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HORRORHOUND #35

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FAMOUS QUOTES

"Where there is no imagination, there is no horror."

- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle -

5-13-12 JIM ISAAC - REST IN PEACE
Yes, it seems we start off yet another update with the announcement of another passing. Starting to really be a drag. Director Jim Isaac passed away on March 6th due to some sort of blood cancer. He was barely in his '50s. While he started in the business in special effects, working on some pretty big name movies, like RETURN OF THE JEDI (1983), GREMLINS (1984), and THE FLY (1985), it wasn't until he got behind the camera and directed that the horror genre became aware of this young director. His first feature, HORROR SHOW, was pretty much a fitting name due to the battles the film had with the MPAA. What was released was butchered far more than anyone in the film. Even in his next film, he would have to fight to get what he wanted on screen. And that film was JASON X (2001). Now I avoided this film for a long time because...well to be quite honest the whole "Jason in space" idea just lost me at the very start. But once I got off my butt and actually watched it, I found it to be one of the most entertaining entries in the FRIDAY series. His next film was SKINWALKERS (2006), a werewolf movie that I still haven't seen. But his last film, PIG HUNT (2008) is just a hoot! Just a fun movie, not to be taken seriously, but a great and crazy story, filled with even crazier characters. And music by Les Claypool of Primus. How could you go wrong?
So I guess this is the one comfort that we, as horror fans, can take from this. Because of Isaac's work in the horror genre, we will always have his movies. So no matter how long he has been gone, whether it is a week or years, we can still pop in our copy of JASON X and think "Damn...this guy actually made a movie pretty damn entertaining movie!" Even more so since it was the 9th sequel to made for a series that should have been dead years ago. So our thoughts go out to his friends and family during this dark time. As we always say, you will be missed, but never forgotten.

CINEMA WASTELAND REPORT
We have finally finished our Wasteland write up and have it posted with plenty of photos. Just head over to our Convention Reports and look for the latest one in the Cinema Wasteland reports. Or you could just click HERE.

GHOST STORY / CIRCLE OF FEAR FINALLY COMES TO DVD!!!
    Words can not describe how excited I am about this news. It has been quite some time since was this excited for something to get a DVD release. Could it be that this was the series that I remember watching each and every week when I was only 7 years old? That some of those images and stories had stayed imprinted on my psyche right from that very first viewing. Sure, TWILIGHT ZONE and NIGHT GALLERY were great, but neither of them made the impact on me like the series GHOST STORY, which later became CIRCLE OF FEAR.
    William Castle, always seemingly trying to follow in the footsteps of Hitchcock, developed a TV series that would have a different story each week. Hosted by Sebastian Cabot, each week he would introduce a spooky story. The pilot episode was originally aired in March of 1972. I don't recall seeing that one, but do remember being their for the series, which made it debut on September 15th, 1972 with an episode entitled The Dead We Leave Behind, starring Jason Robards. There were images in this one that stayed with me for years. There was another episode starring a very young Jodie Foster and some little voodoo dolls made out of cookies, which was written by famous author Robert Block.
    After 13 episodes, the title was changed to CIRCLE OF FEAR and they dropped the host set up. It only went for another 9 episodes, but contained some more great stories, such as Dark Vengeance which is about a curse wooden toy horse and stars Martin Sheen, or Death's Head starring Janet Leigh about a woman who is haunted by her dead husband.
    The number of stars that they had appearing in these shows was just staggering. Granted, these were stars from that time period and may be lost on today's younger fans. But back then, these were big names. People like Helen Hayes, Melvyn Douglas, Gena Rowlands, Angie Dickinson, Stella Stevens, Karen Black, Carolyn Jones, Meg Foster, Mariette Hartley, and many others. Plus, the stories were written/adapted by some pretty top genre writers like Richard Matheson and even Hammer's own Jimmy Sangster.
    Okay, so while these are only the made-to-order DVD-Rs from Warner Archives, it is still the complete series, featuring all 23 episodes (including the original pilot) and is only $44.95. With close to 20 hours of '70s spooky entertainment, that is well worth the money. I know we will be adding this to our collection very soon. For more information on this set, just click HERE.

THE CHICAGO CREEPOUT
Our good friend and fellow horror deviant Kristin Wicks (aka Kreeplady Kristin) is now writing an online column for Chicago Now called The Chicago Creepout. Here she fills us in with all the cool horror related stuff and events that are happening in the Chicagoland area, or just speaking what is on her mind. If you're in the area, then make sure you bookmark this page and check on it often.

NEW SOUNDTRACK REVIEWS
It seems we are on a trend with soundtrack reviews for remakes lately. This time out, we have reviews of Ennio Morricone's score for Argento's PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1999) as well as Bobby Johnston's score for Darren Lynn Bousman's remake of MOTHER'S DAY. Head over to our Soundtrack Review section in our Reviews section, or by clicking HERE.

TERROR IN THE AISLES 10 - NIGHTBREED UNCUT!
    Making its Midwest premiere on July 13th at Terror in the Aisles 10 will be Clive Barker's NIGHTBREED: THE CABAL CUT. This is the uncut version that has all the footage that was cut out that is being restored back into the film, thanks to the hard and dedication to Serpahim Films' Mark Miller. What is being called the THE CABAL CUT is 2 hours and 35 minutes long and was recently screened at the Mad Monster Party convention on the East Coast. There was a version screen at a HorrorHound show back in 2010, but that was a rough cut that had reshoots in there, showing some sequences twice that were filmed slightly different. But this version is the one that is being re-mastered and re-edited to get as close to the original version that Clive Barker first envisioned. And now Chicago fans will have their chance to see it on the big screen.
    The doors open at 7pm and the film starts at 8pm. There will be an additional feature screening afterwards, but it has not been announced yet. Mark Miller and Russell Cherrington will be guests there who will discuss the preservation of this classic movie, which is definitely one of my favorites.
    Like all TITA events, there will be vintage trailers, vendor tables, and a live charity auction for Vital Bridges. Stay tuned for more details.

POSSESSION AT GENE SISKEL FILM CENTER
Looking for one of the strangest films out there? Then make plans to head over to the Gene Siskel Film Center to take in a screening of Andrzej Zulawski's 1981 film POSSESSION, starring Sam Neill and Isabella Adjani. According to the director and how he pitched the film to Paramount, it is “A film about a woman who fucks an octopus”. But it really is so much more than that. Granted, understanding just what "that" is, is a whole other story. It is like no film you've seen before, or probably will ever again. But it is one that you will never forget. The performances are incredible, especially that of Adjani.
It will be playing on Sunday the 20th, at 5pm, on Monday the 21st at 7:45pm, and on Wednesday the 23rd at 8pm. If you have the chance, I highly recommend you checking it out. Your life will never be the same! For more info on the screenings and the Film Center, just click HERE.

HORROR HISTORY
This week, we're going to cover a name that was one of many that help make the Universal Classics that we know today. So get your notepad and pencils (this will be on the test) and head over to the classroom.

MYSTERY PHOTO
I knew our last one was going to be tough, only because there are so many killer gator movies out there, so picking the right one is a lot tougher than you'd think. But in fact, the pic was from the Italian film KILLER CROCODILE. And if you've seen this one, you know there is a lot of cheese here. In fact, there is so much cheese in that movie that there was enough left over to make a sequel! But thanks to all those that send in their guesses anyway. Just never know unless you try. Here are the ones that did send in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Christopher Huziak, Chris Kinniery, and Raymond Rich. Well done!
Let's get to this week's photo. Going black and white on this one. So take a good look and see if you can figure which movie this little head shot came from! Just click HERE to send in your answer. Good Luck!

5-6-12 THE KRYPT IS GOING TO WONDERFEST
Every Memorial Day Weekend for over 20 years, Wonderfest Hobby Expo has been talking place in Louisville Kentucky. And for probably the last 10 of those years, we've been toying with the idea of heading down there to set up. But for some reason, we never make it. But this year, we have decided to take the plunge and have gotten a table for this year's show, which takes place in a few weeks. One of the reasons that we decided this at the last minute is that we have been getting more and more tired of the typical conventions these days. They all seemed to have turned more and more into autograph shows, with the prices of those getting ridiculously higher and higher. So while we were debating doing another show, and talking it over with a good friend (thank you Don!), we decided on Wonderfest. Yes, they do have a few celebrities there, and don't really know if they charge for signatures or not. But this show is really about the dealers room, which is predominantly filled with model dealers. Being semi-retired armature model painter, I know it is going to be tough for me not to be tempted by the other dealers. So we are really looking forward to see a different crowd than we've normally been seeing over the years. If it turns out to be worth while, then I think we'll be adding this show to the normal part of our Kryptic World Tour schedule.
For any and all information about the show, just head over to the official site by clicking the banner below.

TWINS OF EVIL DVD
This is something that Hammer fans have been waiting for a very, very long time. I can remember the VHS for this title going for a hefty price back in the day. It has been released outside of the US a couple of different times, but for some reason it has never gotten a DVD release here in the states, until now. After the spectacular job they did with their VAMPIRE CIRCUS release, Synapse Films will be releasing TWINS OF EVIL on July 10th. They have restored the uncut film in an all new 1080p high-definition transfer in anamorphic 1.66:1 widescreen transfer. It will be so great to see this film in all its glorious color and it will be packed full of extras, including a feature length documentary on the making of the film, called "The Flesh and the Fury: X-posing TWINS OF EVIL". This is an 84 minute long documentary that covers Hammer's Karnstein trilogy, which features interviews with director John Hough and star Damien Thomas, as well as other names like director Joe Dante, Video Watchdog's Tim Lucas, and more. Really hope they were able to get the Collinson twins in there somewhere! None the less, we are very excited about this film (and the documentary) since it is one of our favorites from Hammer.
The retail price on this will be $29.95.

ZOMBIE NIGHT AT THE DRIVE-IN
Honestly, I didn't even know this drive-in theater was still running, but apparently it is! So what better way to show this theater isn't dead, than to show a couple of zombie movie classics! On Thursday May 17th, the Cascade Drive-In in West Chicago will be screening Edgar Wright's SHAUN OF THE DEAD and George Romero's original DAWN OF THE DEAD. Presented by WBEZ 91.5FM, the show starts at 8pm and is only $15 a car. For more information, just click HERE.

NEW REVIEW: UNMASKED BY KANE HODDER
We have posted our review of Kane Hodder's autobiography, UNMASKED. We also have changed our Reference Book Review section around a bit, making all of the reviews on one page. So no need to be jumping between different pages. So to get there, just head to our Reference Book Review section by clicking HERE.

NEW REVIEW: CREATURE
We had hope to have this posted last week, but just didn't get it finished in time. But now you can read our thoughts on this movie that undeservedly set a record for the worst box office opening. Just head over to our Review Section to read our thoughts on this swampy monster movie.

KILLER DOUBLE FEATURE COMING TO PORTAGE THEATER
    Chicago filmmaker John Borowski will be screening two of his serial killer documentaries at the Portage Theater on May 31st, starting at 8pm. The first film is HH HOLMES: AMERICAN'S FIRST SERIAL KILLER deals with the man who created his own 'death house' in Chicago, killing numerous people during the World's Fair.
    The second feature, ALBERT FISH, starts at 9:30pm and is about the shocking serial killer that was a sadomasochistic cannibal who did things truly beyond belief. There are parts of this film that disturbed me more than anything I'd ever seen or heard before.
    Borowski is currently finishing up his latest film on "historical horror", with his latest subject being Carl Panzram, which will be screening at the Portage on August 12th. Borowski will be there for a Q&A and autographing DVDs after the shows. Tickets for both features is only $10. For more information, head over to Borowski's own home page HERE or the Portage Theater's page HERE.

ROSEMARY'S BABY SOUNDTRACK COMING
In honor of the upcoming Mother's Day holiday, La-La Land Records has announced that they will be releasing this Tuesday a limited edition CD of one of the classics in the horror film genre, ROSEMARY'S BABY. Scored by Polish jazz musician Christopher Komeda, including the main theme which features Farrow singing, this is one memorable score. This release from La-La Land, with only 3000 made, will feature the complete score that was originally released on LP, but will also have the complete score tracks, source music and bonus tracks. The liner notes were written by John Takis who discusses the score. There is also an essay by Scott Bettencourt on the film's production and a small history of the composer Komeda, who passed away back in 1969. The limited edition CD will be $19.98. For some reason, there is no information about this release on their website, but it is listed on their Facebook page.

HORROR HISTORY
This week we take a look at one of Italian's masters of cheesy exploitation films. From horror to action to nunsploitation, he did them all, with little or no money. So head over to the classroom to learn a little more.

MYSTERY PHOTO
It seems our last photo was a lot tougher than I thought it would be. The man standing with his back to us is none other than Captain James T. Kirk himself, William Shatner. And the film is the 1975 movie THE DEVIL'S RAIN. Making his return to the Mystery Photo challenge after a couple of weeks was Hoby Abernathy, as well as Christopher Huziak for sending in the correct answer. Welcome back, Hoby.
Our newest photo might be a little cheesy, but it is definitely fun. Take a peek at it and see what you come up with. Keep in mind, there are a few of these types of movies out there lurking in the depths. So good luck. Just click HERE to send in your answer.

4-29-12 THEY GO IN 3's
    A few of week's ago, we lost director Robert Fuest, and now we have lost two more, both with last names starting with F. How strange is that? Actor William Finley passed away on Saturday the 14th, at the age of 69. Fans of the horror films of Tobe Hooper and Brian DePalma are going to know this strange and bizarre actor for the performances he gave in their movies. Most notably is his role as the title character in THE PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE, in DePalma's strange musical take on THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. He also appeared in DePalma's SISTERS (1973) where he was extremely creeping in, and THE FURY (1980) and Tobe Hooper's EATEN ALIVE (1977) and THE FUNHOUSE (1981). In EATEN ALIVE, his performance will make you scratch your head more than once. But always entertaining.
    On Friday the 13th, we lost one of the most iconic vampires of our time, Jonathan Frid, who gave life to Barnabas Collins in the TV soap opera (and later movie) DARK SHADOWS. Frid joined the soap opera after it had already been on the air, breaking new life into the series, making it a huge hit after that. The series ran from 1966 to 1971, bringing gothic horror to the TV for a ton of young fans. Frid appeared in the movie version of the series, HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS, which was just a retelling of the series, as well as appearing in the TV movie THE DEVIL'S DAUGHTER and Oliver Stone's directorial debut, SEIZURE (1974). With Tim Burton's version of DARK SHADOWS about to hit the screens, the original series will get the much needed exposure to the newer fans today that missed out on it when it was original on. That is the one good thing about remakes...at least it brings attention to the original.
    So our thoughts go out to the friends and family of both William Finley and Jonathan Frid. Like we always say, because of their performances, they will never be forgotten.

NEW REVIEWS: DEAD WEIGHT & TERROR OF DRACULA
    Since we missed our update last week, not only are we back, but we have 2 new movie reviews, and 2 soundtrack reviews! Can't say we haven't been busy!
    First up, I know we've been going on and on about DEAD WEIGHT, mainly since it was made by some good friends of mine. But we have posted our official review of the film so you can read a little more in depth look at this great little movie.
    We also have a review for an old new movie. Make sense? Well, it is for a new movie that is made to look like it was made in the early '80s, like something you'd see on the BBC. We first came across this film in a recent Fangoria and the incredible poster art (feature to the right) immediately grabbed my attention. And now, a short time later, we have our review of the film posted. So please just head over to our Reviews section to read our reviews of these two films.

SOUNDTRACK REVIEWS: DARK SHADOWS...BOTH OLD AND NEW
We also have two new Soundtrack Reviews, both dealing with the same film. Sort of. First, we have a review of Danny Elfman's score for Tim Burton's latest remake, DARK SHADOWS. Granted, not sure if there was anything out there that would get me to want to see that movie after seeing the trailer, but Elfman's score certainly didn't change that. But to cleanse our pallet with something more like it, we have also posted our review of the score from the previous DARK SHADOWS movies, HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS and NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS by Robert Cobert, both released on a single disc by Rhino Records back in the '90s.
Head over to our Soundtrack Review section to hear more of our thoughts on these releases.

C2E2 REVIEW
We have our little report of our recent trip to the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo. Granted, it is not as expansive as our normal show reports, but there's a couple of good photos at least...and some bitching. But then again, what do you expect?

HORROR HISTORY
Welcome back class...after our little break. This week's lesson is about someone that you've probably heard their work instead of seeing. Especially if you grew up in the late '60s / early'70s and watched a lot of TV. So head over to the classroom and lets get started, shall we?

MYSTERY PHOTO
Since we didn't have an update last week, you had an extra week to figure out our last Mystery Photo. I will say that was surprised to see as many people get this as they did. I was thinking it was a little more obscure for most fans. So good job! The ones that sent in the correct answers were: Aaron Christensen, Ken Johnson, Ryan Lieske, Mike Shields, Steve Sapsford, Wayne Teeter, and Joe Wawrzyniak. Well done, folks! The film in question was DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS, from 1971.
Now our latest photos might be an easy one, but we grabbed a shot that might make it a little tougher. We'll see. Just click HERE to send in your answer. As always...Good Luck!

4-15-12 DEAD WEIGHT
    "I hate low budget films." That is the response that I was told I gave John Pata years ago when he was telling me about his short zombie film BETTER OFF UNDEAD. Which really is a true statement, only because a majority of the ones that I had seen were just terrible. But John wanted me to take a look at his film and give him some feedback, both good or bad...even after my warning. Turns out, I actually liked the film and thought for what it was, it was a pretty fun short film, even if it is a zombie story filled with dick jokes. But none the less, it showed that this guy was a lot more talented than one would think.
    Years later, we learned that John was going to be making a feature film, but something totally different than BOU. Needless to say, since getting to John even more, we were curious to see what he was going to come up with. Over the next year or so, we would hear more and more about DEAD WEIGHT. A bunch of our friends had worked on the film in some capacity, so it was really becoming this big project that we were really looking forward to seeing. After missing out on the advance screenings (which we are still bummed about), it finally came out on DVD and we got a copy in the mail.
    So after hearing about this film for well over a year, was it really worth it? Damn straight! Pata and co-writer/co-director Adam Bartlett has created an incredible moving and realistic tale of what people go through when a catastrophe happens. As the saying goes that humans "are at their best when things are at their worst", that isn't the case for everyone. And as sad as that is in reality, DEAD WEIGHT shows a powerful example of that. Is it a horror movie? Well, going by my standard question "what is the filmmaker trying to make you feel?", then yes...it is a horror movie. Because when you take a look inside the human mind and the demons that may lay within, it can be very frightening.
    This movie is now available on DVD, which can be ordered at their official website HERE.

TRIPLE FEATURE HORROR SCREENINGS AT MIDWAY DRIVE-IN
    Next weekend, at the Midway Drive-in in Dixon, Illinois, they will be having a horror triple feature. We've been out to the Midway a few times and it really is a great place. Great movies, with a killer concession counter, you will have your eye full of horror and your stomach full of great drive-in food.
    And just what are they showing? How about starting with the Hitchcock classic PSYCHO, followed by Kevin Tenney's NIGHT OF THE DEMONS, and then Stuart Gordon's RE-ANIMATOR to end the night. And just when you think it couldn't get any better, it is only $10 per person (children are only $4). $10 for 3 classic movies on a huge 90 foot screen...how could you go wrong? We are planning on packing up the Kryptic van and bringing the family out for a night of great movies & great food. Hope to see you there.
    For all the information, just click HERE.

HORRORHOUND CONVENTION REPORT
We've got our report posted from our first convention of the year, the HorrorHound Weekend in Columbus that happened at the end of March. Pretty impressed with how quickly we got this done, since our reports from last year's shows seemed to take forever! But this one is a pretty good size report, with plenty of photos. Head over to our Convention Reports section and look for the latest HorrorHound one. Or...you could just click HERE.

CORALINA AT NEW YORK ARGENTO FILM FEST
For New York residents, this is just a reminder about a Dario Argento film festival taking place in New York. We've mentioned it before, but here's a little more news about one of the screenings. On Friday, April 27th, actress Coralina Cataldi Tassoni will be doing a Q&A at the screening of OPERA. Not sure if the Q&A is first or the movie, but it all starts at 7pm and is at the Museum of Arts & Design. They are also showing MOTHER OF TEARS (another film that Coralina appeared in) on Saturday, April 21st at 3pm. If we were anywhere close to NY, we would be all over this. If anybody is able to make it out for, if you get a chance to see Coralina, tell her we said HI and that Chicago misses her!
For more information about the event, just click HERE.

HORROR HISTORY
Hello Class. Hopefullly everyone rested up since last week? Good. Let us get to the classroom so we can learn about a man whose hard work can be seen in the movies, if only for a second, but gave a huge impact on the look of them. Just click HERE to find out who we are talking about.

MYSTERY PHOTO
Our last photo seemed to stump a lot of our regulars this time out. The shot was from David Schmoeller's CRAWLSPACE. If you haven't seen this movie, then I suggest you seek it out. It stars Klaus Kinksi and is worth watching even just for him. Not to say the movie isn't good, because it is. Kinski just puts it into another level. Well done to Steve Sapsford and William Wilson for sending in the correct answer.
But unfortunately, I think this week's photo just might be even tougher! So you are really going to need to pay attention to the photo and see if you can recognize where this shot is from. Just click HERE to send in your guess. And as always, Good Luck!

4-8-12 CONVENTION SURVIVOR
Yes folks, we are still alive. Though, with the lack of sleep we got at the shows, it is amazing that we did make it. Needless to say, we had an unbelievable time at both HorrorHound Weekend and the Cinema Wasteland shows for many different reasons. We will have detailed reports on both shows, with plenty of photos. We came back with some great memories, plenty of photos, a new interview, and a few little items for our collection. So stay tuned for those in the near future.

ROBERT FUEST - REST IN PEACE
Fuest is one of those directors that didn't turn out that many films, but the ones that he did were quality work. Starting out working as a production designer and working on several episodes of the British TV series The Avengers, he eventually made way behind the camera directing several episodes of the famous show. He then moved into movies, where his first film was AND SOON THE DARKNESS (1970), a horror/thriller staring Pamela Franklin. While he didn't direct too many movies, the other three horror films that he did are the ones that he is most famous for: THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES (1971) and DR. PHIBES RISES AGAIN (1972), both starring Vincent Price, and THE DEVIL'S RAIN (1975), starring Ernest Borgnine and William Shatner. All three of those films deserve their 'classic' status.
Fuest passed away on March 21st, but his films will still be watched by older and newer fans each and every year.

KRYPTIC ARMY UPDATES
I believe we've picked up a few more recruits over the last two weeks from our convention tour, so hopefully we'll see some more names popping up. We're already a little more than a week into this month's mission, so hopefully everyone is having a good time.
We have added another photo of one of last year's Army Winners in our Army page. So if you are new to the Army, you can see what kind of prizes that you have the chance to win by joining in each month. Of course, we are STILL waiting for the photos for the rest of last year's winners. That means you, Anna, Damien, Erik, Scott, Patrick and whoever else I might have missed. All we're asking for is a photo. Step up, soldiers!

CHICAGO FILM FESTIVALS
    We have a couple of film festivals coming up soon here in the Chicago area that hopefully everyone knows about. The first one is the Chicago Fear Fest, which is taking place next weekend at the Muvico Theaters in Rosemont, Illinois. They are showing films all weekend long, starting on Friday the 13th. Some of the titles they are screening are REC 3, JUAN OF THE DEAD, Wisconsin's own DEAD WEIGHT, and plenty more titles.
    Then on April 28th at the Portage Theater in Chicago, there is the Sci-Fi Spectacular 6. Not only are there great films playing there, but it is also the chance for you to come out and show support of the Portage Theater. Now is the time to do that since the fight to keep the doors open is not over yet. So come out, find out what you can do and let's keep it running so more shows like this can keep happening.
    The doors open at 11am and the fun starts at 11:30 with trailers and such. Then below is the list of films playing:

Noon - Little Shop of Horrors (Original Corman Classic!)
1:30 - The Last Starfighter (80's Awesomeness!)
3:15pm - Brazil (The Ultimate Dystopian Future!)
6pm - Night of the Comet (star Kelli Maroney in Person!)
8:15pm - 12 Monkeys (Gilliam's Modern Masterpiece!)
10:30pm - Attack the Block (Monster Mayhem!)
Midnight - The Theatre Bizarre (Midwest Premiere!)

THE COST OF LEARNING
    Being a collector of horror reference books, and one that is always perusing places like eBay for some titles to add to our collection, it just amazes me sometimes at the prices that are being asked for some of the books out there. I completely understand that there are some books that are rare and finding a copy is pretty tough, so therefore the prices are going to be a little higher. Try finding a copy of Paul R. GagneI's The Zombies That Ate Pittsburgh. Usually those go for way over $100. But it all comes down what it is worth the buyer, and why. If you are a collector that just has to have that in your collection, then more power to you. But what amazes me are some of the prices that people are listing the books for. Recently on eBay, I seen a listing for Barry Keith Grant's The Dread of Difference: Gender and the Horror Film that was listed at $473.73!!! Granted, it was for a hardcover edition, but seriously? Almost $500? Sorry folks, no matter how much of a die-hard collector I am, there is no way I'm putting that much money into a single book.
    For those out there that are looking for another horror reference book for their collection, follow three simple rules: Research, Search, and Wait. Research the title you're looking at. What are the prices normally going for. This gives you an idea of what you might be paying. Then search the web. Look on ebay, on Amazon, discount book sellers, where ever you can find. And then save those places so you can always check back with them. You'd be amazed at some of the low prices you can find on books that are going for high prices else where. And lastly, you wait. If you can't find a certain title without paying an arm and a leg, simply wait. With all of your searching, you never know when you might stumble on that title at a very low or at least reasonable price. Can't tell you many times I've paid under $10 for a book that normally goes for 3 to 5 times that amount. For the Grant book we mentioned earlier, by doing a quick search on Amazon, we found another listing for hardcover edition for only $100. Granted, that is still way too high for us, but we just wanted to show that by doing a little research, you can save a lot of money. Also, you can get a paperback version of that same book for around $10 too.
    So take this little bit of advice, whatever it is worth, from someone who has been collecting horror reference books for over 20 years. Our goal is the same as it always has been: to help other horror fans learn more about the history of this great film genre. And reading horror reference books is a great way to do that.

NEW REVIEW: HOSTEL 3 SOUNDTRACK
We've posted our review of Frederik Wiedmann's score for HOSTEL 3. Even though we're not a big fan of the movies doesn't mean we can't enjoy the soundtrack. Head over to our Soundtrack Reviews for more details.

HORROR HISTORY
Welcome back to class after a two week break. Hopefully everyone has come back to class prepared for this week's lesson? So let us start by traveling to Spain, back in the '70s, to a man responsible for cranking out several great Spanish horrors.

MYSTERY PHOTO
Our last photo was from the classic sci-fi horror film FIEND WITHOUT A FACE, that had one of the most original monster in film history. Just a damn shame that we don't see them until the very end of the movie. But none the less, one that is well worth watching. Kudos out to the following scholars who sent in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Aaron Christensen, Dan Brenneis, Craig J. Clark,Don Crabtree, Dave Friedman, Chris Kinniery, and Mike Shields. Well done, people.
So let us get to this week's photo. Might be easy to spot right away...or maybe not. Take a peek and see what you think. Just click HERE to send in your guess. And as always, Good Luck!

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