By Marc Patterson | August 7, 2009

Shannon Lark is one of the hottest ladies in horror. She’s the current Fangoria Spooksmodel, and founder of The Chainsaw Mafia. She’s ripping it up indie horror style with her Viscera Film Festival. Shannon Lark is what being “horror” is all about. When it came down to featuring her as a Vicious Vixen it was a no brainer. This week we give you a bonus… not just a great pictorial, but a great interview with this incredibly talented and hardworking lady.

Brutal As Hell: You’re one of the busiest women in horror. You’ve acted been in multiple films.  You write and direct films. You founded The Chainsaw Mafia, have performed with the Living Dead Girlz, are the current Spooksmodel for Fangoria, and you started the Viscera Film Festival for women in horror. Where in the hell do you find the time?

Shannon Lark: I drink coffee and try to take deep breaths.  Horror is where my deepest passion lies, so it just doesn’t seem like “work” to me.  It’s all wonderful and beautiful and creative.  I just wish I could do more…

Many folks got turned onto horror early in life.  So few really go for the gusto and pursue it as a career option.  So what initially turned you on to horror, in terms of “This is what I want to do when I grown up?”

I saw a gruesome ballet rendition of “Romeo and Juliet” when I was four years old.  My Mother took me when we were living in Ohio (think Gummo!), and when it came time for the lovers to die, streamers burst out of their chests, hundreds of feet into the air.  It was my first experience with the idea of death and I was perplexed by the mechanics of the blasts.  From then on I was hooked, forcing all of my friends to do horror marathons with me before I went head-on into horror filmmaking. I never believed I could be an actress while growing up (especially a successful one) until I was in my 20′s.

So, how has being a Fangoria Spooksmodel helped your career?  Has the added visibility flowed into the other areas of your work?

Oh definitely.  It really blew me away that I was able to achieve the status of Fangoria Entertainment’s Spooksmodel. I never win at anything, not even bingo!  Working with Fangoria has improved my career and the relationships that truly matter and it really is like a family that helps to influence and support whatever you are doing. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Can you tell us more about The Chainsaw Mafia and your Viscera Film Fest?  How did these get started, and what’s going on with them now?

The Chainsaw Mafia was started in 2001 when I realized I wanted to be an independent horror filmmaker.  I noticed there was a severe lack of a helpful presence to those just starting out in their potential careers.  I picked up digital filmmaking books and followed the crew members around when I landed roles on various films, berating them with questions. Thechainsawmafia.com was created to assist those who are looking for support and positions for films, while we produce films on the side.

The Viscera Film Festival was created in 2006 when I directed a short film called “Go Ask Alice,” with a handful of women containing very little film experience. The film came out so well that it inspired me to create the Festival, which honors women in horror, especially beginning female filmmakers. We take films with a running time of 30 seconds to 30 minutes and work with Sponsors worldwide to screen and promote the films in completely new geographical areas.  Basically we are a festival that works with other festivals to get the filmmakers’ work out there.  Our focus is promotion, along with the distribution of an annual Viscera DVD.

TCM has been knee deep (more like drowning) in productions and spitting out the next DVD for Viscera, which will contain these filmmakers’ work. We’ve been adding a lot of content to the site and are working towards making the Mafia the website to go to for independent filmmakers.  Viscera’s third year is now underway and we are receiving an overwhelming response from females across the country who are submitting their films.  It’s incredibly exciting!

Now, I’m a big fan and follower of Stacie Ponder, who is just a fantastic film critic, amongst other things, and immensely entertaining to read.  You just finished shooting a film with her.  Can you tell us about it and how you got involved with that project?  And mostly, where can we see it?!

Oh my goodness, I love Stacie!  She is such an overwhelmingly wonderful, witty person who is so incredibly creative.  I can’t believe she started filmmaking about a year ago, because she is such an unstoppable force.  The most recent film I did with her is titled “Ludlow,” (exclusive clip is here) and we shot it in 2 days under ridiculous circumstances.  It came out to be a whopping 106 minutes and I’m heading back to LA in a couple weeks to shoot some more scenes so we can make it into a feature.  We have been talking some form of distribution in one way or another and it will be posted on thechainsawmafia.com when it does become ready for the masses to see.

The project has been just…amazing.  Stacie has asked for donations online in return for executive producer credits and the results have been astounding.

Since “Ludlow,” we have shot a short of mine titled “Voyeur” which will be available on the next Viscera DVD, and we are shooting a trailer for a new feature Stacie is writing about: a woman in a wheelchair is alone in her house during a zombie outbreak.  Another short of mine is also slated to shoot when I return to LA.

Last year, I saw Stacie’s website and short films and we started contacting each other regarding getting her involved in Viscera. We finally met up at the Paranoia Film Festival and I let her know I wanted to shoot something with her.  She wrote “Ludlow” and I came to California for Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors about a month later. Our relationship has been a series of insane filmmaking deadlines and creativity since then.

Very nice. So who are your favorite horror filmmakers that give you daily inspiration?

Alejandro Jodorowsky, Peter Jackson, and David Lynch. Oh yeah!  And Stacie Ponder.:)

Given that you do so much I can’t imagine that you don’t have a thousand things in the pipeline.  What are you working on now that you’re really excited about?

Besides my work with Stacie, I’m also writing my sixth feature, which I hope to be my directorial debut.  The story follows a young girl who falls in love with a giant cockroach.  My work with Fangoria is blossoming and we have some news that should be announced soon on fangoria.com. I’m acting in several productions coming up and Viscera and TCM are expanding so much that I’m very much taken aback.

I should be in the next centerfold for SCARS Magazine and a new mag called The Darker Side (which will be presenting it’s debut in the next few months). I’m positively thrilled. I just hope I can hold on.

Well thanks for your time, and the interview. We’re pleased to feature you as our Vicious Vixen of the week and look forward to everything you’re brining to the genre!