Meg Tilly and the Tale of the Unbroken Spirit

Thought I'd share a memorable story from the archives with you. Over the past few years, I've enjoyed interviewing various celebrities and writers for Autograph Collector. In October of 2006, I had the pleasure of meeting actress-turned-author Meg Tilly, who I had the honor of interviewing for the November ’06 issue of AC. You’ll remember the ethereal, porcelain-skin beauty from a string of memorable movie roles in the eighties through mid-nineties, including Tex, The Big Chill, Psycho 2, Masquerade, Valmont, The Girl in a Swing, The Two Jakes, One Dark Night, Sleep with Me, Leaving Normal, Body Snatchers, and an Oscar-nominated turn in Agnes of God. Indeed, hers was a burgeoning Hollywood career on the fast track.

But then, Meg did something no one following her career expected. She stopped. No more movies, no more television. No more red carpet premieres, no more paparazzi. Retreating deep into the Canadian mountains, her three children in tow, Meg eschewed the glamour of Hollywood for a simpler life as a devoted mother and to follow her heart in the direction of a new creative passion ~ writing. The result was 1994’s poignant, albeit disturbing, novel Singing Songs. The story chronicles the oft-unsettling life of a young girl named Anna who learns to persevere amidst horrific abuses and abject poverty. At the time of the book’s release, sharp-eyed critics drew parallels between Anna and Tilly’s own life growing up in a large family that moved around a lot before settling on an island off the Northwest coast. Although the similarities were obvious, Tilly repeatedly asserted that her story was a work of fiction.

Flash forward twelve years later to the eve of the launch of Tilly’s long-awaited follow-up, Gemma (Syren Book Company). At age 46, the author now confirms that both Singing Songs and Gemma, although fictional stories, are indeed based on the real-life abuses she endured at the hands of family members and extended family members throughout her childhood. Anyone who saw Tilly on an airing of The View during her promotion for Gemma could attest to the deep psychological scars the author continues to bear. But beneath the layers of emotional wounds, Tilly has used Gemma as a cathartic release of the demons of days past. Closets come in all shapes and sizes, and Meg Tilly has come out of her own closet-of-sorts to stand up and be counted among those who’ve endured similar experiences.

Gemma revisits the world of childhood sexual abuse, this time through the alternating viewpoints of both the twelve-year-old victim and her abuser. Although the images are dark and chronicle the deepest perversions of the human psyche, Tilly doesn’t hold back. She takes the readers on a harrowing journey through the mind of pedophile Hazen Woods (a character based not-so-loosely on a member of her extended family who routinely abused her as a child). We learn in graphic, stomach churning detail what makes this monster tick…how he thinks and the twisted lense he filters information through. Juxtaposed against the violent sexual machinations of Hazen, readers are simultaneously exposed to the horrific world of Gemma, the young heroine who Tilly paints heartbreakingly as both fragile and powerfully resilient. Despite the unspeakable horrors Hazen forces the girl to endure, it is her resiliency that eventually triumphs ~ much in the same way the author’s own real-life resiliency allowed her to rise above those who cruelly snatched her childhood from her. Gemma is a testament to the striking evolution of Meg Tilly, a brave and talented artist who climbed out of a background fraught with roadblocks to the development of positive self-esteem to triumph as an actress, an author, a mother, and a wonderfully realized person.

My interview with Meg was conducted over a two-month period during the summer 0f 2006, arranged through Tilly’s kindly and efficient publicist, Claire Kirch. Conducted primarily over the Internet, Meg’s personality and passion nonetheless came across loud and clear. I found myself impressed with her insights on becoming a writer and her decision to turn her back on fame and fortune to give her children a normal life. As the issue went to press and Kirch lined up the author’s national book tour, I made arrangements to meet Tilly at one of her New York area stops. At Kirch’s suggestion, I opted to meet her and Meg for the second NYC date at a small independent bookstore called Bluestockings. Located on the lower east side of Manhattan, Bluestockings immediately evokes the nostalgic ambiance of activism of decades past, with a modest selection of carefully chosen tomes on everything from feminism to queer identity. Indeed, just walking through the door one is struck by a feeling of free speech and revolution, as if the ghosts of Gloria Steinham, ACT-UP!, and the Black Panthers have taken up residence. It is a glorious watering hole of self-expression and radical thought, wrapped in the comforting vegan goodies they serve in their fair trade café.

Meg arrived for her reading promptly at the designated start time. A modest crowd had assembled in the bookstore, and Claire Kirch recognized me right away and came over to introduce herself. I obligingly handed her copies of Meg’s Autograph Collector interview, and we chatted for a few delightful minutes about the fans’ response to the tour and Meg’s appearance on The View. Meg was then introduced and began to read passages from Gemma. If anyone wonders what a background as an actress can contribute to a career as a writer, just catch one of Tilly’s readings. She doesn’t merely read…she embodies the actual voices and emotions of her characters to create a mesmerizing mini-version of a one-woman show. One can clearly see how Tilly truly feels every word she puts to paper. Her words are intensely personal…her own creations. She doesn’t mince those words either, and one is somewhat shocked to hear the words of brutal pedophile Hazen Woods coming from the mouth of a woman who once portrayed a childlike nun onscreen. The reading is sheer brilliance. This is one of those rare occasions where the beauty of art imitates the ugliness of life to unadulterated perfection.

Following her inspired reading, Tilly takes questions from an audience that is as marvelously eclectic as the venue itself. Although Tilly professes to be shy by nature, she appears disarmingly at-ease in front of the crowd. She answers questions ranging from the generic to the personal with equal aplomb. One can clearly see that she enjoys the art of conversation and has an appreciation for philosophical and intellectual chat. I make a mental note to myself to someday sit down with Meg over a cup of the green tea she and I both have an affinity for and probe that fascinatingly open mind of hers. Somewhere in between questions, she glances up from the podium and spots me in the back of the room. She calls out a casual “Hey, Vince!” as if we’ve been friends for years, and, once again, I’m impressed with her genuineness. The questions go on for another ten minutes or so before Meg invites those purchasing copies of her book to have them signed. I hang back until most of the attendees have gotten their books signed and have expressed their admiration for her lifting the veil surrounding her own childhood abuse.

Meg warmly greets me as I approach, immediately thanking me for the interview. I counter with my own sincere thanks for the opportunity. Claire joins us moments later and we enjoy a brief chat about a particular American TV show that seems to be exploiting the on-camera capture of sexual predators for ratings. I wonder aloud if the show, which has recently broadcasted its ump-teenth installment, would indeed be helping catch those predators if ratings weren’t as good. Meg asks me how my own book is doing, which I answer by presenting her with a signed and inscribed copy. We playfully pose for a few photos ~ one with her and me holding the Autograph Collector issue with her interview, another with just her and me together, and a final one with her and me holding copies of the other’s books. Fun stuff, indeed. After all, this is Chloe from The Big Chill I’m standing next to! I’m almost sorry the event is over. There is more I’d like to chat with Meg about, some of which I’ve detailed in the letter tucked into the back of the copy of The Literary Six I’ve given her. She and I have more in common than just writing books. We’ve both come out of closets and both risen above childhood abuses ~ some similar and some different. I want her to know that I’m a fellow survivor, too. Alas, the timing is not right. There is an old friend of hers hovering nearby who clearly hopes to catch up a bit. Besides, this is her third signing in as many days and she must be exhausted. She’s hopping a red-eye flight back to her homeland tonight in order to be home in time for Canadian Thanksgiving with her family. No, it’ll just have to wait. I’ve always been a believer in the human connections we make, and when we meet someone with whom we feel a kindred spirit, we’re destined to meet that someone again.

So, resigned in the fact that there’s always a next time, I make my way back through the ever-bustling New York City streets toward the subway to Penn Station and my train ride home to my partner and puppies. As I savor the aromas of New York in the early autumn and drink in the magical twilight illumination of the cityscape as the sun sets and the flashing marquees come to life, I remember the bag from Bluestockings in my hand. Meg signed copies of both of her books for me before I left, and now I’m curious to read what she wrote. On the title page of Gemma, she writes her thanks for me coming to her signing. I reach back into the bag and fumble for Singing Songs, newly reprinted as a trade paperback. I open to the title page and draw my breath in slightly. The inscription reads:

To Vince, To us! For not letting them win. Love, Meg Tilly, October 8, 2006.

I’m momentarily taken off guard by the depth of Meg’s perception, at how so many years of pain and anguish has helped her spot the same in others. I’m genuinely moved…a little choked up even. And, as I make my way underground toward the F train platform, I marvel at the power of closet doors opening and the potential in that power to change the world one door at a time.

I've kept in touch with Meg since our interview, and she most recently (albeit reluctantly - but I'm hard to resist!) discussed her contributions to horror films for a non-fiction book project I'm working on. Happily for her fans, she's now entered the world of the Internet with her own website and has become something of a prolific blogger. Her latest release is a well-received YA book, Porcupine.

Horrors of the Non-Slasher Variety

People have begun asking me if slasher films are the only horror movies I enjoy – obviously because of my predilection for the slice‘em/dice‘em fests that fostered my love of the genre. But the truth is that slashers are not the only films of the genre that I enjoy; actually, my #1 horror film of all-time is not a slasher film at all. So I thought I'd share my non-slasher Top Ten horror movie favorites for those curious as to my alternative tastes in terror. Following is my list, in descending order…

10. Motel Hell ~ Definitely the guilty pleasure on my list, this low-budget shocker about the carnivorous doings at the titular lodging is a delightful blend of dark humor, camp, gore, and cannibalistic ingenuity. Farmer Vincent (Rory Calhoun) and his sister, Ida (Nancy Parsons) run a rural motel in the backwoods of Texas, where they produce their own brand of smoked meats. People come from miles away for the renowned smoked delicacies; unfortunately, some of them find themselves buried up to their slashed vocal cords in the brother-sister duo’s secret garden where they end up being smoked themselves as the special ingredients in Farmer Vincent’s meats. After all, it takes all kinds of critters to make Farmer Vincent’s fritters, as the movie’s tagline reminds us. This campy cult-classic is fraught with dark moralistic overtones as Vincent and Ida justify their macabre meat packing practices by targeting those they deem sinners ~ prostitutes, swingers, and even a traveling druggie rock band. Check into this motel, and I promise you’ll never look at beef jerky the same way again!

9. The Boogens ~ There is something intrinsically scary about mines, and perhaps that’s why I love this sometimes silly little monster movie so much. Genuinely creepy at times and unintentionally funny at others, The Boogens harkens back to the golden age of B-grade monster movies. This movie has such a retro feel that you can almost see the poodle skirt-clad gal cuddling into the crook of her checkered vest-and-bowtie wearing boyfriend's arm at the drive-in on a Saturday night. The plot concerns a long-abandoned Colorado silver mine that we learn, through a time-efficient montage of vintage photos and newspaper headlines during the openings credits, was once plagued by mysterious disappearances and deaths until it was eventually sealed. Flash forward to present day when a group of entrepreneurial capitalists, keeping with the true Regan-era greed of the time period, decide to re-open the mine. Before you can say “Watch out behind you!” the titular creatures are unleashed and tentacled, razor-sharp clawed terror ensues. The puppet-like creatures, which present as a cross between Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and some ill-conceived Muppet rejects, are an absolute hoot and make this little schlock fest a worthy creature feature.

8. The Descent ~ It speaks pretty highly of a film nary three years old to be included on a list of top ten horror films, but The Descent is one of those instant classics that doesn’t need to withstand the test of time to determine its status as a masterpiece. This is a film with all the elements of a landmark horror movie: believable characters, a claustrophobic setting that is as scary as the horror action itself, gore galore, truly terrifying creatures, and a morbidly dark overtone to the entire proceedings that will stay with you long after the end credits role. Neil Marshall, who also helmed the highly-effective werewolf opus Dog Soldiers, is as promising a new director as they come.

7. The Howling ~ Speaking of werewolves, my lucky number seven pick of favorite non-slasher horror films is also my all-time favorite lycanthropic outing. The Howling tells the story of high-profile TV news anchor Karen White (Dee Wallace- Stone) who becomes the unwitting subject of a vicious serial killer’s obsession. After a well-choreographed ambush during which the killer is shot by police (notice I didn’t say “killed”), Karen is urged by her seemingly kindly psychiatrist (Patrick McNee) to rest her frayed nerves at his holistic retreat, aptly dubbed “The Colony” for reasons that become clear later in the movie. It isn’t long before Karen’s boyfriend, Bill (played by Wallace’s real-life first husband, the late Christopher Stone), is attacked by what first appears to be a very large wolf. But werewolf aficionados know full well what really happens when the moon is full, and it isn’t long before Karen finds herself surrounded by her eccentric fellow guests at The Colony, themselves blood-thirty werewolves. In addition to some mind-blowing on-screen man-to-werewolf transformations helmed by effects artist extraordinaire Rob Bottin (The Thing), The Howling also boasts one of the most memorable and highly-effective screen killings of all-time when the character of Terry (played with a genuine sense of terror by the underrated Belinda Balaski of Piranha and Gremlins fame) is confronted by Eddie, the serial killer-cum-werewolf ambushed in the opening. The scene works remarkably well because director Joe Dante brilliantly leaves the brutality of the scene to the imagination of the filmgoer, eschewing blood and guts for flashes of shadowed shots of sharp claws slashing the defenseless reporter. Sheer horrific brilliance!

6. The Birds ~ Sometimes the greatest terrors come from the mundane…from the everyday things that surround us as we go blindly about our daily lives. It is in keeping with this notion that Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 nature-run-amok masterpiece is still one of the all-time most terrifying films I’ve seen. As the titular critters descend upon the hapless denizens of Bodega Bay with increasingly ferocious attacks, Hitchcock does a remarkable job of demonstrating that it’s not only when we’re alone and in the dark that we face danger. From the first frames when Tippi Hedren is pecked by a seemingly random gull, the intensity of the film builds with each successive attack. Anyone who doesn’t crawl up a wall while watching the infamous schoolyard attack (keep your eyes peeled for future Alien screamer Veronica Cartwright as one of the frightened children) must be clinically dead themselves!

5. The Shining ~ One would be hard pressed not think that a collaboration between horror lit maestro Stephen King and renowned film director Stanley Kubrick would be anything but pure genius. Add to the equation a once-in-a-lifetime performance by Jack Nicholson and some of the best set pieces in a modern horror film and you’ve got the makings of a masterpiece. Based on King’s bestselling novel of the same name, The Shining is the ghostly tale of the supernatural going-on at the creepy Overlook Hotel that befalls the family who arrives to look after it during a long winter hiatus. Kubrick does a remarkable job personifying the Overlook Hotel, essentially adding the lodging as a central character in the film. Besides Nicholson’s tour-de-force performance, the film benefits greatly from the career-best work of Shelley Duvall and the late Scatman Crothers. Redrum!

4. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (’78) ~ It’s rare that a remake eclipses the merits of an original, but this 1978 redux of the 1956 film of the same name proves it’s possible. Led by a stellar cast including Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum, Lenoard Nimoy, and the incomparable Veronica Cartwright, this Invasion moves the action from the small-town setting of the original to big city San Francisco. Director Philip Kaufman masterfully guides his cast through the escalating paranoia of the essentially-intact original story concept as a microscopic alien life force invades Earth and slowly replaces people with emotionless shells of their former selves. The film seems more a cautionary metaphor for the de-personification of modern society as a whole, with the alien likenesses devoid of all human emotion. There are some genuinely unsettling sequences in Kaufman’s inspired take on an old favorite, including the massage parlor scene and several gory scenes where the pods “give birth” to characters’’ alien likenesses.

3. Alien ~ They may not be able to hear you scream in space, as the tagline for this 1978 sci-fi horror classic suggests, but they sure heard me screaming in the movie theater during this one! Arguably, Alien is the preeminent sci-fi screamer of all time, with its simple storyline of the ill-fated commercial towing vessel Nostromo and it’s even more ill-fated decision to answer a cosmic distress call. What ensues is a jump-out-of-your-seat thrill ride of outer space scares as the crew inadvertently brings back a slithering, acid-blooded alien that, at first, scampers about the ship before growing in to a very nasty killing machine with lots of teeth. Lots of them. Sigourney Weaver earned her A-list actress wings with her performance as the resourceful Ripley, while a terrific ensemble including Tom Skerrit, John Hurt, Harry Dean Stanton, and Veronica Cartwright lend support as her doomed shipmates.

2. The Thing ~ Twelve rugged men stranded at an Antarctic research station might sound like the set-up for an enticing gay porn film, but in John Carpenter’s spellbinding 1982 remake of The Thing From Another World (1951) this premise serves as the catalyst for one of the scariest, most suspenseful horror movies ever. After a helicopter full of seemingly mad Norwegians flies over base camp in pursuit of a seemingly harmless Siberian husky and crashes in the process, the inhabitants of the scientific outpost are later horrified to learn that the Norwegians weren’t mad after all and the husky isn’t so harmless when the dog mutates and attacks the other dogs at the camp. The hapless dozen soon learn that an alien life force that can alter the cell structure of those it consumes moves among them. In a clever nod to Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Carpenter creates an atmosphere of claustrophobic tension as the malevolent shape-shifting alien force moves from victim to victim and paranoia amongst the men reigns supreme. Rob Bottin’s special effects in this film are downright spectacular and are used logically and to tremendous effect in enhancing this terrifying tale.

1. The Fog ~ Another Carpenter masterpiece sits atop not only my list of non-slasher favorites, but also ranks as my all-time favorite horror film (just above Halloween). The Fog is a skillful slice of old-fashioned horror in the grand tradition of the classic ghost story. As the coastal town of Antonio Bay prepares to celebrate its centennial, the ghostly inhabitants of the Elizabeth Dane, a clipper ship full of lepers that was sunk at the hands of the town’s founding fathers, rise up from their watery graves shrouded in an eerie fog to seek revenge against the townsfolk. Carpenter assembles an ensemble of genre vets that hasn’t been matched since, with then-wife Adrienne Barbeau, Halloween alumni Jamie Lee Curtis, Nancy Loomis, and Charles Cyphers, Psycho screamer (and Curtis’ real-life mom) Janet Leigh, Hal Holbrook, Tom Atkins (Night of the Creeps, Creepshow), and the venerable John Houseman (Ghost Story). There has never been a more atmospheric horror film, with menacing wisps of foggy tendrils at very turn, waterlogged ghosts sloshing and dripping with seaweed, and Carpenter’s usual moody score. Carpenter uses location to optimum effect, with Barbeau’s smoky-voiced DJ character taking up resistance against the fog at her lighthouse radio station while the rest of the ensemble find themselves taking shelter at the town’s old church. The scenes leading up to the church siege are classic stuff, with various characters trying to escape the encroaching fog as Barbeau broadcasts its street-by-street approach, while the all-out attack on the church is harrowing with shots of rotted hands crashing through backlit stained glass windows and grabbing various characters by the hair. Although Houseman’s pre-credit campfire cameo effectively sets the tone and Holbrook’s drunken Father Malone is a standout, it’s the quartet of scream queens who steal the show. From Barbeau’s emotional pleas to her trapped son across the airwaves and Curtis’ in-the-wrong-place-at-the-wrong-time hitchhiker's wide-eyed incredulity, to Leigh’s stoic portrayal as organizer of the anniversary events despite her husband’s disappearance in the fog the night before and Loomis’ understated turn as Leigh’s sardonic but faithful assistant (which only reinforces our sense of loss that this gifted actress eventually gave up acting for a successful career as a sculptor), it’s the women who give The Fog it’s emotional depth. It’s bittersweet that Carpenter has at once created what is likely the finest ghost story in cinematic history, while never again matching the artistry and storytelling he imbued in The Fog.

My Slasher Film Top 10

So by now you know that I love slasher films. Since I've shared with you the "why" behind my appreciation for the genre, I thought I share the "which ones" part of the equation. So here is my own personal Top Ten of slasher movie favorites ~ in descending order.

1. Halloween ~ The one that ushered in the "golden age' of slasher films and introduced me to the incomparable Jamie Lee Curtis must sit atop my list. This low-budget tale of a masked killer stalking babysitters on Halloween night would go on to become the highest-grossing independent film of all-time and introduce the world to the talents of director John Carpenter and actress Curtis. This one set the standard.
2. Friday the 13th ~ Another slasher classic from 1980. Camp counselors stalked and killed in increasingly inventive ways by an unseen killer. From throat slittings to axes in the head, a then-unknown Tom Savini's special make-up effects gave us the classic hand-from-under-the-bed-arrow-through-Kevin-Bacon's-neck scene. Future movie maniac Jason Voorhees makes his debut by film's end.
3. Terror Train ~ College fraternity rings in the New Year with a costume party aboard a speeding train while a killer out for revenge for a past prank walks amongst them. Great setting, terrific performances by Jamie Lee Curtis, Hart Bochner, and the late Ben Johnson, and a chameleon-like killer who assumes the costumes of his victims all make for a terrifying trip. Notable for its mystery-like plot, as the doomed partygoers suspect one another of the killings and paranoia prevails.
4. Prom Night ~ Jamie Lee Curtis again, this time as a high school senior whose friends begin dropping like flies at the titular event. Begins eeirly with a scene that shows just how cruel children can be to one another. Another slasher that keeps the identity of the killer a secret until the final frames. Notable for Curtis' unintentionally funny disco dance of death!
5. Happy Birthday to Me ~ A superior Canadian entry in the slasher genre with a group of snobbish blue-blood students being killed off at the elite Crawford Academy. Film boasts the provocative tag line "Six of the most bizarre murders you will ever see," which it delivers with the infamous shish-kabob scene, the scarf-in-the-motorcycle-chain death, and the weights-to-the-crotch killing. Memorable for an uncharacteristic turn by TV good girl Melissa Sue Anderson, this nifty little slasher-mystery also boasts an early performance by underrated character actor Matt Craven (Blue Steel, Jacob's Ladder, A Few Good Men, Crimson Tide) and supporting roles by genre vets Lesleh Donaldson (Funeral Home, Curtains, and the rats-run-amok opus Deadly Eyes) and Lenore Zann (Visiting Hours, Def-Con 4).
6. Curtains ~ Another Canadian contribution to the slasher genre, this one plays very much like Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians with a group of actresses vying for a coveted movie role at the home of the film's mysterious (and possibly sinister) director. This film has one of the most memorable death scenes in which one of the actresses (Lesleh Donaldson) is brutally slain with a scythe while ice skating by a hag-masked killer who chases her across the frozen pond on skates! The scene is all the more harrowing because it takes place in broad daylight. Chock full of red herrings, better-than-average backstories, an intresting cast, and a creepy doll that makes numerous appearances, and Curtains is one of the most underrated entries in the slasher genre.
7. Hell Night ~ The Exorcist's Linda Blair weighs in with this simple-premised slasher entry in which she and three fellow college pledges are forced by their fraternal brothers and sisters to spend the night in a notoriously creepy haunted house. What they don't realize, of course, is that the house isn't haunted at all ~ it's just inhabited by your run-of-the-mill, deformed mutant psycho-killer who really,really hates drop-in guests. Atmospheric, well-acted by Blair, Peter Barton, and World Poker Tour host Vincent Van Patten, and featuring a hideously deformed killer, Hell Night is a great choice for rainy night viewing.
8. My Bloody Valentine ~ Ah, a heart scorned...is a heart cut out of your chest. At least that's the way it goes in this holiday-themed slasher entry (again out of Canada) from 1981. After a gruesome history, the young 'uns of Valentine's Bluff are fixing to hold their first Valentine's Dance in twenty years. But someone is soon coming after the inhabitants of this fictional mining town, pickaxe and miner's hat in tow. The classic slasher formula benefits nicely from a great locale (as the hapless partiers soon ditch the dance hall for a trip into the mines) and the whole Valentine's Day theme. The killer, whose identity is again kept hidden until the end of the film, is genuinely frightening as he breathes Darth Vader-style through is miner's apparatus and carries his pickaxe menacingly. With blood-soaked hearts in candy boxes, I highly recommend spending next Valentine's Day curled up on the couch with your special someone watching this thrill fest!
9. The Funhouse ~ For anyone who's ever fretted over what really lurks around the corners of those cheesy carnival funhouses, this one is for you. Happy-go-lucky teens out for a night of harmless pot smoking and sex find themselves trapped in Tobe Hooper's titular carnival attraction. Soon the barker's fanged and long-clawed mutant son is stalking them through the funhouse and murderous mayhem ensues. Great setting and above-average performances (including a fun turn by Sylvia Miles) sets this one apart from the pack.
10. Just Before Dawn ~ George Kennedy toplines this underrated 1981 slasher in which five campers journey deep into the wilderness to check out some property one has just inherited. The group is soon terrorized by two machete-wielding inbred brothers who pick off the campers one by one. With shades of Deliverence, director Jeff Lieberman does a terririfc job of establishing the characters' isolation early on and really embraces the wilderness setting to maximum effect. Co-stars another of my all-time favorite actresses and friends, Jamie Rose, who I had the pleasure of interviewing for Autograph Collector magazine in June of '06.

New Year's Resolution...

Say "yes" to temptation!

Happy New Year and Best Wishes for Peace & Happiness in '08!

x/o Vince