If you, like I am, are a collector of physical media and a lover of horror and cult films, you likely have an ever-growing collection of Blu-Rays and books on the subjects. Many of these films come with a number of bonus features, from alternate endings to original trailers, and commentaries. Some commentaries are by people involved in the film, directors, actors, producers, while others are done by the people who study these films, who can easily tell you just about any trivia you want to know on a particular film or actor or director, and who offer a critical and engaging voice to guide you through a different type of viewing experience. I recently had the opportunity to speak with Troy Howarth about his extensive work in the commentary field and his time writing books on a number of film types and directors.
Bethany Rose: How did you get started doing commentaries? Was it something you sought out on our own, or did someone contact you?
Troy Howarth: Well, it was something I had sort of fantasized about for a while—which is a reflection on what a dork I am, that that should be among my fantasies! I’d been listening to them ever since the 90s when I invested in a laserdisc player, and I learned what I liked—and more importantly, what I didn’t like. But I never really thought I would ever get a crack at it myself. Then after the release of the first volume of So Deadly, So Perverse, I was approached by Michael Mackenzie with Arrow Video about doing a track for The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave. He was looking to find some fresh voices, as there tended to be not a lot of variety in the field; that was true enough, and since then the field has expanded much further, so much so that some people feel like there are too many and it is hurting their opportunities for jobs—which is ridiculous, as there is plenty of work to go around. Anyway, I said yes, of course, though I was scared I’d make a total botch job of it. The first one went well, and then the offers started to come in for more. That’s basically how it works—if you deliver on time, are professional, and get good feedback, you will get more opportunities. As of now, I’m closing in on about 100 commentary tracks total. Some months I manage to record up to 4 or 5 tracks, but that becomes extremely tiring. I just have a hard time saying no when it’s something I really love—mind you, I’ve also done some films I wasn’t wild about because the money was good. But I would never do a track if I was only going to tear the film to pieces—even the lesser ones I’ve done have elements I felt I could expound on in a way that could be of interest… hopefully!
BR: What is the general process of doing a commentary?
TH: I’m sure that varies from person to person. Some people like to script everything down to the smallest pause. Others prefer to keep it loose and improvisational. You can generally tell. It’s important to be prepared, but it is possible to over-script and turn it into something dull and stagnant. My approach is somewhere in the middle. Generally speaking, I prepare notes—gathering information on the background of the film (budget, schedule, etc., if available), then I watch the film again and take notes about specific topics for specific times in the film—for example, an actor shows up at 5 minutes, 30 seconds, so I want to be sure to talk about him, etc. I always prepare a time-coded script, but I leave room for ad-libbing. Locking yourself into a too-specific script isn’t always the best approach, I find. But I also wouldn’t want to do like one person I won’t name, who just seems to sit there and get high off of his own fumes as he just says whatever comes to mind for 90 minutes. That gets a bit old, too.
BR: Do you always do commentary alone, or do you ever collaborate with anyone?
TH: Up until last summer (remembering my first track was recorded in December of 2015), I always did tracks alone. I work from my house, so it isn’t like I’m set up for multiple people. But then I started doing tracks with my friend Nathaniel Thompson from Mondo Digital. What happens is, we use Skype—I record my side of the talk, he records his. I’m not tech-savvy, so I upload my half to Nathaniel, he does his editing magic, and it sounds like we are in the same room. Amazing! I prefer having a partner to riff on, as it makes it a lot more fun—so much less pressure that way!
BR: Do you have a “dream” film you would love to do a commentary on?
TH: Many. Deep Red, Rosemary’s Baby, Aguirre, the Wrath of God, Lisa and the Devil, Blood and Black Lace, James Whale’s The Old Dark House, Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed, Jess Franco’s Venus in Furs… in fact, I am preparing to do one dream project this week. I can’t say which title or label yet, but I’m very excited about it.
BR: You also write books, what is the research and writing process like for that?
TH: My first book was The Haunted World of Mario Bava, which I basically wrote through college… it came out in 2002, through FAB in the UK, and then I wanted to follow up with a book on John Carpenter. The publisher didn’t seem very keen and that sort of nixed my enthusiasm—so I never really followed up for over a decade. Since then I’ve been making up for lost time. In fact, I finally got around to doing the Carpenter book last year and it’s due out this year. The process is pretty simple: gather your research material and sources, then start writing… when I’m covering a genre (like the Giallo) or a director or actor, I just watch the films as I go, take my notes, then write them up as I see fit. I never seem to struggle with writer’s block, and I tend to work very quickly, which may or may not be a good thing. I just worry that if I walk away from it for too long, I’ll lose the thread and never pick it up again.
BR: Do you ever appear at conventions? If so, do you get a chance to meet any of the people there and participate in the festivities, or do you stay at your table most of the time?
TH: I’m pretty new to conventions. I started going to the Monster Bash outside of Pittsburgh around 2011. It’s a nice convention and it’s pitched more towards old school horror, though I’m by no means one who only appreciates old films. I started booking a table and selling my books there in 2014, and this is the first year I’m not going—due to the pandemic, I just don’t trust being inside such a venue. Hopefully next year things will be safer. Fingers crossed! It’s always surreal meeting people who seem to be nervous at meeting me—why that should be, I don’t know! I’m pretty shy, actually, so it causes me some anxiety now and then—but people have been very nice, and I’m always happy to chat with people when they stop by, even if they don’t buy a book… though obviously I prefer when they do! I usually have somebody there with me, so that frees me up to go around and spend too much money on things—and to meet the guests. I’ve met some really cool people that I’ve long enjoyed on-screen, including Brett Halsey, John Saxon, Veronica Carlson, and Caroline Munro. They were all very nice.
BR: You focus mostly on horror (or genres with very close connections to horror). Have you ever worked outside of the genre, or would you be interested in doing so?
TH: Well, in terms of commentaries, I’ve spread my wings—everything from Don’t Torture a Duckling and Zombie to Portrait of Jennie and Bitter Moon. I’ve written books about people who did work in a variety of genres—I mean, people like Bava and Fulci did so many genres, to say nothing of Klaus Kinski or Paul Naschy. Or indeed John Carpenter. I have toyed with doing a book about Roman Polanski’s films, but that may not be in the cards—there’s too much controversy there right now, which is a pity. But I love his films and hope to do more about them one day—of course, he’s done horror (Rosemary’s Baby is as close to perfect as any film I have ever seen), but he’s done plenty of other things.
BR: What, in general, attracts you to the horror genre?
TH: I wish I could answer that simply. It’s something I have always loved. My maternal grandmother died just shy of my 3rd birthday, and she commented on my being into this stuff because my mom loved horror and was watching things like The Omen when she was pregnant with me. Already drawn to horror at the age of 2—I think that says it all! I think they’re a wonderful escape, but they also allow us to confront our fears in a healthy way. When I hear people talking about how irresponsible it is to show horror films to children, I laugh; I grew up on this stuff, and I’m well-grounded and incredibly timid when it comes to violence in real life. I can watch anything fake, but the sight of real blood makes me sick.
BR: Your commentary and writing work is very much in the factual, the documentation of things that happened, non-fiction type work. Have you ever had a desire to write fiction or create something like that, and what attracts you to the type of writing and work you currently do?
TH: I actually won a prize for fiction when I was in college; it was a short story I wrote called “Growing Up…”. I’ve dabbled over the years, and I’ve started a few things. I was at work on something last year that I was pleased with, then some personal problems disrupted that and I don’t think I would ever want to revisit it. My problem is, I tend to be hyper-critical of myself. I often feel like something is too close to something else that I’ve read or seen, and then I abandon it—which is a mistake. But I hope to explore fiction more as time goes on—I sometimes wonder how much longer I plan to keep churning out film-related books, so who knows, I may transition into something else sooner or later!