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Review: Blood Sombrero

Published January 18, 2016 by biggayhorrorfan

blood sombrero.jpg

Throw The Pang Brothers into a bowl with a dash of Quentin Tarantino and pinch of the sexy side of Texas and you’ve got Blood Sombrero, the latest production from writing-directing team Abel Berry and Jennifer Stone. Following the adventures of several misfits and violent ne’er do wells on their search for a mystical box, this wild ride is violent, fast paced and filled with some very hot, physically fit men and women – all in various states of undress.

Narrated by the sardonic Izzy (Stone), a former children’s show host, Blood Sombrero is propelled by the actions of a former rock star turned thief named, appropriately, Thief (Billy Blair). Hired by Lucifer (Nick Gomez), a drug dealing under lord, to find the box, Thief’s path is often interrupted by a couple of cops, who are also on the trail of the box, and a mysterious (and very deadly) ninja named Josephine (Paula Marcenaro Solinger), whom is the box’s protector. The box’s creator, a powerful age-old warlord name Sauro (Berry), also, has a group of martial arts enhanced followers who are determined to stop Josephine while a bounty hunter named Coffin (Tom Proctor) is determined to tangle with her and Thief, as well.

Granted, a somewhat keen attention span is needed here as the action flips backwards and forwards in time, but Berry and Stone have clear control of their material and the amazing volume of fight sequences are handled by Berry and stunt coordinator Jayson Atz with beauty and precision. Acting-wise, nearly all the performers (including the many extras utilized in the scenes at Lucifer’s club) resonate with cocky assurance, but Blair brings a special exotic energy to Thief while Stone nearly steals the show with her subtle asides and bored acquiescence to the increasingly dangerous situations that Izzy finds herself thrown into.

Most importantly, Berry and Stone, whose previous credits include such homegrown genre features as Spoils and Kodie, have grown by leaps and bounds as artists with this project. Their future films are expected to be even more impressive.

Be sure to keep the wire work flowing by following the further adventures of Blood Sombrero at https://www.facebook.com/bloodsombrero.

Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

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Re-examining Prom Night 2008

Published January 16, 2016 by biggayhorrorfan

Prom_Night A number of years ago, I grabbed a huge movie theater size poster of the 2008 Prom Night remake off of the swag table at a film event. Now, I couldn’t tell you if I still have that poster, rolled away, in some corner of my ever expanding memorabilia filled closet…but I can tell you that I will never forget the look of pure surprise that came over a dear friend’s face when he saw me snatch it off that stack of terror filled goodies. There was no derision in his glance, as best as I can recall, just pure shock.

Recently, I was reminded, again, of how disdained that reimagining was upon reading Rue Morgue’s look at the Golden Age of Canadian horror, Horrorwood North. The original Prom Night, featuring Jamie Lee Curtis, filmed in 1979 in Toronto, is considered one of the original slasher classics, and, naturally, is covered, lovingly, in the volume. On the other hand, the 2008 version was mentioned at the end of that cherished terror’s profile as being “much despised”.

The original film, as many know, focused on the revenge fueled slayings of a group of high school students who had, unwittingly, killed a young girl through their cruel bullying, years before. Alongside the expected sex, drugs and…disco, the film also spent some time exploring how the young girl’s death had affected her family – particularly her extremely fragile mother and her sensitive older brother, who had actually witnessed her death throes and, eventually as the film’s dance fueled finale reveals, become’s the film’s vengeful (yet sympathetic) killer. These layers have endeared the film to horror sophisticates for decades. prom night 2

The 2008 version told the tale of Donna (a sweetly effective Brittany Snow), a teenage girl whose family had been slaughtered by her (Hollywood handsome) teacher, Richard Fenton, three years previously. Now living with her uncle and her aunt, she, hesitantly yet happily, prepares for her senior prom with her adorable boyfriend, Bobby. But, after Donna and her friends settle into their hotel rooms and begin to celebrate, Fenton emerges and begins to slaughter them. Donna is rescued by the police and taken home, but the ever resilient Fenton tracks her down and murders Bobby, who is trying to protect her. After a final battle with Donna, Fenton is finally dispatched, leaving the young woman safe but further traumatized, echoing the devastating emotional fate of Kim Hammond, Curtis’ character in the original.

Despite its critical drubbing (with extremely low ratings on Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic), this revamped tale took in nearly $57,000,000 on its original release, ultimately making it the 16^th highest grossing slasher. Perhaps, more importantly, there are a couple of elements in its plotline that speak directly to the homosexual heart. (Well, at least, mine!)

Reflecting on the film’s appeal to me, an image popped into my mind of myself at 16 or 17 watching a popular girl, at the small Catholic school I attended, arriving with her handsome, college age boyfriend for a Homecoming Dance. I remember wishing with all my might that I could do the same. But, I definitely wasn’t of the “in crowd” and there was no way that a guy was going to ask me to a dance in mid-80s farm country. Thus, I believe a thread of appreciative sorts is formed by myself with the reimagining’s heroine, Donna, who is doing exactly what I always dreamed of doing. (The fact that her relationship is ultimately thwarted is, perhaps, even another reminder of all those young crushes and sexual dreams that never quite played out, as well.)

prom night 3 Even more so, queer men (including myself) have notoriously been preyed upon by older men – whether in the form of teachers, clergymen or family friends – adding another layer of understanding and connection to this character. While, thankfully, many of the predators who shaped our younger selves were not as murderously insistent as Fenton, they have still left their mark. This bittersweet resonance is something that especially connects me (and possibly others) to the vulnerable Donna as the film fades to its jauntily strained credits.

On a purely fan boy level you, also, can’t fault the film for its cast, many of whom are besotted with genre pedigree. Firstly, we have the preternaturally attractive Jonathon Schaech who essays the evil Fenton with a black intensity in his eyes. Schaech who had, sexily, burst onto the scene with Gregg Araki’s gonzo The Doom Generation, has also made a name for himself in such spooky fare as The Forsaken, Living Hell and The Washingtonians episode of Masters of Horror. Linden Ashby, who brings a kind glow to Donna’s uncle, is familiar from such projects as Werewolf, The Perfect Bride, Night Angel and Resident Evil: Extinction, as well. Meanwhile, Jessica Stroup, who flamboyantly fills in the shoes of the film’s doomed sexpot, is most familiar to terror enthusiasts as the female lead in 2007’s The Hills Have Eyes II, but her other roles include ingénue parts in Left in Darkness, Pray for Morning and Vampire Bats (with Lucy Lawless). Most importantly, perhaps, in one of the film’s best scenes, The Blair Witch Project’s Joshua Leonard appears as a hotel bellhop who is slaughtered as part of Fenton’s vicious revenge campaign. Fun! prom night 4

But more than that, Prom Night 2008 shows that even the most reviled celluloid can resonant as art and fulfill viewers emotional needs when viewed in the right context. Or, more simply, as another friend has stated, “There are no guilty pleasures. Just pleasures!”

Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

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Sharkbait Retro Village: Terror on the 40th Floor

Published December 24, 2015 by biggayhorrorfan

Terror 2 Before reaching the latter day career heights of Charlie’s Angels and Dynasty, John Forsythe found some fiery latitude in the 1974 television flick Terror on the 40^th Floor. Surely a small screen copy cat of that year’s disaster blockbuster The Towering Inferno, TOT40F finds Forsythe’s Don Overland, a successful businessman, trapped with some co-workers during an after-hours Christmas Eve party after a raging fire breaks out.

Pre-Friday Tracie

While a hysterical female co-worker is injured here and Joseph Campenella’s insecure Howard meets a freefalling death via elevator shaft, most of the action is dedicated to the endangered employees’ flashback reminiscences about thwarted love, crumbling marriages and corporate schemes gone wrong. It’s all standard fare, enlivened a bit by the fact that a young Tracie Savage makes an appearance as part of the storyline of Lee Parker, played by Deathdream’s Lynn Carlin. As an adult, Savage’s last screen appearance (for many years) was as the saucy, pregnant Debbie in Friday the 13^th, Part 3, endearing her to terror lovers, worldwide. Thus, it is fun to see her in an earlier role.

Delicious Pippa!

Meanwhile, the other women, including the regal Pippa Scott and the voluptuous Anjanette Comer look pretty soap opera spectacular here. Acting wise, Scott makes the most of her brief appearance as Overland’s estranged yet concerned wife. Thankfully, Comer, who gave an exquisite showing in the cult horror film The Baby that same year, is given more to do. She seduces Forsythe with a silky nonchalance, but, naturally, regrets her actions as the dawn reveals a more forgiving Christmas Day.

Reflective Anjanette

As snow flickers, lightly, around the reconnected team Overland, Comer’s Darlene, with frivolous boredom curtailed, looks forward to the beginning of a new year – and, possibly, the pursuit of more upstanding adventures.

Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

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Music to Make Horror Movies By: Jennifer Lopez

Published December 20, 2015 by biggayhorrorfan

Jennifer Lopez may be best known as a celebrity or one half of various famous couplings or even as the star of such vehicles as Selena and The Wedding Planner. But this luscious lass, also, has a bit of a terror pedigree with roles in flicks such as Anaconda, The Cell and (most recently) The Boy Next Door.

While Lopez’s heroines eventually reigned over her nasty adversaries in those films, she need have only looked to her recording career to have gotten the one-up on them immediately. Like the first single on her 2005 release Rebirth, Lopez only would have had to tell those opponents to Get Right and she might have saved herself a world of trouble.

Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

http://www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan

Review: Doctor Spine

Published December 19, 2015 by biggayhorrorfan

doctor spine I know a couple of masochists who actually enjoy going to the chiropractor. For those who find bone cracking to be a bit more disturbing, though, writer-director John Wesley Norton has created the fun horror-comedy Doctor Spine.

Styled after the old EC comics, this lurid adventure follows Joe Spine, a mild mannered chiropractor, whose personality is split between his dead, truly demented father and Patch Castle, the villain from a series of childhood books, after a therapy session goes bad. Soon his father is controlling the day and there isn’t a slightly crooked psychologist or sexy dame in sight who is safe from Joe’s fatal fingers. It is only the love of Spine’s most devoted patient, Mindy, that could possibly restore the normally soft spoken healer to his former virtuousness.

Nicely, Norton frames and colors the action as if it were part of the fantastic cartoons that inspired him. The standout of the production, though, is its fantastic genre cast, who all turn in top notch performances. As expected, scream queen Tiffany Shepis, who provides the film’s penultimate shock piece, and The Addams Family’s Lisa Loring apply energetic sass as various seductresses in the doctor’s life. Comedian Judy Tenuta, Seinfeld ’s Larry Thomas, 60s TV favorite Kathy Garver and up and coming character actress Colleen Elizabeth Miller, also, supply moments of frothy fun. But it is Phantasm’s Reggie Bannister and indie exploitation king Joe Estevez, as Castle and Spine Sr., who bring the most to the table. Estevez, in particular, provides a smoothly wicked, truly accomplished turn here.

Most importantly, while some of the exposition scenes could have benefited from the zany goriness that dominates the film’s final third, actor Michael Wexler’s take on the title character is always engaging. He takes viewers through the various scenarios with skilled underhandedness, adding both tender heart and subtle mania to Norton’s admirable creation.

Unfortunately, on December 12^th, 2015, mere days after his 52^nd birthday, Wexler was hit by car and killed. Thus, this film stands not only as a testament to his talent, but as an accomplished memoriam as well.

http://www.doctorspinemovie.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Boomstick-Films

http://www.boomstickfilms.com/

Until the next time, SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan

Cinematic Memories with Linnea Quigley!

Published December 18, 2015 by biggayhorrorfan

Linnea and James Best in Death Mask

Creepy Eddie, the hoarse 75 year old werewolf enthusiast… Demanding Darlene, the manager with prescient skills for discovering untoward violations of protocol. Those have been some of my co-workers.

Darling queen of scream Linnea Quigley, however, can count the legendary Gunnar Hansen (Texas Chainsaw Massacre) and Dukes of Hazzard‘s James Best among her favored co-stars.

Here, the always congenial Quigley chats about Hansen and Best, who both passed away this year, and how her own powerful portrayals have influenced women over the years.

…and be sure to keep it bloody, on the regular, with Linnea at http://www.linnea-quigley.com, as well.

Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

http://www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan

Raising Hell with Debra De Liso!

Published December 11, 2015 by biggayhorrorfan

Debra DeLiso

As Kimberly Clark in slasher classic The Slumber Party Massacre the eclectic Debra DeLiso took guidance from Pamela Roylance’s supportive Coach Jana.

Recently, in a circle of life moment, De Liso, herself, played the authority figure in the video for (female fronted rock band) Dorothy’s energetic Raise Hell. Nicely, De Liso gets to engage in everything from severe disapproval to wild abandon here, a true testament to her multiple talents.

Be sure to watch the video, at the below link, and…

http://www.vevo.com/watch/dorothy/raise-hell/QMFUA1590166

…keep up with all of De Liso’s projects at www.debradeliso.com, as well.

Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

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A Fine Return: A Conversation with Linnea Quigley

Published December 10, 2015 by biggayhorrorfan

linnea_quigley_crimson_quill-4 Without a doubt, Linnea Quigley is the Queen of Scream. With major credits in contemporary horror classics (The Return of the Living Dead, Night of the Demons), seminal slashers (Silent Night, Deadly Night, Graduation Day), exploitation gems (Savage Streets), mainstream terror (Innocent Blood, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4) and late night cable screamers (Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers, Creepozoids, Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama), her status as the crown princess of the macabre is pretty much impeachable. Those who have been lucky enough to meet her on the convention circuit can, also, assert that she is one of the nicest, most down-to-earth personalities out there, as well. Here, promoting her two appearances in Chicago this weekend, one at Alley Cat Comics on Friday and the other at the Vic Theatre on Saturday (as a celebration of Return’s 30^th Anniversary), Quigley’s fun loving personality takes center stage as she talks about Return’s legacy and, as a confirmed horror buff herself, some of her favorite films.

BGHF: Trash…Spider…Suzanne…You’ve certainly played some kick ass women in the field of horror! Do you have personal favorites? Linnea: Well, Spider from Sorority Babes, of course. That was my first major role, I thought, as a woman in power. Then the next one, of course, was Trash. I thought she was powerful in her own way. I think the character knew what she was doing and was kind of controlling people. Those are my favorites. In Night of the Demons, the demon controlled us. But Suzanne, herself, was powerful – (Laughs) although, a bit dysfunctional about boys.

I think Suzanne is one of the most brilliant creations in 80s horror! I know you were reluctant to accept the part because you didn’t want to play a teenager when you were in your mid-20s. But you make her extremely fun and believable, while, also, seemingly using her to comment on the stereotypical nature of the role, as well. That duality is probably something that you did unknowingly, but I think it’s a stunning performance. Oh, that’s interesting! Thank you! I was thinking, Oh my God! Can I pull off a teenager? I was a little bit afraid to do that. Then I thought, Okay, I’ll just make it fun! Linnea - Demons

Night of the Demons has been remade. The Return of the Living Dead has an amazing number of sequels. (Laughs) I know!

How would you feel if they re-imagined the original, though? I think that would upset me. I feel like those characters were created, purely. It wasn’t done to make money or to make another summer blockbuster. Everything was aligned when we made that movie. I don’t think they could replicate that. I really don’t. The only other remake that I’ve seen that I’ve liked is The Crazies. For the most part, I haven’t seen anything where I went, Wow!

You’re a true horror fan. They’re going to be showing Texas Chainsaw Massacre at the 30^th Anniversary celebration of Return at The Vic, as well. That’s one of your favorites, correct? Yes! Oh, yes!

There’s a story you’ve told that I love. You took a boyfriend to see it at the drive-in and he couldn’t take it. No, he couldn’t! He was like, Take me home! Take me home! It was my girlfriend and I. The two of us had seen it before, somehow. We wanted to go see it, again. So, we go there and he’s freaking out a lot and, obviously, couldn’t handle it. He was like, No, no! I can’t take it. I was just mad. Luckily, it wasn’t a big drive. We drove him back to where he lived. My girlfriend and I then went back and watched the rest of it.

Was that the last date? Yeah, kind of! (Laughs) You’d think he’d just conceal his fright. The film is scary and unnerving. But he had to have been around 21 or 22.

What are some of your other favorite horror films? Well, Jaws, I always put first because it scares me so bad. Most of Alfred Hitchcock’s stuff, as well. Rear Window is one that I really like. When I watch it now, it’s not as intense. But when I watched it as a kid, it was cool.

What a great cast! Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly… …and the woman who played his maid! What a great actress.

Yes. Thelma… I can’t think of her name.

It’s on the tip of my tongue. Thelma Ritter! I just watched her in All About Eve on Thanksgiving! Yes! She was in big movies, but she’s one that you go, Now what was her name? Another one that is scary to me, on a lot of levels, is Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte with Bette Davis. That one just creeps me out. It’s not made to be horror really, but it is. It’s kind of in the vein of Sunset Boulevard. The stuff she’s doing is horrifying and it affects you – or most people it does! Of course, there is always What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? with Bette Davis, as well. H-m-m-m…There is another one that I love with Robert…is it Robert Mitchum? He was a killer with HATE tattooed on his hand and he goes after these kids. He’s yelling, Children! He killed the mom.

That’s Night of the Hunter! Yeah, that’s it. That’s it! I always forget the name of that. That movie creeped me out. I remember her (actress Shelly Winters) hair flowing in the car when she drowned. That was like — (Erupting into a famous Linnea Quigley scream) —- A-H-H-H-H-H!

I love that one, too! That was directed by character actor, Charles Laughton. It was the only film he directed, actually. Really!?! He did a great job! I just like that movie a lot.

They tried to make that into a musical. (Bewildered) Um-m-m…

I don’t think it was too successful. No. I can’t see that being too successful. (Singing, impromptu) Oh, I’ve got to get away from this man, he’s gonna kill me! That would be weird! They turn too many things into musicals! It’s frightening.

They made Rocky into a Broadway musical. It ran for awhile. What?

I do know people who enjoyed it. No! Oh my god, that’s incredibly weird!

Maybe it was an anniversary thing. Speaking of which, I’m sure it still shocks and surprises you how beloved Return is. Yeah. When we did it, we thought it was just going to be another horror film. In fact, with the zombies…we were looking at the actors in make-up and thinking that they weren’t very scary. To us, they were just fellow performers, goofing around in their costumes. Besides, when you’re doing it, you don’t look at it from that perspective. So, it’s been a shock.

…and with you, shooting for days in the rain as Trash, you’re probably thinking about being cold and getting sick. Yeah! (Laughs) I definitely thought about stuff like that!

Was Return you’re roughest shoot? I think that was the roughest shoot I’ve ever done. I really do. Some have been bad and there are projects where you think back and say, Oh, I hated doing that. But, with the prosthetic make-up, with the cold, with the rain, being buried alive…it was definitely the roughest shoot I’d say.

How long was the shoot, itself? It was 5 weeks, I believe, with some pick-up days. One of the pick-up days involved putting the prosthetic mouth on me again! I was like, No!! It was when I bite the cop who is calling out. The zombies come running out and I bite him in the brain. It’s like a two second shot.

In Night of the Demons you got lucky, though, and convinced them not to put you in Suzanne’s demon make-up again for one of the shooting days. That was a really good coup of mine! I thought that they weren’t going to fall for it. Sometimes the directors don’t want to hear from the talent. They’re like, yeah, whatever. But I was shocked that they went for it and thought it was a great idea. I was really reasoning, though: It’s going to appear much more frightening if she appears as herself again. It means they can change! (Laughs) Kevin thinks about it and is like: Yeah, let’s do it. That’s a good idea. Of course, now he knows of my trickery.

Along the same lines of roles like Suzanne and Trash and Spider is Dawn in Murder Weapon. That’s another one of my favorites. That was fun because I got to be psychotic…and disturbed…and (Laughing) a little slutty.

That’s the strange dichotomy of these films. There are so many powerful female roles – even more so, I believe, than in mainstream films. But there are so many exploitative elements as well – nudity, intense victimization. Back then that was the formula. It was like if you didn’t have something like that in the movie, the production company wouldn’t buy it. They had their formulas and that’s what they went by. They had to have blood, boobs and guts. They always had the nice one surviving and the bad one dying.

Do you think it’s changed nowadays? Yeah! It’s changed a lot. I’m trying to think of a good example. Maybe the Saw series? At least with that, each character, particularly some of the women, had stories. One was a heroin addict, one was this, and one was that…It made a little more sense. There was a little more variety. It wasn’t so black and white.

The men, as far as I can recall, are abused just as much as the female characters in those films, as well. …Sometimes even more so. I hate those horror films where the guys get shot in the head then the women are tortured for half the film. Yeah, don’t make it just the women. I definitely agree with you on that! Equality!

Be sure to celebrate equality, the holidays and The Return of the Living Dead’s 30^th anniversary this weekend in Chicago with Linnea! Alley Cat’s Horror Holiday Party with Linnea begins at 8 on Friday, the 11^th. Tickets are $10 and include a free autograph from Linnea. More information is available at https://www.facebook.com/events/1526410034348980/. Doors open at 6, the next night, for the Anniversary celebration. Tickets are $12 (pre-sale) and $15 (at the door) and include screenings of Return, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Turbo Kid and Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight. Photos and autographs (on your items) with Linnea are free. You can visit the official Facebook page for the event at https://www.facebook.com/events/1652092685061873/.

Be sure to visit Linnea at http://www.linnea-quigley.com/, as well!

Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan

Music to Make Horror Movies By – Katharine McPhee

Published December 6, 2015 by biggayhorrorfan

As Beth Mazza in 2011’s toothy horror Shark Night, Katharine McPhee got a little upset when she learned she was about to be force fed to a pool of cookie cutter sharks. There is nothing worse for a good tan line, huh?

Of course, this former American Idol contestant is, also, a celebrated pop singer and in that world the only thing that causes that much upset is…romance. Hence the title track of this talented lass’ new CD is Hysteria, describing the condition she finds herself in when confronted with a certain sexy someone whom she will never be able to fully possess. Sad – yet somehow dance worthy here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXNLzpMdE6o

Be sure to keep up with the eclectic McPhee, who has continued to act on such television shows as Smash and (the current, popular) Scorpion, at https://twitter.com/katharinemcphee and www.katharinemcphee.net.

Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan

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Astro Radio Z: Vice Academy 5 and 6

Published December 4, 2015 by biggayhorrorfan

vice academy

“Once there were three young girls…”

Okay, okay! In reality, once there was this group of degenerate dudes who liked to watch trashy films and sit around and talk about them…and then…worst of all…make you listen to them do it!

Yes, the charming lads of Astro Radio Z (including myself) have finally finished up our look at the Vice Academy series and, just like us, you’re sure to be thrilled with these accounts of sexless marriages, stripper bank robbers and other nut busting delights!

So, what are you waiting for? That vast, black pit before you contains the artificial delights of Vice Academy 5 and 6!

https://www.spreaker.com/user/astroradioz/episode-36-vice-academy-5-6

Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!