Cronenberg Back on Track

 

THE SHROUDS (2025): I haven’t liked a David Cronenberg film since EASTERN PROMISES (2007) and was especially disappointed with his 2022 film CRIMES OF THE FUTURE, which was supposedly a return to the director’s classic style (it wasn’t). And while it was difficult avoiding reviews for his latest (which hipster filmfest reviewers began spoiling over a year ago), I am happy to say I enjoyed the director’s talky but deep meditation on death and loss, inspired by his wife’s passing back in 2017. Vincent Cassel is great as Karsh, the head of a hi-tech company who have invented a special burial shroud that allows people to watch, via a phone app, their deceased loved one’s bodies decaying in the grave. Clients can also view their late loved ones on screens affixed to tombstones where the bodies are buried in a special cemetery, which Karsh not only owns, too, but runs a swanky restaurant on its grounds. Things start getting even weirder when Karsh discovers odd growths on his wife’s bones, which his tech-savvy brother-in-law claims aren’t natural, but may have been deliberately put there. Conspiracy theories abound, and Cronenberg has a great time bringing all types of theories into play, making the viewer fear his own phone halfway through this gloomy, slow burn. Diane Kruger (of INGLORIOUS BASTERDS fame) is great in a dual role both as Karsh’s sister-in-law, and she also shows up as his wife Becca in the film’s surreal body-horror moments, including a sex scene that made the entire audience wince. Sandra Holt plays Soo-Min, a blind potential client who eventually develops a relationship with Karsh and is part of the film’s low key but bizarre ending that brings Bava’s LISA AND THE DEVIL (1974) to mind. THE SHROUDS will surely divide Cronenberg fans and may turn some viewers off: it’s a slow burn, and forces the viewer to contemplate disease and dying, not typical subject matters for a Saturday afternoon matinee. I was fascinated not only with everything the film explores, but that this is how Cronenberg has publicly chosen to grieve his wife’s passing. It’s obvious actor Cassel was made up to look like Cronenberg, and halfway through the film I became confident we have been allowed to take a glimpse into the actual mind of a filmmaker who has been delivering some of the strangest, more transgressive films for the past 50 years … and that mind is a scary place to be.

Don’t Miss this Haunting

 

 

THE OCTOBER FILM HAUNT by Michael Wehunt (to be released 9/30/25 by St. Martin’s Press / 336 pages)

The title of this book is the name of a trio who visit horror film sites and blog about them. One film, titled ‘Proof of Demons,’ gains a hardcore following, and after a real life tragedy, a sequel is being made by a cult of the film’s fans. But now, Jorie, a member of the Film Haunt who has left the horror scene, is being forced to star in the sequel by the original film’s fans/cult and director, who have oddly enabled a supernatural creature to help them.

I’ve been loving the trend of horror film-themed novels, and author Wehunt blends this with another recent trend, Internet influence, and has created a genuinely unsettling tale where the reader is often required to decipher what’s actually happening or what is part of an otherworldly slant.

This could’ve used a bit of tightening up, as a few areas drag for a bit, making the story slow down at times, which is difficult to say about an otherwise very well-written novel. But the payoff is certainly worth the reader’s time, and one chapter features a possession scene from the human point of view that hasn’t been done this effectively since Michael Laimo’s novel THE DEMONOLOGIST 20 years ago. 

A fine addition to the crop of horror film-themed horror novels, Wehunt’s debut was well worth the wait for those who have been following his short fiction (he has two published collections). I’m eager to see what’s next.

Religious Terror in the Deep South

 

WORDS OF CHRIST IN RED by Robbie Dorman (2025 Independently Published / 304 pp / to be released 4/18/25)

Pastor David Ingram accepts a job in a small church in Georgia, taking over for his friend, the previous minister, who died in a tragic car crash. The job is offered to David by the late minister’s wife, and it doesn’t take long for the super-conservative congregation to split.

David, along with his husband and young son, are accused of bringing Satan into the church and continuing to change things as the previous pastor had begun. As David attempts to preach love and acceptance, Eli, a long standing member of the church, believes it is his calling to bring judgment and punishment to those who refuse to stay on his side. A commissioned statue of Christ is removed from the church, and Eli believes it is giving him commands straight from God.

WORDS OF CHRIST IN RED may be a bit more thriller than flat out horror, but supernatural elements do come in to play, especially when one of the faithful shows David his special way of communing with God.

Anyone who grew up in (or even visited) a small church can easily associate with the turmoils presented here, and the author builds enough suspense and tension that even if religious horror isn’t your thing, you may still find yourself racing through the pages to see what happens … and the final chapter will surely be debated by all who take this emotional trip.

I Spit on Your Celluloid

 

I SPIT ON YOUR CELLULOID by Heidi Honeycutt (2024 Headpress Publishing / 464 pages)

This history of women-directed horror films is painstakingly exhaustive and the fruit of 20 years of research. Covering films from as far back as 1896, the first two chapters are particularity informative, especially when the author gets into 1950s/60s television.

Doris Wishman and Roberta Finley are looked at in-depth, as are more unknown directors from the 60s- the 90s, many who were hired by the great Roger Corman. Fans of the grindhouse-era of cinema are in for a treat, with lots of surprising statistics and seldom heard facts.

The last three chapters deal with modern/recent films, and we’re left with a positive sense we may see the day where female directors won’t be looked upon, by some, as novelties.

An entertaining and useful read that deserves a place on any film lover’s shelf, I’m sure late directors such as Barbara Loden and Christina Hornisher would’ve championed this work as a major victory.

Grab a copy HERE

A Note for Writers and Creators

I am about to turn 57 years old. It feels like a couple of months ago when I was running around a movie theater wrapped in toilet paper, playing Dr. Frank N Furter’s creation at my local midnight screening (which took up three years of my high school days). And it seems like a few weeks ago, when I was 16, that I stood with a couple of buddies at Roseland Ballroom in NYC, watching three underground bands, two who would go on to become legends and are still conquering the world (that would be Anthrax and Metallica). I can still feel the late great Cliff Burton’s sweat hitting me in the face when he blew everyone away with his iconic bass solo. Yeah, kind of gross, but when you plowed up to the stage to see your hero’s, you didn’t care at the time.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately of these older bands who are still doing it. Not just the metal bands, but the countless punk/hardcore bands still out there, gigging around the globe night after night, some of the members well into their 60s and 70s. Just a couple months ago, my wife and I met the great Vinnie Stigma from Agnostic Front, who was taking a break from his current world tour to sign copies of his new book at my local movie theater (of all places). Agnostic Front was the first band I saw perform at CBGBs in 1985-6, along with the Crumbsuckers and Carnivore. Vinnie just turned 69 this past December, and still has the same (if not stronger) zeal and passion for what he has been doing since he was a kid. I think more so than any other form of entertainment, it’s guys like Vinnie, and Lee Ving from FEAR, and all those older bands still bringing it, who continue to inspire me in what I do, which is primarily writing.

That’s not to say there aren’t older writers I look up to. There are plenty. But there’s something about the zeal I see in these bands when they play live, and when they give spirited interviews, that fuels my fire.

From 1981-1991, I published a cult film fanzine titled STINK, that often-included mini reviews of punk shows I attended, as punk fanzines were also a big influence on me. Horror/cult film zines thrived in the 80s, and while they have existed since, seem to have exploded again over the past 10 years or so. In 2024, I started doing a steady zine again, releasing 3 well-received issues and further helping to fuel my fire with my fiction and nonfiction book projects. Along with seeing live shows, fanzine publishing is a way to keep my creativity alive, even more so than my regular writing.

In 2025, especially if you’re an old goat now like me, do what you need to do to stay creative. If that means sacrificing sleep to see your favorite band or movie on a weeknight, bite the bullet and do it. If that means going out of your way to meet a childhood hero, do it. If that means getting rid of those in your life who bring cancer to your creativity, avoid them and cut them out. If you feel down, that no one is reading your stuff, or you haven’t sold anything in a while, keep going. Find what inspires you and embrace it.

I have seen older writers openly mock the success of the newer generation, chances are without reading anything said author(s) have written. Some of you people in my age group need to read what’s being bought and published today and stop worrying about the age of the writer. Over the past few years, some fantastic novels have been released by new generation writers, and like the musicians of old I look up to, they have helped fuel my fire and reassess what I’m doing. Without youth, rock and roll would’ve died a long time ago. I believe that goes for writing as well, particularly within the horror genre. We need to embrace and encourage the newbies, whether they are popular or trying to get off the ground.

My latest novella, being released this month, is my first new book in 5 years, and it was partially fueled by things I’ve recently been inspired by, despite the story being based around things my co-author (Andre Duza) and I grew up on.

This year will see the release of my latest novella, as well as my second non-fiction film book titled DARK DREAMS, and I’m hoping to announce, at long last, some good news concerning my second novel. This June, I’ll also be publishing the biggest fanzine I’ve ever done, a total celebration of cult film culture, with articles contributed by some of my film commentating heroes, as well as newer film writers I have come to recognize as the best in what they do. I also hope to finish or at least make a big dent in my third film book, and hopefully finish another novel and two novellas (I’m more than halfway done with each). Also hoping to collaborate on a novel with my wife Shannon, whose writing is miles ahead of my own.

In 2025, let’s get off our asses and do it.  Go see some shows. Keep watching movies. Keep reading your favorite writers but see what some of the hype is about with the newer generation. And use these things to fuel your own creations, whatever the medium.

AT DARK, I BECOME LOATHSOME by Eric LaRocca (to be released 1/28/25 by Blackstone Publishing / 175 pages)

After losing his wife to cancer and having his young son kidnapped, Ashley becomes a sort of underground grief counselor, creating a ritual the daring pay good money to participate in. Said ritual involves being buried alive for 30 minutes in a “fake death” exercise where people’s lives are guaranteed to change.

But things take a wicked turn when Ashley’s purpose comes into question, and his own world is challenged by an unusual client.

LaRocca’s latest is as dark as it gets, and will surely not be for the faint of heart. But as disturbing as it is, I saw the twist coming early on and felt things may have been more effective had the third act gone in another direction.

AT DARK is well worth the reader’s time, and most readers of stronger horror won’t be disappointed despite the obvious twist. Can easily be enjoyed in one sitting.

 

 

THE UNWORTHY by Agustina Bazterrica (to be released 3/4/25 by Scribner / 192 pages)

After escaping from 4 men who nearly kill her, a woman finds her way to a convent and joins the ranks of the sisterhood. THE UNWORTHY tells this woman’s story through diary entries (some written in her own blood), and we are given glimpses of the convent’s hierarchy as we learn the outside world has come to an end due to environmental disaster and mankind literally turning from God and worshipping artificial intelligence.

Bazterrica’s second English-translated novel might not be for everyone, but those looking for a different type of end times story may enjoy it, and don’t let the cover art fool you: this story deals with nuns, but it’s not “Nunsploitation.” This is a dark, strange, and unusual literary horror novel that will leave you contemplating where we may be headed.