Stephen McClurg's Blog, page 21
September 18, 2023
Marginalia #40
Under the Mountain is one of my favorite things in Birmingham and last weekend I was able to see one of my favorite contemporary writers, Ottessa Moshfegh, give a talk on horror and chat with the audience through a q and a session. A fabulous date night with the wife.
Carrington’s art is spectacular, full of alchemical and occult resonance, and she lived an interesting life. Recommended if you like her artwork or want to get a view of the Surrealists that’s not dominated by the loud men who were part of the group.
McClurg’s Musicalia #41: A Night in Amnesia is available on Tidal and Spotify.
September 11, 2023
Marginalia #39
A gift from a friend that I finally got to read. Beautiful reproductions of mostly French movie posters with fun histories and short reviews. And I thought I had seen a lot of these…
I’ve missed most of Hal Hartley’s work, but am enjoying a kind of catch-up through Criterion Channel’s current retrospective. I had only seen Henry Fool previously and I’ll have to say that so far it’s still my favorite.
Also on the Criterion Channel has been a retrospective of the Corman-Poe Cycle, movies that I grew up watching and, for the most part, love. I decided to also revisit the unofficial companion The Oblong Box, which features Price, a title from Poe (and little else relating to his story), but a director other than Corman. For me, it gets better as the movie goes on, but it doesn’t have neither the gothic qualities nor the camp of the original cycle.
Metal from India! This record is a lot of fun and has some killer ballads–something I don’t always get to say about these retro acts.
McClurg’s Musicalia #40: Not like an arrow, but a boomerang. Available on Tidal and Spotify.
September 4, 2023
Marginalia #38
I found Glišić after watching the movie Leptirica and discovered that he had been writing horror and Gothic tales alongside the UK writers. He has a popular vampire story that predates Dracula. It seems that a lot of the vampire mythos come from the folklore of his area. He’s often called the Serbian Gogol, known for the literary grotesque and absurdism and surrealism before the Surrealists. He also worked as a translator and is known for celebrated translations of Poe and War and Peace. This is the only thing I’ve found in English, so I’m hoping with the Leptirica movie popping up more often in streaming services that more translations are on the way.
Fantastic Neo-Western that includes existential quandaries messier than the Man with No Name faces. Critiques aspects of the American Dream and Western Frontier mythos.
Kids on vacation board a “yacht” that is clearly marked as an oceanographic research vessel only to be trapped onboard with some radioactive plankton that cause dangerous mutations. I think there were some prehistoric fish that got their groove back, too. Low budget Italian horror from the ’90s. If you enjoy the like from the earlier decades, then you’ll have an idea of what you’re getting into here–as if that poster didn’t tell you enough. (aka Plankton)
I’m excited about being a part of both a great show (Sleep In Cinem and a great series with this. More information here.
McClurg’s Musicalia #39: I thought I saw a passenger. Available on Tidal and Spotify.
September 3, 2023
A Page of Madness Live Film Score
Info below from Under the Mountain and Sleep In Cinema:
A FREE SCREENING OF THE CLASSIC JAPANESE SILENT HORROR MOVIE, WITH A LIVE SCORE PERFORMED BY STEPHEN MCCLURG.
Join Under the Mountain and Sleep In Cinema at the O’Neal Library on November 12, 2023 at 7 PM for a special FREE screening of the silent-era nightmare from Japan, A PAGE OF MADNESS (1926), featuring an original score performed live by Stephen McClurg.
Set in early 20th-century Japan, A PAGE OF MADNESS is a hallucinatory psychodrama about a man who takes a job as a janitor at a mental asylum in order to be near his wife. Although his wife suffers genuine mental anguish, the man believes he can rescue her—but his attempt to break her out only lead to death and even more madness.
Lost for 45 years until it was rediscovered by the director in his storehouse in 1971, Teinosuke Kinugasa’s A PAGE OF MADNESS(1926) is the product of an avant-garde group of artists in Japan known as the Shinkankakuha (or School of New Perceptions) who tried to overcome naturalistic representation in art. “Using superimpositions, rapid and insistent visual patterns, fantasy sequences, and the visual flamboyance of actors impersonating mad people, A Page of Madness builds an atmosphere of astonishing intensity.” (Chris Fujiwara, Ebertfest.com)
This screening is part of the No Longer Silent film screening series, which highlights significant and historic silent films with live accompaniment from local music talent to create a one-of-a-kind experience. This performance will be followed by a panel discussion from local organizations, giving the audience an opportunity to discuss and reflect on the ideas and concepts presented.
Our musical performer:
Stephen McClurg has been playing music around the Gulf Coast since the mid-90s. As a composer and improvisational musician, he collaborates with musical groups such as Serenity Dagger, The Spiritual Animal Kingdom, and Reverse Engineer. He is also the part-time bassist of the punk rock band Future Hate, and a staff writer for Horror DNA. Visit his website at http://www.stephenmcclurg.com.
Our panelists:
Yoshiyuki Hara was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan and had his higher education here in the U.S., most recently in Wisconsin, where he completed his PhD in Japanese linguistics. His passion lies in understanding and exploring how languages are used, learned, and experienced. His research examines the process of language learning from socio-constructivist perspectives by employing conversation analysis as a primary methodological framework. More specifically, he studies how language learning is embedded and co-constructed in and through social interactions that occur in various settings, including the classroom, one-on-one sessions, and outside of the classroom conversations. Dr. Hara’s passion also extends to foreign language education that focuses on Japanese language and culture. He has taught Japanese language courses at all levels, during which he makes it a point to incorporate technology-enhanced tools, culturally significant materials, and the notion of critical pedagogy into language teaching. He further strives to apply research-generated insights into improving learners’ experiences both in and out of class.
Gareth Jones has taught Film Studies for 16 years in three states, currently at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. In addition, he has worked for over twenty years for the Sundance Film Festival as a consultant for festival logistics in parking and transportation. He co-hosts a radio show on Substrate Radio about movies called Sleep In Cinema.
No Longer Silent is brought to you by Sleep In Cinema, which is a Substrate Radio program.
Doors at 6:30pm; movie at 7:00pm
A PAGE OF MADNESS (1926) 71min
This event is recommended for ages 15 and up.
Snacks, drinks, and complimentary adult beverages available with ID.
This screening is brought to you by Under the Mountain, your local series of horror-related events hosted by the O’Neal Library. Join us for exclusive horror author visits, chilling movie screenings, and many more macabre things to come.
Like us on Facebook and follow us @undrmtn on Instagram for the latest on upcoming events.
For more information about Sleep In Cinema, follow them on Facebook or @sleepincinemabham on Instagram and @sleepincinemaAL on X (formerly Twitter).
Under the Mountain can be reached at undrmtn@gmail.com
August 28, 2023
Marginalia #37
Chan Buddhism is an early form of Zen mixed with ideas from Taoism and Confucianism. That’s probably too general, but works here. Jun explains Chan concepts with clarity. I would recommend it alongside Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind and Hardcore Zen.
It’s an introduction, but I get a lot from rereading these intro books every few years.
Poems about aging and growing up in Alabama. Jones is also a clear and concise writer with a knack for metaphor and occasional everyday surrealism. For some reason this book had me thinking about my first mentors in poetry reading and writing: Walt Darring and Lloyd Dendinger, both gone now.
This starts like a TV version of Psycho and then gets wild. I’ll say not the most sensitive rendition of the mentally challenged, so if that bothers you, stay away from this one.
A new review over at Horror DNA.
Another new review at Horror DNA.
McClurg’s Musicalia #38: To a song dissolved in the dawn.
Features Joyboy, Apprehend, Little Beaver, Fire! Orchestra and others.
August 22, 2023
August 21, 2023
Marginalia #36
My sci-fi reading tends toward the classics of the genre and the odd decades-old anthologies I find in used bookstores. This book covers the obvious and sometimes surprising inspiration and research behind Dune.
The Smiling Madame Beudet (1923). Considered an early feminist film, with some great surreal images, like Cocteau making a marriage drama. Madame B is unhappy in her relationship and considers a way out. Reminds me of Victorian-era books with unhappy marriages or works like The Awakening mixed with the bizarre qualities of “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Probably difficult for some contemporary audience members to understand how these works depict the limited options for women at the time–Ibsen also comes to mind!
Wonderfully weird and disturbing alien encounter story. It predates Starman, but feels like a mix of that with Alien, ET, and a heavy dose of Inseminoid.
McClurg’s Musicalia #37: Doppelgänger Stranger Danger is available on Tidal and Spotify.
August 14, 2023
Marginalia #35
After I read Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy, it was easier to see places where George Lucas stitched together Star Wars. A lot of Asimov mixed with Kurosawa’s Hidden Fortress, dashes of his hotrod enthusiasm, some fragrances of sci-fi serials, and a watering down of what was originally a Vietnam War parable (hint: the Americans were not the Rebel Alliance). Reading The Prose Edda did a similar thing for Lord of the Rings. It not only has a flood and an ark tale, but also lists of dwarves, including one named Gandalf, giant eagles, ancient important trees, a magical ring story, etc. And more obviously you get large chunks of the Thor and Loki stories, two characters reaching newfound heights of glory over the last decade or so.
Reading the Fangoria archives is a blast for a lot of reasons. One is discovering movies I forgot about or missed altogether. Saturn 3 is one such film, though after a featured behind-the-scenes article it was later chosen by readers as one of the worst films of the year. The making of it is the basis for screenwriter Martin Amis’s novel Money. An insane amount of talent assembled for a campy sci-fi romp. I didn’t hate it, even with Harvey Keitel overdubbed with a British accent.
Another find from a Fango dig and also an insane gathering of talent. An animal attack movie would be hard enough to direct, but to also toss in actors known for being everything from prickly to insane into multiple scenes together seems wild–maybe one of the reasons Tobe Hooper left the film early on. Supposedly Kinski turned down Raiders of the Lost Ark because Venom paid more. Wow. More of a suspense film than a natural horror film and surprisingly enjoyable. They go full stage-ham on the death scenes!
I’ve got a review for the new doc on Stephen King adaptations over at Horror DNA.
A new playlist awaits over at Tidal: McClurg’s Musicalia #36: The Hot Lunch Line.
August 13, 2023
At Horror DNA: King on Screen Review
I reviewed the new documentary on Stephen King adaptations over at Horror DNA.
