Quotes

Many of the sexiest horror stars, for me, are the European women. They don't have the Barbie doll makeup. It's just raw sexuality.

[preferring bad girl characters to victims] Like all red-blooded American boys, I like 'em nasty.

[Why Jamie Lee Curtis was a boring scream queen] She wasn't really a sex symbol. She didn't have enough edge to be alluring. She has more of it now that she doesn't make horror films anymore.

[traits of a B-movie scream queen] Oddly enough, classic beauty isn't one of them. Many [of them] are not really beautiful at all. They're young and they're in good shape, but you wouldn't necessarily notice them on the street. I think what shows on the screen is that they are: A) vulnerable, B) tough, and C) they love giving everything to the camera. You have to be a little bit in love with yourself, I think. Enormous breasts also help.

[most scream queens being tiny women] Several of the scream queens are extremely petite. You don't notice it on camera. Monique Gabrielle is tiny. So when you photograph them in close-up, the upper-body proportions look enormous, if you know what I mean, and I think you do.

[greatest scream queens in history] The 30s? Fay Wray, I guess. The '40s would have to be Betty Page. The '50s would be Mamie Van Doren, and Jayne Mansfield. Barbara Steele in the '60s, Claudia Jennings in the '70s, Sybil Danning in the '80s. The '80s might be a tie between Sybil and Linnea Quigley.

[Julie Strain] Sometimes she gets this look in her eyes that makes a man think, "I don't know if she wants to have sex with me or kill me. And right now, I don't care."