Q. In the commentary done by Bruce Campbell on the new 'Evil Dead' DVD he mentions how attached you were to the props you created. So what was your favorite prop or effect for the movie?

My favorite is easily the Book of the Dead. It's my  Baby.  Originally Sam's script said the book cover  was some kind of animal skin with a few ancient language letters on it .  That did not satisfy my dramatic sense so I put together a face skin for the cover.   It was a liquid latex slush casting of one of the actors faces.  I contact cemented it to a piece of corrugated cardboard and added a little paint and history was made.  The pages took two weeks of late evenings of drawing and great chats with Josh Becker.    My favorite effect is the Stop Motion  Clay Animation  meltdown sequence.  I and Bart Pierce had a lot of creative input into that finale and was  very satisfying as an artist.

Q. Sam Raimi's always been known for his odd camera effects and angles; did that pose any problems or special planning in creating the special effects?

Not at all.  I was also looking for ways to move the camera.  My favorite shot of the finale is the shot of Cheryl falling forward and you see the background moving by.  I  based that on a similar shot from the original King Kong when Fay Wray in the tree when Kong knocks it down. My concept,  Barts solution was to mount the camera to the Mannikan frame and crank the whole apparatus with his king sized car jack.

Q. Being involved in the movie, what was your favorite scene? (From a personal standpoint I loved the clock scene)

Hands down the Meltdown finale.   I got to design and direct the fx. Can't beat that and I love to watch it after all these years.

Q. What was it like revisiting 'The Evil Dead' to create the cover and pages for The Book of the Dead DVD? I personally think the 'ancient language of bullscritaka' was genius (once I finally realized what it was).

Very deja vu.  I redrew the art and finessed it up a bit and added that touch of genius the bullskrit language and secret messages.

Q. Something I've always wondered but never confirmed, was it the book of the dead in 'Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday'?

Yes, the book and dagger appearances in Jason 9 was an homage but since I own the copyrights to those props it would have been nice to give me some credit or even bother to ask. 

Q. What did you have to work with when creating the special effects? Like what went into the make-up or effects.

My list of materials where Liquid rubber latex,  cotton,  Plaster of Paris,  I gallon of Foam latex, acrylic paint.  Modeling clay,  corn syrup and food coloring.  among other things.

Q. This question isn't directly related to Evil Dead, but do you think modern computerized special effects take something away from horror movies?

CGI is a tool just like latex rubber or grease paint.   All the success will come from what the artist does with it.  It does tend to be a little overused these days though.

Q. As an artist what's your favorite means of expression? By that I mean medium, subject, or anything really.

My favorite medium are drawing and painting (oils).   I can't wait to get back into film making as a producer and director.  I'll have to create my own opportunities to do that.

Q. What's the best advice you can give to young artists?

DRAW! DRAW! DRAW!  SCULPT! SCULPT! SCULPT! AND NETWORK! NETWORK! NETWORK! 

Q. Could you tell me some of the goals you hope to meet with your upcoming website http://www.darkageproductions.com/? [Tom's site is now up and running]

My goals are to exhibit and sell my Replicas and Art Prints,  Create a forum for artists and film makers of all skills to meet and network for people in different areas to connect up and get projects or careers going and encourage people to follow their artistic ambitions.

Q. Last but not least, what's your opinion on Robert Tapert hinting that there might be an Evil Dead 4 on the Book of the Dead DVD?

It did not happen, but I bet we will see an Evil Dead 4 and it will be the best of the series.  It just may be a while