TOP SEVEN REASONS TO BE DELERIOUSLY EXCITED ABOUT THE THIRD YEAR OF THE BLACK GLOVE
By Bill Breedlove
1. The latest buzz.
Look at all the new stuff coming out: New writing from Clive Barker, Graham Masterson and Caitlin Kiernan! A new novel by Stephen King where a guy goes back in time to prevent JFK’s assassination! (???) Movies from big guns like John Carpenter (“The Ward”), Don Coscarelli (“John Dies at the End”) and Guillermo Del Toro (the awesome-looking “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” remake which has been gathering dust for far too long), as well as a couple John Cusack entries (“Factory” and “the Raven”), a “Joss Whedon Presents…” flick (“Cabin in the Woods”) and Daniel Radcliffe trying to escape the loooooong shadow of Harry Potter (“The Woman in Black”).* Also, new music, art, poetry, games and everything else fresh in the horror world, viewed through the inimitable BLACK GLOVE lens.
• The terrifying specter of that “Thing” remake/reboot/rehash tremblingly omitted and the less said about the despairing “Fright Night” exhumation, the better.
2. Brian “Wonder Boy” Sammons.
Everyone has an opinion. And, in the age of the Internet, alas, it sometimes seems that EVERYONE wants to share their opinion. So, you get a lot of uninformed, misinformed and just plain clueless people whose chief qualification for making informed criticism is a dial-up modem connection in mom’s basement. So, when someone like Brian Sammons comes around, it is like the sweet, sweet relief of a bracing sip of crystal-clear spring water on a 110 F degree day. In other words: Yowza! How expert of a reviewer is Brian? Well, to borrow from unbelievably talented NBA superstar (and notorious choker) LeBron James, Brian writes reviews for “one? Not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six but seven!” SEVEN publications. And, in addition to THE BLACK GLOVE, the other outlets clamoring for Mr. Sammons’ services include a little magazine with the title SHOCK TOTEM. And a little thing called HORROR WORLD. And, a sweetly-named magazine that perhaps some folks who follow developments in horror may have heard of—CEMETERY DANCE. Anyone? Anyone? The list goes on and on. The man is in demand. HELLNOTES? Check. DARK DISCOVERIES? Check. You get the idea. And, yet, you can read Mr. Sammons most insightful, most thought-provoking, most eloquent reviews RIGHT HERE at THE BLACK GLOVE. Bazzinga!
3. The Best from the Vaults.
If you are a true “Horrorhead” (as the Big Guy likes to say), then you love ALL things horror—especially all those “old” books and movies from “back in the day.” At THE BLACK GLOVE, you have a whole crew of experienced guides who love that stuff even more—if such a thing is possible—and can’t wait to write about it for your enjoyment. That old novel...you thought that you were the only one who remembered it? You’ll probably find a discussion of it here. That really strange scary movie you saw on cable once back in the mid 1980s—what was the title? Something about werewolf warlocks…Yeah, it’s probably here, too. That super-obscure, impossible-to-get-harder-to-locate-than-A-SERBIAN-FILM Asian horror movie that somebody who knows somebody told a friend of yours about? Guess where the info on it will be? The BLACK GLOVE folks LOVE horror. If it’s out there, either just released in one small theatre in the deepest part of the Saskatchewan province, or the last remaining VHS copy was just sold on eBay, chances are it already has been written about or soon will be on THE BLACK GLOVE.
4. Lisa Freakin’ Morton!
I’ve started a public campaign to get Ms. Lisa Morton’s name officially changed to “Lisa Freakin’ Morton!” Yes, with the exclamation point. Just imagine, every time she is introduced at a convention, the announcer would have to intone “…and now, ladies and gentlemen, Lisa Freakin’ Morton!” How awesome would that be? Aside from being smart, funny and awesomely cool, Lisa also happens to be ridiculously talented. Screenplays? Been there, done that. (As in PRODUCED, award-winning films from her screenplays) Short stories? Yes, as in “Stoker-Award winning short story author.” Longer Stories? Why, yes, as in “Stoker-Award winning author for Long Fiction. Nonfiction? Bingo! As in “Stoker-Award winning author for best non-fiction. How about still longer stories? Take a guess! How does “Stoker Award winning author for Best First Novel” sound? Pow! Lisa is so awesome that, from the time I started typing this piece to now, she just won another Stoker award for “most gracious and talented author in a ridiculous paragraph for an online publication.” But, even better, in addition to all those formidable achievements, Lisa also writes for THE BLACK GLOVE. That’s like having Meryl Streep writing an acting column AND IT’S RIGHT HERE, FOLKS.
5. The Real Deal.
It’s a sad truth, but there are quite a few just plain awful horror-related publications and websites out there. Some are in the “bless their heart” category by fans with more love than anything else, some exist just to blindly extol the virtues of even the most lamentable book, movie, game or whatnot, and, perhaps most despairingly, some only exist to (usually anonymously) trash authors, filmmakers and other folks in the horror community. Fortunately, THE BLACK GLOVE is a welcome antidote to all that nonsense and chatter on the Web. At THE BLACK GLOVE, folks will get the skinny—good, bad and everything in between. If something is great, you’ll hear about it. If something stinks like a mackerel left outside in August for a week, well, you’ll hear about that, too. But, you’ll hear the reasons why, and those reasons will have to do with real, honest-to-goodness criticism of the work as it stands, not the creator. The BLACK GLOVE is stocked with professionals, who avoid both the fanboy fawning and the bitter, axe-to-grind swipes that unfortunately pepper the horror landscape. If a review says something is great, then you can believe that reviewer honestly was transported by the material. If a review says something was like that mackerel, then the reviewer will say why, and—this is important—put his or her name on that review so you can form your own opinion. You may not always agree with what you read on THE BLACK GLOVE, but at least you will know it is written by a real person, with some real credentials, and real passion for horror culture.
6. Nickolas “Big Papi” Cook.
While it is certainly true that the Big Man himself does not write all of the goodies found at THE BLACK GLOVE, his fingerprints are all over this site and its ethos. (see what I did there—with the “GLOVE” and “fingerprints”? More of the high-quality, “meta” content you have come to know and love from THE BLACK GLOVE!) Nickolas Cook has some VERY definite ideas about horror. Some would say “strong opinions.” Those opinions come from a lifetime’s immersion in horror culture. There’s a popular theory attributed to Malcolm Gladwell that is the “10,000 hour rule.” Essentially, his contention is that to get good at something—really, really good—one needs to spend 10,000 hours practicing or participating in that activity. A baseball pitcher needs to spend 10,000 hours throwing the ball. A painter needs to spend 10,000 hours putting brush to canvas. A porn star needs to spend 10,000 hours…well, you get the idea. By that metric (no, not the porn star one), Nickolas Cook has probably mastered what there is to know about horror culture five or six times over. (And that’s just counting hours spent watching NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD or listening to Goblin albums). This man knows his shit, and his hand on the till of the good ship THE BLACK GLOVE means that readers are going to get awesome content, month in and month out, each and every installment. Nickolas is not an “iffy” kind of guy. And neither is his baby (not referring to his lovely wife Kim or any of their collection of Pugs)—THE BLACK GLOVE.
7. Everything Else in the Whole Rest of the World.
There is so much more to be excited about in upcoming year three of “THE BLACK GLOVE Experiment.” There are literally score of supremely talented contributors (Yes, I’m looking at you, Mr. Cato. And you, too, Ms. Newman. And Mr. Duarte. And Mr. Lindblad. And everyone else I did not mention by name who will be shortly sending me an exceptionally snotty email. There’s not one stiff in the bunch over at THE BLACK GLOVE, and they are all writing like mad fools to give you some of the greatest content on horror culture around. And, to think, this is just the start of the third year…imagine what folks will be saying five or ten years down the road. Pilgrims will come to this little corner of the web the way admirers of great writing, quick-witted banter (and strong cocktails) pay homage to the Algonquin Hotel and its renowned Round Table.
Even when the inevitable, eye-peeling frames of the (unasked for) remake of FRIGHT NIGHT are foisted upon an unsuspecting populace, the stalwart writers of THE BLACK GLOVE will (fearlessly) be there, to gaze upon the trainwreck Gorgon, so you will not have to. And, going forward, think of all of the insightful reviews, thought-provoking editorials, clever articles and ingenious columns that will be coming from THE BLACK GLOVE. It’s a heady time to be a Horrorhead, and at THE BLACK GLOVE you will have a front-row seat. I can’t wait to see what’s next.
--Bill Breedlove
Monday, June 27, 2011
Movies Worth Googling: Strange Movie Reviews by Jenny Orosel
Rule 34: No Borders! (The Wild World of International Horror Porn)
I blame this month’s column on a road trip.
My husband, Bill, and I went on a road trip this month. One thing we love to do while on road trips is hit used bookstores. We were browsing through seeing the local offerings, getting a flavor for the place, when I come across a sixteen year old CD-Rom in a case. Not a videodisc, but an old-school CD-Rom (minimum system requirements: Windows 3.1) of "Urotsukidoji". Yes, the infamous movie that popularized an entire subgenre of anime: tentacle porn. I’d never seen it, but was immensely curious. Then I had to wonder what other treasures the city had in store. Sure enough, the next bookstore not only presented me with "The Beast" (La Bete), a French/Polish adventure of woman versus beast…in porno form, but also a strange sounding treat: "The Living Corpse" (aka Dracula in Pakistan), the only Pakistani movie to ever been given an “adult” rating. So there I was, coming home from a road trip with a load of foreign horror porn (and one slightly mortified husband). Yep, there was a column in there.
The DVD-Rom I scored of "Urotsukidoji" is made up of five OVAs (Original Video Animations), eventually released here on DVD as "Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend" and "Urotsukidoji II: Legend of the Demon Womb". According to the world of Urotsukidoji, our universe is actually made up of three simultaneous worlds: The Human World, The Beast World and the Demon World. Most of the time these three worlds live a separate existence, except for once every 3000 years, when the Overfiend comes out of the demon realm, and unites all three worlds, thus insuring chaos will ensue. Why? Not entirely sure, but I’m assuming it has something to do with sex. The demons are shown to have sex with anyone at any time, willing or not. And, for unexplained reasons, giant penis/tentacles grow out of them, allowing them to rape multiple women at once (and, in one scene rape an actual building). It’s now that time and the Overfiend has come to Earth…in the form of a dorky, virginal high school boy. Hordes of demons and man-beasts have come to the human realm, either hoping to help him or destroy him.
Following that? Yeah, I had some troubles also. There are times in the story where the Overfiend is presented as a Christ figure (don’t all Christ figures have tentacle sex?) and sometimes as a tool of destruction. One thing is for certain, no female is safe, because unfortunately the tentacle sex has a tendency to make them explode into great big balls of light. And, oddly enough, that’s where the most interesting parts come in. Both the monsters and the gore are very well drawn. The demon design, especially is intense, and unlike any other monsters I’ve seen, whether in Anime or your more standard movie. The exploding bodies would make any splatterpunk fan weep with joy. From an aesthetic standpoint, the visuals make up for any question of “why?” for the plot.
What I find odd is the “visual fogging” that happens in "Urotsukidoji". I’m not sure where the line of obscenity falls, but certain genital shots are subject to what many import fans have grown accustomed to—optical fogging. Rather than show the naughty bits, a fuzzy black circle is placed in front of them, blurring out the offending body part. Yet, close-ups of vaginas violated by penile tentacles are shown in all their full-color glory. It’s quite a source of entertainment for me to see what certain cultures find offensive and what is totally acceptable.
Speaking of offended cultures…"The Living Corpse", as said before, is the only “X” rated movie to come out of Pakistan. Made in the mid 60s, it’s definitely a time capsule of a Pakistan that was part secular and part morally strict. It follows the Dracula novel a lot closer than I expected (minus the origin—in The Living Corpse, Count Dracula is actually a mad scientist who ingests a medicine he was trying to create). Along the way he seduces many weak-willed people (mostly women) to become undead like him. Of course they meet with horrible fates, and only the morally pure are able to defeat him. Oh, and there’s gratuitous song and dance numbers included that have NOTHING to do with the story.
An X-rated Dracula movie, you would expect some hardcore (or even softcore) sex. Strippers, hell, even excessive gore. Nope, not in the Pakistani Dracula. Seriously, they cut away before his teeth touch the neck of a woman, and the woman dressed the most risqué was wearing…gasp!...jeans and a t-shirt. Granted, they were tight, and she had some slinky dance moves. So how in the world did this end up with the same rating as "Urotsukidoji"? Because, according to the mores of the time and place, it was just as shocking. Even the implied sexuality of the vampire sucking on a neck was enough to make it too much for some people, let alone the implied violence and the sacrilege of walking dead. It does make me wonder what the 1967 Pakistani people would do if they got a hold of "Urotsukidoji" or even "The Beast".
Speaking of "The Beast" (La Bete), that one was rated X and certainly deserved it. An American heiress is to be wed to a Frenchman whose family used to be wealthy, but has since fallen on hard times. They’ve never met, but their marriage was a stipulation in the father’s will. The husband-to-be is a bit socially inept, preferring to watch the stable’s horses mating to interacting with his fiancée. That might have something to do with the family curse—every 200 years, "The Beast" comes to life and torments the lady of the house. Only, last time, the woman relented to The Beast’s desires and ended up killing it…by screwing it to death. Is their fate tied to the fate of the betrothed?
I have one major complaint about "The Beast". For a movie that is supposed to be both horror and porn, it’s painfully boring. I checked. The first scene of either horror or porn (not including the equine copulation scenes) comes 55 minutes, 36 seconds into the movie. Yep, we are treated to almost a full hour of mostly useless exposition and horse sex before any excitement. And it’s an hour and a half movie! There is a “director’s cut” floating around, with about ten minutes of dialogue removed. I’ve never been a fan of edited versions, but I’m guessing this one is an improvement.
In stark contrast to "The Living Corpse", "The Beast" holds nothing back. We get more close-ups of ejaculating animal penises (whether real or attached to the rubber-suited Beast). There’s all sort of sexual variables (oral, manual, mammary, but luckily no rubber suit penetration shots). And I’m sure the scenes where The Beast chases her through the woods were supposed to be scary, and they might have been…if it weren’t for the calliope music playing in the background.
That is one thing I noticed from all three movies—the music was wildly inappropriate. "Urotsukidoji" had sweet moments of romantic music, just as the giant penile tentacles spring forth. "The Living Corpse" had upbeat classical playing during the tensest of vampiric moments. And there was the abovesaid calliope music of "The Beast" punctuated the scenes of peril. None of these soundtracks highlighted the pornographic aspects of the story and certainly didn’t punctuate the horror. So why were they there? Good question, and one I don’t have an answer to. All I can think of is maybe these tunes were cheap to obtain.
It’s fascinating to look at various cultures through their movies, and you get even more insight while looking at “forbidden” films. All societies have a fine line between what is naughty and what is unacceptable, and with these three flicks, that line is crossed, crossed over, and duly noted. I will say learned two things while watching the movies for this piece: I learned just how to kill any appetite I might have for calamari, and I learned the city of Houston has some strange taste in porn.
Where to find these movies:
"Urotsukidoji" is currently out of print. There are prints of it floating around out there on VHS, Laserdisc, DVD and even CD-Rom, and I would expect to pay at least $20 per episode. If you want the uncut version, look for one marked “Perfect Collection”. Otherwise, it’ll be cut by about half and missing most of the graphic stuff.
"The Living Corpse" just went out of print, but you can still find copies for between fifteen and twenty bucks. And it’s available on Netflix.
"The Beast" is out of print, but copies can be scored on EBay or Amazon from fifteen dollars on up, depending on if you want the edited version or the 3 disc special edition (yep, there is a special edition of this one).
--Jen
I blame this month’s column on a road trip.
My husband, Bill, and I went on a road trip this month. One thing we love to do while on road trips is hit used bookstores. We were browsing through seeing the local offerings, getting a flavor for the place, when I come across a sixteen year old CD-Rom in a case. Not a videodisc, but an old-school CD-Rom (minimum system requirements: Windows 3.1) of "Urotsukidoji". Yes, the infamous movie that popularized an entire subgenre of anime: tentacle porn. I’d never seen it, but was immensely curious. Then I had to wonder what other treasures the city had in store. Sure enough, the next bookstore not only presented me with "The Beast" (La Bete), a French/Polish adventure of woman versus beast…in porno form, but also a strange sounding treat: "The Living Corpse" (aka Dracula in Pakistan), the only Pakistani movie to ever been given an “adult” rating. So there I was, coming home from a road trip with a load of foreign horror porn (and one slightly mortified husband). Yep, there was a column in there.
The DVD-Rom I scored of "Urotsukidoji" is made up of five OVAs (Original Video Animations), eventually released here on DVD as "Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend" and "Urotsukidoji II: Legend of the Demon Womb". According to the world of Urotsukidoji, our universe is actually made up of three simultaneous worlds: The Human World, The Beast World and the Demon World. Most of the time these three worlds live a separate existence, except for once every 3000 years, when the Overfiend comes out of the demon realm, and unites all three worlds, thus insuring chaos will ensue. Why? Not entirely sure, but I’m assuming it has something to do with sex. The demons are shown to have sex with anyone at any time, willing or not. And, for unexplained reasons, giant penis/tentacles grow out of them, allowing them to rape multiple women at once (and, in one scene rape an actual building). It’s now that time and the Overfiend has come to Earth…in the form of a dorky, virginal high school boy. Hordes of demons and man-beasts have come to the human realm, either hoping to help him or destroy him.
Following that? Yeah, I had some troubles also. There are times in the story where the Overfiend is presented as a Christ figure (don’t all Christ figures have tentacle sex?) and sometimes as a tool of destruction. One thing is for certain, no female is safe, because unfortunately the tentacle sex has a tendency to make them explode into great big balls of light. And, oddly enough, that’s where the most interesting parts come in. Both the monsters and the gore are very well drawn. The demon design, especially is intense, and unlike any other monsters I’ve seen, whether in Anime or your more standard movie. The exploding bodies would make any splatterpunk fan weep with joy. From an aesthetic standpoint, the visuals make up for any question of “why?” for the plot.
What I find odd is the “visual fogging” that happens in "Urotsukidoji". I’m not sure where the line of obscenity falls, but certain genital shots are subject to what many import fans have grown accustomed to—optical fogging. Rather than show the naughty bits, a fuzzy black circle is placed in front of them, blurring out the offending body part. Yet, close-ups of vaginas violated by penile tentacles are shown in all their full-color glory. It’s quite a source of entertainment for me to see what certain cultures find offensive and what is totally acceptable.
Speaking of offended cultures…"The Living Corpse", as said before, is the only “X” rated movie to come out of Pakistan. Made in the mid 60s, it’s definitely a time capsule of a Pakistan that was part secular and part morally strict. It follows the Dracula novel a lot closer than I expected (minus the origin—in The Living Corpse, Count Dracula is actually a mad scientist who ingests a medicine he was trying to create). Along the way he seduces many weak-willed people (mostly women) to become undead like him. Of course they meet with horrible fates, and only the morally pure are able to defeat him. Oh, and there’s gratuitous song and dance numbers included that have NOTHING to do with the story.
An X-rated Dracula movie, you would expect some hardcore (or even softcore) sex. Strippers, hell, even excessive gore. Nope, not in the Pakistani Dracula. Seriously, they cut away before his teeth touch the neck of a woman, and the woman dressed the most risqué was wearing…gasp!...jeans and a t-shirt. Granted, they were tight, and she had some slinky dance moves. So how in the world did this end up with the same rating as "Urotsukidoji"? Because, according to the mores of the time and place, it was just as shocking. Even the implied sexuality of the vampire sucking on a neck was enough to make it too much for some people, let alone the implied violence and the sacrilege of walking dead. It does make me wonder what the 1967 Pakistani people would do if they got a hold of "Urotsukidoji" or even "The Beast".
Speaking of "The Beast" (La Bete), that one was rated X and certainly deserved it. An American heiress is to be wed to a Frenchman whose family used to be wealthy, but has since fallen on hard times. They’ve never met, but their marriage was a stipulation in the father’s will. The husband-to-be is a bit socially inept, preferring to watch the stable’s horses mating to interacting with his fiancée. That might have something to do with the family curse—every 200 years, "The Beast" comes to life and torments the lady of the house. Only, last time, the woman relented to The Beast’s desires and ended up killing it…by screwing it to death. Is their fate tied to the fate of the betrothed?
I have one major complaint about "The Beast". For a movie that is supposed to be both horror and porn, it’s painfully boring. I checked. The first scene of either horror or porn (not including the equine copulation scenes) comes 55 minutes, 36 seconds into the movie. Yep, we are treated to almost a full hour of mostly useless exposition and horse sex before any excitement. And it’s an hour and a half movie! There is a “director’s cut” floating around, with about ten minutes of dialogue removed. I’ve never been a fan of edited versions, but I’m guessing this one is an improvement.
In stark contrast to "The Living Corpse", "The Beast" holds nothing back. We get more close-ups of ejaculating animal penises (whether real or attached to the rubber-suited Beast). There’s all sort of sexual variables (oral, manual, mammary, but luckily no rubber suit penetration shots). And I’m sure the scenes where The Beast chases her through the woods were supposed to be scary, and they might have been…if it weren’t for the calliope music playing in the background.
That is one thing I noticed from all three movies—the music was wildly inappropriate. "Urotsukidoji" had sweet moments of romantic music, just as the giant penile tentacles spring forth. "The Living Corpse" had upbeat classical playing during the tensest of vampiric moments. And there was the abovesaid calliope music of "The Beast" punctuated the scenes of peril. None of these soundtracks highlighted the pornographic aspects of the story and certainly didn’t punctuate the horror. So why were they there? Good question, and one I don’t have an answer to. All I can think of is maybe these tunes were cheap to obtain.
It’s fascinating to look at various cultures through their movies, and you get even more insight while looking at “forbidden” films. All societies have a fine line between what is naughty and what is unacceptable, and with these three flicks, that line is crossed, crossed over, and duly noted. I will say learned two things while watching the movies for this piece: I learned just how to kill any appetite I might have for calamari, and I learned the city of Houston has some strange taste in porn.
Where to find these movies:
"Urotsukidoji" is currently out of print. There are prints of it floating around out there on VHS, Laserdisc, DVD and even CD-Rom, and I would expect to pay at least $20 per episode. If you want the uncut version, look for one marked “Perfect Collection”. Otherwise, it’ll be cut by about half and missing most of the graphic stuff.
"The Living Corpse" just went out of print, but you can still find copies for between fifteen and twenty bucks. And it’s available on Netflix.
"The Beast" is out of print, but copies can be scored on EBay or Amazon from fifteen dollars on up, depending on if you want the edited version or the 3 disc special edition (yep, there is a special edition of this one).
--Jen
It Came From the Back Issue Bin! #18: 2010 Black Glove Horrorhead Award for Comic/Graphic Novel
by Jason Shayer
Let’s start with the runners up:
Victorian Undead #1-5 published by Wildstorm Comics
Written by Ian Edginton
Art by Davide Fabbri
How can you resist a series with the subtitle of “Sherlock Holmes vs Zombies”? It’s hard to blend two ideas like this together into a cohesive narrative and story, but the creative team succeeds. Veteran 2000AD writer Ian Edginton puts Holmes and Watson to their ultimate test against the living dead who are sweeping through Victorian England. Fabbri’s clean art effectively captures the look and feel of Victorian England and adds his own unique style to the environment. You can pick up this miniseries in a Trade Paperback and its new current miniseries, Victorian Undead II, featuring Sherlock Holmes up against Dracula!
And speaking of Dracula...
Dracula - The Company of Monsters #1-5 published by Boom! Studios
Written by: Daryl Gregory/ Kurt Busiek
Art by: Scott Godlewski
As a fan of Kurt Busiek’s work on Marvels, Astro City, and the Avengers, his involvement with this Indy comic caught my interest. But, at the same time, I was reluctant to read another vampire story. Fortunately, the series goes back to the original concept of Vlad the Impaler and brings him into the modern world as a corporate asset. Of course, they can’t contain this legendary evil and Dracula breaks free and quickly amasses an undead army.
With the runners up appropriately honored, it’s time for the big announcement. The 2010 Black Glover Horrorhead Award for Comic/Graphic Novel goes to:
Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque’s American Vampire
American Vampire #1-5
Writers - Scott Snyder and Stephen King
Artist - Rafael Albuquerque
Okay, okay, I know I was saying that I was getting tired of vampires like everyone else, but this one is really different. Honest. Would you also believe that while Scott Snyder is sharing the billing with Stephen King, I’m enjoying his side of this tale more than King? American Vampire introduces a new breed of ..um... American vampires that are significantly different that their counterparts in Europe. A great new series and a fun reinterpretation of the vampire myth!
I’ll let the back cover blurb wrap up this post as it sums up the series quite well:
“This first hardcover volume of the critically acclaimed series collects issues #1-5 and follows two stories: one written by Snyder and one written by King, both with art by future superstar Rafael Albuquerque. Snyder's tale follows Pearl, a young woman living in 1920s Los Angeles, who is brutally turned into a vampire and sets out on a path of righteous revenge against the European monsters that tortured and abused her. And in King's story set in the days of America's Wild West, readers learn the origin of Skinner Sweet, the original American vampire – a stronger, faster creature than any vampire ever seen before.”
--Jason Shayer
Let’s start with the runners up:
Victorian Undead #1-5 published by Wildstorm Comics
Written by Ian Edginton
Art by Davide Fabbri
How can you resist a series with the subtitle of “Sherlock Holmes vs Zombies”? It’s hard to blend two ideas like this together into a cohesive narrative and story, but the creative team succeeds. Veteran 2000AD writer Ian Edginton puts Holmes and Watson to their ultimate test against the living dead who are sweeping through Victorian England. Fabbri’s clean art effectively captures the look and feel of Victorian England and adds his own unique style to the environment. You can pick up this miniseries in a Trade Paperback and its new current miniseries, Victorian Undead II, featuring Sherlock Holmes up against Dracula!
And speaking of Dracula...
Dracula - The Company of Monsters #1-5 published by Boom! Studios
Written by: Daryl Gregory/ Kurt Busiek
Art by: Scott Godlewski
As a fan of Kurt Busiek’s work on Marvels, Astro City, and the Avengers, his involvement with this Indy comic caught my interest. But, at the same time, I was reluctant to read another vampire story. Fortunately, the series goes back to the original concept of Vlad the Impaler and brings him into the modern world as a corporate asset. Of course, they can’t contain this legendary evil and Dracula breaks free and quickly amasses an undead army.
With the runners up appropriately honored, it’s time for the big announcement. The 2010 Black Glover Horrorhead Award for Comic/Graphic Novel goes to:
Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque’s American Vampire
American Vampire #1-5
Writers - Scott Snyder and Stephen King
Artist - Rafael Albuquerque
Okay, okay, I know I was saying that I was getting tired of vampires like everyone else, but this one is really different. Honest. Would you also believe that while Scott Snyder is sharing the billing with Stephen King, I’m enjoying his side of this tale more than King? American Vampire introduces a new breed of ..um... American vampires that are significantly different that their counterparts in Europe. A great new series and a fun reinterpretation of the vampire myth!
I’ll let the back cover blurb wrap up this post as it sums up the series quite well:
“This first hardcover volume of the critically acclaimed series collects issues #1-5 and follows two stories: one written by Snyder and one written by King, both with art by future superstar Rafael Albuquerque. Snyder's tale follows Pearl, a young woman living in 1920s Los Angeles, who is brutally turned into a vampire and sets out on a path of righteous revenge against the European monsters that tortured and abused her. And in King's story set in the days of America's Wild West, readers learn the origin of Skinner Sweet, the original American vampire – a stronger, faster creature than any vampire ever seen before.”
--Jason Shayer
Graphic Horror: Game Reviews
By Brian M. Sammons
DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS: DAGGERDALE, by Bedlam Games & Atari, Rated T, PC, PS3, Xbox 360.
I am sick and tired of bug-ridden games. There is no other type of media or entertainment that is constantly shipped to the customer in such a broken, unfinished state as video games are. Movies and TV shows aren’t missing whole scenes that make the story a confusing mess, only to have them added back in later on. Books don’t have random blank pages instead of text in them. Music doesn’t stop for no good reason and refuse to play any further no matter what you do. But video games more and more come plagued with bugs, some harmless and funny, others downright game breaking, but all of them seem slip-shot and for an industry that always whines about wanting to be taken seriously and seen as art, they relay need the get their collective shit together.
That little tirade brings me to DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS: DAGGERDALE. Now I am an old school RPG nerd and I loved me some D&D back in the day. So I was very happy when this game came out, it was the first official D&D game in a good long while and I was looking forward to getting my hack and slash on. And to be sure, this game started off well. No it wasn’t anything Earth shattering, but it had some good dungeon crawling, four classic classes to choose from (warrior, mage, cleric, rogue), some button mashing brawling, up to four player co-op, and the new D&D 4th edition rules so what’s not to love? Well, up until the half way mark of this game, not much. I was having a ball playing with my buddies, beating up goblins, lizardmen, and other classic D&D sword fodder. But sadly, those good times didn’t last.
Without notice we all got hit with a bug where we lost multiple levels and skills that we had killed so many baddies for. It effectively neutered us and more importantly, pissed all of us off so bad that the fun we were having with the game got flushed away. While we could technically continue playing we were left with a bad taste in our mouths. And we weren’t the only ones. A quick search on the internet found out that pretty much everyone who played this game got hit with the same bug. That is just unacceptable. When you buy a video game you don’t sign up to be the designer’s free quality control department and game tester. No, that crap should be done before the game gets into the hands of the customers. You know, like every other form of entertainment ever made!
Now I waited to write this review for over a month, hoping that the game makers would release a patch to fix the bug I got hit with, and all the other bugs that others have been complaining about all over the internet. That way maybe I could forget the bad taste that D&D:D had left me with and try to be fair and impartial. Well one month later and the game still isn’t fixed. Again, that’s just inexcusable. So while I like swinging my sword at goblins as much as the next completely normal man of my age, I can’t recommend this broken game as it is now to anyone.
I sadly have to give DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS: DAGGERDALE a pitiful, bug-ridden 1 magical sword out of 5.
DUKE NUKEM FOREVER, by 2K Games, Gearbox Softwear, and too many more to list, Rated M, PC, PS3, Xbox 360.
Right off the bat, let’s get to it. There is no way in hell that DUKE NUKEM FOREVER could live up to the hype surrounding a game that took over twelve years, and went through about a half dozen game developers, before finally coming out. Unless this game was the second coming of Christ, cured cancer, and developed an even tastier form of bacon, there was no way DUKE could have met those lofty expectations.
That said, it is also nowhere near as bad as you might have heard. Yet some of my fellow video game critics have taken great delight in crapping all over this game. It seems to be the fun filled bandwagon of bashing that everyone wants to jump on, to prove both their “serious journalist” cred and to score points with women and/or feminist by railing how disgustingly misogynist Duke and his game is. Then many of the same hypocritical hand-wavers do a “Top 10 Hottest Video Game Chicks” list the next week, or put out a ten minuet video spotlighting the jiggle breast physics in video games. Yay, talking out your ass is fun! Now like the game or not, that’s ok and everyone’s right, buy if you try to score points by taking moral pop shots, then you had better not live in a glass house. Ok, enough of that, let’s get to the game by way of looking at the common complaints I’ve seen over and over again and tackling them one by one.
Let’s start off with something I actually do agree with; “Oh it looks and plays so last generation.” Here the haters are correct. DNF just looks and plays old. It is a first person shooter taking place largely indoors against aliens and monsters of all sorts. Most of the time you’ll enter a big room, the doors will close and lock behind you, a bunch of aliens will pour into the room, and you’ll have to kill them before the next door will open. And yeah, that does feel out of place in this day of far more dynamic shooters. Add to that the somewhat sloppy game control and the passable, but nothing noteworthy or particularly good, graphics and you get a game that on a technical level is “meh” at best.
“Duke is the kind of action hero that seems out of place today”. Well no duh, but you know what, I wish there was more out there like Duke because while silly and crude, he’s fun. Can you name a true action hero today? In today’s movies you’ve got guys in spandex with super powers as our only heroes. Yawn. Outside of the costumed crowd you’ve got who, Jason Statham, who always plays the same emotional stunted, anal retentive “professional” type or Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, the ex-wrestler who’s more at home playing the Tooth Fairy in Disney flicks than being a bad ass. Sorry, but I’ll take Duke Nukem over all of those any day of the week. Yes, Duke is a throwback, but he is a throwback to Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Bruce Campbell and other 80s and 90s action icons that have been sorely missed in these days where FAST AND FURIOUS Part Who The Hell Cares is the highpoint for action flicks. And don’t get me started on video games where HALO’s Master Chief, a one-dimensional, largely silent, cyborg protagonist with a history that runs from zero to confusing is considered the great gaming action hero. Sure, there are exceptions to that. UNCHARTED’s Nathan Drake is a great character, but for everyone one of him, there are a dozen Gordon Freemans from HALF-LIFE who only have three notable characteristics: glasses, silence, and a crowbar. Now you may not like Duke Nukem, but at least he’s memorable.
“This game is horribly offensive.” Who the hell are you to tell me or anyone else what’s offensive? That is a purely subjective definition unique to each person, you high-horse sitting member of the morality police. The whole game is basically a crude dick and fart joke, the kind of humor you would see on the old THE MAN SHOW or in a Kevin Smith movie. But you know what, I’m a man and I like dick and fart jokes. Sure, not always or all the time, but since you don’t usually have bathroom humor in video games, I thought it was a nice change. If that’s not your thing, fine, but don’t dare say such humor is completely without merit.
As for the story, it’s pretty basic. Twelve years after Duke put his mighty foot to alien butt, the aliens have returned and it’s up to Duke to once again save the day, not to mention the babes. To do so he breaks out all his old weapons, but sadly very little else. The lack of any real new weapons (the aliens do have perhaps one or two new toys, but they’re pretty forgettable) is sort of sad for a shooter. And while the awesome jetpack is also MIA for lord only knows why, DNF does have a bunch of diversions to help you forget its absence. There are a ton of things you can interact with in the world, from human feces, to porn movies, to even a glory hold (oh, how offensive). There are mini games like whack-an-alien, pinball, and air hockey. Unfortunately all the mini games sort of suck, with air hockey being particularly clunky and unresponsive.
There are a few modern additions to this old school game, such as the ability to only carry two weapons at once and a regenerating health system and such things do seem out of place here. Hmm, HALO much? At least the regenerating health makes an odd sort of sense as it is Duke’s massively overwhelming ego. You can increase this ego shield by doing manly things, killing bosses and interacting with the world in the ways I’m hinted at above. Still for a game that pokes fun at HALO, and other games, it seems like an odd choice to rip off two key aspects of it.
Final assessment: DUKE NUKEM FOREVER is a basic first person shooter with subpar graphics and mechanics that really haven’t changed over the last dozen or so years. The humor is crude and rude, but a nice change from the same old, same old. Duke himself it a relic from the past, but as that’s a past I miss when compared to what we’ve got for entertainment today, that’s fine with me. There’s profanity, nudity, blood and guts, you know; all the cool things. If that doesn’t sound like the game for you, then fine don’t play it. However if you’re child of the 80s or 90s, a fan of the groundbreaking DUKE NUKEM 3D and have been waiting forever for this game, an aficionado of the afore mentioned cured humor, or your just tired of all the same old military shooters out there, then this may be a fun diversion for you.
I give DUKE NUKEM FOREVER a “oh man, it’s not a joke, it’s finally out” 3 out of 5.
--Brian M. Sammons
DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS: DAGGERDALE, by Bedlam Games & Atari, Rated T, PC, PS3, Xbox 360.
I am sick and tired of bug-ridden games. There is no other type of media or entertainment that is constantly shipped to the customer in such a broken, unfinished state as video games are. Movies and TV shows aren’t missing whole scenes that make the story a confusing mess, only to have them added back in later on. Books don’t have random blank pages instead of text in them. Music doesn’t stop for no good reason and refuse to play any further no matter what you do. But video games more and more come plagued with bugs, some harmless and funny, others downright game breaking, but all of them seem slip-shot and for an industry that always whines about wanting to be taken seriously and seen as art, they relay need the get their collective shit together.
That little tirade brings me to DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS: DAGGERDALE. Now I am an old school RPG nerd and I loved me some D&D back in the day. So I was very happy when this game came out, it was the first official D&D game in a good long while and I was looking forward to getting my hack and slash on. And to be sure, this game started off well. No it wasn’t anything Earth shattering, but it had some good dungeon crawling, four classic classes to choose from (warrior, mage, cleric, rogue), some button mashing brawling, up to four player co-op, and the new D&D 4th edition rules so what’s not to love? Well, up until the half way mark of this game, not much. I was having a ball playing with my buddies, beating up goblins, lizardmen, and other classic D&D sword fodder. But sadly, those good times didn’t last.
Without notice we all got hit with a bug where we lost multiple levels and skills that we had killed so many baddies for. It effectively neutered us and more importantly, pissed all of us off so bad that the fun we were having with the game got flushed away. While we could technically continue playing we were left with a bad taste in our mouths. And we weren’t the only ones. A quick search on the internet found out that pretty much everyone who played this game got hit with the same bug. That is just unacceptable. When you buy a video game you don’t sign up to be the designer’s free quality control department and game tester. No, that crap should be done before the game gets into the hands of the customers. You know, like every other form of entertainment ever made!
Now I waited to write this review for over a month, hoping that the game makers would release a patch to fix the bug I got hit with, and all the other bugs that others have been complaining about all over the internet. That way maybe I could forget the bad taste that D&D:D had left me with and try to be fair and impartial. Well one month later and the game still isn’t fixed. Again, that’s just inexcusable. So while I like swinging my sword at goblins as much as the next completely normal man of my age, I can’t recommend this broken game as it is now to anyone.
I sadly have to give DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS: DAGGERDALE a pitiful, bug-ridden 1 magical sword out of 5.
DUKE NUKEM FOREVER, by 2K Games, Gearbox Softwear, and too many more to list, Rated M, PC, PS3, Xbox 360.
Right off the bat, let’s get to it. There is no way in hell that DUKE NUKEM FOREVER could live up to the hype surrounding a game that took over twelve years, and went through about a half dozen game developers, before finally coming out. Unless this game was the second coming of Christ, cured cancer, and developed an even tastier form of bacon, there was no way DUKE could have met those lofty expectations.
That said, it is also nowhere near as bad as you might have heard. Yet some of my fellow video game critics have taken great delight in crapping all over this game. It seems to be the fun filled bandwagon of bashing that everyone wants to jump on, to prove both their “serious journalist” cred and to score points with women and/or feminist by railing how disgustingly misogynist Duke and his game is. Then many of the same hypocritical hand-wavers do a “Top 10 Hottest Video Game Chicks” list the next week, or put out a ten minuet video spotlighting the jiggle breast physics in video games. Yay, talking out your ass is fun! Now like the game or not, that’s ok and everyone’s right, buy if you try to score points by taking moral pop shots, then you had better not live in a glass house. Ok, enough of that, let’s get to the game by way of looking at the common complaints I’ve seen over and over again and tackling them one by one.
Let’s start off with something I actually do agree with; “Oh it looks and plays so last generation.” Here the haters are correct. DNF just looks and plays old. It is a first person shooter taking place largely indoors against aliens and monsters of all sorts. Most of the time you’ll enter a big room, the doors will close and lock behind you, a bunch of aliens will pour into the room, and you’ll have to kill them before the next door will open. And yeah, that does feel out of place in this day of far more dynamic shooters. Add to that the somewhat sloppy game control and the passable, but nothing noteworthy or particularly good, graphics and you get a game that on a technical level is “meh” at best.
“Duke is the kind of action hero that seems out of place today”. Well no duh, but you know what, I wish there was more out there like Duke because while silly and crude, he’s fun. Can you name a true action hero today? In today’s movies you’ve got guys in spandex with super powers as our only heroes. Yawn. Outside of the costumed crowd you’ve got who, Jason Statham, who always plays the same emotional stunted, anal retentive “professional” type or Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, the ex-wrestler who’s more at home playing the Tooth Fairy in Disney flicks than being a bad ass. Sorry, but I’ll take Duke Nukem over all of those any day of the week. Yes, Duke is a throwback, but he is a throwback to Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Bruce Campbell and other 80s and 90s action icons that have been sorely missed in these days where FAST AND FURIOUS Part Who The Hell Cares is the highpoint for action flicks. And don’t get me started on video games where HALO’s Master Chief, a one-dimensional, largely silent, cyborg protagonist with a history that runs from zero to confusing is considered the great gaming action hero. Sure, there are exceptions to that. UNCHARTED’s Nathan Drake is a great character, but for everyone one of him, there are a dozen Gordon Freemans from HALF-LIFE who only have three notable characteristics: glasses, silence, and a crowbar. Now you may not like Duke Nukem, but at least he’s memorable.
“This game is horribly offensive.” Who the hell are you to tell me or anyone else what’s offensive? That is a purely subjective definition unique to each person, you high-horse sitting member of the morality police. The whole game is basically a crude dick and fart joke, the kind of humor you would see on the old THE MAN SHOW or in a Kevin Smith movie. But you know what, I’m a man and I like dick and fart jokes. Sure, not always or all the time, but since you don’t usually have bathroom humor in video games, I thought it was a nice change. If that’s not your thing, fine, but don’t dare say such humor is completely without merit.
As for the story, it’s pretty basic. Twelve years after Duke put his mighty foot to alien butt, the aliens have returned and it’s up to Duke to once again save the day, not to mention the babes. To do so he breaks out all his old weapons, but sadly very little else. The lack of any real new weapons (the aliens do have perhaps one or two new toys, but they’re pretty forgettable) is sort of sad for a shooter. And while the awesome jetpack is also MIA for lord only knows why, DNF does have a bunch of diversions to help you forget its absence. There are a ton of things you can interact with in the world, from human feces, to porn movies, to even a glory hold (oh, how offensive). There are mini games like whack-an-alien, pinball, and air hockey. Unfortunately all the mini games sort of suck, with air hockey being particularly clunky and unresponsive.
There are a few modern additions to this old school game, such as the ability to only carry two weapons at once and a regenerating health system and such things do seem out of place here. Hmm, HALO much? At least the regenerating health makes an odd sort of sense as it is Duke’s massively overwhelming ego. You can increase this ego shield by doing manly things, killing bosses and interacting with the world in the ways I’m hinted at above. Still for a game that pokes fun at HALO, and other games, it seems like an odd choice to rip off two key aspects of it.
Final assessment: DUKE NUKEM FOREVER is a basic first person shooter with subpar graphics and mechanics that really haven’t changed over the last dozen or so years. The humor is crude and rude, but a nice change from the same old, same old. Duke himself it a relic from the past, but as that’s a past I miss when compared to what we’ve got for entertainment today, that’s fine with me. There’s profanity, nudity, blood and guts, you know; all the cool things. If that doesn’t sound like the game for you, then fine don’t play it. However if you’re child of the 80s or 90s, a fan of the groundbreaking DUKE NUKEM 3D and have been waiting forever for this game, an aficionado of the afore mentioned cured humor, or your just tired of all the same old military shooters out there, then this may be a fun diversion for you.
I give DUKE NUKEM FOREVER a “oh man, it’s not a joke, it’s finally out” 3 out of 5.
--Brian M. Sammons
Wanna write for The Black Glove?
If you're interested in writing your very own column, or just want to write reviews for your favorite horror movies and/or books, send me an email at Nickolasecook@aol.com. While we can't pay for the content, I can promise horror fans around the world will read your stuff.
Dark Suites Music Reviews
In the spirit of our 2nd annual Horrorhead Awards, we present a reprint of this years' winner for 2010 and the runners up:
Deftones: Diamond Eyes (2010)
Review written by Steven M. Duarte
The Deftones have gone through a lot since they last released Saturday Night Wrist in 2006. They were originally working on a concept album titled Eros. They had a majority of the work done on the album before tragedy struck the band. The bands bassist Chi Cheng was in an automobile accident which left him near death. At the time his status was unknown and the band went on a short hiatus. This occurred in 2008 and while Cheng is still comatose his condition is considered to be stable. The band felt that they could not use what was created with Eros and decided to start on new material. Thus we now have Diamond Eyes with former Quicksand bassist taking over for Cheng.
Diamond Eyes is very much a Deftones album. Much heavier than Saturday Night Wrist Eyes reminds us of the heavy sound they came out with on Around the Fur and Adrenaline. The album is also a departure from the sound that came forth in White Pony which was also very much a concept album. Now don’t get me wrong I loved White Pony and was patiently waiting for Eros but there’s just something about the Deftones and a really heavy sound that makes them who they are today.
From the very start of the album Diamond Eyes starts with the album titled track. Diamond Eyes prepares you for the heaviness that continues through the entire album. You’ve seen the Butcher is a song that is very reminiscent of a track that you might find from the White Pony sessions. The track is a slower paced melodic romp where lead singer Chino Moreno wails along with the guitar. Beauty School has a Lincoln Park vibe going on with the start of a hip hop beat which then goes into a slower paced rock ballad.
There’s no denying that Chino Moreno is a vocalist in his own category. Chino has always had an awesome unique voice that simply cannot be imitated. The only other vocalist in rock who has a better voice would be Maynard of Tool. It was only appropriate that they did a song together on White Pony called. If you’re new to Deftones this would be an excellent album to start off with. For Deftones fans you’re in for a real treat as you reminisce about the good old days when Deftones first started and Korn was still a good band.
Track List
1. "Diamond Eyes" – 3:08
2. "Royal" – 3:32
3. "CMND/CTRL" – 2:25
4. "You've Seen the Butcher" – 3:31
5. "Beauty School" – 4:47
6. "Prince" – 3:36
7. "Rocket Skates" – 4:14
8. "Sextape" – 4:01
9. "Risk" – 3:38
10. "976–EVIL" – 4:32
11. "This Place Is Death" – 3:40
(Check out tour and news on their website: http://www.deftones.com/home/)
--Steven M. Duarte
Muse: The Resistance (2010)
Review by Nickolas Cook
With a running thematic core of revolution, politically and spiritually, they manage to create not only one of the most lyrically relevant albums of 2009, but also musically. These guys clearly are more than just an alt-rock band of the first order. They're on a mission. The sonic soundscaping they achieve is nothing short of amazing, a unique admixture of rock, electronica elements and pure classical phrasing, using piano and full orchestra. They've even managed to write a three-part symphony called 'Exogenesis' that's just beautiful. This is a must own album for music lovers.
Tracks:
1. "Uprising" 5:03
2. "Resistance" 5:46
3. "Undisclosed Desires" 3:56
4. "United States of Eurasia (+Collateral Damage)" 5:47
5. "Guiding Light" 4:13
6. "Unnatural Selection" 6:54
7. "MK Ultra" 4:06
8. "I Belong to You (+Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix)" 5:38
9. "Exogenesis: Symphony Part 1 (Overture)" 4:18
10. "Exogenesis: Symphony Part 2 (Cross-Pollination)" 3:56
11. "Exogenesis: Symphony Part 3 (Redemption)" 4:37
(Check out MUSE's Official Website here for details on tour dates and news)
--Nickolas Cook
HIM: Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice (2010)
Review written by Steven M Duarte
I have often defended HIM’s music. Too often people hear their music and dismiss them for some alt emo band. There is so much more to their music than their radio friendly singles. Their new release “Screamworks,” is perhaps their most emo sounding album yet which makes it tough to defend their music from falling into the emo category.
Screamworks is very much a departure from their previously dark and heavy album “Venus Doom.” Venus doom had heavy down tuned guitar work along with dark lyrics and themes. The songs averaged 6 minutes in length with the exception of Sleepwalking past hope which clocks in at 10 minutes. My enthusiasm for the band was increased tenfold when I first heard Venus Doom. HIM has always had that dark gothic sound and Venus Doom really put that side of them center stage. Venus doom was based off of Dante’s Divine Comedy. The darkness of the album really reflects this.
Screamworks is much more pop and emo than any of their previous work. This album is closer sounding to 1999’s “Razorblade Romance.” Majority of the themes and lyrics included on Screamworks involve heartbreak and love. The radio friendly single “Heartkiller,” is very reminiscent of the Razorblade Romance era. A couple of the songs contain throwbacks to the old casio keyboard sound of the 80’s. “In The Arms of Rain,” starts with an Atari Pong sound effect that plays throughout the entire track. “The foreboding Sense of Impending Happiness,” also contains an 80’s Depeche Mode sounding backing track. A very nice throw back to the 80’s with the use of these effects.
“Ode to Solitude,” and “Like St. Valentine,” are two of the heavier songs on the album. These two mirror the sound found on Love Metal. I always felt that HIM sounded their best when playing heavier and this album could have used more of these heavier songs. Screamworks is not a bad album by any means; it’s just disappointing that they were headed towards a darker sound first with Dark Light then with Venus Doom. Now they have taken the route of a lighter pop sound which can leave HIM fans on divided ends.
Track List
1. In Venere Veritas
2. Scared To Death
3. Heartkiller
4. Dying Song
5. Disarm Me [With Your Loneliness]
6. Love, The Hardest Way
7. Katherine Wheel
8. In The Arms Of Rain
9. Ode To Solitude
10. Shatter Me With Hope
11. Acoustic Funeral (For Love In Limbo)
12. Like St. Valentine
13. The Foreboding Sense Of Impending Happiness
(Visit H.I.M. here)
--Steven M. Duarte
Rob Zombie: Hellbilly Deluxe 2- Noble Jackals, Penny Dreadfuls and the Systematic Dehumanization of Cool (2010)
Review written by Steven M Duarte
The long awaited sequel to the original Hellbilly Deluxe has finally been released. Fresh off directing the not too well received Halloween 2, Zombie felt the need to return to his horror rock roots. And for the most part he succeeded as Hellbilly Deluxe is much more 90’s era Zombie than his previous effort Educated Horses.
Even though not specifically stated in public, I always felt that Educated Horses was somewhat of a concept album. Then Zombie had a new band backing him and he had not released an album in a couple of years. The overall direction of Educated Horses took a much different direction than we had previously heard on Hellbilly Deluxe and Sinister Urge. To my surprise Hellbilly 2 features much of the same feel and direction of his previous albums. The titles of the songs mirror names of 1950 B-movies that were never created. We have titles such as Werewolf, Baby, Mars Needs Women, and Werewolf Women of the SS. Zombie includes samples of dialogue from older movies, much like Hellbilly deluxe contained.
One thing that Zombie incorporates into the new album that was not used too much in previous albums is his use of distortion for his singing. Songs such as What, and Dream Factory contain this filter. While I guess the potential is there for it to sound cool, I just couldn’t get into the sound and felt like it actually took away from the songs. Zombie’s band from Educated Horses is back which includes one of my favorite metal guitarists John 5. His melting riffs never disappoint and Hellbilly 2 is full of face melting solos and haunting complex riffs.
There really are not any bad tracks on the album. Every track is listenable and you really will not find yourself skipping through tracks to get to your favorite. The entire album is decent enough to allow a full play through. One nod that horror fans will easily recognize will be Zombies inclusion of a song for his faux trailer Werewolf Women of the SS. Werewolf Women of the SS was one of the trailers included between the Planet Terror and Death Proof double feature released in 2007. The song is fitting for the trailer and we can only hope that Zombie actually makes a Grindhouse style full feature film for Werewolf Women. Hey if Robert Rodriguez’s Machete does well, it might actually happen.
Track List
01. Jesus Frankenstein
02. Sick Bubble-Gun
03. What?
04. Mars Needs Women
05. Werewolf, Baby
06. Virgin Witch
07. Dream Factory
08. Burn
09. Cease to Exist
10. Werewolf Women of the SS
11. The Man Who Laughs
(Visit Rob Zombie's site here)
--Steven M. Duarte
Deftones: Diamond Eyes (2010)
Review written by Steven M. Duarte
The Deftones have gone through a lot since they last released Saturday Night Wrist in 2006. They were originally working on a concept album titled Eros. They had a majority of the work done on the album before tragedy struck the band. The bands bassist Chi Cheng was in an automobile accident which left him near death. At the time his status was unknown and the band went on a short hiatus. This occurred in 2008 and while Cheng is still comatose his condition is considered to be stable. The band felt that they could not use what was created with Eros and decided to start on new material. Thus we now have Diamond Eyes with former Quicksand bassist taking over for Cheng.
Diamond Eyes is very much a Deftones album. Much heavier than Saturday Night Wrist Eyes reminds us of the heavy sound they came out with on Around the Fur and Adrenaline. The album is also a departure from the sound that came forth in White Pony which was also very much a concept album. Now don’t get me wrong I loved White Pony and was patiently waiting for Eros but there’s just something about the Deftones and a really heavy sound that makes them who they are today.
From the very start of the album Diamond Eyes starts with the album titled track. Diamond Eyes prepares you for the heaviness that continues through the entire album. You’ve seen the Butcher is a song that is very reminiscent of a track that you might find from the White Pony sessions. The track is a slower paced melodic romp where lead singer Chino Moreno wails along with the guitar. Beauty School has a Lincoln Park vibe going on with the start of a hip hop beat which then goes into a slower paced rock ballad.
There’s no denying that Chino Moreno is a vocalist in his own category. Chino has always had an awesome unique voice that simply cannot be imitated. The only other vocalist in rock who has a better voice would be Maynard of Tool. It was only appropriate that they did a song together on White Pony called. If you’re new to Deftones this would be an excellent album to start off with. For Deftones fans you’re in for a real treat as you reminisce about the good old days when Deftones first started and Korn was still a good band.
Track List
1. "Diamond Eyes" – 3:08
2. "Royal" – 3:32
3. "CMND/CTRL" – 2:25
4. "You've Seen the Butcher" – 3:31
5. "Beauty School" – 4:47
6. "Prince" – 3:36
7. "Rocket Skates" – 4:14
8. "Sextape" – 4:01
9. "Risk" – 3:38
10. "976–EVIL" – 4:32
11. "This Place Is Death" – 3:40
(Check out tour and news on their website: http://www.deftones.com/home/)
--Steven M. Duarte
Muse: The Resistance (2010)
Review by Nickolas Cook
With a running thematic core of revolution, politically and spiritually, they manage to create not only one of the most lyrically relevant albums of 2009, but also musically. These guys clearly are more than just an alt-rock band of the first order. They're on a mission. The sonic soundscaping they achieve is nothing short of amazing, a unique admixture of rock, electronica elements and pure classical phrasing, using piano and full orchestra. They've even managed to write a three-part symphony called 'Exogenesis' that's just beautiful. This is a must own album for music lovers.
Tracks:
1. "Uprising" 5:03
2. "Resistance" 5:46
3. "Undisclosed Desires" 3:56
4. "United States of Eurasia (+Collateral Damage)" 5:47
5. "Guiding Light" 4:13
6. "Unnatural Selection" 6:54
7. "MK Ultra" 4:06
8. "I Belong to You (+Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix)" 5:38
9. "Exogenesis: Symphony Part 1 (Overture)" 4:18
10. "Exogenesis: Symphony Part 2 (Cross-Pollination)" 3:56
11. "Exogenesis: Symphony Part 3 (Redemption)" 4:37
(Check out MUSE's Official Website here for details on tour dates and news)
--Nickolas Cook
HIM: Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice (2010)
Review written by Steven M Duarte
I have often defended HIM’s music. Too often people hear their music and dismiss them for some alt emo band. There is so much more to their music than their radio friendly singles. Their new release “Screamworks,” is perhaps their most emo sounding album yet which makes it tough to defend their music from falling into the emo category.
Screamworks is very much a departure from their previously dark and heavy album “Venus Doom.” Venus doom had heavy down tuned guitar work along with dark lyrics and themes. The songs averaged 6 minutes in length with the exception of Sleepwalking past hope which clocks in at 10 minutes. My enthusiasm for the band was increased tenfold when I first heard Venus Doom. HIM has always had that dark gothic sound and Venus Doom really put that side of them center stage. Venus doom was based off of Dante’s Divine Comedy. The darkness of the album really reflects this.
Screamworks is much more pop and emo than any of their previous work. This album is closer sounding to 1999’s “Razorblade Romance.” Majority of the themes and lyrics included on Screamworks involve heartbreak and love. The radio friendly single “Heartkiller,” is very reminiscent of the Razorblade Romance era. A couple of the songs contain throwbacks to the old casio keyboard sound of the 80’s. “In The Arms of Rain,” starts with an Atari Pong sound effect that plays throughout the entire track. “The foreboding Sense of Impending Happiness,” also contains an 80’s Depeche Mode sounding backing track. A very nice throw back to the 80’s with the use of these effects.
“Ode to Solitude,” and “Like St. Valentine,” are two of the heavier songs on the album. These two mirror the sound found on Love Metal. I always felt that HIM sounded their best when playing heavier and this album could have used more of these heavier songs. Screamworks is not a bad album by any means; it’s just disappointing that they were headed towards a darker sound first with Dark Light then with Venus Doom. Now they have taken the route of a lighter pop sound which can leave HIM fans on divided ends.
Track List
1. In Venere Veritas
2. Scared To Death
3. Heartkiller
4. Dying Song
5. Disarm Me [With Your Loneliness]
6. Love, The Hardest Way
7. Katherine Wheel
8. In The Arms Of Rain
9. Ode To Solitude
10. Shatter Me With Hope
11. Acoustic Funeral (For Love In Limbo)
12. Like St. Valentine
13. The Foreboding Sense Of Impending Happiness
(Visit H.I.M. here)
--Steven M. Duarte
Rob Zombie: Hellbilly Deluxe 2- Noble Jackals, Penny Dreadfuls and the Systematic Dehumanization of Cool (2010)
Review written by Steven M Duarte
The long awaited sequel to the original Hellbilly Deluxe has finally been released. Fresh off directing the not too well received Halloween 2, Zombie felt the need to return to his horror rock roots. And for the most part he succeeded as Hellbilly Deluxe is much more 90’s era Zombie than his previous effort Educated Horses.
Even though not specifically stated in public, I always felt that Educated Horses was somewhat of a concept album. Then Zombie had a new band backing him and he had not released an album in a couple of years. The overall direction of Educated Horses took a much different direction than we had previously heard on Hellbilly Deluxe and Sinister Urge. To my surprise Hellbilly 2 features much of the same feel and direction of his previous albums. The titles of the songs mirror names of 1950 B-movies that were never created. We have titles such as Werewolf, Baby, Mars Needs Women, and Werewolf Women of the SS. Zombie includes samples of dialogue from older movies, much like Hellbilly deluxe contained.
One thing that Zombie incorporates into the new album that was not used too much in previous albums is his use of distortion for his singing. Songs such as What, and Dream Factory contain this filter. While I guess the potential is there for it to sound cool, I just couldn’t get into the sound and felt like it actually took away from the songs. Zombie’s band from Educated Horses is back which includes one of my favorite metal guitarists John 5. His melting riffs never disappoint and Hellbilly 2 is full of face melting solos and haunting complex riffs.
There really are not any bad tracks on the album. Every track is listenable and you really will not find yourself skipping through tracks to get to your favorite. The entire album is decent enough to allow a full play through. One nod that horror fans will easily recognize will be Zombies inclusion of a song for his faux trailer Werewolf Women of the SS. Werewolf Women of the SS was one of the trailers included between the Planet Terror and Death Proof double feature released in 2007. The song is fitting for the trailer and we can only hope that Zombie actually makes a Grindhouse style full feature film for Werewolf Women. Hey if Robert Rodriguez’s Machete does well, it might actually happen.
Track List
01. Jesus Frankenstein
02. Sick Bubble-Gun
03. What?
04. Mars Needs Women
05. Werewolf, Baby
06. Virgin Witch
07. Dream Factory
08. Burn
09. Cease to Exist
10. Werewolf Women of the SS
11. The Man Who Laughs
(Visit Rob Zombie's site here)
--Steven M. Duarte
The Horror Playlist: Bud Ammons
One of the people who has influenced since childhood is my cousin, Bud Ammons. Like myself, he grew up in a mind-numbingly small backwards little Southern town (me in Yulee, Florida, and him in Ponce De Leon, Florida), where he found escape through music, first as a fan and then as a musician. Me and my little brother's highlight of summer visits to my mama's hometown of PDL was getting to hangout with Buddy, our favorite cousin, hands down.
Since those long ago days, he has moved to California, gotten married to his highschool sweetheart, and played in several bands through the years, some more successful than others, but always crowd pleasing professionals, with a well rounded musical background.
Which describes Buddy to a tee.
It's easy enough to see his influence on my own musical taste even in the snapshot top 10 below.
When I asked him to give me this list, I figured, like we have for years, his list would probably be pretty close to my own. And I was right. Three of the ten songs he has in heavy rotation are also in my top 20 at the moment...in heavy rotation. Weird, huh?
He still continues to influence me, after all these years, and I thank God every day for having had him in my life.
Check out his ever changing, ever evolving top 10 songs...
10. BAD COMPANY- 5 FINGER DEATH PUNCH
9. CLOSER TO THE EDGE- 30 SECONDS TO MARS
8. BRING ME TO LIFE- EVANESCENCE
7. SLITHER- VELVET REVOLVER
6. SHOW ME HOW TO LIVE- AUDIOSLAVE
5. MR. BROWNSTONE- GUNS N' ROSES
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4. VERTIGO- U2
3. THE SWEETEST TABOO- SADE
2. MY CURSE- KILLSWITCH ENGAGE
1. FOREVER FREE- W.A.S.P.
--(Thanks to my cuz, Bud Ammons, for the top 10 this month. Check out more of our shared musical tastes on his Facebook Group page, Rock/Blues/Metal Feedback.)
Since those long ago days, he has moved to California, gotten married to his highschool sweetheart, and played in several bands through the years, some more successful than others, but always crowd pleasing professionals, with a well rounded musical background.
Which describes Buddy to a tee.
It's easy enough to see his influence on my own musical taste even in the snapshot top 10 below.
When I asked him to give me this list, I figured, like we have for years, his list would probably be pretty close to my own. And I was right. Three of the ten songs he has in heavy rotation are also in my top 20 at the moment...in heavy rotation. Weird, huh?
He still continues to influence me, after all these years, and I thank God every day for having had him in my life.
Check out his ever changing, ever evolving top 10 songs...
10. BAD COMPANY- 5 FINGER DEATH PUNCH
9. CLOSER TO THE EDGE- 30 SECONDS TO MARS
8. BRING ME TO LIFE- EVANESCENCE
7. SLITHER- VELVET REVOLVER
6. SHOW ME HOW TO LIVE- AUDIOSLAVE
5. MR. BROWNSTONE- GUNS N' ROSES
4. VERTIGO- U2
3. THE SWEETEST TABOO- SADE
2. MY CURSE- KILLSWITCH ENGAGE
1. FOREVER FREE- W.A.S.P.
--(Thanks to my cuz, Bud Ammons, for the top 10 this month. Check out more of our shared musical tastes on his Facebook Group page, Rock/Blues/Metal Feedback.)
Top 13: Horror Films of 1981
--list compiled by The Black Glove staff
In case you didn't know it, this issue marks the 2nd year of THE BLACK GLOVE's online version of the magazine. So our anniversary got me thinking about other significant tidemarks in my own Horrorhead life.
The single most important influence on my life as a horror fan is without a doubt the drive-ins which me and my family frequented every weekend during my childhood.
So, here I am 30 years later, thinking on this 2nd anniversary issue of The Black Glove, and about a summer all those years ago when I was seeing some of the movies which have informed me as a horror fan and writer.
30 years ago I was a little kid, still hitting the drive-in theaters every weekend, gobbling up new horror films EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND! No lie. Every weekend, there was a new horror film shining on that big white screen at any one of half a dozen drive-ins within fifteen miles of home.
My family's favorite drive-in was called THE REEF DRIVE-IN, owned by an elderly couple who knew what their neighbors in our little Southern town wanted to see: fast cars, explosions, guns and, yes, gore...lots and lots of gore.
There were other places which we frequented to get that weekly fix of 80s exploitation horror, places like THE FOX DRIVE-IN, THE PINES DRIVE-IN, THE FIVE POINTS DRIVE-IN and the last one standing until a few years ago, THE PLAYTIME DRIVE-IN. Sadly, I found out after the fact that some asshole Baptist group (something we have a lot of in the South) found a legal way to have the place finally shut down and they preceded to burn everything they could find in the building, including, from what I've been told, original 35 MM copies of old horror films from the 60s, 70s and 80s.
Lost, for good. Never to be seen again.
Some of the movies that played that year that didn't make this Top 13 list were DEADLY BLESSING by Wes Craven, John Carpenter's ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK (relax...it's not horror, or else it would have topped my list of best of that year, folks), HALLOWEEN II (good, but by then, it had become nothing more than a typical slasher flick, thanks to big studio pressure to feed the lowest common denominator audience), INSEMINOID (a lost trash classic, in my opinion), and the New Zealand shot slasher, STRANGE BEHAVIOR. There were others, but I think you'll find the movies that did make our Top 13 Horror Films of 1981 are, without a doubt, the best of that year in the genre. Some of them might seem like silly films now, but I challenge you to watch them, and then compare them to the crappy PG-13 cookie cutter big studio and direct-to-video 'horror' which we have these days. I'm pretty sure you'll agree that even the ones which are less than great still work for those Horrorheads who grew up during those last great years of drive-in exploitation horror.
So enjoy the list (in alphabetical order), watch the videos, and remember a better time in the genre...
13. Wolfen
Shot in and around the NYC of old, when there seemed more ghettos than suburbs, by the man responsible for WOODSTOCK: THE MOVIE (1970), Michael Wadleigh, this is a movie about a pack of ancient killer wolves who hunt man for their food, feeding off of the forgotten and sick in the city's slums. The movie starred Albert Finney, Diane Venora, Gregory Hines and Edward James Olmos, and used a, then, little known hi-tech process called "thermography" to convey the wolves' ability to smell fear and sickness in their prey. It didn't do all that well with critics, but it has a cult following now, in no small part due to the original novel's author Whitley Strieber. The film is pretty skimpy on the gore, with the exception of a couple of key scenes, which still have impact today.
12. Scanners
Directed by Canadian filmmaking genuis, David Cronenberg, this movie skirts the boundaries of science fiction in its depiction of a mutant strain of humanity which has the ability to "scan". And if you're wondering what that means, it's pretty much whatever Cronenberg wants it to mean for whatever kill scene he has in mind at the time. This movie starred Jennifer O'Neill, Stephen Lack, Michael Ironside, and Patrick McGoohan, and pushed the boundaries of the gore factor in a big studio release. There are exploding heads, leaking arteries and melting faces galore, but its the film strong centrel characters which drive the story. Even Ironside's insane, power hungry villian, Darryl Revok, evokes sympathy when its discovered that irresponsible drug research scientists and big business which are the villians behind the "scanners".
11. Roadgames
Shot in the vast backroad wastelands of Australia, by the late great genre director Richard Franklin, this film elevates itself above the simplistic slasher fare of its day by giving us something which more closely resembles Hitchcock than horror. It didn't hurt that Franklin also happened to be Hitchcock's friend and protégé. Starring Stacey Keach and the ever wonderful 70s and 80s horror "scream queen" herself, Jamie Lee Curtis, this movie is perfectly paced and builds suspense unlike any other film in 1981. Its filled with clever dialogue and extraordinary scenery, shot by a master of the camera. Franklin smoothly switches from huge panaromic vistas, to choking claustrophobia, all within one shot. It's a shame Franklin did not make more movies during his career. Consider this a 'lost classic' that deserves rediscovery by a new generation of Horrorheads.
10. My Bloody Valentine
Forget the totally forgettable 3-D remake from 2009, the one that counts is this original 1981 Canadian production that tells the story of mad slasher Harry Warden, who has a pickaxe and ain't afraid to use it. When the populace of Valetine Bluff decide to have a Valentine Day party, Warden dessimates anyone who dares after the long ago mining accident which killed several miners, but left crazy Harry Warden alive and quite insane. What sets this apart from other slashers of its time, other than the fact that it takes place in a mine and not in a forest, is that the victims are young adults, not teenagers, who are dealing with adult problems and a dead-end existence in a dying mining town. There's plenty of gore (some of which was censored in the original release, but later added back in for the 2009 DVD release) and some topnotch cinematography.
9. The Howling
A classic 80s film that helped push the werewolf into the number one monster of the early part of the decade (with the help of our #1 positioned film, as well), this is movie is the perfect blend of Joe Dante's trademark humor and horror, with some fairly witty genre nods and inside jokes, including cameos from genre masters Roger Corman and Forrest J. Ackerman, and riveting performances from Dee Wallace and Christopher Stone. The Rob Bottin makeup effects set the standard for the industry (again, with the #1 positioned film), giving us one of the greatest transformation scenes ever put on celluloid. If you don't own this film, it would be difficult for me to take you serious as a horror fan.
8. Hell Night
God, how I love this movie!
It's one of my favorites of the genre, starring that "little devil" herself, mini-Scream Queen Linda Blair, as one the victims of a trio of backwoods killers who inhabit a "haunted mansion" which is being used for some serious college fraternity hazing. The sex and gore are played down in favor of some great atmosphere and cinematography, which help to make this one a lost classic.
7. Happy Birthday To Me
Another Canadian shot slasher (must have been something in the water back then, I guess). Directed by the late great J. Lee Thompson (director of over 40 films, including such classics as The Guns of Navarone (1961) and Cape Fear (1962)) and starring some of the biggest names in film and television at the time, including Melissa Sue Anderson and Glenn Ford, two people you'd never have pictured in a slasher flick, right?
It includes some great inventive kill scenes- death by motorcycle wheel, shish kebab and fire poker- with a refreshing over the top sense to them, which helped set the bar for the rest of the slasher films to follow. The story has a great, unseen, double twist ending, which also helped to start another trend in the genre. Classic stuff.
6. The Funhouse
Directed by genre master Tobe Hooper, this is one of his overlooked horror greats, starring Elizabeth Berridge, Kevin Conway and Cooper Huckabee. Four teenagers find themselves trapped in a dark ride with a mutant killer. Of course, they've been having some unmarried sex and been doing drugs, so they deserve what they get, right?
This has a good mix of gore and atmosphere and the use of the "haunted house" dark ride is inspired stuff. The backwoods dysfunctional family of killers is familiar territory for Hooper, only he had a hell of lot larger budget for this one than he did for "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974)...and it shows. The sets give the viewer a sense of the grimy carnival atmosphere and the near mute mutant killer illicits a sense of tragedy and sympathy--even if he is killing off the main characters.
5. Friday the 13th Part II
The first of many sequels to one of the greatest slasher films ever made--in fact some would say "Friday the 13th" (1980) is the definitive slasher film--this was directed by Steve Miner, who was responsible for the Part III, as well. This was the world's introduction to that famous killer Jason Voorhees, sans hockey mask (that doesn't come around until the next film). This has great gore, but also tries to build some suspense and atmosphere, something that seems to dwindle as the sequels keep coming in the following years, years when it becomes about nothing more than the 'body count'. Jason is a mostly unseen menace throughout most of the movie and when we do get to see him for the first time, he is horrifyingly horrible.
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4. The Evil Dead
Directed by another of the genre's masters, Sam Raimi, who rarely directs in the genre any more, this is his first time out and it is a HUGE genre classic. The gore is the main attraction, here, and it is so over the top that it could have only been an independantly produced film--no big studio would have touched something so violent and bloody at that point. That would happen later. But this sort of crazy gore would rarely get the kind of respectful handling as it does in this movie. Starring another of the genre's most recognizable faces, Bruce Campbell, this movie made him a cult figure in the industry because of his cartoon like face and total devotion to the over the top narrative about demonic possession in a haunted forest, cut off from civilization by stop motion Lovecraftian monsters and buckets and buckets of BLOOD!
But don't get me wrong: the gore is wonderful, but the suspense and atmosphere are just as important to why this movie has remained one of the greatest horror films ever made.
Again, if you don't own this one, it's kind of hard to call yourself a horror fan.
3. Dead and Buried
You would be hard pressed to find anything as strange and frightening as this movie in all of horror filmdom. Directed by the great Gary Sherman (director of another awesome lost classic, "Death Line" aka "Raw Meat" (1972)), with a screenplay Dan O'Bannon, this tells the story of the odd citizens of Potter's Bluff, where people are dying and then turning up again, apparently alive and well...but they do have a tendacy to start killing others before turning up at the local morgue. Don't look for logical sense in this one and you'll thoroughly enjoy this mix of extremely disturbing gore and violence and strong mood and atmosphere (notice there's a trend in the movies that have made this list?). This is one of the oddest zombie movies ever made. Trust me. You will not see another film like this one. A definite lost classic. Editor/writer/reviewer Bill Breedlove and I utterly agree: this is a must own for serious horror fans.
2. The Burning
At first, this may appear to be just another slasher film, obviously imspired by the success of 1980's "Friday the 13th", but once you get into the film it becomes startlingly different in its use of ambient electronica soundtrack from Rick Wakeman, the use of a burned revenge fueled killer who uses garden shears (yikes!), and the use of a 'final boy' as opposed to the usual 'final girl', which had been setup in John Carpenter's "Halloween" (1978). There has a strangely homoerotic edge to it, something that would not appear again in the genre until "A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge " (1985), a weird male relationship between the male leads, Brian Matthews and Brian Backer, although it's a co-ed summer camp, filled with half naked teen girls. Of course Cropsey does his best to show equality in the slasher genre, by killing anything that moves, girl or boy.
1. An American Werewolf in London
Which brings us alphabetically to the number one film on our list.
This is 'the other werewolf film' of the 80s, which helped make the lycanthrope the go-to monster of the decade. Filled with director John Landis' dark humor, this has the other best transformation scene in horror history, this time by the great Rick Baker, who was Rob Bottin's mentor (see film #9 for more info), and some great suspenseful buildups to some great gore kill scenes. The added touch of masterful horror handling comes from the nightmare return of new werewolf killer David Naughton's victims, as they continue to decay as the film procedes to its amazing final confrontation between London bobbies and the fully transformed werewolf on a major street. This touches on both Henry Hull's and Lon Chaney's tragic turns as the hirsute monster in Universal Studio's "Werewolf of London" (1935) and "The Wolfman" (1941), making the monster sympathetic and an uncontrollably force which seeks to kill the thing it loves.
--Nickolas Cook
In case you didn't know it, this issue marks the 2nd year of THE BLACK GLOVE's online version of the magazine. So our anniversary got me thinking about other significant tidemarks in my own Horrorhead life.
The single most important influence on my life as a horror fan is without a doubt the drive-ins which me and my family frequented every weekend during my childhood.
So, here I am 30 years later, thinking on this 2nd anniversary issue of The Black Glove, and about a summer all those years ago when I was seeing some of the movies which have informed me as a horror fan and writer.
30 years ago I was a little kid, still hitting the drive-in theaters every weekend, gobbling up new horror films EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND! No lie. Every weekend, there was a new horror film shining on that big white screen at any one of half a dozen drive-ins within fifteen miles of home.
My family's favorite drive-in was called THE REEF DRIVE-IN, owned by an elderly couple who knew what their neighbors in our little Southern town wanted to see: fast cars, explosions, guns and, yes, gore...lots and lots of gore.
There were other places which we frequented to get that weekly fix of 80s exploitation horror, places like THE FOX DRIVE-IN, THE PINES DRIVE-IN, THE FIVE POINTS DRIVE-IN and the last one standing until a few years ago, THE PLAYTIME DRIVE-IN. Sadly, I found out after the fact that some asshole Baptist group (something we have a lot of in the South) found a legal way to have the place finally shut down and they preceded to burn everything they could find in the building, including, from what I've been told, original 35 MM copies of old horror films from the 60s, 70s and 80s.
Lost, for good. Never to be seen again.
Some of the movies that played that year that didn't make this Top 13 list were DEADLY BLESSING by Wes Craven, John Carpenter's ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK (relax...it's not horror, or else it would have topped my list of best of that year, folks), HALLOWEEN II (good, but by then, it had become nothing more than a typical slasher flick, thanks to big studio pressure to feed the lowest common denominator audience), INSEMINOID (a lost trash classic, in my opinion), and the New Zealand shot slasher, STRANGE BEHAVIOR. There were others, but I think you'll find the movies that did make our Top 13 Horror Films of 1981 are, without a doubt, the best of that year in the genre. Some of them might seem like silly films now, but I challenge you to watch them, and then compare them to the crappy PG-13 cookie cutter big studio and direct-to-video 'horror' which we have these days. I'm pretty sure you'll agree that even the ones which are less than great still work for those Horrorheads who grew up during those last great years of drive-in exploitation horror.
So enjoy the list (in alphabetical order), watch the videos, and remember a better time in the genre...
13. Wolfen
Shot in and around the NYC of old, when there seemed more ghettos than suburbs, by the man responsible for WOODSTOCK: THE MOVIE (1970), Michael Wadleigh, this is a movie about a pack of ancient killer wolves who hunt man for their food, feeding off of the forgotten and sick in the city's slums. The movie starred Albert Finney, Diane Venora, Gregory Hines and Edward James Olmos, and used a, then, little known hi-tech process called "thermography" to convey the wolves' ability to smell fear and sickness in their prey. It didn't do all that well with critics, but it has a cult following now, in no small part due to the original novel's author Whitley Strieber. The film is pretty skimpy on the gore, with the exception of a couple of key scenes, which still have impact today.
12. Scanners
Directed by Canadian filmmaking genuis, David Cronenberg, this movie skirts the boundaries of science fiction in its depiction of a mutant strain of humanity which has the ability to "scan". And if you're wondering what that means, it's pretty much whatever Cronenberg wants it to mean for whatever kill scene he has in mind at the time. This movie starred Jennifer O'Neill, Stephen Lack, Michael Ironside, and Patrick McGoohan, and pushed the boundaries of the gore factor in a big studio release. There are exploding heads, leaking arteries and melting faces galore, but its the film strong centrel characters which drive the story. Even Ironside's insane, power hungry villian, Darryl Revok, evokes sympathy when its discovered that irresponsible drug research scientists and big business which are the villians behind the "scanners".
11. Roadgames
Shot in the vast backroad wastelands of Australia, by the late great genre director Richard Franklin, this film elevates itself above the simplistic slasher fare of its day by giving us something which more closely resembles Hitchcock than horror. It didn't hurt that Franklin also happened to be Hitchcock's friend and protégé. Starring Stacey Keach and the ever wonderful 70s and 80s horror "scream queen" herself, Jamie Lee Curtis, this movie is perfectly paced and builds suspense unlike any other film in 1981. Its filled with clever dialogue and extraordinary scenery, shot by a master of the camera. Franklin smoothly switches from huge panaromic vistas, to choking claustrophobia, all within one shot. It's a shame Franklin did not make more movies during his career. Consider this a 'lost classic' that deserves rediscovery by a new generation of Horrorheads.
10. My Bloody Valentine
Forget the totally forgettable 3-D remake from 2009, the one that counts is this original 1981 Canadian production that tells the story of mad slasher Harry Warden, who has a pickaxe and ain't afraid to use it. When the populace of Valetine Bluff decide to have a Valentine Day party, Warden dessimates anyone who dares after the long ago mining accident which killed several miners, but left crazy Harry Warden alive and quite insane. What sets this apart from other slashers of its time, other than the fact that it takes place in a mine and not in a forest, is that the victims are young adults, not teenagers, who are dealing with adult problems and a dead-end existence in a dying mining town. There's plenty of gore (some of which was censored in the original release, but later added back in for the 2009 DVD release) and some topnotch cinematography.
9. The Howling
A classic 80s film that helped push the werewolf into the number one monster of the early part of the decade (with the help of our #1 positioned film, as well), this is movie is the perfect blend of Joe Dante's trademark humor and horror, with some fairly witty genre nods and inside jokes, including cameos from genre masters Roger Corman and Forrest J. Ackerman, and riveting performances from Dee Wallace and Christopher Stone. The Rob Bottin makeup effects set the standard for the industry (again, with the #1 positioned film), giving us one of the greatest transformation scenes ever put on celluloid. If you don't own this film, it would be difficult for me to take you serious as a horror fan.
8. Hell Night
God, how I love this movie!
It's one of my favorites of the genre, starring that "little devil" herself, mini-Scream Queen Linda Blair, as one the victims of a trio of backwoods killers who inhabit a "haunted mansion" which is being used for some serious college fraternity hazing. The sex and gore are played down in favor of some great atmosphere and cinematography, which help to make this one a lost classic.
7. Happy Birthday To Me
Another Canadian shot slasher (must have been something in the water back then, I guess). Directed by the late great J. Lee Thompson (director of over 40 films, including such classics as The Guns of Navarone (1961) and Cape Fear (1962)) and starring some of the biggest names in film and television at the time, including Melissa Sue Anderson and Glenn Ford, two people you'd never have pictured in a slasher flick, right?
It includes some great inventive kill scenes- death by motorcycle wheel, shish kebab and fire poker- with a refreshing over the top sense to them, which helped set the bar for the rest of the slasher films to follow. The story has a great, unseen, double twist ending, which also helped to start another trend in the genre. Classic stuff.
6. The Funhouse
Directed by genre master Tobe Hooper, this is one of his overlooked horror greats, starring Elizabeth Berridge, Kevin Conway and Cooper Huckabee. Four teenagers find themselves trapped in a dark ride with a mutant killer. Of course, they've been having some unmarried sex and been doing drugs, so they deserve what they get, right?
This has a good mix of gore and atmosphere and the use of the "haunted house" dark ride is inspired stuff. The backwoods dysfunctional family of killers is familiar territory for Hooper, only he had a hell of lot larger budget for this one than he did for "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974)...and it shows. The sets give the viewer a sense of the grimy carnival atmosphere and the near mute mutant killer illicits a sense of tragedy and sympathy--even if he is killing off the main characters.
5. Friday the 13th Part II
The first of many sequels to one of the greatest slasher films ever made--in fact some would say "Friday the 13th" (1980) is the definitive slasher film--this was directed by Steve Miner, who was responsible for the Part III, as well. This was the world's introduction to that famous killer Jason Voorhees, sans hockey mask (that doesn't come around until the next film). This has great gore, but also tries to build some suspense and atmosphere, something that seems to dwindle as the sequels keep coming in the following years, years when it becomes about nothing more than the 'body count'. Jason is a mostly unseen menace throughout most of the movie and when we do get to see him for the first time, he is horrifyingly horrible.
4. The Evil Dead
Directed by another of the genre's masters, Sam Raimi, who rarely directs in the genre any more, this is his first time out and it is a HUGE genre classic. The gore is the main attraction, here, and it is so over the top that it could have only been an independantly produced film--no big studio would have touched something so violent and bloody at that point. That would happen later. But this sort of crazy gore would rarely get the kind of respectful handling as it does in this movie. Starring another of the genre's most recognizable faces, Bruce Campbell, this movie made him a cult figure in the industry because of his cartoon like face and total devotion to the over the top narrative about demonic possession in a haunted forest, cut off from civilization by stop motion Lovecraftian monsters and buckets and buckets of BLOOD!
But don't get me wrong: the gore is wonderful, but the suspense and atmosphere are just as important to why this movie has remained one of the greatest horror films ever made.
Again, if you don't own this one, it's kind of hard to call yourself a horror fan.
3. Dead and Buried
You would be hard pressed to find anything as strange and frightening as this movie in all of horror filmdom. Directed by the great Gary Sherman (director of another awesome lost classic, "Death Line" aka "Raw Meat" (1972)), with a screenplay Dan O'Bannon, this tells the story of the odd citizens of Potter's Bluff, where people are dying and then turning up again, apparently alive and well...but they do have a tendacy to start killing others before turning up at the local morgue. Don't look for logical sense in this one and you'll thoroughly enjoy this mix of extremely disturbing gore and violence and strong mood and atmosphere (notice there's a trend in the movies that have made this list?). This is one of the oddest zombie movies ever made. Trust me. You will not see another film like this one. A definite lost classic. Editor/writer/reviewer Bill Breedlove and I utterly agree: this is a must own for serious horror fans.
2. The Burning
At first, this may appear to be just another slasher film, obviously imspired by the success of 1980's "Friday the 13th", but once you get into the film it becomes startlingly different in its use of ambient electronica soundtrack from Rick Wakeman, the use of a burned revenge fueled killer who uses garden shears (yikes!), and the use of a 'final boy' as opposed to the usual 'final girl', which had been setup in John Carpenter's "Halloween" (1978). There has a strangely homoerotic edge to it, something that would not appear again in the genre until "A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge " (1985), a weird male relationship between the male leads, Brian Matthews and Brian Backer, although it's a co-ed summer camp, filled with half naked teen girls. Of course Cropsey does his best to show equality in the slasher genre, by killing anything that moves, girl or boy.
1. An American Werewolf in London
Which brings us alphabetically to the number one film on our list.
This is 'the other werewolf film' of the 80s, which helped make the lycanthrope the go-to monster of the decade. Filled with director John Landis' dark humor, this has the other best transformation scene in horror history, this time by the great Rick Baker, who was Rob Bottin's mentor (see film #9 for more info), and some great suspenseful buildups to some great gore kill scenes. The added touch of masterful horror handling comes from the nightmare return of new werewolf killer David Naughton's victims, as they continue to decay as the film procedes to its amazing final confrontation between London bobbies and the fully transformed werewolf on a major street. This touches on both Henry Hull's and Lon Chaney's tragic turns as the hirsute monster in Universal Studio's "Werewolf of London" (1935) and "The Wolfman" (1941), making the monster sympathetic and an uncontrollably force which seeks to kill the thing it loves.
--Nickolas Cook
Sites of Horror
Well, even after two years of posting Sites of Horror, online hotposts which we feel our fellow Horrorheads might enjoy as much as we do, we still have no problem finding awesome sites to tell you guys about.
For instance, this month's first Site of Horror is Carfax Abbey. The name of the site alone should cull up memories of Universal classic horror, if you're a true Horrorhead. This site is packed full of articles, reviews and great old pics of some of the classics of the genre, which will keep you coming back month after month.
And our last site for this month is one that speaks to the Horrorhead on a budget: Dollar Bin Horror. If you're looking for pointers on what's worth the money in old and new genre films, check this place out for on-the-spot reviews. You'll love the reviews, but you'll also find this place is filled to the brim with other great links and things to do for the Horrorhead with time on their hands, including podcasts, videos, and other stuff.
(If you have a site you'd like The Black Glove to feature in our Sites of Horror, email Nickolasecook@aol.com with your link and contact info.)
Coming Soon! Trailer e-issue #25 July 2011
After two years of giving Horrorheads around the world FREE monthly e-issues of awesome reviews, news and articles, next month we're going into our 3rd year of doing the same. Be sure to stop by end of July 2011 to see what's new from our award-winning staff of columnists and reviewers.
--Nickolas Cook
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Editorial May 2011 e-issue #23
By Nickolas Cook
Editor-In-Chief
The Black Glove Magazine
So, here I am, finishing up the last of the edits for this month's issue of The Black Glove. While doing so, I'm watching one of my all time favorite movies, George A. Romero's original genre exploding zombie flick, "Night of the Living Dead" (1968). Between editing and watching, I keep trying to count to myself how many times I’ve actually seen my beloved “NotLD”. Somewhere around 50 is my best estimate. But to be honest I keep losing track when I try to remember any younger than 15. I do know I’ll probably see it at least that many times again, God willing I stay alive for another twenty or thirty years, cognizant and with my mind intact.
Does that seem like a lot of time spent watching the same movie? Maybe not to some of you Horrorheads who know what I mean when call Romero’s film a “comfort film”.
I define a good “comfort film” as one that makes me feel better about the world, one that centers me when I feel out of balance with the rest of humanity and me. It soothes me, gives me a sense that all is well…even when it’s not.
The movies on my own particular list of “comfort films” have remained fairly consistent since my young adulthood; I’ve done very little editing over the years. Just about all of them are considered classics by most genre fans and critics. My list of “comfort films” certainly has plenty of titles which aren’t genre films to be sure. But it’s the horror ones we came here to talk about, right?
Below you’ll find a fairly complete list of the horror and sci-fi movies which are on my own “comfort films” list. I saw quite a few of them as a kid growing up in the 70s and 80s, and since those long ago days, they’ve played a part in my creative life. They give me joy every time I watch them. It’s probably not a coincidence that most of the movies I get comfort from are from my childhood, seen during my formative years, with my parents at the local drive-in. Those were some good years for me as a little Horrorhead, as I got to live through a very important phase in the horror genre.
The list isn’t in any kind of order or anything. And just an FYI: “Night of the Living Dead” isn’t even the movie I’ve seen the most on the list. There are some titles on the list I’ve seen probably a hundred times by now. You’ll find movies on my list that stretch back as far as the silent era, up to as recent as 1986 or so. Sorry, but I haven’t seen too many horror films since the late 80s for which I feel much of an emotional attachment. You’ll find some of the films that give me such comfort are pure exploitative schlock, while others are classics; but all of them mean something to me as a human being, as a writer, and as a feeling, thinking animal just trying to make it through this world full of too many real horrors to catalogue.
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Phantasm (1979)
Zombie (1980)
Gates of Hell (1981)
Suspiria (1977)
Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954)
The Wolfman (1941)
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Day of the Dead (1985)
Night of the Creeps (1986)
Grizzly (1976)
Halloween (1978)
The Fog (1980)
Escape From New York (1981)
Dracula (1931)
Werewolf vs. The Vampire Woman (1971)
Horror Rises From the Tomb (1973)
It Conquered the World (1956)
The Terror (1963)
The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
Demons (1985)
Frankenstein (1933)
The Return of the Vampire (1944)
The Vampire Bat (1933)
This Island Earth (1955)
Mark of the Vampire (1935)
Nosferatu (1922)
Prom Night (1980)
My Bloody Valentine (1981)
I’m sure later on I’ll think of more movies that should have been listed here, but that gives you a good idea of what I mean.
By the way, how many do you see on my list that have been remade, or are in the process of being remade? Is it any wonder why I go off about remakes every chance I get in these editorials? These movies mean something to me, but it seems that’s there no shortage of Hollywood douche bags, most of them probably no older than some of the scars I carry on my body, keep taking my beloved “comfort films” and turning them into cookie cutter, PG13, near bloodless, violent-less, ball-less exercises in pandering to the lowest common denominator.
But, to be fair, I suppose one could argue (and rightfully so) that I should be grateful for the movies I do have from which to get a little comfort. It could be worse; I could be one of the younger generation of horror fans who have nothing better than Wes Craven’s “Scream” (1996) in which to find some comfort. Not that there’s much wrong with “Scream”, but let’s be honest: it isn’t a “Phantasm”. While it was funny in parts, it just doesn’t have that same sense of experimental, cheesy fun about it that you get with “Phantasm”. A movie like “Scream” is a polished big studio film that’s meant to make money, not to tell a story, not expected to bring anything new to the genre (hence, why we see sequel after sequel in the franchise hitting the theaters and no one says ‘boo’ that each one looks and feels exactly like the ones before them). In fact, the damn film actually makes the whole genre look silly and purposely accentuates the whole post modern malaise which most teens were wallowing in by that point in American horror cinema history. Because of the surfeit of brainless sequels that had flooded the genre by the end of the 80s, it was little wonder they felt such malaise. The gore was being censored by an ever more restrictive MPAA, led by an ever more vocal and controlling segment of the population labeled by the media as the Moral Majority (and as the old joke goes: they were neither). These Rightwing Christian organizations never missed an opportunity to harangue and financially threaten sweating bottom line studio execs into making exactly the same shitty horror crapola we see today.
So I guess they won, huh?
But did they win the battle or did they win the war?
I mean, after all, I can’t live on “comfort films” alone, now can I? I need new movies to love, to embrace and hopefully find a new “comfort film” along the way.
I keep getting little spikes on the horror radar from time to time. For me, they’re few and far between. Unlike some fans, who will tolerate something as ridiculous and lousy as “The Human Centipede” (2009), and try to convince others that the film is better than it really is, I am more exacting when it comes to good horror. And I don’t mean every film must be the caliber of something like “Aliens” (1986) because I can take cheesy and I can take shitty production values. What I cannot forgive at this point is the total lack of respect that some studio heads, and so-called ‘horror’ directors, have for their supposed target audience. These assholes may think they’re making these abysmal flicks for ‘horror fans’, but they sure as hell aren’t making movies for this Horrorhead. Not by a longshot, folks.
Above, I mentioned how I’m always looking for those little spikes on the radar that give me hope for the genre’s resurgence to box office power. Well, one such movie came along for me about a week ago. It took me a while to finally sit down and watch Tommy Wirkola’s 2009 gore-packed, creepy-scary, utterly hilarious “Dead Snow”, but when I finally did so, it knocked me on my ass by how much respect and love it shows for the genre and its fans, true Horrorheads like myself.
So what, if it’s not an American made movie. I don’t even care. The fact that this little movie made it so big here in the United States gives me some much needed hope for American horror cinema. Seeing it actually got me pretty excited about the possibilities inherent in modern horror.
But let’s back up a little and take a look at why this movie works so well on all the levels listed above. There were homages to several genre classics, including “Evil Dead” (1984), “Dead Alive” (1992), “Friday the 13th” (1980) and “Shock Waves” (1977), to name a few. The dialogue was sharp and quirky enough to remind one of a young Tarantino. The cast was talented and took the material seriously. The gore factor was turned all the up way to 11. And, most importantly, it did not talk down to horror fans. It was obviously made by a man who has a love and respect for the genre. One could easily see how much fun he had telling the story of a sadistic platoon of undead Nazi soldiers who goose step their way across a bleak snowy landscape, killing anyone who crosses their zombie path. I laughed and gasped in equal measure. Hell, I almost stood up and applauded in the middle of my living room when it was done. “Dead Snow” was a hell of a ride. I hope like hell it’s a spearhead for a new wave of better made, more respectful horror films to come.
So, that being said, I sit here, watching the end of my beloved “Night of the Living Dead”, waiting for the next spike on the radar. It’s been a while since I was actually looking forward to what was coming down the line for the genre. And, let me tell you, fellow Horrorheads, it’s a damn fine feeling. It makes me feel as if the war isn’t over yet.
--Nickolas Cook
Editor-In-Chief
The Black Glove Magazine
Editor-In-Chief
The Black Glove Magazine
So, here I am, finishing up the last of the edits for this month's issue of The Black Glove. While doing so, I'm watching one of my all time favorite movies, George A. Romero's original genre exploding zombie flick, "Night of the Living Dead" (1968). Between editing and watching, I keep trying to count to myself how many times I’ve actually seen my beloved “NotLD”. Somewhere around 50 is my best estimate. But to be honest I keep losing track when I try to remember any younger than 15. I do know I’ll probably see it at least that many times again, God willing I stay alive for another twenty or thirty years, cognizant and with my mind intact.
Does that seem like a lot of time spent watching the same movie? Maybe not to some of you Horrorheads who know what I mean when call Romero’s film a “comfort film”.
I define a good “comfort film” as one that makes me feel better about the world, one that centers me when I feel out of balance with the rest of humanity and me. It soothes me, gives me a sense that all is well…even when it’s not.
The movies on my own particular list of “comfort films” have remained fairly consistent since my young adulthood; I’ve done very little editing over the years. Just about all of them are considered classics by most genre fans and critics. My list of “comfort films” certainly has plenty of titles which aren’t genre films to be sure. But it’s the horror ones we came here to talk about, right?
Below you’ll find a fairly complete list of the horror and sci-fi movies which are on my own “comfort films” list. I saw quite a few of them as a kid growing up in the 70s and 80s, and since those long ago days, they’ve played a part in my creative life. They give me joy every time I watch them. It’s probably not a coincidence that most of the movies I get comfort from are from my childhood, seen during my formative years, with my parents at the local drive-in. Those were some good years for me as a little Horrorhead, as I got to live through a very important phase in the horror genre.
The list isn’t in any kind of order or anything. And just an FYI: “Night of the Living Dead” isn’t even the movie I’ve seen the most on the list. There are some titles on the list I’ve seen probably a hundred times by now. You’ll find movies on my list that stretch back as far as the silent era, up to as recent as 1986 or so. Sorry, but I haven’t seen too many horror films since the late 80s for which I feel much of an emotional attachment. You’ll find some of the films that give me such comfort are pure exploitative schlock, while others are classics; but all of them mean something to me as a human being, as a writer, and as a feeling, thinking animal just trying to make it through this world full of too many real horrors to catalogue.
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Phantasm (1979)
Zombie (1980)
Gates of Hell (1981)
Suspiria (1977)
Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954)
The Wolfman (1941)
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Day of the Dead (1985)
Night of the Creeps (1986)
Grizzly (1976)
Halloween (1978)
The Fog (1980)
Escape From New York (1981)
Dracula (1931)
Werewolf vs. The Vampire Woman (1971)
Horror Rises From the Tomb (1973)
It Conquered the World (1956)
The Terror (1963)
The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
Demons (1985)
Frankenstein (1933)
The Return of the Vampire (1944)
The Vampire Bat (1933)
This Island Earth (1955)
Mark of the Vampire (1935)
Nosferatu (1922)
Prom Night (1980)
My Bloody Valentine (1981)
I’m sure later on I’ll think of more movies that should have been listed here, but that gives you a good idea of what I mean.
By the way, how many do you see on my list that have been remade, or are in the process of being remade? Is it any wonder why I go off about remakes every chance I get in these editorials? These movies mean something to me, but it seems that’s there no shortage of Hollywood douche bags, most of them probably no older than some of the scars I carry on my body, keep taking my beloved “comfort films” and turning them into cookie cutter, PG13, near bloodless, violent-less, ball-less exercises in pandering to the lowest common denominator.
But, to be fair, I suppose one could argue (and rightfully so) that I should be grateful for the movies I do have from which to get a little comfort. It could be worse; I could be one of the younger generation of horror fans who have nothing better than Wes Craven’s “Scream” (1996) in which to find some comfort. Not that there’s much wrong with “Scream”, but let’s be honest: it isn’t a “Phantasm”. While it was funny in parts, it just doesn’t have that same sense of experimental, cheesy fun about it that you get with “Phantasm”. A movie like “Scream” is a polished big studio film that’s meant to make money, not to tell a story, not expected to bring anything new to the genre (hence, why we see sequel after sequel in the franchise hitting the theaters and no one says ‘boo’ that each one looks and feels exactly like the ones before them). In fact, the damn film actually makes the whole genre look silly and purposely accentuates the whole post modern malaise which most teens were wallowing in by that point in American horror cinema history. Because of the surfeit of brainless sequels that had flooded the genre by the end of the 80s, it was little wonder they felt such malaise. The gore was being censored by an ever more restrictive MPAA, led by an ever more vocal and controlling segment of the population labeled by the media as the Moral Majority (and as the old joke goes: they were neither). These Rightwing Christian organizations never missed an opportunity to harangue and financially threaten sweating bottom line studio execs into making exactly the same shitty horror crapola we see today.
So I guess they won, huh?
But did they win the battle or did they win the war?
I mean, after all, I can’t live on “comfort films” alone, now can I? I need new movies to love, to embrace and hopefully find a new “comfort film” along the way.
I keep getting little spikes on the horror radar from time to time. For me, they’re few and far between. Unlike some fans, who will tolerate something as ridiculous and lousy as “The Human Centipede” (2009), and try to convince others that the film is better than it really is, I am more exacting when it comes to good horror. And I don’t mean every film must be the caliber of something like “Aliens” (1986) because I can take cheesy and I can take shitty production values. What I cannot forgive at this point is the total lack of respect that some studio heads, and so-called ‘horror’ directors, have for their supposed target audience. These assholes may think they’re making these abysmal flicks for ‘horror fans’, but they sure as hell aren’t making movies for this Horrorhead. Not by a longshot, folks.
Above, I mentioned how I’m always looking for those little spikes on the radar that give me hope for the genre’s resurgence to box office power. Well, one such movie came along for me about a week ago. It took me a while to finally sit down and watch Tommy Wirkola’s 2009 gore-packed, creepy-scary, utterly hilarious “Dead Snow”, but when I finally did so, it knocked me on my ass by how much respect and love it shows for the genre and its fans, true Horrorheads like myself.
So what, if it’s not an American made movie. I don’t even care. The fact that this little movie made it so big here in the United States gives me some much needed hope for American horror cinema. Seeing it actually got me pretty excited about the possibilities inherent in modern horror.
But let’s back up a little and take a look at why this movie works so well on all the levels listed above. There were homages to several genre classics, including “Evil Dead” (1984), “Dead Alive” (1992), “Friday the 13th” (1980) and “Shock Waves” (1977), to name a few. The dialogue was sharp and quirky enough to remind one of a young Tarantino. The cast was talented and took the material seriously. The gore factor was turned all the up way to 11. And, most importantly, it did not talk down to horror fans. It was obviously made by a man who has a love and respect for the genre. One could easily see how much fun he had telling the story of a sadistic platoon of undead Nazi soldiers who goose step their way across a bleak snowy landscape, killing anyone who crosses their zombie path. I laughed and gasped in equal measure. Hell, I almost stood up and applauded in the middle of my living room when it was done. “Dead Snow” was a hell of a ride. I hope like hell it’s a spearhead for a new wave of better made, more respectful horror films to come.
So, that being said, I sit here, watching the end of my beloved “Night of the Living Dead”, waiting for the next spike on the radar. It’s been a while since I was actually looking forward to what was coming down the line for the genre. And, let me tell you, fellow Horrorheads, it’s a damn fine feeling. It makes me feel as if the war isn’t over yet.
--Nickolas Cook
Editor-In-Chief
The Black Glove Magazine
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