CREATED BY - NECRO NEIL
GENRE - HORROR & SCI-FI MOVIE REVIEWS
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN - UNITED KINGDOM
26 PAGES/A5/BLACK & WHITE/PAMPHLET
PRICE - £2.00 + SHIPPING FROM THE NECRO NEIL ETSY STORE
"Necronomicon", created and written by NecroNeil, features independent film reviews and a little bit of social comment thrown in here and there. It has just published its 49th issue and has become a title that I look forward to eagerly.
Issue #49's films under Neil's idiosyncratic spotlight include "The Asphyx" (of which more later), Clive Barker's "Nightbreed", and there's a Stephen King-fest with "Misery", "Silver Bullet" and one of my absolute fave guilty pleasures, "Maximum Overdrive". The lad also makes an appearance in another of the zine's articles, Creepshow", in which he starred and wrote the screenplay. There is an especially good write-up of "Robocop", one of Neil's top ten movies, which has inspired me to re-watch it for the first time in years. Another good thing about "Necronomicon" is when lesser-known films are covered. This time around the truly insane-sounding "Burial Ground" and "Pin" (a movie which I am now definitely going to seek out) and Christian horror film "The Appointment" get their moment in the spotlight. The centrepiece of the issue, though, must be Neil's write-up of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." It's one of the most intelligent assessments I have read about this ground-breaking yet misunderstood classic, and will certainly make you think differently about it. Be warned though...if one of your favourite films is covered, prepare to never look at it in the same way again. Having been a fan of 70s death-defying horror "The Asphyx" for years, I will now never able to un-see Neil's reading of it as "ass fix". He has an irreverent sense of humour, and while he sometimes rails on a film, it is usually in a light-hearted way and you are left in no doubt that the movie deserves it. He's spot on about "The Asphyx" - it IS daft.)
It's clear from reading the zine that NecroNeil's relationship with horror films is a lifelong one; a video shop (remember them?) aficionado from an early age, he knows his stuff. He often refers to his friends who introduced him to a certain film, and we get to know them through their mentions in the reviews. These are very personal reviews, unbiased and honest, and reading them is refreshing and fun, and often akin to reading a transcript of a Gogglebox horror movie special.
"Necronomicon" is literally a handmade zine: I've seen the video evidence of Neil assembling the cut-out bits of text and gluing them onto the page prior to scanning. Every issue is unique due to the vagaries of modern printers, and the zine resembles a ransom note from a particularly creative kidnapper. If you want independent movie reviews with a healthy dose of humour and honesty, then hop on the "Necronomicon" bus (probably driven by a zombie) right now.
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