Famous serial killer “Greg Reaper” once shook the foundations of Hollywood, starring in blockbuster hit after blockbuster hit. His filmography includes seven original movies, from The Reaping to Reaping: The Final Chapter, a series of crossovers in which he went head to head with the star of the Bloodcurdled Franchise, as well as a soft reboot that featured him in a secondary villain role, The Reaper Returns. Now, he has retired from acting as well as killing, and has started a new career as a graphic designer. Today, he has agreed to discuss his career with us.
Q: Thank you so much for meeting with me for this interview! I am a big fan of your work. Yours is a bit of an unorthodox career, is it not? While many other horror movies feature actors portraying supernatural killers, Hollywood recruited you from the streets. Would you take us through your career before you hit the big screen?
A: I would be happy to. It all started when I was just a young, inexperienced serial killer. I hadn’t really found my identity yet. My kills were simply acts of whimsy, someone who happened to wander down a dark alley or a group of teens trespassing in an abandoned building who decide to split up. Crimes of opportunity, rather than a real passion for my craft. Back then I was just Greg. But then inspiration struck me. I started wearing the mask, and making my kills with a scythe, and that was how Greg Reaper was born. I think that was what caught Hollywood’s attention, because it wasn’t long after that I was approached to make The Reaping.
Q: Thank you so much for meeting with me for this interview! I am a big fan of your work. Yours is a bit of an unorthodox career, is it not? While many other horror movies feature actors portraying supernatural killers, Hollywood recruited you from the streets. Would you take us through your career before you hit the big screen?
A: I would be happy to. It all started when I was just a young, inexperienced serial killer. I hadn’t really found my identity yet. My kills were simply acts of whimsy, someone who happened to wander down a dark alley or a group of teens trespassing in an abandoned building who decide to split up. Crimes of opportunity, rather than a real passion for my craft. Back then I was just Greg. But then inspiration struck me. I started wearing the mask, and making my kills with a scythe, and that was how Greg Reaper was born. I think that was what caught Hollywood’s attention, because it wasn’t long after that I was approached to make The Reaping.
Q: Your first film came out around the same time as other genre-defining slashers such as Halloween and Friday the 13th. Yet it still managed to stand on its own as a unique and memorable film. How did you pull this off?
A: I was essentially given complete creative control on set. We had a pretty bare bones script. Most of the murder sequences were improvised. The reactions of the actors were authentic as they saw me cutting through their costars. I think that really accentuated the film. Fun fact: I actually meant to kill them all, but the leading lady who went on to work with me for the next four entries in the series genuinely outsmarted me with that iconic pitfall scene. As furious as I was at the time, I think leaving one of the stars alive sat better with audiences than a clean sweep.
Q: How do you respond to the harsh critical reviews of later films such as Reaping: Genesis and Reaper 5: The Gregening?
A: Yes, I admit that The Gregening was the low point of my career. We thought we were being brilliantly meta with the dark humor and fourth wall breaks, but it just wound up coming off as cheesy. When I heard that test audiences burst out laughing at the scene in which the couple having sex was crushed by the bookshelf I tipped over, which was not meant to be humorous by the way, I was pretty devastated. But I learned to roll with the punches. In The Reaper Returns series, in which I took a more directorial role to allow the new starring villain Gary Reaper to take the spotlight, I threw in a few jabs at some of the poor choices I made in those films. I’m quite proud of the misdirect in which the couple having sex in the library make it out unscathed while their celibate costars are massacred.
Q: Would you be willing to shed some light on the rumors of the hard reboot that Netflix is considering making into a television series, with you in the leading role?
A: Listen, those years slaughtering young campers and students with the full support of Hollywood were some of the best of my life. But frankly, I’m pushing 50 now. It just wouldn’t be appropriate for me to be costarring with some actress who’s barely twenty years old, you know? She should be killed by someone closer to her own age. So no, I have no plans to take part in the Netflix series. Even my successor, Gary Reaper, is a bit old at this point. In my opinion, he should pass the torch onto a new Reaper just as I did to him. In the meantime, I am quite pleased with my current career in web design. I still do the occasional killing, but it’s a labor of love at this point, not something to pay the bills.
A: I was essentially given complete creative control on set. We had a pretty bare bones script. Most of the murder sequences were improvised. The reactions of the actors were authentic as they saw me cutting through their costars. I think that really accentuated the film. Fun fact: I actually meant to kill them all, but the leading lady who went on to work with me for the next four entries in the series genuinely outsmarted me with that iconic pitfall scene. As furious as I was at the time, I think leaving one of the stars alive sat better with audiences than a clean sweep.
Q: How do you respond to the harsh critical reviews of later films such as Reaping: Genesis and Reaper 5: The Gregening?
A: Yes, I admit that The Gregening was the low point of my career. We thought we were being brilliantly meta with the dark humor and fourth wall breaks, but it just wound up coming off as cheesy. When I heard that test audiences burst out laughing at the scene in which the couple having sex was crushed by the bookshelf I tipped over, which was not meant to be humorous by the way, I was pretty devastated. But I learned to roll with the punches. In The Reaper Returns series, in which I took a more directorial role to allow the new starring villain Gary Reaper to take the spotlight, I threw in a few jabs at some of the poor choices I made in those films. I’m quite proud of the misdirect in which the couple having sex in the library make it out unscathed while their celibate costars are massacred.
Q: Would you be willing to shed some light on the rumors of the hard reboot that Netflix is considering making into a television series, with you in the leading role?
A: Listen, those years slaughtering young campers and students with the full support of Hollywood were some of the best of my life. But frankly, I’m pushing 50 now. It just wouldn’t be appropriate for me to be costarring with some actress who’s barely twenty years old, you know? She should be killed by someone closer to her own age. So no, I have no plans to take part in the Netflix series. Even my successor, Gary Reaper, is a bit old at this point. In my opinion, he should pass the torch onto a new Reaper just as I did to him. In the meantime, I am quite pleased with my current career in web design. I still do the occasional killing, but it’s a labor of love at this point, not something to pay the bills.