Don't Blink! An Interview with Brinke Stevens
 Brinke Stevens: In the early 1980's, before I became known as a horror star, I did a lot of small parts in big movies. I also worked on many music videos, which were so popular in the 80's. My all-too-brief appearances led one friend to label me "Don't Blink" Brinke. Sometimes my background roles were fun and glamorous. For "Ice Cream Castles", I wore my own vintage, scarlet, ruffled Flamenco gown from the 1920's. We shot at a fantastic faux castle in the Hollywood Hills. I rocked out with the uber-cool Morris Day and his band, who all have great dance moves. And then... Prince (their producer) stopped by the set to hang out with us! It was truly a magical day. For the eagle-eyed, I'll reveal that I have small, sometimes uncredited, appearances in movies like: Private School, Body Double, Fatal Games, The Naked Gun, Spinal Tap, Three Amigos, Psycho 3, and The Man Who Wasn't There. 
BS: Right now, my writing career is going very well. I've got a new science fiction anthology, "Dangerous Toys, Vol. 1" (co-written with DB Story) on eXcessica.com; it's a "print on demand" book that debuts July 16, 2010. I also wrote about my adventures in horror for an upcoming book by David Boyer, "Rock & Roll Party of the Dead" (due out in 2011).
My latest movie releases include: The Ritual and Post Mortem from Fleet Street Films (I play a serial killer's mother), Joe Castro's Summer of Massacre, The Boneyard Collection (Irina Bell Films); a horror comedy called Demon Divas (Happy Cloud Pictures), and Psychosomatika in Oct 2010. I also did the voice-over narration for a new documentary, The Many Faces of Cleopatra; it'll be released on DVD and may even get a television run.
Next year, I look forward to shooting Deadlands 3, a new zombie thriller. And I'll reprise the Vampira role in the upcoming Plan 9 from Outer Space remake from Darkstone Entertainment. 
BS: In the 1980's & 90's, there were dozens of independent studios churning out hundreds of B-movies with fairly decent budgets. And so, we actually had catered meals and our own private trailers! But those days are long gone. Now, it's all about being self-sufficient. I usually have to provide my own wardrobe and do my own make-up. The revolutionary home-video boom democratized filmmaking. Eventually, the technology was available for anybody to cheaply make a movie in their own backyard. By a happy accident, I was in the right place at exactly the right time -- Linnea Quigley, Michelle Bauer, and I were the first true "Scream Queens". I doubt if it's even possible to follow in our footsteps anymore, because the indie studio system no longer exists.
The 1980's were more known for horror-comedies than now. In my opinion, the films I did then were more innocent and fun-loving. Later, horror got much gorier and even went into the "torture-porn" realm.
In the past decade, I've shot a half-dozen new movies each year -- as budgets constantly lessened and film-making spread into grassroots America. Some of my previous micro-budget shoots in rural areas were a real lesson in patience. (It's a bad sign, for example, when the crew has to consult their camera booklet -- and still cannot agree on the settings.)  BS: I have a soft spot for Grandmother's House. It's creepy horror in broad daylight. I hardly speak any words in it, yet it's one of my most unsettling roles. It was nicely directed by Peter Rader (who also wrote the screenplay for Waterworld). In my 140 or so movies to date, I've been a killer and a victim in equal measure. However, I most enjoy it when I am both -- and can do a Jekyll & Hyde switch. I love to start out "plain" and suddenly transform into a dangerous character, as I did in this movie, as well as in Haunting Fear and most recently Demon Divas.  BS: In many ways, Dark Romances is a brilliant anthology. Although it seemed like we were shooting it forever! Fortunately, much of it was filmed at a small studio (EZTV) in West Hollywood, close enough that I could walk to it. We'd shoot for a few hours at a time, every so often, over endless evenings and weekends. It was fun but challenging to be in nearly every episode, and to play so many different characters. I especially liked wearing my own collection of Victorian clothing for one story, and a blonde wig for another one. I was fond of the radio DJ role because I could "act" with my voice... all you ever see are my red lips. There's a Grand Guignol sequence, where only my bare feet are shown on-camera while I'm supposedly being tortured -- so my feet had to do all the acting in that scene (I was told I have talented feet.). Sadly, one of the producers, Mark Shepard, has since passed away. I doubt it will ever be released on DVD, though I still hope so.  BS: Haunting Fear was my first major leading role, and the biggest part I'd had so far. When director Fred Olen Ray asked me to read his script, at first I thought he had me in mind for the smaller role of a sexy secretary. But he wanted me for the lead, a woman whose cheating husband tries to drive her crazy to collect her inheritance. It's a very complex role. On any given shooting day, I always had to first ask myself, "How crazy am I today?" By the end, I'm playing it totally insane. It was an amazing opportunity to stretch my range as an actress, and I'm grateful to Fred for his faith in me. 
BS: I accidentally became the assistant-director on a movie called First Loves in the mid-1980s. Originally, I was hired by the Italian director to rewrite his script. Later, I helped him to audition the actors by reading scenes with them -- and sometimes offering my own suggestions to improve their performance.
The director, Antonio, was so impressed that he invited me to their shoot in Salt Lake City, Utah. He lacked a certain confidence in his ability to speak English, thus to clearly communicate with the cast and crew. In Utah, Antonio would take me aside to explain what he wanted. Then I'd step on-set to block, rehearse, and ultimately "direct" the scenes. Unfortunately, after five weeks of shooting, I came in one morning to find the stage-doors locked -- they'd run out of money, and everyone was sent home. I'm not sure if it was ever completed and released.
It was a great experience for me, and gave me a good taste of how to direct a movie. So far, the offers just haven't come in -- but I'd love to do it again someday.  BS: I'm such a big fan of Christopher Walken and would love to work with him someday. Same for Bruce Campbell... we've met many times over the years, yet we've never worked on a film together. I imagine that would be a lot of fun; he's so crazy. I'd also like to work on a Rob Zombie movie someday. Related Movie Reviews Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama
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