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 When
you hear the term 'Scream Queen,' you may think of a gorgeous woman
demonstrating the true power of her lungs…or maybe you see
a scantily clad girl running through a forest desperate to escape
an unstoppable killer. When these evil visions flood your thoughts,
more often than not the beautiful Brinke Stevens has invaded your
mind's eye as well. Not only is she the 'Godmother' (and I hate
using that word since she still looks 28 years old!) of the Scream
Queen era, she's still belting out one enjoyable low budget flick
after another.
For
nearly two decades Brinke has raided our living room in hundreds
(literally!) of entertaining flicks such as her first film Slumber
Party Massacre, which she recalls fondly.
"They
wanted me for the lead but I had already booked a modeling job so
they had to kill me off quickly. I worked three days. It was the
first film I took a shower in. It was the first film I scream and
die horribly in. This set a trend for me!"
And
what a trend setter she was. Brinke would embark on a B movie journey
not taken by many before her. "I was in the perfect place at
the right time. Suddenly people were buying VCRs for their homes
and all of these video stores were springing up with a lot of empty
shelves. I worked all the time and became known by all of these
college aged males. I became their darling of horror."
Brinke
was unique to the dark world of terror because she was as much a
fan as she was an icon. She embraced her loyal legion of fans and
understood the link we all shared.
 "The
typical horror fan is a misfit. I understand these people because
I'm one of them. Someone said to me 'face it Brinke, you're a nerd
like the rest of us, just better looking.'"
I ask
her if she's ever worried about creepy fans lingering around her
doorstep. She just smiles and purrs, "People have seen my movies.
I scare the shit out of them."
With
the advent of digital video and the DVD player, Brinke is still
kicking some major ass on home video. It's also allowed her to work
with a fresh group of guerrilla filmmakers and lure a slew of new
fans to the dark side.
"It's very different now since they don't have the budgets.
It comes out of their own pockets. I'm always looking for the next
big thing and I believe I worked with some last year. One is Steve
Sessions who's based in Biloxi, Mississippi. He did a movie called
Dead Clowns. The man is an amazing cinematographer and director."
Working
with new up and coming talent has never been easier for Brinke.
"I made thirteen films last year," including a unique
flick called Dr Horror's House of Idiots, which she wrote
a third of. "Paul Scravo, who worked with me on my Private
Collection 4, put together a horror/comedy/musical that will
blow your mind. It's completely new and it really works."
 It's
like the 80s never ended! The titles remain as alluring as ever.
Of late, Brinke has appeared in such cleverly titled flicks as Corpses
are Forever, Cheerleader
Massacre and Delta
Delta Die. "Most people know how to use me and
they tailor a part for me or they throw me a curve, like a movie
I'm doing in Phoenix. They told me they wrote the part with me in
mind. I play a mother in a very dysfunctional family and she's such
a bitch. I'm thinking 'you had me in mind, huh?' But I'm also doing
a movie called Xeline where I play a Black Ops Army woman.
It's an enormous amount of dialog to memorize. It's very Sigourney
Weaver from 'Alien.' I'm looking forward to that."
Starring
in two movies in one year would be considered a success by most
actors, but it's just a drop in the hat to what 2004 has to offer
Brinke. Not only does she have a full calendar as an actress, she
also plays host in the Tempe DVD release Something
to Scream About, a loving retrospective of several
women who have become cult horror icons. And she's anticipating
the DVD premiere of the intriguing behind the scenes documentary
Shock
Cinema which she also hosted as well as co-produced
with director David DeCoteau. In fact, Brinke has been working
behind the scenes for quite some time. She's currently shopping
around scripts with Sean O'Bannon and shot a trailer for
a screenplay she's written entitled Buried Nightmares. "I
sold my fourth script to Gene Vine and for the first time
I went in as a co-producer on a motion picture. That has sort of
stalled. We worked two years on it, but we can't seem to raise the
money."
 "After
23 years in the business, I've pretty much met everybody involved
in the B movie industry. I'm confident some of these connections
will pan out."
But
wait! There's more! Brinke has recently been featured in a book
called Assault of the Killer B's. Not one to be outdone,
she's composed an essay on the subject for the book Attack of
the B Queens. In fact, Brinke is quite the writer. Besides penning
several scripts and contributing to books on the horror genre, she's
working on a young adult novel, a children's tale and also freelances
for various magazines as a travel writer. Talk about an Accidental
Tourist!
"It's
character arc as they say. From not wanting to be an actress to
becoming a cult celebrity and moving into producing and probably
directing is a total fulfillment."
With
this year looking as busy as the last, it's no surprise when Brinke
proclaims "I have no personal life!" But it looks like
her fans wouldn't want it any other way.
http://www.brinke.com/
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