Monday, July 27, 2009

"A Sane Man vs. The Thing From The Woods... And Other Pulp Fictions" by Jeremy Milks


As you can probably tell, I've been absent from this blog for awhile but I've been putting the finishing touches on my first book of short horror stories called "A Sane Man vs. The Thing From The Woods... and Other Pulp Fictions".

You can get a print copy or download a version here for cheap if yer interested.

By clicking on the title, you can also get a preview of the first part of the book as well.

Here's the description from the back cover:

"After a tough day at the office, a middle-aged man comes home to his family, only to find a fitter, “better” version of himself has somehow taken his place without anyone noticing…

In a fury of shocking ultra-violence, a thrash-metal loving, muscle-bound freakshow rampages through a Los Angeles gym during the height of the shallow and decadent 1980’s…

Someone is viciously murdering homeless people downtown and two unlikely heroes – a failed journalist and an aging, alcoholic detective – must band together to solve the crime because no one will ever believe what they’ve seen…

A respected and well-known professor disappears, leaving only a bizarre letter to his daughter telling of a small town that holds some horrible secrets from his past, among them the certain problem of mutilated teenagers washing up on shore every 50 years or so…

An ambitious but naïve young man moves into a secluded cabin to write his “Great Canadian Novel” but quickly realizes that something in the woods doesn’t appreciate the intrusion on its territory, sparking an age old battle to the death between human and animal…

What you hold in your hand are 5 blood splattered stories in the tradition of classic pulp novels, Italian “giallo” films, H.P. Lovecraft, anthology horror movies and “creature features” from a bygone era.

So grab a beer, put your feet up and prepare to get your face ripped off (in a good, clean, fun way of course!)."

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Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Society (1989)




Directed by Brian Yuzna. Starring Billy Warlock. IMDB Yuzna's surrealistic film is one of the best "Rich People Are Actually Monsters" movies out there.

I still have no idea what he was thinking during the truly bizarre last half hour of the movie but it's memorable and entertaining all the same.

Yuzna is probably more famous as being the producer of Re-Animator but I actually like the ones he directed, including 2005's "Beneath Still Waters" which got universally panned by the horror community. His stuff is so singularly weird and atmospheric, even if the plots are kind of whacked. A little like Argento if you think about it.

City On Fire (1987)





Directed by Ringo Lam.

Starring Chow Yun Fat.

IMDB

As already documented heavily, this film was a major inspiration for Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs" but it stands on its own as a massive piece of action filmmaking with some unforgettable brutal violence and slick city atmosphere.

It seems to be just as informed by 70's Italian crime films as it is by the original source American films, but that's just my take on it.

The Terror Within (1989)





Directed by Thierry Notz.

Starring George Kennedy and Andrew Stevens.

IMDB

This is the Roger Corman-produced take on "Alien" that probably blew its entire budget on the rubber monster and one good sci-fi set.

I always seem to like movies starring George Kennedy, whether it's classic Hollywood fare like Cool Hand Luke or Canadian tax-shelter films like Death Ship.

The lack of a voice-over hurts this trailer a little (maybe they couldn't afford it!) but it's packed with some decent monster beast chaos and a respectable burning man stunt.

The House Where Evil Dwells (1982)





Directed by Kevin Connor.

Starring Edward Albert and Susan George.

IMDB

22 years before "The Grudge"...

A great trailer for a largely forgotten film that is a sort of precursor to J-Horror mixed with a little "Shogun Assassin". The ghost effects are actually creepy and we get a spider gag that looks right out of Lucio Fulci's "The Beyond".

Susan George (Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry) co-stars in this one before devoting most of the rest of her career to television gigs. Director Kevin Connor did much the same after this but he was also responsible for the notorious slasher flick "Motel Hell" just two years previous.

I'm pretty sure this DVD is still in print from MGM if you want to track it down.