Biography
Tony 'Tex' Watt, author and illustrator of "What's Inside Your Gut, Shmut?: The Tragic First Tale of The World's Last Dumbosaurus!", is also a seasoned figure in 21st-century cinematic exploitation. In 2005, he was among the creators who coined the term "web-isode" by previewing chapters of his early B-movie features on YouTube. Additionally, he co-trademarked the term "Fassage" (a blend of Facial and Massage) for his popular holistic spa and apothecary businesses based in Toronto. As the last great advocate of self-idealized and romanticized rugged North American individualism, Watt is a Canadian multimedia artist involved in filmmaking, TV horror hosting (as Kount Kracula), acting, singing/songwriting, alternative recording, musicianship, former radio hosting, and live stage performance. He is a member of the Canadian recording act Vom and performs solo as the eccentric horror host Kount Kracula. Of Irish and Jewish descent and raised Baptist, Watt was born in Kingston, Jamaica. He primarily works within science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres, often collaborating with his artistic partner and muse, filmmaker and actress Vivita. Raised mainly in Brampton, Ontario, Watt operates as an underground and alternative indie filmmaker, TV producer, actor, cartoonist, musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and former club performer. Believing a group is only as strong as its weakest member, he prefers to self-produce his projects.
Watt began his career creating cheesy late-night infomercials and, like many directors, viewed the horror genre as a stepping stone to greater achievements. His upbringing spanned the West Indies, the United States (Florida, New York, and Texas—where he earned the nickname "Tex"), and primarily Brampton and Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
In 2002, as an independent Canadian TV producer, Watt founded the short-lived international "Twisted Sinema" Underground Movie Festival, promoting his student film "Kracula" (2001) after completing the Blue Sea Filmmaking course in Brampton, Ontario. This festival connected him with filmmakers from Primal Films, who cast him in horror B-movies such as "Awakening" (2006, aka Zombie Night 2) and "Reel Zombies" (2008, aka Zombie Night 3). Through "Twisted Sinema," he also met Montreal's Robomonkey Productions, who cast him as the demonic "Brimstone Milkman" in the cult horror classic "Sinners & Saints" (2004).
In 2004, Watt received his first filmmaking award—the New Jersey USA Film Project International's Greasefire Indiefest award for excellence—for "King Kaufman: The Passion of Lloyd" (2008), a documentary about Lloyd Kaufman, founder of New York's Troma Studios and an infamous B-movie filmmaker, and "Dobby Dobson: An Interview with Jamaica's Music Ambassador" (2009). By 2009, he completed his first sci-fi/horror/fantasy feature, "Frankenpimp" (2009), followed by "Vixen Highway 2006: It Came from Uranus!" (2010), "Acid Head: The Buzzard Nuts County Slaughter" (2011), and "Nosferatu vs. Father Pipecock & Sister Funk" (2015), which won the 2016 Night of the Living Film Festival, among others. His work reflects his passion for cheesy, vintage grindhouse, drive-in, and VHS exploitation films from the '50s through the '90s. Watt has stated in interviews, "Life is cheesy!" and embraces this philosophy across the various styles present in his self-produced B-movies.
During a press screening for "Frankenpimp," Watt described his filmmaking style as documentary-like, inspired by '60s and '70s films such as "The Chelsea Girls," "Mean Streets," "Taxi Driver," "Serpico," and "The Chinese Connection." He cited Alfred Hitchcock's influence on scenes and shots, drawing inspiration from old Bettie Page movies.
His cinematic influences span mainstream, underground, and exploitation horror, including Hammer Films, Russ Meyer, and Jean Rollins. These themes also appear in his action movie-inspired comic book, "Code Name: King," as well as his self-produced films.
In 2008, after organizing a lively circus-style rock'n'roll jam at Brampton's All Star Bar and Grill, complete with a bikini car wash, Watt released his debut rock and Celtic-influenced 10-song album, "TonyWatt.com Plugged" (now discontinued due to dissatisfaction with its production quality). The album features an eclectic cover of the Irish standard "Danny Boy" and an original whimsical mariner’s song co-written with filmmaker friends Lewis Mercer and Mike Burry of Newfoundland, about the fictitious ship "King Henry III." They sought to create a positive sea shanty, diverging from traditional, often bleak seafaring songs.
A devoted rocker, Watt developed an interest in Celtic music through visits to Brampton's Lar Na nGael Irish Center, noting, "I started digging into the Celtic stuff because if you like Led Zeppelin, they've always done that kind of thing like 'Battle of Evermore' or 'Goin' to California,' which is kind of Celtic." He also incorporates his music into his film soundtracks.
In 2013, Tex Watt produced "Kount Kracula's Review Showcase," a campy, gothic Toronto-based series blending comic books, graphic novels, movies, and pop culture ephemera, starring horror host Kount Kracula and a cast of groovy ghoulies.
By 2018, Watt, as Kount Kracula, expanded his creative repertoire to include kid-lit author and illustrator with "What's Inside Your Gut, Shmut?: The Tragic First Tale of The World's Last Dumbosaurus!" He has additional projects underway, including a picture book inspired by his cats, wife, and promotional flyer titled "Vivita: the Spa Therapist, Saves The Universe!" and a novel adaptation of his forthcoming film "Bird Of Steel.
