Catching Up With the Queen of Cult Classics

by Jon Keeyes

Only the fractured sunrays which seep through the blinds bring light to the office. A haunting Beethoven melody whispers in the air. From a shadowed corner, a woman steps forth as elegant and deadly as the black widow. As she provides a greeting, her eyes smile the vampire's embrace.

Is this a horror movie? No. This is Brinke Stevens, a woman who has shaped the art of cult films in Hollywood in more ways than most people can imagine. With a career that spans nearly fifteen years, Stevens is one of the few survivors of the low budget industry that generated the "scream queen" phenomena. "We [Stevens and the other B-Queens] never set out to be scream queens. We just set out to work very hard and we accumulated this huge amount of product."

So, where did this lady of beauty and talent begin? In marine biology, of course. Ste- vens was raised in San Diego, California where her early years were spent as a "nerd" aspiring to be a scientist. "I was a real shy kid, but smart kid," she says. Her dreams led her to receive a Masters Degree in Marine Biology from Scripps. Until this point the idea of acting and modeling had never entered her mind.

During graduate school "I met a photographer and he shot some pictures." She then moved to Los Angeles in 1980 to marry comic book artist Dave Stevens and began doing modeling for him. Unable to find science work, she took her photos and sketches to a modeling agency. "They forgot about my appointment and were out to lunch. So, I'm trudging back along the corridor feeling rejected and I look in this open doorway. I lingered in the doorway looking at the movie posters when this guy behind a desk says, 'Come here and let me see what you've got'." Showing him her portfolio, she was cast as an extra in a film the very next day. The movie was All The Marbles. Her first speaking role came in Roger Corman's Slumber Party Massacre. "I thought...you know, doing nudity for this kind of money sure beats being a temporary secretary until I find a science job."

Stevens caught on and what followed was a storm of movie and modeling assignments. But what happened to the shy school girl? "It's almost like schizophrenia. I changed my name to Brinke Stevens, changed my handwriting for autographs, changed my voice for radio work. In essence, an entire transformation took place. Charlene was still there inside of me look ing out with a scientist's eyes examining Hollywood." Charlene (Stevens given name) now takes care of all the details while Brinke takes the stage.

Brains and beauty have made Stevens into a very diverse and talented woman. "My intelligence has been my salvation. I feel that I am so blessed to have multiple talents. It has helped me build a niche. I believe I was the first actress to ever sit at a convention and sell her own photos." And head of the class she is. For the near length of her career, Stevens has been the one creating new opportunities while other actresses followed on her heels. "I'm always looking for ways to expand my market," she says. Such markets have included acting, modeling, writing, marketing, dancing, comic books and film production.

Stevens many talents have landed her countless jobs. As a model, Stevens has done mainstream modeling, videos, and adult magazines. "My then-husband David shot some pictures of me doing a striptease in the living room and submitted them to Oui Magazine. We won an amateur contest." A photographer, having seen the pics, followed up with a spread for Oui which then led into a meeting with photographer Ken Marcus and work for Playboy and Penthouse.

Besides modeling, Stevens is also an accomplished writer. With a number of articles published, Stevens is working on a new one entitled The Powder Puff Gang. "I spent five days with ten women doing a city slickers thing in the High Sierra's. It was an adventure that had to be written." Stevens also has her own comic books. "I interviewed Brian Pulido at Chaos Comics. During the interview I said, 'I've always wanted to do my own comic book' and he looked me square in the eye and said, 'Let's do it'." Creating the synopsis herself, as well as doing the modeling, the first issue was published six months later. Stevens writing doesn't end with comics, however. Stevens has penned three film scripts and is currently working on her fourth. "It's called The Returning and it's a romantic ghost story". Her other scripts include The Recruiter, An Earthquake Safety film, and Teenage Exorcist which she also starred in.

All the experience has led Stevens to form her own production company named Unholy Alliance Entertainment. "It's a matter of control...not wanting to see your product slashed to ribbons by people who have a less artistic understanding." Her desire for quality and control has been molded over the years. Such knowledge and wisdom has also shaped the woman who has been an intimate part of the B-Movie genre. "The heyday was the late 80's and early 90's when all the video store chains came into existence. They needed a tremendous amount of product so I was starring in at least six movies a year. Now, I don't think the B-market is as viable as it once was because they're shooting direct to cable movies." It is, however, one of Stevens goals to replenish the artistic quality of the low budget films. "I think we need more intelligent scripts because the T&A overshadowed the story. So many of the B-films thought they had to have lots of T&A, so consequently they had lots of bad acting. I want to see more fresh, intelligent scripts with stories that focus on suspense and the characters."

Stevens desire for quality has placed her in the limelight as both a "scream queen" and a mentor. "I'm tired of the title Scream Queen," she says. "I was at a convention and this girl comes up and says, 'I'm a Scream Queen'. She had never even done a film. Since when did Scream Queen become an aspiration? It was fun in the late 80's but now its been diluted so much by these wannabe actresses. The industry has become so muddied that I don't want to be called that anymore." Stevens does take on the mentor role at times. She works with new writers with fresh ideas, and the occasional actress. "There was one actress in particular named Melissa Moore. I took her under my wing because far to often I have seen beautiful, young, naive girls get terribly taken advantage of. They (new actresses) don't think of the big picture. The first thing they do is come to Hollywood and get a breast job. Obviously, if they are willing to do this they're willing to do nude scenes. They'll keep doing nude scenes and never get the leads." (After several movies, Melissa Moore decided to return to her hometwon and left acting).

While her film history is extensive, Stevens continues to stay busy. Recently released is The Eyes Are Upon You. Co-starring with famed makeup efficiado Tom Savini, Stevens plays a four hundred year old demoness. "I got to rip a guys heart out which was really fun," she exclaims. Unfortunately, the film has been billed as "Brinke's Most Explicit Sex Scene Ever". "I don't mind doing these things, but I don't like it being exploited. I think I did it subconsciously to show my fans that even though I'm in my forties I'm still gorgeous, still have my body...that Brinke is still sexy."

Stevens was also recently in Dallas to film two new movies for Bret McCormick. To be released at the end of the summer is a "more serious film" titled Bio-Tech Warrior. The other is a comedy called Repligator. "I play a scientist in both. In Repligator, they jump on the cloning bandwagon and end up with this reptilian warrior who just crawled out of the primordial ooze."

The future appears bright and promising for Brinke Stevens. With negotiations underway for her The Returning script, Stevens is also negotiating an animated film which she has the property on entitled Sim Siren Chloe. "To do this as a motion picture would cost 90 million dollars, but I think as an animae it would come across a lot stronger." With so many projects in the fire, Stevens continues to educate herself in the art of film making. "I want to be a famous, independent producer whose doing my own properties. I want to be doing the writing, acting, producing and directing. I want to do all these jobs, not necessarily simultaneously, to maintain the integrity of my own projects." With brains, beauty and talent, Brinke Stevens will continue to chisel her name into Hollywood's memory, and pioneer new opportunities for the entertainment industry.

Brinke Stevens Fan Club
8033 Sunset Blvd., Suite 556
Hollywood, CA 90046

Visit Brinke Stevens' Fan Club

Originally published in GC Magazine - Edited by Jon Keeyes