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Reviews & Commentary by Adam Groves
THE MYSTERY OF THE THIRD PLANET
The undoubted magnum opus of the late Roman Kachanov, and a highlight of child-based sci-fi animation from the Soviet Union
PHRA ROT-MERI
Another example of an Eastern made film that was a commercial blockbuster in its native land but to Western eyes seems downright Jorodowsky-esque
WINDOW TO PARIS
A wild, nutty and supremely engaging comedic fantasy from Russia
IVAN VASILIEVICH CHANGES HIS PROFESSION
This is, quite simply, the Soviet time travel comedy
NAKED TANGO
An ambitious 1990 production you probably didn’t see
THE LOST STRADIVARIUS
An early entry in the music-based horror fiction trope that included Algernon Blackwood’s “Human Chord” and H.P. Lovecraft’s “Music of Erich Zann”
WALKERS
WALKERS is vintage Graham Masterton, meaning it’s an eminently readable book with a unique premise and an unwieldy structure
WALKERS
A Gary Brandner novel that matches up with most other Gary Brandner novels is passable
THE TORTURE GARDEN
I can sum up the essence of this fin-de-siecle classic in two words: Ecstatic Delirium
THE DOLL WHO ATE HIS MOTHER
The first novel by Ramsey Campbell, and a mixed bag
CANNIBAL ERROR: ANTI-FILM PROPAGANDA AND THE “VIDEO NASTIES” PANIC OF THE 1980s
One of the key textual resources on the “video nasties” scare that swept England in the 1980s
HITS, FLOPS, AND OTHER ILLUSIONS
In which a high-profile film director and TV producer recounts his “Fortysomething Years in Hollywood”
EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF AND GOD AGAINST ALL
The long-in-coming memoir by the German filmmaker and sometime actor Werner Herzog
HOW LUCKY I WAS: MY LIFE AND TIMES
The self-published autobiography of a writer, professional poker player and teacher who once counted yours-truly among his pupils
PAUL BARTEL: THE LIFE AND FILMS
A solid, if not entirely satisfying, overview of the life and output of the late Paul Bartel
Vampires, Geona and Amba
90s era Russian sci fi: GEONA’S VAMPIRES, MASTERS OF GEONA, AMBA—FIRST MOVIE and AMBA—SECOND MOVIE
Ukrainian Horror Essentials
Compiling a list of Ukrainian horror movies, much less essential Ukrainian horror movies, is no easy task…
THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST at 20
Does anyone remember THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST? It’s not discussed much these days, but the film was quite the hot potato back in ’04
Welcome Home to the Faustian Penitentiary, Away from Emma Mae and the Street Wars
About the late blaxploitaiton auteur Jamaa Fanaka, who combined urban grit and sheer weirdness
Norman Jewison: 1926-2024
Eulogizing “Canada’s greatest director”