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Reviews & Commentary by Adam Groves
FREAKS
A milestone in film history, and a must for any cult movie buff
THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE
Another example of the “__ from Hell” cycle that proliferated in early nineties Hollywood
RED ROOMS
All the bad things we’ve heard about the dark web are confirmed in this Quebecois thriller that, in direct contrast to most Quebec made films, was strong enough to interest distributors outside Canada
THE SADIST WITH RED TEETH
Belgian trash about a guy who thinks he’s a vampire. Don’t expect much.
SQUAREWORLD
One of the most unnerving, and least compromising, horror films to emerge from the nineties
GOING PLACES
It’s a rare novel that contains a perfect opening sentence, but this one, in the line “We’re real fuckheads,” does
THE SHADOW AND OTHER STRANGE TALES
A short single author anthology that appears to have been aimed at children
STRANGE OBJECTS
In the midst of near-universal adulation I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that I didn’t much care for this novel
ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD
This, the premiere work of prose fiction by Quentin Tarantino, is in many respects just like his films
THE WATCHER
Yet another example of a book done in, commercially speaking, by poor packaging
ROMAN
Roman Polanski is one of the world’s greatest and most notorious filmmakers. His stated intent in writing this autobiography was to clear his name, yet it left me with more questions than I had going in
THE MAKING OF HITCHCOCK’S THE BIRDS
This book is most certainly, as a cover blurb proclaims, “The Definitive Production History of THE BIRDS”
MAKING FRIDAY THE 13th
The first of two thick books on the FRIDAY THE 13th film series. I haven’t read the 2006 coffee table hardcover CRYSTAL LAKE MEMORIES, but can’t imagine it’s much better than David Grove’s MAKING FRIDAY THE 13th
THE STRANGE GENIUS OF DAVID LINDSAY
This slim three author compilation was the first-ever study of the English fantasist David Lindsay, author of the immortal VOYAGE TO ARCTURUS, THE HAUNTED WOMAN and several other eccentric novels
STAY OUT OF THE SHOWER
Those wanting an overview of the “shocker” movies that followed Alfred Hitchcock’s PSYCHO could certainly do worse than read this book
Hallmark Channel Summer Nights Movies
Having already covered the Hallmark Christmas movie phenomenon and “Spring Fever” cycle, I feel it’s time to discuss the movies of Hallmark’s “Summer Nights
Exploring THE NIGHT LAND
A 1912 novel that H.P. Lovecraft praised as “one of the most potent pieces of macabre imagination ever written”
Harlan Ellison: 1934-2018
What is there to say about writer/gadfly Harlan Ellison? Frankly, not a whole lot that hasn’t already been said
Chris Hardwick and the Dark Side of Nerd Culture
I don’t much like Chris Hardwick
1997: The Year in Bedlam
Continuing with my time-reversed year-end film listings, we come to 1997