Movie Review: Crypt of the Vampire

Count Karnstein in his study.

Movie Review: Crypt of the Vampire (1964) directed by Camillo Mastrocinque, aka “Terror in the Crypt”, original title “La Cripta e l’incubo” Antiquarian Friedrich Klauss (Jose Campos) has been summoned to Castle Karnstein in Styria by Count Ludwig Karnstein (Christopher Lee). It seems that some two centuries before, one of the Karnstein clan had been accused… Continue reading Movie Review: Crypt of the Vampire

Book Review: Clive Barker’s Books of Blood Volume II

Book Review: Clive Barker’s Books of Blood Volume II by Clive Barker Everybody is a book of blood; wherever we’re opened, we’re red. Prescript to the Books of Blood, presumably a joke by Clive Barker himself. In the mid-1980s, Clive Barker broke onto the horror scene with a collection of short(ish) stories divided up into… Continue reading Book Review: Clive Barker’s Books of Blood Volume II

Movie Review: Drive Angry

John Milton has seen better days.

Movie Review: Drive Angry (2011) directed by Patrick Lussier John Milton (Nicolas Cage) was a bad person who committed many crimes. It’s no surprise he ended locked up for many years. During those years, his daughter grew up, joined a cult, left the cult, got married, had a child, and then was murdered by the cult… Continue reading Movie Review: Drive Angry

Movie Review: The Revenge of Frankenstein

Dr. Stein considers a point made by a colleague.

Movie Review: The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958) directed by Terence Fisher When last seen in The Curse of Frankenstein, Baron Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) had been condemned to the guillotine. At the beginning of this story, he’s being marched to his execution. We see the blade fall, but two grave robbers soon discover that the Baron has somehow… Continue reading Movie Review: The Revenge of Frankenstein

Movie Review: Dementia 13 (1963)

Kathleen is crowned.

Movie Review: Dementia 13 (1963) directed by Francis Ford Coppola Lady Haloran (Ethne Dunne) has summoned her family to their castle in Ireland for the annual commemoration of her daughter Kathleen’s death. Eldest son John (Peter Read) has sent his regrets, and his wife Louise (Luana Anders), as he has been forced to travel elsewhere on… Continue reading Movie Review: Dementia 13 (1963)

Movie Review: Cat People (1942)

Irena's fear of physical contact is putting a strain on her marriage to Oliver.

Movie Review: Cat People (1942) directed by Jacques Tourneur Marine engineer Oliver Reed (Kent Smith), like many New Yorkers, enjoys visiting the Central Park Zoo. Today he found a new attraction, a pretty fashion sketch artist hanging around the black panther cage. She turns out to be a Serbian immigrant named Irena Dubrovna (Simone Simon) who… Continue reading Movie Review: Cat People (1942)

Open Thread: ConVergence 2021 Report

Open Thread: ConVergence 2021 Report Those of you who’ve met me are aware that my introversion is almost at hermit levels, and this last year only amplified that. But I do enjoy a small amount of social interaction, and the lack of conventions wore on me. So when it was announced that the 2021 version… Continue reading Open Thread: ConVergence 2021 Report

Book Review: The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror Volume 16

Book Review: The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror Volume 16 edited by Stephen Jones Let’s go back to 2004 for what at least one editor considered excellent short horror fiction. As with the later volume I have reviewed, there’s a lot of ancillary material. It opens with an extended look at horror and horror-adjacent… Continue reading Book Review: The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror Volume 16

Movie Review: Return of the Evil Fox

You don't say?

Movie Review: Return of the Evil Fox (1991) directed by George Leung The Chiang family has long been involved with Taoist mysticism. In 1991, Chiang Wu (Fung Woo) is the patriarch of the clan, and moves his herb shop and exorcism business into a mall in Hong Kong. The mall is alleged to be cursed, with… Continue reading Movie Review: Return of the Evil Fox

Comic Strip Review: Devil’s Candy Volume 1

Comic Strip Review: Devil’s Candy Volume 1 Art by Rem, Story by Bikkuri When Kazu Decker creates a ninth-grade science project for his biology class, he fully commits. With the aid of his best buddy Nemo (who’s more of a technology buff), Kazu puts together an artificial lifeform he names Pandora. She may look like… Continue reading Comic Strip Review: Devil’s Candy Volume 1