(London, UK
– distributed in the US through Columbia University Press)
2008
106pp
The guys of the 'Cultographies' series
are back at it again, with some new titles! We've already presented their first
three books on this site: THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, DONNIE DARKO and THIS
IS SPINAL TAP. You'll remember them as the slightly more accessible variety of
what BFI is doing in their 'classics' series: small, serious but readable accounts
of the production, evaluation and influence of some major modern titles – in
this case, devoted entirely to ''the weird and wonderful world of cult
cinema''. The series editors, Ernest Mathijs and Jamie Sexton, now proudly
present Jim Barratt's analysis of Peter Jackson's cult classic, BAD TASTE.
In
its form, the book stays close to that envisioned for the whole series: it
opens with a personal note (how the author came across the film, what it meant for
him back then, what it means for him now), continues with behind-the-scenes
facts of the painful birth process (always a fun read when it comes to the
usual guerilla filmmaking in the low budget arena!), culminating, of course,
with the analysis (what, exactly, makes the particular title the object of a
cult following? what does it all mean? what's the significance? etc.) and
further relevance for the genre it belongs to and to (cult) cinema in general.
The
author, Jim Barratt, is a fine choice for this book: as a former Film and Video
Examiner for the British Board of Film Classification he can provide some rare facts
about the various censorship issues that BAD TASTE sometimes encountered, and
how, eventually, it was cleared of that danger in most countries, passing uncut
in spite of its copious amounts of splattering gore, vomit, goo and the like.
Obviously, BAD TASTE was one of those rare instances in which someone actually
paid attention to the context of its set-pieces, and the context justified the
exception.
Even the censors were able to recognize that all of the 'bad taste'
on display, including exaggerated dismemberments, geysers of blood etc. were
used for obvious humorous purpose, in a context that's more infantile than
'nasty'. Barratt also rightly points to the similarities between Jackson's
peculiar 'splatstick' (splatter + slapstick) and Monty Python's memorable uses
of similarly extreme and intentionally goofy effects, like in the famous gore-galore
sketch of "Sam Peckinpah's SALAD DAYS" or in the unforgettable episode
from MONTY PYTHON'S THE MEANING OF LIFE with the gluttonous, obese man who gorges
himself (and vomits every once in a while) until he explodes all over the fancy
restaurant.
Because
of its comedic elements, together with bits and pieces of other genres (Sci-Fi,
action, etc.), Barratt claims that BAD TASTE is not really a horror film at
all: other than the splatter effects (used for comedic effect), there is no
evidence of suspense, fear, creepiness or anything remotely scary (unlike, say,
some other splatter-horror comedies, like THE EVIL DEAD or RE-ANIMATOR). Thanks
to its light-hearted tone BAD TASTE could expect a better understanding among
the frowning censors around the world, and it is certainly one of the keys of
its general appeal. Nothing is really dark or edgy about it: it's a series of
juvenile 'sick', but essentially inoffensive jokes in which no one (and nothing
of value) is really hurt. There is no deeper point, no relevance, no
subversiveness to speak of, except the most basic puerile provocation of
lavatory humor and childish 'bad taste'.
It's
an exercise in style by a budding filmmaker trying to draw attention to himself
by a calculated effort to make a CULT film. There is plenty of evidence in the
book that Jackson knew what he was doing, right from the start (see the excerpt
from the letter in which he asked for financing from the officials). "BAD
TASTE was actively marketed and distributed in ways designed to solicit cult
status", says Barratt (page 52). But, significantly, he adds: "But
for the film to be adopted as such by
its audience, it has to offer them something different, some special qualities
worthy of their devotion." Jackson did offer something new and,
eventually, rightly got where he is now.
The
first three films analyzed in the 'Cultographies' series all dealt with some
significant issues: gender roles in ROCKY HORROR; time, death and sacrifice in
DONNY; rock culture and documentary genre in SPINAL TAP. Unlike them, BAD TASTE
is not really about anything, and that may be the reason why this volume is
some 20 pages slimmer than the previous entries. Although short, this book is
by no means lightweight, and serious tools are used to analyze what little
there was to be analyzed.
It also provides numerous amusing anecdotes and facts
about the film (especially the local, New Zealand specific references lost on
many international viewers), but one feels much more of the similar material
could've been used to make the text somewhat weightier. At least, the book
points to numerous sources (articles, books, even web sites) which might be
valuable to those cultists willing to explore more background of one of the
most inauspicious debuts in the history of cinema. From rags (BAD TASTE) to
riches (LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, Oscars etc.).
The other new 'Cultographies' titles
are devoted to Orson Welles's TOUCH OF EVIL and SUPERSTAR: THE KAREN CARPENTER
STORY. On the other hand, those interested in BAD TASTE's older (and better) splatstick
brother can eagerly anticipate the announced EVIL DEAD volume. Stay tuned!
You have one more week left to grab the April issue of RUE MORGUE #132 with some great stuff in it – and some of it may be mine.
In this one you can find my review
ofSLEEP TIGHT, one of the best horror-thrillers of the
past year, directed by the Spanish master Jaume
Balaguero, whom I had the pleasure to meet at last year's Grossmann film & wine festival.
Something tells me you're likely to read my interview with him in some other RUE
MORGUE-related thingy pretty soon.
Also, in
the CLASSIC CUT, at the very end of the mag, there's my praise of one of
the most important books about horror film ever written – and certainly and
without doubt THE most important reference
book on horror cinema around the world in existence: THE AURUM FILM ENCYCLOPEDIA: HORROR (aka THE OVERLOOKFILM ENCYCLOPEDIA: HORROR in its later, updated edition). If
you haven't discovered this gem so far, take a look at my reasons for such a
praise before you try to buy this hard-to-find item.
Finally, so
far as my contributions to the mag are concerned, there's a feature article
devoted to Laird Barron and his
latest collection THE BEAUTIFUL THING
THAT AWAITS US ALL. He talks about his influences (especially
Lovecraft and pulp authors), about horror and noir-western-crime elements in
his fiction (that's why the article is titled GODS & GUNS), and there's also my overview of his latest book's
highlights.
Sadly, a
very rare and unexpected thing happened: the book was due to appear on April 2.
Instead, just a few days later, news broke that its publisher, Night Shade Books
(who also published his two previous collections + excellent novel THE CRONING) is on the verge of bankruptcy and
will most likely be bought by another company – provided their authors agree to
the new conditions. The book remains in a limbo while this whole thing with Night
Shade Books is satisfactorily
resolved, but while you await this truly wonderful and deservedly highly anticipated
collection, here's a gift from Barron to all of his devoted readers – a free
story on his site, as a sign of appreciation for your patience and support.
Check this exclusive horror tale HERE!
So, hurry
up, and grab this EVIL DEAD issue of RUE MORGUE (its full contents are HERE) while
it's still available.
Only a
week from now it will be replaced by the latest – devoted to BRITISH HORROR
FILM, new and old. This year commemorates full 40 years since the classic THE WICKER MAN (1973), and to
celebrate the May Day, RUE MORGUE offers brand new interviews
with the director Robin Hardy and star, Sir Christopher Lee.
I'm author of the interview with Christopher Lee since I had the honor to meet and talk to the living legend, also at Grossmann
film & wine festival. Read it to see why Lee considers THE WICKER MAN his personal favorite among all the films
he's ever been in.
I believe issue #133 will also feature my review of John Langan's wonderful second
collection, THE WIDE, CARNIVOROUS SKY AND OTHER MONSTROUS GEOGRAPHIES, available
from Hippocampus
Press. Give it a chance – it's great stuff (and has an afterword by Laird
Barron)!
By the way, RUE MORGUE has just received Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for
the Best Modern Magazine and it also got one for Best
Magazine Column (It Came From
Bowen's Basement by John W. Bowen).
The very same RM was also shortlisted
or second-tied in several other categories:
Best Themed Issue (RM#127)
Best Multimedia Horror Site (The Rue
Morgue Podcast),
+ honorable mentions in
the Best Convention (RM's Festival
of Fear)
+ Best Article ("Ghosts of
Horror Past: 25 Films That Have Been Lost to the Sands of Time", by Kelly
Robinson, RM#124).
Cast: Joe Odagiri, Naota Takenaka, Masa Endo, Masaya Kato
Running Time:
4H 30
GHOUL RATING:
**(*)
3-
Story: PRAYER
BEADS is a nine-episode horror series. Each 30 minute episode stands on its own
(in spite of a lame attempt to tie them all together in the last one), and each
will be dealt with separately.
A pregnant woman, a psychologically unhinged friend and her missing
husband, apparitions in their darkened apartment, mysterious connections
between them all and the culminating zombie revenge are elements of this
concoction.
I've always hated the phrase 'not bad for its kind', but it just
sums up this episode perfectly: while not original or deep in any way, at least
it tries to be as scary as possible with its limited means and déjà vu
elements, and ends up as one of the creepiest episodes of this series.
This is what happens when a young pair goes on a vacation
unprepared: not only have they not checked on the place in advance, but even
worse, they're going there with no soft drinks whatsoever. So, when the girl is
thirsty in the middle of the night, her beau has no alternative but to go to a
creepy shack several miles down the road through the woods, and take a few cans
of queasy juice from a wending machine nearby. The effects of this juice,
however, lead to a wonderfully extravagant conclusion.
This is a favorite episode among many, and I can see why: the
isolated setting is creepy, and the outré ending is reminiscent of some crazy
stories of early Stephen King, where weirdness awaits you just off the beaten
path, with no rhyme or reason. It also features the series' most elaborate
physical effect: it is a bit on the cheap, rubbery side, but is still quite
effective in its merging of the organic and mechanic, sort of like a poor man's
David Cronenberg meets a poor man's Screaming Mad George.
EPISODE THREE: IT’S ME (director Naoki Kusumoto)
Young thugs intend to extort some money from an old lady. But, in
Japanese horrors, old ladies are not to be fooled with! Besides, who is
observing the criminal behind the closet door?
For my money, this was an endurance test, a bore-fest with a
predictable twist not worth waiting for.
EPISODE FOUR: REAL (director Masahiro Okano)
A respected surgeon (Masayo Kato, from GOZU, AGITATOR, SAMURAI
RESURRECTION…) suffers from headaches which make him untrustworthy and
unbalanced in the middle of an operation. So, this man of science goes to a
comic-book-creepy guy who wears a cloak and hides his face even in his living
room, and accepts a mysterious "cure" with a side-effect or two.
That's when he really enters the world of pain…
I have a weak spot for downward-spiral LSD-trips, so this portrait
of a madman as a young surgeon had its moments (i.e. his visions), but was
mostly dull and uninvolving in the remaining part, and lacks a real punch.
An otaku boy meets a nice girl meets a date-rape jock over the
internet. What do they do on their first encounter in real life? Why, they go
to the woods for some mushroom hunting, of course. And what do they do when a
comic-book-creepy guy (cloak, rags, hidden face and all) warns them not to
proceed any further, or at least not to enter a witch's cabin? Well, of course
they continue until they come to a cabin where a creepy old woman offers some
nice mushroom soup. They were asking for it!
Other than being completely silly, unbelievable and trashy, this
episode is quite passable. The acting is somewhat better than the usual (low)
standards of this series, while mushrooms grown from human bodies are always a
nice thing to see.
EPISODE SIX: EDDIE (director Toshikatsu Kubo)
It begins like a precursor of Korean THE HOST: in a river, under the
bridge, there is a creature, and a bunch of spectators (and even a TV crew) are
crowded on the bank. However, the said creature is a cute, seal-like thingee
with those big sad-puppy eyes. How could it be dangerous? And what's a little
telekinetic boy doing there?
You can never go wrong with giant vagina-monsters, and this episode
proves this time-worn truth once again. OK, they are CGI, and rather poor CGI
at that, but hell, it's giant vagina-monsters anyway, rampaging on the river
bank and exploding all over the place. What else could you possibly want from
your entertainment? Perhaps more money and physical creature effects instead of
CGI, but… beggars can't be choosers!
An old man and his wife exert a revenge on the men responsible for
abducting their grand-daughter and selling her to the hospital for body parts.
Is this a subtle satire on the underbelly of Japanese health-care system,
unrivalled even by Michael Moore's SICKO, or just an excuse for some cheap CGI
body-damage effects? You decide!
Once again, I wish they went with practical effects instead of (very
poor) CGI! I mean, come on, guys, it's XXI century, and if you cannot make Joe
Odagiri (BUGMASTER, SHINOBI, BLACK KISS, AZUMI) explode better than John
Cassavetes did full three decades ago, in de Palma's THE FURY, you should bow
your heads in shame! The story is dull and unconvincing on too many levels,
even for this kind of Tales from the Crypt scenario.
A bullied boy (is there any other kind, except for bullies?)
receives an unexpected help from an internet portal and a fuzzy cat-like
creature through anime enactments of his three wishes.
Stylistically different at least in the sense that half of its
running time is actually animated, this is a variation of the classic 'be
careful what you wish for…' story, W.W. Jacobs' MONKEY'S PAW. We've seen
millions of variations on the theme, including one on THE SIMPSONS, so why not
an anime one?
EPISODE NINE: APARTMENT (director Masahiro Okano)
What starts as a grueling family dinner from Hell ends up as a mess
of a very different and silly kind.
There are two completely disjointed halves here: in the first one, a
psychotic father torments his wife and two kids; in the second one Mr. Okano
tries to include visual references to all previous episodes, regardless of the
fact that none of that makes any sense, and so 'wraps up' this series in a
haphazard way.
All in all, PRAYER BEADS is a decent, though not too inspired
attempt to make a Japanese version of TALES FROM THE CRYPT (without the Crypt
Keeper foolishness). It means it's trashy, cheap, clichéd, unconvincing and
mostly dull, over-reliant on special effects (Masahiro Okano's real
profession), with occasional flashes of inspiration scattered here and there.
It is very low on atmosphere, mood and scares; when it attempts something of
the kind, it ends up being silly, comic-book-like in the worst, most dated
sense (think EC comics of the '50s as the paragon). Obviously shot on video,
its visuals are workmanlike, bland, often banal or downright ugly, more
appropriate for the SCHOOLGIRL IN CEMENT kind of snuff-like horrors than to
something that's supposed to be scary. Nevertheless, there's quite enough for
undiscriminating viewers to enjoy here, so if you feel like some low-brow
horror fun for the whole family, go for it!
Carl Panzram is unique among serial
killers in several regards. First of all, he was the most nihilistic and misanthropic of them all. He was not partial in his
hatred because he did not hate only women, Blacks, Jews, hookers... "I
don't believe in man, God nor Devil," he wrote. "I hate the whole
damned human race, including myself." He had no hopes, no illusions about
either himself or the world which he saw it in all its depraved and brutal
clarity. "I wish you all had one neck and that I had my hands on it"
said the man who described himself as "the spirit of meanness
personified".
The
second quality which raises him above practically any other serial killer on
record: he was a truly lucid, intelligent and sensitive (!) person, and the
autobiographical writings and letters he left behind make for a uniquely
profound read, at the same time shocking and touching. He's a true philosopher among the serial killers,
and his words have the power to resonate like the best lines from Hemingway,
Chandler and William Burroughs: clear, cruel, vivid, witty and precisely to the
point. No bullshit there. No-nonsense, straight for the jugular, that's Panzram
for you.
Raised
in poverty, hard labor, ignorance, bestial violence and abuse, Panzram met only
cruelty wherever he turned: family, school, church... it was all the same. His
Golgotha through the soul-crushing brutality of corrupt institutions culminated
in the correctional center for youths which only strengthened his bleak
worldview and proved that, sadly, "might makes right". He was fully
formed when he was only 14: "I was so full of hate that there was no room
in me for such feelings as love, pity, kindness or honor or decency, my only
regret is that I wasn't born dead or not at all."
A
few years later, while still a teenager on the run from home, he was gang-raped
by four hobos. "I cried, I begged and pleaded for mercy, pity, and
sympathy," he wrote later, "but nothing I could say or do could sway
them from their purpose. I left that box a sadder, sicker, but wiser
boy." He felt literally and metaphorically fucked by everybody, and
decided that from then on, HE would be the one to fuck everyone he could: "In
my lifetime I have murdered 21 human beings, I have committed thousands of
burglaries, robberies, larcenies, arsons and last but not least I have
committed sodomy on more than 1,000 male human beings. For all of these things
I am not the least bit sorry. I have no conscience so that does not worry
me." In a world in which you either eat or are mercilessly eaten, his
motto became: "Rob 'em all, rape 'em all, and kill 'em all."
At
long last, Panzram's colorful life story – and his views, inseparable from it –
became the subject of a feature-length documentary. The long wait ultimately
paid off because Panzram got the treatment he deserved from John Borowski,
independent filmmaker and author of two previous, equally superb documentaries on
America's serial killers from the late 19th and early 20th century: H.H. HOLMES (2004) and ALBERT FISH (2007). This means
that Panzram ended in truly devoted and more than able hands. The resulting
film, CARL PANZRAM: THE SPIRIT OF HATRED AND VENGEANCE, is a true paradigm of how
to make a great documentary on a subject like this.
Borowski
presents Panzram from as many angles as possible. Understandably, his hands are
somewhat tied by the fact that Panzram lived in the early decades of the 20th
century (he was executed in 1930), which means that there are no living
witnesses, no current first-hand accounts, no direct video or film footage of
him or scenes relevant for his deeds. Borowski had to rely on the few existing
photographs, news clippings and facsimiles of Panzram's writings. The closest
he comes to a direct footage is an archive interview with Henry Lesser,
ex-prison guard: the only person ever to treat Panzram like a human being and
the one who made him write his autobiography, smuggling and preserving his
papers later on. Without Lesser we wouldn't have any record whatsoever of a
rich and inspiring human being that Carl Panzram certainly was. This interview
exists only on a poor quality VHS cassette, but it's a valuable document and
the worthiest asset among the extras on the DVD.
What
he couldn't get through direct footage, Borowski more than compensates with the
use of said photographs and writings, but also through archive film materials
from the period and, especially, through brief but colorful re-enactments.
Three actors portray Panzram in the three crucial stages of his life: Brett
Jetmund plays Charlie Panzram in his formative, pre-teen years, David Salmonson
is the young Carl Panzram (in his 20s, when he did most of his killings) and
Tom Lodewyck plays the somewhat older Carl Panzram as an inmate of various
prisons before he was hanged at the age of 38. The perfect cast does a great
job of embodying the abused abuser, "the spirit of meanness
personified" but also the human being behind the mask of a monster.
Another
layer of quality is added by the narration by John Dimaggio (best known as the voice of Bender from FUTURAMA): he
reads numerous well-chosen quotes from Panzram's writings using a grave whisper
somewhat reminiscent of Kiefer Sutherland's "psycho" voice.
The
film provides an insight into the conditions which created this
"monster", trying to understand his crimes without justifying them.
This is a tricky thing: defending a person (as a victim of various
circumstances) without defending his crimes, without glorifying him or turning
him into a hero. Panzram's spirit of total negativity can be hypnotic and
attractive for modern-day nihilists: his attitude of an almost Burroughsian
TOTAL OUTLAW is very inspiring while many of his saying are highly quotable.
Still, this shouldn't make us forget that this man has raped and killed at
least 22 men. Especially unforgivable are his brutal rapings and killings of
several pre-teen boys. They are mentioned in the film, briefly, but only in
passing, while Panzram's cold-hearted reminiscences of them are NOT quoted. This
is a pity, because paragraphs such as this one shouldn't be glossed over:
"I grabbed him by the arm and
told him I was going to kill him. I stayed with the boy about three hours.
During that time, I committed sodomy on the boy six times, and then I killed
him by beating his brains out with a rock... I had stuffed down his throat
several sheets of paper out of a magazine. I left him lying there with his
brains coming out of his ears."
This is the kind of crimes that earned
him the label of a monster, much more than the one single killing (of an
abusive prison employee) which eventually led him to the gallows. Other than
that, the film does a fine job of balancing the life and times of this man and
of putting him into a proper context. Panzram certainly was and is a telling
sign of an age. Many bigger social, psychological, ethical and philosophical
issues are reflected in and around him: from (in)human treatment of prisoners
through the problem of psychopaths
all the way to the questions of good and evil, right and wrong, human laws vs.
higher laws... A big help in shedding some light on those questions comes from
a superb selection of a wide array of relevant participants who talk on camera.
Thus, the documentary includes
valuable insights from SCOTT CHRISTIANSON, PhD, author, investigative reporter,
and scholar who specializes in crime and punishment;
JOE COLEMAN, artist who has painted
a portrait of Carl Panzram, who he sees as a "kind of unholy saint of
nihilism: the very shadow of Christ";
MARK GADO, a police detective whose
story "Carl Panzram, Monster of Minnesota" (2004) won a Page One
award for one of the top three magazine articles of the year;
DR G. THOMAS GITCHOFF, a
criminologist and professor of criminal justice at San Diego State University
and associate clinical professor of psychiatry at UCSD School of Medicine in La
Jolla;
JOEL GOODMAN, Federal Bureau of
Prisons Retiree, an expert on jail, prison and community corrections operations;
CHARLES DUDLEY MARTIN, Robert
Stroud's Missouri Attorney;
ROBERT RAY, Head of Special
Collections and University Archives at San Diego State University which holds
the original, handwritten Carl Panzram Papers;
JASON SCHUBERT, curator of the J.M.
Davis Gun Museum (which keeps several Panzram related paraphernalia, including
the rope he was hanged by)
and last but not least - KATHERINE RAMSLAND, PhD who has a
master's degree in forensic psychology from the internationally esteemed John
Jay College of Criminal Justice, a master's degree in clinical psychology from
Duquesne University, and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Rutgers. She has published
thirty-one books, including The CSI Effect, Inside the Minds of Serial
Killers, The Human Predator, and The Forensic Science of CSI.
With
their contributions CARL PANZRAM: THE SPIRIT OF HATRED AND VENGEANCE becomes as
layered a story of the unique individual of Carl Panzram as one could possibly
hope for.
Clocking
at 80 minutes, the film could certainly use some more material without being
overlong or repetitive. The extra features on the DVD actually contain many
scenes which could've been used in the film. For example, most of the DELETED
SCENES (approx 10 minutes of them) deserve to be IN the film itself, as they
contain telling information and add further shades of Panzram's character (esp.
the issue of being TRUTHFUL and /not/ honoring his word).
MAKING
OF feature (approx 25 minutes) also contains at least 15 minutes' worth of
material that could've been IN the film. It has very little actual footage of making of the film – instead, it offers many
additional pieces of interviews and re-enactments not seen in the film proper.
INTERVIEW WITH HENRY LESSER (approx
45 minutes), like said above, is a priceless document and a more than welcome
addition to the DVD (although most of the best bits are used in the film
itself).
Other extras include: PRODUCTION
STILLS (accompanied by a song about Panzram), TRAILERS and a DETAILED VIEW OF
JOE COLEMAN'S PANZRAM PORTRAIT (which is helpful indeed, considering this
artist's style of collage with numerous very tiny and minute details, photos,
drawings and quotes otherwise hard to decipher).
If
I were to nitpick in an almost perfect film, I'd say that it could've presented
some more detail about Panzram's afterlife
in pop culture and elsewhere. The book PANZRAM:
A JOURNAL OF MURDER by Thomas E. Gaddis and James O. Long, which was the
first to reveal the full story about this man, including copious excerpts from
his writings, is barely mentioned. The film KILLER: A JOURNAL OF MURDER (1995) by Tim Metcalfe, in which James Woods portrays Panzram, is not even
mentioned. While Panzram is certainly not a "star" even among serial
killer buffs, he has his own cult and his shadow spreads over some significant
films. For example, his quote "I wish you all had one neck and my hands
were around it" serves as a motto to a Serbian horror-comedy DAVITELJ PROTIV DAVITELJA (Strangler
Vs. Strangler, 1984) by Slobodan Šijan, while his words "Today I am dirty,
but tomorrow I'll be just DIRT" open the film DER TODESKING (1990) by Jorg Buttgereit. References to these and
other possible examples would be just footnotes – but perhaps worthy of
inclusion so as to further flesh-out Panzram's ghost which still haunts us.
In
spite of these quibbles, CARL PANZRAM: THE SPIRIT OF HATRED AND VENGEANCE is
obviously a work of devotion, love and knowledge, self-financed and created
among hardships which, thankfully, don't show up on screen. It manages to become
the definite story about this unique man – and to show why his story is still
relevant and haunting.
Strongly
recommended!
The best way to get this DVD is to
order it directly from the filmmaker's site http://www.panzram.com/.
Below you'll find listed the best new horror films which became available during 2012. Not too many will be remembered a couple of years from now, but at this moment, these were at least halfway there towards the ever more distant rainbow of horror perfection. All films are rated from * (atrocious) to ***** (timeless perfection).
Those below are mostly too mediocre or poor to be arranged in any order other than chronological, i.e. in order of being available and watched during 2012.
"Can you look around this world and believe in goodness of a god who rules it?! Famine, pestilence, slaughter, disease and death... They rule this world. If a god of love and light ever did exist, he's long since dead. Someone... Something... rules in his place..." -Prince Prospero-
COPYRIGHT FOR ALL TEXTS ON THIS BLOG (C) DEJAN OGNJANOVIĆ, for GHOUL, INC.
Dejan Ognjanović CONTACT: dogstar666 -et- yahoo -dot- com
Dejan Ognjanovic was born in Nis, Serbia, in 1973. He worked as a TA in American Literature at the Faculty of Philosophy, Nis, Serbia (1999-2009). Got his MA in 2009. ('Gothic Motifs in the Works of E. A. Poe'). Got his PhD in 2012 ('Historical Poetics of Horror Genre in Anglo-American Literature'). Published literary and film essays and criticism in various magazines. In Serbia he has published 6 books: a novel, In Vivo; two studies: Faustian Screen: The Devil in Cinema (2006) and In the Hills, the Horrors: Serbian Horror Film (2007) and a collection of essays– A Study in Terror (2008). He edited H. P. Lovecraft's best stories (Nekronomikon, 2008.); he co-edited The New Frames (2008), on Serbian cinema. His reviews in English can still be found at Beyond Hollywood, Unrated and Quiet Earth. His essays were published in the books edited by Steven Schneider: 100 European Horror Films, 501 Movie Directors, 101 Horror / SF / Gangster / War Movies You Must See Before You Die, and also in Speaking of Monsters (2012).
