Dayton has had its fair share of male hosts with names like Dr. Creep, A. Ghastlee Ghoul, The Creeper, Baron Von Porkchop, Retina and Dr. Freak all coming to mind and being some of the most popular ones. But when thinking about female hosts from Dayton there are far fewer with Iris being the only full host and the others being co-hosts like Baroness Von Porkchop and Suspira…but did you readers know that we did have a second female host that sadly only lasted three episodes? Her name was Rayne and her show was Studio Cinema. Behind Iris I think she is the area’s second fully fledged female Horror Hostess who had her own show, making her very important when it comes to the rich history of Dayton Hosts. So for this quick update it’s with great honor that I bring to you Horror Host Icon: Rayne as I continue my look at the Horror Hosts of Dayton for 2020…wait her show is set at the 2020…it’s a perfect year to cover her!
Studio Cinema started in 2015 and made its premiere on YouTube with the first episode being uploaded on September 10, 2015 to give viewers a taste of what was to come. Two more episodes would be filmed, and they would go direct to DVD and could be purchased at the 2020 where the show was set. The show was created by Carl Merritt who directed a vampire film called “Abe’s Tomb” and is the owner of the 2020 as well as Stacy Rayne, who is a model and the show’s host. The show’s vibe was fun and had a real indie horror touch that made each episode feel like its own little mini movie. In each episode Rayne and the models have to deal with goofy, creepy and terrible customers. The show has a really indie horror feel to it and the pacing is set in place that showcases the annoying customer as well as the pushing of Rayne who must deal with the issue by dealing death. The customers in each episode would be played by an Indie Horror Movie director or a local photographer that would go on to be interviewed later in the show about their work. The show would come to an official end on November 2, 2016 when director and producer Carl Merritt made the announcement on the show’s Facebook page. While the show did not last long it still made a splash with local Horror Host viewers and earned its place in the history books of Dayton, Ohio Horror Hosted Shows.
Rayne is a host like none other in our area as she is a manager of a photo studio who does her day-to-day job, and when pushed by terrible customers, she deals with them in brutal ways. You see when Rayne is sent to the edge, she changes into Hunter. a killer who gets joy in dealing with these pains and deals out a helping hand of murder with her knife, machine gun or whatever else she can get her hands on! Rayne wears a pink shirt that has The 2020 on it and while friendly, she does have a sinister edge to her. Meanwhile Hunter wears all black and is 100% violent, as she will kill in order to protect the models and keep The 2020 a safe place for all. Rayne is lovely and deadly and is Dayton’s second Horror Hostess and delivered three solid and fun episodes to her viewers before retiring for Hosting in 2016. Will she ever come back and bring new episodes of Studio Cinema to Dayton…only time will tell.
Like all good Horror Host shows Studio Cinema had its own co-host/sidekick with model MC Arthur who helped the customers at The 2020 as well as delivered her own silly jokes as she wanted to also become a stand up comic. The cool thing about MC is her blonde hair and overly bubbly nature made her a great contrast from Rayne/Hunter. Plus MC is in all three episodes and is the main focus in two of the episodes as the rude customers are the ones who give her guff. So while she is not the host, MC is clearly the show’s co-host and is the nice balance to play off Rayne. I’m not really sure why they didn’t just turn the show over to MC when Rayne retired, as I think she could have done a good job of hosting at least a few episodes.
Studio Cinema and its Hostess Rayne are a part of Dayton history, and I want to thank the show’s creator Carl Merritt for hooking me up with DVD copies of this show as well as allowing me to share some of the photos he has taken of Rayne while she was modeling. So I am sure you have guessed that we are at the part of this Horror Host Icon update where I will be talking about the episodes I own on DVD, and I want to remind you that I will not be grading these episodes and that I will be taking the film’s write ups from our friends at IMDB with the host segments write ups done by me. I want to also say that I had to make the cover for the first episode as it was an online release only, so that’s why it’s not as cool as the official ones. So if you are ready, let’s travel to The 2020 and see what Rayne has in store for us!
Studio Cinema: Giant Gila Monster
Starring – Don Sullivan & Lisa Simone Not Rated 1959
Host: We start the show and meet Rayne, the manager of photo studio the 2020 that offers not only models to photograph but also Horror Movies on DVD! Ryan has to yell at a customer who is touching the model M.C. rudely as she is trying to book a customer over the phone, but the photographer keeps touching the model and gets his final warning from Rayne to stop! When he does not listen, Rayne deals with the handsy creep once and for all. Rayne goes on to give a fact about the night’s movie before M.C. has to clean up the body parts of the now dead customer. Next she interviews a local actor about his weird roles, and then shares a story about a real life serial killer who killed his own mother. While working on paperwork, Rayne is visited by M.C. and she tells a really bad joke as she says she wants to become a comedian. In the end Rayne thanks us for watching and warns the viewer that Hunter will rip their tongues out if they don’t have nice things to say.
Movie: A couple of teenagers are reported missing in a small Texas town, and it is thought they eloped. Sheriff Jeff turns to his friend Clarence Winstead, a garage mechanic and leader of a hot-rod gang, for help. After a series of tragic motor accidents, it becomes apparent that a giant Gila monster is roaming the area depleting the town of its citizens and visitors, including two hot-rodding teens, and planning to attend the big record-hop party.
Studio Cinema: Brain That Wouldn’t Die
Starring – Jason Evers & Virginia Leith Not Rated 1962
Host: Rayne welcomes us back to the studio and tells us about the night’s film and also shares what business the 2020 has set up for the day. Rayne next gives some trivia facts about the film and then gets a visit from Ray, a client who wants to buy some Horror Movies and also comes off very sleazy and puts down the selection of films to model MC! And when Ray gets out of hand, Rayne turns into Hunter and uses a switchblade to gut him like a hog! Hunter turns back to Rayne and she once more talks about the film as well as the customers that do business with the 2020. Rayne once more shares a true crime story about a man who threw his own guts at the comics! We next join Rayne as she has a sit down interview with director Ray Basham who made the film “Hillbilly-Bob Zombie”. And once the movie is over, Rayne ends the show and plugs some websites and lets us know she will see us for the next episode.
Movie: Dr. Bill Cortner has been performing experimental surgery on human guinea pigs without authorization and against the advice of his father, also a surgeon. When Bill’s fiancée Jan Compton is decapitated in an automobile accident, he manages to keep her brain alive. He now needs to find a new body for his bride-to-be and settles on Doris Powell, a glamor model with a facial disfigurement. Jan meanwhile doesn’t want to continue her body-less existence and calls upon the creature hidden in the basement, one of Bill Cortner’s unsuccessful experiments, to break loose.
Studio Cinema: Little Shop Of Horrors
Starring – Jonathan Haze & Dick Miller Not Rated 1960
Host: On this third and final episode of Studio Cinema, Rayne introduces the night’s film as she is very happy to show this classic film. A new model at The 2020 is with a photographer who likes to scare people, and when he scares the model, he is yelled at by both Rayne and M.C. who tell him to knock it off. Once back Rayne once more delivers some trivia about the nights film and is disrupted by a door to door sales man who is way too pushy, and for this Rayne turns to Hunter and he is shot and killed. Once back as Rayne she shares once more a twisted tale of true crime that fits into the death of the door-to- door salesman. Later the prankster photographer sends the model to change as he nabs a nearby Halloween mask and scares the models again, and with this Rayne turns to Hunter and throws the photographer out the window to his death. After this Rayne interviews a Dayton area photographer about what motivates him and his styles. In the end, Rayne chats about her love for the movie and so ends Studio Cinema.
Movie: When the clumsy Seymour Krelboyne spoils two flowers of a client, the owner of a small florist shop Gravis Mushnick is ready to fire him. However Seymour tells that he has mixed two plants of different breeds at home and created a hybrid named Audrey Jr. and Mushnick decides to give another chance to his employee. On the next day, Seymour brings Audrey Jr. that becomes the pride and joy of Mushnick, his other employee Audrey Fulquard and clients. Out of the blue, the flower seems to be dying and Seymour accidentally learns that she likes blood. One day, Seymour is upset since he does not know how to feed the flower and he walks along a railroad. When he throws a stone near a railroad track, he accidentally hits the head of a man that falls on the track and is a train runs over him. Seymour brings the pieces of the man to the shop and finds that the plant likes flesh. On the next morning, Audrey Jr. has grown and become the attraction of the shop. But how will Seymour feed his plant.
So as you can see, while Rayne and Studio Cinema had a very small run, they still are very much apart of Horror Host history in Dayton, Ohio. With the year being 2020 and The 2020 still being opened, who knows if the show will ever return and if Rayne/Hunter will return to deal with terrible customers and bring viewers cheesy Horror Movies….only time will truly tell. So for the next update we will be stepping away from the world of Horror Hosting and will be heading back to the world of comic books as we will be taking a look at a Marvel Horror character Zombie as we will be doing another Marvel Horror Showcase update. So until we meet again, read a comic or three, watch a Horror Movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host. Oh and beware of the zombies as not all of them are flesheaters.
Rotten Ink 