Table of contents for Issue 129 December 2012 in RUE MORGUE

An ambitious new project will reunite writer Steve Niles and artist Ben Templesmith for the first time since they worked together a decade ago on 30 Days of Night. Lust, tentatively scheduled for a March 2013 release from indie publisher 44Flood, is being co-created by writer/artist Menton Matthews III (better known as “menton3”) and will feature an introduction by Warren Ellis. The limited edition, oversized, two-sided hardcover will weigh in at 72 pages, with each artist illustrating one half of the book. Niles will script the entire volume, which will explore the duality of lust and chastity through both comic book and prose stories. Since each artist will also create his own cover to accompany his half of the tome, Lust will essentially take the format of a giant flipbook.…

1.HELLRAISER: PINHEAD PRICKLY HIGH PRIEST OF PAIN 2.CANDYMAN: CANDYMAN HOOK-HANDED BUZZ KILLER 3.NIGHTBREED: PELOQUIN RED-DREADED CARNIVORE 4.HELLRAISER: THE ENGINEER CREEPY-CRAWLY MAZE MONSTER 5.LORD OF ILLUSIONS: NIX, THE PURITAN MUTATED MAGIC MAN 6.HELLRAISER IV: CHATTERER BEAST SADO-MASOCHISTIC MUTT TORTURED TAGLINES LADY FRANKENSTEIN (1971) “ONLY THE MONSTER SHE MADE COULD SATISFY HER STRANGE DESIRES!” See more of Jay’s work at jayfosgitt.com…

B.P.R.D Dark Horse has done an admirable job of expanding the Hellboy universe, to the point that the world has been able to carry on without Big Red himself. B.P.R.D. (which stands for Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense) features compelling characters that are part of one long saga. Much of the thrill of being a long-time fan is seeing how all the disparate tales come together. For example, this winter’s “Return of the Master” storyline sees the culmination of subplots that have been simmering for years, and literally ends with Hell on Earth. And yet despite the imminent end of the planet, Dark Horse has crafted a great entry point for new readers by, in effect, wiping the slate clean. Never has the Apocalypse been more accessible.…

WITH THE AMOUNT OF HATE MAIL SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT RECEIVED UPON ITS RELEASE IN 1984, YOU WOULD THINK IT WOULD BE THE LAST FILM ON HOLLYWOOD’S REBOOT LIST. Not so. Coming this Christmas from Anchor Bay, Santa will be slaying – pun totally intended – again in Silent Night, from director Steven C. Miller (The Aggression Scale, Automaton Transfusion). This “loose remake” – written by Jayson-Rothwell–sees a madman in a Santa suit hack, slash and burn his way through a small town on Christmas Eve, while Deputy Sheriff Aubrey Bradimore (Jaime King: My Bloody Valentine remake) and the rest of the local police force try to figure out his true identity. Porn stars, promiscuous teens, even rude kids are on the naughty list. To add to the fun, Malcolm…

THIS ISSUE: LANCE GOES ON A BLOOD DRIVE Peepers Creepers BLOODY TEASE Razor 3D Going to a strip club where the strippers don’t actually get naked is like going to McDonalds for a salad – kind of sad and ultimately unfulfilling. That also sums up this movie about a couple of guys who discover that the girls working at the local peeler bar are actually vampires intent on draining the customers dry – in a more literal way than usual. Strippers and vamps seem like a nobrainer, but Brad Sykes (Goth, Camp Blood) takes the art of directing to a new low with this lame effort, which features little to no nudity and a new kind of vampire that can only be killed by being stabbed in the eyes. Seriously.…

AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER, WE ALL END UP WITH THAT DREADED UNWANTED HOLIDAY GIFT. From ugly sweaters to useless knickknacks to gimmicky kitchen gadgets, it seems that there’s always one relative or well-meaning co-worker whose idea of a perfect gift is one that also happens to be within arm’s reach. Still, it could be worse – in many classic horror films, gift recipients end up with something a whole lot more unpleasant than just an animatronic singing fish or ill-fitting turtleneck. These ominous offerings, five of the most common examined below, are always a sign of bad things to come for anyone who discovers them stuffed in their stocking. AN OLD BOOK ON ANCIENT MYTHOLOGY OR SUPERNATURAL PHENOMENA If someone gives you a big dusty, leather-bound tome with a…

ASK ANY HORROR FAN TO NAME A FEW OF THE GENRE’S MOST INFLUENTIAL FILM SCORES, AND YOU’RE BOUND TO GET THE SAME ANSWERS OVER AND OVER AGAIN: Psycho and Halloween will almost certainly top the list, probably followed by The Omen, Suspiria and a handful of other films whose music has become the stuff of cinema legend. It’s a great list, but it barely scratches the surface of a century of genre film music. Enter Randall D. Larson’s Musique Fantastique: 100 Years of Fantasy, Science Fiction & Horror Film Music. Originally published in 1985 and long out of print, the landmark study is finally being re-released as a massive, four-volume second edition, the first installment of which is out now from Creature Features. Each volume will feature cover art by…

REMEMBER DYNAMO, THE ELECTRIFIED VILLAIN PLAYED BY ERLAND VAN LIDTH IN 1987’S THE RUNNING MAN? Imagine him dressed as KISS’ Gene Simmons for Halloween, alternately barking and wailing operatically with mantra-like repetition about hearing Satan, the allure of the fairer sex or killing his neighbour, against a musical brick wall of seemingly injurious drum machines and keyboard soundscapes. You’re getting closer to understanding the glammy “art nightmare” that is Corpusse. “It’s what it is: a theatre-based, heavy lyrical, fucking freakshow,” says the man born John Ashton, of a stage show that’s alternatively hard, horny, dangerous, demented, terrifying, unpredictable and comical. “It’s not brain science. It’s like people want oatmeal and I’m giving them complicated noodles.” On the eve of releasing his seventh full-length release – a deluxe vinyl LP titled…

THANK YOU @RUEMORGUE for the Prince of Darkness cover story. The most underrated among many underrated Carpenter flicks. @JPWENDEL, VIA TWITTER JUST RECEIVED the new issue of Rue Morgue in the mail. Opened the envelope and what do I see staring back at me? Prince of Darkness, a movie I never expected to see gracing the cover of your magazine. Hats off to you (heck, take the rest of my head, too)! While I'd never be so bold to proclaim Prince of Darkness to be John Carpenter’s most technically proficient or artistically accomplished film, nevertheless it is fulfilling to me on a personal level that words can't quite express. Even more than The Thing, or even Halloween. An unfairly maligned, idea-driven, coulda-been, wouldabeen, shoulda-been cult classic, it may not be…

1 DAY OF THE DEAD CORKSCREW $23.99 We’ve all been there: you’re at a graveside picnic chowing down on sugar skulls and candy coffins, you reach for a bottle of bubbly to quench your thirst and you realize that some plonker’s forgot the opener. This corkscrew, on the other hand, is unforgettable. Drink your face off at amazon.com. 2 NEVERMORE BODY COMPANY THREE WITCHES LINE $6 – $16 The latest creepy cosmetics from Nevermore will give you the skin of a sorceress. Their Three Witches line includes Cauldron Broth Spray Skin Tonic, Crone Cleanser and Second Sight Eye Makeup Remover – plus there’s even a line of Three Witches aftershave, for the warlock in your life. Pick your potions at nevermorebodyco.com. 3 FRANKIE AND HIS BRIDE SALT AND PEPPER SHAKERS…

I think what has always been the appeal of the film – and I stumbled across something the other day where someone – a young gay man – was saying that he could completely identify with this movie when he’d first seen it – I think it’s because it’s about being different, it’s about not being what is “acceptable,” it’s about not being ordinary, it’s about being extraordinary and it’s that lovely line in the movie, which I’m about to misquote: “When you dream, you dream about being immortal, you dream about flying, changing shape.” Midian is a place where the monsters go, it’s about that sense of community, about people who are outcasts and so on and people who just really are so incredibly different and actually just want…

HORROR HAS LONG HELD A PLACE OF HONOUR AT DARK HORSE. The publisher’s unorthodox approach to genre comics – resurrecting Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer with “seasons” in comic-book form; publishing lavish, hardcover editions of both classic horror titles and new anthologies; and rolling the bones on oddball titles such as the animal-populated Beasts of Burden – has landed the company at the forefront of the horror comics game. Dark Horse made a particularly concerted effort to tap into the genre in 2003 with the formation of a dedicated horror line, started by writer and editor Scott Allie. It was launched not only to develop new horror comics, but to help draw attention to the genre titles the company was already printing. “Grouping and promoting the books together helped…

Time To Pay The Piper THEY LIVE (1988) Starring Roddy Piper, Keith David and Meg Foster Written and directed by John Carpenter Scream Factory Despite the corny one-liners, a ridiculously overthe-top fight sequence and the questionable thespian prowess of its charismatic but not totally convincing star, They Live endures as one of the most subversive horror films of the 1980s and one of the most important movies John Carpenter ever made. Wrestling legend “Rowdy” Roddy Piper plays Nada, a dreamfilled drifter who wanders into a post-Reaganomics Los Angeles teetering on the verge of social collapse. After securing grunt work on a building site, he shares the following sentiment with his disillusioned colleague Frank (Keith David): “I believe in America. I follow the rules.” His faith undergoes a radical transformation when…

THE FORREST J ACKERMAN OEUVRE Christoper M. O'Brien McFarland Bored? Need a new project in your life? Why not read every single word that ever came from the pen of super-fan, Famous Monsters editor and sci-fi legend Forrest J Ackerman? What was previously unthinkable is now an easily achievable bucket-list item thanks to The Forrest J Ackerman Oeuvre, a new mega-checklist compiled by archivist Christopher M. O’Brien that will simultaneously overwhelm you, confound you and possibly make you consider the degree to which you are wasting your own life. This “Comprehensive Catalog of the Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Screenplays, Film Appearances, Speeches and Other Works” includes a staggering list of more than 3000 pieces of magazine and anthology writing that Ackerman produced over many decades. This section takes up the largest…

The holiday season can be a wasteland for horror diehards. Treacle over terror, and all that. A shame, because so many facets of Christmas are ripe for genre exploitation, from the toxic politics of forced family gatherings and gifts from hell, to the rampant (genuinely horrifying) consumerism and commercialization of the season. And that’s just the real-world stuff. Now, consider some of the darker global myths, such as the European one about the demonic-looking goat-man Krampus, who rewards good children with gifts, while punishing the bad ones with beatings – sometimes even kidnapping and eating them! – and it’s rather surprising that there’s not more holiday horror out there. That’s why I got so excited when I found out about writer/illustrator Brom’s new novel Krampus (out now from Harper Voyager).…

SILENT HILL: REVELATION 3D SOUNDTRACK Jeff Danna, Akira Yamaoka LAKESHORE RECORDS The producers of the latest Silent Hill film wisely chose to stick with inimitable composers Jeff Danna and Akira Yamaoka, and their second collaboration gives us this rich sonic amalgam of music from the industrial and classical disciplines. Shape-shifting sound design turns the whole score into one taut, organic foray into Silent Hill’s grungy little netherworld. Yamaoka’s seductive music-box theme is central to the score, as are the frequently subtle reiterations between gnashing sound montages, but amid the choreographed clamour (there’s no shortage of clangs, grinding steel and digitized, warbling brass chords), the music’s emotional core is never lost. Danna often pulls back from the horrific sounds to almost elegiac chamber statements in order to keep us grounded, but…

WOULD YOU RATHER slather yourself in guts and fight your way through zombie-infested streets with only an axe, or babysit Carl for an afternoon? Babysit Carl so I could feed him to the zombies, along with his mother. Ryan Marston I want that little badass Carl to be my bodyguard. That kid is unstoppable and knows how to survive. Billy Baughman I would rather fight the zed-heads with a ripe banana than watch that schmendrick! I don’t care if he would have my back in a fight! Joseph Dzencelowcz Season 2? Option A for sure. But so far in Season 3 Carl is a little badass zombiekilling machine. I’d slather him in guts and tell him to go play outside. Lara Wycked I think risking my life killing zombies would…

New York City police officer Gilberto Valle III was arrested in October on the suspicion that he planned to abduct, murder and eat more than 100 women. Investigators found evidence of planning and stalking on the 28-year-old’s computer. In one shot in Joe Dante’s The ’burbs (1989), during a breakfast scene, you can see a box of “Gremlins” cereal. Dante, of course, directed 1984’s Gremlins. In October, “pumpkin artist” Ray Villafane and a team of assistants transformed over 1800 pounds of pumpkin into a life-sized zombie carving for New York’s Botanical Garden. The carving took three days to complete and featured a number of smaller pumpkin zombies incorporated into the work. Kathy Bates was the first woman to receive an Oscar for a horror role, for her portrayal of Annie…

While most toy manufacturers of the 1970s stuck with stock characters such as Dracula and the Wolfman, Tomland went another route with this 1977 line. Featuring characters who, for the most part, had never been turned into toys before, the set of 8-inch figures consisted of the Fly, the Cyclops, a Morlock (from The Time Machine) and the Abominable Snow Man/Yeti. The figures would not only be issued in glow-in-thedark versions, but were later repurposed for a Star Wars knock-off line called Star Raiders. When found on eBay, loose, non-glow figures sell for up to $100 in near-mint condition, with carded ones going for double that. Glow versions can fetch $150 or more. MORE CRYPTIC COLLECTIBLES AT RUE-MORGUE.COM…

“YOU MIGHT THINK THAT IT WOULD BE FUNNY… OR A PARODY, BUT IT’S PLAYED AS QUITE SICK IN THE FILM. SO LET ME REPEAT THE NAMES OF THE WRITER AND THE DIRECTOR AND THE PRODUCER OF THIS FILM. MICHAEL HICKEY WROTE THE FILM, CHARLES SELLIER JR. DIRECTED IT, AND IRA RICHARD BARMAK PRODUCED IT. YOU PEOPLE HAVE NOTHING TO BE PROUD OF EVEN IF YOU MADE A FEW BUCKS OFF ALL THE NEGATIVE PUBLICITY. YOUR PROFITS TRULY ARE BLOOD MONEY.” – GENE SISKEL, REVIEWING SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT, AT THE MOVIES, 1984. Mainstream movie critics such as Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert weren’t exactly known for being friends of slasher and exploitation films, but no sleaze epic earned the kind of intense hatred from them and from the public that…

BEAST OF BURTON FRANKENWEENIE Starring Charlie Tahan, Catherine O’Hara and Martin Short Directed by Tim Burton Written by John August Disney The Frankenweenie concept has been kicking around Tim Burton’s stitched-together brain for decades now. He first explored it in 1984 as a short film, and has now returned with a full-length feature version based on script penned by John August (Corpse Bride). A black-and-white, stop-motion animated film, Frankenweenie has a nostalgic feel to it straight out of the gate, which is further bolstered by homages to the monster movies (Godzilla and the Universal classics among them) and icons (Vincent Price) who turned a whole generation of kids in the ’50s and ’60s into lifelong horror fans. The cookie-cutter suburb inhabited by our young hero, Victor Frankenstein, and his beloved…

Is one of the first modern British horror films to abandon gothic and fairy-tale imagery and place its horrors in a realistic environment, some consider Julian Richards’ 1996 film Darklands a harbinger of movies such as 28 Days Later, Shaun of the Dead and Dog Soldiers. Sixteen years after its promising debut on the European festival circuit, the filmmaker’s first feature just became available to North American audiences on DVD (courtesy of Jinga Films). Described somewhat bombastically as Rosemary’s Baby meets The Wicker Man, and also prefiguring Ben Wheatley’s 2010 Kill List and that film’s similar shades of modern ritual sacrifice, it begins as a gritty thriller about a journalist named Frazer Truick (Craig Fairbrass) investigating ritualistic murders in a contemporary, industrial Wales. A priest is found butchered like a…

Life has been good for pre-Code horror fans the last few years. We’ve been treated to several lavish hardcover reprint editions, with Tales From the Crypt, Vault of Horror, Eerie and many others having already been painstakingly reproduced in all their gory glory. However, while many hardcore fans have no problems spending upwards of $50 per volume, the more casual reader looking to dip his or her toes in the piranha pool may balk at the high price and fancy format. Looking to fill that gap is a new bimonthly reprint title, Haunted Horror, from Yoe Comics and IDW. At only $3.99 per issue, for a whopping 48 colour pages, this terror treat not only brings an affordable vintage collection to the market, it’s reproducing a number of classic stories…

With the malls decked out in schmaltzy glitz and playing the jingly odes of the holiday season, my mind turned to music that explores the darker side of Christmas. Who sings for those scarred by the guttural ho-ho-ho’ing of the penultimate fur-trimmed beardo? What minstrel lives to chill the coal-shaped hearts of Yuletide heathens? I’ve compiled some musical suggestions sure to dampen the spirits of even the cheeriest of revellers. May you find solace in these seven gifts from an unholy spirit: 1. Tales From the Crypt: Have Yourself a Scary Little Christmas From “Deck the Halls with Parts of Charlie” to “T’was the Fright Before Christmas,” this entire album of absolutely depraved renditions of holiday classics by the crotchety Cryptkeeper should be the centrepiece of any effort to dismantle…

In 1971, Thomas Tryon’s The Other became one of three best-selling novels that, in a four-year span, helped drag the genre from the ghetto of dusty, marginal bookstore shelves to the prime real estate of window displays. The other two (Ira Levin’s Rosemary’s Baby, in 1967, and William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist, in 1971) became instant classics, along with their film versions; but while The Other spent more than six months on the New York Times best-seller list and was the ninth best-selling novel of 1971, it has faded into relative obscurity. Its celluloid adaptation, directed by Robert Mulligan, hasn’t fared much better, but the film did sow seeds of influence that still grow to this day. The Other, which was reworked for the screen by Tryon himself, is the…