Writing about movies, monsters, cinematic events and other wild trips
This one took awhile to wing its way to Australia, but I’m pleased to have now seen the final edit of my first visual essay about monsters – and breathe a sigh of relief (it came up quite well).
Anyone who has read my Top 8 horror films of 2022 will note that TAKE BACK THE NIGHT made the grade, so it’s extra thrilling to have contributed to this release from Arrow Films, produced by the always astounding Alexandra Heller-Nicholas.
Should you see it too? Yes, you should.
Be still my beating heart. This film. VIDEODROME. Cinema doesn’t get much better. And this beautiful 4K Ultra HD Special Release from Arrow Films even smells fantastic.
I’m proud to have contributed a retrospective roundtable discussion for the booklet with Cerise Howard, Dr Josh Nelson and Dr Alexandra Heller-Nicholas. But this is only a small portion of this special release, which is bursting with vivid viscerality.
Long live the new flesh!
If you’ve seen THE GIANT CLAW (dir. Fred F. Sears, 1957), you can imagine my squeals of delight when asked by Arrow Films to co-create a new commentary with the sublime Cerise Howard for their new boxset, Cold War Creatures: Four Films From Sam Katzman.
Producer Sam Katzman was a genius when it came to churning out cheap exploitation flicks that returned on their minuscule budgets in spades. He brashly ventured into anything he thought could turn a buck, from 1950s TV serials to films on rock ‘n’ roll and juvenile delinquency.
THE GIANT CLAW sits within his work in the Atomic Age monster movie sub-genre and delivers generously with a ‘plucked turkey’ monster so ridiculous you can’t help but love it. The other films featured in the boxset are THE WEREWOLF, CREATURE WITH THE ATOMIC BRAIN and ZOMBIES OF MORA TAU.
I only hope that Cerise and I managed to do THE GIANT CLAW justice in acknowledging the spirit in which it was made i.e. with tongue-in-cheek fun (or should that be ‘tongue-in-beak’?).
And because I can’t get enough of THE GIANT CLAW, here’s my gift to you…
I recently took possession of Arrow Film‘s absolutely gorgeous, limited edition, two-disc, blu-ray release of Jill Gevargizian‘s The Stylist. This is really something special – a jam-packed release, many would say – and I’m honoured to have contributed an essay to the booklet, ‘The Stylist: A curious case of mistaken identity’ and rub shoulders with the likes of my homegirl Alexandra Heller-Nicholas who has contributed with a sumptuous visual essay, ‘The Invisible Woman’.
For any horror fans who have not seen this feature-length version of the 2016 short of the same name, I urge you to rectify the oversight and move The Stylist to the top of your viewing list. I put it on my best films of 2020 and my uncle Ross says that it’s “the best horror film I’ve seen made in recent years.”
I just happened to interview one of the stars of the film, Brea Grant, last year about an entirely different project; her graphic novel, Mary: The Adventures of Mary Shelley’s Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Granddaughter. It would be lovely if you’d care to read that one too.
EMMA WESTWOOD 