By YASMINA KETITA
My video review of SHREDDER ORPHEUS recently premiered on RUE MORGUE TV, and much to my delight (and surprise), the star, director and writer of the film, Robert McGinley, watched and enjoyed it. “Holy shit!” I exclaimed out loud. My brain exploded in a burst of glee. If I had known twenty years earlier that I’d be speaking with the creator of one of my most treasured VHS movies, I’d have shit my pants. While I didn’t defecate upon meeting McGinley over Zoom, I’ll admit my hands did perspire.
My memory of the first time I watched SHREDDER ORPHEUS is an enjoyable and lasting experience. Certain films are so bizarre and surreal that you never forget the first time you watched them. SHREDDER ORPHEUS is such a unique film and nothing like I had ever seen. It fuses post-apocalyptic elements with themes of corporate media brainwashing and adds a gothic, post-punk style to create an industrial, psychedelic skateboard version of Greek mythology. Before Vinegar Syndrome and AGFA released the film from its underground shackles, it was distributed on VHS by Action International Pictures. (A bonus DVD was included in a 2014 LP soundtrack release, and according to my research, it’s rare.) I seldom meet others who have heard of it, let alone seen this cult film, so I considered myself lucky I had the tape.
Not a part of the Hollywood machine, McGinley, much like Gene Roddenberry, is an artist ahead of his time. He knew when writing SHREDDER ORPHEUS where technology was headed: into the realms of manipulation and control. His newest film, Devi Danger, expands on this theme with the incorporation of AI, neuroscience, biotechnology, and the consequences that technology has on society.
The main characters in SHREDDER ORPHEUS, Orpheus and Eurydice, are derived from a tragic love story in Greek Mythology. You mentioned in another interview that you were inspired by Hindu Myths when writing Devi Danger. What is it about mythology that influences you to create your art?
Filmmaker Robert McGinley in “SHREDDER ORPHEUS”
Being a student of mythology, I was always struck by how relevant iconic characters and mythic themes are in today’s culture. The idea of making films that reflect stories that are repeated throughout history is fascinating to me. The application of mythic themes integrated into genre films such as action, horror or science fiction has been a lifelong passion. Using these elements to create a “pulp mythology” is a gratifying process for me.
SHREDDER ORPHEUS features two unique guitars: one that emits psychotropic rays that brainwashes people into a catatonic dance and a neon green guitar hung on strings that has a body I’ve never seen before. How did you come up with these guitar designs?
Randy Erickson, the SHREDDER ORPHEUS production designer and art director, had a brilliant insight into what the guitars should look like. Because the Orpheus myth is based on a musician who has an instrument of transformative powers, Randy was able to capture the essence of the myth through the creation and construction of the guitars.
The post-punk soundtrack for SHREDDER ORPHEUS wass written by Roland Barker from The Blackouts, who later went on to join Ministry’s live band. Were you and Roland acquaintances in the ’80s Seattle music scene?
The first music video I ever made was for The Blackouts, and through that collaboration, I became close to Roland and other members of the band, especially the amazing percussionist, Bill Rieflin.
How did you come up with the line, “I’ve dedicated my life to the sound of metal insects screaming in a wall of oatmeal”?
For several years in the 1980s, I was a rock journalist for the magazines The Seattle Sun and The Rocket. At that time, grunge rock was emerging from the punk scene, so much of that music relied on screeching feedback and loud distortion guitar effects, and I was always coming up with ways to describe early iterations of Screaming Trees, Alice in Chains, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Sound Garden, etc. I may have been stealing from one of my reviews to exclaim, “I’ve dedicated my life to the sound of metal insects screaming in a wall of oatmeal.”
I bought the VHS of SHREDDER ORPHEUS years ago, so I’ve been a fan of this movie for a long time, but over the years, I’ve met very few people who have heard of it. It was finally given a proper Blu-ray release by Vinegar Syndrome in 2023, with AGFA’s help, AGFA also facilitated a screening at the Alamo Drafthouse. Have you noticed a spike in awareness of the film since?
Beginning in 2010, there has been a rediscovery of SHREDDER ORPHEUS by a new audience in independent art house theaters, and the film has enjoyed retrospective screenings since that time. When AGFA acquired SHREDDER ORPHEUS and teamed up with Alamo Drafthouse for theatrical and Blu-ray distribution, the effect was to pour gasoline on the fire. [That] has resulted in a spike in awareness, especially in the last three years.
Encyclopocalypse Publications just released a novelization written by David Irons. There was a screening of SHREDDER ORPHEUS along with the book launch at Brain Dead Studios in Los Angeles in April. How was it?
We had a great response, and perhaps the book signing incited some very poignant questions from the audience. We did a deep dive into story structure and the Orpheus myth as the oldest love story in Western civilization. Kudos to the author, David Irons, and Encyclopocalypse for their tenacity and dedication in making the novel happen.
You had a first draft written for your latest film, Devi Danger, while working on SHREDDER ORPHEUS. It’s clear to me both films take place in the same universe, and you’ve said Devi Danger is a bigger sister to SHREDDER ORPHEUS. Brainwashing by corporations that have a sinister agenda and the use of AI and the media to manipulate and control people are integral themes in both movies. Tell me about your relationship with technology over the years.
Whether it’s television or internet technology, I have always been fascinated with how media changes the way we think and the way our brains work. From an early age, I was exposed to television, and my mother used to yell at me, “Bobby, stop staring at the ‘idiot box’ and do your homework!” So, I was a TV junkie at an early age, and my mother was right. However, my father’s business was making components for the earliest production of the television in the late 1950s. Consequently, I was torn between the wisdom of my mother and loyal support of my father’s work.
The main protagonist, Devi Danger (played by Molly Sides), is electronically enhanced and develops the ability to brainwash people and break glass with the sound of her voice. Influences I recognized in Devi Danger are the Wachowski sisters’ The Matrix and William Gibson’s Neuromancer. Is technology harming human consciousness?
Yes! Today, more than ever, we can see how misinformation and the general waterboarding of consciousness have had a detrimental effect on humanity. Whether it’s the adoption of conspiracy theories, consumer brainwashing or the isolation social media creates, there’s never been a time when technology has been more toxic.
As well as being a poet, you’re a landscape photographer. I’ve noticed the art represented in your films depicts the horrors of biotechnology, while your photography brings us back to nature. Can you tell me more about this dichotomy?
Landscape photography is a meditative and spiritual endeavor. Biopunk filmmaking is an attempt to present cautionary tales on the misuse of technology. I don’t see the two as a dichotomy but more of a means to provide a healthy mental and spiritual balance. The two disciplines are not in conflict but are complementary.
What’s your next project?
It’s called Cataclysmic. In a world where neurological AI implants are common, a rebellious young musician teams up with his cyberized girlfriend to stop a toxic tech oligarch from contaminating humanity. The tentative plan is to implement development and pre-production for the rest of this year and begin principal photography in spring of 2026 in Thailand.
SHREDDER ORPHEUS and Devi Danger are available on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome. Get the SHREDDER ORPHEUS novelization at Encyclopocalypse Publications. Robert McGinley’s photography can be seen at www.robertmcginleyphotography.com, and for more news on Robert McGinley’s films, go to www.boomcult.com.
