"KEEP BUSTIN'."

Posts Tagged ‘Lou Perryman’

Eggshells

Monday, November 28th, 2022

Holy shit you guys, I never really thought I’d see EGGSHELLS! It’s the weird psychedelic movie Tobe Hooper made in 1969 – five years before THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE. According to Hooper it only really played about fifty times, and only in Texas. It had never been on video until 2013, when it was included as a bonus disc for Arrow’s Region B limited edition of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2. I didn’t know about it in time to get it.

But recently a copy of that disc was donated to the collection of Scarecrow Video, so I checked it out. It’s a beautiful restoration and the disc includes a Hooper commentary track, which I’m glad I listened to, because it sure gave me a better idea what was supposed to be going on. You wouldn’t necessarily know this was the work of a future Master of Horror, because it hadn’t yet occurred to him that the horror genre was a good hook to get your movie played in drive-ins. There’s possibly a supernatural force in it, but it’s not used for scares – just trippiness, I’d say. (read the rest of this shit…)

The Whole Shootin’ Match

Sunday, June 14th, 2009

tn_wholeshootinmatchA couple years ago I was on one of my bi-annual TEXAS CHAIN SAW kicks, and that led me to track down another old Austin indie movie from 1983 called LAST NIGHT AT THE ALAMO. It was a real good black and white day-in-the-life drama that happened to be written by CHAIN SAW co-writer Kim Henkel, and it also co-starred Lou Perryman two years before he got his head hammered and face peeled as L.G. in CHAINSAW 2.

That one still flounders in rare VHS obscurity, but the director, Eagle Pennell, did an earlier movie that has undergone a rediscovery. THE WHOLE SHOOTIN’ MATCH (1978)  is very similar to LAST NIGHT AT THE ALAMO: very episodic and conversational, black and white, working class Texans working out their frustrations and cementing their friendships while shooting the shit. It even has the same star, Sonny Carl Davis, and in this one Perryman is the co-lead. (read the rest of this shit…)

R.I.P. Lou Perryman

Saturday, April 4th, 2009

Some terrible, fucked up news. Lou Perryman, who played Stretch’s faithful hick sidekick L.G. in TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE PART 2 died Thursday, murdered by some random scumbag. I feel a little weird because he died under such horrible circumstances and I only know who he is because of the spectacular way he was killed in the movie. But he wasn’t a horror guy – he just ended up in that one and POLTERGEIST because he worked with Tobe Hooper (he was assistant cameraman on the original TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE).

I actually met Perryman just last year at a small horror convention. I don’t usually go to those type of things but this one lured me in with the promise of “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and three of the stars of CHAINSAW 2. And you know how obsessed I am with that movie. I’ve mentioned before that I don’t really like talking to my movie heroes, because I don’t want to try to be the guy who comes up with the one really interesting question or cool thing to say. Usually it’s a hopeless endeavor. But I did actually talk to Lou Perryman for a minute and told him I was a big fan of Chainsaw 2. He was polite. Then I mentioned that I had seen him in this excellent low budget independent Austin movie called LAST NIGHT AT THE ALAMO. I wasn’t trying to show off or anything but I really liked the movie, and clearly so did he. His eyes lit up instantly, he offered his hand and asked “What is your name?” He talked enthusiastically about a DVD release of the other movie he did with the same director, THE WHOLE SHOOTIN’ MATCH, which is now available. (I haven’t seen it yet, but Roger Ebert says it’s great, an endorsement Perryman was happy to repeat.)

So it was just a brief encounter, but he seemed like a really nice guy and a funny good ol’ boy just like he played in movies, mostly obscure independent Texas stuff but occasionally something like BOYS DON’T CRY. (And apparently he’s “man in bar” in THE BLUES BROTHERS, but I haven’t found him in there yet.)

It’s too fuckin bad, man. I hate it when shit like this happens. Sorry Lou, it shouldn’t have happened like that. You will be missed.

Last Night at the Alamo

Wednesday, October 11th, 2006

During my recent two-week TEXAS CHAINSAW binge I learned of the existence of this movie I’d never heard of before. It was written by Kim Henkel (co-writer of the original TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE, writer/director of part 4). It also stars Lou Perryman two years before he played the lovable loogie-spittin’ sidekick L.G. in TCSM part 2. (He was also assistant cameraman on part 1.)

But this is not a horror movie by any stretch of the imagination, in fact if I was gonna compare it to any movie it would have to be CLERKS. Because this is a low budget, 16mm black and white slice of life movie about some regular people hanging out in a bar called The Alamo. It’s the last night before it’s gonna get demolished, and almost the entire movie takes place inside, in the parking lot, or at a house right across the street. (The opening scene is the farthest you get from the Alamo, it shows one of the characters driving to The Alamo in real time.) (read the rest of this shit…)

Vern tells you all about the TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2: THE GRUESOME EDITION DVD!!!

Tuesday, October 10th, 2006

Boys, boys, boys–

These last couple weeks have been tough on my mental facilities. I reviewed that great new “ULTIMATE” edition of the original TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE, I also revisited parts 3 and 4 in that original series, then on Thursday I reviewed the new prequel to the remake. So by that point I’d studied and written about pretty much every angle to the whole Texas Chainsaw deal. You’d think I’d be done with it by now, but there is one final chapter: the one spinoff of the original movie that achieves its own level of True Greatness. I am talking about Tobe Hooper’s 1986 sequel, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2. It’s been available on DVD for a couple years in a bare bones edition (get it, that is a pun because of all the skeletons they have) but Tuesday it comes out in a much deserved special edition with new commentaries, featurettes and deleted scenes. (read the rest of this shit…)