Series: Film / TV

Island Of The Fishmen directed by Sergio Martino

Previously, my respect for the brothers Martino – director Sergio and producer Luciano – had been a result of the quartet of excellent “giallo” films that the pair had come out with from 1971-’72: The Case of the Scorpion’s Tail, The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh, All the Colors of the Dark and (hang on for one of the greatest titles in cinema history!) Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key,

Ginger Snaps directed by John Fawcett

The viscerally effective horror thriller Ginger Snaps sports a doubly clever title. Gingersnaps, of course, are yummy cookie treats sweetened with molasses and, naturally, ginger, but that is hardly what is being suggested here. “Snaps” can also mean “to go crazy” or “to lose it,” which is certainly the case for the film’s lead character, Ginger Fitzgerald. And more to the point, “snaps” can also mean “to seize with a sudden closing of the jaws,” which is what poor Ginger does quite a lot of here,

I Vampiri directed by Riccardo Freda

Besides being marvelously entertaining, 1956’s I Vampiri is also an historically important film, and for two reasons. First, it was the very first Italian horror film of the sound era (I have never been able to precisely ascertain WHY the Fascists saw fit to put a ban on this type of entertainment in the 1930s, but the effects of the clampdown were far-reaching indeed). And second, and perhaps just as historic, it was the film that saw the first bits of direction from the great Mario Bava,

King Of The Zombies directed by Jean Yarbrough

Film buffs who are desirous of getting their hands on the obscure little horror/comedy King of the Zombies (1941) seemingly have no other option than buying the DVD currently available from the Roan Group. This DVD is actually a pretty good deal, as residing on its flip side is the second zombie movie ever made, 1936’s Revolt of the Zombies (1932’s White Zombie was, of course, the first). But be forewarned: ROTZ is a fairly terrible film, slow moving and deadly dull,

The Long Hair Of Death directed by Antonio Margheriti

In a taped interview that she gave at Toronto’s Festival of Fear 2009, cult actress Barbara Steele mentioned that of her 40-odd films, only 11 have been in the field of horror (the clip is currently viewable on YouTube), the inference being that Babs today wonders just WHY her legion of fans insists on calling her “the Queen of Horror.” By my count, however, Steele has appeared in at least 14 horror pictures, and is perhaps best remembered for the string of nine Italian Gothics that she appeared in,

Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl directed by Yoshihiro Nishimura

It was Pittsburgh-born filmmaker Herschell Gordon Lewis who, by dint of a dozen or so splatterific exploitation films that he directed from 1963 – ’72, earned himself the nickname “The Godfather of Gore.” But, I have a feeling, Herschell, who is presently 84, might just bust an artery himself if he ever got a gander at what the Japanese are currently doing in the field of gore FX; specifically, what Yoshihiro Nishimura has accomplished in the last 12 or so years. It was the 2001 film Suicide Club that initially alerted me to the talents of this modern-day goremaster,