The Devil Inside: Horror Legend Michael Berryman
Thursday, November 17th, 2011 by Chad Cherry
“GOD HATES THE LORDS OF SALEM.
NO ONE CAN DESTROY THEM.”
The Devil Inside:
Thursday, November 3. 2011 12:00 p.m… It’s storming outside.. I think I’ll call…
MICHAEL BERRYMAN
Michael John Berryman was born in L.A. California. Prior to acting and playing the menace in countless horror and sci-fi groovie movies and television, M.B. worked in the floral profession. Did I just write that correctly?
M.J.B. is probably best known for his role as Pluto in Wes Craven’s 1977 horror film The Hills Have Eyes and the 1985 sequel The Hills Have Eyes II. He appeared in the Academy Award-winning drama One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest in 1975 (!!!!). He has also made appearances in the Sci-Fi movies My Science Project, Weird Science, Armed Response, Evil Spirits and The Guyver. (I remember him in an X-Files episode too.) In 2005, he starred in Rob Zombie’s The Devil’s Rejects and is currently doing Rob’s upcoming horror film The Lords of Salem. A coven of ancient witches will be paying a visit to the town of Salem, Massachusetts. (I love them already). A local DJ plays a cursed record and unwittingly unleashes a coven of 300-year old witches who were secretly imprisoned and tortured during the Salem Witch Trails. The Lords Of Salem is the third film from Haunted Films, the first two being Paranormal Activity and Insidious.
I also wanna talk about Michael’s roll as Gunnar in Justin Thomas Ostensen’s BELOW ZERO. I’m gonna givin’ him a ringy ding to see what’ shakin’. Penned by Signe Olynyk, Below Zero is the true-life story of Jack the Hack, a screenwriter with writer’s block who arranges to have himself locked in a meat cooler in order to meet a looming deadline. (Still ringing…) As the temperature drops, the lines between reality and fiction blur, and Jack’s story comes to life, exposing him to a world of horror that only a meat freezer can inspire.
M.B. Hello, Chad!
C.C. Hiya M.B.!!!
C.C. Hey Michael. First off, I wanna let the people know that you’ve been scaring the shit out of audiences for over 35 years, playing terrifying roles in horror and sci-fi cinema. Although, in reality you are a very sweet human being… And there’s no getting around it… You are actually a nice guy Michael. Sorry to blow your cover man.
M.B. Oh, gee. I agree with you. I’m very human each day and I think it’s something we should all strive for. I think it’s important. And thank you by the way.
C.C. I live by love and respect man.
M.B. I agree!
C.C. Let’s talk about the film you recently did in Canada called BELOW ZERO.
M.B. Well, I star in it with Edward Furlong and Kristin Booth and it’s a beautiful psychological thriller and I think we shot it in like 15 days, it was amazing. We threw ourselves into it and between the camera choices, the music and the art department it was wonderful. Eddie plays a screen writer that has writers block and his agent says “I’m gonna have you shipped off to the woods, your gonna be locked in a meat locker in a slaughter house and you can’t come out for 5 day until you have a finished manuscript other wise you won’t have an agent any more.” That’s kinda the premise, then things start to happen and you start to wonder “Is he losing his mind or is this what he’s writing?” Hmmmm? I’ve seen the movie a bunch of times and it was really well received at the Calvary Film Festival and at the Austin Film Festival most recently and right now it’s being pitched to the film market in Santa Monica. I love the independent film family.
This one is my best to date. I’m very proud of the roll. So have your fans go check it. It’s really a great movie and ya know what, you can watch it over and over and get something more out of it.
C.C. It was gonna be in 3D right?
M.B. They were thinking of 3D but the performances were so strong and the camera work was so well done that 3D would of been a distraction.
C.C. To me, that’s good news.
M.B. I’m not a big fan of 3D actually. I’ve never seen it really work properly. I did appreciate it as a kid seeing Jason and the Argonauts. That worked for me but at the end of the day if I was a producer or a director I wouldn’t waste my money on it.
C.C. Agreed.
C.C. You are working on a twisted witch movie called The Lords Of Salem as we speak. I’m sure you are under contract to not say much as of yet but can ya tell us a little bit about the character Virgil Magnus that you’re playing?
M.B. Well contractually I’m very limited of what I can speak of, I signed on the dotted line. I can say that I’m working with my good friends Rob and Sheri.. The Zombies. They’re very sweet people. Ken Foree is on board! My scenes are with my good friend Bill Moseley and we’re in the opening scene with a lil’ bit of the back story and I can’t say too much but it’s about the Salem witch trials and we get constricted with some trouble haha!
C.C. Don’t say any more! We won’t spoil any goods. I just wanted to talk about the utmost recent thing you’re doin’ and where you’re at right now.
M.B. I don’t even know what the rest of the story is. I don’t have the complete script haha.
C.C. The Lords Of Salem will quite possibly be one of Rob Zombie’s darkest films. You must be thrilled.
M.B. I like working with Rob, his productions go very smooth, all his people he has on board are very gracious and professional. You’re in good company with Rob. I haven’t read to much about it, I like to come on board to a project and then focus on what my director needs.
C.C. And all of you guys get along really well.
M.B. We do. We are all friends and family. We do conventions together, we travel together, we’ve been friends for decades. I’ve been friends with Rob for about 5 years now and Bill Moseley, Ken Foree, Sid Haig and Kane Hodder and the rest are one big happy family. Kinda nice.
C.C. You guys are like the horror brat pack.
M.B. You’re right actually. That’s a great idea. I’ve been in discussions with my manager about me possibly hosting a t.v. series. The beauty of me doing film ya know, unless you are a young model or something, as a character actor I can play any role I want and if I get older that’s ok! I’m so glad I’m not a glamour boy cuz then I’d be beyond my glamour years.. And then I couldn’t get a job hahaha!
C.C. Works out perfecto!
C.C. On that note… Michael, how do ya turn from “professional floral man” to a “dangerous, maniacal, creepy, killer guy?”
M.B. Oh that’s a great question. Well I was never a florist, In high shool I was a flower delivery guy but however, I had a shop in Venice Beach and I was discovered by George Pal there. I wasn’t a florist but what I had was a shop called Avendas Gardens with a business partner and we had house plants and the local artist would put in their sculpture or their paintings, lots of local art stuff ya know. It was just a small, little store I had for about 8 months, didn’t make any money but it did put me in a location across the street from a store that sells very high end inequities to millionaires.
One of the owners’ fathers happened to be George Pal from Warner Brothers, the original producer of War of the Worlds, The Time Machine and Journey to the Center of the Earth. When I met George he said to me “ya know you have a unique look” and he was very gracious and he said “Look, I’m doin’ a movie called Doc Savage” and I was like ” I have those books!” and he says ” I’d like to hire you for two days to be the corner for Doc Savage’s father, here’s the scene and would you be interested please.” I said “Sure. Sounds like fun.” He got me my union card and I wound up having a couple 100 bucks in my pocket after it was done, worked for two days. And I was planning on being a feature photographer either in the northwest territory Yukon or Alaska because I’m a huge fan of the nature. It’s the most beautiful planet we’ll ever experience and we need to keep it genetically altered free if possible.
C.C. Indeed. I’ve wrote music with a gentleman you that you starred in a video with. So, I finally get to ask somebody the question that’s asked to me in every interview I do. What was it like working with Nikki Sixx haha? Smokin’ in the Boys Room haha.. You know I have to bring music into everything.
M.B. Those guys. The Crue are my buddies! They are so down to earth, so honest, so gracious. I didn’t know how it was gonna go on “Smokin’ in the Boys Room.” I’ve been around a lot of people in the rock industry before and some are like Ehhhhh, but with them, right from the get go it was honest, sincere, smiles, “hang with us back stage” here and we misbehaved a lil’ bit there and they were just cool guys and we had a lot of fun. And then at the end of the video when I wiggled my ears they loved it.
It was the most requested video on MTV for a long, long time. And when they cut the ear wiggle out after about a year of it being on MTV people complained so much and wrote all these letters that some body had to go to work and put the 4 seconds of ear wiggle back in the video. And I didn’t know if this was really true, I thought they were pulling my leg. Well one day I had to do some ADR voice over work on a movies called Penny Dreadful and while the guy was setting it up he said ” Hey I used to work for MTV and one morning I had to go to work and on my page it said I had to put back in Michael Berryman’s ear removal from Motley Crue’s Smoking in the Boys Room video…. 4 seconds.” Hahaha! I’m very proud of that Haha! Send the boys my regards. Wonderful guys.
C.C. Your top 3 favorite movies that might inspire you to be a creep in a flick? Who or what movie monster can scare Michael Berryman?
M.B. Well, I would have to say I really like Frankenstein and the Universal Classics, but the one that freaked me out the most is probably The Mummy.
C.C Boris!
M.B. Oh ya. Frankenstein was a sympathetic character. The Wolfman.. Well, I just wanted to BE a werewolf. But The Mummy was really creepy.. And when they would burn the scroll leaves, it just creeped me out. And then when I go older The Exorcist really messed with me. As a matter of fact I’m not ashamed to admit that after I saw the Exorcist (I forget how old I was I might of been 15 or maybe 16) I got on my knees to make sure it had more effect and said my prayers. I’m an ex alter boy, ex Catholic. It really had an effect on me. And the third one I’d have to say… Fox News.
C.C. I gotta wrap this up here. I thank you for your time Michael. I’m always excited to see ya on the silver screen and I wish you the best of luck for the rest of the shoot on The Lords Of Salem. You will no doubt make this flick excellent my friend.
M.B. Well thank you, I appreciate that. You’re a sharp guy and obviously a force to be. I salute you. And drop by my facebook BELOW ZERO sign on as a friend and say that ya wanna see this movie haha! I’m really, really proud of it. I think Eddie, Kristin and I knocked it out of the park. The performances are strong and it’s so well made, it’s just like wow! belowzeromovie.com
Michael and I rapped for quite awhile about the renaissance of 60′s and 70′s music that still holds strong today, how original music rules and formulated bands can be compared to fast food that will make you “artistically diabetic” (Brilliant quote by the way Michael!) Aurthor Lee of LOVE, folk rock, his sister being a mid-wife for John Densmore of The Doors, hanging with Joni Mitchell at The Troubadour, meeting George Harrison, Herb Alfred, Aaron Neville, That 70′s Show, Betty White, Corporate Doom, Satan’s Evil Spawn, our future for our children and our children’s-children, slaves to power and greed, figuring out heaven on earth, humanity, war, protesting and surviving, science, physics and chemistry, Thomas Edison’s lab assistant PHD Professor Mr. Kent, not turning planet earth into a toilet, HG.Wells, Marshall Mcluhan, the powerful influences of technology, gardening, standards, misuse of knowledge, fast food, life styles, Lou Ferrigno, The Devil Rejects, Matthew McGrory and Tiny, Drag Racing, health care, the back of M.J.B.’s Hard Rock Cafe jacket saying “Love All, Serve All, All is One.” blind faith, dead beat reality shows, writing books and Mick Mars. Good times.
Hey, It stopped storming out. That’s too bad.. I like watching the lightning strike the graveyard from Castle Cherry. (Makes for disconnected phone calls with Michael Berryman though..) Sooooooooo, I have noticed some of you are looking quite shabby. Stop that. Get some Lip Service clothes. Turn yer “shab into fab” bitches. Or I will fucking gut you like a fish and cut your eye lids in half… Whoa, whoa, whoa!!! Hahaha, I’m just kidding… I’ve just been spending too much time with Roger Labon Jackson.. He’s the real voice of Ghostface… And Mojo JoJo.. Don’t ask… Just get some Lip Service…. Clothing.
Also check out Berryman’s work.
He’s done a few movies if ya haven’t noticed. And I’m sure I’m forgetting some of them too! Michael say’s: “Love All, Serve All, All is One.” What a great guy!
• Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze (1975) – Coroner
• One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) – Ellis
• The Hills Have Eyes (1977) – Pluto
• Un autre homme, une autre chance (1977) – First Bandit
• Deadly Blessing (1981) – William Gluntz
• Invitation to Hell (1984) – Valet
• My Science Project (1985) – Mutant #1
• Weird Science (1985) – Mutant Biker
• Cut and Run (1985) – Quecho
• The Hills Have Eyes Part II (1985) – Pluto
• Voyage of the Rock Aliens (1985) – Chainsaw
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) – Starfleet display officer
• Kenny Rogers as The Gambler, Part III (1987) – Cpl. Catlett
• The Barbarians (1987) – Dirtmaster
• Saturday the 14th Strikes Back (1988) – The Mummy
• Far Out Man(1989) – Angry Biker
• Solar Crisis (1990) – Matthew
• The Guyver (1991) – Lisker
• Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time (1991) – Pilgrim #1
• The Crow (1994) The Skull Cowboy (Scenes Deleted)
• Double Dragon (1994) – Maniac Leader
• Mojave Moon (1996) – Angel
• Spy Hard (1996) – Bus Patron with Oxygen Mask
• The Independent (2000) – Himself
• Two Heads are Better than None (2000) – Chives
• The Devil’s Rejects (2005) – Clevon
• Ed Gein: The Butcher of Plainfield (2007) – Jack
• Penny Dreadful (2006] – Gas Station Worker
• Brutal (2007) – Leroy Calhoun
• Necrosis (2009) – Seymour
• Brother’s War (2009) – Col. Petrov
• Smash Cut (2009) – Philip Farmsworth, Jr.
• Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster – (2010)
• Mask Maker – (2010) – Fred
(C.C.’s opinions do not reflect on L.S.)Enjoy the holiday kiddes..
Thanksgiving: A holiday about family, appreciating what you have, and sharing with others, including strangers. Pilgrims stealing land, pillaging and raping came earlier. How dare they burn my witches!!!!
XOXO
CHAD CHERRY
www.thelastvegas.com








































