Table of contents for RM#193 in RUE MORGUE

What children's TV show would make a great horror movie? A Lovecraftian re-imagining of Spongebob Squarepants where all the characters are Eldritch horrors. @BLPOWELLART, VIA INSTAGRAM A Nightmare on Sesame Street, The Serpent and the Reading Rainbow, Mister Myers' Neighborhood, Clifford the Big Red Dog Soldier. @WALLARAB, VIA INSTAGRAM Thomas the Tank Engine as a cyberpunk Maximum Overdrive? GREG MACFARLANE, VIA FACEBOOK I always thought Mister Rogers was scary. My kid even asked, "What's wrong with him?" HANSI OPPENHEIMER, VIA FACEBOOK I always wanted to do aPeanuts/Salem's Lot mashup. @JOEHIGGINSILLUSTRATION, VIA INSTAGRAM Teletubbies is enough of a horror show without Samara. JESSI ARIAS-COOPER, VIA FACEBOOK FINAL WORDS AS CAPTIONED BY YOU ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA "LOW-BUDGET JOHN SAXON WAS STILL SURPRISED THAT THE FLATULENCE OF THE UNDEAD TURNED OUT TO…

THE LIFE AND GHASTLY DEATH OF AL ADAMSON FROM THE LATE 1960S THROUGH TO THE ’70S, DIRECTOR AL ADAMSON BUILT A LENGTHY FILMOGRAPHY OF HORROR, BIKER, SOFTCORE, AND OTHER EXPLOITATION FLICKS – a resumé that seems even longer because many of them were reconfigured and/or reissued under different titles. With monikers like Blood of Ghastly Horror, Satan’s Sadists and Dracula vs. Frankenstein, they were naturals for the drive-in circuit and Adamson’s product never seemed to be out of circulation (see sidebar). Partnered with producer/distributor Samuel M. Sherman in Independent-International Pictures, Adamson made’em fast and cheap, and what they lacked in polish they made up for in enthusiasm. Often casting his wife Regina Carrol and veterans such as John Carradine, Lon Chaney Jr. and Robert Dix, Adamson also built a stock…

Australia has a hardy horror movie tradition going back to the ’70s, with Aussie filmmakers tackling missing schoolgirls (1975’s Picnic at Hanging Rock), nature in revolt (1978’s Long Weekend), killer hogs (1984’s Razorback), serial killers of the Outback (2005’s Wolf Creek), and storybook monsters come to life (2014’s The Babadook). All have a particular antipodean twist, and all were made by white Australians. Movies about so-called “Blackfellas” (the informal term used in Australian English to refer to Indigenous Australians) made by Blackfellas, however, have until now been primarily the province of social realism, documentary and comedy, but a new five-part horror anthology Dark Place aims to change that. Written and directed entirely by Aboriginal Australians, the film deconstructs (and disembowels) facets of the post-colonial Aboriginal experience in its segments, including…

With a new decade well underway, there are resolutions to be made and kept – or not – and plenty to look forward to as the year unfolds. Here are a few titles I have my eye on for the coming months. THE HAUNTED LIBRARY OF HORROR CLASSICS This new “Horror Writers Association presents” reprint series, produced in collaboration with Sourcebooks and Poisoned Pen Press, sees genre classics reissued with fresh introductions, as well as Suggested Discussion Questions for Classroom Use and Suggested Further Reading at the back. The first two releases in the series are Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera (based on Alexander Teixeira de Mattos’ 1911 English translation), available now, and Richard Marsh’s 1897 novel of jealousy and revenge, The Beetle (in its original published form),…

SOUNDTRACK THE LAST DRIVE-IN WITH JOE BOB BRIGGS: SEASON 1 Brennan and the Bigfeet SHIP TO SHORE PHONOGRAPH CO. What’s a TV show without a great theme song? The Twilight Zone without Marius Constant’s two-note guitar noodle? The X-Files without the famous whistling intro by Mark Snow? These are the tunes that play in your head when you rush home from work to catch that all-important next episode. Enter John Brennan’s infectiously catchy theme to The Last Drive-in With Joe Bob Briggs, the one horror nerds hum as they drag their chips and beer to the couch for some inspired rants by the legendary horror host. Also included on Ship to Shore’s beautiful “Bolo Blue” 7-inch are recordings of the acoustic version that plays pre-intro, the famous “Drive-In Oath,” and…

Known for its vibrant nightlife and neon lights, Las Vegas, Nevada, might be the perfect place to create something truly weird. And that’s what Christopher Moore has done. Trained primarily in industrial design, prop construction, and make-up effects, Moore has clearly fed off the pulsating atmosphere of his hometown to create original and colourful limited release resin figures under his brand, We Become Monsters, which he kicked off after a stint in the film industry. “I wasn’t working in that industry anymore, but still wanted to do some art just to stay sane,” Moore tells Rue Morgue. “Making full-size props and creatures is expensive, so I scaled way down, at first sculpting directly onto toys, which felt a lot like doing tiny makeup FX jobs.” What began as a hobby…

IDENTIFYING KEY IMAGERY IS THE START OF THE PROCESS. I RELY ON MY INTUITION TO GUIDE ME FOR THE COMPOSITIONS. I try to create narratives with the imagery – how characters are connected, the expressions and gestures, the settings – all of these will signify context and emotional texture. Where material doesn’t exist, I’ll turn to the internet for body doubles and specific props. Often, I’ll photograph myself, or colleagues. The reference is crucial. Hands are always very expressive. Once I’ve collated my selection, I print out the images and trace them in pencil. This eliminates the difference in image quality, which can affect the perception. The pencilled elements are scanned into Photoshop, cut out, and moved around in order to find the most powerful composition and narrative thread. (Sometimes…

THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS Stephen Graham Jones Saga Press Stephen Graham Jones returns with his unique brand of Indigenous horror with The Only Good Indians, a supernatural revenge tale set on the reservation, which doesn’t shy away from the realities of that life. Four young Blackfoot men are hunting illegally on the Elders’ territory, when they massacre a herd of elk. Although they are caught by the game warden, their actions offend Elk Head Woman, a spirit of the Elk herd, who takes her bloody revenge years later. The book unravels over three distinct parts. The first, “The House That Ran Red,” puts the reader in the head of hunter Lewis. After he sees an unborn elk calf on his living room floor, he becomes suspicious of his Native co-worker…

Thirst for revenge is a key ingredient in many a horror tale and one that writer P M Buchan has placed front and centre in his new, serialized web comic. The story of a man who turns to the occult in order to take vengeance against those who killed his son and crippled his wife, Blood Moon is more than a simple revenge thriller. “I’m calling it contemporary British folk-horror set in isolated Cornwall on the eve of the UK’s divisive Brexit referendum, but co-creator John Pearson has a simpler take on it,” says Buchan. “He came up with the tagline, ‘What cost, revenge?’ I’m crazy about that trope of the supernatural revenge-thriller, where the main character has the thing they love most taken from them, and their response is…

THIS MONTH: The Classy Creeps of Jenny Richardson A RUE MORGUE COLLECTIBLE Classy Creeps is the perfect title to describe the artwork of Jenny Richardson, whose colourful, playful illustrations are reminiscent of retro comics with a spooky horror vibe. You’ll find many glamorous pin-up-style ghouls, monsters, vampires and creeps in her beautiful portfolio. NAME Jenny Richardson HOMETOWN Ottawa, Ontario WEAPON OF CHOIC “I draw my art digitally with my trusty Wacom tablet and Adobe Photoshop, and to give my art a vintage aesthetic I use various texture packs and brushes from True Grit Texture Supply.” DEEDS “I immigrated from chilly Ottawa, Ontario, to sunny Phoenix, Arizona, near the end of 2018 to be with my husband, and wasn’t legally allowed to work for almost an entire year during the immigration…

NAME: Horror Movie Talk Podcast THEME: Horror Movies FREQUENCY: Every Wednesday FORMAT: Review Show In a world where there is a podcast about seemingly everything, two self-described schlubby guys have cut through the noise with their simplistic show Horror Movie Talk. Hosted by Bryce Hanson and David Day, this “accidentally funny” weekly offering has a straightforward format: horror movie reviews. Aiming to inform, they focus primarily on new releases, though they’ll include mention of a related classic on occasion. Scared of spoilers? Fear not – Hanson and Day give their thoughts on the major points of the film before launching into a clearly defined “spoiler section” for the finer details. Fans of all stripes will appreciate their educated viewpoints and inspired interpretations that are never too pedantic or snarky,…

MANUEL ZINGALE LOCATION: Rome, Italy INSTAGRAM: @jinx_666 Monsters, oddities, freaks, and the dark side of the imagination are the stuff of Manuel Zingale’s tattoo portfolio. “One of my favourite clients said that I ink fears and nightmares,” says the Italian artist. “I like this description!” Working exclusively in black and grey, Zingale’s unique creatures look like folk horror legends come to life, with horns, eyes, and teeth aplenty. If you should find yourself in Rome, do as the Romans do; “My favourite movie ever is Videodrome and I’d love to tattoo the classic scene with Max Renn pointing his gun hand to his head in my style. It would be rad!”…

(Monogram Models, Inc., 1969) After designing such classic 1960s TV show vehicles as The Munsters’ Munster Koach and Drag-u-la, prolific car designer Tom Daniel was contracted by hobby company Monogram to craft designs for numerous auto-themed model kits. One of Daniel’s most famous creations was the Red Baron – a trippy hot rod featuring a chrome German military helmet-shaped roof – released in 1968. The following year, Monogram released a second Daniel-designed Red Baron kit – the creepy, skull-faced Ghost of the Red Baron. Standing 7-inches tall, the all-plastic kit featured a highly detailed skull with eyeballs, yellow-tinted glasses, and a chrome-plated iron cross base and spiked helmet. Also included were decals and an elastic band to make the skull move like a bobblehead. Easy to assemble, the model could…

KRAKATOA, EAST OF JAVA by Frank McCarthy “Nothing is left to the imagination; everything is thrown into this poster. The composition must have been a logistical nightmare, but everything is there. I love the little Norman Rockwell touch in the bottom left; the character is engaging directly with the viewer!” JAWS by Roger Kastel “A deceptively simple and beautifully executed painting. Stunning in its simplicity, and a perfect graphic for the film.” THE HINDENBURG by Bill Gold “Another stunning artwork that does not hold back! The impossible scale and perspective do not detract from the impact. The explosive orange against a black sky is one of the reasons this works for me. Much like other disaster movie posters at the time, we get to see annoyingly rich people have a…

Janice Chen has a hard enough time dealing with her overbearing mom and trying to make ends meet as a Cabit driver; the last thing she needs is to find herself transporting a recently deceased soul to the afterlife. But that’s exactly what happens when she picks up her latest fare, the mysterious Mr. Dumu and his quiet and morose female companion. Janice soon learns that Dumu is escorting the woman’s soul on a dangerous journey: fresh souls are apparently hot commodities for demons and Janice has a number of them tailgating – and they don’t really care who gets hurt as long as they collect their bounty. A supernatural, high-octane thrill ride, Afterlift moves at the expected fast pace, with plenty of twists and turns as it chugs along.…

ADDICTION. IT’S TOUCHED ALMOST EVERYONE IN SOME FORM. In its worst incarnations, it is capable of birthing the kind of real-life horror stories that make the nightly news. Ones marked with tragedy, grief, and the cooling bodies of those gone far too soon. Given art’s propensity to draw inspiration from life, it’s no surprise that addiction spawns equally compelling and terrifying fictional narratives, especially when it dares dance with the supernatural – and other hungry things that stalk the night for a fix. This is borne out in graphic detail in a pair of no-holds-barred anthologies, 2017’s Garden of Fiends and this year’s Lullabies For Suffering (both edited by Mark Matthews and available from Wicked Run Press). “We are in [the midst of] an explosion of great, powerful, poignant horror,…

IN 1972’S NIGHT OF THE LEPUS, a hormone experiment gone awry causes cuddly rabbits to produce oversized, bloodthirsty spawn, wreaking havoc on an old Southwestern town. Using a combination of real rabbits in miniature models, gratuitous closeups of bunny teeth, and actors in corny rabbit suits, the mutant bunnies end up being more hilarious than scary Try these delicious bloodthirsty bunny truffles – a sweet and sinister addition to your Easter holiday. Hide them instead of eggs! If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Don’t forget to tag your photo with #ruemorgue and #homicidalhomemaker on Instagram and Twitter. NIGHT OF THE LEPUS BLOODTHIRSTY BUNNY TRUFFLES Makes 12 truffles TRUFFLE INGREDIENTS: • 16 vanilla sandwich cookies, finely crushed• 3 oz. cream cheese, softened• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract• ¼…

The eerie sound of the theremin has become synonymous with classic ’50s and ’60s horror and sci-fi, and to this day remains closely associated with ghostly happenings and visits from otherworldly creatures. What’s even cooler, the instrument has a near supernatural quality to it, given that there are no keys to push, no strings to pluck, no mouthpiece to blow in to create its eerie vibrations. Instead, performers generate sound by waving their hands between two upright antennae, manipulating an invisible electromagnetic field. No wonder it sounds so spooky. Invented by Soviet physicist Lev Sergeyevich Termen (known in the Western world as Léon Theremin) while researching proximity sensors in 1920, the theremin quickly became associated with the horror and sci-fi movies that began incorporating it into their soundtracks. Even so,…

VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE – COTERIES OF NEW YORK PC Draw Distance Fans of White Wolf’s classic roleplaying game Vampire: The Masquerade have been clamouring for another World of Darkness (WoD) adventure in the wake of 2004’s Bloodlines. With a sequel to that cult favourite set for release in 2020, Polish developer Draw Distance adds to the excitement with Coteries of New York, a visual novel that utilizes the classic Vampire sourcebook New York By Night. Though it sports some wonderful writing and moody characterization, the game’s limited scale sometimes gets in the way of its mostly excellent narrative. As a fledgling who’s embraced without approval from New York’s Prince (think head vampire), you’re thrust into the warring egos and systems of belief that belong to the city’s centuries-old denizens.…