Artist Feature – Laz Marquez

Rabbit in Red’s Featured Artist for October is the NYC-based horror illustrator Laz Marquez.

To see more of his work, follow @lazmarquez on Instagram and visit lazmarquez.com.

10 Questions and 10 Artworks with Laz Marquez

What’s your favourite scary movie?

A Nightmare on Elm Street! This was the first horror film I watched at a very young age and my love of horror was born. I appreciated the themes presented by the late/great Wes Craven, the amazing protagonist and the visually arresting (and creative) execution. It was horror with something to say on many levels and remains my go-to to this day.

When did you start doing horror art?

This answer has some layers. As a child I was always drawing/painting and that continued into my teens when I attended an arts & science high school. After that, I went to an arts college and continued to craft my traditional artwork techniques and identity. Throughout all of that, I was always considered the “dark art” guy. My work was always tinged in the macabre and driven by the darker side of emotions. After college, I decided to work in advertising as a creative for many, many years until deciding to combine my traditional art background, design and love of film to do illustration for a living. My passion was always horror, and it stuck!

Favourite horror movie sequel?

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. You might start seeing a trend here! This sequel brought its A-game, crafting a deep story with relatable characters we actually cared for. It gave us the series’ most creatively dark visuals to date. It gave us the beginnings of a sadistic yet entertaining Fred Krueger. And it brought back legacy characters to create a film that’s both entertaining while honoring the original.

Least favourite sequel?

Pet Sematary 2. I adore the first film directed by Mary Lambert & written by Stephen King himself. It was heartbreaking and relentless in its exploration of grief. Then the sequel comes along and turns the story into some strange, campy, MTV generation mess. It has a great performance by Clancy Brown, but it really didn’t need to exist.

Favourite horror movie character?

Theme continues! Nancy Thompson from the A Nightmare on Elm Street films! This character easily defined a lot of who I am today. I grew up in a broken family and was oddly independent for an adolescent at a very young age. So, this character was immediately relatable to me. What I loved about Nancy was her ability to take a horrifying situation and take action and agency on it. Things weren’t just happening TO her, she was proactively fighting to take her life back. She was smart, filled with attitude and resourceful. Hands down my favorite Final Girl and for the record, meet Heather Langenkamp if you’re able, she is a wonderful human!

If you could bring one horror movie character back to life, who would it be?

This one’s easy for me. Kirby from Scream 4. There’s a lot of fan debate as to whether she actually succumbed to her injuries but she didn’t deserve her fate. She was smart, a horror enthusiast and an all around badass. Justice for Kirby!

Least favourite horror movie scene?

Any time in the original Night of the Living Dead where Barbara is asked to do anything helpful. 

Favourite chase scene?

Hands down the very long and very well crafted Helen Shivers chase in I Know What You Did Last Summer. It was relentless and exhausting with Sarah Michelle Gellar hanging up her stake and proving she could be the Scream Queen we all deserved.

What horror film do you think is overrated?

It Follows. I really tried to get into it, but it felt empty, hollow and rather dull to me.

What horror film do you think is underrated?

The remake of Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I know it has its fans, but I feel like it’s lumped in with a lot of that era’s remake craze when it arguably took the original and elevated it to new heights.

To have your work featured or if you know a talented horror artist, email info@rabbitinred.com.

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