Dave Grohl in the Foo Fighters horror-comedy movie Studio 666, in cinemas from today.
Dave Grohl in the Foo Fighters horror-comedy movie Studio 666, in cinemas from today.
He's widely acknowledged as the nicest guy in rock 'n roll but that could soon change.
"I've been keeping the inner demon caged for years," Dave Grohl admits, an evil glint flashing in his eye. "I've finally had an excuse to let it out."
That excuse is his new movie Studio 666, a horror-comedy that stars Grohl and his fellow Foo Fighters that opens in cinemas today. Based on a story idea he came up with, the film could be construed as a physical manifestation of his inner desire to straight-up murder everyone around him.
Dave Grohl unleashing the demon in horror-comedy Studio 666.
"I mean it's funny, I try to be kind to everybody. I try to be as nice as I can to everyone in life. This is something my mother taught me when I was young; be kind," he says, all demonic traces having now left him. "But I tell you, when you walk into a movie set and they put those f***ing contacts in your eyes and those fake teeth in your mouth it's easy to become a f***ing demon.
Studio 666 is classic slasher fare that sees the band unknowingly going into a haunted house to record a new album. Things take a turn sideways when Grohl gets stricken with writer's block before becoming obsessed with working on one hard-hitting rock tune that seemingly has no end. As the band begin to question his sanity they find themselves being hunted down and meeting blood-soaked, excessively gory fates at the hands of a demonic killer.
Taylor Hawkins and Dave Grohl in horror-comedy Studio 666.
Murderous rampages aside, Grohl says the movie gives Foo Fighters fans a fairly accurate look at the inner workings of the band.
"One of the screenwriters, Rebecca Hughes, came over to hang out with us while we were making the record Medicine at Midnight - which we made in the living room of the house in the movie," he says. "She wrote our dynamic and then exaggerated it into this horror film. But when you see us together, riffing off each other and ping-ponging one-liners, that's very much like the real-life of the Foo Fighters. We've spent so many years in close quarters together, whether backstage, in a van or at an airport, we're kind of like a comedy troupe wherever we go."
When asked if it was a tough sell getting the rest of the band to buy into his vision to make a splatter film he grins and says: "I feel like this is not the stupidest idea I've ever had so they were like, 'horror film? Okay, Dave, whatever'."
Pat Smear and Nate Mendel of the Foo Fighters in horror-comedy Studio 666.
While Studio 666 is never going to win any Oscars the flick is undeniably a lot of fun. There are some outrageous deaths, a few jump scares and that Foo Fighters sense of fun and energy propelling the whole endeavour.
"That's been our M.O from day one. We still have no idea. We just f***ing stumble through everything we do. We thought we were gonna make this low-budget slasher film that would be fun and funny and in Foo Fighters fashion happen really quickly and it snowballed into a full-length feature film before our eyes. We were like, 'Oh my god it's turning into a movie!' Even still when we watch it we're like, 'I can't believe we made a f***ing movie. That's crazy'."
Foo Fighters keys player Rami Jeffee and Whitney Cummings in horror-comedy Studio 666.
In the film, he's haunted by a malevolent supernatural force and as it turns out he also has his own real-life ghost story.
"I didn't [believe in ghosts] when I was young, but in my early 20s I did live in a house in Seattle that I'm convinced was haunted," he says. "The classic s**t; footsteps in the kitchen, doors opening, feeling like someone's right behind you downstairs ... I wasn't the only person. Other people felt that too. So I don't not believe in it. I don't necessarily understand it. And I had to live in a f***ing house with a ghost for three years!"
Then he laughs and says: "I've had worse roommates, I have to be honest."
Dave Grohl hearing things bump in the night in the horror-comedy slasher flick Studio 666.
When it comes to the scariest thing that's ever happened to him, he's quick to answer.
"Getting up on stage every night. You want to feel scared? Be the singer for the Foo Fighters for three hours in front of a stadium."
Then he thinks for a second and says: "When I was young I was obsessed with UFOs. That was my whole thing. The ghost thing never really scared me too much. I don't know what scares me."
Then, suddenly struck by a terrifying memory he blurts out: "Being stuck in an elevator. Which I was in f***ing Auckland, New Zealand, once! That scared the f***ing s**t out of me."
The Lowdown Who: Dave Grohl What: The Foo Fighters horror-comedy slasher flick Studio 666. When: Begins a week-long limited run in cinemas from today.
