Hi Renfield,

November saw another neat issue, covering a number of nostalgic favorites. Glad to see someone examining Terror Of Frankenstein, which I recall stumbling across on WGN or TBS back in the 1980’s. A modest, but sincere effort to put Mary Shelley's novel up on the silver screen.

Ironically, this is not the film the producer/director initially set out to make. Having just made a feature-length documentary of the Radu Florescu/Raymond T. McNally book In Search Of Dracula, the original plan was to film the follow-up book, In Search Of Frankenstein. But during preproduction research, the filmmakers realized Mary Shelley's actual tale had never really been filmed, and so it was decided to film the novel that started it all. I've always felt it would have made a perfect double feature with Jess Franco's Count Dracula.

And speaking of vampires, another delightful surprise was to see yet another obscure film, The Vampire And The Ballerina, getting some of the limelight. Sure, it's not Hammer, but it had atmospheric moments that were the hallmark of Italian horror from that era. (And just what does Dave Duggins have against vampires in fishnet stockings and stiletto heels? Italian filmmakers have repeatedly shown us the durability of such attire, not just in crumbling castles but as part of the uniform of any well-equipped space traveler.) Not since The Playgirls And The Vampire or Horrors Of Spider Island has the film frame been so packed with pulchritude.

Today, horror means a man in a mask with a butcher's knife; but back then, fear meant fashion and fangs! I would have loved to have seen Image follow up its DVDs of Cave Of The Living Dead and Playgirls And The Vampire with a decent DVD of The Vampire And The Ballerina. (What a double bill that would be, The Playgirls And The Vampire and The Vampire And The Ballerina.) Until a Halloween showing on TBS back in the early 1990’s, I had to content myself with my pre-VCR era 8mm reel of highlights from the film for the old home movie projector. While not as convenient as DVD, at least the 8mm print allowed my high school buddies and I the chance to watch the film on a big screen!

Alas, today's young horror fans have to turn to Paris Hilton's House Of Wax for eerie eye candy...kind of like trying to eat those wax fangs sold at Halloween.

Thanks, during the Thanksgiving season, for giving us monster kids so much to be thankful for!

--Bob Statzer

Bob:

We certainly agree, Harv Chartrand did a terror-ific job in "fleshing out" the Terror Of Frankenstein. As to where you saw it in basic cable in the Eighties, very possibly you caught it on the USA Network’s Night Flight show, where many of us also saw it. That’s interesting info concerning the background to the film. Didn’t Radu Florescu claim to be descended from the original Vlad Dracul/Dracula family?

Glad you liked the way Dave Duggins turned the torch light on The Vampire And The Ballerina. We can say without reservation that Dave has nothing against vampires in fishnet stockings and stiletto heels and nor do we. That’s one reason we’re fans of early Italian schlock horror cinema…the "monster" aspect of those cheesy fright films may be marginal, but the eye candy is always first rate. Of course, Dave also covered Horrors Of Spider Island for us as well. We’d also like to see a good DVD of The Vampire And The Ballerina issued…there’s always hope than one will someday.

It is a shame that kids today have to settle for endlessly repeated effects and CGI for horror and only have those "silicone strumpets" as faux scream queens. It really makes classic horror flicks seems even better—and sexier—in comparison.

Thanks for writing, Bob. Cheers!

--Renfield

Dear Old Fly-catcher:

I enjoyed H. F. Chartrand's article on Terror Of Frankenstein, but it reminded me of the problem with all films made after the first two Karloff vehicles. They suffer in comparison, whether or not they attempt to remain "faithful" to the novel. The novel is, after all, a little boring. The brilliance of James Whale was in "breathing life" and art into a story and its Creature in a way that was perfect for its time and all times, even when film history was in its infancy. This was in much in the same way that Hitchcock revised the Norman Bates character in the Bloch novel from a paunchy balding momma's boy into the boyish but disturbed boy next door in the person of Anthony Perkins. 

I recognize the sincere attempt to portray the story as it was told, but film is a lot different from the written word, especially when trying to evoke horror or terror. After all, Mary Shelley was trying to write a moral tale.  Anyone who saw Frankenstein's creation come to life in the "original," before the idea of such things became commonplace, can attest to the terror it invoked in the viewer. The same can be said for Psycho and The Exorcist, for that matter. Karloff's makeup and portrayal, especially in the opening shots, were brilliantly executed.

The performances of Karloff and Clive and Frye and later Una O'Connor and Ernest Thesiger will live on for their impact and the images that have been immortalized. I would bet that even those who have never seen these films would recognize those images. They are part of our culture and our folklore, so strong and definitive are the images.

That said, I am still anxious to see this film when I am able. 

--Ed LaRose

Ed:

You make some excellent points. The James Whale film versions of the Frankenstein novel were so engaging and iconic that they virtually rewrote what the public perceived as the story behind the Monster. In no way can those film’s departures from the original source novel be criticized for doing so, considering the brilliance, as you say, of the execution. And it’s Karloff and Whale whom we classic horror fans love, not Mary Shelley, although we certainly tip our hat to her for starting the whole ghoulish tradition. At any rate, we’re confident that you won’t be disappointed once you see Terror Of Frankenstein. Harv’s excellent article on it will certainly whet most fright film fan’s desire to see it. Thanks for writing.

--Renfield

Renfield:

My thanks to your writer, Jeff Beres, for the very welcome positive review of The Cosmic Man. 

The film's screenwriter (really the "auteur" in this case, as the director followed his precise script instructions to the letter), Arthur C. Pierce, was my friend and mentor for the last 12 years of his life. Pierce died in 1987. I'm sure he would be pleased to see this review and the kind words expressed on your site. 

Arthur C. Pierce, a decorated WW II veteran combat cameraman, was a good, kind man, and I think this film (his first feature screenplay sale, the script completed around Christmas 1957) reflected his own philosophy and imagination pretty well. Several interesting details were left out of his script when it was shot, likely to keep down the budget and shooting schedule. This film was a very low-budget affair, to be sure. Some fascinating special effects tests were shot of John Carradine in his Cosmic Man costume and cloak, but proved too expensive to be done in the movie itself. It would have proven far more effective than the simple negative-image effects, but alas, the budget and schedule would not allow for better effects.

I conducted an extensive series of interviews with Arthur C. Pierce (many, many hours of tape) over a period of a dozen years. Several of his contributions to genre film and television have gone uncredited to this day. Any additional information you may wish to know about Pierce or The Cosmic Man, please feel free to ask. You can read my tribute to Arthur C. Pierce here.

--Regards, Kevin Danzey

Kevin:

Thanks so much for the great behind-the scenes information about the making of The Cosmic Man and about Arthur C. Pierce. You’ve performed a real service to classic horror fans by making his background known, just as Jeff has done a service to classic horror fans for bringing out the strong theme and solid philosophical nature of this albeit low-budget sci-fi monster film. Thanks for writing.

--Renfield

Conrad:

Sorry I took so long to reply to this (Gore-respondence, October 2005 issue). This is my work email address and I was out for a few days at the beginning of the month. Thanks for the info on Wade Williams, Conrad. My searches on the Net about Wade Williams turned up very little information so I'm grateful for your input.

Since I wrote the article (on The Cosmic Man), I watched Frankenstein’s Daughter and
discovered that was another Wade Williams classic. I do have a question for you, Conrad. Do you think Wade saw these films as good films? Or do you think he appreciated
Frankenstein’s Daughter as low-budget fun?

--Jeff Beres

Jeff:

Good question! I don’t want to answer for Conrad, but I suspect that Wade Williams thought good old Frankenstein’s Daughter was a hoot and well worth preserving…bless his heart. Cheers!

--Renfield

Hi, Renfield:

I am a student here in England, studying media communications and I am now in my final year. I am working on my dissertation, which is about horror fandom. I was just wondering if you had some time to spare, could you answer some questions on the genre?

How did you first become interested in horror films? What do you like about horror films and fandom? How would you define the term horror? What do you think fans get from collecting memorabilia, attending conventions and writing fanzines?

I am myself a big horror film fan and collector and I thought it would be an interesting study to do, as I don't think much as been written about horror fandom in great depth. Love your magazine by the way. Keep up the great work.

--Thank you, Paul Scudder

Paul:

Thanks for the kind words regarding HORROR-WOOD. We appreciate them.

In regards to your questions, we have to confess that we don’t have the scholarly answers. Like most folks who read this Webzine, I became interested in horror films as a child of the Sixties. Watching the classic monsters on the small screen was a terrific thrill, a thrill that, as it turned out, has lasted a lifetime.

As far as horror films and fandom and conventions, their great contribution to the Monster Boomers (a term coined by Ron "Monster Bash" Adams, by the way) is to provide a venue for fans to discuss their appreciation for classic horror flicks, removed from the "real world" where most folks just roll their eyes if you admit you like to watch flicks like Creature From The Black Lagoon and Black Sunday. Hope this helps. Cheers!

--Renfield

Greetings, Renfield:

I have written an article that I’m submitting to The Lancet called "Giant Spiders And Medieval Cathedrals: Scaling Up Pharmaceutical Supply Systems For Public Health Programs." The article discusses the biological impossibility of spiders achieving the gigantic size seen in horror movies. I was looking for an appropriate image to submit with the article, and through Google Images, came across your publication’s article called "The Spider Was A Beetle" by Gene Dorsogna.

I see Mr. Dorsogna has rights to the article, but I was wondering about the images. I was interested in getting permission to use either the movie poster of The Giant Spider Invasion or the photo with the giant spider on top of the house. Can you tell me if permissions are available for either of those two images, and if so, what I need to do to secure permission? Thanks in advance for your assistance!

--Martha Embrey, MPH, Senior Technical Writer, Center for Pharmaceutical Management, Management Sciences for Health, Inc.

Martha:

It’s always nice to know that serious medical journals like The Lancet are continuing their crusade to dispel the widely held notion by the unwashed public that spiders can grow to the size of Volkswagen Beetles and attack hapless rural folks. As far as permission to use images of film posters on a paid publication, you’d better consult someone with more legal knowledge than we have around here at Doc Seward’s sanitarium. Cheers!

--Renfield

Renfield:

Will they really do the modern version (of Village Of The Damned)? The 1995 version of Village left the door open for the sequel that never showed up. They should do it because in the first films, they never made it clear of what they really are--that's when Children Of The Damned comes in.

--Maribel Ortreo

Maribel:

We don’t know, but Tinsletown is in such a lather to remake films that it’s a distinct possibility. At any rate, we have no regard for such remakes…there’s no way anyone can improve on the original Village Of The Damned. As far as Children Of The Damned is concerned, it’s a sequel that only proved how good its predecessor was. Thanks for writing.

--Renfield

Hi, Renfield:

My name is Ionas von Zezschwitz and I'm a filmmaker from Toronto, Ontario. I am currently in post-production on a zero-budget MiniDV zombie feature film, Walking Among The Dead, which I co-wrote and co-directed with my good friend. Mickey Cardoni. It is slated for a summer 2006 release, and we are beginning to promote the film…

--Ionas von Zezschwitz, She Died Productions

Ionas:

MiniDV? Isn’t that sort of like your truly ‘way back when making his little Super 8 epic, Day Of Death (also on a zero budget), and trying to promote it in the film trade mags? I mean, we did show it in my parent’s basement for a nickel a head and the kids liked the blood and gore effects although after seeing me emote as the Monster, they advised me to stick to my school work. Anyway, hope you and Mickey had fun making your flick.

--Renfield

Dear Renfield:

We are glad to introduce our Company and we thank you in advance for dedicating few minutes, reading our company profile. Agrapin S.A. born in 2003 from the experience of several partners, with the intention to concentrate under a global trademark, the business developed during 20 years, in timber production and international trading.

Agrapin S.A headquarter is based in Montevideo Uruguay and is present in Brazil with own offices in strategic exportations spots like Curitiba, Belém, Paranaguá and Lages. Agrapins S.A. is partner of over 20 timber industries and mills that produce a wide range of timber products.

--With kind regards, Agrapin S.A.--Montevideo--Uruguay, Brazilian Commercial Office

Sirs:

Just because our little Webzine is entitled HORROR-WOOD, that does not mean that we deal with any timber products. Although we have been known to run articles on monster trees that run amuck in the movies ever so often.

--With kind regards, Renfield

Dear Renfield:

We can put you at the top of Yahoo! AND Google today. Our company has exclusive technology that can put your Website(s) above every other company on all the major search engines...

--Sincerely, Web Results Team

Dear Team:

Folks like you send us those "Web placement" offers so often that, just for grins, we ran an analysis of HORROR-WOOD at Silktide Ltd., web development experts who provide assessments of Web sites. Their SiteScore is a free tool which rates how well designed, popular, and accessible a Website is.

Their SiteScore for HORROR-WOOD:

"Popularity ranking: Excellent. Your Website is ranked 456,955 in the world. This is good and shows you have a Website which is widely visited.

"Links to: Excellent. About 5,470 other Websites were found linking to this Website. The Website is extremely well linked to."

Looks like we have pretty good placement already. Seems that publishing a Web magazine faithfully month after month for over eight years will do that for you.

Greetings, Renfield:

In response to the latest "name that film" (Gore-respondence September 2005) challenge (creature grabs woman by the hair through a grating in the floor), this time it's not that TV film that everybody supposedly remembers but you (Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark).

The film in question is 1981's The Unseen, and the star (though not the victim in this case) was Barbara Bach. As for the title menace? It turned out to be Stephen Furst ("Flounder" from Animal House), a massive man-child lurking in the basement. He didn't mean to wipe out half the cast--he just didn't know any better.

Now, on a more serious note...

The calamity that has befallen the New Orleans area can never be focused on a single person. But by way of expressing my support and condolences for all concerned, I wish (at least for a moment) to direct the attention of your readers to a very special lady--your very own Crystal Guillory--of New Orleans, if I'm not badly mistaken.

While I had been a professional writer for many years and an amateur TV horror host for considerably less time, it was through Crystal that I was introduced to the Horror Host Underground--and this has turned out to be one of the most profoundly gratifying experiences of my life. Shortly afterwards, I had the pleasure of meeting Crystal herself. And did I already use the word "pleasure?"

The very latest I've heard is that Crystal is safe with her sister in Alabama--but the story is far from over. Through my friendship with Crystal, the New Orleans disaster wears a very recognizable human face for me. And through her, I wish the very best for all thus affected.

Please take a moment to do the same?

--Regards, Shane "Remo D." Dallmann

Shane:

I've also heard from Crystal. I was worried about her and her recent emails to myself and your information was wonderful to receive. I think Crystal has done a lot of promote the cause of classic horror to folks and I deeply appreciate her and I know I'm not the only one who does. Another H-W writer, Ray Blakey, who has single-handedly created a sub-genre of the films we love, the "Creepy Cheapie," is also a resident of Louisiana, and he also had to evacuate.

Fortunately, they have survived Katrina, but they now have to face picking up the pieces of their lives and starting a new. I know they both are well up to it, and, yes, indeed, I wish for them and hope for them the best. Crystal even has an article in this issue and we hope to see Ray back in this e-pages soon.

Thanks for the answer on the "name that film." Old Renfield really botched that one up!

--Renfield

Hi, Renfield:

Don't know if you've heard the news already or not, but director Robert Wise just passed away. While he won't be around to witness the DVD releases of his work for Val Lewton this October, at least he was around to participate in the extras included in the set.

Yet again, another great issue from you (September 2005). I've picked up the Night Train Murders DVD several times at the store, debating whether to take a chance on it or not. Hank Reardon's look at this film has helped me decide to take the ride! (However, the same issue's look at The Devil’s Rain makes me think that film is all wet.)

Prior to your coverage of it this time around, I sprang for the Image DVD of Horrors Of Spider Island. Not only did it come with the usual excellent Image extras, but I found myself really enjoying the film. True, it's not Universal...or Hammer...or Bava. But it was a fun way to flashback to the drive-in delights of long ago, when films like Playgirls And The Vampire or The Vampire And The Ballerina (which needs a DVD release) were part of a multi-monster marathon on the big screen. (And like those films, the "cheesecake factor" might have played a part in the film's fun.)

Glad to see The Haunted Strangler given its due in Joe Winters' article. That film and its companion, Corridors Of Blood, were both out on Image DVD but are now out of print. Rumor has it that a longer, special edition of the film may be in the works. Let's keep our fingers crossed! To me, those films two seemed a bridge between the Hammer horrors of the Fifties and Sixties and the Universal and RKO horrors of the Thirties and Forties, and have been sadly overlooked and under appreciated for years.

--All the best, Bob Statzer

Bob:

Just heard the news about Wise and that's sad.

Robert Wise was one of the few "Golden Age of Hollywood) directors who were still active and still bringing in good films (or fixing bad ones, like the original Star Trek movie) until very recently, and his loss is a big one. Eventually, we're going to end up with only those "directors" who turn over most of their film to effects folks and let bloated-ego actors call the shots on the set. John Ford would have had a word for those types of directors--but since this is a family Webzine, we can't use it ourselves.

We agree, Hank did a great job in presenting what a rough but potent little gem Night Train Murders is, much superior to the sick flick that inspired it. The DVD of it is superb. However, as Crystal revealed, The Devil's Rain is not in any way superb (although the "melting" effects are still rather effective), and if you can't watch it like old Renfield did, in a vintage drive in with your best "ghoul" and beer at hand, why bother?

As old Renfield has confessed, he has certain affection for Horrors Of Spider Island, since he saw it as such a little boil with his little buddies at the drive-in so many (full) moons ago--it was on a triple bill with The Flesh And The Fiends and Creature From The Haunted Sea. Our long-suffering driver, one of my buddies' Dads, appreciate the cheesecake on display in that flick (it's just possible that old Renfield and his buddies may have found all the nylon stocking tops and "leg art" not terrible objectionable, either). Speaking of The Vampire And The Ballerina, it's coming to HORROR-WOOD... stay tuned. Dave Duggins nailed Spider Island to the "hut door" in his article (and deservedly so), but he kind of enjoyed it, too.

Joe Winter's article on The Haunted Strangler was a doozy, all right, and you'll be glad to know that his companion article on Corridors Of Blood appears in this issue. The match-up of Boris Karloff and Christopher Lee--who can resist? Who would want to? The DVDs of both films present them in a fabulously pristine condition, but agreed, a more feature-packed re-release of those DVDs would be terrific. And you’re so right--those films were a "baleful bridge" between the last gasps of the Golden Age of film horror and the Silver Age of Hammer and AIP and Amicus. Never fear--those two films will be "discovered" by film critics someday. It's best that we fright film fans "discover" them first. By the way, Richard Gordon was and is a class act in the "B" horror film field, something that those critics may also "discover" someday.

Thanks for writing, Bob. Cheers!

--Renfield

Renfield:

I saw The Haunted Strangler not long ago and was stunned by Karloff's decision to mug for the camera when he goes into killer mode. I thought it was an appallingly bad acting choice. Karloff doesn't convince us that he is possessed by an evil persona. He looks like he suffered a debilitating stroke, and comes across as retarded and not at all scary.

Too bad, because the film was quite good up to that point.

I thought Crystal Guillory could have done a lot more with her review of The Devil’s Rain. Her write-up is very confusing. Who exactly is this Jonathan Corbis character? What is the significance of the book that must be delivered to him? Who is Mr. Haney? Why did he sell the book to old Mrs. Preston (Ida Lupino)? How does the sheriff fit in? Crystal should mention that Keenan Wynn is the sheriff and that the forgotten Joan Prather plays Julie Preston, the lead female character.

More could have been made of Satanist Anton LaVey's involvement in the production. There should also be some mention of how this dismal flop put an end to the splendid directorial career of the talented Robert Fuest.

I haven't seen The Devil’s Rain so couldn't connect the dots in me head.

--Cheerio, pip, pip, Harv

Harv:

Some folks like tasty flies and fat, juicy spiders and others would rather leave ‘em alone. Guess it’s the same about Karloff’s performance in The Haunted Strangler. Some would call it over-the-top mugging…other would see it as a valiant attempt on Karloff’s part to portray a truly evil spirit possessing the soul of an innocent man. And, I think you have to admit, Karloff gave the role his all. But there are plenty of fright film fans that would agree with you on that point.

Crystal’s write-up on The Devil’s Rain purposely mirrors the confusion in the flick. Old Renfield recalls seeing it at the drive-in and he was scratching his noggin over the goings-on. Of course, the only reason to watch it is for the gooey melting effects at the end. And there’s the first film appearance of John Travolta, for what that’s worth.

(By the way, readers, you can read Harv’s incisive article on Hammer’s Tales Of Frankenstein for this issue here.)

--Renfield

Greetings, Renfield:

My name is Stan Welles, I am film director Blake Fitzpatrick's personal assistant. He is looking to contact Richard Matheson about adapting some of his work and would like to send Matheson some scripts. If you could be so kind as to forward us his info, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again.

--Stan Welles, Monumental Pictures

Stan:

As it happens, we misplaced Richard Matheson’s address…must have been about the time that pest, Tom Cruise, kept calling us about some movie he was doing and George Lucas kept bugging us about hosting his new Website. But we’ll get it to you, never fear, just as soon as we can get that recipe for fly fondue over to J-Lo. Thanks for writing. By the way, is it true your motto is , "If we ever make a picture, it’s monumental"?

--Renfield

Hey, Renfield:

I'm Amber, the Entertainment Editor of The Satellite, and I stumbled across your site---I've only read a page, but, wow... I love it. You are crazy-talented! I would love to do an interview for a spotlight feature in an upcoming issue. If that interests you, drop me a line.

Thank you.

--Amber Colbear, Entertainment Editor, The Satellite

Amber:

Thanks for the nice words about our little Webzine. But, just like J-Lo and Tom Cruise, I only give out interviews when my agent (that old bloodsucker!) lets me, and he’s sleeping right now. I’ll ask him just as soon as the sun sets. Thanks.

--Renfield

Dear HORROR-WOOD employees:

With this mail, I hope to get your attention for a very specific Website. It is about a Dutch horror/fantasy artist with a specific interest in old horror movies. So that's how I found your Website.

If you look here and if you click on the "collecticardbutton," you will find at least 150 intruiging horror cards. Some 16 of them have been recently published here in the Netherlands.

If you click on the "maberbutton" and then "maberimania" you will find the artist himself playing classic roles in Maberatu, The Ogre Of Maberstien, Revenge Of The Where-Mule, and he has even a Renfield interpretation.

I hope I have caught your interest and if you have any questions you now know how to find me…uhhh, Mr. Maberi, I mean

--Bernard "Maberi" Martens

Bernard:

The only "employee" we have here is old Renfield and he can only work when he gets a work release pass from Doc Seward and that’s only when he behaves himself at the Doc’s sanitarium, which isn’t very often. You have some interesting art on your site, though, and I know our readers will get a kick out of it. Keep up the "ghoul" work. Cheers!

--Renfield

Dear Renfield:

My name is Steven Bailey from the UK. I'm emailing you enclosing a short story I have recently written. I have been writing short stories for a year or two. The reason that I have sent it to you is mainly to gain feedback, as you're one of the only places on the Internet that i could find that accepts short horror stories. I hope you are not the last of a dying breed but more the leader of what is to come.

I read in one of Stephen King's short story compilation a book that his career started by writing short stories and selling them to horror magazines. A lot of people go straight to a publisher and try to get established that way. As I much admire Stephen King I feel it is appropriate to follow a similar path, which is why you are one of the few people to have been sent this story.

This is the first story that I have sent anywhere and as mentioned before I am just looking for feedback, anything else that may come along is welcome. I hope you will take the time to read my story and let me know what you think.

--Many thanks for your time, Steven Bailey

Steven:

Many thanks for thinking of us, but we never print horror stories (unless they directly reference classic horror films), short or otherwise. A casual glance at our little Webzine demonstrates that pretty conclusively. Stephen King got his start sending horror stories to outlets that actually printed them. And you have to go through the gauntlet and risk the usual rejection slips like all fledgling writers do. Sorry about that. Good luck.

--Renfield

Hi, Renfield:

I am interested in a link trade with you. My site is here, the 10 of Club’s Movie Blog. The link page is also this page.

The description of it is : Analysis and free associations about movies - educing the structures and hidden meanings within the scripts.

--Regards, 10Clubs

10Clubs:

Thanks for the offer. We do link with like-minded sites (classic horror and monster film-related); however, we don’t want to start linking with general movie sites… there’s just too many of ‘em out there. And we don’t know about that "free association" stuff—we were taught there was no such thing as a free lunch a long time ago as we suspect that applies to association as well. Cheers!

Hello and thank you, Renfield:

Having been born in 1959, I was but a seedling when the Monster Boom hit, but I was there nonetheless. My brother, 10 years older than I, was right in the middle of the whole horror boom (although I never saw him read an EC comic, I did once find a Mad magazine under his bed. He also was a sci-fi buff, although he’ll never admit it today.) I missed out on the Shock Theatre experience, but I did catch the classics shortly after we got cable TV when KPLR TV Channel 11 out of St. Louis used to run the classics every Saturday afternoon, included with Boris Karloff’s Thriller, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and Twilight Zone (if anyone remembers the exact running order of this line-up, please jolt my memory here too).

I just remember that my Saturdays were spent in front of the TV instead of out in the bright sunshine, much to my mother’s chagrin. Friday evenings were often spent dreaming up ways of talking my brother into letting me sneak into his bedroom to watch the Creature Features on WAND TV out of Decatur. Even if my parents would let me stay up, cable TV did not pick up the Decatur station until a few years later and I was forced to beg my brother to watch it on his fuzzy little black and white TV over rabbit year antennas. I lost a lot of comic books and movie money that way.

The saddest part for me now is thinking my five-year-old son will not have these glorious memories. Fortunately, DVDs do exist and I can have my own Saturday NightMares. He’s not a big monster fan, although he knows who they are, but he does like a good ghost flick (so far he’s only allowed the classics like The Haunting--Julie Harris, not Catherine Zeta Jones! He also is a big fan of the more age appropriate 13 Ghosts--William Castle’s original, thank you very much.) He also had quite a nightmare when I showed him Vincent Price in The Pit And The Pendulum a couple of weeks ago. (His mom shoved me right into the doghouse for that one, but I will remain undaunted.)

Keep up the good work. I look forward to the graveyard walks down memory lane.

--Karl Bockemeier

Karl:

It’s a real pleasure to hear from another Monster Boomer and thanks so much for the kind words about HORROR-WOOD. Don Mankowski in his terrific Part One and Part Two articles on the Fifties Shock Theater horror film package for TV gave us the beginnings of the whole Monster Boomer phenomena. It sounds like your brother (and you, too) were caught up in that as was old Renfield.

In fact, when old Renfield was a little boil, he grew up (so to speak) in the St. Louis area and feasted on fright flicks shown on Zone Two after school on Channel Two and other similar programs (the one on Channel 11 rings a bell in old Renfield’s batty belfry, but he can’t put a name to it, alas).

That’s a great idea about having your own classic horror show at home. Monster Boomers who now have kids of their own should try that…a classic video or DVD or two, lots of buttered popcorn and soda, and Mom sent to the kitchen if she doesn’t like it…ahhh, that’s no doubt what future classic horror memories will be made of!

Thanks for writing. Cheers!

--Renfield

Renfield:

I know, I've told you what a great job you've done before, and you're probably growing weary of hearing it...but this was another great issue (August 2005). Hammer definitely steered its course toward horror early on with Bela Lugosi in The Phantom Ship, which is being rediscovered on VHS and DVD, as well as in Joe Winters' entertaining look at this real-life inspired thriller.

Regarding the Gore-respondence about Robert Quarry's The Deathmaster, which the actor also produced, if I recall: It was not originally made for AIP, but the studio seemed to fear it would be competition, so they picked up the distribution rights and almost immediately buried it after limited release. I see Retromedia now offers it on DVD, but beware: It is not the widescreen version as advertised, but only a poor pan and scan print.

Another flashback to the drive-in and late night TV of the Seventies was the look at Paul Naschy's Werewolf Shadow (also released in a shorter cut of the film as Werewolf Vs. The Vampire Women). Naschy may not be to everyone's taste, but given the current evolution of the horror film, I find myself turning to his work with increased appreciation these days. And the DVD format is definitely giving him the royal treatment, overall. In addition to Anchor Bay's releases of Werewolf Shadow and Curse Of The Devil, there is a deluxe release of Horror Rises From The Tomb and its sequel, Panic Beats, and bargain versions of Fury Of The Wolfman and Dracula’s Great Love.

The summer after I graduated high school, one of the local drive-ins ran Dracula’s Great Love (under the title Grave Desires) on a double bill with The Vampire’s Night Orgy (under the title Cemetery Girls, a title also used for The Velvet Vampire). A local radio station did a live remote from the drive-in, and really played the diabolical double bill up. Alas, the glory days of the drive-in and that kind of filmmaking are gone, as is the sense of showmanship and promotion.

Had to shake my head at the HORROR-WOOD Reporter's observation about Christopher Lee refusing to discuss (or sign) anything connected with Dracula. This has been the actor's attitude for some time, now. Perhaps he feels that sort of thing is beneath him, now that he's done Star Wars, Lord Of The Rings and films for Tim Burton. However, it was his very appearances in those films that landed him parts in these multi-million dollar epics. Lucas, Jackson, and Burton did not hire Lee because he had worked with the likes of John Huston and Billy Wilder; they hired him because of his work for Hammer Films. It was that body of work that led to his current, high profile projects.

If the actor is reluctant to continue to discuss Dracula, fine. But in terms of autographs, it takes no more effort to sign a photo of Stoker's crimson count than it does to sign a picture of Scaramanga from The Man With The Golden Gun. Maybe I'm being rather harsh in my feelings regarding this, but Lee has often said that in spite of his frequent film work, offers and recognition never really came to him until after the first Dracula film for Hammer. (Then, too, maybe I'm somewhat spoiled by the incredible gallantry of Peter Cushing, who would have never dreamed of refusing a request for an autograph, no matter what film the photo was from.)

Christopher Lee is an amazing talent, and a very versatile actor; I will be the first to claim no film has ever really shown off just what he is capable of...but given some of the films he has appeared in (Starship Invasions, a couple of his collaborations with Jess Franco), I would hardly consider any of his Hammer Draculas to be the low point of his career. Let's also consider the math; Lee has portrayed Dracula more than any other character in his career, not just for Hammer, but for Jess Franco and for the documentary In Search Of Dracula. It's a combination of his decision to accept the role again, as well as his powerful portrayal of the part, that has linked him with the character. Perhaps he has overlooked something else; when someone says the name "Frankenstein," no matter where you are or whom you are talking to, even if the person has never seen the films or read the book, they almost immediately think of the Karloffian image of a monster with squared head and electrodes at the neck. It has become an international pop culture icon. But when you say "Dracula" to someone, just as many people envision Christopher Lee's version of the vampire as they do Lugosi's. Few actors can claim to be such an identifiable image, and such an accomplishment is nothing to be taken for granted. Many in the business would love to bear such a burden.

--All the best, Bob Statzer

Bob:

Actually, we never get tired of praise!

Joe Winter’s excellent job of bringing Bela Lugosi’s The Phantom Ship up from the briny depths of Forgotten Filmdom certainly did provide both a look at an atypical role for Bela Lugosi, as well as remind folks about the true roots of Hammer horror—Lugosi himself! And Ray Blakey’s in-depth examination of one of Paul Naschy’ best efforts at mixing Universal gothic with Eurotrash slash gave Naschy his due—and it’s the first of a series of Naschy articles Ray will do for us over the next six months. Speaking of The Deathmaster, the HORROR-WOOD Reporter himself, Joe Romano, has consented to do an article on that truly obscure AIP horror flick, so be sure to look for it in a future issue.

Concerning Christopher Lee’s recent uncharitable statements about his horror film past…well, we wish that he would emulate his late friend and fellow horror film icon, Peter Cushing, a bit more, as you mentioned. He should also remember that Boris Karloff always remained fond of the Frankenstein Monster—Boris never forget that it was the Monster that brought him wealth, fame, and a chance to do a variety of roles, ranging from Captain Hook to the Grinch. Hopefully, Lee will have a change of heart. We hope so.

Thanks for writing, Bob. Cheers!

--Renfield

Dear Renfield:

I remember as a child seeing a horror movie (in the middle of the afternoon, good thing I was already scared!) where I assume a deranged relative of a man lived in the basement. The scene that sticks out in my mind is a woman is trying to eat a bowl of grapes, drops them, gets on the floor to pick them up, and the creature in the basement gets a-hold of her hair through a floor vent and yanks her head to the floor until she dies.

Any ideas?

--Thanks, Al

Al:

It sounds suspiciously like that TV movie that practically everyone but poor old Renfield saw and remembers. We can’t recall the title, but we know an alert reader will come though. Have patience and the answer will come. Thanks for writing.

--Renfield

Dear Renfield:

I feel with titles like Horror Of Party Beach, The Flesh Eaters, Curse Of The Living Corpse, Werewolves On Wheels, and many more, that Dark Sky Films is well crossing over into HORROR-WOOD terror-tory.

All best, Shade Rupe, Dark Sky Films

Shade:

You certainly are! We "lurk" forward to you DVD offerings of those and other classic horror flicks with mouth wide open, even drooling a little. Cheers!

--Renfield

Dear Renfield:

My name is Dave Gebroe—I’m the writer/director/producer of Zombie Honeymoon, which will begin a theatrical run in October, followed by a huge DVD release & a push on Showtime in early ‘06.

In surfing the web recently, I came across your site. I think it’s great, and I had a lot of fun checking out the content you have up there. I really like it a lot. I’d love to find a way to get a bunch of Zombie Honeymoon-related content on HORROR-WOOD.

--All my best, Dave Gebroe

Dave:

Flattery will get you anywhere…except putting content on a new horror flick on HORROR-WOOD. If you did peruse our little Webzine, perhaps you noticed that we batten on the classic (and, yes, not-so-classic) horror and monster films of the past. That’s what we do. There are lots of other sites to flog your film on. Good luck with it.

--Renfield

Dear Renfield:

Who are you?

--Wwww

Dear Wwww:

Well, maybe we can answer your question in song (with all due apologies to Steve Miller):

There. Now you know. Cheers!

Greetings, Renfield:

Much appreciate the three-part exploration of the career of the late, great Donald Pleasence. The third installment (July 2005 issue) prompted several responses from me:

First--just a simple difference of opinion--I happen to think that Argento's Phenomena (especially in its uncut form) is very much worth seeing and should not be lumped in with the actor's true disasters.

Second--speaking of disasters, the description of Buried Alive is spot-on, but I fear that the accompanying poster was actually for a USA Network movie of the same title starring Tim Matheson. I couldn't find a scan of the video box for the Gerard Kikoine film, but it features a woman's eyes staring out from behind a mostly-completed brick wall.

And third--an addendum to the disgrace that was Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Meyers. The originally submitted producer's cut had a slightly more satisfying ending which very much did involve Pleasence's Dr. Loomis: he didn't die at all, but the mark of evil was transferred from Michael's arm to his own (hence the shriek you hear at the end of the film). But the actor's death derailed this plot twist, so it was scrapped for the thoroughly rotten non-ending we were given. To add insult to injury, the filmmakers dedicated the film to him...while misspelling his name as "Donald Pleasance"! And later, a voice-artist was used to re-create some Loomis dialogue for the opening title sequence of Halloween H20. We got Pleasence's picture on the wall, but that was that.

Okay--the "name that film" with the hippie vampires? It wasn't in black-and-white, and our correspondent got a couple of details slightly out of whack (and who could blame him after so long?), but what we've got here is Deathmaster, starring the great Robert Quarry. Though this was released after his two Count Yorga films, this was actually made between them--and AIP, steamed at the fact that Quarry was making a cash-in vampire film without them, took action to acquire the project for themselves. Reputation be damned--it's one of my favorites. Oh, and look for the recently deceased John Fiedler (The Bob Newhart Show and the voice of Piglet in the Disney cartoons) as Pop, the Storekeeper. Yeah, and then watch what happens to him!

Another great issue--thanks, as always!

--Shane "Remo D." Dallmann

Shane:

Glad you liked the triple threat on Donald Pleasence. Harvey Chartrand did a terrific job on that three-part series, as I'm sure you agree. It's probably the best piece done on Pleasence to date.

I know you and Harv will have to agree to disagree about Phenomena--personally, we at Doc Seward's asylum thought it was kind of a train wreck, but not so bad a one that we couldn't enjoy it a little...of course, we're more than a little loony.

The wrong poster being displayed in the third installment of the Pleasence series for the flick Buried Alive is old Renfield's fault. As always, he has "bats" in his "belfry" and he mistook the two films. Maybe he needs to go see a specialist. Supposedly there's this shrink named Loomis who's supposed to be a real "pistol" as a dome- doctor.

That's interesting info on Curse. Seems the film was more of an atrocity that even we thought. If only the lousy follow-up had the Shape attacking the producers of that sorry entry in the "Halloween" series--now that would be a film old Renfield could enjoy!

Good catch on the "name that film." We confess to having never saw Deathmaster, since A.I.P. gave it such a sorry release and it never appeared on the few channels allowed on Doc Seward's cable TV. Now we're gonna have to look up that film just to see what happens to Piglet! Cheers! And, as always, thanks for writing, Shane.

--Renfield

Renfield:

The movie Larry Brewer is looking for (Gore-respondence, July 2005 issue) is Deathmaster starring the most sophisticated Robert Quarry as the vampire in the best Charlie Manson imitation ever shown on film.

--Joe Romano

Joe:

You're right. It was released by AIP through to a relative handful of theaters and then yanked away. I think it showed on TV on and off over the years--I just never caught it on the tube. No wonder the reader can't get information on it!

Folks. Be sure to check out Joe’s column this month—The HORROR-WOOD Reporter.

--Renfield

Hi, Renfield:

There is an error in your (excellent) article (third part) on Donald Pleasence. If you move down to the part of the article that refers to DP's film Buried Alive, you will notice that you have the wrong picture inserted there for that film. The picture you have on the site is actually a USA "made for TV" movie starring Tim Matheson and Jennifer Jason Leigh. You need the picture for the other film, which I have attached to this email--it is for the correct film, which, ironically, came out the same year. Hope this helps!

--Frank

Frank:

Wow! Ask and ye shall get! Thanks for catching the flub and many thanks for providing the right artwork for that flick. It's sometimes with the help of alert readers such as you that keeps us on the right "rut." We'll make the correction on line pronto.

As you said, Harv Chartrand did a terrific job with the series on Donald Pleasence. Please do keep checking out HORROR-WOOD each and every month (mistakes and all) for the latest issue. Cheers! And thanks again!

--Renfield

Hello, Renfield:

I visited your Webpage in a futile attempt to find the 87-minute version of Atom Age Vampire. Unfortunately, The Acme VHS, which I own, is only the 71 minute butchered version. The box reads 105 minutes, but it's an error. I also rented the double feature DVD (Bloodlust/Atom Age Vampire)...and that version is also the 71-minute version. If you can tell me where I can find at least the 87-minute version, I'd be very grateful!

Your series on the incredibly beautiful, sexy, and tragic Allison Hayes was awesome! Actresses like Allison, Barbara Steele, Yvette Vickers, Pamela Duncan are from an era where you did not have to do an explicit nude scene to be sexy. I'm 49 years old now, and these so called "scream queens" today can't hold a candle to any of the aforementioned ladies. They are like Elvis and The Beatles; I think we will not see the likes of them ever again.

As a young child, Miss Allison Hayes made me aware of "hormones" with her portrayal of Livia in The Undead, and as the sexy sorceress in The Disembodied, as did Barbara Steele in Black Sunday. I felt that way then, and more than 35 years later, when I watch these movies, I realize I was right. Thanks again.

I hope this info was helpful. Thanks.

--Sincerely, John

John:

Of course, we only review and discuss classic horror and monster films here, we don't sell them. Alas, for the time being, it seems that the only print around of Atom Age Vampire is the American TV print, which is in the public domain. Until an European or Asian market print is found and rendered on DVD, that's about the most Atom Age Vampire we're likely to have available. Surprising things are showing up on DVD, so don't lose hope.

Glad you liked our two-parter on Allison Hayes by JackRandall Earles. We originally ran that years ago and folks still comment favorably on it. Old Renfield has to admit…Allison Hayes also make his aware of "hormones," too. Va-va-va-voom!

Thanks for writing.

--Renfield

Renfield:

I love your Website; it's a great tribute to everything I love about movies and childhood. I have a favor to ask, though, in regards to an old article named "Drive-In Horror." In the section (page 3, I think) on the Sixties and Ray Dennis Steckler's Teenage Psycho Meets Blood Mary (1964), you mention that "employees dressed up as monsters invaded the drive-in's car-filled rows during the showing of the film (a testimonial from one of Steckler's rent-a-monsters can be found in Gore-respondence). Well, I looked in Gore-respondence and couldn't find any such missive. Could you possibly tell me exactly where, what year, etc., this letter is in your Website? I'm anxious to read up on this, and can't find any other detailed info elsewhere on the web. Any help would be appreciated! Thank you and good luck with the great site!

--Richard Partridge

Richard:

That is an "oldie"—from 1997, when HORROR-WOOD was a infant. Of course, the flick really was The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living And Became Mixed-Up Zombies with a new title and a crude but effective ad campaign. Wish we could help you but much of the old Gore-respondence is lost, probably forever. We had a few issues with the hosting company at the time and that was only sad result. However, an alert reader might have some information for you—evidently, Steckler hired lots of teens around the country to be ad hoc "monsters." Good luck.

--Renfield

Dear Renfield:

I really hope you can help me, I understand if you ignore this email but please be assured I’d never bother a complete stranger unless it was very important to me.

I'm a horror movie enthusiast and I’ve recently decided to have a selection of my favorites tattooed on my body to pay tribute to what I consider to be the best films of all time. One of the images I’m desperate to have inked on my body is a photograph I’m sure I’ve seen but have recently started to think I may have just imagined.

I thought I remembered a black-and-white image of Elsa Lanchester as the Bride Of Frankenstein being carried off by The Monster with her head thrown back in a dead faint. I've searched high and low on the web for this picture but can't seem to find it anywhere (although I must confess to not being very technically minded). I would be eternally in your debt if you were able to source this image for me or tell me of any sites you know that would be of use. Or even tell me if I’m just a delusional idiot and no picture like that exists. I just thought that there must be thousands of press photos, etc., containing images that weren't used in the film, I just don't know how to find them.

Thank you so much for reading this email, I know you must be very busy so if you can't help I understand. I look forward to hearing from you either way.

--Warmest wishes, Deni Lloyd

Deni:

Although old Renfield isn’t into tattoos (one good reason is that old Renfield hates pain), we certainly don’t think you’re delusional for wanting some great classic horror scenes tattooed on you. However, we don’t recall that publicity photo from Bride Of Frankenstein. Perhaps a reader here does recall it and will let us know. You should do a pretty thorough "Google" of the World Weird Web…something close to what you’re looking for might just turn up. Good luck.

--Renfield

Hello, Renfield:

As I noticed you collect information and reviews about Jess Franco. Maybe you can put the cover of my book on your site.

--Best regards, Stephane du Mesnildot

Stephanie:

Better yet, if you could send us a English version of your book on Jess Franco, we would review it in "The Book Rack." Thanks for writing.

Renfield:

Salutations (whatever those are)! Long time no gore-respond!

I’m coming out with SergeantStein And His Maraudin’ Monsters. It’s a satirical monster war comic, touching on many aspects of the horror genre from films, TV and literature. I’ll have advance copies on my table at the San Diego Comicon this month. The bulk will ship soon thereafter.

The book will be a slick 96-page trade paperback from my VonShollyWood press, retailing for $14.95.

Here’s some sample artwork:

You can go here to read some free samples, too.

--Thanks, Pete Von Sholly

Pete:

Thanks for the advance notice and we can see that your new book will be a real terror treat to classic horror film fans and also fans of sharp satire. Congrats on what will likely be another "howling" success! Cheers!

--Renfield

Hi there, Renfield:

I was looking through a Google image search and it lead my to your site. That particular page had the Mythic Visions logo on it and I was wondering if you possibly had some information about where I could find that site again. I had prosthetic fangs from that company, which I loved until they broke. I want to purchase them again. Looking high and low I cannot find the site anywhere. Any info you have would be very welcome.

--Fangs a lot, Vanessa

Vanessa:

Oops! That article ran many moons ago. Our gloomy guess is that company is either long gone, has changed its name, or was finally exposed to direct sunlight. Wish we could be more helpful in getting you some new neck nipper. "Fangs" for writing.

--Renfield

Greetings Renfield:

I have a Website, short story, artwork, and an independent film I would like you to promote on your site. Just kidding!  Actually, just wanted to issue a "thank you" for giving me something to look forward to each month.  HORROR-WOOD reminds me of the days when I couldn't wait until the next issue of Famous Monsters of Filmland to hit the stands (I just turned 49).  My biggest problem is trying to stretch each issue out for the entire 30 days.  Then again, I've got the archives! Yeah!

Thanks again and keep up the "ghoul" work.

--Mark Stamper, Muncie, Indiana

Mark:

It’s appreciation from fellow fright film fans like yourself that makes it all worthwhile. HORROR-WOOD is, as you know, a fan Webzine written by fans and for fans. We’re glad you enjoy it and hope you will always be able to find something of monstrous merit in future issues of HORROR-WOOD. Cheers—and thanks!

--Renfield

Dear Renfield:

I have for years been trying to discover the name of a vampire film that I saw in the Seventies. This film would have been made in the late Sixties or early Seventies and it may

have been in black and white. The opening scene is of a guy (who turns out to be the vampire's caretaker) dragging a coffin on a beach. The film was about a guy and his girlfriend who lived in a hippy commune. One night the mysterious "Master" appears. The

Master looks very much like an Indian guru. The hippies fall under his spell including the girlfriend of the main character. The main character and another girl decide to leave.

One day at the store they see some of their friends from the commune at the general store. Their friends look drugged and are wearing strange amulets. The main character looks the amulets up and finds out that they have the power to allow vampires to walk in the daylight. He decides to sneak into the commune and investigate. While inside, he discovers that the Master is actually a vampire and has turned all the hippies into vampires as well. He then tries to escape and puts his hand in a bowl of leeches. He is then chased by the Masters caretaker (who resembles Richard Keel). The main character puts a bayonet on a door and slams it into the caretaker, impaling him with it. The caretaker pulls himself off and walks away. The movie ends with the vampires having a black mass/satanic ritual/orgy. This is all that I remember about the movie. I would appreciate any help that you could give in helping me find the name of this movie.

--Thanks, Larry Brewer

Larry:

Wow! Vampires and hippies! Sounds like a really kooky vampire flick. Old Renfield doesn’t have a clue as to its title, but perhaps one of our alert readers can come up with it. Thanks for writing.

--Renfield

Dear Renfield:

I would like you to visit my page in the website "Enigmasonline" called "Enigmidia."

The site is here. There you will find lots of information and my personal reviews about science fiction movies and TV series, books and documentaries. My movie collection has almost 1.000 titles and I am still working on the reviews. The website is in Portuguese but soon will be translated to English.

--Sincerely yours, Paulo R. C. Barros, Editor, Sao Paulo-SP, Brazil

Paulo:

Sounds intriguing. Here’s hoping you have some choice fright flicks in that movie collection of yours and that you translated the site into English soon. Good luck with it. Cheers!

--Renfield

Dear Renfield:

Visitors to your Website are very familiar with the best of what science-fiction entertainment has to offer. Now, here's your chance to introduce them to something that's, well, about the farthest thing from it. For the first time on DVD, Xenon Pictures has released It Came From Somewhere Else, the 1988 cult classic that combines kung fu alien invaders, spontaneous combustion, airborne disembodied hands, and lip-smacking Chiclets in a film of not-so-epic proportion.

Science-fiction fans (well, some of them, anyway) have clamored for a wide video release for this film for more than a decade. VHS copies of It Came From Somewhere Else have sold on Ebay for hundreds of dollars (no, honest!). Now, this sci-fi spoof is poised to create an entirely new generation of fans.

Sincerely, Kevin Dilmore and Kelly Cairo, Cairo Communications

Kevin and Kelly:

If folks have been willing to pay hundreds of bucks for that brainless turkey, then you folks should have kept selling it on Ebay—no, honest! Good luck with it in the wide cruel word.

--Renfield

Hey Renfield:

I’m Chandra, and I work in the Promotions Department at M80, nice to meet you! I’m currently working Hide and Seek with Fox, which is coming to DVD on July 5th. Press release is attached so you can read up on the movie. Would you be interested in setting up a giveaway and/or review or feature for this title? Just let me know so I can reserve prizing for you or send a review copy your way.

--Thanks so much, Chandra

Chandra:

Nope, but if you folks at Fox ever release more of your classic horror flicks (like how about a nice DVD transfer of Hand Of Death since you guys have discovered it in your vaults and played it on the Fox Movie Channel?), we’ll be happy to shill for you big time. Cheers!

Hello, Renfield:

I am writing in regards to someone who is announcing to a message board that he is supposedly a reporter for HORROR-WOOD.  He provided us with a link to your "The HORROR-WOOD Reporter." I am speaking of the Internet Movie Database’s message board for The Amityville Horror, 2005.

Whether he is or is not a professional reporter for you is not actually the point I am trying to make, rather the fact that his professional disposition is extremely rude, immature, and not professional in the least.  He goes by the name of "HorrorReporter" and he has been harassing quite a few of the posters for quite some time now.  He tends to brag about working for you, if anyone dares to disagree with what he has to say he automatically threatens to sue with his "the best that money can buy" lawyer for slander (when he obviously does not understand the definition of the word) yet in the end he is really giving HORROR-WOOD a terrible image.

I am giving you the heads up because, like I said before, whether this person is working for you or not, HORROR-WOOD’s reputation is lowering due to the actions of what this person is saying about himself, constantly relating himself to HORROR-WOOD.

--Best of luck, Becky Shott

Becky:

Thanks so much for alerting us to that and enabling us to make it clear on that message board—and here as well, that the cretin calling himself "HorrorReporter" is not Joe Romano and the cretin does not have any affiliation with HORROR-WOOD. Joe Romano is a gentleman and a scholar and anyone who has read his reasoned and erudite column known he has no poison pen out for anyone…unlike this jackanapes. It does seem that the Net is getting less and less friendly these days. Old Renfield is so happy to be safely tucked away in Doc Seward’s sanitarium. Thanks again, Becky.

--Renfield

Renfield:

Wonder if you've seen this item.  It seems as if Gary "Evil Skippy" Banks's HORROR-WOOD article got plagiarized in a British magazine. Check out this link.

I have to wonder if I’ve made any un-credited contributions there!

-- Don Mankowski

Don:

Zounds! It looks like that rag stole parts of Gary’s article on Edgar Wallace's films and just pasted them in a DVD review. That’s outright stealing all right. And it looks like this rag has done it numerous times. As a writer for HORROR-WOOD, Don, you, of course, own your article and anyone who steals it is liable for legal action. We hope Gary and the other writers who have been robbed get legal satisfaction from these thieves.

--Renfield

Renfield: 

As I was very late getting to this issue this month (May 2005), I have no doubt that you have been inundated with responses identifying the "Name That Film" challenge on the letters page as Lemora, A Child’s Tale Of The Supernatural, aka Lemora, Lady Dracula, starring the late, lamented Cheryl (aka "Rainbeaux") Smith. 

But I also wanted to issue a small "naming" correction to young John-John. His review of Invasion Of The Flesh Hunters certainly caught the spirit of Antonio Margheriti's Cannibal Apocalypse, and the uncut film can be found on DVD under that title. 

However... somebody must have slipped a tape of the uncut film into the video box labeled Invasion Of The Flesh Hunters...because the tape released under that title was a hideously cut version of Margheriti's original. The highlights John-John referred to--especially the bowling-ball-sized hole blown through John Morghen--simply don't exist in that release.  It's a cool movie, John-John, but you don't want to sell it under that title! 

Okay--two paragraphs in a row ending with "under that title." Must be getting old. See you next time! 

--Shane "Remo D." Dallmann

Shane:

Concerning the "name that fright flick" puzzler, we've gotten only one or two other guesses.  Perhaps not many folks have seen Lemora.  We sure don't recall it at all, frankly, which isn't too surprising--bats in the belfry, you know.   We’ll have to look that film up sometime. 

Must have been old Renfield's fault on Flesh Hunters.  Those old tapes were labeled by your truly before they got stored and maybe the "American" title just stuck in my mind.  It's certainly the more "marketable" title.   John-John really likes that flick under any title!  Cheers!

--Renfield 

Hiya, Renfield:

In May's Gore-respondence, the flick that Cats Starfire is remembering (with the runaway girl and the vampires) is undoubtedly Lemora: A Child's Tale Of The Supernatural. Released in 1975, directed by Richard Blackburn, and starring the late Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith as the girl, this film received an excellent DVD release last year. Despite its low budget, it looks gorgeous in deep blues and reds and succeeds in attaining an unnerving, nightmarish feel. A nice lil' horror gem from the Seventies.

--Kenton Sem

Kenton:

Thanks for providing what’s undoubtedly the answer, especially with Shane Dallmann also coming up with the title. How did old Renfield get by all this time without seeing that flick? Looks like he’ll have to bury himself in the Video Vault for a while in penance. Thanks again for writing.

--Renfield

Hi, Renfield:

I'm a reporter from The Baltimore Sun interested in talking to you about an article I'm working on. How can we get in touch?

--Abby Tucker

Abby:

You can always call old Renfield at Doc Seward’s sanitarium. The only problem is, the Doc doesn’t like his loonies getting personal calls when we’re undergoing treatment and all, so you might want to wait until after the moon rises…besides, we all get a bit more frisky then. Cheers!

--Renfield

Hi, Renfield:

Another great issue, as always.  Re: the Gore-respondant who was talking about the Stewart Granger/William Shatner in The Hound Of The Baskervilles—that was actually intended to be the pilot for a Holmes TV series with Granger. Obviously, it never took off.  (And, in my personal opinion, with good reason.  While there was talent involved, I think it was a classic case of miscasting.  In addition, it looks as if the direction given to the actor playing Watson was, "Impersonate Nigel Bruce.")

Don't know if you've heard, but Warner Bros. is going to release the Val Lewton collection as a boxed set, while Universal is prepping a no-frills/extras boxed set of Bela Lugosi classics:  Murders In The Rue Morgue, The Raven, The Black Cat (1930’s version), Black Friday, and The Invisible Ray.

--Take care, Bob Statzer

Bob:

You and I see eye-to-eye about the "treatment" of Conan Doyle’s immortal novel by the TV hacks…that version was pretty awful. Doing Holmes with American actors in British roles is always a lousy idea. And William Shatner should feel more ashamed about doing this TV movie than he did about making that silly album…much more ashamed.

Great news on the new DVDs coming out, especially the Val Lewton collection. If it’s true, we can look forward to Mark Clark reviewing them in "The Digital Dungeon." Thanks for writing, Bob.

--Renfield

Dear Renfield:

Loved Joe Winters' article on The Flesh Eaters. I'd love to be in touch to possibly get new higher-res scans of those stills. Would you be in able to put me in touch with whoever has those images available? Thanks!

--Shade Rupe

Shade:

Thanks for the praise for Joe Winter’s great article on The Flesh Eaters…he certainly gave that effective and efficient little horror flick its due. As far as the "stills" are concerned, those are vidcaps, alas, and not stills, so what you see is all there is. Sorry about that.

--Renfield

Renfield: 

Tonight I was surfing the net and I came across your site. Man, this happens to be the best site out there for "B" movies. I have been searching far and wide, and not finding many good ones (most only cover the more well-known films or not many horror) until I saw this one.

I do have one suggestion, though, I was thinking that it would be great if you had a mailing list that told readers when the next issue of the ‘zine was coming out. I know of a great provider that is free or you can use it paid. I used it for a while when I ran a concert listing site. That'd be nice if you did that.

--Dan

Dan:

Thanks for the kind words concerning HORROR-WOOD—we always appreciate praise.

As far as maintaining a mailing list is concerned, we did have a Listserver that went kaput, we lost most of the folks who were registered there, and the Listservers we’ve found so far are either too costly or too riddled with advertising. The fact is that HORROR-WOOD is always published with a new issue every month, at the stroke of midnight (or thereabouts) on the first of the month—as has been published that way for almost eight years now. So we’ll still "lurk" for the Listserver of our dreams and you please remember to check us out each and every month for a new issue. Deal?

--Renfield

Renfield:

Hi! Sorry to bother you, but I wanted to get your opinion on Luminous Video, I was contemplating sending an order to them next week but I wanted to be sure they were reputable and did not take forever to ship out an order. Any help or advice you can give would be greatly appreciated! I have been burned once or twice in the past few years. Many thanks for your time.

--Steve Buckles

Steve:

If you’ll check out our "Video Sources" page in HORROR-WOOD, you’ll see that we do list them as recommended. However, they have had problems in the past with customer service and some of the videos they have sold over the year have been allegedly misrepresented in terms of their quality. Best thing for you to do is ask first about that you want to order and then immediately let them know if you’re not satisfied witht heir service—and let us know as well. Good luck.

--Renfield

Hi, Renfield:

A good friend of mine, Kevin Coon, runs an excellent B-grade movie source, called Obscure Video. Kevin is quite an authority on schlocky horror flicks--is there any
other kind?--and he really merits a listing.

--Cheers, John

John:

We do appreciate the heads up. However, we maintain our "Video Sources" page listings by having actual users of the video source in question describe the service they get from that seller. That way, folks get at least one real customer talking about the video source, which helps our readers make a better buying decision with their hard-earned money. There are just so many video dubbers out there now that such customer feedback is more important than ever before. Perhaps someone who buys from your friend’s site will provide us for a review. Thanks for writing.

--Renfield

Hi, Renfield:

Think you might be interested in this. I'm a horror writer who’s got a book published called Bleeding Words, my Website is here.  Here is a brief synopsis: 

"Prepare to be taken to another darker side of poetry. A side that will scare and terrorize your mind. This book will take you to the depths of the unknown and the wicked, creating images in your mind that will make you leave the light on at night. This book tells you of dark secrets that scare even the brave, with zombies and other night creatures rampaging the pages." 

--Thanks, Catrina Lawrence

Catrina:

We suppose the word will never get out sufficiently that we only review books directly deal with classic horror flicks here at HORROR-WOOD. But perhaps mentioning that fact every so often in this space will help. At any rate, your case would have been a bit stronger if you didn’t have a Website on the "pop-up hell" of Tripod and you also didn’t misspell common words in your email. (We would also mention that your synopsis is riddled with pretty hoary old clichés, but who are we to mention that?)   Need to watch that sort of thing, Catrina.  Good luck.

--Renfield

Renfield:

I was wondering if I would be able to send your website a short story I wrote. Or, if I am unable to send it to your Website, if you would know where I could send it to. I have written a short story and I need it to be printed in some way.  Thank you for reading this, and thanks in advance if you know of a place to send it to.

--Michael Morton

Michael:

As we told Catrina, we don’t publish fiction (at least, not knowingly). If you’re wanting to just see it published on the Net, there are numerous fiction sites available for you to upload to. If you’re looking to publish it in print, we recommend a trip to your local library to look up the listings in the current edition of the Writer’s Market. Good luck.

Hello, Renfield:

I stumbled across your site tonight while trying a Web search to look for a movie I'd like to track down. I saw it on late night TV in the Seventies.

The details are fuzzy, but what I remember is a young girl was living with a priest. She was the star of the choir. The priest started having impure thoughts and sent her away.

A bus she was on was attacked by...I'm not sure they were zombies, but they were something not normal. She ended up at a house or an estate, and I think the woman there was a vampire.

The priest realizes he shouldn't have sent her away and goes after her. He finds her lying in…a barn, possibly and thinks she's dead, but she wakes up and smiles at him and reaches up to hug him. He hugs her and she sinks her fangs into him.

Cue choir-y music.

Any idea? I've tried many times over the years to figure out what it could have been, but have never had any luck. Thanks either way!

--Cats Starfire

Cats:

Wow! That sounds like one heck of a flick. From the description, it’s doubtless from at least the Seventies…or newer. Some elements you describe have some resonance in old Renfield’s shallow brainpan, but he just can’t come up with a title, Hopefully, an alert reader will recognize the fright flick you’re seeking and let us know the title of it. Thanks for writing.

--Renfield

Renfield:

I saw a Hound Of The Baskervilles movie a long time ago. It was a TV movie made in 1972. It starred Stewart Granger as Holmes and William Shatner as Henry Baskerville. Though not on par with Rathbone or Cushing's versions, it certainly was an interesting and not unentertaining movie. Could you help me in obtaining a copy of it? Last I saw, it appeared on a channel in the early 90s late night and I have never seen it since.

--Justin

Justin:

We’re afraid that you stand pretty much alone in finding that TV-movie version of The Hound Of The Baskervilles worth looking up. Granger was pretty feeble as Holmes and Shatner was impossibly miscast as Sir Henry Baskerville. We caught that flick eons ago, too, and it simply reeked. Since it is an old TV movie, your best chance is to do an Internet search…perhaps one of the video dubbers has a copy of it available for sale. Good luck. By the way, rather than spending time looking for that seedy version of the classic Holmes novel, check out Sinister Cinema, which has several versions of the story available, including at least one made in Germany.

--Renfield

Renfield:

I went to Creature Feature Video (from your "Survey Of Video Sources" page) but its not there.

--Don

Don:

Good catch. We checked several times, and it’s clear that Creature Feature Video has abandoned its domain, and it more or less off the Net. We’ve removed them from our Video Sources page. It’s a shame—they were a pretty stalwart company back in the wild and wooly days of video. Cheers!

--Renfield

Hey Renfield:

My film, The Garbageman…He'll Waste You!, needs any kind of distribution, as I send him out to vanquish the corrupt Hollywood Gatekeepers who keep so many great independent films from us. Could you suggest any options...and can I send a free copy to you for review?

--Thanks, Johnny

Johnny:

Well, it’s a cute title, anyway. Unless you can hook up with an established video distribution firm, all you can do is offer the film for sale yourself, presumably from a Web site, and show it at any and all "indie" film festivals you can get to. It’s a rocky road, indeed, to try to market a completely independent film these days, especially one that has no artsy or leftwing political pretensions (which leaves out Sundance, the Independent Film Channel, etc.). Don’t send us a copy, since we don’t review recent films. Good luck to you.

--Renfield

Renfield:

Blood Of Dracula’s Castle—the TV version…I know you have it. It seems that it will never be released. I wonder how people protect what they don't like. I come too a complete wall when I mention this movie to any Internet people. It’s like a secret government not to think about ever release it to the public, no less a crybaby from me. You might have seen Greg put me in shame about trying so hard to get a copy. I even try to old studios that might…I will never stop I only hope somehow you would see it my way, and send me a copy that being haunting me for years.

--JDPERALTA63

JD:

If anyone could make a buck, in their estimation, in releasing the TV version of Blood Of Dracula’s Castle, they would do so. Probably a decent print of it doesn’t exist, and the alleged "werewolf transformation" scenes aren’t anything special. Persistence usually pays off, though, so if you need looking, you might find someone with a copy who will send it to you. Good luck.

--Renfield

Hi, Renfield:

I'm a bartender in NYC and I show horror movies in the bar every Monday night. Would I be able to have this posted on your site? There is never a cover, I make free popcorn and everyone pretty much chills out and watches the movie. Below is a listing for the night, every month I pick a theme, April is Zombie Month for example, and have a corresponding drink special, ie: $5 dollar zombie cocktails. Thanks!

-- Bartendress and Horror nut, Heather

Heather:

Glad to! We just wish we lived close enough to the Big Apple to check out your bar and quaff a Zombie or two while watching a cool classic horror flick in your fine saloon. Cheers!

--Renfield

Hello, Renfield:

I am the Admin (Mike) from HellHorror.com and I would like to add your site to a new link page that I am creating. This is only for reciprocal links and therefore will receive more exposure then the ordinary web links I already have up.

--Mike

Mike:

We appreciate your bringing up the subject of links, so we can repeat our policy concerning that aspect of HORROR-WOOD. There are literally thousands of horror sites out there and any Links Page that tried to link to them all would be uselessly bloated. We will link only to sites that have some relevance to classic horror—so the "Freddie" and "Jason" and "Pinhead" Webmasters need not apply. We also don’t provide free advertising to online businesses unless they have at least some classic horror content. Your site doesn’t meet those standards, Mike, but thanks again for writing.

Renfield:

"Beware the ides of March," as Shakespeare said, for that was the day that I finally found time to check out the current issue.  Who would have thought of Gale Sondergaard as "cover girl" material?   Excellent look at her life and career by Joe Winters, with a great selection of stills.  I still harbor hopes of one day seeing her in The Spider Woman Strikes Back and Night In Paradise.  And our gal Gale even managed to make a guest appearance in Harvey Chartrand's look at the shock films of Stuart Whitman in that same issue, having appeared with Whitman in The Cat Creature.   (It's a shame that Stuart Whitman's work for Hammer Films was not in one of their horror titles, but an attempt to cash in on the Hong Kong action genre with Shatter.)

If only I'd read your article on the 1962 Cabinet Of Caligari before actually seeing it.  I stumbled across it in the TV listings late one night and decided to stay up and see this curiosity.  In this case, curiosity didn't kill the cat, but it did kill my insomnia.

It was great to see someone (in this case, Dave Duggins) take a look at 1971's The Devil’s Nightmare.  There are several copies/cuts of this floating around but, like Duggins, I was lucky enough to get my hands on the Redemption release, which is the best of the bunch.  (Redemption actually offers a number of Euro-horror titles from that era.  Having been too young to get in to see many of these during their initial run, DVD has let me view many titles that, until now, were only ads clipped from the newspaper and pasted into my scrapbook way back when.)   The film has aged very well, and is still an entertaining terror tale.

The film's femme fatale, Erika Blanc, also graced Mario Bava's Kill, Baby, Kill!, as
well as The Night Evelyn Came Out Of The Grave and Mark Of The Devil II. Her 80-plus film career may not have had as many horror hits as someone like Barbara Steele, but her appearances in the genre were always memorable. (And, as your article pointed out, in The Devil’s Nightmare, Erica was certainly aided by the wardrobe department.)

--Bob Statzer

Bob:

Thanks so much for the great letter. We appreciate it…it makes our little efforts here at Doc Seward’s Sanitarium seem more than just fly-eating. Joe Winters indeed really gave Ms Sondergaard her due in his fine article about her career. We have a washed-out video dub of The Spider Woman Strikes Back and it certain needs a nice release on DVD; it’s lots of fun.

As Don Mankowski noted about Cabinet Of Caligari, it’s a flick that tries to kind of rise above it’s exploitation roots and tends to disappoint (and even bore) viewers along the way. On a much more rousing note, The Devil’s Nightmare is truly a "stay-up-and-watch" kind of horror flick and the DVD treatment, as Dave Duggins pointed out in his excellent article about it, only enhances the film’s essentially solid filmic underpinnings. But if you get the Redemption DVD of the film, be aware that there’s a kind of blood-and-bad-kink short subject preceding the actual film…it ain’t for the kiddies at all.

Thanks again, Bob! Cheers!

--Renfield

Renfield:

I have been a big fan of your Internet magazine--it is really great.  I enjoy the features, especially the ones concerning films from the Forties and Fifties.

I noticed while surfing the Internet that there are a lot of retailers selling some of these old gems that are featured in HORROR-WOOD on DVD and I was wondering if you could tell me something about these retailers.

The first enterprise is associated with Creepy Classics and the firm is called Cryptflicks.  I have checked the Internet and cannot find anything about them.   More particularly, I am interested in the DVD called Blood Of The Vampire, which they sell for 15 dollars.  Could you tell me anything about the quality of the transfer, audio, and any other important considerations?

In addition, I have come across an Ebay merchandiser with the handle of Darthbobdylan, which appears to be out of Canada.  They sell a lot of neat titles, but I get the impression that many of their titles are burned from videotape copies or bootlegged.   Could you tell me anything about their reputation as a dealer?

Thank you for any information you can send my way. 

--Respectfully, Michael Leberfing

Michael:

Thanks for the kind words regarding HORROR-WOOD. We appreciate them.

Of course, Creepy Classics Video, run by Ron "Monster Bash" Adams, is the premier classic horror video and DVD retailer on the World Weird Web. You can’t do better than to buy from them, in our humble opinion. In general, Cryptflicks uses pretty good source material in their DVDs—for example, their DVD of The Vampire with John Beal is all but pristine. We don’t know the quality of the Blood Of The Vampire source print, and the best thing is to send an email to Ron and ask his about it.

When you deal with the video dubbers, you’re kind of swimming with sharks in a way. They are some good ones out there, but many bad ones as well. That firm’s Ebay score is the best and only way to get a handle on them. Again, you’d probably do well to email them and ask about the titles you’re interested in. They may actually reply, which would aid in your assessment of them. Thanks for writing.

--Renfield

Renfield:

There’s a zombie movie you missed on your Zombie Movie List. It is disguised as a Mummy movie, Dawn Of The Mummy. The director was a Romero fan and took over a low-budget Mummy movie. There is a pretty good size attack scene at the end with a good amount of gore. It's a bit of a slow starter. It's on DVD so you can get it at Best Buy or something.

--Marty Hyder

Marty:

That list was compiled years ago and it likely nor all-inclusive. We’re already familiar with Dawn Of The Mummy, one of John-John’s favorite monster-in-bandages-that- pulls-out-eyeballs-and-rips-out-guts flicks. We’re always on the lookout for anyone who’d care to take another crack at the list, by the way, if you’re interested. Cheers!

--Renfield

Hi, Renfield:

I was just wondering if you could help.  I just read Davis White's series on Italian horror and was wondering if you guys can help.  I’m at university and one of the modules I have to do is European cinema and I've not seen many European films, and I was wondering if any of you could help me write an essay structure or essay plan so i would know what to write about, and guide me.

The two questions I can choose from are:

1. Discuss the manifestation of one popular genre within European cinema.

2. Discuss the manifestation of one popular genre within a specific national film industry.

I was thinking horror films for the 1st question and Italian horror such as giallo for the second. I only have to do one of the questions, there is also a third choice of question, which is:

3. Discuss the work of one director, associated with popular cinema who you feel can be considered an auteur.

I would be so grateful if you could help, and I just thought I'd ask because you seem to know a lot about horror movies and seem to enjoy them.  Just if you could give me an idea about what to write about would be so helpful, as my essay has to be 2,500 words.

Thanks, Noshy

Noshy:

Generally, you’re better off writing your own papers—that’s why you’re in college; to learn how to do stuff like that between keggers and food fights. However, we will make a suggestion—pick Question Three and choose as your director none other than David "The Rock" Nelson, a true auteur and the "Ed Wood of the Twenty-First Century." Cheers!

--Renfield

Renfield:

Yes, it's true.  I've been captured and wonderfully imprisoned in Boris Karloff's          timeless web...er, Website, that is.

My career piece on the life and times of this magical performer has received the greatest tribute I could ever have conceived or imagined...being chosen by the late, great actor's daughter, Sara, to be presented and preserved on the Official Boris Karloff Website. Originally published here in their Hall of Fame Department several weeks ago, the article reached the attention of Sara Jane Karloff who asked permission to re-print my work on her own worldwide location.  You can locate both of us here where, as Sara has written, a whole new audience of her father's millions of fans can appreciate and read the story of a beautiful and gifted artist.  So, don't try to rescue me, for I'm quite content to be trapped for all time within the enchanted clutches of this magical web.  So, come and visit the celebrated home of one of filmdom's most revered performers where you'll encounter Boris, Sara and...me.

--Best Wishes From This Chamber of Heroes, Steve Vertlieb

Steve:

Thanks for letting us know about your article being reprinted on Sara Karloff’s site. I’m sure many faithful readers will want to check it out. Thanks for writing.

--Renfield

Hi, Renfield:

My name is Jon King and I'm in charge of the online promotions for the upcoming DVD release of the movie Incident At Loch Ness. I am contacting you because you run one of the most popular horror/sci-fi sites on the web and would love to set up some coverage for this movie on HORROR-WOOD. If you're unfamiliar with this movie, here is a little bit about it:

Shocking, controversial, strange and humorous, Incident At Loch Ness dives deep into the age-old mystery of Loch Ness and its most famous denizen, the elusive dinosaur purported to live in its dark waters. Put all fears aside and embark on a voyage most have been too terrified to make, with acclaimed director Werner Herzog at the helm (Nosferatu, What Dreams May Come), he and his brave crew are set to uncover the truth behind the legend in this "clever and amusing mockumentary" (New York Post) that is the brainchild of acclaimed writer/director/producer Zak Penn (X2: X-Men United, Behind Enemy Lines).

Look forward to hearing back from you!

--Jon

Jon:

While the prospect of Werner Herzog directing a flick about Nessie certainly stirs some interest in us, we at HORROR-WOOD don’t cover newly released flicks. Is it true that Nessie is being played by Klaus Kinski, who didn’t really die but instead became a mixed-up zombie? Cheers!

Renfield:

Ah, the "werewolf" version of Blood Of Dracula’s Castle again (Gore-respondence, February 2005 issue). The version just called Dracula’s Castle. The version they did not release to DVD in Rhino's "Horrible Horrors" collection.

Nobody (to date) has taken responsibility for the extra werewolf footage...however, we can rest assured that it had nothing to do with Al Adamson or Sam Sherman. May I please direct you to the highly recommended Al Adamson tribute site and the appropriate page?

Then there's The Manson Family. Yes, I concede that this is not the sort of film that HORROR-WOOD tends to cover, and those who approach it must brace themselves for something extreme. However, as writer/director Jim Van Bebber selflessly contributed a personal appearance and a screening of the film for our Jonelle Snead Independent Film Festival (a local cancer charity event in honor of our now departed friend and castmate), I would like to take this opportunity to extol and salute Jim yet again.

By the way, our other special guest was none other than Jeff Burr, director of The Offspring, which featured perhaps the last truly "good" role for...Cameron Mitchell!

I'd like to thank you for the Mitchell retrospective...call your attention to one outrageous title you missed (J. P. Simon's unforgettable Supersonic Man, in which Mitchell--though his voice was dubbed again--played the mad Dr. Gulik to black-gloved-hand-smacking perfection). Supersonic Man is no great work of art, but it's a certified Manor of Mayhem favorite, and Mitchell has received more than one recognition from us. A posthumous award on the show is one thing, but I personally took things a step farther...

...would any of you care to guess who Cameron Mitchell Dallmann is?

--Best always, Shane "Remo D." Dallmann

Shane:

Thanks for making the distinction clear about the "theatrical version" of "Blood Of Dracula's Castle" and the version that appeared on TV. Apparently, lots of folks saw the TV version of the flick, remember the "werewolf" footage, and were disappointed and bewildered not to see it on the bonafide theatrical version of the same film. We're also confidant that Al Adamson had nothing to do with any extra footage...he was big into re-titling and re-releasing his epics but to actually add anything to them--no way.

Thanks for the link to Gary Krieger's Al Adamson site. He's definitely a reliable source of information on Al and his movies and he assisted us with our series on Al Adamson.

It was indeed nice of Bebber to contribute to the film festival and we are sorry to hear about Ms Snead.

Harv did a terrific job with the article on Cameron Mitchell and I think it's understandable that he didn't mention all of Cameron Mitchell's works...they were so many, after all and Supersonic Man was really a sci-fi flick. And now there seems to be one more we didn't know about...born to the house of Dallmann. Cheers!

--Renfield

Renfield:

Enjoyed your article on The Flesh Eaters. I remember this little gem vividly because when

I lived in Philly in 1964 they were pulling a giant "flesh eater" on a flat bed trailer down Roosevelt Blvd., to promote the film. Nearly scared the wits out of me at the time but made me go running to the theater.

Keep up the good work!

--Cal at Nifty Sci-Fi

Cal: 

Glad you liked the article in our Archives section.  Yeah, that's one nifty little horror flick with amazing gore for its time and made on am equally amazingly small budget.   A "giant" flesh eater?  Gadzooks, it must have been what was left of the monster one at the end of the flick, the one who was graced with the film's only color sequence.

Great memories--thanks for sharing them with us.  Cheers!

--Renfield

Renfield:

--Jackrandall Earles

Jack: 

It's wonderful to hear from you again and we'll certainly update your great two-part article series on Allison Hayes that ran in HORROR-WOOD.  That series definitely was a favorite with many readers and I know it gets a lot of "hits" where it currently molders in our Archives section. 

Thanks for providing the interesting "scoop" on Cameron Mitchell's progeny.   Harv did a terrific job with the article.  It sure looks like Cameron Mitchell passed his acting "genes" on to his children...hopefully, those "genes" won't mutate into the kind of crazy-quilt career for his kids that Mitchell himself endured. 

Thanks again, Jack.  Cheers!

--Renfield

This letter has been sent to you because you are the vanguard on the internet (or on the radio, in certain cases) with interests extending into science fiction, the paranormal, H.G. Wells, and War Of The Worlds.

As I, presumably like you, would love nothing more than to have an impressive War Of The Worlds DVD box set in my collection, I have begun a petition to Paramount Television, Hometown Pictures, Ten Four, et al regarding the release of both seasons of the War Of The Worlds television series.

Please find the time to sign the petition and, if you honestly feel strongly about this, to promote the petition. Tell your friends and relatives; add it to your signature on bulletin boards, email, and blogs; post that link wherever you can find space to post it!

Only together can we possibly influence Paramount Television to what we, the consumer, want them to provide!

Remember that this is a grassroots campaign. I am not being paid nor stand to financially benefit from any of this.  I'm just a fan of the original H. G. Wells book, the Orson Welles broadcast, the 1953 film, the 1988 television series, and am eagerly awaiting the upcoming remake.  I would very much enjoy from hearing from other fans of this cult television series, please feel free to contact me.

Keep up the good work, man.  That HORROR-WOOD site rules!

--A. Winchester Beebe

Winchester:

Interestingly enough, just recently I was watching a wonderfully restored 16mm print of the original War Of The Worlds film, and again appreciating the fantastic Technicolor special effects (for its time) that highlight this classic film.  After the showing and between bites of good old Ohio crispy-crust pizza, I mentioned the interesting TV series made in the Eighties that actually used the original film as a starting-out point. Amazingly, none of the other folks at that showing--film buffs all—recalled the series!  It seems to have dropped into the old Memory Hole.

But be of good courage.  With the almost certainly lousy CGI-rodeo remake that Steven "Has Been" Spielberg and Tom "Clueless" Cruise are coming out with, all sorts of War Of The Worlds material will be sprung from all sorts of outlets to cash in on it.  No doubt, the TV series will be dusted off and shown again and likely will be offered on DVD as well.  Good luck with your petition.

--Renfield

Renfield:

Sorry to intrude this way, but Conrad P. Felber and I (in my fan guise as The Star Wolf) used to trade (comics and film-related) letters over ten years. Unfortunately, we seem to have lost track of one another until I ran into his name here.  Would much appreciate it if you could pass my electronic mail address on to him if you're still in touch.  Thanks.

--The Star Wolf

Wolf:

Will do.  He's kind of a hard guy to trace sometimes, though.  Cheers!

--Renfield

Renfield:

Just a quick note to let you know that my Website has been updated. Sorry that it has been so long with an update but things have been a bit hectic.

This time around we'll go to Alphaville, peek into the Bloody Pit Of Horror, have a snack with Dracula, visit the loopy Monster And The Girl, and also take a quick look at some Euro-horrors and horrors from the Thirties and Forties

Thanks for looking!

--Gary Banks

Gary:

Thanks for the update and keep up the "ghoul" work. Nice to know that old Renfield isn’t alone in digging up horror treasures of the past. Cheers!

--Renfield

Renfield:

After cementing his reputation as an audacious independent filmmaker with The Double D-Avenger--a movie Variety hailed as "a cheerfully silly ode to larger-than-life femininity"--this week director William Winckler begins filming his latest adventure: a loving homage to classic Universal-style horror films of the Forties. The yet-to-be-titled "monster movie" stars Larry Butler (Lost In The USA, Elvis Is Alive) and Gary Canavello, with special appearances by Butch Patrick (The Munsters), Lloyd Kaufman (The Toxic Avenger, Terror Firmer), Raven De La Croix (Russ Meyer's Up!, Hear No Evil), David Gerrold (Star Trek), Playboy model Carla Harvey and Cyberspace Adult Video Review (CAVR) Starlet of the Year, Selena Silver.

"Nobody has done an honest-to-goodness homage to classic black-and-white horror films and monster movies," says Winckler, who also wrote the screenplay. "Those films are mocked or parodied in big-budget adventures like Van Helsing, but no modern producer has attempted to recapture the heart, soul and style of the classic monster films. We're changing that we're going to give horror fans the type of serious monster picture that used to be explored at length in magazines like Famous Monsters Of Filmland."

Etc., etc. etc.

--Dezzirae Ascalon, William Winckler Productions

Dezzirae:

With a name like that, you should be one of the leads, not the PR flack for this flick (and you're yet another PR flack who needs to work on their basic grammar and punctuation).

Of course we believe that ol’ Bill is going to take his Playboy models and assortment of bottom-of-the-barrel players and craft a truly "loving homage" to the classic horror films of the Forties. Uh-huh. Let us know when he wraps shooting on his likely follow- up homage, Double-D Dracula.

Howdy, Renfield:

December’s HORROR-WOOD was another fine effort, but the holiday-themed illustration on the Contents page contained a goof.

Haven't you read the Christmas ("A Visit From St. Nicholas") poem? The Creature should not be stirring.

--Regards, Mueller

Mike:

Oops. You got me there. But I must admit, when it comes to our holiday illustration on the "Table of Contents" page, it’s Julie Adams that I find…er, stirring. Cheers!

--Renfield

Renfield:

There's an old black-and-white movie that I don't know the name of. I remember watching it a long time ago when old horror movies would air on Saturday or Sunday afternoons. There's a scene where a young man is riding barefoot on a raft. There is something in the water and the water seeps through the raft and onto his feet. I remember that the water looked shiny to indicate that it wasn't "normal" water. My dad says there were people on shore yelling for "Omar" to come back. Do you have any idea of what this movie is? Thanks!

--Shevette:

Old Renfield has to admit that he has absolutely no notion of this film. It doesn't sound like a horror film as such, but, of course, there's not much description there. In 1956's Curucu, Beast of the Amazon, there was a character named Romar, and there was raft travel up (or down) the Amazon, and I believe the native bearers were barefoot, but that's probably way off base. Perhaps an alert reader can provide the answer for you. Thanks for writing.

--Renfield

Renfield:

Trying to recall a weird, kind of silly horror movie from the early to mid Nineties. All I remember is an old house, an abducted damsel, and a strange secret in the barn---"batteries" that were actually people, one of them being Elvis! Ring a bell?

--Larry Peebles

Larry:

Old Renfield is pretty weak on horror films of the Nineties, truth to tell. Considering the wacky nature of a lot of horror-comedy-parodies that were ground out during that decade, that description doesn’t even sent one bat fluttering in old Renfield’s mental belfry. But, perhaps we have at least one more "contemporary" reader who can supply the name of the title of the horror flick that dares to invoke the King. Thanks for writing.

--Renfield

Hi, Renfield:

I was checking out your site and would like to know if you would be interested in partnering with Fright Catalog in some capacity. Is there someone in your Marketing Department with whom I could speak? I look forward to hearing from you.  Thanks.

--Kristina

Kristina:

I asked around Doc Seward’s asylum and no one there admitting to being in a Marketing Department. So, alas, we have no one to speak to you. About the only thing we "partner" with in Ron "Rondo" Adams and his Monster Bash, because it so much frightening fun. But "fangs" for thinking of us and "ghoul" luck with the catalog. Cheers!

--Renfield

Hi Renfield:

Wanted to say thank you for the Cal Bolder interview! It turned out great! One thing, however, is that you have his name misspelled. His name should be spelled Bolder, but on the link to the article and on HORROR-WOOD’s intro it says Boulder. There is no "u" in his last name. He has not seen the Website yet, so if you could fix that before he sees it? You know how actors are! Otherwise it really turned out nicely! Thanks!

--Best, Michael Barnum

Michael:

Oops again! Once again, proof positive that old Renfield has bats in his belfry. We made the corrections and we hope that Mr. Bolder enjoys seeing his interview in our little Webzine. Thanks for contributing.

--Renfield

Renfield:

A buddy of mine went to see A Series Of Unfortunate Events last night. Playing with the film was the trailer for the new War Of The Worlds. Actress Ann Robinson, from the original War Of The Worlds, has a cameo in the new film. Tom Cruise stars, Spielberg directs.

--Bob Statzer

Bob:

At one time, we’d be "lurking" forward to such a project. Considering what Tinseltown has wrought in the nature of remakes in recent years, however, causes us not to get very excited. The name "Tom Cruise" doesn’t help in that respect, either. But thanks for keeping us "abeast" of the remake scramble in filmdom. Cheers!