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Reviews & Commentary by Adam Groves
BLOODSTONE
In an occurrence that should surprise no one, this US-Bollywood RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK wannabe flopped spectacularly
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
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.
THE LUNAR TRILOGY
Another example of a publication that should have received far more attention than it did: the premiere English version of Jerzy Zulawski’s LUNAR TRILOGY (1901-11)
THE TWILIGHT WORLD
The first novel by filmmaker Werner Herzog (need I say more?)
THE VANISHING
The first and only English translation of Tim Krabbe’s 1984 Dutch language masterwork THE GOLDEN EGG, a.k.a. THE VANISHING
LUDA
The first novel by comics legend Grant Morrison, LUDA is everything I was hoping for: a challenging and phantasmagoric piece of work that follows no set perimeters of any sort
CITY OF THE BROKEN DOLLS
A strange collection of grainy black and white photos, mostly of injured Japanese women
TOBE HOOPER’S SALEM’S LOT: STUDIES IN THE HORROR FILM
Another, and extremely good, entry in Centipede Press’s “Studies in the Horror Film” series
A GUIDE FOR THE UNDEHEMORRHOIDED
It’s an unfortunate fact that some of the most memorable books written by the late Charles Willeford also happen to be among the most elusive
70s MONSTER MEMORIES
Unquestionably one of the standout books of 2016, and also, unfortunately, one of the scarcest
REFLECTIONS FROM A CINEMATIC CESSPOOL
A must-own for films nerds everywhere, this is a joint memoir by the notorious Kuchar brothers
HOUSE OF LEAVES at 20
In the modern horror pantheon there are a handful of books so revered their publications have been touted as Major Events. HOUSE OF LEAVES by Mark Z. Danielewski deserves a place in that pantheon.
R.I.P Joel Schumacher
For those of us who came of age in the 1980s, the name Joel Schumacher, a film director who died on June 22 at age 80, has great meaning
Misspent 1980s-era TV Watching: Six Examples
Looking back on the many misspent hours of 1980s TV watching, I find that a few (only a few) programs have stuck in my mind
RED HEDZ, SZMONHFU and JANE’S GAME
It’s been said of TOMIE that there is “nothing in Western horror literature, cinema and comics quite like it.” Not unless you take into account the 1989 novella RED HEDZ, revised as SZMONHFU and JANE’S GAME
The Films of Richard Stanley
Richard Stanley is one of the most interesting genre filmmakers on the scene, and also one of the least prolific