Billed as ‘a magazine by movie lovers for movie lovers’ this digest-sized gem certainly lives up to that boast.
Now on its third issue, MoM covers all different genres, but more than enough to appeal to STARBURST readers, particularly as the editors and many of the writers are vocal fans of sci-fi and horror. Even the non-genre features have a distinct appeal to cult film lovers.
Among the standout features – and there are so many gems with the 100 pages – include an in-depth look at Sean Connery’s James Bond films. Sure, they’ve been written about many times before, but Stephen Jacobs (author of the recent Boris Karloff biography More Than a Monster) brings a reasoned focus and some interesting background titbits. Naturally, with the recent release of SPECTRE and its similarity to several of these early 007 outings makes the feature apt, but since it was written before anyone had seen the new film, these parallels are not discussed, unfortunately. There is plenty of information about the films for those not overly familiar with Connery’s films, or indeed why Never Say Never Again appeared many years after his tenure ended.
Elsewhere, there’s a fascinating look at the non-horror films of legendary Italian master Mario Bava. This would have been of interest anyway, but the fact it’s written by Troy Howarth, who has already published a book on the great man’s work, makes it all the more captivating. It’s a brilliantly reasoned approach to the rarely-discussed westerns, low budget peplum ‘epics’ and the like is refreshing, and there’s plenty of fun anecdotes that the author has come across during his meticulous research.
An interview with the brilliant Francoise Pascal is equally engaging, which sits alongside a small feature on the superb Jean Rollin film La rose de fer (The Iron Rose). Another piece focuses on the Spanish horror icon Paul Naschy (although the title, The Man Who Made Frankenstein Cry is a little incorrect since it should be Saw instead of made… N.B.: although we now acknowledge it was titled for effect), all personal favourites of this particular writer, so were heartily enjoyed.
With such a wide scope, MoM is never dull. Nor does it stretch itself so thin that it loses focus, the passion of the writers is evident, and the attention to detail applaudable. If there’s any negative to be brought, it’s simply that with the size of the magazine, the text is rather small and could prove difficult for some readers. It’s a small niggle (pun intended), and well worth purchasing along with a magnifying glass should you require it.
MULTITUDE OF MOVIES ISSUE 3 / EDITORS: DAWN DABELL, JONATHON DABELL / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW