Hammer Horror Soundtracks!

 

Coming in 2019, Hammer fans will finally get the complete scores from Horror of Dracula and The Curse of Frankenstein, created by the late, great James Bernard. The scores have been reconstructed by Leigh Phillips, with booklet notes by David Huckvale, and produced by James Fitzpatrick and Leigh Phillips. They will be created through the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Nic Raine.

To say that I’m excited to see these two scores finally get a release is a slight understatement. Hopefully they can get the right sound and feel of the originals, but I know I’ll be adding them to my audio library once they come out. Once I hear more info, I will pass it on here.

Onetti Brothers’ Abrakadabra!

Back in 2015, Luciano and Nicolas Onetti gave us Francesca, a giallo made with the same look and style of those classic Italian films of the ’70s. In fact, if you didn’t know any better, you probably wouldn’t have known this was not only a made recently, but also by a crew that mainly consisted of these two brothers! Their talent is pure amazing.

And now, we have their new film, entitled Abrakadabra. Check out the trailer below.

McFarland Book Sale 25% Off!

 

How could I not post something about this huge book sale that the scholarly publisher, McFarland is having a 25% off all their horror related books! If you check out our Horror Reference Book reviews, you’ll find more than a few McFarland titles. That’s mainly because they continue to put out high quality editions. Yes, they normally are a bit pricy, but now is your chance to save a good chunk of change of some of these.

Williams’ Dracula Special Edition Release

One of the very first film scores that hooked me was that of John Williams’ score for the 1979 version of Dracula, starring Frank Langella. It was also one of the first soundtrack LPs I bought back in the day, being every bummed that it just wasn’t that long of a score. But now all of that is going to change, thanks to Varèse Sarabande.

Notes from the Krypt…

As you’d expect, this is a busy month for us. With events going on every weekend, not to mention coming into Chicago every Monday for something as well, the days are just flying by. Not a bad thing, mind you, but really tough to squeeze in some good horror flicks with all this going on. But this is the path we choose, right?

 

Last weekend, we were in Strongsville, OH for the 18th year at Cinema Wasteland. Hard to believe it has been going on that long and still continues to be a great time. The draw this year was for a reunion for a favorite of mine, the original My Bloody Valentine (1981) and the Q&A was very informative and entertaining. Although I must admit being a little depressed when they asked a packed room right before the screening of the film, just how many people there have never seen the film before, and about two thirds of the room raised their hands. I would have thought this would have been key film to watch during your slasher education. Or at least, if you were going to a convention that the main guest lineup was a cast reunion from a film you hadn’t seen…that you’d watch it before the show! Sorry…Old Man Kitley is coming out again. Times for my meds.

Hammer’s Plague Hits Blu-Ray

Yeah, I know this was all over Facebook yesterday, but damn if I’m not going to help spread the word a bit more! While I may be a huge Hammer fan, their 1966 film The Plague of the Zombies is one of my all time favorites of theirs. So I am more than thrilled to see this hit Blu-ray, thanks to Shout Factory!

This was Hammer’s only movie that dealt with zombies, though these are the voodoo type, not the flesh-eating type. Maybe because Romero didn’t unleash his until two years later. But this is a prime example of what Hammer did best. They had an great cast with two powerful leads, André Morell as Sir James Forbes and John Carson as Squire Hamilton. Morell is so much fun to watch, being so proper and the whole stiff upper lip, but yet still has a dark sense of humor. Carson, who plays the villain, was born to play this part. Whether it is his voice, which is very similar sounding to James Mason, or his evil stare, that can easily hide behind a smile. Of course, throw in Michael Ripper in a minor role, and it makes it even better!

Severin Goes to Blood Island

I’ve been a huge fan of the horror films made in the Philippines, especially the Blood Island films. So I was thrilled when I first heard mention that Severin was going to be releasing these films on Blu-ray. Even more so when I saw the kind of promo stuff they are making available. Granted, the limited edition Dr. Lorca’s Head Bundle is already sold out (Also note…that’s not Dr. Lorca’s Head…just saying), which was a major bummer. But the stuff in the Blood Oath Bundle is pretty damn cool too. Got to give Severin major props for the stuff they come up with. From the Anthropophagus Plush figure, or the beach ball from The Horror of Party Beach, to even the little rubber ball from The Changeling, they are killing it when it comes to new promo items.

So what is in this box set?