Tammy and the T-Rex (1994)
In the bizarre and wonderfully camp 1994 horror flick TAMMY & THE T-REX, Tammy (Denise Richards) and her gay best friend Byron (Theo Forsett) try to save her T-Rex boyfriend (Paul Walker)
TAMMY AND THE T-REX
1994. USA.
Director: Stewart Raffill
Screenplay: Stewart Raffill and Gary Brockette
Starring: Denise Richards, Theo Forsett & Paul Walker
A producer approaches you to create a movie with a fairly immobile robotic T-Rex. The budget is small, there’s no story, no script, and you need to start shooting in 3 weeks – and you only have the dinosaur for 2. This was the scenario for writer/director Stewart Raffill before making TAMMY & THE T-REX.
In an interview with Sam Wineman in 2020, Raffill stated that, “You see the dinosaur and it’s really bad. It’s corny. It can hardly move. No budget in there to do CGI. So how do you save yourself? You’re doing a movie now that could be the worst movie ever, so the only way to go is to accept that fact and go for camp.”
The film follows Tammy and her GBF Byron as they attempt to save her boyfriend Michael from an unhinged doctor and his cronies. Unfortunately for Michael, the doctor has placed his brain inside a robotic T-Rex. Understandably angry when waking up inside his new plastic body, Michael goes on a vengeance-fueled killing spree and is pursued by both the doctor and local police.
Part of what makes TAMMY & THE T-REX unique is that it is a sci-fi horror film that features a gay Black main character. Black gay characters are pretty rare in horror films, especially ones that are treated with respect and make it to the end credits. At one point the T-Rex actually picks Byron up after m-rdering a few people, dusts him off with his tiny claws, and lets him go. Further, Byron isn’t only around for laughs – though he definitely provides those too. He’s sensitive, gives good advice, loyal, and is actually allowed to have a sexual side too. Considering this was created around the peak of the AIDS pandemic, this film is actually quite progressive. Hollywood studios were never this kind to its queer characters.
You can find TAMMY AND THE T-REX streaming on Tubi (Canada/USA), Shudder (USA) & Plex (UK), and on DVD and Blu-ray.
