Image (unused) was taken to accompany an article for the April/May 2013 issue of The Advocate.

Jason Paul Collum (July 15, 1973)[1] is an American film maker. Collum has written and directed multiple films in the horror film genre, and has earned a reputation as the “gay horror guy".[2] He has written articles for several horror magazines, and made a documentary on the Slumber Party Massacre franchise by Roger Corman. He has worked on several projects with B-movie filmmakers David DeCoteau and J. R. Bookwalter.[2] Collum is also the author of the books, Assault of the Killer Bs: Interviews With 20 Cult Film Actresses, They Made How Many?! (Mostly) American Horror Franchises of the 20th Century and Basements: A Short Tale of Terror.[1][3]

Early life and education

Collum was born in Brookfield, Wisconsin, and raised in Racine, Wisconsin.[4] Collum claims he was a lonely child growing up and entertained himself by watching TV; at age 12 he began watching horror films and became obsessed with them.[5] When he was a junior in high school, he used a camcorder and made his first short film called Dead Women Don’t Wear Shoes (1990).[5] He graduated from the private Roman Catholic St. Catherine's High School in 1991, and graduated with a major in English from the University of Wisconsin–Parkside in 1996.[6] He earned a post-baccalaureate degree in Early Childhood Education in 2014 from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee.[7]

Career

After graduating from college, he moved to California, where he started writing full-length scripts.[6] He developed contacts in the film industry after meeting Brinke Stevens, which led him to being introduced to J. R. Bookwalter and David DeCoteau.[5] He worked with director David DeCoteau on the movies The Brotherhood I and II and Final Stab, and producer/writer J. R. Bookwalter on the film Hell Asylum and the TV show Bad Movie Police.[6] His stay in California was short-lived, and he eventually moved back to Wisconsin, where he continued making movies.[8]

Horror allows you to suspend reality. You get to tackle true subjects in otherworldly ways. Underlying psychological themes. I find it to be so much more creative. It’s also just how my brain is wired.[5]

Jason Paul Collum

His 2005 film October Moon was based on actual events in his life, and was filmed in Racine and Kenosha counties.[9] Every character in the film is based on someone he knew, and the lead character was based on his father, who had come out as gay, despite being married to his mother.[5] The film was developed from several people’s fact-based experiences.[5] Film critic Louis Fowler described the film as "Gaytal Attraction".[10] His movie October Moon and its sequel, October Moon 2: November Son was the first gay-themed horror franchise in history.[11][12]

In 2010, Collum co-wrote and directed the documentary Sleepless Nights: Revisiting the Slumber Party Massacres, about the Slumber Party Massacre movie trilogy by Roger Corman. Collum talked with directors, actors, and various crew members of the three movies to discuss what it was like filming the scenes that required nudity, sex and violence, and what they thought about working for Corman.[13]

Collum has written for Femme Fatales, Fangoria, Instinct, Exploitation Nation and Cinefantastique magazines, and is author of the books Assault of the Killer Bs: Interviews With 20 Cult Film Actresses, and Basements: A Short Tale of Terror.[5][4][1][12] The April/May 2013 issue of The Advocate listed him as one of their "40 under 40" most intriguing artists to watch.[11]

In 2019, Amazon Prime pulled all of Collum's movies from their service with no advance notice, and with no path to re-examine their decision, according to filmmaker Derrick Carey. "These are movies that consistently had many views and to this day get him fan mail, as they are touchstones of the gay horror scene", said Carey.[14]

Released on July 28, 2023, Collum's film guide They Made How Many?! (Mostly) American Horror Franchises of the 20th Century is a culmination of every horror sequel from the year 1900 to 1999. However, Collum states on page 2 "I truly tried to include every franchise I could...[but] after two years of research, I am still coming across sequels I never knew existed. So I cannot claim this book to be a complete guide - just as accurate as I know."[15] The 654-page book also includes interviews with over 30 actors and crew of several of the sequels listed. By its third day of release, July 31, 2023, the title had climbed on Amazon's list of book sales from #109,927 up to #40,262.[16] It was the #1 New release in Amazon's Historical Studies section[17] and rose to #8 on its Best-Selling Horror Movies section.[18] The book's cover is created by artist John Konecny and features hand-drawn villainous characters from popular sequels like "Ricky" from Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out!, Mary Lou Maloney from Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II, the Driller Killer from Slumber Party Massacre II, Eleanor from Howling IV: The Original Nightmare, Julie Walker from Return of the Living Dead 3, Blade from the Puppet Master franchise, and the lead Ghoulie from Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go to College. The rest of the cover features a grid with the titles of popular franchises and a roman numeral of their most recent sequel.[19]

Select filmography

Year Title Notes Refs
1990Dead Women Don't Wear ShoesShort: Written and directed by Collum[5]
1995Mark of the Devil 666: The MoralistWritten and directed by Collum[20]
19965 Dark SoulsWritten and directed by Collum[21]
19985 Dark Souls, Part II: Roots of EvilWritten and directed by Collum[4]
2000Julia WeptWritten and directed by Collum
The title character is named after his sister Julia		[4][22]
20035 Dark Souls, Part III: RetributionWritten and directed by Collum[23]
2003Something to Scream AboutDocumentary: Written and directed by Collum[20]
2005October MoonWritten and directed by Collum[24]
2005Well Isn't That Queer?: The Making of October MoonShort: Documentary written and directed by Collum[25]
2008October Moon 2: November SonWritten and directed by Collum[5]
2010Sleepless Nights: Revisiting the Slumber Party MassacresDocumentary about The Slumber Party Massacre horror film franchise.[13]
2011Shy of Normal: Tales of New Life ExperiencesDirected by Collum[20]
2011Screaming in High Heels: The Rise & Fall of the Scream Queen EraDocumentary: Written and directed by Collum[26]
2017I Collum as I See 'Em: My Camcorder to Digital CareerShort: Biography, directed by Andrew Gibbs[lower-alpha 1]
2017Safe InsideWritten and directed by Collum[5]
2019Inside the Red RoomTV series[lower-alpha 1]
2020Screaming in High Heels: The ReunionDocumentary: Written and directed by Collum[27]
2022Mark of the Devil 777: The Moralist, Part 2Written and directed by Collum[28]

Notes

  1. 1 2 see IMDb credits

References

  1. 1 2 3 Boyer, David (2015). "Jason Paul Collum". Cinemassacres: A Tribute to Forrest J Ackerman. BearManor Media. p. 143.
  2. 1 2 Schmitt, Gavin (March 20, 2011). "Jason Paul Collum Interview, October Moon". gavinschmitt.com. Archived from the original on January 27, 2023.
  3. ↑ Collum, Jason Paul (May 24, 2016). Basements: a short tale of terror. Blurb. ISBN 978-1367657588.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Helgren, Jacob (October 7, 2001). "An interview with Jason Paul Collum". Hysteria Lives!. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Trembath, Ron (October 10, 2018). "Jason Paul Collum [Interview]". Trainwreck'd Society. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 Killackey, Brent (December 14, 2003). "Filmaker hopes debut will get him to 'where there are budgets'". The Journal Times. p. 13A – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Basements by Jason Paul Collum". Blurb Books. May 24, 2016.
  8. ↑ Roberts, Lee B. (October 19, 2006). "It came from Lake Michigan". The Journal Times. p. 5B – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ Anderson, Janine (October 7, 2005). "Horror filmmaker used area locations to shoot 'October Moon'". The Journal Times.
  10. ↑ Fowler, Louis (November 2, 2006). "October Moon (NR)". Colorado Springs Independent. p. 28 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. 1 2 "40 Under 40". The Advocate. April 17, 2013. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023.
  12. 1 2 "Flashback Weekend Chicago Horror Convention". Flashback Weekend. Archived from the original on May 20, 2022.
  13. 1 2 Carnes, Jim (October 4, 2010). "DVD / What's available". The Sacramento Bee. p. D4 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ Bowman, Parker (January 24, 2019). "Amazon wrongfully purging independent movies". The Hanford Sentinel.
  15. ↑ Collum, Jason Paul (2023-07-24). They Made How Many?! (Mostly) American Horror Franchises of the 20th Century. Independently published. ISBN 979-8-3998-6080-0.
  16. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10159371186401860&set=pcb.10159371186466860
  17. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10159371858566860&set=a.10150179239711860
  18. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10159371186396860&set=pcb.10159371186466860
  19. ↑ Gingold, Michael (2023-07-31). "Exclusive comments: "THEY MADE HOW MANY?!" book covers the wonderful world of horror sequels". Rue Morgue. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
  20. 1 2 3 "Jason Paul Collum Filmography". AllMovie.
  21. ↑ Menefee, Sami (May 12, 1998). "The Sync Shows Moore Video's Cult Classics On Internet". Newsbytes News Network. United Kingdom, Stillwater: The Financial Times. ProQuest 446094287 – via ProQuest.
  22. ↑ Block, Dustin (June 7, 2001). "A horror story". The Journal Times. p. 1C – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ↑ Abley, Sean (October 2013). Out in the Dark: Interviews with Gay Horror Filmmakers, Actors, and Authors. Lethe Press. p. 100. ISBN 978-1-59021-272-1.
  24. ↑ "Students Get Scoop On Media, Music Industries". US Fed News Service. September 8, 2008. ProQuest 470911708 – via ProQuest.
  25. ↑ Collum, Jason Paul (director) (2005). Well Isn't That Queer?: The Making of October Moon. Event occurs at 00:15.
  26. ↑ Piepenburg, Erik (September 14, 2012). "Testing Horror's Threshold for Pain". The New York Times.
  27. ↑ Juergens, Brian (September 21, 2012). "Review: "Screaming in High Heels: The Rise and Fall of the Scream Queen Era"". Logo TV.
  28. ↑ Gingold, Michael (December 8, 2022). "Exclusive photos/details: "MARK OF THE DEVIL 777: THE MORALIST, PART 2" is coming to disc". Rue Morgue.
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