B-MOVIES, EXPLAINED

The term "B-movie" has come to be known for films low in budget and production quality. But back in the early day of Hollywood it had a more utilitarian use. This clipping from THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (May 18, 2024) explains the evolution of the term. Even the late Roger Corman chimes in.

MONSTERS ARE GOOD FOR YOU

Back in 1958, in the very first issue of FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND appeared an article titled, "Monsters Are Good For You", probably written by Forrest J Ackerman, that claimed the "health benefits" of watching monster movies (see below). Now, over 60 years later, the same is being said, except this time with a more scientific approach.

This article from The Wall Street Journal explains:

The Surprising Benefits of Scaring Yourself Silly

Frightening yourself for fun can help you bond with others, soothe stress and maybe even become more resilient

By Elizabeth Bernstein | Oct. 29, 2022 | wsj.com

Mary Ann Cleary has a repertoire of coping skills to keep her anxiety in check: Meditation. Journaling. Taking walks around her Chicago neighborhood.

And watching slasher flicks.

“Horror gets my mind off whatever I’m worried about,” says the 31-year-old therapist, who regularly curls up on her couch with her two cats after stressful days at work to watch movies such as “Sinister,” “Misery” and “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” 

“If I’m going to be scared, I might as well make it fun.”

Millions of people love to frighten themselves on purpose—with hair-raising entertainment such as scary movies and TV shows, spooky novels or videogames, true crime podcasts and haunted-house attractions.

Now, research on the phenomenon of chasing fear for fun, or “recreational fear,” is showing that it has significant benefits: It can help us bond with others, soothe our stress and anxiety, and maybe even become more resilient.

Fear, or the emotional response to a threat (real or perceived), exists to alert us to danger. When we’re scared, our sympathetic nervous system, which is in charge of our fight or flight response, floods our body with adrenaline and our brain with neurotransmitters such as dopamine and norepinephrine, which can lift our spirits and energy. 

This is why a good fright can boost our mood—as long as we know there’s no actual threat, says Margee Kerr, a sociologist at the University of Pittsburgh and author of “Scream: Chilling Adventures in the Science of Fear.” Dr. Kerr’s research has found that people who visit “extreme” haunted houses (think actors grabbing participants, zapping them with shocks) often feel less stressed and tired, more competent, and that they’re in a better mood afterward. 

And researchers at the Recreational Fear Lab at Aarhus University in Denmark, founded in 2020 to study the positive effects of fear, have shown that horror movie fans exhibited greater psychological resilience during the pandemic than people who never watch scary movies. They believe that doing something scary for fun helps people manage their real-life fears by teaching them how to regulate their reactions. 

“It’s similar to putting a fighter pilot into a simulator,” says Mathias Clasen, director of the lab and an associate professor of literature and media at Aarhus University. “You learn what the emotions feel like and how to control them.”

A scary experience doesn’t have to be violent or gory to produce emotional benefits. Entertainment can be suspenseful, startling or spooky without a drop of blood. A haunted house tour, late-night ghost story or a good mystery can all do the trick.

Who enjoys being scared? There’s no typical fear fan, although they tend to be younger and many report being anxious types, says Coltan Scrivner, a research scientist in the Recreational Fear Lab. Dr. Scrivner believes that anxious people enjoy a manufactured scare because it gives them a feeling of control over a fictional threat. They can manage their fear by closing their eyes or taking a break.

In a study published online in August, Dr. Scrivner and colleagues identified three types of horror fans: Adrenaline junkies get a thrill, and an immediate mood boost, from the intense experience. White knucklers are genuinely afraid: They don’t get a mood boost but say they learn something about themselves and grow as a result of pushing beyond their comfort zone. And dark copers, who use horror to work through their difficult emotions, get a mood boost and say they develop as a person. 

(Dear reader, aren’t we all dark copers these days?)

If you’re up for a good scare, here’s how to boost the benefits of being frightened.

Start slow. 

To reap the benefits of recreational fear, you must enjoy the activity, Dr. Clasen says. If you’re not a seasoned fan, don’t begin with the most extreme entertainment. “Try the milder stuff first—a kids’ horror movie or a neighborhood haunt where you can see the zipper on the monster’s back,” says Dr. Clasen.

A suggestion from Dr. Scrivner: Look for a scary version of something you already enjoy, such as books or podcasts.

Make it a group venture.

Scary pursuits are fun to do with others. And feeling vulnerable together can make us feel more connected. 

Sharing the activity with someone close to us may also amplify the experience. In yet-to-be-published research, Dr. Clasen’s team found that people who went to a haunted house with someone close to them were less inhibited and more likely to copy each other’s emotions, something researchers call emotional contagion. 

Aim for the sweet spot. 

Scarier isn’t always better. Research shows that you want to be frightened enough to be stimulated but not so terrified that you don’t enjoy the experience. 

Some will find the right balance on a midnight cemetery ghost tour. Others while listening to a true crime podcast in broad daylight on their couch.

You can stay in your happy medium by manipulating your fear—ramping it up by anticipating the next scare, or tamping it down by closing your eyes.

Skip it if you’re not comfortable.

It’s OK if you don’t like scary-themed entertainment, says Dr. Kerr. “Recreational fear is all about choice,” she says.

I was nervous to admit to Dr. Clasen that I gave up reading horror novels—the only scary-on-purpose activity I ever enjoyed—after Stephen King’s “Pet Sematary” gave me the worst nightmare of my life, years ago. I felt relieved, and even a little braver, when he replied: “Well, that’s the scariest book of all time!”

Each year, Ms. Cleary, the frightening-film fan, goes to see the latest movie in the “Halloween” franchise with several friends. To amp up the fun, the pals watch trailers and read reviews of the flick beforehand, then discuss how terrified they expect to feel. 

This year, they were thrilled that the film gave them plenty of frights. And Ms. Cleary says the experience made her feel closer to her friends. 

“It’s bonding to feel so vulnerable,” she says. “Often, that’s not something you get to see in other people.”

Now, she’s trying to decide which horror movie she’ll watch next. 

The only one she knows she’ll never enjoy? “Arachnophobia.” 

“I draw the line at spiders,” she says.

R.L. STEIN'S 'SAFE SCARES'

I was well into adulthood when author R.L. Stine launched his remarkable series of horror novels for young adults. Even when I was younger, I always sought out the "real deal" for my spooky books, so it's hard to tell if I would have taken the bait on these. Still, Stine's tales have enthralled generations of young readers looking for what he calls "safe scares", those that offer chills and thrills without overly-terrifying content.

In this interview in a recent issue of The Wall Street Journal, Stein takes a look back at his successful career scaring the pants off kids (and maybe a few adults, too).

Writer R.L. Stine Is a Master of ‘Safe Scares’

For 30 years, his bestselling Goosebumps novels have offered ‘rollercoaster’ thrills for readers under 12

By Emily Bobrow | Oct. 28, 2022 12:27 | wsj.com

Robert Lawrence Stine always knew he was a writer. He was nine years old when he dragged his family’s typewriter into his room, where he spent most afternoons banging away at stories and jokes. “My parents were kind of horrified,” he recalls over video from his home in Manhattan. “My father would say, ‘What’s wrong with you? Go outside and play! Stop typing!’ It was the worst advice I ever got.”

As one of the bestselling children’s authors in the world, Mr. Stine has had the last laugh—or ghoulish cackle. His scary stories for young readers—including the Goosebumps series, which turned 30 this year—have sold nearly 500 million copies in 24 languages and spawned many adaptations for the big and small screen, including a Disney+ Goosebumps series that started filming this month. At 79, he still publishes several books a year: “Stinetinglers,” a collection of spooky short stories, appeared in August, followed by the novel “Slappy, Beware!” in September.

Scaring kids is actually a second act for Mr. Stine, who spent the first two decades of his career writing joke books and a humor magazine.

“I don’t know why I still enjoy it so much,” Mr. Stine says of his indefatigable productivity. “I just came from three days at New York’s Comic Con, and there were all these people coming up to me saying, ‘I wouldn’t be a librarian today or a writer today if it wasn’t for you.’ It’s so touching.”

Scaring kids is actually a second act for Mr. Stine, who spent the first two decades of his career writing joke books and a humor magazine, under the name Jovial Bob Stine. His first young-adult horror novel, “Blind Date,” topped bestseller lists in 1986, and he never looked back. “The success was so exhilarating. I thought, forget the funny stuff, I’m going to be scary now,” he says.

He adds that it is a little easier to write scary because “everyone has a different sense of humor, but we all have the same fears. Kids are all afraid of the dark, afraid of being lost, afraid of being in a new place. Those fears never change.” He speaks from experience: “I was just scared of everything.” Growing up by the railroad tracks on the edge of a fancy suburb of Columbus, Ohio, he always imagined something was lurking in wait in the closet or garage: “It’s not a good way to be a kid, but remembering that feeling sure came in handy later.”

The adults in Mr. Stine’s novels tend to be oblivious or unhelpful. “Either they don’t believe the kids, or they’re not there, which makes it scarier because the kids are on their own,” he observes. Here, too, he says he is writing from what he knew. His father unloaded trucks in a warehouse and “never read a word I wrote,” Mr. Stine says. His mother “was one of those people who say, ‘Don’t climb that tree or you’ll break your leg, don’t go swimming or you’ll drown. Some of that sticks with you,” he says. “I was in junior high when I realized I was the adult, which was kind of liberating.”

Mr. Stine’s first love was comic books. “‘Tales from the Crypt,’ ‘Vault of Horror,’ those comics really influenced my writing,” he says. “The stories were gruesome, and they always had a funny twist ending, which is what I try to do.” A librarian nudged him toward the work of Ray Bradbury, “which turned me into a reader,” he says. “I went on to read science fiction and fantasy books. It was world-broadening.”

Years later, he got the chance to meet Bradbury at a book festival. “I was so nervous, I was shaking. I said, ‘Mr. Bradbury, you’re my hero.’ He turned around, shook my hand and said, ‘You’re a hero to a lot of people.’ You know how some moments are too nice? That was a too-nice moment. I was thrown.”

The first person in his family to go to college, Mr. Stine lived at home while studying English at Ohio State University, where he edited the humor magazine. He graduated in 1965 and moved to New York with dreams of writing comic novels for adults—“but of course no adult wants a humorous novel,” he says. At a party in Brooklyn he met his wife Jane, an editor and writer; they have been married for more than 50 years and have a son and two grandchildren. Mr. Stine says he still loves the city as much as he did when he first arrived: “When I take my dog for a walk, I see more people than anyone else sees in a month. As my wife always says, ‘In New York, the show is free.’”

To pay rent, Mr. Stine took any kind of writing job he could get, from inventing interviews for celebrity slicks to covering “flip-top cans and new syrups” at Soft Drink Industry magazine. In 1969 he answered a classified ad for a post at Scholastic Inc., where he spent the next 16 years writing and editing magazines, and ran a “very crazy” humor magazine for teenagers called “Bananas” for a decade until it folded. He also wrote adventure books and Bazooka Gum jokes and helped create the Nickelodeon children’s television series “Eureeka’s Castle,” which ran from 1989-91.

“I was at a point in my career where I didn’t say no to anything,” he says, which is how he found himself writing his first young-adult horror book at the request of a Scholastic publisher. At 43, Mr. Stine hadn’t read many scary books: “Don’t print this or anything, but I’m not really into horror,” he admits with a laugh. With some research, however, he sensed he could carve out a niche by making his books “simpler, cleaner and easier to read.”

Although his novels for teen readers contain plenty of blood—“people love it when you kill off teenagers,” he quips—they avoid real-world terrors like school shootings and divorce. For his Goosebumps novels, which are meant for readers under 12, he drops the body count to nil. The goal for these books is to create what Mr. Stine calls “safe scares”: “It’s like a roller coaster. Kids get on and know there will be thrills, but it’s going to let them off OK.” He once experimented with an unhappy ending, but “the mail was unbelievable,” he says. “So many kids wrote, ‘Dear R.L. Stine, you idiot! You moron! How could you write that?’ It haunted me, so I had to write a sequel to finish it.”

Hundreds of books into his horror-writing career, Mr. Stine still arrives at his desk at 10 a.m. most mornings and doesn’t get up until he has written 1,500 words. “It’s like factory work,” he insists. “I really enjoy it.” He notes that the real world is often a scary and complicated place, so his hours at his desk are often the best part of his day. The hardest part, he says, is coming up with cliffhanger chapter endings to keep the kids reading: “They have to read one more chapter, one more chapter. It’s a cheap gimmick, but it really works.”

STILL SCARY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS

Two monster movies worthy of Blu-ray editions were released in October -- DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE (1931) and MARK OF THE VAMPIRE (1935). This article from the Wall Street Journal further promotes them as prime examples of classic 1930's Hollywood horror.

Halloween Movies: Still Scary After All These Years

By David Mermelstein | Oct. 26, 2022 | wsj.com

One happy byproduct of the oversaturation of things ghoulish and garish that comes our way this time every year is the reliable arrival on home video of films at least tangentially related to Halloween. And so it is that Warner Archive has just bestowed on fright lovers two horror classics: “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” (1931) and “Mark of the Vampire” (1935)—each glowingly restored in 4K and available on Blu-ray.

Though no longer as famous as some counterparts from Universal (namely “Frankenstein,” “Dracula” and “The Mummy”), both were quite well known in their day. And each was directed by a Hollywood eminence, though at opposite ends of their careers: Paramount’s “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by Rouben Mamoulian, who would achieve even greater fame in musicals and melodramas; and MGM’s “Mark of the Vampire” by Tod Browning, whose credits by then included 10 Lon Chaney silents, as well as “Dracula” and the singular “Freaks.”

A loose remake of “London After Midnight,” a Browning-Chaney silent from 1927 now presumed lost, “Mark of the Vampire” would prove Browning’s last major credit. (He directed his final film in 1939, though he continued to live in Southern California until his death in 1962.) It also happens to have among the most confusing and harebrained plots ever filmed—though its surprise denouement will surely delight first-time viewers. The movie benefits from a first-class cast that includes a crusty Lionel Barrymore; Bela Lugosi, essentially reprising the role that made him a household name; a typically doctrinaire Lionel Atwill; and Jean Hersholt (for whom the Motion Picture Academy’s esteemed humanitarian award is named) playing a sweetly stern Mitteleuropean minor noble—along with the little-remembered but appealing Elizabeth Allan as the vampire’s well-mannered prey.

The movie also offers an enveloping mise-en-scène, rife with every trope now linked to genteel 1930s horror: the derelict castle, the moonlit graveyard, flickering candles, servants either hysterical or stoic (but never anything else), and someone, somewhere, playing an organ. Credit must also be given to Warren Newcombe and his then-cutting-edge special effects—most notably the seamless metamorphosis he achieved turning a bat into a miniature version of the vampiress Luna. But the picture’s visual cohesion rests with the celebrated cinematographer James Wong Howe, who was later nominated for nine Oscars, winning two (“The Rose Tattoo” and “Hud”). Here, he shades faces in artful black-and-white chiaroscuro and often shoots the action through windows, screens and curtains, lending Browning’s enterprise a sinister voyeuristic quality.

“Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” Robert Louis Stevenson’s macabre tale of good gone evil, was embraced early and often by Hollywood, though most screen versions owe more fealty to Richard Mansfield’s once-celebrated stage adaptation than to the original novella. Initially, Paramount hoped to entice John Barrymore to reprise with sound the dual role he made famous in a 1920 silent still hailed today. But after the great actor took a pass, Mamoulian set his sights on one he preferred, Fredric March, a rising star many likened to a young Barrymore. The director’s instincts were validated the following year, when March won the Oscar for best actor (sharing it with Wallace Beery), the first time a performer in a horror film would be so honored—and the last for 60 years, until Anthony Hopkins won the same prize for “The Silence of the Lambs.”

Mamoulian’s pre-code production is lavish and audacious, and his securing the Oscar-winning Karl Struss (“Sunrise”) to shoot it ensured that the movie’s visual elements would register as boldly as its acting and story did. Struss’s manipulation of shadow and light, daring use of close-ups, and eye for the right ambient detail earned the film much praise. But nothing stuck in the collective imagination more than the unprecedented manner in which he captured Dr. Jekyll’s transformation into a simian-like Hyde (and vice versa). A fiercely held trade secret for decades, the technique required specially colored makeup for March, courtesy of Wally Westmore, and various photosensitive lenses for Struss’s cameras.

The combination of Westmore’s and Struss’s innovations and March’s fearless performance remains both unnerving and unforgettable. Less well remembered is Miriam Hopkins’s turn as the brash barmaid Ivy, who is ultimately destroyed by Hyde. Hopkins was once a star on a par with Bette Davis, and in this role, thanks to a portrayal of uncommon vulnerability and heartbreak, she is any actress’s equal.

Some film lovers may better recall Spencer Tracy’s 1941 remake, directed by Victor Fleming for MGM, with Ingrid Bergman as Ivy (also tremendously effective). Tracy plays Hyde as a sadist, rather than id personified à la March. Also recently restored in 4K, it was issued on Blu-ray by Warner Archive in May. Watching both versions in quick succession would be a fine way to spend Oct. 31—or, frankly, just about any other day.

HALLOWEEN STINKS!

'Tis the season for haunted house tours. While they've been around for years, the technology put into these attractions has increased tremendously. From stuffed and stationary zombies to animatronic creatures of every type, the industry is becoming something of a monster itself -- and the rising ticket prices reflects this, sometimes costing upwards of $50.

One of the more recent innovations is the addition of ambient odors to "enhance" the experience. AromaPrime, a UK company, specializes in the development and distribution of "immersive themed scents" to haunted attraction entrepreneurs with aromas like Burning Witch, Blocked Urinal, Sewer and Rotting Flesh, all designed to be delivered through special pumps, just like your household air freshener except with a little kick.

This article from the WALL STREET JOURNAL explains further:

And if you thought your Halloween candy cost a little more this year . . .

SVENGOOLIE IS FRONT PAGE NEWS!

Move over Elvira, there's a new horror host in the spotlight. That's right, Chicago's Svengoolie has found himself on the front page of none other than the Wall Street Journal! And it's not just a puff-piece -- the article goes a little into depth on Sven's popularity with not only "regular" fans, but celebrities such as Joe Mantegna, Annette O'Toole and -- wait for it -- Lady Gaga!

The article is under the fold, but when's the last time you saw something like this in a major newspaper?

HOW POE EKED OUT A LIVING AS A WRITER

So, you think you're a starving writer? Well, you've got nothing over a certain mystery/horror writer by the name of Edgar Allan Poe. For much of his writing career he literally starved for his art. This article from a recent WALL STREET JOURNAL succinctly explains the struggles that he suffered in an even then, competitive market.

23 SPECIES OF LIFE ARE NOW EXTINCT

The loss of habitat and other environmental factors have led to the extinction of nearly two dozen species of plants, birds and fish, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

While the listed species are not generally known by the common person, they nevertheless illustrate the slow erosion of life on Earth.

How long will it be before the extinction of plants and wildlife affects the human race? The answer is: it probably already has. We just don't know it yet.

The following article from "The Wall Street Journal" elaborates:

Nearly Two-Dozen Endangered Species Are Now Extinct, U.S. Agency Says

By Allison Prang | September 29, 2021 | wsj.com

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said 23 species–ranging from fish to birds–are now extinct. As a result, the federal agency is proposing delisting them from the Endangered Species Act.

“For the species proposed for delisting today, the protections of the ESA [Endangered Species Act] came too late, with most either extinct, functionally extinct, or in steep decline at the timing of Listing,” the Fish and Wildlife Service said Wednesday. The service said it determined the species were extinct based on reviews of the best available science.

The agency stops trying to find the species and stops funding their recovery when they are removed from the ESA, said spokesman Brian Hires.

It is the biggest batch of species the government has announced as extinct, said Tierra Curry, senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity, a nonprofit that works to prevent species from going extinct.

“It’s really sad because it basically means that they think the situation for these species is hopeless,” she said, noting the biggest issue for the species was habitat loss through either dam construction or logging. 

Ms. Curry said one takeaway from the government’s announcement is that endangered species need to be listed once they are in trouble, instead of waiting for them to decline so much that recovery becomes harder and more expensive. She said it takes about 12 years for a species to get on the endangered species list.

Martha Williams, principal deputy director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, said the agency is actively engaged in preventing further extinctions. The Endangered Species Act has prevented more than 99% of the species listed from becoming extinct, the agency said.

The Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking commentary, data and information from the public until Dec. 29 about its proposal to delist the species. 

Here is a look at a few on the agency’s list:

Ivory-Billed Woodpecker

The ivory-billed woodpecker was last seen in 1944 in Louisiana and was listed as endangered in 1967. One of America’s largest woodpeckers, the bird has black and white feathers on its body and red feathers on the top of its head. The Fish and Wildlife Service said the loss of mature forest habitat and collection were the main threats leading to its extinction. 

Freshwater Mussels

The Fish and Wildlife Service determined the flat pigtoe, southern acornshell, stirrupshell, upland combshell, green-blossom pearly, turgid-blossom pearly mussel, yellow-blossom pearly mussel and tubercled-blossom pearly mussels are all extinct. Many of these mussels were last seen in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s and were often found in the Southeast U.S.

Bachman’s Warbler

The Bachman’s warbler, at one time found in Florida and South Carolina, was listed as endangered in 1967. The last confirmed sighting of the small black and yellow bird was in 1988.

San Marcos Gambusia

The San Marcos gambusia, which earlier could be found in Texas, was last seen in 1983. The small fish, which is about one-inch long, was listed as endangered three years before that.

Little Mariana Fruit Bat

The Little Mariana fruit bat used to be found in Guam and was listed as endangered in 1984. The last confirmed sighting of the bat, which is less than 10 inches long and can weigh less than 1 pound, was in 1968. Another species from Guam listed by the Fish and Wildlife Service as extinct is the bridled white-eye bird, which was listed as endangered in 1984 and last seen the year prior.

Hawaiian Birds

The yellow Kauai akialoa bird, which has a long, curved beak that points downward, was last seen in 1969. It was listed as endangered two years before that.

Other birds from Hawaii listed as extinct are the Kauai nukupuu, the Kauaʻi ʻōʻō, the large Kauai thrush, the Maui ākepa, the Maui nukupuʻu, the Molokai creeper and the po`ouli. The plant known as phyllostegia glabra var. lanaiensis was also listed as extinct. 

Hawaii and the Pacific islands are home to more than 650 animal and plant species that are listed as endangered, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

MARS ATTACKS WALL STREET!

I was surprised to see a paper like THE WALL STREET JOURNAL run a spot on the MARS ATTACKS trading cards in yesterday's edition. What would be of interest about a series of kid's trading cards to a so-called "One-percenter", anyway?

I wasn't sure until I read that a mint set of the original series of the these cards goes for $25,000!