Zombos' Closet of Horror

Dead Clowns (2003)

The following guest review was written by Brenda Hineman, confessed B-Movie junkie, she also writes about Halloween costumes at StarCostumes.com. Not being a goremet, I'll let her handle the messy movies. I find clowns too creepy anyway. Debbie's on her own with this one. (Note: I'm using the IMDb date for the movie; the DVD release date is 2007).

Since the Blair Witch Project in 1999, with its low-budget, high-gross success, many young filmmakers realized that it was indeed possible to make a film without a huge Hollywood budget. Advances in technology have also gone a long way toward putting decent quality video equipment in an affordable price range for hobbyists and amateur filmmakers. Collectively, this has advanced what was already a thriving, albeit exclusive, cult horror film scene populated by writers and directors (almost always one in the same) whose creative visions were enough to overcome budget limitations.

Over the last decade, what has extended from that scene is a fledgling scene often referred to as "micro cinema" - that is, very low- budget films shot on-the-fly with directorial edits often being dictated by the realities of unpredictable site and actor schedules. One of the more noted directors of this budding micro cinema scene is Steve Sessions, writer/director/scorer of, among other films, Dead Clowns.

The plot of this 95-minute gorefest is this: Fifty years ago in Port Emmett, Mississippi, a hurricane derailed a circus train, throwing it off a bridge and into the river. Unfortunately, the clown car (and all its occupants) never surfaced again. Now, fifty years later, as another hurricane approaches, the clowns are rising from the deep to eat the people of Port Emmett.

The Best of Joe R. Lansdale: Dark Flavors Over Gristle

What Batman did for me, though, was make me understand that the world was bigger than I knew, that there were things beyond getting out of high school and going to work and waiting for retirement. Like Batman, I wanted to be something special. (Joe R. Lansdale, from his introduction to The Best of Joe R. Lansdale)

Take a big fat oak barrel, pack in Ray Bradbury and Charles Bukowski, slice and dice a few big young scorpions with all six juicy segments of their tails, add some boiled spinach and watery buckwheat, pickle all with half Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey and half Southern Comfort, piss, and spit some chawing tobacco into the mix, then seal it up good. Let the barrel sit for a few years, forgotten, in a beat up Pontiac pickup truck parked in the last row of the last aisle in the last drive-in down a long dusty road. When you finally open it up you'll find an author like Joe R. Lansdale. Just stand back a bit when you do 'cause he might be cussin' up an awful lot and swinging low.

Lansdale is as important an America Original as Mark Twain, only if he had written The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, he'd have had good ole boy Tom bashing Huck's brains in with a tree branch, for chump change and just to see him bleed, on a bright sunny day, close to a white picket fence to show the blood spatter better. Then he'd have Tom go smiling off to eat some warm apple pie as a hungry dog ate the rest of Huck up, with both enjoying every bit of their meal. Slowly.

Reviewing Books: Throwing Your Money My Way

Angela Hoy's Writers Weekly ezine has an informative article this month called Throwing Your Money Away on Review Copies. While it's written primarily for budding authors who are self-promoting their work (i.e., paying out of their pockets), I felt it had some important points we, as bloggers, should be aware of because many of us are budding authors, or simply need to handle book review requests with confidence.

This key bit of advice she offers is essential for both of those perspectives:

7. The way to get book reviews is to approach a potential reviewer up front, addressing them by name, via email, and asking them point-blank if you can send them a copy of your book and a media kit to review. You should also ask them if they want to receive the print version (print book and print media kit) or the electronic version (ebook and electronic file of your media kit).

I've received a few blanket emailings requesting reviews, but most have been addressed to me by name and some are even a bit more conversational, indicating the author (or author's agent/press agent) took the time to know my blog's temperament. When a request indicates familiarity, I'm more inclined to review the book and, conversely, less inclined when it's an Hello Anonymous Blogger, I've got this tremendously exciting book..."insert pitch here." 

That pitch is unimportant to me and should not be important to any potential reviewer. I don't give much weight, either, to authors' quotes regarding other authors' books. I'm actually less inclined to review a book bolstered with authors' quotes. There's something unnatural about that. Well, we couldn't find any 'real' readers or critics, so what did your professional friends say? And one thing I'd love to see more is being offered a digital copy to review. I promise not to distribute it, I swear. It just means less piles of clutter for me to step over (I ran out of book shelves a long time ago; I had to put my DVDs somewhere you know).

Anyway, here are a few rules I strive to live by when blogging book reviews. Come to think of it, these rules can apply to any type of review you might do.

Meet the Horror Bloggers: All Things Horror

Many fans of horror, amateur and professional alike, have devoted themselves to blogging about the thrills, chills, and no-frills side of the genre as seen in cinema and print. In this ongoing series that highlights the writers behind the blogs, we meet the unique personalities and talents that make the online horror scene so engaging. Up close and personal.

In this installment, Mike and Chris from All Things Horror tag team the terror to the delight of their readers.

Mike:

I fell in love with horror around age seven by spending Saturday afternoons in the public library. After soccer games, my Dad would drop me off while he went grocery shopping. For whatever reason, the Dracut library stocked the juvenile section with folklore books. The history of witchcraft, true hauntings, werewolves and vampire mythology were all at my finger tips. These were pretty hardcore-in today’s namby pamby world I can’t imagine there’s much on the kid’s shelves about Vlad Tepes impaling his subjects then dining amongst the carnage, nor stories about ghost that appeared on elevators moments before the cables snapped and the cart plunged, sending everyone to their cruel demise. I gobbled up everyone I could check out. Granted they left me so scared if I woke up in the middle of the night to pee I’d clutch a statue of Virgin Mary in front of me while tiptoeing down the hall, just in case a vampire jumped out of the shadows. Just as fifth grade let out for summer vacation, I finished reading The Amityville Horror. That night I woke up covered in itchy splotches and my skin felt like it was on fire. I was terrified that I’d been turned into some sort of demonic hell spawn. It was the chicken pox.

On Open Letters and Cans of Worms: A Reflection

Chuck Norris Ate My Baby wrote about the tiff over Let's Get Dangerous' Open Letter to Gorezone, which appears to not have been received all that well. I'm surprised, however, that an offensive position has been returned, instead of addressing the points of Jamie's critical opinion expressed in his open letter. To call its contents defamatory and slanderous is stretching things a tad silly. Here's the open letter so you can make up your own mind. Let me know what you think with your comments.

Not to kick Jamie any more, but his grammar needed a bit of proofing, too (you Brits are weird with grammar). I'd like to see Gorezone (and readers of Gorezone) respond to his critical assessment regarding this one issue. If any of you have read the issue, can you corroborate or disagree with Jamie's critique? Civilly.

Here's Jamie's Open Letter To Gorezone (with some additional commas, typos corrected, and my personal observations in bolded italics sprinkled here and there. One last note: it is rather ironic that a blog called Let's Get Dangerous actually lives up to its name.

Congrats on that Jamie.

"Dear GoreZone Magazine,

"Firstly, well done for having a glossy and fairly nice looking magazine that has managed to stay afloat during a climate almost designed to make just that very difficult. It is definitely an achievement that a niche magazine has kept on keeping on, and I salute that.

"I first bought GoreZone about a year, maybe a year and a half, ago when the mag was still in its relative infancy and I was thoroughly disappointed (I did the same thing and felt a little disappointment: just not my cup of tea really). So I decided I would stick to Fango. But then yesterday, I saw the mag in a shop in Manchester and spotted a review of Enzo Castellari’s Bronx Warriors movies. So I figured I would give it another whirl.

"Now, I am not one of these guys who gets all heated about grammar and spelling but come on, this is just ridiculous (okay, I thought you said you weren't the type to get all heated about grammar?). I’m assuming that none of your articles get proofread at all as the level of grammar and spelling really is atrocious. Which is something that needs to be rectified if you are going to continue calling yourself “The world’s most upmarket horror entertainment magazine” (bit of a jump here, but I'll stay mum: still just expressing concern, not slander). Basic spelling and grammar are an absolute must for any professional-looking publication, and when you skip on it it makes you look like a bunch of amateurs. And if some Mary Whitehouse type were to pick up the magazine as fodder for her latest crusade against people having bloody fun then she would probably think the horror community is a bunch of uneducated degenerates fixated on big boobs (yet people still read the Weekly World News: go figure*).

"And so in lies my main problem with GoreZone: I don’t like that you assume that all horror fans want to see bikinied-up girls flaunting it around (dear Gorezone: Jamie's on his own with this one). I’m a red-blooded male gorehound who loves the ladies, but when I pick up a horror magazine I want to read about what gory flicks are coming soon and about classic genre flicks that get our jugulars pumping. If I am honest the reviews are well written for the most part, and the features go into some level of depth which is good. Now just sort out the content.

"Females are maligned in this genre we love as pure eye-candy, or examples of pure evil (I agree, but it sells movies and issues because enough males want to see it). This is the most progressive genre in the world (have you seen the DVD shelves, lately?), the genre that showed women can be heroes with films like the Night Of The Living Dead remake, but even though people are striving to make something more of the genre, other people (such as yourselves) are dragging it back down (an argumentative stretch here: which people are striving for what? Get your notes ready). For example, in your Christa Campbell VS Joe Bloggs piece, the question “Are big breasts accessory or necessity?” is thoroughly unnecessary, and Christa’s answer pretty much set the women’s movement back god knows how far “The bigger the better no? You have to get their attention somehow…” (sadly, she's right, whatever we dislike about it: my question is, was this intended as a satirical article?)

"It just really seems like “the world’s most upmarket horror entertainment magazine” is Nuts for horror fans (or even the celebrity obsessed Heat), as opposed to “Vogue for horror fans” as you have printed on your cover.

"Now I’m no prude, I love the movies of Fred Olen Ray, Jess Franco, Russ Meyer and Jean Rollin but with Women In Horror Recognition Month on the horizon, lets just try and remember that there is more to women than lumps of fat on their chests (damnit, okay, but it won't be easy: I'll second the notion. Oh, wait, the month's over!). Be as progressive as the genre (still not seeing that progressive genre yet) allows, and focus more on the horror that all your readers love (you can't presume to know what all of Gorezone's readers would like) as opposed to the scantily-clad ladies (which I assume appeals to at least a percentage of your readers). Imagine what could be accomplished by a truly “upmarket” horror publication from the UK, that focused on movies and the genre rather than the interchangeable commodity that are actors (I don't think actors would like that sentiment: they work hard at horror, too.) that would truly be an achievement!

"So GoreZone please: more horror, less half-naked girls (again, dear Gorezone, this is Jamie's personal request only, and he did say less, not none)
Regards,
Dangerous Jamie"

*Just so we're clear, I find Weekly World News a hoot, though I try not to read it in public.

The House of the Devil (2009): The Devil's In The Details

ZC Rating 3 of 7: Good (technically well done, but unimaginative and lacks scares)

Instead of another homage (like Cabin Fever) or glossy remake (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), he [Ti West] has come up with a period pastiche that mimics the low-res vibe and look of early-1980s horror, along with the same bad hair and clothes. And he’s done so with more shiver than splat. (Manohla Dargis, New York Times review)

There are times, all too often these days, sadly, when I wonder which movie I'm watching; whether it is the one those other critics have seen or a cinema-changeling version of the movie swapped in just to bedevil me. After reading the New York Times' Manohla Dargis' review for The House of the Devil, I can only assume it was the cinema-changeling movie I watched and not the more entertaining, more sinister, and scarier movie she saw. In fact, it was her review blurb on the DVD cover that egged me on to buy it: I admit I fell for that one. I try not to be so gullible, but it does get harder and harder. She said it was "a horror movie with real shivers." I wish I had watched the movie she saw. I didn't shiver a bit. And USA Today's "unbearably suspenseful" blurb helped cinch the deal, although I would say it's more bearably unsuspensful. Boy, have I learned my lesson about hypeful blurbs on DVD covers. In this case I would have even preferred an energetic homage or glossy slick remake.

Lansdale, Queenie, And Calabrese Death Contest Winners

So what if you can't get an Oscar? One-Eye Pirate Pete's got something better. Aarrghhh!

And the winners are:

Copies of Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter go to West Nelson in Michigan and Cecilia Huddleston in Kansas.

A copy of The Best of Joe R. Lansdale goes to Emily Intravia in the Bronx.

And a copy of the Calabrese Brother's They Call Us Death goes to Armando Hernandez in Pamona.

Congratulations to the winners and your treasure is sailing its way to you. Enjoy!

The Asphyx (1973): The Horror of Death Or Something Like That

"What the hell was that all about?" asked Zombos.

Paul Holstenwall looked perturbed. "What? You didn't like it?"

I looked at my fingers and started counting. Right. That makes eighteen times Zombos has said "what the hell was that all about?" after watching a movie Paul brought over, and twelve times Paul's responded with "you didn't like it?" I'm not sure why I bothered to remember all this, but it did make me warm and cozy inside for some reason. I sipped my Mocha Bon Machiavelli and smiled with self-satisfaction, and waited. Right on queue they both looked at me and waited for some sort of guidance, absolution, support, or what exactly I'm not sure. I never could pin that one down.

Of course they were desperate. Outside the snow was piling up--again--and every so often I heard Pretorius, our groundskeeper, cursing above the sputtering whirl of his malfunctioning snow blower. I was desperate, too. The three of us were bottled up tight with Paul and his cache of DVD oddities as our only diversion. I will admit his choice of The Asphyx was a better choice than his usual preference for schlocky dollar-bin bargains, but the day was still young.

"It's got me flummoxed," I finally said. "I like it, but I'm not sure why. I'm also not sure why Black & Blue Films is going to do a remake. You've got a rich amateur dabbling in paranormal science, a screeching hand-puppet creature called the Asphyx, which rushes to a person's soul when said person is expiring--greatly aided by very accommodating people dying in ludicrous ways--and it's all nonsense, really, but still oddly watchable."

Meet the Horror Bloggers: Deadly Doll's House of Horror Nonsense

Many fans of horror, amateur and professional alike, have devoted themselves to blogging about the thrills, chills, and no-frills side of the genre as seen in cinema and print. In this ongoing series that highlights the writers behind the blogs, we meet the unique personalities and talents that make the online horror scene so engaging. Up close and personal. In this installment, Emily from the Deadly Doll's House of Horror Nonsense explains how Fangoria and Chucky made her childhood.

Like many a child born in the Reagan era, Fangoria and Chucky were as integral to childhood as Crayola and Grover. My love for horror was a pleasant blend of nature and nurture, birthed in the womb courtesy of a lovely pair of parents who still make me jealous with tales of catching Night of the Living Dead at the back-end of a drive-in double feature. Sure, I have the honor of discovering how to kill an extraterrestrial klown at the age of 6, but even someone with taste as bad as mine knows that when it comes to movies, the late '80s were more fun than revolutionary. Oh. And maybe that applies to other aspects of society, but let's maintain our priorities, eh?

Newsy Nosey: Survival, FurFangs, Dead Matter, And Doc Savage

You know what happens to nosey people in horror don't you? They find out all about it. Just before they DIE! But at least they're better informed before they go. So here's some news for you to bone up on; just keep looking over your shoulder as you read...and read fast...

I'm giddy with excitement! Columbia Pictures is reviving Doc Savage! The pulp hero superman who, with his band of world travelers, fights evil-doers across the globe. After fans were left breathless--from embarrassment--from George Pal's ill-conceived production in 1975, Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze, let's hope this time Doc and his amazing five are given the A treatment.

"Studio is bringing Doc Savage -- known as the Man of Bronze and hero of pulp novels, films and comicbooks -- back to the bigscreen. Shane Black is attached to direct the film from a screenplay he is penning with Anthony Bagarozzi and Chuck Mondry. Neal Moritz ("Fast and Furious") will produce through his Sony-based Original Film banner." Read more at Variety.

Bryan at Cinema Suicide asks..."Want to learn how to destroy evil robots with jumper cables or how to troubleshoot broken household appliances with ESP?" New web series ‘How to Survive the Strange’ aims to be PBS’s This Old House meets a zombie apocalypse survival guide. An open casting call for the show will be held March 15th at 6pm at Crackskulls Coffee and Books in Newmarket, NH.

"How to Survive the Strange is a tongue in cheek how-to series created by web producer John Herman and Bryan White, author of B-movie blog Cinema Suicide. According to the creators, the show aims to prepare the public for everything from alien invasion to campground slashers –often using common objects around the house. Herman and White are looking to cast zombies, ghosts, evil robots, and even a crazed mob. And there are non-strange roles to cast too. "Interested non-union actors are encouraged to bring a headshot and talent resume, though neither is required to audition. Actors will be seen on a first come, first served basis. How to Survive the Strange debuts May 3rd on the web.

Anton Strout's Dead Matter, where he puts Simon Canderous into more hot water in this third urban fantasy novel in the series, is now on sale. Catch Strout and Amber Benson (of Buffy The Vampire Slayer fame) Saturday, February 27th, from 3:00 to 5:00PM, signing at Midtown Comics, 200 W. 40th Street, on the corner of 7th avenue, in New York City. (Amber will be signing her 2nd Cat's Claw Calliope-Reaper Jones novel.)

Midnight Syndicate to debut first music video at Transworld's Haunted House Show in St. Louis,  March 25-28th. Midnight Syndicate is teaming up with Precinct 13 Entertainment, Robert Kurtzman's Creature Corps, and director David Greathouse to produce a music video for Dark Legacy from their Dead Matter: Cemetery Gates CD. It is the band's first music video in their 13-year career. Syndicate's Edward Douglas, director Greathouse, and Robert Kurtzman will be on hand to premiere the video during The Dubliner Opening Night Celebration co-sponsored by Ken Donat and Westland Insurance at the TransWorld 15th Halloween & Attractions Show in St. Louis March 25th(www.haashow.com). It will also be on display all weekend at the Midnight Syndicate Soundtracks Booth #631.

From Andrea Ricca (one cam, one PC, zero budget): I would like to submit to your attention: THE FURFANGS, five minutes horror-sci-fi short movie, with 3D special effects. You can watch it at www.andrearicca.com.

ddddd

Alas Poor Awards, I Knew Ye Well

I think I came to this decision at 10:15 this morning. I was pondering it much of last night; spinning it around all angles most of yesterday. This morning, after reading over my Google Alerts, I realized it was time to rein in those slings and arrows of misinformation and boldly make my quietus with a bare post (bodkins are too sharp and hurt like hell).

Google Alerts pointed me to a news item mentioning the Bloody Bloggers Awards and how voting would be done by the League of Tana Tea Drinkers only. It was a well-intentioned and gracious bit of news, but not quite correct: it said voting would be done by League members only. Actually, voting for the awards would have been done by email, sent to me (I removed myself from nomination to remain impartial) by anyone who wanted to vote for their favorite nominees. And while the nominees themselves had to come from League members' making the recommendations, really, all a horror blogger needed to do was let us know about you and what category or categories you felt you best fit in--there were 13 of them to choose from. My goal was a simple one: promote horror blogs, especially lesser known ones, through an impartial, unbiased, non-commercial awards contest, and provide a mechanism--and motivation--for exploring lots of other horror blogs. The mechanism was a list of links to all nominee blogs and the motivation would be the awards themselves and the voting process.

At least I thought it was simple. It would have allowed every horror blogger to participate without commercial or biased endorsements skewing the results. It also recognized there were more possible categories for awards than simply the best horror blog, whatever that is. But here's the rub: my perception was not everyone's perception, and that has caused a little tempest in a teapot that makes for very bad tea, especially among members of the League itself.

And it has made members of the League of Tana Tea Drinkers appear elitest; cucumber sandwich-eating snobs who think we're hot shit when it comes to knowing horror and blogging about it. Well, I admit I like cucumber sandwiches, but we are certainly not elitest--sure, we like to joke a lot about that, but we're only joking--and while we do know our horror--just like you--we blog for the fun of it. Read our mission statement. No where does it say "we the members of LOTT D are elitest hot shit, so poo poo on you." What it does say is Our mission is to acknowledge, foster, and support thoughtful, articulate, and creative blogs built on an appreciation of the horror and sci-horror genres.

But that good intentions road-paving crew has pulled up outside. I see it's time to apologize for rushing into something I should have thought more about and especially for causing dissension that is hurtful and non-productive, and for forcing an argument where one should never have arisen.

I'm calling the Bloody Blogger Awards on account of foul weather. For all those who did participate, I thank you very much; you've alerted me to many sites I didn't know about. For those who tossed those slings and arrows, I'm sorry. In my rush to foster community spirit, I stirred up some restless ghosts that I should have paid attention to more. Perhaps in time I'll try it again. But it's stopped being fun.

Besides, with the new kid on the block, the Horror Blogger Alliance, I think our community has grown a lot bigger already. I wish them all the luck and support I can muster. Based on my recent experience, I know they'll need it.

Best of Lansdale Contest

I've received two copies of The Best of Joe R. Lansdale. They're uncorrected proofs, but Lansdale is so naughtily politically and socially uncorrected you probably won't notice. I'm reading one for my review, but that leaves one for some lucky bastard like you, or you, or maybe even you. So, I thought to myself, why not have another contest? So I did. Here it is.

Send me an email (through my About page) with your mailing address. (The information, as always, will remain confidential and I delete all entry emails after the contest.)

I count 16 stories, including the superb Bubba Ho-Tep, with a tired old Elvis finding his youth again by battling a tired older mummy. Godzilla's Twelve Step Program is a keeper, too. It's hard to go on the wagon after you've tasted the thrill of destruction, but with the support of his friends Gorgo and Reptilicus, he's trying his best to go straight. Did I mention this book is a devilish delight; a swig of Jack Daniel's after a bite of a hot mustard pretzel? Not quite my official review, but it will have to do until I finish reading it.

The Best of Joe R. Lansdale contest ends February 28th. I'll announce the winner on March 1st. So don't dawdle. And you've got to be 18 or older, so make sure you say that in your email: these are Joe R. Lansdale's stories after all.

Meet the Horror Bloggers: Horror Crypt

Many fans of horror, amateur and professional alike, have devoted themselves to blogging about the thrills, chills, and no-frills side of the genre as seen in cinema and print. In this ongoing series that highlights the writers behind the blogs, we meet the unique personalities and talents that make the online horror scene so engaging. Up close and personal.

In this installment, Bloofer Lady* from Horror Crypt explains the dark shadows that led her to horror.

My mom named me after a witch that appeared on the soap opera Dark Shadows, so I was kind of born into loving all things dark and macabre. My father used to take me to cheap double features when I was a kid and that's how I first saw Xtro, Galaxy Of Terror and Dracula AD 1972. I don't remember a time in which I wasn't allowed to watch horror films. I grew up to be relatively sane and well adjusted so they didn't really do me any harm. Or did they?

I started to get heavily into gothic horror-type films when I was in high school, which was also around the time I became a goth/punk weirdo. They kind of went hand in hand for me. It was much more fun to dress like somebody out of a Hammer film than to be 'normal' after all! Soon after that I started to get into Italian horror. The Church was the first Italian horror film I ever saw and I loved the look and feel of it so much that I was instantly hooked. Soon I was watching any Euro-Horror film I could get my hands on, and over the years that particular horror genre has become my favorite.

I started doing horror movie reviews for a couple of different independent sites five or six years ago, but I wasn't completely happy writing for somebody else all of the time. After quite a few years of thinking 'My goodness, wouldn't it be fun to have my own site!' I finally got the nerve to buy my own domain name back in the beginning of last August and created Horror Crypt. I mainly started it as a venue to post my own horror movie reviews, but I have kind of branched out into other things such as recommending really morbid things that I like to others. One day I would like for it to become a full-fledged site because that would be nifty and peachy-keen!

*Zoc Note: "Bloofer Lady" is what the children called Lucy in Bram Stoker's Dracula. After she turned...

Encyclopedia of Weird Westerns: Saddle Up With This One Pardner

ZC Rating 4 of 7: Very Good

Westerns aren't dead: though pocked with bullet holes, they'll probably live on as long as we can keep them new and interesting with near-infinite variations on their central themes. I think that's better than good. (Mike Hoffman, foreword)

I became hooked on the outre Western tale after watching Gene Autry's The Phantom Empire (1935) serial. To see cowboys, ray weapons of mass destruction, a mysterious subterranean empire's technology being sought after by unscrupulous businessmen, and Gene Autry getting a snappy song or two sung in-between the cliff-hangers--left quite an impression on my young mind back then. I didn't consider myself a greenhorn when it came to the weird western genre until Green's book proved me wrong. There's a lot more in them thar hills then I realized.

Paul Green's Encyclopedia of Weird Westerns: Supernatural and Science Fiction Elements in Novels, Pulps, Comics, Films, Television and Games is a rich vein for prospectors mining those dusty hills of the Wild Weird West. It's the kind of book I like to dog-ear and write in, and carry along with me, in my urban saddle bag, to refer to often.

Arranged in A-Z listing format, Green identifies these sub-genres: Weird Western (horror, supernatural, fantasy); Weird Menace Western (horror and supernatural themes, but concluding with a rational explanation); Science Fiction Western (future technology, aliens, alternate histories); Space Western (space opera with Western elements); Steampunk Western (set in the Old West and incorporating Victorian sci-tech); and Weird Western Romance (traditional romance involving time travel or the supernatural).

The Wolfman (2010): Impure In Heart

Review by Scott Essman

For Universal monster fans, the good news is that The Wolfman is a good movie. The bad news is that it could have been so much more than that.

Certainly, in light of recent Universal history, this movie is NOT the travesty of Van Helsing or Stephen Sommers' Mummy films. But it's a far cry from the 1941 original and is not nearly up to the excellence of the early 80s werewolf films, such as Universal's American Werewolf In London, expertly executed by John Landis, or Joe Dante's fresh The Howling. In fact, what most reminds one of this movie is the Hammer version from 1961, Curse of the Werewolf, starring an unforgettable young Oliver Reed.

But this Wolfman, though familiar on many levels, injects several new elements which are ultimately hit-and-miss onscreen. One of those which was feared most, the rendering of the transformation scenes from man-to-wolf and back with computer graphics technology, ends up being much less offensive than would have been predicted.