Movie Poster Madness: Gay Porn Sucks edition

Gayracula: Tim Kramer appears as Count Gaylord (sigh), a blond haired vampire (with a noticeable tan line) who prowls the streets of L.A. searching for nubile young males with necks, and other bodily parts, that are just begging to be drained...

The Vampire of Budapest: Director Kristen Bjorn lines up a bevy of beautiful boys, one of them slips in a pair of fangs and PRESTO, you've got cinematic magic.

Thirst: Never saw this one, but it looks like a classic.

Sons of Satan: This epic was released in 1973, it's a trippy, campy mess.  Consider what Scott from Modesto said about it on IMDB:

"A man searches for his brother in the mansion of a vampire cult. He finds him, gets orally violated by his own brother and some other limpwrists, and then gets sodomized by the head vampire. All the while the cats who are trying to fellate him look like mama birds trying to pull a tenacious worm out of hard dirt. Woo hoo."

Snowed In

If you know me, you know I love snow, and I am also a fan of anything more than 12 inches ... so, basically, I am enjoying this latest meteorological occurrence. 

Seriously, this is quite the storm, so I find myself homebound and finally back in front of my computer and as such, there are a few things that must be noted.

First, a huge hug, and a big sloppy kiss to my pal, Patrick Campbell for bestowing upon this blog, an  SSS award (Stabbing Stabbing Stabbing - that's what the Sx3 stands for).  Here's what Mr. Campbell had to say:

Unique. I don’t think another word quite describes Billy Loves Stu. I have visited a lot of horror blogs, many of which are great, and when I found this one I found like I was at home. So many different, awesome posts fill Billy Loves Stu, and the title alludes to the fact that the killers of a certain slasher may have been more than just friends, which makes a lot of sense.

For those of you not aware, Patrick runs his own blog (guess what the title is?) and you can find it HERE. 

Oh, and check this out, The Drunken Severed head (from the blog of the same name) just slapped me with another of those Kreativ Blogger awards.  Here's what TDS had to say:

Although he can't spell "stew" correctly, and never seems to post any recipes, Pax Romano's blog is creative, queer, and fun for all horror movie fans, whether you like classic or contemporary stuff.

 

Isn't that nice?  Thanks TDS,

And finally, I re watched Zombieland last night.  You know, I might get kicked out of the Horror Fan-club, but I really did not like this film.  It has it's moments, for sure, but just like the first time I saw it, it just left me cold.  I did not find it all that funny (Bill Murray notwithstanding), nor did I find it particularly scary.  Mostly, I found it irritating.  Does that make me a bad person?

Guess Who Doesn't Want to Become Dinner?

I've often wondered why George Romero's Night of the Living Dead, while celebrated for being a ground breaking horror film, is never celebrated as a breakthrough piece of movie making concerning African Americans in cinema.

One need only look back a year prior to NOLD  at Guess Who's Coming to Dinner to see that while Sydney Poitier did indeed bring a positive role model to the cinematic table in his performance as Dr. Prentice, the character needed to be black in order for the film to work (Guess Who's Coming to Dinner focused on a young white woman who brings her boyfriend home to meet the folks - said boyfriend is black; hilarity, does not necessarily, ensue).

One year later, when Duane Jones played Ben Hanser in Night of the Living Dead, his race was irrelevant  to the film's plot.  In fact, it's never even mentioned.   It would seem that any kind of social relevance one gleans from NOLD is all in the eye of the beholder.  

Watching the film today, one can't help but wonder what it must have been like for audiences in the late 60's  to be presented with an African American as the lead of a motion picture that had nothing to do with race relations, social issues, or crime.   Furthermore, none of the other characters in NOLD seem to react to Ben's race.  Look at how Tom respectfully addresses him and listens to him for guidance, or the way spaced out Barbara trusts him.  Even Mr. Cooper, with all his obnoxious bravado, seems more upset over the fact that his (admittedly correct) idea about hiding in the basement makes more sense than remaining in the living room and boarding up windows.  One suspects that Mr. Cooper would have been at odds with anyone, regardless of his or her race, because he's just a disagreeable character.

I've often wondered what African American audiences might have thought about the film back in the day.  Did they see Ben as the character who finally broke through the color wall? 

Like I said earlier, any social relevance one gleans from NOLD is subjective.  That said, it's hard not watch the film's denouement: Ben being shot by the red neck posse, his body being dragged by hooks from the house and placed on a funeral pyre; and not read some kind of violent racial overtones into it.  However, according to the filmmakers, Ben's role was originally written for a white actor, and the only reason Jones got the part was because he gave the best audition.  With that in mind, would the film's climax have felt as powerful had we watched a white character meet such an ignoble ending?

It Seems I'm Fabulous

One of the more tasteful citations that has been bestowed on this lowly blog is the Brains For Days Award that was given to me by Sean over at Zombie Truck Stop,  here's what he had to say about my efforts:

Billy Loves Stu, and I love Pax Romano's blog. With categories like "Horror Movie Hunks," "Horror Movie DILFS," and "Fresh Slabs of Meat" (hot dead guys in horror flicks), plus photo-heavy synopsis of classic (and not-so-classic) horror films, BLS is always a gay old time. Oh, and let's not forget the "Dame Grand Guignol" category, celebrating ladies of strong will in exploitation cinema. What would a gay blog be without some divas?

As always, I am thrilled and  delighted when anyone thinks that Billy Loves Stu is worth an accolade.  Now if you'll excuse, I have to make some room on my cyber mantle for this latest conferment.

Goofus and Gallant: Night of the Living Dead Edition

Announcing: Women and African Americans In Horror / Disgruntled Bloggers/ Stuffed Ballot Box - Month!

For me, February always meant three things: Groundhog day, The celebration of when I met my significant other (14 years on 2/12/10), and my older sister's birthday.  This year, it seems, I have to clear my calendar and  make way for a slew of other important events.

In the Horror blogosphere, it seems that February is the month to celebrate the fairer sex's role in thriller films.  Prepare to see many posts that breathlessly praise the works of such noted female thespians as Linnea Quigley, and Sheri Moon Zombie (or you could just CLICK HERE and see that Maxium might have beat us all to the punch).   On the other hand, I am assuming that the usual suspects will be trotted out once again, women like Jamie Lee Curtis or Jamie's Mom, Janet Leigh (for her iconic stint in Psycho).  Then again, you never know, maybe some will avoid the obvious (and I'm looking at you, BJ-C), and delve a bit deeper into the role of women in horror.  Maybe some authors, or directors will get their due ... all we can do is wait and see, this should be fun, and possibly very informative.

Meanwhile, February is also Black History Month, and I am pretty sure that there was some discussion about  spotlighting the role of African Americans in Horror (at least amongst the LOTTD).  Sadly, this idea seems to have been dropped as many were concerned over how a presentation like this might be perceived (consider early horror films from the 30's 40's and 50's and if there was a black actor or actress in one of these films, he or she was either presented as a wide eyed, comical fool scared of his or her own shadow; or they might be voodoo priests/priestess full of malevolence). Then again, one need only look no further than George Romero who has had several African American men play the lead in his films (think for a minute how groundbreaking it was to have Duane Jones as the lead in Night of the Living Dead - that was in 1968 for Christ's sake).  Be that as it may, I know for a fact that several bloggers out there are going to celebrate the role of Black men and women in Horror - again, I think this is going to be fun as well as highly informative.

Two prolific horror bloggers have recently posted their thoughts on the Bloody Disgusting Horror Blogger Award.  For those of you not aware, yet another award is up for grabs and that's great.  However according to Chuck over at Zombie's Don't Run and Johnny at Freddy in Space - trickery may be afoot.  You see there is this other blog, that no one seems to really know anything about that's garnering more votes than other blogs.  I wonder if Pia Zadora was involved (and for those of you too young to get that reference HERE'S YOUR HISTORY LESSON FOR THE DAY).

Happy Women and African Americans In Horror / Disgruntled Bloggers/ Stuffed Ballot Box - Month!

***

Finally, in some totally unrelated news, I am happy to announce that my contribution to Butcher Knives and Body Counts Essays on the Formula, Frights, and Fun of the Slasher Film has been accepted, just click on this link and if you know my real name,  you'll see it listed  ... if you don't know my real name, you'll just have to trust me on this one.

Four Unsung Female Characters of Horror

It looks like someone might be declaring February as Women in Horror Month, I thought it was Black History Month - well, what do I know.  Be that as it may, I wanted to take a few minutes and highlight several female characters who are hardly ever sited by anyone when discussing horror/slasher/thriller films...submitted for your approval: Four Unsung Female Characters of Horror:

Kate Miller (Angie Dickinson) in Dressed to Kill:  Not since, Marion Crane met her demise at the Bates Motel has one woman had such a bad day.  Frustrated by her husband's lack of sexual prowess, rejected by her shrink when she comes on to him, stalked by a guy at The Philadelphia Museum of Art, going home and fucking said guy, discovering that she probably caught VD from the guy, and then getting hacked to ribbons by a crazed, cross dressing killer in an elevator - Kate, we salute you!

Sharon Spencer (Kitty Winn) in The Exorcist:  When Sharon took on the job as personal assistant to actress, Chris MacNeil, she probably had no idea that she was signing on as a babysitter for a demonically possessed little girl.  Geez, she even stays  with little Regan when no one else is home (OK,  leaving that drunk director to babysit  while she ran to the pharmacy was a pretty stupid move, but what the heck).  That she avoids most of the demon's wrath means she was damn lucky, or managed to stay out of harm's way for the most part - Sharon, we salute you!

Hortense Daigle (Eileen Heckart) in The Bad Seed: This depressed, drunken mother who has just lost her son is as pathetic as she is funny.  It's hard to tell if she's drinking to dull the pain of losing her child, or if she's just always been a boozy slattern.  Nonetheless, it's apparent that she might just be one of the few people who knows the truth about little Rhoda Penmark, and if given the chance, she'd probably grab the little homicidal brat by her pig tails and hang her from a telephone pole - Hortense, we salute you!

Beverly R. Sutphin (Kathleen Turner) in Serial Mom: It does not matter if she's making obscene phone calls, disemboweling a guy who breaks her daughter's heart, committing vehicular homicide on the teacher who is failing her son, or beating a woman to death with a lamb chop because said woman fails to rewind her video tapes upon returning them; Mrs. Sutphin is always impeccably dressed, and her domestic skills rival those of Martha Stewart.  When the chips are down, and she's hauled into court, she even acts as her own defense attorney and wins!  Beverly, we salute you!