Barking At The Vacuum Cleaner - Mini-Review Of Xerox Ferox: The Wild World Of The Horror Film Fanzine And A Lord Of Tears (2012) Update

The cover of Xerox Ferox by John Szpunar

       My advanced age notwithstanding, I somehow managed to miss out on the glory days of the horror film fanzine.  Before the internet, horror and exploitation fans discussed their more esoteric viewing choices via a slew of these do-it-yourself publications that examined the marginalized movies most mainstream press chose to ignore.  It was a grassroots movement uniting fans worldwide in celebrating movies that made their homes primarily in the drive-ins and grindhouses.

     Author John Szpunar has assembled what must currently be the most definitive examination of the fanzine phenomena available with his new(ish) 800 page release Xerox Ferox: The Wild World Of The Horror Film Fanzine published by Headpress.  Szpunar interviewed over forty of the individuals responsible for many of the most well-known and revered of the horror film fanzines - familiar names like Chas. Balun, Bob Martin, Tim Lucas, Bill Landis, Michael Gingold, and Tim Ferrante.  The author acknowledges in the book's introduction only two glaring omissions that he was unable to interview: Psychotronic's Michael Weldon and the Gore Gazette's Rick Sullivan.  Maybe we'll see a Xerox Ferox Volume 2?

Nightmare USA by Stephen Thrower

     Fret not, though.  Even taking those two omissions into account one still finds more than enough fascinating information about this largely unexamined and yet historically significant era to keep busy for a long, long while.  I generally don't enjoy books comprised primarily of interviews, but Szpunar clearly knows his topic well.  He asks all the right questions of his subjects, and Xerox Ferox successfully weaves all of these interviews into a compelling history of a pivotal era in horror journalism.  Not since Stephen Thrower's Nightmare USA: The Untold Story Of The Exploitation Independents have I felt as though I've learned as much about a topic about which I was previously ignorant.  If I have one minor quibble, it's only that I wish the images of the fanzines sprinkled throughout were all clearly legible.  I suppose that just gives me an incentive to track down some fanzine compendiums, huh?

     I believe that the horror blogging community in particular will find Szpunar's Xerox Ferox to be especially interesting.  Horror blogging is an obvious outgrowth of these fanzines, and the personal accounts of what these trailblazers endured to get their commentary out into the world before the advent of easy internet distribution is inspiring.  John Szpunar's Xerox Ferox: The Wild World Of The Horror Film Fanzine earns my highest recommendation.

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     The Dog Farm first brought director Lawrie Brewster's then forthcoming feature film Lord Of Tears to your attention way back in February of last year.  Since then, Lord Of Tears has seen release (you can order the Collector's Edition DVD or Blu-Ray here), and it continues to rack up some impressive accolades from all over the world.  It won both the Best Female Lead Award and the coveted Audience Award at the 2013 Bram Stoker International Film Festival, and it's earning a wealth of enthusiastic reviews from horror journalists all over the web.

The Collector's Edition disc release of Lord Of Tears available now at www.hexmedia.tv with Limited Edition Serial Numbers and loads of great extras!  Each package is signed by director Lawrie Brewster and writer Sarah Daly!

     Now director Brewster tells me Lord Of Tears has been named an official selection of the prestigious Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival in April!  Congratulations to Mr. Brewster and everyone else who worked so hard to make Lord Of Tears an unqualified success!

     Check out the new Lord Of Tears trailer, an interview with Lawrie Brewster discussing what's next for Hex Media, and a creepy video of the movie's Owlman terrorizing video chatters on Chat Roulette!

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