Quick Note on NIGHTMARE MOVIES

I received the new revised edition of Kim Newman's NIGHTMARE MOVIES in today's mail and have been spending a marvelous time with it. I rarely get excited about review books arriving in the mail; I hope they will excite me in due course. But this book stands out almost immediately for the quality of its writing, more particularly the quality of its insight, and as the most challenging thing for any creative mind to achieve: a masterpiece of organization. He also knows exactly what needs to be said in a short space and how each film dovetails to another by the same director or a different director working with similar themes, and delivers one knock-out punch after another. I've only pecked through it at random, but it has already shone light into some dim corners for me, showing me that I hadn't been thinking about some titles with the depth they deserved. I would be surprised if a more important book about horror movies was published this year.

VW's Favorite DVDs of 2010: Kim Newman

Kim Newman contributes to a great many publications in addition to VW, in addition to other authorly duties, and in response to our request for his list of year-end favorites, he rightly pointed out that such a list by him appears in the current issue of SIGHT & SOUND -- "and almost all the things I picked were on other folks' lists." That said, he did agree to list some additional Honorable Mentions on DVD, all of which (like he) hail from the UK. Kim's most recent books are the excellent HORROR! 333 FILMS TO SCARE YOU TO DEATH (co-written with James Marriiott, Carlton) and forthcoming appended reissues of his ANNO DRACULA series. - TL

By Kim Newman

The UK BluRay from Optimum of THE GUILLERMO DEL TORO COLLECTION (CRONOS, THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE and PAN'S LABYRINTH) - subtitled, and with a pop-up labyrinth in the packaging.

The ongoing releases, also from Optimum, of THE AVENGERS on DVD in significantly improved versions: SEASON FOUR (black and white) and FIVE (colour) collect Diana Rigg's tenure on the show, and arguably the height of its achievement. Even the lesser episodes sparkle with wit and invention.

Lesser-known genre or fringe genre TV releases from Network - SHADOWS, a children's ghost story anthology from the 1970s, and THE GUARDIANS, dystopian ITV science fiction from the same period with remarkably sophisitcated politics.

Kudos to Odeon Entertainment for its BEST OF BRITISH COLLECTION, making rare titles available on DVD - though the transfers haven't always been great: THREE CASES OF MURDER, RETURN OF A STRANGER, STRIPTEASE MURDER, COVER GIRL KILLER/LIFE IN DANGER.

And, of course, the BFI's ongoing Flipside BR/DVD releases - HERE WE GO ROUND THE MULBERRY BUSH, PRIVILEGE, THE PLEASURE GIRLS, PERMISSIVE, etc.

FIRST LOOK: VIDEO WATCHDOG #157

Donna is just now putting the final touches on the inside covers, but the front cover -- an image of Romy Schneider from HENRI-GEORGES CLOUZOT'S INFERNO made still more scintillating by Charlie Largent -- is ready for unveiling!

You may note that this is indeed our 20th anniversary issue and, for the first time in those 20 years, my name is on the cover. Other contributors like Kim Newman and Steve Bissette have had this honor, but this is a first for me, in this country anyway. For those of you who have been clamoring for me to write more for VW, I actually wrote more than half of this issue -- the Franco essay alone is our longest single-piece feature article ever, practically novella-length at 34 pages (advertising free, of course), plus there's three-page "Watchdog Barks" editorial and I also reviewed some films, including CLOUZOT'S INFERNO. So no one can say I didn't give this anniversary issue my best shot.

Also in this issue, David J. Schow performs a post mortem on FEATURES FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, a book that McFarland and Company withdrew from sale slightly more than a month after its publication date. It's our longest book review ever! Plus Kim Newman on SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD, John Charles on some Paul Naschy rarities, and much more. For more details, visit out Coming Soon pages here.

Get Rondo-ized!

"Don't hurt that Rondo, Rondo!" VW publisher Donna Lucas takes a protective stance outside the auditorium where the 6th Annual Rondo Awards were held at WonderFest in 2008.

In an effort to spread awareness of VIDEO WATCHDOG's various nominations for the the 8th Annual Rondo Awards, Donna and I (with the approval of our writers) have decided to make available -- for a limited time -- the complete texts of the four nominees for this year's Best Magazine Article award.

Stephen R. Bissette's "Let the Twilight In", an in-depth study of TWILIGHT and LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, can be read here.

Eric Somer's "Down the Block from Bergman: THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT and Beyond," an examination of the influence of Ingmar Bergman's THE VIRGIN SPRING on Wes Craven's THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, the recent remake, and other horror films, can be read here.

Kim Newman's "DVD Spotlight: MYSTERY AND IMAGINATION, a detailed history of the 1966-70 British TV terror anthology, can be read here.

And Shaun Brady's "Weird Scenes Inside the Fun House: The Making of MALATESTA'S CARNIVAL OF BLOOD," a production history of the 1972 Pittsburgh-made surrealist horror film, can be read here.

And here is a link to a special Rondo link page now added to our website, which also features direct links to a five-part HD video of my Q&A with INFERNO star Irene Miracle and composer Keith Emerson, which has been nominated for Best Fan Event.

Also, please don't forget to consider any of our many hard-working contributors for your vote in the Best Writer and Best DVD Reviewer categories, and remember that both our cover artist Charlie Largent and our art director Donna Lucas (whose layouts make VW's feature articles soar) are eligible in the Best Artist category.

Der Nebula von Notre Dame

VIDEO WATCHDOG contributor Kim Newman and I are both honored to have work included in the newly published NEBULA AWARDS SHOWCASE 2009 (ROC, $16 US/$20 Canada), edited by Ellen Datlow.

Kim's contribution is an appreciation of author Michael Moorcock, the recipient of the 2009 Damon Knight Grand Master Award. (The book also includes Moorcock's story "The Pleasure Garden of Felipe Sagittarius," from his recent collection THE METATEMPORAL DETECTIVE.) My contribution is an essay about Guillermo del Toro's PAN'S LABYRINTH, the screenplay for which won a Nebula Award.

Kim, widely anthologized, must be used to this sort of thing, but it was a great kick for me to see my name highlighted on the back cover among the likes of Moorcock (a longtime hero), Barry N. Malzberg, Joe R. Lansdale, Jane Yolen, Michael Chabon and the illustrious Kim, among others. I thank Ellen Datlow for inviting me to work in such august company.

Go to your favorite bookstore now and buy it.

I also want to take a moment to recommend another new arrival. The German DVD company Anolis has followed their deluxe edition of Mario Bava's BLUTIGE SEIDE (BLOOD AND BLACK LACE) with an even more lavish presentation of DER VAMPIRE VON NOTRE DAME (I VAMPIRI). Unlike the domestic Image Entertainment release, which included the Italian version only, Anolis adds on the German version (which runs 4m longer than the Italian version, which was cut to appease the censor board) and also THE DEVIL'S COMMANDMENT, the US version containing additional exploitation footage.

Further sweetening the deal is a delightful, hour-long documentary, C'EST LA VIE, interviewing the great Swiss character actor Paul Muller, now 85 and living on a healthy pension somewhere near Rome. The program covers Muller's early life, early work in theater, and the films that preceded I VAMPIRI, then actually shows Muller reacting to scenes from the film, and wraps up with some generous comments about working with Jess Franco and Soledad Miranda on EUGENIE DE SADE. I am not sure I've ever seen Muller crack a smile onscreen, at least not a genuinely happy one, so it was a great pleasure to discover him to be such a charming, chuckling pixie offscreen. He's a very sharp 85, too, with valuable and unfaded memories of his long career.

Also included are trailers, still and poster galleries, and an interesting attempt to reconstruct the pre-credits sequence originally envisioned by Riccardo Freda, which was changed when he was replaced by Mario Bava in a rescue effort that required a rewriting of the narrative. English subtitles are provided, even for the Muller documentary, but these do not extend to Christian Kessler's German-language audio commentary. I'll be covering this important release in more detail in a future issue of VIDEO WATCHDOG.

Rondo VI: VW & Co. Receive 9 Nominations!

The final ballot for the Sixth Annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards has been posted, and I'm proud to announce that VIDEO WATCHDOG and its contributors have received a total of nine (9) nominations this year. In the order in which they appear on the ballot, our nominations are:

BEST DVD COMMENTARY
-- MARIO BAVA COLLECTION VOLUMES 1 and 2 (Anchor Bay Entertainment), five new commentaries by Tim Lucas
(Furthermore, ABE's MARIO BAVA COLLECTION VOLUMES 1 and 2 have been nominated for Best Classic DVD Collection.)

BEST BOOK OF 2007
-- MARIO BAVA ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK by Tim Lucas

BEST MAGAZINE OF 2007
-- VIDEO WATCHDOG, published by Tim & Donna Lucas

BEST MAGAZINE ARTICLE OF 2007 (Voters may pick two)
-- 'Edgar Wallace: Your Pocket Guide to the Rialto Krimi Series,' by Kim Newman, VIDEO WATCHDOG #134. A film-by-film, 30-page look at the German crime mysteries (krimi), from 1959-71.

-- 'In Remembrance of Freddie Francis,' by Ted Newsom, VIDEO WATCHDOG #130. A eulogy for the Hammer director.

-- 'THESE ARE THE DAMNED: The Restored Director's Cut Examined,' by Tim Lucas, VIDEO WATCHDOG #133. 'Old school' VW approach dissects ever excised scene, shows what was restored and makes a new case for this once-butchered film.

-- 'THE WILD WILD WEST: Second Season,' by David J. Schow, VIDEO WATCHDOG #132. Karloff and Victor Buono are among the guest stars in this episode by episode recap.

BEST MAGAZINE COVER
-- VIDEO WATCHDOG #134, cover (pictured) by Charlie Largent

BEST WEBSITE or BLOG OF 2007
-- Video WatchBlog by Tim Lucas (you're reading it!)

There are also four special "write-in" categories for WRITER OF THE YEAR, ARTIST OF THE YEAR, MONSTER KID OF THE YEAR, and THE MONSTER KID HALL OF FAME.

You can access the ballot and instructions for the very simple voting procedure by going to the Rondo page here. There are 27 categories in all and it's a fun, tighter, more comprehensive ballot this year. While it's not necessary to vote in every category, it is advisable to check the Rondo RULES page before casting your ballot to ensure that your selections are properly counted. If our work has pleased you this past year, we ask that you remember us with your vote. But the important thing is to participate, and to vote for those nominees whose work you feel is most deserving of recognition.

Donna joins me in sending our heartiest congratulations to VW contributors Kim Newman, Ted Newsom and David J. Schow for their Best Article nominations, and to charmin' Charlie Largent for his Best Cover nomination!

VW's Favorite DVDs of 2007: Kim Newman

VW contributor, novelist and audio commentator Kim Newman contributes to a good many other publications, and he begged off contributing a Favorite Discs list for us because he's presently tied up preparing his year's end list of 2007's theatrical releases. But Kim did thoughtfully dash off the following list of "notable UK releases that might be worth folks' attention elsewhere..."

Mind you, these are all Region 2 discs and the best sources for these are places like Amazon.co.uk (UK), Amazon.fr (France), sazuma.com and XploitedCinema.com.

LIFE ON MARS: SERIES ONE and SERIES TWO (Pictured)

Both seasons of this limited-run, time travel/subjective reality cop show are now out. A US remake is in the works, but I suspect it'll be hard to match the ingenious, affecting tone of the original. I'll concur that the BBC's releases of the new DOCTOR WHO series have been outstanding, but a word also for the job they've done on various "classic" serials - all cleaned up and with a fascinating array of extras that make even the minor efforts worth a look.

THE SHOUT and THE POSSESSION OF JOEL DELANEY

A modest plug, in that Steve Jones and I did the critical commentary tracks for these releases, but I was as taken with the rediscoveries of these little-known titles as anyone else. When Steve and I were asked to do these films, we thought there wouldn't be enough in them to fill out a track - but, actually, both films are extremely rewarding, complicated and unexpectedly scary.

LES VAMPIRES

Actually, this is a French R2 release, but it's a gorgeous box - with the Feuillade serial, plus other films, plus associational material. From a later generation, the seminal French serial BELPHEGOR, with Juliet Greco, is also out and well worth a look.

TWISTED NERVE

This psycho-thriller, controversial in its day, is out as part of a Boulting Brothers box set and on its own. Probably best-known for that Bernard Herrmann whistle Tarantino loves to sample, it has a remake-worthy central creepy idea, and an outstanding psycho performance from Hywel Bennett as a genius-level sociopath doing a Lars von Trier act as a kindly simple-minded man to cover up a murder spree.

CANYON PASSAGE and THE DEADLY COMPANIONS

These minor, auteur Westerns -- respectively from Jacques Tourneur and Sam Peckinpah -- are both only available in proper forms on R2 (there are PD pan&scans of the Peckinpah on R1 which should be avoided). Both films have been overlooked and are worthy rediscoveries. [Editor's note: reader Wade Sowers wrote to remind us that CANYON PASSAGE was in fact issued in Region 1 this year, as part of Universal's CLASSIC WESTERN ROUNDUP VOLUME 1 box set.]

Finally, let's hear it for those net-based firms boldly putting out old TV shows that aren't likely to get an official release in the near future. In the past year, I've been enjoying or rediscovering THE CORRIDOR PEOPLE, DOOM WATCH, THE OWL SERVICE (a children's TV serial from 1970 that ought to be hailed as a major work of filmed fantasy), OUT OF THE UNKNOWN, SUPERNATURAL and THE MAD DEATH.

Tomorrow: Our week-long poll closes as VW editor Tim Lucas presents his own Favorite Discs lists (yes, that's plural) and unveils VIDEO WATCHDOG's collective choice for Best DVD of 2007.