Tag Archives: Frankenstein

Fessenden Creates Frankenstein

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DEPRAVEDLarry Fessenden is one of my favorite filmmakers, because not only does he create entertaining films, but they are smart, well made, and highly effective. Ever since my first experience with his early film Habit, it still remains what I would consider one of the best of modern day vampire films. So when I read the news that he was set to direct his version of Shelley’s Frankenstein, a personal favorite classic monster of mine, I was more than excited.

The will be called Depraved and should start filming this month. It will be a modern day re-imagining of Shelley’s tale. Now, I know we all hate the phrase “re-imagining”, but in the hands of Fessenden, I am more than hopeful that it will be something highly effective and memorable. Fessenden says “I’ve been moved by the iconic character since childhood and it is a great thrill to try and put my version on screen.”

It deals with a combat field surgeon that is dealing with his PTSD once he comes back from the Middle East. While back home in Brooklyn, he creates a man out of body parts in his homemade lab. The film will star David Call, Joshua Leonard, and Alex Breaux as the monster.

I try not to get too excited or look forward to films before they are even close to coming out, but I have to say, this one is one that I’ll be counting the days until its release.

Frankenstein: The First Two Hundred Years

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Frankenstein First Two Hundred YearsWith year being the 200 year anniversary of the publication of Mary Shelley’s immortal tale, Frankenstein, I was hoping that there would be some sort of celebrating going on during the year. And it didn’t take long for author Christopher Fraying to appease that desire.

Published at the end of last year, this book “traces the journey of Shelley’s Frankenstein from limited-edition literature into the bloodstream of contemporary culture.” Since I’m not only a sucker for reference books, when they are one of my favorite subjects of the genre, then you got me right away. This volume is just over 200 pages, and a nice 9.5″ x 11″ sixe, so it will make a nice coffee table book. Plus, it looks to be filled with a wonderful array of images, photos, artwork, from the beginning to modern day adaptations. According to the description on the publisher’s website, the book also features “new research on the novel’s origins, and a facsimile reprint of the earliest-known manuscript version of the creation scene; visual material on adaptations for the stage, in magazines, on playbills, in prints and in book publications of the nineteenth century; series of visual essays on many of the film versions – and their inspirations in the history of art; and Frankenstein in popular culture – on posters, advertisements, packaging, in comics and graphic novels.”

How could any Frankenstein fan not want to immediately order their copy of this book? The retail price is $39.95, but you can get it on Amazon right now for considerably lower. In fact, the book has 4 reviews on Amazon already, and all of them give the book 5 stars. I know once we receive our copy, we’ll get our review posted as well.

Flea Market & Toy Show Finds

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Usually in October, a free weekend is non-existent for my wife and I. But somehow this year, we had one. So we took advantage of it, doing something we’ve been wanting to do for a while, but just never had the time. Which was heading out to the Haunted Halloween Flea Market in Wheaton, IL. We have several friends of ours that go to this every year, and even had some friends setting up there too. So the wife and I headed out early on Saturday afternoon, with a beautiful day for it too! No rain in the forecast and a nice cool evening.

Haunted Halloween Flea Market 1

The thing about flea markets, or really any kind of show that has vendors, you really need to know your market to know if the prices you’re seeing are fair or way over priced. I’m sure there are plenty of fair vendors out there, but there are also that are there trying to make a living, so their prices might be on the high “collector” side. You can find some great deals there, don’t get me wrong. You just need to know your stuff before hand, otherwise you can end up spending more than you should.

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Hammer Frankenstein Book

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Hammer Frankenstein ScrapbookI must have missed when they mentioned this on their Facebook page, but Peveril Publishing is putting the finishing touches on their latest book, The Hammer Frankenstein Scrapbook. Just like their previous Dracula edition, it will cover all of the Frankenstein pictures that Hammer did from The Curse of Frankenstein in 1957 to Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell in 1974 and all the gooey bits in between!

Like all of the titles coming from Peveril, this book with be filled with wonderful images, both in color and black and white, and a ton of information about the films and the people behind him. These titles are a bit pricy, especially getting them shipped to here in the states, but they are more than worth every single penny. They are just beautiful editions and are a sound investment as well. They are hoping to have the book out by October or November of this year.

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Book Review: Monster Movies of Universal Studios

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Monster Movies of Universal StudiosThe Monster Movies of Universal Studios
By James L. Neibaur
Published by Rowman & Littlefield, 2017. 213 pages.

Anytime there is a book about the Universal monster movies, then count me in, since I’m always up for revisiting these classic films. Of course, the only problem is that since this subject has been written about just a few times before, it might be tough to come up with something new and different for readers to get information that have haven’t several times before. But overall, I think that Neibaur does a good job discussing these films.

After a very brief history of Universal Studios (which could be a book on it’s own), the it follows all the movies from there that feature their main set of monsters: Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy, the Wolf Man, the Invisible Man, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. So any film that featured one of these monsters, or possibly their descendent, the title is covered. There is a total of 29 features covered here, starting with 1931’s Dracula and ending with The Creature Walks Among Us (1956), with each chapter covering each of the titles. The credits and cast are listed, before Neibaur gets into details of each film, such as the plot, information about the people involved, and some other trivia as well.

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Monster Bash’s Frankenstein Fest

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PalaceOctoberFest

There is something to be said about seeing the old Universal classic monster films on the big screen. As many times as we’ve seen them on our TVs, it still doesn’t have the same impact of seeing them projected on a huge screen, inside a theater with a  bunch of like minded film fans. There really is something magical about it and is something that every fan of these wonderful films should have the chance to experience that way. Well, if you’re anywhere near Canton, Ohio in October, then you will have the chance to do just that.

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Cinevent: Part 2 – The Dealer’s Room & Fantastic Finds

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Now, before you get all excited and run out to this show, let’s cover a few things first. The prices on some of the items you’ll find run the spectrum. Some dealers will have a table full of one-sheets or stills with a big sign stating “$1 EACH”. Of course, you have to go through each and every stack because you never know if you’re going to come across a real gem in there! You just never know. I have to say from experience, after that first stack, your back is killing you and you start to wonder if it is even worth it! But $1 posters is hard to pass up.

stills

On the other end of that, you have some dealers with items on the slightly high side. You have to remember that these are original pieces of film memorabilia, which can go for big bucks. Such as an insert for the 1951 film Them!, which had a price tag of $1000. Or even a lobby card for the 1957 film Curse of the Demon that was going for $650…just for the single card! There are posters and even the bigger 3-sheet kind of stuff, but those are so high that I don’t even ask. I’m not saying that these are overpriced, but those are the going rates. You need to be a dealer/collector with some serious cash to be playing in that field, one that I know I never will.

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Bernie Wrightson – Rest in Peace

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Wrightson - RIPI know it’s been a few weeks since this happened and had planned to get something written up, but just never got to it. Then yesterday, I was watching Michael Felsher’s making of Creepshow documentary, Just Desserts, which features some interviews with Wrightson. I knew then that I needed to get this done and posted about this incredible talent that the world of horror and comic books has lost.

Now, I’m not an artist so I couldn’t even attempt to explain just how talented Wrightson was, or the impact that he had on generations of artists. I just know that looking at the below piece he did for the illustrated Frankenstein that was released in 1983 (after spending seven years working on it) just blows my mind at how this is even possible. The detail and layout is just astounding and I couldn’t even begin to understand how a talent like this could even exist.

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Book Review: Turn to Gruesomeness in American Horror Films

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turn-to-gruesomeness-in-american-horror-films

The Turn to Gruesomeness in American Horror Films, 1931 to 1936
By Jon Towlson
Published by McFarland, 2015. 240 pages

One of the wonderful things about reading up on the history of horror films is that there is always something new and interesting that can be learned once a subject is really put under the magnifying glass. Now this isn’t to say that if you look for something you’ll find it, even if it isn’t there, but Towlson has done a great deal of research to back up his thoughts and ideas in this recent book. It also shows that no matter how long you’ve been a fan, there is always more to learn.

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2016 Year in Review – Part 3: Worst Viewings

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Now for the other side. I usually try to stay away from negative reviews because I would like to stay positive and push that element of the genre. There is already enough negativity on the internet. But…there are those films that I think are simply an embarrassment to the genre, and more importantly, to the fans themselves. Because these producers think they can churn out such low quality drivel and that the fans will just eat it up. Or that they themselves think this is a well made product that hasn’t already been done to death. I do think that constructive criticism is good for the filmmakers to hear. Hearing negative things about a movie could just help someone see a different angle to it. Same goes with a positive review. Yes, these are just my opinions and there might be fans out there that really enjoyed some of the below movies. Great. I’m thrilled that they were able to speak to you. Unfortunately for me, they did not. And here is why.

forest

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