Diabolique Magazine Launches Petition for Classic Hammer Films

Diabolique Magazine has started a petition to ask Warner Bros to release their Hammer Horror titles on blu-ray, fully restored for optimal quality. WB’s Hammer titles represent the British company’s very best output, and for many reasons, including cultural and historical, we believe these films should be restored and released in the new digital medium without delay.

Unfortunately, the trend for big studios is to release the same small group of films that they deem big moneymakers, over and over again, instead of releasing their classic film library. Supporting this petition is a vote for classic films in general, because it is getting harder and harder to get these films out, properly restored to High-Def. Classic cinema needs all the help it can get!

Our goal is 10,000 signatures by April 30th, 2014! So far, we’ve gotten tremendous support from fans all over the world and from genre media. In just the first 4 days, we passed the 2,000 signature mark, and we’ve been informed that WB has already taken notice. We believe this is a very important petition and we are asking you to cover it as a feature story. We are, or course, available for interviews.

Click here to sign the petition.

Diabolique Magazine Issue #16 Now Available

There are few actors in the horrific halls of fame who deserve the dedication of an entire issue of Diabolique. Peter Cushing appeared in dozens of classic horror films and is known for no less than three character roles: Van Helsing, Dr. Frankenstein, and Sherlock Holmes, each of which he portrayed through an entire series of films. In this issue, we celebrate what would have been his one hundredth birthday by presenting an overview of Cushing’s career, memoirs of people who knew him, highlights of some of his finest moments and coverage of Cushing’s own memoirs. Additionally, we speak with Neil Jordan about his newest vampire film, Byzantium; and we talk with Nigel Wingrove about the censorship battle he fought for his “dangerous” work.

Click Here to order!

Inside this issue:

THE DYING GAME
Neil Jordan sits down with Max Weinstein to shed light on his new Gothic vampire film, Byzantium

THE CUSHING “13″
Jonathan Rigby gives us a primer on Peter Cushing’s 13 stand-out film roles and reveals what makes them special

ON THE CUTTING EDGE: VISIONS QUEST
Nigel Wingrove talks to Max Weinstein about his 23-year crusade against censorship

VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN – CREATOR AND MONSTER
Bruce G. Hallenbeck examines the evolution of Dr. Victor Frankenstein: from Mary Shelley’s “pale student of unhallowed arts” to Hammer’s depraved mad scientist

PASS THE MEMORIES
David Del Valle pays tribute to and shares his personal memories of Peter Cushing

HAMMERING VITALITY INTO DRACULA
Colin McCracken talks to Marcus Hearn and Jonathan Rigby about the significance and lasting influence of Hammer’s Dracula (1958) and how Peter Cushing revolutionized the role of the vampire hunter

BOOK REVIEW: PETER CUSHING – THE COMPLETE MEMOIRS
James Gracey reviews the new book which combines Peter Cushing’s memoirs

ART OF DARKNESS: VERONICA CARLSON
Michele Galgana interviews Peter Cushing’s two-time co-star and artist Veronica Carlson

PETER AND ME
President of the Peter Cushing Association, Christopher Gullo, pays tribute to one of his favorite actors

Click Here to order!

DIABOLIQUE WEBCAST Episode No. 14: Andres Muschietti’s Mama (2013) by way of Jack Clayton's The Innocents (1961)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New York, NY (Feb 1, 2013)
How did Jack Clayton’s classic The Innocents (1961) influence Andres Muschietti’s Mama (2013)? Steve Head and David Kleiler discuss the two films, as part of Diabolique’s comprehensive coverage of them in Issue 14. Click Here to Listen.

PLUS: DIABOLIQUE WEBCAST Episode No. 13: When Horror Came to Shochiku

Steve Head, Brett Michel, and Jake Mulligan discuss Criterion’s Eclipse Series 37: When Horror Came to Shochiku Collection, which includes such Japanese horror classics as The X from Outer Space; Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell; The Living Skeleton; Genocide. Click Here to Listen.