t Slasherama, it's all about the body count. Bloodbaths, carnage and homicidal maniacs are the stuff dreams—as well as screams—are made of at this enthusiastic news-and-reviews site celebrating horror movies and everything associated with them.
Recent features available at the Slasherama Web page include a report on a Spanish film festival specializing in European horror films, an interview with Doom executive producer John Wells, a discussion of the British Board of Film's long history of censoring a movie called Zombie Flesh Eaters and, on the lighter side of things, a list of 10 great slasher movies. The site has a lengthy archive of movie reviews, maintains a sparsely updated blog and is host to message boards where horror aficionados can discuss general movie news as well as slasher-specific topics like the Friday the 13th movie series, horror film censorship around the globe and suitably spooky video games.
Slasherama also has a "Gore Gallery," a collection of grotesque images from movies like Hellraiser, Demons and Cannibal Ferox, each accompanied by a humorous caption. The site has an e-mail newsletter that visitors can join, U.S. and U.K. buying guides for DVD releases, an impressive links page and a news section wittily entitled "The 666 O'Clock News."
Despite its purported focus on death, death and even more cinematic death, Slasherama's definition of horror does occasionally stretch its boundaries—visitors will find an article on the reimagined Doctor Who in its Features archive, and the movie review area has covered a few films—like Batman Begins and Sin City—that have attracted significant non-horror audiences. In general, though, this site is just what it claims to be: a gathering place for fans of dark, creepy and unrelentingly lethal motion pictures.
—A.M. Dellamonica
Site of the Week—December 19, 2005
ult-film analysis is the top priority of the Mutant Reviewers From Hell, a cheery crew of devoted film fans who recently celebrated the posting of their 1,500th film review. Devoted to providing plainspoken write-ups of movies, be they Hollywood blockbusters or oddball independent classics, this site not only provides irreverent, no-punches-pulled film criticism but also gives each picture a detailed "Mutant Meter" rating, one that quantifies its cultishness, degree of bizarre content and—most importantly—rewatchability.
The eminently searchable Mutant archive is packed with multiple reviews of more than 900 movies, all indexed alphabetically and into handy genre categories. For visitors less interested in reading up on a specific film, the Features section offers a stunning array of diversions: Year in Review essays going back five years, interviews and articles on theater etiquette, graphic novels, sequels and '80s movies—to name just a few. A recurring column, "You Know, That Guy!", spotlights hardworking character actors whose faces are familiar but whose names tend to be unknown to filmgoers. There is a section devoted to timelines—snarky, fictionalized histories of pop culture phenomena like the Muppets, Star Wars and Weird Al Yankovic—as well as contests, links and polls. The site even offers guides on topics including successful movie marathons, how films win Oscars and understanding why the characters in an elimination horror film are so likely to meet their grisly fates.
Meanwhile, the Annual Mutant Awards presented by the Reviewers From Hell include categories somehow overlooked by mainstream prizes like the Oscars. Chosen by site visitors, the celebrated Mutie includes categories like Best Torture Scene, Craziest Musical Number, Worst Traumatic Moment in a Kiddie Film and Most Memorable Destruction of Extras.
The Mutant Reviewers are prolific, good-natured and witty, and because their Web page usually offers more than one review of a given picture, the opinions in their archives tend to be more balanced than at other review sites. Web surfers interested in thoughtful (but never stuffy) movie talk will definitely want to give this site a thorough look.
—A.M. Dellamonica
Site of the Week—December 12, 2005
s part of its mandate to address the representation of people of color in the SF, fantasy and horror genres, the Carl Brandon Society has just rolled out a new weblog. Bright, cheery and eminently readable, the blog promotes member publications, book signings and other events of interest to genre fans looking to broaden their reading horizons.
Current publishing events touted on this blog include a reading from the World Fantasy Award-winning Dark Matter: Reading the Bones anthology (edited by Sheree R. Thomas), the much-awaited release of Fledgling, Octavia Butler's first novel in seven years, and a link to an interview with author Charles Saunders. There are also links to relevant Web pages, mostly the sites of member authors like Samuel R. Delany, Owl Goingback and Pam Noles, but also SF artists, translators and publishers.
The Carl Brandon blog is so new that it has few posts in its archive at present, and has yet to generate much in the way of visitor participation. That said, the authors represented here are a brilliant and varied group, and their announcements are quick, to the point, and loaded with intriguing links. Readers across the Internet would do well to visit this site often, using it as a handy roadmap to some of the most mind-expanding and original writing being produced in the SF field.
—A.M. Dellamonica
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