Happy Halloween: 100+ Horror DVD List

It is the best holiday of the year so your treat is my list of my favorite 100+ Horror DVDs. The above trailer for TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD struck me as the most spooky so I added it for your viewing (dis)pleasure.

This list is by no means complete. I am huge horror nerd and there are many import flicks and other films that aren't even available on DVD yet that I would list among my favorites. I had to put this together fast so I probably missed some good ones. The list is based on my own Netflix ratings so sometimes the titles and dates won't correspond to the DVDs that are currently available across the world. When in doubt, plug in the titles on imbd and you'll figure it out. Also, I had a hard time differentiating what was horror as opposed to exploitation / sci-fi etc and who really cares anyhow right?

Also, please refrain from bitching about what I did or did not include here. I know I have weird taste but more importantly... this is MY blog dammit. So here we go...

Aftermath / Genesis: Double Feature (1994)
Alien: Collector's Edition (1979)
All the Colors of the Dark (1972)
Alucarda (1975)
Anatomy (2000)
April Fool's Day (1986)
Audition (2000)
Bad Taste (1988)
Bay of Blood (1971)
Beyond the Darkness (1979)
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970)
Black Sabbath (1963)
Blade 2 (2002)
Blood and Black Lace (1964)
Blood for Dracula (1974)
The Bloodstained Shadow (1978)
Bloodsucking Freaks (1978)
The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1959)
Burial Ground: The Nights of Terror (1986)
Cannibal Apocalypse (1980)
Cannibal Ferox (1981)
Cannibal Holocaust (1985)
The Case of the Bloody Iris (1971)
The Cat O'Nine Tails (1971)
Cemetery Man (1996)
Cut and Run (1985)
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Dead Alive (1992)
Deep Red (1975)
Demons of the Mind (1971)
Dog Soldiers (2002)
The Evil Dead (1982)
Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987)
The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)
Feast (2005)
Fiend Without a Face (1958)
Final Destination 2 (2003)
Flavia the Heretic (1974)
Flesh for Frankenstein (1973)
Frankenstein / Bride of Frankenstein (1931)
Frenzy (1972)
From Beyond (1986)
Grindhouse: Planet Terror (2007)
Guinea Pig: Flower of Flesh and Blood (1985)
The Haunting (1963)
Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
High Tension (2005)
The Hills Have Eyes (2006)
Hostel (2006)
Inferno (1980)
The Invisible Man: Special Edition (1933)
Jigoku (1960)
Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1979)
Let Sleeping Corpses Lie (1974)
Lifeforce (1985)
Lucio Fulci: City of the Living Dead (1980)
Lucio Fulci: Don't Torture a Duckling (1972)
Lucio Fulci: The Beyond (1981)
Lucio Fulci: The New York Ripper (1982)
Maniac! (1980)
Masters of Horror: The Black Cat (2006)
Masters of Horror: Cigarette Burns (2006)
Masters of Horror: Right to Die (2007)
Masters of Horror: Imprint (2005)
May (2003)
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Nightmare City (1980)
Nightwatch (1994)
Peeping Tom (1960)
Possession (1981)
Rabid (1977)
Ravenous (1999)
Re-Animator (1985)
Reincarnation of Isabel (1972)
The Return of the Living Dead (1985)
Scanners (1981)
Sette Scialli Di Seta Gialla (1972)
Seven Blood Stained Orchids (1972)
The Shining (1980)
Shivers (1975)
Short Night of the Glass Dolls (1971)
Sleepaway Camp (1983)
Sleepless (2001)
Species (1995)
Street Trash (1987)
Suspiria (1977)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1983)
Tombs of the Blind Dead (1973)
The Toxic Avenger (1985)
Videodrome (1983)
Watch Me When I Kill (1977)
The Whip and the Body (2002)
Wolf Creek (2005)
Zombie (1979)
Zombie 4: After Death (1988)

Happy Halloween. -Jonathan Canady

Körperwelten CD available now

I'm a little late on announcing this but... a while back I did three original illustrations for the Körperelten "Avatars of Rape and Rage" CD. This project is a collaboration between Lee (ex-NAVICON TORTURE TECH / current LOVE IS NOTHING) and Henrik (NORDVARGR). The album is available now on Malignant Records.

The above logo and text was drawn by my friend Gunnar. You can see more of his work on his website and and MySpace page.


Above is a detail of the original pencil drawing for the first illustration.


This is the finished piece (click for a larger image).

To see more you'll just need to buy the CD. I listened to it again last night and it's really excellent dark, intense, multi-layered post-industrial. I have to say this was one of my favorite design/illustration jobs of all time. Thanks again to Lee, Henrik and Jason (Malignant) for involving me in such a great project.

Thank you. -Jonathan

Superjail!

This is the best TV show ever. It has just recently started airing on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. I've only seen two episodes but I am HOOKED.

Here's a more detailed post from Eaten By Ducks.

Thanks. -Jonathan

More Madame Talbot

A while back I did a post about "The Gas" by Charles Platt and it's amazing illustrations by Madame (Ashleigh) Talbot. Her representative Brennan Dalsgard was kind enough to allow me to keep my scans of her artwork up on my blog and send me a link to more of her old artwork.

There is a large selection of Madame Talbot's early illustration work here. Everything is HAND created with no computers! Make sure to click through all of it - it's worth it.

Of course you also need to check out the rest of her site. Her current fine art, hand made dolls and displays are great. She has a HUGE selection of amazing items for sale.

FYI - A little over a year ago Madame Talbot was kind enough to give me some advice about the art business (I had no idea she was responsible for "The Gas" artwork at the time). So talented AND nice too... she must be from another planet.

Thanks. -Jonathan

THE Triptych

(Click for enlarged image)

I feel like a fool. I have been to New York City around 100 times in the last 15 years and I had NO IDEA that my favorite Francis Bacon triptych, "Three Studies for a Crucifixion" 1962, is at The Guggenheim. I have been to MOMA several times but never The Guggenheim. Well, next time I'm in NYC.

This painting was actually a major source of inspiration to me. The splattered head in the center panel was one of the first images that prompted me to start painting seriously. I even ripped it off for the illustration for the ANGEL OF DECAY "Radio Brain Damage" EP that I did in 2006 (colorized version below).


(Click for enlarged image)

I actually did manage to start painting again (on canvas no less) this last weekend. I'm happy with how it's going so far.

Thank you. -Jonathan

Work is Killing Me...

...so here's a great trailer for "The Killing of America." This is easily my favorite true crime documentary. Pathetically it's only available on DVD as an import but I recommend tracking it down if you can. It looks as if someone may have the whole thing up on YouTube.

So yeah, I have been working constantly for the last several weeks. There's a light at the end of the tunnel so I may finally get back to painting very soon.

Thanks. -Jonathan

My twenty years of DEATH METAL

This morning I was in the shower and I started thinking about death metal. Ha ha. I think about all sorts of strange things in the shower. Anyway, it occurred to me that I've been listening to this stuff for twenty years. So then I wondered to myself... what do I consider death metal exactly? To me it's a style that took classic thrash metal and made it faster and more vocally brutal. If that's true, then 1988 was the dawn of death metal. Yeah, there already was REPULSION but that is more grindcore to me. Yep, there was CARCASS but I really don't consider them death metal until their second album. Yeah, yeah, DEATH had some fast as fuck demos... but their well known albums are thrash in my book. I know there are differing opinions on all that but this is my blog right?

So that brought me back to 1988. I was 15, the guitarist in a TERRIBLE grindcore band and part of the tape trading scene of the day. Two of the three first truly death metal bands I experienced came from stuff I heard on umpteenth generation crappy quality cassettes. Those were NIHILIST and MORBID ANGEL. The other band, BOLT THROWER, I heard originally from the "Hardcore Holocaust" LP compilation of BBC Peel Sessions that came out in '88. As soon as I heard those two BOLT THROWER tracks I ran out and bought their debut album "In Battle There is No Law."



Before I started writing this post I skimmed my copy of Albert Mudian's excellent book "Choosing Death." If you enjoy death metal and/or grindcore and you haven't read that book you are REALLY missing out. Anyhow, the first thing that came to mind when I tried to remember what the first death metal I album I bought was "In Battle." While flipping through "Choosing Death" to check dates against my memory I saw that BOLT THROWER is only mentioned in passing. I was a little pissed about this although, since Albert and I are acquaintances, I will have to assume he has several reasons for the omission and I'll just let it be. In my world "In Battle There is No Law" is essential. It blew my mind the first time I heard it (more so than even NAPALM DEATH's "Scum") and it has remained a favorite album over the years. I remember meeting BOLT THROWER back on their 1991 "Warmaster" tour and I told them how much I love their debut album. They all looked at me like I was crazy. Ha ha. I still believe it is their best album ("Realm of Chaos" a very close second) and that front cover artwork? Fuck. More about that album cover in a future post.


(Click for larger image)

On to a band I have a very strange perspective on... MORBID ANGEL. Thanks to one of my tape trading pals I got a terrible dub of the "Thy Kingdom Come" demo and a live recording from a show they did in New Jersey around the same time. I listened to those two recordings so many times I am surprised my tape didn't snap. I quickly became a huge fan and was very pleased with the "Altars of Madness" album that came out in the Spring of 1989. Unfortunately I never saw the "Altars..." line up play live. The opportunity only arose long after they had put out many albums with David Vincent on vocals that I did not personally enjoy. In fact, I like NOTHING the band did before "Thy Kingdom Come" or after "Altars." Yeah, I tried and tried again but it was no good. "Altars of Madness" is still one of my all time favorite death metal albums. I also traded away a very cherished LP (I'm too embarrassed to say which one) for a copy of the "Thy Kingdom Come" 7" EP. I distinctly remember someone saying "you traded THAT?!?!?." Oh well, that demo and EP are very important to me.


(Click for larger image)

Last but not least we have NIHILIST. I got a horrible hissy tape dub of their first demo "Premature Autopsy" in 1988 and loved it with a passion. The next year I heard more by the band and was hooked. Not long after that I read In Slayer Magazine that they disbanded and was very disappointed. So then in 1990 Earache put out ENTOMBED's "Left Hand Path" album out of the ashes of the band I loved. When I heard it I HATED it. Yes, it's true. Now in retrospect I feel stupid but man... it just wasn't NIHILIST. I don't think I finally broke down and admitted that "Left Hand Path" is a great album until maybe 1997 or so. Ha ha. I am very pleased that a few years ago I got a copy of the collected NIHILIST recordings on CD. I think those demos deserve a better mastering and packaging job but hey... beggars can't be choosers.

I have to say that those days from about 1988 thru maybe 1993 were the last time I was REALLY excited about music. I was exposed to so many great bands and the death metal and grind scenes were just gaining momentum. 99% of all heavy music since then just doesn't really stack up in my book.

The dawn of death metal is still a big part of me. I can't cut off my damn long hair and I still listen to death and grind from the late 80's / early 90's regularly. Early death metal probably has a lot to do with why I went on to do DEATHPILE and why my art looks the way it does. I think most people involved in the scene back then just moved on from that stuff and didn't give it a second thought. I'm 35 years old now and I'm looking back on those days as a truly important part of my life that I wouldn't change for anything.

Thanks. -Jonathan Canady