Va-Va-Villainess: Janice Rule

Published December 26, 2022 by biggayhorrorfan

I once had a boss who I referred to, not so fondly, as The Dragon Lady. Dripping with privilege and obsessed with status, she was quick to cut down anyone who didn’t fit within her narrow definitions of societal importance. She reminded me, then and now, of a real-life Merle Kittridge. Kittridge, of course, was the well-to-do cold fish featured in 1958’s Bell, Book and Candle, the charmingly glossy look at the touching heartaches of a modern witch, perfectly played by the ever-enchanting Kim Novak.

Thankfully, the fictional Kittridge was eventually given some comic pathos by the film’s denouement via her majestic portrayer, Janice Rule. This turnabout is further emphasized by the subtle restraint this consummate performer gives to even her most cutting observations of Novak’s Gillian, ever an outsider due to her peculiar talents. That being said, as rivals for the affections of Jimmy Stewart’s quiet Shepard, the two actresses convincingly play up the polar opposites of their characters. Thus, Merle emerges as a classic example of a woman that you love to hate.

Nicely, in real life, Rule, who died in 2003 at the age of 72, seemed to be the exact opposite of her very popular creation. Earning her degree as a psychoanalyst, she spent the majority of her life helping others between her frequent acting gigs.

Fun Fact: Both Rule and Novak played the heroine in Picnic, William Inge’s classic look at the subtle torments and soft joys of smalltown life. Rule appeared in the original Broadway production while Novak took over in the popular film adaptation.

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

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Va-Va-Villainess: Deanna Wright

Published April 26, 2022 by biggayhorrorfan

“Talk about a makeover!” – Kay (post body morph)

In marked contrast to Robyn Lively’s kindly Louise Miller, Deanna Wright’s Kay Bennett was definitely a very mean teen witch. Wright’s character on the quirky, supernaturally tinged soap opera Passions was so determined to capture the handsome Miguel (Jesse Metcalfe) and steer him away from his true love Charity (Molly Stanton) that she used several varieties of supernatural mayhem to achieve her goals.

After zombifying her rival and even sending her to Hell (often with the help of the town’s revenge filled witch, Tabitha), Kay’s arc during Wright’s heyday reached its apex when the creepily resilient lass enacted a spell that turned her into her rival. Due to this effective disguise, Miguel misguidedly slept with her…and the resulting pregnancy (and birth of a child) nearly destroyed his relationship with Charity.

As the soap entered into its latter years, Kay, as then played by Heidi Mueller, achieved a certain sense of maturity. But the character’s adventures with the occult – how can anyone forget when she accidentally turned herself into a panther during the program’s 2001 Halloween episodes?!?- were definitely the highlights of her run.

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

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Music to Make Horror Movies By: Vanessa Williams

Published November 1, 2020 by biggayhorrorfan

Initially gaining fame as a model and television actress, the uber talented Vanessa Williams eventually branched out into the worlds of pop music…and Broadway stardom! Grimm’s Brothers aficionados were probably awestruck by her witch in the revival of Into the Woods, while the rest of the world may have still been reeling from her sexy attack on the pop laced numbers from her debut album.

Nicely, this number even made it into a Perry Mason television film. (Talk about a flashy take on recycling!)

Most recently, this modern day diva brought her years of performing experience to a gloriously demented fruition in Bad Hair, a delightfully twisted original Hulu horror extravaganza.

https://www.vanessawilliams.com/

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

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Review: BETTE Xmas at the Continental Baths

Published December 15, 2019 by biggayhorrorfan

Bette ad.jpg

Bette Midler is many things. Her repertoire of songs alone includes rock and roll, MOR pop ballads, girl group classics and new wave energizers. Her role as the hysterically vengeful Winifred in Hocus Pocus also imbues her with a strong horror pedigree, allowing generations of outsiders to delightfully engage in their inner wicked witches.

In BETTE Xmas at the Continental Baths, Chicago theater goddess Caitlin Jackson invokes many of those Midler personalities while also remaining uniquely herself. Based upon the Divine One’s ‘70s showcase at a NYC men’s club, this production is full of goofy energy and go-for-broke silliness, making it not only a seasonal delight, but one of the year’s best stage offerings as a whole, as well.

Jackson’s desire to make this a sort of performing arts fever dream is perfectly realized. For example, the corny jokes in Jackson and David Cerda’s fun script are often so obvious that they don’t land with the audience…at first. But the performer’s skilled reactions to the theater’s radio silence are truly hysterical, making the presentation as a whole an unmitigated delight from start to finish.

Of course, Jackson’s softly anguished takes on songs such as Superstar, River and I Shall Be Released are the evening’s master points. This go-for-broke yet subtle emotionality is her forte as a performer, making one pity those who will never experience this kind of brilliance in their lifetimes.

bettexmas-5-web

Nicely, Jackson is ably assisted here by Terry McCarthy as Mr. Gerard, Midler’s game hairdresser, and Sydney Genco and Allison Petrillo as Laverne and Trixie, Midler’s backup singers. Genco and Petrillo get a chance to shine on their own during the show’s intermission/costume change. Their pert energy and spot on timing ultimately prove that they deserve a show of their own one of these days. Hmm…maybe next season!!!

But until then… give proper kudos to Jackson and co-director Marc Lewallen, by checking out this year’s festivities before closing night on December 31^st.

https://www.facebook.com/events/570448403729627/

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

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Review: Bad Witch

Published September 12, 2019 by biggayhorrorfan

Bad Witch

High school awfulness is just something you seemingly have to live through. Any attempts to balance the scale just end up in Carrie-style mayhem. This definitely proves true for the participants in the upcoming Bad Witch, a fun film written by James Hennigan and co-directed by Victor Fink & Joshua Land.

At first, Roland Grimm (Jackson Trent) thinks Xander Perkins (Chris Koslowski) is a gift, a miracle seemingly delivered from the skies to help combat his teenage awkwardness. But as Perkins’ witchcraft laden solutions to Grimm’s problems begin to backfire, the young man soon regrets his involvement with this handsome, trouble making grifter. In fact, as death and betrayal overtake his world, Roland may soon pay the ultimate price for his association with the dark side.

Anchored around the casual, friendly energy of Koslowski and Trent, Bad Witch dabbles in gooey body horror, male sexuality and willingly explores a culture that is beginning to move away from labels as it restructures its sense of societal taboos. Here, Xander’s insistence that he is a “witch” not a “warlock” will truly make sense to a generation of film lovers who refuse to define themselves within the long accepted pronouns and gender rules. Nicely, the film also contains a very comical, truly gruesome death sequence involving one of Roland’s rivals – a moment that is almost worth the price of admission here alone.

Interestingly, while there is no homosexual tension between the film’s leads, Bad Witch does break boundaries by focusing on Koslowski’s taut masculinity. In a world where gorgeous, often traumatized women still serve as the focal point of horror projects, this celebration of male beauty is a novelty in itself. A natural progression from such witch based projects as I Married A Witch and Bell Book and Candle (from the ‘40s and ‘50s) and The Witches and The Craft (from the ‘90s), Bad Witch is sure to find many fans among those who like their terror delivered with a quick chant and an eager spell or two.

https://www.facebook.com/Bad-Witch-Movie-1655286761199731/

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

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Music to Make Horror Movies By: Bette Midler

Published September 16, 2018 by biggayhorrorfan

bette hocus pocus

From the towel clad patrons of NYC Bathhouses to distinguished opening night Broadway crowds, the divine Bette Midler has entertained them all. Nicely, she has also noticeably charmed a generation of queer terror lovers with her hysterical take on witchery in the beloved horror comedy Hocus Pocus.

Thankfully, Midler also worked some of that dark magic with her take on My Eye On You. This mysteriously possessive tune is a highlight of No Frills, her enjoyable album of rock and New Wave numbers. A deadly journey in less than 4 minutes, this number proves why Midler always has us risking our lives by coming back for more.

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

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Bette

Review: The Ball

Published December 22, 2017 by biggayhorrorfan

Some prefer their witches with a Charmed imbued cuteness. Others enjoy theirs as a cackling spew against darkened cauldrons. Nicely, Count the Clock Productions has decided to present their succulent sorceresses with some Poe-like zest…as evidenced by their latest Gothic short, The Ball.

Filled with director Zach Lorkewicz’s expected visual flourishes, this rhyming exercise from the pen of Michael Coe, a truly unique approach for a horror entry, begins happily. An ebullient young lass named Pearlie (a personably subtle Avril Dominguez) prepares for the arrival of her beau for an elegant night on the town. But a ghost from her past soon threatens to mask the evening in revenge and tragedy. Pearlie, therefore, must summon up some persuasive powers to ensure that her night goes according to plan.

Enjoyably, Lorkewicz’s always unusual, highly developed artistic flair is accentuated here by a neat capper of an ending.

Meanwhile, be quick to avoid your own late night visitor by keeping track of Count the Clock Productions at https://www.facebook.com/counttheclock/.

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

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Witchcraft Series: The Final Adventure?

Published June 16, 2017 by biggayhorrorfan

witchcraft

Some folks dip their toes in the pool. Others dive in, body first.

Derrick Carey of the sick cinematic podcast Astro Radio Z belongs to the latter category. He and various other mutants, myself included, have been immersing themselves in the deep end by analyzing the low budget soft core horror series Witchcraft – for…gulp…years now!

Naturally, now that Witchcraft 14: Angel of Death, Witchcraft 15: Blood Rose and Witchcraft 16: Hollywood Coven have been unleashed upon the world, we had to take a look and give our (sometimes) zany, (occasionally) well modulated opinions on them. Nicely, we are joined here by Dustin Hubbard, an accomplished filmmaker and, perhaps, the greatest Witchcraft fan ever.

You can listen to the episode here:

https://archive.org/download/ARZ98/ARZ_98.mp3

…and if you survive…be sure to visit Dustin’s Witchcraft tribute site, as well:

https://www.facebook.com/Witchcraft-The-Longest-Running-Series-in-Horror-318730181661944/

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

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Music to Make Horror Movies By: Ann-Margret

Published June 7, 2015 by biggayhorrorfan

Ann-Margret, 1960s

The second issue of the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, the new comic that puts the beloved golden haired Archie denizen in a spooky 60s setting, briefly features Ann-Margret as one of the teen’s show biz muses and a fellow enchantress in mystical arts. This should come as no surprise to the faithful whom have always found Ann-Margret simply bewitching.

Even when expressing heartbreak, this saucy wonder, whose genre credits include Magic (with Anthony Hopkins) and 2006’s Memory, always sounds as if it won’t be long before she’ll be turning the tables on her target.

Don’t believe me? Check out her 1961 hit I Just Don’t Understand. Later covered by The Beatles, this number was one of the first to feature the fuzz-tone guitar and contains a purring, totally seductive and completely in control performance from our lady of the hour!

Be sure to check out http://www.ann-margret.com, as well.

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

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Sexy Witch, Dark Side of the Moon!

Published June 24, 2014 by biggayhorrorfan

Acting like a witch isn’t always a bad thing – especially when you are talking about Charlie Irving and Aaron Cammack, the two versatile performers playing seductive witches in New American Folk Theatre’s Dark of the Moon. I, recently, had the chance to talk with this fabulously talented duo and I am still feeling beguiled and fascinatingly charmed!

Dark of the Moon runs until June 29th, 2014 at the Den Theatre in Chicago. More information is available at http://www.newamericanfolktheatre.org.

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

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