INGRID PITT, QUEEN OF HORROR: THE COMPLETE CAREER
PITT AND THE COMPENDIUM x A BLEAKER, BLACKER KING x SCREAMING FOR AN EDIT Pitt’s stage, film and TV projects are then listed,
Ever since her portrayal as sexy bloodsucker
Carmilla Karnstein in Hammer’s 1970 classic The Vampire Lovers, the recently deceased Ingrid Pitt had set male viewers’ hearts aflutter. Imbuing her vampire with both smouldering sensuality and soft vulnerabil- ity, she was a predator that many would gladly bare their throats for. Subsequent roles in other early ’70s chillers, such as Countess Dracula, The House that Dripped Blood and The Wicker Man, would cement her reputation as a horror goddess. But perhaps lesser known is Pitt’s non-genre film work, her ap- pearances in numerous stage productions and the fact she was also an author with several books under her belt. With the newly released Ingrid Pitt, Queen of Horror:
The Complete Career, Robert Michael “Bobb” Cotter (The Mexican Masked Wrestler and Monster Filmog- raphy) presents a comprehensive and up-to-date guide that examines all facets of Pitt’s career in the- atre, film and television, as well as her writing, which includes works as diverse as WWII historical fiction, non-fiction compendiums on vampires and even chil- dren’s stories. The book begins with a brief but revealing biogra-
phy of Pitt’s early work, including a bit part in the 1965 romantic epic Doctor Zhivago and a more substantial role in the 1968 Clint Eastwood/Richard Burton action flick Where Eagles Dare. Her childhood detention in a concentration camp during World War II is also touched upon, as are her struggles with breast and ovarian cancer, and the lengthy hiatus she took from the film industry during the peak of her popularity.
RM 54 T H E N I N T H C I R C L E
complete with cast and production credits, synopsis, critique and comments from Pitt herself (some di- rectly, others culled from her autobiography or her on- line column at the UK entertainment site Den of Geek). Synopses and publishing info is provided for her writ- ten work. Additionally, a chapter is devoted to her ap- pearances in documentaries, magazine and fanzine articles, plus her convention appearances, fan club and official website. Informative and entertaining, and featuring a witty,
self-deprecating foreword written by Pitt herself, plus rare behind-the-scenes photographs, theatre pro- grams, movie posters and book covers (many from the actress’ personal collection), this is a must-have for any fan of cinema’s most beautiful vampire. May she rest in peace.
JAMES BURRELL FULL DARK, NO STARS That title suggests what Stephen King confirms in
the afterword of his four-story collection: Full Dark, No Stars showcases some of his grimmest work yet. The supernatural is either completely absent or takes a back seat here to some truly monstrous humanity – and some truly human monstrosity. And, as that cover image hints at, women are the victims here – to some men with obsidian-black souls. The first story, “1922” (inspired by the 1973 book
Wisconsin Death Trip) is the first-person confession of a farmer from the 1920s/’30s who is forced (in his opinion) to murder his wife to save his farm, but finds out that the act sends him and those around him into a tragic spiral. Though it would’ve worked as a prairie gothic noir without the gory descriptions of the killing
or the wife’s corpse returning to torment her murderer, King adds the (imagined?) revenant, and a plague of rats, to keep things downright hideous at times. The second tale, “Big Driver,” is written from the
point of view of a minor mystery novelist who is at- tacked, raped and left for dead on a deserted stretch of highway by a hulking truck driver, who then be- comes the target of her vengeance. It’s an appropri- ately ugly tale with some satisfying twists. It’s also gutsy for King to write from the POV of a female rape victim; he does an admirable job of getting inside her head without turning her, or her attacker, into clichés. Next up, “Fair Extension,” a classic sell-your-soul-
to-the-devil story involving a terminal cancer patient wishing doom upon his long-time rival. It’s a decent character study, rather than a morality tale, and a bit of an odd man out in the book. But that’s okay because King saves the best for last
with “A Good Marriage,” which asks a fascinating question: what would you do if you found out your spouse was a serial killer? And it’s not that simple. What if you’d been together for 30 years, you love him dearly, he’s always been good to you and turning him in would ruin your life and that of your children? As in the other tales, the characters are as painfully realistic as the violence, and the moral choices they’re faced with far from, well, full dark. And it’s those grey areas that make this one of King’s hardest hitting releases in years.
DAVE ALEXANDER
JAMIE LEE CURTIS: SCREAM QUEEN If you’re sick of my constant harping about shock-
ingly poor editing in small press publications, you may want to skip ahead to the next review. In this instance,
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72