horror cinema – Emma Westwood

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

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.

Hold onto your heads, folks…

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.

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.