Remembering the Original Leatherface- RIP Gunnar Hansen

It is with heavy heart that I write that Gunnar Hansen, whose most legendary role was that of Leatherface in Tobe Hooper's horror masterpiece The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, has passed away at age 68.

I found out the heartbreaking news this morning and was devastated. Gunnar was born on March 4, 1947 in Reykjavik, Iceland. He came to the US when he was five. He made his acting debut in what would be his most legendary role, that of the aforementioned Leatherface. Hooper's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre remains the single scariest movie (as well as a personal favorite of mine) that I have ever seen, and it is in no small part thanks to Hansen's performance.

Said role would make him a horror legend and lead him to do many horror conventions. It is at an old Fangoria Weekend of Horrors that I met him, when I was a kid. I remember him being so nice and friendly in person. It was clear to me that he loved meeting his fans.

He also starred in various other horror films, a couple of which were undoubtably directly inspired by Chain Saw. My favorite of those has to be Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers, which I only just saw this year. Also worthy of mention is the fun, sexy, and bloody Chainsaw Sally.

He died of pancreatic cancer yesterday, Nov. 7, 2015 and will be surely missed. RIP, Gunnar and rev up that chainsaw in heaven. One more thing, FUCK CANCER!

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Terminators, Hookers, and a Prowler

I been thinking of what I wanted to talk about here, next. I had so many ideas for different posts. Most of them involved movies I had recently watched or rewatched. I then decided to just talk about some of those films! I figured it would be fun and get you guys to talk about your feelings on these flicks. So let's stop wasting time and get right to it!
ALL REVIEWS OUT OF 4 STARS

The Terminator/ Terminator 2: Judgement Day- I should start off by saying that I have no desire to see Terminator: Genisys. It looks genuinely awful and reviews haven't been kind. Could it be worse than the last one Salvation? I don't know, but it very well could be. Honestly this franchise should've died ages ago, but at least all the talk about it got me in the mood to revisit the first two films. You have probably seen them, and like me you may have even seen them countless of times. Regardless, here we go:

The plot of the original is pretty straightforward. Writer/ director James Cameron tells the nerve shredding tale of a cyborg (Arnold Schwarzenegger) that goes back in time to kill Sarah Conner (Linda Hamilton) the mother of John Connor future leader of the resistance against the machines who rule the bleak future. John, himself, sends Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) to protect his mom.
This action/ sci-fi/ horror thriller is nail-biting and action packed. Cameron really knows how to pour on the suspense, and while it perhaps is not a straight up horror movie, it certainly rivals and surpasses many in this, in particular in the climax.
It's coupled with some great acting by all involved, and the ability to look well beyond it's low budget. Stan Winston handled the mostly excellent FX. Unlike the wretched PG13 rated shit it would eventually become, the first film has gory self surgery by the Terminator, his bloody visage, a fist through a chest, and more mayhem. It also throws in nudity, both female (yes you get to see Linda Hamilton's tits) and male (if you watch the DVD or blu-ray, you can see some cyborg dick, courtesy of Arnie).
It's fascinating to see just how different this one feels compared to the others in the series since it is the only one that has said horror overtones and is on a much lower budget.
****

Some years later John Connor (Edward Furlong) is now 11. The liquid metal T1000 (Robert Patrick) goes back in time to kill him, but John, himself, has sent a reprogrammed T800 (Arnie, returning) to protect his younger self. They break mommy Connor (Linda, again) out of the loony farm. The trio do battle with the unstoppable T1000 who can change shape and appearance.
If the first one was closer to a horror film, this one is a straight-up action/ sci-fi film, perhaps the greatest ever. Moving at a breakneck pace with exhilarating chase and action scenes; it's a total adrenalin rush.
The FX are amazing, still to this day. ILM's incredible CGI work blows away most of the shady shit that still pops up today. Winston again does phenomenal practical FX.
There are moments of violence including stabbings, impalings, and squibs.
But, it's a nuclear nightmare that is the most shocking, and gory little bit where Arnold cuts off his arm skin, that provide the R-rated fun. Well that and the man ass. And, the cursing.
But, it also has great acting and a lot of heart. Don't tell me didn't you cry at the end. Shit, that STILL gets me, and I have seen this fucker countless of times!
Combine it all with Cameron at his best, and you have a superior sequel that is one of my most beloved movies of all time. True perfection!
****

Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers- This is a movie I've wanted to see for ages, but I told that part of the story already. So, let's talk about the movie, itself, which I have finally seen.
A PI (Jay Richardson) goes looking for a missing girl (Linnea Quigley). He finds that she involved with a chainsaw worshiping cult led by a whako (Gunnar Hansen). All his followers are hot hookers who hack up their johns (try saying that 5 times really fast!). Linnea's character wants revenge cause they killed her friend. Our hero lends her hand.

The acting isn't the best and not every joke works, but the Fred Olen Ray's movie is a lot of fun. When the jokes do work, they are pretty funny.
It does delivers LOTS of spraying and splashing blood. And, the babes are hot and nude. Linnea gets topless and shows her amazing ass. Her virgin chainsaw dance is the stuff of cult legend. Meanwhile, Michelle Bauer as the lead bad girl is delicious. And fully nude. yes, dear readers bush is, indeed, very visible!

The blu-ray, if you can find it, looks good. I say it is definitely worth a look for fans of silly gore/ comedy flicks and most definitely a must see for Quigley and/ or Bauer fans.
**1/2 

The Prowler- A solider returning from World War II gets a letter from his girlfriend Rosemary (Joy Glaccum) dumping him. What a bitch! I mean even in the 1940s this was a shitty way to dump someone! Anyways, at a graduation dance she is messing around with some other dude, when a guy in Army fatigues impales them with a pitchfork. Some 35 years later a new graduation dance is happening. And, the bodies soon begin to pile up, as people get offed in horrible manners. Pretty Pam (Vicky Dawson) and her cop boyfriend, try to figure out what is happening and avoid getting offed themselves.
This is fairly standard slasher stuff. It has some pacing problems, but it rises above the rest of drek cause of the following reasons:

Good acting- come on that's really hard to find in slasher films! The characters, such as they are, aren't as annoying as usual, well for most part anyway. Of particular note is the lovely Ms. Dawson. She has a natural beauty to her, right to, possibly being a real blonde! She's very likable and makes for a good final girl. It's a shame she didn't do more. Anyone know what happened to her? It seems she retired from acting early.
The gore! This is phenomenal stuff! The MPAA forced cuts on it to

get the R. Thankfully on DVD and blu-ray it is uncut. Yay! Tom Savini does some of his finest splatter here with graphic and realistic throat slashings, bayonets through heads, wall splattering squibs, and most impressive of all, a killer head explosion. Also, props to our killer for using a saw-off shotgun. He and the Maniac Cop are the only slashers to use firearms, well that I know of, anyways. More should have, I think! Oh yeah, there's also some nudity, too. Boobs are always welcomed!

Finally- the climax! Yes, the pacing could be better, but the climax is incredibly well made. Joseph (Invasion USA, Commando) Zito builds up to an exciting and bloody battle between our blonde beauty and our camouflage loving killer. It's just too bad the ending has such a ridiculous shock moment. Your eyes will role. I know mine do, every fucking time I see this film!
But, hey Zito's work on this film was solid enough that this got him the gig for Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, which I think is a better movie than this.Still fans looking for a good, above average, very gory slasher must see this!

*** 

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Chiller Theatre April 25, 2015

This past Sat, April 25, 2015, I made my return to what remains one of the very best conventions in the world: Chiller Theatre!! This time around I was accompanied by one of my best friends, Alan. Our friend Matt would join us, but not till much later, for dinner and the party.  

The first person that I met was the beautiful Angelina Pivarnick of Jersey Shore, Couple's Therapy, and TNA wrestling. She's such a babe! She was always a favorite of mine, and I flipped out when I saw that she would be at Chiller! I told her that I was really happy when I saw her on the Chiller guest list. And, she high-fived me! This set the bar high for the rest of the show, which thank God, the con more than lived up to!

The next person, I met was Fred Olen Ray. The cult director was selling blu-ray copies of Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers! I had wanted to see that movie in what amounts to forever! I couldn't find it on blu-ray on Amazon, and with the gorgeous Michelle Bauer signing next to him, I knew that picking it up here and now was a no-brainer of a decision!

Michelle is always such a sweetheart, in person! She is very personable and friendly and loves to talk to her fans, a lot! We talked about Nightmare Sisters, a movie I had only just seen recently amd absolutely loved. She told me that the infamous (and hot) bathtub scene was shot until the soap was tiny! She's awesome in person and still looks great! 

Next up for me was Robbi Morgan better known as Annie, the camp counselor who hitchhikes and gets her throat slashed in the classic Friday the 13th. We talked about what a huge fan of the movie I am as it's one of my favorite movies of all time. We also talked about her getting made up by Tom Savini and how much fun that was.

The last person I met was the absolutely gorgeous Christy Carlson Romano. She is best known for being the voice of the title character in Kim Possible. I've thought she was gorgeous for the longest of time, and had seen her in a couple of horror movies on the SyFy network, and, as such, she was another celeb that I was excited about meeting. She asked me if I was a Kim Possible fan or an everything fan. Told her that I was an everything fan. The, she asked me name for the autograph, I told her it was Gio. She liked it, and then I explained that it was a nickname for my actual name, Giovanni. She said that it was a great nickname, and the guy next to her (her rep? Assistant? I don't know), asked me if I was Italian. I told him that I was. Christy was so sweet in person and all smiles, I even told her that she was a sweetheart. She thanked me.

After this I got to buy some swag, including a Famous Monsters Hammer horror t-shirt, a DVD of the infamous Nazipolation film Gestapo's Last Orgy, Destroy All Monsters on blu-ray, and a Michael Myers Funko Pop figure. Below you will also see my autographs. The DVD of Friday the 13th is my old copy which I no longer watch (since I have the unrated DVD), but I keep to get signed (and thus don't get rid off), cause it's already autographed by Sean Cunningham and Tom Savini.

From there I conducted an epic interview with the beautiful Gianna Michaels. My cameraman and video editor Negative Pop is currently working on that, but it should be up very soon! Soon afterwards, we met Matt and went to dinner. Then we hit the party!! There was some really cool and scary cosplay present, throughout.

Pumpkin dude was back!

 Pogo the Clown, AKA serial killer John Wayne Gayce was at the party! Be sure to hide the kids! Lol!

As always there was lots of cool music and bands kicking ass onstage. Including, but not limited to, The Dead Elvi (of course), and my favorite Chiller band, Ingrid and the Defectors!

Overall we had a fucking blast! Chiller is always a great experience, and we already can't wait for the next one!

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The 30 Hottest Scream Queens, pt. 2: 20-11

20. Natalie Mendoza- This exotic beauty is best known to us horror fans for her highly memorable role in the now classic The Descent. Her role and and want happens to her is one of the most memorable moments in the movie and now she will be returning for the highly anticipated sequel. I am pumped for this film not only cause the original is my fav film of the last decade, but cause she is back in it! Goddamn this babe is hot!!!!






19. Shawnee Smith- I first fell in love with this babe from her role in one of my personal favorite movies, the superior remake, The Blob. She played an ass-kicking cheerleader in that. She also appeared in the not so good mini-series, The Stand. Her awesome looks were definitely one of the most memorable things in that one. But, her career was full revitalized with her appearances in the super popular Saw franchise, where not only does she look beautiful but proves she has acting chops, too! She added much glamorous beauty to the Scream Queens reality TV show, and in person, is one of the sweetest actresses around. I am so happy that Shawnee's star has risen and that she is more well known, now than ever!


18. Laura Gemser- Though this exotic hottie made a name for herself as Black Emanuelle she is actually Indonesian. She worked a lot for two of Italy's prolific and infamous exploitation directors: Joe D'Amato and Bruno Mattei. Some of my favorite films I have seen her include the two Black Emanuelle WIP (women in prison) movies she did for Mattei, Violence in a Women's Prison and Women's Prison Massacre (the later of which is awesome my fav of the two). Sadly, as awesome as Massacre is; she does not bare her skin in it. But, most of the time she did get nude in her movies, fully at that, and had love scenes. Those included lesbo love, too! But, my favorite out of all the stuff I seen her in is Joe D'Amato's awesome anaglam of softcore erotica and cannibal film Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals.

17. Ali Larter- While most will know this blonde babe from the shitty Heroes series sadly, but horror fans know better. She was in the terrible House on Haunted Hill remake but thankfully moved on to much better things in the first two Final Destination films. By the way, she looks even more delicious as a brunette (as evident by the first FD movie). She showed us that she did abandon the genre by returning to it in the fast paced and fun Resident Evil: Extinction where she kicked ass alongside fellow mega-hottie, Mila Jovovich.





16. Hazel Court- When I think of classic scream queens, I always think of this beauty. She made quite the name for herself and cult following by being in horror movies in the 50s and 60s. One of her most classic roles had to be in Hammer's groundbreaking The Curse of Frankenstein. But, to me, her most memorable role had to be alongside of Vincent Price in director Roger Corman's adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's Masque of the Red Death. The best of those films, and a huge personal fav of mine, Court played Price's lover and fellow Satan worshiper who offers herself to Satan in one of the film's creepiest moments. The busty, talented, and beautiful Court passed away in 2008 and is greatly missed by all her fans. To me, this woman is one of the epitomes of the classic horror beauty.

15. Danielle Harris- She's been in the horror genre since playing Michael Myers in both Halloween 4 and 5. She also appeared, looking oh so delicious as a goth babe, in the highly middle of the road Urban Legends, later on in her career. She would return to the franchise that first bought her fame when she stared in both of Rob Zombie's Halloween movies. Her role in the first one, proved to be one of the most memorable moments in that remake as she was nude! Thank you. Mr. Zombie, for allowing us to look at her boobs!




14. Jill Schoelen- I had the hugest crush on this late 80s horror hottie thanks to her many roles, in that period. Her first and best was in the classic The Stepfather. In that movie she played the stepdaughter to Terry O'Quinn who could just tell something was wrong with him. Not only was she great in that role but nude, too! Another awesome role for was in the gothic slasher updating with Robert Englund of the The Phantom of the Opera. I thought she looked particularly beautiful in that one. She also appeared in The Curse II and Cutting Class, the later of which also starred a young Brad Pitt! I always thought her voice was really cute added to her attractiveness. She is still beautiful, by the way!

13. Eihi Shiina- I truly think the beautiful Shiina has one of the most memorable roles any woman has ever had in the form of the villainess in Takashi Miike's classic Audition. She is such an awesome mix of the beautiful, sweet, deadly, psychotic, and terrifying in that role that for that alone she will always be one of the greats in my book. Her recent role in Tokyo Gore Police solidified her place as one of Asia's best and hottest genre stars. In fact, I think she keeps getting more beautiful in each of films.




12. Linnea Quigley- Without a shadow of a doubt one of my biggest crushes growing up and the biggest, most prolific, and popular of all the 80s scream queens, Linnea pretty much is the living, breathing incarnation of said word. She's been in countless, and I do mean countless of genre movies. Some of her most memorable roles include: Savage Streets- where she plays the brutally raped by a bunch of pieces of shit sister of Linda Blair, Silent Night, Deadly Night wear she gets killed, topless (!) on a pair of antlers, Night of the Demons where she is possessed by a demon and makes lipstick disappear in her tit, and her best movie (and role, I think) Return of the Living Dead playing sexy punk babe Trash, who gets fully nude and attacked by zombies, becoming one of the genres hottest living dead girls. I really could go on and on about her and her movies, but if your a fan I really don't need to. Not all of Linnea's movies are great, of course, but she's always awesome to see in a movie, and one of the sweetest girls in the entire buisness. All hail Linnea!!!!

11. Michelle Bauer- Perhaps the sexiest of all of the 80s scream queens Michelle Bauer drives me freaking crazy. She began her career as a Penthouse Pet and with looks and a body like she has it should come to no surprise to anyone! She had a role in porn/ cult fav Cafe Flesh. She would go to do many horror movies. Her first, and a film I developed a super crush on her for, was as the sexy and evil mummy babe in The Tomb. She would star with Linnea in a couple of flicks, including Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama, where she gets turned into a dominatrix and looks damn delicious as one! I met her at Chiller a couple of years ago and can tell you that she is even sexier in person. I just love Ms. Bauer!!!!!!!



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Now playing: Slipknot - 'Til We Die
via FoxyTunes

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