THE BLACK CUPBOARD
THE BLACK CUPBOARD to be a masterpiece of surreal horror, and one of the most fascinating and confounding such publications of the 20th Century.
BALAOO
The altogether outrageous account of a pithecanthrope, or ape-man.
AVATAR, OR THE DOUBLE TRANSFORMATION
Theophile Gautier (1811-1972) is one of France’s most famous authors, and AVATAR, a two-part anthology comprised of the titular 1856 novella and the same year’s “Jettatura,” contains pretty much everything that comes to mind (mine at least) at the mention of French literature: sappy romance, excessively florid descriptions (“their heaving bosoms swelled out beneath their curling fringes of foam”) and an overall atmosphere of opulent refinement.
THE ACCURSED
This, the first-ever English translation of the work of France’s Claude Seignolle, is required reading for all true horror fans.
Claude Seignolle in English
Back in 1983 the late Lawrence Durrell predicted that the French horror writer Claude Seignolle “will draw a large audience in the United States and that his place in literature eventually will be as assured as Ambrose Bierce’s is today.”
R.I.P. Claude Chabrol
Here we say goodbye to film director Claude Chabrol, who passed away on September 12, 2010 at age 80.
The Top 10 Unreleased-in-the-U.S. Foreign Language Horror Films
Let’s hope U.S. distributors take note of these ten films as all are required viewing for adventurous film buffs, be they horror fans or not.
VIDOCQ
This French horror fest from 2001 will likely be remembered more for its technical innovations than anything else, making greater use of the digital medium than any other film of its time
Gaspar Noe and The Butcher
A dour middle-aged butcher and a brilliant young filmmaker: the pairing is an odd one, and yet the Butcher, as he’s known, remains the signature creation of Gaspar Noe.
On the “Late” Jerome Boivin
Continuing with my takes on cinematic underachievers, we come to France’s Jerome Boivin.