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Reviews & Commentary by Adam Groves
CECIL B. DEMENTED
Far from John Waters’ best work, but funny and perceptive enough in its corrosive portrayal of guerilla filmmaking to warrant a qualified recommendation
A SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM
A black comedy whose effectiveness pivots on an unexpected but quite canny casting choice: Michael Caine, playing a New York businessman using highly unorthodox practices to get ahead
AKIRA
This is the 1988 cyberpunk-themed anime feature that, prior to game-changers like GHOST IN THE SHELL and PERFECT BLUE, irrevocably altered the format
WHALE MUSIC
The late John Candy was a galvanizing force behind this film, which was released in 1994 (the year of Candy’s demise)
GOING BERSERK
On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the untimely March 4, 1994 death of the great John Candy, here’s a look back at his first-ever Hollywood starring vehicle
BRAINCHILD
Andrew Neiderman’s follow-up to PIN (1981), a novel that’s much better than this one.
PRINCE OMBRA
“If Stephen King wrote fairy tales”
MEMOIRS OF AN INVISIBLE MAN
This eighties updating of THE INVISIBLE MAN has been out of print for over thirty years, but was quite popular in its day
RED BRIDE
The late Christopher Fowler was and remains a writer worth reading, but RED BRIDE probably isn’t the best place to start.
THE CLUB DUMAS
Am I wrong for admitting I didn’t much like this highly revered novel?
THE COLLECTED PULP HORROR
A great idea, if you ask me: a single-volume collection of the first three issues of the Justin Marriott edited Pulp Horror magazine
PULP HORROR: ALL REVIEWS SPECIAL EDITION
An absolute must-have for literary horror buffs: a collection of over 130 reviews of vintage horror-themed publications, put together by paperback enthusiast Justin Marriott
CHASING THE LIGHT
Speaking as one who quite literally grew up watching his films, I couldn’t help but gravitate toward this, Oliver Stone’s long-in-coming memoir
THE CANNON FILM GUIDE Volume 1 (1980-84)
This hefty 527 page book is either a standout example of gonzo scholarship or an extended manifestation of unfiltered insanity
CUBE: INSIDE THE MAKING OF A CULT FILM CLASSIC
An excellent idea for a book if you ask me: a behind-the-scenes look at Vincenzo Natali’s 1997 science fiction-horror classic CUBE, one of the most interesting low-budgeters to emerge from the nineties
2020: Bedlam in Print
Here, in the early days of 2021, is the latest edition of my annual Bedlam in Print overview
2020: The Year in Bedlam
2020 was a hell of a year
2020 in Review: News, Passings, Discoveries
Bedlam was indeed the word for 2020 and (as of January 10) 2021 as well
Remembering That Which Is Better Forgotten: SANTA CLAUS: THE MOVIE
A Christmas movie that falls firmly in the “miss” category that is, conversely, one of the most ambitious of them all
Pendulous Wood
Ed Wood and Pendulum Books: a match made in Hell?