This did NOT start out as a profile of a Director’s entire career. Originally, I started watching a “film” called Sniper: Special Ops. I knew from the title it was unrequired viewing and since I haven’t watched a Steven Seagal movie since Hard to Kill, I figured it was time. Here is an excerpt from that unfinished review…
[In case you are wondering, yes…this IS part of the famous Sniper film series that began with Tom Berenger in 1993. Oh, you weren’t wondering that? You should be. You have been missing out on such films as Sniper: Reloaded, Sniper: Legacy, Sniper: Ghost Shot, and Sniper: Scope and Kill. One of those I just made up.]
After barely making it through the first ten minutes I got distracted by the director’s IMDB page. This man, Fred Olen Ray, has 148 directing credits to his name, I shit you not. Then I started noticing a pattern in his film choices and decided this man deserves to be recognized. Even if he is being recognized for unrequired viewing.
There isn’t much written about Fred’s childhood other than “he was a fan of horror movies on TV”. That is appropriately worded because Fred’s first chapter is pretty much horror films made directly for television.
Fred began his journey as a director in 1971 with a film called Honey Britches. Upon further investigation (and by that I mean the trivia section on IMDB) it turns out Fred bought a film called Shantytown Honeymoon, he then “shot an introduction scene with John Carradine as The Judge of Hell (5 minutes), and sold it to Troma Films that re-titled it again to "Demented Death Farm Massacre... The Movie”
You gotta give the man credit. That’s ballsy.
Then in 1978 he began his work with such films as The Brain Leeches, The Alien Dead, Scalps, Biohazard, Prison Ship, The Tomb, Cyclone, Deep Space, Warlords, Terminal Force, Alienator, Spirits, Wizards of the Demon Sword…and I’m leaving out a bunch. These were all made in the span of 12 years or so. It takes a certain kind of talent to churn out three or four movies PER YEAR. I’m guessing Fred was the go-to guy for getting a film made under budget and quickly (The Sniper movie was shot in 20 days).
But then Fred took a turn. Probably because we were seeing a rise in home video sales and people like naked girls. It was at this point, in the early 90’s, where he began his second chapter: tits.
It’s hard to say whether it began with Bad Girls from Mars (which could just be a horror film) or Scream Queen Hot Tub Party, but it didn’t stop there. He went on to direct such classics as Bikini Drive-In, Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfold, Masseuse, Night Shade (I’m assume this is sexual somehow), Masseuse 2 (duh), Binkini Hoe-Down, Illicit Dreams, Emmanuelle 2000, Thirteen Erotic Ghosts, Bikini Chain Gang, Bikini Round-Up, Bikini Pirates (otherwise known as the bikini trilogy, I am guessing), and the list goes on and on. Really. There’s like 20 more bikini films.
Now, I suppose one could look at these as porn but I don’t think they are. I think they are more along the lines of what you might see late night on Cinemax. Not sure if that makes it better or worse.
But then something magical happened. I don’t know if he settled down and had kids or just grew tired of making films based on a swimsuit, but in 2012 he directed a film called A Christmas Wedding Date. This was quite the change in tone for Mr. Ray (Mr. Olsen Ray?) and while he continued to pursue his passion of making crappy low-budget horror films here and there, he really went crazy with the wholesome holiday movies. He directed Holiday Road Trip, All I Want for Christmas (which may have actually been a real movie released in real theaters), Christmas in Palm Springs (okay, that one may be dirty), The Christmas Gift, A Prince for Christmas, and finally, the holiday classic we all know and love, A Christmas in Vermont.
I’d say over all you can look at this man’s career in four chapters that run simultaneously: Crappy horror, Crappy porn, Crappy Holiday films, and Crappy action movies. I would list that final chapter but I think you get the idea with Sniper: Special Ops.
Here’s to you Fred Olen Ray. May you continue to make movies that inspire us all.
RECOMMENDED VIEWING: John Carpenter.
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