The grotesque appeal of carnivals, their inherent and attractive darkness, are long-established motifs of horror. Sideshow acts are full of the lurid and uncanny—humans whose appearances or movements aren’t “normal,” showcased behind heavy curtains or glass as objects of hideous wonder. Few can capture this fascination better than Ray Bradbury, who, along with Tod Browning and Diane Arbus, has solidified these images into our public consciousness. His fiction is shadowy, nebulous and exploitative, like these carnivals, and he evokes their qualities with the highest art.
Many of his plots center around an uncanny or supernatural force wreaking havoc in a mundane environment—an everyman who realizes his skeleton is trying to kill him, the arrival of a strange and deadly circus in Something Wicked This Way Comes, or a fantastic environment that is explored through recognizable, everyday emotions. The Martian Chronicles is otherworldly in setting, but its characters are preoccupied with grief,...
Many of his plots center around an uncanny or supernatural force wreaking havoc in a mundane environment—an everyman who realizes his skeleton is trying to kill him, the arrival of a strange and deadly circus in Something Wicked This Way Comes, or a fantastic environment that is explored through recognizable, everyday emotions. The Martian Chronicles is otherworldly in setting, but its characters are preoccupied with grief,...
- 3/3/2017
- by Ben Larned
- DailyDead
Looking for a good book recommendation? Our writers have a few unsung sci-fi, fantasy and horror gems up their sleeves...
Other people. What’s the point of them? They’re noisy and everywhere.
There is one thing they’re especially good at, however, and that’s recommending new stuff. In the spirit of that, we asked our writers to recommend great books that, for whatever reason, haven’t been surrounded by as much fuss and recognition as they deserve.
Nominations came in for personal favourites in fiction, non-fiction, children’s books and graphic novels, so we’ve divided them up into a series of features, the first of which is below, on great unsung sci-fi, fantasy, horror and thriller adult fiction.
Our hope is that you’ll demonstrate your worth as other people by carrying on the recommendations in the comments section below. Thanks in advance.
The Ladies Of Grace...
Other people. What’s the point of them? They’re noisy and everywhere.
There is one thing they’re especially good at, however, and that’s recommending new stuff. In the spirit of that, we asked our writers to recommend great books that, for whatever reason, haven’t been surrounded by as much fuss and recognition as they deserve.
Nominations came in for personal favourites in fiction, non-fiction, children’s books and graphic novels, so we’ve divided them up into a series of features, the first of which is below, on great unsung sci-fi, fantasy, horror and thriller adult fiction.
Our hope is that you’ll demonstrate your worth as other people by carrying on the recommendations in the comments section below. Thanks in advance.
The Ladies Of Grace...
- 7/2/2015
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
Cult movie classic ‘Pretty Poison’ filmmaker Noel Black dead at 77 (photo: Tuesday Weld and Anthony Perkins in ‘Pretty Poison’) Noel Black, best remembered for the 1968 cult movie classic Pretty Poison, died of pneumonia at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital on July 5, 2014. Black (born on June 30, 1937, in Chicago) was 77. Prior to Pretty Poison, Noel Black earned praise for the 18-minute short film Skaterdater (1965), the tale of a boy skateboarder who falls for a girl bike rider. Shot on the beaches of Los Angeles County, the dialogue-less Skaterdater went on to win the Palme d’Or for Best Short Film and tied with Orson Welles’ Falstaff - Chimes at Midnight for the Technical Grand Prize at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival. Besides, Skaterdater received an Academy Award nomination in the Best Short Subject, Live Action category. (The Oscar winner that year was Claude Berri’s Le Poulet.) ‘Pretty Poison’: Fun and games and...
- 8/10/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
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