32 pages. Colour & B&W.
Visual Imagination Limited.
The Global Magazine of Horror
Edited by Alan Jones.
Cover photograph.
Contents:
.2 Musicmail International advertisement.
.3 Editorial by Alan Jones.
.4 Shake & Quake News feature by Alan Jones.
.6 Brain Dead - The Rot Has Set In Peter Jackson feature by Alan Jones.
.8 David Cronenberg Invites You to Lunch interview by Mark Kermode.
11 Zombies on Stage text feature by David McGillivray.
12 Excite Me: The Shock Horror Cinema of Sergio Martino, part one, Satanists, Scorpions and Seething Signoras text feature by Mark Ashworth.
16 Pinhead Unbound Doug Bradley interview by Alan Jones.
19 Tetsuo II - The Body Hammer review by Nigel Floyd.
21 Subscriptions
22 Inquisition Readers' questions answered by David McGillivray.
23 Competition (half page).
24 The Devil and Mr. Stanley text feature by Alan Jones.
28 Videodrome reviews by Bob McCabe.
30 Top Ten David Blyth's Top Ten Horror Movies
31 Hell Screen text feature by David Prothero.
32 Shivers in-house advertisement.
Much of the iconic Hellraiser photograph's power has passed with familiarity, meaning the cover to this issue isn't half as impressive as it was in 1992 - using yellow and white text upon a pale background wasn't a great idea in retrospect, and the chosen font reads rather clumsily, not to mention being slightly too large. A lack of finesse is something all Visual Imagination publications suffered from, yet excitement at seeing a new mainstream horror title on shelves at the time make any concerns largely irrelevant.
Alan Jones' editorial makes use of a Dario Argento quote to open his editorial, setting Shivers up as an international horror publication. This is immediately compromised by the Shake & Quake News feature focusing on British and American films - and it is in this which reminders of 90s film is strongest. Forever Young was still called The Rest of Daniel, and Gibson is suggested to be playing James T. West in The Wild, Wild West remake.
Fortunately, Lamberto Bava and Dario Argento get highlighted, though mockery of Lucio Fulci, at being fed up of interviews, is rather harsh. This was during a period where he was perpetually being hounded for commentary. Implications from the intriguing mention of Isobar, a proposed Sylvester Stallone film, and promise of Beetlejuice 2 (slated for 1993) are probably best left unexplored.
Mark Kermode's interview with David Cronenberg is interesting, and (accompanied by a brief filmography) manages to dig a little deeper than most examinations of the man's work, though the focus is on his film output. As with Crispin Glover, or Clive Barker, this ignores a great deal of fascinating work which doesn't often get attention from genre publications. A little more space would have allowed Kermode to explore some of this.
Zombie Attack! is covered in David McGillivray's Zombies on Stage feature, yet the (extremely) brief article doesn't do much more than shout "this is a thing! It exists!" before running away. Which is annoying, because the stage show sounds like fun. Mark Ashworth admirably tackles Sergio Martino's horror films with gusto, and is (thankfully) given a series in which to do so.
Doug Bradley's association with Pinhead is a natural focus of his interview, and we are informed that the day of the interview (25th of October, 1991) numbered the thirty-seventh time Bradley had worn Pinhead's make-up in five years. It is small details like this which I love. In retrospect, there's a massive gap at the heart of the interview which no amount of background information can cover up, and that makes this interview feel lacking in a way it didn't at the time.
We aren't given nearly enough of Bradley's background, his writing isn't explored, and largely ignores his other roles. While it makes sense to concentrate on, and promote. one of the great success stories of modern horror, this lack of detail - placing things in a clear chronology - makes the franchise seem to have flowered from the first film's release. Clive Barker's use of well-known elements in fashioning Hellraiser isn't noted, nor is the expansive world of characters outside the films.
Both Tetsuo films are masterpieces. There's no question that they had massive influence on filmmakers and audiences alike, though Nigel Floyd's review of the sequel doesn't seem appropriately impressed at how different it was to everything else receiving a cinematic release. It is okay to gush a little when confronted by something which goes its own way so magnificently.
While Inquisition - a feature in which readers' questions are answered - is commendable, the concentration on US films is limiting. It is interesting to see the cause of The Punisher being cut by 70s by the B.B.F.C. however. The mention of Micahel Armstrong's stage musical My Jewish Vampire isn't accompanied by any photographs or dates. Here's a hint for editors: when something this intriguing is dropped into conversation you should make the most of it.
Guyver, retitled Mutronics for video release, gets a poor review courtesy of Bob McCabe (and he isn't wrong); focus of the reviews is on western film, further undermining attempts at coverage of horror from around the world. Top Ten seems to have slipped into the issue by dint of its' brevity, although it could have worked better had (for instance) Clive Barker been asked.
Now, what's lacking... There's no commentary on horror comics, television is given short shrift, novels are largely irrelevant to the first issue, paintings are ignored completely, and there is a distinct lack of pocket cartoons, humerous comic strips, or illustrations to break up the reliance on photographs and text. Samhain was steps ahead of Shivers in its initial outing in this regard, and even Fear had a head-start.
A hesitant outing for a title which would improve gradually over the course of the next few issues, but which is disappointingly reserved in this case.
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