My idea of a good night: Curling up on the couch with four Italian Gothic horror films – TERROR -CREATURES FROM THE GRAVE (1965), NIGHT OF THE DAMNED (1971), THE DEVIL’s WEDDING NIGHT (1973) and BABA YAGA (1973) – with a bottle of Chianti, an open mind and a mutually inclined friend.
The fact that I provided the audio commentary for BABA YAGA with the incomparable Sally Christie is a bonus.
There’s so much on this Severin boxset, lovingly curated by Kat Ellinger, that I can’t do justice to the contents in this brief announcement. But I will post a quote from Nerdist below, and encourage you to seek out the other three volumes of the DANZA MACABRA collection. They don’t make ”em like these anymore.
“Sure, Gothic horror has castles, crypts and candelabras, but the genre – especially in Italy – includes lots of other delicious, devilish delicacies.These fascinating and varied films have seen a home media renaissance in the past few years, and Severin Films has been at the forefront.” Nerdist
Cinemaniacs’ latest committee member, Julian Meyers, has a YouTube channel where he heroes physical media and interviews people doing filmy things. He’s been running through the Cinemaniacs’ cadre—including John Harrison, Caitlyn Koller, Natali Papak and Lee Gambin— now it’s my turn!
Over a couple of hours, Julian and I sit in the couch in my living room—a location you may recognise from Blu-ray extras on Umbrella releases Long Weekend, Razorback and Dark Age—and bang on about contributing to physical media releases, the local ‘critics’ scene and whatever else took our fancy.
This is not the longest interview I’ve recorded. That honour goes to Bill Ackerman on his Supporting Characters podcast. But it was very relaxed and a lot of fun.
There’s no denying my immense love for David Cronenberg’s filmography—I even wrote a book about THE FLY (1986)—so I wanted to do his work and myself proud in writing a piece for this gorgeous Second Sight release of SCANNERS (1981).
I’m pretty proud of the essay angle I came up with. You’ll my find it, ‘Can’t Get You Out of My Head: Scanners, Psychosis and Trepanation’ in the infinitely sniffable booklet that comes with this limited edition.
It’s a loose interpretation of 10, but mathematics has never been my strong suit. Here goes nothing. In no particular order, except alphabetical-ish:
THE APPRENTICE (dir. Ali Abbasi) / A DIFFERENT MAN (dir. Aaron Schimberg) Two remarkable ‘Stan’ films (i.e. Sebastian Stan) in what has been a breakout year for the actor – THE APPRENTICE for a believable transformation into the unbelievable; A DIFFERENT MAN for his precision of character and performance when, literally, wearing different skin. But also, for choosing roles so wisely and identifying smart, rich and interesting material that stands out from the Box Office throng.
THE BEAST (dir. Bertrand Bonello) Let’s not mince words: It’s uncompromisingly pretentious. This could have gone either way across its 2.5-hour length (and it will for different viewers) but it held me in a vice-like grip. Science-fiction for those who don’t like science-fiction; romance for those who don’t like romance; horror for those who don’t like horror. You’ll find it all here, brought to life by Léa Seydoux and George Mackay’s A-grade performances.
CIVIL WAR (dir. Alex Garland) Watching this on the IMAX screen was a pure adrenalin-rush from go to whoa, rendered in acute meta detailing from the perspective of photojournalists; neutral (‘Switzerland’), ‘shooting’ the action. I was actually surprised to hear the haters, but then I realised – view it through a sociological lens and it’s a revelatory truth; view it through a political lens and it’s going to frustrate the hell out of you. You choose which spectacles you wear.
THE COFFEE TABLE (dir. Caye Casas) It’s hard to recommend this film to anyone but hardcore horror genre enthusiasts, because of its fearless melding of brutality with dark comedy – it can be really hard to reconcile one’s own principled self in appreciation of this nasty piece of work. But see through the artifice and this is tight, punchy, uncompromising filmmaking that may push at the boundaries of belief but, nevertheless, delivers on its promise. And more. The title ‘The Coffee Table’ is genius in itself.
THE FIRST OMEN (dir. Arkasha Stevenson) I really don’t like prequels and sequels and remakes, so when they overcome my prejudice, it’s a moment to celebrate (hence, my books on 1986’s THE FLY and 1935’s THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN). So, in recognising good filmmaking, I applaud THE FIRST OMEN for doing justice to the original and creating a wholly original horror film despite its roots in another classic (which is almost 50 years old, just saying). That’s not an easy thing to do. Respect.
HANDLING THE UNDEAD (dir. Thea Hvistendahl) I’m wondering how many people got to see this film and, by including it here in my list, I’m hoping its audience will broaden, even slightly. It’s a horror film – sure – but labelling it as a genre picture is misleading. This is slow, ambling (zombies in the Haitian sense) and it plays out with a European stillness of camera and action that many will find excruciating. But, by goodness, it ripped my heart out.
IN THE ROOM WHERE HE WAITS (dir. Timothy Despina Marshall) Australian. Low budget. Queer. Horror. You’ve just stumbled on a film that has very few contemporaries. But, within the claustrophobic four walls and a bathroom of the protagonist’s COVID isolation hotel room, this is a film that draws a tight bow and perfectly communicates the interiority of a lone protagonist who’s going through his own version of hell. It’s time for this one to gain traction.
KNEECAP (dir. Rich Peppiatt) What a ballbuster of a surprise! A really didn’t think this would land with me, but the cheekiness of the filmmaking and the utter intelligence of… everything… made me fall in love with this film. A timely valentine to the recognition of Indigenous languages nearing extinction – in this case, Irish – and one that does so through the very modern means of youth and hip-hop. And yeah, the central trio are the real Kneecappers of the story, not actors.
THE SUBSTANCE (dir. Coralie Fargeat) / SMILE 2 (dir. Parker Finn) / LOVE LIES BLEEDING(dir. Rose Glass) Okay, this might seem strange, but I’ve gone for a triple-barrel acknowledgment of these films because of their female-led body horror aspect and other interweaving elements. I’m a fan of Cronenberg’s work (who isn’t?) and I love how these three seemingly disparate films in the one year can appear but have a connective thread that is undeniable. Watch them and then we can talk more.
SPEAK NO EVIL (dir. Christian Tadruf, 2022) / SPEAK NO EVIL (dir. James Watkins, 2024) I only watched the 2022 original this year, so it made sense to me to run it alongside it’s 2024 English-language remake. For me, there is a superiority in the original film that doesn’t belittle the reimagining but, instead, acts as a masterclass of filmmaking. Why is it so much better? I urge you to view them side-by-side and you’ll see what I mean. Especially that finale.
When contemplating inclusions for my 2023 Top Ten list, LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL (directed by Colin and Cameron Cairnes) was a shoo-in. So, it took little hesitation on my behalf to say ‘yes!’ to writing an essay for the booklet of this Limited Edition release from the most excellent people at Second Sight.
I provide an ‘orstralyan’ perspective on TV sensationalism in the 1970s, ‘WELCOME TO OUR LIVING ROOM: TV Sensationalism and the Scandals That Spawned a Horror Movie’, and I think/hope it came up a treat.
Special features for this release include a new audio commentary from the powerhouse duo of Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson, which is worth the purchase price alone.
You could do worse than adding this treat to your physical media collection.
Joining Alex von Hofmann and Kym Logan on their That Reminds Me Of podcast recently was a reunion of sorts, given Kym and I worked together in a former life. So, it’s little wonder that we spent 1.5 hours discussing the ins & outs of the film MEN and other assorted film banter.
I didn’t realise I was going to appear on camera as part of this recording, which gives our chat a decidedly relaxed quality. A blessing, maybe? I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
And as an added ‘bonus’, there’s an extra 30 minutes of me banging on about me, which you can watch right here…
According to David Black, I’m an Oz Femme Fatale! Makes me want to wear glittery red shoes, click my heels and say “There’s no place like home”. But I think I’m more the Wicked Witch of the West(wood) than Dorothy
It’s fine if you didn’t manage to front up as part of the live audience because the whole panel event – all 90 minutes of it, including clips and other media – are now available online.
Watch below or head to YouTube to see experts Rosie Jones (documentary maker), Professor Nick Haslam (psychologist) and Penelope Thomas (biometrics researcher) thrash out theories around why we might be so fascinated with scaring ourselves.
As the moderator/host, I provide a little introduction to set the context that includes meeting Peghead and the rest of my family…
In preparation for a longer form piece in the new Cinemaniacs Presents journal, I had the pleasure of talking to fellow horror movie fan, Gina Philips, who played the role of Trish in the original Jeepers Creepers (fans will be very pleased to know she is coming back for the third instalment in the franchise).
Gina was such a generous interviewee I decided to throw some words the way of Diabolique, and the fruits of my labour can now be read in the following article…
Emma Westwood 