Verdict
Summary
Not really for fans of the horror genre per se, but mainly for Quigley completists, Scream Queen is hardly a cult classic, but it ain’t half bad for a “lost” indie flick.
Plot:
A scream queen dies in an accident while filming a horror movie, and a year later, everyone from the production is invited to a very special gathering …
Review:
A temperamental “scream queen” named Malicia Tombs (played by real “scream queen” Linnea Quigley) is filming a low budget horror film, with a scene of her strangling another actress on the beach when the scene’s momentum wanes due to the other actress’s inability to act scared. Malicia has a meltdown, quits, and storms off, leaving the director Eric Orloff (Jarrod Robbins) holding the baton of an unfinished film. But tragedy strikes: Malicia gets into a horrible car accident, the car catches fire, and Malicia burns to death. Orloff reviews the finished footage, knowing that the movie can never be completed the way he intended, but after a year he – along with everyone else involved with the film – get a mysterious invitation to attend a gathering at a mansion. When Orloff shows up, everyone from the film – including the makeup artist, the other actress, and various others – assumed it was he who invited everyone, but they all have a surprise in store: Malicia is alive and well and has invited them all over for a game, of sorts. There’s a masked killer lurking in the hallways, and soon all their lives will be at stake with hidden cameras ready to capture the kills, which would essentially “finish” the movie that they all started a year ago!
From writer / director Brad Sykes, Scream Queen is an ultra obscure and barely released on video horror film shot on what looks like grainy videotape, but there’s a seed of a good idea here, if only it didn’t take so darn long to get going. The kills don’t start happening until close to an hour in, but once the makeup effects and slashing begin, the movie gets interesting again. Quigley is good in what is essentially a glorified cameo role, and at only 78 minutes, the movie feels overlong despite having competent acting from a cast of newbies. Sykes was new at this, and you can tell, but there’s a strange charm to it, with knowing references to low budget filmmaking, but it has its heart in the right place. Not really for fans of the horror genre per se, but mainly for Quigley completists, Scream Queen is hardly a cult classic, but it ain’t half bad for a “lost” indie flick.
Visual Vengeance’s new Blu-ray of Scream Queen is packed to the gills with bonus features, including a poster, a video rental card (!), stickers, a commentary (which I listened to some of), the producer’s cut of the film, interviews, and lots more. Obviously, this is more than the movie deserves, but it just goes to show the lengths with which Visual Vengeance is trying to please.
Bonus Materials
- All region Blu-ray
- New director-approved 480p SD master presented on Blu-ray from original tape elements
- Commentary with Writer / Director Brad Sykes
- Once Upon A Time In Horrorwood: Behind the Scenes Documentary
- Second Feature: Original Producer’s Cut of Movie
- New Linnea Quigley Interview
- Editor Mark Polonia Interview
- Behind The Scenes Image Gallery
- Linnea Quigley Image Gallery
- Original Script Selects
- Original Trailer
- Visual Vengeance Trailers
- Six-page liner notes by Tony Strauss of Weng’s Chop Magazine
- Limited Edition slipcase by Rick Melton – FIRST PRESSING ONLY
- Limited Edition ‘Series 2’ Video Store Rental Card – FIRST PRESSING ONLY
- Collectible Linnea Quigley folded mini-poster
- ‘Stick your own’ VHS sticker set
- Reversible sleeve featuring original home video art
- Optional English subtitles
