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Meet The Staff: 10 Questions With Blumhouse.com Senior Editor Rob Galluzzo

October 12, 2015

By Gregory Burkart

It’s time for the next in a series of candid interviews with the staff of Blumhouse Productions, in which we share our collective passion for all things scary, discuss our personal and career histories in the genre we all know and love, and maybe even share a few spooky stories.

Today we sit down for a Q&A with Blumhouse.com Senior Editor and supreme horror aficionado Rob Galluzzo!

How long have you been a horror fan, and what attracted you to the genre?

I’ve been a fan of horror for as far back as I can remember. I always had a fascination with Halloween. My earliest memories are watching the Universal Monster movies on TV & then trying my best to draw them all. Then I eventually got to the scary stuff, and it’s the cliché you always hear – it was just a thrill every new one I discovered. Just like the way a roller coaster is.

What is your role at Blumhouse Productions? Can you tell us a little about your job?

I’m the senior editor of Blumhouse.com and I contribute several columns and original pieces of content on a daily basis. I mean, it’s the best job ever. I get to write and talk about horror all day among some of the absolute best horror writers on the web!

What is your career background, training, school, etc?

I graduated from a trade school in computer graphics and web design and then in 2004 co-created Icons Of Fright.com with Mike Cucinotta. We did it just for fun, but everything I’ve done since then has stemmed from my genuine love and enthusiasm for the horror genre.

What/who is your favorite monster and why?

The Wolfman is still my favorite. He was the first I really was drawn to and related to. I think because we all grapple with our dark side, while at the same time try to do the right thing. The Wolfman embodies that and every time I see the original or any of the sequels with Lon Chaney Jr, I’m in awe of his performances. Such poetry in his eyes!

What is your weapon of choice?

It’d have to be an ax. Although I doubt I’d know how to wield it properly!

List five of your favorite horror films.

Oof. Next to impossible to answer, but for right now this second, um…

EVIL DEAD 2
Alfred Hitchcock’s PSYCHO
John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN
THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE
ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN

What was the first horror movie you ever saw, and what was your reaction?

I don’t remember the actual first one, although I’m sure it was a Universal Monster movie. However, I can tell you the first that really changed me forever, and that was Wes Craven’s original A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. I had older cousins that kept taunting me with the stories about Freddy Krueger and eventually they sat me down and showed me the first movie. I was so terrified and yet loved it too. Despite giving me nightmares for weeks, I was hooked from that moment on.

Describe one of your favorite Halloween costumes that you’ve worn.

Several years back I was Norman Bates as “Mother” and it was by far my best, cheapest and most efficient costume. I bought an old lady wig for $7 bucks. Wore one of my grandmother’s dresses and pulled out a real knife from the kitchen and presto!

Name one horror celebrity, dead or alive, you would love to meet, and tell us why.

Anthony Perkins. I spent several years putting together a documentary called THE PSYCHO LEGACY which was intended as a tribute to the original Hitchcock movie and the sequels, and it actually became more a tribute to Perkins himself and to him forever being associated with the character of Norman Bates, which I’d like to think he fully embraced by the end. From all the stories I’ve heard about him, he seemed to be both a fiercely brilliant and funny guy, so I would’ve loved to have picked his brain, not only about movies in general, but his experiences as a director. PSYCHO III is vastly underrated! Especially his work as a director.

Please recommend a recent horror film that you saw and really enjoyed?

I love, love, love horror/comedies, so the best I’ve seen this year is hands down WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS. I also love documentaries, so I’d have to recommend THE NIGHTMARE by Rodney Ascher about sleep paralysis. So terrifying as it’s something I occasionally suffer from myself.

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