LINNEA QUIGLEY
THEN: With Christmas just around the corner, we at AITH thought we’d give you a perfect holiday treat for this weeks Where in the Horror are they Now. In fact, I’m a little bit shocked that we haven’t looked at the impressive genre career of this weeks subject. From the early days of slasher flicks like TOURIST TRAP (1979) and GRADUATION DAY (1981) to classic horror features like THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985) and NIGHT OF THE DEMONS (1988), Linnea Quigley has done it all. The actress took on all kinds of horror, and one of her earlier flicks certainly made this December the perfect time to talk about her work.
Linnea’s career began in 1975 playing a ‘Barmaid’ in s little something called WHEELER.Yet it didn’t take long for the actress to take on a scary movie or two. In 1978 she appeared in the sci-fi action flick DEATHSPORT in an uncredited role as a ‘Courtesan.’ There was the previously mentioned TOURIST TRAP where she was once again uncredited, this time as a ‘Mannequin.’ Also in 1979 she didn’t heed the warning of the title DON’T GO NEAR THE PARK, this time playing the lead character’s ‘Mother.’ Yet it was a little movie with a ton of pretty lights and a murderous Santa that really shook things up.
The first time audiences saw Santa Claus coming out of a chimney with an axe, more than a few people complained. SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT came out in 1984 and faced a lot controversy. Here’s the thing, it really isn’t a great movie by any stretch. In fact, its pretty bad, but like any cheesy B-movie slasher flick, it offers up a Christmas cheer or two. One such moment is the creative impalement of Linnea’s character named ‘Denise’ on antlers. Hell, that scene makes the entire movie worth checking out. And to be fair, good or not, it’s always fun to see the horror flicks that freak out those who are easily offended.
Linnea Quigley has had such a massive career in horror, that it would be impossible to list everything. So let’s continue on with some of the highlights. In 1985, THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD rocked the world of horror fans everywhere. The comedic yet gruesome take on zombie thills became an instant fan favorite that still has an impact, and many consider it to be one of the best when it comes to flesh eating monsters. This was an awesome flick for a number of reasons, and yes, Linnea’s sexy punk rocker was a big reason for that. Who knew a zombie comedy could be this sexy?!?
Clearly embracing genre in every sense, Linnea continued to work in sci-fi and horror. She had CREEPOZOIDS in 1987, DEAD HEAT in 1988 – an under appreciated flick starring Treat Williams and Joe Piscopo – and NIGHTMARE SISTERS in 1988. The actress also had the honor of being one of Freddy Krueger’s souls in the hit sequel A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4: THE DREAM MASTER (1988). That same year, she continued to prove that hot chicks and humorous horror could be just as much fun as getting scared. With SORORITY BABES IN THE SLIMEBALL BOWL-O-RAMA and HOLLYWOOD CHAINSAW HOOKERS, the actress was clearly destined to be major force in independent horror.
NIGHT OF THE DEMONS was another thriller that had a major impact on the genre. The story of teenagers getting picked off in gruesome ways at a party infested with demonic spirits is pretty freaking fun. While not a mainstream hit, the Halloween themed feature has become a serious cult classic, and it even inspired a semi-recent remake starring Shannon Elizabeth in 2009. After facing off against ‘Angela’ and her ghoulish party guests, Ms. Quigley continued mixing horror with pure and unadulterated adult themed comedies like VICE ACADEMY, VICE ACADEMY 2 and SEXBOMB.
Usually when we approach this column, we can easily focus on the genre and be done with it. Not so with Linnea because she has so damn much. There was WITCHTRAP in 1989. You had DR. ALIEN (1989), GUYVER (1991), BEACH BABES FROM BEYOND (1993), PUMPKINSEED II: BLOOD WINGS (1993), JACK-O (1995), PHANTOMS (was the bomb) in 1998, THE MONSTER MAN (2001), CORPSES ARE FOREVER (2004), FROST (2004), THE NAKED MONSTER (2005), THE NOTORIOUS COLONEL STEEL (2008), SPRING BREAK MASSACRE (2008), and yes, she has a brief role in the remake of NIGHT OF THE DEMONS. I could go on, but the general idea is that she works a whole hell of a lot.
NOW: Linnea Quigley is one of the most prolific names in our beloved genre. Just look at her IMDb page and you’ll see just how many gloriously cheesy flicks she’s been involved in. In 2013 she appeared in THE TROUBLE WITH BARRY, MISS STRANGELOVE and in 2014, she had DISCIPLES, BIGFOOT VS. D.B. COOPER – clearly a true story hehe – and THEY CAME FROM THE ETHER, EVIL DARK and more. Then in 2015 she had A BLOOD STORY and CABARET DIABOLIQUE. So what can we expect from the actress near the end of 2016 and beyond? A lot apparently.
This year she was involved in THE BARN, THE UNQUENCHABLE THIRST FOR BEAU NERJOOSE and HUNTERS. And since everybody loves zombies nowadays, Linnea will be appearing in a couple of episodes of a scheduled series 86 Zombies (2017). There are also a few films that are listed as in development and in production, seriously she must be one of the hardest working horror hotties in history! Well we here at AITH have always loved Linnea Quigley, not only for her obvious attributes, but for her lively on-screen performances as well. She’s just all sorts of awesome.
If you’d like to see what Ms. Quigley is up to, you can check out her official Facebook and Twitter page. As well you could go to her official website to get a complete view of the actress and her impressive career. Linnea has written three books, she was a singer for a band called The Skirts – courtesy of Wikipedia – and she is one of the reasons we have the term “scream queen.” Linnea is the real deal. So this holiday, get out your copy of that flick with a killer Santa by the name of Billy, and once again enjoy the loveliness of Linnea Quigley.