In this episode of The Night Crew Podcast, Brad Ricks sits down with horror author, screenwriter, and filmmaker Shane McKenzie for a wildly entertaining conversation about extreme horror, splatterpunk, KillerCon, horror movies, gross-out fiction, and the strange career path that took Shane from short stories to writing for Hollywood. Shane talks about cutting his teeth in horror anthologies, discovering writers like Wrath James White, breaking into extreme horror with books like All You Can Eat, Pus Junkies, and Muerte con Carne, and eventually making the jump into screenwriting. He shares how Muerte con Carne helped lead to the short film El Gigante, how he learned screenwriting on the fly, and what it was like co-writing the Blumhouse feature Bingo Hell. The conversation also dives into the difference between writing novels and writing movies, returning to books after years in Hollywood, collaborating on projects like Benjamin, Ugly Truth, and the Frogman novelization, and why every creative project has its own rules. Shane also opens up about how some of his most outrageous horror has roots in very real personal experiences — from weight struggles and acne to identity, family, and childhood trauma. And then things get disgusting. Shane explains the bizarre social-media campaign behind the re-release of All You Can Eat, which has involved eating everything from fermented fish and insects to balut, plus the even more unhinged gross-out gauntlet planned for KillerCon. From hot-wing challenges and gross-out competitions to horror cartoons, filmmaking workshops, and the idea that horror conventions should actually be fun, Shane gives a behind-the-scenes look at what makes KillerCon different. They also talk about Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Mexican folklore, the Chupacabra, Korean goblins, evil skeletons, Army of Darkness, An American Werewolf in London, The Howling, Monster Squad, and why the horrifying midpoint of a werewolf transformation still scares Shane more than almost anything else. If you love extreme horror, splatterpunk, indie horror, horror filmmaking, screenwriting, creature features, body horror, KillerCon, Blumhouse movies, and conversations that go gloriously off the rails, this episode is for you. Socials Shane Website: https://www.mchorror.net/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shanemckenziehorror Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shanemckenziehorror/ Linq App: https://linqapp.com/shane_mckenzie KillerCon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/killerconatx/ Website: https://killerconatx.com/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@killercon.austin Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KillerConATX Keywords Shane McKenzie, Shane McKenzie interview, Shane McKenzie horror author, KillerCon, extreme horror, splatterpunk, gross out horror, All You Can Eat Shane McKenzie, Muerte con Carne, Pus Junkies, Bingo Hell, Blumhouse horror, horror screenwriter, indie horror author, extreme horror books, splatterpunk authors, KillerCon Austin, gross out contest, horror filmmaking, screenwriting horror, El Gigante short film, Frogman novelization, Benjamin horror novel, Wrath James White, creature horror, werewolf horror, body horror, An American Werewolf in London, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, horror podcast, The Night Crew Podcast, Brad Ricks Hashtags #ShaneMcKenzie #KillerCon #ExtremeHorror #Splatterpunk #GrossOutHorror #AllYouCanEat #MuerteConCarne #PusJunkies #BingoHell #Blumhouse #HorrorAuthor #HorrorWriter #Screenwriting #HorrorMovies #IndieHorror #BodyHorror #Werewolves #CreatureHorror #HorrorPodcast #TheNightCrewPodcast
