Horror Favourites – Erynn Dalton & Miss Bouvèé

Big Easy Queens claims the title of Popcorn Frights’ Audience Award for Best Feature Film. The made-in-Florida LGBTQ glam horror musical Big Easy Queens featured a live performance at its world premiere presentation. Full of zombies, gristle, and glitter, Big Easy Queens is “a campy neo-giallo delight soaked in blood.”

The horror-comedy feature includes all-new original music from its cast of local drag and cabaret artists Miss Bouvèé, Benjamin Shaevitz, Jennifer McClain, and Matthew Darren. Entirely made in Florida, Big Easy Queens is directed by Erynn Dalton and written by Robert Leleux.

Deep in the steamy underworld of New Orleans, Mob Queen of the Quarter Minnie Bouvèé has arch-nemesis Poodles Makenzie’s crew brutally slaughtered. As she braces for the blowback, she begins to notice an unexpected creepy masked figure stalking her, leaving behind bouquets of gardenias and terrifying notes. Is this Poodles’ revenge, or the work of Minnie’s estranged sister who stole her man years ago and has suddenly reappeared in her life?

Below director Erynn Dalton and star Miss Bouvèé run us through their favourite horror films:

Miss Bouvèé

“Interview with the Vampire (1994)

This film was the first time I saw major actors portray a homoerotic relationship in a studio-produced film. The representation really resonated with me. LeStat and Armand are very queerly in pursuit of Louis. Also, as a New Orleans queen, the setting continues to be like a homecoming to me every time I watch it.

American Horror Story, Coven (2013)

I will always call this season my favorite. Again, the New Orleans-based storyline is not lost on me but the way they weaved New Orleans culture into the story is just mind-blowing to me. I watch this season three to four times a year! Jessica Lange will always be my Supreme.

Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

I mean, this set the tone for Big Easy Queens! A musically charged sci-fi/horror film with outrageous characters that you fall in love with; that’s exactly what we set out to pay homage to. RHPS is a cult classic, a gift that keeps giving, and will forever be one of my favorites.”

Erynn Dalton

“Cabin in the Woods (2011)
This film, directed by Drew Goddard and written by Goddard and Joss Whedon, is one I love due to its sheer unpredictability and batshit crazy gore-filled final minutes. Cabin in the Woods starts as a typical “hot young people go to scary cabin” horror flick and turns that premise completely on its head while managing to be both scary and funny.

Poltergeist (1982)
An 80s classic that beautifully blends Steven Spielberg’s children-in-danger vibe with Tobe Hooper’s love of terror and gore. Every member of the Freeling family is relatable, and who can forget Zelda Rubinstein’s medium Tangina Barrons or the murderous clown doll that made all of us terrified of them for the rest of our lives? This film has tons of heart, horror and even some gore (hard to believe, with the face peeling sequence, that this flick was PG-13 back in the 80s)!

The Descent (2005)
The ultimate horror flick for people (like me) who like women in horror films to be smart, tough, and capable! This Neil Marshall-written and directed film features a spelunking group of female athletes exploring a system of underground caverns who become lost and realize they’re not alone. Marshall masterfully ratchets up the paranoia, claustrophobia, and terror as the tough-as-nails women go deeper and deeper into the caves, find what’s waiting for them, and fight for their lives.”

Big Easy Queens trailer