Barbara Crampton: King Knight interview

Barbara Crampton is a true icon of the horror genre having appeared in such fan favorites as Re-Animator, From Beyond, Chopping Mall, Puppet Master, and many more. She’s a name that horror fans instantly recognize and over the years she has become a favorite once again of young genre filmmakers who want her to appear in their movies. This is the reason she makes an appearance in Richard Bates Jr.’s latest film King Knight, and I was lucky enough to speak with the actress about how she became involved with the project.

As it turns out, Bates and Crampton have a mutual friend and Bates asked them for Crampton’s murder to ask her to appear in his new movie. Crampton was a fan of his work and was more than happy to play the role of Thorn’s (Matthew Gray Gubler) estranged mother in King Knight. It’s a minor role but an important one because through her scenes we see why Thorn has gone down a certain path in life. We also see that Crampton’s character is also dealing with the difficulty of taking care of her own mother.

We touched on some of the creative choices Crampton made with the role and we also talk about this wonderful second act Crampton is having in film. The actress had pretty much retired from acting but Adam Wingard brought her back into the genre fold when he cast her in his 2011 film You’re Next. Since the release of that film, Crampton has continued to solidify her place in the horror genre and shows no signs of slowing down.

King Knight hits digital and on-demand on February 17, 2022.