Tim Chizmar Interview on Naked Alien Massacre, Naturism, Aliens and a 17-Year Mission to Get Weird

Tim Chizmar Interview Delves into Getting Naked Alien Massacre Made

By Seth Metoyer | More Horror

Some movies begin with financing. Others begin with a screenplay, a producer or somebody saying, “I know a guy with a camera.”

Naked Alien Massacre began with something closer to a dare.

Writer-director Tim Chizmar spent roughly 17 years trying to bring his bizarre collision of naturism, alien horror, splatter comedy and body-positive filmmaking to the screen. Somewhere along that road, someone told him the idea would never get made.

That apparently proved to be the wrong thing to say.

After watching the film for our recent More Horror review, one thing became clear pretty quickly: Naked Alien Massacre has considerably more going on beneath the title than you might expect. Yes, there are aliens. Yes, there is blood. There is nudity, practical creature work, gross-out humor and enough midnight-movie DNA to make the whole thing feel like something that wandered out of a forgotten video store at 1:30 in the morning.

There is also sincerity.

Chizmar approaches naturism from inside the culture rather than treating it as a punchline. The movie uses one of its most ridiculous ideas, aliens who target clothed humans, to turn nudity into a literal survival mechanism. Beneath all the carnage sits a film about body acceptance, vulnerability and the assumptions people carry about naturist communities.

The production itself became another story entirely. Chizmar assembled collaborators he has worked with across multiple projects, brought longtime friends into the madness and built a movie whose making has already become the subject of a separate documentary by September Club.

We caught up with Chizmar to talk about the 17-year journey, the naturist philosophy behind the film, practical creatures, Cat Prodigy, Clive Barker and why Naked Alien Massacre still belongs on a late-night horror screen somewhere.

“I Decided Right Then I’d Get It Made”

MORE HORROR: Naked Alien Massacre was a long time coming. You carried this idea for years before finally getting it made. What kept pulling you back to this particular story, and at what point did you realize you had to finally get it into production?

TIM CHIZMAR: It was a journey of roughly 17 years, honestly. There are so many mini-stories I could tell you about people who were attached and fell away over the years.

One of the driving forces to make it came when I attended a screening for a nudist comedy called Act Naturally. I thought we'd all be supportive peers of each other, so I told them about my idea. Sadly, I was met with some not-so-nice comments and was told my idea would never get made.

I was told mine was too much.

I decided right then I'd get it made if it was the only goal in my life. Seriously, that would

have been my one regret if I didn't get it made.

Naturism Without the Exploitation

MORE HORROR: One of the things that surprised me most was how sincere the naturist element feels. The film treats nudity as part of everyday life rather than a cheap gimmick. How much of that came directly from your own experience in the naturist community, and what misconceptions about naturism were you hoping the film might challenge?

TIM CHIZMAR: I knew that, to appease what I consider true horror fans, I needed shock value and some wild moments, but I was never going to involve sexuality.

The biggest misconception about my underrepresented community is that we're all pervy swingers, and that just shows the ignorance people have.

I wanted to show that within the community there are all sorts of personalities, but certain things are accepted, such as body positivity and an understanding that we are not sexualizing each other.

When we say that, we mean that.

I mean that in my art too.

When Getting Naked Becomes Survival

MORE HORROR: The central idea is beautifully wild: the aliens target people wearing clothes, so getting naked becomes a survival strategy. Where did that concept come from, and did you always know the horror premise would also become part of the film's body-positive message?

TIM CHIZMAR: Yes. Always. Since Day One of the screenplay, we had that Predator-inspired visual concept. At one point we had four monsters in the script, and things change based on budgets, locations and everything else, but I always knew that was an original idea I had to see onscreen.

The Movie You Write, Shoot, Edit and Eventually Surrender

MORE HORROR: The movie moves between creature feature, splatter comedy, naturist celebration and something genuinely heartfelt. How did you approach that tonal balance as a director?

TIM CHIZMAR: I just wanted options.

I know that, at bare minimum when making movies, there are three: the one you write, the one you shoot and the one you edit.

Clive Barker reminded me when I told him that there's also the version the critics interpret, the one the fans feel about it a decade later, and so on.

My point is that I just wanted options, and in the editing room we could cut, cut, cut the film into what I hope best served the full arc of the tale.

This one matters to me, and I hope that comes across.

Building STICKS

MORE HORROR: The practical effects give the film a great old-school midnight-movie quality. What were some of the biggest effects challenges on set, and is there one creature, kill or practical gag that best represents the movie you wanted to make?

TIM CHIZMAR: As far as effects go, I'm happy with the character of STICKS, who is the taller, longer alien.

He was played by Robbie Banks, a dear friend and ultimately an associate producer on the film. His dedication and willingness to trust me and the project meant the world to me.

Not everyone involved was a nudist, so to hear me out and buy into something so outlandish really was cool.

Building a Tribe Behind the Camera

MORE HORROR: The cast really commits to the world you created. What were you looking for when casting Allair, Matt and the larger ensemble, and how did you build the level of trust needed for the nudity, comedy and horror to all work together?

TIM CHIZMAR: I've been working on my tribe, my troupe, for years now.

My cast have been in the trenches with me on other projects, so they know what I'm about. It's really fun that my folks love the nudity, and we never need an intimacy coordinator because they are happy and thrilled to return to nature in fun, silly and organic ways.

My sets are work, but they're fun too.

This is why the making of this movie is the subject of another documentary by September Club.

Cat Prodigy, Guthrie Lowe and a 3 A.M. Soundtrack

MORE HORROR: Music gives the film a lot of personality, from Guthrie Lowe's score to Cat Prodigy's songs and the connection to The Nudels of Nudeland. How did you approach the music, and what did those collaborators bring to the film?

TIM CHIZMAR: Cat was always pivotal to me. I love her as a human and an artist.

I would listen to her songs in my car at 3 A.M., driving around Las Vegas and crying sometimes when depression hit hardest. I believe in her and her work, and I hope this film gives her a spotlight too.

Guthrie is an old workhorse and a trusted member of my team. He takes direction well.

The use of my Nudels theme as the ringtone on Matt's phone was an Easter egg to my earlier nudist comedy because, why the hell not? Haha. I own it.

We also use an original piece of music from producer Charlie Perkins, which I just adore, as

I'm an old modern folk fan from years gone by.

It's a great mix, I think.

Cat's original song literally has the title of the film in it to mimic that awesome Flashdance movie from the '80s.

The Horror Hosts Who Should Probably See This Thing

MORE HORROR: Watching the movie, I kept thinking it would have fit perfectly into that old-school Elvira, late-night horror-host universe. If you could choose one dream audience or setting for Naked Alien Massacre, who would you most want to watch it with and why?

TIM CHIZMAR: I tried pitching it to Joe Bob and Darcy at The Last Drive-In, but they blew me off.

I've talked to them a few times. Darcy most recently at WonderCon when I had mutual friend Chris Jericho on a panel.

Anyway, I think it's up their alley since they appreciate Bloodsucking Freaks and I Spit on Your Grave, which are very important to me.

Those two and Xtro, I feel, do not get enough love.

Seventeen Years Later, the Aliens Finally Landed

There is something wonderfully appropriate about Naked Alien Massacre taking nearly two decades to exist.

This is a movie built from stubbornness.

Somebody told Chizmar the idea was too much. He kept the idea alive anyway. Cast members returned. Friends climbed into alien suits. Musicians contributed pieces of themselves. A community Chizmar cares deeply about became part of a horror film that refuses to treat that community as scenery.

And somewhere along the way, the making of the movie became worthy of its own documentary.

That might be the most independent-horror thing about the entire story.

The final film has aliens hunting clothing, practical monsters stalking naturists, original songs, buckets of blood and an alien named STICKS. Underneath all of it sits the thing Chizmar kept returning to for 17 years: the desire to make this particular movie exactly strange enough that somebody once told him it couldn't exist.

Now it does.