Horror Crush: Maria Thayer

It is time to induct a new entry into Horror Crushes. this one being the first inductee of 2019! It is the beautiful Maria Thayer! This redheaded hottie is also significant because she is the first comedian to be inducted. Wait, a comedian you ask in Horror Crushes? Why yes, indeed, it is all thanks to her performance in the very enjoyable Night of the Living Deb!

Thayer was born in Portland, Oregon on October 30, 1975. She is an actress and comedian, who first gained recognition on Stranger with Candy. I am not a fan of comedy, so honest to God, I had never heard of her until I saw her in her one and, thus far, only genre film.

That would be the aforementioned Night of the Living Deb (2015). In it she plays the title character of Debbie Clarington, an awkward girl who spots a good looking dude Ryan Waverly (Michael Cassidy) at a bar. They drunkingly hook up. But, the next day he is desperate to get rid of her. That turns out to no be possible, as they discover that the zombie apocalypse has seemingly occurred. They head to his rich dad's house (Ray Wise), where his brother and finance (the gorgeous Syd Wilder) are also holed up, in hopes of escaping the flesh eating horrors outside. All the while, the silly and weird Deb has fallen in love with the way too pretty and spoiled Ryan, who mostly acts like he is annoyed by her. But, you can figure out the rest if you have ever seen even one rom-com.

NOTLDeb does a fun job of mixing the zombie horror movie with a romantic comedy. While, it doesn't work 100% of the time, it actually mostly does. Funny and entertaining, it is very easy to like. The acting is great, especially from the two leads, who have great chemistry. The horror aspect is well done with some surprising moments of gore including bloody bullet hits, an exploding head, dismemberment, and gut munching. Some of it is CGI gore, but these days this is the norm, sadly.

A big part of why it works so fucking well is thanks to Thayer. She is hilarious, likable, ass kicking, and super cute. I crushed hard on her the instant she came on-screen and began to talk. I found her weird character of Deb to be the kind of girl I could easily fall for. Which leads me to this: where the fuck is the bar where weird and hot readheads (or non-redheads, for that matter) hang out and talk to dudes first? Please, let me know in the comments section if you know, where such a place exists!

She hasn't done a horror flick since, but she is perfect for horror comedies! As such, I would love to see her do another one, With her beauty and comedic timing, she is the perfect Deb for the highly enjoyable Night of the Living Deb. Said film is now streaming on Shudder, so get to watching and crushing on Deb (and our latest Horror Crush inductee, Maria Thayer) in turn, already!