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Reviews & Commentary by Adam Groves
THE BLACK GESTAPO
If not for some misguided elements this would be a classic of the blaxploitaiton genre. Maybe it is anyway.
BANNED FROM BROADCAST: SAIKO! THE LARGE FAMILY
What this altogether fascinating found footage horror movie from Japan proves is that the land of the rising sun was and is the epicenter of the format
BELLFLOWER
Easily one of the strongest “horror” movies of 2011
THE SECRET LIFE OF SARAH SHELDON
An attention-getting, if not necessarily “good,” no-budgeter containing sex, eugenics and a penis monster
PURPLE NOON
The closest the screen has come to properly dramatizing THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY by Patricia Highsmith
THESE LONG TEETH OF THE NIGHT
A retrospective collection of standout short stories spanning the career of Alexander Zelenyj, a modern master of all things weird, macabre and wonderful
LIERS IN WAIT
A bizarre novel that freely partakes of mystery, horror, erotica and science fiction. The mixture is, to say the least, uneasy
PORK PIE HAT
A novella that united two of the late Peter Straub’s major passions: jazz and horror, contained in an engaging Halloween tale
THE WELL
A literate and intelligent haunted house novel that I didn’t much like
GRIMM MEMORIALS
If there’s one thing to be said in this 1990 splat fest’s favor, it’s that it definitely won’t leave you wanting more.
STAGE MANAGING CHAOS
An irresistible read for theater buffs, Fernando Arrabal fans and just about everyone else
LOW-BUDGET HELL: MAKING UNDERGROUND MOVIES WITH JOHN WATERS
An interesting and, I think, vital take on John Waters and the underground film scene in which he thrived during the 1970s and early 80s
WILLEFORD
This, unfortunately, is the closest thing that exists to a biography of the late Charles Willeford
HOW TO WRITE PORNO NOVELS FOR FUN AND PROFIT
A book that reads best as an enjoyable flashback to a more sexually frank era
NIGHT OF THE GRIZZLIES
This factual account of a double bear attack in the summer of 1967 was a groundbreaker in its day
On CITY ZERO and VERNANDA
Here we’re going back to a very particular time and place: the Soviet Union, circa 1988
Joe Kane: 1947-2020
In an age filled with self-anointed “B-movie historians” the now-deceased Joe Kane remains one of the very few writers who can truly be said to have earned that designation
On THE WHITE HOTEL
THE WHITE HOTEL is one of the few examples of literary fiction that can truly be said to have just about everything
The Halloween Issue
Here we’re going to explore the phenomenon of the Halloween issue
Funnybook Flashback: FLINCH
It’s impossible not to be struck by the range of artwork and subject matter of this Vertigo horror comics anthology