Remains Issue Four

 

REMAINS (Issue Four)

Andy Cox, editor of the excellent BLACK STATIC magazine, has returned with REMAINS, featuring 100 full colour pages of brand new fiction, with art by Richard Wagner in each issue. I missed out on the first two, found issue three excellent, and have just finished reading the latest, which you can get at Remains 4. For those not in the know, BLACK STATIC was a top notch UK-based magazine for short horror fiction, published from 2007-2021 (and before that, it was known as THE THIRD ALTERNATIVE, going back to 1994). I rarely missed an issue, and was among the many saddened when it ceased publication. But REMAINS is every bit as good, as evidenced by this latest issue.

Opener HEAVYNESS, a hard hitting novelette by Seán Padraic Birnie, deals with a physically disadvantaged boy and his equally as disadvantaged sister. A deep, dark study of loss and preservation.

The short stories begin with HEARSTEN LAKE by Kay Vaindal, in which three people scout out an area to be the location of their new company. Vaindal spins the “haunted grounds” trope on its head and delivers a wicked finale.

STATION TO STATION by Stephen Bacon features a man searching for his lost lover in an underground labyrinth of both physical and mental realms. One of the best of the lot.

In my favorite this issue, DEVELOPMENT CONVERSATION by Stephen Hargadon, We meet a quiet old employee, the kind you find at any office job. But Hargadon’s view on how this person comes to be is terrifying in a classic horror tale way. For some readers, this will be bone chilling.

THE BABY by Annie Neugebauer is obviously a personal story, albeit with a body-horror ending that will make you wince. The author recently released a short story collection, and if the other stories in it are even half this good, it’s sure to be a must buy.

SCISSORS, PAPER, ROCKS by Craig Bernardini is another body horror tale that brings films like AMERICAN MARY to mind. Grim but genuinely spooky.

THE BLOCK by Steve Toase is easily the weirdest of the issue, dealing with a group who create most unusual houses. The aftermath, of course, is anything but a happy home. Toase subtly gets under your skin…

THE RETURN OF BENNY STORAX by John Possidente takes place in a series I’m not familiar with, but the story is fine as a stand alone, a unique alien abduction/release tale.

LETTERS FROM NEW AMERICA: MINDING THE GARDEN by James Sallis is the second part of a four-part serial, and at this point I won’t comment. I have no idea where this is headed, but will give it the benefit of the doubt (the first two installments have been the shortest pieces in each issue).

If you are a writer of short horror fiction, this is one of the best places to find inspiration as well as see how it’s done the right way. Seasoned editor Andy Cox always delivers a scary time, and it’s so nice to have him back in action.

Suburban Grindhouse Magazine Issue Seven

 

On Friday, March 13th, the 7th issue of SUBURBAN GRINDHOUSE MAGAZINE can be ordered here. This issue includes Jamie Chimino's mammoth interview with John Spuznar, the founder of legendary bouutique video label Barrel Entertainment, Dennis Daniel looks at the women in prison films of Jess Franco, and yours truly delivers the 86th edition of Suburban Grindhouse Memories (the midnight premiere of cult classic STREET TRASH) as well as a new edition of The Midnight Grind, which examines the 1988 NYC midnight premiere of Canadian Cult hit TALES FROM THE GIMLI HOSPITAL. Plus loads of zine, book, film, and comic reviews.

All 7 issues are also available at Forbidden Planet in NYC...

ReFocusing on the Godfather of Gore

 

REFOCUS: THE FILMS OF HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS (THE AMERICAN DIRECTORS SERIES) edited by Calum Waddell) (2026 Edinburgh University Press / 232 pages)

Having already dealt with directors such as Doris Wishman, Abel Ferrara and John Waters, the latest academic exploitation film treatise in Edinburgh University Press’ ReFocus series looks at the Godfather of Gore. There are essays from ten contributing writers, while editor Waddell provides and introduction and pieces on Lewis’ hardcore feature BLACK LOVE, as well as BLOOD FEAST 2: ALL U CAN EAT.

The book is divided into three sections, covering just about every era of Lewis’ filmography. The first section deals primarily with Lewis’ Blood Trilogy, and oddly, the first chapter is a look at Carving Magic, a short Lewis shot that fans of BLOOD FEAST may have seen as an extra on DVD and Blu-ray editions. Author Jack O’Dwyer gives an interesting case of how this film may have been a precursor to the gore films that were to come. My favorite piece in section two, by David Scott Diffrient, examines how Lewis used scents in some of his features, something I don’t think many viewers ever took the time to notice, and among the third section, dedicated to Lewis’ legacies, Joseph M. Sirianni compares Lewis and John Waters’ like-minded fan bases as well as the similarities between their films.

I’m always on the fence when dealing with academic looks at exploitation and cult films: while in this case, there are some interesting ideas brought forth, you also must wonder how many of these ideas were ever Lewis’ original intention(s). If you’re a Lewis fanatic, you’ll want to add this to your collection, but mere mortals might want to wait for the softcover edition (Edinburgh released this in January of 2026 as a $125.00 hardcover, obviously as a textbook the editor will be using as part of his classes. If you told me back in 1983, when I first saw BLOOD FEAST, that there’d one day be college classes taught about it, I’d probably have laughed). I’m not sure there’s much new here for seasoned Lewis fans, but some essays offer solid insights.

Despite the book falsely accusing me of being a misogynist* (which the editor does on page 196, by quoting something I said in my book Suburban Grindhouse about actress Connie Mason—something both Lewis and producer David Friedman told me in person at two separate conventions), it’s always entertaining listening to academics try to make the films we grindhouse rats grew up on sound proper.

(*-After contacting the publisher and pleading my case, editor Waddell agreed to remove his remarks about me in future editions. That was quite cool of him.)