SHOP povodom svetskog dana horor knjiga

 

Narode, 23. april je svetski dan knjiga. Treba li bolji povod za novo izdanje GHOUL SHOPA? Evo, nudim vam neke nove i neke stare knjige.

Za sve što vas zanima, pišite na moj mejl: dogstar666 at yahoo dot com.

Za početak, najnovije stvari u ponudi. Cene, u dinarima, su na samim slikama:

Samo sticajem okolnosti imam ovu knjigu duplu, inače je se ni u ludilu ne bih lišio! Na Amazonu košta 32$ + jedan bubreg za poštarinu i carinu do Srbije; na Blekvelsu je 44 e (dakle, oko 5.000 din, sa uračunatim ptt-om), a ja vam je nudim za samo 3.300 din. Ko se prvi javi - njegova je!

Niste ubeđeni? Evo kako izgleda unutra, a evo ispod i mog prikaza ove knjige za RUE MORGUE magazin: 

Videotapes From Hell - Stephen Jones, ed.

Applause 

This huge box of lurid eye candy is the fourth art book compiled and edited by Stephen Jones, after The Art of Horror (RM#162), The Art of Horror Movies (RM#180), and The Art of Pulp Horror (RM#198). The original title may have been The Art of VHS Horror, but under any name its aim is clearly announced in the author’s Introduction: to celebrate the art and design of “those colourful cardboard slipcases and plastic clamshell boxes that once housed a spool of electronic tape containing a full-length feature film that could be played and replayed over and over again in your own home.”

With a foreword by Joe Dante and one-page essays contributed by Stephen R. Bissette, Ramsey Campbell, Sir Christopher Frayling, Mick Garris, Stephen King, Kim Newman, David J. Schow, Peter Atkins and many more, it is educational and enlightening for the newer generations who never had to deal with this obsolete technology, but will also make the older readers wax nostalgic about a bygone era dearly remembered.

The book is divided into ten chapters, devoted to vintage classics, cheapo chillers, drive-in delirium, Hammer horrors, Sci-Fi shockers, Charles Band’s Empire, Euro exploitation, foreign frights, independent video labels and video nasties: “The Tapes They Tried to Ban in Britain” – their explicit packaging may suggest the reasons why!

More than 500 images on 224 full-colour pages include vintage video box covers and sleeves, original artwork and posters, many of them rare, foreign (say, Japanese and Brazilian video sleeves) and some downright insane, like the crazy hand-painted ones from Ghana (West Africa), embellished with gratuitous violence and nudity unlike anything in the actual films.

Expertly selected and annotated imagery will make your eyes bleed and brains burst with the trippy, feverish visions!

ORFELINKE!

Imam i po 1 kom. antologija NEKRONOMIKON (Lavkraft; 2.500 din) i KNJIGA EJBONOVA (Klark Ešton Smit, 2.400 din). Ko voli, nek izvoli!

 

Tu je i jedna POETIKA HORORA Dr Ognjanovića: ako je još nemate, sad može biti vaša, s posvetom autora. Cena: 2.300 din.

Takođe, i ovom prilikom, zajedno sasvim gorepomenutima, možete naručiti i izdanja Ghoul Pressa:

KULT GULA (horor kritike, eseji i liste), 1000 din.

NAŽIVO (roman), 1000 din.

PROKLETIJE (roman), 1000 din.

ZADUŠNICE (moj za sada najnoviji roman), 1000 din.

i DIVLJA KAPELA (zbirka priča), 900 din.

 

Dobio sam i jedan broj primeraka zbirke DECA NOĆI, koju sam ja priredio i napisao joj pogovor.

To je moj izbor najboljih horor priča Roberta E. Hauarda, tatka na Konana. Kliknite na naslov za više detalja o sadržaju i izgledu ove unikatne knjige.

Cena je 1000 din. + ptt.

Slučajno imam extra komad časopisa GRADAC, posvećenog nedavno preminulom FILIPU DAVIDU. Objavljen pre oko pola godine. Cena - prava sitnicu za ovu krupnu knjigu punu uvida u njegovo stvaralaštvo - uključujući moj obiman intervju s njim o hororu...

ZBORNIK DOOMSDAY: PLAČ

Šta ima unutra? Evo:

Prodajem časopis ARKA, br. 1–50

Časopis ARKA pokrenut je u Sarajevu, 1988. godine.

Izlazio je na dve nedelje, i bavio se graničnim područjima nauke, natprirodnim moćima, misterijama sveta od ESP-a, bioenergije i ukletih kuća do Bermudskog trougla, NLO-a, Džeka Trboseka itd.

Uz beogradske TAJNE, ARKA je bila najbolji tadašnji domaći časopis za oblasti paranormalnog. Za njega su pisali ili intervjue davali relevantni poznavaoci i javne ličnosti.

Sada na prodaju nudim prvih 50 brojeva ovog časopisa, u kontinuitetu, 1-50, bez nedostajućih brojeva: tu je svaki bogovetni, od prvog do pedesetog. To su sve moji primerci, kupljeni onih dana, i pažljivo čuvani sve ovo vreme.

Čuvani su u kući, u sobi, a ne u podrumu ili špajzu: to znači da papir nije ni požuteo od sunca ni ustalasan od vlage, i ne bazdi na memlu ili ko zna šta. Svih 50 primeraka izgledaju kao da su pre nedelju dana kupljeni na trafici.

Cena za ovaj unikatni komplet je 6.000 din (+ ptt). To je 120 din po primerku… (Naravno, prodaja je samo u kompletu, ne na zasebne brojeve.)

STRIPOVI

JEFTINIJI NEGO KOD IZDAVAČA!

takođe imam i sledeće polovne (očuvane) knjige:

IZGUBLJENI SVETOVI SRPSKOG FILMA FANTASTIKE – J. Ristić i D. Jovićević

SF, fantastika i horor u srpskoj kinematografiji, s naglaskom na kratkim filmovima. Dvojezično (ima i eng. s druge strane knjige).

500 str

1.200 din

 

MONTAGUE RHODES JAMES – R. W. Pfaff

Detaljna biografija klasičnog majstora horora, čije smo zbirke izdali u Orfelinu (ZAZVIŽDI I JA ĆU TI DOĆI i DUHOVI).

tvrd povez, 460 str, staro izdanje, retko

2.000 din.

 

BLEZ SANDRAR VAM GOVORI

400

MISTERIJ LETEĆIH TANJURA, A. Bele

800

Na hrvatskom: veći format, kolor fotografije

RANXEROX 3: AMEN!

Strip, veliki format, kolor,

NA FRANCUSKOM

800

NI SNOVI NI JAVA, Aleksander Blok

(književni eseji)

300

NEŽIVOTI I ISKLJUČENJA – Milan Kovačević

400

Duhoviti antiroman

MOJA BORBA - Karl Uve Knausgor

700

Roman.

 

DALEKO JE HADERSFILD: zapisi jednog ljubitelja filma – Dejan Petrović

500

Filmski prikazi i izveštaji sa festivala.

TEŠKA SLIKA: MEGALOPOLIS AMERIČKOG I SRPSKOG ROMANA – Maja Cvijetić

400

Teorija. Širi izbor za nagradu Nikola Milošević za 2016. Urbana proza, grad i tekst.

NOVELE I PRIPOVETKE, Aleksej Tolstoj

500

Izdanje iz 1945, ali odlično očuvano

COLLECTED WORKS OF F. SCOTT FITZGERALD

1.100

Romani i priče. Knjiga na engleskom, veliki format, 1.450 strana

ENGLISH-SERBIAN STUDENT’S DICTIONARY (Oxford)

600

na engleskom

O PESNIČKOJ UMETNOSTI, Aristotel

400

PRAGMATIZAM, Džon Stjuart Mil

400

Filozofija.

O NEMAČKIM MITOVIMA, Grof Kristijan fon Kroko

400

Teorija.

LOW LIFE, Dejan Stojiljković

400 Priče.

ILSKA VENERA, Prosper Merime

400

Priče.

OSTRVO KSIFOS- SNOVI – Pol Valeri

400

Poetska proza. Retko (1981 g.)

 

Plus, ostalo je još neprodatih originalnih horor i exploitation/weird DVD-a, pogledajte ovde: 

Originalni DVD na prodaju!

Jedan subjektivan oproštaj od Filipa Davida

 

Veoma me je ožalostila vest da je preminuo Filip David. Ožalostila, ali ne i iznenadila. Znao sam da boluje od teške bolesti i zapravo, noć uoči te loše vesti baš sam snažno pomislio na njega i zapitao se kako li je. Pomislio sam da mu pošaljem mejl, a onda, u bojazni da je možda veoma loše, počeo da razmišljam kome bih, njemu bliskom, mogao da pišem i raspitam se. A onda, kad sam ustao s namerom da sročim mejl Kukiću – dobio sam s druge strane poruku s tom vešću, a nešto kasnije video to i zvanično obznanjeno u vestima…

            Filip David je bio pionir savremenog književnog horora kod nas. Toga sam svestan još od 2006. kada sam pročitao njegovu zbirku Bunar u tamnoj šumi, u okviru priprema za pisanje knjige U brdima horori. Direktan povod bila je njegova priča „Mihael i njegov rođak“ koju je Kadijević adaptirao u filmu Štićenik (1973). Tada sam uvideo da čitava zbirka odiše jednim kafkijanskim, egzistencijalnim mrakom koji se, u pojedinim pričama, prilično jasno otiskuje u vrlo mračnu fantastiku, odnosno horor.

Centralna tema, provučena kroz sve priče ove zbirke, tiče se nesposobnosti transcendiranja ovozemaljskih ograničenja i prodiranja u onostrano, možda najeksplicitnije prisutna u priči "Slepa ptica", o čoveku opsednutom time da postane ptica i odleti iz svog ispraznog života. Istovremeno, ove priče govore i o fascinaciji 'tamnom stranom' i nemogućnosti odupiranja metafizičkom mraku što prosijava sa granica pojmljivog, naročito vidljivo u naslovnoj pripoveci, u kojoj otac ne uspeva da izbavi svog sina od magnetske privlačnosti tmine bunara usred šume koji niko drugi ne vidi. 'Mihael i njegov rođak' takođe spada u ovaj tematski krug, budući da govori o nesposobnosti bežanja od svog fatuma.

           Prošle jeseni, na Sajmu knjiga, kupio sam njegovu tada sveže izašlu testamentarnu zbirku kod Lagune, pod naslovom Priče o stvarnom i nestvarnom, koja je zapravo omnibus, i sadrži sve njegove zbirke u sebi: Bunar u tamnoj šumi (1964), Priče o stvarnom i nestvarnom (1969), Princ vatre (1987) i Nove priče. Kao i obično, iza svega i svakoga ko vredi, knjige ostaju. A ovo izdanje mora imati svako koga zanimaju fantastika i strava, i iznad svega vredna književnost.

            Zašto se nisam ranije upoznao sa ovim čovekom?

            To je doslovno bila moja misao nakon što nije prošlo ni 15-ak minuta da sam bio u njegovom društvu. Tako očigledno dobar, topao, ljubazan i inteligentan čovek, mislio sam tada – zašto mu ranije nekako nisam prišao?

            Odgovor je, prosto nam se putevi nisu direktno ukrstili na nekom događaju, a bilo mi je neprijatno da jednu takvu veličinu spopadam tek tako i namećem mu se, kao neki „fan“, ili šta već. Tražio sam neki konkretan povod za susret. I našao ga.

            Početkom prošle godine mi se već jasno oformila ideja da napišem knjigu DOLAZAK HORORA, o istoriji (recepcije) horora na ovim prostorima, i kad sam koncipirao njen sadržaj, bilo mi je jasno da najzad imam svoj „povod“ – Filipa Davida, kao nezaobilaznog prvenca horora kod nas, moram imati u knjizi. Moram ga ispitati o njegovom odnosu prema hororu…

            Na moj prvi mejl, marta meseca prošle godine, u kojem sam se predstavio ko sam, čime se bavim i zašto mu se obraćam, odgovorio je:

 

Poštovani Dejane,

Naravno, znam ko ste i šta radite. Generacijski se razlikujemo, ali nas povezuje naklonost prema hororu i fantastici.

Nisam u najboljem zdravstvenom stanju i već nekoliko meseci sam prekinuo javne komunikacije, ali svakako želim da vam pomognem u pripremanju vaše knjige.

Najviše bih voleo da se vidimo i uživo porazgovaramo. Nadam se da ću poživeti do aprila i vašeg dolaska u Beograd.

Pozdravlja vas Filip

           

            Navodim ovaj kratki mejl, zato što se u njemu sadrži toliko toga bitnog o tom čoveku, sve se vidi u tih nekoliko redova: načitan, upućen, hororu i fantastici naklonjen, srdačan, direktan, spreman da pomogne (čak i kad njemu samom nije dobro), topao, realističan.  

I u narednim mejlovima je bio isti takav: izvinjavao bi mi se ako, zbog terapija, nije odmah odgovorio; i naglašavao je: „Ako budem u stanju, voleo bih da se vidimo.“

            Da su njegovi mejlovi bili drugačije intonirani, ja bih se povukao, izvinio, i zaključio da je bolje da nadalje ne uznemiravam ozbiljno bolesnog čoveka. Ali on je više puta ponovio da bi, ako je moguće, bilo dobro da uživo popričamo.   

            Za svaki slučaj poslao sam mu mejlom okvirna pitanja o kojima sam hteo da porazgovaramo, i na neka mi je poslao kratke odgovore u pisanoj formi, ali predložio je da bi bolje bilo da se lično vidimo i popričamo, jer mu je teško nadugačko da piše. Rečeno – učinjeno. Prvom narednom prilikom kada sam došao u Beograd, otišao sam, na njegov poziv, u njegov stan u centru Beograda. Bilo je to 16. aprila 2024.

            U tom trenutku, tog popodneva, bio je sam u stanu. Vladala je tišina, nekako svečana, oko čoveka koji se za smrt priprema. Bio je direktan po tom pitanju, nije okolišio. Jedna od prvih stvari koje mi je kazao, čim sam kročio unutra, bilo je tihim glasom, neuzbuđeno, mirno: da ne zna još koliko će potrajati, ali to neće biti dugo. „Ali to sad nije bitno,“ odmahnuo je rukom, „nećemo o tome. Dajte da popričamo o tome što je vama potrebno.“

            Čudan je to bio ugođaj. Pored nas dvojice, sve vreme je u sobi bila prisutna i Treća osoba, ili Senka. On njeno prisustvo nije potencirao, ali nije se ni pretvarao kao da nije tu. A i kako bi, autor Bunar u tamnoj šumi? Ako niste čitali ovu zbirku, toplo je preporučujem – onda će vam biti jasne ove moje, a i njegove reči. Još pre šezdesetak godina on je napisao tu priču o čoveku koji pokušava da umakne Smrti, i shvata, naravno, da je to nemoguće.

            Nije mi bilo teško da se toj atmosferi prilagodim – a i kako bi, kao da nisam desetine i desetine sati proveo s Kadijevićem, razglabajući o Smrti, što direktno, što indirektno, iz svih uglova, od najličnijih do najopštijih? Ali moram da naglasim – atmosfera tog stana, i tog razgovora, nije bila sumorna, čemerna, opresivna. Nije bila neprijatna.  

Moju početnu nelagodnost, ili zametak nje, g. David je sam raspršio, delom svojim respektabilno stoičkim prihvatanjem neumitnog, delom svojom srdačnošću i ljudskošću. Bio je itekako živ, prisutan, svestan, aktivan i agilan, čak je na pomen neke knjige u jednom trenu poskočio, hteo da je traži po svojim policama kako bi mi nešto pokazao, ali sam ga zamolio da se ne opterećuje, da nije neophodno…  

            Razgovor je potrajao nešto više od sata, možda i sat i po. On je sve vreme bio jednako lucidan, posvećen tome da mi da najbolji mogući odgovor, voljan da priča; da je bio iznemogao, umoran, ili da je bilo čime davao nagoveštaj da teško govori, da ga zamaram, svakako bih to ubrzao. Ali on nije, pa nisam.

Svašta sam novo u tom razgovoru saznao. Jedno od brojnih otkrića: on je znao za Lavkrafta, čitao ga je i voleo, u vreme kad niko od njegovih vršnjaka, pa i mnogo mlađih, nije imao pojma ko je to. Mnogo pre nego što je preveden na srpski.

            Taj naš razgovor sam snimio, transkribovao, i poslao mu ga kasnije mejlom. On ga je zatim blago redigovao, osećajući potrebu da neke svoje misli još malo razvije, ili pojasni. I taj detalj pokazuje njegovu veličinu, neumanjenu do samog kraja.

            Napustio sam taj stan sa pomešanim osećanjima: pre svega sa tugom – jer bilo je prilično verovatno da se više nećemo sresti, da je to „doviđenja“ na vratima zapravo „zbogom“. Izašao sam i sa drugom vrstom tuge i žalosti – što ga nisam ranije upoznao. Činilo mi se da bismo imali o čemu da pričamo. Bilo je tu i osećanje počastvovanosti, kao da sam bio u prisustvu unikatnog, velikog čoveka, kakav se retko sreće – što i jeste bio slučaj. 

I neopisivi ugođaj te dnevne sobe u kojoj smo sedeli, koji me opseda: tog besprekorno čistog, sređenog stana, bez ijedne nasumice odložene stvari – naočara, novina, ispuštene knjige, nehajno odložene čaše ili šolje, gomile računa, hartija, bilo čega – kao da u njemu niko ne živi, kao da je i on sam samo svratio tu načas, na proputovanju, kao da je spreman na daleki put i više se ne bavi ničim svakodnevnim na tom mestu, a ja sam ga zatekao u njegovom slobodnom času, tik pre nego što otputuje. Što i jeste bio slučaj.

  Moj intervju, pod naslovom „Sa Filipom Davidom o hororu i fantastici“, možete čitati u specijalnom broju časopisa GRADAC posvećenom Filipu Davidu, koji je izašao prošle jeseni. To je vanredno vredno izdanje, i nemojte okolišiti da ga što pre nabavite, ako niste onda kada sam vam ga preporučivao, još uoči Sajma, i posle njega.

Ovde ću, kao omaž g. Davidu, okačiti samo njegovih prvih par strana:

 

- Za početak, da li vi uopšte imate nešto protiv odrednice „horor“ u vezi s nekim vašim delima, ili aspektima vaših dela, naročito ranijih?

 

-- Ne.

 

- Da li biste se vi protivili ako bi neko rekao da određene priče u Bunaru u tamnoj šumi mogu da se svrstaju u horor?

 

-- Ne, ne, naprotiv. Ja to primam kao kompliment, jer neke od mojih priča ja sam i pisao sa namerom da to bude horor. Tako da nema razloga da se ja… To je jedan način stvaranja empatije sa čitaocem, ako je priča dobra, jer ja sam uživao u dobrim horor pričama. Moji učitelji u tom prvom periodu su bili Edgar Alan Po, Lavkraft, Embrouz Birs, to je sve čist horor, a kad je horor vrhunski – onda nema bolje literature. Znate, ne znam ko je to rekao od ovih poznatih pisaca naučne fantastike, da u naučnoj fantastici ima…

 

- Da, 90% đubreta. To je Teodor Sterdžen izjavio.

 

- A da je možda 10% dobro. A i to je previše. Ali to se može primeniti na svaku literaturu. Vi kad pogledate ogromne količine onoga što se piše, a šta od toga ostane, i šta utiče na dalji razvoj žanra, i tako dalje, morate se složiti, vrlo je mali broj onih koji imaju uticaj, i koji su vrhunci. A ti vrhunci treba da nam budu inspiracija.

            Kad govorim o svom nekom prvom periodu, mislim da je Žid rekao: „Pisac kad je mlad, treba da ima uzore. Ali mora na vreme njih da se oslobodi.“ I postoje epohe u kojima neki pisci imaju ogroman uticaj, a oni koji slede te pisce malo to smanje. Recimo, Borhes; ja obožavam Borhesa, ali danas čitati Borhesa posle toliko pisaca koji su uzeli tu matricu… Pa i Edgara Alana Poa, i sve to… Vi morate na neki način uzeti ono što je dobro, i nadograditi. Apsolutno.

           Pazite, kad govorimo o hororu, moje prvo veliko otkriće, kad sam bio gimnazijalac… Zapravo, prvo moram jedan kraći uvod da vam dam. U vreme dok sam ja bio gimnazijalac, nije bilo televizije. Da ne govorimo o društvenim mrežama, mobilnim telefonima, kompjuterima… Nije bilo televizije uopšte – mi smo bili oslonjeni na literaturu. Ja sam negde početkom šezdesetih godina otkrio Franca Kafku. Proces. Pojavio se u nekom izdanju. Tad se ovde nije znalo ko je Kafka. Do pedesetih, šezdesetih godina veliki je uticaj bio ruske literature. Tek negde od šezdesetih godina prodire ta vrsta literature koja je bila potpuno neobjašnjiva; ljudi su bili zbunjeni. Čitali su Kafku i pitali se: „Šta je to?“ Meni se to dopalo, video sam da je to nešto drugačije. I da ima nekog horora u svemu tome. „Preobražaj“, Proces, Zamak, i tako dalje…    

To je bio veliki preokret u mom shvatanju literature, i ja sam se onda okrenuo toj vrsti. I moja prva zbirka koju sam objavio, baš Bunar u tamnoj šumi, za nju je hrvatski književni kritičar Branimir Donat napisao, pošto je prvo pohvalio, „ali očito je da je mladi pisac pod velikim uticajem oniričke literature i Kabale.“ Ja nisam imao pojma šta je to Kabala a šta je onirička literatura. Vidite, nekad kritičari mogu da imaju veliki i koristan uticaj na pisca. I kada sam ja, kao urednik dramskog programa na Televiziji Beograd otišao u Englesku da biram drame, ja prvo u knjižaru: sve što je Kabala, sve što je onirička literatura. I to je mene usmerilo. To me je usmerilo jer sam to čitao, i onda sam shvatio da je Donat bio u pravu, i da su tu negde moja zanimanja i interesovanja.

            Hoću da kažem da su to faze u razvoju pisca, a ja sam horor oduvek voleo, i nisam pravio veliku razliku u odnosu na fantastiku.

 

- U vreme o kojem vi govorite, pedesetih i šezdesetih, ovde ni sam pojam „horora“ nije postojao…

 

-- Ma, kakvi. I ne samo pojam… A kad se pojavio, tu i tamo poneke kopije, filmske, sećam se The Evil Dead (Zli mrtvaci, 1981), to je bio šok, znate, ljudi su se zastrašili bili. To je delovalo tada. Danas je to praktično postalo komercijala, u velikom delu. Ali horor je nešto što je sastavni deo moje literature, mog života, onoga što sam voleo da čitam, da pratim, i tako dalje.

 

- Kakvo je vaše mišljenje o hororu, u najširem smislu, i o njegovim potencijalima za umetnički izraz, kako u književnosti tako i na filmu? Šta ga čini podobnim za umetnički izraz?

 

-- Dobre horor priče jako deluju na emocije, istražuju i ispituju strahove koji su povezani sa postankom ali i sa krajem ljudske vrste, sa našom ukupnom egzistencijom. Najbolja dela horora, fantastike i naučne fantastike, po mome osećanju i uverenju, zalaze u oblasti metafizike i filozofije, baveći se pitanjima nastanka ljudske vrste, smisla našeg života na planeti i istraživanjima postojanja drugih, paralelnih svetova. Moja naklonost prema njemu se može donekle, ali ne sasvim, objasniti mojom naklonošću i afinitetima prema piscima i knjigama koje sam voleo od rane mladosti, ali i biografijom u najranijem detinjstvu, bežanijama, progonima, usađenim strahom u toku Drugog svetskog rata. Ali očevidno bilo je i nešeg suštastvenijeg.

 

(…)

 

Lepe, jezgrovito tačne, suštinske reči o Davidu napisao je Branko Kukić, OVDE: https://www.nin.rs/kultura/vesti/74313/in-memoriam-filip-david-covek-iz-vatre

 

A od njega se, takođe biranim rečima, oprostio i Kadija, pa i to preporučujem da pogledate ovde: https://nova.rs/kultura/djordje-kadijevic-o-smrti-filipa-davida/

 

Neka Filip David, čovek, počiva u miru.

Filip David, pisac, tek će živeti.

 

DAWN OF THE WOMEN: FEMALE DIRECTORS OF HORROR

 

Dragi moji, dozvolite da vas podsetim: PONOVO sam nominovan za Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award! To je jedna od najprestižnijih nagrada u oblasti horora, a dodeljuju je horor fanovi, glasanjem. I ovog puta nominovan sam u kategoriji NAJBOLJI ČLANAK (BEST ARTICLE).

Ako do sada još niste glasali, ispod možete naći članak za koji sam nominovan. Kad ga pročitate i shvatite da je to nešto vredno Rondo nagrade, sve što treba da uradite jeste da pišete Rondu.

            Izbor svih nominacija nalazi se OVDE, od ponuđenog izaberite šta vam se sviđa, pa to iskopirajte u mejl i pošaljite na adresu taraco@aol.com. Ne morate sve, možete da glasate i samo u 2-3 ili 5-6 kategorije – samo ne propustite BEST ARTICLE! A lepo bi bilo i gde god vidite RUE MORGUE, dajte im glas.

            Glasanje traje do 20. aprila. Ne čekajte zadnji dan! Pišite im sada.

 

Dakle, evo za šta sam ovog puta nominovan.

 

 

DAWN OF THE WOMEN

 

(c) Dejan Ognjanović

 

 

The female half of mankind has been directing horror since the very birth of cinema, but their contributions have never been properly and systematically valued – until now. Heidi Honeycutt’s I Spit on Your Celluloid: The History of Women Directing Horror Movies, coming this August from Headpress, is a pioneering overview of the subject which aims to right the wrongs once and for all.   

 

This huge volume is not merely a history of women directors in horror: it also conveys the changing nature of the genre throughout the 20^th century thanks to the women’s rights and civil rights movements, new distribution technologies, the destruction of the classic studio system, plus the 21^st century’s rise of digital cameras and social media, modern ideas of gender and racial equality, LGBTQ acceptance and so much more. The book’s staggering size, with over 450 illustrated pages in large format, is augmented by the fact that the author conducted hundreds of interviews and watched thousands of films in order to make what cult filmmaker Stephanie Rothman (The Velvet Vampire, 1971) labelled “a book that needed to be written”. And who could argue with Joe Dante? In his words: “At long last, a criminally-neglected aspect of film history is illuminated. Honeycutt knows her stuff, and the wealth of information is fascinating. This is a major work.” 

Heidi Honeycutt is a film festival programmer, film journalist and film historian who specialized in horror movies. She co-founded Etheria Film Festival, the prestigious showcase of new horror, sci-fi, fantasy, action and thriller films directed by women. She has contributed to various genre books and magazines, including Famous Monsters of Filmland, Fangoria, Moviemaker Magazine, Delirium and, yes, Rue Morgue. Her experience with the genre is obviously rich, but a big task like I Spit on Your Celluloid also required stupendous amounts of dedication and perseverance, as she readily confesses for Rue Morgue:   

 

“The biggest challenge in writing a first-of-its-kind book is that there isn’t any one place to do all the research needed. The information was scattered in different places: some of it in books dedicated to horror as a whole, or in a series of interviews with many different directors, or a book dedicated to a single film in entirety; some of the information was only available by speaking to people who studied one specific film or had very specific knowledge of one filmmaker; some information was preserved by archivists of silent era films, or specialists studying one specific country’s history of cinema; some of the information was known only to professors or academics who were currently researching a specific film or filmmaker, or to a family member of the filmmaker.”

 

A few books partially paved her way, like House of Psychotic Women (2014) by Kier-La Janisse, dealing with “female neurosis in horror and exploitation films”, and two recent academic collections: Women Make Horror: Filmmaking, Feminism, Genre (2020), edited by Alison Peirse, and Bloody Women Women Directors of Horror (2022), edited by Victoria McCollum and Aislínn Clarke. However, more helpful, by Honeycutt’s own admission, were obscure sources, like the 2005 documentary Taiwan Black Films: “It focuses on the trend of extremely violent low budget films made in the country between 1979 and 1983, and is one of the only sources of detailed making-of information about director Chia-Yun Yang’s films Lady Avenger (1981) and Exposed to Danger (1982); Lady Avenger was the first woman-directed rape/revenge film.“

 

The author has also contacted people personally and asked for direct interviews. That wasn’t always possible, as some are deceased, or don’t wish to discuss their films. Obviously, it was easier finding out about films from the past few decades, but quite a different matter when it came to rare films and barely known female directors from the silent era and the classical period.  

 

“A great source of information”, says Honeycutt, “are the saved and archived issues of The Moving Picture World, a printed magazine which ran from 1907 to 1927 that detailed film releases in the silent era. It featured reviews of films, interviews, advertisements, and synopses of new releases at the time, many of which are now lost. Without the preserved issues of Moving Picture World, and a few other printed serials of the time, like Motion Picture Herald, most of the information they contain would be irretrievably lost.”  

 

What distinguishes I Spit on Your Celluloid is that it provides a detailed, chronological overview of all the horror films made by women, from Alice Guy-Blaché, the first woman to direct a film, all the way to yesterday’s rising stars. Its scope encompasses short films, anthologies, documentaries, animated horror, horror pornography, pink films, and experimental horror: the she-makers of “elevated” and the “exploitation” horror are joined between these covers. The strippers, the sequels, drive-in fodder, art films, feminist manifestos, mindless and mindful slashers, nudie flicks, horror classics, theatrical and mainstream horror together with digital flicks, short and experimental titles from the deepest underground – none escaped Honeycutt’s meticulous research, not even the hardest-to-find female directed horrors from Asia and South America.

 

„I found”, she says, “that there are a lot of people who study the cinema of specific nations and specific time periods in those nations with the same obsessive nature that I exhibit when I research women horror movie directors, and they often unveil information about the women directors that worked in those niche eras. For instance, the blog Pelikula, ATBP is dedicated to cinema from the Philippines and includes rare scans of newspaper articles and advertisements from 1919 through 2019. Another amazing source of information is student film masters and PhD theses about specific filmmakers as well as ongoing research from professors. It would take a lifetime to do a deep dive in-person study of each of these films from scratch and visit the different cinematheques and preservation organizations around the world that house the only copies of their work.“  

 

One question which naturally arises when talking about women directors of horror is whether there is a quality or aspect of style or content which is unique, or at least more common to female directors. Who better to ask than Heidi? “The protagonists of horror movies directed by women”, she answers, “are more likely to be women, than when men make the film. People tell the stories that they know, and inevitably women’s life experiences will be different than men’s, and so the stories they tell may be different. Women may tell stories about women’s loneliness, or motherhood fears, or periods, or sexuality – but men have also told those stories about women in horror movies, so it isn’t only women directors that are sensitive to women’s experiences as potential horror stories. Ginger Snaps, May, Rebecca, Cat People, and Rosemary’s Baby are horror films about women that are directed by men. But Slumber Party Massacre, The Velvet Vampire, Prevenge, The Mafu Cage, The Babadook, Lyle, and Jennifer’s Body, all films about women’s experiences of horror, are all directed by women. I think we can see what we want to see when we look for it. I think yes, women direct horror differently than men. I also think they can direct horror that is indistinguishable from the horror directed by men.”

 

Honeycutt also points out that her painstaking research uncovered female authors and their films which deserve much greater praise and higher position in horror pantheon: “So many silent film directors who are regarded as ‘feminist pioneers’ actually made horror movies and many horror fans don’t know about them or consider them horror! And while Lois Weber and Alice Guy Blaché did direct films about marriage and abortion and women’s poverty and motherhood, they also directed home-invasion slashers (Lois Weber’s Suspense, 1913) and literary horror adaptations (Alice Guy Blaché’s The Pit and the Pendulum, 1913). Other women directors from that era, like Austrian filmmaker Luise Fleck, directed mostly horror, fantasy, and adventure films, and for some reason I never see them mentioned by horror fans anywhere. Fleck was the first woman to direct a feature-length horror film, Trilby (1912), and her 1919 movie Die Ahnfrau is a fun Gothic ghost story about a haunted castle.”

 

But the women directors’ contributions have been evenly spread throughout horror cinema’s history, and certainly much thicker in recent years. Honeycutt contends that we are in a period of “horror renaissance” now, and that the female directors brought a lot to its blood-spattered table: “I do think that right now more women directors than ever before are making horror movies, and many of them are pushing boundaries and exploring old and new themes, and many more are working directly for studios. Many very recent studio remakes, prequels, and premakes were directed by women, including The First Omen (2024), Black Christmas (2019), The Craft: Legacy (2020), The Slumber Party Massacre (2021), and Candyman (2021). That’s new – women usually aren’t hired for a string of big films like that, but I think since 2017 (when the #metoo movement began), studios want to specifically hire women to ensure audiences that women-centric stories are told ‘in a woman-y way’, whatever that means. I don’t think having a woman director on these remakes necessarily improves the quality of the film in the eyes of women audience members, but the studios think it does, so they offer many women directors new opportunities to work in an industry that had previously been more closed to them. I also think there are more women show-runners on big genre TV series now, which seems to increase the likelihood of women being hired in the writing room and as directors.”

 

Still, the area where women directors seem to be bringing their A-game to the horror table is in independent films: “Some of the best horror movies directed by women these days are only in genre film festivals and their popularity spreads by word of fan mouth and between film programmers, eventually ending up on streaming services. Many of the women directors that hardcore horror fans consider ‘famous’ are actually pretty obscure as far as mainstream Hollywood is concerned.”

 

Intriguing and fresh perspective is also brought by queer women. However, dealing with it is not always easy, since, as Honeycutt agrees, whether a woman director is a lesbian or not is not always public knowledge. “Some women directors have openly declared their films to have been influenced by their queer experience, such as Sharon Ferranti’s slasher feature Make a Wish (2002), which is about lesbians on a lesbian camping trip being hunted down by a lesbian slasher. There are several short horror films directed by women that make an analogy between being a trans man or queer woman and transforming into a monster/creature that feels new and uncomfortable or embarrassing. Many horror films, both with lesbian plotlines and directors and without them, are about women’s sexuality, both cis and queer, being akin to being, in particular, a werewolf, such as Jackie Garry’s The Curse (1999), Amy Lynn Best’s Weregrrl (2002), Lola Rocknrolla’s short I Was a Trannie Werewolf (2009), and Sydne Horton’s Meta (2020).”

 

In any case, the greater inclusivity in recent years, especially regarding female directors, doesn’t mean that there is no more room for change. One particular area in this respect which Honeycutt pinpoints is the monopoly on major money and distribution, held by just a few companies, which suppress smaller companies and filmmakers: “When these big entertainment conglomerates lose their near-total stranglehold on the film industry,” she says, “independent filmmaking and mid-level films will boom, because the money to fund films will be more adequately distributed. Being a woman director isn’t its own separate category of personhood beholden to different rules than everyone else in the film industry. Rising tides float all boats, and I think ultimately that someone’s gender shouldn’t even come into discussion when studios decide to hire a director. I’m not saying that sexism doesn’t exist or that women have equal chances of being hired for all jobs they compete with men for, but what I am saying is that when people in the film industry are treated better, offered new opportunities, and are allowed to make more daring and innovative choices, inevitably the discrimination that women face as directors will also be eroded.”

 

Mary Lambert talks:

 

Dejan Ognjanović

 

 

Mary Lambert’s immensely popular Stephen King adaptation Pet Sematary (1989) was the first large studio-produced horror film directed by a woman. As Heidi Honeycutt claims in I Spit on Your Celluloid: The History of Women Directing Horror Movies, “Hollywood ’broke the mold’ when they hired Lambert, because women were not usually offered studio directing jobs, period.“ This great commercial hit and fan favourite was followed by many other genre offerings, like Pet Sematary II (1992), The In Crowd (2000), Urban Legends: Bloody Mary (2005), Mega Python vs. Gatoroid (2011) and others. Since Mary Lambert also wrote the Foreword to Heidi Honeycutt’s book, it was as good an alibi as any for Rue Morgue to have a talk with her.

 

Rue Morgue: Did you pick horror or did horror pick you? In other words, did you have any special affinity for horror before the script for Pet Sematary landed in your hands? And also, in general: what is horror genre for you? How does it speak to you, what does it offer to you personally?

 

Mary Lambert: When I was a little girl I was obsessed with Fairy Tales as they were written down from the Middle Ages, when most of them originated. As I’m sure you know, many of them are quite horrific cautionary tales designed to scare children into obeying the rules of society. I have never wavered in my fascination for this type of allegorical fantastical storytelling, especially when it depicts supernatural events. Fantasy (and horror) help me understand and tolerate the boredom and sadness that sometime dominate the reality of existence.

 

RM: You were hand-picked by Stephen King to direct Pet Sematary. Still, how much protection and safety did that actually bring in the context of the fact that you were the first woman director ever to be given a big-budget studio horror film?

 

ML: Stephen was unbelievably supportive of me. He and I had the same goal of protecting the essence of his story from unreasonable meddling from outside sources.

 

RM: How have the times changed in recent years for female directors of horror, especially regarding their likelyhood to get to work in the business? What else needs to be changed in the near future for them? 

 

ML: There are many more female directors now than when I began my career. But there were virtually NO other female directors then, especially in the horror genre. Horror has always been a way for young filmmakers to enter the business of filmmaking with a low budget movie.  Horror is more respectable now and young women see it as a valuable way to express themselves. The truth is that most of the opportunities for women remain low budget projects, while the “big Hollywood” movies go to male directors. The ascendence of cable and limited series on streaming platforms is changing that and and there are a lot of exciting female directors who are focusing on that area for their careers.

 

RM: Do you have any passion project in horror genre that you have written already and would love to work on soon?

 

ML: Yes. I have just finished writing a script loosely based on Oscar Wilde’s “The Canterville Ghost”. It explores the idea that we carry in our DNA the cellular trauma of our ancestors. I am hopeful that I will be able to set this up in the near future.

 

RM: What is the biggest quality and importance of the book I Spit On Your Celluloid?

 

ML: Heidi has always been an incredible supporter of women in horror, respecting their work and elevating it into the mainstream. She continues this work with her insightful book.

 

* * *

Izbor svih nominacija nalazi se OVDE, od ponuđenog izaberite šta vam se sviđa, pa to iskopirajte u mejl i pošaljite na adresu taraco@aol.com.