By Todd Garbarini
Richard Klemensen’s Little
Shoppe of Horrors is a stellar magazine. If you like Gary Svehla’s Midnight
Marquee and similar publications that are well-written and polished, you’ll
love the beautiful Little Shoppe of
Horrors. In 2012 it entered its 40th
anniversary with the most current issue, number 29. Cinema Retro is a mere youngster by
comparison! Subtitled “The Journal of
Classic British Horror Films,†Little
Shoppe of Horrors is chock full of exclusive images of the glory days of
the Hammer horror films. It is obvious
that Mr. Klemensen has a true love for these films. In this issue you’ll find a wonderful look
back at the life and work of Vincent Price. The front and rear covers of the latest issue feature beautiful images
by Jeff Preston and Mark Maddox, respectively, of Vincent Price, and the inside
covers feature artwork by Dean Ormston and Paul Watts.
Issue #29 includes:
- · An exclusive interview with film and television
director Frank Darabont and film director Tim Burton, whose love of Vincent
Price can been seen through much of his work over the past thirty years, going
back to the very beginnings of his career with his short film, Vincent, which is about a young boy who
wants to be Vincent Price and can be seen here (it’s even narrated by Vincent Price!). Both directors talk specifically about The Abominable Dr. Phibes.
- · Justin Humphreys gives readers an
in-depth look at the making of The
Abominable Dr. Phibes in a nearly 30-page article (take that, Cinefantastique!) about the making
of the film. He also profiles the late Dr. Phibes set designer Brian Eatwell.
- · David Taylor writes about the late model-turned-actress
Virginia North who played Vulnavia in the film.
- · Author Denis Meikle provides an inside
look on the set of The Abominable Dr.
Phibes when he interviewed Vincent Price.
- · Sam Irwin and David Taylor create a chronological
history of the treatments and script ideas related to what was to become a Dr. Phibes franchise, in addition to a
look at how Dr. Phibes has lived on in novels and comic books.
And much, much more in its 108 pages.
Little Shoppe of Horrors
has a beautifully designed and easily navigable website
that permits readers to see what’s coming up in the next issue, in addition to
ordering copies of back issues.
All in all, this is a beautiful-designed and printed
publication, published first and foremost by the only people who should be
publishing it – die-hard fans with a true love for the subject matter. A must for horror fans!
As an aside, there is also a wonderful audio interview that
was recently conducted with Mr. Klemensen, and you can click here
to listen to it. He explains how he was
such a fan of these movies and how they differed from other horror films from
the time in that they were in color and featured classically-trained actors
such as Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing who both starred in innumerable roles
for Hammer. He also talks about how he
contacted people in the British film industry who were more than willing to
talk to him about their work, and how he managed to visit Pinewood Studios in
England.