Richard Matheson: 1926-2013
What made the late novelist/screenwriter Richard Matheson great? A number of factors, I’d say
HARDWARE
A VERY promising debut from Richard Stanley, HARDWARE, which appeared back in 1990, appeared to be the start of an auspicious career
THE HAND
The second film directed by Oliver Stone, made before he became the Oliver Stone we know. It’s a so-so Michael Caine starrer about an errant severed hand
HABIT
Courtesy of the multi-talented Larry Fessenden, HABIT turned out to be one the best films of 1997, accomplishing what so many others have failed to achieve: breathing new life into a tired genre
FROM BEYOND
Director Stuart Gordon’s follow-up to his legendary debut RE-ANIMATOR was this wet, wild and wonderful exercise in B-movie delirium
FRANKENSTEIN UNBOUND
This 1990 horror/sci fi extravaganza was something of an event upon its initial release, even if it was ignored by its distributors (who gave it minimal support) and the general public (who didn’t bother turning out)
TROMEO AND JULIET
Wow! A legitimately good movie from Troma, and one directed, moreover, by Troma’s goofball honcho Lloyd Kaufman!
TRICK ‘R’ TREAT
The resurrection of the horror anthology film format was kicked off in part by this Halloween-set five-parter from 2007
INTO THE UNKNOWN: THE FANTASTIC LIFE OF NIGEL KNEALE
England’s Thomas Nigel Kneale (1922-2006) was and is one of the guiding lights of modern horror, and this terrific biography is long overdue
INSIDE THE WICKER MAN
For anyone with even a passing interest in the 1973 English horror classic THE WICKER MAN this book is a must, being an unusually erudite and well written account of the film’s making and reception