Every year, people are usually asked, or post something about what we’re thankful for. It usually ranges in being thankful for their family, a good job, being healthy, or a variety of subjects of that nature. A lot of those things are stuff we tend to take for granted every other day of the year. But when you really look, I’m sure you’ll find a little more light than dark in one’s life. Even for us evil horror fanatics!
Continue readingNormally I don’t announce too many Blu-ray releases, namely because there are so many, but these two that Criterion just announced really are must buys for fans, especially for those that have never seen before.
Jack Arnold’s The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), based on the book by Richard Matheson, is usually mentioned in the sci-fi genre, but is one that I will definitely argue that is really a horror film, but is really much more than that. As our hero Scott Carey slowly starts to shrink in size, he battles all sorts of obstacles, from real terrors like a cat or a spider that has now become huge to him, or the psychological impact as he tries to realize exactly what is happening to him.
Kaneto Shino’s 1964 film Onibaba is such an underrated classic that I couldn’t recommend it enough. It is a simple tale of two women struggling to survive in war-torn medieval Japan, having to kill wandering samurai and sell their belongings just to stay alive. An older woman awaits with her daughter-in-law for her son to return from the war, but really starts having doubts when his friend returns alone. Trying to keep her one companion from running off, she puts on a demonic looking mask to scare her and seals her fate.
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Bryant Haliday
Born April 7th, 1928 – Died July 28th, 1996
If you’re a fan of obscure British horror films, then you might know the name of Bryan Haliday. He appeared in films like Devil Doll (1964), Curse of the Voodoo (1965), The Projected Man (1966), or my personal favorite, Tower of Evil (1972). But if you’re a serious cinephile, then you definitely know something else he was involved in.
Haliday started Harvard with the plan of studying international law, but instead fell in love with acting. In the late ’40s, he was one of the founding members of the Brattle Theatre Company which took residence in an old church, turning it into an actual theater, producing numerous plays there. Later, it was turned into a movie house.
In 1956, along with his partner Cyrus Harvey, they founded Janus Films, which specialized in foreign film distribution, which was later acquired by The Criterion Collection. So if you have a number of Criterion’s DVDs and Blu-rays, I’m sure you’re familiar with Janus Films emblem. Haliday was a huge fan of cinema and really got into film acting just because he enjoyed it so much. The titles he appeared in weren’t going to win any Academy accolades, but he enjoyed them. And so did we!
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