CULT CLASSIC CUTIES: SHAWNEE SMITH as MEG PENNY in THE BLOB (1988)!

Cult Classic Cuties are characters from some of our favorite cult classics and midnight movies who captured our hearts and/or actresses who got our attention, but sadly never returned to these type of flicks. They’re femme fatales and final girls whose sexy stars shined only briefly, not quite achieving scream queen status. And this installment’s cutie is…

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SHAWNEE SMITH as MEG PENNY in THE BLOB (1988)!

Shawnee Smith as Meg Penny in The Blob (1988)!

I am going to admit that on this installment of Cult Classic Cuties I am cheating a bit. Actress and singer Shawnee Smith is no stranger to horror and after starring in Chuck Russell’s criminally underrated 1988 remake, she went on to be featured in a number of horror related projects, such as two Stephen King TV mini-series adaptations, a Wes Craven produced remake of Carnival of Souls, an episode of The X-Files and she was a reoccurring character in the Saw movies. Sure, that makes her a straight up Halloween Hottie, but her Megan is such a great character, in this fun 80s remake and now cult classic, that I am going to break my own rules to feature her in this installment!

(You can read my full review for The Blob by clicking the highlighted titles or on the poster below)

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As the film begins, Meg Penny is an average teenager, cheerleading at football games.

A dream date turns into a nightmare, as Megan first meets The Blob!

With no one believing her, she turns to local rebel Brian Flagg (Kevin Dillon) for help.

Megan risks all to get friends and loved ones to safety!

From cheerleader to warrior as Megan takes the fight to the gelatinous invader!

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So, I cheated here to feature this talented California born actress in the Cult Classic Cutie category, even though she has had a prolific TV and movie career and done a number of horror related projects. It’s just Chuck Russell’s remake is finally getting the respect and following it’s always deserved and Smith’s Megan is a strong part of what makes this cult classic work. So forgive my indulging myself and breaking format, but to me, Shawnee Smith and her cheerleader with an M-16 will always be a Cult Classic Cutie!

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Be sure to check out our Cult Classic Cuties (click right here for the link) section to see more crush worthy ladies from cult films and midnight movies!

-MonsterZero NJ

CULT CLASSIC CUTIES: MELINDA CLARKE as JULIE in RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD 3!

Cult Classic Cuties are characters from some of our favorite cult classics and midnight movies who captured our hearts and/or actresses who got our attention, but sadly never returned to these type of flicks, or whose sexy stars shined only briefly not quite achieving scream queen status. And this installment’s cutie is…

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MELINDA CLARKE as JULIE in RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD 3 (1993)!

Return of the Living Dead is an 80s cult classic that spawned a franchise of sequels. It’s second sequel, Return of the Living Dead 3, took some elements of the first film and went in it’s own direction and is now considered a bit of a cult classic in it’s own right. ROTLD3 unfolds with a Romeo and Juliette-esque story of army brat, Curt (J. Trevor Edmond) who uses father’s secret army experiments with the dead, to revive his tragically killed girlfriend, Julie (Melinda Clarke)…and thus a Cult Classic Cutie was born!…as Julie/ Melinda Clarke is renown as one of the sexiest zombies ever committed to film…and her title has yet to be challenged.

After her portrayal as the sexy zombie, Julie, Melinda Clarke (billed in the zombie sequel as Mindy Clarke) went on to have a prolific and ongoing career in both film and television, which started pre-ROTLD3 on the classic TV soap Days Of Our Lives. Since then she has worked steadily, including appearing in such genre related fare as Firefly, Xena, Charmed and more recently on Vampire Diaries and Gotham. As far as horror films go, the closest she’s come to returning to the genre is appearing in the 1997 feature film adaptation of the dark comic book Spawn, as the villainous Jessica Priest. And the horror genre misses her to this day.

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(click on the poster for a full review)

Rebel Julie in a more peaceful moment from ROTLD3. 

Spying on BF Curt’s military dad, Julie witnesses a horrific experiment go awry!

Beautiful even in death…but for Julie, death is only the beginning.

She’s baaaaack!…and hungry for brains!

Appetite for brains? Piercings made from metal and glass? Yup!…We’d still date her.

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Despite being quite the busy actress, the fact that ROTLD3 remains Melinda Clarke’s one true horror film appearance and one in which she made quite an impression, she certainly earns the title Cult Classic Cutie!

Still a beauty over 20 years after taking the horror world by sexy, brain-eating storm!

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Be sure to check out our Cult Classic Cuties (click right here on the link) section to see more crush worthy ladies from cult films and midnight movies!

-MonsterZero NJ

CULT CLASSIC CUTIES: SUZANNA LOVE as LACEY in THE BOOGEYMAN!

Cult Classic Cuties are characters from some of our favorite cult classics and midnight movies who captured our hearts and/or actresses who got our attention, but sadly never returned to these type of flicks, or whose sexy stars shined only briefly not quite achieving scream queen status. And this installment’s cutie is…

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SUZANNA LOVE as LACEY in THE BOOGEYMAN (1980)!

The Boogeyman is a supernaturally themed 1980 slasher that has developed a cult following over the years. The film has young Lacey witnessing the murder of her mother’s abusive boyfriend by the target of that abuse, her brother Willy. Twenty years later, an adult Lacey (Suzanna Love) is still haunted by the killing, but has tried to move on and now has a husband and child of her own. She still takes care of her brother (Nicholas Love), who lives with her family and hasn’t spoken a word since that night. Unfortunately, events trigger the return of the vengeful spirit of the abusive man, who starts to terrorize the girl-next-door MILF and begins a nightmare of murder and possession for this Cult Classic Cutie.

Suzanna Love basically had a short film career between 1979 and 1985 before disappearing from acting. Her horror film resume consists of four low budget flicks, only two of those, The Boogeyman and The Devonsville Terror gained any notoriety and were both directed by her then husband, Ulli Lommel. Her down-to-earth beauty made her a perfect girl-next-door type heroine and Love was not afraid to perform in some daring scenes for her husband, such as Boogeyman’s sexually tinged nightmare sequence. Lacey is dressed in skimpy undergarments, glistening with sweat and bound and gagged on a bed at the knife wielding mercy of what appears to be her own brother. While she is in dire peril, there is an eroticism to the scene which, makes it intriguing and disturbing. Was Lommel trying to imply something about Lacey in her nightmare?…or was he just trying to show off his wife’s hot body? As the issue is never pursued in the film, we may never know. She did look quite beguiling despite her perilous predicament.

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(click on the poster for a full review)

The sweet girl-next-door

What is Boogeyman’s nightmare sequence trying to tell us? Lacey obviously isn’t saying.

MILF Lacey in one of the film’s few quiet moments.

That’s one way of showing off those abs.

A woman possessed…literally! We’d still date her.

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Lacey and The Boogeyman reunited in 1983 for a sub-par sequel Revenge Of The Boogeyman (aka Boogeyman 2) involving Lacey traveling to L.A. to meet with filmmakers interested in her story. Obviously the vengeful specter begins to kill again, as Lacey reveals she has a remaining piece of the mirror still in her possession.

As for Suzanna Love, she may have only briefly passed through the horror genre, but one of those flicks is a cult classic and her pretty, girl-next-door appeal got her noticed…as did her not being afraid to push the boundaries a bit with Boogeyman’s infamous and disturbingly sexual, bondage nightmare sequence. She also gets to play possessed in the film’s fun over-the-top climax, so her adorable Lacey is girl-next-door babe, sexy bound damsel and possessed MILF all in the same movie! That earns her the title of Cult Classic Cutie!

Be sure to check out our Cult Classic Cuties (click right here on the link) section to see more crush worthy ladies from cult films and midnight movies!

-MonsterZero NJ

CULT CLASSIC CUTIES: PAULA IRVINE as LIZ in PHANTASM II!

Cult Classic Cuties are characters from some of our favorite cult classics and midnight movies who captured our hearts and/or actresses who got our attention but, sadly, never returned to these type of flicks or whose sexy stars shined only briefly, not quite achieving scream queen status. And this installment’s cutie is…

PAULA IRVINE as LIZ REYNOLDS in PHANTASM II (1988)!

In the 80s, we got a lot of sequels and horror franchises were popular, so, Universal decided to give it a try with reviving the Phantasm series. Thus, almost ten years after his classic Phantasm, Don Coscarelli returned to his creation with Phantasm II! In it, Michael (now James LeGros) has a psychic link with a pretty young woman named Liz, as played by cutie Paula Irvine. As Mike and the ever-faithful Reggie (Reggie Bannister), are fated to take on the Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) once more, girl-next-door Liz proves quite a feisty and resourceful heroine as she escapes death at the sinister fiend’s hands more than once…and has our attention the entire time!

Irvine had only started acting a year earlier in a few TV movies before being cast as Liz in Phantasm II. It was her only horror role after an appearance in the Bates Motel TV movie and Irvine only acted for about six more years doing various TV series before leaving acting in 1994. She is a perfect example of a Cult Classic Cutie as the adorable actress starred in this one horror classic sequel and then disappeared from the genre and then acting altogether, a few years later. The still gorgeous actress speaks fondly of the role, though, and can be heard doing so on Scream Factory’s blu-ray special edition in the bonus features.

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(click on the poster for a full review)

Irvine may have abandoned the horror genre after battling the Tall Man in Phantasm II, but, after all, that’s a tough act to follow. She did make an impression on horror fans with her long 80s blonde hair, piercing eyes and feisty determination to not wind up another victim of one of horrors most legendary icons…and for that she fully earns her title as a Cult Classic Cutie.

Be sure to check out our Cult Classic Cuties (click right here on the link) section to see more crush worthy ladies from cult films and midnight movies!

-MonsterZero NJ

CULT CLASSIC CUTIES: ROBIN RIKER as Dr. MARISA KENDALL in ALLIGATOR!

Cult Classic Cuties are characters from some of our favorite cult classics and midnight movies who captured our hearts and/or actresses who got our attention but, sadly, never returned to these type of flicks or whose sexy stars shined only briefly, not quite achieving scream queen status. And this installment’s cutie is…

ROBIN RIKER as Dr. MARISA KENDALL in ALLIGATOR (1980)!

In the early 80s, nature-run-amok flicks inspired by the success of Jaws were still popular and Alligator was one of the more fun entries in this sub-genre. It featured a 36 foot carnivorous reptile stalking the sewers of Chicago while being hunted by a street smart cop (Robert Forster) and sexy and feisty Herpetologist Dr. Marisa Kendall, played by crush-worthy Robin Riker. She was everything a film nerd could want in a heroine, she was hot, sweet, looked as good in tomboy garb as dolled-up and liked to play with lizards and snakes all day! No wonder hard nosed cop David Madison fell for this sweetie of a scientist!…we sure did!

Sexy New York City native Robin Riker has had a very prolific career on television from 1984 till today, but also did a few movies in between projects. Alligator was the actress’ only foray into straightforward horror flicks, unless you count her appearances in the “Witch” episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer in 1997 and the Disney Halloween themed TV movie Don’t Look Under The Bed in 1999. She certainly made an impression in her one big screen horror role and definitely captured our hearts as she tried to capture the monster gator.

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(click on the poster for a full review)

While Robin Riker may have left the horror genre behind, for the most part, after Alligator , she certainly left an impression. The actress continues to work, even today and it is her role in this big screen cult classic flick and the captivating cutie she plays in it, that earns her the title of Cult Classic Cutie!

Be sure to check out our Cult Classic Cuties (click right here on the link) section to see more crush worthy ladies from cult films and midnight movies!

-MonsterZero NJ