Punk Performers & Theories Of Ideology ('Punk Mass' 1970 - )

Linnea Quigley had the honour of becoming the first cover girl for 'Scream Queens Illustrated', a colourful horror magazine launched by independent horror filmmaker John Russo in the 1990s. She was also on the cover of the 11th issue of 'Scream Queens Illustrated'. I have copies of both issues.

In addition to 'Scream Queens Illustrated', I have copies of a number of other publications featuring articles on Quigley. These include 'Fangoria', 'Femme Fatales', 'Draculina', 'Slaughterhouse', 'Gorezone', 'Empire' and 'Premiere' magazines. Outside of her work in cinema, I also have editions of 'Playboy', 'Easyriders', 'Oui', 'Gallery' and 'Leg Show' that feature her work as a figure model. And I have clippings from music publications about the Skirts.

Last year, I was able to add a magazine to my collection that was hot off the press ... and it was dedicated entirely to the work of Linnea Quigley. I got it on pre-order and paid the highest amount to get a personally signed copy with a limited edition cover, which Quigley did from her home in Florida. The magazine is 'Fantasm' and this was only the second issue (the first issue was dedicated entirely to horror filmmaker George Romero, a longtime friend and associate of John Russo). It features some exclusive content including rare photographs of Quigley that span her career up to 2019.

In 'Fantasm 2', filmmaker Eric Swelstad is interviewed about his "lost film" 'Blood Church' (1990 / 1992), also known as 'Fallen Angels', or 'Heartland Of Darkness'. It's the story of Satanists in Copperton, Ohio. Some horror fans have seen the 37 minute edit that was originally sent to distributors but the feature-length presentation remains in the can.

'Blood Church' leading man Nick Baldasare signed on the dotted line having just starred in Jay Woelfel's cult horror 'Beyond Dream's Door' (1989) which was filmed in Columbus, Ohio. Baldasare has now unearthed a rare interview conducted for a local television station in Columbus in which journalist Jane Sachs puts a range of questions to Quigley. There's also renewed hope that the film itself may be issued in the near future, in a cut supervised by Swelstad. This is positive news but I'm not holding my breath; after all, we're still waiting for Brad Sykes' "lost film" 'Scream Queen' (2002), having been assured several years ago by online movie sources that it was finally set to reach dvd.

There are of course many other long-unavailable Quigley films that are either long out of print or still stuck in the vaults. Some productions seem to be permanently tied up in legal limbo or subject to disputes over commercial rights. For example, Richard Gabai has maintained for years that he's been working on striking a deal to finally gain 'Blood Nasty' (1989) and 'Virgin High' (1991) official dvd releases. And what will come of David DeCoteau's still-missing picture 'The Girl I Want' (1990)?

I live in hope ...

I've made a list for my perfect drive-in movie festival, constraining myself to America's peak years for punk culture. It's completely comprised of original films I believe were shot (some franchise sequels are excluded from this) for less than $2,000,000, so they are all reasonably low budget films (some lower than others) and they are all movies you might have seen at a grindhouse venue in Louisville, Kentucky, or a drive-in cinema in St. Louis, Missouri.

I'm saddened today to hear of the passing of a true 1970s icon, actress Linda Manz, but you won't find 'Days Of Heaven' (1978) listed for the reason I've just outlined (the budget for 'Days Of Heaven' is said to have been around $3,000,000). On the other hand, you will find director Terrence Malick's first film, 'Badlands' (1973), which comes in comfortably under the mark (it's said to have cost around $300,000 to make).

I've also not included some major studio pictures that actually cost less than some people might realise (myself included), be it 'The French Connection' (1971) or 'Dog Day Afternoon' (1975), both of which would have qualified for this list in budgetary terms. Instead, most of my focus has been on celebrating the spirit of the drive-in and this means celebrating directors who dedicated themselves to the world of low budget filmmaking (if only until they hit the bigtime).

---

---