Tag Archives: Troy Howarth

Movie Review: The House with Laughing Windows

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(1976)
Directed by Pupi Avati
Starring Lino Capolicchio, Francesca Marciano, Gianni Cavina, Guilio Pizzirani, Bob Tonelli, Vanna Busoni, Pietro Brambilla, Andrea Matteuzzi, Pina Borione, Eugene Walter

You’ll often read that this film is considered a giallo, the same genre that would include Mario Bava’s Blood and Black Lace and Dario Argento’s Deep Red. And if you try and compare House to those two, you might have trouble seeing many similarities. Upon my first viewing, I agreed completely with that statement, even while discussing it on a podcast I was on a few years ago. But that shows a few things. First of all, it shows how open the parameters of the giallo sub-genre really are, and secondly, and more importantly, how one’s thoughts and opinions of a picture can evolve. When you compare House with something like Lucio Fulci’s Don’t Torture a Duckling (1972), which is also a giallo, then you can see it having more of a connection. That’s the beauty of different sub-genres, and film in general, isn’t it? They are so subjective and always open for different or possible interpretation. And for this one, it’s definitely one of those.

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Movie Review: Death Line

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(1972)
Directed by Gary Sherman
Starring Donald Pleasence, David Ladd, Sharon Gurney, Clive Swift, Norman Rossington, Hugh Armstrong, June Turner, James Cossins, Christopher Lee

For the longest time, I always knew this film as Raw Meat, mainly due to the poster art that AIP used for it, which admittedly, was pretty cool looking. They knew a title like that would be much easier to sell than Death Line, which I have to I agree with. But for the film itself, Death Line fits a lot better, not to mention not misleading the audience as to what kind of film this is.

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New Jack Hill Book

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Fans of exploitation films, especially in blacksploitation sub-genre definitely know the work of Jack Hill. The man has worked in many sub-genres, from the above mentioned, to horror, gothic, racing, sexploitation, and so many more. In the early days of his career, he was often called in to “fix” or “finish” a film that had issues, such as The Terror (1963) or Blood Bath (1966). He also worked with Karloff on his last four films, or at least the parts with aged actor that were filmed in the states. Afterwards, the rest of the film was finished in Mexico.

The shame is that unless you’re a real fan of the genre, most people don’t realize the impact Hill had on the films we love. Thanks to editor Anthony Taylor, Headpress Books, and a great selection of authors, they are putting together a collection of essays on the works of this unheralded master of cinema.

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Last Shark Surfaces on Blu-Ray

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One of the greatest shark movies to ever completely rip-off Steven Spielberg’s 1977 film Jaws, and still be one of the most entertaining ones, is finally coming to Blu-ray. Granted not here in the states, but if you have a region-free player (which you should), Treasured Films is putting out a nice new special edition with plenty of extras.

This film did get released here in the states but only for a short time before it was pulled because Universal Pictures sued the producers of The Last Shark stating that it had plagiarized their film, Jaws. If you’ve seen the movie, it’s obvious that a few things might have been “inspired” by the Spielberg film, especially with Vic Morrow’s character and his “floating chainsaw” comment, but it is crazy enough on its own, that I don’t think it would have hurt much of Universal’s business. When I worked at a theater back in the early ’80s, I remember putting up the poster for Great White (what it was going to be called here in the US) in the “Coming Soon” spot, but we never got it.

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Naschy’s Night of the Executioner

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While this isn’t technically a horror film, it is Paul Naschy so of course I have to mention this. Any time one of his movies that had never been released here in the states (aside from a Spanish language version that was released) gets a release, it is something to be celebrated! And Mondo Macabro have continued to wave the Naschy flag in releasing a lot of his titles, that now American audiences are going to see Night of the Executioner (1992) for the first time.

Naschy plays a family man whose life is forever changed after his wife and daughter are both raped and murdered, and he has his tongue cut out. He then goes out on a killing spree avenging his family. This is a brand new 4K restoration from the original negative, in Spanish language track with optional English subtitles. It also has an audio commentary by Rod Barnett and Troy Guinn from the Naschycast podcast. Plus, there are interviews with Naschy son, Sergio Molina, and with actors Pepe Ruiz, Manuel Zarzo.

Right now, you can order the special “Red Case” edition, which comes with a full color booklet with a brand new essay by Troy Howarth, author of Human Beasts: The Films of Paul Naschy. This edition is limited to 1500 copies and can be ordered by clicking HERE.

Discover the Horror Episode 38: Italian Horror with Troy Howarth

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There are plenty of ways to help you on your way to discovering more about the films you love, as well as ones you might not know too much about. There’s always books on different filmmakers, or sort of the audio form of that, the audio commentaries that are usually found on most of our favorite films. The more insight you have, the more you will know, and maybe even enjoy it more. One of those that is helping fans learn just that is Troy Howarth. He’s written over a dozen books on a variety of subjects, usually in the Italian film genre, covering directors like Argento, Bava, Fulci, and more recently, Umberto Lenzi. He’s also published a 3-volume set on the giallo film. Plus, he has done a ton of different commentaries, giving fans even more info!

Films mentioned in this episode:

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Howarth’s New Book Makes Them Die Slowly!

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Author Troy Howarth has a new book out, this time examining the films of a filmmaker that probably doesn’t get the attention that he should, Umberto Lenzi. While most fans might know him because of his notorious entries in the cannibal sub-genre, like Eaten Alive! (1980) and Cannibal Ferox (1981), Lenzi worked in every film genre there was, from westerns, to comedies, to gialli, to the horror genre. Now Howarth gives readers a chance to learn more about not only about his films, but about the man himself.

Running close to 500 pages, this volume goes through his films, giving us more information about the making of them, as well as biography of the man himself, but also hearing from those that worked with him. There are also some rare behind-the-scenes photos, as well as promotional artwork, posters, and stills from the films.

While Lenzi might not be on the same page as names like Argento or even Bava, he still is an important figure in Italian cinema, and this book sounds like perfect way to dig deep into his films and his history. I know we’ll be adding this to our library!

This book is available in both hardcover and softcover formats, priced accordingly. You can find it on Amazon HERE, or have one of your local bookstores order it for you!

Naschy Blu-Ray Sets On-Sale!

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For those out there that either haven’t delved into the world of Paul Naschy, or even those that might have dipped their toes into the water but still haven’t dived in, now is your chance. Shout Factory is having a sale on their Box Sets, at 40% off retail price until this Tuesday the 19th, and both the Naschy Collections are included in there. Both are priced at $35.99, which includes 5 movies in each set. That’s like $7 a title!!!

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New Howarth Book!!!

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Our good friend Troy Howarth has officially announced his latest book, which doesn’t have a release date yet, but I know I’ll be adding it to my library! The title is Make Them Die Slowly: The Kinetic Cinema of Umberto Lenzi, which will be published by WK Books. This will be the first ever book covering Lenzi’s work in English, which will cover all of his films in depth, with plenty of interviews with people that worked with Lenzi and his films. While some might only know Lenzi’s name from the cannibal films that gave him a lot of notoriety, his work and impact in the Italian film industry was huge.

With a forward by Eugenio Ercolani and cover art by Jolyon Yates, the page count should be around 400 and most likely will be offered in both a full color version as well as a black & white version, priced accordingly.

When we have more details, we’ll post them here. I’m not only a friend of Troy’s but have devoured more than a few of his books and have never been disappointed by the coverage he gives to each of his subjects. I expect no less with this one.

Need More Books?

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Of course you do! And these are ones to definitely add to your library.

The first one is from our good friend Troy Howarth, published by BearManor Media, this time covering a movie that not only is one that doesn’t get much attention, it is one well worth your attention. The film is Alfred Sole’s 1976 film Alice, Sweet Alice, and the book is entitled Unholy Communion: Alice, Sweet Alice from Script to Screen.

Within the 300+ pages, Howarth goes through the history of this little film that was made outside of the Hollywood system, as well as background information on Sole. It “explores the genesis, production, and reception of one of the key horror films of the 1970s.” We get a brand new in-depth interview with Sole, going through his entire career, as well as reproducing the original shooting script, and plenty of analysis of not only the film, but the genre at the time as well.

Howarth has written several books, such as a 3-book series on giallo films, as well as one on Dario Argento, John Carpenter, Mario Bava, Paul Naschy, and more. Like all of his titles, I can only assume it will be a must read. You can order this directly from BearManor Media or through Amazon. It is available in both hardcover ($39.95) and softcover ($29.95).

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