Friday Night Frights has launched!

My new podcast over at Starburst Magazine has now launched, with horror legend Linnea Quigley as my first guest!

To listen go here.

To subscribe on iTunes go here.

Shadowland Magazine # 5

What I love about Shadowland Magazine is that it reminds me of the monster mags that I used to read as kid - titles like Famous Monsters of Filmland and Quasimodo's Monster Magazine - that made horror, fantasy and sc-fi such fun.

Shadowland Magazine is great fun and the writing is excellent too! The range and depth of the articles should satisfy any cult movie fan. Check out the Summer 2012 issue contents:

"But The Kids Love Us!"

A retrospective on the lesser noticed aspects of the Ghostbusters, including the 1989 sequel, the Extreme Ghostbusters cartoon,  the comic series, and more!

Virtual Fear: A History of Horror Video Games

An in-depth overview of horror video games over the last thirty years from before the Atari generation to the current digitally interactive terrors.

James Rolfe, The Angry Video Game Nerd

Shadowland speaks with James Rolfe about horror video games. What makes a good one? A bad one? Which is the worst?

Horror Board Games

A visual look at some of the most interesting horror board games ever conceived.

Hudson Horror Show

A day at New York's Hudson Horror Show!

Sho Kosugi: The Last Ninja

A detailed article on the films and life of '80s ninja star, Sho Kosugi.

Moreau, What Have You Wrought?

Ruminations on the past and future of mad science in the Philippines.

Lucky 13: An Interview with Ronald Malfi

Ronald Malfi, author of The Fall of Never, Floating Staircase, and Shamrock Alley, shares his thoughts about writing in the horror genre.

Along Came A Spider-Man

A visual gallery of Spidey's television appearances.

The Three Stooges Meet The Mummy

Moe, Larry and Curly meet the indomitable Boris Karloff thanks to the miracle of styrene plastic.

And my own contribution:

Night Stalking: The TV Terror of Dan Curtis

Reviewing Dan Curtis' work ranging from Dark Shadows, The Night Stalker, Trilogy of Terror and beyond!

So why not sneak a copy into the house. Head on over to Shadowland Magazine and order yours today!

Starburst Launches Friday Night Frights on 28th September

Editorial Announcement from Starburst  Magazine Editor Jordan Royce...

"Starting Friday 28th September Starburst is proud to introduce you to FRIDAY NIGHT FRIGHTS...

We are the World's longest running magazine of sci-fi HORROR and fantasy, so it was only a matter of time before the fear factor was introduced into the Starburst Podcast Family. Friday Night Frights will be brought to you every Friday by our very own Jon Towlson. With exclusive interviews, special guests and reviews from the world of horror. Be with us on 28th September on this very website or iTunes, as we take a chainsaw to the beginning of your weekend!"

Yes, my new horror podcast is launching next Friday 28th September, with special guest actress Linnea Quigley.

My guests over the next few weeks include:

Director Frank Henelotter on the Basket Case movies; Basket Case actor, Kevin Hentenryck on his life with Belial; author James Gracey on the films of Dario Argento; Mum and Dad Director Steven Sheil on his new film Dead Mine; actor Brian Peck on the Return of the Living Dead; and producer/director Dan Brownlie on his low budget indie anthology, Three's A Shroud.

For the Starburst website and iTune link go here

Paracinema 17

Paracinema 17 is now available to preorder from paracinema.net. As usual it's an eclectic, exciting mix of writing on genre movies. In this issue:  Of Bonsai and Balance: The Hero’s Journey in The Karate Kid by Patrick Cooper; You Can Clean Up the Mess, But Don’t Touch My Coffin: The Legacy of Sergio Corbucci’s Django by Ed Kurtz ; Be Kind, No Need to Rewind: The Preservation, Demand and Ubiquity of Shot on VHS Cinema in an Increasingly Digital Landscape by Justin LaLiberty; I Don’t Want to See What I Hear: Paranoia and Personality Eradication in The Conversation by Todd Garbarini; Black Cats and Black Gloves: The Influence of the Gothic on Sergio Martino’s Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key by giallo expert James Gracey

My own piece, Endemic Madness: Subversive 1930s Horror, is also included (as the cover article no less!) In it I argue the case for 1930s horror as subversive cinema.

So why not preorder your copy of Paracinema 17 now - it's the film magazine for people who love genre movies.

McFarland gets 'Shocks'

 

Shocks to the System - Subversive Horror Films has been accepted by the publisher McFarland. They were my first choice of publisher and their horror catalogue is enormous; among their authors are John Kenneth Muir, Tom Weaver, Dennis Fischer, Bruce Hallenbeck, Adam Rockoff, Charles Derry, Greg Mank, Tom Johnson, Joseph Maddrey, Gary Rhodes and many others - so it is a huge honour to have Shocks to the System accepted by them.

No publication date has been set as yet, but I will be posting regular updates in the forthcoming months.

As always, I want to thank the readers of this blog for their support and comments over the past year or so. I think one of the reasons McFarland want the book is because of the readership of the blog, and so I hope that continues to grow!

Many thanks for your interest everyone.

Basket Case - The Trilogy

What's in the basket? After the success of Return of the Living Dead - Special Edition, on 22nd October Second Sight are releasing Frank Henenlotter's Basket Case 1, 2 & 3 on DVD/Blu-Ray as a Special Edition boxset with lots of great extras. To read my review go here.

Look out for my interview with director Frank Henenlotter in issue #381 of Starburst Magazine (due out 14th September). Frank is also my guest on FRIDAY NIGHT FRIGHTS  my new horror podcast hosted by Starburst Magazine to be launched later this month - watch this space for more details in the coming weeks!

And while I'm on the subject of Basket Case I'll be interviewing Duane himself, Kevin Van Hentenryck, later this week. So if you have any questions you'd like me to put to Kevin let me know!