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HORROR 101: THE A-LIST OF HORROR FILMS AND MONSTER MOVIES  VOL 1

AN ADMONITION:
IF YOU ARE THE PARENT OR THE GUARDIAN
OF AN IMPRESSIONABLE ADOLESCENT -
DO NOT PERMIT HIM OR HER TO READ THIS HALL OF FAME ENTRY

So why would someone like H.G. Lewis being in our Hall of Fame section, you might ask?  He really only made those type of films to make money.  I mean the guy wasn’t even really a fan of the horror genre.  So why should he be inducted?

Simple.  Because Herschell Gordon Lewis was the one to start it all.  He truly invented the gore exploitation movie.  Script?  Acting?  Not really a concern.  What concerned him was how they could rip a young woman tongue out of her mouth.  Or how he could hack a woman’s leg off.  All in plain view of the audience.  Nothing was implied or suggested in one of Lewis’ gore films.  And most importantly, how to get the people in the theaters!

With films like BLOOD FEAST and TWO THOUSAND MANIACS, Lewis paved the way for other filmmakers to use the gore effects to ‘flesh-out’ their films, making them more…meaty.  He even pushed the envelope even further with his later gore films of the 70’s, THE WIZARD OF GORE and THE GORE-GORE GIRLS.  Then in the late 70’s, when the special makeup effects really started to boom, they took what Gordon had started, and took it to the next step and made it a lot more realistic.

One other reason for him being inducted into our Hall of Fame section is Lewis’ attitude.  He has never been ashamed of the films that he made.  He is one of the most fan-friendliest cult directors out there.  When we recently seen him at a convention, we were impressed even more of his graciousness.  A fan in front of us, set down several items for Mr. Lewis to sign.  The fan told him that he understands that he's a busy man, so how ever many items he wanted to sign would be fine for him.  Lewis' reply was "The only thing I have to do right now is to sign whatever you put in front of me.  If you want, go get some more stuff, and I'll sign that for you to."  That is one type of attitude that is sadly missed at conventions.

So if haven't seen any of his films, and are a serious fan of the horror genre, you need to do some homework, and learn who started the whole gore films.  While you're learning something, you might even start enjoying his movies.

H.G. Lewis is one funny man.  He is full of wit and humor, and when it comes to talking about his movies, he's a riot.  Here are a few assorted quotes from Lewis about his movies that I've always found entertaining.

When commenting on some of the girls they used for BLOOD FEAST:
"Ashlyn (Martin) was another Playboy girl and she didn't have any brains to be ripped out, so we had to fake it."

About having BLOOD FEAST opening in Peoria, Illinois:
"We figured if we died in Peoria, who would know?"

About acquiring some film footage from fellow low-budget filmmaker Bill Rebane to use for a movie:
"I felt, with 80,000 feet of film to work with, there had to be a movie there somewhere.  I was wrong."