THE SOUND OF HORROR: PROPHECY

This review originally appeared in The Phantom of the Movies’ VideoScope magazine. 

PROPHECY Music composed and conducted by Leonard Rosenman. 20 tracks, 42 mins. Film Score Monthly Vol. 13 No. 1. $19.95

The ‘70s was a very productive decade for Leonard Rosenman (1924-2008). The composer tackled over three dozen motion picture and television scoring assignments whilst bagging two Oscars for music adaptation. In the midst of his ambitious output were three unreleased horror film scores that have since become a wish list trinity of sorts: Race With The Devil (1975), The Car (1977) and Prophecy (1979). Film Score Monthly’s momentous CD presentation of John Frankenheimer’s critically jeered Prophecy shortens that list. Scripter David Seltzer’s uneven mixture of eco-transgressions and Mother Nature’s payback mechanism via Tom Burman’s mutant super beast was splendidly rewarded with Rosenman’s unique symphonic handling. It’s an all-you-eat buffet of his trademark musical signatures nestled within a barrage of wicked and unrestrained compositions. Track 1 immediately lets loose with The Search Party, a 1-min. 32-sec. beating that features dueling brass above a floor of punching percussion, all lashing away as nocturnal would-be rescuers and their hounds track an unseen menace. Quickly following are two cues, Flight to Maine and Road Block, where the composer provides relief with majestically soothing and sweeping treatments that falsely anchor the vast forest environment as a pristine and secure setting. The respite will be short-lived because all that ensues presents a hair-raising pallet on which he’ll wreak musical havoc. For the spine-cracking monster cues he’s aided by Craig Huxley’s once popular blaster beam electronic instrument (a device heard in such films as Star Trek: The Motion Picture). It furnishes an unnerving guttural gnashing whenever the creature appears. Judiciously laced throughout are instantly recognizable structures such as Rosenman’s well-known use of tone pyramids, calling brass and woodwinds and thumping percussion. FSM accessed first-generation 1-in. 8-track masters (combining two and three cues where appropriate) that result in an exhilarating listening event. Of particular note is that Prophecy’s score was previously available as a poor-sounding CD-R bootleg. While identical in musical content it also retained an inconsequential non-Rosenman source cue that even hardcore collectors can do without. The meticulous text for the 16-pg. full color booklet is supplied by Scott Bettencourt and Alexander Kaplan. It details the making of the film as well as a track by track guide. Prophecy … one down, two to go.

MONSTERS CARRYING GIRLS NO. 2

CARRY ON, MONSTERS
By Doug Brown

Being a one-time English major, I enjoyed John’s foray into the linguistic realm with his discussion of tropes, trends, clichés, and icons.  But I freely admit I am more interested in the trollops and trolls than the tropes in his recent “Monsters Carrying Girls” column.  Immediately upon seeing the photo of Tor Johnson and his fainted companion, my mind flashed on an old FAMOUS MONSTERS feature, “Carry On, Monsters.”  The article appeared in FM 33 and John’s post inspired me to re-read the story for the first time in decades.

FAMOUS MONSTERS 33 is an issue I have long considered among the best ever produced by the FJA/Warren Team.  The fantastic Hunchback cover by Ron Cobb and the accompanying filmbook inside are great examples of FM in its prime.  However, reading “Carry On, Monsters” after so many years is a somewhat unsettling experience.

In direct contrast to the Hunchback article in the same issue, “Carry On” is pure hokum.  It is five pages of non-stop jokes and puns that only Forry could write.  From the opening line, “To be scary, you gotta carry!” to the closing line “…we’re carried away by the subject,” there is barely a serious sentence to be found.  As kids reading this piece in 1965, my friends and I laughed and groaned at Ackerman’s humor.  Today I mostly groan. 

Eye owe you—signed, Cyclops!

Dread Skeleton: we dood it!

Bat, The Magic Vampire!

Colossus of New York suffering from Broxitis!

The whole thing is a cornucopia of corn!

The photos, of course, help rescue this feature from consignment to the dustbin. Great shots from FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN, EL CASTILLO DE LOS MONSTRUOS, and CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON are included.  Notice the wrinkles in the knees of the Stone Man costume from CURSE OF THE FACELESS MAN.  The picture of Kharis the Mummy is a classic.

Some of the photos definitely underscore the trope’s sexual tension, the underlying question of “what will happen next?”  Check out Konga’s paw placement.  His leering eyes look out at the viewer as if to say, “I’m getting to second base, baby!”  And the young blonde object of his desire looks none too pleased at the prospect! Most of the women seem to swoon and faint as they are carried off, but sometimes they try to protest.  Elaine Enwright seems to be telling the Faceless Man, “Not tonight, I have a headache.”  Not that he is listening, since his ears are encrusted with stone and ash.  Thematically (or trope-wise), FACELESS MAN follows THE MUMMY in that the monster is searching for the reincarnation of a lost love.  Finding her, the monster can carry her off to the sea, the museum, or some other locale to reunite with her soul and/or her body.  What will happen next, indeed!

Curiously, the essay ends with the note, “To be continued,” but I can find no evidence that “Carry on, Monsters, Part 2” was ever published.  Forry clearly enjoyed the trope, as shown by the later “Girls and Ghouls Gallery.”

“Carry on, Monsters” epitomized the jokes and puns that were Forrest Ackerman’s trademark.  While my initial reaction in reading it again was to cringe a bit, I warmed up to its silliness after a time.  And I guess that is why I love FM 33:  it reflects the full spectrum of Forry, from his most thoughtful and informative to his funniest and silliest.  And that just may be the magic combination as to why FM and FJA live on today.

Monsters and girls make live worth living.  Carry on, monsters!

SCREEM NO. 20/21

'Tis been a while since we last heard from my pal and fellow Monster Kid, Doug. He is a distinguished Monsterologist as well, although he probably disagrees with me on that. Truth is, Doug has had his bloody finger on the pulse of the monster scene for quite a while, albeit in the background, Erik-style, if you know what I mean. You may recall me mentioning that Doug was a monster magazine-makin' kid along with me way back when. His mag was called HALL OF FLAME, hence the title of his (hopefully) ongoing column named in his honor. Let's hear a scream and welcome back Doug to MONSTER MAGAZINE WORLD!

Until a couple of months ago, I had never read an issue of SCREEM, which is my misfortune. But, after reading the two most recent issues, I am hooked on it!

Like an over-eager student frantically waving his arm in the air to persuade the teacher to call on him, the neon Day-Glo cover of SCREEM #20 fairly cries out “buy me, buy me!” What monster kid, aging or otherwise, could resist the amazing painting by Daniel Horne of the Phantom of the Opera assembling the Forgotten Prisoner of Castlemare model? It is an amazing depiction of the Phantom, his face almost 3-D. The spider by his ear and Aurora model boxes in the foreground make an impressive cover. (It has been nominated for a Rondo, by the way.)

Horne’s cover illustrates a two-page interview with Cortlandt Hull, creator of a DVD about the cherished Aurora models. The article certainly whetted this fan’s appetite to buy the video, but I couldn’t help but wish for an accompanying article about the models themselves.

It is hard to believe how long it has been since Logan’s Run burst on the scene. SCREEM 20 celebrates the classic story with interviews with authors George Clayton Johnson and William F. Nolan, and actor Michael York. The two writers were interviewed separately and their views of the original collaboration are a bit different from each other. Johnson’s answers are much more detailed and expansive than Nolan’s . It is interesting to note that the two men had widely varying ideas for the sequel and continuing story line of Logan and Jessica. I was struck by Johnson’s comment on page 19, “[W]e have become roboticized, and we’re treated statistically, we respond like parrots.” A very 1960s view, which may be even truer now than then. I have a quibble about the lay-out of the articles, however. The introductory comments followed the interviews when they should have preceded them. A minor point, to be sure, but I think it would help readers unfamiliar with Logan’s Run to understand the interviews.

Not being from Philadelphia, I had only a vague notion of who Dr. Shock was, but after reading “The Strange Case of Dr. Shock” by John Skerchock, I want to know more! The article could have contained some more detail to flesh it out, and the timeline is a bit hard to follow in spots. The pictures were marvelous, really capturing the essence of TV horror hosts!

Mary Woronov is a wonderful actress and Greg Goodsell’s “Quite Contrary…” does an excellent job of revealing the woman behind Miss Togar and Mary Bland. It’s a “must read” item if you are an Andy Warhol fan.

Another great Daniel Horne cover kicks off SCREEM 21. Norman Bates as Norman Rockwell is absolutely inspired! The companion article, Greg Goodsell’s “The Psycho Legacy,” is an excellent piece about a new documentary concerning the Norman Bates films. I admit that I have avoided the sequels, thinking that they could not possibly add to the original story, but after reading Goodsell’s article, I will seek them out.

Arguably the most important event in fantasy filmdom over the past few years was the discovery of missing footage from Metropolis. SCREEM 21 presents a different viewpoint of the restoration of the movie classic through the eyes of composer Gabriel Thibaudeau. The story contains great information, which appealed to me, even though I am not a musician.

For us red-blooded males, monster movies are not complete without pretty women for the monsters to menace. I always had a few copies of Playboy mixed in the boxes with FAMOUS MONSTERS when I was growing up—I am sure many of you did, too. “Playboy Playmates in Horror Films” by Joe Wawrzyniak was written just for us! This issue’s installment lists playmates from the 50’s and 60’s who went from centerfold to celluloid. Joe lists their Playboy appearance, horror film credits, DVDs, and current whereabouts. Dolly Read, Susan Denberg, and Claudia Jennings are three of the ladies listed this month. I am looking forward to the 70’s and 80’s installment next issue!

Speaking of beautiful women, Ingrid Pitt graces the pages of this magazine in the form of an article “The Queen of Horror” by Robert Michael “Bobb” Cotter. It is a two page “appetizer” about the late actress, with Cotter’s book of the same name being the main course.

The extensive DVD reviews in SCREEM are outstanding. I was amazed at the depth of knowledge regarding the film industry demonstrated by the reviewers (six different people, I think). In particular, Shane Dallmann’s review of Thriller: The Complete Series was great. He highlights best and overlooked episodes of the classic show, and gives some interesting background material. Overall, the breadth of DVDs reviewed is remarkable. No film is too obscure, gross, or wild to be discussed in these pages!

I imagine that most of you reading MONSTER MAGAZINE WORLD will already be intimately familiar with SCREEM. But if you haven’t read it yet, I recommend it highly. Just because we are a bit late to the party doesn’t mean we can’t join in the fun!

FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND NO. 251

You may remember me mentioning on several recent occasions my friend Doug. He and I have been buds for -- eegads! -- forty-five years! It was Doug, who, more than any of my other pals from the vintage monsterkid years, shared my monster mania as intensly as I did. It was with Doug that our first homemade monster magazines saw the light of day, and it was again with him (and because of him) that we got the opportunity to visit the world famous Ackermansion in Horrorwood, Karloffornia. So, it was a no-brainer to ask him what he thought of the newest version of FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND, and after a minute or two of conversation, I thought, why not write your own official review of it and I'll post it on the MONSTER MAGAZINE WORLD BlogSpot? As a result, what you'll read next is Doug's take on FM #251. You will get my version (in what may turn out to be a counterpoint) in a few days. So, here you go -- the very first MONSTER MAGAZINE WORLD guest post!

Greek philosopher Heraclitus famously taught that a man cannot cross the same river twice. That thought ran through my mind as I thumbed through the pages of FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND #251. Could the latest incarnation of the world’s favorite monster magazine capture the spirit of the original? The magazine certainly LOOKED like FM: a nice Corben rendition of Nosferatu gazing out from the cover, beneath the familiar “Famous Monsters” logo. And while the picture of Forrest J. Ackerman inside the front cover looked more like "Old Forry" than the Forry of old, his farewell comment was vintage FJA. But, as the waters of Heraclitus’s river changed after a traveler passed, the FAMOUS MONSTERS of today is not the FM of yesteryear. But that is not necessarily a bad thing.

 Just paging through FM 251, the reader might think they were looking at any other of the modern horror magazines. The color photos, advertisements throughout the mag, and the dearth of puns alert one quickly to the fact that this is, indeed, a brand new FM. Without exception, each article is well-written, well-illustrated, and interesting. The target audience is clearly older and more sophisticated than that of forty years ago, which is a plus. David Alex Nahmod’s article on Karl Freund was excellent. One might be tempted to call it the feature most in keeping with the spirit of the original FM, but that would be due to the beautiful black-and-white photos from some of the greatest “imagi-movies” of all time—including FJA’s beloved METROPOLIS. But all the articles hearken to FM’s original purpose: expose fans to great examples of the horror genre in all areas of Filmland. Television, movies (old and new), and artwork are all represented here. Television is covered by the TRUE BLOOD articles from Joe Nazzaro and Jeff Mariotte. As a non-HBO customer, my exposure to TRUE BLOOD is limited to hotel stays and DVD rentals, so I benefited from the information in this article. The art realm was wonderfully represented by the interview with William Stout, one of great fantasy artists of our time. The interview with Ray Bradbury was excellent, also. The original FM was renowned for its behind the scenes revelations on make-up and special effects. The tradition continues in the new magazine with “To Create A Predator” by Jenna Busch.

The Ackerman tribute section was outstanding. I believe FJA would be gratified at the mix of professionals and fans whose memorials were included in these pages. Given the amount of material about him published since Mr. Ackerman’s death, I was pleasantly surprised at how fresh and informative the memorial entries were. I had hoped the new FM would pay its respects to Forry in a good way, and it did.

I would be remiss if I did not mention my greatest concern about the Kim/Heisler FAMOUS MONSTERS: the price. While monsterkids (of all ages) in the 21st century have grown accustomed to laying down nearly $10 for their monster mag of choice, will they support one at the $13 level? The title “Famous Monsters” has a certain cache with readers over forty, but I think younger fans may stick with the better established magazines available cheaper (albeit only slightly) at more newsstands and bookstores. Hopefully, I am wrong, as I want to see all the monster/horror/science fiction magazines survive and thrive!

It cannot be easy to take over the editorship of a periodical institution like FAMOUS MONSTERS. Old-time readers may complain about favorite features which have been dropped or changes in familiar writing style. New readers may not identify with the “old” look. All new editors want to put their own stamp on their magazines, improving what was good, while correcting deficiencies. Difficult waters to navigate, but Philip Kim and Michael Heisler have managed to do it well. The look and feel of the new magazine are very different than the original FM. The editor promised to revive some of the “familiar features” in coming issues. I look forward to this—maybe a few “Lon Chaney Shall Not Die” or “You Axed For It” photos. The “Filmbooks” were cool, too. While I don’t mind the occasional joke or pun, I prefer the more adult approach to the subjects. But I would hope the editor and contributors never lose the sense of wonder and enjoyment which Forrest Ackerman infused into every issue of FM—indeed, every project he ever undertook. That is what really made FAMOUS MONSTERS the icon it is.