BEDABBLED! #6

TITLE - BEDABBLED! #6

EDITED BY - MARTIN JONES 

GENRE - BRITISH CINEMA/CULT FILMS 

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN - UNITED KINGDOM 

57 PAGES

AVAILABLE NOW FROM AMAZON 

Bedabbled! is an independent movie ‘zine examining British horror and cult cinema; right up my alley. The magazine is slim, but never mind that, feel the quality.

Each issue has an overarching theme with issue #6, subtitled “The Room Inside Your Head”, being a study of “inner spaces”, both physical and mental. The first article is a deep-dive into the themes of decadence and duplicity in the films “Performance” and “The Servant” by Rik Rawling. The piece is thought-provoking and vivid, a dense and stimulating read in two parts that demands close attention.

Next up is a brief yet evocative piece on “The Innocents” by Martin Jones written in the style of the poetry of Emily Dickinson’s poetry - an analysis of the film through its images, as fragile and haunting as the movie itself. This article has made me look at one of my favourite films in a totally different way.

Sarah Morgan examines the 1967 curio “Our Mother’s House”, touching on general themes of children in films, usually either angels or little devils, and how the kids in this film are often both. Morgan provides a lot of interesting behind the scenes information and having seen the film a long time ago, this article has made me want to watch it again. Sarah Morgan also covers Hammer Films oddity “Demons of the Mind”. This is another excellent and well-researched article on a criminally underrated film.

“What Became of Jack and Jill?” is succinctly analysed by Adam Parker-Edmondston who makes a little-known movie sound like a must-watch; no mean feat. I’m back on familiar ground with Matthew Callingham’s fun piece on Amicus’ portmanteau classic “The House That Dripped Blood”. There are also a couple of supporting articles on “Twinky” and “Erotic Inferno”; not films I’m familiar with but it’s good that lesser-known films are being reappraised, and I am tempted to seek them out.

Overall, Bedabbled! is a very well-written and competently produced publication, with intelligent articles by writers who really know their subject. The issue’s evocative cover by Derek Gray sets the tone and features, I believe, a recreation of a scene from “The Innocents”, tying-in with the article, featuring a candle-bearing lady ascending a creepy staircase, who may even be Emily Dickinson herself. All the articles are thematically very closely linked which is a good thing, and the magazine is illustrated throughout with original stills, all monochrome, but of an acceptable quality and welcome in an unofficial publication. On the strength of this issue, I will keep buying Bedabbled! and I can happily recommend it to enthusiasts of British horror and cult films as one of the best ‘zines of its kind currently available.

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