Having long been a huge fan of the early 80's horror movie, The Boogeyman, I jumped at the chance of interviewing the man behind the movie when the opportunity was presented to me. The Boogeyman and the disturbingly grim Tenderness of the Wolves are probably what he's best known for within genre circles – but he has a long history of working in films, both as an actor (working with the legendary Reiner Werner Fassbinder) and as a director. His career not only spans decades but continents also – having begun in Europe and ending up in America. His work is equally varied too and he has moved between arthouse and commercialism with great ease, securing his reputation as a versatile and talented director. Even more interesting is how he has brought his European arthouse sensibilities to bear on his more commercial projects, time and again delivering unique and fascinating movies. So without more ado, we shall get started on the interview itself – and it is at this point that I need to give big thanks to Calum Waddell (Shivers, Fangoria, and author of Minds of Fear) for setting up the interview and, of course, thanks to Ulli himself for agreeing to be interviewed.

Digital Retribution: You have a long history of working in films - how did you first get started in the industry?

Ulli Lommel: Both my mum and dad are actors so I was on stage when I was 4 years old and made my first movie when I was 10. I directed my first short film when I was 15 and then I became a professional actor pretty much 24/7 at age 15 - at age 23 I met Fassbinder and I starred in his first movie that I also co-produced. The film was called Love Colder than Death. I made 15 productions with Fassbinder and he also produced my most significant German movie called Tenderness of the Wolves and then I started making movies with Andy Warhol in 1978. I moved to Hollywood in 1980 and started my Hollywood career with Boogeyman.

DR: Could you tell us a little about how you came to meet and work with Reiner Werner Fassbinder?

UL: I was acting in a television movie and he had a small part in it and we became friends and he said he wanted to make his first film as a director and asked if I wanted to star in it. I said yes and we made Love Colder than Death.

DR: As an actor, could you tell us what your favourite role was and why?

UL: As an actor... all the sixteen productions I did with Fassbinder - I enjoyed them all - Love Colder than Death, Whitey, Chinese Roulette, Effie Briest, which
is an awesome movie.

DR: How did you come to be involved with the grim Tenderness of the Wolves and did you ever have any reservations about the subject matter?

UL: I became involved because Fassbinder offered me the chance to do it. The only subject matters that I would become reserved about doing are the ones that have been done a hundred times!

DR: Amongst genre fans you're probably best known for The Boogeyman - could you tell us what it was about this project that appealed to you after having spent so long in arthouse circles?

UL: I think The Boogeyman profits from my time as an arthouse filmmaker and it is a combination of my European culture and upbringing and experience and my fascination with America. I think that is about it!

DR: And why a horror movie?

UL: Life is full of horrors and Tenderness of the Wolves was already a horror movie so why not? I always loved Brothers Grimm and they are as close to horror as you can get!

DR: Following The Boogeyman you went on to work on several more commercial features, such as Olivia and Brainwaves - did you find working in America more restrictive, both artistically and aesthetically, than working in Europe?

UL: I found, or rather I find, working in America much easier than working in Europe. I have the feeling that in America everything is about movies and entertainment and taking risks and in Europe it is the opposite. Nothing ever seems possible in Europe but everything seems possible in America!

DR: If you were given the opportunity to go back and remake any of your older films with a larger budget, if any, which would you choose and why?

UL: I would probably choose The Boogeyman because I always wanted to get into the world of the mirror where the Boogeyman is. The bigger budget could create the world of the Boogeyman in a Jean Cocteau La Belle et la Bete or Salvador Dali way….

DR: Could you tell us why you took the decision to revamp and re-imagine The Boogeyman II for its recent video/DVD release?

UL: Because I couldn't find the original copy (laughs) - it got misplaced (cracks up laughing). But now we have found it - we may have anyway!

DR: Could you tell us a little about your recent movie Zombie Nation and why you've made a return to the horror genre?

UL: Well, because things have changed and the time had come and I suddenly had ideas again that I didn't have in the nineties and I got encouraged by a lot of younger fans and found a fantastic distributor in Lion's Gate and everything fell into place. Zombie Nation... simply the first of many movies that came to my mind.

DR: Obviously, being a filmmaker, you have a love of cinema. What are your influences and who, if given the opportunity, would you most like to work with?

UL: I don't want to work with anybody - no, but I like to discover people. I love working with Jillian Swanson (Ulli's new discovery - www.jillianswanson.com) but I used to be a fan of Kubrick, but I have now seen his movies so many times they no longer interest me. The same with Hitchcock's movies - once I was a big fan but I've seen them so many times that now they bore me. I don't watch many movies now, and don't watch TV - I like listening to jazz and making movies and I
make movies non stop. The whole Shadow Factory thing we have going - Jeff (Frentzen) and I hang out and are good friends in real life, so making movies is one big close thing.

DR: And finally, what projects do you have lined up for the future?

UL: Go to www.theshadowfactory.net and you can find everything there! But I am shooting in Scotland in February the Poe story "The Fall of the House of Usher" and then Paris in March - "The Rue Morgue" and then in LA after that "The Pit and the Pendulum"!