Are you ready for some Football? The Horror!!!! The Agony!!!

Gosh I love football.  Sunday the Bears will begin breaking our tender hearts again...perhaps your own team will decide to rip your still beating heart from it's chest and devour it before your eyes.  I have seen it happen.  Year after year...

Horror Anthology Submissions

The following is from our friend and DEATHSCRIBE 2008 celebrity judge, Mort Castle. We highly recommend finishing your DS 10 submissions before tackling this:

A CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS : ALL AMERICAN HORROR OF THE 21ST CENTURY: The First Decade

I am reading for ALL AMERICAN HORROR OF THE 21ST CENTURY: The First Decade. This will be an anthology of reprint stories originally published between October of 1999 and December of 2010. The tentative release date is spring of 2011.

Payment will be on a par with the reprint fees paid by most of the “Best of” anthologies and will be an advance against a pro rata share of royalties. I am particularly eager to see stories under 5,000 words, although I might consider exceptional stories of greater length, which have been published in venues which I might not have come across; this could include college literary magazines, pro and semi-pro genre magazines, and websites ...

Confession: Although I recognize some webzines do publish quality, I don’t spend days reading fiction on the internet; it’s this thing about my eyes going granulated.

And proclamation: Those who know me are already aware that I strive for quality in my own writing and admire the achievement thereof in the work of others. That means if a horror story is the literary equivalent of Ipecac and might well act in the same emetic way, it probably ain’t for me.

The book’s publisher, Wicker Park Press was established in 2002. Titles include Becky Thatcher’s AMAZON GIRL’S HANDBOOK; Leigh Hunt’s THE REBELLION OF THE BEASTS; Gene Logsdon’s THE LORDS OF FOLLY, and, forthcoming, CAVAFY’S STONE AND OTHER VILLAGE TALES, by National Book Award nominee Harry Mark Petrakis. Wicker Park Press is headed by Eric Lincoln Miller, a veteran 'book guy' and the current president of the National Association of Independent Publishers Representatives. The Wicker Park Press website: wickerparkpressbooks.com

For more information about submissions or anything else, please write to me at: Allamhorror@aol.com

Looking forward to seeing great stuff.

Mort Castle

PS. You can get my additional thoughts on what is / isn’t “American Horror” by reading my online Storytellers Unplugged column for September 8. www.storytellersunplugged.com

Hachet 2

Fall. Have I mentioned how much I love fall? Football, leaves changing colors, and movies. Like, this one, coming out October 1st.



I am sincerely hoping that this one is a big huge hit, for I am not a fan of the PG-13 Horror movie. While there have been one or two which have been pretty good, most are, in my opinion, crap. Hatchet II going to be released unrated, the widest release of an unrated film in 25 years. And perhaps, if it does well...perhaps we will be able to see a trend away from making horror movies suitable for children, and towards seeing horror movies in the theater the way their creators intended.

Stephen King's The Dark Tower series coming to a theatre near you, and your television.

Our good friend and newly christened Lifeline Theatre Company Member, pop culture expert Chris Hainsworth (whom WildClaw fans surely remember as Sheriff Raven from 'Dreams in the Witch House'), recently brought this to our attention.

Universal's unprecedented plans for Stephen King's 'The Dark Tower.'

Universal Pictures and NBC Universal Television Entertainment have closed a deal to turn Stephen King’s mammoth novel series The Dark Tower into a feature film trilogy and a network TV series, both of which will be creatively steered by the Oscar-winning team behind A Beautiful Mind and The Da Vinci Code.

Thoughts? Excitement? Trepidations?

Kitley's Krypt MYSTERY PHOTO #59

Another week, another MYSTERY PHOTO!

Jon Kitley, pillar of the Chicago Horror Community and head honcho over at KITLEY'S KRYPT, wants to challenge your horror knowledge. Week in, week out, he posts a Mystery Photo - sometimes from an obscure horror title, sometimes just an unusual shot from a well-known classic. We figured our faithful Claw readers would enjoy the challenge!

Our last photo was from one of Hammer's non-Gothic "thrillers," DIE! DIE! MY DARLING! (aka Fanatic) (1965), and as you can see, it's a vibrant diversion from their stark black and white efforts in hue, but just as compelling in execution. The story focuses on a young woman being terrorized by her fiance's demented mother...who blames her for her son's death. Not only does it feature screen legend Tallulah Bankhead in her final theatrical role (although she did lend her voice to 1966's Rankin/Bass animated The Daydreamer, as well as a turn on TV's Batman as "Black Widow"), it co-stars the comely Stefanie Powers and an up-and-coming Donald Sutherland as a dullard handyman. The Bava-esque color scheme comes courtesy of Canadian-born director Silvio Narizzano (Georgy Girl).



Let's see how you fare with this week's selection:


If you provide the correct answer, your name will be announced next week on the Kitley's Krypt website (http://www.kitleyskrypt.com), along with a new photo. Even if you don't know the answer, we welcome any sorta-kinda educated guess! So, send in your emails today and good luck!

Fangoria reminds the masses to SUBMIT!

Fangoria loves WildClaw

Vampyros Lesbos: A rich man’s borderline lesby soft porn, a poor man’s Lemora (film review)

Jess Franco's Vampyros Lesbos is a slow, dreamy, almost surreal 'vampire' tale of a performance artist woman (Nadine - played by the mouth-watering Soledad Miranda) who mesmerizes a blonde audience member (Linda), and hypnotizes her into becoming her lesbian love-slave. There are a few other characters in the background, like Linda's concerned boyfriend, a psychiatrist, a random serial killer, etc., but the main story is about Nadine's hold over Linda.

I've only seen one other Jess Franco film ("Marquis De Sade: Justine" 1968), and for me, this film rates lower - mainly because of the lack of vampy horror, the over-the-top 60s soundtrack (which is definitely an acquired taste), and the soggy direction of the movie. Distracting the viewer from these drawbacks are countless boobies, crotch-shots, and girl-on-girl action.

Lesbians watching this film may recognize the underlying message of the story (that Nadine's lesbionic desires towards Linda were viewed as a 'disease,' like a vampire infecting her prey). Men (and women), in turn, may simply salivate with visions of Soledad's naked 60s performance art dancing around a live female mannequin woman. And straight women looking for a horror movie may feel the urge to fall asleep due to the slowness of the film, only to be jolted awake by the 'Spoink!' and 'Clink!' of the soundtrack and unashamed close-ups of countless, dimpled asses.

I will say that I was constantly comparing this film to "Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural" in my mind. If you happen to be left dry by this movie, I recommend seeing Lemora. The surrealism is done to perfection, it actually has vampires, and the lesbian tension between the two main characters is palpable, honest-to-Ellen.

Crafty Halloween...start early!

I picked up my beloved Martha Stewart Halloween issue today...wait...was that I scoff I heard?  Seriously...Martha delivers some awesome Halloween ideas that will satisfy even the hard core folks out there...or at least the horror hard core crafters like myself.

Behold the blood spattered cupcake papers or this killer Gray Lady Ghost costume...

See...give it up for Martha.

Kitley's Krypt MYSTERY PHOTO #58

Another week, another MYSTERY PHOTO!

Jon Kitley, pillar of the Chicago Horror Community and head honcho over at KITLEY'S KRYPT, wants to challenge your horror knowledge. Week in, week out, he posts a Mystery Photo - sometimes from an obscure horror title, sometimes just an unusual shot from a well-known classic. We figured our faithful Claw readers would enjoy the challenge!

Our last photo was from a pretty obscure flick, but Mssr. Kitley we wanted to throw it out there anyway to see if anyone took the bait. Yea, I know...bad fish analogy. But see, that fits, since our selection is from one of the best bad fish movies out there. The shot is from ZAAT (1975), also known by numerous alternate titles, including The Blood Waters of Dr. Z, Hydra, Attack of the Swamp Creatures, and others. This half-man/half-catfish/all-megalomaniac movie has even been featured on MST3K, with Mike and the 'bots giving it their best jibes. Yes, it is a bad movie, but it's one of those pretty damn entertaining ones...the kind that we like to bust out come Turkey Day!. (for a list of other gloriously bad flicks as well as a retrospective of this annual tradition, visit http://www.kitleyskrypt.com/turkeyday.htm



Let's see how you fare with this week's selection:



If you provide the correct answer, your name will be announced next week on the Kitley's Krypt website (http://www.kitleyskrypt.com), along with a new photo. Even if you don't know the answer, we welcome any sorta-kinda educated guess! So, send in your emails today and good luck!

A Woman in Trouble: Mad Cowgirl (film review)

Gregory Hatanka's film Mad Cowgirl (2006) is an iconoclastic, absurd, hilarious and touching story of a woman's mental deterioration.

'The woman in trouble,' is the beautiful and quirky Therese (played brilliantly by Sarah Lassez) - in one of my favorite themes in movies, especially in horror genres. For my money, it just doesn't get any better than when you have a woman who has a gorgeous exterior, but is obsessed, mentally unstable or just a bit psycho in the interior - because a woman who has let go of conventional worries and day-to-day requirements is completely free in her actions. Watching a crazy, carpe diem woman is uplifting, in a way.

Therese's plight involves a brain tumor that is quickly altering her perceptions in the world. As a meatpacking inspector, she is aware of the 'mad cow disease' that is emerging in Britain. This news, which is oft in the background of the movie, is not the reason for her despondent behavior, but is continually offered up as a red herring as the cause for her problems. Dying of a brain disorder is not 'funny.' But a meat inspector who is given tainted meat from her incestuous brother and is then convinced that she has the brain-wasting disease IS funny. This belief sets her off on a wild journey of pastor-banging, eating steak, brother-banging, eating more steak, girl-on-girl action, late nite kung-fu TV show obsession, eating raw steak, and, oh, a murder spree.



The overt campiness of some the shots are reminiscent of Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers. The character portrayal, however, is strongly set on Therese with minor distractions, so her anguish and loneliness came through despite the wild and crazy situations she would find herself in, namely boning Commandar Chekov of Star Trek (the pastor), which is a heartache in itself. Her inappropriate relationship with her brother is also overwhelmingly sad, because the viewer knows he's the only one that could save her from herself.

The beginning of the film (after the some minute cow interlude) there is a news brief from Japan that is explaining the dangers of eating cow, for fear of contracting the 'mad cow disease' that forms holes in your brain tissue. The brief offers an alternative lifestyle that will keep you healthy - a vegan lifestyle. Seeing as how the rest of the movie is absolutely littered with shots of (troubled) people devouring steaks like beasts, I'm convinced the director is making a statement on the carnivore diet. I could be wrong, and it's probably my vegetarianism coming through, but wouldn’t it be delicious if this movie was one giant propaganda tool to get people to lay off the beef? It's as if the director is saying 'Therese brought her problems upon herself.' You are what you eat: ingesting a mad-cow steak will make you into a Mad CowGirl... with a thunderbolt kick!