Horror Crush: JJ North

It's time for another inductee into the hallowed walls of this site's Horror Crush section. And, this time around we have 90s scream queen bombshell: JJ North!

Also known as Janey Jaye North, JJ North was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was raised in New Jersey and got her Bachelor's degree in Motel Management/ Tourism in Montclair State College (nowadays known as Montclair State University). Post winning a beauty contest she made her acting debut in Beauty School (1993), which starred softcore legend Sylvia Kristel. 

She very soon began to appear in exploitation and low budget horror movies. Wherein, North soon made a name for herself amongst genre fans who liked cheap-o horror filled with hot and usually nude babes. I, myself, really knew her best from her appearances in magazines like the legendary Femme Fatales (genuinely one of my favorite magazines of the 90s) and meeting her at Chiller Theatre con (more on that later). So, despite the fact it would take me a good twenty years or so to watch a film of hers, I already had a huge crush on her and considered myself a fan. At the very least, any time she was featured on the cover of the aforementioned rag, I would totally buy a copy.

The first notable project that she worked on, had a major role in, and the first one that really got her major exposure would be Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfold. This sci-fi comedy is a parody of the 1950s sci-fi/ horror comedy Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. In that movie the giantess was played by the gorgeous Allison Hayes. 

JJ plays the title in this one. In it she is a model for skin mags, as the title suggests. Beauty enhancement drugs mutate her and makes her grow, to well, giant sized. Directed by Fred (Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers) Olen Ray it also starred B-movie and adult flick goddess Tammy Parks. And, unlike the original, this flick is said to have nudity a plenty! 

That same year, she appeared in another parody with a quirky title: Vampire Vixens from Venus. This sci-fi/ horror/ comedy has three aliens disguise themselves as hot, human, women to drain the lifeforce off of guys. Like the aforementioned movie, I never saw this one, but I do remember it getting a lot of publicity at conventions and the B-horror movie world in general. 

  

1997 saw her appear in the sci-fi/ horror movie Hybrid. This one takes place after an alien attack in a post apocalyptic world. A group of commandos, both male and female, find shelter in some abdonanded research facility. It is here that they are hunted by some alien/ human hybrid.

Unlike the two aforementioned movies, I never heard about this one. But, I don't think I'm making much of a stretch to guess that this one is heavy, err, influenced by Alien/ Aliens... But, still it has JJ! 

The following year, in 98, saw her appear in one of her most popular movies: Psycho Sisters. A remake of his own movie of the same title, Pete Jacelone's flick once again tells the tale of two gorgeous but psycho sisters (well, I mean it is in the fucking title!), played by JJ North and Theresa Lynn (a scream queen in her own right, at the time), are released from a mental institution. You see before this they were raped and beaten and their sister raped and killed by a group of scumbag guys. Now, free, they kill men who cross their paths always chopping their dicks off. 

While, I enjoyed both movies I think this is the better movie. It improves on the original's pacing. It also tells the story in a more satisfactory manner. It does eliminate the dirtier and more kinky feel of that flick, but I don't thank that is necessarily a bad thing. The black and sometimes campy humor adds to the fun, as does the metal music soundtrack. And, the wild climax kicks a lot of ass. In all, it's a good hybrid of the slasher, rape-revenge, and horror/ comedy sub-genres.

Needless to say, the women are gorgeous! I mean it does have North and Lynn in it, after all. We also get cameos by two other top favorite B-movie babes of mine in Sasha Graham (who nowadays is an author) and Tina Krause (who also starred in the original). There is some topless nudity, of course (the boobs below belong to Ms. North).

I met both North and Lynn at Chiller promoting this movie back in the day. But, I wouldn't actually see it till I bought the Blu-Ray this year. Anyway, this is the only movie of hers that I've seen. But, thanks to con and magazine appearances I was a long time fan, and, as I said earlier, had a crush on her back in the day, Watching this movie reminded me of that and is why this induction happened. 

Her final movie came out in 1999, where she teamed up with one of the greatest scream queens ever, and friend to this website, Debbie Rochon. I've heard about this one but never seen it. Seems like North's role is small in it. Though, having not seen it, I can't really confirm. If you saw it, let me know in the comments section below how she is in it, and how the movie itself is.

And, that's it, as far as her acting career goes really. I have no clue, what she is up to these days. And, since she isn't on the extra features of Psycho Sisters, I'm guessing she wants to stay out of the limelight. Whatever, she is doing, I hope she is happy and well.

JJ North was a popular scream queen for B-horror film buffs in the 90s. Thanks to her roles, scream queen magazine spreads and interviews, and her con appearances, this breathtaking stunner will forever be loved by her fans. It is with great honor that she is an official inductee to Horror Crushes!

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Horror Crush: Lisa Orgolini

Today we are inducting another beauty into our hallowed Horror Crushes section, And, this time we have a beauty, who thanks to her role, serves also a metal crush! It's the gorgeous and talented Lisa Orgolini! 

She was born Lisa Athena Orgolini on July 31, 1963 in Los Angeles, California. Orgolini made her acting debut in a made for TV called Paper Dolls in 1982. But, it is her next role that is her most famous one and the reason for her induction here. 

That flick is the heavy metal/ horror classic Trick or Treat (1986). Made at the height of the 80s satanic panic tells the tale of Eddie "Ragman" Weinbauer (Mark Price best known for being Skippy on Family Ties) who is a teenaged metalhead. Like many other fellow fans of metal, he is an outcast and is bullied by the high school assholes. Heavy metal rocker Sammi Curr (the late, great Tony Fields) is his idol. He is infamous, due to his onstage performances and graphic lyrics.

But, Sammi has died in a mysterious fire, which has our hero down. He goes down to visit radio DJ Nuke (Kiss' Gene Simmons), who gives him Curr's unreleased album, Songs in the Keys of Death on acetate disc. Nuke has his own copy reel to tape copy to play at midnight on Halloween, just as Curr requested. Anywho, it doesn't take long for Ragman to play the record backwards and what starts as a harmless ways to get back at his bullies, quickly escalates to horrible demon caused injuries, death, and Curr's eventual return from the grave! 

As I alluded to before, Trick or Treat was made at a time, when some not very bright people where shitting themselves thinking that Satan and Satanists were doing all sorts of evil shit. Among the forms of entertainment that took the blame were things like Dungeons and Dragons and, of course, heavy metal music. This one takes the whole Satan worship and backmasking (the mostly misconceived idea that if you play metal records backwards evil shit would be said) as part of its plot. It is also, as a result, filled with fucking killer music by underrated. and no longer together, metal band Fastway.

The movie, itself, had been unavailable for ages, except for some shitty DVD (that was in pan and scan, no fucking less!). Until last year, when Synapse finally put it out on glorious 4K, in one of the best releases of 2024. Now, I hadn't this one seen renting the VHS, as a kid who was into metal and horror. I liked it back then, but I love it even more now. Being an outcast in high school where I was picked on for my love of metal and horror (and comics, though I suppose that's less relevant to this movie), I can relate to it even more now. Mark Price is really likable as our lead, and Fields is fucking awesome as Curr. Along with the killer music and the fun cameos by metal/ hard rock royalty in the aforementioned Simmons as well as Ozzy Osbourne, as an anti -metal crusader, give it even more metal cred. It is the second greatest heavy metal/ horror movie ever made (Deathgasm is the greatest, if you must know).

Orgolini is wonderful in her role of Leslie Graham. She's a regular and sweet girl who befriends Ragman and likes him! They have good chemistry and make for a cute onscreen couple. Orgolini looks absolutely gorgeous, but also manages to pull off the girl next door thing. Or at least, like I always said, the girl that I always wished lived next door to me. She is so naturally beautiful, that I crushed on her the moment I saw her. But, also this is the part that I can't relate to as no normie girl would ever have liked my metal loving ass. But, hey this is after a movie and not real life, right? Anyways, I especially love Orgolini's look at the Halloween party (above) which is very 80s, and by default, really hot in my book! 

She kept on acting till 1998, after which she retired from performing. But. Trick or Treat remained her sole horror film. According to the extra features to that movie's aforementioned 4K release (and it's Blu-ray, as well), she moved to England, where she lives now. As a result, she ain't on the extra features. Which is a little  disappointing cuz, I would have loved to hear her thoughts on the film and making of it. Also, I was curious to see what she looked nowadays.

Anyways, one of the things, related to her, that we learn in those extra features is that there was a fantasy/ dream sequence where Ragman pictures himself to be some sort of Conan type dude, He also imagines Leslie to be in a sexy, complimentary outfit (below). I definitely wish this scene existed in the movie, cuz she looked hot as hell!

While, Orgolini only did one horror movie in her relatively short career. it's a classic and favorite among fans who love metal and horror, like myself. She was so good in it and with her beauty and character's sweetness, really embodied the normie girl many of us wish we had met in high school. As such, it is an honor to induct Lisa Orgolini into Horror Crushes!

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Horror Crush: Sara Melson

It's time for another lovely and talented lady to get induced into the Horror Crush section. Today that honor is going to a multi-talented lady. She's an actress, signer, song writer, and ex-professional ballerina. It's Sara Melson! 

Melson has truthfully only one horror movie role to her credit. But, oh what a memorable one it is!

That one movie is Dr. Giggles (1992). It's a horror comedy about a whacked out of his mind doctor (Larry Drake), who returns to rack up a new body count. He does this all while laughing a lot (hence his name) and delivering medical puns and one-liners. Kind of like if Freddy had gone to medical school, instead of working in a boiler room (and, as a result, only made medical jokes).

The movie was suppose to be the start of a franchise, as Universal even worked with Dark Horse Comics on it. But, it bombed at the box office and got shit reviews. Truth be told, when I first saw it, I hated it. I was well over and had had my fucking fill of slasher movies and wanna-be Freddies. But, it recently got played on The Last Drive-In, and I found myself enjoying it a lot more. I mean it's still dumb as shit and has characters you won't give a flying fuck about. But, it is also a turn off the brain and just enjoy it kind of movie. Also also, Drake is fucking awesome in the title role and truly elevates this movie's quality. He is THE main reason to watch it. Though, Charmed fans should take note as the final girl is played by the lovely Holly Marie-Combs.

Still, two things did forever live rent free in my head, after that first viewing, though. Yes, even with my initial dislike of it. The first is an amazing "birth" scene, where-in little kid Giggles cuts his way out of his dead mom's corpse with a fucking scalpel! It's the splatter highlight of the entire movie. And, the other gets us back to Sara Melson. She gives oral love to a saxophone in a sexy moment that made teen me, er umm, let's just say feel very happy. 

Melson plays the bitchy and slutty character of Coreen. She looks gorgeous (those beautiful eyes of hers!) but really isn't giving much to do other than be hot and mean. Her death is rather silly, too, involving a giant band-aid. But, again the saxophone is enough to make her a memorable crush. And, is proof that sometimes you don't even need a huge role or to get nude (though, I think we can all agree that we would not have minded it all, if she had, in fact, done that) to be unforgettable in a horror movie (or any type of movie, truth be told).

And, so with this memorable turn I give Sara Melson the honor of being inducted into this site's Horror Crushes!

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Mezco Toyz One:12 Collective Leatherface from "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974) (Toy Review, Pics & Video)

First off, due to being moving and between houses and my equipment being storage, I am terribly behind on my reviews, in particular when it comes to Mezco Toyz. But, I am finally ready to catch up! I'll be doing these reviews in the order that I received them. And, to get them out faster, they will be mostly photo based with little to no video. 

So, that means first off, we got my review of Mezco Toyz One:12 Collective Leatherface. It's based on his looks from Tobe Hooper's original masterpiece The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1973). One of my personal favorite movies of all time, to me this is single scariest flick ever made.

Packaging- The packaging looks great. The front has the classic image of the iconic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre poster. On both sides there is a pic of a close-up of Leatherface's, well, face. The back has a pic of the figures and its accessories. Inside of the box these are enclosed in two divisions.

First Impressions- Right off the bat, you can see that this is a great looking figure. I love the stains on his shirt, add a nice realism to him. It's like he's been cooking some human stew! 

I also love the detail on the mask/ face that he comes packaged with. 

Another cool feature isthe bracelet he's wearing. That said, be careful when switching hands, as its easy to lose.

Another detail that I like on him is the little belt buckle that he's wearing. Plus, I love his pot-belly! As, you can probably tell, by these pics, he stands up pretty well on his own. 

Articulation- The shoulders move but are limited by the shirt. It has full bicep, wrist, and head 180 degree articulation. There is little waist articulation due to, you guessed it, the shirt. He has great knee and leg articulation, though the later won't be doing splits, due to the pants.

Accessories- He comes packeged with fist hands on, so that he can punch some dumbass who is unlucky enough to run into the Sawyer family.

On top of that. there are four extra sets of hands. And, I love the dirt on all of them. Or is it dried-up blood? Either way it looks cool as fuck!

Let's refer to these as menacing hands. I really like the way that they look.

Use the tighter gripping hands for smaller weapons, like the mallet to bash some fucker's head int!

The mallet looks nice, rusty, and bloody. And, thankfully, the arm raises high enough for head bashing action. 

Add the smaller blood effect to the mallet for an extra cool look.

I used the other tighter gripping hand so that he can carry the bucket, which is filled with blood, of course. The bucket swings, tighty, from side to side. It has a nice weathered look to it.

There is a cool, little bone handle knife for cutting and stabbing. This goes great with the leather like, bloody apron look. This one has a nice and heavy feel to it. However, I don't like the fact that you can't tie it in the back like the other apron (which is coming up in this review).

I also used the old lady face, cause it felt right for this look. This one gives him a cool and twisted looking face. The meat cleaver looks great and be used for more meat making, cannibal action!

The two open hands can give him a "What do you mean you don't like eating meat?! look or expression.

The blue. plaid apron is great! It has a dirty and greasy look. Like I said earlier, this one you can actually tie in the back. Which gives it a huge advantage to the heavier one, in my book.

The final look for our boy is his jacket, which will make him look nice and spiffy! I had a little trouble, at first, to get it on him. But, once I figured it out (you go under the arms, sans hands), I found that it was totally worth it! And, leads to my preferred look to pose in my collection.

I added the infamous pretty girl mask/ head and, of course, the chainsaw to complete the classic look from the climax. You know the one, where he is chasing Sally (the late, great, and lovely Marilyn Burns) as she flees away. Anyway, this is yet another nice head with excellent detail and makeup. 

When using the chainsaw use the slightly more open gripping hands, so that he can hold it. 

The chainsaw, itself, looks truly amazing, with some nice and bloody detailing. 

Put him on the cool looking TCM stand, featuring that classic poster art, and have him posed to chase down a hot, final girl. But, don't expect to stay long in this position, as mine fell a few minutes later.

The chainsaw sound FX sounds good. I just wish it was a little louder, but it is still a cool and fun feature.

There are two blood spatter FX for attachment to the chainsaw. The smaller one (left) is OK, the bigger one (below) is awesome and looks great on the figure, especially when posed in dynamic fashion.

Final Thoughts- I do have the usual nitpicks, like the limited mobility with the clothing, and some other small things like some accessories being better than others. But, overall this is a superlative action figure! It looks amazing and is a lot of fun to pose and "play" with. While, sold out on the Mezco Toyz site, you can still find him on other sites like Entertainment Earth. And, yes, he is more than worth price he costs, for this is THE definitive Leatherface action figure.

Final Score- 

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