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Interview: David Dastmalchian talks ‘Count Crowley: Reluctant Midnight Monster Hunter’

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David Dastmalchian has no doubt been on the wildest ride of his career in the last couple of years, nabbing roles in such Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero movies as “Ant-Man” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp,” as well as TV series guest shots in DC’s “The Flash” and “Gotham.” Dastmalchian has also been busy creating independent cinema, writing and starring in such acclaimed indies as “Animals” and most recently, “All Creatures Here Below.”

Yet for all his success, Dastmalchian said in a recent interview that perhaps his most satisfying achievement to date is something that brings him back to the place where many great fantasy tales begin: the panels of a comic book as the writer of “Count Crowley: Reluctant Midnight Monster Hunter.”

“I was a comic book geek who grew up loving film, dreaming of being an actor, and then got to work with the best of the best with David Lynch and Christopher Nolan, getting to be in Peyton Reed’s ‘Ant-Man’ films and part of the MCU, getting to be in ‘Blade Runner: 2049’ and ‘Dune’ coming up and getting to know James Gunn — I’ve gotten to check so many boxes,” Dastmalchian enthused. “And yet, this comic book has truly been the most exciting thing I’ve done yet as a storyteller.”

Interview: David Dastmalchian talks ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’

Interview: David Dastmalchian talks ‘Ant-Man’

New on comic book racks from Dark Horse Comics, “Count Crowley: Reluctant Midnight Monster Hunter” is a four-issue tale that’s rooted in Dastmalchian’s love of horror movies and the local, late-night TV host who presented them to him as a kid.

Dark Horse Comics/Persona PR

“I used to watch the ‘Creature Feature’ program in Kansas City growing up. It was ‘Crematia’s Friday Nightmare’ with Crematia Mortem, played by the incredible Roberta Solomon,” recalled Dastmalchian, a Kansas native. “She was our local horror hostess who introduced me to the incredible work of Lon Chaney in ‘Phantom of the Opera,’ Boris Karloff in ‘Frankenstein’ and of course, Bela Lugosi in ‘Dracula.’ Those were my early heroes.”

In Dastmalchian’s ‘Creature Feature’ world, however, “Count Crowley” delves more into the life of the host than the movies she presents. The main character is Jerri Bartman, a disgraced journalist who takes a job as a late-night horror show host named “Count Crowley” at a small TV station in her hometown, only to find out that monsters are real and she’s one of the few people who can stop them.

“Her dream is to be the hardest-hitting news journalist in the world in 1983, but life has hit her sideways and she is barely hanging on by a thread. She drinks from sunup to sundown and she has burned every bridge she has left to burn,” Dastmalchian said. “So, she begrudgingly puts on the make-up and the costume, and she introduces the late-night horror show and ends up being quite a hit. People love her bad attitude and her sassy style, but her first little taste of approval is short-lived because she finds out the Count Crowley she replaced wasn’t just a horror host. He was one of the last, great appointed monster hunters among humanity.”

However, hunting monsters isn’t easy, and Jerri needs to get sober to make things work. It’s a page that Dastmalchian has ripped out of the story of his own life, where he’s successfully battled addiction.

“This is something I’ve been wanting to write about for decades. Thinking about monsters and thinking how fun it would be if they had a secret identity,” Dastmalchian, 42, recalled. “Then I grew up, and I dealt with my battles with depression, anxiety and addiction, and I started to recognize that monsters are sometimes good and sometimes truly evil.”

Among the good ones, Dastmalchian said, are “those of us who I considered werewolves who got bit by the addiction disease and just couldn’t seem to control ourselves when the moon was out, but found help, healing and recovery in so many miraculous ways. I also think about the demons within that plague us, and the story really started to take shape.”

As for the evil monsters in this tale, they’re much closer to us than we think.

“I started to think about the news and information, and the monsters who live among us in our own society and thought, ‘How incredible would it be if all that we think we know is a lie?’ Like they’ve been spinning this fake information, and werewolves can’t be stopped with silver bullets and a stake can’t ever kill a vampire,” he said.

Dastmalchian said the year “Count Crowley” is set in is 1983. True, that was the year where he came of age as a boy reading comic books or started watching horror hosts on TV. But he selected that year more because it the dawning of a new age of media.

“The time was the beginning of cable, and I thought it would be pretty fascinating that the monsters were getting their eyes on the power of cable media and access to a wide audience,” Dastmalchian said.

Dastmalchian is no doubt in a unique position as a comic book author. In a way, he’s living a type of parallel universe, in that many of the films and TV series he’s had roles in over the past decade have originated from DC Comics and Marvel Comics.

“There’s been a wonderful renaissance in the last 10 years that I’ve been so fortunate enough to be a part of in a small, tangential way, like my role in Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight,’ which I think reimagined comic book adaptation filmmaking,” Dastmalchian said. “Then, I became a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the last five years with the ‘Ant-Man’ films and getting to become a part of cinema history with what (Marvel President) Kevin Feige and his entire army of artists accomplished. And now, I’m part of the Dark Horse family with ‘Count Crowley.’ It’s been pretty amazing for me as a consumer of this type of material.”

And with any luck, Dastmalchian’s life on the pages of “Count Crowley: Reluctant Midnight Monster Hunter” will continue on after its debut run.

“If it’s just these four issues that are being published, if this is what it ends up being, I’m just trying to be here in the moment, and being as appreciative and as grateful for it as I can be,” Dastmalchian said, humbly. “My dream for it, obviously, is to go many years into the future with many different stories and monsters that I want to explore and battle.”

Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for “The KQ92 Morning Show” on KQRS-FM,  “Paul and Jordana” on WCCO Radio, “It Matters with Kelly Cordes on WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere, and reviews streaming programming on WCCO Radio’s “Paul and Jordana” as well. On TV, Tim has made hundreds of guest appearances on “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC).

Copyright 2019 DirectConversations.com

Tim Burton Book 2
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Film, Movie Reviews

Movie review: Creepy ‘Doctor Sleep’ is no ‘Shining,’ but is impressive nonetheless

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“Doctor Sleep” (R)

The haunting visions of Stephen King’s “The Shining” have been frightfully reawakened with “Doctor Sleep,” a creepy, intense and too-disturbing-for-its own good at times sequel to the director Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 horror film classic.

Based on King’s 2013 novel of the same name, writer, director and editor Mike Flanagan’s 2-hour, 30-minute opus doesn’t come close to “The Shining,” but it is still impressive, nonetheless. It’s clear that Flanagan (“The Haunting of Hill House”) was intent on making the sprawling tale of Danny Torrance his own while honoring the Kubrick film; yet it somehow manages to capture the same tone of “The Shining” even though “Doctor Sleep” is set largely away from the Overlook Hotel.


AUDIO: Hear Tim’s review of “Doctor Sleep” with Tom Barnard on “The KQ Morning Show” on KQRS-FM. The segment is brought to you by Michael Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.

“Doctor Sleep” begins in flashback, where Flanagan casts lookalike actors to step in for the young Shelley Duvall and Danny Lloyd to pick up the lives of Wendy and Danny Torrance not long after the murderous events at the end of “The Shining.” Naturally, Danny has been left deeply traumatized by the actions of his father, Jack, and coupled with his gift (or curse) of “the shine” — which gives psychic abilities  to see horrific visions of the past and communicate with others who have similar abilities –- he’s barely able to function. The trauma is so debilitating that it drags on into Danny’s (the always great Ewan McGregor) life as an adult, where, like his father, Jack, he has taken refuge in a bottle.

Danny’s life takes a turn, however, when he meets a fellow alcoholic, Billy Freeman (Cliff Curtis), and begins to communicate with Abra Stone (Kyliegh Curran in an impressive big screen debut), who has a more powerful version of the shine. Unbeknownst to both Danny and Abra, however, is a growing, deadly threat: There’s a small group of quasi-immortal people known as The True Knot, led by the malevolent Rose the Hat (a brilliant Rebecca Ferguson), who hunt down and kill children with the shine, consuming a steam that they expel while they are dying, the essence of which fuels their immortality.

While he doesn’t quite have the presence that Jack Nicholson did in “The Shining,” there’s no question McGregor commands your attention in “Doctor Sleep” as a deeply troubled individual trying to lock away his past in metaphorical boxes, only to be faced with confronting those demons once again as Danny is forced to return to the Overlook Hotel for a cataclysmic showdown in the last 20 minutes of the film’s third act.

It’s there where we get to experience Abra’s true powers and Rose the Hat’s ultimate wickedness, and not surprisingly, the return of Jack Torrance. But instead of using the benefits of CGI or clips from the original “Shining” to bring Jack back, Flanagan opts instead to recast the role, presenting Henry Thomas (“ET the Extraterrestrial”) as Jack Torrance/Nicholson in 1980, along with the recasting of all the other specters that haunted the young Danny from the original film.

It’s hard to say why, exactly, Flanagan took that route, other than to guess he did so to fend off any accusations that he was ripping off Kubrick to benefit his own film. No matter the case, the recasting works enough to grab viewers for the film’s frightening conclusion.

Photo: Warner Bros.
Rebecca Ferguson and Kyliegh Curran in “Doctor Sleep.”

Not having read the original source material, it’s hard to say how faithful “Doctor Sleep” is to the original King novel. My guess is that it’s very faithful, given that it takes some time (exemplifying King’s meandering ways) for the plot to come together. No matter the case, one thing is certain: King has an unhealthy obsession with the way children are brutalized, either psychologically or physically (or both) in his novels.

From the doomed teenage character in “Carrie” to the Loser’s Club in the “It” films to the unfortunate child victims in “Pet Sematary,” there’s no doubt King forces adults to confront their worst fears; but in the case of “Doctor Sleep,” there’s a disturbing scene with a pre-teen (Jacob Tremblay) that crosses the line as Rose the Hat and her frightening band of immortals carry out a ritual to feed upon the fear and pain of their young victim. It is downright amazing Warner Bros. didn’t take a harder look at the scene and ask Flanagan to tone things down. It’s an unnecessarily disturbing scene that stains an otherwise stellar horror film.

Lammometer:  8 (out of 10)

Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for “The KQ92 Morning Show” on KQRS-FM,  “Paul and Jordana” on WCCO Radio, “It Matters with Kelly Cordes on WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere, and reviews streaming programming on WCCO Radio’s “Paul and Jordana” as well. On TV, Tim has made hundreds of guest appearances on “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC).

Copyright 2019 DirectConversations.com

Tim Burton Book 2
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Film, Movie Reviews

Movie review: Hamilton saves ‘Terminator’ franchise by coming back for ‘Dark Fate’

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“Terminator: Dark Fate” (R)

Linda Hamilton is back with a vengeance in “Terminator: Dark Fate,” a direct sequel to director James Cameron’s 1991 action blockbuster “Terminator 2:  Judgment Day” that ignores every “Terminator” film in between then and now. As such, “Dark Fate” is superior to the three films that tried to revitalize the franchise, even if it essentially a rehash, for all intents and purpose, a reboot, of the original “Terminator” plot in 1984. But by doing so, director Tim Miller (“Deadpool”) and Cameron, who is on-board as a producer and gets story credit on “Dark Fate” with two others (and five more wrote the screenplay), had to make some crucial creative decisions that may end up alienating the franchise’s diehard fanbase.


AUDIO: Hear Tim’s review of “Terminator: Dark Fate” with Tom Barnard on “The KQ Morning Show” on KQRS-FM. The segment is brought to you by Michael Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.

“Dark Fate” picks up in 2019, where Grace (Mackenzie Davis) a tech-enhanced human super soldier from the future arrives much in the same way Kyle Reese and The Terminator in the original film did in the original “Terminator,” naked via an orb and a bolt of lightning. Her mission from the future – 2042 to be exact – in a war against the machines, now called “Legion,” is to protect Dani Ramos (Natalia Reyes), who presumably will give birth to the leader of the future resistance. Hot on their trail, though, is a technologically advanced and seemingly unstoppable liquified version of the Terminator called the Rev-9 (Gabriel Luna), who has the stunning ability to separate its human likeness from its endoskeleton, essentially making him twice as deadly.

Photo: Paramount Pictures

Grace will get help to protect Dani, whether she wants it or not, from Sarah Connor (Hamilton), who is receiving information about arrivals from the future from an unknown source. Not surprisingly, the source turns out being her former foe the T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger), who now lives off the grid under the guise of a drapery store owner named Carl. But the eventual reunion between Sarah and the Terminator is beset by deep anger, as Sarah – despite saving 3 billion lives by preventing “Judgement Day” – is still reeling from a devastating turn of events 22 years earlier.

From a filmmaking standpoint, “Dark Fate” is expertly made, with engaging action scenes throughout that rival the high energy and creativity of “T2.” And while Davis, Reyes and Luna are solid, the entire film is anchored by Hamilton, who is even tougher than she was in “T2” almost three decades ago. No one can upstage her in the film – even Schwarzenegger – who doesn’t appear until 75 minutes into the film, which clocks in at 2 hours and 8 minutes.

That’s not to say Schwarzenegger hasn’t lost his step as the T-800, and he uses the character’s lack of human emotion (although he claims to have become more human since the events of “T2”) to deliver some of the funniest lines in the movie. In a way, “Dark Fate” serves as fitting way to wrap up his appearances in the franchise (presumably), giving the character the ending he (and Hamilton) deserves. In fact, Schwarzenegger’s presence – even as a supporting character – is so powerful, that it makes you realize just how lacking Luna is as the villain. Luna is good, but he simply doesn’t have the charisma that Schwarzenegger had when he originated the bad guy role in 1984.

For all “Terminator: Dark Fate” has going for it, the movie is full of flaws. First, there’s the inability to get past the original “time travel to save the future” plot, even though Cameron, Miller and company made a daring move early on in the film to set the overall narrative in a different path. Oddly enough, the move, without giving away a huge spoiler, is never properly explained, leaving fans with task of drawing their own conclusions.


AUDIO: Hear Tim’s review of “Terminator: Dark Fate” with Paul Douglas and guest host Brittany Arneson on “Paul and Jordana” on WCCO-AM. The segment is brought to you by Michael Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.

No matter the areas where the film is lacking, “Dark Fate” is worth seeing for Hamilton alone. It was a genius move bringing Hamilton back into the fold to give some new edge to the “Terminator” franchise, much in the way Jamie Lee Curtis returned to last year’s “Halloween” film series (much like “Terminator,” “Halloween” ignored all the sequels after the first film). Sarah Connor has a war-weary wicked edge to her, and her attitude, which is magnified by her smoky voice, screams bad-ass throughout the film. With any luck, “she’ll be back” should “Dark Fate” become a huge enough hit to justify another sequel.

Lammometer: 7 (out of 10)

Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for “The KQ92 Morning Show” on KQRS-FM,  “Paul and Jordana” on WCCO Radio, “It Matters with Kelly Cordes on WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere, and reviews streaming programming on WCCO Radio’s “Paul and Jordana” as well. On TV, Tim has made hundreds of guest appearances on “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC).

Copyright 2019 DirectConversations.com

Tim Burton Book 2
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Film, Movie Reviews

Movie review: ‘The Current War’ powered by fascinating story, brilliant cast

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“The Current War: Director’s Cut” (PG-13)

Two years after its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival and becoming a casualty of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, “The Current War: The Director’s Cut,” is, for the lack of better words, finally seeing the light of day. A brilliantly acted,  atmospheric historical drama that takes an inside look at the true-life battle between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse to bring light to the modern world in the late 1800s, the film isn’t perfect, but is a fascinating historical depiction of some life-altering events, nonetheless.

“The Current War: The Director’s Cut” is named as such because director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon trimmed 10 minutes from the original run time, shot five more scenes and added a new score, under the auspices of executive producer Martin Scorsese. Beginning in 1880, the film picks up just after Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch) created and filed his patent for the incandescent light bulb.

Edison’s got much bigger aspirations, though: to light up Manhattan, America and eventually the world by distributing electricity through a low voltage direct current system; while businessman and engineer Westinghouse (the always great Michael Shannon) believes high voltage alternating current electricity is the answer.

For those unfamiliar with Edison’s personal demeanor, “The Current War” is a real eye-opener. Though he enjoys a high-profile celebrity status in public, behind the scenes, he’s a volatile and vindictive inventor who resorted to nasty business methods in an effort to destroy his competition. The film also delves into Edison’s mistreatment of Nikola Tesla (Nicholas Hoult), a scientific genius who eventually teams up with Westinghouse. Tom Holland also stars as Samuel Insull, Edison’s loyal personal secretary who questions some of his boss’ methods.

Lammometer: 8 (out of 10)

Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for “The KQ92 Morning Show” on KQRS-FM,  “Paul and Jordana” on WCCO Radio, “It Matters with Kelly Cordes on WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere. ALSO, Tim reviews streaming programming weekly on WCCO Radio’s “Paul and Jordana.” On TV, Tim has made hundreds of guest appearances on “KARE 11 News at 11.”

Copyright 2019 DirectConversations.com

Tim Burton Book 2
Click book cover for info on how to buy!