Every now and again, we experience something that genuinely changes our perspectives on something. Our opinions are changed, whether instantly or gradually, and sometimes our life takes a different path. Whether these experiences occur through genuine human interaction, or through our exposure to a medium of art, be it film, music, or artwork, someone is responsible. Sometimes, the person responsible is a well known figure, and other times this person is more obscure, perhaps underappreciated, or even unknown by most.

These people deserve to be shown the same respect as the more well known members of their industry, and as such we at Critical-Film.com have started at tribute page to show respect for those who have affected our lives in some way or another. Film is an influential medium, and has obviously had a profound effect on my life; I feel it's important to show those people that we appreciate the effect they've had on our lives.

So, this is a forum in which I encourage anyone to use. If you'd like to show your respect toward a particular member of the film industry, living or deceased, please feel free to contact me (my email is included below) with your thoughts, and we will create a forum for yourself and others to converse about someone who's had some influence on your life, and is under-represented within the rest of the community.

That being said, we offer our first tribute, and the actor who inspired this forum. Thank you, in advance to anyone who feels the need to contribute.

I fell in love with horror movies when I was just a wee lad. I remember I was eight years old, watching Mary Lambert's "Pet Sematary;" it was the middle of the day, and I remember specifically having to run out of the room, with my face covered everytime the bedridden sister was on the screen. Her screeching voice, calling "Rachel... Rachel..." It absolutely horrified me. I have an undying appreciation for that film simply because it scared the living poop out of me, when I was so young. It actually scarred me for what will probably be my entire life. I still can't watch those scenes without this terrible feeling of dread building up in my stomach... and I'm now a grown man. It was here that my love of horror films started. "Pet Sematary" would also become the first review I would ever write for Critical-Film.com, yet it was never published because, well... It was a terrible review.

I perservered, however, finding myself falling in love with the genre, more and more with each film I experienced. I'd rent the entire series of "A Nightmare on Elm Street" or "Friday the 13th" and attempt to watch them all in one weekend. But it was the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" that crafted the opinion of what a horror film should really be, in my mind. Sheer terror for a child of maybe 10 or 11. Even more than the first film, "Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2" started me on the path to a love of film, just in general. I had never, to that point, seen a film that mixed horror with bizarre comedy in such an effective manner (Keep in mind, my age at the time.)

I have such fond memories of the film, that I can hardly find even a few examples to put into words, but I can say that the majority of successes of the film are the result of the work of Perryman, and Bill Moseley ("Chop Top"). Where Chop Top was responsible for a lot of the more bizarre humor, Perryman's 'L.G.' was a much softer character, and his humor was mostly built off of his hidden love for 'Stretch' (Caroline Williams). The words, "Look Darlin', built ya a little fry house', are as memorable as anything else in the film. For every strange and mean spirited bit of humorous dialog that Chop Top utters, ("Lick my plate, you Dog Dick" is still a line I like to drop from time to time) Perryman provides a line of a more heartfelt sort of humor. (The best secene in the film is in fact the confrontation between Perryman's 'L.G.' and Moseley's 'Chop Top') Perryman's 'L.G.' is in fact the emotional centerpiece of the film, and while he is by no means the central character, he provides a more sympathetic character than anyone else in the film. He's a big teddybear and the most emotionally indentifiable character in the film.

Unfortunately, Lou Perryman was killed earlier this month in his Austin home, and while I won't go into details, anyone wanting to read the story, can do so at the Austin American-Statesman website. I was informed of the tragedy by way of Bill Moseley's MySpace blog, and was shocked that I hadn't heard sooner. Lou Perryman has a MySpace memorial page that I encourage everyone to join and show their respects, but please feel free to leave your comments by way of the feedback forum below. I regret that, while we at Critical-Film.com did not begin attending film festivals until late 2008, I never had the opportunity to meet Mr. Perryman. I am assured that he was an affable, and warm human being, more than happy to converse with his fans. While I never met the man, I can attest that he left an indelible impression on me when I was young, as the character of L.G. is, in my mind, one of the most memorable characters portrayed within the realm of 80s horror. Perryman's other credits include roles in "The Blues Brothers", "Poletergeist", and more recently "Boys Don't Cry."

I know that I speak for many when I say that Lou Perryman will be missed, and while his contribution to the world of film was smaller than we would have liked, it was by no measure insignificant. I thank you for your contributions to both the world of film, and the development of my appreciation of the medium.