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Reviews & Commentary by Adam Groves
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984)
It’s no longer the mind-blower it once was, but Wes Craven’s 1984 classic remains an attention-getter
THE COFFEE TABLE
2024’s major shock-fest, containing all the things that make Spanish horror great
HAPPINESS
A 1998 film that in its pitiless depictions of loneliness, jealousy and boredom is more relevant to the iPhone age than the time in which it was made
MONSIEUR ROBERT HOUDIN
Those wanting a straight biographical portrait of the legendary French magician Robert Houdin should probably avoid this 1966 telefilm, whose treatment is far from orthodox
THE DOOR IN THE WALL
An H.G. Wells adaptation that offered up a new, and never again utilized, innovation: The Dynamic Frame, in which the aspect ratio is shifted to serve “the dramatic needs of the story”
SPA
This unforgettably gross and surreal graphic novel hails from Sweden, and I say this 2023 English translation is an absolute necessity
RITUAL
There are some ingeniously nasty elements in this 1988 horrorfest, yet also some misconceived ones, all packed into a vastly overblown framework
DARK MATTER (Blake Crouch)
A fun book–quantum mechanics without pain!
MOONDEATH
The first novel by the late Rick Hautala, and a damn good read
THE CATTLE MUTILATORS
Horror-sci fi about just what the title promises
AD NAUSEAM: NEWSPRINT NIGHTMARES FROM THE 1980s
Now here’s a fun book: a handsomely laid out collection of horror movie newspaper adverts from the 1980s
YOU DON’T KNOW ME, BUT YOU LOVE ME
The first-ever biography of actor/American treasure Dick Miller, and so a vital resource for all film buffs
JOE DANTE’S THE HOWLING: STUDIES IN THE HORROR FILM
Another in Centipede Press’s irresistible “Studies in the Horror Film” series, this one devoted to Joe Dante’s THE HOWLING
THE WORLD IS EVER CHANGING
There’s simply no way to sugar-coat the fact that this book is a huge disappointment
THE BIG PICTURE
This collection of movie-related essays was one of two nonfiction books put out by the late William Goldman in 2000
CRUST and THE CALAMARI WRESTLER
An example of the type of filmic simultaneity that I enjoy investigating: two films released within a year of each other headlined by man-sized aquatic critters
Remembering That Which Is Better Forgotten: NEWSIES and SWING KIDS
An entire book can be written on the Mouse Factory’s ealry 90s output, which is of definite interest to cult movie buffs
Performer Profile: Jennifer Jason Leigh
One of the most talented and uninhibited actors of our age. That is all.
Racial Apocalypse Novels: Science Fiction or Prophetic Fact?
Racially motivated science fiction? It definitely exists
Performer Profile: Eddie Deezen
This is one actor you simply will not mistake for anyone else