Inside the B-Movie Survival Guide

by Jon Keeyes (April 1999)

Any fan of movies is familiar with the ridiculous things which can occur during a horror film. Magazines discuss them in Halloween issues. Eddie Murphy poked fun at them on his first comedic album. Even characters in the movie Scream discussed the rules of a horror film. You know the rules I'm talking about: The group will always split up when they know the killer is in the house, the victim will always drop the weapon next to the "dead" indestructible killer, and the bimbo will always take her top off when the monster is lumbering outside in the hall. Someone really needs to teach these people some lessons. And who better to teach them than actress Debbie Rochon. One of the classiest and most popular horror and b-film actresses of the 1990's (Tromeo and Juliet, Alien Agenda, Abducted II) Debbie has gathered with photographer Peter Cooke, and friend Peter Schmideg, to create "The B-Movie Survival Guide."

"It's a satirical, coffee table book," shared Rochon. "It's a very quick read. What it's made up of is anecdotes, jokes and tips on how to live to the end credits. It has illustrations for every page. It's not unlike other books that you see by the cash register at Barnes and Noble. You know, books like, 'What Does It Mean When Your Cat Makes This Face?' It's exactly one of those books. We also have stories from famous filmmakers and a foreward by Joe Bob Briggs. So when people pick up the book they can flip through the jokes and get that laugh. Then they can actually go back and read the stories by filmmakers. It becomes a two level book.

"The book was originally Gary's idea," continued Rochon. "It was nearly three years ago, and he wanted to do this because he had seen a lot of the movies coming out and it seemed logical to have a guide. I think Scream had just come out, so we started writing it and then we started involving other people in it. We had a list of people that we wanted in the book and we had to agree on who we would put in there. Obviously, really serious filmmakers wouldn't really fit because it's a very campy book. Plus, I did have a couple of people hear about it and ask to be in the book. So we pretty much have funny directors, actors and writers involved."

As the trio sat down and began the task of formulating the book, they realized the volumes of jokes that could be stabbed at b-movies. "We wrote what we thought was funny," said Rochon. "Funny is always a matter of opinion, but we had hundreds of pages of funny anecdotes and ideas and we went through them saying, 'This one's funny, this one works but it's too wordy, this one is awful,' and we just cut the list down to something that really worked.

"Anybody who grows up with horror movies will appreciate the jokes, and that's everybody because even if you didn't like them your brother or sister made you watch one. The book is mainstream friendly. There's not a lot of inside jokes. All of the jokes can be appreciated by anybody. You don't have to be in the business to appreciate the jokes."

Like so many horror movies that seem to end then suddenly continue on and on, the authors hardest job was finding a finale to this project. Explained Rochon, "We shopped the book around for a long time, and the publishers were extremely interested in it. They would sign exclusive deals where they could look at it for six months. So for almost a year and a half, it was basically these publishers so-called property. Well, by the time the deal would run out, people had turned over and the person who was originally interested in it had gone off to other companies. And then it would just get dropped. Finally, we decided to just self-publish it to ensure the book was put out properly.

"The B-Movie Survival Guide is an impulse buy. It's a lot of fun but if we didn't get it out in a timely fashion it won't mean a whole lot. We definitely wanted to get it out there before all of the Hollywood sequels and trends are done. And that became the justification for self-publishing."

And self-publish it they have done. "The B-Movie Survival Guide" is currently available through Diamond Distribution (which means it can be purchased at, or ordered through, your local comic book and collectibles store) or it can be purchased on the internet by visiting: Amazon.com.

As for Debbie Rochon, her film career continues to grow, bringing her increased fame and attention. She will be attending the Cannes Film Festival with Troma Films for her role in their newest movie, Terror Firmer (which will receive theatrical release this summer and then a video release by Halloween). At the same time, Night of the Living Dead 30 will be getting a theatrical release with fifteen minutes of new footage that Rochon is a part of. Shared Rochon, "NLD30 is getting very interesting reactions. Some of the hardcore fans are being pretty nasty about it though they haven't seen anything. They're just going on what they've heard. It has been great on the otherside because I've been getting a ton of calls from industry people who saw it at AFM and they really loved it. It's going to be getting some great pushes through Universal also."

Rochon is also anxiously awaiting the release of Split, which is getting a theatrical release, as well as Rage of the Werewolf: "I'm a vampire that gets bit by a werewolf. The storyline is that the polarity of the earth and moon has shifted and the population has gotten this werewolf-like virus. So, when the moon is full they turn werewolf. And there is one very real, very evil werewolf who is sent to capture me because he believes if he can combine his blood with a vampire he'll be the ultimate evil malady and he'll take over the world. From there, insanity ensues."

Whether it's making movies, or creating books, Debbie Rochon continues to make herself one of the brightest shining stars in the world of horror and b-movies. As a finally thought on the book she noted, "We did get Joe Bob Briggs to do the introduction. I had to string him up and torture him with kitchen utensils, but he did it. And he wrote a good foreward so it was worth waiting for him. I'm really proud of what all we achieved with this book."

Order the B-Movie Survival Guide: Amazon.com

Originally published in GC Magazine - edited by Jon Keeyes