Film

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Mark Patton’s Scream, Queen!

Published October 17, 2015 by biggayhorrorfan

Even today the discriminatory nature of Hollywood keeps many performers in the closet. Therefore, you can only imagine how intense it must have been to be gay in La La Land in the 80s. Well, beloved Nightmare on Elm Street 2 actor Mark Patton was there and he explores this issue (and so much more) in his upcoming documentary, Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street.

This project which describes Patton’s emotional trials while filming the “gayest horror movie ever made” and his triumphant aftermath is, currently, in its final days of public funding.

Since you’re never going to sleep again, anyhow, please give this important promotion a look at:

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

http://www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan

Geretta Geretta: Demons and Other Adventures in Euro-Land!

Published October 16, 2015 by biggayhorrorfan

Often credited as Janna Ryan (or Ryann) or Geretta Giancarlo, the eternally striking Geretta Geretta lit up numerous over-the-top European horror and post-apocalyptic epics like MURDER-ROCK, RATS: NIGHT OF TERROR and WARRIORS OF THE LOST WORLD. Of course, this eclectic wonder, who is a writer and director in her own right, is best known for her aggressive portrayal of Rosemary, the first victim who turns into a dazzling, drooling creature, in the cult classic DEMONS. Ingeniously detailing what happens when a group of movie-goers are attacked and turned into zombie-like creatures, mirroring the action of the film they are viewing, DEMONS, created by the combined efforts of director Lamberto Bava and producer Dario Argento, will be shown at Chicago’s annual 24 hour THE MASSACRE (details below), on Saturday, October 17th, with Geretta in attendance. In anticipation of that event, this charming, well traveled performer talked to me about her work in the Euro scene of the 80s and about her co-stars in everyone’s favorite over-the-top monster fest.

BGHF: Your roles always seem to rely on an intense physicality. Do you approach every role that you play with the character’s physical qualities in mind or is it more of an emotional connection?

GERETTA GERETTA: Thanks for noticing. Keep in mind during a lot of that I was between the ages of 19 and 26 so I could jump, fall and run like the wind. I grew up in Oregon, basically a tomboy with a pretty face. I just didn’t know any better! I gotta lot of shit in Italy too cause they weren’t used to girls being so…well, Sporty Spice! This was like a decade earlier! I didn’t care! They’d shove a machine gun in my hand and say “Run! Shoot!” I just did it! My first film in Italy, I don’t even think I have lines. I’m in a Raquel Welch-like fur bikini bottom. Guys are raping girls, left and right, in some post apocalyptic nightmare-doomsday and I’m shot in the chest… after just running through several scenes, in high heeled boots, shooting people. Who knew!? I just did it!

BGHF: You were often credited as Janna Ryan on those early films.

GERETTA: Director David Worth had changed it to Janna Ryan on WARRIORS OF THE LOST WORLD because he said Geretta Giancarlo made the film sound too Italian! Bahahah!

BGHF: You have talked about DEMONS being a well funded production. Was it the highest budgeted project that you had worked on at that point in time?

GERETTA: Yes. I believe the budget was 1 million. Keep in mind, back then even Fellini only got six!

BGHF: The cast of DEMONS is so eclectic. Is there anything about the background of the performers involved that the fans would find interesting?

GERETTA: Actually, every single of us young’uns pretty much had a claim to fame. Urbano Barberini (George) was… (Laughs) well, read a history book! They used to like be kings and he’s a direct descendant! Natasha Hovey (Cheryl) was about the most famous ingénue in Italy. She had just come off a huge financial and artistic hit film called DA GRANDE which, loosely translated, was BIG, using the same storyline that they did with Tom Hanks a few years later. Karl Zinny’s (Ken) aunt was a hugely famous actress. Paolo Cozzo (Kathy), who played the dark haired best friend, was the daughter of the cinematographer. Let’s see…That young blonde crawling under the chairs? That was Fiore Argento, Dario’s older daughter. The dark haired guy that reads the book in the movie within the movie? That’s Marcello Modungo, the son of Domenico Modungo who recorded Volare. It’s like The Girl from Ipanema, one of those world famous international classic songs! The red head usher, Nicoletta Elmi – she was a famous model and child actress…I could go on and on. We were…I dunno…the Roma Brat Pack? Yeah…why not?!? For that summer, we were the she-it! (Laughs)

BGHF: So, were there any hi-jinks with your co-stars, on set, during the filming of DEMONS?

GERETTA: You know? You have to be a lot more famous to do hi-jinks on set! They take up time and well, no one ever talks about the ones that don’t come off well.
BGHF: How long did your iconic make-up take to put on in DEMONS? Was it an arduous process?

GERETTA: My memory now says about seven hours; four for the hands and three for the face…all those veins were hand painted on, then the lashes and contact lens, and then all that stinking yogurt in my hair! Then once the bubble bursts that scar had to match….I only did about three or four hours a night on the actual shooting… and even then that’s about 15 minutes at a time. It ain’t all glam and hi-jinks! Movies are a lot of hurry up and wait!

BGHF: Rosemary as a demon has been immortalized with her own bobble head doll from Cult Collectibles. How did it feel to receive such an honor?

GERETTA: I was shocked as shit and very, very humbled! Thanks Mark Murray! Thanks Mary Murray! I met them during my “Italian Invasion Tour” during Chiller. They asked me then.

BGHF: Does the continued legacy of your Euro cult films like DEMONS, RATS, and SHOCKING DARK surprise you?

GERETTA: Hell yeah! But, still not as much as America voting in a black president -twice! That’s when I KNEW the apocalypse is nigh! (Laughing)

Be sure to come meet Geretta at The Massacre, 24 hours of horror film madness, on October 27th at the historic Patio Theatre in Chicago. She will be joined by original DAWN OF THE DEAD co-star SCOTT REINIGER. There will be free autographs and photos, numerous horror related vendors and auctions to benefit Vital Bridges, a non-for-profit devoted to helping those with AIDS related illnesses. More information can be gathered at https://www.facebook.com/events/1638259179791251/1661548034129032/

Eli Roth and That “Gay” Word!

Published October 14, 2015 by biggayhorrorfan

So, I honestly love Eli Roth! The man could…say, produce a slightly confusing Twins Peak like series called Hemlock Grove…and I’d watch it. He could play something eternally classy like the Wet T-Shirt Host in the Piranha remake…and I’d deem him the embodiment of Laurence Olivier in his prime. But, good queer boys in wonderment, he has to find some better derogatory phrases for his characters to use – like now!

If you remember, a number of years ago, Roth was brought to task by some fans for the use of homosexual slurs by his straight, college age male characters in Hostel. Roth’s defense was that he, himself, wasn’t homophobic, but that the phrases were indeed something that would come out of a twenty something’s mouth. Even though, as a gay man, I momentarily flinched the first time I heard Jay Hernandez’s Paxton describe a nightclub as a “fucking fag fest”, I did agree with Roth’s honest assessment of his creations and let it pass.

Flash forward nearly 10 years, though, and I do believe it’s time for a change! It’s only a brief moment (and I may be accused of creating shit piles out of pebbles), but in The Green Inferno, Roth’s cannibal flick homage that is still chewing up the nubile flesh of theater goers, the socially motivated final girl’s best friend, jokingly (but emphatically), declares, “Activism is so fucking gay!”

As I’ve stated, it is truly a blip in the proceedings, but it truly bothered me. You can argue it how you want, but when it comes down to it, in contemporary society, “gay” refers to homosexuality and when you use it as a negative, what flashes into everyone’s minds? Limp wristed, catty little puff boys who couldn’t put up a good fight in the cafeteria of life! Saying that the word has nothing to do with orientation or romantic preference, but merely describes something that is weak or lame doesn’t help either. The part of society that hates us truly believes that is what we are – less than, ineffective, wrong. Also, to argue that this vernacular would still be part of an urban college student’s vocabulary seems unreasonable to me. Gay, bisexual and transgender people are a part of almost every city dwelling student’s life now.

What is, possibly, ironic here is that Kaycee, the character who utters this proclamation, is played by model-actress Sky Ferreira, whose dance worthy 2013 album Night Time, My Time probably found its biggest fans in the queer community.

So, accuse me of nitpicking, but as one in huge community of GLBT fright lovers, I have to say that the use of this term, even in quick jest, was hurtful to me. I want to escape into a horror flick, not be reminded that, in some areas, I could still be bashed for being a dick sucker the moment that I leave the theater.

So, I still love you, Eli. But maybe it’s time to modernize?!? And, yes, I did appreciate the sensitive lesbian couple that played into the film’s bloody proceedings. But next time, why not be a true rebel and use a sexy male duo? Hot gay girls are so hetro-accepted – just ask Eva Mendes who played one in Urban Legends: Final Cut in 2000!

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

http://www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan

In Tribute: Terrance Evans

Published October 10, 2015 by biggayhorrorfan

“What the hell are you doing in my house?!?”

Even the most attractive horror fan looks into the mirror and sees an outsider or something of a freak staring back at them. That is why the character actors and all the unusual types who populate the world of terror are so important to us. While there are truly popular modern equivalents of Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi such as Robert Englund and Kane Hodder, the more unique talents of such old school gents as Laird Cregar and Skelton Knaggs have, also, found representation in such performers as Robert Davi and Wolf Creek’s John Jarratt.

Belonging to the latter school, Terrence Evans played a number of farmers, preachers and drunken neighborhood yokels throughout his 45 year career. While his genre credits include such titles as Chain Letter, The Pumpkin Karver, (the television show) Monsters and The Bite AKA The Curse II, he is best known as Old Monty in the 2003 remake of Texas Chainsaw Massacre and its 2006 follow-up Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning.

Full of cantankerous spite, Evans also filled Old Monty with a devotion to his murderous clan, even though he was crippled by one of them – now that’s love – and his spirited monstrosity was such that the character was awarded with his own action figure by McFarlane Toys.

That detailed precision to his craft makes the loss of Evans, who died at the age of 81 on August 15th, 2015, an even more poignant one to lovers of cinema everywhere.

R.I.P., eclectic sir!

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

http://www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan

Chicago Premieres: Another and Inferno Veneziano

Published October 9, 2015 by biggayhorrorfan

Evil twins, blind seers, scientists turning into zombies…No. This is not another look at my family tree. But, it is a brief description of all that awaits you at tonight’s showing of art house horrors Another and Inferno Veneziano.

Billed as Chicago premieres, these features are sure to titillate, confuse and broaden the general direction of horror in totally unusual ways. So, if you are dying to add a couple more films to those “31 Days Of” challenges, stop on by Chicago Filmmakers, 5243 N. Clark, at 8 pm tonight!

More information is available at:

https://www.facebook.com/events/857185924379912/

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

http://www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan

Ax Wound Film Festival

Published October 8, 2015 by biggayhorrorfan

This weekend Vermont will not only play host to lovers…but lovers of fright flicks, as well! Hannah Neurotica, the brilliant force behind Women in Horror month, is presenting the first annual Ax Wound Film Festival, featuring 34 short fright films, all masterminded by a worldly group of female directors.

Taking place at the Hooker-Dunham Theater & Gallery in Brattleboro, VT, all-access wristbands are only $5 and include entry to every film screening and special event throughout the day. Many of the film’s creators will be present for Q and A sessions and there are special items up for auction, as well, with 50% of the proceeds going to The Scleroderma Research Foundation.

More information can be gathered at https://www.facebook.com/AxWoundFilmFestival and http://www.axwoundfilmfestival.com.

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

http://www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan

David Schmidt’s The Underpass

Published September 28, 2015 by biggayhorrorfan

So, now you not only have be aware of crazy cab drivers when biking through the city, but you also have to beware of creepy underpasses, as well?!?

Well, all speedsters should thank Chicago director-writer David Schmidt for the warning…and the seasonal chills! Filled with some nice atmosphere and a strong black female lead, the passionate Krystin Williams, The Underpass may just be the way to start your Halloween festivities off with a spooky, investigative bang!

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

http://www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan

Overview: Days of Our Lives – The Necktie Killerk

Published September 25, 2015 by biggayhorrorfan

Josh Griffith, the newly established co-head writer of Days of Our Lives, revealed in a recent issue of Soap Opera Digest that he wants Days to be the “Hitchcock” of daytime television. If that’s the case, then Griffith (and collaborator Dena Higley) must be thinking Frenzy, Hitchcock’s latter day horror effort, which featured a lovely lady victim (or two) being tightly squeezed about their throats. Their first big plotline, effectively erasing some of the previous regime’s newer characters, is a serial killer adventure featuring a creepy strangler known as The Necktie Killer.

First to go was Serena Mason, a diamond smuggling hottie who had demolished the heart of Eric, the local ex-priest. Played by the popular Melissa Archer, known to many as One Life to Live’s Natalie, this character spent many months chasing after a ceramic elephant, which contained the hot jewels. Of course, the viewing audience didn’t know why Serena was chasing after the object, thus one of the more ridiculous (and longwinded) plots in daytime television was born. “I swear I saw two elephants!!”

Archer, of course, committed to the work with skilled passion and truly seemed to be catching her stride as the albatross of her story was slowly being worn away. When Eric was in danger, in a recent plot twist, her horrified concern was palpable, giving audiences a true taste of her talent and making her misuse, by the previous writers, all the more apparent. But her early exit was probably inevitable, from the get go. Instead of a slow build, which all soap fans know is necessary for a new character, within weeks Serena was going head to head with the show’s main vixen, Nicole, a sure death knoll for any foundling mistress of destruction. Archer deserved much better, although she did look glorious in all her final red necked glory!

Sadly, the next victim was sweet Paige Larson, enacted by the gorgeous True O’Brien, who was growing stronger as a performer, every day. Part of the show’s (sort of) innocent teen romance, Paige had witnessed (the prime suspect) Chad DiMera’s last wrangle with Serena and, as this (slightly less than) proper young gent is being framed for the crimes, she was the next to go.

This gave the divine Kassie DePaiva (Evil Dead II’s sassy Bobby Joe), who plays Paige’s deceitfully stunning mother, Eve; room to truly indulge in her multiple talents. Her anguish over her estranged daughter’s death was full of heart wrenching emotion, but done to subtle effect by the well toned DePaiva, who also spent years as one of One Life to Live’s most popular anti-heroine’s Blair. As Paige’s long lost father, played by another daytime dynamo, A Martinez (Curse of Chucky, Mega Python Vs. Gatoroid, Not of this World), has arrived on the scene, DePaiva has compelled even further. The stunning weariness she is bringing to Eve is a master class in economy and it is a shame, especially now that Martinez’s character is being tied into one of the show’s core families, that the powers-that-be have let her go. This is truly an unfortunate mistake on their part.

Of course, they know better than to play such games with Deidre Hall, who plays the show’s iconic leading lady, Dr. Marlena Evans. Hall was nearly killed off, in a similar storyline decades ago, and the fans took to the streets in protest. So, the attack on her this week by the killer, found this record breaking psychiatrist, breathlessly, surviving her rose hued asphyxiation…after a week of hypnotization attempts on the increasing frantic Chad, who now has reason to believe that he is being set up, but doesn’t have the proof.

Hunky Ben does, though. …and Chad will probably live to regret his eternal love for Ben’s fiancée, Abigail. Thursday’s episode revealed the troubled Ben to be the man behind the recent slayings, an almost unsurprising denouement. Although, red herrings do still abound…the respectable Dr. Dan as a Scream style co-conspirator, anyone?…and the weeks to come are sure to be filled with more suffocating mysteries and muffled mayhem…so, stay tuned!

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

http://www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan

Take Back the Knife at Hot Springs Horror!

Published September 18, 2015 by biggayhorrorfan

Not every scream queen grows up to run her own horror film festival. More importantly, Tamara Glynn (Halloween 5, Freddy’s Nightmares) is keeping the women in terror theme going with this year’s version of her Hot Springs Horror Festival, running this weekend (9/17-9/20/2015), in Arkansas.

Glynn is presenting of the premiere of (Chicago based) director Matt Storc’s Take Back the Knife, a slasher variation in which three former female victims reinvigorate their weakened power, at this year’s event – and proud, femme loving scare freaks couldn’t be happier.

More information on Take Back the Knife and the Hot Springs Horror Festival is available at:
https://www.facebook.com/HotSpringsHorror
https://www.facebook.com/finalgirlsmovie

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

http://www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan

DJPeteLV’s Halloween EDM Mix!

Published September 18, 2015 by biggayhorrorfan

Screw trick or treating! It’s too cold out in late October and it’s a total kid’s night, anyhow. Besides, DJPeteLV, who always brings the heat, has exactly what you need for all your apple dunking, elaborately costumed needs!