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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!
BIG GURL
What the Hell were Thom Metzger and Richard P. Scott thinking when they created this near-indescribably nutty concoction?
THE VOICE OF THE CLOWN
For much of its existence this novel was just another of the countless undistinguished horror paperbacks that cluttered the 1980s fiction market
THIS THING BETWEEN US
This novel’s David-Searcy-meets-Stephen-King-meets-Philip-K.-Dick aesthetic makes for an invigorating reading experience
NOVA GIRLS FUN HOUSE
A rare (and better forgotten) example of an American made photo illustrated comic
WINDOWS ON THE WORLD
A minute-by-minute depiction of the events of 9/11 from 8:30 AM to 10:29 AM
JACK HILL: THE EXPLOITATION AND BLAXPLOITATION MASTER, FILM BY FILM
The first and thus far only book about Jack Hill, arguably the greatest exploitation movie director of the grindhouse era
THE FRIEDKIN CONNECTION
This isn’t the greatest memoir by a film director I’ve ever read, but it is essential
FREAK BABYLON
A heavily illustrated book in the mold of Fredrick Drimmer’s VERY SPECIAL PEOPLE and Daniel P. Mannix’s FREAKS: WE WHO ARE NOT AS OTHERS, though not as satisfying as either
NICE GUYS DON’T WORK IN HOLLYWOOD
This posthumously published memoir is a frank and fast moving book about which my only real complaint is that, at just 197 pages, it’s far too short
VISIONS FROM WITHIN THE MECHANISM: THE INDUSTRIAL SURREALISM OF JEFFREY SCOTT
Another weird art book, and another mind-tugging triumph
1993: The Year in Bedlam
Looking back over 1993, I’ve found it was quite an auspicious year for movies
Ed Wood at the Carnival
Carnival life and Edward D. Wood, Jr. are two things that go together quite well
Remembering that which is Better Forgotten: NOT A LOVE STORY and THE MASCULINE MYSTIQUE
Here I’m going look at 1981’s NOT A LOVE STORY: A FILM ABOUT PORNOGRAPHY, one of the most infamous documentaries of its time, and 1984’s THE MASCULINE MYSTIQUE, which is considerably less well known
2018: Bedlam in Print
The books of 2018? There’s really not much to say, outside my usual observation that the really good stuff often lurks outside the mainstream
2018: A Look Back in Bedlam
Here it is, my latest Look Back in Bedlam overview of the previous year’s happenings that are of particular interest to this site