Harvey Fenton’s Flesh and Blood began life as one of many Xeroxed horror fanzines in the early 1990s, evolved into one of a handful of glossy transgressive culture publications during the decade and eventually became the unique FAB Press, purveyors of fine movie (and beyond) books. Flesh and Blood itself eventually wound up as a book, but has been out of action for the last decade, so this second volume was rather unexpected.

At 92 pages of content, it’s closer to the original magazine than the subsequent book – could this be the start of a semi-regular book edition, I wonder? Content-wise, it remains close to the original publication, minus the film reviews and adult movie coverage – the latter I assume not a deliberate decision, but simply a result of the material available.

The highlights here include a look at Hammer’s Karnstein trilogy by Black and Blue Films’ Jonathan Sothcott, a study of Dusan Makavejev’s infamous Sweet Movie, the films of Dwain Esper, Killer’s Moon director Alan Birkinshaw interviewed, an article on Decameron movies and a study of Roger Vadim’s Blood and Roses – a solid mix of arthouse, grindhouse, sleaze and horror, peppered with impressive illustrations. A rambling and indulgent interview with John Landis seems more like Empire fodder than FAB material, barely mentioning his more interesting films, but other than that, this is a strong return for the much-admired title.

DAVID FLINT

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