Released in 2009 in the midst of the same neo-slasher run that produced Hatchet’s Victor Crowley and Behind the Mask’s Leslie Vernon, writer/director/special effects makeup artist Robert Hall’s Laid to Rest introduced horror fans to Chromeskull (Nick Principe), a towering slasher in a sleek suit and polished mask who carries out all manner of mayhem while chasing after a hapless group of blue collar victims across a desolate stretch of country under the cover of night. A sequel followed in 2011, continuing on from the previous film’s events and revealing that the vicious killer commands a group of subordinates who do his bidding, including Chromeskull wannabe Preston (Brian Austin Green) and the devious Spann (Danielle Harris). In that film’s closing moments, Chromeskull heads out onto the streets of Hollywood to likely carry out yet another gore-soaked killing spree.
While that sequel’s finale and mid-credits scene teased another installment, it would sadly never come. Though Hall attempted to crowdfund a third film titled Laid to Rest: Exhumed in 2019, its campaign failed to raise the necessary funds. In 2021, Hall passed away at the all-too-young age of 47, seemingly signaling the untimely end of his unfinished trilogy.
But now, Chromeskull star/co-creator Principe is set to resurrect the character in another medium with The Reflection of Fear, a six-issue comic book series which will follow the events of the second film while delving into the slasher’s origins. Principe was kind enough to chat with BD about the comic’s origins, the status of the third film, and the future of Chromeskull.
Bloody Disgusting: So, what exactly happened with the third film?
Nick Principe: Rob had a lot of personal problems. His shop was going through some issues, but periodically, every few months he would just say, “We’re on track for this, we’re on track for that.” And it would kind of go in one ear and out the other. Then obviously, when he passed away, my initial reaction was, “Well, no movie now.” I always said Rob was the creator of all this, but I was definitely a stepparent, because once I got involved we drastically changed the character aesthetically, and some other things.
To be totally honest, Rob didn’t have a screenplay for the third film. He alluded to it and he hinted, but it was never actually completed. There wasn’t even a full outline. We just had some ideas that we had, going back and forth. We knew we wanted to go in that direction, but there was nothing on paper. Now, it just does not feel like I can bring myself to go through the heartbreak and the pressure and the pain of starting a film up from scratch. I simply don’t have it in me.
On top of that, the legality of it is a mess as far as who has proper ownership of this or that. It’s a lot of paperwork, a bunch of lawyers, and a bunch of money.
But the one thing that I do know for a fact, legally as co-creator of the character, I have image rights. So a comic book just kind of makes sense. A comic book is the only thing that I feel comfortable with doing, because it’s something me and Rob had discussed many, many moons ago, and he wanted me to do it. So it’s just cool. It’s a medium that I’ve been in love with since I was like a little boy. I’ve always been kind of looking for something to do a comic with, but this just made sense, because a movie – if it were ever to happen – is years away.
This is something that I can have complete control of, and have it come out and just give something to the fans, give ’em some kind of resolve.
BD: Will this comic be what the third film would’ve been?
NP: It will have a bunch of things that the third film would’ve had, but you’re also getting – and this is something I think people are gonna really love – a bit of an origin story for Chromeskull. You’re not gonna get the full picture of why he became what he did, but after this you’ll have a better grasp of who he is as a human being. It’s titled The Reflection of Fear, and you’ll find out why he wears a shiny metal mask. He gets off on the fact that his victims see their reflection as he kills them. That’s why he records them, to capture the look on their face as they see themselves dying.
It’s tough, because it is basically everything that I wanted to see in a third film, but with a little bit more. Especially with the origin, because me and Rob went back and forth all the time. He wanted to give him an origin story. I didn’t, because I just think that the less you know, the scarier it becomes. It doesn’t matter what origin story you could come up with, I always think it’s just gonna be ten times cooler not knowing why this person is an insane murderer. As soon as you get the reasoning, then you understand him more, and then I think he’s just not as scary. For me, I like keeping it blank, but this is a dedication to Rob.
So for Rob, I’m including an origin story that we kicked around in our heads. Basically, the story is, we’re going to start off in the early 90s, where a very young Chromeskull makes a very horrible impression on a little boy by killing his mom in front of him. Chromeskull lets this kid live for a reason that we find out much later. This new character grows up and dedicates his life to hunting Chromeskull down.
In between all of that, you’re going to get the pieces of the origin, though most of it is in the first issue. It’s going be a six issue series, and the first issue is 30 pages.
BD: Where would you say Chromeskull has been all these years since we last saw him in Chromeskull: Laid to Rest 2?
NP: Well, good old Hollywood gave us the term “suspension of disbelief,” and I believe that it factors in here, because in reality it’s been almost thirteen years since we’ve seen him. But for story purposes, we’re gonna act like that didn’t happen. What you will find out with the comic is, Chromeskull’s just been fucking around in Los Angeles, screwing around on the streets out there.
I don’t wanna give away too much, but a big thing I want is a return to more of a vibe of the first film versus the second, where Chromeskull lost his face, and kind of lost his mind with it. It’s safe to say that he’s dissolving the corporation that is Chromeskull to be more grassroots, if you will.
We’re gonna depart from the employees and get back to the basics of just a dude and a bunch of crazy weapons chopping down folks.
BD: How did you go about putting this comic book together?
NP: I can’t call him a close friend, he’s someone I just honestly met through Twitter, but I’ve been a fan of his work forever, and that’s Jimmy Palmiotti. His Jonah Hex run, to me, is just legendary. I worship that series. I just noticed on Twitter that he was very, very open with his fans, always communicating and whatnot.
So I took a chance and I just asked him a bunch of questions, and God bless the man, he answered everything that I could’ve possibly wanted to know. While I might’ve been a fan of comic books for 35 years, I knew nothing about the making of comics and the politics and the workings of the Big Two (DC and Marvel).
I just asked him, “How do I get a comic off the ground? How do I get to write for one of these companies like the Big Two? How does it go about? How do I submit myself?” I’ve had a lot of acquaintances and friends in comic books, and this man who was a complete stranger gave me everything I needed to know within two paragraphs.
Whereas my friends and acquaintances just gave very vague answers, Jimmy Palmiotti was very kind and he just said “You don’t ask to write for the Big Two, the Big Two asks you, so that either means you either self-publish the comic, you self publish a novel or just whatever, for DC or Marvel to pay attention to you. You have to have some literature outside of that world, or self-made.” This changed everything for me, because I had already reached out to some smaller publishing companies, and they didn’t even write back, and I didn’t understand why. He turned the lights on and it made everything make sense. I’ll always be grateful to Jimmy Palmiotti for teaching me all these things.
Then the second person I have to give a shout out to is an incredible artist based out of Ohio named Brian Level. He’s worked for both of the Big Two, phenomenal artist, and he basically walked me through what a comic book script should be. I’m very familiar with screenplays, but with comic books, it’s so much different. Brian Level absolutely taught me the template of writing comics, or at least he taught me the style that I have now.
BD: How did you find your artist?
NP: So obviously, I started with like all big names. The few that actually wrote me back explained that they were way too busy to take on something like this. We’re talking about four months of me reaching out to artists and then being shot down. I was literally starting to give up hope when I found Fábio Simão. His art was exactly what I was looking for. I wanted something that was like a traditional superhero style, but with darker shades of noir, you know? He’s a giant metalhead and he’s familiar with horror, so that was really important. We just clicked.
BD: How are you producing the comic? Is a publisher picking up the tab, or are you self-financing?
NP: So, a 30 page comic with duplication and everything is going to be about $6,500. It is so expensive. I’m trying to pay for it as much as I can, but because of the writer’s strike, and since I literally haven’t gotten a paycheck since April, that’s been pretty tough. But depending how things go in the next three weeks, I might have another job. But if not, I’m going to have to go to the fans to crowdfund this. There will be tons of great perks if we do decide to go that route, but I know the Chromeskull fans will help us out and get her done.
BD: Will this first six issue series open the door to more Chromeskull comics?
NP: Well, so that’s interesting. Hopefully there’s enough response and enjoyment that it beckons for more. Then, what I’d like to do is perhaps release a Chromeskull anthology comic, where I get maybe four or five other writers to do a short story each about Chromeskull.
He’s got a pretty good fanbase out there with some really, really cool creatives, and I would love to see their vision of Chromeskull. There’s just a big gap of time where you can play in-between these movies. So if these comics do well, hell yeah I would make more.
BD: Will Chromeskull ever make it back onscreen?
NP: Well, I don’t know. I don’t know. It’s really hard to say. With the movies and the legalities and all that, I have no control. I feel like I’m two inches tall in that world, but at least with the comic book, I know exactly what I’m getting into. It’s just me and the artist doing all the work. I don’t have to check in with anybody, as long as I keep it all in house. I don’t have to answer to anybody.
And that’s the thing with the comic. Straight up, there will be no profit from this. If I’m lucky, I’ll make my money back, you know? But this isn’t about money. It’s about getting the character out and giving him the story that he deserves, that he should have gotten 15 years ago.
Then on top of that, this is a dedication to one of my best friends who’s not alive anymore. This is 100% an epitaph for him, a written eulogy. You know, his death was really hard, man.
While I’d love for there to be another movie, it just doesn’t feel…I don’t wanna say it doesn’t feel right, but it’s just too much work, and to not have him next to me during the process is petrifying. I’m really just not interested in that, so that’s why a comic book, just across the board, feels right. It feels right for me. I know Rob would fucking love it, and I know the fans will love it. So it’s just something that has to get done, and it’s definitely a smaller battle for me to fight, versus trying to get a multimillion dollar movie off the ground.
BD: So what’s up next for you, aside from The Reflection of Fear?
NP: As this strike winds down, I can say that I’ve just been attached to an indie film called Deadly Endings that should be shooting next year. It is an anthology … a mix of of crime and horror. You know, drug dealers finding a zombie, bank robbers being thrown into demonic portals, things like that. Definitely the kind of interesting low budget stuff that I want to do.
BD: What final word do you want to leave fans with regarding this project?
NP: All I can say is just thank you for your patience, and thank you for your loyalty. I know that horror is very trendy, and slashers in particular. It’s very “in this year, gone the next.” Fans of Chromeskull, they’re the best. There’s the mainstream rock and roll, like Freddy, Jason and Michael, but I love that Chromeskull is more punk rock. He’s for the hardest of the hardcore fans. I’m kind of into it that you’ll never see him in Target. The basic horror fan can get their stuff at Target and WalMart, and that’s cool. Chromeskull fans shop exclusively with Fright-Rags, and I love that. It’s made for a specific group of people.
But to all the people that are still wondering and hoping for new stuff to come out after all this time, I just can’t thank you enough for your loyalty, and I promise that by 2024, I’m gonna give you something as a thank you for your fucking loyalty for all these years.
The post ‘Chromeskull: The Reflection of Fear’ – Nick Principe Previews ‘Laid to Rest’ Comic Book Plans [Interview] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.