Movies
F. Paul Wilson is one of the best writers in the horror genre. In his considerable body of work there isn't a single misstep or dud. Yet he has had poor luck in getting his vision transfered to the visual screen.

I'm not a fan of Michael Mann's movies. In fact the only one that I even like at all is Thief and even that is a bit of a stretch. But his adaptation of Wilson's The Keep is bad by any standard. How could such a great book be butchered so BADLY and when the filmmaker obviously had a decent budget? Ask Mann. I can't tell you.

The low, low budget movie made from F. Paul Wilson's Midnight Mass is at least well-intended and it doesn't insult the dignity of the original work the way that The Keep did. But it's not that great either. I'd give it a C for effort and a salute for the director for completing it and managing to get it distributed, but I can't find it in myself to actually recommend it to anyone. It's an interesting effort, at best.

At the time of this writing, I haven't seen Dario Argento's Masters of Horror episode based on Wilson's Pelts, so I cannot comment on that. I've heard mixed reviews of it, to say the least.

Now there's a DVD called Others that was put together from short films based on three classic stories from the fertile imagination of F. Paul Wilson. I got my copy in the mail yesterday and I proceeded to watch it last night, and...

I am guardedly impressed. None of the three shorts disgrace the written material in which they were adapted from and while they vary in quality, I had a good time with it.

The first film is based on a real favorite of mine. Foet (sounds like Feet) was a story that originally appeared in Thomas F. Monteleone's celebrated Borderlands 2 anthology. It's a creepy, yet seductive story of the newest fashion style in NYC. Handbags made from aborted fetuses.

Foet was made by a guy named Ian Fischer. It's the rawest movie of the three, but I don't really think that's a disadvantage. The rough looking print adds to the grotesque nature of the story. And while I can't swear to it, Foet looks as though it were shot on actual film. And to Fischer's credit, the lead character doesn't look like a fashion model or anything, but rather like a normal person.

The second short is called Traps and it's the most conventional horror story of the trio. Traps deals with a man that is attempting to rid his attic of what he assumes to be mice. But something different lurks there. Something hideous. It's well made, and isn't at all dull, but I still found Traps to be the weakest of the collection. Still, writer/director Marc Buhmann did a good job with it and he deserves to be proud.

The third and final story in Others is easily my favorite of the three. It's called Lipidleggin'. Lipid is the Latin term for insoluble fats and oils that are commonly measured as Cholesterol, and leggin' derives from the word, bootlegging. In a near future, eggs and butter are declared illegal for humanity's own good. Yet of course there are ways to obtain illicit materials and that's what this story is about. It's a terrific little tale and one that would no doubt appeal to the Libertarian nature of Repairman Jack. It's also very funny and I had the pleasure of seeing Paul read it at The Horrorfind Convention 2005. The film, Lepidleggin', was made by Dave Moore and he did a magnificent job bringing this rather short story to the small screen. His is a name I'll be on the lookout for from now on.

Do I recommend Others to people that are curious about it? That's a good question. These are amateur productions and they show their humble origins. Those that love overbudgeted Hollywood movies and sniff their contempt at 'cheap' indie projects should probably avoid it. But those that have a taste for good microcinema and can overlook a modest or even a no-budgeted film will probably be happy with their purchase. F. Paul Wilson himself must approve to at least some degree, because he personally signs copies bought from The Shocklines Bookstore.

The Others DVD is actually a DVD-R, but I don't see that as a bad thing. I really like that independent producers are bringing good horror writers' to the screen, such as with Edward Lee's Header and now with Others. This is a trend that I'd like to see more of. Others gets a thumbs up from me.

Interested parties are encouraged to purchase Others from Shocklines.

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