Splatter | The Bedlam Files

HALLOWEEN

One of the most iconic horror films of all time, and the most famous ever made by John Carpenter.

THE WALKING DEAD, Censorship and the State of Horror Media

Let’s face it: horror media has lost its mojo… The genre can no longer be said to retain the subversive edge that I’d argue is vital to its survival. This past week, however, offered a ray of hope.

When perusing COLOR ME BLOOD RED, the last of H.G. Lewis’ novelizations of his fabled early 1960s gore flicks, there are a few things to keep in mind: 1). The film it novelizes is, as Lewis himself has conceded, not one of his better efforts, 2). It was not among the Lewis novelizations Fantaco reprinted in 1988 (and clearly there’s a reason for that), and 3). Lewis has subsequently admitted he “spent less attention” on this adaptation than he did the others. Yet even allowing for those things, COLOR ME BLOOD RED is worthwhile reading for horror buffs in a forgiving mood.

Analyzing HATCHET II’s (Non)Release

Commentary

The big news on the horror circuit right now is last week’s severely truncated release of HATCHET II.

Splatter, Maggoty Muppets and Heavenly Creatures: The Early Films of Peter Jackson

Commentary, Video Clip

With the LORD OF THE RINGS films now ensconced in the “classic” cinema pantheon, I’d say it’s an opportune time to take a look at the output of their director

The Novels of Michael Blodgett

Commentary

If you know of the late Michael Blodgett (1939-2007) it’s most likely as a beefcake actor, yet in my view Blodgett’s most enduring work was done in the three unjustly forgotten novels he published in the late seventies and early eighties

The Novels of H.G. Lewis

Commentary

The late H.G. Lewis was the writer and director of the 1960s-era gorefests BLOOD FEAST, TWO THOUSAND MANIACS! and COLOR ME BLOOD RED, which comprise a loose-knit trilogy. Lewis also wrote novelizations of the three films