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Reviews & Commentary by Adam Groves
BEETLEJUICE 1988
Tim Burton’s second feature was this 1988 triumph, his first collaboration with novelist Michael McDowell
SLEEPY HOLLOW
You won’t find much of Washington Irving’s 1820 tale “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” in this 1999 film, but you will find plenty of Tim Burton
THE NIGHTMARE NEVER ENDS
Featuring a stand-out non-NIGHT COURT performance by the recenlty deceased Richard Moll
RAWHEAD REX
Not a good movie, although it is a fun one
BOY MAKES GIRL
Autism and robotics: an irresistible combo!
THE SHADOW
A veritable master class in psycho-horror that holds up beautifully
SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN
Sometimes accidental brilliance is the most irresistible sort.
OUR LADY OF THE TURKS
This is a big deal: the premiere English translation of the only novel by Italy’s late Carmelo Bene
THE FOG
Impossible though it might seem to believe nowadays, this British horror fest was once considered the height of shock
THE EXERCISER
The 1970s parody novel is a format that deserves at least a glance. Case in point: THE EXERCISER
WES CRAVEN’S LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT: THE MAKING OF A CULT CLASSIC
A solid, readable account of the making and reception of the original LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT as told to author David Szulkin
WAR EAGLES: THE UNMAKING OF AN EPIC
The “Greatest movie never made?” Not quite, but the 1939 production WAR EAGLES is an intriguing piece of film history
DREAM SPECTRES: EXTREME UKIYO-E
A lively, user-friendly study of ukiyo-e (“images from the floating world”) woodblock printed art from 18th and 19th Century Japan
THE DOYLE DIARY
Here’s a truly amazing artifact for the ages, a sumptuous reproduction of a sketchbook kept by Charles Altamont Doyle, father of Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle
DONALD CAMMELL: A LIFE ON THE WILD SIDE
The first and likely only biography we’ll ever see of the late Donald Cammell
Sid Haig: 1939-2019
Oftentimes it can be difficult to grasp just how much a skilled supporting player adds to the movies s/he graces—until, that is, the player in question is no longer with us
TV Flashback: AN AMERICAN FAMILY
AN AMERICAN FAMILY, a 12 episode docu-series that aired on PBS in 1973, is very likely the most famous yet least seen TV program in history
TV Flashback: MANIAC (2015)
In the category of insane asylum set TV programs the ten episode Norwegian miniseries MANIAC (not to be confused with the 1980 William Lustig slasher classic, nor the 2012 remake) is a definite standout
TV Flashback: HOT SEAT WITH WALLY GEORGE
Here we have the grand-daddy of so-called combat television: the So Cal based HOT SEAT WITH WALLY GEORGE
1989: The Year in Bedlam
Here, in the latest edition of my Year in Bedlam film listings, we leave the nineties behind and enter the eighties, which many claim was the worst decade in cinema history