Little Red Riding Hood. A story told in a dozen different ways, exploring everything from the loss of innocence to the dangers of trusting strange man-wolves. 'Company of Wolves' is the single best film adaptation of this story that I have ever seen, and likely will ever see. It can not be remade, because it is one of those few magical reels of celluloid which captures the true darkness of fairy tales in the most incredible way.
Starring Sarah Patterson in one of her few roles, this is a magnificent movie. It's beautiful. Dark. Disturbing. Intriguing. It is an incredible movie, and that is why it is this week's selection.
Starting an an extra cartoonish horror comic this week, I rather enjoy the little stories in Beware. Much less wordy than your traditional fare, and quite simple. Rather like little urban legends being put to paper. The first story seems to have a bit of everything in it, making it a surprisingly entertaining jaunt. You've got to feel a little sorry for the poor old man though, being converted to a weird marshmallow sea creature by his own relatives. With family like this, who needs enemies?
It's the Price fan in me that makes me think of this book for the week. Known for his stage, screen, and radio work...Mister Price was a renaissance man. He had an excellent art collection to boot, he was a connoisseur of the finer things in life too.
True, there's nothing horrific about this book. It's a cookbook. But it's a very good one. You won't find any recipes featuring human heads, however I doubt there's much meat on them anyway.
Today I thought I'd share some of my favorite pictures of Boris Karloff (or featuring him in some way), on set, off set, and in his daily life. That wonderful man who inhabited every role with incredible depth, even if the script didn't have any.
Sometimes they say truth is stranger than fiction. Most times they don't, because a lot of people familiar with Cronenburg will realize he's pretty much stranger than any truth. But I digress. The following featured trailers are films inspired by/based on true events. Fun fact...looooots of films have been inspired by Ed Gein...
A quick warning that some of these trailers have graphic clips in them. This is not an advisable selection to watch with children or family :)
Sometimes I suspect artists are only capable of drawing people their own age, and the concept of children or young adults escapes them. That aside, I bring you another section of the Eerie issue with even more lush backgrounds and character details. It's always nice to see them not skimping on the little things. For some reason this first story reminds me of 'Minnie the Moocher' and (one of my favorite songs) 'The Ghost of Smoky Joe'.
There is no shame in a phobia, everybody fears something. Without fear to fuel the flames of...some other kind of horrific f word (but not he sexual one), there'd be no horror. No Halloween. NO TERROR. Be glad we all have some kind of fear in our lives, and try not to be so judgmental of the ones that may seem a little...silly.
No, surprisingly this isn't the fear of children or the fear of the love of children. It's the fear of dolls. This can range from any type of doll, but I'm sure you aren't surprised the most common form of Pediophobia is for those rather eery porcelain dolls your grandmother used to keep on the mantle.
Sometimes a child has trouble telling the difference between a real person and something that may look like one, so it isn't surprising they may even believe dolls are people. People who just...stare at you. People who don't blink (unless of course you have the kind that blinks when you tip it backwards.) People who don't change and are always witness to the naughty things a child does when their parents aren't around.
Believe it or not, Pediophobia does not group itself with the fear of ventriloquist dummies, robots and wax statues (automatonophobia). But it makes sense people might feel uncomfortable towards not-quite-people, things that seem to have all of the appearances of a human being, but lacking that one important aspect...a soul.
But I leave you with a short commercial as a reminder. When you talk to your dolls...sometimes...they talk back.
