Biography
American filmmaker, journalist, and author, primarily known for his work in the horror genre. He made his feature film debut with the 1995 release MARK OF THE DEVIL 666: THE MORALIST, distributed by Moore Video. He followed this with two more films for Moore: the cult favorite 5 DARK SOULS (1996) and its sequel 5 DARK SOULS, PART II: ROOTS OF EVIL (1998), before relocating to Los Angeles, California. There, he collaborated with David DeCoteau’s Rapid Heart Pictures on projects including VOODOO ACADEMY (1999), ANCIENT EVIL (2000), THE BROTHERHOOD (2000), THE BROTHERHOOD II: YOUNG WARLOCKS (2001), FINAL STAB (2001), and THE FRIGHTENING (2002). Additionally, he worked on commercials for SEGA and OFF! Bug Spray, as well as horror films like HELL ASYLUM (2002), MEGA SCORPIONS (2003), and the comedy series BAD MOVIE POLICE (3 episodes).
Following the success of his 2000 short film JULIA WEPT, he secured funding for his next feature, SOMETHING TO SCREAM ABOUT, a documentary exploring the careers of actresses in the B-movie industry. The film’s release sparked the largest signing event at the Virgin MegaStore on Sunset Boulevard in 2004 and aired on Showtime from 2004 to 2007. This success paved the way for OCTOBER MOON (2005), one of the first gay-themed horror films, followed by its 2008 sequel OCTOBER MOON 2: NOVEMBER SON, which established the first gay horror film franchise. He later directed SLEEPLESS NIGHTS: REVISITING THE SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRES (2010) for Roger Corman’s slasher franchise through Shout! Factory, and the comedy SHY OF NORMAL (2011).
His most notable commercial and critical achievement is SCREAMING IN HIGH HEELS: THE RISE & FALL OF THE SCREAM QUEEN ERA (2011), which was licensed by NBCUniversal and aired on SyFy and Chiller from 2012 to 2015. The documentary chronicles the careers of Linnea Quigley, Brinke Stevens, and Michele Bauer, the original "scream queens" of 1980s B-movies.
As a journalist and author, he published over 60 articles between 1999 and 2003. In 2002, he moved to Chicago to serve as an editor and graphic designer for Femme Fatales and Cinefantastique magazines. He authored the book Assault of the Killer B's (McFarland, 2004) and contributed to Dreams Alive (St. Mary's Press, 1991), Creating a Christian Lifestyle (St. Mary's Press, 1996), and Attack of the B Queens (Luminary, 2003). In 2016, he published BASEMENTS, his first fiction book, inspired by a story he wrote for a college course in 1994.
In the April/May 2013 issue of THE ADVOCATE magazine, he was named one of the "40 Under 40 Artists To Watch." He is also featured in Sean Abley’s book OUT OF THE DARK and discussed in Beverly Gray’s ROGER CORMAN: BLOODSUCKING VAMPIRES, FLESHEATING COCKROACHES AND DRILLER KILLERS.
