[caption id="attachment_24623" align="aligncenter" width="575"] Edgar G. Ulmer/caption]
Seeing Edgar G. Ulmer’s The Black Cat (1934) again recently, my appetite was whetted to re-read Theodore Roszak’s Flicker, which uses Ulmer’s strange career as a master stylist exiled to a career toiling in B-movie obscurity as a jumping-off point for a sinister story engorged with a decadent and whispered history of movies. Three years ago I was commissioned to write about Flicker for writer Bill Ryan’s annual October consideration of horror at his great blog The Kind of Face You Hate. I had to admit, I never really thought of Flicker as a horror novel in the strictest sense while I was immersed in it-- the first half reads more like an indulgent orgy of movie lore woven expertly into a pleasingly reluctant, expertly teased detective story. But the book certainly qualifies as horror in that it shares the obsessive nature of its protagonist,...
Seeing Edgar G. Ulmer’s The Black Cat (1934) again recently, my appetite was whetted to re-read Theodore Roszak’s Flicker, which uses Ulmer’s strange career as a master stylist exiled to a career toiling in B-movie obscurity as a jumping-off point for a sinister story engorged with a decadent and whispered history of movies. Three years ago I was commissioned to write about Flicker for writer Bill Ryan’s annual October consideration of horror at his great blog The Kind of Face You Hate. I had to admit, I never really thought of Flicker as a horror novel in the strictest sense while I was immersed in it-- the first half reads more like an indulgent orgy of movie lore woven expertly into a pleasingly reluctant, expertly teased detective story. But the book certainly qualifies as horror in that it shares the obsessive nature of its protagonist,...
- 4/2/2016
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
By 1934 Boris Karloff was certainly no stranger to great movie entrances. In 1931, under the direction of James Whale, he seared his image, and that of the monstrous creation of Dr. Henry Frankenstein, into the collective consciousness by shuffling on screen and staring down his creator, and of course the terrified audience, embodying and fulfilling unspeakable nightmares. Frankenstein, an instant phenomenon, was one of 16 pictures Karloff made that were released in 1931.
And in the following year, 1932, in addition of Howard Hawks’ Scarface, Whale’s The Old Dark House and Charles Brabin’s The Mask of Fu Manchu, Karloff had another terrifying entrance in cinematographer-turned-director Karl Freund’s horror landmark The Mummy. As the title fiend, Imhotep, Karloff is first glimpsed in full bandage, sarcophagus laid open behind an unfortunate archaeologist who, engrossed in the parchments he’s discovered, doesn’t notice the mummy’s arm slide down from its bound position.
And in the following year, 1932, in addition of Howard Hawks’ Scarface, Whale’s The Old Dark House and Charles Brabin’s The Mask of Fu Manchu, Karloff had another terrifying entrance in cinematographer-turned-director Karl Freund’s horror landmark The Mummy. As the title fiend, Imhotep, Karloff is first glimpsed in full bandage, sarcophagus laid open behind an unfortunate archaeologist who, engrossed in the parchments he’s discovered, doesn’t notice the mummy’s arm slide down from its bound position.
- 3/27/2016
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
Well, now. There's a combination to make the fans happy.Word has been out for a while now that HBO was preparing a series based on Year Zero, a science fiction concept record from Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails. What we didn't know what who was going to help Reznor lift the concepts off the record - a near future dystopia harshly critical of the Bush years in government - and turn them into functional scripts.But now we do, with The Hollywood Reporter bringing word that that particular job has fallen to Jim Uhls, screen writer of David Fincher's spin on Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club. Uhls is also currently attached as the writer on the Darren Aronofsky backed adaptation of Theodore Roszak's Flicker. Fincher...
- 6/24/2011
- Screen Anarchy
Just when we were getting used to the idea that the Requiem For a Dream/Black Swan director was joining the Marvel universe, now comes word that Darren Aronofsky has officially dropped The Wolverine --- he cites being away from home, but if I were in his shoes I'd be weary about radiation and earthquakes so I wouldn't shoot a film in Japan either. Frankly we don't care much about the X-Men franchise, so the next question is not who'll direct the project next (definitely not David Slade) but what will Aronofsky hit next. Seeing that he has signed a two-year deal to develop/produce films for both 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight -- I imagine he'll remain in this camp -- will he pick up one of their stagnating projects or go with something he is developing? With Robo Cop no longer an option, here are seven projects...
- 3/17/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
Welcome to HorrorFest 2009. When my first "Masters Of Horror" episode aired, reviews were generally pretty good, but there was a vocal percentage of the audience that immediately accused my partner and I of being "rip-off artists." The particular sources I saw cited most often were Roman Polanski's "The Ninth Gate" and the Theodore Roszak novel Flicker. Thing is, I hadn't read Flicker. I'll cop to having read and admired Throat Sprockets, a great Tim Lucas novel, but even that is something I just admire in terms of taking film seriously as a source of horror, and not as any direct inspiration. ...
- 10/19/2009
- Hitfix
Variety reports that The Fountain filmmaker Darren Aronofsky has come on board to produce and direct Universal Pictures' psychological thriller Black Swan. The John McLaughlin-penned project revolves around a manipulative relationship between a veteran ballet dancer and a rival performer. Aronofsky and partner Eric Watson will produce the film via their Protozoa Pictures along with Phoenix Pictures' Mike Medavoy and Arnold Messer. The director is currently developing a handful of other projects including the drama Song of Kali and Theodore Roszak's Flicker. No word yet on what his next feature will be.
- 1/19/2007
- IMDbPro News
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