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Released by: Breaking Glass Pictures
Released on: September 4, 2012.
Director: Jason Paul Collum
Cast: Linnea Quigley, Michelle Bauer, Brinke Stevens, Fred Olen Ray, Ted Newsom
Year: 2011
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The Movie:
Directed by Jason Paul Collum, 2011's Screaming In High Heels: The Rise And Fall Of The Scream Queen Era would seem to be long overdue. Considering how popular its three core subjects - Linnea Quigley, Brinke Stevens and Michelle Bauer - were and still are with horror audiences the world over, it offers a welcome look into what made these three ladies' careers so interesting and unique and it offers additional insight into how they became the horror icons they are as well as what their collective work would go on to inspire.
Collum obviously had full access to the three ladies as each appears here for exclusive interviews in which they talk about their life before getting into movies. Quigley was a small town girl who figures she would have wound up with some dull blue collar job, while Stevens was preparing to be a marine biologist. There are some interesting stories here that lead up each lady telling us how they wound up being cast in low budget horror movies just in time for the VHS boom of the eighties to create unprecedented demand for low budget genre pictures. Yes, part of this was the three of them being in the right place at the right time but that's only part of it - their looks and their ability to deliver decent line readings and play any part thrown at them found them working. A lot. And as their output increased and started to spread throughout the world, they soon found themselves developing some serious cult followings - sometimes with a cost as we hear about fans both good and… let's just say unhinged.
Of course nothing lasts forever and while Quigley and Stevens remain fairly active in front of the camera and at conventions around the world, Bauer has more or less retired from public life with a few exceptions. Content to run her family business with her husband and be a mother to her kids, she seems to express a little embarrassment about her work without quite turning it into regret. Quigley and Stevens, however, are still taking the roles offered them, many of which come from a new generation of filmmakers raised on the low budget movies that these ladies headlined. The documentary closes by discussing, without naming names, the 'Scream Queens' that have come in the wake of what these women laid the ground work for and makes the cast that while many of the more recent actresses laying claim to the title have legitimate reasons to do so, more of them are simply cashing in on their looks and whatever tenuous connection they may have had at one time or another to the horror movie industry.
In addition to the three ladies, also appearing on camera and discussing their work on these films are moviemakers like Fred Olen Ray, Ted Newsom, David DeCoteau, Kenneth J. Hall and Jay Richardson among others. All of these guys have nothing but great things to say about the time they spent working with the actresses and the documentary winds up a nice piece that serves as both a retrospective career overview of their work and a look at what they would inevitably shape and influence years later with the advent of more affordable moviemaking hardware and software.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The transfer for Screaming In High Heels varies in quality between the footage newly shot for this documentary and the archival clips culled from various movies and TV sources. The newly shot footage looks great - it's crystal clear and nice and colorful and shows good detail. The archival footage tends to be all over the place, with some of it looks excellent and some of it obviously taken from worn out VHS tapes. Overall though, there's nothing to complain about here - it's all perfectly watchable and the good certainly outweighs the bad.
The only audio option on the disc is a Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track in English, there are no subtitles provided. Audio quality is fine, but again, it can vary a bit depending on the source used. Generally it's fine, with clear dialogue and properly balanced levels.
Breaking Glass has included a convention appearance with director Collum and Brinke Stevens discussing Brinke's career and the film in front of a convention audience, a second fearturette in which Collum follows suit with Quigley in front of a convention audience, and then extended/unusued interview clips with Quigley, Stevens and Bauer. Additionally the disc includes a trailer for the feature, trailers for a few other Breaking Glass Pictures discs available now or coming soon, menus and chapter stops.
The Final Word:
You don't have to be a horror fan who grew up in the eighties to appreciate this documentary, as Screaming In High Heels: The Rise And Fall Of The Scream Queen Era is not just a look at the phenomena started by Linnea Quigley, Brinke Stevens and Michelle Bauer but also a look into what makes these three women unique. We not only learn about their careers but their backgrounds as well, and all three offer up some interesting retrospective insight. The documentary is well put together on a technical level, it includes a load of great archival clips and it's done with just the right mix of humor and seriousness. This is one worth seeing, quite an enjoyable movie.
