Okay, so I did tear that guy’s arm off when he bumped into me as I was biking down (the middle of) Lake Shore Drive. But…I did sew it back on.
The exquisite Voice of the Beehive knew this destructive duality well, as evidenced by the nearly perfect pop confection Monsters and Angels:
So, here’s to the beast and the baby!
Until the next time…SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!
Oh, I have tried to be cool. A lot. Sometimes, I succeed. Other times…
But some folks are just naturally cool. Take the amazing Fies sister, for example. The primary forces behind the (unfortunately) short lived BleedFest, a monthly West Coast event honoring femme based contributions to exploitation filmmaking, these two are truly exciting creative voices.
Brenda has produced many a vibrant short while Elisabeth wrote and directed 2009’s award winning The Commune, a mysterious shocker with 70s undertones.
Now, you can keep up with everything these two are doing by following their adventures, here:
https://www.facebook.com/FiesSisters
Feels good to be cool, huh?
Until the next time…SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!
When is it too darn hot? Well…when visiting Jamaica in the off season or, perhaps, when a tropical phenomenon attacks the East Coast.
Yep, in 2007’s Disaster Zone: Volcano in New York, the city that never sleeps bubbles and warps beneath some of the worst technical lava effects ever put on top of celluloid! As an overzealous scientist tapping into the earth’s core, perennial bad guy Michael Ironside (Scanners, Visiting Hours) steals the show, here. Meanwhile (Christine princess) Alexandra Paul leads the rest of the over earnest cast.
The best moment in this Sci Fi masterpiece? When one of Costas Mandylor’s (Saw series) sand hog worker’s guts spill out due to volcanic laced water – a surprising moment of grue in this fairly tame production.
Runner up: When a group of friendly homeless guys expire due to the gases emitted from the build up of the eruption. Some dudes just can’t catch a break, no?
Oh, well. Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!
In grade school, two (supposedly) darling twin sisters used to regularly manipulate me out of my place in the lunch line. Too bad I didn’t have the divine Anne Baxter (1923-1985), who smartly outmaneuvered diva-licious Bette Davis in the 1950 classic All About Eve, around to give me some (nail sharp) pointers.
Baxter, who won an 1946 Oscar for her performance in The Razor’s Edge, had plenty of practice in devilishness, though. Six years before Eve in the deliciously outrageous Guest in the House, Baxter worked her poisonous magic as the sinister Evelyn Heath. Determined to win over the artistic Douglas Proctor (Ralph Bellamy), Baxter/Heath rids herself of her rivals with glorious stealth. A wise maternal character ends this prime villainess’ run of good luck, though. In a move of operatic goofiness, Baxter’s character goes over a cliff due to her character’s major downfall, a supreme fright of pet birds!
In 1970 television flick Ritual of Evil, Baxter shows her universality. Here, she shades her character Jolene Wiley with fine layers of sensitive hopelessness. A faded Hollywood icon, Wiley drowns herself in drink and the wrongheaded notion that a Satanic cult might restore her former glory. With a voice crackling with whiskey undertones, Baxter reigns with sexy glamour and emotional empathy. While Louis Jourdan’s erudite psychiatrist uncovers the mystery behind the coven and, ultimately, saves the day here – it is Baxter’s eternal smokiness that steals the show.
Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan
“And I’ve got no defense for it.
The heat is too intense for it.
What good would common sense for it do?
…’cause it’s witchcraft, wicked witchcraft” – Coleman, Leigh
Recording artists like Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee may have thought they understood the supernatural arts when caressing their vocal cords along Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh’s classic tune Witchcraft. But if they never watched one of the 90s B Movie films baring that name, then they actually knew nothing of the tormented, tedious joy that the guys of Astro Radio Z (including host/founder Derrick Carey, Mark Krawczyk, Glenn Randall Buettner and myself) have experienced in our cape shrouded viewing journeys.
Yes, this time we wicked cinephiles endured the vampiric, long lasting effects of Witchcraft 5–8.
Whether you find us masters of insanity or just plain crazy, you might enjoy the results below:
http://astroradioz.tumblr.com/post/79860603007/the-boys-are-back-to-tackle-witchcraft-5-8-do
Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan
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.
Sometimes, I look like such a demon upon waking that I even frighten my Incredible Hulk action figures. (And you wonder why I am in my 40s and live alone!!!)
The magnetic Bojesse Christopher, who truly enlivened such efforts as Sleepwalkers, Meatballs 4 and Point Break in the 90s, also rises like a devilish entity in 1996 sequel shocker Sometimes They Come Back…Again. But, soon Christopher’s Vinnie takes on a much more pleasing — and temporarily naked — form.
Of course, the evil Vinnie is eventually dispatched – but not before providing plenty of menace to co-stars Michael Gross and (a young) Hillary Swank…and plenty of eye candy to desirous viewers in the know!
Until the next time…SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan
I’ve tasted the gritty – especially after that psychotic killer clown pushed my face into the ground when I was 10!
But there is nothing as earthy (and fabulous) as the vocals of legendary folk, jazz and blues artist Barbara Dane! Even cinema’s master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, would have to agree with me on that one. (Although, he agrees with me on so little, nowadays. Pesky, I tell you. Just plain pesky!) He included the magnificent Dane in the 1962 episode Captive Audience (starring the distinguished James Mason of Salems Lot and Frankenstein: The True Story fame) on his own Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
Don’t believe me? You can check it, here, yourself:
Then be sure to hang with Dane, often, at http://www.barbaradane.net. This politically charged dynamo is still performing and highly worthy of your support.
Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!
I know something is out there. They have contacted me. Bill collectors, student loan officers…b-r-r-r, scary!
Similarly, in 1975 television film The UFO Incident, respected thespians Estelle Parsons and James Earl Jones dove into the story of Betty and Barney Hill, a couple who, also, was touched by the beyond. With the help of a kindly analyst (played with understated commitment by Barnard Hughes) the duo eventually recalls their kidnapping at the hands of some Roswell style aliens.
While the light bulb white space creatures almost add an air of comedy when revealed, director Richard A. Colla and writer Hesper Anderson nicely concentrate mainly on the emotional implications of the abduction. This allows Parsons and Jones to revel in their arsenal of acting skills. While Jones/Barney commiserates, deeply, about the physical torments (including a herpes like outbreak on the character’s genitals) endured, Parsons/Betty finally relates some moments of light hearted bantering with the otherworldly creatures.
Based on a real life situation, the piece’s most effective moment occurs, though, when Betty recalls the love and puzzled affection that she feels for Barney. Noting that she is not a pretty woman, she wonders at his devotion to her. Parsons fills her character with such honest questioning, here, that outsiders everywhere can relate to her plight and love her all the more for it.
Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan
Having been brought up by a coven of lesbian prostitute nuns, I know there is nothing more evil than a creative goddess in her prime.
Amazing horror site Horror Addicts must agree with me – hence their awesome Wicked Women contest for 2014.
Below, are the details, lifted straight from their site.
“2014 Theme: Beauty & the Beast
Premise: There is something both fearsome and attractive in a wild thing, be it man or beast. From creature legends told around ancient campfires, to modern tales of King Kong and crypto zoology, critters have always captured our darkest imagination. Get your Beast on.
Challenge: Create a 10 minute horror podcast that contains four story elements, plus your written story. Registration closes 4-13-14. Audio and text are due on 5-13-14.
Story Elements: Each of our Wicked Belles will be assigned a location, a blessing, a curse … and a Beast. Your story must include a lady in peril and these four elements:
Location: Anywhere in the world is fair game. A private zoo? A Japanese Nightclub? Kindergarten Show ‘N’ Tell? You are the game. We’ll give you the board.
Blessing: A helpful item to tame the danger in your tale. We couldn’t have you stalked by a Werewolf without at least giving you a silver locket to melt down. Use your item wisely, Wicked. Even a trivial thing can save your life.
Curse: An untimely disability. You can’t skip through this one without feeling a bite of a fang on your ass. The Norns can be quite evil with this element.
Beast: Beasts will be drawn from the 12 animal signs of the Chinese zodiac: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, or Pig. The Beast may be a main character in your story, or may be represented in other creative ways… a tattoo? An advertising logo? A supernatural brute? Freak of nature? You name it, as long as you include it. Any genre of horror is welcome, but this ain’t Lassie, my Wickeds. Not unless she rips out your throat!
Dates to Remember:
Contest Opens – March 4, 2014
Registration Closes – April 13, 2014
Audio & Text Due – May 13, 2014
Elimination Round to 5 Wickeds – May 24, 2014
Voting Begins June 13, 2014
Voting Ends July 28, 2014
2014 Winner Announced August 23, 2014
WARNING: The Norns are majorly p.m.s.ing this year. This challenge involves shotgun-quick writing & recording skills. The squeamish need not apply!
If you would like to compete, send an e-mail to: Horroraddicts@gmail.com –We’ll send you the complete set of rules and assign your story elements. Remember, the sooner you respond, the more time you’ll have to write and produce your podcast.”
Now, get cracking all my lovely (and amazingly talented) femmes of fear!
Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan
What a conundrum! Good guys may never get the girls, but in horror flicks the bad guys usually get dead.
Personable actor Michael Welch knows this first hand. As Mike Newton in the Twilight series, he pined, unsuccessfully, for the supernaturally obsessed Bella. In 2013’s The Demented, Welch seems to be having a much better time playing the smarmily rich Howard. It is soon revealed that Howard, who puts the move on the entire female cast of this (weakly CGI ridden) flick, has cheated on his loving girlfriend. Which means Welch is the first to buy it, here. This is sad for two reasons: it is so obviously expected and Welch adds much of this zombie-style flick’s initial energy!
Still, as a mild time waster, The Demented isn’t half bad. In a nice move, we actually witness the missile blast that lets loose the infective contagion and the young cast, including The Vampire Diaries‘ Kayla Ewell, does pretty well with the film’s emotional Night of the Living Dead elements. The effects including a rabidly attacking dog and the mind altering explosion are so cheaply rendered, that those who tap dance to cheesy cinematography may have a field day, as well.
It does seem time to alter certain tropes in our low budget exploitation fare, though. Severe righteousness seems equal to promiscuity in filmic sinfulness…so here’s to our uptight virgins crashing and burning with the (far more entertaining) bad boys (and girls) surviving to the final frame!
Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!
Big Gay Horror Fan 