A few months ago, I offered my opinion on the current debate about 3D in the movies. Although I agreed that the process had not been used as successfully in many films as it might have been (being reduced to a simple gimmick by issue movie's filmed ‘flat' in a revised 3D format), I also wanted to withhold judgment on the technique until a worthy director made use of the technology to see what it could accomplish when used properly.

That time has come; the film is HUGO , the director is Martin Scorsese, and the movie is one of the best films of the year, and of Mr. Scorcese's career. It is a masterwork, a wonder of eye and mind and emotion, and one of the most perfect holiday celebrations I've had the chance to attend. It is an amazing adventure, a love story (several, in fact), a mystery, and above all else, a valentine to the art of making movies and the history behind the art form, as well as a loving tribute to one of its pioneers. It is the very best example of what can be called “a family movie;” a film adults and children can watch enthralled together.

The film is based on the children's book "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznick (which I confess I haven't read). Many people were astonished that Mr. Scorsese, known for his violent adult fare such as GOODFELLAS , TAXI DRIVER and RAGING BULL , would turn his attention to a book for young people. But the story concerns the early days of movie-making, and one of the pioneers of silent films, and Mr. Scorsese is a cinemaphile of the highest degree. This fable, for fable it truly is, is certainly very close to his heart, and he lavishes all his artistic skill and passion on the tale of a lost young boy, a bitter old man, and the secret that brings them together.

Hugo Cabret is an orphan; his mother died when he was a baby, and his father is killed in a fire at the museum where he worked. The son of a clockmaker from generations of clockmakers before him, Hugo is taken in by his ne'er-do-well uncle, who winds the clock at the Gare Montparnasse Station in Paris in 1930. When the uncle disappears, Hugo continues to care for the clock so that no one will suspect that he is alone. He lives behind the walls and in the metal girders of the train station and the clock tower, spying on the world that passes through the station's gates, trying always to avoid detection and capture by the station inspector.

Hugo has a secret hidden in his loft, and this secret brings him into contact with an old man selling and repairing toys in a shop in the station. The old man, bitter and beaten down by life and the world around him, has a secret of his own, and as Hugo and the old man's goddaughter Isabelle work to solve their mutual mysteries, the lives of everyone dovetail neatly in the past and present. Pasts are revealed, puzzles are solved, and Hugo and Papa Georges's lives intersect and build towards a climax that is moving and wondrous.

To tell more would be a disservice to this marvelous film, which combines fact and fiction flawlessly. The performances – Asa Butterfield as Hugo, Chloe Grace Moretz as Isabelle, Jude Law as Hugo's father, Helen McCrory as Mama Jeanne – are flawless as well; Sacha Baron Cohen is a comic delight as the Station Inspector, full of bluff and bluster but also literally walking wounded from WWI, and he reveals emotional depth that I'd never suspected. And Ben Kingsley! If there is any justice next year, he will be handed an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor next year; his performance is a marvel and shoulders the movie effortlessly. (And for fans of films macabre, Christopher Lee graces the screen in a lovely performance as a bookseller who is not as he appears at first glance.)

The production design is astonishing, and the camerawork literally soars around the City of Lights , creating a fantasyland no less phantasmagorical than Oz or Narnia. Mr. Scorsese has planned the look of this film carefully, using the 3D effects not for show but to open up the depth of Hugo's dreams and world. There is an homage to Harold Lloyd that will literally give you vertigo, and a tribute to audience reaction to the birth of film (and footage of a train arriving at a station) that delights. If you know anything about the early days of cinema, you'll find HUGO a treasure trove, recreating a time when dreams literally lived on the movie screen, and the filmmakers were actual magicians.

HUGO isn't a fantasy film, but it is about magic and wonder, dreams and fantastical inventions, and the healing power of love, art and memory. I don't think you'll be disappointed by this glorious film, or begrudge the use of those expensive glasses. I urge everyone to see it on the biggest screen possible. You'll thank me, and Hugo and Papa Georges will thank you.

Lesley Pratt Bannatyne may well be the foremost living authority on Halloween in America . She is also a gracious and delightful lady who I met one year while performing in Jim Thorpe, PA at the (sadly) now defunct Halloween Opera craft show. She was there is give a lecture on American Halloween traditions, and the extent of her knowledge and enthusiasm was breathtaking.

She seemed to greatly enjoy the company of my fellow Patient Creatures and myself, and I know that she corresponded with my Devil companion Kuzibah some time after the event. I lost touch with her personally, but kept abreast of her research and writing for the past several years. She is the author of several books about the October Season, including "A Halloween Reader; Stories, Poems and Plays from Halloweens Past," "A Halloween How-To; Costumes, Parties, Decorations and Destinations," and "Halloween; An American Holiday , An American History."

Although Ms. Bannatyne has a thorough knowledge of the roots and beginnings of what we now regard as Halloween, one of her greatest strengths is the chronicling of the holiday as an American event, tracing American customs and pastimes from the earliest celebrations to the multi-million dollar event it is today. She writes entertainingly and informatively about Halloween's place in Americana both past and present, and her unique perspective brings a sense of solid history to an event shrouded in mystery.

Her latest work, and possibly her magnum opus (until her next book) is "Halloween Nation; Behind The Scenes of America's Fright Night," a large paperback that examines all aspects of Halloween today, from haunted attractions to zombie walks, Horror movie icons to Goth Burlesque dancers, Dark Fantasy Artists to Halloween collectors. It takes every possible view and vantage point of the holiday and its offshoots in daily life, and demonstrates that the Season is (pardon the pun) alive, it's alive!! and very well indeed!

I've been reading the book slowly, but I've already paged through it at various points, based on information in the index. It's that kind of book, an easy reference as well as a narrative non-fiction, much like Stephen King's "Danse Macabre." Ms. Bannatyne interviews diverse genre participants as Scream Queen Debbie Rochon, graphic artist Chad Savage, burlesque performer Evilyn Sin Claire, tattoo artist Joe Boo, haunted attraction effects manufacturers Gore Galore, rock band Witches In Bikinis, and even award-winning author and my personal friend, P. D. Cacek! (Who for some reason never told me she was being interviewed for a book! Shame on you!) Ms. Bannatyne visits haunted hayrides, pumpkin-carving contests, urban street parties, tattoo parlors, and other locations to talk to those with a deep and abiding love, fascination and passion about the October Season. In addition, she puts everything in American historical context; this book is as much for your favorite American history buff (who appreciates the work of David McCullough and James Loewen). You learn where our practices originated, and get some sense of where they're going as well.

In short, for those who want to relax and take a closer look at the holiday they just spent countless hours involved in, "Halloween Nation" is well worth the price. Read through it carefully or flip through it leisurely, you'll put this on a special place on your bookshelf, taking it down again and again to reread  and share with others. Halloween may not be entirely dependent on Ms. Bannatyne and her scholarship, but we're much, much richer for her enthusiasm. Thank you so much, my Dear!

To purchase Ms. Bannatyne's book, click on the image below.

Those who've seen my performances know that I am often accompanied by music. Indeed, I think music is a wonderful tool to use in the dramatic arts, especially during spoken word performances. They allow emphasis and underlining of important moments, comment on the tale being told, and provide a rich atmosphere, particularly for tales of the Uncanny.

I am also very fond of the music often played during the Holiday Seasons. Christmas music, be it contemporary or traditional, can put me immediately into a seasonal frame of mind, no matter the time of day or circumstances I find myself in. It becomes the soundtrack to the weeks before and after the Holiday , and though some choose to complain about the continuous playing of carols in shopping malls, I choose to let it anchor my spirit into that time and place. (With exceptions, of course. Unless they truly understand what they are doing, hearing one more contemporary and often far too young artist try to interpret a seasonal standard is enough to make me flee to a more tranquil environment...like Bosnia, for instance...)

There has been a phenomenon of late concerning the October Season. When you peruse the drug stores, malls and Halloween superstores that sell merchandize and costumes, you won't fail to fins one or two new CDs with names like "Halloween Party!" or "Halloween Rock" or "Scary Sounds For Halloween!" Usually these contain the same several songs repackaged; you'll find Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear The Reaper," Credence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Rising," Screaming Jay Hawkins' "I Put A Spell On You," Sheb Wooley's "Purple People Eater," Ray Parker Jr.'s "Ghostbusters," and of course Bobby Pickett's "Monster Mash." (An amusing note: my devil companion Kuzibah once noted that in October every radio station in America suddenly remembered that they owned "Monster Mash" , and blew the dust off it to play it 12 or 13 times per day in honor of the Holiday...) You also find movie and television themes, such as "The Addams Family," "The Twilight Zone," "The Exorcist," "The Omen," "Poltergeist" ...well, you get the idea.

Now I should tell you that some years ago it was not common for these collections to be sold. I'm happy to say that my fellow Patient Creatures and I, realizing there was a void to be filled, put together our own private collection of Halloween and Halloween-suggestive songs for the coffin-shaped jukebox in the Last Call Undead Cocktail Lounge room of the late, lamented Haunted Theatre back in Norristown PA (about 40 minutes outside of Philadelphia ). But in addition to songs that definitely cried out "Samhain!", I added a few that suggested the season in a quieter, more subtle way: Thomas Dolby's version of the jazz standard "I Scare Myself," Cream's "Strange Brew," Lindsey Buckingham's "Go Insane," Genesis's "Home By The Sea" (which is about a haunted house, after all). I was quite proud of our achievement, and we immediately dubbed it The Ultimate Halloween Party Tape. (I told you it was a while ago.)

Apparently others had the same thought, listening to amusement parks play the soundtrack to  THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS for the umpteenth time that night, and so the Halloween compilation was born. If we'd gotten ours out there first, perhaps we'd be the richest spectres on the planet. But we didn't. Woulda, Coulda Shoulda...ahhh, well. But it was a fine niche to be filled, and if I have any complaints about them, it's that too often the songs are predictable, and trod well-worn musical paths.

Still, where is the 'serious' music for this Season we love so dear? Besides the classics like Saint-Saens' "Dance Macabre" or Mussorgsky's "Night On Bald Mountain ;" where is the music that fills our spirits with the sensations of the October Holiday; its sights, smells, tastes and sounds? Where is the Halloween version of "White Christmas" or "Do You Hear What I Hear?" or "Holly Jolly Christmas" or "The Little Drummer Boy" or "Winter Wonderland?" Where is the music that follows the traditional examples of these standards, to express musical feelings for Halloween without blaring electric guitars and full-throated death-metal screaming? It seems that is a niche that still requires filling.

Or it did until now.

I first became captivated with the beautiful and talented Kristen Lawrence when I found her personal site on MySpace, which lead me to her website. After only a short visit I understood exactly what Ms. Lawrence was attempting and, in my opinion, succeeding at like a wizard. She was composing and recording Halloweens standards, songs and music that could easily be placed beside "The First Noel" and "I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day" and Nat King Cole's classic "The Christmas Song;" respectful, lush and delightful tunes that evoked the coming darkness and the spooky magic that belongs to this part of the year.

Ms. Lawrence is a classically trained organist who love is for music extends equally to classical and well as Classic Rock and Classic Folk. As she expresses so eloquently:

“ In December we pull out our Christmas CDs, but what do we pull out in October?  Cheap, “spooky” sound effects and time-weary compilations?  It makes me sad. I think Danny Elfman gave us some great stuff with his music for “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Corpse Bride,” and I love what he creates.  But we need more!  And I have my own style to give you.”

“...I have always had a love for old Christmas carols – carols that have survived centuries to delight us today.  One of my most exciting purchases ever was The New Oxford Book of Carols .  I am intrigued by what makes a carol a treasure – these perfect, concise gems of music.  Some of these carols survive from the medieval era and are well known today, like “Veni, Veni, Emanuel.”  I endeavor to do the same thing for Halloween.  I hope I have created (and continue to create) beautiful, charming, intriguing music that will last for centuries.”  

I've championed Ms. Lawrence's work before; last year in my THOUGHT & REVERIES Essay on, oddly enough, Halloween music. And I highly recommended then, and do this month, her three CDs of extraordinary material: “A Broom With A View,” “Arachnitect” and “Vampire Empire.” Whether you want a change of pace for your party soundtrack, some mood music to greet the trick-or-treaters, or some stirring sounds to lull you to rest after a frantic evening of macabre mischief-making, I think you'll find Ms. Lawrence the perfect fit. She writes and composes with an ear towards the mysterious and magical, with a hint of wry humor and sardonic spookiness yet respectful of the traditions and rites of Samhain. I'd be hard-pressed to choose my favorites, but certainly "Ghost Of John," “Souling Song,” “Blood Waltz” (with lyrics), and “Vampire Empire” are near the top. Ms. Lawrence has a gift for the macabre and I look forward to her future endeavors.

But if you're in the mood for the sort of music you'll find on a Halloween CD, you can't do better than HalloweenRadio.Net and HalloweenRadio.Com Both are excellent sources of music for your October errands.

What I like about these webcasts is the variety; they seem to have the same sensibilities that my fellow Creatures and I had when choosing their libraries, which overlap considerably. In a short span recently I heard Crash Test Dummies "The Ghosts That Haunt Me," Concrete Blonde's "Bloodletting," Archie Bleyer's "The Rockin' Ghost," Camille Saint-Saens' "Danse Macabre," Weird Al Yankovic's "Nature Trail To Hell" (a personal favorite), Jerry Goldsmith's "Theme From Poltergeist," and Mitch Ryder's "Devil With The Blue Dress ." They also feature some spoken word performances by Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, and other Horror personalities.

Neither station is perfect, of course; recently, ‘Net separated its library into “ Main ,” “Atmosphere,” “Oldies” and “Kids,” and I prefer my music mixed together for greater variety. ‘Com has difficulty with its live playlist link, so you don't always know the song or artist being played, and doesn't list a “Favorites” or “Latest” playlist like ‘Net does. But if enough of us offer suggestions, I'm certain these bugs can be worked out of their systems, and I think both stations would be a wonderful source of music throughout the year, whenever you find yourself in a Halloween mode. (I intend to list both next month on my LINKS Page for easy access.)

To log onto Ms. Lawrence's website and learn more about her music, please click on the image below.

To access HalloweenRadio.Net or HalloweenRadio.Com; click on their respective banners.

Those who know me well understand that I consider author William Goldman to be an exceptional talent. Whether it's his non-fiction such as "Adventures In The Screen Trade" or "Which Lie Did I Tell?", his mainstream novels such as "The Temple Of Gold" and "The Color Of Light", or his filmwork, which includes his original screenplays BUTCH CASSIDY & THE SUNDANCE KID and THE GREAT WALDO PEPPER as well as his adaptations ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN and A BRIDGE TOO FAR, I find his work imaginative, compelling, fiercely intelligent and original. He has the ability to take wonderfully diverse and believable characters and place them in extraordinary and (usually) terrible situations without stretching the suspension of disbelief to the breaking point. When you sign on with him as your guide, I find that usually you are assured of an amazing journey.

Though many do not actually think of him as such, Mr. Goldman has said that he considers himself "a genre writer". In this stead he has explored the thriller (his classic "Marathon Man", made into a terrific film, and "Heat", not as well known but an equally well-done movie, actually improving on the novel, in my opinion) children's literature (the wonderful "The Silent Gondoliers" and probably his most famous effort "The Princess Bride") and Horror (he has adapted no less than four of Stephen King's works for film, including the award-winning MISERY).

In his original efforts, we find only two that can be considered Horror, but they are truly unsurpassed. First is his rather famous book "Magic", which I consider one of the finest Horror novels of the 20th century.

(WARNING!!! WARNING!!! Right now, if you know nothing about "Magic", do not read anything about it or the movie that was adapted from it. The movie, as admirable as it is, gives away one of the most terrifying and shocking moments in literature. You MUST go purchase the novel and read it NOW, before you learn anything else about it. This has been an ULTIMATE SPOILER WARNING!!!)

As I was saying...one of Mr. Goldman's strengths is his ability to pull what he calls "The Reversal" . This is simply a plot twist that is logically and naturally conceived, but which comes out of nowhere to stun and startle the reader or viewer. One of his earliest was in his film collaboration MASQUERADE. A secret agent is being held prisoner in a circus, inside a cage next to another cage holding a viscous looking condor. The agent notices some keys hanging on the wall a good length away. (Yes, a truly clichéd situation, but wait...!) He notices two long bamboo poles in the condor's cage, and retrieves them to pull the keys from the wall. This involves much pecking and slashing at the agent's hands and skin by the condor, and the sequence is agonizingly suspenseful and brutal. The agent must submit himself to this twice, because the first bamboo rod isn't long enough to reach the keys. But after the second violent attempt he is successful, retrieves the keys from the wall hook, slides them down the bamboo, puts them into the lock...

...and they don't fit; they're the wrong keys. Which is why the villains were foolish enough to leave them hanging nearby on the wall: because it didn't really matter!

Mr. Goldman is famous for moments like this, and there is a moment in the middle of the novel "Magic": that is such an incredible reversal that, upon reading it for the first time, I almost dropped the book. Then I was certain I'd read it wrong, and reread the passage again. It is one of the most truly shocking and unexpected moments in modern literature; I would put it on par with the revelation that Norman Bates and his homicidal mother are one and the same.

Mr. Goldman practices the time-honored art of "Mind Games" . And he does so magnificently.

Which brings me to his other genre work, "Control". Not necessarily Horror; more SF, but a strange melding of Science Fiction, Thriller, Gothic and Police Procedural. And I can do no more than recommend it to you unreservedly. I can't tell you anything about it, because the carefully designed plot is a huge, glorious Mind Game that will startle you and take you completely by surprise. Mr. Goldman juggles characters and concepts as diverse as imaginable, and keeps the balls in the air effortlessly.

Oh, I can whisper a few of the characters: a housewife who decides to become an artist. two dedicated police detectives, a penniless poet, the kept, young wife of an industrialist, a narcissistic and arrogant if not completely mad scientist, and a hulking, murderous brute that strikes out at anything in his reach. These characters weave in and out of the narrative, and their relationships will keep you guessing. There is a strange scientific experiment financed by the military, and a violent confrontation between one of the detectives and the brute that is an edge-of-your-seat battle. (Mr. Goldman believes he's at his best when pain is in the air, and I think he's correct.)

But I can tell you nothing more for fear of spoiling this modern mad mélange, what Thomas Disch referred to as a “‘sensation novel', the genre that offered the public of the 1830s and ‘40s new heights of melodrama at a time when the gothic novel was played out.” You will be amply rewarded for navigating the treacherous rapids of this singularly unique thriller.

Enough! I can say no more! Read "Control", and if you haven't yet, read "Magic". And learn nothing about them beforehand!

And let the surprises commence...

Two recommendations this month, both concern the world of HorrorHosts...

The Golden Age of the HorrorHost  -  the spooky, often comic presence that would interrupt Horror films shown during the late night hours or weekend afternoons with ironic commentary on the terrible film you were viewing  -  came during the late 1950s and 60s, and began to fade into revered memory by the end of the 70s when local independent television programming was being replaced by infomercials and talk shows. Yes, the movement was revived here or there in the 1980s, most notably by Elvira or Joe Bob Briggs, and there is a whole subculture of Horror Hosts still working in the field of public broadcasting, community access television and the Internet. (The HorrorHost Underground features many fine companions, including Dr. Gangrene, A. Ghastlee Ghoul, Dr. Sarcofaguy, who still tireless advocate for this very American art form...and I believe it is indeed an artistic expression, now more than ever when each HorrorHost is responsible for his own production, editing, script, direction and other nuts-&-bolts decisions that go into broadcasting.)

Still, the 50s and 60s was truly the time when every major television market had their own Horror Host, most doubling as weathermen, news anchors and children's programming hosts. Back then on the local stations, these tireless workers did everything , and their individual stamp of ingenuity was often repaid with boundless enthusiasm and a devoted fandom. To HorrorHost fans, the names Zacherly, Sir Cecil Crepe, Count Gore De Vol, Vampira, Ghoulardi, Dr. Creep and others have the same heart-pounding ring as Sandy Kofax, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Willie Mays, Ty Cobb and Mickey Mantle. They are still talked about and loved, decades after their final broadcast.

If you are among those unfamiliar with the phenomenon, who never had your own local HorrorHost and are complete unfamiliar with their trade, you can find an excellent primer in the documentary AMERICAN SCARY . Directed by John E. Hudgens and written by Sandy Clark, AMERICAN SCARY is as complete an introduction to HorrorHosting as you could want. Featuring interviews with past hosts, along with current HorrorHosts from around the country (disclosure number one: I have several good friends who have been interviewed for the film, including Bob Hinton, Shane Dallmann, PD Cacek, and John Dimes), along with celebrity reminiscences from Forrest J Ackerman, Neil Gaiman, Bob Burns, Tim Conway, Joel Hodgson and Leonard Maltin, AMERICAN SCARY breaks the HorrorHost history down into easily absorbed categories, such as female hosts, hosts without characters, the Ohio experience, and the groundbreakers such as Vampira and Zacherly, with running commentary throughout.

Is the film perfect? Not quite; there is an extended sequence at the end with Neil Gaiman that adds nothing to the movie. There is also criticism from some of the more seasoned HorrorHosts and fans that the documentary skips around too much and leaves out important material. They also opine that much of the information presented is common knowledge among true Horror fans. But I believe they're missing an important point: this film isn't for the seasoned fan; this is for the novice who has no idea what a HorrorHost is, and how they affected television viewing in that simpler time when local programming was still exploring what the medium could do. (I know this because I've shown the film to those who wouldn't know a HorrorHost from a tuna, and they found the information presented fascinating.) This is an introductory primer, and vast overview of the phenomenon, and what it chooses to do I believe it does quite well.

If you're looking for more in-depth examination of HorrorHosting, allow me to point you towards EVERY OTHER DAY IS HALLOWEEN ,  which focuses on the life and time of Dick Dyszel, a Washington DC-based entertainer best known for his roles as Bozo the Clown, kiddie SF host Captain 20, and Count Gore De Vol, whose weekly web program CREATURE FEATURE became the first Internet HorrorHosting platform. Written by John Dimes and C. W. Prather and directed by Mr. Prather, the film is a valentine to a gentleman who made an enormous impact on those growing up in the Virginia/Maryland/Washington DC area during the 1960s through the 1980s, and whose popularity continues unabated today. (Disclosure number two: Count Gore, in addition to being my webmaster and webhost for my online crypt, is a good human friend, as are Misters Dimes and Prather.)

Teeming with vintage television clips and outtakes from Mr. Dyszel's career, the movie provides an in-depth example of what the local HorrorHost phenomenon meant to the viewers and avid fans tuning in weekly, and paints a picture of a man genuinely beloved by generations. Fans who would watch Count Gore as children now introduce their children to him at his convention appearances, and if the loyalty and love of your audience is any indication of a successful life, then Mr. Dyszel has been very successful indeed. If I have any criticism of the movie, an a very mild criticism it is indeed, it's that towards the end Mr. Prather feels the need to explore the next generation of HorrorHosts in the Washington DC area. While this is interesting, my heart was with Mr. Dyszel, and I wanted more information on him rather than the side journey that concludes the documentary. (Disclosure number three: it's possible that this information has been edited down for the release of the movie; I was lucky enough to see it in it's first 'rough cut'.)

Halloween and the October Season will be with us before we know it, and I can think of no better double feature for one of those dark weekends. Gather the family around and enjoy these loving tributes to an art form that, while certainly not lost, is sadly a shadow of what it was a long time ago. And while you're enjoying these offerings, sigh a bit at the sad fact that, with cable and television controlled by corporations and networks with little independent talent and output, we will probably never see these times again...

(Note: some younger children may be bored by these films, and the language and innuendo found in the clips played in AMERICAN SCARY are not for all ages; as always, parental and viewer discretion is advised.)

You can find these movies by clicking on the images below:

PS One of the extras found on AMERICAN SCARY is the footage of Yours Truly and my fellow Patient Creatures presiding over the HorrorHost wedding of A. Ghastlee Ghoul and Suspiria at Cinema Wasteland in October 2003! (I'd previously posted the footage here in my crypt.) Do enjoy the ceremony, and throw rice at your own leisure and risk...

Many critics and references will declare that Paddy Chayefsky's first Horror/SF work was ALTERED STATES , one of my favorite films of all time (and novels as well). But I disagree. The prolific satirist always had a flair for very Black Comedy, and a taste for the macabre that would bring a smile to your lips while causing you to suppress a shudder.

In probably his most famous work NETWORK , it was the madness of anchorman Howard Beale becoming a ratings success by broadcasting his insanity to the world at large, proclaiming "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!" to citizens fed up with their own existences. It was the in the cynical programming decisions of Diana Christensen that foreshadowed today's explosion of Reality programming and daytime talk shows. And it climaxed in the on-air assassination of "the only man in history killed for low ratings."

Now that's dark...

But the darkness was apparent five years earlier in his scathing script for THE HOSPITAL , and examination of the shortcomings of modern health care that hasn't aged one bit; indeed, it may be more topical than ever in the political climate of today. I remembered the film from years ago, and was pleasantly reminded of its power to amuse and disturb when catching it recently on television.

George C. Scott (in a near-perfect performance) is the Chief of Medicine at a huge, crumbling New York hospital. The place is short-staffed; the doctors are often narcissistic posers with divine complexes who are more interested in making money than healing, the community at large, a melting pot of Black/Hispanic/Asian/White has been simmering for the summer and is about to explode, the Emergency Room is filled with victims of urban neglect and abuse...and there is a serial killer wandering the halls, enacting a very strange revenge...

Now, the medical profession has always been a sharp topic for examination in Horror, all the way back to the practices of Doctors Frankenstein and Jekyll. But rarely has Horror so carefully and eerily examined the realistic Horror of the modern medical profession, with its carefully quiet conspiracies about money, prestige, mistakes, and corporate bureaucracy that is often more concerned with procedure and practice than results. (Although Michael Crichton's COMA comes very close.) In one of the sharpest images from the movie (a classic of 1970s filmmaking), a stern administrator stares down at a blood-gushing gunshot victim and proclaims darkly, "You aren't going anywhere until I get your Blue Cross number!" With everyday horrors such as these, a deranged killer running loose blends into the background like so much Muzak heard in the hallways...

George C. Scott has some sharp and funny moments, but he's mainly there as the voice and island of sanity in this swirling madhouse. He hasn't lost the ability to care; to see the people passing through the system as individuals instead of faceless symptoms, and his humanity grounds the film sharply from veering off into farce or absolute despair. He is brilliant, and brilliantly aided by Diana Rigg, Barnard Hughes (look for him in an uncredited dual role!), Richard Dysart, Stephen Elliot, and a cast of familiar New York character actors. The direction by Arthur Hiller is sparse and low-key, perfectly suiting the material.

And the words! Paddy Chayefsky came from the same live-television background of Rod Serling and Reginald Rose; all three had an ear for the language of the average working man, and a healthy respect for the lone man overwhelmed by the world around him. Like Serling, Mr. Chayefsky's dialogue is a kind of beat-poetry of the urban jungle, carrying the plot while deepening the characters and adding texture and subtext to the simplest situation. Some of the most entertaining moments of ALTERED STATES concerned the scientists throwing around scientific theory and four-letter obscenities in equal measure, and way scientists genuinely talk to each other, but on a heightened plane. He does the same thing here with medical terminology in THE HOSPITAL, painting portraits of despair with glimmers of hope around the fogged edges.

This is a tough film, make no mistake; there are dark moments worthy of THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS . Even though it's not generally regarded as a Horror Film, I believe fans and followers of the genre will find much to appreciate in this work, and understand one of the older artistic sensibilities: tragedy is simply comedy from another perspective, and sometimes we have to laugh to keep from shrieking...

I'm not a huge fan of R. L. Stine's "Goosebumps" books; I feel there are better examples of Horror and Dark Fantasy to introduce young readers to. However, children eat the tales up like so much Halloween candy, and as more than a few critics far greater than I have pointed out, anything that encourages young people to read so voraciously cannot be a bad thing. Furthermore, growing up on "Goosebumps" can lead youngsters to the works of Roald Dahl, Edgar Allen Poe, H. P. Lovecraft, and other literary figures in our genre that capture the imagination of early readers of the macabre; this is also a very good thing.

Now Mr. Stine has lent his name to a television series based on his "Haunting Hour" books, and I'm very pleased to recommend this show to old and young viewers alike. Named, naturally enough, R. L. STINE'S THE HAUNTING HOUR, the series can be found on the Hub Network (formerly Discovery Kids), and is a half-hour anthology series in the vein of a young THE TWILIGHT ZONE, NIGHT GALLERY and THRILLER.

I do not conjure those names lightly. Yes, some of the stories are retreads of genre themes explored thoroughly in adult literature and drama. But these tales introduce youngsters to the time-honor templates, and does so with fine acting, extremely high production values, sharp writing and directing, and a truly disturbing sense of uneasiness that is quite extraordinary for a "kids show". Indeed, I think many adults will appreciate the mood and terror conjured through misdirection, suggestion and a lack of graphic violence. Some of the imagery used in this series in genuinely disturbing, and will probably give very young children nightmares. (Hub Network has an advisory before each episode, warning that some scenes may be too frightening for children under 7, and advising families to watch the show together. I find that fitting advise for most television, but for this show in particular, and give the network kudos for the courage of their artistic convictions while leaving the discretion to individual parents.)

There is a terrific episode of a doll that is slowly coming to life, trying to take the place of the real little daughter in the family. The daughter has a history of normal bad childhood behavior, and she fears her mother does love her as much as she used to. The mother seems to want to be with the doll more than her own daughter, and the doll begins to play pranks that disrupt the household, driving a wedge further between the mother and child, culminating in a truly fearful scene of the child slowly being replaced by the doll, transforming into the toy itself with first an plastic foot, then hand, then finally a body with only one, human staring eye that eventually becomes glass. This is actual nightmare material, playing not only on the universal fear of dolls and manikins, but on children's fear that they might lose their parent's love someday. The episode is incredibly strong, as valid and purposeful as any angst-filled adult episode of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER or THE X FILES, and is sure to spark much conversation in many households, as good fiction should.

What I find most impressive about the series is that not every ending is a happy one; there are times when the powers of darkness do prevail, usually because of flaws in the main character, such as greed, jealousy, bigotry, or dishonesty. The tales are morality fables for the young, just as THE TWILIGHT ZONE was, with a strong lesson that one's sins will be revisited on the perpetrator one hundred fold. The Brothers Grimm would nod in approval, and Mr. Serling would probably smile proudly at the episodes as well. In addition to examining fears of clowns, darkness, empty places and ghostly and horrific creatures, the show touches upon sibling rivalry, parental deception, family loyalty and secrets, and other travails of young minds. AS in the best of the Dark Fantastic, love, courage and faith can overcome the dark, but one must be very careful of the paths chosen.

Parents may have to calm their children down a bit and discuss some of the episodes; that's perfectly fine. (Parents may have to calm themselves down a bit after certain episodes as well, and that's fine too!) But I think this series is a good attempt at putting Horror and Dark Fantasy on television at a level young people can enjoy. Many children have an almost bottomless appetite for the weird, wonderful and macabre, and the scarier the better. (Believe me, I know.) And this show will fill them quite satisfactorily, and encourage them to seek out other examples of film terror.

I lamented some time ago to a newspaper reporter that there wasn't a series like THE TWILIGHT ZONE that children and adults could watch together and discuss afterwards, sharing fun shivery times as a family. Too much filmed Horror was inappropriate for youngsters; much too violent, explicit and nihilistic. THE HAUNTING HOUR is a show for everyone to enjoy, indulging their fears for 30 minutes before laughing and turning the lights back on again. I admire what the producers at Front Street Pictures and The Hatchery have done, and thank them from the bottom of my ectoplasmic heart.

One of the biggest disappointments in this era of Horror Films is the utter lack of imagination in their marketing. From trailers that give away every aspect of the plot to Internet hype that has you bored with the film by the time it opens, the art of subtlety seems completely lost in the modern promotional machinery.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the poster that promote the movies. All seem to be designed by the same art director; all feature floating heads of the featured performers, along with an image of the monster or iconic (or presumed to be iconic) image: the SCREAM mask, the SAW puppet, etc. Quite often it's difficult to differentiate one new release from another, causing confusion about whether you've really seen the movie or just one with a similar poof sheet…

It didn't used to be that way. Remember the swimmer and the shark from JAWS ? The figure under the streetlight from THE EXORCIST ? The cradle with the clawed hand protruding from IT'S ALIVE ? Of course you do – those images became iconic, because they showed the skill of finding a piece of art that suggested the film without giving away too much of the story, enticing viewers into the theater. In times past, many viewers of Horror films found that the posters promised more treasures than were actually present in the movies themselves…but that was the nature of promotional art, and nobody really begrudged anyone for that talent.

Some of the finest movie posters came from Hammer Studios for their classic films. (My personal favorite? The neck of a beautiful woman, two bite marks covers with band-aids but still dripping blood from beneath for DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE, as you can see: )

The artwork suggested terrifying monsters, gothic crypts and cemeteries, and half-dressed women – everything a Horror fan could possibly want in a feature! Now Titan Books has collected some of the best work of these artists in their new coffee-table volume The Art of Hammer: The Official Poster Collection From the Archive of Hammer Films .

Inside you'll find such marvels as THE PLAGUE OF ZOMBIES , THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF , DRACULA , and VAMPIRE CIRCUS . This is a big, glossy, wonderful tome, somewhat pricey, but well worth the money if you, as I, appreciate the artwork of these vintage collectables. I recommend this for every fan of films of the Dark Fantastic. And although Christmas is some time away, you'll want to buy this as a perfect present for your friend the Horror aficionado. (And if you're a fan yourself, you just might want to purchase two, or at least put it at the top of your gift list!)

You can find more information on this book by clicking onto the image below:

Many of you are familiar with Roald Dahl as the author of classic children's books such as “Charlie And The Chocolate Factory” , “James And The Giant Peach” , “The Witches” and “The BFG” , books that have a dark, macabre sense of humor that set them apart from many tales for young readers. Still others will know him as the author of adult suspense stories such as “Lamb To The Slaughter” and “The Man From The South” , both of which became classic episodes of ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS . But what you may not be aware of is that Mr. Dahl once acted as an imitation Rod Serling, hosting his own series in the 1960s that followed after THE TWILIGHT ZONE .

The series was called WAY OUT , and it lasted only a season, partially because it had a lower budget than THE TWILIGHT ZONE and wasn't as carefully crafted. Another reason was that while Mr. Dahl was the jumping off point for the series, hosting and introducing the segments in a droll, dry manner, and his story “William And Mary” was adapted as the first episode, he really had little to do with the story selections or writing of individual episodes. Consequently the shows lacked Mr. Dahl's sharp wit and ghastliness. (A later series, TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED , was a far better attempt to use Mr. Dahl's work, adapting a great many of his stories quite suspensefully.)

Perhaps because of these shortcomings, WAY OUT wasn't a ratings success, and was cancelled after a single short season. Because there were so few episodes produced, it never enjoyed a life in syndication, and has for the most part been considered “lost”, except for a few bootleg segments that have appeared on cassette. This is a shame, because some of the episodes were quite intriguing and eerie, certainly not a total loss of artistic intent.

There was one other huge point of interest in the show. Several segments featured truly startling and disturbing makeup effects, such as a man's face being slowly dissolved from photographic fluid, and an actor who takes the hideous countenance of a street bum for a role, only to discover that the makeup has become his own face. The gentleman responsible for such work? Dick Smith, the Academy Award-winning makeup artist of LITTLE BIG MAN , THE EXORCIST , ALTERED STATES , THE HUNGER , and AMADEUS . WAY OUT was one of his first assignments, and it allowed him to experiment with methods that he would later make famous in his film work.

Although the series has not been released to DVD, several episodes are currently available for viewing online. You can click on the image below to see and download the various episodes. I hope you'll take some time and look at the series. If nothing else, it shows another side to a famous author and opens the door back to a time when anthology series of the uncanny were a mainstay on television. I hope the complete series will eventually be made available for downloading or purchasing. Until then, do enjoy!

As anyone who knows me is aware, my admiration for Harlan Ellison knows no bounds. As one with Stephen King, I believe he is perhaps THE fantasist of this century. His credits include such modern classics as "Repent Harlequin, Said The TickTockMan" , "Jeffty Is Five" , " I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream" , "The Whimper Of Whipped Dogs" , "The Deathbird" , "Paladin Of The Lost Hour" , "Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes" , "The Beast That Shouted Love At The Heart Of The World" , and many, many others. He is equally at home in the visual medium as on the printed page, and has won the Writers Guild Award for Best Original Screenplay a record four times. Among his most famous efforts is the classic OUTER LIMITS episode "Demon With A Glass Hand" , and of course, the STAR TREK episode considered the best ever produced, "City On The Edge Of Forever" , with all its controversy.

One of his most famous novellas also became one of his finest pieces of cinema: A BOY AND HIS DOG . A few months ago I had the pleasure of revisiting this movie, which I had not seen in some time, and once again enjoyed it immensely. Co-scripted by Mr. Ellison and the director, L. Q. Jones, I believe (along with Mr. Ellison) that it is one of the finest representations of his work produced. (And I should point out that Mr. Ellison is extremely particular about how his work is adapted; he has nothing but praise for his OUTER LIMITS episodes and much of his work on the 1985 TWILIGHT ZONE revival, and you would have to have lived an isolated and sheltered existence indeed not to know of his extreme dislike of how the STAR TREK episode was rewritten and watered-down from it's original teleplay. I happen to enjoy the televised episode as it stands, believing Mr. Ellison's voice stills comes through loud and strong - but I have also read the original effort, and it is magnificent.)

Filmed on a low budget that hurts the production not one whit, A BOY AND HIS DOG concerns the activities of Vic, a scavenger in a post-apocalyptic landscape, and his traveling companion Blood, a telepathic dog with artificially raised intelligence. The world they wander through is a nightmare of mutated creatures, roving gangs, despair, degradation and rubble, with civilization scattered amid small cities and towns separated by desert wasteland. But there are survivors of the devastation living underground in repressive colonies, and when Vic becomes involved with a girl from the underworld, he follows her down into an entirely different dreamscape...

Don Johnson, in one of his first film roles, portrays Vic, and portrays him very well indeed; a cocky, quick-witted savage painfully aware of how cheap life is in this world. He is also aware of the cost and value of friendship in his landscape, and that sets in motion a shocking but quite logical conclusion. Blood is voiced by Tim McIntire (and portrayed by Tiger, the dog from THE BRADY BUNCH ) and ably shoulders this meditation on love and sacrifice. Also providing strong support are Jason Robards, Susanne Benton, Alvy Moore, Helene Winston and Hal Baylor as denizens of the underground world; smug, secure and untouched in their parochial society. (Mr. Ellison's tale is partly a reflection of the Kent State tragedy; his outrage at the Chamber of Commerce commending the National Guard for the killings. Mr. Ellison saw the disconnect in the safe callousness of the elders concerning the deaths of their youth during the campus unrest, and wrote the story as a parable about man's indifference to suffering.)

What makes the movie work so well (beyond Mr. Ellison's firm vision) is the imagination of Mr. Jones's direction. For instance, much of the action in the middle of the film takes place in an underground town modeled after Middle America , built to survive the surface cataclysm. Rather than try to create this with matte paintings or blue screen (showing a roof or mechanical walls surrounding the town), Mr. Jones simply shoots these sequences at night, in an actual small town - a town of eternal underground darkness lit with artificial light. It works ominously and wonderfully. (And proves you don't need a huge budget to create cinematic art.) Mr. Jones also makes use of some wonderful industrial plant locations and silos to affect the illusions of the tunnels leading from the surface to the world below.

Make no mistake: this is definitely an adult movie, with scenes of sexuality, profanity, violence and a nihilistic streak of humor. But for those with a taste for the offbeat and a respect for adult speculative fiction, this is a magnificent treasure, and I don't believe the proposed remake, while certainly being more expensive, will be one-tenth as rewarding

And should viewing this film lead the curious to seek out and explore the printed work of a modern master, I will be satisfied indeed.

To view the trailer for A BOY AND HIS DOG, click on the image below.

In my THOUGHT & REVERIES essay for the month, I mention using classic sources with a modern spin to revitalize some of the better films in our genre. One excellent example is the 2006 adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe's “The Fall Of The House Of Usher” . Shortened simply to THE HOUSE OF USHER , adapted by Collin Chang and Boyd Hancock from Mr. Poe's short story, and directed stylishly by Hayley Cloake, the movie takes Poe's tale of familial madness and blood curses and creates a cold, deliberately paced work of twisted love and obsession.

After the death of his sister Maddy (Danielle McCarthy), Roderick Usher (Austin Nichols) invites his and Maddy's friend Jill Michaelson (Izabella Miko) to their ancestral estate to mourn and rekindle Roderick's previous relationship. But when Jill arrives she finds family secrets deep within the house's foundation, and a family legacy that threatens her sanity and her life.

One reason the film works so well is that the screenwriters have a solid respect for the original material, and even though there are changes wrought, the basic themes and arc of Poe's story remains untouched. This is a tale that explores the inner landscape of madness and distorted reality that Poe mapped so successfully and thoroughly. Many of the details are touch on modern psychosis and science, but the darkness around the often brightly-lit edges are classically Gothic in nature. I believe the original author would approve heartily.

Ms. Cloake shows a sure hand, and delivers a deliberately paced, eerie meditation. Make no mistake, this is not a jump-filled shock fest; some fans of the genre may find their attention tried by the glacial atmosphere and elegant structure, but those who appreciate the deeper aspects of fear will find much to admire in this hypnotic effort.

The cast is uniformly excellent, from Beth Grant's sinister housekeeper to Mr. Nichols's brooding and tortured Roderick. But from the beginning this is Ms. Miko's film, and she carries it assuredly and effortlessly. In addition to being one of the most beautiful actresses in cinema, her Jill is a complex, thoughtful character caught up on an emotional and physical upheaval, spiraling ever deeper into a landscape of menace and lunacy. The gender-switch of the narrator from the original story works extremely well, and Ms. Miko gives a bravura performance that centers the movie, engaging the viewer from its somber opening through to its truly nightmarish finale.

In short, I find this work mesmerizing, in the way the best of Poe was mesmerizing. It's a truly worthy effort from all involved; I hope you seek it out, and agree.

To view the trailer for THE HOUSE OF USHER , click on the image below.

Vacation is over. Christmas has passed, the New Year has begun, and it's time to return to school. And I can think of no better textbook to accompany you than Stephen King's epic analysis of the Horror Genre “Danse Macabre” .

First published in 1978, “Danse Macabre” is a non-fiction look at horror and popular culture from 1950 through 1980, going back to look at the roots of the genre (the ‘tarot cards' of horror, The Thing Without A Name, the Vampire, The Werewolf, and The Ghost, as exemplified by “Frankenstein” , “Dracula” , “Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde” , and “The Turn Of The Screw” , respectively) through radio programs, film and television, finishing with his personal recommendation on the landmark books of the genre, including Peter Straub's “Ghost Story” , Shirley Jackson's “The Haunting Of Hill House” , Ray Bradbury's “Something Wicked This Way Comes” , and the work of Harlan Ellison, notably his latest collection (at the time) “Strange Wine” . Along the way we examine horror as sociological, political and satirical construct, examine the mass cultural fears of the times that define the tales offered, and get some personal anecdotes and memories about arguably the finest Horror writer of our time.

Like Harlan Ellison mentioned above, Stephen King is a master at both the short and long-form essay, and his non-fiction (through his regular columns for “Entertainment Weekly” magazine and his memoir “On Writing” ) is becoming as recognized as his novels and stories for thought-provoking, high-caliber entertainment. It all began here, in what I consider one of the finest examinations on what Horror has been, is, and could and should be. It examines the bad and the good, the abysmal and the glorious, with a deep affection for even the poorest examples of what the Dark Fantastic can offer.

And although you may disagree with some of his opinions and conclusions (being a huge admirer of Mr. Serling and both THE TWILIGHT ZONE and NIGHT GALLERY , I find his criticisms of those efforts to be short-sighted – yet nevertheless well presented – and many will find his dismissal of KOLCHACK: THE NIGHT STALKER to border on blasphemous), his pedigree is unquestionable, and his work is never less than entertaining and insightful. More than anything else, this is a book to present to that friend or relation who is baffled by our choice of entertainment and literature, forever asking in bewilderment, “Why do you like that Horror stuff so much?” At the end of the book, Mr. King recommends a list of both films and books important to the genre, and even long-time fans of our field an find some material worth exploring that they might have previously overlooked. This is a must-have for the shelves of all serious practitioners and scholars of Horror and Dark Fantasy, and M. King is an extraordinary professor.

The latest volume released contains a fine essay Mr. King originally submitted to “Fangoria” magazine entitled “What's Scary?”, which updates some of his thoughts on the genre into the present day. Even if you own a previous edition of the book, this new essay is worth the price of new copy. Buy it for yourself, and give your old copy that that aforementioned friend. No doubt they'll thank you for it!

You have your new reading assignment! Class dismissed!

To order “Danse Macabre” , you can click on the book cover below. (Be certain to purchase the latest edition, the one printed in February 2010 with the desk-chair on the cover, so that it includes the “What's Scary?” essay.)

In 1972, Rod Serling returned to television with a new series entitled NIGHT GALLERY. Unlike his previous series THE TWILIGHT ZONE, which focused primarily on Light and Dark Fantasy (with occasional side-trips into Science Fiction and Horror), NIGHT GALLERY was meant to showcase Mr. Serling's favorite tales of Horror, with some adapted from classic stories (such as Lovecraft's "Pickman's Model" and "Cool Air") as well as original works. Mr. Serling wanted it to have the same thought-provoking material that made THE TWILIGHT ZONE echo so powerfully in the viewers' subconscious.

Sadly, because of network and studio interference, many of the NIGHT GALLERY episodes never reached the plateau of High Art that THE TWILIGHT ZONE had; some stories were watered down of their attended effect (see the episode "Clean Kills And Other Trophies" as it appears in Mr. Serling's written anthology "Night Gallery" to see how powerful the story was meant to be, compared with the final filmed version). Others that Mr. Serling wanted to do were rejected by the studio as 'too controversial' or 'too cerebral'.

Still, working as diligently as possible, Mr. Serling was able to affect some striking programs hat are remembered to this day as ranking with some of his best work. One such tale was the NIGHT GALLERY Christmas episode "The Messiah On Mott Street". Starring Edawrd G. Robinson and Yaphet Kotto, this tale of redemption coming to the tenement slums showcased Mr. Serling's humanity as well as his love of the Winter Season (and, not incidentally, proved that he too felt that the traditional time of year for ghostly tales was Christmas time.

Through the auspices of Hulu, I am pleased to present the uncut version of this classic tale (along with the bonus episode "The Painted Mirror"). And if you are intrigued enough by the filmed version to want to seek out the prose version of the story (in Mr. Serling's anthology "Night Gallery 2"), I believe that his writing in the short story version is even more admirable; I've provide a link to purchase those volumes.

Thank you, Mr. Serling, and Season's Greetings!