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Monday, May 21, 2007
Some called him The Ed Wood of Italy, but I don't think that's accurate. Like or loathe Mattei's films, he was quite prolific and used professional crews. His films got widespread distribution and I saw several of them in theaters in the 1980's.
Most remember Bruno Mattei for the notorious zombie film, Burial Ground. The highlight (or low point, depending on one's perspective) was when a creepy zombie kid bit his mother's nipple off. In graphic detail.
When you sat down to watch a Mattei film, you didn't expect to see Argento. Or even Fulci. But you knew that you'd be seeing a balls-out, no holds barred gorefest. His grungy movies were drenched with sex, violence, perversions and horrors. No one made them quite like he did and a fan, a real die hard gorehound, could spot one a mile away. There was no mistaking one of his movies.
Many are currently available on DVD and I urge you to seek them out. Lock up your kids and/or parents and go for all the gusto you can get with sleazefests like The Other Hell, Women's Prison Massacre, Black Demons, Hell of the Living Dead, Rats: Night of Terror, The Nun of Monza, Violence in a Women's Prison, Robowar or Caged Women. If you don't like them, you just might be at the wrong site.
Farewell, Mr. Mattei! Your spirit should feel no shame. Your time on this Earth was not wasted.
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Monday, May 07, 2007
Sir Graves Ghastly...he is a big part of why I became a lifelong horror fanatic. Sir Graves Ghastly was a Detroit horror host, but his shows were aired in Baltimore when I was growing up. They played latenight on Friday and there was also an earlier show on Saturday. I was ADDICTED to it and I watched it whenever possible. One night I stayed up late and Mario Bava's Black Sabbath scared the living shit out of me, courtesy of Sir Graves Ghastly.
Years have come and gone. Horror has made its changes, but the good stuff remains classic. I saw The Wolf Man on Ghastly's show. Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy and many sequels to them. The Invisible Man. The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Too many years have passed for me to remember them all. But as long as I breathe, I will remember Sir Graves Ghastly and the influence he had on me.
Born with the name Lawson Demming, Graves worked in various show biz areas before donning his cape and becoming a beloved boogeyman. After the show was cancelled, he continued to wear it at various conventions and shows, especially around Halloween.
Sir Graves Ghastly died one day after his 93rd birthday.
Others had Ghoulardi or Zacherley, but I had Sir Graves Ghastly and I wouldn't have had it any other way. I can still hear that ghoulish laugh of his...NEEYYAAAHAHAHAHAHA!
And now, I think it is most fitting to bid farewell to Sir Graves Ghastly in the exact way he said goodbye to us each night back when we were young and the world still contained magic:
Happy Haunting!
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Thursday, May 03, 2007
By now I think that everyone has heard about the new mass market line of books coming from Borderlands Press. But I wonder if everyone has considered every angle of it.
First, in case that anyone has missed out on the announcement, here is the list of upcoming trade paperback publications from Borderlands:
VIRGIN by F.Paul Wilson
followed every other month by:
SERPENTINE - Thomas F. Monteleone
NEVERLAND - Douglas Clegg
A KNOCK AT THE DOOR - Ed Gorman
LOST PRINCE - Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
EVENINGS WITH DEMONS - Whitley Strieber
PIRATE RADIO - Rex Miller and John Maclay
As we all know, Borderlands has always been committed to bringing the finest horror and dark fantasy to readers in well made books. Up until now the majority of the books they've brought out have been deluxe editions. Pricey, beautifully made hardcovers aimed at the serious collector. And that's cool; God love the collectors. Without them, there would be no small press as we know it.
But there are a lot of readers out there that only desire to read the books. I've spoken to dozens of them over the years. People under tight budgets that want to buy a book, and they may not really even care that it is one that will last a lifetime. And these are the people that I know from the rather tiny world of the online horror fiction community. But what of the unspoken readers out there? The random fandom, as Fredric Brown used to call them. Or what of Joe or Joanna Average, who just want to find a well-written, spooky book to while a few hours away with? The deluxe collector's editions can never reach a writer's potential audience.
Look over that list of books that Borderlands has committed to bringing out again. This is the cream of the crop of talent that the genre has to offer, and if they succeed, it is only the tip of the iceberg.
If they succeed. In today's marginally literate society, that can be a mighty big if. Tom and Elizabeth need our help. We need to support them as much as we possibly can. These titles will be available from Amazon and other large (and small) booksellers. And we can save a few bucks by buying them there.
Tom and Elizabeth Monteleone are taking a hell of a risk with this venture. It's one that I say we cannot afford to sit back and hope for the best. Buying direct from Borderlands will be of immeasurable help to ensure that great titles like the ones listed above continue to be announced. The list of excellent lost and nearly forgotten genre books is long and they deserve to be discovered by new readers.
The first publication from this new line of books is now available. It's Virgin, by the incomparable F. Paul Wilson. For my book-buying dollar, Paul is one of the finest, if not THE finest popular writer working today. And Virgin is one of his best novels. It's a gripping, vastly entertaining religious thriller that perhaps is more timely today than it was when it was written back in the early 1990's.
Remember, buying a book is like voting for a politician's success and we need to cast our support to Borderlands.
http://www.borderlandspress.com/
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