Horror Crush: Lauren LaVera

As I said last time, I am planning on doing Horror Crush inductions more often. And, so today we induct a beauty who is destined, in my humble opinion, to go in the category of greatest final girls ever, the gorgeous Lauren LaVera!

LaVera was born in Philadelphia, PA on June 14, 1994. She is an all around ass kicker, having been trained for many years in various forms of martial arts, kick boxing, weapons, and firearms, and a trained dancer for ballroom and ballet. Also, she's been acting since 2016, working on various short films and TV, including the short lived Netflix/ Marvel show Iron Fist (2017). 

It's her role in the 2022 slasher sequel, Terrifier 2, that won our hearts, as well as this induction. After seemingly dying in the excellent first film, Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) is resurrected by some evil entity, The Little Pale Girl (Amelie McLain). He soon begins his killing spree anew. In the meantime, teenager Sienna (LaVera) is getting her Halloween costume ready. Her younger brother Jonathon (Elliot Fullam) has become immersed in all things Art the Clown, even wanting to dress like him for the holiday. Sienna soon has a nightmare about Art and her costume's wings are set a afire in a seemingly supernatural manner. Eventually, Art targets her friend and mom, and kidnaps Jon. Sienna will have to do battle with the twisted and unstoppable clown. 

Terrifier 2 is that rarest of sequels, perhaps in even more rare in slasher subgenre, the sequel that tops its awesome first movie. Writer/ director/ editor/ producer/ makeup artist Damien Leone has made an epic and brutal masterpiece that cements Art as one of the great horror villains. Far crueler than his counterparts like Jason or Michael Art doesn't just kill. He mutilates in manners that make this absolutely merciless gorefest and one of last year's best horror movies. 

While, it is a bit longer than it may need to be, it does allow for character development, in particular when it comes Sienna. LaVera gives an awesome performance her. She is tough, likable, and brave. The way she is willing to not just take on Art, but her heart and soul, make her a great heroine. One that I think, as times passes, will be ranked right next to other great final girls like Ellen Ripley, Kristy Cotton, Laurie Strode, Nancy Thompson, etc. Of course, it goes without saying that LaVera is a natural stunner, on top of being a fucking badass!

I actually had the pleasure of meeting LaVera last year in November 2022's Monster-Mania. She is so sweet and gorgeous in person. I wish I had seen the movie when I met her, so that I could've told her how amazing she is in it. Hopefully, I will get the chance in a future con, and she can also sign my Blu-ray of the movie.

 Lauren LaVera has rapidly become a fan favorite thanks to her amazing portrayal of Sienna in Terrifier 2. Her beauty and badassery really bring her character to life. She's a fucking awesome heroine in a movie destined to become a classic of the genre. And, so it is a no brainer, that Lauren LaVera is a more than worthy addition to Horror Crushes!

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The 10 Best Horror Movies of 2022

Man, 2022 was one hell of a year for horror. And, putting this list order wasn't easy, as there were so many flicks that I enjoyed the hell out of. But, I can only rank the top 10 (and mean to keep that way), so without wasting anymore time, let's get to it. Well, first let go with some honorable mentions, movies that came damn fucking close at getting ranked. Oh, on a side note, my favorite movie of the year, overall, was Violent Night, but its not a horror movie (it's horror adjacent, at most), so it's not on here. I say this in case someone other wonders. 

Honorable Mentions:

Orphan: First Kill

Christmas Bloody Christmas

Dark Glasses
The History of Metal and Horror

Watcher

Smile

10. Prey- Now, here is a film that blew my expectations right into the stratosphere. Leaning the heaviest into horror since the first two movies, this one builds up tension really nicely. It's also, by and far, the best movie in the series outside of those first two movies, featuring one hell of a heroine in Naru (Amber Midthunder). She is, in fact, one of the year's absolute best final girls, on top of being accompanied by one of the absolute best doggies in all of horror history. Another thing that is great is that Disney didn't tone down the splatter content, with bloody squibs, decapitations, flayings, impaling, and more. In all, it's a fucking killer, suspenseful, and fun time. One more thing though, can we please get this on Blu-ray? I'm dying to have it in my collection!

9. The Seed- We stick with alien terrors, with the most underrated movie of the year. How is this weird, slimy, bit of WTF sci-fi/ horror not the talk of the town?! It gets weirder and more fucked up as it goes along, all while remaining a gorgeous looking movie starring three gorgeous beauties (including Horror Crush inductee: Lucy Martin). Fast paced and darkly funny this mix of babes, aliens, slime filled sex orgies, and barfing is a wonderous and gross bit of body horror.

8. Fresh- This one is highlighted by great acting, especially from our two leads, Sabastian Shaw as our easy to hate villain and the gorgeous Daisy Edgar-Jones as our heroine. It's also deliciously gruesome with a couple of wonderfully stomach churning moments. The intense and violent climax had me cheering. And, by the end of this film, it will also have you reconsidering your dating habits.

7. Resurrection- Resurrection is a chilling, disturbing, and unsettling psychological horror movie that simply needs to be seen. It really got under my skin in a manner few movies this year did. The movie touches upon male toxicity, grooming, abusive relationships, trauma, and a mother's love for her child in absolutely powerful ways. It is further elevated by great acting, especially by that of its lead, the lovely Rebecca Hall. Hall has become one of my favorites actors, and her performance here cements that status. Her monologue scene is haunting, uncomfortable, and absolutely heart rendering. I know it won't happen, but she should an Oscar nomination for it. And, be sure you stick around for the shocking and jaw dropping finale which will shut up anyone, who pulls the "This ain't horror" bullshit.

6. Barbarian- I think its really best to go into this movie with the least possible bit of knowledge. It's unlike anything from 2022 or before it. A flick that is intense, wild, fucked up, funny (darkly, at times), unsettlingly, and frightening. Its very much succeeded at holding my attention more and more as it went along and headed towards its absolutely killer climax. That this isn't on Blu-ray is a total crock of shit, though.

5. Terrifier 2- Writer/ director/ makeup FX artist Damien Leone has outdone himself and given us one of the greatest slasher sequels in genre history. An epic and extremely graphic work of splatter, it cements Art as one of the great slasher villains. One who is far crueler and more mean spirited than guys like Michael or Jason (in fact, to me, this movie is far better than ANY of the Friday the 13th sequels). This vile and nasty movie might be a bit overlong, but it does manage to take the time to add more characterization, in turn giving us one of the greatest final girls ever in the stunning Lauren Lavera as Sienna. 

4. The Menu- Man, I loved this movie and feel like this will only increase over times and viewings. It's deliciously shot and edited, on top of being wonderfully different. The cast and their acting is top notch. Horror favorite Anna Taylor Joy, looking as stunning as ever as a redhead, is wonderful as our protagonist. While, Ralph Feinnes is magnificent as the chef. The flick is funny, intense, smart, exciting, fun, fuck I don't think there are enough adjectives in the dictionary to describe the awesomeness that it possesses. Also, I totally wanted a cheeseburger after it was done.

3. X- Ti West's "X" is a movie that thankfully lives up to all its hype. This Boogie Nights meets The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, is a wonderful homage to Tobe Hoopper's masterpiece. It is far better than any of the sequels or remakes to TCM, if I can be honest. The film also features some of West's finest directing being intense, shocking, nasty, and always superbly good looking. And, unlike so many other genre movies, in the last few years, it has lots of skin onboard, with both female (and, holy crap what a gorgeous cast!) and male (including full frontal). Then, again it does deal with the porn biz, so it would've lame if it didn't. There is some great acting, too, including a double role by the amazing Mia Goth. Plus, Brittany Snow makes her return to horror after the awesome but underseen Would You Rather? Oh and we actually care about what happens to the characters! What a concept!

2. Pearl- It is amazing to think that West not only made and released the prequel to his magnificent "X" the same year, but that somehow, he may have topped it. The lovely Mia Goth gives a powerhouse performance as the title character, one of the very best of the year. With a beautiful technicolor look to it, it simply pops from the screen. Some of my favorite scenes in any movie this year come from here, including Pearl's dance tryout (or rather her delusional take on it) and her monologue (guess its the year of powerful monologues!) to her sweet and pretty half-sister. This is another one that I think will only get better with viewings and the passing of time.

1. The Saddness- This uncompromising, shocking, unmerciful, ultra-violent gorefest is the year's best horror film. Not for the easily offended or queasy, it's also serves as a smart, fast paced, and blood drenched take on the post-COVID 19 world. This is a flick that blew me away from the moment I saw it for my review.

Now, I am curious to hear what were your favorite horror movies of 2022? Let me know in the comments section below.

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Monster-Mania 52, Nov. 2022

In what was a totally unexpected and unplanned twist, my friend hit me up yesterday and asked me if I wanted to go to Monster-Mania in Oaks, PA. And, my reply was pretty much fuck yeah! This would be my first time ever in Pennsylvania and to a Monster-Mania not in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. 

Now, admit ably these last couple of days have been hard for me, with my doggy, Zoey's, birthday coming up next week on the 16th and the first anniversary of her passing being next month on the 12th. So, it was good to have something to do if only get my mind off of things. And, the guest was fucking stacked! We were going on Friday, which is when New York and New Jersey got hit with a shitty rain storm. With the holiday weekend and bad weather our drive in took four fucking hours, but we got there and had a blast.

The first celeb we went up to was the gorgeous Robyn (Twin Peaks, Twin Peaks) Lively. She might have been the highlight of the con (though, to be fair, everyone was super nice to us), being so incredibly friendly and sweet. She talked to both for a nice amount of time. And, in my case, happily showing me pics of the Twin Peaks convention she and other members of the cast attended two weeks ago in Orlando, Florida. You see, I had bought the cover to my complete series Blu-ray to get signed, and I told her how that was one of my all time favorite TV shows of all time. I don't think I can stress, how awesome she is in person. She even, remembered us as she left and waved goodbye to us, later that night!

I then decided to meet some of the cast and crew of Terrifier 2. I haven't seen this sequel, which has become a critical and box office hit, in spite of its indie/ low budget status. That being said, I am a huge fan of the splattery first film. 

First I went over to meet Elliott Fullam. I've been a huge fan of him, having followed his metal channel Little Punk People for the longest of time. He's interviewed legends like Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, King Diamond, etc, and done a great job of that. It's great to see him in a franchise horror flick with such a following. He's really a cool and friendly, little dude, in person. He also liked my battle-jacket, which is always flattering to hear.

His costar the gorgeous Lauren LaVera was sitting next to him. And, she was so sweet and all smiles, as I met her. I've been hearing great things about her performance in the slasher sequel and can't wait to see it for myself!

The last of the those from this movie that were there, that I went up to, was the writer/ director/ FX artist of both movies: Damien Leone. We talked to him for a bit and learned that he once delivered flowers to the Godfather house in Staten Island! And, that a doctor now lives there. 

Some members of the The Monster Squad cast members were also present. That's one of my favorite movies of all time, so I had to meet at least one. And, so I went up to Ashley Bank, who played the little girl Pheobe. She was super sweet in person and called us troopers for coming in this shitty weather. She also joked with how her fellow LA folk freak out on the roadway when it rains over there, even slightly.

The last celeb I met, might be the one I was most pumped to meet: Devon Sawa! Funny thing was I was watching this past Wednesday's excellent episode of Chucky and loving his acting as the asshole priest. As such, I thought to myself how much I would love to meet and low and behold it happened! He was really cool and friendly in person as he talked to us. 

He also asked me who's autograph I had on my DVD of Final Destination. I told him that it was Ali Larter. And, how I got it at an old Fangoria Weekend of Horrors, when she and the rest of the cast were promoting the second flick. He said that damn that's a long time ago, which, of course, it is! In all the talking we had with him and being how tired I felt, I almost left said DVD on his table. But, he he called out to me telling how I had forgotten it. Glad he did because replacing her autograph is close to impossible!

After that I visited the Elm Street house! Well, at least a background set up of it, anyway.

These are the autographs that I got:

Devon Sawa: Final Destination

Elliot Fullam: Terrifier 2 pic (which was shot in the character that he plays room but with his record and art collection)

Robyn Lively: Twin Peaks

Ashley Bank: The Monster Squad

Damien Leone: Terrifier

One thing I really liked was the fact that they had a big ass dealer's room, a couple with some good deals. I didn't buy a whole lot of swag, but I did get:

A KidRobot Phunny Godzilla

And, from Severin Films Booth:

The Strange Vice Mrs. Wardh

Nightmare Castle

Day of the Animals

I've seen all three of these movies before, and they're all fucking good!

We headed home at closing time 10PM, which meant we got home late. We were dead tired (and hungry!), but we had a blast. I would definitely go back to this version of Monster-Mania!

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