Horror Director Darren Lynn Bousman on Working With Slipknot’s Clown, Five Finger Death Punch’s Ivan Moody

Darren Lynn Bousman, the director and mastermind behind Repo! The Generic Opera, and many other scarefests, is back with a ghoulish flick called The Devil's Carnival.

Noisecreep readers might already know that the film stars Clown from Slipknot and Five Finger Death Punch frontman Ivan Moody. That's reason enough for metal fans to care about the project, which fuses music and dark, fun subject matter. A movie theater tour kicks off on April 5 so if you like interactive, cult cinema events a la Rocky Horror Picture Show, then you won't want to miss this experience, which cannot be recreated as a download.

Bousman, who has also directed three of the Saw films and a remake of Mother's Day which will be released next month, spoke with Noisecreep about the project while he was on a wine-tasting tour with his wife. He wasn't yet buzzed, and was totally lucid and informative!

What is the main reason that your film appeals to the hard rock audience? Because of Clown and Ivan?

Here is the thing. We're the anti-Glee, anti-Smash, anti-musical. I love music and movies, but am not a fan of musical movies, so we are the antithesis of that. The Devil's Carnival takes place in Hell, Lucifer is the hero, God is the villain, making it punk rock and hardcore. Start with that. Since we are that anti-Glee, when you have Ivan Moody from Five Finger Death Punch and Clown from Slipknot and Ohgr from Skinny Puppy, it's different. It's not like we have Broadway stars.

How was your experience working with major metal dudes?

You expect them to come with huge egos. They have a right to have them. When you are in Slipknot, one of the hugest bands out there, you've earned it. But Clown, Ivan and Emily Autumn? They were all first time actors. They were not playing Clown or Ivan. They were playing characters and were humbled by it. There were so nice and so nervous, since they are rock stars, came on set, and were nervous, scared, and uncomfortable, since you can't hide behind the music or the persona. They are the characters, which is extremely exposing. It was amazing to see these people get into the worlds.

What was your main impetus to factor music into the film?

When you go to the gym, you listen to headphones, with your iPod on. In your car, you listen to music. On weekends, what do you do? You go see movies. I wanted to combine those two things and the way we do it here, it's amazing. We combined things people respond to. It is like a music video times 100. This is a 60-minute movie, but the event is two hours. Like a 60-mintue music video. We're violent and sexual. It is not show tunes, with people singing in a high school dressed as preppies. Clown is running around with a ball and chain with spikes. It's a 666 costume, with the numbers embroidered. It's not your parents' musical. It's 60-minute metal music video.

What's the one thing you want metal fans to know about the Carnival?

At the end of the day, there is always a studio, execs and guys in suits. They push the buttons. This is four guys putting it together. We are independent. We are guerilla. We are a bunch of guys believing in something and it's self-financed. We are truly independent, in a house, making phone calls to theaters without distributors. We control our fate and everything about us. We did and succeeded. It's home grown, not a business telling you this is cool. It is Ivan, Clown. Not a corporation behind it marketing it. There is no corporate power behind us. No one made money. We did it since we thought it was cool. So come see the show.

That should get asses into the seats on the tour!

It's an experience that can't be downloaded. It's a 37-city tour, and we call them concerts. This is an experience you can't download. You have to be there.

For more information on The Devil's Carnival, head over to its official website.

Tour Dates:

4/5 – Los Angeles, CA @ Laemmle Royal Theatre

4/6 – Anaheim, CA @ The Ultraluxe Theater

4/7 – San Diego, CA @ Gaslamp Theater

4/8 – Scottsdale, AZ @ Scottsdale Ultrastar Pavilion

4/9 – Tucson, AZ @ Tucson Loft Cinema

4/11 – El Paso, TX @ El Paso Starplex

4/12 – Austin, TX @ Alamo South Lamar

4/13 – Houston, TX @ Alamo Drafthouse

4/14 – Dallas, TX @ Lakewood Theater

4/17 – Nashville, TN @ The Nashville Limelight

4/18 – Atlanta, GA @ The Plaza Theater

4/19 – Orlando, FL @ The Premiere Cinema 14 (at Fashion Square Mall)

4/20 – Tampa, FL @ The Tampa Pitcher Show

4/21 - Charlotte, NC @ The Neighborhood Theater

4/22 – Richmond, VA @ The Byrd

4/24 – Pittsburgh, PA @ The Hollywood Theater

4/25 – Baltimore, MD @ The Charles Theatre

4/26 – New York, NY @ Times Scare NYC

4/27 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Painted Bride

4/28 – South Hadley, MA @ The Tower Theater

4/29 – Boston, MA @ The Foxboro Theater

5/1 – Toronto, ON, Canada @ Toronto Underground Theater

5/2 – Toledo, OH @ Collingwood Arts Center

5/3 – Chicago, IL @ The Music Box Theater

5/4 – Des Moines, IA @ The Fluer Cinema Cafe

5/5 – Kansas City, KS @ Leawood Cinema Theater

5/6 – Denver, CO @ The Oriental Theater

5/7 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Tower Theater

5/9 – Seattle, WA @ The Admiral Theater

5/10 – Portland, OR @ The Clinton St. Theater

5/11 – Sacramento, CA @ The Colonial Theater