The Whistle, the Grave, and the Ghost by John Bellairs & Brad Strickland
In the tenth installment in John Bellairs & Brad Strickland’s LEWIS BARNAVELT series, Lewis is camping with his fellow Scouts (who are bullying him, of course) when he finds an old whistle near a grave and puts it in his pocket. The whistle has a Latin encryption on it and, when he asks the priest at his church to help him with the translation, the priest (who Lewis isn’t particularly fond of),
October 20th, 2021. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Brad Strickland, John Bellairs | Audio, Children, Horror | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Night Monster directed by Ford Beebe
1941 had been a very good year for the Universal horror film, during which time the studio released Man Made Monster, Horror Island and The Black Cat in the spring, and the eternal glory that is The Wolf Man in early December. And as America geared up for war at the beginning of 1942, the studio continued to crank out impeccably crafted horror films to entertain the masses.
October 20th, 2021. Sandy Ferber | Film / TV, Horror | SFF Reviews | 9 comments |
The Steerswoman by Rosemary Kirstein
Originally published in 1989, The Steerswoman, by Rosemary Kirstein, was reissued by the author in 2013, along with the rest of the four existing books in the STEERSWOMAN series. This first book introduces the world of steerswoman Rowan, and the order of steerswomen (and some men), who travel the world gathering and sharing information and knowledge. There is only one kind of knowledge steerswomen don’t have — magic.
When the book opens,
October 19th, 2021. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3.5 | Rosemary Kirstein | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Blood of Dracula directed by Herbert L. Strock
In the memorable cult horror film I Was a Teenage Werewolf, future Bonanza star Michael Landon plays the part of hotheaded adolescent Tony Rivers, who goes to Dr. Alfred Brandon (the ubiquitous Whit Bissell) for help with his temper problems and is turned by the doctor, via a mysterious serum, into the titular monstrosity. Released in July ’57 and written by its producer, Herman Cohen, along with Aben Kandel, the film was such a hit that it induced the team to come out with three more cinematic wonders in a similar vein;
October 19th, 2021. Sandy Ferber | Film / TV, Horror | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull
No Gods, No Monsters (2021) is one of the books that had me admiring it more than enjoying it. Strongly crafted on a sentence level, built on a structure both complex and deftly handled, and dealing with some seriously weighty themes, the book still left me, despite all that, a bit cold, a bit resistant to its charms. Still, as you’ll see, I’m mostly strongly recommending it, even if it didn’t wholly win me over.
We begin with a scene that seems all too familiar.
October 18th, 2021. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Cadwell Turnbull | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Nesting directed by Armand Weston
It sits on the crest of a hill overlooking the Hudson River to the west, a mere 18 miles north of NYC … the truly bizarre-looking structure known as the Armour-Stiner Octagon House. Built from 1859 – 1860 in Irvington, NY by financier Paul J. Armour, and expanded from 1872 – ’76 by tea importer Joseph Stiner, the structure is one of the few remaining octagonally shaped Victorian residences in the world; is now the site of a museum that is open for touring by the general public;
October 18th, 2021. Sandy Ferber | Film / TV, Horror | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Jana: This week I read A. Deborah Baker’s Along the Saltwise Sea again, and enjoyed it a bit more the second time around. Little bits that were unclear in my ARC made more sense in the finished copy, thankfully, and I hope to have a joint review with Tadiana for you soon. I also read Cassandra Khaw’s Nothing But Blackened Teeth, which unsettled me in all the best ways, and was a perfect companion for a chilly October evening.
Bill: This week was mostly reading papers again.
October 17th, 2021. Tim Scheidler | Status Update | no comments |
A decade-long war is finally over and the people who live on the planet of Beltane are relieved. During the war, Beltane, where many scientists lived, was recruited for the war effort and served, unwillingly, as an experimental lab. After the war, most of the scientists left the planet, creating a brain drain, and the people who remained were pacifists who looked forward to starting a new way of life without interference from the Confederation.
When a disfigured veteran named Griss Lugard is brought back home to Beltane,
October 15th, 2021. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Andre Norton | Audio, Children, Stand-Alone, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Some Horror Films by Ted V. Mikels directed or produced by Ted V. Mikels
It has long seemed to me that Poughkeepsie, NY-born director, producer, screenwriter and novelist Ed Wood has gotten a bum rap over the years. The one-of-a-kind filmmaker has, starting with his very first picture in the early ‘50s, garnered for himself a reputation of the very worst kind, even going so far as to be almost universally regarded as “The Worst Director of All Time.” And indeed, with such films as Glen or Glenda? (’53), Jail Bait (’54),
October 15th, 2021. Sandy Ferber | Film / TV, Horror | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
BTW, Steve Sterner will be performing at seven films during this upcoming fest: https://filmforum.org/series/clara-bow
As far as I know, Bill, Steve Sterner is the only person who does the live accompaniment to silent movies…
And I'm positive that Kaidan will fondly remember watching these movies with his old man for the rest of his…
You bet, Marion!
Black Scorpion was one of the movie I watched with my son Kaidan as I introduced him to a AT-Home-Film-Festival…