Lost Carcosa

I just watched a French movie called “In My Skin” and wow… I’m not sure just what I can say about this one.  “In My Skin” is a disturbing movie, both in imagry and psychologically.  It is a story of trying to connect to one’s self, and maintaining a semblance of control.  When someone loses control over the world around them, that person may go to extreme measures to regain a feeling of control over something.

IMDB says:

A woman grows increasingly fascinated with her body after suffering a disfiguring accident.

The Playground says a bit more:

After drunkenly gashing her leg open at a party, Esther becomes obsessed with her body and it’s perceived imperfections. She begins to poke, prod, cut, gouge and mutilate her body on a journey to self discovery.

Its hard to say much more than that without really giving too much away.  Even with all the cringing I did, I thoroughly enjoyed this film.  It says a lot without really saying a whole lot.  The acting is good, and imagry is great, and the raw feeling is powerful. Basically, what needs to be said is add it to your NetFlix queue now.  Unless you can’t stomach blood and self inflicted wounds done really slowly and deliberately.  Then you might want to pass.

IMDB: Dans Ma Peau

NetFlix: In My Skin

Enter the Octopus has posted up a mini review and some photos of a large and awesome looking collection of art entitled “A Lovecraft Retrospective: Artists Inspired by H. P. Lovecraft” from Centipede Press.  I especially love the artwork on the cover jacket, which coincidently is the same artwork on the editions of the HPL compilations I grew up with!  Included in the book are some previously unpublished works, several major essays, and an intro by Harlan Ellison.  Now if only I had the spare cash to add this to my growing collection of coffee table art books.

Enter the Octopus to see the pretty pictures.

You can get a copy from Centipede Press and from Amazon.com.

Well I’ll be darned!  Its not an actual story connection, but I’d never have guessed that the actor who plays Torchwood’s Ianto Jones would be doing a book signing for an audio book version of “The Call of Cthulhu”.

If you happen to be near Birmingham, UK, maybe you should go see Gareth David-Lloyd at the Nostalgia And Comics at Smallbrook Queensway, Birmingham, between 11am and 1pm, Saturday, June 28.  He’s also set to make appearances this year at Polaris 22, San Diego Comic Con, and Dragon*Con.

Read more at The Geek Files.

Elder Sign Press’ “Hardboiled Cthulhu” is a great treat for fans of Lovecraft and pulp detective stories. It is a collection of unimaginable horror, leggy dames, and the stubborn men who charge up against both.

William Jones’ “A Change of Life”, a great pulp story, and John Sunseri’s Pickmanesque “A Little Job in Arkham” are both excellent stories, doing a great job with merging Lovecraftian horror into the gritty detective genres. And no other story in the collection has quite the Lovecraft ending as Robert M. Proce’s “The Prying Investigations of Edwin M. Lilliibridge”.

James Chambers’ “The Roaches in the Walls” is the star of the collection. Not only does it hold very well with the style of the old pulp detective stories, and to the horrific nature of Lovecraft’s terrors, but it’s also one of the most original and creative stories in the collection. Chambers wrote a fantastic story and I hope to read more from him.

Sometimes you fight your whole life for everything you believe is right and come up the loser for it. What keeps you going is the golden fragment of your past, that fading memory that stokes the last ember of hope glowing in your soul, because when that burns out - which it inevitably will - all that’s left is terminal emptiness.

- James Chambers : The Roaches in the Walls

I really enjoyed this collection. I could say something nice about just about every story in the collection, but I’ll leave it at this: This is a must purchase item for fans of Horror and Pulp detective stories.

You can find “Hardboiled Cthulhu” and more books from Elder Sign Press at their website.

Make sure to check out my friend’s writing. She’s an excellent writer and only getting better. I think we’ll be seeing big things from her in the future.

Apex #12:

Utilizing shorthand more effectively than most instant messengers or texters could imagine, “Clementine” by Joy Marchand is a star in this issue.

Interzone #215

In “Holding Pattern” by Joy Marchand, there’s a sweaty alien in seat 1A who says the plane is going to crash after its twentieth pass over LAX…