BEST OF 2020: GRAPHIC NOVELS

Now, over the last several years I have broadened my graphic novel reading interests.  I have never been much of a superhero genre reader so there will be very little to sometimes no Marvel or DC comic titles on my list.  Over the years I have been more interested in the output of particular creators and titles derived from some of my favorite film and TV characters since most film and TV franchises thrive in the novel and graphic novel forms.

What I can say is that due to the COVID shutdown I read 134 volumes which is a higher-than-normal count than usual.  Most of these titles were Image, Dark Horse, Aftershock, Boom! Studios, Eibon Press, IDW, and Titan. 

 

WILL EISNER.

Over the last couple years, I have discovered the amazing talents of the celebrated graphic novel writer/artist Will Eisner.  I have always known who he was but never read any of his work until 2019 at which I became obsessed with reading everything he ever created.  This year I read Fagin The Jew, The Last Knight: An Introduction to Don Quixote, Life On Another Planet, The Lost Work of Will Eisner: The Earliest Comics of the Legendary Cartoonist, The Name of the Game, The Plot: The Secret Story of the Protocols of Zion, The Princess & The Frog, and Sundiata: A Legend of Africa.  Even though most of these titles were the less known works of Eisner this does not mean that they are not just as good as his most famous works.  Eisner brought his amazing storytelling talent to whatever story he crafted no matter how big or small.  If you have never read an Eisner any one of these books will be a great introduction.

 

OSAMU TEZUKA & SHIGERU MIZUKI.

This year I took a break from reading Osamu Tezuka having only read his Atomcat.  He has plenty of works that I’ve yet to read and normally I try to read as much of his work that I can but this year I decided to catch up on some of my other favorite writers of which Shigeru Mizuki was one of the main ones.  I decided to finish his Showa series (Showa 1939-1944, Showa 1944-1953, and Showa 1953-1989). This is one of the best series ever crafted and its expansion is like something from Tezuka Budha or Adolph series. 

 

FROM COMIC TO ADAPTATION AND VICE VERSA.

There are a lot of titles that I finally got around to because they were adapted as films and TV series.  One of the series was Locke & Key (volumes 3-6), The Crow: Hack/Slash, The Kitchen, I Am Not Okay with This, Outcast (volumes 6-7), October Faction (Volumes 1-5) and Umbrella Academy (volumes 1-3).  I enjoyed all three of these series (and their TV counterparts).

 

Some of the graphic novels that derived from film and TV that I managed to read are the following – Firefly (This Sting, The Unification War Part 1&2), Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs, Fight Club 3, Aliens: Rescue, Labyrinth: Coronation (volumes 1-3), Lost in Space: Countdown to Danger (volume 3), Night of the Living Dead (volume 2), Penny Dreadful: The Ongoing Series (volumes 2-3), Plan 9 From Outer Space, Sadako At the End of the World, Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia Part 1, Django/Zorro, Stranger Things (Into the Fire, The Bully, and Zombie Boys), The Walking Dead: Here’s Negan, and Your Name: Another Side: Earthbound (volume 1-2).

I have always been someone that loved to immerse myself into stories beyond just the film or TV series.  Titles like Penny Dreadful, Lost in Space, Stranger Things, and especially Aliens (which I’ve been reading for over thirty years).  The reverse is true of titles that were adaptations.  I love to know how the original creator envisioned his story and then watch how a different created interpreted the material.  I loved Locke & Key, October Faction, and Umbrella Academy and the adaptations (and changes made therein) were also quite good.

 

MIKE MIGNOLA.

Anyone that knows me well, knows that I’m a huge Mignola fan especially his Hellboy universe.  I only read the single Hellboy graphic novel Hellboy & B.P.R.D.: 1956 but I finally got around to reading the entire Joe Golem: Occult Detective series (volume 1-4), Baltimore (volume 6), and Our Encounters with Evil: The Adventures of Professor J.T. Meinhardt & His Assistant Mr. Knox.  2020 was just a light year for Hellboy Universe items but I am sure that 2021 will be the year that I catch up with everything I missed out on.

 

NOVELS TO GRAPHIC NOVELS.

There are a few graphic novels that were adapted from novels.  I read yet another version of one of my favorite stories of all time Beowulf (from Image Comics and Santiago Garcia & David Rubin).  I probably have six or more versions of this story that have been adapted over the years and I am sure I will read more.  I also read Blade Runner 2019 (volume 2), Terry Pratchett’s The Discworld Graphic Novels – The Colour of Magic & The Light Fantastic, Hollow City: The Second Novel of Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children, Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels: The Communist Manifesto, Marvel Illustrated: Moby Dick, and Titan Comics Millennium trilogy (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest). 

I have noticed that there is a new trend to adapt into graphic novel form all the major classic novels as well as some of the more popular modern novels and I for one am okay with this.  I would love to see more of Stephen King, Ira Levin, Clive Barker, and others adapted.

 

EIBON PRESS.

I include Eibon Press despite most of there output being single issues, but they craft some of the very best comic books that can be considered graphic novels if not for the low page count.  Their VHS box style comics are some of the most visually stunning on the market and will appeal to everyone.  The thing that might turn readers away is the graphic nature of their books since they freely adapt movies from infamous director Lucio Fulci.  This includes The Beyond (issue #1-3) and House by the Cemetery (issue #1-3).  I also read their original series Wasteland:1989 (issue #1-2).  I have pretty much read everything they’ve produced and will continue to do so since they are unique to the industry.

 

MY ONGOING SERIES.

There are a few ongoing series that I would like to mention!  Since I do not read individual issues of any comic (except for the Eibon Press titles) there are many that I read and have been reading for years!  One of the longest running titles I’ve been reading is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles of which it was light for me this year (Volume 23, The Ultimate Collection Vol 6, and Batman/TMNT II and III).  I plan on catching up with my TMNT reading soon!

Other titles include Beyond the Clouds: The Girl Who Fell From the Sky (volume 1-2), Ascender (volume 2), The Beauty (volume 5), Black Science (volume 8-9), Blood on the Tracks (volume 1-3), Dark Ark (volume 2-3), Ghost (volume 3-4), Happiness (volume 10), Manor Black (volume 1), Pretty Deadly (volume 3), Sandman (volume 6), Tales From Harrow County (volume 1), Trinity Seven: The Seven Magicians (volume 13-15.5), and Vampirella (Dejah Thoris and Hollywood Horror).

 

THE OTHERS.

There are a lot of others that I would like to take mention of especially since I have a love of blind buys and reads simply because the back cover blurb is interesting.  I am always interested in reading something I was not expecting.  For this reason alone, I enjoy just walking into a bookstore and seeing what gen I can find.

Some of the titles that fall in this list are Berlin (from Jason Lutes), Dissolving Classroom (from Junji Ito), Downfall (from Inio Asano), Eleanor & The Egret (from Sam Keith), A Fire Story (from Brian Fies), Grass (from Keum Suk Gendry Kim), High Crimes, Hot Lunch, Knights Temporal, The Last Space Race, Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron (from Daniel Clowes), The Man Who Came Down the Attic Stairs (from Celine Loup), Mary Shelley Monsterhunter, My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies, No Ivy League (from Hazel Newlevant), Poe, Rise of the Dungeon Master: Gary Gygax and the Creation of D&D, Shipwreck, The Story of My Tits (from Jennifer Hayden), Transparent Light Blue, Venus in the Blind Spot (from Junji Ito), The Wonderful World of Perfecto (from Paul Oakenfold), and Zombie Tales Omnibus: Undead.  This is probably one of the most diverse years I have ever had with me taking a chance on so many different creators.

One of the real surprises is just how much I loved the titles from Aftershock Comics.  I was seeking out many of the above titles just because they had been published through them.  This does not dismiss the fact that I still had time to read titles from Kitchen Sink Press, Drawn & Quarterly, Viz Media, Dynamite Comics, Kondansha Comics, and Vertical Comics.  I ended up reading only a single Marvel title (Moby Dick) and it was an adaptation.  For DC I only read four titles. 

 

****

For 2021 I’m looking forward to expanding my reading list especially since I’m hoping to end some of my long-term reading titles.  There are a lot of titles that I still need to catch up with since I did not read anything from them this year which includes Animosity, The Woods, Ultraman, and more.  I did not mention every title that I had read but I hope this is a good year to catch up and to add a few new titles to my read list.

I hope you enjoyed this list and I look forward to letting you all know what I ended up reading in 2021!

 

RANTS & RAVINGS ABOUT HORROR - "Why I Love SHUDDER!"

“Why I Love SHUDDER!”

I’ve been reading a whole lot about people wanting to know whether or not the streaming service for horror fans Shudder is worth the monthly service fees.  There are those in the horror community that say Yes and those that say No, so for this “Rants & Ravings About Horror” I wanted to give everyone my opinion on the controversy.

 

I am the first to admit that there are too many streaming services out there and I only have access to Netflix and Amazon Prime because there are just too many of them out there.  Then COVID-19 and the quarantine happened and every streaming service was offering discounts and free months.  Shudder was cheap and didn’t have commercials (or multiple tears) and since I’m a horror fan I decided to go with that one.  I could’ve done Criteria Collection (which is the only other one that interest me) or Disney+ (the number one that didn’t interest me at all) or HBO Max, Hulu, Full Moon, etc. There are just too many streaming services to keep track nor even care about.

 

Shudder is geared towards horror fans!  Now in March when I first signed up there was a complete mixture of old school horror films verses lower end fare with a small selection of indie darlings.  They also had several podcasts and series.  One of the main reasons I wanted to sign up was the fact that they had the Wolf Creek series from Australia which was hard to find.  One of the real reasons I decided to go ahead with Shudder is the fact that they had several Lucio Fulci films especially the “Gates of Hells” trilogy which is not something you’re going to find on Hulu or Netflix.  If you look closer to their catalog they also had Cannibal Holocaust and Cannibal Ferox to name a few of the more hardcore cult horror films, so even if they didn’t have a strong selection of recent Hollywood horror they knew what their main audience was craving for.

 

What I especially enjoyed in those first couple months were the podcasts as they had a nice curated selection which includes – Horror Noire Uncut, Video Palace, and The Narrow Caves, to name a few.  I was actually quite surprised at the quality.  Over the next few months during the lock-down, I got reacquainted with some old classics but also got to watch a lot of international and old classics that I had heard about but never had access to see like Boar , Darling, Hands of the Ripper, Deadly Games, Vampire Circus, and Blood Rage, to name a few.

 

Now catching up with old school and international horror films has its place especially since it allows Shudder to advertise when they acquire new and interesting little seen, cult, and international films, but soon I noticed that there were more films being added every month that were “Shudder Exclusives” which meant that they were now acquiring plenty of films that you couldn’t find anywhere else.  This is particularly important as it justifies continuing my subscription of the service.  Some of these films include Host, The Marshes, The Ranger, Bliss, Found Footage 3D, and Housewife, to name a few.

 

One of the next big draws to the service is their original series Creepshow (based on the original Stephen King and George A. Romero films) which they have thus far produced a first season in addition to two holiday specials.  An amazing show that I can’t wait for Season 2 to be unleashed!

 

Now, all of this is well and good but why should horror fans care?  There are so many other streaming services out there but what sets this one apart from the others?  The thing that I love about Shudder is the fact that it caters to the horror connoisseur.  That person that enjoys all types of horror films of all sub genres.  There are films for fans of the slasher to the giallo to the psychological thriller in addition to the fans of the extreme gory variety to those in which there is almost no gore at all.  If you like films from other countries you’re sure to find some gems - Italian, French, Danish, Canadian, Korean, and even Japanese, to name a few.  Shudder is a treasure trove of hard to find gems and over the last year since the lock down they’ve acquired an even more diverse slate of films while adding even more cult and infamous films.

 

If there is something I believe they need more of, it would be more animated films and more great podcasts (since no new ones has been added since I joined).  There are some great animated films that could be added such as Heavy Metal and Heavy Metal 2000, Lady Death, or any of the Dead Space and Resident Evil films.  More podcasts would be an excellent addition to their current list.  Shudder may not be the best horror streaming service out there (as it is the only one I’ve bothered to try out) but is grown a lot in the year since I’ve had it and the selection and diversity of programing just gets better and better.  It is definitely a service I would recommend to any horror fan.

 

Film Review: PAURA: LUCIO FULCI REMEMBERED VOLUME 1 (2008)

Directed by Mike Baronas Paura: Lucio Fulci Remembered Volume 1 (2008) is an amazing collection of interviews from cast and crew that have worked with the director Lucio Fulci.  The interviews encompass a wide variety of people whom both had a great working relationship with the eccentric director as well as those who found it difficult.  If you’re a fan of Fulci’s films then you’ll learn a lot from watching this film.

For those of you not in the know, Fulci is one of the most influential Italian horror film directors in the same vein as Mario Bava, Dario Argento, Ruggero Deodato, Joe D’Amato, Jesus Franco, and Umberto Lenzi, to name but a few.  Horror fans will easily recognize some of Fulci’s most famous films like Zombie (1979), The Beyond (1981), House By the Cemetery (1981), City of the Living Dead (1980), and Don’t Torture a Duckling (1972), to name a few.  His films have helped redefine the zombie genre in the same way that George A. Romero’s films have.  His films may not be for everyone as they are sometimes had excessive gore and sometimes too cryptic but they were never boring and always entertaining.  He graced every genre from Edgar Allan Poe adaption The Black Cat (1981), the crime-action film Contraband (1980), literary classic - White Fang (1973), comedy – The Eroticist (1972), and western – The Four of the Apocalypse (1975), just to name a few. 

In this film, people from all these films and more are given the opportunity to express their thoughts about Fulci.  Fulci died in 1996 so this is a remarkable way in which people have been able to honor the late director and his legacy.  The film is not really designed to be enjoyed by the casual viewer or someone not associated with Fulci’s films; it will be better appreciated by fans of Fulci who have seen his films (or at least know of them).

2016 YEAR IN REVIEW - "BOOKS IN REVIEW"

BOOKS IN REVIEW

I’d like to first say that even though it’s now February, I’m still thinking about what a great year 2016 was and all the amazing films, live events, and books I read that helped make the year better than 2015.  At the beginning of 2016 I told myself I was going to read more books than in 2015 because as a writer I should be reading more fiction and non-fiction to be able to craft more well-rounded and compelling stories.  Although I didn’t fulfill my overall goal of the year, I did manage to read a good amount of non-fiction books which in my opinion is always a good thing.

Of the fiction books I read I managed to finish “The Meowmorphosis” from Franz Kafka and Coleridge Cook which is a mash-up take of the Kafka classic except the main character morphs into a giant cute kitten instead of a cockroach.  Being a huge fan of Kafka’s story I enjoyed the novelty of the book but to me giant cute kittens are just as terrifying as cockroaches.  I also managed to read my first Elmore Leonard novel with “Raylan”, which is a sequel to the show Justified (based on Leonard’s series of novels).  I loved this novel so much that I plan on going back to read more Leonard novels because he has a great style as an author.  I was completely disappointed with John Shirley’s novelization of “Resident Evil: Retribution.”  I’ve read all the books based on the films and this is the worst of the lot; it took me a while to get through the book because of the style of writing which wasn’t on par with any of the previous novelizations.  I’m hoping that the novelization of “The Final Chapter” is much better.

I will say that a majority of the non-fiction books I read this year were film related.  I started the year off with another book on director David Cronenberg (if you remember I read two in 2015); “Cronenberg on Cronenberg” which is edited by Chris Rodley was an excellent book on the insight of the infamous director of Scanners, The Brood, The Fly, Dead Ringers, and countless others and getting into his process of crafting these films was key to the books success.  Now this isn’t a new book but because the process of crafting these films isn’t going to change reading this book was instrumental into getting into his head.  I would love to read an updated version of the book where the director discusses his more current films.  Along these same lines is “Lucio Fulci: Poetry & Cruelty in the Movies” by Antonio Bruschini & Antonion Tentori.  Not the best book on the infamous director as it spends more time on synopsis of the films rather than on any meaningful discussion of the films themselves but it works for those with a cursory knowledge of the director and his films.  Not really for those of us who have read many of the other books dedicated to the director.  Another film related book that I managed to finish was actor Gunnar Hansen’s “Chainsaw Confidential: How We Made the World’s Most Notorious Horror Movie” which details the making of the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre for the perspective of the man that played Leatherface.  This was another great book as it really got into the heart of what it felt like to be on the set of this infamous film from beginning to end.  Hansen has a clear and concise way of presenting his story that is engaging and entertaining at the same time.  It is said to say that this was his final book before passing away in 2015.  Life Books also put out the excellent “Life: Science Fiction: 100 Years of Great Movies” which every film fan should make sure to pick up in order to put together their own list of “must see” films.

A couple random books that I finished reading this year include Inazo Nitobe’s “Code of the Samurai: Bushido: The Soul of Japan” which is more of a coffee table book about everything as it relates to Bushido and “30-Second Religion” edited by Russell Re Manning.  I’ve been reading several of the books in the “30-Second” series and they are a quick and informative reference guide to all sorts of useful and helpful subjects.  I’m currently reading one of Ancient Egypt and well tell you how it is next year.

Imagine Publishing updated it’s “100 All-Time Greatest Comics (Third Edition)” which for comic fans is a must read.  I learned a lot a great many comics that are now on my “must read” for 2017.  As you know I read a lot of graphic novels but even this list had tons of titles I wasn’t even familiar with.

On the supernatural side of things, I read “An American Haunting: The Bell Witch” edited by Brent Monahan and based on the true story of the Bell Witch incident (which was recently made into the film An American Haunting).  This was the entire story of the legend and even those who have watched the film will be able to know all the real details of what allegedly happened.

Ending my 2016 reading list will be several books in the Rue Morgue

Magazine Library series.  A couple years ago Rue Morgue started putting out books in there Library series on many different topics geared towards horror fans and fans of the magazine.  I managed to get through five of them last year – “Blood in Four Colors: A Graphic History of Horror Comics”, “Cryptic Collectibles: A Concise Compendium of Creepy Keepsakes”, “Horror Movie Heroes”, “Horrorwood North: The Extraordinary History & Art of Canadian Genre Cinema”, and “Weird Stats & Morbid Facts.”  I could go into detail about each of these books but suffice it to say that these are an excellent series of books from all different aspects of the horror genre.  All of them are well written and put together and informative.  These are some great additions to any horror fans book shelf and since they each contain hundreds of photos they are great to look at as well.

Now that I look forward to 2017, I still need to get off my ass and read more fiction books and read more variety of non-fiction books (because I read too many books on film) but that’s something I’ll have to work on.  I’ll let you know next year how it goes.

"Rants & Ravings About Horror" - Week 19: “My Hate-Hate Relationship with The Rocky Horror Picture Show”

Week 19: “My Hate-Hate Relationship with The Rocky Horror Picture Show”

Anyone who has read some of my previous articles will know that I’m not a huge fan of musicals.  Other than Mary Poppins (1964) and The Muppets growing up I pretty much stayed clear away from them.  Even as an adult I’ve experienced and explored ever genre of film except really the musical for the simple fact that (for the most part) I can’t stand watching a great film that suddenly busts out into song for no apparent reason other than because it is a musical.

Now I will not deny that over the last decade I’ve come closer to appreciating the musical.  I’ve seen Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) and The Phantom of the Opera (2004) and I actually enjoyed Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008) and The Devil’s Carnival (2012) but those are all more modern day musicals.  These films appeal more to my darker sensibilities and are made for the horror fan.  This in no way has allowed me to understand or like anything that was made before the year 2000.  Then there is the number one cult musical in history which is The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) which is based on the original stage show The Rocky Horror Show.  This is probably the worst film I’ve ever seen.

Let me rephrase that – for my entire life I’ve been under the notion that this is the worst horror musical I’ve ever seen.  This was a film I hated the first time I saw it as a child.  I didn’t understand the film and it was a musical so that’s two strikes against it.  The only problem is that it was a favorite film of my younger sister so I heard the music (but never really saw it again) a billion times especially growing up in the days of the VHS boom the fact that the film was constantly on repeat on cable stations.  Now that I’m older I’m not afraid to admit that the film was just weird and I didn’t understand it.  Putting aside the fact that I hate musicals (for the moment), The Rocky Horror Picture Show was an amalgam of cross dressing aliens, cheesy one-liners, crazy costumes and spectacularly over the top performances, so, in other words it blew my mind (as a child) to the point of a nuclear meltdown.  This being said, I never could appreciate the film like so many other people could.

The film seemed to have a life of its own to me.

Every woman I dated loved the movie and my sister constantly reminded me that I should give it another chance because I was a filmmaker and that I should be open to all genres of film.  When I went to college the musical was still the only genre I could not come to appreciate.  When I studied the films of James Whale I finally saw Show Boat (1936) and that made me want to at least start watching the films that are considered classics.   Needless to say, I FINALLY gave the musical a chance…but I still couldn’t stand The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

There was just something about this film that I just couldn’t grasp.  Oddball characters.   The oddball situation.  It had Susan Sarandon and Tim Curry as Frank-n-Furter which should have sold it to me right there.   I’m a huge fan of Curry’s but I still wasn’t a fan of this film.  The Rocky Horror Picture Show was a film that just eluded me at every turn.   The merchandising was everywhere.  Every theatre person I knew was a huge fan who had at some point been in the show.  Every Halloween (my favorite holiday of the year) some friend of mine would dress up like a character from the film.  What was the crazy allure of this weird film that just went WAY over my head?

And then it hit me.  I had never seen the film LIVE.  I had only seen it on the small screen with one other person and never more than that.  Never in a group setting.

It was a friend of mine that told me that every weekend at an art house theater in downtown Atlanta a Midnight Screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show with live actors performed the film to audiences.  My friend was a huge fan of the film and she was dying to see the live performance so for her birthday I took her.  For one, I thought it was a great way to try and understand why this film had affected so many people and for another my date was so obsessed with the film that she dressed up like Magenta from the film (which I must say was a huge turn on).  I was the only one not in on the joke as when we arrived at the theater most of the audience was dressed up.  The theater was a mixture of people who were dressed up and those not, of all genders and all races, and of all ages.  This was a film that had crossed generations and was still being enjoyed by new audiences every day.

When we took our seats a Waitress (dressed for the part) walked through the aisles greeting everyone and informing them about what they were going to see (for the new comers).  Those who had seen the performance before already knew what was coming.  Everyone was excited and couldn’t wait for the lights to go down and the film to start.  That is when things got even weirder.  We weren’t just watching the original film on the big screen and we weren’t watching the stage version of The Rocky Horror Show, we were watching live actors perform the parts of the film as the film was playing and commenting and reacting to everything going on during the film.  It was an interactive 4-D movie going experience like I had never seen before.  It was as if the characters from the film jumped off the screen and started interacting with themselves and the audience at the same time.

This was a mind altering and mind blowing experience.  Never before had I had such an “excellent” experience.  The actors sang the songs and the audience members who knew the songs sang with them (and I realized my date knew every song in the film) and it was an exhilarating way to enjoy a musical.  Needless to say, I finally got why the film’s popularity has endured for so long.

I had heard of Midnight Movies before.  Lucio Fulci’s The Beyond (1981) and Zombie (1979), The Blues Brothers (1980),  and El Topo (1970), to name a few, but there is no other film that can rival the popularity of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.  And now I know why.

I must admit that once you’ve seen the film performed live you probably can’t ever enjoy it as much.  I not only can now appreciate the film for its contributions to the horror musical and to the Midnight Movie but I can honestly say that it’s not a half bad film.  I even managed to seek out the sequel Shock Treatment (1981) and even though it doesn’t have the charm of Rocky Horror (nor Tim Curry) it’s not an altogether forgettable film.  I can say that I can now appreciate the place that musicals play in the history and future of film and I’ve even found a way to enjoy them more because of this film.  I’m a huge fan of Repo! The Genetic Opera and see that as a companion film and I probably would’ve never given this film a chance had I not finally come around to liking Rocky Horror.

For those of you lucky enough to live somewhere where The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a Midnight Movie success I recommend you checking it out and for those of you unlucky saps out there who don’t…well, you can always start your own because I’m sure there’s enough people out there who love the film enough to give you a hand.

"Rants & Ravings About Horror" - Week 9: “Gore! Gore! Gore!”

Week 9: “Gore! Gore! Gore!”

If you’re a fan of horror then eventually someone will ask you your thoughts on gore films.  These can include the infamous films of Lucio Fulci or even more recent film makers like Eli Roth and Tom Six (and if you don’t know any of these names then you are definitely missing out).  Gore films, like other subgenres of horror, have their place and purpose in the horror genre and should not be summarily dismissed.  There are, in fact, several that even the most placid fan should see for their own personal education if for nothing else.

What is a gore film?

Most people would determine this simply as a film with lots of blood and guts (and for the most part they are correct), but many include Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and Tom Six’s The Human Centipede: First Sequence (2009) in this group and both of those have very little to no gore.  A better definition would include films that make audiences so uneasy that they appear to be filled with gore and blood and guts whether they actually have it or not.  Most torture porn films are included in this but there is very little gore in Captivity (2007).   Saw (2004) is also included in this but this film also has very little to no gore (unlike the many sequels).

Films that go beyond being just a simply gore film are Braindead (1992), Tokyo Gore Police (2008), and Re-Animator (1985) which all revel in the gore but are so darkly comic that you kind of dismiss it.  Comedy (especially in the films today) is used to off-set the copious amounts of blood and guts in a horror film which also changes the perspective of the genre.

Why is gore important?

Gore to horror films (or any genre of film) is important in that it off-sets our perspective on the events taking place in the film.  Sometimes dealing with something so dramatic as death and murder cannot be sugar coated.  Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) and Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975) are so polarizing in the content of the story that the gore is secondary which doesn’t diminish the reality of the story being told.  In Dawn of the Dead (1978), director George A. Romero is presenting to audiences the most realistic zombie film ever made; he is erasing the memory of the placid White Zombie (1932), and presenting audiences with what would happen in a real zombie apocalypse.

Presenting events as they would be in reality is key to the success of a good gore film.  One of the goriest scenes in modern day cinema is the opening battle of Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan (1998), in which the film maker wanted to present war as it was in the most realistic way as possible.   The darkly comic Cabin Fever (2002) uses gore to represent what it would be like if a group of friends were forced to deal with a flesh eating virus.

Real Gore Vs. Comedy Gore?

In this day and age, some of the most well remembered gore films and moments in gore films are surrounded in comedy.  Day of the Dead (1985) has just as many gory moments as its predecessor and it is all presented in a realistic manner but in Shaun of the Dead (2004), which pays homage to that film, presents some of those same moments but mixed with comedy.  Re-Animator and From Beyond (1986) have many gory moments but director Stuart Gordon is pitch perfect with the dark humor.  There is nothing humorous in the infamous Cannibal Holocaust (1980) but Piranha 3-D (2010) has more gore in it than all the above films mentioned but it’s all played tongue firming in cheek. 

Does horror and gore need comedy?  There is no right or wrong answer to this because for every Martyrs (2008) there is a Bad Taste (1987) and for every Feast (2005) there is a Zombie Flesh Eaters (1979).  Real gore has its place and directors like Pascal Laugier and Ruggero Deodato relate and present it differently than Edgar Wright or Peter Jackson whose films are drenched in comedy and blood.

Some of My Favorite Gore Films:

I enjoy gore films of all types.  I believe there is a place for films like Sharknado (2013) just like there is for New York Ripper (1982) and Ichi the Killer (2001).  I do prefer my realistic gore films to have more of a point and not just be cannon fodder.  I love Deodato’s Cannibal Holocaust and David Cronenberg’s The Fly (1986) for the message that they say but I also love Bride of Re-Animator (1989) and Evil Dead II (1987), which if they have a message I’m not aware of it.  I know I will probably never see Salo or Anthropophagus (1980) again but Hellraiser (1987) and Dead Snow (2009) are two of my all time favorites.  Fulci’s A Cat in the Brain (1990) is just as disturbing as Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer but I’ve only seen the latter more than once even though I love both equally.  The entire Feast franchise is one of the most entertaining and fun whereas the Saw franchise has only a few standout entries.  

I do tend to have more fun watching the gore films with comedy (because they are so easy to just pop in the DVD/BD player and go) but the more serious ones I tend to go back to when I need a good film that doesn’t talk down to the audience (hence my love of all the Romero zombie films and just about anything from Fulci and Dario Argento).

Is Gore Important?

Gore and gore films are important in that it allows us to view reality without the sugar coating.  It informs us about the reality of death and murder and more importantly all things in life.  In today’s climate gore is not only for horror but for all other genres as well.  This Is the End (2013) and The Expendables (2010) and Hot Fuzz (2007) and Fury (2014) and The Raid 2 (2014) all have their gory moments to make them more realistic which is what audiences today crave.  There is no doubt that sometimes gore can be excessive but where would we be if all the gore was stripped out of Dead Snow 2: Red Vs. Dead (2014) or the original Robocop (1987) but a hollow by-the-numbers (and highly forgettable) film.