Angels Bettis Tribute: "Sick Girl"

"Masters of Horror: Sick Girl"

"Sick Girl" is a 60 minute episode of the Showtime series "Masters of Horror" and like "May" was also directed by Lucky Mckee.  "Sick Girl" is a bizarrely funny romantic comedy surrounded by bugs and small doses of horror that make it really fun.

Starring Angela Bettis, as Ida Teeter, an entomologist who is looking for a woman who's not disgusted by her obsession with the creepy crawly things she keeps all over her apartment.  As a character, Ida seems to have been transported from the 1940s.  She has the period hairdo and talks in a sort of way that is hard to describe.  Erin Brown AKA Misty Mundae plays Ida's love interest, Misty Falls, yeah sounds kind of confusing.  Misty spends her time drawing fairies and pixies in the lobby of where Ida works.  Ida works up the courage to ask Misty out and their whirlwind romance begins.

The episode opens with a guy capturing a big exotic bug and mailing it to Ida, who is excited about the mysterious and very aggressive specimen.  This bug eventually does escape and makes a home for itself inside Ida's pillow.  Talk about your bedbugs.  Misty is bitten by the nasty thing that starts a gradual transformation in her.  The whole episode is B-movie-ish and campy but is also fun and horrific.  Like in "May" Ida is a lonely soul who surrounds her self with surrogate friends in the bugs.  She is anxious and nervous about what people think of her, afraid of rejection.  She finally finds a kindred spirit in Misty, who accept her for who she is, but Ida's bug obsession comes back to literally and fugitively bite her back. 

Their relationship is put to the test as the bug starts to take over Misty and culminates in a pretty insane ending.  Ida and Misty do end up together but under some pretty strange circumstances.  "Sick Girl" is available as a stand alone DVD packed with special features and is pretty cheap. 

Angela Bettis Tribute: "Toolbox Murders"

"Toolbox Murders"

In 1974 Tobe Hooper directed the original horror masterpiece "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and created an instant name for himself.  But over the past few decades, he really hasn't done anything to write home about.  Except that in 2004, he directed Angela Bettis in a remake of the 1978 film "The Toolbox Murders".

This new version stars Bettis as Nell as she and her husband move into the Lusman Arms apartment complex in Los Angeles.  The complex is under an extensive renovation and is a complete mess, but they have a doorman.  The story feels like a lost film from Roman Polanski, drawing a lot from the themes of "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Tenant".  The story also throws in a bit of old Hollywood noir, as the apartment building was the former residence of the infamous Black Dahlia victim Elizabeth Short.  The building is a character in itself as a dark and foreboding presence.  The movie was shot at the old Ambassador Hotel which has a pretty storied past in itself.  The Lusman Arms is the place where young actors come with dreams of making it big.  Although Nell is a school teacher and her husband Steve and med student.

From the first scene of the movie, we know that there is a ski-masked maniac in the building who is killing off the resident and things seem to point towards Ned the quiet and creepy young maintenance man who kind of looks like Jack White.  Like the original film he kills his victims with various tools in his toolbox, so yeah the title is pretty self-explanatory.

Nell immediately gets the creeps about the place, but it's so affordable since they have to live in a construction zone.  We get to know a lot of the residents from an old man who has lived there for 60 years, to the young couple that is always fighting, and the middle-aged couple with a teenaged son.  After hearing a bunch of screaming from next door Nell calls the cops, but they find nothing.  She is all alone with her mind allowed to wonder and with the paper thin walls she can't get a moment of silence.  As the terror and suspense increases Nell starts to investigate the history of the Lusman Arms.  Acting on a tip from the Old Man she finds that each floor is missing a room and that something sinister lurks within the walls. 

This is a fun little movie that is all about Angela Bettis and her character Nell as she fights for not only her life but for her sanity.  The "Toolbox Murders" DVD is available online or from Netflix and includes a couple of commentary tracks and some deleted scenes.  So I guess you should put the Hot Pocket down and go watch this movie.

A Tribute to Actress Angela Bettis: "May"


A native of Austin, Texas Angela Bettis has carved out her niche as an actress in small independent horror movies.  She started out with bit parts in bigger Hollywood movies in the late 90s but really turned heads as the creepy and unhinged loner in Lucky McKee's 2002 film "May".  Over the next four reviews we'll take a closer look at some of her best roles.

 Made for only a half million bucks, "May" tells the story of a twenty-something girl who is searching for a friend and can't seem to find that perfect person.  She was shunned as a little girl because of her lazy eye that required her to wear an eye patch.  Her mother made her a very special doll but she couldn't play with it because of its a collectible.  It is kept locked in a case never able to be free, just like May.  May is very creative and makes all of her own clothes on her trusty sewing machine, which adds to her quirkiness.  She works in a veterinarian's office with Polly, played by a then unknown (sadly, maybe still) Anna Faris as the receptionist.  Faris steals every scene she is in with wild and sexy energy.  May develops a crush on Adam, played by Jeremy Sisto, who works at the Auto repair shop across the street.  She loves his beautiful hands most of all.  Adam likes May but its like he really just feels sorry for her.  May is extremely nervous around him and tries a little too hard for his attention.

"May" is very reminiscent of Roman Polanski's "Repulsion" about a young girls loneliness and eventual descent into madness.  "May" does have a bunch of comedic moments though that even out the horrific ones.  Adam admits he likes "weird", but when May crosses the line and takes it a bit to far, Adam starts to push away from May and want her out of his life.  It's not that easy for May as she finally snaps and goes on a mission to create the perfect person (see "Frankenstein"). 

"May" is a movie for weird people and about weird people.  If you ever felt like you just don't fit in anywhere you'll love this movie.  Every actor is perfectly cast and Director Lucky Mckee (who is a bit weird himself) gets great performances from all.  The DVD also has a few commentary tracks which are always fun.  So take a look at "May" today!