During the 1980s, the Italian film industry began to wind down. But TV reached out to three directors- Lamberto Bava (Demons) (who eventually had to bow out), Lucio Fulci (The Beyond) and Umberto Lenzi (Cannibal Ferrox) to create made-for-TV horror…
Read more
To be honest, what I’m thankful for this month is that home media is not dead yet. That way I can savor some of the crackpot titles released this month, especially in digitally enhanced splendor. From one of Joan Crawford’s…
Read more
Another invaluable box set from Vinegar Syndrome, including some super rare “giallo” thrillers from Italy in the 1980s. These three reflect the films and music videos that influenced them at that time. The trend of these thrillers, which began with…
Read more
I can’t tell you how hard it was to hear about the death of underrated director Paul Morrissey at 86. His films had such a profound effect on my life. Morrissey transformed Andy Warhol’s filmed “art” films into somewhat plotted…
Read more
Out in theaters now is an absolute gem of a film- director Marco Calvani’s High Tide. It stars Marco Pigossi as Lourenço, a gay Brazilian on a work permit in the country, living in Provincetown in the guest house of…
Read more
Out now is a remarkable, remastered Blu-ray (from Radiance)- director Fernando Arrabal’s 1971 surrealist masterpiece Viva La Murete. Fernando Arrabal (who turned 92 this year) is a Spanish author, poet, playwright (he’s written over 100 plays), artist and filmmaker. Along…
Read more
More treats than tricks this month on Blu-ray. Not to mention a few I have been praying would come out on Blu-ray someday. Two great Val Lewton-produced chillers from the 1940s; an excellent film about a writer who sidelines as…
Read more
It’s hard for me to remember the many years during the 70s that I used to hitchhike from Provincetown to NYC in the fall with my backpack filled with tickets for the NY Film Festival. It was always one of…
Read more
I’m not what you call a dog person. I don’t own a dog, nor do I feel much warmth in my heart when I see one scampering down the streets at the end of a leash. I’ve always harbored the…
Read more
I have a real fondness for British horror movies…everything from Hammer Studios to Amicus to Pete Walker’s disturbing shockers to the gory fun of films from Tigon and Norman J. Warren. But the mouth-watering new collection of “Three Killer Thrillers…
Read more