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

SCREAMING IN HIGH HEELS:
If you are a fan of B movies and the girls who star in them then you will love this documentary. Screaming in High Heels tells the story of how 3 girls go from being models to working in films and how they became famous all because of their screams and skin. During the 80’s Linnea Quigley, Brinke Stevens, and Michelle Bauer where the women of the small screen as they stared in film after film where they was being chased down some insane killer, alien, monster, or all of the above and as a bonus these very attractive girls would grace the screen and movie watcher with their beauty.

REMEMBERING THE SCREAM QUEEN:
Being a movie lover I’ve seen my fair share of B-movies that feature a scream queen. Some have been a lot of fun to watch, some just horrible, and a few that were so bad they are good. I still love a good B-movie from time to time so when I saw that I got to review a documentary that was about the rise of 3 of the most popular actresses in B-movies I had a feeling I would enjoy it. Screaming in High Heels is a lot of fun and very interesting because it has so much information being given in it. From the beginnings of the drive in theater to it’s downfall, through the birth of home video up to the today where making movies has become a whole lot easier and cheaper, it’s all talked about on this documentary.

As cool as all of that was to hear and learn about from the veterans that where making these films, what I found the most interesting was the responses, memories, and experiences the 3 original “Scream Queens” had to say. Learning how they went from models to becoming a movie actress without even meaning to was interesting but finding out that Brinke Stevens was actually has a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Psychology as well as a Master of Science in Marine Biology as well as being a fan of conventions was some interesting facts that I wold never have guessed at. It’s these talks that the 3 women give as they share their thoughts on many topics that range from their nudity to how they would produce a film in under a week and how funny it is that films today can take months that make this documentary so interesting and fun to watch.

Director Jason Paul Collum has given a good insight into the history of the B-movie while having the women that where the stars of the movies giving their opinions and thoughts there was still a few aspects that would have made this documentary a lot better. Such as when the talks got on the subject of the new generation of actresses claiming to be the new “Scream Queens” by being in a B-movie. From what was being said during this topic, Quigley, Stevens, and Bauer to be one that’s touchy because of how these women worked so many movies to earn the title of “Scream Queen” to see it being used just because of photo shoot or appearing in a movie. Instead the topic was brought up and then dropped to go back to talking how the having the public go from loving them to considering them as doing raunchy films. I would have also liked to seen the 3 women together at the same sharing experiences and answering questions at the same time. This would have given the documentary a whole new level from getting individual thoughts as well as from a group. Still, the movie is very interesting with some insights into the underbelly of B-movies from the people who made them.