Richard Jaeckel
Born Oct. 10th, 1926 – Died June 14th, 1997
Jaeckel is one of those actors that you’ve seem to have seen in tons of stuff. Mainly because he has appeared in a lot of both movies and television. And he has “one of those faces” as they say, that seems very familiar. He played in a lot of westerns and military movies, such as The Dirty Dozen. So when you do see him on the screen, it is usually followed by “Hey…it’s THAT guy!”
For us horror fans, Jaeckel has appeared in more than a few classics, such as in William Grefe’s Mako: The Jaws of Death (1976), where he using a shark to kill his enemies. He also appeared in two different William Girdler films, the bad smelling character in Grizzly (1976) that is trying to convince people just what they are up against, as well as in The Day of the Animals (1977). No matter what role he appeared in, Jaeckel always turned in a great performance and always kept your attention.
But for me, the best film he appeared in…or my favorite film of is, was actually his first real foray in to the horror genre. And that was with the 1968 Japanese film The Green Slime. Sure, it’s cheesy. But damn is it entertaining.
When the news broke today of the Paul Naschy Collection coming from Shout Factory, I was notified by more than a few friends on social media about it. I’m guessing my fondness of Senor Naschy and his work has gotten around! With all the titles that have been released, or have been announced, or ones that I’ve heard rumors are still coming, I am just in awe that this man’s work is finally getting the treatment and recognition he’s been deserving for way too long. It’s one thing for a company like Shout Factory to release a Vincent Price collection, since we all know that Price is a horror icon (and rightly so). So to see them give the same kind of treatment and spotlight on Paul Naschy…well, it is just an amazing thing. Even after his death, I know there are plenty of us out there still waving the flag to bring attention to him and his work, and with all these Blu-ray releases does nothing but help that cause. 2017 really will be the Year of Naschy!
The beauty of the horror genre is that it is a never-ending sea of titles that come in and out with the tide, that there are often movies that get swept away so quickly that fans either forget about them, or never hear about them to begin with. Mariano Baino’s 1993 film Dark Waters is one of those films. Not to be confused with the Japanese one from 2002 that was later remade here in the states, but Baino’s film is a highly original tale about dark things going on in a strange convent on a remote island in Europe. It was released in an amazing DVD box set by No Shame back in 2006, but hadn’t hit Blu-ray until now, thanks to Severin Films, which has been given a HD transfer from the original 35mm negative and features over 4 hours of special features.
The Mammoth Book of Slasher Movies: An A-Z Guide to More Than 60 Years of Blood and Guts
A Vault of Horror: A Book of Great (and Not So Great) British Horror Movies from 1956-1974
