She's hot and she's dead

September 28:  Horror goes Native American in POCAHAUNTUS"It's the first, and therefore the greatest, Native American exploitation movie ever!" director/producer Veronica Craven tells Fango of her feature debut POCAHAUNTUS (see a couple of exclusive pics below). Coming to DVD this winter (details are still being finalized) and premiering at SiliCon, San Jose, CA's annual independent film fest, running October 5-7, the Tahl Gurl Productions movie stars Stephanie Basco in the title role, along with Barry Ratcliffe and burgeoning scream queen Eliza Swenson (both from CANDY STRIPERS), Tasha Dixon, Chris Angelo, Neil D'Monte and Cory (THE HAMILTONS) Knauf. Eschewing a serious approach--as the title should indicate--POCAHAUNTUS revolves around the deceased (and apparently irritated) title character, an Indian woman who returns every 100 years to wreak revenge on the descendants of those who murdered her tribe. Receiving mysterious invites to Camp Legend, said hapless offspring converge on the rural compound, and as these flicks tend to go, sexual hijinx and murderous mayhem manifest quickly.

Star Ratcliffe, who also served as the film's scribe, says of his inspiration for the film, "My ancestor was John William Ratcliffe, the captain of [the tall ship] Discovery that founded America. I thought he married Pocahontas [in reality, it was Englishman John Rolphe she wed in 1614--that's right, a history lesson courtesy of Fango], which is how I came up with the story." As for his decidedly politically incorrect take, Ratcliffe adds, "I'm tired of Pocahontas being portrayed as a short, fat whore. We are rewriting history. I made her a sexy murderess. Pocahontas united the nations with the most important thing in the world: sex. This movie gives Pocahontas back her voice and celebrates what this country was built on: sex and murder."

Craven chimes in, with tongue firmly planted in cheek, "My vision with this film was to take Native American exploitation to a higher level. Barry had it ready to go, I had the money, it was time for me make the jump from TV to film. So I did. As for any controversy [it might generate], it's a frickin' movie, not any kind of statement about women, or Native Americans, or even Pocahontas herself--who in real life wasn't considered sexy. I think we did her justice in this film!"

With the film bearing the tagline "She's Hot, She's Dead, and She's Super Pissed!", assistant director and producer Molly Celaschi has no qualms about POCAHAUNTUS falling squarely into the genre of "exploitation. There is sex, gore and something to offend everyone," she says. "Some people may be upset over the portrayal [of Pocahontas], but the film doesn't really show the best side of the white people either, whether it was with drugs, sex, betrayal or more sex!"Comment:  Pocahontas hasn't been portrayed as a sex object in the past, so this movie is needed as a corrective? That idiotic assertion is the exact opposite of the truth.

In fact, Pocahontas is probably the no. 1 sex object in all of Native history. Craven must be kidding because she can't be serious.