I quite enjoyed the Bram Stoker award winning YA novel Clown in a Cornfield, so it made sense that sooner or later I was going to take in the film adaption of the story. It makes me laugh that the book is very much defined as a teen book, but the film itself, because of…
Tag: bram stoker
Salem’s Lot (2024) – Gary Dauberman
Maybe it’s all the Universal Monster movies I’ve been watching lately, but I found that, for the most part, Dauberman’s adaptation of the classic Stephen King novel (the first one I ever read), Salem’s Lot, works. I don’t like how he changed the climax of the film. He moves it out of the Marsten House…
Dracula (1931) – George Melford
Sometimes there’s a glowing hole in my film education. I had no idea that Universal, in 1931, released two versions of Dracula, there was the iconic Bela Lugosi version which cast a long bat-shaped shadow over the entire 20th century, setting the standard for reserved, charming and well-dressed nosferatu. At the same time George Melford,…
The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023) – Andre Ovredal
We just can’t leave the undead alone. It seems every couple of years someone trots out another Dracula update, or a new take on vampires. Some of them are good, some of them are not. The Last Voyage of the Demeter falls into the former. It’s bloody, and it’s fun. Based on a small five-page…
In Conversation with John Landis
Today is my birthday, so it seems like the perfect moment to share this wonderful gift DK Canada gave me. Director John Landis has overseen the compilation of a new anthology, Haunted Houses, and it is perfect reading for the Halloween season. It’s a fantastic collection, and DK Canada arranged for me to speak with…
John Landis Presents Haunted Houses: Classic Stories of Doors That Should Never Be Opened (2020)
It seems fall is here, and as the leaves start to turn, one can’t help but turn one’s thoughts to Halloween and ghost stories. It seems while I was working through John Landis’ Monsters in the Movies, he turned around and released a collection of classic haunted house stories now available from DK Canada. Landis…
The Lair of the White Worm (1987) – Ken Russell
Ken Russell’s cheeky Brit horror The Lair of the White Worm is the next title to bite into as I continue my time with the vampire section of DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies book by director John Landis. Based loosely on the story by Bram Stoker, the film features Hugh Grant, Amanda Donohoe, Peter…
Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995) – Mel Brooks
It was going to happen sooner or later. I was going to come across the first of the parody/comedy films that sprang up around vampires as I continue to work my way through the highly enjoyable Monsters in the Movies written by John Landis, and released through DK Canada. So it’s time to let Mel…
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones (1993/1995) – Masks of Evil
Indy’s (Sean Patrick Flanery) adventures continue this week, as his time with French Intelligence during the Great War continues, and brings him face to face with some real evil. The movie combines two episodes, and changes the canon order of when they originally happened to facilitate a comprehensive story. Istanbul, September 1918 Airing on 17…
Doctor Who (Tom Baker) – State of Decay
The second tale in what is known as the E-Space trilogy finds the Doctor (Baker), Romana (Lalla Ward), Adric (Matthew Waterhouse) – though they don’t know he’s stowed away on the TARDIS yet – and K9 taking on vampires! This four part story was penned by Terrance Dicks, and originally ran from 22 November…
The Mind Reels 