Extremely driven director Ford Windstar proves that Barbara Crampton isn’t the only one who can shriek and laugh with finale ridden abandon! In fact, in the second trailer for his film The Horror, his lead actress does all that – while swigging from a can of beer.
You can check that out here (in a preview that will either really intrigue you or really scare you off):
(Let’s face it, half the fun of horror and exploitation is seeing some hot bodies frolicking around in the buff. And while I worship the female form, I believe exploitation definitely veers into the exploitive when only gorgeous women are on display while their male counterparts remain chastely buttoned up. Therefore, The Backside of Horror salutes the filmmakers and actors whom even up the score a bit by showing us instances of hot and juicy male flesh in their bloody celluloid fantasies.)
In his 1981 emotionally charged horror flick Fear No Evil, director Frank LaLoggia (Lady in White) was reportedly working through his feelings of alienation as a gay youth by depicting the story of a young outsider (Stefan Arngrim from Land of the Giants and Class of 1984) whom is wracked to discover that he is destined to become the personification of Satan on earth.
In direct opposition to usual terror fare, the shower scene here takes place in the guy’s locker room and even includes a very wet, very naked kiss between Arngrim’s Andrew and his prime tormentor, Tony (Daniel Eden).
Arngrim, also, shows his stuff upon emerging from the bed of beautiful of Katherine Rowe McAllen (Julie) in a nightmare sequence.
Be sure to check back, here, often for more of The Backside of Horror.
Being a Big Gay Horror Fan of long standing, I always thought I knew exactly what those holes in the walls were for.
But as all life is a bloody journey, 6 terror filled Wisconsin directors have shown me how wrong I was with the trailer for their promising, upcoming horror anthology, Hole in the Wall.
Long considered the forefather of the punk movement (with Malcolm McLaren copping his style for the Sex Pistols), former musician-current author Richard Hell created music fit for the questioning, rebellious child in us all.
Thus, his (relatively few) songs connected with many generations of outsiders and have found themselves (in a mini-career of sorts) as perfect soundtrack underscoring. In 1981 horror treat Fear No Evil, in which director Frank LaLoggia mirrored his alienation as a gay teen with a story of a boy destined to satanic activity, Hell’s classic Blank Generation is used beneath a scene where the main antagonist delivers a little unrepentant comeuppance to his long suffering girlfriend. Ouch.
Meanwhile, Hell, himself, appeared in DIY director Nick Zedd’s 1983 Geek Maggot Bingo or The Freak from Suckweasel Mountain – an extremely experimental horror comedy featuring a Frankenstein variation and Hell as the Rawhide Kid.
Below, is a clip of Hell performing Blank Generation in low budget horror ‘maestro’ Ulli Lommel’s film of the same name:
Hell, who recently released a beautiful memoir about his ripped ‘n’ spiking heyday, can be sought out at www.richardhell.com –
Sometimes things just take a turn for the worse. Like the baby zombie I saw on the street corner the other day. He was trying so hard to stay in control (it almost made me cry) – but finally, he just broke down, hopped out of his strangely silent mother’s arms and attacked the crossing guard. (Well, she was blowing that whistle pretty loudly.)
Similarly (yet not), in the fine thriller Drinking Games, released on DVD by Believe Limited on August 20th, a night of partying in a (fairly) deserted dorm leads to violence and emotional tragedy.
All Richard wants to do is finish up a term paper and deal with some emotional fallout. But his former best friend and dorm mate, Shawn, has fallen under the sway of a manipulative, party hungry upperclassman named Noopie. What starts out as a few drinks and some minor annoyances, though, soon turns into savagery, both of the emotional and physical variety, as the drug addled Noopie descends into criminal behavior.
Screenwriter Blake Merriman and director Ryan Gielen work with a slow build here, believably laying out how various tensions and odd encounters can boil over into dangerous territory. This is helped, implicitly, by some fine performances.
As Richard, Merriman brings believable frustration and angst to the situation. He and Nick Vergara, nicely, capture the lost spaces that occur between two people that are growing apart at a rapid pace. Most importantly, though, Rob Bradford as Noopie seals the deal, here. Sexy and charismatic as he is twisted, Bradford truly makes you understand how someone could fall under Noopie’s sway. It is a fun, on target performance that never goes over-the-top.
As sugar on the cake, Adriana DeGirolami provides a saucy, completely enjoyable turn as a drunken college girl who winds up on the wrong side of Noopie’s seduction techniques.
(Love it or hate it, the Carrie remake will be upon us in October – thus we celebrate the strong women in horror, science fiction and exploitation with Countdown to Carrie!)
Roarke: “How many women do you suppose make your kind of money?”
Angela: “Tell me something, Roarke. How many men do you suppose make my kind of money?”
Thought of as a purring sex kitten to some, due to her roles in such 60’s fare as Where the Boys Are and The Time Machine, gorgeous Yvette Mimieux decided to take control of her career in the mid-70’s and crafted a fun and powerful vehicle for herself with the television film, Hit Lady (1974).
As sharp shooting Angela deVries, Mimieux combines frivolity and feminism to grand effect here, all while dashing about in personalized Nolan Miller designs. Of course, by the time we meet Angela love has started to melt her cold heart and she finds herself unable to commit to her last kill-for-hire. Thus double crosses and frantic car chases decorate the last act of this quick moving vehicle. Add in a downbeat ending, more fitting for a European indie than a jaunty ABC production, and you have a fizzy cocktail decorated with a ferocious female at the lead.
Mimieux, no stranger to television terrors such as (beloved entries) Snowbeast and Devil Dog: Hound of Hell, is joined here by frequent genre personality Clu Gulager (Return of the Living Dead, Feast, Nightmare on Elm Street 2) who practically radiates slime as her duplicitous boss.
Keenan Wynn (Van Johnson’s gruffer half.)
Even a queer fear angle is provided for via the participation of veteran actor Keenan Wynn (Piranha, The Dark, Hysterical) and the exquisitely handsome Dack Rambo (Nightmare Honeymoon, Good Against Evil) as the artist whom entrances de Vries. Many old school Hollywood biographies make note of Wynn’s bisexuality. In fact, it was rumored that Wynn divorced his wife, Evie, so that she could (happily, it is noted) marry his lover, screen idol Van Johnson.
Meanwhile, shortly before his tragic death in 1994 due to HIV complications, Rambo acknowledged his bisexuality in detailed, heartfelt interview with Soap Opera Weekly.
Rambo – Half naked, fully threatened!
Thankfully, there are always (bittersweet) celluloid memories….
For all those who can’t say they saw this at Flashback Weekend 2013 in Rosemont, IL – Big Gay Horror Fan provides a couple brief video clips featuring genre icon Betsy Russell (Cheerleader Camp, Angel II, Camp Fear).
Below, this scream goddess talks the Saw legacy and even gets surprisingly vulnerable for fans.
Determined, resilient and daily motivated. No, I am not talking about that mad scientist-wart hog hybrid that has been following me on a daily basis!
I am referring to magnificent actress Jan Broberg (Everwood). Broberg has recently completed a major role in the Maniac remake – and skilled filmmaker Michael Stever has created a small masterpiece/mini-documentary highlighting Broberg’s own violent past and her focused resolve to overcome her history and succeed in the difficult world of entertainment.
Big Gay Horror Fan well remembers the thrills and chills of getting trapped on that Ferris Wheel, overlooking the city of Chicago, with his follow Novices of Bloodlust and Pink Leather. I look back, fondly, on those many games of corseted Truth or Dare and hours of Slurpee dunking that we partook in while waiting for our rescue.
Similarly, in the 1984 lensed/1985 released Out of Control, horror seductress Betsy Russell (the Saw series, Cheerleader Camp, Camp Fear) and her friends (played by such pop culture and genre regulars as Sherilyn Fenn, Claudia Udy, Martin Hewitt and Jim Youngs) deal with their boredom, while marooned on a deserted island, by slamming back illegal bottles of vodka and playing strip spin the bottle! Soon, though, a bunch of unshaven bandits descend upon them, effectively ending our teens’ free-for-all fun and sending them down the path of Straw Dogs style vengeance making.
Highlighted by goofy MTV style (New Wave pulsing) video shenanigans and Scooby Doo inspired chase scenes, this silly romp mixes things up by incorporating some pretty intense rape imagery (with homosexual overtones – as the film’s male comic relief character is tied up and threatened with sexual savagery, as well). Russell’s character, meanwhile, is also given a bit more depth than a regular terror film heroine.
Her Chrissie Barret has long been involved with the most popular (and richest) kid at the school. Yet, Barret is not content, as she flirts with other guys and, slowly, begins the process of finding herself. Even as the kids make their escape at the film’s ending, you can tell that Barret is reaching far beyond her previous realms and Russell’s often sad, powerfully confused portrayal adds layers to this (crazily fun) action-teen adventure-revenge film mish-mash.
If you are in the Midwest on August 9th, 10th and 11th (2013), be sure to plan a visit with the always glorious Russell at Chicago’s own terror convention, Flashback Weekend! http://www.flashbackweekend.com
I regret burying my Donny Osmond doll after he become psychotic, as a kid. He came back worse than ever. Even his purple socks had an evil glow.
Of course, this scenario is familiar to all participants and viewers of 1988’s Pet Sematary, that modern cinematic classic based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. Now, rabid fans of this exercise in earthy terror can rejoice with the unveiling of the trailer to Ocean’s Light Production’s documentary on the filming – Unearthed and Untold: The Path to Pet Sematary.
AND — All those in IL and the surrounding areas should stop by Flashback Weekend on August 9, 10 and 11, 2013 for the Pet Sematary reunion featuring Crosby, Mary Lambert, Dale Midkiff, Brad Greenquist and others – http://www.flashbackweekend.com.
Big Gay Horror Fan 