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Reviews & Commentary by Adam Groves
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984)
It’s no longer the mind-blower it once was, but Wes Craven’s 1984 classic remains an attention-getter
THE COFFEE TABLE
2024’s major shock-fest, containing all the things that make Spanish horror great
HAPPINESS
A 1998 film that in its pitiless depictions of loneliness, jealousy and boredom is more relevant to the iPhone age than the time in which it was made
MONSIEUR ROBERT HOUDIN
Those wanting a straight biographical portrait of the legendary French magician Robert Houdin should probably avoid this 1966 telefilm, whose treatment is far from orthodox
THE DOOR IN THE WALL
An H.G. Wells adaptation that offered up a new, and never again utilized, innovation: The Dynamic Frame, in which the aspect ratio is shifted to serve “the dramatic needs of the story”
CHOICE CUTS
Initially published back in 1965, CHOICE CUTS is, despite some affecting passages, strictly a product of its time
TRAPPED
I maintain that the Edmund Plante authored 1987 horror-fest TRANSFORMATION is a rotgut classic. TRAPPED, Plante’s similarly oriented 1989 follow-up, is not.
TRANSFORMATION
Heavy reading this novel isn’t, but in terms of sheer grossness it’s a standout.
THE KILLER
The apotheosis of the British author/philosopher Colin Wilson’s crime fiction was THE KILLER, presented by the UK’s Savoy Books in its most complete version
BEETLEJUICE GOES HAWAIIAN
The never-made BEETLEJUICE sequel, which exists only as an undated 126-page screenplay
THE MONSTER SHOW: A CULTURAL HISTORY OF HORROR
20th Century horror, as covered by the enromously intelligent and always entertaining David J. Skal
GILLIAMESQUE
A “Pre-Posthumous Memoir” by the outspoken London-based cartoonist-turned-director Terry Gilliam, and everything you’d expect
NEUE SLOWENISCHE KUNST
From the underground publishing outfit Amok Books, a sumptuously designed art book about a most unique European art collective
THE EXOTIC ONES: THAT FABULOUS FILMMAKING FAMILY FROM MUSIC CITY, USA–THE ORMONDS
It’s hard to believe this large format hardcover is the first book devoted to the Ormonds, but I’m glad it’s finally here, and that it delivers on its promise
AESTHETIC DEVIATIONS: A CRITICAL VIEW OF AMERICAN SHOT-ON-VIDEO HORROR, 1984-1994
The first in-depth critical study of SOV horror, written by an author who really appreciates this stuff
Ray Garton: 1962-2024
All about the recently deceased horror scribe Ray Garton, a guy who knew what he was doing
Vampires, Geona and Amba
90s era Russian sci fi: GEONA’S VAMPIRES, MASTERS OF GEONA, AMBA—FIRST MOVIE and AMBA—SECOND MOVIE
Ukrainian Horror Essentials
Compiling a list of Ukrainian horror movies, much less essential Ukrainian horror movies, is no easy task…
THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST at 20
Does anyone remember THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST? It’s not discussed much these days, but the film was quite the hot potato back in ’04
Welcome Home to the Faustian Penitentiary, Away from Emma Mae and the Street Wars
About the late blaxploitaiton auteur Jamaa Fanaka, who combined urban grit and sheer weirdness