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Two more points about Rocky Horror, while I think of them:

I noticed last night that Rocky, the character, disappears somewhat in the final act. In the movie they get away with it when he grabs Frank and scales the tower, but on stage it seemed lop-sided. Oh well.

This is also an excuse to mention Summer of Secrets again. Not many people know that the director of the RHPS made a movie a year later in Australia, that is something of a thematic follow-up (not to be confused with Shock Treatment). Here is Kyla's review of the movie, for those who like tracking down such things.

I like the Rocky Horror Show. The energy and chaos and liberation, of course, but also the alienation, the dissolution, the death. My favourite character has always been Columbia I think, which no doubt says something about me, without the handy portability of a meme.

Our friend B is in town, and has never seen it on stage, so we went off to the new production last night. It was indeed full of energy and detail (more so than the Jason Donovan version, back in the late 90s), and a great night out. The relentless pace and tendency to shout the dialogue left some of the sense behind -- but after all the dissolution and death we got the chance to do the Time Warp again, and by God we did.

Apparently there was some technical hitch, in that the role of Janet lost not only the listed actress, but both understudies. I can't remember her name, but the woman who stepped in did it perfectly (I'm sure finding someone who knows the lines is not a big problem. The relatively intricate choreography more so). Meanwhile, Rocky was like a big goofy Shane Warne on steroids, which seems scarily appropriate.

Afterwards (in a story ripped from the headlines, as they say), we were witness to a street brawl at our local train station. Some guy was being kicked in the head. I guess it was ANZAC day; don't dream it, be it. Yah.

Having waxed lyrical(-ish) about Blood Ties, I should probably point out Eddie Campbell's latest post as a counterpoint. I tend to ignore Eddie's grumpiness, since it's usual about people and works I know little about, but in this case he is complaining about Bernie Wrightson and defending Fredric Wertham (he of The Seduction of the Innocents, and the 1950s anti-comic crusade) which certainly piques the interest.

I'm not going to argue either point (and couldn't with any authority), but I know there are plenty of people I respect who would do so.

What brings me back to Blood Ties -- and the episode '5:55' about things happening over and over again -- is, well, things happening over and over again. This is a plot we've seen before. (Buffy did a nice bit of dialogue about this in their own version.) But it's more coherent than some BT episodes, and as usual the characters are so likable they carry it off. But is it enough? Is it just 'a monster eating and regurgitating itself' as Eddie would have it? Is it simply comfort-food for the attention span, and is that bad?

Understanding most people haven't seen that specific episode or show, what do you reckon?

We saw Prom Night yesterday. Obviously, supplies of fake blood haven't recovered since Sweeney Todd.

In a way, it was nice seeing an attempt at a suspense movie with an emphasis of character over 'torture porn' -- but the characters were so generic and sloppily managed it loses sympathy fast.

I can't say it is worse than the original, if only because it has been so long since I saw it -- and my main memories are of Leslie Nielsen. That was quickly followed by sequels that were basically satire, but I'm not sure that would work these days either.

A short survey has been set up for fans, creators and, no doubt, interested on-lookers of Australia horror and dark fiction. You can even win stuff. Here are all the details, and here's the survey.

Alas, it turns out we won't be able to get to this year's A Night of Horror film festival, which started this week. You certainly cannot fault their ambition -- contrary to its name, there are about ten nights of movies, including a lot of full length ones making their Australian debut (Sunday sees the much loved Call of Cthulhu, just to single out the one I've already seen). So for Sydney-siders more mobile than us, get along.

(And if you do, we'd love to host a review on Tabula Rasa.)

The latest Australian Dark Fantasy and Horror edition is now available for pre-order from Brimstone Press. It has the best local horror stories of 2006, including Kyla's 'The Bat's Boudoir' and a lot more, so check it out.

With all that snow, 30 Days of Night must be the whitest vampire movie ever, and possibly with the least nudity. But don't let that put you off -- more problematic is that the script is too busy and underdone to make a great idea work. It does look fabulous though.

In the meantime, we're taping this off SBS tonight:

Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary
Modelled on an old-style silent movie, director Guy Maddin's 75-minute TV feature of the ballet Dracula is filmed in black and white with only the occasional splash of colour. Title cards tell the story of Dracula, who turns the glamorous and wealthy Lucy Westenra into a vampire, the murderous 'bloofer lady' (Cockney for beautiful lady). The vampire hunter, Dr Van Helsing, had tried in vain to save Lucy and when he finds out from Dracula's insane servant that the next victim is to be Lucy's friend Mina, he enlists the help of Lucy's former suitors to find and destroy Dracula. In the meantime Mina's fiancé, Jonathan Harker, has found Mina, who tries to seduce him.

No warning for nudity I'm afraid, but it is rated M for 'Adult Themes or medical procedures'...

Did I mention I'm going to London on Wednesday? And only two episodes of The Sopranos to go.

Our sedentary lifestyle has been shaken up a bit recently. Last week we went off to see episodes of the excellent Dexter at a cinema, plus interview with the star (courtesy of jack_ryder in fact). I was a bit taken aback by the apparent popularity of Michael C Hall, but then, we never got into Six Feet Under. And amused when literally half the audience left after the interview, having obviously already watched the second ep.

Last night it was back to Popcorn Taxi for the premier of Rogue, the follow-up to Wolf Creek -- this time with giant crocodile. It was good fun, with some good suspense and effects, if ultimately a bit underwhelming. This was also accompanied by an interview, with the director, producer and more. Greg McLean said he really didn't have anything against the Northern Territory tourism industry, and there was some interesting discussion about films made -- and funded -- in Australia.

Speaking of which, despite having watched the shorts a couple of times, I had completely failed to realise Gabriel is a no-budget Australian flick. We'll be angling to see that soonish. Apparently I have also won myself tickets to see 30 Days of Night (complete with t-shirt, soundtrack and novel(!)), so it's all happening.

Now, if we can only find somewhere where we can reliably eat...

We saw Day Watch, which is very good, though I'm not sure about the ending -- they did set it up, it must be said.

Best of all, the film exceeds the high standards of the first for visual invention and grounded grandeur; and the plot is a lot more interesting, if not overly complicated (what was the deal with the parrot?). Again it uses some fairly staid elements and makes you believe them; not just vampire tropes but romantic comedy and more.

I do wonder if some of the terms like Greater Light Other and Level Two Gloom sound cooler in Russian (deep umbra, anyone?)

This sounds like a mixed review, but my reservations don't stop me from recommending this highly.

I'm sure everyone loves The Hitcher here, and I don't have to go about it. And I'm sure everyone knows I'm talking about the original.

(I have just found out, by accident, how the remake ends. It sounds interesting, but probably not interesting enough.)

Somewhat late to the party, I have just read Graham Joyce's Requiem, and excellent it is too. Reminds me somewhat of Song of Kali, but about Christianity.

(I got an email a little while ago, upbraiding me for recommending Song of Kali, despite its unfavourable depiction of the goddess.)

The AHWA has a chat with Ellen Datlow coming up.

Insanity: They're remaking Near Dark. What next... Strange Days? (those Y2K parties were wild).

The NY Times is abandoning its pay-for-content tonight. Back to reading the op-eds for me.

We tried to do our tax today, only to realise the documents we'd been sent weren't the right ones... Still, it was amusing to see the accountant telling us to lie be creative.

Speaking of odd documents, my sponsored child 'graduated' out of the program recently. I discovered this because I was sent an unexpected bill for my next payment, and had to ring up to ask why. I don't really mind, but it's not exactly how you would imagine this happy occasion unfolding.

We had a house inspection yesterday; voluntarily, if you'd believe it. This is in aid of nascent wanderlust, but nothing is likely to come of it for some time, I suspect.

I completed yesterday's DA cryptic crossword -- by no means the first time, but still a rarity. The theme was very sneaky, and managed to fit all sorts of interesting people in.

We've spent the evening playing Dungeoneer, since again we had too many absentees for Ravenloft. There was much chaos, but using two different levels (haunted forest and lich lord's tomb) worked well.

We found that new Dymocks store I mentioned, and grabbed some Ray Garton, which was a bit unexpected. Meanwhile, Storm Front is picking up nicely, just as I discovered the Dresden Files TV show has been cancelled.

I wondered today if I should get myself organised and head out to New York for World Fantasy, come November. On reflection, I suspect not. At least not without a complete manuscript, on the off chance an agent might wander up to me randomly.

Which brings me (thank God) to the point. I guess I need to start writing tomorrow. The course is over; I have a plan. Now I just need a dearth of distractions (all of the above notwithstanding), as well as a vibrant supporting cast, and words.

It has been a strange day or two for local genre news. Here's a round-up (we'll wait till the Black Sheep fiasco resolves itself, though the fact we won tickets to the movie is presumably unrelated).

Christian Read (the_christian) has just had his supplement for the Call of Cthulhu game published: Mythos Magic. Here's his note about it. The cover is by toniaw. Looks excellent.

We got an email from some nice person telling us about their comic: The List (a tale of primal rage, insanity, and violence). I don't know much more about it than that, as yet, but it looks interesting.

On similar subject and medium, I found this recently: The Canberra Heresy: The Arcane Legacy of Walter Burley Griffin. I haven't put it up in the gallery yet, because that's #2, and I'm trying to contact the author about #1. From what I've seen, it hasn't got the most coherent of narratives, but at least the title is catchy.

People in southern Sydney may be interested to know the Dymocks Miranda is setting itself up as a SF/Fantasy/comics specialist. They are taking proactive steps in that direction anyway, including reaching out to locals, imports, and no less than two MySpace pages. We must go visit and see how it stacks up.

Finally, if there's anyone in Perth or Melbourne who wants a signed Prismatic, book plates with all three signatures (quite a rarity, actually) are now available from Fantastic Planet and the Angus & Robertsons, Frankston.

It's been very retro of late. In D&D the characters have been rocking round Castle Ravenloft, mere days after General Strahd was slain for killing his brother. I've also just been put in mind of The Navigator, a fabulous time travel movie -- though I'm not sure I'd pay the US$130-$200 being asked on Amazon for it (and not even widescreen).

In our quest for 80s horror, we finally managed to catch the real thing: Cronenberg's The Fly. It still has it.

(It may mean Jeff Goldblum naked, but it has been determined this is not a good reason to watch the movie.)

Also finished Joe Hill's Heart-Shaped Box and started Scott Nicholson's They Hunger, which seem retro, if only because, well, they are good. Scary but true.

I'm still doing the LibraryThing, though have slowed down somewhat. I am having a slight problem in that although I think it is a useful thing to have this information (it has already proved so), the aspects most useful to me aren't necessarily what I want public.

But I still have a strong urge to provide a reference to things which might not be as well known -- the same urge that created my Australian Comic gallery. So I have scanned in the covers of all my local titles, if they weren't already uploaded, which is a good enough substitute for my long-delayed plan to do an Australian Horror gallery. And the social aspect is nice in theory. We shall see.

In the meantime, I scanned in some other covers that the world has a deep need to know about. Like this one:

( See more... )

Right?

This year's A Night of Horror film festival was great (here's our review, if you missed it). Now they've opened up to submissions for the next one:

( All the gory details )

I think somewhere along the line there was a plan for more 80s horror movies. You may note that Phantasm was 1978 and now The Prophecy was 1995.

Oh well. It is good. I think its biggest virtue is the simple confidence with which it depicts the war in heaven on a budget -- that, and Christopher Walken, and pretty much all the actors besides. It pulls it off, even if it's a good idea not to look too hard at some of the details. I wonder what happened to Gregory Widen. It appears he disappeared almost immediately afterwards, having directed only this and an episode of Tales from the Crypt (and there's that business about writing Highlander as well).

For those hunting down a copy, the R1 DVD is pretty shoddy. Apparently the R4 is a much better copy (now I find out...) although hard to get hold of these days. The R2 might be worth investigation.

Meanwhile, we never saw the sequels past #3 which, judging by the write-ups, was much for the best.

I think it is fair to say Phantasm is a fucking weird movie (that would be The Never Dead for anyone who only saw the Australian video release). It somehow manages to mash together 70s SF movies and small-town horror, and make it work on no discernible budget -- but some great locations, enthusiastic FX and many a moment of sheer oddness.

This was part of the batch of DVDs I bought recently, trying to get back into the swing of movies after much TV. Hannibal Rising was another, and though its merits are debatable, it has a fun commentary track.

How much does it matter that Hannibal Rising doesn't make much sense in the grand scheme of things? I can't remember where it's mentioned, but I'm sure the FBI did a pretty thorough background check on Herr Lecter and couldn't find anything. Considering the public and bloody swathe he cuts in the 1950s, that is hard to believe. (And there's the fact he has six fingers on one hand, which isn't mentioned at all.)

But I thought the book was pretty good, in a relatively straightforward way. It had its share of interesting details along with missed opportunities. Now I've managed to catch up with the movie and, yeah, it's alright. Even more straightforward, but shot reasonable well.

But it ain't what it used to be, and it don't make much sense.