If
you're a fan of all things Vampira you will want to pick up this issue
of Rue Morgue for one of the most complete and comprehensive looks at
the television horror icon. Everything from accounts from people who
knew her, to a look at her career in film, to the creation of the
Vampira character it's everything you'd want to know about the person
Maila Nurmi as well. Rue Morgue once again shows respect
to icons of the past and this issue is chalk full of everything you
could want pertaining to the woman. Kudos to RM for doing this as I'm sure her fans would appreciate it.
This months "Notes from the Underground" section of the magazine is
one of the more interesting things I've read in awhile. It's about the
funeral of Maila "Vampira" Nurmi and it doubles as a semi biographical
article that's well worth the read. Especially if you were like me and
didn't really know how much stuff that she did in her career outside of
Ed Wood's "Plan 9 from Outer Space". It's just another case of Jovanka
bringing her love of the genre into something she shares with the fans
every month in every issue, which is something I very much appreciate. Not
to bad mouth any other specific magazine by name, but this is something
that I can say feels honest in RM, and that's something missing
elsewhere in the horror magazine lexicon.
This issue's "Dreadlines" brings an update on the newest project
from "Phantasm" director Don Coscarelli based on the book "John Dies at
the End". He also talks a bit about some of his other projects that
are springing up on him recently and even some more info about "Bubba
Nosferatu". Also there's a piece about director Lee Demarbre's HG
Lewis homage "The Dead Sleep Easy" featuring former WCW wrestler
Vampiro, as well as an write-up on a website that encourages people to
upload their films and have a committee of people vote on the projects
progression. It's certainly something that's different and its
honestly a pretty interesting read.
Now for something that I always think Rue Morgue Magazine handles
wonderfully, which is the passing of someone within the horror
community. Because just like things they've done in the past they
honestly do a great job writing up a considerable amount of information
here with Maila Nurmi aka Vampira. This issue contains the last
interview ever conducted with Vampira and I have to say that Dave
Alexander did a great job with it. She was honestly a pretty unique
person and even getting to hear her talk about her past was great. I
also thought it was cool to hear her opinion of what is scary to her,
as well as her opinion on the state of horror films today.
Paul Corupe writes an article titled "Portrait of a Dark Diva" that
highlights a documentary about Maila Nurmi's life called simply enough
"Vampira: The Movie". There's also a great article written by comedian
Dana Gould (a close personal friend of Vampira) talking about the women
that he knew. Dave Alexander also comes to us with another great
accompanying article about Vampira's very final film appearance called
"I Woke Up Early the Day I Died" that's well worth checking out
considering there's at least funny story in there. The
woman was truly dedicated to the character and this article gives you
some insight on how and why she did the things she did in the movie
business.
Taking an unconventional route this issue with Rue Morgue I noticed
that it's one of the first times I remember a large portion of the
magazine dedicated to things that aren't movies. I know that's Rue
Morgue's angle with their magazine that it's not just movie related
things as much as it is horror, but I was a little disappointed by that
fact. It's still a solid issue, but outside of the movie review
section there weren't too many things in the one that related to horror
films. But for people looking for interesting horror related stuff that's not about movies, this is the issue for you.
This issue also contains a large portion of coverage on the new
trend of "Ghost and Paranormal" related television shows. Not only is
there an article about the Ghost Hunter's TV Show (The Real
Ghostbusters) but there is also a article featuring the best and worst
of these types of shows on television today called "Caught on
Television" by Claire Horsnell that fans will be able to possibly find
some of these shows that they haven't seen before. Or at least ones
that they might want to avoid.
Rue Morgue staffer Last Chance Lance brings and article entitled
"The Witch Hunters Bible" about the history behind the "Malleus
Maleficarum", which details the Catholic Church's knowledge of witches
and witchcraft. It's something I personally found very interesting and
I highly recommend this article that most likely you would only read in
something like Rue Morgue Magazine which is another reason's why I
really enjoy checking it out every month.
Monica S. Kuebler writes about some very cool and morbid artwork in
"The Devil in the Details". The article takes a look at some of artist
Kris Kuksi's artwork and the real meaning behind some of the man's
work. Kuksi talks about his interest in Edgar Allen Poe and how it
inspired his work as well.
Fans of the band Dimmu Borgir will be happy to know that RM
features them in an article the black metal band from Norway this month
as well. Writer Keith Carman talks with the band members as well as
taking a look back that their career in the article too. They also
talk about their interest in Satanism and have some things to say in
the article about Anton Levay and his Church of Satan doctrine.
Horror fans might not know the name Del James very well but if
you've heard Guns N' Roses song "November Rain" then you are aware of
his work. Jovanka Vuckovic talks about his influence over some of
GnR's biggest songs, as well as his novels in this article called "The
Devil You Know".
In Cinemacabre this month there are reviews for films such as
"Nightmare Detective", the latest installment of "Rambo", the remake of
"The Eye", "They Wait", "Automatons", "The Attic", and "Storm Warning".
Last Chance Lance takes a slasher theme this month in Last Rites as
he reviews "Wedding Slashes", "Dream Slashers", and "Slash". LCL also
takes a look at some of Asylum's releases of their latest rip off
titles like "I am Omega", "Alien vs. Hunter", and "Monster".
This month "Reissues" packs a punch with reviews of DVD's of "The
Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue", "Barn of the Naked Dead", and
"42nd Street Forever Volume 3: Exploitation Explosion".
Jason Pichonsky reviews a double dose of Aldo Lado Gialli in "The
Politics of Gialli" featuring "Who Saw Her Die?" and "Short Night of
the Glass Dolls".Cinemarquee features Paul Corupe's review of the film
"The Hands of Orlac (1924)" for you old school horror fans. John W.
Bowen talks about movies influenced by "Richard Speck" in this month's
"It Came From Bowen's Basement".
This month in the "Blood in Four Colours" section we have a look at the usual heap of genre comics with "Delphine #3", "The Demons of Sherwood" (Weeks 1-14), "Ghosting" #1-5, "Se7en" HC, "Friday the 13th" Trade Paperback, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" Trade Paperback, and "A Nightmare on Elm Street" Trade Paperback.
In Ninth Circle books this month there are some very interesting titles being reviewed as they take a look at "Nekromantik", "The Films of Kiyoshi Kurosawa: Master of Fear", "Film Alchemy: The Independent Cinema of Ted V. Mikels", "Inferno", "God's Demon", and a special article from James Grainger called "Undead Again" about the book "Varney the Vampire" by James Malcolm Rymer.
In "Travelogue of Terror" we have Bill Moseley taking us on a tour of the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, one of the most famous resting places for, well the famous!
This month we have a double feature from The Gore-met as he brings us reviews for "Daughter of Darkness" and "Trilogy of Lust II". Honestly I've said it more than once and that's the fact that I very much look forward to this column every month in the magazine and this one isn't disappointing in the least. I consistently find new and exciting films showing up on a monthly basis here and even when I don't, I find myself enjoying reading his thoughts on film's I've seen as well.
In Rue Morgue's Audiodrome this issue we have reviews of the Driftwood soundtrack, The Mad Doctor of Blood Island soundtrack, as well as album reviews from Judgehydrogen's Atheistic God, The Undead's Still the undead….after all these years, Piggy D's The Evacuation Plan, The Forbidden Dimension's A Cool Sound Outta Hell, Necrodeath's Draculea, and Sever Torture's Sworn Vengence.
Trevor Tuminski checks in this month with "The Electropop Alchemy of Johnny Hollow" In the article he checks in with the band about their newest project as well as a little history into how the whole thing got started.
In "Classic Cut" Philip Brown gives us a retrospective of sorts about Lars von Trier and his series "The Kingdom".
Overall
this months issue was one that differed very much from every magazine
beside it on the newsstand and that's certainly something
important that should be mentioned. Rue Morgue continues
to bring the best to its readers each and every month and although I do
look forward to the movie related articles the best, this one still managed to impress me.
-Ed Demko
First I have to mention the excellent "Notes From the Underground" section this month from Jovanka Vuckovic in which she brings up a great point on why "The Girl Next Door" is such a powerful movie. It's wonderfully written by her and I give her a lot of credit for doing something like that. I agree with the points that she made and I'm pleased to see it appear in the magazine.
This month in Rue Morgue Magazine we get a huge holiday helping of horror goodies to get us through the new year. First and foremost I have to thank everyone over at Rue Morgue for the Bloodtype Online mention in the "Roadkill on the Info Highway" as it really meant a lot to our staff as well as myself. Rue Morgue is my favorite horror magazine and the recognition they've given us was very kind. Also, it's just pretty damn cool to see something that you helped create get recognition by people that you respect a great deal. So thank you.
Also this month Rue Morgue gives it's cover and a lot of pages dedicated to what I believe to be one of the best films of 2007 with "Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door". First in "Home, Sweet Homicide" they track down director Gregory M. Wilson for a very telling interview about his film. Also it gives you some insight into why Wilson thought that the movie was such an important one to make. Rue Morgue's own Monica S. Kuebler catches up with the woman who does a great job in her portrayal as Ruth Chandler in "The Girl Next Door", Blanche Baker. Not only that but Kuebler also catches up with Blythe Auffarth who plays the roll of the most sympathetic victim in any film I've seen this year in Meg. I was very pleased to see this as well because she played the toughest role in the film in my opinion so it was extremely smart for the Rue crew to track her down.
That's not all though as a huge fan of Mario Bava I really enjoyed Kier-La Janisse's look at the new Tim Lucas book entitled "All the Colors of the Dark", covering the Italian Master of Horror and his films. They also speak with Lucas on the book and it's history which is something I found interesting considering that Lucas is the be all end all when it comes to knowing the history on the filmmaker. Also Bava fans will be thrilled as Jason Pichonsky takes a look at the films included in the Mario Bava Box Volume 2 entitled "Box of Blood"
If you are big into Hammer films you can't miss the unique look into Hammer films poster art in James Burrell's article "A Brush with Evil". It lets you into the world of Tom Chantrell a man who made posters for countless films, but he was also behind the poster art for the Hammer films that he did. Covering how he got started and into the work that he did complete with beautiful examples of Mr. Chantrell's art this article is a sure winner for fans of all things Hammer.
Are you longing for the days of Mystery Science Theatre? Well no reason to fear because Paul Corupe checks in with "Mike Nelson: Heckler at Large" this month and lets you in on what the former Mystery Science 3000 host has been up to. Not only that but it talks about some of his new project which could include something that MST3000 fans have been waiting a long time for!
In Dreadlines this month we see the lineup of the Toronto After Dark Film Festival and how the movies panned out, as well as a very interesting story at how the folks over at MPI/Dark Sky are producing their first feature film in "Plague Town".
We also get great reviews for theatrical and DVD releases such as "30 Days of Night", "Driftwood", Species: The Awakening", "Pumpkinhead 4: Blood Feud", "Murder Party", "Masters of Horror: The V Word", "Night Junkies", and "The Victim" in this month's Cinemacabre. In this months section of "Last Rites" Last Chance Lance himself looks at Cinderella themed horror films like "Cadaverella", "Red Riding Hood", and the appropriately titled "Cinderella". Lance also gives us his take on the film "Teeth" as well as James Grainger for "Boy Eats Girl". This month in "Reissues" we get reviews for "Twilight Zone The Movie", "Someone's Watching Me!", "The Iron Rose", "The Hand", "Alligator", "Species", "Silent Night, Deadly Night", and "Black Roses". Also in Cinemarquee this month Paul Corupe takes a look at the 1956 film "The Werewolf" that was recently released to DVD in the "Sam Katzman Collection".
Paul Corupe also takes a look at the Elvira hosted DVD's entitled "Movie Macabre Melee" that looks at the double feature DVD's including "Gamera, Super Monster" / "They Came from Beyond Space", "Blue Sunshine" / "Monstroid", and "Maneater of Hydra" / "The House that Screamed".
In Audiodrome this month we see reviews of the new Dethklok album as well as reviews of soundtracks from the movies 28 Weeks Later, D-War/Dragon Wars, and The Last Winter. Also there are reviews of albums from Steve Moore, Juicehead, Necro, Denial Fiend, Pentacle, as well as an interview with Daniel Licht who makes the music for the television show "Dexter".
In
Bowen's Basement John W. Bowen takes a look at the often forgotten
Renny Harlin film "Prison", and in The Gore-Met this month he takes a
look at the Clive Barker film "Hellraiser".
Not only all of that but you will also see The
Arrival. Plus reviews of Alan Moore's Yuggoth Cultures HC, Eating
Steve, The Goon: Chinatown HC, Proof #1-3, and Shazam!: The Monster
Society of Evil HC in this month's "Blood in Four Colours".
Also in "The Ninth Circle" you'll see a spotlight on
Steven Hall's Raw Shark Texts and reviews of Hollywood Horror from the
Director's Chair, Grimm Pictures: Fairy Tale Archetypes in Eight Horror
and Suspense Films, The Mammoth Book of Modern Ghost Stories, Brett
Alexander Savory's In and Down and No Further Messages, and Brom's The
Devil's Rose.
In this month's Travelogue of Terror they visit the haunted Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio.
I really enjoy this article every month too because it gives you a look at lots of places that you'll never be able to visit. Oh, and if by chance you've actually been to where they feature it's even cooler to read!
Another thing that I was excited about this month was the
"Classic Cut" as they look at one of my favorite movies out of the
1990's in "Man Bites Dog".
So with all of this and much more how could possibly call yourself a horror fan if you haven't picked this up yet? So if you haven't get on out there and pick this one up today to find out what's what and who's who in the world of horror!
-Ed Demko
Various Artists
Projekt
2007
I’m not what you might call a Scrooge, in fact I do actually quite enjoy the Christmas season. However, I cannot abide the usual barrage of festive tunes that get pumped out year after year, driven into our minds; the same songs over and over again. This matter isn’t helped by the fact that stores etc start playing far too early in year. I really don’t need to be assaulted by Christmas tunes in early November, please kindly refrain from this behavior Shopping center owner!
Of course, me bleating on about it won’t
change a thing but I can moan can’t I?
A good solution to this problem would
be to play this quite wonderful CD from Projekt; who recently gave us
the cracking Ooky Spooky by Voltaire, who by the way does contribute
a tune on this album. This really is Seasonal music that I can listen
to and enjoy.
This album contains a mixture of well
known tunes such as We Three Kings, Happy Xmas (War is over) and Silent
Night, as well as tunes that are new to these years. All of which though
have a distinctive sound that each contributing artist has brought to
each track; although the vibe in general is quite mellow mixing as it
does electronic music in with some more traditional sounds.
Personal favorites of mine are the aforementioned
Happy Xmas, here performed by The Cruxshadows, with its electronic beat,
searing strings and suitably wry vocals, the haunting Gaudete, Gaudete
by El Duende and For I am Winter Born by Unto Ashes, which starts of
sounding as though it was pulled from a Spaghetti Western before the
vocals kick in.
Each song though is a worthy addition
which makes this release work much better as a whole rather than the
sum of its parts. It’s a unique take on Christmas which washes over
you and reminds me that there are actually some decent Festive songs
out there.
Finally, no Christmas album would be
complete without a rendition of Silent Night which here is brought to
life by Attrition who give it a good old shake through the musical blender.
This album is definitely a welcome and
alternative addition to Christmas music; surprising, eclectic but above
all it is incredibly enjoyable. You’ll get no Bah Humbugs from me
here!
***
- Jude Felton
Well this is a first for me.
I’ve never reviewed a magazine before and I have to tell you it isn’t
easy. Not because there isn’t good stuff in Rue Morgue 72, it
is chocked full of horror goodness. No the problem is trying to
capture what is in the magazine without ending up with a review that
is nearly as long as the publication itself! Not only that but
this is the jumbo-sized 10th anniversary issue. But
I’m going to try, so here we go.
The Thing (which is on the
cover) retrospective is the first thing that I want to discuss.
I’ve never seen a magazine be as thorough as Rue Morgue is when they
cover an older movie like this. They conducted interviews with
John Carpenter, Kurt Russell, Keith David, and effects wizard Rob Bottin.
While the interviews are only a couple of pages long they manage to
get pretty in depth with all four. In addition to the interviews
there are a couple of shorter inserts that discuss a Theme park attraction
inspired by the movie as well as a short discussion of the movies soundtrack.
Finally the magazine dedicates a page to the story of a huge fan of
the movie that actually started Thingfest, a gathering that celebrates
all things related to the movie. If you are a fan of the movie
you will definitely dig the coverage, and if you aren’t you may be
converted into a fan of the movie.
Interested in just how Rue
Morgue ended up as cool as it is today? Well this being the 10th anniversary of the magazine it’s founder Rodrigo Gudino chimes in
with a short article describing Rue Morgue’s history. As a fan
of the magazine I found it to be a very interesting and illuminating
look behind the scenes. Personally I think the coolest part about
the article is how we get to see how some of the now familiar personalities
that make up the staff of the magazine initially became involved.
One of the best things about
Rue Morgue is how they keep up with what is going on in the world of
horror. Pod casting is a very big deal these days with all sorts
of fans sharing their own shows on the internet for all to hear.
Well even though some of these podcasts compete with Rue Morgue radio
the magazine still put together an excellent list of the shows that
are out there. Including a couple of knuckleheads from Kentucky
who I happen to think are pretty cool! And even though they
missed out on covering the kick ass show that is the Bloodtype Basement
it is still a cool article.
As a child that grew up in
the 70s I also enjoyed the piece that they did on the General Mills
cereals with horror icons. I remember eating bowl after bowl of
Boo Berry and Count Chocula (which may explain the onset of diabetes
as an adult). Not only do they discuss the origins of the cereals,
but there is a discussion of some of the advertising and promotional
materials (toys, records, etc.) that they spawned as well. I can’t
even imagine another of the horror magazines covering something like
this, which is yet another reason I love Rue Morgue so much. Great
job guys.
But as if what I’ve already
mentioned weren’t enough the magazine offers several other articles
that are very cool. There are 29 movie reviews, an excellent article
on the latest couple of efforts from Uwe Boll, discussion of the latest
couple of oddities from Synapse, and a nifty discussion of the re-release
of Spider Baby. The magazine also does a retrospective on the
wonderful Repairman Jack novels from F. Paul Wilson.
I’ve only scratched the surface
of what the magazine has to offer. Anyone who calls himself or
herself a horror fan needs to go our right now and buy this magazine.
I know what you are saying to yourself, “I get all of my news on the
internet”. Well Rue Morgue offers far more than just news.
And unlike the publication that I used to subscribe to is worth every
penny.
-John “El Juan” Shatzer
The September issue of Rue Morgue magazine is easily one of their best of the year, especially when they put my favorite zombie of all time on the cover with Tarman. Justin Erickson really did a great job on the cover and kudos to Rue Morgue for getting such great artists to work on their covers, that is instead of just putting photos on the cover. It's something that makes their magazine stand out to me and it shows you just how serious they are about putting out a great magazine.
In this months "Notes from the Underground" Jovanka talks about the oral history of zombies, which would be fitting considering that the main story this issue is about the classic 1984 film "Return of the Living Dead".
In the "Dreadlines" section we have stories about the new reality show attempting to find the new "Elvira", as well as the Molotov Theatre Group trying to revive the old Grand Guignol plays, and Joe Dante's venture into hooking up classic grindhouse trailers for mobile phones.
But the reason to pick up this issue is the coverage of "Return of the Living Dead'. Dave Alexander (one of my personal favorite writers at Rue Morgue) brings us "The Day the Dead Rawked the Earth" article complete with an interview with writer/director Dan O'Bannon. Also Last Chance Lance speaks with scream queen Linnea Quigley about her experiences working on the film, Chris talks with Allen Trautman about his role as Tarman, and Liisa Ladouceur speaks with the lead singer of 45 Grave Dinah Cancer about their song "Party Time" which appears on the soundtrack. All of this comes together to make one nostalgic casserole that fans of the film are sure to eat up, myself included.
Last Chance Lance also comes through with a very interesting article about "The Lost Art of Death Photography" that proves once again that Rue Morgue is one of the coolest magazines on the market today. Their articles like this really make the magazine worth picking up because even though you may have read or heard about the movies they cover, they always have something new and original to check out.
John W. Bohen does a write up on the new Adam Green slasher flick "Hatchet", there is an entire wrap up of the best of the best at the Fantasia Film Festival 2007, an article from Monica S. Kuebler entitled "Trapped in a Paradise Lost" about the new "Bioshock" video game, and she also brings us a write up on the Dexter novels called "Mild Mannered Murder".
All that and reviews to boot! This issue they take looks at the films "Right at Your Door", "Wrong Turn 2", "I Know Who Killed Me", "Captivity", "Skinwalkers", "Unholy", "Arang", and the Masters of Horror episodes "Sounds Like" and "The Washingtonians". There are also DVD reviews of "Witchfinder General", Tobe Hooper's "Eaten Alive", and the 1978 version of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers".
Also not to be forgotten would be Aaron Lupton's article "Shear Terror" covering the 1981 slasher flick "The Burning". Showing up in "CineMarquee" this month is the 1958 Vincent Price film "The Fly", The Gore-Met (one of my favorite sections every month) talks about the Hong Kong flick "Ebola Syndrome", and the "Classic Cut" this month takes a look back at the legendary Chas. Balun's Deep Red Magazine!
Overall this is a great magazine every month, but they really did a great job this month at getting a little bit for everyone. Great articles and cool personalities really give Rue Morgue Magazine a identity second to none and it makes it that much more enjoyable for hardcore fans and noobies alike. So what are you waiting for? Get your ass out and pick up that new Rue Morgue today!!!!!
-Ed Demko
This months Rue Morgue offers
so much stuff that interested me and I didn’t skip one section. For
those interested in the Rob Zombie media train, keep your eyes glued
to his interview and article titled “The New Boogeyman of Haddenfield”
written and conducted by the Rue Morgue Editor-In-Chief Jovanka Vuckovic.
Rob Zombie pulls no punches and while I enjoyed the interview I am already
hearing a number of complaints about his personality and his vision.
I just think he is doing Halloween his own way. He is not ruining the
franchise that is already a disaster. The bottom line is years from
now there will be a cult group that actually digs “Halloween: Resurrection”.
Michael
Myers makes the cover but Rue Morgue doesn’t only cover Rob Zombie’s
latest reimagining. Dave Alexander does a piece on the Halloween fan
films that will surely give more people films to seek out but knowing
the different clicks of Halloween fans these will either be unwatchable
and original or must have to go with the Eight legit Halloween movies
on DVD.
The
best article by far is the article/interview conducted by Last Chance
Lance called “The Copycat Killers”. This portion is just flat out
interesting. Message board regulars either hate The Asylum for their
unapologetic rip offs and miniscule budgets. While I only find their
films watchable because I am a horror enthusiasts, I still admire the
brash business technique and find a straight to video company from Hollywood
copying off theatrical Hollywood’s own unoriginal sequels and remakes
to be much more respectable. This section has numerous informative quotes
from The Asylum’s President and sometime director David Michael Latt.
Last Chance Lance also gives mini-reviews for a number of The Asylum’s
films from there growing catalog including “Halloween Night”, “Hillside
Cannibals” and many more.
Since
I review movies myself I always have a good time reading Rue Morgue’s
reviews in their Cinemacabre section! This month they cover Eli Roth’s
“Hostel: Part II”, Mr. Brooks, Meatball Machine, The Thirst, Bloody
Reunion and the two MOH Releases “Valerie on the Stairs” and “We
All Scream For Ice Cream”. I don’t agree with their criticisms of
Tom Holland’s Master’s of Horror Season 2 effort “We All Scream
For Ice Cream”. I fucking dug it but to each it’s own. Still I can
understand how they didn’t find it scary or threatening at all because
it’s not. I just dug the concept of a clown ghosts using ice cream
and children to create a vengeful Voodoo.
Chris
Alexander covers “The Devil’s Nightmare” this month in his “The
Mad Musings of a Schizoid Cinephile” and while that film is in deed
a must see I am always much more interested in “Gore-Met”. This
time around he covers the Zombie Bloodbath trilogy and took time to
track down and interview Todd Sheets. This is a must read for zombie
fans and will leave you wanting to see this series of video shot zombie
flicks.
Another
great article was done by Mark R. Hasan. In this article he discusses
the work of Jaye Barnes Luckett who is a composer in “May”, “Sick
Girl” and “The Woods”. She is helping giving Lucky McKee’s distinct
feel and I hope she continues to offer her music to his films. I can’t
lie , I am a huge “May” fan. I will most likely be buying
the Original Soundtrack Recordings for May. The CD also features other
selected works of Jaye Barnes Luckett.
The
bottom line this was a great issue with tons of stuff for readers, gamers
and flick lovers. Another plus is the article toward the front about
Andrey Iskanov’s “Plilosophy of a Knife”. I have been anticipating
this part documentary/ exploitive film about Unit 731 (This group inspired
“Men Behind the Sun”). Unearthed head honcho Stephen Biro has so
much passion about this film. Not only could I sense this in the article.
I spoke to him about the film, the gore, it’s exploitive nature and
the numerous cuts. He believes in it so much he is trying to shop it
to a major company. If that falls through he can still put it out through
Unearthed strictly.
Excellent read and I can’t
wait for next month!
-Russ Rutter
I like to think that I have quite a
varied taste in music. I’m forever mixing up what I listen to; from
Death Metal to Film Scores, through to 60’s pop and pretty much anything
in-between. Of course, there is the odd exception, but we won’t dwell
there.
Despite the variety in what I listen
to I’ll admit that I had never heard any of Voltaire’s previous
4 albums. So with Ooky Spooky this was going to be a new experience
for me. Let me just say, what an experience it was too. I really don’t
know what I expected; I chose not to read the accompanying blurb until
after I had given it a blast; however a Mariachi/Ska/Headfuck laced
with some of the funniest lyrics I have heard for a long time was not
at the top of my expectations. This truly was one Hell of a pleasant
surprise.
Lyrically the main theme here is Horror,
no real surprise with titles such as Land of the Dead, Day of the Dead
and, in my opinion the best song title ever, Reggae Mortis. This, however,
isn’t your regular Horror style music, oh no, this has the tongue
firmly embedded in cheek, and quite possibly someone else’s cheek
too. There honestly isn’t a serious moment on the CD, and is all the
better for it. From the opening tune through to the closing Hell in
a Handbasket I was chuckling away to myself.
The humor contained herein never detracted
away from the music itself though. This is serious toe-tapping stuff,
all strings and horns-a-blaring, as if a Mariachi band went partying
with Ennio Morricone, the Cryptkeeper and a shot of Nitrous Oxide (you
look it up). The music truly does defy description, needless to say
though it hasn’t left my player since I received it. So often the
music business, as with movies, takes itself far too seriously. With
Ooky Spooky, Voltaire seems to say “Fuck that, let’s have a good
laugh and forget about everything else”. I challenge you to not end
up in a good mood after listening to this.
Surprisingly, or maybe not, the highlights
for myself were the country tinged Cantina (you’ll never watch Stars
Wars: A New Hope in quite the same light again), the fecking hilarious
Bomb New Jersey and the touching love song Stuck With You, which reminded
me of the Pogues and Kirsty MacColl’s Fairytale of New York, just
without the Christmassy bollocks and a far darker sense of humor.
Ooky Spooky is feel good music for those
that aren’t offended easily, as there are some choice lyrics about
cannibalism, necrophilia and storm trooping me in the pooper, amongst
many other subjects.
If you are looking for something new,
and a little off the wall, I recommend you pick this up at the earliest
opportunity. This is music for the open-minded and those that like a
rocking good laugh!
Ooky Spooky indeed!!
Rating - ***1/2 - ****
-Jude Felton

