme üben seit jeher eine große Faszination auf mich aus.

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