Magazine Review: The Dark Side – Issue 191

The Dark Side
Issue 191
Editor: Allan Bryce
Ghoulish Publishing

THEY WON’T STAY DEAD: FIFTY YEARS OF NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, screams the front cover to The Dark Side issue 191, and what a fifty years it’s been! George A Romero’s indie masterpiece changed cinema forever, thanks to its casting, its plot, its terrifying atmosphere and downbeat ending, spawning endless clones and unofficial sequels. Christopher Ketting’s epic feature on arguably the greatest horror movie ever made is everything you would hope it to be.

The other standout piece for me this issue is a look at the intricacies of the 4K remaster of Dario Argento’s Suspiria, where John Martin interviews Torsten Kaiser, who headed the TLEFilms’ restoration of the maestro’s glorious work of lurid horror art. As with every issue of The Dark Side, the rest of the content is just as good.

After the usual news section there’s a departure from the standard Dark Side content with a really interesting retrospective of the Resident Evil game franchise, although I’d have liked there to be an accompanying piece on the Resident Evil movies as well. I know they were far from perfect, but they were popular and several were a lot of fun (although Retribution was rather incoherent).

A look back at the ‘H’ rating for horror movies in the UK during the 1930s comes across as a genuine historical document. The faithful DVD reviews section is present and correct, ready for you to agree or disagree (in some cases strongly – see their review of The Gate) with the writers’ take on films you may have loved. A piece on Rialto Films follows, which is very good but perhaps one for completists only.

An examination of Edgar Wallace’s contribution to the creation of King Kong is up next and offers some strong insight alongside the fantastic vintage lobby cards and posters that have been reprinted alongside it. The new British horror flick Ghost Stories is also covered, including how it moved from stage to screen. A look back at Night of the Demon and an interview with Bill Rebane round off another issue of a magazine which continues to damn well earn their cover price.

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