Vanity Scare #10

RUE MORGUE (#125, August 2012)

- I do plan on incorporating other magazines into this column (I still have a Gorezone that I need to read), but for the time being, I'm going to review the horror rag that befouls my mailbox. Hmm, I made it sound creepy. Nevermind the nefarious undertones. RM125 is one of the most gratifying issues they have published in recent memory. Of course, I only say that because it happens to cater to my savant-garde (get it?) interests. The cover is exquisite. I love how the Bradbury-inspired artwork contours Ray's countenance. The clean formatting coupled with the autumnal color scheme placates my senses. It screams "Halloween."

- Let's talk about the cover story itself...wow. I'm not exaggerating when I say it's one of the best interviews I've ever read. Tim Sullivan asks all of the right questions, and he doesn't falter in countering Ray's terse rejoinders with appropriate follow-ups. As for those terse rejoinders, Ray had a way of saying A LOT with few words. Nearly every word he offers is profound and deeply moving. The fact that this was his last interview makes his comments on mortality doubly recondite. In addition to nuggets of penetrating pansophy, Ray also relays the story of how he wound up directing 1983's Something Wicked This Way Comes. Fucking read this interview, I command you.

- I enjoyed Aaron Von Lupton's piece on "The Shark is Still Working," a new documentary that can be found on the Jaws Blu-ray. However, I felt silly reading the behind-the-scenes tidbits of a behind-the-scenes featurette. What's next, an article covering the article I just read? But I digress. Jaws fanatics will eat this shit up.

- A few notes on this month's Cinemacabre. A) Ron McKenzie's review of Prometheus is fair. I stand by my assessment of the discordant prequel. It's a grand epic steeped in sci-fi tradition. I wasn't bothered by the fan service (I am a fan, after all). B) A friend of mine keeps recommending REC 3: Genesis, so I giggled when I read Monica Kuebler's lukewarm opinion of the "found footage" in-name-only sequel. Take that, Christian. C) The Devil's Carnival looks ridiculous. Sorry. D) I didn't realize that Samson vs. the Vampire Women was the last MST3K episode to feature Frank. Gotta check it out. Like, right now.

- The Late-Nite Archive is trying very, very hard to become my favorite RM column. In this issue, Paul Corupe tackles 1954's The Mad Magician, a Vincent Price bone-chiller that I haven't seen (!). Ostensibly, it's a vapid riff on House of Wax, but I'm going to track it down anyway.

- I don't have a critical eye when it comes to art (well, I have opinions; what I mean is that I'm a cretinous, uncultivated nitwit in the field), but I dig Godmachine's work. Who is Godmachine? Read the magazine. Or Google him. Whichever.

- The Gore-Met takes a gander at a pair of retro-grindhouse flicks. I plan on renting Dear God No! when I reactivate my Netflix account. Ditto for The Turnpike Killer, which is generating quite a bit of buzz in VHS collector circles. It's heralded as a grisly composite of Pieces and The Toolbox Murders.

- Vampires Everywhere has a new record out? LOLZ!