Writer, director, producer, vocalist, and artist Michelle Lynn Blasky:
To start, please introduce yourself:
I am Michelle Lynn Blasky… Writer, director, producer of The 3rd Channel and vocalist for Letters to Sam/Miz.44. I am also an artist who works in acrylics to create functional and non-functional art. I’ve also done some background acting and love photography. I grew up in downtown Detroit in a little Polish/Hungarian neighborhood by the name of Del Ray.
I got my start when I was an extra in Steven King’s, The Langoliers. When I was about 12, my dad bought a camcorder, and I would use it to film these short horror films around the house and have my friends act in them. Later, I went off to film school in Michigan where I graduated with an Associate’s Degree. I left film for a while to pursue music. I started an industrial/solo act called, mAgeNta6 and performed for a few years.
In 2010, I decided that if I really wanted to get into film, I’d have to get out to LA, so I did. I ventured out to Santa Monica to attend The Art Institute for film. I was still involved in music as well, becoming the lead vocalist for an underground grunge/metal band called Letters to Sam.
What is horror to you, what makes a work of art one in the horror genre?
Horror to me always starts out normal. It always does. Or you wouldn’t find yourself in it at the last inconvenient moment doing everything you can to get out of it. I guess that means it must be a trap. It looks good until it’s got you by the ankle, or the throat.
It’s also human nature. The annals of the inner workings of a deep, dark and hidden truth.
What makes it horror? When it no longer is a choice; It’s when the film takes a turn for the worse. It has rules. If you break the rules, you get hacked. To me, the best ones are the ones that help you answer questions about what is the best course of action in your own world. It’s therapeutic. Take Hitchcock’s Psycho for example: Don’t steal.
What made you want to work in horror?
There was a time when you’d look in the papers and all you’d see were horror films listed and there would be one that was regular like Empire Strikes Back or Pretty in Pink. When I was just a kid, my older sister would take me to the movies to see all these 42nd Street type horror films like, Last House on the Left, Pieces, and Girls Nite Out.
I suppose it’s a different answer for each artist. For me, it was when I learned that I wanted to work though my own fears.
Where do you get your inspiration?
Through new experiences. Finding the scary in those situations and then finding my own strength as I grow and learn and find new meaning.
Music helps. It helps a lot. Did I mention dreams? I’m really big into dreams and their meaning. That’s how I got the idea for a sequel to [The 3rd Channel] Halloween 3: Season of the Witch.
What would you like your legacy to be in the genre (or elsewhere)?
I think I’ll let others decide that.
What is Women in Horror Month to you and why is it still important this many years later?
It’s about celebrating who we are and empowering each other.
Woman have always been at the center of horror since its birth. Take the old classic horror films for example and how females have been portrayed. Outside of strong patriarchal overtones, we’re the final girls, the villains, the vixens, and the witches working behind the scenes that they thought they had killed off. We’re captivating. And we’re still the forbidden fruit.
Who are some of the Women in Horror who you look up to and who do you want to bring attention to in your field or others?
There are so many I can’t even name. But I will name a few. Jamie Lee Curtis is at the top. I really enjoy Frances Conroy’s work and Mia Goth.
I would love to bring attention to a couple actresses I had the honor to work with. Vanessa Lauren Freeman is a very talented actress who played Jessica Kelly and Lizeth Soto who played Nurse Allison in The 3rd Channel.
What are you currently working on that you can tell us about?
There’s going to be a producers cut of The 3rd Channel including some behind the scenes specials that will hopefully be released by Fall 2024. We’re working on getting a local screening here in Eureka where it was filmed.
I couldn’t leave without mentioning an extra special secret project. It too, is a fan inspired film, but not necessarily a fan film. I can’t really talk about it, because I want it to be a surprise when it’s announced. I will give a small clue. There was an Easter egg in, The 3rd Channel. I was recently approached by my good friend Troy Oelke and we decided to work on this together. We’re really excited. Troy is a terrific voice actor and that’s why we had him do the voice over for the new Silver Shamrock jingle.
I am re-working an older screenplay I am dusting off called, We are the Masked. It’s slasher/musical that will feature music by my very talented good friend, John Altyn who is known for having written some of the rock music for the Sleep Away Camp franchise.
I have one more to mention for now. Although I cannot tell you the name of it, my friend Johnny Logan Harley, who does the comic, HORRORDORABLES and I will be working on something really special in the near future. It’s mostly his idea. He had approached me a few months ago about the idea for the project. It’s a little different from what I am used to, but that’s where the magic happens.
Links:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1421482011585686/ (The 3rd Channel)
https://www.facebook.com/lettersto5am
https://www.facebook.com/miz44music
https://www.facebook.com/horrordorables