Happy Walpurgisnacht — or Vappu or whatever you celebrate on the eve of May Day or Beltane. I am sharing my short film Nephomancy as it has been through the festival circuit and now will join the other hauntings that eminate from Hookland, its inspiration. Witches see portents in all things — the world is…
Category: film
Review: Leonora in the Morning Light
It will probably remove any sense of objectivity to say that I was one of the Kickstarter supporters, but then whilst objectivity has its uses, reviews are by nature subjective anyway. And anyone who pretends otherwise is a jerk (as the kids say [I’m told] I don’t make the rules!). Objectively I can tell you…
L’Affaire des Poisons (1955)
Content caution for apparently genuine harm of toads, alas. Alas, despite an early appearance by the Tarot deck Marseille there is no more sign of them, but there is pin-sticking magic and black masses, oh yeah. This seems surprisingly dark for the time and in such a lush production. Well, partly: costumes and sets for…
No Other Choice/The Ax
Today is the day my late friend Adrean Darce Brent chose as her birthday; she told me once that the process took long enough that she had more than one day that could be considered so, but having to choose she went with that date. She died before her last birthday which I didn’t find…
Dundee When It Grizzles
Okay, poor (very poor) joke title — and it’s Grissel Jaffray anyway! Although thanks to the comments on this new video, I found out about Jim Reid’s song ‘Grizzeled Jaffray’ about Dundee’s last witch. So I’m told; I’m trying to get a copy of it now so I can hear for myself. [Edit to add:…
Medievalism in Excalibur
Guess what? It’s time to replace that worn old copy of your favourite Arthurian film! ARROW VIDEO is just about to release a brand new deluxe edition of EXCALIBUR! Always good news to hear that a film you love is getting the royal treatment, but I’m particularly chuffed because I have an essay in the…
Matinee: Quiet Please, Murder (1942)
Among the more obscure of films noir: George Sanders (although too little of him), Gail Patrick as the femme fatale she’s always meant to be, and Richard Denning with some well floppy hair. A winner because it’s set in the stolen/forged book racket and mostly in a library. Some library! Not only does it have…
Matinee: A Damsel in Distress
Sometimes you need to cheer yourself up with a little hoofin’ and laughing and ingenue romance. As I did the other day thanks to iPlayer. A Damsel in Distress was just what the day needed: Fred Astaire, George and Gracie in London where a most youthful Joan Fontaine has fallen for an American and of…
David Lynch in AMP
Matt Marble put out a call for contributions to a special issue of the AMP journal on the sounds of David Lynch, so I wrote a score. It’s included in this special release chock full of information and tributes. If you don’t know about the American Museum of Paramusicology, you probably should so check it…
Calcanthum (2019)
As I work furiously away behind the scenes on both my forthcoming online course HOW TO KEEP WRITING WITH A FULL TIME JOB (ironically, finally have time to put it together because I do not) and on ARCANE ALCHEMY the forthcoming exhibit with the Queen of Everything AKA Stephanie Johnson, I have been assembling my…