How much “Gruesome” news is too much news? Never enough if you ask me. FINALLY, Johnny Gruesome is alive! I think I have made that statement 10 times already, but it is really true this time. The 8-minute short Johnny Gruesome starring Erin Brown (Misty Mundae) can now be seen HERE!
Erin Brown plays the girlfriend of Johnny Grissom (Ryan O’Connell), a murdered headbanger who becomes the zombie, Johnny Gruesome: The Headbanger from Hell! The production co-stars Dan Loughery and Jennifer Bihl and features special make-up effects by David Gre (www.grayeffects.com). The film appears on a virtual drive-in screen constructed by Gregory G. Kurczynski of Grave Thought Radio (www.gravethoughts.com).
“I wrote Johnny Gruesome as a feature length screenplay way back in 1984,” Lamberson says. “Vestron Video loved it but wanted me to make certain concessions, so I made Slime City on a much lower budget instead.”
Just over one year ago, when Lamberson found himself playing Mr. Mom to his infant daughter, he resurrected the Gruesome story as a novel. Because the Johnny character has tremendous commercial potential, Lamberson decided to promote the character, and not just the novel, which led to a Gruesome rock CD, The Johnny Gruesome Death Mask, and the Johnny online comic.
The film began as a music video based on the GREAT, title track from the CD by husband and wife songwriters Giasone and Marcy Italiano. “I figured I’d throw in some of the images that had lingered in my imagination for all these years and get them out of my system. But like everything else associated with this project, the video took on a life of its own and just got bigger. It’s no longer a music video, but a short film set to two songs off the CD. It’s full of sex, violence, and gore—not exactly the same realm as Michael Jackson’s Thriller.” says Lamberson.
You can order the Gruesome CD at www.johnnygruesome.com or preview some of the songs at the Gruesome CD MySpace HERE, but don’t forget to watch the mini movie, and see if you can recognize the booze Johnny and his girlfriend are drinking in his Death Mobile. Trust me it’s worth it!
