Previous SFF Author: Gemma Files
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service by Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming‘s 11th James Bond book, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, was written, as was the author’s wont, while on vacation at his Goldeneye retreat on the north shore of Jamaica, at Oracabessa, in the winter of 1962 … coincidentally, not far from where filming for the original 007 movie, Dr. No, was taking place at that same time. OHMSS, which was initially released in April 1963,
May 15th, 2025. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 5 | Edge, Film / TV | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
I know what you’re thinking: a review of a James Bond book for a website that supposedly only deals with sci-fi, fantasy and horror? How did THIS thing get in here? Well, the fact of the matter is, several of the 007 novels written by Ian Fleming do indeed contain elements that border on the science fictional, and surely on the borderland of the fantastic. And those elements were never more pronounced than in the books featuring Bond’s archnemesis, Ernst Stavro Blofeld; a series of books today known as THE BLOFELD TRILOGY.
May 9th, 2025. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4.5 | Edge, Film / TV | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Gorge directed by Scott Derrickson
The good news about Apple’s new movie The Gorge is that it’s a perfectly serviceable streaming movie, the actors do an excellent job, the visuals are fantastic, and you also are basically getting two movies for the price of one. The bad news is one of those movies is vastly more original and engaging than the other, the plot of that second film is overly familiar and predictable, and while the visuals are stunning, they’re also something we’ve seen before.
The premise of the film is that post-WWII,
February 17th, 2025. Bill Capossere | Film / TV | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Doctors Wear Scarlet by Simon Raven
The British film Bloodsuckers, from 1970, was easily one of the worst cinematic experiences I’ve sat through in recent memory; a confused and confusing mess of a movie, made even more disappointing for me by dint of the fact that the two lead actors whose participation induced me to watch the film in the first place – namely, Peter Cushing and Patrick Macnee – don’t even appear on screen together once! And yet, I thought, the central premise of the film,
November 11th, 2024. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4.5 | Simon Raven | Film / TV, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
In today’s 23rd and final Shocktober Double Feature, we will deal with an ax-wielding nutjob, Leslie Nielsen, horny camp counselors, and a relentless series of homicides! It’s Prom Night and Friday the 13th!
Take a dash of Brian de Palma’s Carrie, blend in a hint of John Carpenter’s Halloween, sprinkle in a healthy pinch of Saturday Night Fever and you may end up with a concoction very much like 1980’s Prom Night,
October 31st, 2024. Sandy Ferber | Film / TV, Horror | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
In today’s Shocktober Double Feature, we will be mesmerized by a hideous neck fetus (yes, you read that right), a levitating old biddy, a spelunking trip gone horribly wrong, and albino bat creatures! It’s The Manitou and The Descent!
My psychotronic-film guru, Rob, didn’t have to do more than give me a one-sentence summary of its storyline in order to convince me to see 1978’s The Manitou. After all, what horror fan wouldn’t be sold by a plot in which pretty Susan Strasberg develops a large tumor on her neck,
October 30th, 2024. Sandy Ferber | Film / TV, Horror | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
In today’s Shocktober Double Feature, we will be chilled by a seriously haunted house, a creepy séance, an evil old witch, and David McCallum! It’s The Changeling and The Haunting of Morella!
I came to discover this movie after reading of it in the wonderful reference book DVD Delirium, which begins its review of The Changeling by saying “Now this is how you do a scary ghost story.” As it turns out, I couldn’t agree more.
October 29th, 2024. Sandy Ferber | Film / TV, Horror | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
In today’s Shocktober Double Feature, we will be faced with an LSD freakout, a meat-cleaver murder, bare-nekkid ladies, and extraterrestrial insectoids! It’s Mantis in Lace and Breeders!
Mantis in Lace is, in four fairly equal quarters, a soft-core skin flick, a psychedelic drug movie, a slasher horror film AND a police procedural. In it, we meet Lila (Susan Stewart), a young and gorgeous topless dancer who takes LSD one night with a guy she’s picked up. After hallucinating pretty severely for a while,
October 28th, 2024. Sandy Ferber | Film / TV, Horror | SFF Reviews | no comments |
In today’s Shocktober Double Feature, we will be gobsmacked by a grown man who lives in a baby crib, the always-wonderful Marianna Hill, zombies, and a haunted farmhouse! It’s The Baby and The Abandoned!
Although many of us have been guilty of “not acting our age” on occasion, few can be said to be so consistently immature as the character David Manzy plays in the 1973 horror film The Baby. Manzy’s Baby is a 21-year-old man who lives in a crib,
October 25th, 2024. Sandy Ferber | Film / TV, Horror | SFF Reviews | no comments |
In today’s Shocktober Double Feature, we will encounter Satanic worship, British beatniks, blood addiction, and The Night of the Living Dead’s Duane Jones! It’s Devils of Darkness and Ganja & Hess!
Despite being a longtime fan of the British horror film, it was only recently that I learned of the existence of 1965’s Devils of Darkness, and now that I have seen it, I know why. This product of Pinewood Studios is a fairly undistinguished effort that just barely manages to entertain and is never even remotely chilling.
October 24th, 2024. Sandy Ferber | Film / TV, Horror | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Previous SFF Author: Gemma Files
Thanks! These are the "easy" ones, ha!
can't wait to get to these after the usual post-end-of-term review backlog gets a little cleared up--your review and David's…
Agreed! I have loved both of these books. I wasn't as perceptive as you at guessing the true target, though,…
What a fascinating exploration of Edwige Fenech's contributions to the Giallo genre! I love how you highlighted her unique blend…
Ever since Tor.com became Reactor they seem to have been focusing increasingly less on books and more on visual media…