// Category Archive for: Underground/Cult

Music Review: Love, Poetry and Revolution – A Journey Through The British Psychedelic and Underground Scenes 1966-72

By Melissa Bratcher

In just six short years, British Psychedelic bands went from singing songs about tea to songs about witches. Love, Poetry and Revolution: A Journey Through The British Psychedelic and Underground Scenes 1966-72 is a recent three-disc boxed set that plumbs the depths of the psychedelic revolution and collects these little-heard rarities alongside thoughtful, witty liner notes from compiler David Wells. Forgoing the more easily accessible, overplayed songs, Wells gives the listener gems by bands that never landed a recording contract, or perhaps only put out one album, alongside demos and alternate takes of more familiar artists like The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown and The Spencer Davis Group.

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“Twenty-Four By Thirty Six”: A Documentary On Movie Poster Art Needs Your Help

By Less Lee Moore

If you’re a member of the movie superfan community, you know that it’s not just the movies we love to obsess over, it’s everything associated with those movies, from quotes, to the name of the set designer, to the poster art. You’ve memorized the poster art (and variants) of your favorite movies. You know all too well that the Mondo limited edition screen prints of movie posters sell out almost immediately and that those lucky enough to acquire them often sell them for hugely inflated prices online. And you definitely know the names of the artists who’ve created these posters.

Now there’s a documentary called “Twenty-Four by Thirty-Six” that “explores the world of movie poster art, past and present; the artists who create it, companies that commission it, galleries that display it, and collectors and fans who hang it.” But in order for this doc to come to fruition, they need our help and they’ve launched a Kickstarter to do so.

“Twenty-Four by Thirty-Six” not only follows a couple of fantastic illustrators, but also profiles some well-known artists and personalities in the screenprinted poster community (like Tony Seininger, Gary Pullin, Jason Edmiston, Phantom City Creative, Kevin Tong, Tim Doyle, N.E., Paul Ainsworth, and many more), and talks to fans and collectors.

Besides knowing that you helped contribute to the completion of this documentary, what’s in it for you? There are lots of rewards, from having your name listed in the credits, to a digital download, T-shirts, DVDs, Blu-Rays, various versions of the film poster (including a glow-in-the-dark version), a signed John Alvin Alien poster, a private screening of the film at a BBQ with the director, and lots more.

The Kickstarter ends on December 21 and right now they haven’t reached their goal of $25,000. So check out “Twenty-Four by Thirty-Six” on Kickstarter and get to donating!

Book Review: A Christmas Story: Behind The Scenes Of A Holiday Classic

By Chelsea Spear

A Christmas Story seems like one of those films that was always part of our cultural heritage. Every Christmas, TBS broadcasts it in a 24-hour loop, phrases like “you’ll shoot your eye out” have entered the lexicon, and tchotchkes like the infamous leg lamp sell in large quantities online. Because of the film’s ubiquity, viewers can take for granted what went into getting it made. Writer Caseen Gaines (with the assistance of Jean Shepherd scholar Eugene P. Bergman and actor Wil Wheaton) lifts the curtain on the making of this beloved feature with the book A Christmas Story: Behind the Scenes of a Holiday Classic.

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Music Review: Various Artists, Mutazione: Italian Electronic & New Wave Underground 1980 – 1988

By Less Lee Moore

For those of us who still listen to much of the same post-punk music we listened to in the ’80s, discovering new bands from that time is as exciting as hearing those new bands who are obviously influenced by those same sounds. The recent release of Mutazione by Strut Records is cause for celebration. Mutazione is a fabulous, two-disc compilation with 26 tracks of Italian post-punk music from 1980 – 1988. The arrangement of the songs is superb, like an excellent mixtape made by a music-savvy friend. For that we can thank Alessio Natalizia of Walls, who curated the collection.

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FanExpo Canada 2013: 100,000 Fans Can’t Be Wrong

By Less Lee Moore

Another year of FanExpo Canada has come and gone. As usual, the four-day event was jam-packed with people and panels, photo ops and paraphernalia. With so many things happening and so many attendees, there are bound to be a multiplicity of experiences. Here are mine.

Day One: Thursday, August 22

The doors opened at 2:00 p.m. and as usual, there was already a line-up. I don’t like to brag, but I enjoy being able to go through the Media entrance and not wait in the lines outside. Although, never fear, non-media folks: I still have to wait in a line to get onto the exhibition floor like the rest of you. (I do think it would be nice if media got to go in about an hour before the show opens, just to prepare for photos and video shoots.)

This year, due to the addition of the Sports segment and the expected increase in attendance, FanExpo took up multiple floors in both the South and North buildings. This meant a bit more walking across the bridge between buildings, but it also made for less cramped conditions (at least on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday; I didn’t attend Saturday).

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In Defense Of: The Wicker Man (2006)

By Jeffery X Martin

Joyous news coming out of England . . . no, not the Royal Baby. We’ll finally be getting a definitive final cut of Robin Hardy’s classic thriller, The Wicker Man, this fall. This is the best Samhain treat fans of the Man could have ever hoped for. Restored footage, digital remastering, the whole nine yards. Hopefully, once the disc hits North American shores, the film will garner a new following. When most Americans think of The Wicker Man, their first thought is the Nicolas Cage movie. Fans of the original film bristle at this, especially because the remake was so thoroughly mocked and maligned, as if the presence of Nicolas Cage gives the entire story a bad name.

I implore you to reconsider.

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Blu-Ray Review: Ninja III: The Domination

By Brad Henderson

There are many words for Ninja III: The Domination but so little time to express the awesomeness of this weird piece of cinematic gold. Yes, it is the third film in a trilogy produced by Golan-Globus. No, it has nothing to do with the previous two films, but don’t let that stop you from watching this eccentric, romantic ninja flick. I said it, romantic. I imagine Scream Factory has a very long list of films that they want to release under their label, and I’m very glad that Ninja III: The Domination was part of their grand scheme.

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Toronto After Dark 2012: Full Lineup Released

By Less Lee Moore

Like I said in the interview with Paul Corupe and Andrea Subissati from The Black Museum, Toronto is a wonderful city for genre fans, especially horror fans like me.

The 7th annual Toronto After Dark Film Festival is quickly approaching. This year’s TAD Film Fest starts on October 18 and runs through October 26. TAD Film Fest has expanded from four to nine nights since its inception in 2006.

There are 210 features screening this year, along with 29 short films, many of which are making their North American or Canadian premieres and the list of features this year is spectacular.

The full lineup includes: A Fantastic Fear of Everything, After, American Mary, My Amityville Horror, Citadel, Cockneys vs. Zombies, Crave, Dead Sushi, Doomsday Book, Game Of Werewolves, Grabbers, Grave Encounters 2, In Their Skin (formerly known as Replicas), Inbred, Lloyd the Conqueror, REC 3: Genesis, Resolution, Sushi Girl, Wrong, and Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning. If you’ve been reading my Assemblogs for the last few months, you’ll recognize quite a few of these titles.

You can watch all the feature trailers on the TAD Film Fest YouTube page here.

This year will also be the first for the Toronto After Darkcade, which will feature independent horror, sci-fi, fantasy, action, and cult video games.

The complete festival schedule, which includes all feature and short screening times will be announced on Tuesday, October 2, so check the Toronto After Dark site for details. You can also by all-access passes from the site to get the most out of the festival.

Assemblog: September 28, 2012

The Bird With The Crystal Plumage, 1970

New on Popshifter this week: I strongly recommend Richard Crouse’s new book Raising Hell: Ken Russell and the Unmaking of The Devils; a concerned citizen lays down some rules on proper Facebook etiquette; Julie can’t find a song to dislike on Gemma Ray’s Island Fire; Emily deems The Very Best Of Vince Guaraldi and The Very Best Of The Bill Evans Trio as “essential” and praises Timi Yuro’s The Complete Liberty Singles as a “wonderful collection”; Paul explains why only hipsters hate hipsters; and Jemiah has good news for people who don’t know the difference between “grisly” and “grizzly” in her review of The Wrong Word Dictionary.

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Book Review: Raising Hell: Ken Russell And The Unmaking Of The Devils By Richard Crouse

By Less Lee Moore

If you live in or around Toronto, Ontario, Canada and you like movies, then you’ve already heard of Richard Crouse. For the rest of you, he’s a Toronto-based film critic and TV personality, who can be seen on both Canada AM and CTV’s 24-hour news channel (as well as at nearly every film event and festival in the Toronto area). Most importantly:, he’s also a tremendous, lifelong fan of filmmaker Ken Russell.

Crouse’s latest book (he’s written six others) is all about Ken “Enfant Terrible” Russell’s most controversial and frequently misunderstood 1971 film The Devils, starring Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave. Raising Hell: Ken Russell and the Unmaking of The Devils begins much like my own recent reintroduction to Ken Russell: a prologue detailing Crouse’s 2010 meeting and interview with Russell in conjunction with Rue Morgue’s Festival of Fear screening of The Devils.

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