Born in the Bronx, New York, Allen Danziger is an American actor most notable for his role as Jerry in Toby Cooper’s masterpiece The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). Beginning his career with a role in Hooper’s earlier film Eggshells (1971), Allen would take an extended break from acting for almost fifty years after TCSM, returning as The Narrator in Sean Haitz’s horror comedy Cannibal Comedain (2023), and in Jody Stelzig’s The WeedHacker Massacre (2024).
We were lucky to have a chat with Allen about his time working with Toby Hooper, as well as his more recent work in the genre.
Allen, could you tell us about “The WeedHacker Massacre”? How did the project come about?
Several years ago I met a gentleman named Ray Spivey and he asked me if he could write a part for me in his horror movie Storage Locker. It all went well. Ray was very gracious and worked with me so I could remember my lines. As a result, we started doing some things together, and I threw out some ideas, some crazy ideas. Ray put together the script that turned out to be The WeedHacker Massacre. It has a lot of fun elements, there’s mayhem, lots of craziness, and some of the killings are a lot of fun. One will make you think you’re at Jersey Mike’s.
Any favorite horror film directors?
Tobe Hooper, naturally. Psycho with Alfred Hitchcock, When I was young, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein frightened me.
Is your new film perhaps based on a true story?
Not really. It’s a lot of homage honoring classic horror films like Texas Chainsaw, The Shining, even Shaun of the Dead. And all the time we spend on indie film sets and the so many things that can go wrong. But the show must go on.
What was it like being in the horror classic “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre“? What was the feeling on the set?
One of my greatest experiences! The only difficult part for me was being in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre house getting whacked. The set had rotting bones and meat. You can imagine the smell. Some of the cast and crew were throwing up. It was a tough shoot and none of us thought the movie would even come out, to be honest.
Did Tobe Hooper discuss anything about the film he was making?
He told me very little. I had made a film “Eggshells” with him a few years before and he invited me to TCM. I wasn’t an actor so to “not” prepare for the hammer to the head scene, I blindfolded myself. When I took off the blindfold, there was Leatherface and I ran away screaming. Tobe said I was great but I needed to wait until the scene started.
What has been the reaction to “WeedHacker Massacre” so far?
I’m having the thrill of a lifetime; it’s been amazing. Fans tell me all the time how they enjoy it and it’s funny. We’ve been on so many fun podcasts and two of them called the movie “Batshit Crazy–but in a good way.” We even did podcasts today in Mexico and Chile.
I’m even getting laughs for my character’s name–Sheriff Danzinshoos. A special friend of mine had trouble pronouncing my last name. So he would say here comes Allen Dancingshoes. So this is to honor my late friend Ralph.
Check out the trailer for The WeedHacker Massacre below.
This interview was provided to Grimoire of Horror by John Wisniewski
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