Check Out This Month’s Issue of The Dark Side

One magazine that I enjoy but very rarely get chance to read is The DarkSide, a bi-monthly publication that is produced over here in the UK.  Their selling point for me is the variety of material they cover, refusing to whore themselves to the latest trend and instead often interviewing stars from Italian cannibal films and old slashers.

The current release (issue 140) keeps up the usual quality, featuring interviews with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s Marilyn Burns, legendary filmmaker Wes Craven and, making a rare appearance, cult producer John Dunning, who is on hand to discuss not only his early work his David Cronenberg but also his contributions to the slasher genre.

“Lion’s Gate had bought the rights to do a sequel to the original My Bloody Valentine but so much time had passed since the film came out that they instead decided to remake it,” says Dunning on how the recent 3D re-boot first came about. Bizarrely, despite rumours of another Dunning slasher receiving the modern makeover, he continued, “Just recently I tried to get them to consider a remake of Happy Birthday to Me and they weren’t having any of it.”

Whilst the interview with Burns focused more on her lesser known work than her run in with Leatherface, they did briefly touch upon her cameo in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation. “What happened was I was given a small speaking part as a nurse but the Screen Actor’s Guild said, “No you cannot do this because it is against our rules and regulations.” Then they mentioned, “However, you can still be in it if you want – and support the movie – but you cannot use your voice,” says the actress.

Other features include a short piece on Lind Blair (Hell Night), an interview with filmmaker Julian Richards (The Last Horror Movie) and the usual host of reviews and retrospectives. The UK price is £3.95 and you can find out more about ordering by visiting the official site…