And why I'm so thrilled is that for the first time one of my pieces has been given an in-depth review:
For all the reverie regarding Hammer films, the gem of the issue is about a movie rooted in Hollywood and directed by a Czech. However, it does star a very famous British actor and it is all the better for it. Matthew E. Banks’ retrospective, “The Black Cat: Re-examining a Horror Classic” delves deep into the perverse psyche of this unquestionably bizarre entry in Universal’s classic era of the 1930’s. Subtitled, “A Catalogue of Satanism, Sadism, Homoerotica, Necrophilia and Murder”, THE BLACK CAT(Universal, 1934) is not a “monster movie” at all in the conventional sense, and instead relies on the characteristics of the human monster and the limits of grief, guilt and suffering – along with a generous dose of the dark side of human nature. The film exudes decadence, and for good reason. Director Edward G. Ulmer, co-writing the film treatment with mystery author Peter Ruric, derived his inspiration from Polish decadent fantasist and mystic, Gustav Meyrink, author of Der Golem (1915), which Paul Wegener filmed as an early silent (Ulmer worked on the film as well, helping to design the sets). Along with Hanns Heinz Ewers, author of Alraune (a 1911 entry in the Frankenstein cycle that tells of the creation of a homunculus by fertilizing the womb of a prostitute with the semen of an executed murderer) and Karl Hans Strobl (a prolific writer of schauerromanen influenced by Poe and contemporary Ewers, and who later became a supporter of the Nazi party), Meyrink is the most notable of the Germanic supernatural and weird fiction writers. Once a member of the elite secret occult organization, The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Meyrink immersed himself in the European mysticism and metaphysics that had its golden age during the mid-to late 1800’s, the same period that the Decadent and Symbolist movement in art and literature flourished. Ulmer capitalized on Meyrink’s perverse and unholy themes and turned one of his film’s subplots from diabolism into outright Satanism. THE BLACK CAT, even though once removed from its Universal gothic brethren of the times, transcends the comparative triteness of mere scary monsters into a world of true horror and human debasement. Themes of transgression and subversion abound in THE BLACK CAT. For instance, elements of homoeroticism in the film – both left in and edited out – are discussed using references by author David Skal, who has a knack for trolling through film history for these examples. Although other actors were considered, Karloff and Lugosi could not have been better choices for the two lead roles. Overlooking the usual (and thankfully brief) comic relief sequences that were needlessly added into otherwise serious horror films, THE BLACK CAT is infused with a dreamlike, nonightmare-like quality that at least equals Carl Dreyer’s celebrated horror fantasy, VAMPYR (1932), released just two years before. The essay is well-researched and written, but contains some errors. For instance, the spelling of author Gustav “Meyrinck”, while a being possible alternative, is more commonly spelled, “Meyrink”. Also, the reference to “Alister Crowley” is misspelled from Greg Mank’s source and quotation and carried on into the narrative – the correct spelling of the man’s name who was known for a time in the British press as “The Wickedest Man in the World” (and who, like Meyrink, was a member of The Golden Dawn) is “Aleister” Crowley. All things considered, Matthew E. Banks’ erudite and thoughtful work would not be lost in the running for a spot on the “Best Magazine Article” ballot of this year’s provincial but prestigious Rondo Awards.
I have checked out the two spelling mistakes that were mentioned, it would seem that my spell checker auto corrected Aleister to Alister, but the spelling of 'Meyrinck' is from an actual quote! I hope that people do vote for my article - but I cannot wait for them to read The Raven... in issue 12
Not only have I been doing the above, but Spectral are bringing out a book The Christmas Ghost Stories of Lawrence Gordon Clark and I made a little promotional video and you can find it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQOjACfdXZM
You can order the book from Spectral direct at this link: http://spectralpress.wordpress.com/2013/12/03/the-christmas-ghost-stories-of-lawrence-gordon-clark-paperback-cover-reveal/
Simon Marshall-Jones Spectral's owner will be at the NFT in London on Wednesday December 18th and at the Derby Quad on Thursday 19th where Lawrence Gordon Clark will also be in attendance). If you can, go and check it out :)
I hope that you enjoy it and go and buy the book :) Merry Christmas to you all :)
