This past weekend celebrated the annual AVN (Adult Video News) Award Show in beautiful Las Vegas, Nevada. For those unaware, the AVN awards are like the Academy Awards for pornography. The AVN awards are one of the most inclusive award shows on the market and the technicality of the show possesses a display of audio and visual pageantry that rivals anything the Oscars put on our television screens. While female actresses in pornography tend to become household names, (Jenna Jameson or Traci Lords anyone?) male performers tend to go under the radar or are treated as headless torsos in the framing of the movie. The AVNs pay special attention to its star performers, and this year the ‘Best Actor’ was won by a man in one of the greatest horror porn parodies I’ve ever seen.
Tommy Pistol is no stranger to horror porn parodies, or horror films in general. Known for his work as an actor/writer/director on the film THE GRUESOME DEATH OF TOMMY PISTOL, he’s also the star of films like THE WALKING DEAD: A HARDCORE PARODY, BEYOND FUCKED: A ZOMBIE ODYSSEY, OMG…IT’S THE GHOST XXX PARODY, A WET DREAM ON ELM STREET, DONG OF THE DEAD, DEADER COUNTRY, THE XXXORCIST, and RE-PENETRATOR, just to name some of his horror porn work. Tommy Pistol is the Christopher Lee of horror porn parodies. Thankfully, this year he was awarded the coveted ‘Best Actor’ award for his work as Ash in the EVIL DEAD parody, affectionately titled EVIL HEAD. As someone who proudly owns a copy of this parody, it’s an award he definitely deserved.
The EVIL HEAD parody is really, really good. Take out all of the sex scenes, and you’re left with a genuinely solid low-budget remake of the trilogy. The film was directed by Doug Sakmann, a special fx artist and veteran horror porn parody director. Sakmann is not just a “porn” maker, as his work on “legitimate” films like THE CEMETERY and CROSS BEARER were very impressive. Sakmann is also a bonafide horror fanboy, and his attention to detail helped shape this porn parody into a genuinely solid film, despite all the boning. Hell, the voice on the tape found in the Cabin was provided by none other than Lloyd Kaufman. The actors paid very close attention to the source material, and the makeup is downright amazing. Melissa Murphy of xMelissaMakeupx, the woman responsible for all of these looks is also the makeup designer behind all of those “Before and After Porn Star Makeup” photosets that keep popping up on social media timelines. The makers of this parody were very, very serious about ensuring this film was going to be great. The fact that deadite makeup around the mouth is staying put while Ash is slamming his “boomstick” into it deserves all the praise in the world. The storyline plays really close to the original films, and for any open-minded horror fanatic, EVIL HEAD is a must-see. Okay, so the tree-rape is definitely given to a willing participant, but the fact that they kept Deadite makeup, gore, and a chainsaw arm in a porno is some serious dedication. Tommy Pistol’s acting style had an uncanny resemblance to Bruce Campbell in the first EVIL DEAD film, and he proved that he’s far more than just really, really good at sex.
Award shows completely snubbed the horror genre this year, but it’s nice to know that our fellow “shamed genre” friends can recognize horror performing as a legitimate field. Although the “mainstream” film world keeps trying to make James Deen a “thing,” they should really be paying attention to Tommy Pistol. Sure, James Deen is a guy that women everywhere would love to say they’ve bed, but how many of us have tried to pick up the bearded guy at the bar with the Aqua Teen Hunger Force tattoo a la Tommy Pistol? Answer: everyone. Congratulations to Tommy Pistol and thank-you to the AVNs for remembering that horror reigns supreme.