Literature

All posts in the Literature category

Ghosts R N.E.A.R. Salutes Poe!

Published April 3, 2015 by biggayhorrorfan

ghostsrnear
If you like your fear with a more literary bent, the wonderful folks at Get Scared TV, who offer year round free programming, have your back!

In the most recent, downloaded episode (S8, Ep111) of paranormal talk show Ghosts R N.E.A.R., hosts Keith and Sandra explore the haunted legacy of the iconic Edgar Allan Poe.

It’s truly a fascinating journey that you can watch (with other intriguing N.E.A.R. programs) at the link, below:

http://getscared.tv/site/programming/episodic-programming/ghosts-r-n-e-a-r/

Ghosts R N.E.A.R. can, also, be followed at:

https://www.facebook.com/GhostsRNEAR
poe
Until the next time, SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

http://www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan

Review: Tales of Poe

Published March 4, 2015 by biggayhorrorfan

Tales+of+Poe+Poster
Maverick in its accomplishments, the anthology Tales of Poe is the perfect example of independent terror filmmaking at its most inventive.

Collaborators Alan Rowe Kelly and Bart Mastronardi have mixed old school 50s Gothicism with a distinctively modern spin on two of Poe’s best known tales and one poem here, with intense visuals and some truly superb performances highlighting the affair, as a whole.

In particular, Kelly’s imperial Gogo in The Cask, the second installment, is a marvel of femme majesty. Channeling such vixens as Faith Domergue, Angela Lansbury (who played a couple of wicked noir style villainesses in the 40s) and Joan Bennett, Kelly also adds his own ticks and quirks to this stunning creation, one of the most enjoyable antagonists in recent history.

Kelly is well supported by the surprisingly good Randy Jones (of Village People fame). Playing Gogo’s wealthy, newlywed husband Fortunato, Jones is entirely convincing and completely sympathetic as he discovers that his new spouse has some very poisonous remodeling plans, on their wedding night, no less.Gogo

Just like The Tell Tale Heart, the film’s fine, bloody first segment (https://biggayhorrorfan.wordpress.com/2014/08/25/review-the-tell-tale-heart/), The Cask doesn’t skimp on the gruesomeness. If there is one minor flaw it’s that, unlike Tell Tale’s uniformly excellent minor and supporting performances, including David Marancik’s believably unstable Fritz, not all of the performances of Fortunato’s rich acquaintances are quite believable here, with a couple of the performers either delivering too little or too much.

The final piece truly reveals the ingenuity of Mastronardi and Kelly, though. Full of stunning images and fun performances by such genre goddesses as Adrienne King and Caroline Williams, Dreams, a take on a Poe verse, seemingly follows a young woman on her adventures as she hovers between life and death.

Taking up almost a full third of the film’s running time, this (mostly) dialogue-less, stream of conscious segment, may be a bit too much for folks longing for the linear delights of the first two pieces. But illuminated by Amy Steel’s truly wondrous voiceover work and performance as a grieving mother, this portion of the film truly illustrates the risk taking delights of this project, as a whole.

Keep up with Tales of Poe as it engrains itself further into the terror consciousness at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tales-of-Poe and http://www.talesofpoefilm.com.

Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

http://www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan

Review: Glitterwolf – Halloween Special Edition

Published January 27, 2015 by biggayhorrorfan

glitterwolf
Multiple voices are not so good when your various personalities start fighting over what to have for dessert. But, in the case of Glitterwolf’s Halloween Special Edition, edited by Matt Cresswell, multiple voices are, indeed, all welcome as they give us a truly splendid variety of chills and thrills.

Packaged between the hauntingly unique photography of Jason Grim, this collection contains a number of intriguing poems, highlighted by Kat Soini’s simple yet immensely potent offerings, Overture and Corpus Delicti. The meat of the volume, though, is contained within its very individualized short stories.

While Carlton D. Fisher’s chewy Another Night at the Reiko gives us a fervently sexual take on zombies and bar culture, Lou Dellaguzzo’s intriguing Night of the Bogie Men explores the real life horrors of gay night life in the Stonewall era. Steve Berman’s fine Passion, Like A Voice – That Buds, also, details the more personally horrific with a look at viruses and the human body through a beguiling sexual lens.

Meanwhile, if Lovecraft is more your ideal, then Evan J. Peterson’s emotionally and physically graphic A Different Seed should fill you up with gooey strands of pleasure. Young Inside, by Patrick Pink, also, ups the psychological quotient with a well inked possession style tale with a distinctly unsettling vibe.

Nicely, even some of the weaker tales contain some finely layered characterization and sophisticated ideas. Amy Sheperd’s nicely calibrated Haunted may the best of the bunch, though. A tender story of ghosts and letting go of the past, Sheperd creates characters and situations that almost anyone can relate to.

More information on this volume of Glitterwolf (and others) can be found at http://www.facebook.com/glitterwolfmagazine and http://www.glitterwolf.com .

Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

http://www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan

(Bad) CGI Fridays: Vampire Academy (2014)

Published May 23, 2014 by biggayhorrorfan

VAMPIRE ACADEMY
So, sometimes my tastes run to the teenage girl (or, perhaps more accurately, the gay teenage boy). Give me some kick ass chicks, some handsome dudes and a little bit o’ horror styling and I am more than happy to go along for the ride!

Therefore, I had a great time with Vampire Academy, the recent big screen adaptation of the first story in Richelle Mead’s popular young adult series. Detailing the adventures of the vibrant Rose (a compelling Zoey Deutch) who is driven to protect vampire princess Lissa (regal Lucy Fry), this flick skitters along with plots of high school rivalry and seduction, the passions of fang worshippers (a la True Blood) and insidious schemes to destroy the possible heiress to the throne.

psi houndsThese manipulations include a lot of dead pets, forced attempts to use Lissa’s healing powers and, when she and Rose try to escape, some very computer generated creatures known as Psi Hounds.

The fact that there are a number of sequels to Mead’s original book may clue you in to the fact that Lissa and Rose are sure to survive this onslaught. Your giggles upon witnessing these ferocious beasts, however, may lead to your ultimate undoing!

Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

http://www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan

Talking Shirley Jackson!

Published April 24, 2014 by biggayhorrorfan

haunting 2
No one haunts a house quite like Shirley Jackson, everyone’s favorite spooky lady of letters. Taking this truth to heart, Chicago’s favored City Lit Theatre has recently, concisely, adapted Jackson’s The Haunting of the Hill House to the stage.

Recently, I was lucky enough to chat with the adorably talented Mary Anne Bowman who plays the exotic Theodora in this spookily realized production.

The Haunting of Hill House runs until May 11th, 2014 in Chicago. More details can be found at http://www.citylit.org.

Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan

http://www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan

Hidden Horror Takes the Cake!

Published February 7, 2014 by biggayhorrorfan

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Yep, Hidden Horror, the book anthology that celebrates over 100 overlooked terror masterpieces, has spread its delicious hideousness out into the world, just like blood specked frosting!

Luckily, I was on hand at this macabre collection’s recent release party to interview a few of the book’s amazing authors.

Indie horror darling Michelle Courvais (Dead Weight, The Landlord) details her love for Brimstone and Treacle, here:

Meanwhile, the glorious Shelley and the fabulous Steve highlight such queer related films as Carnival of Souls and Lemora, as well:

Be sure to pick up Hidden Horror on Amazon:

http://tinyurl.com/m8dzb3y

And if you like, follow its wacky, limb strewn progression at http://www.facebook.com/hiddenhorrorthebook, too.

Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan

http://www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan

The Glorious Wonders of Dance Macabre Online!

Published December 13, 2013 by biggayhorrorfan

DM's issue 75 cover.

DM’s issue 75 cover.


If holiday spending has left your pockets corpse cold, then you’ve got to hand it to editor Adam Henry Carrière. His dark and delicious online publication Danse Macabre is totally free!

The current issue (#76) has a quirkily festive theme with an amazing re-examination of (a convertible driving) Red Riding Hood (created with puck and sass by the distinguished Peter Wortsman) and the brilliantly comical LiteralVille (imagined with sharply humorous overtones by Ed Coonce), thrown in for good measure.

You can check out all the limb flowing goodness at:

http://www.dansemacabreonline.com

Issue #77 of Danse Macabre will be available in January 2014. In the meantime, you can purchase tons of colorful back issues (many with queer friendly themes) for the low rate of $2.99 each!

Meanwhile, acclaimed New Zealand based poet Mercedes WebbPullman, a frequent contributor to the awesomeness that is Danse Macabre, has a truly entertaining entry in another online publication with a sweetly grisly moniker, Bone Orchard Poetry.

Be sure to enjoy that at the link, below, as well:

http://boneorchardpoetry.blogspot.com/2012/02/mercedes-webb-pullman.html

Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

http://www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan