Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), 10/24.

"Frankenstein would go on to create new life in subsequent Universal sequels, but director [James] Whale, in congress with Karloff's brilliant portrayal, would assure that their achievement in The Bride of Frankenstein, a masterful blend of supreme emotional resonance and mordant wit, truly bringing life to the dead, would never be equaled," writes Dennis Cozzalio.

As part of Entertainment Weekly's "Halloween 2007" special, Mike Bruno talks with John Carpenter: "In addition to sharing with us his encyclopedic knowledge of the original vampire movies, like Nosferatu and Bela Lugosi's Dracula, Carpenter also weighs in on the so-called 'torture' horror genre, touches on Rob Zombie's remake of Halloween, and explains why he thinks the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre is ''hilariously funny.'" Via Movie City News.

"In anticipation of Halloween, we invited [Eli] Roth to program a virtual 24-hour horror-film festival for AV Club readers," writes Keith Phipps. Via Vince Keenan, who got linkage to other Halloweenish goodness and notes that Roth's "line-up starts with John Carpenter's remake of The Thing, includes a surprising but fully justified appearance by Fellini, and ends with a little gem called Torso. He also makes the supremely idiotic suggestion that you watch Dario Argento's Suspiria at two o'clock in the morning. All that's missing is a handy list of local sanitariums you can check yourself into when you're finished." Related: John Lichman at the Reeler: "Dark and stormy nights aside, one of October's best local draws is the New York City Horror Film Festival, now in its seventh year with only the finest in terms of slashers, thrillers, ghost stories - and Eli Roth." Tonight through Sunday.

"Women are regularly degraded in film, but seldom, if ever, with so little subtext as in Boxing Helena," writes Rumsey Taylor. "It is so blatantly misogynistic that it becomes something of a marvel - a film rigidly intent to spin a tale of gothic sexuality, and failing on that promise, emerging as something impressively tasteless and ridiculous. It's elitist camp, an accidental work of art, captivating for reasons for which its author did not intend."

"It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, directed by Bill Melendez and written by Peanuts creator Charles M Schulz, provides us with one of American filmmaking's most lucid depictions of the struggle between existentialism and religious determinism," writes Michael Koresky at Reverse Shot.

A top ten from Nathaniel R: Witches.

At Twitch, Canfield talks with Tim Lucas about Mario Bava All the Colors of the Dark. And look at this: Jason Gargano's cover story for Cincinnati's CityBeat.

At Cinematical, Matt Bradshaw lists seven "Science Fiction Horror Films" and Peter Martin revisits The Howling.

Ted Pigeon reflects on "the wonder of horror as a genre. It's both amazingly versatile as well as inherently nostalgic, limitlessly calling upon audiences desires to feel fear deep in their blood."

"Occupying that unfortunate space between the not-quite-painful atrocity and the so-bad-its-good spectacle of disaster, The Dead Pit instead stuns with its ineptitude around every corner without ever giving in to the trashy joys potentially affording by its bottom-of-the-barrel decor," writes Rob Humanick.

"The Blood-Splattered Bride is as much about masculine power and the fear of the feminine as it is about a vampire seeking revenge," writes Peter Nellhaus.

Online listening tip. "Haunted Bela."

Phil Morehart's clip today at Facets Features: Lucio Fulci's Zombie, "awesome for many reasons."

Posted by dwhudson at October 24, 2007 3:56 PM