Nicholas Vince: I am Monsters

Nicholas Vince: I am Monsters.

I have a professional infatuation with Nicholas Vince. I don’t know the man, Only his work; he’s been there as an undercurrent in my formative years. I have a signed Photo of him as Kinski behind me as I type this with the phrase ‘Run While You Still Have Legs’. Somewhere in the hoard of ephemera, I’ll get around to, there is a copy of ‘FEAR’ Magazine where he wrote the ‘true origin’ of the Chatterer, as a grown man with crystal blue eyes and flair for vaudeville and going from ‘a bit from the blue book’ to ‘the bit with the gold box’. I may have gotten him to sign it while I scampered around the cadre of creatives that typically filled ‘Cafe Munchen’ back in the day. But as I say. I only know the monster.

I am monsters elevates and never denies this part of one’s being and stands as much as a testimony to the times and place that informed Nicholas as much as he takes these experiences not so much to define himself as to stay somewhat mercurial and share a life lived with constant evolution. Yes, there are excerpts from the film’s theatrical roots, but there is a wise move through the material through documentary work, clips and animations that keep the larger screen and convince you of its cinematic worth.

From his early days at school, his own medical trauma as a youth with corrective surgery that is the definition of ‘Grin and Bare it’ to being bullied as a youth, Nicholas does not evoke some sort of misery memoir with his avuncular tone; he connects and reflects and through passages ranging from the sensuality of the brides of Dracula to the reflections of animals in ‘The Island of Doctor. Moreau conveys a sense we all take time to learn. We don’t laugh despite the horrors of our personal demons; we laugh and make an effort for joy because of them.

The film is also replete with the ‘Tits and Teeth’ anecdotes of show business, playing ‘poor bastard’ from the off and gaining agency in his career with animosity with his agent. As he describes, Faceless and one-eyed demons of bondage can only enhance his career opportunities; a skirt, however, would not. It is an appropriate slap in the face to the notion that somehow entertainment is a refuge and will reward everyone for themselves.

Nicholas does not make himself the hero of the piece. He describes himself as ‘A Shit Gay’ while, at the same time, by doing so, acts a more extraordinary show of witness to the stigma and persecution within society that was institutionalised at the time. Section 28 was a horrendous abhorrence of human rights, but he lets that truth shine from its own audacity, making the horror more apparent in its own light. He is an active man in his life and has his own path he follows and sometimes fails at. His stint at Marvel Comics really stuck chords with how we were. When I type this, I can spell-check it. I can email it to the world in moments. I don’t have to write it with a FedEx man on the door and fear of my dot matrix breaking down. I don’t even have to worry about the environment I write in, much less kick in someone’s door to make a living.

Towards the end, We understand that Nicholas, the actor, the monster, and while playing, never the victim and always the survivor, makes his mark when and where he can in all aspects of the Thai world. His testimony to a brutal assault stands in tandem with his testament here. IMpassioned yet detached, showing a system that was monstrous more than any individual.
For the fans, it shares a space with Doug Bradley’s ‘Behind the Mask of the Horror Actor’ as much in the psychology of such a role as its cultural value. For those with no interest in the genre, it’s a compelling narrative of a time threatened with a highly stylised and sanitised retelling, while those who lived it, like Nicholas, need to be heard and preserved.

So my infatuation…do I know Nicholas Vince?…No, not really, I know to buy him a lemonade and orange juice should the chance come along at a convention, I feel more secure at a table that should I flag there will be someone with a tale to tell and regale with amusement and avuncular compassion. But Nicholas…If you are reading this…I would say it has been a pleasure to make your acquaintance.