Jason Paul Collum

Collum was born in Brookfield, Wisconsin, and raised in Racine, Wisconsin.^[4] Collum claims he was a lonely child growing up and entertained himself by watching TV; at age 12 he began watching horror films and became obsessed with them.^[5] When he was a junior in high school, he used a camcorder and made his first short film called Dead Women Don’t Wear Shoes (1990).^[5] He graduated from the private Roman Catholic St. Catherine's High School in 1991, and graduated with a major in English from the University of Wisconsin–Parkside in 1996.^[6] He earned a post-baccalaureate degree in Early Childhood Education in 2014 from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee.^[7]

After graduating from college, he moved to California, where he started writing full-length scripts.^[6] He developed contacts in the film industry after meeting Brinke Stevens, which led him to being introduced to J. R. Bookwalter and David DeCoteau.^[5] He worked with director David DeCoteau on the movies The Brotherhood I and II and Final Stab, and producer/writer J. R. Bookwalter on the film Hell Asylum and the TV show Bad Movie Police.^[6] His stay in California was short, as within four years he was offered an editorial position at Femme Fatales and Cinefantastique magazines in Chicago. After the Chicago offices closed he eventually moved back to Wisconsin, where he continued making movies.^[8]

His 2005 film October Moon was based on actual events in his life, and was filmed in Racine and Kenosha counties.^[9] Every character in the film is based on someone he knew, and the lead character was based on his father, who had come out as gay, despite being married to his mother.^[5] The film was developed from several people’s fact-based experiences.^[5] Film critic Louis Fowler described the film as "Gaytal Attraction".^[10] His movie October Moon and its sequel, October Moon 2: November Son was the first gay-themed horror franchise in history.^[11][12]

In 2010, Collum co-wrote and directed the documentary Sleepless Nights: Revisiting the Slumber Party Massacres, about the Slumber Party Massacre movie trilogy by Roger Corman. Collum talked with directors, actors, and various crew members of the three movies to discuss what it was like filming the scenes that required nudity, sex and violence, and what they thought about working for Corman.^[13]

Collum has written for Femme Fatales, Fangoria, Instinct, Exploitation Nation and Cinefantastique magazines, and is author of the books Assault of the Killer Bs: Interviews With 20 Cult Film Actresses, and Basements: A Short Tale of Terror.^{[5][4][1][12]} The April/May 2013 issue of The Advocate listed him as one of their "40 under 40" most intriguing artists to watch.^[11]

In 2019, Amazon Prime pulled [two] of Collum's movies from their service with no advance notice, and with no path to re-examine their decision, according to filmmaker Derrick Carey. "These are movies that consistently had many views and to this day get him fan mail, as they are touchstones of the indie horror scene", said Carey.^[14]

Released on July 28, 2023, Collum's film guide They Made How Many?! (Mostly) American Horror Franchises of the 20th Century is a culmination of every horror franchise launched from the year 1900 to 1999. However, Collum states on page 2 "I truly tried to include every franchise I could...[but] after two years of research, I am still coming across sequels I never knew existed. So I cannot claim this book to be a complete guide – just as accurate as I know."^[15] The 654-page book also includes interviews with over 30 actors and crew of several of the sequels listed. By its third day of release, July 31, 2023, the title had climbed on Amazon's list of book sales from #109,927 up to #40,262.^{[16][better source needed]} It was the #1 New release in Amazon's Historical Studies section^{[17][better source needed]} and rose to #8 on its Best-Selling Horror Movies section.^{[18][better source needed]} The book's cover is created by artist John Konecny and features hand-drawn villainous characters from popular sequels like "Ricky" from Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out!, Mary Lou Maloney from Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II, the Driller Killer from Slumber Party Massacre II, Eleanor from Howling IV: The Original Nightmare, Julie Walker from Return of the Living Dead 3, Blade from the Puppet Master franchise, and the lead Ghoulie from Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go to College. The rest of the cover features a grid with the titles of popular franchises and a roman numeral of their most recent sequel.^[19] A second edition, updated with an additional 50 titles and 2 more actor interviews, was released on August 15, 2024. ^[20]

Based on his own childhood, Collum wrote his first children's book Heads Up (so you can see the world), released purposefully on February 29, 2024. The idea germinated when Collum took a walk along the beach in 2023 and realized that 45 minutes into his journey he had not seen any of it – he'd kept his head down for the entire walk. It was a trait he'd begun in elementary school to avoid eye-contact with school bullies and anyone else he feared might make fun of him. He unintentionally continues this trait to present day simply from habit. The story focuses on the conflicts and fears of childhood and expresses to readers ways to lift their heads and self-confidence up.