Screaming in High Heels: The Rise & Fall of the Scream Queen Era

Three actresses "accidentally" became cult horror film icons in the late 1980s and created the modern interpretation of the "Scream Queen" image.

I have to get this off my chest: as I write this review, IMDb has 55 reviews averaging 5.2 out of 10 for this documentary. I could not be more disappointed in a viewing audience, and the only way I can rationalize that poor showing is by telling myself the people who voted must not love horror films.

Now, if this film has a weakness, that is it: it caters to a very particular audience. Would my mother enjoy this film? No. She has no idea who Linnea Quigley is. But for the horror fan, it is a treat from beginning to end.

First, the film starts with a brief history of the drive-in, which I found to be informative and crucial to showing the rise of the scream queen era. Today, with DVDs and Netflix, kids may not realize that not too long ago you could not run out and rent or buy anything you wanted to see. The "VHS Boom" revolutionized the way movies were marketed and consumed.

Next, the film nails it by covering the careers of the "big three" scream queens. Jason Collum, the director, is friends with Brinke Stevens, so finding her was not hard. Linnea Quigley does the convention circuit, so she is still a public figure. But Michelle Bauer is basically semi-retired. Getting her on board was not only necessary, but must have been a challenging task.

The two biggest schlockmeisters of the 1980s, Fred Olen Ray and David DeCouteau appear, and probably know more about the careers of the queens than they do. DeCouteau, again, was a friend of Collum's. But Ray is a rarity -- you have probably seen twenty of his films, but you very rarely see the man himself. He truly deserves his own documentary.

On top of great interview subjects and a wonderful narrative tying the interviews together, the movie finally excels by bringing numerous obscure films to light. I have seen literally thousands of horror films, but they still managed to find some here that I never even heard of. That takes a real talent and dedication to the creation of this film.

For horror fans, this is a must-see. Alongside other recent horror documentaries (such as "Corman's World") it really adds something to the story that needed to be said.

If you like Linnea Quigley, Brinke Stevens, or Michelle Bauer aka if you grew up watching '80s horror, this documentary is perfect for you! I had a blast watching this and I wish it was even longer. I could listen to these directors and actresses talk forever. I wish they had even more B movie directors on here or went into more depth on what Brinke said about newer indie sets being abusive but I'll rewatch this a lot. I'm going to check out the extended interviews on my DVD too. So glad I bought this! I hope more people discover it. It's really an excellent movie and gives you so much insight into what these actresses went through as well as that period of filmmaking.

Screaming in High Heels: The Rise & Fall of the Scream Queen Era (2011)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Excellent documentary that is a huge improvement over the earlier SOMETHING TO SCREAM ABOUT. The film takes a look at the careers of "B" movie actresses Linnea Quigley, Brinke Stevens and Michelle Bauer, the three who really took to being Scream Queens back in the 80s. The documentary covers how all three ended up in the business, the rise to fame and of course the video market dying down and pretty much killing their careers until recent years. All three actresses are on hand giving first hand accounts of what it was like working in these movies and we also get the likes of Fred Olen Ray, David DeCoteau and Ted Newsom who discuss more of the history of this type of cinema. It was great fun getting to look back at these movies and getting to hear about how they were made. We get some good stories about the drive-ins pretty much dying down and this gave way to video stores where the movie producers couldn't even keep up with the high demand of titles. We also get to hear about the downside of fame including stalkers as well as not being able to break into mainstream cinema. The actresses are all very open about their experiences and I can't imagine a fan of these movies being disappointed. Not only do we get clips from the actual movies but there's also some great stuff in regards to interviews the actresses did back in the day. Fans of these "B" movies will certainly want to check this one out.