A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss (2010)

A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss (2010)
Dirs. John Das (2 eps) | Rachel Jardine (1 ep)  |  3 episodes, approx 60 mins each.

A three-part TV documentary in which author/actor Mark Gatiss explores the evolution of horror in cinema from a biased perspective.

I don't mean that in a poisonous way; he's upfront about the focus, admitting that it's "unashamedly selective." I can relate to that.

I found myself agreeing with his choices the majority of the time, but was personally disappointed that the German Expressionist movement was completely overlooked.

There's only one film featured that I'd not seen, so I had to skip past it because there's MASSIVE spoilers every time, mostly by showing the ending of each film. If you're comfortable with that, however, then there's much to enjoy.
Click below for info on each individual episode:

Big Trouble in Little China: Volume 5 (2017)

Big Trouble in Little Heaven (2017)

Author: Fred Van Lente |  Illustrator: Dan McDaid |  Page Count: 112

"Not in the face!! That's the money-maker!!!"

I felt that Volume 4 had reignited the BTiLC series, but I feel also that Volume 5 pisses on it again, even though both collections are written by the same author.

It places Jack in a peculiar environment that's chock-full of supernatural beings, namely the Kunlun Casino as it hosts Source Con, a sorcerers convention, most of whom are egotistical a-holes. But Jack's not braving it alone, he has Wang's daughter Winona to aid him. Oh, and Wang's there, too, but he's currently an emotional mess and seemingly about as useless as tits on a bull.

Much of the book is taken up by a lengthy poker game, and if you don't know how to play poker (specifically Texas Hold 'Em) it teaches you. As a fan of the game I enjoyed the setting, but a lot of the dialogue therein seems like little more than word-count boosting filler.

American Gothic (1995–96)

American Gothic (1995–96)

22 episodes, approx 44 minutes each.

Welcome to Trinity, South Carolina, home to ten-year-old Caleb Temple (Lucas Black) and his sixteen-year-old sister Merlyn (Sarah Paulson).

The home life of the Temple children is far from happy, meaning young Caleb's had to grow up fast. He may be only ten but he's a lot more savvy than most kids his age, which is a good thing because his future is murky. Events will force Caleb to take a path that can lead to either of two destinations, and that's only if he can fight the conflict that rages within him. His older sister will try to protect him, but she's got problems of her own; you could say she's got the worst problem anyone can have.

One other person has a hand in Caleb's fate: Sheriff Lucas Buck (Gary Cole). Lucas is friend to everyone and no one. He'll give you what you want but there'll be a price to pay further down the line.

The Sandman: Volume X (1996)

The Wake (1996)

Author: Neil Gaiman | Illustrators: Michael Zulli / Charles Vess / Bryan Talbot / John Ridgway | Page Count: 185

"Even in this half-assed medieval Milton Keynes there's got to be somewhere a man can get a pint of beer."

Volume X of X in the Sandman saga is a quiet, reflective piece wherein Gaiman says goodbye to the enduring characters that he created and the stories that he felt fit to tell; it's a bitter-sweet reading experience.

Like I said previously, I feel that Volume IX: The Kindly Ones (1996) is the true end to the series, and The Wake is merely an epilogue. However, it's notable for giving us the second thing that a man in a tavern promised the Dream King twenty years previous; the first was way back in Volume III: Dream Country (1991). Yes, that guy; and the gift given is perfect in every way.

The book is split into two distinct parts: a three issue farewell that wraps up the Endless story, and three stand-alone works that serve to tie up loose ends of some of the more long-lived secondary characters. The sense of loss and of inevitable new beginnings permeates every aspect of the work.

Species: Films (1995-2007)

Species (1995)

Dir. Roger Donaldson

The premise of Species is the kind that's simple but exciting and full of potential.

A transmission from an unknown source originating somewhere in the deep, dark corners of space contains DNA information for creating an alien/human hybrid. Scientists, unsurprisingly, carry out the process. Hands up who thinks that's going to end well...

The film itself could've been really amazing. It's a sci-fi with horror elements and a creature design by artist extraordinaire HR Giger, whose mind gave birth to the terrifying creation that provided Alien (1979) with much of its dark allure. The creature in Species is reminiscent of the xenomorph, but with the added sexy/deadly aesthetic provided by actress Natasha Henstridge.

Chacun son Cinéma (2007)

Chacun son Cinéma (2007)

English Translation: To Each His Own Cinema

An anthology that contains over thirty short films by as many different directors, commissioned to celebrate six decades of the Cannes Film Festival. Each work is approximately three minutes in length and was supposed to represent the director's "state of mind [...] as inspired by the motion picture theatre." I'll put the full list of contributors below the cut for anyone that wants to view them all.

My 'Admit One' was for Takeshi Kitano and David Cronenberg, neither of which turned out to be essential. The ones that moved me most were Alejandro Iñárritu's 'Anna' and Abbas Kiarostami's 'Where is my Romeo?', both of which had more emotion than the others combined. Also, I really liked Chen Kaige's 'Zhanxiou Village'.

A lot of them take place inside a theatre with crucial scenes from actual films being projected onscreen, so be prepared for some spoilers.

Fahrenheit 451: The Authorized Adaptation (2009)

Fahrenheit 451: The Authorized Adaptation (2009)

Author: Ray Bradbury | Illustrator: Tim Hamilton | Page Count: 149

"Books, so the damned snobbish critics said, were dishwater. No wonder books stopped selling. The public, knowing what it wanted, let the comic books survive."

A comic book adaptation of Ray Bradbury's classic F451 story. I've reviewed the original novel already (see HERE), so I won't go over the plot again.

This particular transition from novel to comic is fully authorised by Bradbury, so you'd expect a faithful retelling. He didn't let just anyone have his works. (He once told his publisher to "go to hell" when they wanted to release F451 as an e-book. Sadly, he was forced to give in, once more proving that the book publishing world has caught up with the film world in not giving a damn about the author's intentions).

It uses Bradbury's dialogue but much of his descriptive language is lost, and it's that part of writing that he excels in, whereas his character dialogue can be simplistic and minimal.