Oregon Film Critic Goes to 'Seed'

By: Erin Olson Pop quiz: You and every other film critic in the city have been banned from a movie preview screening. What do you do?

If you're M.E. Russell, you snag a preview pass, don a broad-brimmed hat, and attend anyway. That's what Russell, a self-described "second- or third-string film critic" for The Oregonian in Portland, did after receiving an e-mail notification that the theater must turn away press from the public screening for the campy horror film Seed of Chucky.

"It constituted a dare," explains Russell, who has written for The Wall Street Journal and The Daily Standard and also draws a comic strip for the Oregonian. "The funny irony is that we had all been sent invitations to it before that, so I just took that pass and went in with the public."

Russell, who documented his experience for the Oregonian, says he had full editorial backing for his actions, which have drawn quite a bit of outside media attention.

As for the movie itself, Russell noted "a shocking number of jokes about sexual confusion." He found it more funny than scary ? though the funniest parts were fellow audience members. "There's an incredible subculture of people who go to all these screenings," he comments. "It's like going to a movie with a bunch of comic book nerds ? which I am one, so it was easy to hide."