Honourable Mention: The Final Curtain
23 hours ago
Showing posts with label Vampire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vampire. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
H-Night Final Countdown *08* - Black Sunday (The Mask of Satan))
STARE INTO THESE EYES... discover deep within them the unspeakable terrifying secret of BLACK SUNDAY... it will paralyze you with fright!
Once every 100 years the undead of hell terrorize the world in an orgy of stark horror... The Most Frightening Motion Picture You Have Ever Seen!
Black Sunday (Italian title: La maschera del demonio, also known as The Mask of Satan, aka Revenge of the Vampire aka Mask of the Demon aka The Demon's Mask) is a 1960 Italian horror film directed by Mario Bava, from a screenplay by Ennio de Concini and Mario Serandrei. The film stars legendary scream queen Barbara Steele, John Richardson, Arturo Dominici, and Ivo Garrani. It was Bava's directorial debut, although he had completed several previous feature films without credit. Black Sunday is a loose adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s short story “Viy”, about a vampiress-witch who is put to death by her own brother — only to return two hundred years hence to feed on her descendants.
By the social standards of the 1960s, Black Sunday was considered unusually gruesome, and was banned in the U.K. until 1968, because of its violence. In the U.S., some of the gore was censored, in-house, by the distributor, American International Pictures, before its theatrical release to the country’s cinemas. Even with being censored, the film still had moments of very graphic (for its time) scenes of horror and violence. With bloody scenes featuring a wooden stake being rammed into a vampire's eyeball (Bava's variation on the more traditional stake through the heart), a metal mask hammered into a beautiful woman's face, and other mayhem, the film was "far more graphic in its depiction of murder and death than audiences had previously seen."
Despite the censorship, Black Sunday was a world-wide critical and box office success — and launched the careers of director Mario Bava and movie star Barbara Steele. When released in the U.S. during 1961, the film was a commercial success for AIP, becoming the distributor's greatest financial success to that time. It also brought Barbara Steele to the attention of genre fans, and was the first of a series of horror movies she starred in over the next several years.
Decades after its original release, Black Sunday has continued to maintain a positive critical reputation. In The Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural (1986), Timothy Sullivan wrote, "A supremely atmospheric horror film, Black Sunday was Mario Bava's first and best directorial job, and the first of the 1960s cycle of Italian Gothic cinema ... [The film] remains [Bava's] greatest achievement, without a doubt one of the best horror films ever made."
Phil Hardy’s The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Horror observed, "Bava's first (and best) film as a solo director... The movie derives its lyrical force and indeed its sense of horror from the knowledge that a woman's sexuality cannot be eliminated and will return, bearing the scars of the violence with which it was repressed, to challenge the order of things."
Allmovie has noted, "Generally considered to be the foremost example of Italian Gothic horror, this darkly atmospheric black-and-white chiller put director Mario Bava on the international map...The atmosphere is so heavy and the imagery so dense that the film becomes nearly too rich in texture, but the sheer, ghastly beauty of it all is entrancing."
Glenn Erickson, in reviewing the Anchor Bay DVD release of the film, wrote, "Mario Bava's first credited feature is still the number one film of the Italian Horror renaissance, startlingly original and genuinely creepy...The budget may have been low, but Black Sunday is more atmospheric and cinematically active than any of Hollywood's classic horror films."
According to Tim Lucas, Black Sunday has had an "almost incalculable influence" on artists and filmmakers. The film's opening inquisition sequence was a strong inspiration for many similar scenes appearing in such movies as The Brainiac (1961), La cripta el l'incubo (U.S. Title: Terror in the Crypt) (1963), Bloody Pit of Horror (1965), and Michael Reeves's The She Beast (1966). Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 film Bram Stoker's Dracula recreates several scenes from Black Sunday nearly exactly as they were filmed, in homage to Bava's film. Roman Coppola has cited Black Sunday as an influence on his father's film.
Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow (1999) "borrowed" some of the film's imagery, particularly in a scene in which Lisa Marie's face is punctured by an Iron Maiden. Burton has explicitly cited Bava's film as an inspiration, noting "One of the movies that remain with me probably stronger than anything is Black Sunday...there's a lot of old films - [Bava's] in particular - where the vibe and the feeling is what it's about... the feeling's a mixture of eroticism, of sex, of horror and starkness of image - and to me that is more real than what most people would consider realism in films..."
Black Sunday aka The Mask of Satan (1960) shown on "Creature Feature" presented by Count Gore De Vol:
You will never escape my vengeance, or of Satan's! My revenge will seek you out, and with the blood of your sons, and of their sons, and their sons, I will continue to live forever! They will restore me to life you now rob from me!
You, too, can feel the joy and happiness of hating.
Once every 100 years the undead of hell terrorize the world in an orgy of stark horror... The Most Frightening Motion Picture You Have Ever Seen!
Black Sunday (Italian title: La maschera del demonio, also known as The Mask of Satan, aka Revenge of the Vampire aka Mask of the Demon aka The Demon's Mask) is a 1960 Italian horror film directed by Mario Bava, from a screenplay by Ennio de Concini and Mario Serandrei. The film stars legendary scream queen Barbara Steele, John Richardson, Arturo Dominici, and Ivo Garrani. It was Bava's directorial debut, although he had completed several previous feature films without credit. Black Sunday is a loose adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s short story “Viy”, about a vampiress-witch who is put to death by her own brother — only to return two hundred years hence to feed on her descendants.
By the social standards of the 1960s, Black Sunday was considered unusually gruesome, and was banned in the U.K. until 1968, because of its violence. In the U.S., some of the gore was censored, in-house, by the distributor, American International Pictures, before its theatrical release to the country’s cinemas. Even with being censored, the film still had moments of very graphic (for its time) scenes of horror and violence. With bloody scenes featuring a wooden stake being rammed into a vampire's eyeball (Bava's variation on the more traditional stake through the heart), a metal mask hammered into a beautiful woman's face, and other mayhem, the film was "far more graphic in its depiction of murder and death than audiences had previously seen."
Despite the censorship, Black Sunday was a world-wide critical and box office success — and launched the careers of director Mario Bava and movie star Barbara Steele. When released in the U.S. during 1961, the film was a commercial success for AIP, becoming the distributor's greatest financial success to that time. It also brought Barbara Steele to the attention of genre fans, and was the first of a series of horror movies she starred in over the next several years.
Decades after its original release, Black Sunday has continued to maintain a positive critical reputation. In The Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural (1986), Timothy Sullivan wrote, "A supremely atmospheric horror film, Black Sunday was Mario Bava's first and best directorial job, and the first of the 1960s cycle of Italian Gothic cinema ... [The film] remains [Bava's] greatest achievement, without a doubt one of the best horror films ever made."
Phil Hardy’s The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Horror observed, "Bava's first (and best) film as a solo director... The movie derives its lyrical force and indeed its sense of horror from the knowledge that a woman's sexuality cannot be eliminated and will return, bearing the scars of the violence with which it was repressed, to challenge the order of things."
Allmovie has noted, "Generally considered to be the foremost example of Italian Gothic horror, this darkly atmospheric black-and-white chiller put director Mario Bava on the international map...The atmosphere is so heavy and the imagery so dense that the film becomes nearly too rich in texture, but the sheer, ghastly beauty of it all is entrancing."
Glenn Erickson, in reviewing the Anchor Bay DVD release of the film, wrote, "Mario Bava's first credited feature is still the number one film of the Italian Horror renaissance, startlingly original and genuinely creepy...The budget may have been low, but Black Sunday is more atmospheric and cinematically active than any of Hollywood's classic horror films."
According to Tim Lucas, Black Sunday has had an "almost incalculable influence" on artists and filmmakers. The film's opening inquisition sequence was a strong inspiration for many similar scenes appearing in such movies as The Brainiac (1961), La cripta el l'incubo (U.S. Title: Terror in the Crypt) (1963), Bloody Pit of Horror (1965), and Michael Reeves's The She Beast (1966). Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 film Bram Stoker's Dracula recreates several scenes from Black Sunday nearly exactly as they were filmed, in homage to Bava's film. Roman Coppola has cited Black Sunday as an influence on his father's film.
Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow (1999) "borrowed" some of the film's imagery, particularly in a scene in which Lisa Marie's face is punctured by an Iron Maiden. Burton has explicitly cited Bava's film as an inspiration, noting "One of the movies that remain with me probably stronger than anything is Black Sunday...there's a lot of old films - [Bava's] in particular - where the vibe and the feeling is what it's about... the feeling's a mixture of eroticism, of sex, of horror and starkness of image - and to me that is more real than what most people would consider realism in films..."
Black Sunday aka The Mask of Satan (1960) shown on "Creature Feature" presented by Count Gore De Vol:
You will never escape my vengeance, or of Satan's! My revenge will seek you out, and with the blood of your sons, and of their sons, and their sons, I will continue to live forever! They will restore me to life you now rob from me!
You, too, can feel the joy and happiness of hating.
Friday, October 9, 2009
H-Minus 22 - Samson Vs The Vampire Women MST3K
Here's the MST3K version of Santo vs. Las Mujeres Vampiro (see yesterday's post for more on that).
Samson Vs The Vampire Women MST3K:
Thursday, October 8, 2009
H-Minus 23 - Santo vs. Las Mujeres Vampiro
Samson vs. the Vampire Women
Here's a classic Santo movie from 1962 starring El Santo the legendary silver-masked wrestler of justice as himself of 'course and the lovely Lorena Velázquez as Thorina, queen of the vampires.
The vampire women in Mexico have awakened from their sleep, commanded by their master, The Evil One, to find him a bride. They choose as their target the beautiful daughter of a local professor. To rescue his daughter, the professor calls none other than El Santo himself (renamed Samson here in the english version.)
Santo vs. Las Mujeres Vampiro aka Samson vs. the Vampire Women (1962):
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
H-Minus 24 Part II - Azathoth's Comic Picks For This Halloween Season
Check your local comic shop for these babies out now or coming soon!
Escape of the Living Dead - Resurrected
The ultimate zombie graphic novel, John Russo's zombie epic is unveiled in this definitive collection! The co-writer of the classic film Night of the Living Dead brings his all-new zombie masterpiece to comics! All ten issues of the Escape of the Living Dead are collected into this one giant tome of terror. Included are the original 5 issue series, the 3 issue Airborne series, the Fearbook, and the Annual.
It's been three years since the blood soaked night that the dead rose from their graves, attacking and devouring the living. Now, the legacy of that horrific and unexplained event is about to be unleashed once again upon an unsuspecting world... With zombies once again roaming the Pennsylvania countryside, only a handful of individuals know that the horror has begun anew. This collected edition features a new cover by Mike Wolfer. Written by John Russo, art by Dheeraj Verma, cover by Mike Wolfer.
Alan Moore's Yuggoth Cultures and Other Growths
The career-spanning short works of Alan Moore are collected in this tome — with over 50 pages of additional material not in the original mini-series. Added in are fascinating obscure interviews about the man, his craft, and magic, as well as essays from Moore himself and loads of additional new artwork. Yuggoth Cultures and Other Growths features tons of Moore’s classic short sequential comic book stories; stories that have been long out of print, that have never before been seen, and special developmental sections with original script pages and comments from Moore and the creators.
Included is the amazing Nightjar (with art by the great Bryan Talbot), plus many more tales illustrated by Talbot, Juan Jose Ryp, Val Semieks, Mike Wolfer, Marat Mychaels, Hunt Emerson, and Jacen Burrows. Rounding out the works is a piece that is vital to any Alan Moore collection: I Keep Coming Back, a coda to the masterpiece From Hell, with art by Oscar Zarate.
This massive volume also includes an extensive interview with Moore, plus Antony Johnston’s Yuggoth Creatures, a work inspired by Yuggoth Cultures and the worlds of H.P. Lovecraft, with art by Ryp, Burrows, Dheeraj Verma, and many more.
Vincent Price Presents #13 - Dr. Phibes
This one-shot featuring Vincent Price tells another gothic adventure about the one of the characters that Price made famous, Dr. Phibes. Investigating a bad actor's death, Inspector Trout joins Thanatos, a mysterious man involved with Dr. Phibes' past, into a journey to London's sewers. They, they discover what happened to the master of bizarre murder.
Fall of Cthulhu vol. 6 - Nemesis
Michael Alan Nelson, the critically acclaimed author of Hexed, concludes his Fall Of Cthulhu maxi-series with Nemesis, an epic origin story revealing the secret history behind Nyarlathotep's favorite companion. Who is Nemesis you ask? Get this book and find out. The fight for Atlantis continues as a weary king exposes sycophants who pray to the Old Ones, their dissent and aggression mounting. The Crawling Chaos must be stopped! Be prepared for the shock of your life as BOOM!'s best-selling horror title comes to its shocking conclusion! Written by Michael Alan Nelson, with artwork by Todd Herman.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? #5
The direct comic adaption of the book that inspired Blade Runner continues! The world has survived war, but is it ready for mass empathy? Everyday, the thousands left on Earth immerse themselves within the plight of Wilbur Mercer. They suffer as he does, making a never-ending climb through a Hellish terrain. Welcome to the world of Rick Deckard and the world of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Covers by Bill Sienkiewicz and Moritat.
Hack/Slash Vol. 3: Friday the 31st
Surviving the first horror movie is tough. Surviving the sequel is near-impossible! But making it to the third? Now that's damn well superhuman! Cassie and Vlad manage to get to their third trade paperback collection of Hack/Slash. But there, they have to face murderous dolls, medical miscreants and satanic rockers... Will they make it to the end in one piece? Get this cult classic today!
Hack/Slash: The Series #28
Cassie and Vlad are called back to the strange little town of Haverhill, as the peaceful, idyllic burg is beset by Mary Shelley Lovecraft and her Franken-Deep Ones. Mary, intent on taking a Groom in her quest to remake the world in fiction, just might have Our Pal Taber in her sights. But Taber already has enough trouble deciding between the blonde and the redhead! Crazy, sexy, gory fun that mixes Cthulhu with Archie!
FVZA (Federal Vampire and Zombie Agency) #1
In a world where a deadly disease transforms innocent victims into Zombies, a long dormant government task force is called to action: The Federal Vampire and Zombie Agency.
Throughout history, from the Civil War to World War II, the FVZA protected humanity from the blood-sucking, flesh-eating hordes -- until a cure was discovered that sent the undead to their graves. When a new incurable strain of the virus ravages a small town in America, Agent Landra Pecos must call upon her lethal skills to eradicate the threat. But as Landra delves deeper into her investigation of the undead menace, she uncovers shocking secrets that will change her life forever.
Based on the popular website FVZA.org and written by comics superstar David Hine (Civil War: X-Men, Spider-Man Noir, Arkham Asylum).
The Complete Dracula
“As the Count leaned over me and his hands touched me… a horrible feeling of nausea came over me, which, do what I would, I could not conceal.” – Bram Stoker’s Dracula
Dynamite presents the complete story of the Lord of the Undead — Dracula! For the first time in 112 years the tale that Bram Stoker intended to tell is told (including “Dracula’s Guest”!). If you thought you knew how it began or how it ends, you were wrong! Writers John Reppion and Leah Moore are joined by painter Colton Worley for an odyssey of life, death, and the blood that flows within us all!
This adaptation features fully painted art done in a rich, moody style by Worley, all under covers by modern master John Cassaday! Moore and Reppion also provide bonus material such as script pages, annotations, a cover gallery, and samplings of the original text by Bram Stoker including the lost chapter "Dracula's Guest!"
Escape of the Living Dead - Resurrected
The ultimate zombie graphic novel, John Russo's zombie epic is unveiled in this definitive collection! The co-writer of the classic film Night of the Living Dead brings his all-new zombie masterpiece to comics! All ten issues of the Escape of the Living Dead are collected into this one giant tome of terror. Included are the original 5 issue series, the 3 issue Airborne series, the Fearbook, and the Annual.
It's been three years since the blood soaked night that the dead rose from their graves, attacking and devouring the living. Now, the legacy of that horrific and unexplained event is about to be unleashed once again upon an unsuspecting world... With zombies once again roaming the Pennsylvania countryside, only a handful of individuals know that the horror has begun anew. This collected edition features a new cover by Mike Wolfer. Written by John Russo, art by Dheeraj Verma, cover by Mike Wolfer.
Alan Moore's Yuggoth Cultures and Other Growths
The career-spanning short works of Alan Moore are collected in this tome — with over 50 pages of additional material not in the original mini-series. Added in are fascinating obscure interviews about the man, his craft, and magic, as well as essays from Moore himself and loads of additional new artwork. Yuggoth Cultures and Other Growths features tons of Moore’s classic short sequential comic book stories; stories that have been long out of print, that have never before been seen, and special developmental sections with original script pages and comments from Moore and the creators.
Included is the amazing Nightjar (with art by the great Bryan Talbot), plus many more tales illustrated by Talbot, Juan Jose Ryp, Val Semieks, Mike Wolfer, Marat Mychaels, Hunt Emerson, and Jacen Burrows. Rounding out the works is a piece that is vital to any Alan Moore collection: I Keep Coming Back, a coda to the masterpiece From Hell, with art by Oscar Zarate.
This massive volume also includes an extensive interview with Moore, plus Antony Johnston’s Yuggoth Creatures, a work inspired by Yuggoth Cultures and the worlds of H.P. Lovecraft, with art by Ryp, Burrows, Dheeraj Verma, and many more.
Vincent Price Presents #13 - Dr. Phibes
This one-shot featuring Vincent Price tells another gothic adventure about the one of the characters that Price made famous, Dr. Phibes. Investigating a bad actor's death, Inspector Trout joins Thanatos, a mysterious man involved with Dr. Phibes' past, into a journey to London's sewers. They, they discover what happened to the master of bizarre murder.
Fall of Cthulhu vol. 6 - Nemesis
Michael Alan Nelson, the critically acclaimed author of Hexed, concludes his Fall Of Cthulhu maxi-series with Nemesis, an epic origin story revealing the secret history behind Nyarlathotep's favorite companion. Who is Nemesis you ask? Get this book and find out. The fight for Atlantis continues as a weary king exposes sycophants who pray to the Old Ones, their dissent and aggression mounting. The Crawling Chaos must be stopped! Be prepared for the shock of your life as BOOM!'s best-selling horror title comes to its shocking conclusion! Written by Michael Alan Nelson, with artwork by Todd Herman.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? #5
The direct comic adaption of the book that inspired Blade Runner continues! The world has survived war, but is it ready for mass empathy? Everyday, the thousands left on Earth immerse themselves within the plight of Wilbur Mercer. They suffer as he does, making a never-ending climb through a Hellish terrain. Welcome to the world of Rick Deckard and the world of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Covers by Bill Sienkiewicz and Moritat.
Hack/Slash Vol. 3: Friday the 31st
Surviving the first horror movie is tough. Surviving the sequel is near-impossible! But making it to the third? Now that's damn well superhuman! Cassie and Vlad manage to get to their third trade paperback collection of Hack/Slash. But there, they have to face murderous dolls, medical miscreants and satanic rockers... Will they make it to the end in one piece? Get this cult classic today!
Hack/Slash: The Series #28
Cassie and Vlad are called back to the strange little town of Haverhill, as the peaceful, idyllic burg is beset by Mary Shelley Lovecraft and her Franken-Deep Ones. Mary, intent on taking a Groom in her quest to remake the world in fiction, just might have Our Pal Taber in her sights. But Taber already has enough trouble deciding between the blonde and the redhead! Crazy, sexy, gory fun that mixes Cthulhu with Archie!
FVZA (Federal Vampire and Zombie Agency) #1
In a world where a deadly disease transforms innocent victims into Zombies, a long dormant government task force is called to action: The Federal Vampire and Zombie Agency.
Throughout history, from the Civil War to World War II, the FVZA protected humanity from the blood-sucking, flesh-eating hordes -- until a cure was discovered that sent the undead to their graves. When a new incurable strain of the virus ravages a small town in America, Agent Landra Pecos must call upon her lethal skills to eradicate the threat. But as Landra delves deeper into her investigation of the undead menace, she uncovers shocking secrets that will change her life forever.
Based on the popular website FVZA.org and written by comics superstar David Hine (Civil War: X-Men, Spider-Man Noir, Arkham Asylum).
The Complete Dracula
“As the Count leaned over me and his hands touched me… a horrible feeling of nausea came over me, which, do what I would, I could not conceal.” – Bram Stoker’s Dracula
Dynamite presents the complete story of the Lord of the Undead — Dracula! For the first time in 112 years the tale that Bram Stoker intended to tell is told (including “Dracula’s Guest”!). If you thought you knew how it began or how it ends, you were wrong! Writers John Reppion and Leah Moore are joined by painter Colton Worley for an odyssey of life, death, and the blood that flows within us all!
This adaptation features fully painted art done in a rich, moody style by Worley, all under covers by modern master John Cassaday! Moore and Reppion also provide bonus material such as script pages, annotations, a cover gallery, and samplings of the original text by Bram Stoker including the lost chapter "Dracula's Guest!"
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
H Minus 17: Plan 9 From Outer Space
The Ultimate Classic... The Best Worst Movie Of All Time... The Infamous: Plan 9 from Outer Space!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
H Minus 24: Count Floyd
To go along with my Count Floyd post on the other side of Leng (check it out if you want info on the Count or want to hear him sing), here's some video of the Count in action...
Dr Tongue's 3D House of Stewardesses (After a trailer for Turk Gruman: Police Dispatcher)
Dr. Tongue's E-HOP
Whispers Of The Wolf
Count Floyd and his Scary Stories
Count Floyd introduces the song "The Weapon" at a Rush concert
Dr Tongue's 3D House of Stewardesses (After a trailer for Turk Gruman: Police Dispatcher)
Dr. Tongue's E-HOP
Whispers Of The Wolf
Count Floyd and his Scary Stories
Count Floyd introduces the song "The Weapon" at a Rush concert
Friday, October 3, 2008
H Minus 28: Twins of Evil
What would Halloween be without Hammer horror films?
Here's Twins of Evil starring Peter Cushing. It is the third film of The Karnstein Trilogy, based on the vampire tale Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu. The film has the least resemblance to the novel and adds a witchfinding theme to the vampire story. It is sometimes seen as a prequel to the previous films in the trilogy (The Vampire Lovers, and Lust for a Vampire).
Much of the interest of the film revolves around the contrasting evil and good natures of two beautiful sisters, Frieda and Maria Gellhorn (played by twin Playmates Mary and Madeleine Collinson).
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
H-Minus 30: Nosferatu
The countdown to Halloween is on. Here's a classic film to help set the mood: The original 1922 Nosferatu
Also, look on the Plateau of Leng for more Nosferatu-flavored goodness...
Also, look on the Plateau of Leng for more Nosferatu-flavored goodness...
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