2011 Halloween Film Festival: The Resident

Happy Halloween from the Catacombs!The little ghosts, ghouls and goblins will be out in force tonight to relieve you of the burden of some sugary treats, unless you’re planning a slate of nifty tricks to offset their cravings. Here is the last of my 2011 Halloween Film Festival reviews, and of this years grouping, this surprisingly turned out to be my personal favorite. Remember, I chose a handful of genre films, both old and new, that I had never actually seen before. When a beautiful young doctor, newly estranged from her unfaithful boyfriend, suspects that something is just not right in her new Brooklyn loft, she discovers that her landlord has formed a frightening obsession with her. The...

Read more »

"Gal" Friday! Anneka Vasta

As I struggled to choose an appropriate "gal" this week, things took a turn into the eerie & bizarre as a notable celebrity cold case murder/suicide/death from January 2011 reared its head in the form of a new public appeal by police charged with investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of the 1975 Penthouse Pet of the Year. Born Marjorie Lee Thoreson, Anneka Vasta (aka Anneka di Lorenzo) was a 70s & 80s pin-up model and actress. She portrayed Messalina in the infamous softcore-porn film, Caligula in 1980.Vasta & Penthouse Pet Lori Wagner in "Caligula" (1980)Nine months after her death, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service is asking for public help as they...

Read more »

"I Hunted Gazonga'a The Thing That Grew!" (AC Comics;1999)

"Hallow-weekend" is upon us and I thought that another black & white story from Wild Women #1 (1999 one-shot); originally published by AC Comics, might be in order as a bonus. "I Hunted Gazonga'a The Thing That Grew" was written by Bill Black & illustrated by Larnei Deeda (who I've actually never heard of before). There is a bit of cheesecake/nudity in this little three page snippet, so avert your eyes if lines drawn on paper offends you. The Catacombs is grateful to Don "Zu-Gogo" Falkos for providing the scans for this story. Note: The copyright for this issue, its contents and artwork, belong to the original publisher and/or creators, and is reproduced here solely for...

Read more »

2011 Halloween Film Festival: Black Christmas (1974)

Olivia Hussey as "Jess" in Black ChristmasNotable for being one of the first slasher films, director Bob Clark’s 1974 Black Christmas starring Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, Andrea Martin, Marian Waldman, and John Saxon, is largely based on a series of murders that occurred in Quebec, Canada around Christmas time. The film which follows a group of college students who must face a deranged serial killer lurking in their sorority house, has achieved a devoted cult following in the years since its release, and inspired other films such as Friday the 13th and John Carpenter's Halloween.Margot Kidder (left) as "Barb" in Black ChristmasCameraman, Albert J. Dunk, created the POV camera...

Read more »

INNER SANCTUM: Tales of Mystery, Horror and Suspense from NBM!

The 2011 Halloween Film Festival review of Black Christmas (1974) that I had planned to run today, will instead be posted tomorrow. For this weeks Halloween "hump day" featurette, take a look at a new pet project of veteran comics creator Ernie Colón. Inner Sanctum was an original 1941-1952 American radio program, with related film and television productions that many fans of mystery and horror fondly recall. The revered Colón brings to comics life striking black & white tales based on one of the most popular radio shows in history. The Horla: A man is haunted by a mysterious, grotesque being only he can see. Its true intent; to enslave and destroy him! Death of a Doll: An unidentified...

Read more »

Paragon in "Blood Love" (AC Comics;1999)

And now for something completely different ...... here's a seasonal "spook-tacular" superhero yarn from AC Comics. The longtime AC Comics mainstay Captain Paragon finds himself up against sultry vampires in "Blood Love", by AC founder Bill Black (serving as both writer & artist) on a nice black & white story that was originally published in Wild Women #1 (a 1999 one-shot). I'm also including "Savage Women" a photo essay/article from the very same issue that depicts some of the "gals" who have portrayed luscious, yet savage, jungle queens, princesses and the like over the years onscreen. The Catacombs is grateful to Don "Zu-Gogo" Falkos for providing the scans for this story. Note: The...

Read more »

Gray Morrow's "Orion" from Hermes Press!

Gray Morrow burst into comics in the late 1950s, bringing his classic Alex Raymond-inspired style to everything from paperback covers to newspaper strips. Morrow's work graced several issues of various Warren magazines, Classics Illustrated, and westerns for DC Comics such as "El Diablo" with writer Robert Kanigher. Morrow also served as editor of Archie Comics Red Circle horror line in the 1970s, which included art by his contemporaries Alex Toth and Angelo Torres. As a comic strip artist, he drew the late 1970s incarnation of Buck Rogers, plus and eighteen year stint on the Sunday Tarzan strip.Hermes Press is now reprinting the entirety of legendary artist Gray Morrow's "Orion" from the pages...

Read more »

"Gal" Friday! Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead is best known for her scream queen roles in horror films such as Final Destination 3, Black Christmas (2006), Death Proof and The Thing. I should have done a review for the last of those films, since it is still fresh at the box office. The Thing (2011) is actually a prequel to director John Carpenters 1982 version, which itself was an updated take on the 1951 sci-fi classic, The Thing From Another World (all based on writer John W. Campbell, Jr.'s original 1948 short story, "Who Goes There?" ).Winstead is also a native of my own home state of North Carolina and you've just gotta support the home town crowd. While she has become a solid genre girl, her other film...

Read more »

Perils of Nyoka: "Ru Tu's Eye" (Fawcett;1946)

"Ru Tu's Eye" is a taut adventure starring Nyoka the Jungle Girl from the long-running "Perils of Nyoka" strip, specifically from Master Comics #67 (Apr.1946); originally published by Fawcett Comics. I wish that I could tell you the names of the creators, but I just don't have it to tell. Nyoka effectively snags herself in a fatal death trap, and then escapes in an ingenious manner with a little help from her friends. The Catacombs is grateful to Don "Zu-Gogo" Falkos for providing the scans for this story. Note: The copyright for this issue, its contents and artwork, belong to the original publisher and/or creators, and is reproduced here solely for entertainment purposes.Enj...

Read more »

2011 Halloween Film Festival: I Spit On Your Grave (2010)

In the history of exploitation films, perhaps no other movie is as notorious as writer-director Meir Zarchi's 1978 grind house classic, "I Spit On Your Grave" (aka "Day of the Woman"). Even if you've never seen the original, you may have heard of the sheer brutality of the gang rape that the film includes, depicted onscreen for an extended portion of the movies ninety some odd minutes. In actuality, actress Camille Keaton is molested several times in that flick and the films depravity makes if very difficult to watch, despite the somewhat over the top acting.Jump ahead to 2010 and director Steven Monroe's unnecessary remake, which follows the original release like an outline, but  also...

Read more »

Fantomah, Daughter of the Pharaohs in "The Spotted Men" (Fiction House; 1942)

Although she began her golden age career as a super-powered, frighteningly-visaged "Mystery Woman of the Jungle", Fantomah later changed her appellation to "Daughter of the Pharaohs." It is in this role that she stars today in an untitled tale that I've dubbed "The Spotted Men" from Jungle Comics #29 (May 1942); originally published by Fiction House, written by W.B. Hovious and illustrated by George Appel. This neat story features mummies, the aforementioned spotted men, plus a vengeful priestess; which adds up to a cool Halloween-style jungle adventure.The Catacombs is grateful to Don "Zu-Gogo" Falkos for providing the scans for this story. Note: The copyright for this issue, its contents...

Read more »

Tabu, Wizard of the Jungle in "Land of Mystery" (Fiction House; 1942)

I almost posted my next Halloween Horror Festival review today, but since I skipped a classic golden age comics story post on Thursday, I feel like I owe you guys an extra jungle adventure this week. Look for my review of "I Spit On Your Grave" (2010) on Wednesday; as a remake, it's actually pretty good. Today's tale starring Tabu, Wizard of the Jungle is from Jungle Comics #30 (June 1942); originally published by Fiction House. In just a few pages "Land of Mystery", written and illustrated by George Carl Wilhelms, weaves a story of black magic juju, monkey transformation and murder. The Catacombs is grateful to Don "Zu-Gogo" Falkos for providing the scans for this story. Note: The copyright...

Read more »