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Reviews & Commentary by Adam Groves
NORTH
…and here’s the (very) bad.
REFLECTION IN A DEAD DIAMOND
A lesser film by Belgium’s Bruno Forzani and Hélène Cattet, who specialize in uniquely tripped-out takes on European genre cinema from years past
THE SHROUDS
Cronenberg’s latest, a so-so excercise in brooding despair
FILME DEMÊNCIA
A weird Faust movie in the grand tradition of weird Faust movies
ALTERED STATES
From Paddy Chayefsky and Ken Russell, a weird and wonderful sci fi freak-out with something for everybody
MR. TURTLE
A weird one: a cyborg turtle, constructed as an instrument of war, headlines a Japanese import that functions as a bizarre speculative narrative, a philosophical fable and a surreal mind-tugger
FOG HEART
In my view one of the absoloute finest books by horror writer extraordinaire Thomas Tessier
THE HOUSE THAT GROANED
A graphic novel that’s plenty weird, with a narrative that leans rather heavily into the perverse and psychosexual
THE EXPERIENCE OF THE NIGHT
This 1945 novel is considered the masterpiece of the “French Kafka” Marcel Bealu (1908-1993)
LOCUS SOLUS
The materpiece of France’s Raymond Roussel, and one of the most astonishing displays of unfettered imagination I’ve ever experienced
MASTER OF HORROR: THE OFFICIAL BIOGRAPHY OF MICK GARRIS
This long-in-coming biography is as thorough a portrait of Mick Garris as anyone could desire
BLOOD, SWEAT AND CHROME–THE WILD AND TRUE STORY OF MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
Is it worth reading? If you have any interest whatsoever in MAD MAX: FURY ROAD the answer is a resounding yes.
FANTASIA OF COLOR IN EARLY CINEMA
A wholly unique and eye-popping pictorially oriented look at the silent movie era with a most unexpected emphasis: color.
THE LINNEA QUIGLEY BIO & CHAINSAW BOOK
My exploration of the literary output of Linnea Quigley continues with this, her first publication
YOU’VE GOT RED ON YOU: HOW SHAUN OF THE DEAD WAS BROUGHT TO LIFE
The making of SHAUN OF THE DEAD is covered with admirable thoroughness in this beautifully designed book
FLICKER vs. ANCIENT IMAGES
I’ve always believed that in the category of movie-themed fiction horror is the ideal genre, as proven by FLICKER by Theodore Roszak and ANCIENT IMAGES by Ramsey Campbell
Cult Fiction 3: XXX Fiction
Here I’ll be turning my gaze to the most widely derided format of them all: smut, or XXX, books
Cult Fiction 2: Movie Novelizations
Movie Novelizations: the good, the bad and the hard to find!
Cult Fiction 1: Horror
Until just a few years ago one of the major plusses of collecting horror fiction was that it was incredibly easy, and inexpensive, to acquire. Not anymore!
Kenneth Anger: 1927-2023
No other filmmaker has become as synonymous with Underground Film as the recently deceased Kenneth Anger