ROGER CORMAN: INTERVIEWS When being interviewed, filmmakers, actors


and other movie business folks often fall back into the same tired anecdotes. Facing a question they’ve heard a hundred times before about a project they barely remember, it’s understandable that the same practiced stories get dragged out again and again. Not so with Roger Corman: Inter- views, however, a new collection of mostly previ- ously published discus- sions with the reigning King of the Bs. This supe- rior release avoids that pitfall by featuring sixteen interviews plucked from a span of more than 50 years, offering not only a chance to witness Cor-


man’s development as a filmmaker, but the evo- lution of his attitudes towards his work. Editor Constantine Nasr has done a fine job of


selecting a wide range of pieces from many cru- cial points in Corman’s career. That’s not to say some familiar tales don’t show up, though. No Corman tome would be complete without high- lighting the lessons learned from his poorest-per- forming picture, The Intruder (1962), or how blockbuster B-movies such as Jaws tried to steal his thunder. But what’s really interesting is the fresh perspective Corman offers on films that were new at the time – it’s doubtful he remem- bers much of B-quickies such as Gunslinger (1956) now, so his discussion in one of the vin- tage pieces is quite welcome. Some of the talks are unexpectedly technical


and business-oriented too, revealing just how smart Corman really is. In particular, a 1970 American Film Institute seminar with the film- maker features some insightful comments on how studio productions can cost double what he can do working by himself, and how he navigates certain union rules to keep costs down. Likewise, a 1964 interview, conducted while Corman was working on his Poe cycle, shows how deeply these films are tied to Freud’s theories, with the director displaying a very comprehensive grasp of just what it is that makes horror work. As Corman’s legend has come increasingly into focus in the last decade, more serious discussion


RM 84 T H E N I N T H C I R C L E


of his work is needed. There’s no question that Roger Corman: Interviews is one of the better books on the director, benefiting from multiple viewpoints and fascinating details that may sur- prise readers who have not come across these early conversations before.


PAUL CORUPE FRIGHT NIGHT ON CHANNEL 9 We may not be as bad as Trekkies – perish the


thought! – but let’s not kid ourselves. The more avid the horror fan, the nerdier the pursuits get, sometimes reaching borderline pathological lev- els. Countless volumes of fan fiction, entire rooms devoted to collectibles (usually purchased for in- sane sums at fan conventions), that Dawn of the Dead box set you bought because it comes with one extra feature your previous four didn’t include – well, guilty as charged, aren’t you? This all goes a long way toward explaining the


continued publication of books such as Fright Night on Channel 9, in which freelance horror scribe James Arena chronicles every film that played on WOR-TV’s late-night horror show be- tween 1973 and 1987. Unlike many of its peers, the New York television network didn’t launch a campy horror host to fame or even to local celebrity status, but that doesn’t bother Arena, because these were the films that sent him into an irreversible nerd spiral, and his knowledge of the territory is consider- able. He’s meticulously catalogued the broad- cast schedule for the years in question, even including notation of nights the show was pre-empted, which could prove impressive or tortuous or some combination thereof, de- pending on one’s point of view. What’s beyond dis-


pute is his critical skill; this guy is in love with the genre but isn’t afraid to call bullshit when necessary, citing Honeymoon of Horror (1965) as an absolutely wretched film that will likely appeal only to fans of high camp, and dismissing The Mind of Mr. Soames (1970) for botching an intriguing concept. He’s also a


pretty astute historian, as evidenced by his de- tailed chronicling of prolific Z-movie pro- ducer and horror comic writer Sam Sherman (Brain of Blood and Dracula vs. Franken- stein, both 1971), whose works were fre- quently programmed on the network. Be- sides, he gives props to Werewolf of Washington, so I’d buy him a round just on principle. Fright Night on Channel 9’s appeal is admit-


tedly limited, but it’s a very solid effort and hence recommended. Because let’s face it – we’re kinda funny that way, aren’t we?


JOHN W. BOWEN


JOE GOLEM AND THE DROWNING CITY Imagine that half of New York City sank into the


ocean back in 1925 but people continued to live in the buildings that were tall enough to poke out of the water, constructing elaborate rope bridges and walkways between them. Now, imagine that these people – cut off from the rest of the city and the world – formed their own society, creat- ing a post-apocalyptic, steampunk-esque ghetto out of the debris and whatever valuables they could scavenge from the ruins. This is the alternate history


into which we are cast for Hellboy creator Mike Mignola and author Christopher Golden’s latest illustrated novel, Joe Golem and The Drowning City. (The pair pre- viously collaborated on 2007’s unrelated Baltimore, or The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire, see RM#70). And the setting is far from the only un- usual thing in the story, which tells the tale of fourteen-year- old Molly, an orphan whose life is thrown into danger and dis-


array after the magician/medium she works for is kidnapped by a pack of wetsuit clad, gas- mask-wearing, not-quite-corporeal entities. But before they can snag her too, she’s rescued by Joe, who is the muscle for an evil-fighting, half-


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