News

Reviewing Works From Problematic Creators: Editorial

Video

In the past I have reviewed several works from creators who are problematic, whether having previously committed sexual assault (David Eddings), or who have said very racist things and have endorsed genocide by a totalitarian dictatorship (Cixin Liu and the Chinese government’s oppression of Uyghurs), so it’s time for me to have something of a discussion of what goes into decisions of what I’m reviewing going forward, and my policies for reviewing works from problematic creators.

Also, for the record, Trans Rights are Human Rights. Black Lives Matter.

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Manga

Manga Review: Maison Ikkoku Vol. 1 (Re-Release)

In what feels like decades since the last release of Maison Ikkoku, Viz is re-releasing the manga, using the 10-volume format that the series received in Japan, instead of the 15-volume release they used for the previous version, and with a new translation. Since I didn’t get particularly far in the manga with the previous release, I figured now is a pretty good time to start over from scratch.

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film

The Vampire Lovers: Film Review

Hammer Films has always had some form of sexual content in their movies, generally in the form of various generic barmaids with cleaving-accentuating outfits being menaced by some form of monster (usually Dracula, but occasionally a werewolf or Frankenstein’s monster. However, due to Hammer’s frequent clashes with the BBFC, never with actual nudity. Similarly, while critical discussion of vampire fiction has discussed a degree of homoeroticism, up until the 70s, much of what you got was male actors staring intensely into someone’s eyes before feeding on them – with probably the distinct exception of Lemora: A Child’s Tale of the Supernatural. The Vampire Lovers crosses both of those lines.

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film

Scream and Scream Again: Film Review

Amicus Films greatest strength as a studio has been, in their films I’ve previously reviewed (like Tales from the Crypt and Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors) has been their anthology films. Their films were always fairly low budget, but the short form anthology film format allowed them to get good actors in for short narrative works. Scream and Scream Again shifts things by doing a more ambitious narrative, but one which stumbles out of the gate and is fumbled in its execution.

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