Bare Bones #5: Winter 2021

My wife bought this zine for me, so I'm reviewing it on her account. BARE*BONES #5 is yet another must-have issue of this delightful zine. I’ve never been able to generate enough interest in THE WHISTLER movies to seek them out, even though many of William Castle’s later films are nostalgic favorites. But Holger Haase’s in-depth article did the trick, and I went looking for them immediately after reading it—and luckily, they’re readily available for free online. Sadly, I only watched two before realizing they just aren’t what I’m looking for--in fact, I found them dreary, dull and forgettable. That’s not Haase’s fault, though—his article is an informative, fun read—and is so thorough I almost feel like I’ve seen the whole series now anyway. Other standouts were William Schoell’s overview of monster plants in the movies and S. Craig Zahler’s article on his favorite and least-favorite issues of WEIRD TALES. I may disagree with some of Zahler’s opinions (on A. Merritt, specifically) but his reviews are perceptive, well-written and FUN nevertheless. And as always, Peter Scholeri’s enjoyable TV GUIDE listings rundown nearly overwhelmed me with nostalgia for the TV of my youth. To sum up--another terrific issue and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

Cover article is a very interesting piece on THE WHISTLER series of movies. Other articles are on Weird Tales (by S. Craig Zahler), Robert Bloch's novelization of TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE, big bug novels, killer plants on film, writers William Campbell Gault and Joe Puma, and other topics. These are all subjects that are off the beaten path, but well researched and very entertaining to read. Highly recommend this issue and all previous issues.

Wonderful issue of a wonderful magazine. My favorite articles this time featured The Whistler (cover story), Crime Digests: Trapped and Guilty, William Campbell Gault and Joe Puma, and plant-based monster movies—however, I enjoyed every piece and read it cover-to-cover.