Here's the basic deal. I have a hell of a lot of free time,
being unemployed. I also collect various pictures, files,
.mp3s, what-have-you...lots of virtual bric-a-brac. How'ver, due
to the vagaries of fate and the aforementioned free time (home
on disability until I can figure out if there's something on
the face of the earth a bearded lady with bad knees and the
typing speed of a demigoddess can reasonably do), I end up with a
lot of stored files on computers that aren't mine. So I've been
shopping around for high-storage servers where I can keep stuph until
I get my comp back up and running and can just dump it all there.
What does all this have to do with Dean Cameron, and why the
apology? Basically, most of the servers I found (all free)
weren't attached to web pages. This site was. So suddenly, I had to
figure out what I wanted to say on a web page...This isn't exactly hard,
but I have two...wait...three webpages already. What did I possibly
have left to say?
Then it struck me. I have been a big fan of Dean Cameron for quite a
while now, and I can trace it back directly to two films,
Bad Dreams and
Rockula.
Bad Dreams, an admittedly flawed work, tried too hard to go in
too many directions, but even with the plot flaws, the actors
shine. In sections it's nearly theatrical, in the sense of watching
a play spin out in front of watchers unseen--the actors are more
performing monologues for the audience, than in the grip of the
'reality' of the storyline. And Dean Cameron, as Ralph, stole
every scene he was in. Considering I had gone to the film in
the first place to see Jennifer Rubin again, who had formerly
starred in Nightmare on Elm Street IV, it was a surprise and a
joy to watch Cameron's character gleefully vamp, stare and slice
with such abandon.
Now, I admit I missed some Cameron appearances in between these
two films, but Rockula was the next film in which I saw Cameron.
And I was instantly swept away. Maybe it's my love of bad films,
maybe it's my love of bad vampire films in particular, maybe it's
that kink I have for musicals...I can't tell you. I do know that
I own a copy of the film now, after several years of searching,
and may have to order another copy again soon, as I watch it, on
average, four times or more a year. It is, I believe, the only
film in which Dean Cameron sings, and moreover, the only film to
date in which Bo Diddly will probably ever wear spandex.
Rockula is such a gleeful romp. A vampiric love story,
featuring Toni Basil (doing her own choreography, as if that's
surprising), Thomas Dolby (wearing items from his own wardrobe,
by rumor), and Tawny Fere in addition to Bo Diddley and Susan
Tyrell as part of Rockula's backup band, it rings changes from touching
to odd to endearing to just plain strange, sometimes within minutes
of each other. Surprisingly, the film knows it's playing fast and
loose with the traditional vampire mythos, and holds its head up high,
striding forth triumphantly with the tale of a cursed vampire who hates
the taste of blood, has a sarcastic reflection, and can walk around
in the light of day (with sunscreen, of course). It's my
second-favorite film (the first being Arsenic and Old Lace, in case
you were curious).
Finally, she gets to it...That apology. You see, when I first
got this space, I started hunting for a pic from Rockula to open the
page. And I couldn't find one. And then life got, well, incredibly
lifelike and I didn't get back to update this little corner of the web
for quite some time. So for that time all it said was it was a fan page,
with no fan information, no trivia, no graphics, nothing but a thank you
to Dreamwater for hosting me. And I'm sorry about that. I got distracted,
and it was hard finding an opening picture. Obligatory request: If
anyone has any pictures from Rockula you'd like to send me, please
email them to me. And
thanks.
A Few Links:
hey, you're that guy
The best Dean Cameron site ever--Dean Cameron runs it. A
Tribute to Dean Cameron
Another good fan page, this one hosting as the top image the infamous
Cameron/Eyeball shot. Dean
Cameron Unplugged
For some reason, the only picture I could find from Rockula
was from this site.
Dean Cameron Worship Page
And just to round out the collection, the Worship Page.
