Known as a writer/producer who gained his footing in the industry in the 1990s, John Esposito is a respected figure in American horror media, contributing significantly to both television and film projects within these realms. Known for blending traditional fright with rich storytelling and imaginative world-building, John has worked as a writer/producer on such titles as From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour (2010-14), The Walking Dead: Webisodes, and even worked as director on Creepshow (2023).
We were lucky enough to get the chance to talk with John about his stellar career in the industry.
What was the experience like acting as producer on “From Dusk Till Dawn”?
DUSK was a roller-coaster ride. Honestly, they’re all roller-coaster rides. One day you’re up, the next day you’re unemployed. Luckily, this one had a happy ending. And it only took six years to get there. Originally, my great friend Bob Kurtzman and I partnered up to produce our own projects. We were developing FROM DUSK TILL DAWN as a feature for Bob to direct. We intended to shoot it handheld, 16mm, real down and dirty. I was all set to write the screenplay when I got called on location to work on GRAVEYARD SHIFT, which, as frustrating as the delay was for Bob, turned out to be a fortuitous turn of events because we ended up hiring an unknown writer named Quentin Tarantino to write the first draft. Quentin was introduced to us through a mutual friend while he was still working at Video Archives. I was sent a stack of sample scripts to read and two of them stood head and shoulders above the rest. One was TRUE ROMANCE and the other was NATURAL BORN KILLERS. I was blown away, as the rest of the world soon would be.
Bob and I became the very first producers to hire Quentin. We paid him a whopping $1,500, which felt like a small fortune at the time. Tarantino delivered the draft, which we loved and, yes, we gave him notes – can you imagine?! He did a rewrite and we sent it off to our agents in search of finance. Well, the script got rejected everywhere it went. I remember one executive sending back a note: “Please don’t submit material of this kind ever again.” This was before Tarantino broke and they just couldn’t see it. Of course, Bob and I were crushed. “Can you believe we wasted $1,500!”
Even after RESERVOIR DOGS became a critical hit, we couldn’t get arrested. Then, after TRUE ROMANCE, NATURAL BORN KILLERS and, especially, PULP FICTION, something ‘miraculous’ happened. The very same companies that rejected the script were now calling it ‘brilliant’. At this point, producer Joel Silver entered the picture. He wanted DUSK to be the first TALES FROM THE CRYPT feature, but the deal fell through. We ended up optioning the script to a different set of producers and DUSK was set up at Dimension Films (Miramax) with Robert Rodriguez directing. Suddenly, our humble little gangster-vampire movie had big name stars and a splashy red carpet premiere at the Cinerama dome. It was an incredible experience. And incredibly lucky.
You wrote the screenplay for the horror film Graveyard Shift. Were you satisfied with the completed film?
I don’t know if I would use the word satisfied. What I will say is that the making of GRAVEYARD SHIFT remains one the most magical experiences of my life. It was my first produced screenplay. A Stephen King movie for Paramount! And I adored everyone involved. Producer/ Director Ralph Singleton and Producer Bill Dunn took a shot on me and they were wonderful throughout. First class all the way. Unfortunately, the movie was rushed into production in order to make a Halloween release date and I believe that hurt us in the end. The reviews were awful and, as a genre fan, it became a painful period in my life. What am I talking about? We still get dinged, 35 years later. Every time a list of ‘bad Stephen King movies’ pops up, there we are. It’s the gift that keeps on giving. That said, it has since gained a loyal fan base. There’s even a cool 4K from Kino Lorber. Rats. Brad Dourif. And Stephen Macht’s performance alone is worth the price of admission.
Tell us about writing the Tale of the Mummy. Were you inspired by any of the Mummy classics of the past?
I am a huge mummy fan. It’s our most under-appreciated monster. They have a rich backstory involving the ancient past and there’s usually a princess or two prancing about. Adventure. Romance. Terror. It’s why we go to the movies, right? The Karl Freund original is a masterpiece. I also love the Kharis movies from the 40’s and the Hammer version with Cushing and Lee. That’s a favorite.
Talos the Mummy (the international version is almost 30 minutes longer than the butchered cut released by Dimension) was based on a script written by the brilliant director Russell Mulcahy and the late, great Keith Williams. It was their idea to reinvent the mythos by having an evil entity embody the wrappings, as opposed to a lumbering giant. This was right before the big budget Brendan Fraser movie happened, so they were way ahead of the curve. I was was introduced to the producers by another dear friend, Howard Berger. I got hired to rework the screenplay with Russell. I was – and still am – a huge fan of his work and we had an absolute blast. Russell owned the Hammer one sheet, which features an image of Lee’s mummy with a beam of light passing through its torso. Russell wanted to recreate the image on film so we put it into the script. I threw in the opening dig sequence, because you can’t have a proper mummy movie without one. Most memorably, we got to work with Christopher Lee. I grew up worshiping that man. Christopher Lee was my movie star. And I wasn’t the only one. When he first came to set, the crew broke out in spontaneous applause. Sir Christopher simply replied, “Oh dear. With all this fuss, people are bound to be disappointed”. I promise you, we were not.
What was it like writing episodes of Creepshow? Are you a fan of the original film?
Am I a fan of the original CREEPSHOW? Saw it twice on opening day and about two- thousand times since. I received a call from Greg Nicotero – who is more like family to me. He told me he was show running the Shudder series and was looking for stories. Originally, he was interested in something I had written for an un-produced anthology but the Shudder people found it a little too dark. Thankfully, Greg also remembered a monkey’s paw story I wrote as a possible series pilot and they went with that. I got to write more episodes throughout the series, which led to becoming a producer for Seasons Three and Four. My lifelong dream was to direct which, by then, I assumed would never happen. But during the final season, I was invited to direct a pair of Creepshows – one featuring the legend that is Tom Atkins! I am eternally grateful to Greg Nicotero. He made my dreams come true.
Any favorite horror films, John?
I was weened on Universal Monsters and Hammer Horror. Far too many favorites to list. For now, I’ll keep it to BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN and THE EXORCIST.
What do you like about the horror film genre?
I love every film genre. I’m a complete movie nut. But from childhood on, monster movies became my drug of choice. The Creepshow episode MODEL KID is pretty much me. Nothing compared to the thrill of watching Creature Features on a Saturday night or seeing the latest horror double feature at the drive-in. And magazines like FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND and FANGORIA fostered an appreciation for the behind the scenes artists who made them. Not only the actors, writers and directors but the production designers, costumers, make-up and visual effects giants. Horror movies use every magic trick in the movie-making toolbox. Also… I plain old love a good scare.
Tell us about writing episodes of The Walking Dead. Do you like the Night of the Living Dead series of films?
What red-blooded horror geek doesn’t adore the Dead films of George Romero? NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD scared me to death and continues to inspire me to this day, along with its follow-ups. George invented the zombie genre as we know it, which led directly to the Walking Dead.
Now, to be clear, I didn’t work on the actual show. I wrote the scripts for the first two web series for Greg Nicotero to direct. Truthfully, I had never even heard the word ‘webisode’ before they hired me. We plotted it out like a narrative short which, at the time, was highly unusual for the format but we honestly didn’t know any better. We had so much fun doing them. A couple of monster kids letting loose making zombie shorts. AMC used them as lead-ins for the upcoming seasons. It was a very exciting time, just being a tiny part of the Walking Dead phenomenon. Again, eternal thanks to Greg. You sensing a pattern here?
Any upcoming projects that you could tell us about?
I have a genre project at New Line with a brilliant director attached. I can’t say who just yet. Fingers crossed, it happens soon!
This interview was provided to Grimoire of Horror by John Wisniewski
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