I found myself haunting The Screening Room again to see Scream Queen: My Nightmare on Elm Street (2019), a documentary about Nightmare on Elm St. Part 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985) and it's underlying gayness, or at least that's what I thought it would be about.

In preparation for the documentary, I re-watched Nightmare on Elm St. 2. I remember watching it back around the time it came out, probably at a sleepover party on VHS. I was unimpressed and didn't understand why it stood out so much from the other Nightmare on Elm St. movies. I know I didn't like that it was a possession-type movie and it truly changed the dynamic of Freddy Krueger. To be fair, I was young. Seeing it now, I caught all the homoerotic clues and it's a no-brainer that it's a gay horror movie. I was happy to see male butts and not boobs like so many 1980s horror movies! I'm still confused as to why everyone is so sweaty though. lol.

I read that originally producers had such an unexpected hit with the Nightmare on Elm St. movie, they were in a rush to make a sequel and they were planning separate stories for each movie with the only connection being Freddy Krueger. They ended up switching gears ~ when the second film was a bust ~ and brought back fan favorite final girl Nancy for the third installment, (which I admit Nightmare on Elm St. 3: Dream Warriors (1987) was always my favorite.)

So back to Scream Queen: My Nightmare on Elm St., it revisits part 2 through the eyes of the main actor Mark Patton. So it's less about the movie, and more about him. Mark was cast as Jesse Walsh and this role was meant to further his acting career, but the problem was the gay subtext. He felt it ruined his career and he vanished from show business all together. Little did he know, he shaped fans idea of what a heroine is and gay people finally found representation in horror through his character. Jesse was a final girl...er boy.

In real life Mark Patton is gay. He knew he was gay from the age of 4, but that never stopped his acting career... in the beginning. He was in movies, shared the Broadway stage with Cher, and starred in a bunch of national commercials. He was the "All-American" boy. The timing of his first starring role in Nightmare 2 was bad. In the mid 1980s the AIDS epidemic was taking over the media and we were still learning about it. The media associated gay people with AIDS. Gay actors went back into hiding because of the shame and Hollywood was fearful of people learning about all the gay actors. Mark is HIV positive. So really the subtext of Nightmare on Elm St. Part 2 was dangerous for Mark as an actor.

The writer of the movie explained that at the time, in 1985, the real horror was being gay and having AIDS, not some slasher gimmick. He tried to manifest homoerotic horror in the movie through the relationship Freddy and Jesse have. It's almost a love story where Jesse transforms into Freddy.

Looking back on my experience with horror movies ~ just off the top of my head~ Sleepaway Camp (1983) stands out as introducing a character that you're not sure of their sexual orientation. *SPOILER* You think the main character is a girl, but you find out at the end they have a penis. So the question is, are they a cross-dresser? Are they transgender? You don't really know. Another one is The Lost Boys (1987). The character of Sam always seemed very feminine to me. He even has a picture of Rob Lowe on the wall of his room and wears a "Born to Shop" T shirt, but it's never ever addressed. Really it's "all don't ask, don't tell." In my opinion ~ in the real world ~ it's no one's business anyway.

In 2010, the documentary Never Sleep Again: the Elm St. Legacy (2010) came out, and producers wanted to include Mark Patton. They had to hire a private investigator to find him. (fyi- If you plan on watching Never Sleep Again it's about 4 hours. I was not prepared for that when I started watching it.) They found him living in Mexico off the grid. He's now an artist and owns a little shop.

In 2015 he followed the horror convention circuit because he finally realized his contribution to horror movies. He's finally taking the fame and using it to become an advocate for HIV awareness. He's back in the spotlight and changing the conversation about LGBTQ+ in horror.

I'm a fan of documentaries and I found this one to be thoughtful and interesting. Mark Patton gets "his truth" out and even gets closure from the writer of Nightmare on Elm St. Part 2 for derailing his career. The opening animation was was wonderful too.

Here's the trailer...

Don't forget to enter my 3 year anniversary contest!

I just wanted to THANK YOU for following my blog. I've slowed down writing them a little, but I'm still here! This year for my anniversary I'm doing TWO giveaways!!!

Giveaway 1 ~ PUSHEEN

Included is...

1. Pusheen Water Bottle

2. Pusheen Pool Float

3. Pusheen Jump Rope

4. Pusheen To-Go Salad Container

Giveaway 2 ~ MAC

Included is...

1. Gold Makeup Bag

2. Perfume Atomizer

3. Eyelash Curler

4. MAC Makeup Palette (colors: Pink Freeze, Fine Shine, Dove Feather, Chill Blue, Nocturnelle, Formal Black)

All you have to do to enter...

~ Like the Fluffy the Vampire Slayer Facebook Page.

~ Comment on the Giveaway post which one you would like to win, or both! i.e. "PUSHEEN", "MAC", "PUSHEEN & MAC".

~ Share the Fluffy the Vampire Slayer Facebook page.

Good luck and I'll be picking two winners at random on Monday, March 9 and they'll be contacted via Facebook.

The movie the Color Out of Space was recently featured on the cover of Rue Morgue Magazine ~ and I hate it when this happens. Let me explain, I get psyched up about a movie I want to see on the big screen, and then it's only shown at one movie theater in town, once for MAYBE three days. When I saw it was up at the North Park Theater, I had to scramble. Monday night at 9:40 pm and I was there! Nic Cage starring in it and a Lovecraft story, what can go wrong?

I admit I wasn't expecting to like it, on top of that it was playing at my bedtime so I was a tad bit crabby. I was pleasantly surprised. I will also admit, I've read Lovecraft, but not this particular story, so I don't have much to compare it to, but I noticed the crashing meteor trope is similar to quite a few classic horror movies.

***SPOILER ALERT...SORT OF***

The basic premise is that a family of five inherits an old country house. Mom works from home doing stocks and she has breast cancer, it was hinted that dad was an artist, the two older kids are teenagers, and all you need to know about the youngest son is that he's adorable and the most impressionable.

They are secluded from people and a meteor hits their front yard ~ of course it does. Meteors and aliens don't land in the city. (p.s. This is why I would never live in the country, too far away from civilization if some crazy sh!t goes down and I need help. Literally...comes down from the sky). This meteor is alive and dissipates it's energy into the ground, the water, the air surrounding the farm. It begins to change time and matter around it.

Staring at the meteor.

Electronics start and stop by themselves, everything is static-y, time speeds up, foreign plants sprout up all over, bugs mutate, water is contaminated, each family member's personality becomes more confrontational and angry, the youngest son begins to see and hear things no one else can see. That's the scary part, it's unpredictable.

I won't go into all the details, but there's a black fluffy cat in the movie that's owned by a squatter that randomly lives on the land played by Tommy Chong. (Yes, THAT Tommy Chong of Cheech and Chong. Makes sense since this movie its a little trippy.) The cat's name in the movie is "G-Spot" you know because pussy-cat. (Even though I never read the Lovecraft story, I'm pretty sure this isn't in it.) The cat's name in real life is Lucifer, much more suitable in my opinion. ***Warning all cat lovers, G-Spot doesn't survive the Color Out of Space.

I feel like Tommy Chong plays the same character in every movie.

After thinking about Color Out of Space for a few days, I've decided it reminds me of The Gate, The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill in Creepshow, any of the 1950s B movies about toxic/ radiation/ nuclear destruction, but with beautiful cinematography. A friend said it reminded him of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. So while the story isn't new ~ and one could say all of these movies were based on Lovecraft's original story ~ Color Out of Space is an update.

It included a lot of imagery that's found in so many modern horror movies. For example, the use of triangle shaped elements, just like The Void, OA, and Neon Demon. The use of neon colors to give an almost iridescent quality was great, after all it's the COLOR Out of Space. These small things captured me as an audience member and made it enjoyable.

The body horror special effects were impressive. Mom chops off her fingers and they show it, Dad's skin becomes dark and scaly, the alpacas when touched by the toxic air melt to a giant blob of flesh ~ think the monster in Slither ~ and mom and the youngest get attacked by the light and their skin fuses together into a gooey blob that evolves into The Thing type monster.

About midway through, Nic Cage becomes the comic relief in this movie. His over-acting outbursts into madness were laughable, and the audience did laugh. You'd think this was a bad thing, but it seems to make the movie even better.

My only question is why they made the daughter a practicing Wiccan? Was it to prove even though you worship the old way, you still can't be saved? I didn't think it added to the movie at all. Other than that I give it 4.5 mutated alpacas out of 5.

I'm looking forward to Nicolas Cage's next movie, and hopefully more Lovecraft adaptations!

Here's the trailer...

Our second try at visiting a cat cafe was completely different then the first! I knew the Buckminster Cat Cafe was opening soon, as the owner Molly stopped in my shop Cats Like Us last summer and we were in communication about cross promotion. Well they finally opened in November and our family holiday obligations calmed down, so we stopped in for a visit! It was awesome!

The reason it took so long to open is that they wanted to do a cat cafe right, and it shows. I can't say enough good things about this place. The building is in downtown Buffalo, NY and they completely gutted and rehabbed the inside and part of the outside. Even though the inside is small, the giant front windows, streamlined interior, and clean look make it nice and bright. You feel like you're in a much more cosmopolitan city like Toronto! 

The front part of the cafe is a an actual cafe with a big variety of coffee and tea drinks, nibbles, AND they have local beer and wine! The atmosphere was calm and filled with students working on laptops and people reading. We were running errands on Sunday and ended up getting there a little early for our 2 o'clock Cat Zone appointment, so we ate lunch. Both of us opted for a beer/ hard cider and a BLT. They have a tempeh bacon option if you are vegetarian too! The sandwich had bacon, tomato, mayo, cucumber, and sprouts. It was simple and tasty. After lunch I had a hot tea and they have a nice variety of fresh loose tea. The quality of their cafe is impressive. It's hard to find a restaurant that serves good loose tea, or even loose tea in general!

They have vintage cat planters for sale, along with locally made cat toys and goodies. You know I'm all about the vintage!

Ok, so 2 o'clock rolled around and we filled out our waivers. I suggest making reservations online to visit the cats since only five people are allowed to visit with them at a time. The money to book your slot goes towards caring for the cats. Totally worth it.

We were then escorted by the owner into the back of the cafe and through a glass door into a window filled hallway where we hung out coats. Looking through the window you can see the kitties in the cat room. She opened the door and introduced us to the cats that were currently up for adoption. She gave a little info on each of their personalities and what toys they like. I loved this part because it's good to have a little background since cats are as different as people.

The room itself was small and long and made for kitties! It had lots of nooks for the cats to hide and escape if they got too overstimulated, hidden litter boxes, even an open window up high to get some fresh air. There was a bin of cat toys for us and the cats to play with. I was surprised at how active the cats were for it being the afternoon. Maybe my own cats are just super lazy. 

Don't worry though, if the cats are all napping in the Cat Zone, there's light reading for you to enjoy! (Lol.)

Of the five cats we met, I really liked Noelle. She was a lone tabby kitty just doing her thing. We were told she doesn't get along with other cats. I did notice she was a quiet observer. We got her to loosen up a little and go by the other cats, she even climbed up and perched near them! What a sweetie!

Our hour was up and I left feeling an overall sense of delight at what Buckminster Cat Cafe is doing. They are adopting out cats from Second Chance Sheltering Network.

As for the cross promotion I mentioned above, come to Cats Like Us and get a coupon for a free coffee or tea with the purchase of Cat Zone entry! Just ask! *While supplies last.

Buckminster Cat Cafe

577 Niagara Street

Buffalo, NY 14201

Me in my happy place...with cats.

Yes, I'm behind, and always catching up on movies. Some friends told me It Follows (2014) is their favorite horror movie in the last 20 years. Um, I wouldn't go THAT far, but it's certainly the prettiest movie about STDs I've ever watched. Let me explain...

***SPOILER WARNING***

The very first five minutes shows a girl named Annie running from something invisible in red high heels out of a house. She takes a car and leaves. She calls her dad and says goodbye knowing she's going to die. She's then shown contorted, broken, and bloody with heels still in view.

This is exciting and I was expecting a fun gore-fest of a movie, but it's not. It's more of a thriller with lots of symbolism. So I'm guessing the red heels are a signifier that she's sexually promiscuous?

That's gotta hurt.

Next we are introduced to the characters. Jay and Kelly are sisters and Kelly's friends are Yara and Paul. Jay is going out with a guy she just recently started dating and they are doing the classic dinner and a movie. (I enjoyed this part because the theater shown reminds me of one down the street from where I live that still has a working Wurlitzer organ, The Riviera Theater!) Before the movie starts he turns around and sees a girl, he asks Jay if she sees her. She says no. He panics and needs to leave. No big deal, innocent enough.

The next date they go on is by the beach. They have sex for the first time in his car. Right after, he drugs her unconscious, and ties her up in an abandoned underpass or parking ramp? She's still in her underwear.

Her undies are pretty.

This is where we learn a little more. He tells her there's a "thing" that's going to follow her. He passed it to her through sex ...like an std. Now both of them can see when this "thing" is there. To prove it, he shows her a naked woman doesn't recognize, slowly walking towards her. This reminded me of the scene in Twin Peaks where they find Ronette Pulaski walking on the railroad track bridge.

Naked woman Jay sees while tied up.

Ronette wandering home from the abuse at the hands of pure evil.

Then he says "You will see it as someone you know or a stranger. They are trying to get close to you." He tells her she has to have sex with someone else to get rid of it. Otherwise it will kill HIM. He also said, don't let it touch you. Then he drops her off, she calls the police, and needless to say they aren't dating anymore. The police go back to the area, and don't find anything, except that he used a fake name to rent a house.

Jay  goes to one of her college classes and she sees a woman creeping towards her, slowly ~ Night of the Living Dead style ~ and she runs, hops in her car, and drives away. She tells Kelly and Paul about it.

Old lady haunting the halls.

The Living Dead.

The friends decide to have a sleepover to protect Jay. Of course these entities keep coming, and break into her house to come after her. The friends finally witness her panic and decide they need to find the guy that did this to her. They go to his address and it's super run down house with homemade chimes, sound traps around the windows, unlabeled pill bottles, and a couple Ts. In his attic bedroom they find a picture of him in high school tucked in a porn magazine. They go to his old high school and find out his real name is Jeff. They track him down to his real house where he lives with his mother. He tells all of them the same story he told Jay, except that he got it from a one night stand.

The group leaves Jeff and they go to the cottage on the water of a neighbor named Greg, where he teaches her how to shoot a gun, but that doesn't stop the thing from coming after her. She shoots it and it gets right back up. It also pushes Paul and he's left with a mark, so the friends do believe Jay, even if they can't see it. Jay makes a run for it and hops in the car only to get into a crash, where she wakes up in the hospital with a broken arm. She has sex with Greg in the hospital to pass it along. Greg doesn't believe her and doesn't see anything for a while though.

She looks like Brittany Murphy.

One night she sees Greg breaking a window and climbing into his own house. She know that's not the real him and it's the thing coming for him. She runs over to try and warn him and the entity turns into his mother. She kills him in front of Jay by riding him sexually? Jay freaks out and goes to the beach in the water. It will come after her again now that it's not going after Greg.

We learn Paul always had a crush on her and he was her first kiss. They decide to go back to where they had their first kiss. A public city pool that is now abandoned? They plan on electrocuting the things following her. It comes after her in the pool and its starts throwing things in the pool, trying to electrocute her and hits her in the head. They shoot it, and the water turns bloody, and it grabs her ankle, but she gets away.

The worst period ever.

She then has sex with  Paul and they are shown walking down the street hand in hand with someone walking behind them. So are they dating now? Are they still being followed? Where did this thing come from? How did Annie get it? Is there any rhyme or reason to who they see? Why are the people they see always naked or wearing white? I have a TON of questions.

There's a lot of sexual symbolism with the color red and liquids in the form of water, cola, ice cream, you name it. The visuals are more impressive with panoramic stills of the unknown. Some of the scenes coloring even look like a comic book story board. There always seems to be a figure in the background following or watching.

The synth soundtrack is fun and on trend with the now popular retro wave music. It pairs nicely with the scenes making them ominous and intense. Overall the movie is pretty and original. I give it 3.5 dips in the pool out of 5.

Here's the trailer...

If you've ever thought of yourself as a witch - if only for a split second - the book Waking the Witch: Reflections on Women Magic and Power by Pam Grossman is like a warm welcoming hug. What is a witch? A witch can be anyone in any capacity because experiences range greatly from person to person. The traditional idea of a witch ascribes them to reading tarot cards, practicing candle magic, casting spells, befriending familiars, and being versed in the "old ways." But you may experience magic in your own life. Do you ever think of someone and they message you? Do you dream something and then it happens? Maybe you just have strong intuition or are gifted with a certain talent? Maybe you're an empath or a good listener? All of these things can make you feel like you are in tune with the unseen world around you. Waking the Witch will make you feel like you belong.

Grossman is a well-versed blogger, podcaster, and writer that covers a lot of territory regarding the history witches and intertwines them with her experiences, pop culture, and the current political climate. The book was published last year and she touches on Trump, the use of the term "witch hunt", and how identifying as a witch still has detrimental effects in other countries ~ but this is only a small part of the book. She talks about the burgeoning witch in the character of Willow in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and her diverse characters, The Craft and it's authenticity, how Suspiria portrays a witch's power, and so much more.

This book is thoughtful and encouraging especially for someone like me, that often identifies as a witch and an outsider. It's positive and helpful with lots of references if you want to delve deeper. I only hope there is a follow up book because some of it will get dated, so I encourage you to read it now!

Never forget, we are the weirdos and we need to stick together.

For more information on Pam Grossman you can go to her website:
https://www.pamgrossman.com/

p.s. She's also a cat lady. 😉

(All images take from https://www.pamgrossman.com/)

When I started this blog I was pumped to write about cats and horror movies---I still am, but I don't have the time to focus on it. I even have a list of topics I want to write about and the movies I want to watch! I'm jealous of the people that can watch a horror movie a day. I haven't sat in front of the tv in at least a week.

When I started this blog I didn't have to do as much work at my job (Cats Like Us) as I do now. I own a business and it's my priority and I'm the only staff person. We started carrying vintage in addition to retro. What that means is I need more time to clean, repair, measure, describe, and photograph for the website. My time is not my own, if it was, I'd be blogging.

When I started this blog my cats were younger. I think my little Ginger is getting dementia and Vicktor has bad arthritis. Ginger wanders around my house meowing and lost, especially in the middle of the night and Vicktor tries to jump up on things and falls down.

When I started this blog I had less family in town. This past holiday has proven that family obligations will be taking up a lot of my time. For the most part, I like hanging out with family.

Don't worry I have a 3 year anniversary giveaway planned next month. I'm still here and will be posting on my facebook. I'm just overwhelmed and will be taking a break. Thanks for supporting me over the years and reading my posts. It means a lot. I'm glad I'm not the only one interested in cats AND horror!

This time of year always ends up being very very busy, but with Thanksgiving being a week late, I feel like I'm really behind, rushing, and a little overwhelmed. So I didn't have time to take a video to share with you the Pusheen Winter 2019 unboxing, but here is what was included. (Read further down and I've included a super easy vegetarian Holiday Soup recipe perfect for this time of year when you don't have time!)

Looking at the outside of the Pusheen box you would think that it would be Christmas themed. Well you're wrong! It's all about baking!

Some of the items are useful, but I have questions about the mini vaccuum. Lol.

1. Small silicone Pusheen Spatula. I like the smaller sizes because they are great for getting things out of cans.

2. Pusheen shaped Cooling Rack. While the idea behind this is cute, it's really small and feels cheaply made. I'd use it more for displaying cookies and cupcakes.

3. Measuring Spoons are always good to have. These will be useful.

4. Pusheen Cupcake Liners. I love the color, but Pusheen is really hard to see on them. Maybe once they are baked it will be better?

5. Pot Holder. How did they know I always set mine on fire?! This will come in HANDy.

6. Recipe Cards. I've been using index cards for years, so these will be a nice upgrade!

7. Sweatshirt with a yellow on yellow embossed Baker Pusheen. I love my Pusheen sweatshirts. I like that this one isn't for a specific holiday and can be worn year round. I have an autumn one, Christmas, and bat hoodie.

8. Mini Vacuum. Not sure how I feel about this yet. I'll have to see it in action.

9. Vinyl Cupcake Pusheen.

Thanks for reading and if you got this far, here's a soup recipe....

Holiday Soup

28 oz. vegetable broth (you can use chicken too)
9 oz. cheese tortellini (or tortellini of your choice)
1 can 15 oz. white kidney beans (or cannellini beans or chickpeas), rinsed and drained
1 can 14 oz.  Italian diced tomatoes
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
3 cups fresh baby spinach
3 Tbsp fresh basil, minced (I used 2 Tbsp dry)
1/4 cup shredded Asiago cheese

~In a pot bring broth to a boil, add tortellini. Reduce heat to simmer for 5 minutes.
~Stir in beans, tomatoes, salt and pepper. Return to a simmer 5 minutes, or until tortellini are tender.
~Stir in spinach and basil, cook until spinach is wilted.
~Top with cheese.

Takes about 20 minutes, serves about 6.

Happy Holidays!

I recently discovered Laura aka Lolly Willowes and if you like witches or being an independent woman I suggest reading about her! Lolly Willowes is a character from the book Lolly Willowes or The Loving Huntsmen written in 1926 by Sylvia Townsend Warner, but the story takes place at the turn of the century and follows her discovering the witch life.

A little background is that Lolly's in her mid twenties, unmarried and living with her father. Her hobbies include studying herbs and plants. When he dies, her world is pushed in an unexpected direction. She goes to live with her brothers family, as was the norm of a spinster. In her new abode the family is religious, conservative, and quite boring. Always trying to set her up with various suitors, she has obligations, and duties to be "Aunt Lolly", but she couldn't be less interested. Lolly finds the daily monotony draining and one day while out on a walk decides to move to the country by herself to escape the drudgery. (The book was written by a woman and her characters feelings still resonate today with many women ~ myself included.)

Page one. The type is small, the book is small and short at 250 pages, and it doesn't have chapters, so you can really stop and start anywhere when taking a break from reading. This makes it great for travel.

Lolly moves in with another woman, truly enjoys her solitude and the countryside. She makes friends with the towns folk and feels like this is where she belongs. Meanwhile her family visits and can't relate to her and how she could ever be happy there. I think they secretly resent her for doing what she wants to do with her life and not being confined to societal norms.

One day while out on a walk she thinks she may have summoned a force ~ possibly the Devil ~ and she makes a pact with him. When she gets back to her room there's a kitten waiting for her. She has no idea how it got in, but it scratches her and now it's official she made a blood pact with the Devil. She names him Vinegar and he sounds like the cutest thing in the world.

Her housemate takes her out for a walk when neither of them can sleep and they end up in a field where the other towns folk are dancing and carousing. They are celebrating the Sabbath. Lolly is put off and uncomfortable. This was all so unexpected. Her inner witch has been awakened but she's scared by it.

Her nephew marries a girl from her countryside town, Lolly sees them off via taxi and ends up waiting for a late train to get home. While taking a walk to find a place to rest while the train comes, she stumbles upon a grassy area with a groundskeeper. He introduces himself as the Devil and he knows her. He tells her "women are sticks of dynamite" and "all women are witches even if they never do anything with their witchcraft". I feel that this is an empowering statement that women need to hear more often. Lolly finally has her freedom, but the cost is forever tied to Vinegar and the Devil.

I know that not all witches make pacts with the devil, but as of late that seems to be a common theme with the popularity of witchcraft and witch style. Take for example Sabrina. This book doesn't portray the devil as "bad", but just an alternative option for your lifestyle, after all he IS the "Loving Huntsmen". I like that.