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Reviews & Commentary by Adam Groves
SOMETHING WILD
In tallying the output of the late Jonathan Demme, I find that the criminally underrated SOMETHING WILD ranks near the top
MOTHER JOAN OF THE ANGELS
One of the great nunsploitation epics, a stylish, artistic and deeply unnerving depiction of faith and evil
ALIENS
‘Nuff said!
ACT OF VIOLENCE IN A YOUNG JOURNALIST
This beyond-obscure 1988 feature, one of the first to receive a straight-to-video release in its native Uruguay, was given new prominence by the semi-documentary STRAIGHT TO VHS
STARSHIP TROOPERS
A would-be blockbuster from 1998 that saw director Paul Verhoeven and much of the crew of ROBOCOP (1987) trying to recapture the elusive magic of that classic
THE MAN WHO MURDERED HIS MUSE
The always-eclectic Eibonvale Press is, unsurprisingly, the source for this pleasingly eccentric horror novella
THE UNEASY
A surreal novella of a type that only England’s Eibonvale Press seems equipped to turn out
ARE SNAKES NECESSARY?
This irresistibly pulpy psycho-thriller is the first novel by film legend Brian De Palma (co-written with girlfriend Susan Lehman)
THE OK DOLL
The idea of a man in love with a doll is hardly a novel one, but in this screenplay England’s Peter Greenaway creates a uniquely witty and perverse take on man-doll love
ANIARA
The one and only science fiction epic poem, originally published in Swedish and reissued in English by Stephen Klass and Leif Sjöberg
THEY CAME FROM WITHIN: A HISTORY OF CANADIAN HORROR CINEMA
This well researched and eminently readable overview is the closest thing there is to a bible on Canadian horror cinema, a subject that isn’t discussed much
THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES…THE TRUTH HAS SET ME FREE!
A profoundly insane reminiscence adequately summed up by its own ungainly subtitle: “The memoirs of Bob Hope’s and Henry Kissinger’s mind-controlled slave…Used as a presidential sex toy and personal computer”
THE TEARS OF EROS
This heavily illustrated philosophical primer on the influence of death in the sacred and sexual was the final work of Georges Bataille, and a fitting testament to a man obsessed throughout his life with the link between ecstasy and horror
PSYCHO: BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE CLASSIC THRILLER
This is by no means the first book about the making of Alfred Hitchcock’s PSYCHO, but it is very likely the most definitive
POLANSKI
The fifth major biography of world-renowned filmmaker Roman Polanski, and, I feel, the best
GEORGE A. ROMERO: 1940-2017
That George A. Romero, who died on July 16, 2017, was one of the most important horror moviemakers of his generation, and indeed of all time, goes without saying
Comic-Con Questions and Claims
Comic-Con, held in July of every year, invariably captures the interest of every media outlet in the land, and it is, quite simply, the premiere event of its kind
On HIGH SCHOOL FROM HELL
Why should you care about HIGH SCHOOL FROM HELL, a semi-autobiographical novel by an ex-high school English teacher?
FOREIGN NOVELS IN TRANSLATION: MY TWELVE MOST WANTED
I’ve been called a snob about translated novels, but in fact my preference for such books is quite basic and, I believe, well-reasoned
TV Flashback: THE REZ
Here’s a program that will probably not be of interest to much of my readership, yet it is one of my favorites