bloody terror

I Had a TV Cartoon Show!

2012-01-10T11:00:00.003-05:00

So back in the early aughts, Copie Zero TV + Media, led by Executive Producers Campbell Webster and Matt Zimbel, brought And Yet I Blame Hollywood to television. "AYIBH" is the movie review cartoon strip that I still write/draw monthly for The Buzz. The concept of the strip and toon is that I, usually accompanied by whomever I'd actually seen the movie with, would comment on the flick while clips from the movie were interspersed with the animation. Its emphasis was/is on the experience of going to a particular movie, all in either five panels (strip) or two minutes (toon).

Copie Zero found a buyer for AYIBH in a late night TV show called "ZeD", broadcast nationally on CBC, and Campbell found an awesome animation house called Fatkat, owned by Gene Fowler, to animate it.

The production schedule worked this way: We'd pass potential film titles for review past the ZeD producers, they'd yay or nay, then I'd write the script for each episode. Copie Zero Associate Producer David Malahoff was the script editor, and when each script was good to go, Campbell would take voice actors Rob MacDonald, Matt Rainnie, Rob MacLean and Nancy McLure to Perry Williams' Virtual Studios to direct the recording of dialogue; I kept my distance during this part of the process for fear that I would go prima donna. When that was complete, the script and voice tracks would be sent from Prince Edward Island to the animators, located first in Nova Scotia, then later in New Brunswick. They'd e-mail back a storyboard version of each episode and we'd comment on each, and then they'd produce the final version. Ensuring that everything went smoothly along this chain was Copie Zero Associate Producer Ghislane O'Hanley.

The show (actually an interstitial or short) ran for a year, and it was a lot of fun to do. Overall, 24 episodes were produced; some were shown at film festivals. After broadcast, each episode was available on ZeD's website for a while, but when Zed was eventually cancelled, the website was taken down.

Just today, Gene Fowler published a link on his Facebook page to a cover story in Atlantic Business Magazine that charts his progress from Fatkat to his new company, Loogaroo. It's an interesting read and an excellent case study of what can happen in the animation industry. Gene and I traded a few comments back and forth, and then he directed me to a Vimeo page that features 20 And Yet I Blame Hollywood episodes. Glad to find that AYIBH has a web presence again, here's a magic link to them.

DEBUNKING A "PSYCHO" MYTH

2011-12-14T13:42:00.000-05:00

I love Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho". It's a great horror flick (and a great flick regardless of genre) with a couple of twists that sent audiences around the bend back in 1960. It's been imitated, parodied, remade, paid homage to, deconstructed, reviled and revered.

A movie this famous can't help but generate its share of stories and myths. One of those myths, however, has never sat right with me. That's the notion that the infamous shower scene never once shows the killer's knife slashing its victim's skin. Untrue, as this still from the movie proves:

Still, Hitchcock had no trouble making us think we've seen even more than we actually have. Just one of The Master's charms.

MAKING OUR WAY THROUGH THE CLASSIC SCI-FI ULTIMATE COLLECTION VOLUMES 1 & 2: "THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN"

2011-11-21T08:38:00.003-05:00

The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957, 81 min.)

Just like most great sci-fi and horror films, The Incredible Shrinking Man has bigger things going on than first meets the eye. In this case, at its core, Shrinking Man is a metaphor about facing death.

Scott Carey (Grant Williams) passes though a radioactive cloud and soon finds himself getting smaller, and smaller, and smaller… His doctors race to find a cure, and his wife (Randy Stuart) sticks by his side while Carey, frustrated, scared and helpless, becomes a S.O.B. and even flirts with having an affair. Putting his dignity aside, Carey is forced to sell his story to the media in order to generate income.

(SPOILERS) Eventually his fate is sealed, even if he doesn’t realize it yet, when he becomes trapped in the basement of his home. Believing him dead, his wife exits the house (and the movie), and Carey falls victim to everyday household inhabitants and occurrences that wouldn’t pose a threat to an average sized/healthy individual. He continues to fight against fate, but in the end, he gives himself over to the inevitability of the experience. (END SPOILERS)

Based on Richard Matheson’s novel The Shrinking Man, the film is notable for a number of reasons, not the least of which is treating its premise and individual scenes as serious stuff, emphasizing their impact on characters rather than presenting them solely as (potentially silly) spectacle. Check out the screen shot below for an example of how ridiculous this film could be if take out of context, or if the filmmakers didn't bother to humanize the characters.

That’s not to say that the film is lacking suspense or excitement – in fact, it contains some of the most exciting scenes and effective special effects in all of 1950’s science fiction, but the film takes time in its brisk 81-minute running time to go beyond wonderment to wisely explore the way in which events register with its characters. It also allows its protagonist to become unlikeable at points – quick to anger, selfish, and cruel to his wife – a rarity in an Atomic Age leading man, but these are also traits that make Carey more human than your typical square-jawed hero.

The real trick of Shrinking Man, however, is that it’s able to sell its theme and heady ideas through pure entertainment. No grandstanding speeches here; just a fantastic (in the fantasy sense) scenario and memorable battles with a housecat and a spider that have become giants. It’s something Alfred Hitchcock was adept at – conveying big ideas via entertainment in such a way that the audience doesn’t know it’s being encouraged to think. Here, director Jack Arnold (back again from the previous two entries in this series of Ultimate Collection posts) does the same.

The film’s ending also resonates (See it to find out exactly what I mean). It’s a fitting conclusion to a film that ponders big issues, and it leaves the viewer feeling contemplative after the thrills. A classic.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN 2011 EVERYBODY!

2011-10-31T07:36:00.001-04:00

Me, circa 1968, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada.

MAKING OUR WAY THROUGH THE CLASSIC SCI-FI ULTIMATE COLLECTION VOLUMES 1 & 2: "MONSTER ON THE CAMPUS"

2011-10-28T09:43:00.000-04:00

It’s been a long time coming, but here's the second flick my partner and I watched in Universal's The Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection Volumes 1 & 2:

Monster on the Campus (1958, 77 min.)

Did Paddy Chayefsky maybe see this flick before he wrote Altered States?

Jack Arnold is again at the helm, this time directing a much-maligned Jekyll & Hyde-at-college monster movie. Maybe it was my lowered expectations based on the negative comments I’d read about Monster on the Campus (the addition of “the” makes this title more awkward that it needs to be, don’t you think?), but I enjoyed this short ‘n sweet programmer.

Simply stated, Monster is about a college professor (Arthur Franz) who pricks his finger on the tooth of a prehistoric fish and regresses to Neanderthal Man status for brief periods of time, killing folks, destroying property, and terrorizing the campus. A German Shepard and a dragonfly get in on the prof’s prehistoric monster act, adding bonus creature thrills, and Troy Donahue shows up as a student/dog owner/lab assistant, adding teen heartthrob thrills to the proceedings.

Monster has pretty much everything I look for from 50’s Saturday matinee entertainment: creatures, science, the prerequisite romance (courtesy of movie fiancée Joanna Moore), a sense of do-or-die, a short running time that leaves no room for padding, and a couple of genuinely creepy moments (i.e. the discovery of one of the prof’s victims, found dead and hanging by her hair). It’s also got making-monsters-out-of-nothing-at-all makeup by genre stalwarts Bud Westmore and an uncredited Jack Kevan (It Came from Outer Space, Creature from the Black Lagoon).

But more than all that, Monster provides an interesting character arc for its combination protagonist/antagonist that starts with his excitement at scientific discovery, turns into his sneaking suspicion that he might be responsible for the deaths of innocent people, and culminates in his realization that he has to do something to stop himself. It’s a level of pathos that approaches that of the superior The Wolfman, and adds weight to this creature feature. When Franz started to doubt himself, I was hit with that “uh-oh” fated feeling that says in essence, “Well pal, we’re doomed. It’s only going to get worse for us from here on in, so let’s just go through the paces until our time is up.”

My only real beef with Monster is when it turns particularly silly on a couple of occasions (and I freely admit that these goofy moments may have actually added to my enjoyment); once when the prof accidentally drips prehistoric fish blood into his pipe and smokes it (!), and again when he devises a solution for stopping his alter ego that is elementary and needlessly convoluted all at the same time (no spoilers here). Despite these moments that make it seem as if screenwriter David Duncan were running out of time and just needed to make a couple of events happen, Monster gave me what I wanted. And in less than 80 minutes. Try that, James Cameron.

MAKING OUR WAY THROUGH THE CLASSIC SCI-FI ULTIMATE COLLECTION VOLUMES 1 & 2: "TARANTULA"

2011-09-01T15:12:00.002-04:00

Back in 2008, Universal Studios released The Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection Volumes 1 & 2, a complete 10-movie, 6-disc compilation of their previously released multi-movie sets. Eventually, I got around to picking it up, as it contains a number of movies I've either always wanted to see or that I've wanted to revisit. My partner and I have just started to go through the collection, and we began with one of those movies I'd always wanted to see - Tarantula.

Tarantula (1955, 81 min.)
John Agar is a small town doctor and Mara Corday is a scientist-in-training newly arrived in town to assist scientist Leo G. Carroll. Carroll is very secretive about what's going on in his lab (Don't tell him I told you, but it's got something to do with using radiation to increase our food supply), so much so that when the deformed corpse of his former colleague is found in the desert, Carroll dismisses it as the result of an atypical rapidly progressing disease of the thyroid. It's only a matter of time before Agar and Corday are falling in love, one of Carroll's lab creatures escapes (hint: check out the movie's title), and Carroll himself becomes affected by radiation via another victim of his lab work. From there on in, it's a race to defeat the massive and quickly growing arachnid before it can destroy Smalltown, USA.

Directed and co-written by Jack Arnold, Tarantula is a fun movie that drags only rarely due to familiarity with the giant-bug-on-the-loose formula. The special effects hold up for the most part, and the cast delivers solid performances all around. The subplot involving Carroll's quickly advancing illness adds a unique touch to the aforementioned formula plot, as well as the opportunity for some mild shock moments as the stages of his condition are revealed. Clint Eastwood is also on hand, obscured by military gear, in an early and brief appearance as an air force pilot.

Director Arnold is responsible for some of the most fondly remembered Sci-Fi flicks of the 1950's, yet he hasn't received the level of attention he deserves. Perhaps The Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection Volumes 1 & 2 will do its part over time to help rectify this. Stay tuned. Arnold will turn up again as we delve further into this collection.

1970's NEWSPAPER MOVIE ADS

2011-08-29T09:38:00.003-04:00

When I was a kid in the 1970's, I couldn't wait to get my hands on our local paper every Saturday. I'd tear though the thin edition of The Guardian to find the movie ads, specifically the matinees we kids could take in without adult accompaniment. More often than not, I'd come across something lurid, something that I couldn't wait to see. It was a win-win situation; my parents, and the parents of some of my friends, were happy to get rid of us for a couple of hours (or more if it were a double bill) for only a buck, plus 35 cents for popcorn topped with real butter that actually tasted like butter.

One of the great things about these matinees was that the films the Capitol Theatre (then the Prince Edward Cinemas and The Charlottetown Cinemas) would screen seemed to be selected at random, and frequently they were "inappropriate" for kids. It was these inappropriate movies that I'd hope to find advertised in the Saturday movie listings, and usually I found them. The other kids could keep their family movies; I wanted Scream and Scream Again and Frankenstein's Bloody Terror! And that's what I got.

A few short years later I was in Junior High, and my friend Mike Prokopec and I started clipping all the ads from the movies we'd see. We'd glue them into scribblers that are now long gone. Feeling nostalgic for these collections, I started visiting Charlottetown's Public Archives where I could access microfische copies of The Guardian and have photocopies of the ads made.

What follows here are scans of these movie ads beginning back in 1974 when I was in Grade 4. I saw each of the screenings advertised below, save one. The Prince Edward Cinemas ad for The Exorcist advertised a screening I desperately wanted to attend, but was forbidden to by my father (a good call). My inability to see this movie fueled my obsession with it that wouldn't be consummated until a couple of years later, as documented here. The ad for that fateful drive-in screening of The Exorcist is included here as well.

As my friend Darrin Dunsford said after I sent him some of these scans: "They brought back all the same excited feeling that I used to get checking out the movie listings, but don't much any more. And that "ONE SHOW ONLY" (Towering Inferno)... That made the movie seem all the more special and eventful. Now, when there's only 1 showing per evening, I immediately think "Oh great, another over-long, indulgent windbag of a movie where the editor can't do his job". When did I become so jaded???"

Please note: The scans for Earthquake, Munsters Go Home and The Fury are hard to make out, but I've included them for posterity. Click on images to enlarge.

RETRO SLASHERS

2011-08-11T09:38:00.003-04:00

I'm a staff writer at the sublime website Retro Slashers. I've got to say that John Klyza, the man behind the site, has gathered together a terrific group of people (himself included, natch) who contribute witty, entertaining and informative pieces about the golden age of slasher flicks. Honestly, it's a joy to be a part of this diverse group. I just wish we could arrange to have a yearly Retro Slashers get together somewhere central for everyone, but that would be a significant logistical and financial challenge, damn it all to hell!

Lately, we've been presenting theme months at Retro Slashers, and it's been a good direction for us to take. Working towards a monthly theme encourages writers to focus, to work towards a deadline, and it even provides a sense of unity for us, at least in my experience. It's even been good for the site itself in the sense that it's now much more like a monthly online magazine with theme-related articles appearing throughout the month. When the month ends, a new issue (theme) begins, with all past articles still available on the site. And each month we continue to provide news, reviews and other content not directly related to the monthly theme.

Since we've started working with themes, Retro Slashers has done a month covering the 1981 slasher classic My Bloody Valentine, we've done a month about Slasher Hybrid movies like 10 to Midnight and Silent Rage, we've done Unmasked Month featuring Nightmare, Driller Killer and other movies with maskless killers. And this month is Giallo Month.

Giallo... One of my favourite genres (sub-generes?). My contribution this month is all about Umberto Lenzi's Eyeball - a movie that never fails to entertain me, despite what many other movie writers say. And it's this kind of personal (though professional, if I may say so) writing that contributes to Retro Slashers accessible and characteristic flavour. There's no other site quite like it.

I hope you'll check out each theme month at Retro Slashers and that you'll be on the lookout for articles as they appear throughout each month. I know that would make me happy, and I'm betting it would John, Thomas, Amanda, Ross and Christian too. After all, Retro Slashers is bloody good people.

Tee Shouts

2011-08-05T14:59:00.000-04:00

By day, I'm an Ad Man. I write and do some project management at Graphic Communications Group, an advertising, web and design company.

A little over a year ago, Laura O'Brien (a former co-worker, and current graphic designer and friend) and I were discussing an idea for Tee Shouts, a website that the public could use as an outlet for their creativity; a forum where Joe and Josephine Anybody could post messages on online t-shirts, with the end result being funny, antagonizing, touching, whatever, virtual tees that they could share with the Internets.

We brought it to our boss and a co-worker (Craig) who both thought it was an interesting idea. We claimed the domain name, Laura did preliminary work on a website design, but it all went on the back burner.

Some time passed, Laura moved back to Newfoundland, and another co-worker and designer, Matt, did some redesign on the site. And it went on the back burner again.

Some more time passed, Craig did another site redesign, and our lead web person, Beth, put the code together. And today we launched the site.

Take a look around on Tee Shouts. You can create as many tees as you like, and you can add a comment that will tell us more about your message. We check submissions for content, and every Wednesday we'll post a new online selection of your Tee Shouts. As we say: You can't wear it, but you can share it!

MY FAVOURITE MONDO MACABRO DVD RELEASES

2011-07-13T12:09:00.000-04:00

My copy of Mondo Macabro's Mystics in Bali has just arrived. Opening the envelope it was shipped in, I realized just how much I enjoy exploring each and every Mondo Macabro release that finds its way into my hands. That standout red case, the images on the sleeve, the informative notes and the overall design make each disc something special. And that's not even taking into account the film that the case contains. Every single flick from "the wild side of world cinema" that MM presents seems carefully handpicked and labouriously restored to give the viewer the most complete and best looking version of the film possible. Even their sales reel is a thing of joy.

With all this in mind, here in order is a list of my favourite Mondo Macabro releases to date. Of course, I haven't seen them all (Mystics in Bali is still waiting for me to select "Play"), but I know something unique will be waiting for me when I do.

THE KILLER MUST KILL AGAIN

(Italy 1975)
DIR: Luigi Cozzi
STARRING: George Hilton, Christina Galbo, Michel Antoine
MM Description: Director Luigi Cozzi (Starcrash) made his debut with this dark and disturbing thriller, very much in the mold of his mentor Dario Argento. Although regarded as a classic by fans of Italian horror the film has been almost impossible to see for many years. This DVD is the first official US video release.

A rich womanizer (George Hilton) plans to murder his wife. He blackmails a man into doing the evil deed for him. The car with the murdered woman's corpse is stolen by a pair of joyriders. The vicious killer sets off in pursuit - with more than just murder on his mind.

Previously released in a cut, full screen version, this DVD returns the film to its original length and is presented in a digitally restored format, anamorphically enhanced for widescreen TV's.

DON'T DELIVER US FROM EVIL

(France 1971)
DIR: Joel Seria
STARRING: Jeanne Goupil, Catherine Wagener, Bernard Dheran
MM Description: Two young convent girls become friends and decide to spend the summer together. However, their innocent bicycle rides and walks in the country soon develop a much more sinister side.

Influenced by their reading of forbidden books, they decide to explore the world of perversion and cruelty. They find a victim and use their innocent exterior to seduce and destroy him. Once they have stepped over the line, they find it impossible to stop.And soon they are contemplating the ultimate evil act.

Hugely controversial, the film was banned for blasphemy and has never been released in the US before. It's a film that should be viewed only by those with very open minds.

SILIP DAUGHTERS OF EVE

(Philippines 1986)
DIR: Elwood Perez
STARRING: Sarsi Emmanuelle, Maria Isabel Lopez, Myra Manibog, Mark Joseph
MM Description: In the tradition of Japanese “Pink” cinema comes this shocking, violent and sex filled movie that caused an outrage when it was screened at the Chicago Film Festival.

The film stars former Miss Philippines, the stunning Maria Isabel Lopez, in her most revealing role ever. It‘s an eye-opening example of raw and savage film making from one of its country’s most innovative directors.

Set in the beautiful and remote countryside of Ilongo, the story tells of three young women and their struggle to come to terms with their own sexuality against a background of religious repression and male brutality.

This film contains scenes of extreme violence and graphic sexuality that may disturb some viewers.

ALUCARDA

(Mexico 1975)
DIR: Juan Lopez Moctezuma
STARRING: Claudio Brook, Tina Romero, Suzanna Kamini, David Silva
MM Description: Directed in Mexico in 1975 by Jodorovsky collaborator Juan Lopez Moctezuma, the Psychotronic Video guide describes this film as, 'The strongest, most imaginative, and visual witch movie since Ken Russell's The Devils'. It tells of the strange relationship between two young girls, Justine and Alucarda, and how their relationship destroyed the lives of those around them in a torrent of blood, death and damnation. This legendary film contains images that will shock and disturb.

LORNA, THE EXORCIST

(France 1974)
Dir: Jess Franco
STARRING: Pamela Stanford, Guy Delorme, Lina Romay, Jacqueline Laurent, Howard Vernon
MM Description: Patrick, a rich businessman, celebrates his daughter Linda's 18th birthday by taking her and his wife to a famous casino resort in the south of France, where, 20 years earlier, he had won the money that enabled him to start his business and begin his rise to the top. At the casino he meets the beautiful and mysterious Lorna, whom he first encountered that night 20 years ago. She reminds him that he made a promise to her back then. She is the power behind his success and now she has returned to claim her reward - his daughter, Linda. A masterpiece of transgressive horror from Jess Franco.

SATAN'S BLOOD

(Spain, 1978)
DIR: Carlos Puerto
STARRING: Angel Aranda, Sandra Alberti, Marian Karr
MM Description: Andy & Anna are bored and decide to go for a drive in the country. On the way they meet another couple who claim to know them from many years before. They agree to visit their country house and end up staying the night.

A simple game with a Ouija board goes badly wrong and the evening begins to turn into a nightmare. Things get worse when Anna is attacked by a mysterious stranger. When Andy goes to investigate he finds that they have strayed into the clutches of a dangerous pair of psychopaths who are planning for them a fate worse than death.

In the 1970's Spain, certain films were released with an "S" classification - S for Sex. These were films with an unusually high number of scenes of sex and sadism. Satan's Blood was one of the first - and still the most notorious.

THE DIABOLICAL DOCTOR Z

(France / Spain 1965)
DIR: Jesus Franco
STARRING: Estella Blain, Howard Vernon, Mabel Karr
MM Description: Dr Z creates a mind control machine. Rejected by the medical establishment as mad, he suffers a fatal heart attack. His daughter decides to take revenge on the men who did down her dad. Using his devious device, she brainwashes a sexy go-go dancer and turns her into a deadly killing machine. First she seduces her victims... then she dispatches them with her poison tipped finger nails. Mondo Macabro is proud to present Jesus Franco's masterpiece for the first time ever on DVD.

MILL OF THE STONE WOMEN

(France/Italy 1960)
DIR: Giorgio Ferroni
STARRING: Pierre Brice, Scilla Gabel, Wolfgang Preiss
MM Description: In the early years of the last century, just outside Amsterdam, Holland, a young artist is hired to do a study of a famous local landmark. A windmill that contains stone statues of notorious female monsters of the past: murderers, poisoners and witches.

One day he meets a mysterious but dangerously beautiful real life woman in the mill. Before long he is drawn into her clutches. But who is this girl? And what is the terrible secret that keeps her hiding from the outside world?

The DVD version of this horror classic restores all the scenes cut from its original US release including the notorious topless shots of sexy French star Dany Carrel.

FRENCH SEX MURDERS

(Italy/Germany 1972)
DIR: F.L.Morriss
STARRING: Anita Ekberg, Robert Sacchi, Rosalba Neri
MM Description: This gory sex thriller stars a galaxy of Eurocult acting talent. Anita Ekberg (The Killer Nun); Howard Vernon (Awful Dr Orloff); Rosalba Neri (Lady Frankenstein)... not to mention hunky Gordon Mitchell, sexy Barbara Bouchet and glamorous Evelyn Kraft. Oh - and professional Humphrey Bogart lookalike Robert Sacchi!

To match its sparkling cast, the film boasts a suitably wild plot. It features hooded killers, mad scientists, an eyeball thief and some of the sleaziest murders seen in a long time. Set in and around a Paris brothel, the action is as hot and steamy as you could wish for.

Never previously available on DVD, this wild and whacky cult favourite includes startling gore effects created by Oscar winner Carlo Rimbaldi of ET fame!

13 FAVOURITE HORROR MOVIE REFERENCE BOOKS

2011-06-17T10:35:00.005-04:00

As long as I've been a horror movie fan, I've also been a fan of horror movie reference books. Pre-Internet, they were my major source of information about horror flicks (along with Famous Monsters of Filmland, The Monster Times and Fangoria magazines). To this day, images and information from many of these books are branded on my brain.

Here, I'm highlighting 13 titles that are essential from my perspective, but there are many, many more that could have just as easily been included; from Carlos Clarens' incredible "An Illustrated History of the Horror Film" and Alan Ormsby's kid-friendly Scholastic publication "Movie Monsters", right up to a couple of new publications that I feel sure will fit nicely in my library once I've had the chance to read them: Kim Newman's updated "Nightmare Movies: Horror on Screen Since the 1960s", and Jason Zinoman's "Shock Value: How a Few Eccentric Outsiders Gave Us Nightmares, Conquered Hollywood, and Invented Modern Horror".

If any of the titles listed below by publication date sound interesting to you, make sure to pick up a copy. But don't stop there; dust off one of your personal favourites and rediscover what is so fantastic about it, or do some research and see what else is out there waiting for you. As long as there are people reading horror reference books, publishers will continue to unleash them.

HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT: THE DEFINITIVE STUDY OF ALFRED HITCHCOCK BY FRANÇOIS TRUFFAUT
by François Truffaut
Publisher: Simon and Schuster (1967)

Not about horror films per se, this back-and-forth between Truffaut and Hitchcock contains a lot of insight into the creative process in terms of filmmaking, and Hitchcock's filmmaking in particular. Hitchcock used the filmic language of suspense which is a key aspect of the horror film, and at least two of his films - Psycho and The Birds - are horror classics in their own right.

WILLIAM PETER BLATTY ON 'THE EXORCIST': FROM NOVEL TO FILM
by William Peter Blatty
Publisher: Bantam Books (1974)

This is a terrific paperback published shortly after the release of the film version of The Exorcist. It begins with background information on the writing of the novel and the route it took to become a film, followed by Blatty's original draft of the screenplay (interrupted by a number of behind the scene photos and screen shots). Following that, we get Blatty's comments on the changes that were made and why. The last section of the book contains a transcript of the version of the screenplay that was filmed. For anyone interested in the filmmaking process from the writing perspective, this book is invaluable.

THE PSYCHOTRONIC ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FILM
by Michael Weldon
Publisher: Ballantine Books (1983)

This book made me very happy in the 80's, and it still does today. It's an alphabetical collection of funny, informative and concise cult movie reviews, written from a fan's perspective and with a sense of humour that never patronizes. The Psychotronic Encyclopedia remains influential to a lot of people who write about genre cinema, including myself.

SPLATTER MOVIES: BREAKING THE LAST TABOO OF THE SCREEN
by John McCarty
Publisher: St Martins Press (1984)

To my knowledge, this was the first serious look at Splatter movies, a sub-genre that really came into its own in the 80's. Writing during their heyday, McCarty collected all the key titles and players here, and his opinions accurately reflect a fan's take on splatter at the time. Today, some of these films that were dismissed at the time of their release have been re-evaluated, and it would be interesting to see McCarty do an updated edition.

RE/SEARCH NO. 10: INCREDIBLY STRANGE FILMS
by V. Vale and Andrea Juno
Publisher: Re/Search Publications (1986)

The Re/Search library is a fascinating collection of works that look at subcultures in a number of different genres. Their Incredibly Strange Films volume features interviews with horror filmmakers and other cinema delinquents, including Herschell Gordon Lewis, Frank Henenlotter and Larry Cohen. For many, this was our introduction to the glorious underbelly of cinema.

DEEP RED HORROR HANDBOOK
Edited by Chas Balun
Publisher: Fantaco Enterprises (1989)

Chas Balun was instrumental in introducing all sorts of new material to horror fans. His love of the genre and talent for writing about it in an accessible way made him an essential author for inclusion in any gore hound's library. It was probably Chas as much as anybody who introduced me to extreme Euro-Horror - the work of Fulci, Deodato, Lenzi, et al, and it's all collected here in the Deep Red Horror Handbook, compiled from Chas' Deep Red magazine. Sporting a cover illustration by Chas himself and chapters about Cannibal flicks, Dario Argento, James VanBebber, horror films from around the world and a bloody ton more, there are also reviews of 70's and 80's splatter flicks, each scored on two scales - one rating the flick for its quality as a movie, the other rating its gore effects. As a personal bonus, Dario Argento autographed my copy at the Toronto premiere of Two Evil Eyes.

BLOOD AND BLACK LACE: THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO ITALIAN SEX AND HORROR MOVIES
by Adrian Luther Smith
Publisher: Turnaround (2000)

The Italian thriller genre known as giallo is closely related to the North American horror film. The two genres overlap, trading tropes back and forth, influencing each other with reckless abandon. It's a beautiful thing. The definitive guide to the often labyrintine history of these beautifully-titled films is Adrian Luther Smith's Blood and Black Lace, named for one of the genre's landmarks directed by Mario Bava, the man usually credited with originating giallo films. Since the heyday of giallo was from the 1960's through the 1980's, the bulk of the genre's output is found in this essential guide.

DVD DELIRIUM: THE INTERNATIONAL GUIDE TO WEIRD & WONDERFUL FILMS ON DVD (VOLS. 1-4)
Edited by Nathaniel Thompson
Publisher: Fab Press (2002, 2003, 2007 & 2010)

This terrific collection just keeps growing, with redux versions and further editions being published as needed. It will be interesting to see how the next version evolves with the iffy future of DVD and Blu-Ray due to both legal and illegal downloading. In the meantime, each volume fiddles while Rome burns by featuring an alphabetical listing of "weird and wonderful" films, insightful reviews, and perhaps DVD Delirium's most appreciated feature - comparisons of available versions of each film.

SLEAZOID EXPRESS: A MIND-TWISTING TOUR THROUGH THE GRINDHOUSE CINEMA OF TIMES SQUARE
by Michelle Clifford & Bill Landis
Publisher: Fireside (2002)

Yet another book that introduced me to flicks that I might not have known existed otherwise, and might have even passed by if I did. Here, we're talking Fight for Your Life, Olga's House of Shame, the Ginger movies and many of their two-fisted kin. From the creators of the Sleazoid Express 'zine, each chapter of this book is about a particular grindhouse theatre in New York City's much-lamented, pre-Disneyfied Times Square, and the type of film each theatre specialized in: Horror, Women in Prison, Nudies, etc. It's another fun read, a memento of a vanished way of life, and an in-depth look at grindhouse movies.

THEY CAME FROM WITHIN: A HISTORY OF CANADIAN HORROR CINEMA
by Caelum Vatnsdal
Publisher: Arbeiter Ring (2004)

The Mask, Cannibal Girls, Black Christmas, Rituals, My Bloody Valentine, Happy Birthday to Me, the films of David Cronenberg - they're all Canadian, and they're all included in They Came From Within, an exploration of Canuck horror flicks. Though small in comparison to the output of our American neighbours, Canadian horror films have nonetheless made their mark on the world horror scene, and Calem Vatnsdal has included them all in this volume. Named for a Cronenberg flick (though it was called Shivers in Canada), They Came From Within is an impressive look at a much under-explored topic, and at the same time it's the last word in movie horror from the north.

NIGHTMARE USA: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE EXPLOITATION INDEPENDENTS
by Stephen Thrower
Publisher: FAB Press (2007)

Where to start with this outstanding tome? It's massive, it's loaded with information and great photos, it will introduce you to films you should know, and it will leave you wanting more (Volume 2 is forthcoming). Stephen Thrower is an intelligent writer who knows his stuff, and he crams it into all 527 pages of this beautiful monster. Thrower talks with the people who made the American exploitation films included in this book, adding thoughtful reviews to the mix. This book best illustrates a pet belief of mine that the line between art and trash is so thin that it frequently vanishes.

TEENAGE WASTELAND: THE SLASHER MOVIE UNCUT
by J.A. Kerswell
Publisher: New Holland Publishers Ltd (2010)

This beautifully laid out overview of the slasher genre from its inception to the current day is a pleasure to read. Justin Kerswell loves the sub-genre, he knows it inside and out (he's the man behind Hysteria Lives), and he shares his affection and knowledge in equal amounts here. Everything you ever wanted to know about slice-and dice flicks is included, without pandering to readers whose interests lie only in Jason and Freddie. Kerswell's affectionate though by no means rose-tinted look at slasher flicks makes a nice contemporary companion piece to John McCarty's Splatter Movies, with the benefit of having been written with hindsight.

DARK STARS RISING: CONVERSATIONS FROM THE OUTER REALMS
by Shade Rupe
Publisher: Headpress (2011)

Shade Rupe has been interviewing truly interesting personalities for about 25 years now. Forgoing unimaginative questioning for informed conversation with his subjects, Rupe has selected 27 interviews for Dark Stars Rising, including those with Tura Santana, William Lustig, Richard Stanley and Chas Balun. Anyone interested in the provocative side of the arts (film, visual arts, literature, etc.), and anyone bored by the entertainment TV style of non-engaged interview packs, should pick up this book immediately.

ATTACK OF THE ANGRY MOON CATS (Super 8; 1985)

2011-06-09T13:43:00.013-04:00

My second flick was a 50's Sci-Fi inspired short called Attack of the Angry Moon Cats. It stars Rob MacDonald as a reporter who sees a UFO landing (it was running low on plutonium) while making out with his girlfriend (Gina Rahman). The two aliens onboard (Glen Boswall and Nick Grant) kidnap Gina, and no one will believe Rob, who then takes it upon himself to defeat the Moon Cats and get his girlfriend back.

In an arty shot that could only have been inspired by the music videos of the day, Rob and Gina's hands are pulled apart as Gina is abducted.

Here, Rob makes his way through the corridors of the alien spacecraft.

And Nick, the alien, shoots his ray gun in response.

GOODBYE COLOMBIA (Super 8; 1984)

2011-06-09T13:30:00.003-04:00

Two images from the first flick I ever made, a Scarface inspired short called Goodbye Colombia.

At the film's climax, after the heroine (Chris Ainsley) has stabbed the hero (Sam Shalabi) to death, she answers the door only to be greeted by the villain's (Glen Boswall) handgun.

This was followed by The Attack of the Angry Moon Cats (Super 8; 1985).

¡Tintorera! (1977)

2011-06-08T08:34:00.004-04:00

¡Tintorera! is a movie I've wanted to see ever since I first spied the TV ads and newspaper slicks during the flick's original North American release back in 1977. As a 13-year-old Jaws fan, I was game for any killer shark movie, and the ¡Tintorera! poster, sporting a shark emerging from the water with a woman in its mouth, had me. Too bad it took me 34 years to finally catch up with this Mexican/UK co-pro on Desert Mountain's 25th Anniversary Edition DVD, because the newly teen me might have enjoyed it more than the middle aged me, but somehow I doubt it.

The fact is that ¡Tintorera! is a mess of a movie. Not only that, but it turns out that its advertising campaign was somewhat misleading. It takes FOR.EV.ER for the shark do do anything approximating an attack, so what we're left with is a competition-for-female-companionship-turned-friendship between cult favourite Hugo (Nightmare City, Survive, Cyclone) Stiglitz and Andrés (also Cyclone and The Bermuda Triangle) García. When they're not competing for an never-ending supply of women including Susan (Straw Dogs, Fright) George and Fiona (The Fury) Lewis, they're killing sharks, seemingly for kicks. And herein lies another of ¡Tintorera!'s problems; the use of real-life animal killing for entertainment. In ¡Tintorera!, almost every sea animal you can think of is speared, clubbed or has its throat slashed. Completely unnecessary, completely indefensible and completely un-entertaining. All this despite a speech from Stiglitz early in the film in which he notes that the killing of sharks "makes him sad".

With it's, oh 15 minutes of killer shark scenes, ¡Tintorera! pads its running time with 70's T&A movie hijinks and a threesome subplot (calling it a subplot is unfair since it's given at least as much screen time as the shark plot) similar to that of the naked-in-the-sun flick Summer Lovers. Priscilla Barnes from Three's Company and The Devil's Rejects shows up, credited as Priscilla Barner, and I think Stiglitz falls in love with García briefly, at least that's what one awkward dialogue passage and much quick cutting back and forth between the two would indicate. And why not; they're always either naked or wearing Speedos.

¡Tintorera! was directed by René Cardona Jr., never one to say no to exploiting sensational real-life tragedies (Survive!, Guyana: Crime of the Century) or a trend (Jaws). It's a long 126 minutes. Some lucky viewers, however, will be able to catch the 85-minute version that retains all the nudity and shark "action". Hugo Stiglitz and an enticing exploitation poster are not enough; ¡Tintorera! is not recommended.

KINDER TRAUMA: THE EXORCIST

2011-05-10T15:12:00.007-04:00

You know, being a Monster Kid born in the 1960's, the fact that I have a Kinder Trauma involving The Exorcist might not be so unusual. I was 9 at the time the movie was released, and the fact is however, that I consider my initial Exorcist experience a life-changing tale akin to losing my virginity.

As far back as I can remember, I'd loved monsters, and my earliest movie memories all involve a horror movie trauma of one form or another: forcing my folks to leave my very first movie screening - Tom Thumb – because I was convinced the giant’s feet were going to crush me; having to sit up on the back of our sofa during a solo TV viewing of The Deadly Mantis because I was certain an oversized mantis (though smaller than the one featured in the flick I was watching) would grab my leg from its hiding place under the sofa. I went through the era-typical stages of burgeoning horror fandom too: Aurora model kits (up to and including the infamous Aurora Horror Scenes), Famous Monsters of Filmland, Creepy, Eerie, Vampirella, The Monster Times, Universal classics, etc. But nothing had prepared me for the sights and sounds of The Exorcist.

I can’t remember where I first heard about this movie, but it must have been via press stories about the effect it was having on audiences. This was no normal horror movie; people were fainting, throwing up, calling clergy and mental health professionals after seeing it. In those days, pre-Star Wars, it took a while for movies to make their way around the country, and by the time The Exorcist hit my small town, I’d read the Exorcist parodies in Mad, Cracked and Crazy magazines, I’d somehow managed to get my hands on the novel (which I didn’t read until years later) as well as William Peter Blatty on The Exorcist from Novel to Screen, complete with a nerve-wracking centre spread of movie stills. I had the issue of Famous Monsters with its garish Exorcist cover story. I clipped and collected articles and ads for the movie. I somehow ended up with a knock-off album of “contemporary” movie themes on the Pickwick label that included Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells, all NOT performed by the original artists. I tell you all this to give you an idea of the Exorcist frenzy that was building within me. Somehow, it needed release.

Finally, The Exorcist showed up at my local theatre. I begged my father to take me, but being sane, he refused. Instead, he went to a matinee screening of the movie by himself. As my mother and I picked him up at the theatre afterwards, I asked him how it was. Clearly, my father had just sat through something completely different. And NO WAY was he going to take me. The frenzy continued to build.

Three years later, The Exorcist showed up at the drive-in, playing a double bill with John Wayne’s Cahill. After much begging, unbelievably, my father finally agreed to take me!

Despite my eagerness for the main event to get started, we had to make it through the Oater first. Whatever Cahill is about, I can’t tell you; I’m sure the Duke must’ve cleaned up some mess or other in some little two-horse town, but I can’t recall.

Intermission. Then:

The prologue in Iraq was unnerving. I wasn’t sure what some of it was about, but the images and sounds were making me uneasy. Back in the USA, we meet Chris MacNeil, an actress; her director; her staff; her daughter Regan; a troubled priest. I did okay despite the ominous feeling the movie was giving me, until Regan takes a leak on the carpet during her mom’s cocktail party. Oh-oh. The Frankenstein Monster never did that. A little while later, little Reagan, who is just a hair older than me, is suffering from a banging bed, a swelling throat, eyeballs rolling back into her head, and she’s making lewd suggestions to her doctors. By this time, I’m starting to realize that this movie is over my head. In other words: NOT INTENDED FOR CHILDREN. Though I couldn’t formulate the thought in these words, this was my introduction to adult horror, and it was blowing my mind! What was happening on-screen was literally beyond my comprehension. What I did know, however, was that there was a very good chance that I was never going to sleep again, even if we left AT THIS VERY MOMENT! Despite that, I had to make an attempt to save what was left of my sanity. I found my voice and asked my father if we could please go? He asked me if I was sure I wanted to leave. Yes. I was.

My dad starts the car, and we begin to drive away. As we turn from the screen and down the lane that will take us out of this evil place, my father says, “Look at the screen.” Knowing I shouldn’t, but unable to NOT do it, I turn just as this happens:

I was hooked/deflowered/twisted for all time. I can pinpoint the very moment.

Years later, The Exorcist remains one of my favourite movies. Whatever that first half-viewing may have contributed to my development, devolution, or psyche scarring, I’m not absolutely sure. What I do know is that The Exorcist popped my adult horror cherry, and for that, it will always hold a special place in my little black heart. I just wish it would call now and then.

MY 10 FAVOURITE CODE RED DVD RELEASES

2011-05-09T13:30:00.007-04:00

Code Red DVD is a terrific boutique label that has released a number of hard-to-see genre flicks over the last few years. In an era when small labels are closing left, right and centre, challenged by downloading both legal and illegal, it’s nice to see CR holding on, despite premature notice that they would be closing sometime during the summer of 2011.

The label has also become one of the more controversial DVD houses in the marketplace due to a number of issues that include limited (often contentious) communication with the buying public, changing (sometimes vanishing) release dates, and hard to find ordering information. However, Code Red continues to bring the goods; the controversial 80’s slasher flick “Nightmares” directed by Romano Scavolini is due to street on July 28.

What follows are my 10 favourite Code Red DVD releases so far, in order. Bring on “Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker” and "Savage Streets"!

MESSIAH OF EVIL
Director: Willard Huyck; 1973; CR #: 18
CR Description: One of great, rarely seen horror movies of the 70s finally gets a proper DVD release!!!!!!!!! 100 years ago, a demonic priest from Hell passed through a seaside town, carrying a blood-crazed contagion that reduced all the good citizens to mindless, cannibal zombies. Following a frenzied, flesh-eating orgy, the dark priest walked straight into the sea, promising to return a century later to lead a new zombie apocalypse. This time around, the vile contagion precedes him. As spaced-out followers gather on the beach, awaiting their master's return, the town is already in the grip of a carnivorous epidemic of madness. When innocent young Arletty comes to town searching for her missing father, she realizes too late that the demon priest of the "blood moon" is coming for her. Starring Mariana Hill, Elisha Cook Jr., Joy Bang, Royal Dano; Directed by Willard Huyck.

RITUALS
Director: Peter Carter; 1977; CR# 24
CR Description: Mitzi (Lawrence Dane, SCANNERS, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME) invites a fellow doctor, Harry (Award winning Hal Halbrook, INTO THE WILD, CAPRICORN ONE), and three other doctors to go on a camping trip in the Canadian wilderness. They thought they were alone, but someone is watching them. A Harmless trip turns into a nightmare and murder as the psychopath plays a deadly psychological game of survival. Robin Gammell (LIPSTICK) co-stars. Special Make-up by Carl Fullerton (FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2 & 3). Un-cut and uncensored, from the producer's vault elements!

PETS
Director: Raphael Nussbaum; 1974; CR # 23; OOP
CR Description: Sultry teen vixen Bonnie (cult beauty Candice Rialson) had no idea what was in store for her when she ditched her brother and took to the road, looking for cheap thrills wherever she could find them. Violent petty criminal Pat drags her into a kinky hold-up and lesbian artist Geraldine takes Bonnie under her wing as her personal muse, but the young runaway continues to crave adventure, leading her down a twisted path to a psychosexual encounter with Vincent, a collector of beautiful objects who wants to add her to his permanent collection... Co-starring Joan Blackman (Macon County Line) and Ed Bishop (UFO) in his wildest screen role, you've never seen anything like Pets! Play with them, fondle them, but beware... Pets bite!

SOLE SURVIVOR
Director: Thom Eberhardt; 1983; CR #: 007
Terror stalks the sole survivor of a plane crash in this gripping, innovative horror story by Thom (Night of the Comet) Eberhardt. Television producer Denise Watson (Anita Skinner, winner of a Golden Globe for Girlfriends) is ready to resume her life after surviving a plane crash, until she starts to see strangers, threatening and malevolent, watching her every move. Plagued by night fears, and a series of terrifying near-miss accidents, she seeks help from her neighbor Kristy (Robin Davidson), and her psychiatrist, Dr. Richardson (Kurt Johnson). But is she really losing her mind? Or is she under attack by emissaries of death, intent on repossessing her extra lease of life?

LOVE ME DEADLY
Director: Jacques Lacerte; 1973; CR #: 006
CR Description: Lindsay (Mary Wilcox) has an unusual fascination with the dead. She often finds herself at funerals for people she doesn't even know. Once the mourners have cleared out, she's drawn to the corpse by an unspeakable sexual curiosity. It appears that this obsession with the recently deceased has been brewing within Lindsay for quite some time and might have something to do with her late father. She makes an attempt at a normal relationship with Lyle Waggoner ("Wonder Woman", "The Carol Burnett Show"), but is also lured into a corpse -loving cult by a creepy undertaker. Equal parts sick soap opera and exploitation shocker, LOVE ME DEADLY still has the power to disturb and disgust 25 years after its original release.

GIRLS IN CHAINS
Director: Donald M. Jones; 1973; Code Red # NA; OOP
CR Description: They were abducted and violated... but the worst was yet to come! In a remote country house, a malevolent form of sleaze and terror is being bred. A crazy mother encourages her two sons - raving lunatic Frank (Gary Kent) and his not-all-there brother Johnny (John Stoglin) - to kidnap young women and chain them up in the basement. The girls are treated like animals and then subjected to games that grow increasingly sinister and depraved. When the brothers tire of their playthings, the girls must be replaced. This lost exploitation classic is every bit as morally corrupt as you've heard. Directed by Don Jones (The Forest) and shot by cinematographer Ron Garcia (Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me), Girls In Chains is an entertaining slice of early '70s sleaze guaranteed to delight and disturb. Originally known as Schoolgirls In Chains, Exploitation Digital, in association with Code Red DVD, is proud to bring Girls In Chains to DVD for the first time ever!

THE VISITOR
Director: Giulio Paradisi; 1979; CR # 025
CR Description: Katy Collins (Paige Conner, Little Darlings) is no ordinary 8 year-old girl. Indeed, she is unique, carrying within her the power of Sateen, an inter-spacial force of immense magnitude. Katy's primary mission on earth is to carry these genes forward, a task accomplished by convincing her mother, Barbara (Joanne Nail, Switchblade Sisters) to bear a similarly endowed male child with whom Katy would eventually mate. Opposing this scheme is The Visitor (John Huston - Academy Award winner, Chinatown, The African Queen, The Maltese Falcon), a sage of galactic stature who has come to this world not to kill Katy, but to end her "confusion". Find out what happens in this unforgettable, supernatural suspense thriller from the maker of the box office hit Beyond The Door.

THE UNSEEN
Director: Danny Steinmann; 1980; CR # 11
CR Description: A television reporter (Barbara Bach) and her two friends head to Solvang, California to cover a Danish festival. When there is a mix-up at the hotel and they are left without hotel rooms, the girls accept the invitation of a friendly museum owner to board at his large farmhouse, because the rest of the motels in and around town are sold out. But unknown to the women, something is living in the basement of the house. Their stay soon becomes a horrific nightmare when, one by one, they encounter the 'unseen'.

DEVIL TIMES FIVE
Director: Sean MacGregor; 1974; CR # 004; OOP
CR Description: Five extremely disturbed, sociopathic children escape from their psychiatric transport and are taken in unwittingly by a group of adult villagers on winter vacation.

BEYOND THE DOOR
Director: Ovidio G. Assonitis; 1975; CR # 015
CR Description: Jessica, wife of a record producer and mother of two foul-mouthed children, is pregnant but senses something strange about the baby brought on by the reappearance in her life of an old lover, Dmitri (Richard Johnson) - whose life the devil has promised to extend if he makes sure Jessica delivers her devil spawn.

TRAPPED
Director: William Fruet; 1983; CR #: 016
A suspenseful thriller in the tradition of DELIVERANCE and WRONG TURN, directed by cult director William Fruet (DEATH WEEKEND, KILLER PARTY, SPASMS), written by John Beaird (MY BLOODY VALENTINE, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME) and photographed by award winning cinematographer Mark Irwin (SCANNERS, VIDEODROME, THE BLOB, THE FLY, SCREAM)! An innocent camping weekend turns into terror and murder for four young university students! Henry Chatwell (Henry Silva - OCEANS 11, SHARKEY'S MACHINE, CHAINED HEAT) tortures, stalks and kills his wife's lover, all witnessed by the students. Unable to contact the sheriff, the students return to their campsite where they are taken captive by Chatwell. Chatwell's verdict is that the students must die! Realizing he has gone too far, two villagers release the students who are one by one recaptured, expect for Roger (Nicholas Campbell - THE DEAD ZONE, TV’s DaVINCI'S INQUEST). Chatwell goes after Roger with an axe and the fight is on. When you are trapped like an animal...it's kill or be killed!

I SAW THE PIXIES AND YOU CAN SEE SOME CLIPS

2011-04-11T14:56:00.001-04:00

I saw the Pixies Saturday night. Love them! So much. Folks have been posting clips from the concert, and here they are. Enjoy this mini-virtual Pixies show.

JUST SAYIN'

2011-03-29T10:20:00.000-04:00

CONFESSIONS OF AN ADULT LEARNER

2011-03-17T06:49:00.010-04:00

I have a confession to make: Every Saturday for the past six weeks, I've been attending a University Prep course at my local university (The University of Prince Edward Island, or more commonly, UPEI). This two-hour-per-session course is designed to help adult learners return to, or in some cases join for the first time, academia.

A friend of mine who is a professor at UPEI brought the program to my attention and suggested in his firm but polite tone that I attend an information session, so I did (I had already learned that it almost always makes sense to pay attention to Dr. Miles Turnbull). At the session on a very snowy January night, a mismatched group of potential adult learners gathered in one of UPEI's lecture halls, and were introduced to the University Prep program by Treena Smith, Transition Coordinator at the university's Webster Centre for Teaching & Learning. The University Prep program is Treena's baby, and kudos have to be given to her (they already have, as she's won an award for this program) for recognizing this gap and taking steps to address it. Treena ran through the topics that would be covered during the upcoming sessions, and more importantly, she made obvious her enthusiasm for learning at all stages. Her zeal proving contagious, I was sold on the program, and signed up, paying my measly 50 bucks.

Over the next six weeks we covered topics ranging from Learning Styles to Critical Thinking with sessions led by Treena, Dr. Barb Campbell, Anne Bartlett and Kylah Hennessey. The original “mismatched group” was reconfigured significantly from the information session, and this still-diverse collection of adult learners who were considering taking the plunge back into education for a variety of reasons, presented an opportunity to discuss, examine, and to be exposed to new, and in some cases oppositional, viewpoints. The information imparted during the six weeks was essential, giving any student a jumpstart on their post-secondary education. Developing improved study skills was a highlight, as was the discussion aspect of each session. Perhaps the two most important things that I take away from the program, however, is a rediscovered enthusiasm for learning, and the discovery that there are a lot of people at UPEI who are enthusiastic and supportive of adult learners who WANT US TO SUCCEED! And for someone considering a return to school after a twenty-year absence, THAT is critical knowledge.

I also have a second confession to make: Our final assignment was to make a brief presentation about what we got out of the University Prep course. With contemporary technology turning the concept of traditional presentations on its ear, I elected to use my blog as my presentation format. Clearly, my presentation is what you've just read above. We now return you to our regularly scheduled programming, already in progress.

MY FAVOURITE GIALLI

2011-03-01T10:21:00.032-05:00

Italian thrillers known singularly as giallo (pronounced as “jah-lo”, and meaning “yellow” as per the primary colour used on the lurid book covers that these flicks are named for) and plurally as gialli, have long been an obsession of mine. Starting back in the early 1980's with my first exposure to whited-out, censored VHS copies of Dario Argento’s classics like Deep Red and The Bird With the Crystal Plumage, I developed a taste for these highly stylized and often nonsensical mysteries highlighted by violent and indelible set pieces.

A problem some people have in engaging with these films is that, unlike a typical blockbuster, they ask something from the viewer. As a burgeoning fan of odd films from around the world, I learned to let go of my preconceived notions of what constitutes story, I learned to look past horrible dubbing, butchered framing and cut prints, and I learned to enjoy the impressionist response that these film elicited from me. Through my eyes, watching a giallo is all about the experience, the feeling. It’s Hitchcock’s theory of “pure cinema” at its most basic. For me, this is extremely rewarding.

Defining giallo is somewhat difficult, but here are some of their prevalent characteristics: Their heyday was from the mid-1960’s to early 80’s. The majority of gialli are from Italy, though Spain and other countries also contributed to the canon. These murder mysteries frequently feature killers clothed in black leather gloves, a raincoat and a fedora, obscuring their identities and sometimes genders; they are highly fetishized. As mentioned previously, the attack scenes are the highlights of each film, giving the director an opportunity to use all of cinema's resources: composition, sound, editing, movement, intense colour or stark black and white. These films are lurid, dealing with drug addiction, backstreet abortions, extreme sexuality, child murder, greed, blackmail, and insanity. Conversation and threats are whispered through closed doors, over the phone, or left playing on reel-to-reel tape recorders. Their musical scores are memorable, created by maestros like Ennio Morricone, Bruno Nicolai, Riz Ortolani, and in the case of Argento’s Deep Red, Goblin provides an appropriately pounding rock score. In almost every gialli, someone will swig from a bottle of J&B and in many cases, someone will shout “Pronto. Pronto? PRONTO!” into an oversized telephone receiver. The titles of these films are almost poetic, making obscure and evocative use of words; the films themselves are also very much like this, but in a filmic sense. Look for directors with names like Argento, Bava, Martino, Fulci, Dallamano, Margheriti and Lado; actresses Edwige Fenech, Susan Scott, Erica Blanc, Florinda Bolkan, Anita Strindberg, Mimsy Farmer and Daria Nicolodi; actors George Hilton, Fabio Testi, Ray Lovelock, Ivan Rassimov, Franco Nero and Jean Sorel. Don't forget, the revelation of the killer or killers is frequently secondary to the path we take getting there. You've been warned.

Put your understanding of conventional storytelling on hold, pour yourself a Scotch on the rocks, and begin your fall into the underbelly of cinema. There’s just so much out there to discover in this uncharted territory. Here is a list of my most highly recommended gialli:

ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK

AUTOPSY

BAY OF BLOOD

BLOOD AND BLACK LACE

DEATH LAID AN EGG

DEEP RED

DELIRIUM

DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING

EYEBALL

THE FIFTH CORD

THE FORBIDDEN PHOTOS OF A LADY ABOVE SUSPICION

THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH

THE HOUSE WITH LAUGHING WINDOWS

THE KILLER MUST KILL AGAIN

A LIZARD IN A WOMAN'S SKIN

MY DEAR KILLER

PERFUME OF THE LADY IN BLACK

PERVERSION STORY

THE PSYCHIC

SHORT NIGHT OF GLASS DOLLS

THE STRANGE VICE OF MRS. WARDH

THE STENDHAL SYNDROME

STRIP NUDE FOR YOUR KILLER

TORSO

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SOLANGE?

WHO SAW HER DIE?

YOUR VICE IS A LOCKED ROOM AND ONLY I HAVE THE KEY

R.I.P. TURA SATANA

2011-02-07T11:28:00.005-05:00

The incredible Tura Santana, star of Russ Meyer's "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!", has passed away. Read all about her here. Go get 'em, Tura. Say hi to Russ for me.

IT GETS BETTER

2011-01-13T15:55:00.007-05:00

I can't believe I didn't post this earlier! This past summer, my friend Christopher asked me to help him put together a video for Dan Savage's It Gets Better Project, and so I did. My favourite aspect of this video is that Christopher thought to include tips that kids who are being bullied could use RIGHT NOW. Here it is:

DELIVERANCE TAUGHT ME HOW (NOT) TO BE GAY

2011-01-04T10:41:00.006-05:00

I've come to terms with the fact that my sexuality was sent down the rapids by director John Boorman's "Deliverance" (1972).

I was ten years old when I caught a showing of the movie on the late show. I grew up in a relatively liberal (i.e. out of control) household, and my father always allowed me to stay up with him far too late on a school night in order to watch the classic Universal monster movies -- the Frankenstein, Dracula, Werewolf and Mummy series -- and others of that type. The screening of Deliverance, however, introduced me to a new species of monster: the hillbilly rapist.

This was the mid-Seventies; the days before videotape, meaning you could catch a movie after its theatrical run only when the networks had scheduled it. In Canada, our main channel is/was the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), a network that rarely censored its broadcasts if the program had "artistic merit", and Deliverance clearly fit that bill.

My father, an artist who was against censorship and who believed in letting people experience things for themselves in order to form their own opinions, had heard that Deliverance was a terrific movie and something about a canoe trip gone wrong. He understood my love of movies and encouraged it, as long it didn't become an obsession; I was the type of kid who easily became preoccupied with things. We settled in to watch this adult action movie, and unbeknownst to my father, my view of gay men started to take shape.

Four friends -- Jon Voight, Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox and Burt Reynolds -- leave urban Atlanta for a canoe trip downriver through Georgia hillbilly country. They are out of place here. Cox takes part in a banjo duel with a young in-bred banjo-picker in one of the film's two most oft-mentioned scenes. The men continue downriver, where they become the target of two horny male hillbillies. Telling Voight that he's got a "pretty mouth" and forcing Beatty to "squeal like a pig" in the film's other most-quoted scene, the hillbillies attempt to force a little oral action from Voight and a little butt-play from Beatty.

This scene was both intriguing and shocking to me. The emotive result of this concoction: confusion. Just what was it that this hillbilly was attempting to do with Beatty?! Was it possible that people actually did this? Or was it just something that “river folk” indulged in? Whatever it was, it must be wrong and Deliverance was just about to show me that there was a price to pay for being gay beyond being a toothless hayseed.

As things are about to reach the point of no return between our urbanites and river men, Reynolds, around the time that he did his famous and relatively discreet Cosmopolitan centerfold spread, arrives decked out in leather river gear, a saviour in S&M drag. He and his crossbow put a swift end to the attempted rape.

Though I remained engrossed by the rest of the film, and terrified by the nightmare dream sequence wherein a pale hand emerges from beneath the surface of the river, the rape scene stayed with me even more so. A mishmash of “erotic” imagery and conflicting emotions. Gay sex was bad, punishable by death, the sentence served by the swift bow of a leather man.

A ten-year-old can't make sense of these images and thoughts, but they can lay dormant in the back of his mind until they reach the surface like that pale hand rising out of the Cahulawassee River. Deliverance remains a great film; its iconic moments a part of pop culture history. As an adult, I have a more comprehensive understanding of sexuality and its complexity, of what the film is saying (and not saying), and, I hope, of myself. I've come to a place where I appreciate the journey I took downriver with it, stopped shockingly and unexpectedly like the film's leads by a couple of horny hillbillies that I was also forced to confront without so much as a crossbow to protect me.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM BLOODY TERROR

2010-12-24T08:20:00.003-05:00

CENSORSHIP 2010: David Wojnarowicz's A Fire in My Belly

2010-12-17T13:26:00.003-05:00

The story is here via the NY Times.

The film is here.

Judge for yourself.

JEAN ROLLIN EST MORT!

2010-12-16T07:54:00.004-05:00

(3 November 1938 - 15 December 2010)

For great information about Rollin and his films, visit Jeremy Richey's essential Rollin resource Fascination: The Jean Rollin Experience.

ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE

2010-11-27T13:24:00.003-05:00

Way back in June when I posted that Dynamite Entertainment would (finally) be releasing The Vampirella Archives, I was wishful that Moebius would add a Vampirella model kit to their re-issues of the classic and infamous Aurora Monster Scenes from the 1970's. Well, it's happening. Set to be released in January of 2011, the Vampirella Monster Scenes kit is struck from the original and is poised to bring a lot of nostalgic happiness to middle-aged Monster Kids like myself. Click here for unbridled joy!

MY TEN FAVOURITE FLICKS

2010-11-23T13:53:00.027-05:00

Coincidentally, Roger Ebert has posted a list of his Ten Greatest Films of All Time at the same time as I was compiling a list of My Ten Favourites. About his list, Ebert states, “My first vow is to make the list for myself, not for anybody else. I am sure than Eisenstein's "Battleship Potemkin" is a great film, but it's not going on my list simply so I can impress people. Nor will I avoid "Casablanca" simply because it's so popular: I love it all the same. If I have a criterion for choosing the greatest films, it's an emotional one.”

Here, alphabetically, is his list:

Casablanca
Citizen Kane
Floating Weeds
Gates of Heaven
La Dolce Vita
Notorious
Raging Bull
The Third Man
28 Up
2001: A Space Odyssey

For Ebert's comments and details about the films on his list, visit his site via this link: Ten Greatest Films of All Time

My criterion was the same as Ebert's. My list, however, could’ve been comprised entirely of Hitchcock films, and I wish I could’ve included something by Godard, Russ Meyer, John Waters, the Coen Brothers, Todd Solondz, Lars von Trier, and Alejandro Jodorowsky, some gialli, more Tarantino, some Corman, and Terry Zwigoff's Ghost World would definitely be there at number 11. I also had to struggle with not including the following: George A. Romero’s Martin, Brian De Palma’s Carrie, Woody Allen’s Annie Hall and Manhattan, Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove and Paths of Glory, Leo McCarey’s Duck Soup, Charles Reisner’s Steamboat Bill Jr., Kaneto Shindô’s Onibaba, Peter Bogdanovich’s The Last Picture Show, Robert Aldrich’s Kiss Me Deadly, Mervyn LeRoy’s I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, Howard Hawks’ The Big Sleep, Ken Russell’s The Devils, Lina Wertmüller’s Seven Beauties, Frank Capra's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Henri-Georges Clouzot's Les Diaboliques and Wages of Fear, Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves and Umberto D., Kurosawa’s Rashomon and Ikiru, David Cronenberg’s The Brood, Robert Wise’s The Haunting, Jacques Tourneur’s The Cat People, and Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack’s King Kong, amongst a hundred others, but, um… that’s more than ten (Talk about having my cake and eating it too).

My list follows, also alphabetically. What's on yours?

MY HAMMER HORROR DILEMMA

2010-11-18T13:18:00.010-05:00

I love Hammer movies. I grew up with them. I saw so many Hammer Horror double bills when I was a kid in the 70's that they're as much a part of my childhood as Pet Rocks and flared jeans.

Hammer made movies that literally thrilled me as a kid, goofy as that sounds. I would watch the screen crouched down in my seat, anticipating the next vampire's hiss or Frankenstein Monster's stumble. Today, I appreciate them, partly for their nostalgia value, but mostly because they are terrific movies.

The studio was so successful at being distinctive in what it did, at creating its own world, that it also created a dilemma for me. You see, it's almost impossible for me to differentiate one Hammer movie from the other. Not that they're all the same; far from it. Some are Black & White, some are colour; some are gothic, some are contemporary; some are graced by the presence of Lee and Cushing, some aren't; and some are just better than others. But all share that Hammer stamp, unlike almost anything else I can think of other than the Val Lewton-produced cycle of suggestive horror flicks from the 40's, and there were only nine of those. Different than a world that a single filmmaker creates through an entire filmography, say Alfred Hitchcock or Jean-Luc Godard, Hammer movies feature different directors, writers, cinematographers, composers, and casts, but each Hammer Horror makes up a part of the "world of Hammer" in my mind, and to me "The World of Hammer" is one utterly fantastic, continuous movie.

As a blogger, the opportunity to take part in numerous Favourite Film lists arises with some regularity. My Hammer dilemma means that I rarely include a selection from the Hammer studio... There's just too many to choose from and I want to include them all! It's as if one Hammer film comments on or relates to another in the Hammer cannon; like one is somehow connected to the others. This leads me to attempt to pick a representative movie, but that's just foolhardy and it's just not fair to the individual films. The fact is that Hammer produced a large number of not just good films, but several that can easily be considered classics.

So in recognition of all the times that I've left a Hammer film out of the creation of whatever list I may have been taking part in, and because I'm so fond of each of these films, here are my favourite Hammer Horrors, each one a unique part of "The World of Hammer":

The Curse of Frankenstein, Horror of Dracula, The Revenge of Frankenstein, The Brides of Dracula, Never Take Candy from a Stranger, The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll, Taste of Fear, The Curse of the Werewolf, These are the Damned, Paranoiac, The Plague of the Zombies, The Reptile, Frankenstein Created Woman, Quatermass and the Pit, Dracula Has Risen from the Grave, The Devil Rides Out, Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed, Taste the Blood of Dracula, Scars of Dracula, The Vampire Lovers, Countess Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde, Hands of the Ripper, Twins of Evil, Straight on Till Morning, Vampire Circus, Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter, Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell, and The Satanic Rites of Dracula.

There is, however, one Hammer Horror that I'm incredibly partial towards. And having said that, I feel like I'm being oddly dismissive of all the others. That film is Hands of the Ripper. I first saw it when I was 12 years old, on TV during a trip to England with my parents. There in the St. James Hotel, I watched fascinated and terrified as Jack the Ripper's daughter gorily (for its time) slashed her way through victims both deserving and shockingly undeserving. Later during this trip, we visited the Whispering Gallery at St. Paul's Cathedral. The fact that the climax of Hands of the Ripper occurs there added an extra frisson for me as we sent our whispered messages around its circumference. I've watched this film several times since this initial and impressionable viewing, and it's still one of my favourite films. The attack scenes still pack a jolt, the story is still involving and fresh, and Anna, the Ripper's daughter played by Angharad Rees, is one of the most tragic heroines in all of Hammer's films. I love it.

Hammer Studios closed in the late 70's after changing public taste resulted in declining box office. With the old studio recently reanimated anew and producing films like the remakes (sigh) of Let Me In and The Woman in Black, there's the potential that it may yet recapture some of its old glory. Whatever the future of the new Hammer, there are plenty of Golden Era Hammer films out there; go get you some!

FAVE OCCULT FLICKS FOR HALLOWEEN

2010-10-26T14:08:00.056-04:00

The Devil, witches, warlocks, demons, cults, sects and possession, all fairly loosely interpreted here... These are some of my favourite occult flicks, and they make for perfect Halloween viewing.

ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK

ALUCARDA

AMITYVILLE II: THE POSSESSION

THE BEAST WITHIN

THE BEYOND

THE BLACK CAT

THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT

BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW

BROTHERHOOD OF SATAN

BURN WITCH, BURN (a.k.a. Night of the Eagle)

CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD

THE CRAFT

CRY OF THE BANSHEE

CURSE OF THE DEMON (a.k.a. NIGHT OF THE DEMON)

DAMIEN: OMEN II

DAY OF THE BEAST

DEMONS

THE DEVIL RIDES OUT

DEVIL'S NIGHTMARE

THE DEVILS

THE EVIL DEAD

EVIL DEAD 2

THE EXORCIST

EXORCIST III

GANJA AND HESS

HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH

HORROR HOTEL

HOUSE OF THE DEVIL

I DRINK YOUR BLOOD

INVASION OF THE BLOOD FARMERS

LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM

LEMORA: A CHILD'S TALE OF THE SUPERNATURAL

LET'S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH

LOVE ME DEADLY

THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH

MESSIAH OF EVIL

PERFUME OF THE LADY IN BLACK

POSSESSION

RACE WITH THE DEVIL

ROSEMARY’S BABY

SATAN'S BLOOD

SATAN'S SLAVE

THE SENTINEL

SESSION 9

THE SEVENTH VICTIM

THE SKULL

SPIDER LABYRINTH

SUCCUBUS

SUSPIRIA

VIY

THE WICKER MAN (1973)

THE WITCHFINDER GENERAL

I ABSOLUTELY DON'T CARE

2010-10-22T11:36:00.002-04:00

PUNK ROCK (i can't find)

2010-10-08T13:22:00.006-04:00

I've been searching for these tracks to download, but to no avail. Happily, I've found the vids. PLAY LOUD!

UNITED STATE: Automoton

MINUTEMEN: King of the Hill

CRUNT: Swine/Sexy

FLIPPER: Ever

HALLOWEEN EAR WORM

2010-10-08T08:37:00.003-04:00

A confession: I LIKE Halloween III: Season of the Witch. I like how the storyline diverges from the Michael Myers track. I like the concept of a modern day Druid plotting to wipe out a chuck o' the pre-teen population with a diabolical plan. And I like this jingle, played repeatedly in the movie. It's impossible for it to NOT get stuck in your head. So to enjoy (or get irritated) by Halloween a few days early, here's the Silver Shamrock ad from H3.

NIGHT CHILD (1975)

2010-10-04T15:19:00.016-04:00

Directed by Massimo Dallamano (director of the essential giallo What Have You Done to Solange?), Night Child is a relatively subtle Italian thriller mis-advertised as an Exorcist-style potboiler. NOT the first time misleading advertising has been used to sell a movie. Richard Johnson (Zombie, and the actual Italian Exorcist rip-off Beyond the Door) stars as a British documentary filmmaker whose latest subject is the Devil. Traveling to Italy with his daughter (the always fantastic Nicoletta Elmi from Who Saw Her Die?, Baron Blood, Flesh for Frankenstein, Footprints on the Moon, Deep Red, and Demons) and her nanny Ida Galli (The Whip and the Flesh, The Psychic), Johnson is met by Production Manager Joanna Cassidy (Bladerunner, Six Feet Under). Johnson and Cassidy start a relationship, Galli gets jealous due to her unrequited love for the filmmaker, and Almi goes a little nuts trying to deal with the recent death of her mother who died during a house fire. Too bad daddy has let her wear mommy's medallion in memoriam. See... it's cursed. Deaths ensue, wild laughter from the terrific and throaty Cassidy ensues, and little Elmi does have one scene of thrashing about on the bed à la Linda Blair. It's an entertaining 90 minutes that is more atmospheric than scary, and features an appearance from Edmund Purdom (Pieces) and a co-starring turn from Lila Kedrova (Torn Curtain) as psychic Contessa Cappelli. Interesting enough, the ending looks like a dry run for the next year's The Omen (1976). The DVD from Code Red, the great DVD company that is apparently going to close shop next summer, looks great and features an assortment of potential Code Red titles as well as the trailer for Night Child. Possess it!

PROFESSOR DAVID HUXLEY’S LABORIOUS, LICENTIOUS SPOTTED-LEOPARD LABOR DAY FILM QUIZ

2010-09-05T20:15:00.004-04:00

The terrific writer Dennis Cozzalio at his essential Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule website creates fantastic film quizzes with some regularity. A new one is up, and despite trying to post my answers for over an hour, I gave up and decided to post 'em here. Anyone who is interested in movies ought to give Dennis' quizzes a try; they're a blast. Here goes:

Q1) Classic film you most want to experience that has so far eluded you.
A1) 'Cause I'm a giallo fanatic, I'm going to say Footsteps on the Moon, and mean it!

Q2) Greatest Criterion DVD/Blu-ray release ever
A2) Videodrome.

Q3) The Big Sleep or The Maltese Falcon?
A3) The Big Sleep. Such an amazing and confusing flick. It's actually the Noir that taught me how to watch the genre... forget about following the details of the story and just experience it. Fan-tastic!

Q4) Jason Bateman or Paul Rudd?
A4) Bateman's great, but Rudd is so damn likable (attractive) and funny. Rudd, I say, Rudd!

Q5) Best mother/child (male or female) movie star combo
A5) Daria Nicolodi and Asia Argento.

Q6) Who are the Robert Mitchums and Ida Lupinos among working movie actors? Do modern parallels to such masculine and no-nonsense feminine stars even exist? If not, why not?
A6) Try though I might, I just can't come up with modern equivelants. That leads me to say that Hollywood during the Mitchum/Lupino era was a differnt place and a different time, and Hollywood as we know it today just isn't the same "breeding ground".

Q7) Favorite Preston Sturges movie
A7) I've only seen one, but it's a doosie! Sullivan's Travels.

Q8) Odette Yustman or Mary Elizabeth Winstead?
A8) Winstead -- 'Cause of Pilgrim (yet to see it) and Death Proof.

Q9) Is there a movie that if you found out a partner or love interest loved (or didn't love) would qualify as a Relationship Deal Breaker?
A9) Not really. But liking Forrest Gump, Dances With Wolves or Pretty Woman would make me think that we wouldn't be going to many movies together.

Q10) Favorite DVD commentary
A10) Doris Wishman on A Night to Dismember.

Q11) Movies most recently seen on DVD, Blu-ray and theatrically
A11) DVD: I Spit on Your Grave ('77); Theatre: The Last Exorcism ("Would you like a blowing job?" Now that's comedy!).

Q12) Dirk Bogarde or Alan Bates?
A12) Bates. Did you see what he did with Oliver Reed in Women in Love?!

Q13) Favorite DVD extra
A12) Trailer! I don't really need much more than that.

Q14) Brian De Palma’s Scarface— yes or no?
A12) Yes.

Q15) Best comic moment from a horror film that is not a horror comedy (Young Frankenstein, Love At First Bite, et al.)
A15) See Anewer 11 for a fine moment, though not my fave. That would probably be The Omen. I'll never understand that flick's popularity, despite a few good scenes, an effective score and an appealing exploitation concept. Its execution is too high and mighty and silly at the same time for my taste. However, said comedy moment occurs during the terrific scene early in the flick when Damien's nanny hangs herself during the child's birthday party. Among the horrified party guests is a clown, who stares in shock. The shot of the clown during all that horror always hits my funny bone.

Q16) Jane Birkin or Edwige Fenech?
A16) Despite "Je t'aime... moi non plus" breathlessly rolling around in my iPod and Seven Death's in the Cat's Eye in my DVD collection, I LOVE Fenech, and she's just become a Facebook friend! Queen of the Giallo!

Q17) Favorite Wong Kar-wai movie
A17) Chungking Express.

Q18) Best horrific moment from a comedy that is not a horror comedy
A18) Charles Napier murdering Sheri Eubanks in the bathroom in Supervixens!

Q19) From 2010, a specific example of what movies are doing right…
A19) You know, this is the first year where I can't really thing of ANYTHING I'd put on a best of the year list... So sadly, I'm going to say that the best thing movies are doing circa 2010 is continuing to make movies.

Q20) Ryan Reynolds or Chris Evans?
A20) Reynolds. He has the best torso in the biz.

Q21) Speculate about the future of online film writing. What’s next?
A21) You mean beyond stealing ideas? I guess the opportunity for collaboration is immense.

Q22) Roger Livesey or David Farrar?
A22) I hate it when people pass on these questions, but I don't think I've actually seen either of these gents in anything, so...

Q23) Best father/child (male or female) movie star combo
A23) Lon Chaneys Sr & Jr.

Q24) Favorite Freddie Francis movie (as Director)
A24) Tales from the Crypt ('72)

Q25) Bringing Up Baby or The Awful Truth?
A25) Bringing Up Baby is, bar none, my favourite comedy. I've got The Awful Truth DVD waiting to view, but Bringing Up Baby is my answer, sir. Afterall, the love impulse in the male frequently reveals itself in terms of conflict! Or something like that.

Q26) Tina Fey or Kristen Wiig?
A27) I really enjoy 'em both, but I'm going with Fey.

Q27) Name a stylistically important director and the best film that would have never been made without his/her influence.
A27) Hitchcock! And, off the top of my head, Dressed to Kill, but the potential answers are almost limitless... any thriller since The 39 Steps!

Q28) Movie you’d most enjoy seeing remade and transplanted to a different culture (i.e. Yimou Zhang’s A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop.)
A28) Red Dawn made in Russia. Seriously. I'd enjoy watching that. Or maybe Goin' Down the Road, the qintessential Canadian film, re-made in the US of A.

Q29) Link to a picture/frame grab of a movie image that for you best illustrates bliss. Elaborate.
A29) To me Hitchcok IS the movies, and movies are bliss. This is one of his best moments, both fuuny, creepy, and to the point, cinematically. From Strangers on a Train. All heads turn to watch a tennis match. All heads but one. Bruno Anthony, the sociopathic killer, stares at his unwitting accomplice... and at US!

Q30) With a tip of that hat to Glenn Kenny, think of a just-slightly-inadequate alternate title for a famous movie. (Examples from GK: Fan Fiction; Boudu Relieved From Cramping; The Mild Imprecation of the Cat People)
A30) Fatter, Pussycat! Eat! Eat!

MY HORROR AUTOGRAPH COLLECTION

2010-08-30T07:03:00.011-04:00

Clive Barker (Author)

Dario Argento (Dir, The Bird With the Crystal Plumage, Suspiria, Deep Red)

Herschell Gordon Lewis (The Godfather of Gore)

Herk Harvey (Dir, Carnival of Souls)

Linnea Quigley (Return of the Living Dead; Savage Streets; Silent Night, Deadly Night; Night of the Demons)

Autographs M.I.A.: David Cronenberg, Tom Savini.

FAVE HORROR FLICKS 2000-2010

2010-08-24T10:57:00.008-04:00

Ya know, there have been some pretty decent horror flicks released since the dawning of the 00's. In my eyes anyway. Here's what I'm thinking:

28 Days Later
The Devil's Rejects
Final Destination 2
Grindhouse
High Tension
Hostel: Part II
The House of the Devil
House of Wax (seriously)
Inside
Ju-on
Let the Right One In
Martyrs
The Orphanage
The Others
Pontypool
Rec
Session 9
The Strangers
Trick R Treat
Trouble Every Day

Other Notables: The Host, The Descent, Drag Me to Hell, Slither, Ginger Snaps, Uzumaki, Brotherhood of the Wolf, The Devil's Backbone, Jeepers Creepers, Bubba Ho-Tep, May, House of 1,000 Corpses, A Tale of Two Sisters, Calvaire, Shaun of the Dead, Land of the Dead, Sheitan, The Hills Have Eyes, The Mist, The Woods, Cloverfield.

70's Cult Project

2010-08-23T07:00:00.009-04:00

The Mike over at From Midnight, With Love poses this question: "What would you say are the most essential cult films of the 1970s?". Sez The Mike, "You can pick whatever you want, as long as you formulate a ranked TOP 5 in this category. After everyone has created their list, I will compile an overall list that will use YOUR picks to determine a final list of The Midnight Warriors' Most Essential Cult Films of the 1970s! I'll plan on trying to finish this in two weeks, so I'd like to have lists from people by Monday August 30th."

With thanks to The Mike, here's the Bloody Terror List of the Most Essential Cult Films of the 1970's:

FORMER #5. Suspiria (1977, Dir. Dario Argento)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), Dawn of the Dead (1978), Suspiria (1977) ... each of these deserve to be on this list. BUT I gotta get rid of this/these choices to make way for Bloody Terror's REAL choice for #5 (see below).

5. The Poseidon Adventure (1972, Dir. Ronald Neame)

4. The Streetfighter (1975, Dir. S. Ozawa)

3. Supervixens (1975, Dir: Russ Meyer)

2. El Topo (1971, Dir. Alejandro Jodorowsky)

1. Eraserhead (1978, Dir. David Lynch)

My Canuxploitation Film Festival

2010-08-17T12:10:00.011-04:00

While perusing the essential Canuxploitation website, I got to thinking... If I were to program my own little festival of Canadian exploitation films, the schedule would run like this:

Classics Re-Arranged

2010-08-13T08:00:00.002-04:00

From Miss Jinx over at Totally Jinxed via Tim Grant of Post-Mortem Depression:

“Below are twenty horror films which are universally accepted as classics listed in alphabetical order. Just rearrange the list by cutting and pasting them into your own order based on how you would rate them. For instance, if you think that "The Hills Have Eyes" is a better movie than "Hellraiser" then cut and paste it higher up in the list. Repeat this with all the titles until you have your own personalised top twenty. Other people will then be able to see if you have the same tastes in horror as them or not.”

The Bloody Terror List:

The Exorcist (1973)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Psycho (1960)
Halloween (1978)
Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
The Haunting (1963)
The Thing (1982)
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
The Shining (1980)
Alien (1979)
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Friday the 13th (1980)
The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
The Wicker Man (1973)
An American Werewolf in London (1981)
Hellraiser (1987)
The Omen (1976)
The Lost Boys (1987)

RELEASE ME! Movies That Need a (Decent) Region 1 DVD Release

2010-08-05T07:53:00.039-04:00

Blood and Lace
(USA; 1971) Dir: Philip S. Gilbert

Blood on Satan's Claw
(UK; 1971) Dir: Piers Haggard

Corruption (aka Carnage; Laser Killer)
(UK; 1968) Dir: Robert Hartford-Davis

Curtains
(Canada; 1983) Dir: Richard Ciupka

Death Laid an Egg (aka La morte ha fatto l'uovo)
(Italy; 1968) Dir: Giulio Questi

Death Weekend (aka The House by the Lake)
(Can; 1976) Dir: William Fruet

Dorian Gray (aka The Evil of Dorian Gray; Das Bildnis des Dorian Gray; Il dio chiamato Dorian)
(1970; UK, Italy, West Germany) Dir: Massimo Dallamano

UPDATE: RELEASED BY RARO VIDEO USA - APRIL 12, 2011

Eating Roaul*
(US, 1982) Dir: Paul Bartel

Eyeball (aka Gatti rossi in un labirinto di vetro, The Devil's Eye, The Secret Killer, Wide-Eyed in the Dark)
(Italy; 1975) Dir: Umberto Lenzi

Footprints on the Moon (aka Le orme; Footprints)
(1975; Italy) Dir: Luigi Bazzoni

Goke, the Bodysnatcher from Hell (aka Kyuketsuki Gokemidoro, Body Snatcher from Hell)
(Japan; 1968) Dir: Hajime Sato

The Green Slime
(Japan, US; 1968) Dir: Kinji Fukasaku

UPDATE: RELEASED BY MGM MOVIES ON DEMAND - DECEMBER 17, 2010

Homebodies
(US; 1974) Dir: Larry Yust

The House That Screamed (aka La residencia; House of Evil; The Boarding School; The Finishing School)*
(Spain; 1969) Dir: Narciso Ibáñez Serrador

The Incredible Melting Man
(US; 1977) Dir: William Sachs

Moonshine County Express
(US; 1977) Dir: Gus Trikonis

The Name of the Game is Kill!
(US; 1968) Dir: Gunnar Hellström

The Perfume of the Lady in Black (aka Il profumo della signora in nero)
(Italy; 1974) Dir: Francesco Barilli

UPDATE: RELEASED BY RARO VIDEO USA - MARCH 22, 2011

The Psychopath (aka An Eye for an Eye)
(US; 1975) Dir: Larry G. Brown

The Reincarnation of Peter Proud
(US; 1975) Dir: J. Lee Thompson

Rolling Thunder
(US; 1977) Dir: John Flynn

UPDATE: RELEASED BY MGM MOVIES ON DEMAND - JANUARY 28, 2011

A Small Town in Texas
(US; 1976) Dir: Jack Starrett

The Spider Labrinth (aka Il nido del ragno; The Spider's Nest)
(Italy; 1988) Dir: Gianfranco Giagni

Tidalwave (aka Nippon chinbotsu)
(Japan, US; 1973,1975) Dirs: Shirô Moritani, Andrew Meyer

To Be Twenty (aka Avere vent'anni, Being Twenty)*
(Italy; 1978) Dir: Fernando Di Leo

UPDATE: SCHEDULED TO BE RELEASED BY RARO VIDEO USA - JULY 26, 2011

The Traveler (aka El caminante)
(Spain; 1979) Dir: Paul Naschy

What Have They Done to Your Daughters? (aka La polizia chiede aiuto, Coed Murders)
(Italy; 1974) Dir: Massimo Dallamano

* Already on crappy Region 1 disc.

INCEPTION...

2010-07-29T09:41:00.004-04:00

...is it basically just a new generation version of Exorcist II: The Heretic? I missed James Earl Jones spitting a leopard!

THE FIRST EVER BILLY LOVES STU MEME FOR HORROR BLOGGERS

2010-07-27T12:31:00.008-04:00

The First Ever Billy Loves Stu Meme for Horror Bloggers
(My answers in bold)

1: In Ten Words or Less, Describe Your Blog:
A: A site for fans of cinema's delicious underbelly.

2: During What Cinematic Era Where you Born?
A: The Classic Horror Era (late 30's to 40's)
B: The Atomic Monster/Nuclear Angst Era (the late 40's through 50's)
C: The Psycho Era ( Early 60's)
D: The Rosemary's Baby Era (Mid to Late 60's)
E: The Exorcism Era (Early to mid 70's)
F: The Halloween Era (Late 70's to Early 80's)
G: The Slasher Era (Mid to late 80's)
H: The Self Referential/Post Modern Era (1990 to 1999)

3: The Carrie Compatibility Question:
(gay men and straight women - make your choice from section A)
A: Billy Nolan or Tommy Ross, who would you take to the prom?
(straight guys and lesbians - make your choice from section B)
B: Sue Snell or Chris Hargensen, who would you take to the prom?

4: You have been given an ungodly amount of money, and total control of a major motion picture studio - what would your dream Horror project be?
A: Stephen King's "It". It's black and white and 90 minutes long. It starts on that rainy night with Georgie's death at the hands of a child molester, then cuts to the present day when we gather the main characters who join forces to deal with the childhood fears that have haunted them forever. When it's time to face the creature in the sewer, it's only Georgie. This story, to me, has ALWAYS been about the death of childhood. THAT is scary.

5: What horror film "franchise" that others have embraced, left you cold?
A: "Saw" is obvious, but it's an honest answer.

6: Is Michael Bay the Antichrist?
A: No, just creatively bankrupt.

7: Dracula, The Wolf Man, The Frankenstein Monster - which one of these classic villains scares you, and why?
A: The Wolfman, 'cause he's us.

8: Tell me about a scene from a NON HORROR Film that scares the crap out of you:
A: The Large Marge scene in "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" scared the shit out of me the first time I saw it.

9: Baby Jane Hudson invites you over to her house for lunch. What do you bring?
A: Earplugs.

10: So, between you and me, do you have any ulterior motives for blogging? Come, on you can tell me, it will be our little secret, I won't tell a soul.
A: To develop my writing and to communicate with other like-minded weirdos.

11: What would you have brought to Rosemary Woodhouse's baby shower?
A: A crucifix rattle.

12: Godzilla vs The Cloverfield Monster, who wins?
A: Godzilla. He's an unforgettable creature who's starred in 30 films. I can't even remember what the Cloverfield monster looked like. Plus radioactive breath pretty much trumps everything else.

13: If you found out that Rob Zombie was reading your blog, what would you post in hopes that he read it?
A: Dear Rob, Please leave "Halloween" alone and go back to the hellbillies.

14: What is your favorite NON HORROR FILM, and why?
A: "Rear Window" because it's cinematically perfect and I got caught up in it the first time I saw it more it than I'd ever been engaged in a flick before or since.

15: If blogging technology did not exist, what would you be doing?
A: Keeping volumes of creepy notebooks all to myself.

10 DVD's I HEMMED & HAWED ABOUT, BUT AM DELIGHTED THAT I BOUGHT IN THE END

2010-07-23T13:40:00.018-04:00

"99 WOMEN"(1969)
Actors: Maria Schell, Luciana Paluzzi, Mercedes McCambridge, Herbert Lom, Maria Rohm
Director: Jesus Franco
DVD Company: Blue Underground

"THE CANDY SNATCHERS" (1973)
Actors: Tiffany Bolling, Ben Piazza, Susan Sennett, Brad David, Vince Martorano
Director: Guerdon Trueblood
DVD Company: Subversive Cinema

"THE CENTERFOLD GIRLS" (1974)
Actors: Andrew Prine, Jennifer Ashley, Tiffany Bolling, Teda Bracci, Kitty Carl, Mike Mazurki
Director: John Peyser
DVD Company: Dark Sky Films

GINGER: "GINGER" (1971)/"THE ABDUCTORS" (1972)/"GIRLS ARE FOR LOVING" (1973)
Actors: Cheri Caffaro, Timothy Brown, Jocelyne Peters, Scott Ellsworth, Fred Vincent
Director: Don Schain
DVD Company: Monterey Video

"THE GRAPES OF DEATH" (1978)
Actors: Paul Bisciglia, Jean-Pierre Bouyxou, Patricia Cartier, Michel Herval, Brigitte Lahaie
Director: Jean Rollin
DVD Company: Synapse Films

"HORROR HOTEL" (1960)
Actors: Patricia Jessel, Dennis Lotis, Christopher Lee, Tom Naylor, Betta St. John
Director: John Llewellyn Moxey
DVD Company: Elite

"I DRINK YOUR BLOOD" (1970)
Actors: Bhaskar Roy Chowdhury, Jadin Wong, Rhonda Fultz, George Patterson, Riley Mills
Director: David E. Durston
DVD Company: Grindhouse Releasing

"LOVE ME DEADLY" (1973)
Actors: Lyle Waggoner, Mary Wilcox, Christopher Stone
Director: Jacques Lacerte
DVD Company: Shriek Show/Media Blasters/Code Red

"MESSIAH OF EVIL" (1973)
Actors: Michael Greer, Marianna Hill, Joy Bang, Elisa Cook Jr., Bennie Robinson
Director: Willard Huyck
DVD Company: Code Red

"GIRLS IN CHAINS" (1973)
Actors: Gary Kent, John Stoglin, Stafford Morgan, Suzanne Lund, Greta Gayland, Leah Tate
Director: Don Jones
DVD Company: Shriek Show/Media Blasters/Code Red

My Top 10 Willy Inducing Moments

2010-07-08T09:34:00.030-04:00

As per The Horror Digest, here are My Top 10 Willy Inducing Moments in random order:

1. "PSYCHO" (1960, Dir: Alfred Hitchcock)

The look Norman gives the audience... that's right, he looks at the audience, breaking the 4th Wall in such a way that we don't even realize it at the time... at the end of "Psycho". This, mixed with his "I wouldn't even hurt a fly" speech, is shiver time... even before Mother's skull appears in a double exposure.

2. "SESSION 9" (2001, Dir: Brad Anderson)

The final voice over from the reel-to-reel recording of the final session... when we finally hear from the personality known as Simon and discover exactly where he lives... Goose bumps.

3. "DEEP RED" (aka "Profondo Rosso", 1975, Dir: Dario Argento)

Dario Argento's laughing mechanical puppet from one of the essential gialli (that significantly predates that talking, mechanical puppet in "Saw").

4. "SCREAM OF FEAR" (aka "Taste of Fear", 1961, Dir: Seth Holt)

Susan Strasberg discovers her father's corpse (for the first time) in Hammer's excellent "mini-Hitchcock".

5. "INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS" (1956, Dir: Don Siegel)

The pay-off (later) to this innocuous dialogue:

Becky: [laughs] I'm not the high school kid you use to romance, so how can you tell?

Miles: You really want to know?

Becky: Mmm-hmm.

Miles: [after kissing her] Mmmm, you're Becky Driscoll, all right!

6. "PRINCE OF DARKNESS" (1987, dir: John Carpenter)

Those video transmissions; unclear images of something... bad.

7. "LOST HIGHWAY" (1997, dir: David Lynch)

Robert Blake makes a phone call to himself... and answers at the other end.

8. "THE HAUNTING" (1963, Dir: Robert Wise)

The "Whose hand was I holding?" scene.

9. "BLACK CHRISTMAS" (1974, Dir: Bob Clark)

Many moments to choose from in this one, but the eye through the crack in the door has it!

10. "HALLOWEEN" (1978, dir: John Carpenter)

Michael emerges from the darkness behind the world's most famous Final Girl. A semi-slow burn.

VAMPIRELLA'S BACK!

2010-06-25T07:48:00.009-04:00

Dynamite Entertainment is releasing volume 1 of the Vampirella Archives on October 12, 2010. One of horror's greatest creations, the Vampi Archives joins the essential Creepy Archives and The Eerie Archives already published every few months by Dark Horse Comics.

Originally biting the public on its collective neck back in the 1960's, these fantastic Warren Magazines snaked around the sticky Comics Code issues of the day by publishing in a magazine format. As a Monster Kid of the 1970's, these B&W mags were a formative discovery for me, terrifying me not only with their spooky stories, but also with their nerve-fraying illustrations by such masters of the form as Frank Frazetta, Bernie Wrightson, Wally Wood, and a host more. Vampi, herself, was a creation of the late, great Forrest J. Ackerman, the man who coined the phrase Sci-Fi and gave the world one of its great publications, Famous Monsters of Filmland. Now if they could just clear up the rights issues so that The Famous Monsters Archives and a re-release of the Vampirella Monster Scenes model kit could hit stores, I'd be a happy middle-aged Monster Kid.

PUBLISHED IN RUE MORGUE! A NEW KICK FOR ME

2010-06-03T08:22:00.013-04:00

Hey! My first piece for Rue Morgue Magazine has been published in the June 2010 issue, #101. It's a Cinemarquee article about the 1957 giant grasshopper flick "Beginning of the End". I'm a huge fan of Rue Morgue, so this is an A+ experience for me. Managing Editor Dave Alexander was an ace in his editing advice. Yay for me, I say.

Link-o-rama: Rue Morgue Magazine

HORROR MOVIES I THINK YOU SHOULD SEE

2010-06-01T08:31:00.014-04:00

I'm a horror movie obsessive. I love 'em in every possible shape, size and from every possible country of origin. And I've been watching them for the past 45 years (more accurately, probably 42); from a TV viewing of The Deadly Mantis at three years of age to last week's DVD repeat viewing of the terrific Amicus anthology Asylum. All that viewing has led me through countless sub-genres, trends and flicks of varying quality. With that as my background, I've come to understand the obvious: There are countless reasons to watch countless horror films...

If you're a would be filmmaker, I firmly believe that you can learn as much from a bad movie as you can from a good movie, and sometimes a bad flick is more entertaining than a standard-run genre classic; sometimes a movie will be referenced again and again in texts on the subject or are favourites of genre fans (I will NEVER understand the popularity of The Omen, for example, while I DO find its first sequel, Damien Omen II, a lot of fun); and some films are so influential and just so good that they are simply part of the horror movie cannon.

What follows is a list of horror films I recommend watching for any number of the above reasons. There are a handful I haven't seen yet, like The Golem, but I recognize its standing in the genre. Some people will find the content of certain flicks offensive (i.e. Sex Wish), and all will obviously not be to everyone's taste. If anyone is actually reading this blog, chime in with your own recommendations or give some grief to flicks that you think SHOULDN'T be on this list. It comes down to personal taste, but behind all that is the encouragement to dig deeper into the genre, and above all, to LOVE YOUR HORROR MOVIES!

Horror Movies I Think You Should See:

The Abominable Dr. Phibes
The Abominable Snowman
Alice, Sweet Alice
Alien
All the Colors of the Dark
Altered States
Alucarda
An American Werewolf in London
Amityville II: The Possession
And Soon the Darkness
Anthropophagus: The Grim Reaper
The Anti-Christ
The Asphyx
Army of Darkness
Astro Zombies
Asylum
Asylum of Satan
At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul
Attack of the 50-Ft. Woman
Audition
Autopsy
Awakening of the Beast
The Awful Dr. Orlof
Axe
Baba Yaga
The Bad Seed
Basket Case
Battle Royale
Bay of Blood
The Beast
The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms
Beast of Blood
A Bell From Hell
La Belle et la Bête
The Bells (1926)
Ben
The Beyond
Beyond the Darkness
Beyond the Door
Billy the Kid vs. Dracula
The Bird With the Crystal Plumage
The Birds
The Black Belly of the Tarantula
The Black Cat (1934)
Black Christmas (1974)
Black Sabbath
Black Sunday (1960)
Black Torment
Blacula
A Blade in the Dark
The Blair Witch Project
Blind Beast
The Blob (1958)
The Blob (1988)
Blood and Black Lace
Blood and Lace
Blood and Roses
Blood Feast
Blood for Dracula
Blood of Dracula
Blood on Satan's Claw
Blood Sucking Freaks
Bloodthirsty Butchers
The Body Snatcher
The Blood Spattered Bride
Blue Sunshine
Bride of Frankenstein
Brides of Blood
Brides of Dracula
The Brood
Brotherhood of Satan
Bubba Ho-Tep
A Bucket of Blood
Burnt Offerings
Burn Witch, Burn
The Burning
The Cabinet of Dr. Calagari (1920)
Candyman
Cannibal Apocalypse
Cannibal Ferox
Cannibal Holocaust
Cannibal Man
Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter
The Cat and the Canary (1927)
Cat in the Brain
The Cat o' Nine Tails
Carnival of Souls
The Car
Carrie (1976)
The Cat People (1942)
Cemetery Man
The Centerfold Girls
The Changeling (1980)
Un Chein Andalou
The Child
Child's Play
Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
City of the Living Dead
A Clockwork Orange
The Comeback
The Comedy of Terrors
The Confessional
Conspiracy of Torture (Beatrice Cenci)
Corruption
Count Yorga
Countess Dracula
The Craft
Crash (1996)
The Crazies (1973)
Creature From the Black Lagoon
The Creeping Flesh
Creepshow
Crimes of Passion
Cronos
Cruising
Cry of the Banshee
Cujo
Curse of the Cat People
Curse of the Doll People
The Curse of Frankenstein
Curse of the Demon (Night of the Demon)
The Curse of the Werewolf
Damien Omen II
Dark Night of the Scarecrow
Daughter of Horror (Dementia)
Daughters of Darkness
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Day of the Beast
Day of the Dead (1985)
Dead of Night (1945)
Dead of Night (1977)
The Dead Zone
The Deadly Spawn
Death Proof
Deathdream
Deep Red
Delirium
Deliverance
Dementia 13
Demons
Demons of the Mind
Deranged
The Descent
Destroy All Monsters
The Devil Doll (1936)
The Devil Rides Out
The Devil's Backbone
Devil's Nightmare
The Devil's Rejects
The Devils
The Diabolical Dr. Z
Les Diabolique (1955)
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Don't Deliver Us from Evil
Don't Go in the House
Don't Look in the Basement
Don’t Look Now
Don't Open the Door
Don't Torture a Duckling
Donnie Darko
Dr. Death
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)
Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde
Dr. Phibes Rises Again
Dr. Terror's House of Horrors
Dracula (1931)
Dracula (1931; Spanish)
Dracula A.D.1972
Dracula Has Risen from the Grave
Dracula: Prince of Darkness
Dracula vs. Frankenstein
Dracula’s Daughter
Dressed to Kill (1980)
Eaten Alive
The Embalmer
Empire of the Ants
Enemy from Space (Quatermass 2)
Eraserhead
The Evictors
The Evil Dead
Evil Dead 2
The Exorcist
Exorcist II: The Heretic
Exorcist III
Eyeball
Eyes Without a Face
The Fall of the House of Usher
Fascination
Fiend
Five Million Years to Earth (Quatermass and the Pit)
The Flesh Eaters
Flesh for Frankenstein
The Fly (1986)
The Fly (1958)
The Fog (1980)
The Food of the Gods
The 4th Man
Four Flies on Grey Velvet
Frankenstein (1931)
Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell
Frankenstein Created Woman
Frankenstein Conquers the World
Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed
Frankenstein's Bloody Terror
Frankenstein's Daughter
Freaks
Frenzy
Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th Part 2
Friday the 13th Part 3
Friday the 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter
Fright
Fright Night
Frightmare
Frogs
From Beyond
From Beyond the Grave
The Funhouse
The Fury (1978)
Ganja and Hess
Gargoyles
The Ghastly Ones
The Giant Claw
Giant Spider Invasion
The Girl Who Knew Too Much
God Told Me To
Gods and Monsters
Godzilla/Gojira
Godzilla vs Hedora (Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster)
The Golden Voyage of Sinbad
The Golem (1920)
Gorgo
The Gorgon
The Grapes of Death
Grave of the Vampire
Gremlins
Gremlins 2: The New Batch
Grizzly
Halloween (1978)
Halloween II (1980)
Halloween III: Season of the Witch
Hands of Orlac (1924)
Hands of the Ripper
Happy Birthday to Me
Hatchet for the Honeymoon
The Haunted Palace
The Haunting (1963)
Haxen or Witchcraft Through the Ages
Helter Skelter
Hell Night
Hellraiser
Henry, Portait of a Serial Killer
The Hidden
High Tension
The Hills Have Eyes (2006)
The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
Home for the Holidays (1972)
Homebodies
Homicidal
The Honeymoon Killers
Horror Express
Horror Hotel
The Horror of Dracula
The Horror of Party Beach
Horrors of the Black Museum
Horrors of Malformed Men
The Host
Hostel Part II
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)
Hour of the Wolf
The House By the Cemetery
House of 1,000 Corpses
House of Wax (2005)
House of Wax (1953)
House of Whipcord
The House on Haunted Hill (1959)
House on Sorority Row
The House That Dripped Blood
The House With Laughing Windows
How to Make a Monster
The Howling
Humanoids from the Deep
The Hunchback of the Morgue
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
I Drink Your Blood
I, Madman
I Saw What You Did
I Walked With a Zombie
I Was a Teenage Frankenstein
I Was a Teenage Werewolf
Ichi the Killer
Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS
In a Glass Cage
In the Mouth of Madness
The Incredible Melting Man
Inferno
The Innocents
Inside
Invasion of the Bee Girls
Invasion of the Blood Farmers
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
The Invisible Man (1933)
Irreversible
Island of Death
Island of Lost Souls (1933)
It! The Terror From Beyond Space
It Came From Beneath the Sea
It’s Alive (1974)
Jason and the Argonauts
Jaws
Jaws 2
Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter
Ju-On
Jungle Holocaust
Just Before Dawn
Kill, Baby... Kill!
The Killer Must Kill Again
The Killer Shrews
The Killing Kind
King Kong (1933)
King Kong vs. Godzilla
Kingdom of the Spiders
The Kiss of the Vampire
Kwaidan
Lair of the White Worm
Terror
The Land That Time Forgot
The Last House on the Left (1972)
The Last Man on Earth
The Legend of Boggy Creek
The Legend of Lizzie Borden
The Legend of Hell House
Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural
The Leopard Man
Let Sleeping Corpses Lie
Let the Right One In
Let's Scare Jessica to Death
The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane
The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)
A Lizard in a Woman's Skin
London at Midnight
Lost Highway
The Lost World (1925)
Love Me Deadly
M
Macabre (1980)
Macabre (1958)
Mad Doctor of Blood Island
Mad Love (1935)
Manhunter
The Manitou
The Manson Family
The Manster
Martin
Martyrs
The Mask (1961)
The Masque of the Red Death
May
Messiah of Evil
Mighty Joe Young (1949)
Mill of the Stone Women
The Monster of Piedras Blancas
Mother of Tears
Mother's Day
Mothra
Mothra vs. Godzilla (Godzilla vs. The Thing)
Mr. Sardonicus
Mulholland Dr.
The Mummy (1932)
The Mummy (1959)
Murder by Decree
My Bloody Valentine
My Dear Killer
Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933)
The Name of the Game is Kill
Natural Born Killers
Near Dark
Nekromantik
The New York Ripper
The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave
Night of the Bloody Apes
Night of the Comet
Night of the Creeps
Night of the Demon (1980)
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
The Night Stalker
The Night Strangler
Night Tide
A Night to Dismember
The Night Walker
Nightbeast
Nightmare Castle
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
The Norliss Tapes
Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)
Nosferatu (1922)
The Old Dark House (1932)
The Omen (1976)
One Million Years B.C.
Onibaba
Opera
The Other
The Others
Pan's Labyrinth
Paranoiac
Perfume of the Lady in Black
Perversion Story
Pet Sematary
Pets
Phantasm
Phantom of the Opera (1925)
Phenomena
Pieces
Piranha (1978)
The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
Plague of the Zombies
Planet of the Vampires
Planet Terror
Possession (1981)
Pretty Poison
Prince of Darkness
Private Parts (1972)
Prophecy
The Prowler
The Psychic
Psycho (1960)
Psycho II
Psycho III
The Psychopath
Rabid
Race With the Devil
The Raven (1963)
Raw Meat
Re-Animator
The Red Queen Kills 7 Times
The Reptile
Repulsion
The Return of Count Yorga
Return of the Evil Dead
Return of the Living Dead
The Revenge of Frankenstein
Ringu
Rituals
Rodan
Rosemary’s Baby
The Sadist
Safe
Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom
Satan's Black Wedding
Satan's Blood
The Satanic Rites of Dracula
Scanners
Schoolgirls in Chains
Schramm
Scream (1996)
Scream and Scream Again
Scream Blacula, Scream
Scream of Fear
Seance on a Wet Afternoon
Season of the Witch
Seconds
The Sentinel
Session 9
Seven
Seven Blood Stained Orchids
The Seventh Victim
The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad
The Severed Arm
Sex Wish
Shadow of a Doubt
Shaun of the Dead
She Killed in Ecstasy
The Shining
Shivers
Shock (1977)
Shock Waves
Short Night of Glass Dolls
Shriek of the Mutilated
The Shuttered Room
The Silence of the Lambs
Silent Night, Bloody Night
Sisters
The Skull
Sleepaway Camp
Slugs
Song of Kong (1933)
Spasmo
Spellbound
Spider Baby
Spider Labyrinth
Spirits of the Dead
Squirm
Ssssss
Stage Fright (1987)
Straight on Till Morning
Straight-Jacket
The Stendhal Syndrome
Strip Nude for Your Killer
The Student of Prague (1913)
The Student of Prague (1926)
Succubus
Sugar Hill
The Suicide Club
Suspiria
Sweeney Todd
A Tale of Two Sisters
Tales from the Crypt
Tales of Terror
Targets
Taste the Blood of Dracula
The Tenant
The Tenderness of the Wolves
Tenebre
Tentacles
Terror at the Red Wolf Inn
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2
Theatre of Blood
Them! (1954)
The Thing (1982)
13 Ghosts (1960)
This Night I’ll Possess Your Corpse
The Thrill Killers
Thundercrack!
Time After Time
The Tingler
To Be Twenty
Torture Garden
The Tomb of Leigia
Tombs of the Blind Dead
The Toolbox Murders (1978)
Torso
The Town That Dreaded Sundown
Trilogy of Terror
Troll 2
Trouble Every Day
20 Million Miles to Earth
28 Days Later
Twins of Evil
The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll
Two Thousand Maniacs
The Univited (1944)
The Unknown (1927)
Uzumaki
Valerie and Her Week of Wonders
Valley of Gwangi
Vampire Circus
Vampire's Kiss
The Vampire Lovers
I Vampiri
Vampyr
Vampyres
Vampyros Lesbos
The Vanishing (1988)
Vault of Horror
Venus in Furs
Vertigo
Videodrome
Village of the Damned (1960)
Visitor Q
Viy
The War of the Gargantuas
Waxworks (1924)
The Werewolf
Werewolf of London
Werewolf Woman
What Have You Done to Solange?
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?
The Whip and the Body
White Zombie
Who Can Kill a Child?
Who Saw Her Die?
Why Does Herr R. Run Amuck?
The Wicker Man (1973)
Willard (1971)
The Witch Who Came From the Sea
The Witchfinder General
Wolf Creek
The Wolfman (1941)
The Woman in Black
X - The Man With the X-Ray Eyes
X the Unknown
Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key
Zombie

NEW FAVOURITE THING: FOOD PARTY

2010-05-27T07:55:00.012-04:00

"Food Party" host Tru Tran.

This IFC show looks great, a mix of "Pee-Wee's Playhouse", the Japanese flick “Hausu” (aka "House"), and the cooking show of your choice. Check out some clips - yay! - and sit through a short ad for other TV shows before each one - boo! Click on the following link for A/V excitement: Food Party Ep. 201: Thu Has A Normal Day

THINGS THAT SCARED ME WHEN I WAS A KID #8: ATV (UK)'s "Thriller" TV Series by Brian Clemens (The Entire Damn Thing)

2010-05-19T08:59:00.004-04:00

Distorted, fisheye lens credits. Insanely creepy music. Shot of video. Satanism in small villages, heroes turn out to be psychopaths, reincarnated killers whistle. I lose my shit.

THINGS THAT SCARED ME WHEN I WAS A KID #7: "A Feast of Blood" from Rod Serling's "Night Gallery" Ep. 22

2010-05-19T08:49:00.003-04:00

A man gives a bad lady a broach that comes to life. I have night fright.

(Image: www.nightgallery.net)

THINGS THAT SCARED ME WHEN I WAS A KID #6: "Last Rites for a Dead Druid" from Rod Serling's "Night Gallery" Ep. 24

2010-05-19T08:47:00.004-04:00

A statue comes to live. I have night fright.

(Image: www.nightgallery.net)

THINGS THAT SCARED ME WHEN I WAS A KID #5: "Lindemann's Catch" from Rod Serling's "Night Gallery" Ep. 22

2010-05-19T08:44:00.004-04:00

Fisherman catches a mermaid. Things go badly wrong. I have night fright.

(Image: www.nightgallery.net)

THINGS THAT SCARED ME WHEN I WAS A KID #4: The Cover of Creepy #62

2010-05-19T08:22:00.005-04:00

Poe's "The Black Cat". Not only is the lady in the wall dead, but she's making some sort of hideous, soundless, accusatory shriek. And she got spittle trails in her mouth. And her husband (who killed her) is clearly insane. And it's the kind of insanity that doesn't get better!

Art by Ken Kelly.

THINGS THAT SCARED ME WHEN I WAS A KID #3: The Cover of Creepy #59

2010-05-19T08:20:00.005-04:00

It's Santa. And he killed a lady in her underwear. With an axe. And he's skinny. What's wrong with Santa?! He's looking at me!

Art by Sanjulian.

NOW! MORE POSTS (elsewhere)

2010-05-17T10:17:00.013-04:00

As a writer for PEI's Arts & Entertainment monthly, The Buzz, I've been asked to start submitting to its writers' blog on its website. From time to time, I'll go link-mad, just like I am today... Here's an recap of the Island Media Arts Festival from my perspective:

http://www.buzzon.com/blogs/dave-stewart/35-the-1st-annual-island-media-arts-festival

WHY CAN'T I GET THE DAMNED LINK FUNCTION TO FUNCTION?!?

RIP FRANK FRAZETTA

2010-05-11T09:53:00.006-04:00

(Feb 9, 1928 – May 10, 2010) - ARTIST

MEANWHILE...

2010-05-11T08:55:00.011-04:00

...at The Buzz website.

I've been writing for the print edition of The Buzz, PEI's Arts & Entertainment monthly, since Day One. Now I'm also blogging on its site. You can check that out here: www.buzzon.com/blogs/dave-stewart. And you can also see some of my cartoons here: www.buzzon.com/screen/hollywood. And my local film/tv/web-maker profiles can be found here: www.buzzon.com/screen/articles; they're the "Island Imagemakers" pieces. And try as I might, I just couldn't get Blogger's link function to, well... function.

We now resume our regularly scheduled programming.

THINGS THAT SCARED ME WHEN I WAS A KID #2: Jack the Ripper

2010-05-07T11:05:00.004-04:00

Never caught, seriously sick. Fer-eek-kee!

THINGS THAT SCARED ME WHEN I WAS A KID #1: This poster for "Strange Shadows in an Empty Room" (aka "Blazing Magnums")

2010-05-07T10:21:00.005-04:00

I mean, you can't see, and there's a dead guy hanging in the dark. Is the killer(s) still there?! I mean, what the?! I gots to see me this movie.

UPCOMING & ANTICIPATED

2010-04-16T07:49:00.012-04:00

"THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE"

I've heard only "must see" things about this flick. Called a mix of Cronenberg and Lynch with scatological elements (ewww!), it seems set to press a lot of disturbo buttons.

"PIRANHA 3-D"

Finally, a 3-D movie that laughs in the face of the gentrification of the format and gives us what we want... STUFF IN OUR FACES!!! From Alaxandre Aja on 20 August 2010...

"THE LAST EXORCISM"
Scheduled for release on 27 August 2010 from director Daniel Stamm and Producer Eli Roth...

"TORTURE CHAMBER"

I wouldn't be surprised if there was a name change in this flick's future, if only to prevent it from being assessed as a "Hostel"-style movie. In production from Dante Tomaselli...

TWO CURRENT CD OBSESSIONS

2010-04-07T09:23:00.004-04:00

FLORID (22 min)

2010-03-31T11:17:00.004-04:00

Florid from Rob MacDonald on Vimeo.

In the early 90's, Rob MacDonald and I made a short film called "Florid". It details the attempts of a group of homeless people to leave their freezing cold home in P.E.I. on Canada's East Coast for the warmer temps of Florida.

Recently, we had it digitized. Revisiting it, I can see all kinds of things I'd change (I'd move the camera more... at least once, I'd use more close ups and cut more during conversations, I'd emphasize the winter weather, I'd have the talent show winners we see at the beginning come back for a showdown during the second talent show, I'd change our protagonists' talent [sorry, Rob], and I'm not sure about the ending, though Rob and I agreed it had to be happy). And I'm not sure about those cuts to black we used as transitions. All I can say is that we were all fans of Jim Jarmusch's stuff like "Stranger in Paradise" and "Down By Law", and that was our influence there. Having said all that, I'm fond and proud of "Florid". I think some of the jokes/situations work well, I love the story and the characters, and most of all, I love what the actors brought to their roles. And my dad, Russell, hand lettered the opening credits and some of the signs used as props in the film.

We also shot some stuff that didn't make it into our final cut. My favourite piece that didn't make it was a montage of three of the main characters completing their assigned tasks: Lawrence stealing a shopping cart, Millie phoning Florida for some information and reaching Burt Reynolds, Jimbo trying to get into the library, but not being able to operate the door.

Since we finished the project, Rob and I have toyed with the idea of turning it into a stage musical, which I think would work beautifully. The short as it is was very positively reviewed by Hank Stinson in the late great Arts Atlantic Magazine, and it won the Viewers Choice Award at the 2004 Reel Island Film Festival. Two of my favourite comments that "Florid" has received are from filmmaker Mille Clarkes who called it "a PEI classic if there ever was one", and the other is from Darrin Dunsford who said it was "like 'Goin' Down the Road' with a happy ending." And I'll take that, with thanks.

A SMALL TOWN IN TEXAS (1976)

2010-03-25T11:38:00.006-04:00

Directed by Jack Starrett, with Timothy Bottoms, Susan George, Bo Hopkins, and Art Hindle.

I love "trouble in small Southern town" movies... "Macon County Line", "Jackson County Jail", "The Great Texas Dynamite Chase", you name it. So it was with some eagerness that I tracked down the as-yet-unavailable-in-North-America-on-DVD "A Small Town in Texas". I mean, hell, its director helmed the fantastic "Race With the Devil", right? And this stars Timothy Bottoms whom I love in "The Last Picture Show", Susan George from "Straw Dogs", "Die Screaming Marianne", "Fright", and “Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry”, and Bo Hopkins who's the man!

Bottoms is Poke, just released from prison and hoping to take off to California with his wife (George) and their young son. Hopkins (imposing, unpredictable) is the sheriff who put Poke away for five years on trumped up charges of pot possession. When Hopkins kills a mayoral candidate for cash and is witnessed by Poke, the chase is one.

Not a bad Southern chase flick, “ASTiT” (sounds dirty) suffers from a somewhat unlikable main character in Bottoms’ arrogant Poke, and an underwritten role for George in which she’s also underused. She can be quite good as this type of character. See “Dirty Mary Crazy Larry” for proof. Audience sympathy for Poke may suffer even further when, as a result of a car chase, one of the cops is seen fleeing and screaming in flames and then later dies. Picture "Eat My Dust" with Ron Howard being responsible for the death of a deputy, and you'll see what I mean. It's just incongruous with this type of flick. The chase scenes in “ASTiT” are pretty decent, however, and there’s a good Southern small town atmosphere and an impending sense that something bad is going to happen at any moment. A bit of a disappointment, but I do love me that poster.

THE PSYCHOPATH

2010-03-18T13:12:00.006-04:00

(1975) Directed by Larry G. Brown, Starring Tom Basham.

I... um... I...Okay... Tom Basham is an insane man-child who hosts a kids TV show under the name of Mr. Rabbey. He kills abusive parents.

"The Psychopath" is odd. It's shoddy and well made, unintentionally funny and weirdly effective. Mr. Rabbey is one of the strangest characters I've ever encountered in a film. Imagine Pee-Wee Herman in "Death Wish". Suspend your disbelief and accept that this man could have managed to make it to, what.. 30(?) in the real world without ever having been diagnosed with a serious mental disorder, and just go with it. Mr. Rabbey is obviously out of it, yet he has his own TV show. People in the medical profession praise him for his hospital work. His producer makes excuses (and dinner) for him when others criticise him. I guess we can add this flick to a short list of films about "simple" souls passing among us and changing lives in the process. You know, "Being There", "Forrest Gump"... and now "The Psychopath".

This movie is worth checking out because, in all likelihood, you'll never see another like it. Whether that's good or bad depends on your taste. Mine says, "Give Mr. Rabbey his TV show back!"

TWISTED NERVE

2010-03-18T10:06:00.006-04:00

(1968) Directed by Roy Boulting, with Hayley Mills, Hywel Bennett, Billie Whitelaw and Barry Foster.

Spoiled psychopath Hywel Bennett charms his way into the household of daughter Hayley Mills and mother Billie Whitelaw by pretending to be "simple". Solid performances all round highlight this decent Hitchcock-style flick that's worth seeing, but is dated by some then-current and uncomfortable chat about chromosomes and "Mongols" and plenty of, ummmmm... jokey references to Salmaan Peerzada's Indian house guest. A couple of standout scenes. This is the kind of flick "Twisted Nerve" wants to be...

...but more often than not it's more like this...

"Twisted Nerve" memorably features a terrific Bernard Herrmann score with a whistling theme that's perhaps a bit overused. Tarantino also used this effective tune in "Kill Bill Vol.1", whistled by Elle Driver as she makes her way down the hospital hall to assassinate Beatrice Kiddo.

CRY OF THE BANSHEE

2010-03-18T09:50:00.009-04:00

(1970) Directed by Gordon Hessler, Starring Vincent Price.

Another flick in the "burn the witch" cannon that was semi-popular in the late 60's/early 70's (Witchfinder General, Mark of the Devil, et al). Price is a vicious magistrate fixated on ridding the countryside of witches. When he makes the mistake of letting Oona, the mistress of the old religion, live, she curses his family and the death of each member is preceded by... the cry of the banshee! A mostly entertaining flick that sometimes sags under Hessler's somewhat limp direction and an unconvincing (though wisely just glimpsed) monster that actually resembles an art project I did in Grade 7.

And there's cool, unexpected, though maybe not 100% appropriate Terry Gilliam opening credits.

A final thought: Were these "burn the witch" flicks popular during their release in reaction to the then-burgeoning Women's Lib movement?

SHUTTER ISLAND

2010-03-18T09:43:00.008-04:00

...is Martin Scorsese's Val Lewton movie. And that's a good thing. Just sayin'.

THINGS THAT SCARE ME AT THE GYM

2010-03-10T13:27:00.004-05:00

BAGGIES

PINKY RINGS

GUM

KATHRYN BIGELOW (and HAWKS & FULLER)

2010-03-10T10:14:00.008-05:00

I have been a fan of Kathryn Bigelow since I first saw her 1987 horror flick "Near Dark" in those heady VHS days. Here was a movie that was exciting, visual, unpredictable, and funny. Hell, its best set piece even features The Cramps simmering through "Fever" on the jukebox while spurs slice though jugular veins. Sharing three key players from future husband (and future ex-husband) James Cameron's "Aliens" (Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, and Jenette Goldstein), the only disappointment about "Near Dark" is its resolution that feels like studio interference.

A friend of mine felt, at the time, that "Near Dark" was about accepting yourself for what you are. A fair enough interpretation, but one that's belied by that damned resolution. It wasn't until Bigelow went on to release more films that more obvious themes reveled themselves in her work. Though it's somewhat unfair to compare an original filmmaker like Bigelow with those who have come before her, the classics of both Howard Hawks and Sam Fuller surface in a very positive way.

My DVD collection is peppered with Bigelow's flicks.. "Near Dark", "Blue Steel", "Point Break", "Strange Days"... and I'm fond of each of these movies in their own way. It's after reflecting on these films as a whole that I began to see that Bigelow seems to share Hawks' interest in the way small groups of (usually) men function both among themselves and as a whole against a common enemy; with Fuller, it's his choreographed and striking violence as well as his compassion for his characters. All of this seems to culminate in this year's Best Picture winner, "The Hurt Locker", a terrific film that is now obviously going to find the audience it deserves --- I love its take on the addiction to the thrill of war. It's a theme both Hawks and Fuller would have loved to tackle, and I'm sure "The Hurt Locker" is a film either of them would have been proud to have made.

Kathryn Bigelow Filmography

The Miraculous Year (2011) (TV) (pre-production)
The Hurt Locker (2008)
Mission Zero (2007)
Karen Sisco" (1 episode, 2004)
- He Was a Friend of Mine (2004) TV episode
K-19: The Widowmaker (2002)
The Weight of Water (2000)
"Homicide: Life on the Street" (3 episodes, 1998-1999)
Strange Days (1995)
"Wild Palms" (1993) TV mini-series (unknown episodes)
Point Break (1991)
Blue Steel (1989)
New Order: Substance (1989) (V) (video "Touched By The Hand Of God")
Near Dark (1987)
The Loveless (1982)
The Set-Up (1978)

THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL (2009)

2010-03-01T14:06:00.010-05:00

"The House of the Devil" is an 80's-centric breath of fresh air (as contradictory as that sounds) amidst the over-edited and mega-processed PG-13 horror flicks that have been pooped out of the test-marketed movie anus in the last few years. In fact, director Ti West has wisely set "THOTD" firmly in the 80's, before cell phones ruined many a good horror movie premise.

College student Sam (an easy to like Jocelin Donahue) needs cash to make the down payment on an apartment so she can leave the shambles of a dorm room she shares with her messy and frequently fucked roommate. Finding photocopied posters advertising a babysitter position, Sam eventually snags the job, and against the pleading of her best friend Megan (an awesome Greta Gerwig), she's dropped off at a creepy home far from the comfort of the shopping mall. There she meets the Ullmans played by the always welcome Tom Noonan and Mary Woronov. Mr. Ullman admits that the babysitting job is somewhat of a ruse as it's actually his wife's elderly mother that needs care taking. He explains that it's difficult to find people who are willing to shoulder the responsibility of caring for the elderly, while childcare seems a comparatively attractive proposition. And anyway, Sam's elderly charge will spend most of the night asleep (shades of "Burnt Offerings"). Sam agrees to stay, but for a greatly inflated fee that will more than take care of the down payment on her must-have apartment. Landlady (the great) Dee Wallace will be pleased. Cue the "babysitter alone in a creepy house" atmospherics.

Aside for the cast, the great strength of "The House of the Devil" is the way in which the story unfolds. It's a simple premise, simply told, and for patient viewers, the film's atmosphere (both that of the 80's and that of a horror film) and slowly growing sense of unease are a winning change of pace; never boring, never less than engaging. Unfortunately, when we DO reach the climax, it's a bit of a letdown. Here, West has to put his cards on the table and stop playing subtle. Not a terrible ending, mind you, just not on par with the rest of the flick. It would be interesting to see how it would have played with a more "Blair Witch"-style ending.

"Talk on the phone. Finish your homework. Watch TV. Die." How can you say no?

14 TRACKS TO MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD

2010-02-24T09:53:00.004-05:00

BLONDIE: "PICTURE THIS"

CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN: "EYE OF FATIMA (PART 1)"

THE CARDIGANS: "COMMUNICATION" (LIVE)

CONCRETE BLONDE: "COLD PART OF TOWN" (LIVE)

THE FIVE STAIRSTEPS: "O-O-H CHILD"

MARVIN GAYE & TAMMI TERRELL: "AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH"

HOLE: "MALIBU"

JEAN KNIGHT: "MR. BIG STUFF"

NIRVANA: "LITHIUM" (LIVE)

LIZ PHAIR: "POLYESTER BRIDE"

PIXIES: "DEBASER"

PRINCE: "WHEN YOU WERE MINE" (LIVE)

RAMONES: "ROCKAWAY BEACH" (LIVE)

OTIS REDDING: "(SITTIN' ON) THE DOCK OF THE BAY"

LOU REED: "MEN OF GOOD FORTUNE" (LIVE)

PAUL NASCHY & CHAS BALUN

2010-02-19T11:03:00.004-05:00

A while ago, two important figures in the history of horror film passed away: Paul Naschy, whose 1968 “Frankenstein’s Bloody Terror” this site takes its name from, and Chas Balun, whose writing about the genre helped define what that art is all about.

Paul Naschy, d. November 30, 2009

Naschy, born Jacinto Molina, was the Spanish successor to Lon Chaney, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney Jr. In his career he managed to play versions of many of the classic monsters, his most popular character being werewolf Waldemar Daninsky, a role he essayed in 12 films. Alternating between (and sometimes combining) the task of scriptwriter, director and star, Naschy’s enthusiasm for the genre comes across in each and every one of his features, from his crazed Gotho the hunchback in the insane “Hunchback of the Morgue” to his well… crazed strangler in the giallo “Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll”.

I’ve been watching a lot of Naschy movies lately, both before and after his death in November of 2009. Of note, I’ve revisited “Frankenstein’s Bloody Terror" for the first time since the mid-70s’. It’s a lot of fun with its combination gothic atmosphere and “modern” setting. No Frankenstein though, but for a brief mention in the prologue. Apparently, the North American distributor was contractually obligated to deliver a Frankenstein pic, so the name was added as an afterthought. Naschy’s there as Daninsky, however, fighting vampires and wearing some mighty impressive getups.

I’ve also experienced the aforementioned “Hunchback of the Morgue” and it really is one of the most off its rocker movies I’ve ever seen. Naschy’s portrayal of Gotho is a little too hilarious for me, unfortunately, though he received accolades for his performance. Here, he’s a necrophile who is tricked by a mad scientist who promises to restore his deceased love to life, if Gotho will continue to provide him with bodies for his experiments. The movie is a mind fuck of the first order as campy hunchback and goop creature scenes are mixed with disturbing footage of rats actually being set on fire and a real beheading, as the filmmakers were given the okay to decapitate a corpse. The story goes that Naschy downed some scotch before hand, but was unable to continue beyond the first slice into the corpse’s neck. Yikes! Strong stuff and completely insane when mixed with the other less intense content.

“Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll” is a giallo of, if not the first order, then the second order. It’s got everything we love about gialli, from convoluted storytelling and set pieces, to nudity, violence and a lyrical title. “The Hanging Woman” is not a star vehicle for Naschy, but he makes an impression as a sleazy gravedigger in this entertaining Scottish-set period piece about inheritance, covens and the living dead. And the Naschy-directed “Panic Beats” is a gory good time that features plenty of double-crossing as the spirit of a knight returns every 100 years to slash, chop and spindle unfaithful spouses. Bottom line, there are plenty of Naschy flicks out there waiting for you to discover if you haven’t already. Check out the invaluable Mark of Naschy website in the links section for more in-depth information.

Chas Balun, d. December 18, 2009

Chas Balun wrote about horror movies with humour, love and in his own voice. An opinionated (Thank God!) writer, Balun didn’t mince words when he felt something was worthy of scorn, just as he was incredibly generous when he felt something was worthy of praise. His writing is responsible for turning many of us who were fear fans in the 80’s on to flicks we’d never heard of, particularity a lot of Euro-Horror. “Nekromantic” anyone? My copy of Balun’s “Deep Red Horror Handbook” fittingly and proudly houses an autograph I was able to eke from the silver marker of Dario Argento, a filmmaker Balun championed, at the Toronto B-Festival premiere of “Two Evil Eyes”. Balun’s other essential writing includes “Horror Holocaust”, “Beyond Horror Holocaust”, and “Gore Score”, as well as his “Deep Red” magazine, and pieces for “Fangoria” and many others. Also a talented artist who did illustrations for many of his publications (check out some of his t-shirt work at www.RottenCotton.com), Balun’s writing helped change the way we look at horror films, and gave birth to a generation of writers.

A HARRY HALLOWEEN

2009-12-07T10:47:00.003-05:00

It's been a long time coming (i.e. in posting), but this year I spent my favourite holiday (Halloween) with my favourite band (Blondie) in the place where I was born (Halifax, Nova Scotia).

This was the third time I'd seen Blondie. The first time was at the CNE in Toronto in 1982. Duran Duran opened. The show was taped for HBO and it is finally available on DVD as Blondie Live in Toronto.

The second time was in the summer of 2008 in Orillia, Ontario in support of the 25th anniversary of Parallel Lines (my favourite album of all time). I was amazed at how fresh the band sounded as they tore through Hanging On the Telephone, Picture This, Sunday Girl, et al. It was an amazing concert.

This year's show was just as terrific, and very, very intimate. Debbie Harry wore a version of the dress that her Barbie doll wears (Mattel is releasing a Debbie Harry Barbie doll this month), and at the beginning of this Halloween show she sported a black eye masque. She was funny, sexy, off centre, and I was reminded of just how diverse her voice really can sound... little girl sexy, jazzy, full throttle punk, radio friendly, bluesy, funky...

I love Blondie. Their music has always been a distraction from the crap of life and a guide to new things undiscovered... punk, rap, art, the underground, things just on the horizon. Sometimes the mix of styles and moods on a Blondie album is like listening to the greatest LP that K-Tel never got around to releasing. Great hooks, impressionist lyrics, all delivered by the most beautiful front woman in the business. To my way of thinking, they still haven't been given the due they deserve for opening doors and delivering the goods. God bless Blondie.

Here's some clips from the 31/10/09 show that someone captured most likely on their cell phone: