Let’s Scare Jessica to Death

Stephen King put it on his list of top horror movies. It has certainly achieved the status of cult film. Methinks it deserves much more. “Lets Scare Jessica to Death” (1971) captures an atmosphere of dreamlike yet naturalistic horror rarely seen outside maybe “Picnic at Hanging Rock.” John D. Hancock directed and co-wrote the film,…

Carmilla in Chicago

Wildclaw Theatre in Chicago (the name is in memory of Ray Wild aka “The Claw,” a writer/director/actor) specializes in what they proudly call Horror Theatre. Their avowed mission is to “…bring the world of horror to the stage. We intend to attract a new kind of audience which does not usually go to the theatre,…

What to do with Dracula?

Draculas have begun to feel like a dime a dozen. Starting with the milestone silent film “Nosferatu” (i.e. skeletal, rat-fanged, pointy-eared) we’ve seen Eastern European versions, Spanish ones, porn Draculas, English Draculas, at least one female Dracula, effete Draculas, etc. We’ve seen the world’s most famous Transylvanian as suave, brutal, silent, wordy, young, old, Byronic,…