Deadly Beauty: Horror’s Scream Queens and Rising Talent: Brinke Stevens

Deadly Beauty: Horror’s Scream Queens and Rising Talent: Brinke Stevens

“Born in San Diego, California, Stevens has studied several foreign languages, including Esperanto, and gained a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Psychology from San Diego State University and a Master of Science in Marine Biology from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California. Initially intending to study dolphin communication, she was instead tossed out of Scripps for doing “forbidden research” on dolphin communication. The “forbidden” appellation was largely to do with the Navy’s use of dolphins in undersea weapons research at the time. While going to a modeling assignment, Stevens was discovered by accident by a producer who cast her in a film as an extra.

Stevens has appeared in over 100 movies, primarily in the horror, sci-fi and fantasy film genres. From her long list of acting credits she has gained notoriety as a scream queen, to the extent that she was once the subject of a Jeopardy! answer: “Brinke Stevens is known by this semi-rhyming title.” (Question: What is a Scream Queen?). The Jeopardy! question was asked during the Scripps Institution of Oceanography special.

In addition to acting, Stevens has co-written a number of screenplays, co-produced two documentaries, and served as an onset decorator. In one of her scripts, Dr. Horror’s Erotic House of Idiots, Stevens pokes fun at the B-Movie industry and spoofs some of her own films.

Stevens portrayed Julie Quinn, mother of serial killer Wayne Montgomery, in the 2007 horror film Head Case. This was the first time she had ever acted in an improvisational film. She reprised her role in the two sequels, 2009’s The Ritual and 2010’s Post-Mortem.

Stevens is an inactive member of Mensa.

Brinke Stevens is depicted in the horror novel, Bad Moon Rising, the third installment of Jonathan Maberry’s “Pine Deep” trilogy, alongside Jim O’Rear, Tom Savini, and Debbie Rochon, published in 2008.

Brinke Stevens appeared on the 2009 cover of the popular pulp movie magazine Mondo Cult.

More recently she has appeared in a 2009 documentary Pretty Bloody: The Women of Horror and will appear in the 2013 remake of Die Sister, Die!.”*

Location: Los Angeles, CA

1. How did you get into the industry?

In the early 1980’s, I did a lot of small parts in big movies like: Private School, Body Double, Fatal Games, The Naked Gun, Spinal Tap, Three Amigos, Psycho 3, and The Man Who Wasn’t There. I also worked on many music videos, which were popular in the early 1980’s.

Slumber Party Massacre was my first major movie role (1981). It was termed a ‘feminist slasher film’, because of it’s female director (Amy Jones), writer (Rita Mae Brown), and a few strong female roles. I worked a week on it, at high school near Venice CA. It’s the first time I ever took an on-camera shower scene, screamed, ran from a maniac, and died horribly. Little did I know it would soon lead to a whole new horror career for me!

By a happy accident, I was in the right place at exactly the right time, thanks largely to the home video revolution of the mid-1980’s. Since then, I’ve gone on to star in about 150 movies.

2. What Scream Queen inspired you most?

In the 1970’s, I loved all the Hammer Horror gals! Ingrid Pitt once said, “There’s no longevity in being a victim. You don’t become the Queen of Horror unless you’re a predator.” In a certain way, those actresses were my inspiration when I was growing up.

But for a long time, it was definitely a male-dominated field. If you look at horror before the 80’s, most horror stars were men. Early on, it was Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff. Then came Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing — followed by Jason, Freddy and that gang. Linnea Quigley, Michelle Bauer, and I were the first true Scream Queens, really the first noticeable female horror stars (apart from Jamie Lee Curtis).

3. What are the next couple projects you are working on?

I’ve shot 12 new movies in the past year, including major roles in Dustin Ferguson’s “Die Sister, Die!” and Jason Paul Collum’s “Safe Inside”. I also played Abby Borden in “Lizzie Borden’s Revenge“; a small-town Sheriff in “Axeman at Cutter’s Creek“; the President of the United States in “The Silicon Assassin“; a demon in Joe Hollow’s “Disciples“, and myself in “The Trouble with Barry“.

Recent releases include: “Caesar & Otto’s Deadly Xmas“, “The Ritual“, “Post Mortem“, “Summer of Massacre“, and “The Boneyard Collection“. I’m featured in a new documentary, “Screaming in High Heels“. I’ll also appear in a Special Features interview on the DVD re-release of “Psycho 3”. My science-fiction novel “Dangerous Toys” is currently available on Amazon.

A few months ago, I wrote and directed my first film, “Personal Demons“, which will be part of “Terror Toons 3” anthology (coming in 2014). I’ve just been offered my second directing job next year for “All Hallow’s Eve”, which will have a huge all-star cast of horror icons.