Directed by: Jason Paul Collum
Featuring: Brinke Stevens, Linnea Quigley, Michelle Bauer, David DeCoteau, Fred Olen Ray, Ken Hall, Ted Newsom, Jay Richardson, Richard Gabai
Screaming in High Heels comes from the devoted mind of journalist and filmmaker Jason Paul Collum, whose interest in all things Slumber Party Massacre led him to become a fascinated fan of women who star in horror movies. In Screaming in High Heels: The Rise and Fall of the Scream Queen Era, Collum details the horror movie careers of the three women who coined the phrase “Scream Queen”: Linnea Quigley, Brinke Stevens, and Michelle Bauer.
Collum is a great storyteller, and it’s evident from his previous documentary on Scream Queens, Something to Scream About, that he’s extremely interested in these women’s vocations as a phenomenon of horror fandom. Screaming in High Heels isn’t about Linnea, Brinke, and Michelle as actresses; it isn’t about their personal lives. It’s about the development of their horror film careers and the creation of the term “Scream Queen” as it applied to them at the height of the direct-to-video and low-budget horror theatrical industry.
Discussions about and movie clips from Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-a-Rama; Nightmare Sisters; The Return of the Living Dead; Silent Night, Deadly Night; The Slumber Party Massacre; Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers; and The Tomb (to name but a few) lead to funny anecdotes and obscure trivia regarding the way these women feel about being Scream Queens. Collum takes the time to define the term “Scream Queen” itself (something many people have unsuccessfully tried to do) and to explain why and how the phenomenon “fell” with the advent of digital technology.
In-depth interviews with the three actresses are supplemented by stories told by the filmmakers and actors that worked with them the most during the 1980s and 1990s such as David DeCoteau, Ken Hall, Ted Newsom, Jay Richardson, Richard Gabai, and Fred Olen Ray, but notably absent from the interviews are others closely linked to their careers such as Joe Bob Briggs, Roger Corman, Amy Holden Jones, Jim Wynorski, and Kevin Tenney (and let’s face it, Tenney has nothing better to do right now). Also missed were interviews with other actresses who have worked with Brinke, Linnea, and Michelle in horror films (such as Julie Strain, Debbie Rochon, and Tiffany Shepis) who probably have some amazing stories to tell about working with them. Collum undoubtedly wanted to avoid cluttering the screen with too many faces (since the movie is supposed to be about Brinke, Linnea, and Michelle specifically) but a few more voices chiming in about their related careers may have added perspective to their places in horror posterity, which currently feels lacking.
The film is surprising in what it reveals about the women: that it was sheer accident that they ended up in horror films and that they were never, and still aren’t, critical of doing nudity in films despite a filmmaking environment that still chastises women for taking off their clothes. The documentary also shows their personalities and senses of humor in ways that probably are never revealed in stuffy convention rooms wherein nervous fans stammer their fondnesses. Screaming in High Heels is a way to get close to these women and learn about them despite the fact that most of the people who love them will never get that chance in real life.
Brinke, Linnea, and Michelle embody the image of the modern woman in horror during the heyday of the era Collum documents. They represent a level of fandom and fun horror films that are bygone as digital and computer filmmaking has allowed slicker, more technologically sophisticated films and stories to take preference among younger movie-going fans and filmmakers. Their fame has also been sullied by the plethora of women calling themselves Scream Queens despite knowing nothing about what it really means to be one.
Screaming in High Heels is an amazing story that horror and pop culture fans should and will lavishly enjoy; there’s not one minute of this film that isn’t enlightening, fun, funny, and interesting. I’m glad that someone made this film, and I’m glad that someone is Collum, because he respects the films, the history, and the women themselves.
Obscure interview show Fearcast Network interviewed Linnea Quigley in Summer 2011, and she discusses Screaming in High Heels. Watch:
Directed by: Jason Paul Collum
