John Rozum's Blog, page 15

31 Days of Halloween - Day 10

The next bit of seasonally appropriated travelogue comes from Paris, France. These photos were taken from the Gallery of Paleontology and Comparative Anatomy, part of the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle (National Museum of Natural History). Skeletons are a big Halloween trope and this building is crammed with them, both prehistoric and current creatures are all represented, along with some wet specimens and casts, including monsters. As an added bonus, when entering the gallery the first thing you are confronted with is this amazing statue, "Orang-outan éstranglant un Sauvage de Bornéo" by Emmanuel Fremiet (1824-1910).

31 Days of Halloween - Day 9 - Movie

A criminal on the run takes refuge in a remote chateau where he keeps the two young women their hostage -- or so he thinks. It's actually they who are keeping them hostage for the arrival of the rest of their group of blood drinking women.

The films of Jean Rollin are not for everyone. Somewhere between soft core porn and visual mood poems, they are dreamlike and suggestive of an atmosphere more than filled with terror, even though many of them are definitely horror films, including this one, Fascination (1979). You won't be frightened and the sex scenes are not going to set your loins on fire, but the visuals are are striking and the almost languid pace draws you in. There's a pureness about the embracing of creaky old gothic trappings; the old chateau, the diaphanous night gowns, the blood like red poster paint, hidden compartments and so on that gives this film a lot of charm.

31 Days of Halloween - Day 9 - Book

Rick Baker: Metamorphosis by J.W. Rinzler.   Cameron Books, 2019


I have avidly followed the career of Rick Baker since King Kong (1976) and have been waiting for this book since I was in high school, later contenting myself with the issue of Cinefex devoted to Baker and his work. Finally, as of a year ago, this book arrived and it did so in a big way. It is a massive two volume set. Seventeen pounds of beautifully designed paged crammed with photos, drawings, text by J.W. Rinzler who is simply one of the very best writers on filmmaking out there. The book is pricey, but well worth every penny. Even for someone like myself, who considers themselves something of an expert of Baker's work, I learned so much that I did not know.

Baker and Rinzler also did what everyone tells you to do, which is to leave your audience wanting more. I was more than satisfied with what's between the covers here, but would happily pick up a third and fourth volume, which I hope will be coming since Rick Baker says there is so much material that had to be cut.

If you have any interest in film, make-up effects, or true artistry this book is a must have.




 


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31 Days of Halloween - Day 9

Make-up maestro, Rick Baker is one of my favorite people on the planet. I probably would not be who I am, or do what I do, without him. He has recently retired, but seems to be busier than ever in retirement, doing what he loves best, and having a lot of fun doing it. Now that he's no longer creating make-up for movies, he's doing it for himself and his family, especially for Halloween. Here are some of the Halloween creations he has done on himself and his family. Most images came from Rick Baker's Instagram account, which is definitely worth following.

31 Days of Halloween - Day 8 - Movie

After a meteor lands in the nearby woods,  the residents of a house, and their guests, begin to fall prey  to alien creatures which start breeding in the basement.

The Deadly Spawn (1983) is a super low budget film that worked with its limitations. It definitely delivers quite a bit of bang for its buck. The monsters are well designed and executed (by John Dods and Tim Hildebrandt) and are often above par for much higher budgeted films from this time period, and there is also an exceptional miniature. The script, by director, Douglas McKeown is pretty straight forward and stripped down, with most of the scenes setting up ways for the characters to wind up in the basement with the monsters, or for the monsters to get out and keep anyone from leaving the house. Most of the characters are pretty two dimensional, but the teenagers are given more substance, especially Ellen (Jean Tafler) a really likable, smart, girl interested in science who is not squeamish at all. If every character in the movie were as developed, then The Deadly Spawn might be a more entertaining movie than it is. The creators all deserve applause for doing so much with so little, but in the end there isn't enough to differentiate the story from any other low budget monster on the loose film.






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31 Days of Halloween - Day 8 - Book

The Tribe by Bari Wood. Signet . 1981.

A group of Jewish men save themselves inside a Nazi concentration camp by bringing to life a golem, a legendary monster made of clay and brought to life through magic. Nearly forty years later in Brooklyn, then on Long Island, death comes to members of their families and once again they create a golem to act as a tool of vengeance, but that vengeance takes a wrong turn.

The Tribe is truly a great read. Full of mystery, dread and horror, it's also an immersive experience into parts of a culture that, even in 1981, was mostly alien to most of America. The characters are richly conveyed and sympathetic, even when at odds with each other, and even when things start to go bad. This book was completely engrossing and there was a tremendous build-up to the reveal of the golem. For much of the book we only knew its strength and terror through the aftermath of its actions, and the dread fear that the protagonists felt as they approached their inevitable confrontation with the monster was real, and tremendous.

I highly recommend this book, which is now again available through Valancourt's Paperbacks From Hell collection.




 


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31 Days of Halloween - Day 8

My second piece of cut paper art this month is "Witches" based on a Dennison crepe paper decoration from 1916. It will be available for purchase at my store.

31 Days of Halloween - Day 7 - Movie

Two men (Peter Cushing and Forrest Tucker) search for the fabled yeti in the Himalayas. One wants to find it out of scientific curiosity. The other for exploitive, commercial reasons. What they find is something determined to stay hidden at any cost.

When thinking of the best films from Hammer studios, titles such as Brides of Dracula and Quatermass and the Pit come to mind, but one that deserves to be on any list,  yet tends to get overlooked is The Abominable Snowman (1957). Made while the yeti was still intriguing people due to photos of its footprints and expeditions sent to try and find it, the film written by Quatermass creator Nigel Kneale, an adaptation of his television presentation The Creature, the movie was directed by Val Guest, who also directed first two Quatermass films. The two of them provided an intelligent story with beautiful production values, strong performances and a real sense of mystery and awe. This is the perfect film for demonstrating why it's more suspenseful not to show the monster for as long as possible, instead only offering tantalizing glimpses, sounds, and other physical evidence.

I highly rate this one,  which makes for perfect viewing during a snow storm. If you only associate Hammer with vampires, werewolves, and Frankenstein, then you need to give this movie a look.











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31 Days of Halloween - Day 7 - Book

North American Lake Monsters by Nathan Ballingrud. Small Beer Press. 2013.

I'd never read anything by Nathan Ballingrud before reading this collection of short stories. Having read it I am now an enthusiastic fan of his. This book collects nine of his stories. There are vampires, werewolves, the walking dead, the titular lake monster, hauntings, Lovecraftian horrors, but not like you have ever read them before. Ballingrud has taken traditional narrative expectations, not just genre tropes, but how stories are told in general, and done away with the rules and created fiction that delivers the goods with a punch in a way that never goes the way you think it will. He doesn't care about answering all the questions he calls forth, or even ending where you think a story should end, but that's okay. These stories are powerful and powerfully told. I don't know if it's an odd coincidence, or a theme that Ballingrud prefers to play with, but each story also features a character who represents the different faces of toxic masculinity, but in ways that are non-preachy and often sympathetic. The combination of these broken men who don't know how to love, or can't, or won't makes for a potent combination with the fantastical elements.

I know I'm only at day 7 here, but I don't expect I'll read another book of fiction for this countdown that is so fresh and so good.

31 Days of Halloween - Day 7

Among the many traditional trappings of Halloween, along with witches, skeletons, bats, Jack O'Lanterns, ghosts, and spiders, is the black cat. Halloween wouldn't be Halloween without them. Here are a bunch of, mostly, vintage images of Halloween black cats I've collected over the years.