Editor's Note: I frequently see horror websites that only recognize the heterosexual male portion of their audience with "Hottie of the Week" features showcasing stuff like Danielle Harris in a Maxim spread. Hey, I love the ladies of horror as much as any guy, but why not: a) realize some of your readers like the dick, and b) also pay tribute to that person's accomplishments as well as their sexiness? That is why I started this feature called "Fresh Meat" to honor horror's more masculine hotties. If anyone would like to suggest a hottie, feel free comment below or email me! -Heather
Full disclosure: when I first came up with the idea to do a horror hotties feature on this site, AJ Bowen was one of the first names (if not the first) to jump into my brain. For one thing, brown eyes and beards are my Kryptonite. More importantly, Bowen is my favorite actor working in horror film today and I will watch anything he's in. He's that damn good. I have been patiently waiting until August to celebrate the great bearded Bowen because his latest, You're Next opens this month!
Like most people, I first noticed Bowen in his breakout role as Lewis in 2007's The Signal. Me and my boyfriend immediately remarked on his name in the opening credits because, well, my boyfriend of 9+ years has almost the exact same name. Replace the "A" with a "D" and you got it. So we had a good laugh about that, but then we soon realized the actor whose name amused us was fucking AMAZING in this movie. By the time the movie was over, I loved it, and I was immediately addicted to yet another Bowen.
From there, AJ went on to do amazing work in the indie horror genre. His next big movie was Ti West's critically-acclaimed and fan-loved, The House of the Devil. His role was relatively small, but he still managed to get my favorite scene of the film (I won't say which because it's uber-spoilery). He also had a small role in Hatchet II, where once again he stole the movie with a hilarious sex scene (NSFW clip below). "Fuck chocolate ice cream!"
Next up for Bowen was a lead role in Adam Wingard's A Horrible Way to Die, where he played the intense yet fascinating murderer Garrick Turrell. This is probably AJ's greatest performance to date (but his roles just keep getting better and better). He brought the perfect blend of terror and sympathy to the role. He then went back to a fun little role in Joe Lynch's portion of Chillerama, where he engages in a sex scene even more fucked-up than the one in Hatchet II. It's just....wow.
Proving he can balance comedy and intensity with ease, Bowen's next project was Adam Wingard's You're Next, which was shelved for two years and is finally coming to theaters this month! Other recent films he's been in: Rites of Spring, Sun Don't Shine, and Among Friends. Next up: the comedy Grow Up, Tony Phillips and Ti West's latest horror flick, The Sacrament (premiering at TIFF this year!). And Bowen is also attached to Synchronicity, a sci-fi which will re-team him with one of his Signal directors, Jacob Gentry!
I love AJ because he is a skilled actor that disappears into every role, and is equally adept with comedy or drama. And since this is the Horror Hottie segment after all, I cannot overlook the beardy sexiness (and the John Laroquette-esque adorableness sans beard). Enjoy the eye candy:
Now to really steam things up (haha, sorry AJ):
Got a horror hottie you wanna suggest? Comment below or send me an email at [email protected]!
