TEN NIGHTS OF DREAMS: From Text to Film
The 2007 Nikkatsu production TEN NIGHTS OF DREAMS (YUME JU-YA) is a monument in Japanese genre filmmaking.
DRIVER
An account of telepathy and bodily possession that reads like a Harold Robbins or Sidney Sheldon potboiler with a horrific edge.
THE DEEP SEA DIVER’S SYNDROME
The traveling-into-dreams trope has long been a prominent, and problematic, staple of horror and science fiction. This French novel, originally published in 1992, is a stellar example of the format–and, I feel, an overall standout in the field of imaginative fiction. Kudos to Melville House, and translator Edward Gauvin, for putting out this better-late-than-never English language version.
Death By Dreaming
An interesting entry in the dream craze of the eighties, when it seemed every other horror-themed book and movie involved dreams. That explains why DEATH BY DREAMING, despite a plethora of enthusiastic critical notices, got lost in the shuffle and is all-but forgotten today. It deserves to be rediscovered.
DEATH AND DESIRE IN THE AGE OF WOMEN
In this, his second publication of 2011, Calvillo has created a bold and idiosyncratic fictional riff on the concept of female empowerment. DEATH AND DESIRE very nearly equals its forerunners, and just about any other recent novel, in provocation and manic invention.
On THE DUCHESS OF AVILA
The 1973 French miniseries LA DUCHESSE D’AVILA/THE DUCHESS OF AVILA is one of the great unknown works of the fantastique
VALERIE AND HER WEEK OF WONDERS (Film)
Fascinating Czech surrealism from the seventies. Beautifully filmed, affectionately macabre and totally unique, it’s precisely the type of film They Just Don’t Make Anymore.
BEYOND DREAM’S DOOR
An eighties cult horror film that somehow slipped by me back in the day. BEYOND DREAM’S DOOR is now available on DVD, thankfully, and I’ve finally seen and admired it as the uniquely tripped-out classic it is
THE SENDER
This was the first feature directed by former art director/set decorator (of STAR WARS and ALIEN) and future BATTLEFIELD EARTH helmer Roger Christian, and it’s not bad
SEIZURE
You’d be hard-pressed to find many Oliver Stone trademarks in this, his 1974 debut. It’s not a great or even very good film, being amateurish and pretentious—a deadly combination