Another Visit From The Ghost Of Horror Past: Screaming In High Heels

Either Christmas is fast approaching, or mankind really should have been my business, or Tiny Tim REALLY needs that operation, or something, because The Ghost Of Horror Past has visited me yet again.  This time around the spirit has taken the form of Breaking Glass Pictures.  As I look around, I realize that I have been whisked away to the days of big box VHS, slasher flicks, and scream queens.  Yes folks, we’re headed to the 80’s.  Please spirit, show me more…

Linnea Quigley, Brinke Stevens, and Michelle Bauer.  What do these three women have in common?  If you said that they all participated in my What Halloween Means To Me event…well, you’d be wrong.  Only Brinke Stevens and Linnea Quigley did that, but hey, two out of three ain’t bad.  Unfortunately, Michelle Bauer never got back to me.  Maybe next year.  Anyway, the answer that I was looking for is that these three women are the lovely subjects of a documentary entitled Screaming in High Heels: The Rise and Fall of the Scream Queen Era.  Yes Cellmates, these are the women that defined what it meant to be a scream queen, and they’re finally being given their proper respect.  The flick follows the careers of the gruesome threesome from their beginnings in the film industry, some by design and some by accident, through their glory days in the 80’s, through the “scream queen dark ages” of the late 90’s, and into their resurgence in popularity today.   

If you grew up on 80’s horror cinema, then the three afore mentioned ladies need no introduction.  The flicks they’ve been in read like a “Must See” list from the video store era. Nightmare Sisters and Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-o-rama may be the only two movies to feature all three of them, but Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers, Silent Night Deadly Night, Haunting Fear, Return of the Living Dead, Demonwarp, Evil Toons, Slave Girls From Beyond Infinity, Night of the Demons, and literally hundreds more feature at least one of these ladies.  We’ve seen them die, we’ve seen them kill, and for many of us growing up in the days of VHS, we became men watching them undress. 

The documentary is very well done.  The three actresses are, of course, interviewed extensively.  They’re all very candid, not only talking about their glory days, but also holding nothing back on subjects like the effects of aging on their careers and those that  they feel are merely pretenders to the “scream queen” title.  Additional interviews with filmmakers like David DeCoteau and Fred Olen Ray (another What Halloween Means To Me alumni) are very informative, shedding a lot of light on the way these films were made.  There are plenty of clips from the movies themselves (offering up the prerequisite blood and boobs), as well as some cool footage of the ladies at conventions, accepting awards, being on the news, and meeting heads of state.

This isn’t the first time that director Jason Paul Collum has taken on the subject of women in horror.  In 2003 he made another documentary about horror actresses called Something to Scream About, hosted by Brinke Stevens.  While I do like that documentary (aside from one of the worst closing credits songs in the history of closing credits), this one shows a lot of growth from him.  While STSA followed the “Brinke introduces a topic, the talking heads sound off on it, repeat” format, Screaming in High Heels carries a really nice through line.  I don’t know about the current availability of his earlier documentary, but I have it on one of those cheap Brentwood 4 movie collections called Skinned Alive.  Its “disc-mate” is the infamous, hilarious, and only-watchable-when-heavily-intoxicated Midnight Skater.  You know, I need to review that sometime.  It’s Suburban Sasquatch bad.

Just like Something to Scream About, Screaming in High Heels is short, running just over an hour.  I keep debating with myself over whether or not this constitutes a valid gripe with the flick.  When it was over, I was left a little unsatisfied just because I wanted more.  The problem is, the doc is so well paced and constructed, and the subject is so thoroughly covered, that I don’t know what else could have been included that wouldn’t have stuck out as filler.  On the one hand, I think it’s the perfect length to tell this story, but I was disappointed that it was over so soon.  At least there is additional interview footage included as DVD extras to prolong your pleasure.

Some of my favorite horror discs to be released in the last few years has come out of this wave of really good horror documentaries that’s been going on lately.  Screaming in High Heels is a fun trip, albeit a quick one, that definitely deserves a place in the “nonfiction” section of your genre collection.  If you’ve followed Brinke, Linnea, and Michelle’s careers, or 80’s horror in general, there’s not a lot here that you don’t already know, but it’s cool to hear the stories first hand.  In a world where every chick with one z-movie and a headshot to her credit thinks she’s a Scream Queen, Screaming in High Heels reminds us of who really wears the crown.  Long live the true Queens.  One and a half severed thumbs up.  Nathan says check it out.

What Halloween Means To Me Day 24: Linnea Quigley

There’s only one way we could wrap up Scream Queen Weekend properly, and that’s with the Scream Queen of all Scream Queens, Linnea Quigley.  What can you say about her that hasn’t been said?  I don’t have to go down a list of her credits.  If you read this blog, I’m pretty certain that you know them already.  She’s been in some of the biggest cult hits of all time, has possibly the most iconic horror movie nude scene to her credit, and has managed to carve out a career that has been going strong since the late 70’s.  If by some horrible drunken decision, miracle, or product defect I ever have a daughter, I wanna name her Linnea.  Want proof that she’s a busy lady?  Look at all the stuff she has out right now and coming up.  She’s interviewed in Celluloid Bloodbath: More Previews From Hell (that came out Oct. 8).  A documentary about her, Brinke Stevens, and Michelle Bauer called Screaming in High Heels just came out.  I’ll be reviewing that in early November.  Disciples, featuring an all-star cast (Tony Todd, Angus Scrimm, Bill Mosely, etc) is coming out soon.  Couger Cult is currently at Redbox.  She’s contributing commentary to re-releases of some of her classics, she’s got con appearances coming up, and today she’s here on Son of Celluloid telling us what Halloween means to her.  Take it away Linnea…

“Halloween is a great time for me to do special things.  It went from putting on a plastic mask and running my poor mom door to door to now just doing spiritual things on that day.  It’s not about costumes for me since I’m always in costume, hahaha.  It’s just celebrating the wonder of life.  Blessed Be.”

3 more days ‘til Halloween, Halloween, Halloween.  3 more days ‘til Halloween.  Silver Shamrock!

What Halloween Means To Me Day 22: Debbie Rochon

The term “Scream Queen” gets thrown around way too loosely these days.  Every chick with a no budget flick and a photo shoot under their belt wants to claim the crown.  I’ve seen her balk at the title in interviews before, but if there was ever an actress since the Golden Age of the 80’s that deserved every bit of the title “Scream Queen,” it’s Debbie Rochon.  With an IMDB sporting well over 200 titles, she gets my vote for “hardest working woman in the horror business.”  The talented Canadian beauty is a familiar face to anyone with even a passing interest in the genre and a sense of adventure, having appeared in some great flicks like Tromeo and Juliet, Slime City Massacre, Hellblock 13 (one of my personal favorites), Theatre Bizarre, Satan Hates You, Corpses are Forever, Dead and Rotting, American Nightmare, and couple hundred more.  On a personal note, she was a pleasure to work with on this project, taking part even though she was hard at work on the set of a Syfy original she was filming.  In a business where some people with a fraction of her body of work are impossible to deal with, she’s a sweetheart who actually cares about her fans.  Two new flicks featuring Ms. Rochon, Sick Boy and Mark of the Beast, hit DVD this week, so go check those out.  So Debbie, why don’t you kick off “Scream Queen Weekend” (sounds like a Fred Olen Ray flick doesn’t it?) by telling us what Halloween means to you?

”For me Halloween embodies all the things in life I adore. The change in season; the nip in the air, the foliage changing color from green to the most beautiful shades of orange, red and brown. There’s something exciting that floats in the air, something that is felt in my heart and in my mind. The promise of new horror movies arriving at the local theatre and on the DVD and Blu-ray shelves. All the houses decorated so festively. Christmas has a lot of joy attached to it as well but also has the pressures of a new year and taxes and spending money on the season, money you may or may not have. For some people it also has the anxiety of family gatherings, which are not pleasant for everyone. Halloween exists without these pressures. If you add on top of all the excitement of the Halloween season the ability to celebrate ‘our’ month. The season that most of the horror community enjoys year round. Other yearly events exist only on their specific dates for me. Halloween is an every day joy that just climaxes in October. It just puts me in a great mood. My favorite Halloweens have been when I am actually on set shooting a horror movie. It is a magical feeling that is hard to describe. The best way to put it is that I forget about all the pressures and problems of life and just let go and enjoy. It is a bonding ‘holiday’ like no other. The only sad thing about October 31st is November 1st. It is then officially over for most - in the stores and on the streets. But those of us that live in the spirit of the occasion carry a piece of it with us year round. Halloween is not just a day of trick or treating, it’s a way of life for me.”

5 more days ‘til Halloween, Halloween, Halloween.  5 more days ‘til Halloween.  Silver Shamrock.

30 Day Horror Challenge Strikes Back Day 28: Character you most enjoyed seeing get naked.

Throughout the two challenges, I’ve been trying to choose answers that aren’t the most obvious and overused one. With this one, though, I can’t help it if everyone else picked this one too. It’s the most iconic nude scene in horror history for a reason. Many a horror inclined boy became a man watching Trash dance on that tomb, but I was originally going to pick something else just because this one was used so much. Then I noticed that while I was thinking through my favorite horror nude scenes, one name kept coming up. So I decided to pick that scene from Return of the Living Dead anyway and recognize the undeniable queen of fright flick T&A not just for that scene, but for her whole…um…”body” of work. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the one, the only, Linnea Quigley!
I’ll never forget the first time I laid eyes on her. Monstervision was showing Return of the Living Dead. After a commercial break Joe Bob Briggs was interviewing Miss Quigley, talking about her upcoming nude scene and admonishing the TNT censors for “getting’ rid of the boobage.” When the movie started again, it took me a second to realize that the punk named Trash was the same person as the sweet looking blonde I had just seen interviewed. Then she started the whole “Do you ever fantasize about being killed” speech, started taking off her clothes (again), and danced atop a grave lit by road flares to the strains of “Tonight We Make Love ‘Til We Die.” This was basic cable, though, so what I saw was a vaguely human shaped pixilated blob with a head and legs sticking out. I decided then and there that I wanted to see that scene the way it was meant to be seen. It became one of those early “holy grail” movies for me. When I finally got to rent it, I wasn’t disappointed. Linnea’s beauty, the great lighting, the set, and the soundtrack all contributed to the scene’s well deserved mythic status. Sure, I was a little disappointed when I found out that she was wearing a crotch piece, but that did explain the Barbie doll like “smoothness.” It didn’t lessen my enjoyment of the scene, however. As always, sorry for the censored pic, but i am running a semi-family friendly show here.
Then we have 1988’s Night of the Demons, my second favorite nude scene. She plays the best friend of Angela, the goth girl throwing the ill fated Halloween party. After enabling her chum’s stealing of party supplies by distracting the clerks at the store with a little upskirt peek and the following classic exchange… Linnea: Do you guys have sour balls? Clerk: Why sure we do. Linnea: Too bad. I bet you don’t get many blow jobs. …they head to Hull House. By the way, if you’ve never seen Night of the Demons, skip everything between the asterixes so as not to spoil a great scene for you. *** While there, Linnea gets possessed. She rips her top open, which she’s gotten good at doing over the years, and begins to draw on her tatas with lipstick. Then, all of a sudden, she pushes the lipstick through her nipple and into her tit. Poof! Now you see it, now you don’t. Coolest magic trick ever! *** I had never heard anything about the flick when I first saw it, so that scene caught me totally by surprise. It’s quite the effective “oh my god did you just see that” moment. She also appears in the remake with a great cameo that pays tribute to one of her scenes in the original.
She’s had many many other memorable nude scenes. She was stabbed in the neck by a possessed shower head in Witchtrap. Who could forget the topless and body painted “virgin dance of the double chainsaws” in Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers? She was naked Sleeping Beauty in her first nude scene in Fairy Tales. Topless Linnea gets impaled on antlers by Santa in the most memorable scene from Silent Night Deadly Night. She’s been a naked soul bursting out of Freddy’s chest in not one, but two Nightmare on Elm Street movies. That’s not even half of them. This is the most complete list of Linnea’s nude scenes I could find.
Strangers Online (2009)
Kannibal (2001)
Sex Files: Pleasureville (1999)
Death Mask (1998)
Jack-O (1995)
Pumpkinhead II (1994)
Heavy Petting Detective (1993)
Scream Queen Hot Tub Party (1991)
Freddy's Dead (1991)
Linnea Quigley's Horror Workout (1990)
Virgin High (1990)
Vice Academy 2 (1990)
Murder Weapon (1990)
Deadly Embrace (1989)
Sexbomb (1989)
Assault of the Party Nerds (1989)
Witchtrap (1989)
Night of the Demons (1988)
Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers (1988)
Dr. Alien (1988)
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 (1988)
Vice Academy (1988)
Creepozoids (1987)
Nightmare Sisters (1987)
Beverly Hills Girls (1986)
Silent Night, Deadly Night 2 (1986)
The Return of the Living Dead (1985)
Savage Streets (1984)
Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)
Young Warriors (1983)
Get Crazy (1983)
Cheech and Chong: Still Smokin' (1983)
Don't Go Near the Park (1981)
Graduation Day (1981)
Fairy Tales (1979)
Stone Cold Dead (1979)
Summer Camp (1979)
Psycho from Texas (1975)
That’s a hell of a list of credentials. She’s still got it too. Look at that first credit on that list. 2009. That means she did her most recent nude scene at the age of 51. How many actresses do you know of that are still taking it off for the camera in their fifties? Through it all, she managed to be constantly in the buff and often play slutty characters, but never seem like a slut herself. She has an air of class about her, a lot like Brinke Stevens does. These days she is still quite active in movies, but is also a fixture on the horror convention circuit, and is known as one of the most fan accessible of the scream queens. Linnea Quigley, for your outstanding contributions to the horror genre and being a pioneer in the world of on screen nudity, and for embodying everything an old school scream queen ought to be, Son of Celluloid honors you as the first ever recipient of the “Gratuitous Nekkid Scream Queen” Lifetime Achievement Award.