“B” movie horrors became a cottage industry in the 1980’s making stars, even legends out of many women who starred in these low-budget films. Writer Jason Paul Collum interviews 20 of these women in his new book “Assault of the Killer B’s” and also gets us caught up with what these women are up to today. The first interview is with Judith O’Dea who played the doomed Barbara in the original “Night of the Living Dead”. O’Dea probably doesn’t fit the mold of a scream queen and certainly doesn’t see herself that way, but the importance of this film is not lost on her or the fans of the horror genre. O’Dea talks about working for George Romero and John Russo’s production company in Pittsburgh in the 1960’s, doing voice over work for documentaries and how this film came to be. She relates that much of the dialog was ad-libbed such as when she tells Ben what happened to her and her brother Johnny. She also admits to being truly terrified in the scene where she is dragged out of the house by a horde of zombies.
The largest section of the book features the girls of the Slumber Party Massacre series of films. It would seem that this was the most expansive section due to the fact that so many of these women were available for interviews, unlike some of the other horror franchises. Among those featured are Debra DeLiso, Heidi Kozak, Brandi Burkett, and one of the greatest of all Scream Queens, Brinke Stevens. They all share their thoughts on doing these films as well as the other horror films they’ve been in.
Collum relates his frustration in trying first to track down and then get interviews with many of the actresses who starred in the Friday the 13th films. Many simply could not be located and many that were flat-out refused to be interviewed. It seems that many, including Adrienne King from the first film had their problems with stalkers and obsessed fans and as a result they’ve tried to distance themselves from these movies. Collum did manage to land Lar Park Lincoln who played the psychic Tina in Friday the 13th part 7 The new Blood. Lincoln, too, had her problems with a stalker but after many years away has recently made a return to film in bit roles. Also interviewed is Kari Keegan from “Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday”
Stars from Nightmare on Elm Street are also featured including Lisa Wilcox who starred in parts 4 & 5, and Lisa Zane who played Freddy Kruegers daughter Maggie in what was supposed to have been the final film in the series, “Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare”.
One of the more enjoyable interviews Collum conducted was with Pamela Susan Shoop of Halloween II. Shoop’s long list of TV credits include: Mannix, Night Gallery, The Mod Squad, Wonder Woman, The Incredible Hulk, CHiPs, Knight Rider, Murder She Wrote, and many others. But horror fans will always remember her as the beautiful Nurse Karen in Halloween II, who was perhaps the most famous victim of Michael Myers as she was strangled in the hospital hot tub. Shoop relates how she got an ear infection due to the water being so cold in the “hot tub”.
Collum also interviews Cassandra Peterson, AKA Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, the women from the Sleepaway Camp Series, and several more. Collum’s book is well-researched and the interviews very conversational in tone. There were some notable omissions from the book such as perhaps the two most well-known scream queens Linnea Quigley and Julie Strain, but all in all, Collum did a great job in tracking down the actresses who played in these now legendary cult films.
– TIm Janson
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
