New Music From Woven Hand

 

I will always miss Sixteen Horsepower, however, the work David Eugene Edwards has been doing as Woven Hand over the last decade-and-a-half (or so) is next-level stuff. It's interesting how the slightly toxic religious elements that informed/inspired Horsepower pushed this man into a considerably more Shamanic perspective with his music. 

Woven Hand's new record Silver Sash is out now on Glitterhouse Records and can be ordered from them or Woven Hand's Bandcamp HERE.

---

---

---

Watch:

This is going to be one of those posts where I post the newest trailer for David Cronenberg's upcoming Crimes of the Future, but don't watch it:

 

Right now, this is my most eagerly awaited film of the year - thus far- and I say that on the cusp of seeing Sam Raimi's Dr. Strange In the Multiverse of Madness tonight, a film I have been CHOMPING at the bit for since... well, since I realized Patrick Stewart's voice is in the trailer. NOTE: I should say something here. Marvel, I'm talking to you now; if it turns out that Patrick Stewart is playing a man named Jim Bohner or some such, I will not be happy. Just saying. And as long as I'm posting trailers I have no intention of viewing, here's that 'Final' Dr. Strange trailer:

I have insanely high expectations for this one, even though I still have been unable to sit through the first Stephen Strange flick. I've always maintained I'm more interested in Marvel's big picture than I am the individual films, and this is the one that - I think - will firmly shape the post-Avengers landscape for the MCU into something more cohesive than it's been (not that I've minded the chaotic and disparate elements of the last few years, which have been very final-years-of-Claremont's-Uncanny-X-men at times).

---

---

---

Playlist:

Bexley - Eponymous

Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta II: Dialogue with the Stars

Michael Jackson - Greatest Hits

Kate Bush - Hounds of Love

The Mysterines - Reeling

Sparks - Tryouts for the Human Race (single)

Helmet - Meantime

Motorhead - Ace of Spades

Anthrax - Persistence of Time

Jerry Cantrell - Brighten (Thanks to Mr. Brown for the beautiful vinyl!)

Prince and the Revolution - Purple Rain

---

---

---

Card:

It's been a minute since I've pulled from Missi's Raven Deck, so here goes:

Expecting knowledge to come my way today that might turn things around a bit. Or maybe that was yesterday when we spoke to a new realtor in TN and received a lot of really good, inspiring information. I suppose there's a part of me that demonizes that, simply because the longer we've stayed in LaLaLand, the allure of the routine and easy (not really, but kinda) life we've made here pulls at my ideas of burning it all down and starting over. 

Don't trust comfort. That's the real Devil. 

Peter Steele's Crimes of the Future

I plan to do this every year and always botch it. Not this time! With yesterday the twelfth anniversary of Peter Steele's death, I thought this would be a perfect time to do a week-long retrospective of some lesser-known Type O songs. 

1992's "live" album The Origin of the Feces is possibly my favorite album by Type O Negative. It's dark AF but still insanely funny, a tone the band was able to balance for most of its career, starting with this release, which followed their 1991 debut Slow, Deep and Hard. Feces is essentially the live version of the first album, and honestly, it's how I like these songs the best. There's no doubt SD&H had a HUGE impact on me when I first heard it, circa 1993, but that humorous tone just isn't there yet - like Peter and the guys hadn't quite found their voice yet - so when I go to this era, I almost always go exclusively to Feces.

That sounds weird.

---

---

---

Watch:

David Cronenberg returns! Oh man, I want this right. F&^king now, please! 

 

I'm not sure when this drops, but hot damn am I hoping it will be in time for Beyondfest this year, which despite my plans to move out of LaLaLand, I will be returning for NO MATTER WHAT. Seriously, this is their ten-year anniversary, and I am not missing whatever shenanigans those crazy bastards have planned.

---

---

---

Playlist:

Television - Marquee Moon

Wire - Chairs Missing

Drug Church - Hygiene 

Burial - Antidawn

Type O Negative - Dead Again

Black Mare - Death Magick Mother

Belong - October Language 

Kate Bush - Hounds of Love

Black Sabbath - Eponymous

The Jesus Lizard - Goat

Elvis Costello and the Attractions - Punch the Clock

---

---

---

Card:

Stop fighting what you know and listen past the distractions. There's inspiration amidst the chaos.

Crash into Eternity

 

I was super happy to finally get a copy of Criterion's recently released Blu Ray for David Cronenberg's Crash. Not only has the film become my second favorite Cronenberg just in the two years since I first saw it at 2018's Beyondfest Cronenberg retrospective, but Howard Shore's score is probably my favorite of his music for Cronenberg's films. Here's the title theme, some of the sickest guitar I have ever heard. 

---

---

---

Watch:

 

I guess I won't be getting rid of my Disney + sub any time soon... Wow. Just wow. The mind reels at what we could get from a What If? series down the road. Some of my favorites from the comic series - which I didn't buy regularly but always picked up if one of the 'What If' scenarios spoke to my particular Marvel series proclivities:

We're not really in a position with the MCU to see this kind of stuff happen, but then again, who is to say that the What If? show will only stick to variations of what the MCU has done so far?

---

---

---

Read:

In preparation of the upcoming final issue of Rick Remender and Jerome Opena's Seven to Eternity, I've just completed a re-read of the series to date. Next? The final issue of Gideon Falls lands this Wednesday, and as such, I have begun to work my way back through that series. 

Creepy AF, and featuring some of my favorite art EVER, I'm super psyched to be taking this trip again just in time for the end of the story.

---

---

---

Playlist:

Joseph Deluca - Evil Dead 2

Deafheaven - New Bermuda

Michael Kiwanuka - KIWANUKA

Mrs. Piss - Self-Surgery

Radiohead - Kid A

Emma Ruth Rundle and Thou - May Our Chambers Be Full

Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher

Meg Myers - Sorry

Emma Ruth Rundle and Thou - Hollywood (pre-release single)

La Hell Gang - Thru Me Again

Howard Shore - Crash OST

Cynic - Kindly Bent to Free us

The Plimsouls - Everywhere at Once

Greg Puciato - Child Soldier: Creator of God

Michael Kiwanuka - KIWANUKA

Zeal and Ardor - Wake of a Nation EP

Allegaeon - Apoptosis

Loathe - I Let It in and It Took Everything

Deafheaven - 10 Years Gone

 

---

---

---

Card:

8 of Wands - Swiftness. Eights always move on from the stoic, sturdy Netzach (7s) to a transient moment of swift action and/or decisiveness.

Time to switch gears again. My beta reader has finished Murder Virus, I have all her suggestions and edits logged and, mostly, completed. Now I need to pursue the cover art I want and get this fucker ready to publish by the end of January.

Isolation: Day 130

Mr. Brown sent this video to me yesterday and it absolutely made my day! Henry Rollins' excitement for music is an enjoyable thing to experience, and watching this has made me miss listening to his radio show on Los Angeles Public Radio KCRW (Link directly to his show, where past episodes are streamable HERE). The show used to be my regular Saturday night thing, but that was years ago, and as soon as KCRW moved him to Sunday at 9:00 PM, it killed my patronage. I've been meaning to make a habit of streaming the shows the day after, and I think this video was just what I needed to finally make that happen.

As far as the subject of the video, Rhino's Funhouse 50th Anniversary pressing - it's awesome for sure, but not something I'd shell out $400 (plus, as Brown pondered in a text, what about shipping on a box that size?). Still, it's a pleasure to hear Rollins geek out about that which he loves, and it's definitely infectious.

**

Two nights ago I woke up from an after-work nap and found K about fifteen minutes into a movie I'd never heard of before. I sat down and ended up getting sucked in, especially when I saw that Hannah Gross and DAVID CRONENBERG both had roles in the flick (as does Aaron Poole). Albert Shin's Disappearance at Clifton Hill is a weird little flick, visually gorgeous, and with definite Lynch influence. Until I looked the film up, as we were watching it, I began to suspect it might be a Brad Anderson film, as Clifton definitely feels like something Anderson might have done around the time he made The Machinist or Transsiberian.



The film is currently streaming on HULU, and is definitely worth your time.

**

Playlist:

François-Eudes Chanfrault - Computer Assisted Sunset
Metallica - Master of Puppets
Melvins - Houdini
The Smiths - The Queen is Dead
The Stooges - Eponymous
The Stooges - Funhouse

**

Card:

Too much to get into at the moment, but let's just say I re-thought the book and am going to try something a little bit different with it than I originally intended.

Hilary Woods - Tongues of Wild Boar

I know nothing about Hilary Woods, but this song and its accompanying video are gorgeous in the creepiest possible way. The album drops March 13th on Sacred Bones - and it brings me a little spark of joy knowing that's a Friday to boot. Pre-order HERE.

**

NCBD:

Nothing new this week that's on my radar, but I still have to grab Trees: Three Fates #5. from two weeks ago (not sure how I keep missing this one or why I never put it on my Pull):

Trees: Three Fates has been a nice mostly dose of Warren Ellis' comics writing, and its helped me postpone getting involved in Batman's Grave on a monthly basis. As I editorialized on the most recent episode of Drinking with Comics, I'll read an independent monthly, but I'm done reading Big Two books in a format constantly interrupted by shitty ads. Plus, admittedly, Ellis always reads better in trade.

I know Trees won't be coming back for a while, but I'm really looking forward to the return of Injection, which I believe I read will be starting up again this year. Injection stands as my favorite Ellis book since Doktor Sleepless, and I miss it dearly.

**

I finished David Cronenberg's Consumed. Outstanding. Five stars - six if it was possible. I really can't wait to see this rendered by the author into a visual, episodic format. There's some serious body horror here, and it runs the game from subtle-but-terrifying to remarkably vulgar. Thus, it should make for a fantastic Cronenberg project.

In the wake of Consumed, I've become a book my friend Jesus gifted me for Christmas, Chuck Wendig's Wanderers:

One-hundred and six pages in and I can't put this book down! I know nothing about the story going in - I hadn't even heard of it before Jesus put it in my hand - and that's definitely making for a great read. Also, its always nice to see a tense or horrific story start with a twist on something so basic - what if your loved one started sleepwalking and would not stop for anything?

**

Playlist:

Steve Moore - Bliss OST
Tangerine Dream - Sorcerer OST
Zombi - Shape Shift
Umberto - Helpless Spectator
Tangerine Dream - Exit
Godflesh - Post Self
Godflesh - Hymns

Card:

Yesterday's card was XXI: The Universe, and it compelled me to work for an extended period of time on the "Bigger Ideas" of the final book in the Shadow Play series. I've made a pact with myself to not begin writing the second book - which is painstakingly outlined - until I have the entirety of the third volume outlined as well. This has proved challenging, to say the least. My writing sessions, have been long and consisted of reading research material, outlining, story boarding (of a sort), and all kinds of other fun tasks, but nothing that scratches the itch to write. Still, a solid three hours yesterday and I made what feels like serious progress.

Serious. Professional. Driven. All qualities I could stand to aspire to of late; as much fun as this phase of the Shadow Play project is, it's susceptible to distraction. I downloaded a new focus app, called Tomato Timer, and it's helped me get a handle on this a bit. And on that note, off to work!

New Music From SQÜRl

From the album Some Music For Robby Müller, out January 31st on Sacred Bones Records. Pre-Order HERE.

**

I'm nearly finished with David Cronenberg's novel Consumed. It is fantastic. Seriously, so interesting and unnerving. Conceptually, it's another "How did he even think of that?" which is pretty common for Cronenberg. The idea that he's adapting this for a Netflix series makes me super happy, and here's a short I found online that looks like a dry run at the idea for translating this novel to the screen. Starring Evelyne Brochu, from Orphan Black.



Yeah. The story is creepy AF and a return to the body horror genre Cronenberg defined in the 70s/80s.

**

Playlist:
David Bowie - Heathen
David Bowie - Outside
Damage Manual - Limited Edition
Zonal - Wrecked
Zonal - Eponymous Single
Godflesh - Love and Hate in Dub
Zombi - Shape Shift
Preoccupations - Eponymous
King Krule - The OOZ
Carpenter Brut - Trilogy
David Bowie - Low
Tomahawk - Mit Gas

**

No card today.

Drinking with Comics - Relaunch Special #1

... and we're back! New location. Just two of the guys who started it (for now - although the third original member, who was actually my original partner on this venture, was in town from NY for the show, so that was awesome). Adobe's newest update nearly fucking killed me editing this one; apparently the export to H264 file format now drops audio, which is something you don't find out until after the three hours it takes render a forty-nine minute session with extensive color correction work and numerous other plug-ins. It took me five fucking days, but I found a work around and from here out, it will hopefully be smooth sailing. Because we plan on doing more of these.

A lot more.

**

Song:



My cousin has turned me into a card-carrying Kevin Morby fan, and this is one of the songs on his latest album, Oh My God, that I can't seem to live without these last couple weeks.

**

Reading:

Currently, I'm held spellbound by David Cronenberg's debut novel, Consumed. When I saw Cronenberg speak at Beyondfest in 2018, he talked about originally wanting to be an author. It makes sense that his storytelling skills would translate from film to prose; the book definitely feels cinematic, to say the least. ~106 pages in and Consumed is excellent, and also bordering on the most disturbing thing I've read since Naked Lunch.

The fact that Cronenberg is writing/directing an adaptation of this for Netflix makes me both extremely excited and horribly afraid.


**

Playlist:

David Bowie - Black Star
Lingua Ignota - Caligula
Kevin Morby - Oh My God
The National - High Violet
Angel Olsen - All Mirrors
David Bowie - Hunky Dory
David Bowie - Outside
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross - Watchmen Vol. 3
Godflesh - Pure

Card:

A warning to recognize losing oneself in delusion. I actually think this applies to a facet of introspection I've had of late; until last night, it's been almost a good solid two weeks of little to no writing. A lot of that was editing the episode of DwC. Some of it, however, was a combination of fatigue and laziness. I'd come home from work exhausted, lay down and turn on a flick. Fine when that's a one-off, but when that happens several days in a row, I begin to make a habit of it. I come home from work and, tired or not, want to smoke up and watch something. There's filling the well, and there's abandoning the Art for consumption's sake. Escaping my work for the sake of falling into the fantasy of a movie, when reiterated over and over, begins to dissolve the creative inertia I've spent so much time building. This is a good reminder to put the Art first, and the fantasy second.

Babak Anvari's Adaptation of Nathan Ballingrud's Wounds @Screamfest!!!

Two films. Babak Anvari has made two feature-length films, and after seeing his second, Wounds, earlier this evening at the penultimate night of Screamfest 2019, I am floored by how exquisite a filmmaker he has become in so short a period of time.

I first read Nathan Ballingrud's The Visible Filth back in late 2015. I've read it at least three more times since. It is one of my favorite pieces of prose and was a very large inspiration in my completing my first book of short stories, A Collection of Desires. To say it is a very important work of fiction to me is an understatement. That means I went into viewing Wounds with extremely high expectations. The film met every one of those expectations. It lands on Hulu this Friday. Watch it. Then, go read The Visible Filth, which is now available in a collection of six stories, conveniently titled Wounds. (you can order signed copies from Malaprop's Bookstore in NC HERE or Amazon HERE)

Thanks to Screamfest for bringing this to the big screen, if only fleetingly; in a perfect world it would receive a much wider release. Also thanks to Screamfest, Tuesday night I saw the Soska Sisters' remake of David Cronenberg's 1977 film Rabid. This is another film I'd anticipated for a long time, and it did not disappoint. My quick-take review on Rabid is up as a short episode of The Horror Vision Horror Podcast, available in the usual places:

The Horror Vision on Apple

The Horror Vision on Spotify

The Horror Vision on Google Play

There will be a Wounds review up tomorrow as well.

**

31 Days of Horror:

10/01: House of 1000 Corpses/31

10/02: Lords of Chaos

10/03: Creepshow Ep 2/Tales from the Crypt Ssn 1, Ep 1

10/04: IT Chapter 2, AHS 1984 Ep. 3

10/05: Bliss/VFW

10/06: Halloween III: Season of the Witch/Night of the Creeps/The Fog

10/07: Halloween 2018

10/08: Hell House, LLC

10/09: Dance of the Dead (Tobe Hooper; Masters of Horror Ssn 1 Ep 3)

10/10: Creepshow Episode 3

10/11: Jenifer (Dario Argento; Masters of Horror Ssn 1 Ep 4)

10/12: Poltergeist/Phenomena

10/13: AHS 1984 Ep 4/In the Tall Grass
10/14: Invasion of the Body Snatchers ('78)
10/15: Rabid (2019)
10/16: Wounds

**

Playlist from the last few days:

Bauhaus - The Sky's Gone Out
Talking Heads - Sand in the Vaseline (Disc One)
Allegaeon - Apoptosis
Ritual Howls - My Friends Bury Their Souls for the Devil to Find
Ritual Howls - Their Bodies
Flipper - Album - Generic Flipper
Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love
Opeth - In Cauda Venenum

**

No card today, mainly because it's 2:29 AM and I am exhausted beyond reprieve. 

2019: July 4th - The Soska Sisters Share Rabid Trailer!

RABID from FrightFest on Vimeo.

Big awesome surprise to wake up yesterday and see the Soska Sisters had released the trailer for their upcoming remake of David Cronenberg's Rabid. I'm a fan of the Cronenberg film, but definitely feel there's room to remake it. And who better than the body horror twins who gave us American Mary? Can NOT wait!

**

Wednesday night we saw Midsommar, Ari Aster's brilliant and crippling follow-up to last year's Hereditary. I loved it, probably consider it a modern masterpiece, a film in the ranks of an Apocalypse Now or The Shining. Aster is a visionary.

Before the show, the newest issue of Fangoria arrived on my doorstep. I took one look at the cover and knew I'd be waiting until after seeing Midsommar to crack this 40th Anniversary issue open.

When I did open the issue, I found a stunning article that consists of Jordan Peele interviewing Aster about Midsommar. Jesus, what the hell more could a horror fan ask for? Totally worth the price of subscribing, which you can do HERE.

Immediately after our Midsommar viewing, my co-host Anthony Guerra from The Horror Vision and I did a reaction episode. We split it into a non-spoiler and spoiler section, very clearly delineating it for anyone that wants to listen but hasn't seen the film yet. My advice is go in as blind as possible, then listen, but either way, here are those links:

The Horror Vision on Apple

The Horror Vision on Spotify

The Horror Vision on Google Play


**

By now, hopefully everyone reading this who cares about the spoiler will have heard that Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard's The Walking Dead came to a surprise end with this week's issue #193. For the price of a regular issue, 193 delivered a triple-sized issue that was everything I could have wanted from the series finale for one of my all-time favorite comics, plus there's a long letter in the back of the book from Kirkman, talking about the reasons for ending the series here, the emotional tribulations of doing so, and a bit of a peek behind the curtain on his writing process over the years.

I can't even begin to describe the void losing this series creates in my life, but I will attempt to tonight at 9:00 PM Pacific Standard Time, when Mike Wellman and I do a surprise Drinking with Comics Memorial to The Walking Dead. We'll be streaming live on the Drinking with Comics Facebook Page, so stop by - you might just see me cry.

Funny thing, that this happened just after my existential crisis a few weeks back, the one about collecting comics and a life's worth of accumulated stuff. By my calculation, with all the books I read that are either definitively ending or are on indefinite hiatus, I'm going to be down to about six or seven monthlies by the fall, and that suits me just fine at the moment.

**

Playlist from the last two days:

Uniform and The Body - Mental Wounds Not Healing
The Body - No One Deserved Happiness
Black Polygons - Lobélia
Willie Nelson - My Way
The Go Gos - Beauty and the Beat
Calexico - The Black Light
The Beatles - Abbey Road

**

No card today.

2019: May 30th - 3 Days Until NOS4A2 Premieres!

I just realized that AMC's adaptation of Joe Hill's NOS4A2 premieres this Sunday. How the hell did I miss this trailer!?! I can't wait for the show, as the book is probably my favorite Joe Hill novel. Well... Heart-Shaped Box might be neck-and-neck with it, but they're both exceptional, outside-the-box horror fiction.

Of course, this comes at a super busy watch-time, as K and I are still working our way through Ozark; on Season 2 now and it's really getting dark. Literally. I noticed last night that, where Season 1 was had a very blue pallet, Season 2 is shot extremely dark; almost darker than anything I've seen in this level of show. Not a complaint though, because it works! It's a tonal accompaniment to the characters' descent into their maelstrom that reminds me of Paul Schrader's Autofocus, which begins very pastel and slowly grows into darker and darker hues as Bob Crane's descent into addiction. Boy does it work. And Friday I'll be signing up for the DCU app for the duration of Swamp Thing. Also on the slate for that subscription window is a binge on Doom Patrol. And now we're adding NOS4A2! This might be the very definition of First World Problems, not having enough time to watch all the things I've been looking forward to, but that's what I come here to talk about; I'll leave politics and the rapid decline of civilization for limited real-world encounters, because I'm pretty fucking sick of seeing it discussed online!

**

New episode of The Horror Vision is up! Topics of discussion include but are not limited to Mike Mendez's The Convent, Emma Tammi's The Wind, Pledge, The Nest and Valencourt Books' Paperbacks from Hell subscription service, the newest installment of Mortal Combat, and a whole lot more!

Apple
Spotify
Google Play

Or just catch us on our website, The Horror Vision.com

**

Watchlist from the last few days has been Ozark Season 2, David Cronenberg's Rabid, and actually, last weekend I had a viewing of Cronenberg's Videodrome, one of my all-time favorite films.

**

Playlist from 5/28:

Earth - Full Upon Her Burning Lips
Earth - Primitive and Deadly
Wasted Theory - Warlords of the New Electric
Wasted Theory - Defenders of the Riff
The Raveonettes - Lust Lust Lust
Primus - Frizzle Fry

Playlist from 5/29:

PJ Harvey - Uh Huh Her
Natural Snow Buildings - Night Coercion into the Company of Witches
Numenorean - Adore
Anthrax - Persistence of Time

**

No card today.

2019: February 4th - New Chasms

New music from Chasms, whose new album The Mirage comes out February 22nd on the always amazing Felte Records. Pre-order it HERE, and see them live if you can, as they are wonderful.

Subterranean Press has a very limited number of copies of Warren Ellis' novella Dead Pig Collector, something I have been wanting to read for years but forgot about some time back while waiting for a physical copy to emerge. Said copy has emerged, but the door is closing quickly. Order it HERE.

February is Women in Horror month, and to kick things off, K and I hosted 3/4ths of The Horror Vision crew this past Saturday for a viewing of Jen and Sylvia Soska's American Mary. Damn, I love this film. The empowerment that comes through the story and performances is intoxicating, and seeing it again has me even more excited for the Soska's upcoming remake of David Cronenberg's Rabid, about which there is a pair of marvelous articles in the latest issue of Fangoria Vol. 2.

You can listen to the newest episode of The Horror Vision on Apple, (although I think there's a lag in the episode uploading to Apple at the moment) Spotify, Google Play, or our website.

Playlist from 2/03:

Jozef Van Wissem & Jim Jarmusch - Concerning the White Horse (on repeat for like an hour while I finished the new story)
Boy Harsher - Careful

Card of the day (despite the fact that the day's almost over; I'm curious):

Perfect and funny for so very many reasons at the moment.

2018: October 6th

Woke up with this one in my head this morning. As I've probably said a million times here, Life is Killing Me is my favorite Type O album, so I love every song. There are, however, certain foundation stones of the album for me - I Don't Wanna Be Me, How Could She?, Iydkmigthtky (Gimme That), and Anesthesia. The mortar in between those stones, so to speak, but all of them exceptional if commonly unsung.

31 Days of Horror continued last night with yet another Cronenberg film that I had, incredibly, not seen before. Loved it as an outré filmmakers working inside the studio formula and doing very much his own, unconventional thing with it.

10/01) Summer of 84
10/02) Rope
10/03) Dreams in the Witch House
10/04) Crash
10/05) The Fly

Playlist from Friday, October 5th:

Drab Majesty - Careless
Windhand - Eternal Return
Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower
Rolling Blackout CF - Hope Downs
The Jesus and Mary Chain - Automatic

Card of the day:

Always good to see a Seven. While one step out from the harmony of the Six, I feel as though this is an exact analogy for where I am in the final pass at constructing my book. See those six perfectly matched and balanced Wands beneath the Seventh? I'm adding the final pieces gleaned from the breakthrough of many months away from it, respectful not to damage what's already there.

2018: October 5th - The New Windhand is Out and it's Awesome!

Two full listens this morning on headphones and I'm hooked.

31 Days of Horror continued last night, but I'll tell you right now my definitions of horror are probably the most lenient. I drove up to Santa Monica's Aero Theatre after work and caught one of the satellite Cronenberg double headers Beyondfest has been offering this year. Last night was Crash and Spyder, neither of which I had seen before. I only stayed for Crash, primarily because I'd been up since 4:00 AM and was due to wake up at the same time today, so sticking for Spider would have killed me. Secondly though, Crash had such an immense impact on me, I didn't want to dilute the experience with a second movie, even if it was by the same man.

Crash blew me away. I remember it opened back in 1996 around the same time David Lynch's Lost Highway did. At the time I was completely unfamiliar with Cronenberg though, so despite the premise peaking my curiosity, I passed on seeing it. As the years have gone by and I've begun getting into Cronenberg, this film is always one that eludes my attention.

No more.

Shooting straight up to almost tie with Videodrome as my favorite film by DC, Crash's falls firmly into the Body Horror genre in my book, despite there not being a lot of grotesque imagery. The horror here lies in the mutations of sexuality the characters undergo, their willingness to embrace the strange and outre, and the philosophical ramifications that lie buried so deep beneath the surface of the film that they really only tickle their way out. The film feels very much like a virus once its been ingested, and I'm on a kick to further explore its concepts with more viewings and a go-through with JG Ballard's 1973 novel of the same name. I also absolutely loved Howard Shore's score on this one, in particular this opening track:



And where the hell did Elias Koteas and Deborah Kara Unger go after this film? Talk about fantastic performances.

10/01) Summer of 84
10/02) Rope
10/03) Dreams in the Witch House
10/04) Crash
10/05) ???

Playlist from Thursday, October 4th:

Miranda Sex Garden - Fairytales of Slavery
The Misfits - Earth A.D.
The Misfits - Static Age
Type O Negative - Life is Killing Me
Cold Cave - Cherish the Light Years
Boy Harsher - Lesser Man EP
Boy Harsher - Country Girl EP
King Woman - Doubt EP
Jóhann Jóhannsson - Mandy OST

Card of the day:

Opposing elements can cause imbalance. Hmm...

2018: September 30th

One of the trailers that has been recurring at Beyondfest. Looks great. Free Screening at the Egyptian later this week, but it's a school day and a late show. Debating...

I can never fit enough Beyondfest in. I cherish everything I do get to attend, but I'm always left wanting more. Last night was brilliant: a pristine 35mm print of Dead Ringers, followed by Mick Garris interviewing Cronenberg and composer Howard Shore. The interview was recorded for later airing on Garris's podcast Post Mortem. The conversation covered everything - from Dead Ringers to The Fly, to Shore's work on Silence of the Lambs and Peter Jackson's Tolkien adaptations, to Cronenberg's role in Clive Barker's Nightbreed to his early short films Stereo and Crimes of the Future.

And everything in between.

What can top that? Well, there's a few more showings this year I may try and attend, Boat being one of them. Some of the others:







And one Cronenberg double feature remaining:





Playlist from yesterday was non-existent.

Card of the day:

2018: September 29th - Hold The Dark

Hold the Dark is exceptional; in my mind this is Saulnier's first masterpiece. Nothing against his other films, but this is just... a level beyond. I've written the inaugural installment of my new column on Joup, The Horror Vision, about the film. Read it HERE.

But wait, The Horror Vision is not only a column on Joup. In fact, the column is just a tributary to a much greater endeavor! In just one day (if all goes well with backend website design) my friends Ray, Anthony, Chris and I will be unveiling the newest podcast in the DwC catalogue: The Horror Vision. Here's a promo clip we threw together:



That beautiful logo is courtesy of Chris Saunders and the theme music is by me!

Tonight! More Beyondfest 2018 as K and I head into Hollywood to see Dead Ringers on the big screen, with director David Cronenberg in attendance to discuss the film. Can. Not. Wait.

Playlist from Friday, 9/28:

Mayhem - Deathcrush EP
Broadcast - Tender Buttons
The Ocean - Anthropocentric
Waveshaper - Station Nova
Mad Love - White With Foam

Card of the day:

From the Grimoire: "If we struggle against the seasons, the ebb and flow of life, we will fall. However, when you turn (Change) with that flow, you will reach a stationary peace from which your actions can harmonize with the power of Life's turning wheel."

How does that apply to me today? That's kind of the greatness of the card, isn't it? A broad stroke reminder to 'roll with the punches.' I'll be keeping that under advisement.

Brandon Cronenberg's Music Video

I am completely unfamiliar with Animalia's music but this video... wow. The young Cronenberg is definitely keeping his father's 'body horror' alive and well. Antiviral made my best-of films last year. And now this simply made, very effective video. Watching this now I realize that I would very much like a new film by Brandon Cronenberg soon. Please.

Brandon Cronenberg's Antiviral

You know how David Cronenberg's films make you feel really uncomfortable with the concept of your body? The weird mesh of tech and flesh, blood and steel, wire and bone that he manipulates can sometimes be downright horrifying, sometimes freakishly hot and sometimes just WTF. Well, his son Brandon may have outdone him in his first film, Antiviral. I'm embellishing, but not by much. Currently tied with Shane Carruth's Upstream Color as my movie of the year. Antiviral is streaming on Netflix - go check it out (check out the snowcat and the radio while you're at it. Big surprise comin' to you...). But be prepared. It is a bit of a rough watch. Very much worth it though.

Brendon Cronenberg's Antiviral

When the heck is this coming out on DVD? I've been reading about it since it hit the festival circuit in the back half of 2012. Bloody Disgusting had words on it here but I'm not seeing much in the way of an American release.


He clearly is his father's son.