Category: Horror

Alfred Hitchcock or Saul Bass: Who Directed the “Psycho” Shower Scene?

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Who directed the Psycho shower scene?

Most folks would say, “Alfred Hitchcock” since Hitchcock is the director credited with directing Psycho.  Add to the fact that Hitchcock says he directed the scene and it would seem like case closed.

Ah, but things are seldom that easy, are they?

You see Hitchcock hired Saul Bass, the famous graphic artist, to storyboard the shower scene.  And Bass was on the set for the seven days it took to shoot the scene.  And Bass claims he directed the scene.

Vashi Nedomansky lays out a case to show that whether or not Bass directed the scene…

…it’s quite clear that the Saul Bass storyboards were followed explicitly to create the indelible images that made this spectacular scene.

Nedomansky’s Who Directed the PSYCHO Shower Scene? should be required reading for all movie fans.

Well done, Vashi.

Z-View: The Saviors #2

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The Saviors is an on-going series created by James Robinson & J. Bone published by Image.

Writer: James Robinson

Artist: J. Bone

You saw.  You know.  No way they let you go home, cover your eyes, put your fingers in your ears and pretend this never happened.  You’re as good as dead.

In issue one Tomas Ramirez, a slacker content living in a small town, discovered that shape-changing aliens live among us.  Tomas discovered their secret and they discovered his… that he knew.

Issue two picks up where issue one left off — Tomas is on the run in the desert from one of the morphing aliens.  Things are looking bleak when a stranger new to town provides a chance for escape… if he can be trusted.

James Robinson lulled us into the story in issue one.  Issue two flies at a breakneck pace as Tomas attempts to stay alive.

J. Bone’s art continues to be a joy.

The Saviors  is a comic for mature audiences due to drug references and language.  If you’re a fan of 50’s alien invasion movies [“I Married a Monster from Outer Space,” “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” etc.], ,or well written, well drawn comics, then The Saviors is for you.

Rating:

Bill Frank, Drew Moss and The Crow: Pestilence

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The cover above is by J. O’Barr for the new mini-series Crow: Pestilence by Frank Bill [writer] and Drew Moss [artist].  I love it when creators whose work I enjoy come together on a project.

I’ve been a J. O’Barr Crow fan since the character’s first appearance back in Caliber Presents.

Frank Bill burst on the crime fiction scene in a big way with his Crimes in Southern Indiana (book of short stories) and follow-up novel Donnybrook.  (I’ve read and recommend both!)

I met Drew Moss about a year ago and got two sketches from him.  Moss is a talented artist, and a funny guy.

I’m really looking forward to Crow: Pestilence and even more so after reading this CBR.com interview with Frank Bill.

 

Ten Active Serial Killers Who Might Be Near You Right Now

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Americans are The world is obsessed with serial killers.  We liked to read about them.  Movies and television shows about serial killers are always popular.  I wonder how our feelings about them would change if a serial killer was plying his trade near us?

TopTenz recently posted Ten Active Serial Killers Who Might Be Near You Right Now.

 

Source: Bill Crider.

James Robinson & J. Bone: The Saviors

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After just one issue The Saviors became one of my favorite comics currently published.  

The Saviors is a fun story with great art, so why wouldn’t it be?

In case you’re late to this party, let’s catch up.  The Saviors is about a slacker who discovers that evil aliens are secretly among us.  He doesn’t have the skill set to deal with the situation, doesn’t know who he can trust or who will believe him.

James Robinson, the writer of the series says that he wanted The Saviors to have…

… elements from the old “Invaders” TV show and “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” but also (had) enough gore and violent horror and scares that it would also feel like John Carpenter’s “The Thing.” As I began to develop the idea, some other aspects came to mind like the idea of it having a large cast. You won’t know who lives or dies

You can learn more about The Saviors in this interview with the series’ creators, James Robinson and J. Bone.

Source: CBR.com.

“The Black Cat” Starring Karloff & Lugosi / Z-View

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The Pitch: ”Hey, let’s take two of Universal’s biggest stars, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, and stick them in a horror movie that will end up being the #1 money-maker for Universal the year it is released.  We can even name it “The Black Cat” after the Edgar Allan Poe story — even though the movie will have no real ties to it.  What do you say?”

“Let’s do it!”

The Tagline:  “Things you never said before or even dreamed of!”

The Overview:  A young, newly married couple find themselves seeking refuge in a creepy mansion after the bus that they were traveling on crashes during a dark, stormy night.  Along with the couple is Bela Lugosi playing a psychologist who was just released from a prisoner of war camp after 15 years.  Lugosi led the couple to the mansion. He was going there to confront Karloff who Lugosi knows was a traitor who caused the death of thousands including Lugosi’s wife.

Karloff welcomes them in.  On the surface he seems a genial host, but is actually a Satanist who plans to murder the young bride in a ritual.  The movie has all the hallmarks of a 1930’s horror movie: big name stars, a mad scientist, an old dark house full of secret passages/rooms, the dead coming back to life, a strange manservant, revenge and more.

*** Beware – minor spoilers are found below ***

The Good

  • Karloff and Lugosi in the first [and perhaps best] of their many on-screen team-ups.
  • The overriding atmosphere of things being slightly off-kilter created through creative set design, costume choices and the physical appearance of Karloff and others.
  • Playing chess for the lives of the newly weds.
  • The banter between Karloff and Lugosi where what is said it subtext for the true meaning.
  • Lugosi’s manservant is creepy, but loyal to the end.

The Bad:

  • What Karloff has in his secret rooms below the house.
  • Lugosi is the hero, but has there ever been a creepier one?  [Like when he is caught touching the hair of the sleeping bride.]
  • Being trapped in the house of a mad, Satanic murderer.

The Ugly:

  • Lugosi’s fear of cats.
  • What happens to people who are Satanic, traitors who steal the wives of their friends.  [I’d hate to have to live in his skin.]
  • What happens when it appears you are harming a man’s bride despite the fact that you’re saving her from a fate equal to, if not worse than death.

Rating:

The Saviors #1 / Z-View

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The Saviors is an on-going series created by James Robinson & J. Bone published by Image.

Writer: James Robinson

Artist: J. Bone

When Tomas Ramirez stumbles upon an extraterrestrial conspiracy to take over the world, his life is changed forever.  He must now seek out those few souls who share this terrible knowledge.  But even united, how can they hope to defeat a shadowy alien cabal that is both indestructible and eager to kill anyone who threatens it?

Tomas Ramirez is a slacker content living in a small town where he works at the local gas station. When Tomas isn’t working [and sometimes when he is] he spends his free time getting high, hanging with a few friends and enjoying life.

All is good.

All is good that is until Tomas accidentally discovers that there are lizard-looking, shape-shifting aliens living among them!

Who will believe a pot smoking loser like Tomas?  More importantly, how will a slacker like Tomas find a way to stay alive long enough to get the word out, now that the aliens know that he knows?

James Robinson lulls us into the story at a small town pace — we meet Tomas and learn about the town and the people living there through Tomas’ eyes.  While most of his friends wanted to break out of the small town and get into the big world outside the town’s borders, Tomas wants nothing more than a few friends, a cold beer, cable tv and a his weed.  It’s a leisurely life and the pace of the story reflects that.

Everything changes once Tomas sees the aliens and they see him.  The action moves at a breakneck pace and death can come in an instant.  Is there anyone that Tomas can trust?  And who is the mysterious stranger that happens to show up at just the right/wrong time?

J. Bone’s art is amazing.  He was the perfect choice for this series.  I love Bone’s use of double page spreads not as pinups, but to expand the horizon to tell the story.

The Saviors  is a comic for mature audiences due to drug references and language.  If you’re a fan of 50’s alien invasion movies [“I Married a Monster from Outer Space,” “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” etc.], ,or well written, well drawn comics, then The Saviors is for you.

Rating: 4 out of 5