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Post by David A. Riley on Jun 19, 2013 8:21:19 GMT
A second season of In The Flesh is being filmed . KC Awesome Great news. I really enjoyed the first series.
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Post by dem bones on Jun 25, 2013 16:05:47 GMT
add these while they're fresh in the memory. Anthologies: revisitedRichard Dalby - Virago Book Of Victorian Ghost StoriesCox & Gilbert - Victorian Ghost Stories: An Oxford AnthologyAnthology: new. Paul Finch - Terror tales Of London. Includes: Anna Taborska - The Bloody Tower: The ghosts of Lady Jane Grey, the murdered princes, and the king's executioner on rampage in "the Prime Minister's personal Guantanamo." Not for softies. Christopher Fowler - Perry In Seraglio: Club-goer falls foul of mind and body altering recreational drug. Gary Fry - Capital Growth: Welcome to London, little country person. Rosalie Parker - The Thames: Unpredictable Indian deity instigates World War for something to do Random super shorts: (1) modern and with it. Ramsey Campbell - The Pattern. Joe Hill - Best New Horror. Christopher Fowler - Arkangel. (2) Victorian/ Edwardian vileness Henry James - The Romance Of Certain Old Clothes: Dead woman gets knickers in twist when nice but fickle husband takes her conniving sister as second wife. Gertrude Atherton - The Striding PlaceRosa Mulholland - Not To Be Taken At BedtimeMargaret Oliphant - The Open DoorAlgeron Blackwood - The Kit-bagNovelsChristopher Fowler - Hell Train. Dr. Terrors House Of Horrors: the early years. Shaun Hutson - The Revenge Of Frankenstein: The Slugs man's love letter to Hammer films. Nick Sharman - The Surrogate. Very dead old-timer has designs on his eight year old grandson. As creepy as it sounds. MagazinePaperback Fanatic 26. FilmOffside! Six teenage Iranian girls, fanatical football fans all, attempt to defy armed security and attend a crucial world cup play-off against Bahrain. Funny, celebratory and very touching. TV The Returned: Three impeccable episodes into this creepy drama of mass resurrection, and no let up in the, mostly underplayed, horror of the thing. As Dr. Strange points out above, Mogwai's sympathetic soundtrack is an additional plus. R. I. P.Richard Matheson
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Post by dem bones on Jul 15, 2013 11:31:40 GMT
NovelJeremy Dyson - The Haunted Book. There are already a number of terrific recent books on this thread, but Mr. Dyson's is prime contender to land dreaded dem best-thing-i-read-in-2013 award. AnthologyRamsey Campbell (ed.) - New Terrors 1Assorted Shorts:Terror Tales Of London's horror on the tube triple-whammy. Mary O'Regan - Someone To Watch Over Me Barbara Roden - Undesirable Residence David J. Howe - The Outcast Dead
Simon Clark - Beside The Seaside, Beside The Sea. Squid girl versus Yorkshire beer monsters. August Derleth & Mark Shorer - The Incredible Dr Markesan. Mad scientist vows revenge on colleagues who mocked his death serum. Who's laughing now, Mr & Mrs living dead? A nosey parker saves the day. MagazineFilthy Creations 7; They all have plenty going for 'em (see index]), but this return from the grave may well be the most consistently rewarding since the debut. SportFIFA Confederations Cup. With more at stake, next year's World Cup unlikely to be as manically attack-minded, but we live in hope. And can you imagine the England squad coming out on the side of anti-Government demonstrators? TV/ FilmBest/ worst. A Field In England: Fuck me, Glastonbury was weird this year. (Would have loved if Ben Wheatley ran the end credits to a soundtrack of Sham 69's Hurry Up Harry as a final chain-yank).
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Post by dem bones on Aug 22, 2013 9:46:09 GMT
NovelsHank Searles - Jaws II: Great White Mk. II ersus the hard-drinking clientele of The Randy Bear and their teenage kids. A surprise package, so much better than the movie of same name., or at least, this reader thought so. Peter Tremayne - Ants: Old school pulp adventure, cliched, hugely derivative, corny, mildly gruesome and very, very entertaining. AnthologyPamela Lonsdale (ed.) - Spooky (Thames TV-Magnum, 1984). Stand-outs are Jennie Howarth's grim The Exorcism of Amy and Jane Bollowood's unsettling In a Dark, Dark Box..., but there's not a duff story among the seven, although some ain't especially spooky. Best appreciated by children of all ages. Non-Fiction1. General Christopher Fowler - Film Freak: Mr. Fowler's funny and poignant tribute to his late mentor, friend and trusted partner in outrageous escapades, Jim Sturgeon. Ostensibly the self-deprecating, consistently funny confession of a movie fanatic, Film Freak doubles as a poignant treatment of bereavement. Final chapters are difficult to read, even harder to put down. Cameo appearances from (among others) Larry Grayson, Dame Joan Plowright, Eric Morcambe, Ernie Wise, Michael Jackson, Ken Russell, Melanie Griffith and Jamie Lee Curtis, etc, etc. I had no idea that Throbbing Gristle's Cosey appeared in I'm Not Feeling Myself Tonight. Details, aborted anti-review HERE (i really wasn't in good shape at time, and book now returned to library). Adam Brent Houghtaling - This Will End in Tears: The Miserabilist Guide To Music (It Books, 2012) 2. Footballitis Derek Hammond & Gary Silke - Got, Not Got: The A-Z of Lost Football Culture, Treasures & Pleasures: (Pitch, 2011) Catrine Clay - Trautmann's Journey: From Hitler Youth to FA Cup Legend: (Yellow Jersey Press, 2011) Dave Roberts - 32 Programmes: (Bantam Books, 2012) John Motson OBE - Motson's World Cup Extravaganza: Football's Greatest Drama; 1930-2006: (Robson, 2006). The half man, half sheepskin coat unburdens himself of accumulated facts, figures 'n trivia pertaining to the glorious and often dark history of the competition.
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Aug 22, 2013 17:09:28 GMT
Pamela Lonsdale (ed.) - Spooky (Thames TV-Magnum, 1984). Stand-outs are Jennie Howarth's grim The Exorcism of Amy and Jane Bollowood's unsettling In a Dark, Dark Box..., but there's not a duff story among the seven, although some ain't especially spooky. Best appreciated by children of all ages. This sounds like my sort of thing, so I just ordered a copy. The one I ordered is a different edition (the Prentice-Hall hardcover), so I'll be curious to see if the cover is also different.
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Post by doug on Sept 2, 2013 10:44:37 GMT
Pamela Lonsdale (ed.) - Spooky (Thames TV-Magnum, 1984). Stand-outs are Jennie Howarth's grim The Exorcism of Amy and Jane Bollowood's unsettling In a Dark, Dark Box..., but there's not a duff story among the seven, although some ain't especially spooky. Best appreciated by children of all ages. This sounds like my sort of thing, so I just ordered a copy. The one I ordered is a different edition (the Prentice-Hall hardcover), so I'll be curious to see if the cover is also different. Listen to the man. I have three of the Danby hardback collections and they are all genuine treasure troves. And they are all large enough to cause Apnea if you try propping them on your chest while reading in bed. These are all wonderful collections. Doug
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Post by Dr Strange on Sept 5, 2013 12:10:22 GMT
Haven't done one of these for a while so here goes -
Best anthology so far: Jeremy Dyson's The Haunted Book. See above.
Best novel: John Connolly's The Wrath of Angels. Number 11 in the 'Charlie Parker' series, and the supernatural elements are much more explicit than in any of the previous books. Absolutely loved it.
DVDs: As usual, had to wade through an awful lot of crap to find anything remotely interesting. Standouts were -
Absentia (2012) - a low budget, character-driven story about people going missing after entering an underpass in a small town in America. Very Twilght Zone, possibly the best thing I've seen so far this year, even if it has been labelled 'quiet horror' in some quarters.
Lake Mungo (2011) - Australian fake documentary-style supernatural horror with loads of twists. One I will definitely want to watch again, as I get the feeling that I probably missed some 'clues' the first time round.
Thale (2012) - bizarre, low-budget, Norwegian modern fairy tale / fantasy / folk horror. I'm not going to say it's a great film, or even a good one, but it was sufficiently different from anything else I've seen recently to hold my attention for 80 minutes or so.
Biggest disappointment - what happened to The Returned after that so promising first episode.
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Post by dem bones on Sept 5, 2013 15:48:34 GMT
Thanks for that, Dr. Strange. Have read some beauties in 2013 going back right to the first entry on the thread, but it's going to take something very special between now and Dec. 31 to knock The Haunted Book off the top spot. Given that World Fantasy Con (Brighton: Oct. 31-Nov 3) will see the usual launch of approximately a thousand new titles, there are sure to be a few of them wind up on here sooner or later. By the way, did you watch the live at Leeds library video tie-in, Jeremy Dyson's Haunted Recordings? "If you like tragedy, you've come to the right place. The first episode was far and away the best and would have made for a great, enigmatic one-off, but i liked The Returned - or, I liked it right through until that crushingly anti-climactic conclusion. Worse was to follow with the announcement immediately afterward that The Returned would be back for a second series later in the year. Just what the world needs, another poxy franchise. Glad you enjoyed your first exposure to the increasingly Hammer Gothic horrors of Whitechapel! Pleasant surprise of recent months has been the Assemby of Rogues collection which had never even heard of until pulphack spotted a copy on Charing X Road last week. Am seven stories in, and they've each been cracking. Syd Bentlif's Horror Anthology, picked up later the same day, was well worth the quid it cost for the cover artwork and the one unfamiliar story, Isabel Colegate's The Nice Boys. Re. F. G. Cottam. Checked the library & charity shop. The idea store has The Waiting Room, but will go with your recommendation and hold out for House of Lost Souls.
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Post by Dr Strange on Sept 5, 2013 16:06:07 GMT
Have read some beauties in 2013 going back right to the first entry on the thread, but it's going to take something very special between now and Dec. 31 to knock The Haunted Book off the top spot. Agreed, but we can live in hope. Yeah, that was fun. The first episode was far and away the best and would have made for a great, enigmatic one-off, but i liked The Returned - or, I liked it right through until that crushingly anti-climactic conclusion. Worse was to follow with the announcement immediately afterward that The Returned would be back for a second series later in the year. Just what the world needs, another poxy franchise. Yeah, the ending was dreadful. And not in a good way. They haven't even started filming the next series, so who knows what that'll do for continuity. Can the 'returned' kids grow older? Glad you enjoyed your first exposure to the increasingly Hammer Gothic horrors of Whitechapel! Yeah, I sure did. A bit surprised by the horror-ish elements. Are those a recent development? Or am I going to have to get a box set or something and watch all the previous ones? Re. F. G. Cottam. The idea store has The Waiting Room, but will go with your recommendation and hold out for House of Lost Souls. Well, I think that's probably for the best, though The Waiting Room ain't too shoddy either, apart from a rather dubious ending.
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Post by dem bones on Sept 5, 2013 17:47:10 GMT
Glad you enjoyed your first exposure to the increasingly Hammer Gothic horrors of Whitechapel! Yeah, I sure did. A bit surprised by the horror-ish elements. Are those a recent development? Or am I going to have to get a box set or something and watch all the previous ones? Whitechapel. The story so far in thumbnail. Series 1 (three episodes). A modern day Jack the Ripper mimics the original murders in near exact detail. Plenty of horror elements, absolutely loved it. Series 2 (three episodes). Previously unsuspected spawn of the Kray Twins set about establishing an evil empire. Not a horror story per se, though there are certainly a number of unpleasant touches. Stands up well to repeated viewing. Series 3 (six episodes comprising three two-parters). This series ratchets up the horror, referencing de Sade, a rohypnol 'vampire', the Ratcliffe Highway and Thames Torso murders, an almost Spring-heeled Jack in what at times looks suspiciously like a Mark E. Smith mask, etc. There have always been hints of the supernatural, but these have invariably been rationalised. Episodes 5 & 6 - built around an escaped psychopath, Bloody Bones, the curse of London After Midnight, and the Nameless Horror of Berkeley Square (relocated to E1) - changed that with an authentic haunting, and is my pick of the stories to date. A hellsbroth like that was hardly likely to scrimp on Gothic horrors, and so it proved. In my opinion, only the second three-parter dipped (rushed ending), but others may disagree. I think you're in for a treat
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Sept 6, 2013 17:29:37 GMT
DVDs: As usual, had to wade through an awful lot of crap to find anything remotely interesting. Standouts were - Absentia (2012) - a low budget, character-driven story about people going missing after entering an underpass in a small town in America. Very Twilght Zone, possibly the best thing I've seen so far this year, even if it has been labelled 'quiet horror' in some quarters. Lake Mungo (2011) - Australian fake documentary-style supernatural horror with loads of twists. One I will definitely want to watch again, as I get the feeling that I probably missed some 'clues' the first time round. Thale (2012) - bizarre, low-budget, Norwegian modern fairy tale / fantasy / folk horror. I'm not going to say it's a great film, or even a good one, but it was sufficiently different from anything else I've seen recently to hold my attention for 80 minutes or so. I'd never heard of any of these, and they all look intriguing--especially Thale. I love Norse folklore, and another Norwegian film, Trollhunter, was one of the best movies I saw last year.
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Post by Dr Strange on Sept 6, 2013 17:53:39 GMT
Thale is based on a Norse folkloric creature called a hulder. Saying anything more would spoil it, but it's definitely worth a watch if you like Norse folklore - I mean, you're hardly spoilt for choice in that area! (Yet... After Trollhunter and this, maybe Nordic horror/fanatasy will be the next big thing.)
I'm going to push Absentia even harder. It's one of those odd films where I can't quite decide if it was actually hampered or enhanced by the tight budget (it was partly paid for by crowd-funding). But there's a lot of psychological stuff going on in it, beyond the obvious horror elements. It's also got a very misleading DVD cover. Oh, and there are some hints in the story which suggest there may be a link to the legends of trolls living under bridges...
Lake Mungo - likewise, takes a very psychological approach to the supernatural. How much you like it might depend on whether you've yet reached saturation point with the fake documentary / lost footage genre. This is a bit more watchable than most because it is presented as a made-for-TV documentary, so it's not all shaky camera stuff. There was talk of a Hollywood remake (as a straight narrative, not a fake documentary), though that doesn't seem to have materialized yet.
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Post by dem bones on Sept 27, 2013 7:49:27 GMT
Recent raves , dishonourable mentions, & Co. Short storiesFrom Assembly Of Rogues. A variety of styles, not all of the stories worked for me, but a quality collection, even if they did fuck up the title on the cover. Persoal picks: Mark Chadbourn - The King Of RainJohn B. Ford - Dr. Denstein's Black BoxPaul Kane - HomelandPaul Finch - The Bear Of WoodboroughPeter Crowther - Drifting ApartRamsey Campbell - WilfMark Morris - Losing ItDerek M. Fox - A Boy And His DogSimon Clark - The Burning Doorway.... but they're all very readable. From Best New Horror 17Carol Emshwiller - I Live With You and You Don’t Know It. There's a ghost in Nora's apartment, or so it seems. Mark Samuels - Glyphotech; A dehumanised workforce is a productive workforce. Liz Williams - All Fish and Dracula; Katya's first and last Whitby Goth Weekend. Ramsey Campbell - The Decorations; David endures a nightmare Christmas at his bewildered Granny Dora's. Ramsey Campbell - The Winner; A dockside pub; Singsongs, Quiz Nights, local dishes, a warm Scouse welcome for all - and much, much worse. From Best New Horror 24Dale Bailey - Necrosis; Gentlemen's Club is stricken by the dreaded lurghi. Stephen Volk - Celebrity Frankenstein; There, but for the grace of God, goes Kerry Katona ..... Non-FictionMarcus Hearn - Saucy Postcards: The Bamforth Collection: As interesting to read as it is gorgeous to look at. Clarence Peterson -The Bantam Story: Twenty Five Years Of Paperback Publishing. Brief, no frills, provides what it promises on the cover.
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Post by dem bones on Oct 9, 2013 18:46:14 GMT
NovelsCaroline Graham - The Killings At Badgers Drift: Chief Inspector Barnaby exposes murder, blackmail, horrible cooking, and sexual perversion in the Da*ly M*il heartland. Less a crime novel, more a documentary. John Tigges - Garden Of The Incubus: A bad case of demonic possession has the convent of St. Paul's in turmoil. The ludicrously prolific Mr. T at the height of his powers. Crying out for a scratch and sniff special edition. AnthologyStephen Jones (ed.) - Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 24Have now read 15 of the stories, and, along with those previously mentioned, I most enjoyed the contributions from Evangeline Walton, Ramsey Campbell, Joe R. Lansdale, Claire Massey, Thana Niveau, and Robert Shearman. Terrify the small!Robert Westall - The Call: A Dead woman telephones the Samaritans late on Christmas Eve .... Magazine Paperback Fanatic #27: Comics into Paperbacks special issue. Non-fiction David Winner - Those Feet: An Intimate History Of English Football: Men were men, boots were steel-toecapped, and heading the lace-up,two tons of soggy leather ball was inviting skull fracture. Soccer, the pre-Alice band years, in other words. Alwyn W. Turner - Crisis? What Crisis? Britain in the 1970s: Now available in paperback (Aurum, 2013). How the The Angry Brigade versus Biba's, Clackers, Jack Ramsey's The Rage, T. Rex, Mary Whitehouse, the IRA, James Herbert's The Rats, David Bowie, 'Richard Allen', football hooliganism, and Mike Yarwood all played their part in shaping modern-life-is-rubbish Britain. Review to follow ASAP. TVWhitechapel; Series 4 concludes this evening. R.I.P.Gary Brander Frank Westwood Anthony Hinds
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Post by dem bones on Oct 30, 2013 22:40:50 GMT
Topical magazine cover of the momentshort fictionTerry Bacon - Clancy's Bride: Lunacy and bloodletting in the Irish countryside. Heads roll, entrails spill - gloriously ghoulish! The surprise package and then some from Mystery For HalloweenKim Newman - Andy Warhol's Dracula: I'm struggling with the newer material but Anno Dracula: Johnny Alucard has its moments and this episode, set in and around Studio 54 at the height of the the punk - disco wars, is certainly among them. Leslie Charteris - The Affair Of Hogsbotham: A crime caper cum sex comedy with the odd nasty interlude. Read this and you'll understand why the author was less than enamoured of the TV series. ( Follow The Saint). Non-fictionAlwyn W. Turner -Crisis? What Crisis? Britain In The 1970s. Martin Barker -A Haunt Of Fears: The Strange History Of The British Horror Comics Campaign. TVRipper Street is back! RIPLou Reed. People have been predicting his death for as long as I can remember, and yet now it's happened, it still comes as a shock. So long, Mr. Lurid. Feels like losing family.
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