With me back to writing here on a regular basis (or at least as much so as adulting allows for), I am back to posting about conventions. Now, I never stopped going to cons during the hiatus, just didn't wrtite about them. With that in mind, let's with a trip to this past weekend's Monster-Mania!
My friend's and I went to the Saturday, August 15, 2026 edition of the three day event. Celeb prices were fucking awful so I only paid for one autograph, my friend Catherine Corcoran. I had not seen her in years, so it took a bit for her to recognize me. But, when she did, she got happy and gave me a big, old hug. It was really great to catch with her.
My friend Freddie did go up to a lot more celebs than I did. Among them was the lovely Heather Langenkamp, who is of course one of the greatest final girls of all time in the form of Nancy of A Nightmare on Elm Street. I met her ages ago at one of the old Famgoria Weekend of Horrors. When I told her that she was like wow! That was like 30 years ago! That's crazy huh? Anways, she let the three of us get in the pic. She is a true legend and did not need to do that. That only makes me an even bigger fan of hers.
The last person I went up to was Pinhead from Hellraiser, himself, Doug Bradley. This is actually my third time meeting him. He was taking free pics with fans! More people should do stuff this cool.
I absolutely LOVED Obsession, so I totally flipped for this group cosplay of it.
Catherine's autograph is the only one I got, but it is a great addition to my Terrifier Blu-ray.
Swag that I got at Monster-Mania: Beyond the Darkness/ Biuo Omega T-shirt free from Severin Films Ghost flipping the bird figurine- only $5!! Horror Convention Bingo T-shirt- easily one of the best and funniest shirts I have seen at a con in ages and 100% accurate! And, from Diabolik DVD (still the best booth at this con): Possession Second Sight 4K and Revealer Blu-Ray
And, so ends another fun time, You know I been going through a rough patch, as I have been missing someone and dealing with the fallout. So, it was wonderful to be out with my friends and having a great time at a convention. Until the next one!
It's finally time for a new Horror Crush. It's really has been too long since the last one, hasn't it? Well this time we have a lady who is not only one of the most absolutely gorgeous (and remains so!) women to ever grace our genre, but also played one of the greatest final girls ever, in the form of Kristy Cotton: Ashley Laurence!
Ashley Laurence made her acting debut in 1987 with writer/ director Clive Barker's masterpiece Hellraiser (1987). An adaptation of his own novela The Hellbound Heart, it is absolute classic of the horror genre and in my top ten favorite movies of all time. The heartwarming tale of a sexual deviant named Frank (Sean Chapman) who escapes from S&M demons, called Cenobites, from a hell of pleasure and pain. Only to then get his brother's sexy wife, Julia (who he had an affair with while he was alive) (Claire Higgins), to kill for him, so that he can get flesh back and live again. So, you know they keep fucking.
The movie was a big hit, especially when adding the famous Stephen King's blurb that Barker was the "future of horror". Critics liked it and so did fans, and it went on to become a ridiculously long lasting franchise. It also cementend Barker as a horror master. Pinhead, the leader of the Cenobites, and the actor portraying, him Doug Bradley, became a horror icon.
Laurence, of course, played the above mentioned Kristy daughter of the hubby in the couple and niece of Frank. She is tough, smart and stands her ground against Frank, Julia, and the leather and chains crew from fucking hell. And, she always feels like a real girl, one that is sweet and likable. The moment I first saw this classic I adored it. It was original, gory, and felt decidedly adult and so different from the slasher dreck at the time. And, I immediately had a HUGE crush on Laurence. Her character became not just one of my favorite final girls but a favorite of just about every horror fan, male or female.
She'd return to the character in the awesome Hellbound: Hellraiser II. Picking up where the last one ended, Kristy has to go to hell, itself, when she thinks that her dad is stuck there. And, that he was asking her for help. It ain't daddy, though, as it's good old Frank trying to trick her. At the same time a doc named Channard has bought back Julia back from hell, so that he may see the wonders of hell, himself. Ambitious, gruesome. and drenched in splatter, this one ain't as great as the first flick. But, it is still amazing film and manages to rank among the best horror sequels ever.
Laurence is once again great as Kristy. Her character's bravery and brains are fully on display, here. I especially love the way she tricks Dr Channard who has become the newest Cenobite. Plus, she looks drop dead gorgeous, even when covered in grue. I think this flick solidified her as one of the greatest final girls ever!
A year later in 1989, she appeared in an episode of the fun anthology series, Monsters. I don't remember this episode, as I haven't watched most of this series, since I was a kid. But, I am sure I was really happy seeing one of my crushes on an episode.
In 1992, she appeared in killer kid flick, Mickey. Mickey (Brian Bonsell) not only kills people, but he is obsessed with the character played by the lovely Josie Bissett, she of Melrose Place fame. I saw this movie when it hit VHS and don't remember a lot, other than really liking it. And, again being happy that Laurence was in it.
In 1992, she returned to her most beloved role of Kristy for Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, but it was only for what amounts to a cameo. She is seen in a short police integration video, trying to explain to them what is going on. It's a cool moment that helps to tie in the first three movies. Also, while flawed, this is definitely the last good movie in what would immediately after this, become a shitty franchise.
1994 saw her appear in the Full Moon flick, Lurking Fear. It's based on an H.P. Lovecraft story, but I honestly don't remember much of anything. Well outside, of the fact that I thought it was awful and among the worst movies the studio put out in the 90's. Well, OK, I do remember Laurence looking drop-dead gorgeous. But, that even she could save this turd, which probably deserved to remain lurking somewhere far away.
After working on various non-genre material she returned to horror for the third and direct to video entry Warlock III: End of Innocence. This awful, dumb, and boring piece of shit, has Bruce Pryne as the Warlock. So, sadly it does not have the late, great Julian Sands. Pryne's lack of charisma is just one of the problems this boring and stupid piece of shit has. The crappy story has a girl (Laurence) inherit an old house where our Warlock once lived. He wants it back. She is there with her friends. He does some evil shit, I tried to not fall asleep.
I actually tried to watch this back when it aired on cable several years ago. But, it was so bad, that I shut it off. Sometime ago, I bought the trilogy on Blu-ray at a great price over on Hamilton Books. Since, I rewatched the other two (both are fun but the second film is by far the best in the franchise and has a Horror Crush inductee of its own in the form of Paula Marshall), I said fuck it let's actually watch the third movie. And, honesty, Laurence is the best thing in this crap, She gives a good performance and looks incredible. If it wasn't for her, I would think even less of this flick. But, you can thank this viewing for making me want to induct her and write this post.
In 2002, sher returned yet again to the franchise that made her famous with Hellraiser: Hellseeker. But, unfortunately the series by this point had become absolute garbage on top of being direct to video fodder. I had been avoiding the post Bloodline (which was awful all its own) shit, but she being in this made me rent it. Once again, she is one of the only good things in it. Even, if the way her character acts goes against what had already been set. Still, it's slightly better than the third Warlock movie and the aforementioned Bloodline, so you know there's that.
2004 saw her in Lightning Bug from late director and make-up artist Robert (Chromeskull 1 & 2) Hall. I never saw this movie, but I do remember it getting good reviews. The lovely Laura (That 70's Show) Prepon also stars in it. Any fans of this one? Let me know your thoughts on it and Laurence in it, in the comments section below.
Making the metalhead in me happy, she appeared in 2009 in a video for one of my favorite bands Slipknot for their song Snuff.
2018, saw me making a childhood dream come true by meeting her at a Monster-Mania. She was so sweet and friendly. She talked to us for so long that her handler said we need to move along! Not only that, but she is absolutely breathtaking in person!
Her latest and most recent horror appearance was an episode for Shudder's fun Creepshow series. I honestly don't remember the episode all that well, just bits and pieces and that the FX were great.I also recall that she was great in her role and looked amazing.
Aside from being a great actress, Laurence is also an accomplished artist. Her art is beautiful, dark, and I am quite the fan of it. I remember first hearing about it in an interview with her in Fangoria magazine that she did back in the late 80s or so.
A wonderfully talented actress and artist, as well as having played one of the best final girls ever in Kristy Cotton, a genuine sweetheart, and one of the most gorgeous women in horror history, it is with great honor, that I induct Ashley Laurence into this site's Horror Crushes!!
1987 marked another stellar year for the genre. There is a great variety of sub-genres represented here, as well as the most amount of sequels, we have yet had ranked. In fact, this year is so fucking good that, I had to put more honorable mentions, than any other year, I have covered so far.
Honorable Mentions: Prince of Darkness Dolls The Lost Boys It's Alive III: Island of the Alive The Kindred Creepshow 2 The Gate Angel Heart Nekromantik
10. The Hidden- This pulse pounding mix of sci-fi, horror, and action from A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge's director Jack Scholder is one of the most rip-roaring genre films of the 80's. Featuring an evil alien with a penchant for fast cars, pounding metal music, hot strippers, and murder. And, Kyle MacLachlan does an awesome job as one of our buddy cop heroes.
9. Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II- This vastly superior sequel (which has zero to do with the generic and overrated first film aside from taking place in the same high school, Hamilton High) is a wonderfully sexy, sleazy, and gory good time. Filled with cool set pieces and fun moments, this movie is blast from start to end. It's villianess, the titular Mary Lou Maloney (Lisa Schrage) is one of the sexiest bad girls in horror history. It's also that rarest of horror movie, where the final girl (the beautiful Wendy Lyon) gets nude.
8. Opera- Dario Argento's style is on full display, in this his last truly great movie. It is a gore drenched, exciting, and suspenseful giallo. All while being beautiful looking and wholly captivating. It's heroine/ final girl, played by the absolutely gorgeous Cristina Marsillach, is very likable and compliments the films visual beauty. The driving heavy metal music on the soundtrack give it a further kick in the ass!
7. Predator- John (Die Hard) McTeirnan's 80's testosterone-filled classic has one of the coolest monsters in genre history. But, then again, it is handled by make-up god Stan Winston. The film is, itself, is gory, quotable as hell, and has some killer action scenes. A fucking badass mix of action, sci-fi, and horror, this is one of Arnie's best movies.
6. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors- Chuck (The Blob) Russell directed and co-wrote, along with Frank (The Shawshank Redemption) Darabont and Bruce Wagner this amazing, wild, and highly imaginative sequel. Wes Craven even came back to work on the story and served as producer. The result is not just the best sequel in the franchise, but the finest slasher sequel ever made. It is leaps and bounds over the uninteresting and flat second installment and is filled with great FX and likable characters. There is also a returning John Saxon and the beautiful Heather Langenkamp who along with the rest of the cast (including Horror Crush Jennifer Rubin as the ultimate metal/ punk babe in Tayrn) give strong and way better than the usual, for these types of films, performances. Plus, the music by Dokken, including the amazing title song, "Dream Warriors", is fucking awesome in its own right.
5. The Monster Squad- Sometimes people want to compare this Fred Dekker classic to The Goonies, which is sort of a bummer. Honestly, this is the superior and more serious movie. The acting is great, as are Stan Winston's superior make-up FX. At the same time it plays loving tribute to the classic Universal monster movies, while adding a teensy bit of splatter. Add the memorable quotes, fun 80s music, and a fucking rollicking climax and you have a movie near and dear to my heart, as well as those of other horror fans.
4. The Stepfather- This classy and well acted horror/ thriller is one of the best psycho killer movies of the 80s. It has an amazing performance by the great Terry O'Quinn as the title character. You will like him when he is nice, but when he snaps, holy shit! There are some great moments of tension and suspense and a sanguinary climax. It is also one of those rare horror movies where the final girl gets nude, in this scream queen and childhood crush, the beautiful and talented Jill Schoelen.
3. Near Dark- Kathryn Bigelow's masterful and perfect mix of horror, action, western, and romance is one of the greatest vampire movies ever made. It is also drenched in style and, as such, it is one of the most beautiful bloodsucker movies ever. It has one hell of a cast and some truly killer set-pieces.
2. Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn- This is one of those movies that changed my life upon viewing it. As such, it is a film that I outright worship. One that is that rarest of sequels, IE: it fucking tops its already excellent first film. Sam Raimi's masterpiece is wild, bold, funny, and drenched in splatter. And, everything here is perfect (or near perfect): Raimi's style, the incredible, yet low budget FX, the dialogue, and, of course, Bruce Campbell's Ash.
1. Hellraiser- Like Evil Dead II, Hellraiser made me want to get into film. Clive Barker's directorial debut is one of the best debuts in the genre. The film is wonderfully original, something that is, sadly, ever so rare in our genre. And, on top of that it is also stylish, exciting, sexy, and gruesomely gory.
Now, I would love to know what your favorite horror films of 1987 are. Tell me, in the comments section below. Also be sure to look at the preceding years, by clicking on the links below.
JUNE 17, 2020 — Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thrillers and the supernatural, announced today that fan-favorite horror legends Doug Bradley and Ashley Laurence will make a special appearance on the season finale of The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs, streaming Friday, June 19, at 9PM ET. Laurence and Bradley are best known to horror fans for their work in multiple Hellraiser films, with Laurence portraying resourceful heroine Kristy Cotton and Bradley as Pinhead, leader of the demonic Cenobites.
“What could be better than a delightful evening sitting trailerside on a balmy Texas evening with Joe Bob Briggs and my friend and colleague Ashley Laurence to shoot the breeze and talk of this and that….and maybe a little touch of Hellraiser too?”, said Doug Bradley. “Join us on Friday to eavesdrop on our chat. See you there!”
The duo’s appearance on The Last Drive-In concludes a season that featured guests AEW wrestling superstar Chris Jericho, Chopping Mall star Kelli Maroney, actor/director/FX legend Tom Savini and Troma Entertainment’s Lloyd Kaufman.
The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs is produced by Matt Manjourides and Justin Martell and directed by Austin Jennings.
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ABOUT SHUDDER
AMC Networks’ Shudder is a premium streaming video service, super-serving members with the best selection in genre entertainment, covering horror, thrillers and the supernatural. Shudder’s expanding library of film, TV series, and originals is available on most streaming devices in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland and Germany. New members can enjoy 30-days free with the promo code SHUTIN when signing up at Shudder.com.
This past weekend of August 17-19, 2018 was another edition of the always kick ass horror convention, Monster-Mania. My friend and I attended on Sunday the 19th. As always, we had a fucking blast!
The first celebrity I met was the gorgeous Ashley Laurence. She played Kristy Cotton in Hellraiser I&II, Hellraiser: Hell on Earth, and Hellraiser: Hellseeker, as well as appearing in other movies. I've had a childhood crush on her ever since I first saw her in Clive Barker's original classic. A movie that is one of my top favorite movies, of all time. As such, I have wanted to meet her forever, but she was never at any con, that I went to. This made her the person I was most looking forward to meeting on this day.
Let me tell you, Laurence is a complete sweetheart. She talked to us for a while, enough so that her handler actually had to tell us to move since people were waiting on line for her. Aside, from her sweetness, she is still absolutely stunning! Beautiful inside and out, and having played one of the greatest final girls in one of the longest running franchises in horror hsitory, Laurence is a legend and a must meet for any fan!
After meeting her, the eternally beautiful Lisa Wilcox, who played Alice, another of the genre's best final girls, in A Nightmare on Elm Street 4&5, came up to talk to us. She loved the patches on my battle-vest. That made my day! Imagine that, one of my childhood crushes flattering me, in that manner! She is always so sweet in person. I told her that I first met her at a Chiller, which she, in turn, told me was her first con, ever!
Speaking of A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 4: The Dream Master, I met the lovely Tuesday Knight, who toke over for Patrica Arquette in the role of Kristen in that fun and highly successful sequel. She is a wonderfully friendly lady and signed my Blu-ray box set of the franchise.
The other autograph I got was from Nancy Stephens, who played Nurse Marion Chambers in Halloween 1&2 and Halloween H2O. This was her first con on the east coast. We lucked out, catching her right before she left (she had to be out of there in 5 minutes!). She was such a sweet lady, that it was great to get her to sign my Blu-ray of John Carpenter's classic first entry in the franchise.
I also got a pic with Sid Haig (this is actually my second time meeting him), from many, many movies, including, of course, playing Captain Spaulding in Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects, and the upcoming 3 from Hell! He looked ill, which honest to God, has me worried. I hope it is nothing serious and that he gets well soon (if he is indeed sick). Regardless, he is so nice in person! Fellow Rob Zombie co-star and friend, Bill Moseley was next to him wearing a Space Force uniform (a reference to one of an endless bit of ridiculous shit said by President Donald Trump...). They both joked about it, and it ultimately shows how cool and awesome they are. And, most importantly, what great friends they are to each other.
While, there was probably more cosplay the day before, there was a little on display on this Sunday. Here are two cool ones that I got to photograph:
A print of a painting that I have seen online everywhere featuring various horror characters and monsters. It was signed by the artist, Byron Winton. He does amazing work, as you can see, and talked to us for a while. He too was really nice.
And, finally from over at Fright-Rags, I got an officially licensed Garbage Pail Kids T-shirt of Jabbed Jason. It is a parody of the classic poster art from Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter.
Here are my two autographed Blu-rays, A Nightmare on Elm Street Collection and Halloween, signed by Tuesday Knight and Nancy Stephens respectively.
Anyway, another awesome Monster-Mania has passed us by, and I can't wait for the next one, next year!
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