Horror Crush: Jennifer Rubin

On this final day of Women in Horror Month, I wanna talk about one of my absolute biggest crushes growing up: the impossibly beautiful Jennifer Rubin!

Jennifer Collene Rubin was born in Phoenix, AZ on April 3, 1962. Her very first role was in A Nightmare on Elm Street pt 3: The Dream Warriors. It is easily her most famous and beloved one. She plays one of the last of the "Elm Street kids" which consist of a group of suicidal teens at an institution. She's Taryn White, a former junkie. When returning, from the first film, Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) tell them that each of them have a dream power, hers is that she is "beautiful and bad!" Dressed in tight leather, with her hair put like a mohawk, and carrying twin swtichblades, she most certainly is just that! Now, I saw Dream Warriors on video tape very young and have loved it ever since. It is easily the best of the Nightmare sequels and possibly the finest slasher sequel, ever. In fact it is one of the best horror sequels, period.

I have loved rocker girls all my life, and when I saw her in this movie, as a kid, I was in total love! Especially when she went punk. God, I think I spent a good fraction of my younger life looking for my own Taryn. I still maybe! I always hate the scene when she dies cause she was a great character (and beautiful, duh), but that's why this movie works (well one of many reason, actually) where other slashers movies fail. You actually care about the fucking characters! What a concept!

 

 

The next year she appeared in the underrated Bad Dreams. Her involvement makes it feel like more of A Nightmare rip-off, but it's a good flick. She is great in it, as a former hippie child. And, she looks absolute stunning. If I was in love before, this movie sealed the deal for me. You can read more about my thoughts on it in this link, though one thing has changed since I reviewed it first, I really prefer the original ending to the theatrical one, nowadays: http://www.gorezone.net/dvdcrypt/reviewstxt/abc/baddreams.html

 

In 1993, she starred in the silly thriller The Crush. This ain't a horror movie, but it was covered in Fango, under, well, the "Not a Horror Film" column! She plays the girlfriend of the dude that Alicia Silverstone obsesses over. She also gets attacked by bees. I saw this movie in the theaters, and thought it was lame. But, I was happy to see my former crush Rubin (who looked stunning, of course!), and my newest crush Silverstone in one movie! Even it if was a crappy one! Oddly, Silverstone would go on to star in far worse movies. Oh well...

She had a small role in the awesome action/ horror hybrid Full Eclipse (starring Mario Van Peebles, the beautiful Patsy Kensit, and another horror crush of mine: Paula Marshall). Then in 1995, she appeared in the crappy Jim Wynorski remake The Wasp Woman. She plays the title character. As always she look and is great, the FX are great, too! The movie, however, is NOT great, at all...

Also from that year is Screamers. This sci-fi/ horror/ "action" hybrid, I saw in the movies. Despite having Rubin looking beautiful and kicking ass, also having Robocop himself, Peter fucking Weller, killer robots, and an awesome and gory beginning, this one sucks. I was so annoyed in the theater watching this. Thank God, then for Rubin's impressive beauty, which helped ease my suffering. Actually, one great thing came of this turd. She was promoting it at a Fangoria Weekend of Horrors, and I met her! She signed for free (remember when people did that cons?), and looked GORGEOUS in person. I swear, I was in love, all over again!

She appeared in other horror movies, too, but I didn't see them. They are: Little Witches, Twists of Terror, and Sanctimony. Any of you ever seen of those? Any thoughts?

Aside from her horror movie appearances she was on genre TV shows, too. They were: The Twilight Zone, Tales from the Crypt, and The Outer Limits.

Jennifer Rubin is, to put it, quite simply, amazing. Beautiful and talented, she is one of my utmost personal favorite Horror Crushes. And, I know many of you feel the way about this stunning blue-eyed goddess.