Honorable mentions from a season in review
This Peruvian potato-chip did A LOT this summer. I had beautiful conversations with artists until the wee hours of the morning, drank copious amounts of cold brew, watched several movies for pleasure, and lost track of time. Since my life revolves around more than just horror movies and fashion (I know, HUGE shock), thought I’d share the bits and pieces.Here are some highlights ❤
June
Starting the season after a long tailbone break recovery had me eager to make up for lost time. A babe on a mission is like a magnet.
Diary entry June 2nd 2024
Don’t think that I haven’t been privy to standing in a room full of side glances and whispering mouths with the looks only uncomfortable and insecure women can give. That’s okay, it doesn’t really surprise me anymore. We live in a world of fake curated rules and make each other believe that they are real, like competition and superiority.
~Summer Style~
The season brought with it gains and losses, as usual, and a surprising heap of expectation I somehow still had for friends and people in my life. I let that shit go.
Diary Entry June 17th 2024
How do I feel about it? lyrics editions ~
A. I should’ve known by the way you popped your collar that it wouldn’t last.
B. Guilty feet ain’t got no rhythm
C. Should I cool it or should I blow?
Summer also brought change to my weekly screenings at Idaho Film Society. Making life and curating easier to balance Sundays still rein supreme, I’m doing firsts of the month. Below are the films I’ve curated so far.
Psycho Beach Party (2000)
Two days after the summer solstice, I celebrated four years of writing this blog. It’s a wonderful feeling knowing I stuck with something I still love. I stayed in and watched this go-to summer staple to commemorate.
Its a colorful, zany, entertaining homage to 50s cult thrillers, 60s teen beach dramas, and classic slashers of the past. Steeped in satire it’s a prime example of a film borrowing from the greats while being able to stand on its own.
Thanks to the writing of Charles Busch and the costume design by Camille Jumelle both are working perfectly together as a testament to how this film has managed to stand the test of time. You can’t fake good writing and the wardrobe helps the story and characters every step of the way. A true unified expression of storytelling.
The tiki resurgence of the early 2000s was absolutely a thing. It comes back to me in flashes from the days of bright colors and “anything goes” film. It is just a bonus we get that tiki nostalgia to top everything off.
~Sounds of Summer~
My husband brought home a gift from his work at The Record Exchange. A 4-Disc CD compilation of girl group songs of the 1960s disguised as a faux fucking hat box.
With disc cases that open to mirrors and a detailed booklet entitled “Diary” it’s as if the universe knew I was waiting for it.
Most of the songs in the compilation are very difficult to find on streaming, if at all. The best song on Disc 1 is “I’d Much Rather Be With The Girls” by Donna Lynn. As much as I love Ronnie Spector, sorry to say that her version is the most popular because it’s nothing compared to Donna’s.
Legacy
Roger Corman 1926-2024
I didn’t fully comprehend Roger Corman’s impact on film until the last few years of his life. Nick and I celebrated our wedding anniversary last year in Las Vegas and got tickets to Joe Bob’s Jamboree at the West Wind Drive-In. Roger Corman was going to be there and we knew it would be a once in a lifetime experience. And it absolutely was. Little did we know then that it would be his very last live public interview and appearance. The entire week did not disappoint.
It was an emotional night being able to be there in person listening to Roger and Joe Bob talk about his legacy. I was truly honored to be present for it. Especially in that kind of setting. I live for the Drive-In, so it honestly couldn’t have been more magical to me.
A Bucket of Blood (1959)
This ended up being my favorite film from that Drive-In festival (and there were four of Roger’s films shown that first night). It was such an amazing experience to see it for the first time under the stars while Roger was in attendance.
The film itself is genius. It’s haunting and it’s dark and it’s funny. The entire night felt like a dream.
In late May this year when I heard of Roger’s passing, I was more grateful than ever for that week in Vegas only months before. I didn’t want to let him and his legacy go. I made sure to watch some of his films I hadn’t seen before over the summer.
Forbidden World (1982)
Let’s be honest, babes in space is MORE than enough reason to watch a sci-fi film, but Forbidden World had me tightly gripped at Jumpsuits. JUMPSUITS IN SPACE. Like, that’s it. Roger wins. This choice was an achievement unlike any other thanks to wardrobe supervisor Susie DeSanto and Mary Jane McCarty who was a costumer on countless other iconic films like Curtains and Heavenly Bodies.
Aside from the great pink and white color schemes of the babes in jumpers, it’s full of terrific practical effects, truly horrifying moments, hella nudity and probably THE most wild ending in cinematic sci-fi history.
Also, I’d bet that most of the interior of the space ship is painted to-go boxes. Just saying.
Diary entry June 21st
“Slowly learning that life is okay” – Aha
Cry Baby Killer (1958)
Another Roger Corman banger we threw on one scorching hot night. It was a smash in a mere 61 minutes. Roger doesn’t waste any time, and for that I am eternally grateful.
“When a good girl goes bad.”
This was Jack Nicholson’s first film. A good boy goes bad to save the good girl from going bad. It’s all perfectly-paced and well executed, like most of Corman’s films.
~ Summer Reading ~
I’ve been writing a book. It’s been great that my Archie Comics collection hold some major points of inspiration for me.
Betty and Veronica Double Digest No. 104 – quite possibly the best strips, Pinups, fan art and puzzle pages of any of my collection.
Diary Entry June 28th
My tailbone spoke for me today and removed my ability to have a painless and productive Friday. We try again tomorrow.
It wasn’t until the very end of June when my body finally came back to baseline. Which is already difficult enough to manage. I threw my gel donut into the fucking fire.
July
I am absolutely 100% NOT a 4th of July person. I love animals and I don’t love huge groups of drunk people being obnoxious and loud in the heat. No thanks, not my vibe.
I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
There is no better 4th of July horror movie that can compare with this one.
It will remain a mystery why this film doesn’t get more credit. The styling of all the characters in blues and seafoam greens with earthy accents hits the ode to summer mark thanks to award-winning costumer Catherine Adair
It’s decision after decision, the stakes are set like dominos and one by one they all come tumbling down beautifully. Also, a lake-side superstitious small town with a fucking 4th of July beauty pageant queen who wears a crown of actual glittery seashells is the summer horror focus we all needed.
What the film lacks in gore (as if you truly need it), makes up for literally everywhere else. The agro-boy acting, the classic ghost-tale storyline, and overall execution is seamless. I was happy as a clam when this film came out knowing Jennifer Love Hewitt and Sarah Michelle Gellar were on the poster. They both made this film a smash during that era. Like, I’m just gonna come out and say that this is one of the greatest horror films of the 90s hands down. Ya’ll can message me later and argue it if you need to, but I said what I said.
Helen Shivers is one of the best female character names in horror history and it’s her perfect style that made her unforgettable. The classic boyfriends letterman jacket as an homage to old-time iconic 50s jock BF over the 1997 cut out mini-dress with seashell crown is a legacy look all on its own.
Helen Shivers dies in the ally while fireworks explode in the sky and the town marching band only a few feet away, hiding the sound of struggle. That was some exceptional horror writing.
Let us never forget Jennifer Love Hewitt during her prime. Her quiet and cool acting style, perfect hair, chokers and layered necklaces. She deserved to be the final girl for this franchise.
July Highlight ~ I was able to finish an article set to release in print next year that was a huge personal triumph since I still struggle with my fingers. Xo.
~ Summer Reading ~
The Phantom Tollbooth is a book I had never read till this summer. I found it in on a walk in the neighborhood in one of those free library boxes. It was missing the first 11 pages.
Worth the hype. The film adaptation in 1960s is still one of my all time favorite films.
Diary Entry July 10th
My only actual fear is walking indoors or outdoors, in the dark, with bare feet.
The Terrace Drive-In finally opened for the season and I was hyped to spend summer nights with double features out on the old dirt lot again.
Dream: The Workout Mixtape
This was a VHS mix I wanted to do since I made my first one in 2022. I always knew I was going to do a workout mix, and after my tailbone accident it seemed like the best time. From January to May I was desperate for when I could workout again. I was able to channel that to move mentally. There was something about the rage of not being able to move that turned into a massive charge and outpour of creative energy.
I was so thankful to Josh for not only saying yes to doing this incredible collaboration with me back in January, but for making the absolute best album I could have asked for. It allowed me to make a mixtape I could be proud of.
Obviously you can go to Spotify and YouTube to listen to his wonderful album, but I do know he has more cassette tapes for sale. Definitely give him a follow at BCVHS on Instagram. He’s a great person, extremely talented, and fellow tape nerd.
What a wild ride it was. Josh and I communicated the whole year and made everything come together the way we envisioned it. It was a joy working with him. That is hardly the case when two artists come together to make something long distance. It was the reason I named the tape “Dream”.
Between the two screening events we had as well as an online claim sale, I completely sold out of the original tape.
~Summer Sounds~
Teensville Records has become my electrolyte music – necessary and sweet. The girl group & pop compilations that this company puts out have fueled multiple summers, not least of which this one because Blue Lipstick and Lollipops & Teardrops were on constant rotation in the car.
Sweet Sixteen (1983)
Sweet Sixteen was terrible.
What starts out as a promising introduction to sherif’s daughter reading too much crime thrillers and a younger classmate on the cusp of a 16th birthday, turns into too many bad decisions and a story that you can’t really get a grip on.
The racism against the Native American people in the town was really well done and I liked that it showed that people are fucking racist. It was important to see and also vital to the overall story. That was the only aspect of the writing I liked.
August
August, the month I consider summers’ end, the last of the flash.
Diary Entry August 8th
As with everything – high hopes & low expectation
Vicious Lips
Okay, hear me out, I love this movie but there is no actual substantial reasoning as to why. Obviously there is a special place in my heart for hot babes in space. When styling and wardrobe match the endless possibility for creativity in the mass expanse of the universe then it’s hard for me to hate. Thanks to Kelly Dennis and Bruce Zimmerman for the looks that keep me watching.
What it absolutely lacks in pacing, and any real depth in storytelling, it makes up for in visuals. But my god – it’s so boring.
With a concept this alluring you’d think it would be great. It isn’t great, but it sure does look cool and you can’t blame a film for being easy on the eyes.
~Summer Reading~
I missed the original boat on Sweet Valley High ~ it was definitely for a certain audience. I was too busy balancing anxiety and dyslexia when this came into my path.
This “Super Thriller” was SO well written by Kate William I literally couldn’t put it down.
Diary Entry August 22nd
Being unemployed, today I watched the entire process of chipseal being laid out onto the street in my neighborhood. So, I’m just a hop, skip, and a jump till the looney bin.
The Carnival & The Rabbit Room
Summer ends as it always does in my world with the Western Idaho State Fair and my birthday to close out the month of August.
I can’t believe I’ve lived thirty five years on earth. They were not easy years. But I’m happy. I’m hopeful. It was wonderful to see all my friends and laugh.
The Rabbit Room never disappoints – a room full of framed paintings and pictures of bunnies. It was the perfect venue.
It was a wild blend of Breakfast at Tiffany’s meets Alice in Wonderland for the night’s celebration and every second was like a golden beam of light.
Goodbye Sweet Summer,
Xoxo – Grace
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