The Burning (1981)

An unpopular camp worker is horrifically burned in a teen prank, then returns years later to kill other camp teens with garden shears. Endangered cast includes a wonderfully charismatic Jason Alexander, Holly Hunter, and Jean-Claude Van Damme’s lady friend from Bloodsport.

Of note: this was written by the young Weinstein brothers, which makes the typical pervy teen-boy behavior feel even pervier. 

Predictably derivative but has some excellent Tom Savini kills and works terrifically as 80s slasher trash. I really like it.

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Altered States (1980)

The third of three totally bonkers Ken Russell movies I watched on The Criterion Channel.

Altered States: a scientist obsessively explores his psyche with exotic drugs and sensory deprivation, briefly regresses into a proto-human ape guy, and keeps pushing his luck until things REALLY go off the rails.

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The Lair of the White Worm (1988)

The second of three totally bonkers Ken Russell movies I watched on The Criterion Channel.

The Lair of the White Worm: a young Hugh Grant and some rural chums fight a pre-Christian fertility god in the form of a huge phallic snake. Fx so cheesy they’re rapturous.

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The Devils (1971)

The first of three totally bonkers Ken Russell movies I watched on The Criterion Channel.

The Devils: a lecherous priest gets into a religiopolitical fracas with the French government and a sex-crazed nun. Mayhem ensues.

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Stalker (1979)

Want to watch a dreadfully mysterious Soviet-era film about three dudes who enter a forbidden wasteland in search of supernatural transcendence? Who doesn’t.

Upside: Spellbinding and hits a lot of eerie, meaningful buttons. Downside: Long, abstruse, characters that are unlikably gray and sullen.

Depressing trivia: the forbidden “Zone” was filmed near an old chemical factory and many of the crew, including the director, may have eventually died due to toxic exposure during production.

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Stay Away From the...

Look at this marvelous shirt my wife got me for Christmas. I’m reminded of such good times… listening to K.A.B. Radio, visiting the lighthouse, finding driftwood on the beach.

(Shirt from here.)

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Spectrally Important

I love when this happens. I’m reading Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Silver Nitrate (real good so far) and came upon references to:

  • Jack Parsons, the real-life rocket scientist/occultist who died by blowing himself up, and whose biography, Strange Angel, I own but never got around to reading; it’s promoted to top-of-pile now

  • The Devil Rides Out, an especially great Hammer Horror movie I just received on Blu-ray for Christmas

These constellation moments always feel spectrally important.

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Some Non-Horror

I’m having a brief lull in horror reading and watching, with lots of stuff piling up on my to-read and to-watch lists, because December’s been a month of healing from my eye surgery, as well as stabilizing after a year of troublesome anxiety.

Because of the late-November eye surgery, I couldn’t read for a couple of weeks, so I decided to “reread” War & Peace on audiobook. I’ve listened to 30 hours and have 30 more hours to go. It’s as awesomely wonderful as I remembered. And once I could read again, I reread The Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan Watts and Faith, Hope and Carnage by Nick Cave and Seán O'Hagan, to consolidate my well-being.

Pretty soon, I’ll read Silver Nitrate.

If you have any must-read or must-watch horror recommendations for the new year, please email me!

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Cure (1997)

Go to Japan. Get an Oster blender from the mid-90s (a little grungy). Add Se7en, arthouse dread, a dash of Hannibal and Clarice, and mesmerism. Hit the grind button.

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