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Rue Morgue #77
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
Rue Morgue #76
This month we have another very interesting edition of Rue Morgue Magazine on tap complete with “Mulberry Street” on the cover. You may remember it as one of last years After Dark Horrorfest titles that are also hitting DVD about the same time as this magazine hits newsstands. This edition of Rue Morgue is spotlighting independent horror films which is one of the coolest things I’ve seen this year so far by any magazine out there. It spotlights movies like the already mentioned “Mulberry Street”, “The Living and The Dead”, “Jack Ketchum’s The Lost”, and the remainder of the After Dark 8 Films to Die For.
First up this month in “Jovanka’s Notes from the Underground” we get a very spirited article about the difference between “homage” and “theft” straight from Jovanka herself about the current climate of filmmaking. I couldn’t agree with her more and I have to give her credit. Since taking over the helm at Rue Morgue Magazine Jovanka has continuously written very thought provoking things in this section and I continually find myself impressed issue after issue with this particular section of the magazine.
In “Dreadlines” you have some good stuff as Sean Plummer writes about Jim Agnew and Sean Keller the team of writers who are working on new projects with horror film legends like John Carpenter and Dario Argento. Stuart Andrews brings a very different piece on Director Bruce LaBruce’s exploits into gay art porn, and Justin Warwick brings a piece about a new season of horror comedy for a Toronto improv troupe.
Here is where Rue Morgue explodes into the world of Independent horror cinema as writer Mitch Davis interviews the director of “Mulberry Street” Jim Mickle about the production and what went into making a movie in New York City. Not only that but they talk about how the idea came up for the movie in the first place, the script changes, working with the actors they had, and the usual trials and tribulations for an independent filmmakers. Not only that buy RM’s Dave Alexander catches up with Nick Damici who plays the main character of Clutch in the movie and who is actually the co-writer of the film with Jim Mickle.
Also Keir La Janisse brings us the article “Regressions of a Dangerous Mind” about the new UK horror film “The Living and The Dead” and it’s director Simon Rumley. He talks about how it’s difficult for indy movies to get picked up because of issues of being able to “sell them”. It’s an interesting vantage point and certainly is an interesting read for anyone that’s a horror fan today.
Not only that but we have a look at each of the 8 Films to Die for as writers James Grainger, Last Chance Lance, and Justine Warwick give us their thoughts on “Borderland”, “Crazy Eight’s”, “The Deaths of Ian Stone”, “Lake Dead”, “Nightmare Man”, “Tooth & Nail”, and “Unearthed”.
It should also be mentioned that there is even more coverage as Brad Abraham comes with “Jack Ketchum’s Bad Seed” about the new film from Anchor Bay Entertainment called “The Lost”. Director Chris Siverston talks about the difficulties on trying to adapt a book for the big screen on a small budget and much more in the piece.
Now this issue may do a great job at covering the indy horror stuff out there, but that’s certainly not all. Issue #76 brings us a great retrospective look at the entire “Prom Night” franchise as well. First up there’s “Massacre at Hamilton High” in which James Burrell catches up with the director of the original “Prom Night” and talks about how the first film came to completion. He talks about the influence films like “Halloween” and “Black Christmas” were to “Prom Night” as well as getting Jamie Lee Curtis for the lead, and how it became successful at the box office too. James Burrell also looks at the soundtrack for the film as well with “Death By Disco”. John W. Bowen talks about the remainder of the series from “Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II”, “Prom Night III: Last Kiss”, as well as the final installment “Prom Night 4 . Finally rounding out the coverage of the series James Burrell gives us a preview of the upcoming “Prom Night” remake by filmmaker Nelson McCormick and what we are to expect from that.
Of course I love to read everything about the movies in Rue Morgue Magazine but they always manage to have coverage of other cool genre related material in each issue as well. This time there’s a great article called “Illustrating the Indescribable” by Monica S. Kuebler highlighting some of the best (and worst) graphic art created from the world of H.P. Lovecraft. It’s mainly about the new coffee table book called “A Lovecraft Retrospective” covering about 85 years in the history of these types of illustrations. If you are fan of Lovecraft you’ll certainly get a kick out of this, but even if you aren’t it’s still a pretty cool read.
Lance Chance Lance brings us an article about hearse bikes as in motorcycles that have coffins as their sidecars in “Rolling with the Reaper”. This article basically highlights the unusual history of making motorcycles into delivery vehicles for the dead, which is something that I had no idea even existed prior to the article.
Cinemacabre features reviews for movies such as “Cloverfield”, “I am Legend”, “The Orphanage”, “One Missed Call” (remake), “Spiral”, “Catacombs”, “Alien vs. Predator: Requiem”, “The Blood Shed”, “Lake Placid 2 , “Hack ”, and “Fallen Angels”.
Last Chance Lance has his “Last Rites” section this issue with three movies that all feature actress Chiaki Kuriyama. Those movies include “Mail”, “Hair Extensions”, and “Last Quarter”.
Writer Trevor Tuminski also highlights three low budget zombie flicks in “Tag You’re Dead” as he checks in with “Die and Let Live” (Which features my quote on the front of the box Thanks guys ), “Days of Darkness”, and Day X”.
This issues “Reissues” has reviews of the new Dark Sky release “Tragic Ceremony”, “Guru The Mad Monk”, “The Nude Vampire”, “The Loreley’s Grasp”, “Killing Spree”, “Swamp Thing: The Series”, and “Ricco The Mean Machine”.
This month Paul Corupe leads CineMarquee as he takes a look at one of the newest DVD releases of vintage horror in “Earth vs. The Flying Saucers from 1956.
In “It Came from Bowen’s Basement” you have writer John W. Bowen bringing us an article dedicated completely to the film “The Green Slime”. Bowen brings us all of the reasons and more why he loves this movie that most people would just walk by the rack not paying any attention to it. They say one man’s trash is another’s treasure and John W. Bowen shows us that every week with this interesting article that can only be found in Rue Morgue Magazine.
Comic fans are going to want to check out this month’s “Blood in Four Colours” as they take a look at some of the more interesting genre comics coming out today. This issue they take a look at “Halloween” from Devils Due, “The Evil Dead” from Dark Horse, “High Moon” from DC/Zudacomics.com, “Innocent” Vol. One Trade Paperback from King Tractor, “Therefore Repent” from No Media Kings, and last but not least “The Killing Joke” Special Edition from the people at DC/Vertigo.
In “The Ninth Circle” Rue Morgue gives us horror fans some of the coolest stuff to read and this issue is no exception. We get reviews of books like “Chicago TV Horror Movie shows”, Tales from the Cult Film Trenches”, “Dr. A.C. presents Horror 101", “Road from Hell”, and “Haunted America and Haunted Heritage. The Grim Reader also brings us some good literature if you will in reviews of “Devilish Greetings: Vintage Postcards”, “The Number 121 to Pennsylvania”, “The Union of Hope and Sadness: The Art of Gail” and “God Laughs When You Die”. Also Brian Keene fans will be pleased as there is a very interesting article by Monica S. Kuebler about him and his writing entitled “Primal Fears”.
This month’s Travelogue of Terror comes to us from James Burrell as he visits The World Famous Frankenstein 1818 Pub from Edinburgh Scotland.
In AudioDrome you get reviews of all of the latest music as usual and this month is no exception as the Rue Crew brings us reviews of the “Death Laid and Egg” Soundtrack, “The Other Side” Soundtrack, The “Halloween III” soundtrack, “The Monster Squad” Soundtrack, as well as other albums like Zombie Battle Axe’s new record Now You Are Dead, The Scared Stiffs - The Last Horror Movie, HorrorPops - Kiss Kiss Kill Kill, Horror of 59 - The Golden Age of Sin, Zombie - Live, and finally Cavalera Conspiracy - Infilkted.
All this in much more in what I still consider the greatest monthly genre magazine on the market today, and that folks is Rue Morgue Magazine.
-Ed Demko
Ed Demko takes a look at the graphic novel.....The Unwanted
Written by Diablo and Mark Michaels
Illustrated by Juan Romera
Lettering by Juan Moyano
As a kid growing up I certainly had an interest in comics, but as years went by that kind of died off for me. Although a few years ago there seemed to be a boom in horror comics on the scene bringing me back into checking out issues consistently once again. From there I found the world of graphic novels which made things a lot easier for me to keep up with.
This time around we have a new graphic novel from writers Diablo and Mark Michaels entitled "The Unwanted". It's the story of a group of troubled teens who have been shoved off to the McClaren Reeducation Center to be reformed. Once they are there the teens are subjected to exorcizes and things to get them ready to go back into the real world. But because of Ms. Sterns who is a instructor at the center's dabbling in cursed amulets there is about to be some serious evil unleashed at McClaren. See, the amulet is an old artifact from Tibet that is a key that opens one of the gates of hell. One night while fooling around with the amulet and trying to figure out what is written on the backside of it, she manages to activate it unleashing a shape shifting demon on the establishment. Will the group of young teens be able to stop it with the help of the hipster teacher Mr. Albright? Or will the demon conquer all in the conquest to destroy all human kind?!
As far as the illustration goes for this one the artwork is fairly decent. Nothing too ambitious here, although there really wasn't much warranted for this piece of the story. The whole book is done in black and white and sometimes I don't mind that for a graphic novel, but I think that this one would have benefitted from some color. The scenes in which the demon shows up certainly would have benefitted from it and it would have made the book better. Not that it's a big deal, it is just a minor gripe but it's a gripe nonetheless.
The story however is one that will keep you enthralled. It's interesting enough to make me want to stick to the story regardless of where it's going and I enjoyed the way it was all wrapped up. They could go a whole myriad of ways with the story in this and that will make it an outstanding series if they choose to do it that way. The characters were all at least interesting and this did a good job introducing them to the reader. They all have unique character traits and that is always a good sign to me. It'll keep the reader caring about the book and it's characters and without good characters there isn't anything there in the world of comics and graphic novels.
Overall I would recommend people check out "The Unwanted". It's an interesting read that has some stuff in it that I think horror fans can and will appreciate if they check this one out. There's no doubt that they have something cool in mind here and I would love to see how future issues of this turn out.
For those interested you can check out the official website for "The Unwanted" at www.misterdiablo.com/unwanted, if you were interested in checking out a copy you can order ir by contacting itcho@aol.com. Or if you want to pick it up in stores or your local comic shop it is being distributed by Diamond and will be available this June.
-Ed Demko
Magazine Mayhem - Rue Morgue Issue #74
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
Magazine Mayhem: Rue Morgue # 73
James Grainger wrote the article on Thomas Jane and the challenges that came about working on such an intense project. Thomas Jane also talks about Darabonts tactic of using live action models on set instead of blue screens. I think that while they might have been acting against such things that the final product was laced with a bundle of CGI. Thomas Jane took the project very seriously and was very giving with his thoughts and techniques he used when helping to build his character in "The Mist". Actually I think the entire ensemble of actors created and explosive drama with creatures.
To accompany "The Mist" Rue Morgue's Aaron Von Lupton talks about some Stephen King reissues. Rue Morgue gently chastises genre fans for saying that King can't be turned into on screen magic. To prove their point he goes on to discuss Lewis Teague's "Cujo", Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" and Rob Reiner's "The Misery". Each film is given their respect but the DVD's get M.D like examinations and that made the article great. Which DVD does Aaron think deserves a fans hard earned purchase? Read and find out.
Being that Rue Morgue is the ultimate horror culture magazine Rue Morgue goes three decades deep into horror board games. I am not into games much but god damn does Rue Morgue take me by surprise each month. Who else goes from Horror Core Hip Hop to Death Photography to Vincent Price's Hangman. Read this piece of Milton Bradley style nostalgia and being at awe of all of these monster games. The article is accompanied with pics of all of these items that would be goldmines on ebay or in case of "Dawn of the Dead" fans, an item you would forever cherish. Dawn of the Dead actually had a board game!
Canada's horror expo Festival of Fear gets covered with plenty of pics while earlier in the magazine the Toronto International Horror Festival gets a great write up by a number of the Rue Morgue Staff. They keep the buzz rolling for George A. Romero's angst driven zombie film "Diary of the Dead" while they pull no punches on Dario Argento's "The Mother of Tears". Still they said that the film was a gory affair and it was basically a birthday party being that it was Argento's 67th birthday. Other films they mention include "The Devil's Chair" from the U.K, a film that was recently replaced last minute during the unsuccessful After Dark Horror Fest "Frontiers" and a film by Stuart Gordon titled "Stuck". The buzz, the acclaim and the story in general has me really excited for this film. Rodrigo Gudino basically gave me theatrical ecstacy because I cant wait to get my hands on my "Stuck" ticket. I personally love the gritty direction Stuart Gordon is going with his theatrical pieces of late. Staff member Ed Demko and I cant get enough of the Mamet penned "Edmond" and hopefully Gordon collaborates with both Mamet and William H. Macy again!
Is all the good films becoming too much. You want some straight schlock? Well too bad because from what I read in John W. Bowen's Night of the Chicken Dead article the always amusing head honky in charge Lloyd Kaufmann makes it sound like Poultrygeist is polically charged while being as silly as the Troma fan favorite "Terror Firmer". I hope it is more like "The Toxic Avenger" because "Terror Firmer" is too over the top for my taste. Still after reading the article I would blind buy the move. Chicken Zombies and Political Satire. I'm there!
The Rue Staff reviews plenty of new stuff like Larry Fesseden's atmospheric "The Last Winter" (A film that can be purchased on Comcast On Demand for 5.99 in my parts), The wacky religious cult film "The Believers", Resident Evil: Extinction, Kurtman's "Buried Alive" and "Antibodies". They don't slow done there as they go on to review a sick variety of reissues that include "Francis Ford Coppola's take on Bram Stoker's Dracula", the Severin release Malabimba: The Malicious Whore" and "Mystics in Bali"!
Director of "Acne" and the upcoming George A. Romero Documentary "Dead On: The Life of George A. Romero" Rusty Nails writes a wonderful piece about his initial thoughts on "Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things". It was great to learn that Bob Clark's zombie satire made him enough bank to go on to make his ultimate classic "Deathdream". The article is tiny but it was never published so I am not complaining. It's a shame Bob Clark passed and he will always remain a legend in the horror genre.
Great to see that there is a new section by John W. Bowen. It's titled It Came From Bowens Basement. I hope no one thinks we jacked this title being that Ed and I do a weekly podcast called The Bloodtype Basement. It should be another section dedicated to overlooked and continuously slept on sleepers throughout the history of horror. The article is more of an introduction to who John W. Bowen is, what his cinematic taste gravitates towards and what he plans on dishing out every month. Good luck to him and it looks like a fine replacement to Chris Alexanders Schizoid Cinephile.
On to the Gore-Met. The Father of Gore Critiquing himself Gore-Met is much more into Argento's latest film than Rue Morgue writer Stuart Andrews. Gore-Met examines Argento's finanicial success throughout his career and also looks into the minescule budgets Argento has had for his last few films. While I am not an Argento nutball in all honesty I have to agree with Gore-Met's assessment of Argento being the Master of the Masters of Horror. "Jenifer" and "Pelts" are absolutely two of the best episodes on Mick Garris's one hour film series. While he makes Argento fans aware of what they may dislike he convinces me to maybe give the film a chance as it might be fun. He also says it might be for the "Tenebrae" fan and thats where my love for Argento's films begin and end. So far that the only film of his that grabbed me from beginning to end.
Much more is in the mag but I will close this review of the 73rd edition Rue Morgue with my final thoughts. Buy this magazine every fucking month. I just read an article about a Gwar like band called Maris the Great and The Faggots of Death. The quotes in this bizarre article will have you shaking your head and chuckling unless your a tight ass! He'd be sure to loosen you up. They have band members named Faggoria and Penis Colada! I am satisfied again. Each month my eyes are opened up to such strange and new material!
-Russ Rutter
Music Spotlight: A Dark Noel
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
Magazine Mayhem- Rue Morgue Issue 72
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
Magazine Mayhem - Rue Morgue Issue #71
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
Magazine Mayhem - Rue Morgue Issue #70
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
Music Spotlight - Voltaire – Ooky Spooky
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
Flashback Weekend 2007 by Rod Schroeder
In Defense of Torture Porn…by Andy Copp
I've seen people do a lot of stupid things in a movie theater during a horror movie but I have never seen anyone beat their meat because the murder scenes got them so hot and bothered. That's not to say there isn't some psychopath who gets turned on by this stuff. But they are the minority, the sick few who by no means represent the whole.
But furthering the term "torture porn" in use when describing horror films it does just that. It ghettoizes the genre by connecting it to pornography in the minds of those who are already looking for reasons to claim the genre is harmful. The media is simply looking for any excuse to degrade the horror film because it is an easy target. They have no reason to go after porn itself anymore because it has mainstreamed itself in the last ten years. Porn is as American as baseball and Apple pie. Porn Stars are invited into our homes on reality TV and game shows now. Horror has quietly replaced porn as the catch all evil for societies ills.
A look back at the "Friday the 13th" franchise…By Tim Gross
Like most seven year olds, ok like most weird seven year olds I was looking for horror movies, monster movies, anything that remotely looked cool. I loved Godzilla, the Universal Monsters were fucking awesome, and couldn't get enough of the haunted house movies of the late 70s/early 80s. Then watching HBO late at night, I came across "Friday the 13th Part 3", where Jason wears the goalie mask. My imagination went through the roof and my love for Jason films grew by the second when I saw the big retarded man hit the screen cutting off a biker's arm and then trying to kill someone else. I knew I had to see more. So of course through the ways of technology of the VCR, I was able to see the first two films and thought I was in heaven. This character 'Jason' was so crazy, such a killing machine, he was a hero…Yes, the big J was the man. As I grew older my love for the sequels only grew not matter how outlandish the plotlines got!
When "The Final Chapter" rolled around and was heavily advertised that this was the last one, I was crushed. There was Nightmare on Elm Street and quite a few other slasher films to enjoy but nothing like a Jason film. Then we were rewarded with "A New Beginning". At the time I got to see the film and knew at the end it wasn't him. I was disappointed at first, but as time passed and I watched it several times on USA Network's "Up All Night" and "Skinemax" , I learned to enjoy it and see it for what it was, a classic cheese ball movie like "Halloween 3:The Season of the Witch".
When "Friday the 13th Part 6: Jason Lives" came out, I was a little older and was able to make my way into theaters for R-rated films. A little older meant 11 years old, which now people would have heart attacks about shit like that! But I was going on vacation the summer Part 6 came out and was pissed I wouldn't get to see it for awhile. But what came next was an omen of what the horror gods had in store for me and my life, and you could only experience it by being there. Here I am in Columbia, South Carolina fresh from a few days at Myrtle Beach. Sunburned, pissed about no TV (come on mid 80s in South Carolina was like Green Acres… except the fruit stand I went to with my dad on the side of a road and I was served a beer, oh I love the south!), and nothing to do. That is until my cousin who was 17 at the time asked if my stepbrother and I would like to go see a movie at the drive-in with her and her boyfriend. It could have been shit on the screen, I was fucking going! For the love of god it was a Drive-In, I had to go! On the way I noticed at the back of this muscle car that I'm sitting in was a jug. What's in the jug I ask? Moonshine I was told, which at the time I was just thinking I'm at drive-in who cares what moonshine is? Getting back to the point, I went and grabbed some popcorn and saw what was going to be playing and almost shit myself! Real big above the refreshment stand "All-Nite Drive-In – Friday the 13th Part 1 thru 6". To say the least I was so fucking excited I stayed up and watched them all. At 4 or so in the morning, it's me sitting on the hood of this car and maybe two other people in the whole drive-in awake or not bumping uglies watching the ending of "Jason Lives". It left such impression on me that it didn't matter what the studios would do with Jason because I would be buying a ticket. If they chopped him up in a blender and mailed his pieces to Norway, I would go buy a ticket for it!
Even though "The New Blood" seemed bloodless, the franchise seemed popular as ever with the new Nintendo game out at the same time. Believe me I killed him like ten times once in the game with an axe, stones, etc. and he came back just like the films! By this time I was in full horror mode, watching whatever would come to the theater horror wise, and if I wasn't there I was in my brother's bedroom watching two or three horror movies every Saturday because he had a VCR. But when I seen that trailer for Part 8 and the "I love NY" song was playing, I almost had a tear in my eye because of how cool it was going to be! Well of course that didn't happen since studios only make certain films for money and not for fans such as myself and many of you out there. But opening night I was in the theater with my brother, his girlfriend/now wife, and her mother. It was shitty but funny as hell since a) there was only one other person in the theater and b) the mother of my sister-in-law was jumping and screaming like a 5 year old seeing "The Exorcist" for the first time. At one point we thought she pissed herself! My brother of course does not let me live that film down acting like I made him go see it!
Well a few years pass, we get a couple Child's Play sequels, a few Halloweens, a couple Nightmare on Elm St.'s, and no Jason until the news of New Line Cinema now owning the rights to the Jason series. It was the spring of 1993, I was graduating high school, and my girlfriend now wife had no fucking clue what I was all about yet. I seen the film opening night at a theater called the "Whitehall Twin" in Brentwood (a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pa.) which has been torn down for awhile now. But I got there 45 minutes before show time. There was a line that wrapped around the building outside while hundreds of us were inside waiting at the doors screaming, cheering like it we were a drunken crowd of idiots at a football game! The crowd could have not been better for this movie as ten minutes in when Jason gets blown up, popcorn, T-shirts; shit of unknown origin flew at the theater screen! People thought it was over! People gasped when the morgue doctor bit into Jason's black heart, it was a type of crowd that would have made the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" crowd run for their lives. I will never forget that experience as long as I live.
Years would pass before we would see another Jason sequel. Rumors of the supposed "Freddy vs. Jason" film would be squished on a monthly basis via Fango or on the internet! The 90s down right sucked Godzilla's left nut at times! Then at the dawn of a new century hope came with "Jason X". No, it wasn't the best sequel but it wasn't the worst, and and it seemed to leave