Horror, She Wrote: Lynda Day George

Published August 13, 2014 by biggayhorrorfan

Horror, She Wrote explores the episodes of the ever-popular detective series Murder, She Wrote, featuring Angela Lansbury’s unstoppable Jessica Fletcher, that were highlighted by performances from genre film actors.

I swear I never hit Aunt Agnes over the head to steal her aging Southern beau! But, at least, I am not alone when being falsely accused.

Indeed, on My Johnny Lies Over the Ocean, a first season episode of Murder, She Wrote, the divinely scrumptious Lynda Day George finds all eyes on her as the series’ grand dame Jessica Fletcher (winningly acted by the legendary Angela Lansbury) wonders if her character, Diane Shelley, might be gas lighting her fragile niece on a rocking ship of horrors.

Of course, with roles in such films as Mortuary, Pieces, Beyond Evil, Day of the Animals and Ants, George is definitely one of the high priestesses of horror for certain generations. Here, as in most of those films, she is, once again, a victim of circumstance. Her quietly gracious Shelley is merely escaping a bad love affair hence her mysterious appearance as this boat’s latest purser.

Slightly reminiscent of Cruise into Terror, the 78 television film she starred in, George is joined on this outing by her Animals’ co-star Leslie Nielsen. As Jessica’s grieving charge, one of many relatives of the mystery loving maven that would be introduced over the years, actress Belinda J. Montgomery (best known to terror fiends for starring in sleazy 84 slasher Silent Madness) is on the receiving end of this story’s horror archetypes (shadowy attacks, ghostly callings and shaky pleas of sanity). She handles these chores with a liquid grace. Still, one wonders what would have occurred if she and George had switched places. Reimagining, anyone?

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

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Night Gallery Vamps: Lesley Ann Warren

Published August 12, 2014 by biggayhorrorfan

Naturally, Night Gallery Vamps explores the eternal magnificence of the amazing actresses who enlivened Rod Serling’s haunting anthology series Night Gallery (1969-1973).

While British actresses such as Ingrid Pitt and Eileen Daly have seemingly cornered the market on the sensuous vampire due to Hammer and its latter day ilk, luckily, lovely New York-born performer Lesley Ann Warren graced the small screen with Hyacinth, her truly erotic creature of the night, in the steamy 1973 episode of Night Gallery entitled Death on a Barge.

Languishingly lounging on a candle strewn barge, Warren’s unearthly creature soon earns the undivided attention of a small town clerk. His consistent nocturnal visits eventually make his girlfriend (played by Nightmare on Elm Street 3 & 4’s Brooke Bundy) curious. When her encounter with the fang bearing Hyacinth almost leaves her dead, she determines that her beau’s mysterious new obsession is, indeed, a vampire. Will a jealous co-worker and a possessive sweetheart soon mean the end of the gorgeous Hyacinth or vice versa?

This episode (written by Halsted Welles via Everill Worrell’s story and directed by Leonard Nimoy) definitely reinvents some of the bloodsucker rules. Hyacinth hasn’t fed for over a year and is watched over by her human father. Yet the gothic Tennessee Williams’ vibe that Nimoy indulges in here is enchanting and the fetching Warren, whose other genre appearances include the CW enhanced Teaching Mrs. Tingle and 2001’s very interesting Wolf Girl, glows within its tragic overtones. She is magnetic, frightening and sympathetic. It’s a bravura performance in (a mere) 22 minute teleplay.

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

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Music to Make Horror Movies By: (The Divine) Ronee Blakley!

Published August 10, 2014 by biggayhorrorfan

She’s conquered the horrors of Return to Salem’s Lot and gave Freddy the what-for (at least initially) in the iconic (original) A Nightmare on Elm Street. But, for those who have adored the acclaimed music of eclectic wonder Ronee Blakley, this probably came as no surprise.

Need a New Sun Rising from her beautifully realized recording Welcome is a poetically potent reminder of life’s beauty and an amazing hymn to determined survival. In fact, this layered masterpiece could serve as an empowering theme song for all the final girls who conquer the uncompromising horrors of many a slasher classic.

Be sure to revel in all Blakley has to offer at http://www.roneeblakley.com

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

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Monstermoiselle!!!

Published August 9, 2014 by biggayhorrorfan

Yes, my heart has been broken before…but never as badly as when I discovered that the very first issue of the femme driven horror magazine Monstermoiselle had sold out –– before I got my copy!

Yet, never fear! This gorgeous publication is sure to have plenty of future issues coming our way. In the meantime – their bright, latex laden website is a knock-out to visit: http://www.monstermoiselle.com.

You can submit possible features and comments (particularly words of gorgeous praise) to the fabulous powers-that-be, there, as well.

Be sure to follow them on Twitter at @monstermoiselle and…

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

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Ronee’s Psychic Dark Side!

Published August 7, 2014 by biggayhorrorfan

Best known to terror fiends for her door melding appearance in A Nightmare on Elm Street, the versatile Ronee Blakley proved why she earned an Academy Award nomination (for her subtly anguished Barbara Jean in Robert Altman’s Nashville) with her layered work as Cassie Pines in The False Prophet, a first season episode of the acclaimed anthology series Tales of the Darkside.

Arriving at a bus station in a small Texas town, the spiritually obsessed Pines tells the counter woman how her advisor informed her that she would find her true love that day. After the roadside employee unveils Horace X, an astrological fortune machine, Pines soon finds herself in a bind. Horace X urges her to remain at the desolate stop while Pines is eager to continue on her journey. The arrival of a handsome preacher (a magnetic Justin Deas) complicates matters further. As Pines and the stranger find themselves compelled towards each other, Horace X, shockingly, reveals his jealous nature.

Working with frazzled energy and a sweet sense of natural comedy, Blakley’s Pines wouldn’t be out of place in a latter day Tennessee Williams’ production. Blakley makes her truly endearing whether she is frantically consulting her tea leaves or, breathlessly, informing a newfound companion that she only travels with quarters so she is on the ready for any fortune telling devices. It is, ultimately, compelling and truly enjoyable work, a testament to Blakely’s multiple skills as a performer.

Be sure to keep up with all of Blakely’s projects and activities at http://www.roneeblakley.com.

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

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The (Sometimes) Terrifying Tales O’ Traci!

Published August 7, 2014 by biggayhorrorfan

With organic products at an all time demand, one needn’t look further than the iconic Traci Lords for some true naturalism in acting.

Even in such quickly shot crime dramas as 1991’s A Time to Die and 1992’s Intent to Kill, Lords provided subtle shades of realism. Her conversations with other characters in these projects are laced with natural fidgeting and dreamy asides. These are mannerisms that are part of many a day-to-day chat fest, but they are almost never truly captured on film.

As Emma Conway in Two for the Show, a season 5 episode of HBO’s Tales from the Crypt, Lords supplies deep intent, as well. Determined to leave her business obsessed husband, Lords projects an honest nature. You truly believe she was once in love with David Paymer’s snarky company shark and understand how she has fallen, desperately, into someone else’s arms.

The fact that Emma wants nothing from her husband but freedom, of course, does not earn her an acquittal from the bloody antics, though. This is a Tales of the Crypt episode, after all! Strangled and hacked to death, Emma disappears as the plot begins to resemble a truly twisted variation on Strangers on a Train, featuring the now frightened Paymer and Vincent Spano’s determined police detective.

But Lords’ sweet yet resolute presence is felt throughout this adventure, as a whole. Meanwhile, the tale’s surprising Sapphic twist, ultimately, helps make it one of this beloved series’ best presentations, as well.

Be sure to keep up with all of Lords’ heady activities at http://www.tracilords.com

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

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The Backside of Horror: Lake Placid 3

Published August 6, 2014 by biggayhorrorfan

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.

Thankfully, years after the self aware Scream phenomenon, there is still plenty of silly, rambunctiously fun horror being made. Otherwise, the luscious April (energetic Roxanne Pallett) and Jason (amiably funny James Marchant), her goofily adorable boyfriend, wouldn’t have gone near the water or even thought about an afternoon of skinny dipping and sex in 2010’s chomping Lake Placid 3.

Luckily, for viewers, this duo does what comes naturally (after a day of sweaty hitchhiking); with much smooth flesh being exposed. Nicely, it is not just Pallett who bares all. Marchant shows off his smooth juggler’s mounds, as well.

Of course, comeuppance soon arrives as the crocs, almost immediately, arrive on their vengeance hunt. This actually results in a modestly funny cunnilingus joke, ultimately making this opening sequence one of the most memorable in this made-for-cable continuation of the toothy animals-gone-scary series.

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

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Review: Claudia Qui

Published August 2, 2014 by biggayhorrorfan

Reminiscent of such slow burning 70s pictures as John Hancock’s dreamy Let’s Scare Jessica to Death and (even) the Shirley MacLaine supernatural opus The Possession of Joel Delaney, writer-director Tonjia Atomic’s (55 minute) Claudia Qui is an intriguing, music laden adventure.

After discovering an ancient photo among her personal work files, photographer Claudia (a fine Barbara Burgio) soon begins to exhibit weird behavior. These occurrences are mild, at first, but soon begin to take over her life. As her concerned boyfriend (a very natural Don Ayers) fights to hold onto her, Claudia seems ready to dive, completely, into the characteristics of the mysterious persona that has been haunting her.

Filled with Josh Phenicie’s simple yet beautiful cinematography and some fine editing (including Derrick Carey’s opening and closing title sequences), Atomic allows us to amble through Claudia’s dreams (done with nice black and white photography) and somnambulant waking states. This, ultimately, creates an ending that surprises and compels viewers.

Imbued with an intimate knowledge of the arts scene and a meticulous background score of fine tunes, Claudia Qui is not a film for those who enthuse for the quick kill, but for those who like to dive into the psychological crevices of the very impressionable mind.

Be sure to keep up with all of Atomic’s vibrantly eclectic projects at http://www.tonjiaatomic.com.

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

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(Bad) CGI Fridays: Lost Treasure of the Grand Canyon (2008)

Published August 1, 2014 by biggayhorrorfan

Lately, in Chicago, you take your life into your hands just walking to the corner store, at midnight, for your weekly supply of banana pudding ice cream.

Losing my head (over this movie)!

Therefore, it is comforting to know that in the early 20th century, with its head hunting tribes and silver strewn monsters, that the Grand Canyon was just as dangerous! Well, at least, according to the 2008 SyFy epic Lost Treasure of Grand Canyon.

Of course, Quetzalcoatl here looks like a (very computer generated) metallic reject from a Terminator film. In fact, a significant portion of the mountainous regions of Arizona look like they were created by a techie’s hand, as well.

But, the ridiculous premise, some head shredding action and the chance to watch the very contemporary, always hell-raising Shannon Doherty play a very determined yet quaint lass (running around in what looks like a night shirt) definitely imbues this project with a certain dusty charm.

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

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Sally Ann Howes: The (Truly Natural) Queen of Horror!

Published July 31, 2014 by biggayhorrorfan

As a kid, actress-singer Sally Ann Howes meant my grandparents’ television soundtrack LP of Brigadoon. For many, of course, she was (the awesomely named) Truly Scrumptious from kiddy classic Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. (Chitty, of course, featured one of the most menacing figures of tiny tot horror, Robert Helpmann’s truly malevolent Child Catcher.)

But Howes has a pretty impressive terror pedigree, as well. Significantly, she played (naturally enough) a girl named Sally in the classic 1945 British anthology feature Dead of Night. Perkily, Howes recounts Sally’s tale of a supernatural encounter at a holiday party at a swanky mansion. But Howes, also, nails her character’s bone deep fright upon discovering the small boy she, innocently, tucked into bed was actually a ghost. The honest emotion that she brings to this story makes it just as significant a contribution to the film as its most famous tale, the story of an overpowering ventriloquist’s dummy featuring the legendary Michael Redgrave.

Years later, Howes brought a sense of true maternal concern to her role of Margaret Mitchell in 1980’s Death Ship. While no Gone with the Wind, Death Ship features plenty of spooky activity (including blood spurting shower heads and skeleton baths) taking place on a mysteriously drifting vessel, innocently boarded by the survivors of an aquatic wreck.

Howes does spend most of her time, here, either nurturing the actors playing her children or reacting in horror to being accosted by co-star Kate Reid’s bubonic prosthetics and/or George Kennedy’s maddened sea captain. But, her extreme naturalness makes all the extraordinary circumstances of this Nazi-tinged, water bound horror ring with truth, as well.

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

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