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Reviews & Commentary by Adam Groves
LOST IN SPACE
A 1998 adaptation of the classic TV series LOST IN SPACE that could have been worthwhile but isn’t
THE FIFTH ELEMENT
Arguably the purest distillation that exists of French director Luc Besson’s strengths and weaknesses, a 1997 science fiction fever dream with stunning visuals and a horrendously conceived narrative
DREAM LOVER
Another nineties erotic thriller, and not one of the better ones
13 GHOSTS
Another goofy production by the incomparable William Castle, the king of movie gimmicks
THE FANTASTIC FOUR (1994)
What is Roger Corman’s greatest folly? I’d say that designation goes to THE FANTASTIC FOUR
UGLY MUG 6
The latest edition of House of Harley Studio’s UGLY MUG, presenting adult oriented artwork from the world’s foremost underground cartoonists
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
SHOLAY: THE MAKING OF A CLASSIC
In the rarefied world of Bollywood SHOLAY is possibly the most iconic and influential film in existence
BOOK OF SOULS
This short nonfiction collection was by Jack Ketchum—who is now, tragically, the late Jack Ketchum, a fact that renders BOOK OF SOULS even more poignant than it was initially
MILLER AND MAX
An absolute must for MAD MAX fans, a sort-of biography of Australian filmmaker George Miller and his signature creation
PAPERBACKS FROM HELL: THE TWISTED HISTORY OF ’70s AND ’80s HORROR FICTION
Now here’s a subject I know a bit about: paperback horror novels of the so-called “horror boom” of the 1970s and 80s
A LIT FUSE: THE PROVOCATIVE LIFE OF HARLAN ELLISON
An excellent book about an individual who really should need no introduction
On FILM AS A SUBVERSIVE ART
I believe FILM AS A SUBVERSIVE ART is the most exciting and comprehensive film book I’ve seen, period
L’ENFER and the Fascination for the Unfinished
The fascination exerted by aborted film projects has reached a fever pitch in recent years, and a large part of the reason, I believe, was the partial reconstruction of Henri-Georges Clouzot’s L’ENFER
Zombie Media in the 1990s
By the advent of the nineties the zombie floodgates, contrary to what you might have heard, were wide open in fiction, and certainly film
Alan Parker: 1944-2020
I’m very sorry to bid farewell to Sir Alan Parker, who passed on July 31
1984: The Year in Bedlam
Continuing with my Year in Bedlam year-end overviews, we arrive at 1984