Reader's letter from LUX INTERIOR of The Cramps

I discovered Michael Weldon's film zine Psychotronic Video when issue #2 had just come out (spring 89). I found it at Tower Records in London and kept buying it till it folded with #41. Often I was pretty slow at getting new issues (being eternally skint and all) and I probably missed a couple of issues here and there but I've got most of them. When I published my own first zine (Banned in Britain) in 94 my first distributor paid me in back issues of PV plus the PV book!

And I discovered The Cramps (via a live recording on BBC radio) in 1990 so I might have missed the name of the author of this reader's letter from Psychotronic #2!!!

This scan is from an uploaded copy at Archive,org - you can dl the full issue there if you want. I think they're all there, and they're free.

PS: Check the photo down below: Joey Ramone presenting that exact issue of PV! (from the following issue, i.e. #3). I wish Weldon would post (online) these old pix of celebs holding issues of PV. The old printed pix are, uhh, less than great 30+ years later (newsprint, i.e. now FADED newsprint!!!).

Dead all night - at the Scala Cinema Club 30 odd years ago

Scala Cinema 1988

I lived in London from 1988 and for about three years. And I discovered the SCALA CINEMA CLUB almost right away (thanks to a brief mention in Time Out Magazine of a zombie film all-nighter).

Most of the classic cult films I hold near and dear to my heart are films which I discovered at the Scala; the Romero films, the Argento films, the EVIL DEAD, RE-ANIMATOR and HELLRAISER films, etc, are all films I first saw during the wee hours at a Scala screening (since there was a loophole in the British film regulations film clubs were allowed to screen otherwise censored films fully uncut!).

I once missed ZOMBIE FLESH EATERS one Sunday morning cos I had to go straight to work! I got Jane Gile's book when it came out in 2018 and now there's a new documentary film on its way (Jane Giles was the programmer at the Scala). I can't wait.

Here's a brand new Q&A from Independent Cinema Office:

Stephen king's World of Horror (UK VHS)

Dinner and an old dusty video tape that I've owned for years and years but never actually watched: Stephen King's World of Horror.

This is a UK vhs and it clocks in at just over 80 minutes. Apparently this was released as a two parter in the US (and user reviews on IMDb talk about a version running 270 minutes!!!). Some of the contents was later used for a video series called This is horror.

The tape was alright. If you're a King aficionado you'll probably be disappointed as there's not all that much of him in the documentary. Maybe 15-20 minutes or so taken from two different interviews. The rest is clips from films, interviews with FX people, and behind the scenes clips. I quite liked the tape, though, as it's almost a peek into the American horror/splatter movie world of the 80s. I miss that period in horror.

I don't think SK's World of Horror has been released on dvd, but at least some nice gent has been so kind as to upload it to YouTube. And now it's also embedded in this post, weeeee! (you can also find links to the three "This is Horror" tapes in the info section under the video on YouTube).

Full video off a UK vhs tape:

Ringo Lam's awesome WILD SEARCH now on bluray!

"Now" means in 2021 - yes, I'm being slow here!

As someone mentioned recently it's a fantastic time to be a fan of old Hong Kong "new genre" films from the 80s. A lot of this stuff was released on vhs and dvd back in the day but has been neglected on the "new" media, bluray. However, now it seems a handful of labels are putting these films out by the bucket load.

Of course this can also be a disadvantage as some films might get lost in the shuffle. I hope that's not the case with Ringo Lam's awesome WILD SEARCH (you should get it!), which is now on bluray from Eureka in the UK. I've been a fan of the film for longer than I can remember and I own the it on vhs and dvd already. And today I received Eureka's new bluray. I ran all the way from the bus stop just to watch it right away!!! No, not really, but I did watch it after dinner and the print looks great. Very happy with this release.

There's a few cool extras and the price was good. However, I wonder why they didn't include the film's trailer. I got the standard edition (is there even a special edition with postcards and shit for this one?). 130 kr. from iMusic if you're on these shores.

PS: I watched Ringo Lam's American film MAXIMUM RISK recently. It stars the Belgian ham with cheese Jean-Claude Van Damme and it's almost like these films were made by two different Lam brothers, Fantastic HK Ringo Lam and Has-to-bow-to-shitty-Hollywood-rules Ringo Lam. Both films have action and shoot-out scenes, but whereas WILD SEARCH has depth and well written characters, MAXIMUM RISK has as much of that as Van Damme has facial expressions. Ringo should have stayed at home if you ask me.

I reviewed MAXIMUM RISK on the Danish side of this blog. Go here.

New Eureka trailer:

 

 Hong Kong trailer:

 

Fan made music video for Anita Mui's song from the soundtrack:

Rick Sullivan's GORE GAZETTE #104 (full issue)

Someone seriously NICE saw my request for (free) copies of Rick Sullivan's legendary newsletter/zine, Gore Gazette, and they sent me a hi-res scan of No. 104. THANKS MATE!!! 

Feel free to copy all ten pages. It's somewhat unfortunate that I can't upload it here as a collected PDF, but seeing as I don't wish to upload elsewhere this is as good as it gets. Do I even have any readers out there any longer anyway? 

 

Need GORE GAZETTE!!!

Scan borrowed from eBay auction

What's an appropriate date to seek help for getting more horror zines?

Well, today of course. Duh! (uh, I see the blog date doesn't say October 31'st but November 1'st. But needless to say this was posted during the night of Halloween)

For years I've been trying to find more issues of Rick Sullivan's fanzine/newsletter from the 80s, GORE GAZETTE.

I can't ask Sullivan as he passed away years ago (RIP).

There are ten issues uploaded to Archive, but that's about it! I'm a fanzine junkie and I need another fix! In the words of a forgotten band from my childhood: Gimme, gimme, gimme!!!

I'm looking for PDF scans (or other digital format), not the actual original printed zine.

Obviously I'd love to hear from someone who has a full run, but ANY copies will do (that aren't on Archive, i.e. #1, 9, 47, 48, 49, 53, 70, 76, 81, 89).

PS: Yes, I am aware of J4HI ("Just for the hell of it" - bootleg seller). That guy obviously owns the full collection, and he has posted a ton of quotes from the zine on his website, but I reckon he's NOT interested in sharing full PDF copies (at least not with me - he never replied to my email).

PS.PS: I am also aware that there are a couple of issues on eBay. I can't afford 30 dollars for a 4 page newsletter (before 20 dollars in pp to Euroland as well).

H-e-l-p ! ! !

John Waters' Tour of his Baltimore Apartment - 1986

Here's yet another cool John Waters video from the old days! John showing us around in his flat in 1986. From an old and clearly worn video tape (but that's alright). Also check the previous videos of his that I've posted (click one of the tags down below). 

Exciting news! Collector's Collective zine No. 2 is at your local news agent now!

Collector's Collective #2 has been released. Alright, maybe you won't find it at your local news agent, but at least you can get it from the editor! Hans Minkers is in Holland. The zine is in English. 100 % about collecting video tapes. Only 50 copies printed!

#1 is still available (I was interviewed for issue 1). I haven't got my copy of #2 yet but it's probably being hassled by customs in Hamburg as we speak. Order from Hans via his WOOF! magazine (his other zine) page here.

Info about issue #1 on my Danish part of this blog.

Pix from Hans Minker's facebook post

Carlos Giménez' awesome graphic novel BARRIO finally to be published - in Danish

Finally! Finally!! Finally!!!

I've been hoping for a complete release of Carlos Giménez' comic book (graphic novel if you will) Barrio (aka "Vores kvarter") for years and years.

Barrio is Carlos Giménez' own story about growing up in Francisco Franco's Spain in the 40s and 50s. This is a comic book but trust me, it isn't "the funnies".

The problem is that the original version is in Spanish and there's no complete English, German or Danish/Scandinavian edition. I think there's a French translated edition but, alas, I don't read French either.

The original edition contains four books. We got one of them in Danish in the 80s and since then; nothing. Now ZOOM publishing (Denmark) is putting out a complete edition in two days. It's simply wonderful, fantastic, wunderbar!!! (and of course I have to decide whether I'll get it now and eat pasta for two weeks or wait till October!).

Hopefully enough people are gonna get this so we can get complete editions of Giménez' Paracuellos ("Børnehjemme") and Los profesionales ("De professionelle") as well. Neither of those are published in complete, translated form either.

They Won't Stay Dead - fanzine

I just discovered an old 80s horror flick zine called They Won't Stay Dead on ZineWiki. It says the publisher, Brian Johnson, sadly passed away 20 years ago. I did a google search and found two copies for sale online. One from a webshop; they're selling a copy of the print zine. But the other copy is some guy on etsy who's selling a pdf of the zine at £5!!!

Selling second hand copies of an original fanzine, fine. But selling a pdf of your own scan of a zine you didn't even publish!? That's despicable! This should be uploaded to Archive,org for free, not sold at five quid!