Series of Mothers: Murder 3

After a bunch of posters for international films, here's one from Macedonia that I'm rather proud of. It's for the macabre short by Ilija Karov that premiered in Skopje today, dealing with a serial killer and the process of killing a single victim, the killer's own mother. It's a nice 10-minute film with good atmosphere and solid production values, as well as a clear reference to the legendary Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. The only weak thing here is the voiceover that echoes the inner world of the main character but I guess that in the international version of the film (if it ever gets one) it won't be such a problem. Cheers!

The End Is Nigh

Have you ever had the desire to know how it's all going to end? Have you been secretly looking for that obscure holy grail of printed publishing? Well, now...

...The End Is Nigh is an annual British fanzine edited by Michael Molcher. You don't know who he is? Don't worry. The fanzine has been coming out every year since 2005 at the Bristol Comic Expo in 2005. As the tagline suggests, it's The Official Magazine of the Apocalypse, each issue dealing with differently themed Apocalypses (e.g. the first one was about those cute and cuddly creatures we call zombies). The contents go all across the board, ranging from articles to sequential art, with contributors drawn from both comics and magazines. Also, it's got rather strong (if not superstrong) recommendations from authority figures. Here's one:

"Truly a book of revelations... although judging from the energy and enthusiasm crackling around this ambitious independent, the end is far from nigh. Highly recommended", Alan Moore.

And yeah, the fanzine has its own site and blog where you can get a bucketload of info on how everything you hold dear will die eventually. What else are you waiting for? It's not like you have a lot longer to live... :)

A Reminder: Videodrome (1983)

"First it controlled her mind, then it destroyed her body... Long live the new flesh!"

This trailer for David Cronenberg's cult classic Videodrome must be one of the most psychedelic film-related ads ever! The funny thing is - the short clip might be better on its own than the actual film, which is already quite accomplished but somehow feels incomplete.

Expect more about Videodrome and Cronenberg's brand of body horror in the weeks to come. In the meantime, enjoy!

Dead of Night Poster

The teaser poster and the website for the upcoming Dead of Night a.k.a. Dylan Dog were presented at Comic-Con this week, along with some completed footage from the film. Apparently, the film looks like a fun monster romp. OK, I can live with that as long as it sticks to the original material. The text copy from the website, however, suggests that apart from the name and looks of the character nothing from the comic series will actually remain in the final product. Hence, I am ---> this <--- close to giving up on this production, the only other evidence I need being the trailer. Lets wait and see...

Xiperius

A nice little post to kick off the weekend!

Xiperius is a young artist from Macedonia whose drawing style might seem childlike and a little bit naive, but his characters are dark stuff, certainly not the kind you'd be willing to meet personally. What is particularly important, Xiperius has developed significantly since 2007 and should be cranking out some horror comics sooner rather than later. 'Till then, check out his devArt page.

The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble - Lobby

Total performance, total immersion. The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble are on a whole different level when it comes to soul-wrecking music, perfect for the late hours of any given day when the weight of the world crushes on your shoulders and there aren't any monsters, real or immaginary, to give you the escapism you need. Truly dark stuff. Gorgeous, too.

Freddy's Back...

...and everything looks just the way it should. I hope they don't waste this opportunity to explore the full potential that this series really has.

The Residents - One Minute Movies

You want bad dreams? Just play The Residents' original 4 Minute Videos a couple of times before you go to bed. The weird thing about it is that the images presented here are actually quite humorous and the endlessly clever combinations between sounds, lyrics and visual setups never fail to make me smile. That said, the revolving pig, the mantis-like creature, the dancing eyeball babies, the man stuck on the wall, come on, they're all disturbing as hell. Of course, The Residents made a career by combining strange, funny and scarry stuff, and if you need proof, check out their Demons Dance Alone LP from 2002 (and don't be turned off by the terrible cover art).

Trick 'r Treat

After Rob Zombie's relaunch of the Halloween franchise it became more or less clear that the holiday held on October 31st was in dire need for some truly fresh scares. Not that the last edition of Michael Myers' adventures was particularly bad - it's just that apart from the 40 minute peek in the Boogieman's past it didn't offer anything new to care about. The arrival of Trick 'r Treat might compensate for this.

The film is an anthology of five Halloween-related stories. The one thing that ties the stories together is the presence of Sam, a mysterious trick-or-treater with a burlap pumpkin mask who may or may not be just child in costume. Frankly, I haven't seen the film yet but this premise along with the poster shown below is enough to make me curious. Just why is it, then, that the film never got wide distribution is beyond me, but here's three times hooray! for the DVD release scheduled in timely fashion for October 27, 2009. Seriously, can't wait to see this.

Hack/Slash

Just when I was thinking there were no good horror comics anymore, Hack/Slash appeared out of nowhere. The funny thing is, I shouldn't like it at all - the drawing is as generic as it comes and the story is a pure derivative of your buddy's favorite slashers - yet I find it a compelling reading. What really works for the comic is the warm interaction between Tim Seeley's lead characters, the victim-cum-avenger Cassie and her partner, the Jason-like-monstrosity Vlad. The series shoves this odd couple through the entire catalogue of slasher villains from the last two decades yet the focus on their own personal problems and issues never wavers. Another big point for the series is its tone, which subtly echoes the awareness of the genre displayed in the fantastic mockumentary Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. In short, I highly recommend it to anyone looking for quick no-brainer fun!

>>> Check out torrents for Hack/Slash

Episode 12: Horror Software, Inc.

There's an army of zombies coming right at you, on your left you see a pack of werewolves, on your right a bunch of politicians, and you only have three bullets in the revolver. What do you do, man, what do you do?

The options:

1. You fight and die like a hero!
2. You run!
3. You take out your Republican party membership card and nobody dares to touch you!
   

On June 3rd, we had a show about scary video games with particular emphasis on the survival horror subgenre, which has made quite a splash since the appearance of the Alone in the Dark series. Most of the video games discussed (modern classics such as Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Dead Space, but also oldies like Doom and Redneck Rampage) are nightmare-inducing in ways that only the best horror films are, and one might even dare say that the games are actually better at throwing people in fits of terror because their monsters never attack famous actors - they attack YOU! Oh, the sweetness of running amok through the endless tunnels of hell, with a terrible monster right behind your back...

Well, this self-defense reflex that permeats horror games is also what is consistently lacking from the respective film adaptations. Some films make it through despite this obvious impediment - the Resident Evil film series is heaps of fun and the Silent Hill adaptation is extremely effective when it takes scenes straight from the games. Most video game adaptations, however, are outright disasters and most of the blame falls at the feet of one Uwe Boll, the man that seems to love being hated. Oh well, what can you do, life was never meant to be perfect.

The music for this episode hits hard with industrial landscapes and beats from artists such as Skinny Puppy, Nine Inch Nails, Throbbing Gristle and Rob Zombie. The ridicilous sounds of that internet meme from a few years back also pop up to remind you that All your base are belong to us! and that horror sometimes is linked purely to stupidity :)

>>> Download the episode!

>>> Stream the episode!

Frankenstein (1910)

Before Boris Karloff, there was Charles Ogle! The first film version of Frankenstein was made in 1910 by Edison Studios. It was shot in just three days with J. Searle Dawley on helm as the writer and producer, Augustus Phillips as Dr. Frankenstein and Mary Fuller as the doctor's fiancee. This short is quite interesting actually for the depiction of the Creature, which is radically different from the one established as classic with the Universal series of films. Definitely worth a watch, just don't be discouraged by the paleness of the copy early on.

Frankenstein Posters

There comes a moment in every man's life when he has to ask himself: just how on earth did Mary Shelley's Thing-Without-A-Name become the distorted blood-thirsty monster we know as Frankenstein? Has nobody ever read the book? Ah, well... I'll be honest: I am not a big fan of Frankenstein, the monster, and I think the original Universal film was pure rubbish saved by Boris Karloff's performance (come on, the whole film is based on the idiotic plot device known as ABNORMAL BRAIN). That said, I love the concept of Frankenstein with everything it involves including the string of trash-to-the-bone films and posters it has inspired. Just look at that Frankenstein vs. Baragon poster at the bottom of this post! Is it genius or what? You will find much more of that in what follows. Enjoy!