Scream queen Tiffany Shepis is the recent star of Dark Reel, Night of the Demons and the new comedy Trade In, in which she plays a lesbian used car saleswoman.
FLICK ATTACK: Correct if I’m wrong, but it looks like in this year and the next, you have about six films coming out … every other Tuesday.
SHEPIS: I think it’s seven, man, to correct you. I’m a pretty lucky girl. They keep me working in this crazy horror genre of mine, and now the genre of used car movies.
FLICK ATTACK: You don’t do many comedies, do you?
SHEPIS: Certainly a lot of my horror movies end up being comedies, not often by choice! I stay very true to my horror roots, but it’s definitely been fun for a change.
FLICK ATTACK: So how does one prepare for a role as a lesbian car saleswoman?
SHEPIS: You become a lesbian car saleswoman. Method all the way! It was easy. Who can’t appreciate a beautiful woman? For the car salesman part, you have to go to all sorts of smarmy routes to get people to buy a car nowadays.
FLICK ATTACK: Do you think you could even sell a runaway Prius?
SHEPIS: You know, I think I might. I was pretty good at my pitches! We actually shot on a working car lot in Tucson, Ariz. I would talk shit to the guys and say, “Aw, I can do this better than you — here, watch, watch, watch.” And I was pretty good! I think I found my niche! I might quit movies and sell cars.
FLICK ATTACK: But that would be our loss.
SHEPIS: And then what would you have to do every other Tuesday?
FLICK ATTACK: Is it true you were engaged to Corey Haim?
SHEPIS: I was very good friends with Corey Haim.
FLICK ATTACK: And this was his last role, right?
SHEPIS: I think so. He was on our set a whole lot. We had no intentions of having him in the movie; he was just kinda there to hang out. At one point, somebody got smart and said, “Hey, why don’t we put him in it?” and I was like, “Ding ding ding, stupid.” So they wrote in a part for him and it turned out to be a really weird, creepy, bizarre dream sequence.
FLICK ATTACK: Obviously, you were good friends with him, but could you even tell him apart from Corey Feldman?
SHEPIS: Yeah, I could!
FLICK ATTACK: How does Trade In compare to Used Cars?
SHEPIS: Oh, totally different ball game, man. We did the best that we could with not a lot of money. There’s about 100 writers on this thing and a lot of people in the pot, and a lot of cool Arizona actors who had a knack for improv. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but I think they got a cool little comedy out of it.
FLICK ATTACK: And you have Ron Jeremy.
SHEPIS: He’s quite the asset to have in your movie. It’s such a strange industry, the horror world, because it crosses over into comic book fans, porn fans and some of the sci-fi fans all the same. It definitely works to have him in your movie.
FLICK ATTACK: With vampires and zombies playing themselves out, what do you think is going to be the next great horror fad? And please say “sexy naked killer robot ghosts.”
SHEPIS: I absolutely think it should be sexy naked killer robot ghosts. That or tentacled sex monsters. Tentacle sex, that’s where it’s at. I don’t know what horror fans want anymore. Some horror fans will go buy every movie that has “Camp” in the title. Others want thinking man’s horror films and want something different and new. And then you have horror fans that don’t want any remakes at all, but get pissed when something’s original!
FLICK ATTACK: What’s it like to stand next to Kane Hodder, and is it scarier to stand next to Julie Strain?
SHEPIS: I certainly think I’d be more scared of Julie. That’s a big woman and certainly looks like she could beat me. But she’s the sweetest lady on the planet. Kane, I met when I was 15. I grew up knowing Kane, so to me, there’s zero scary about him. They’re all pussycats, all these horror guys. You won’t find another fan of the genre more than Kane.
FLICK ATTACK: Name one other Shakespearean adaptation that’s better than Tromeo and Juliet.
SHEPIS: Oh, shit, there’s none! Tromeo and Juliet is in a class of its own, man. My first movie and what a cool first movie to be a part of. I was a big Troma fan and in my opinion, it was their best film since Class of Nuke ‘Em High.
FLICK ATTACK: Have you ever had a moment during shooting when you paused, took a step back and thought, “Wait, that’s just not right. That is fucked-up”?
SHEPIS: Not particularly. I’ve been desensitized working on such weird shit. I mean, I have no problem killing a whore in the woods … but killing a baby isn’t my cup of tea. Even the hardened horror idiot in me has some boundaries. That’s not to say I won’t be killing babies in my next movie. This shit changes every day.
FLICK ATTACK: Since you work on multiple projects all the time, have you ever accidentally done nudity on a movie that didn’t call for it?
SHEPIS: No, but that’d be a very lucky production! They’d be, “Whoa, we’re not paying you for that!” I’d be like, “Oh, sure you are!” No, but I have been confused talking to directors on the phone. I read a lot of scripts on the plane and then I’ll get a call about getting through a script and scheduling. “Oh, yeah, that thing was awesome! I can’t wait to be involved! That scene is going to be awesome!” and they’re like, “What scene? What are you talking about?” And I’m like, “Oh, shit, now how do I back off and tell them their movie was crappy and I’m not going to do it?” So I’ve had those! Fortunately, not too many of them. You gotta remember, I’m still just a stupid actor. We fuck up a lot.
FLICK ATTACK: Do you have a favorite among all your projects?
SHEPIS: You know, I’ve got two current favorites. My all-time favorite was always The Hazing. I get possessed by Brad Dourif. I loved that movie. It was very much like a Night of the Demons — huge fan of the original, huge fan of the remake — like a fun, ’80s throwback popcorn movie you see with your friends and have a good time. Really big fan of The Frankenstein Syndrome, which is not out yet. It’s obviously close to me. I produced it, I starred in it, it’s very different than my other stuff. And another one coming out Feb. 15: Bonnie and Clyde vs. Dracula.
FLICK ATTACK: Love the title.
SHEPIS: Love the title, love the movie. And if I do say so myself, I’m pretty fucking phenomenal in it. —Rod Lott
Additional questions by Allan Mott.