Exclusive interview: Adam Dubin

Few filmmakers arrive at slasher horror by way of punk rock, thrash metal, and some of the most iconic music videos ever made – but Adam Dubin has never followed a conventional path. From co-directing the Beastie Boys’ era-defining Fight For Your Right and No Sleep Till Brooklyn, to chronicling the birth of Bay Area thrash in Murder in the Front Row, Dubin’s career has always pulsed with rebellion, volume, and cultural electricity.

With Traction Park Massacre, which screened yesterday at the Black Sunday Film Festival, Dubin finally fulfils a long-held ambition: directing a full-blooded slasher film. Co-directed with his lifelong friend Douglas DiMonda, the film is a loving but savage homage to the anarchic spirit of 1980s horror: a world where Evil Dead 2 and Killer Klowns From Outer Space collide with the real-life insanity of New Jersey’s infamous Action Park.

Set in the ruins of a burned-down amusement park, Traction Park Massacre pits thrill-seeking teens and outlaw bikers against the feral “Terror Twins”, a pair of childlike but deadly predators who rule the park as their own. The result is a film that balances high body counts with humour, character, and a pounding original score by Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick – a collaboration that deepens the film’s heavy metal DNA.

We caught up with Adam Dubin to talk about finally stepping into horror, surviving an aggressive shoot schedule, why characters matter even in slashers, and what it means to unleash a film like Traction Park Massacre on a festival crowd that lives for chaos.

Exclusive interview – Adam Dubin, writer-director of ‘Traction Park Massacre’

1. You’ve directed everything from iconic music videos for the Beastie Boys to acclaimed documentaries like Murder in the Front Row. What made you want to take the plunge into slasher horror with Traction Park Massacre?

Two things made me want to direct Traction Park Massacre. I’ve always wanted to direct a horror movie. I mean, who wouldn’t? It’s just sick and it fits in perfectly with my heavy metal background. Heavy metal and horror are a perfect fit. The second reason was that I wanted to direct with my best friend Douglas diMonda. We’ve known each other since elementary school and we used to direct Super 8 kung fu movies together. So when we worked up the idea for Traction Park Massacre it was a no brainer. We had a great time.

2. The film clearly pays tribute to ‘80s slashers while blending in its own chaotic energy. What were some of your biggest cinematic influences going into TPM, and how did you and co-director Douglas DiMonda approach balancing homage with originality?

Douglas and I saw a lot of classic 80’s horror movies in the theaters. Two films that stand out as heavily influencing us are Evil Dead 2 and Killer Klowns From Outer Space. Those films in particular really blend scary horror with good humor. I think we set out to make a horror movie but we wanted to it to have some humor too. Just like Action Park that is our inspiration we wanted the film to be scary but kind of funny. Until you die!

3. Traction Park Massacre draws inspiration from the notorious Action Park. Having actually visited as a teen, what memories or urban legends directly fed into the film’s twisted take on the abandoned amusement park setting?

Douglas and I went to the original Action Park once. Once! We went with two friends. All four of us got hurt on separate rides. We also saw other people getting hurt. That place was out of control crazy! So when we started writing the movie we knew that we wanted to include several of the rides that we saw. We SAW but did not ride the infamous Cannonball Loop. It was already closed off but Doug and I agreed that we wouldn’t have gone on even if it was open. We wanted to include the alpine slide and we did. We just used the rides as a jumping off point to move the story along.

4. The “Terror Twins” are such a wild concept: feral siblings haunting the ruins of a burned amusement park. Where did the idea for Otto and Emil come from, and how did you approach crafting them as villains?

I think the Terror Twins Otto and Emil came from a desire to create slashers that were a little different from the usual slasher villains. I guess Freddy Krueger may be the closest to what we are doing. We thought that twins was interesting and making them feral and childlike but still deadly was a cool approach instead of just unstoppable remorseless killing machines. The Terror Twins are deadly predators who hunt anyone on what they view as their land. They are not wrong from their point of view. They just like to play with their food before killing it so to speak.

5. You brought in Alex Skolnick from Testament to compose the score, and his involvement adds a whole new musical dimension to the film. How did that collaboration come about, and what were you hoping his sound would bring to the atmosphere?

I’ve known Alex since I directed Murder In The Front Row and we’ve become good friends. He is an immensely talented guitarist and I’m as much a fan of his jazz music as his epic work with Testament. Alex had never composed any soundtracks before but he has great musical taste and feeling for the nuances of a scene. So I felt that he could be a composer. I asked Douglas to come to one of Alex’s jazz shows with his trio and at the end Douglas said “Yeah, he can do this.” Alex has an incredible intuition about the feel of each scene. He can be sensitive when needed and of course when necessary he can bring the power of thrash metal to bear like in the chase sequences. Alex even came to Georgia and spent two days on the set to get the feel of the movie so he was fully committed to the project. We love it, we feel that Alex nailed it and gave us a very original take on a horror score.

6. You’ve talked previously about the film’s intense production schedule and working with tight resources. What were some of the biggest challenges on set – and did that pressure lead to any unexpected creative breakthroughs?

Douglas and I undertook a very aggressive 15 day shooting schedule. Our producer Jack Gulick did a great job of keeping us on track. Every day was a challenge in order to finish the amount of shots and scenes that needed to be accomplished. Plus we had practical horror effects to deal with. Luckily we cast well and our actors really stepped up and delivered in every scene. They were great!

7. Despite the body count, Traction Park Massacre makes time for character, empathy, and humour. How important was it for you to create more than just kill-fodder, and what did you hope audiences would feel for this ragtag group of teens and bikers?

Douglas and I wanted the characters to matter. Many times in horror films I find myself just waiting till he kills. That feels like a waste of time. So we really worked on creating a group of characters that were fun so that we could put them through their paces. It’s so much more satisfying when they die that way! Yes, body count is important and I feel that we deliver. But we love to kill the ones we love!!!!

8. As TPM hits Black Sunday Film Festival, what are you most excited, or nervous, about when it comes to audience reaction? And what does success look like for this film, post-premiere?

We are incredibly excited to be a part of the Black Sunday Horror Festival! It’s so exciting that we’re coming to England to be a part of it! The Black Sunday Horror Festival looks like the way I would want a horror festival to be. A lot of cool films and I’m sure, a really cool group of people brought together who love horror. So we’re hopeful that the audience there will react favorably to our film but more we are interested in meeting and talking with like minded horror fans and fellow filmmakers. It’s really an honor for us to play there. We are grateful!

Traction Park Massacre is exactly what great genre cinema should be: personal, fearless, and made with friends who share the same warped passions. For Adam Dubin, the film represents the perfect fusion of his heavy metal roots, lifelong love of horror, and decades of hard-earned filmmaking experience, all channelled into a thrill ride that’s as funny as it is ferocious.

As the film continues its festival journey beyond Black Sunday, Dubin’s enthusiasm for the communal side of horror is unmistakable. This is a movie made not just to be watched, but to be experienced with a crowd, with laughter, with gasps, and with that shared understanding that horror works best when it brings people together.

Traction Park Massacre trailer