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This Month’s Zatoichi: Zatoichi’s Pilgrimage (Kazuo Ikehiro, 1966)
After the promising upswing in quality evidenced by the thoroughly decent Zatoichi’s Vengeance, I’m afraid we’re back on the ropes here with another muddled, underwhelming entry in the Zatoichi...
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Two-Fisted Tales: The Time of the Hawklords by Michael Butterworth & Michael...
In view of my nationality, cultural interests and taste in music, it should come as no surprise that I greatly enjoy the work of Hawkwind. Perhaps only marginally less predictable is the fact that a...
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Japan Photo Spectacular: Inside the Japanese Ghost House.
I wish I was able to tell you precisely when and how the tradition of the Obake Yashiki, or Ghost House, entered Japanese culture, but sadly such historical detail is not really forthcoming to us lazy...
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Franco Files: She Killed in Ecstasy (1970)
VIEWING NOTE: As per my review of ‘Vampyros Lesbos’, the screenshots above originate not from the blu-ray edition mentioned in the text, but from the 2000 Second Sight DVD.AKAs: Crimes dans l'extase...
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Danish Pulp Haul, Part # 1: Blondine med Skrupler by Fletcher Flora (Pyramide...
I honestly didn’t intend to do any paperback hunting during a brief visit to Copenhagen earlier this summer, but, during an early morning mission to pick up a set of bass strings, a down-at-heel...
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Danish Pulp Haul, Part # 2: Winther’s Tales.
The following books all originate from a publisher named Winther, who seemed to rule the roost when it came to translated action / detective pulps in late ‘70s Denmark. All art is uncredited, natch,...
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Danish Pulp Haul, Part # 3: Carter Brown in Copenhagen.
Two more Winther editions here, both Carter Browns.Husker Du Maybelle?Original title: ‘Remember Maybelle?’(1977)‘80s indie-rock devotees will need no assistance with the translation of this title.Any...
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Danish Pulp Haul, Part # 4: No One’s Ark.
These three editions all come courtesy of Ark’s Forlag (‘Ark Publishers’), who seemed to cater to the same market as Winther for a slightly earlier era.As to the artwork, I have no idea, but none of it...
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Furious (Tim Everitt & Tom Sartori, 1984)
It occurred to me recently that I seem to have fallen into a bit of a… well, ‘rut’ isn’t quite the right word, but a bit of a comfortable routine, let’s say, in regard to the films I’ve been choosing...
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Four Poes.
(Everyman Library, 1975 – cover photograph by Graham Tucker.)(Panther, 1967 – “Cover illustration shows ‘Venus Asleep’ be Paul Delvaux. Reproduction by courtesy of the Tate Gallery, London.”)(Signet,...
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CASTLE CREEP: The Eighth Annual Stereo Sanctity / Breakfast In The Ruins...
Cross-posted with Stereo Sanctity.Here, as tradition demands, is this year’s All Hallows mix CD, presented for your listening pleasure, and hopefully allowing you enough time to incorporate its...
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Gothic Originals / Lovecraft on Film: The Haunted Palace (Roger Corman, 1963)
“Opening his eyes before staggering out of that room of horror, Dr. Willett saw that what he had kept in memory had not been kept amiss. There had, as he had predicted, been no need for acid. For like...
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Gothic Originals: Nightmare Castle (Mario Caiano, 1965)
BY-NOW-FAMILIAR VIEWING NOTE: Although the review below was written with reference to Severin’s recent blu-ray edition of ‘Nightmare Castle’, the screen shots above are fairly obviously NOT taken from...
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This Month’s Zatoichi: Zatoichi’s Cane Sword (Kimiyoshi Yasuda, 1967)
As regular readers will no doubt have noticed, I’ve fallen off the wagon somewhat with my monthly Zatoichi reviews this year; partly a result of unavoidable busy-ness, but to be honest, the last few...
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Random Paperbacks:The Inquisitor: Last Rites For The Vulture by Simon Quinn...
Until I randomly pulled this one off the shelf in a branch of Oxfam last weekend, I was entirely unfamiliar with Dell’s ‘Inquisitor’ series of books. Nonetheless, regular readers will appreciate that...
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Nippon Horrors: Ghost Cat Mansion (Nobuo Nakagawa, 1958)
Before he embarked upon his attempt to make the ‘ultimate horror movie’ in the form of 1960’s startling ‘Jigoku’ (‘Hell’) – a film so ambitious that many claim it played a significant role in...
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Random Paperbacks: Gideon’s Ride by John Creasey (Coronet, 1972 / first...
The work of almost unbelievably prolific British crime writer John Creasey is not something I’ve ever taken a particular interest in, but when I spied this volume amid a stack of long discarded ex-pat...
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Annual Report: 2000AD / 1979AD (Part # 1)
Striking about for some relevant content to keep this most un-festive of blogs ticking over through the festive period, I found myself scanning the shelves for good scanning material, and was reminded...
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Annual Report: 2000AD / 1979AD (Part # 2)
Returning to the wanton carnage gleefully doled out to impressionable youngsters as 1978 gave way to ’79, and first up we have the annual’s only ‘horror’ strip, wherein generic occult investigator...
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Year End Stuffs & Top 20 First Time Viewings for 2015.
Mickey Curtis as Ono-san in ‘Why Don’t You Play in Hell?’ (Sion Sono, 2013)After somehow managing to watch zero contemporary films during 2014, I did a little better in 2015, catching several ‘new’...
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