Countdown to Carrie: Meg Foster – “Immortal Combat”, “Hidden Fears”!

Published August 6, 2013 by biggayhorrorfan

(The Carrie remake will be upon us on October – thus we celebrate the strong women in horror, science fiction and exploitation with Countdown to Carrie!)

Quinn: (Quietly shuddering) God, he was ugly!
Stan: How can you stand it?
Quinn: (Coldly) When I close my eyes…all men are the same. – Immortal Combat

The generously eclectic Meg Foster may be best known to genre fans for her diverse roles in such projects as They Live, Masters of the Universe and Stepfather II – but multiple (often more obscure) projects have benefited from her quiet authority, as well.

In 1993, Foster reunited with (her They Live co-star) Roddy Piper in the karate-action–science fiction-horror-buddy film (are you dizzy yet???!!!) hybrid Immortal Combat (released in 1994). Using soft undercurrents, Foster imbues her evil Quinn will nerve chilling monstrousness. Proving that underplaying is the skilled performer’s greatest asset, she emerges as the prime force, here, despite plenty of gloriously sock-em displays of back flipping, masculine martial arts mayhem.

The same year, Foster proved her amazing versatility by playing a grieving wife and mother in the domestic thriller Hidden Fears. Years after the murder of her husband in a parking lot by two redneck hoods, Foster’s Maureen Dietz learns the identities of his killers. Publically exposing them brings her family and friends into jeopardy’s way, though. As the bodies begin to pile up, Foster-Dietz begins to realize the true source of danger may reside closer to home than she ever could have imagined. Once again, it is the quieter tones that Foster applies here that sparkle with ingenuity (in an often standard script). Her natural connections with skilled co-stars such as Frederic Forrest and Bever-Leigh Banfield are what help make this project rise above the ordinary.

Midwest dwellers can revel in the presence of the delicious Foster on August 9, 10, 11, 2013 at Flashback Weekend, Illinois’ homegrown horror convention!: http://www.flashbackweekend.com.

Big Gay Horror Fan, meanwhile, is always evading the dangerous pursuers of his past at http://www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan!

Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE!!!!

Music to Make Horror Movies By: Julie Brown, “Trapped in the Body of a White Girl”

Published August 4, 2013 by biggayhorrorfan

If I had to pick between having a Bloody Birthday or being Trapped in the Body of a White Girl – I think I would definitely pick the former. Murderous tots are so always, no?!?!

Lucky Julie Brown, performer extraordinaire, didn’t have to make that choice. One her of first movie roles was in beloved 1981 slasher Bloody Birthday (see photo above) and Trapped in the Body of a White Girl, her humorous song and the title track on her major label 1987 album, received a bit of airplay on MTV during it’s heyday.

Trapped features plenty of goofy horror and sci-fi imagery, proving once and for all, that Ms. Brown is a girl whom should have a place in every sensitive terror geek’s heart.

Be sure to keep up with all of Brown’s grin worthy activities at http://www.juliebrown.com while Big Gay Horror Fan is consistently fighting off Homecoming Queens with Guns at http://www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan, as well!

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

Feeling Dark ‘n’ Sexy? Then – Welcome to Matthew’s Doyle’s Hot Hook-Up!

Published August 2, 2013 by biggayhorrorfan

My old friend Matthew Doyle used to embarrass me at movie theaters by claiming he was an executive from Pepsi and then proceed to harass the counter people for selling Coke products. He’d also force me to, begrudgingly, role play scenarios from Star Trek episodes with him as we ran down the streets of Boys Town in Chicago. Obviously, before I became Big Gay Horror Fan I was a total stick-in-the-mud! I would find all of that gloriously awesome, now.

Back then Mr. Doyle always claimed he was going to make films of his own, as well – and that he has! His second feature, Phantom Images, is currently streaming on the here! Network and he has just launched the campaign to finance his third feature, Hook-Up, featuring controversial porn actor Antonio Biaggi.

Hook-Up promises to expose the dark side of online dating and while not out and out horror, it is sure to feature the energetic capabilities of such Doyle influences as Rainier Werner Fassbinder and Peter Weir, auteurs beloved by film buffs and fright fiends, alike.

Check out the Indiegogo Hook-Up campaign at:
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/hook-up

And if you are presently penny pinched, be sure to like the film’s FB page, at the very least!:
https://www.facebook.com/HookUpMovie

Meanwhile, Big Gay Horror Fan is always looking for new playmates at http://www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan, as well.

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

Review: An American Ghost Story

Published August 2, 2013 by biggayhorrorfan

Taking a different tact than recent haunted house epics like The Conjuring, Paranormal Activity and Sinister, the lead character in An American Ghost Story actually knows that there is something going on in the house he moves into. In fact, that is his exact reason for wanting to reside there.

Feeling unfulfilled in his life, wannabe writer Paul Anderson is determined to chronicle his adventures living in a haunted house. So when strange occurrences do start to happen in his new dwelling, he is pleased. His no nonsense girlfriend Stella (a solid, very personable Liesl Kopp) is less than thrilled, though. She becomes even less delighted when Paul quickly grows tired of the mild poltergeist style activities that the two are experiencing and becomes obsessed with meeting the murderous entity that supposedly skitters throughout the rooms of his current abode.

Working with a slow boil from Stephen Twardokus’ very simple yet natural script, director Derek Cole builds some believable tension here. Cole seems to empathize with the character of Anderson, played with effortless understanding by Twardokus, and builds his descent into frustrated ambition with ease. Therefore, those looking for a quieter character study with scare elements, more than an out and out horror film, should find much to enjoy with this work.

Cole does deliver on the fright front, though, skillfully managing to turn a simple bed sheet into an object of deadly menace on more than one occasion – a considerable feat. Even the predictable shock ending, reminiscent (in effect if not execution) of everything from the final moments of I Know What You Did Last Summer to John Carpenter’s The Ward, doesn’t leave a cinematic smudge on what has occurred before it.

An American Ghost Story will be released on DVD on August 20th (2013) from Breaking Glass Pictures.

More information on the project can be gained from http://www.breakingglasspictures.com and http://www.facebook.com/breakingglasspictures.

Big Gay Horror Fan, meanwhile, is decidedly avoiding all unworldly entities in his apartment complex at http://www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan!

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

Corinne Halbert and Hate Baby!

Published July 30, 2013 by biggayhorrorfan

Aggressively original, pushing the creative envelope to its limit, eye shockingly fun…No, I am not describing the trio of zombie prostitutes who raised me! Those joyous descriptors pertain to the art of Corinne Halbert.

Therefore, if you haven’t heard of this sexy beast (with a stabbingly unique vision) then Big Gay Horror Fan is putting you on notice! The evocative Halbert recently released her third book in her horror influenced Hate Baby series and it is filled to the brim with sexual mayhem, total un-correct correctness and taboo stretching antics.

Be sure to take a peek at all this trailblazer has to offer at http://www.corinnehalbert.com

Meanwhile, Big Gay Horror Fan – whom always maintains that the only good baby is a hate baby – is forever rocking it at http://www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan!

Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE!!!!

Countdown to Carrie: Tuesday Weld in Pretty Poison!

Published July 30, 2013 by biggayhorrorfan

I’m actually pretty leery about a lot of things – for instance, that day old meat-loaf floating around the hallway of my building – or my “friends”, those budding sister-musicians who alternate between their flat and sharp notes with alarming accuracy and… that Carrie re-imagining that is hitting the theaters this October 18th. I am pretty leery of that.

But – if you go with the thought that a blood-shot cinematic adventure with a strong female lead is always good cause for celebration then, in anticipation of this fall’s opening of Kimberly Pierce’s re-imagining, the new BGHF feature “Countdown to Carrie” will focus on strong woman in horror and exploitation films. Let’s begin with the underrated Tuesday Weld!

She was one of the most photogenic lasses of the late 50’s and 60’s and while her life was full of pout worthy conflict and critical acclaim (including a 1978 Oscar nomination for Looking for Mr. Goodbar), the divine Weld never quite made it to the cinematic majors. This may have been due to her own reported reluctance to success or just the fickle nature of Hollywood but – as Sue Ann in 1968’s Pretty Poison, Weld gives a performance that simply shimmers with evil and delightful malice. It’s a masterwork of psychological horror and all the more impressive considering that her co-star is Norman Bates, himself, Mr. Anthony Perkins.

In fact, director Noel Black wisely plays on the assumption that audiences are going to predict that it is Perkins, playing a socially awkward arsonist who develops a fascination with Weld’s small town girl, whom is the primary antagonist here. But midway through the film, viewers realize without a doubt that it is Weld’s pretty Sue Ann whom is the true demon in disguise. Weld’s work is brilliantly go-for-broke and the fact that her Sue Ann is not recognized as one of cinema’s most significant villainesses is a true mystery.

Be sure to take a look at some of the finest of Weld’s cheesecake ridden starlet poses here, as well:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/leonoraepstein/19-dreamy-photos-of-forgotten-style-icon-tuesday-weld

Be sure to check me out at www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan, too, and to check back for more female horror awesomeness, here, as we Countdown to Carrie!

Music to Make Horror Films By: Janelle Monae’s Dance Apocalyptic!

Published July 28, 2013 by biggayhorrorfan

Ignore the zombie werewolf. Don’t take the razor blade cocktail from that mysterious stranger in the dilapidated bar. All of those are little (often helpful) chunklets of advice Big Gay Horror Fan has received over the years. But to dance in the face of utter destruction as recommended by uncommonly brilliant performer Janelle Monáe– well that border lines on the cusp of pure brilliance!

Monáe’s old school girl group celebration, Dance Apocalyptic, features locusts, zombies and leather clad-motor cycling doom mongers. So, what are you waiting for? Check it out, here:

Then be sure to keep up with all of this eclectic singer’s activities at www.jmonae.com.

You can keep it undeadly ‘n’ funky at www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan.com, as well.

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

Music to Make Horror Movies By: Jayne County, “Rock ‘N’ Roll Resurrection

Published July 22, 2013 by biggayhorrorfan

“It’s about how rock dies and dies and then resurrects itself!…Wash me in the blood of rock ‘n’ roll!” – Jayne County

If true rock and legitimate horror go hand and hand then the amazing Jayne County should have had a song on the soundtrack of every amazing terror flick over the past three decades.

Of course, life is gloriously unfair and that is not the reality of the situation. Still songs such as “F….. by the Devil” and the title track on this transgendered outlaw’s kinetic, crystal clear live recording Rock ‘N’ Roll Resurrection (1980) combine sex, punk energy and the deliciously scary sheen of nonconformity. The perfect combination for any fright freak’s Sunday afternoon soundtrack? You bet!

Non-believers can be convinced, here!:

Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan (also available at www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan)!

Helping Alix Arsenic!

Published July 19, 2013 by biggayhorrorfan

Wondering what to do with all those splintered pennies and blood stained coins that you have laying around? Well – here you go!

Kick ass (Chicago based) horror goddess Alix Arsenic has been enduring some incredibly destructive health issues and is fighting for survival. A good friend has put together a benefit campaign for her on Fundly.

You can check it out here:

http://fundly.com/alixneedsus

Any amount is sure to help get Alix’s chainsaw revving again – so you can rest assured that your contribution is truly helping the buzz!

Be sure to check out www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan, as well, and until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!!!

Barmy Battles: Psycho Vs. The Exorcist!

Published July 18, 2013 by biggayhorrorfan

Usually the toughest thing that Big Gay Horror Fan has to decide on is whether to wear the large Freddy t-shirt or the extra-large (depending on how much he’s consumed the previous week)!

The truly exciting site Barmy Battles has upped the difficulty in the choice factor this week, though, by proposing a count-off between two horror classics: Alfred Hitchcock’s momma loving Psycho (1960) and William Peter Blatty’s devil smeared The Exorcist (1973).

You can make your (almost impossible) choice between the two, until the end of August 2013 at:

http://www.barmybattles.com/2013/06/25/the-exorcist-vs-psycho/

And – tell them Big Gay Horror Fan sent you!

Be sure to check out www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan and until the next time, SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!