Art: Rouble Rust

Last month, I won a prize from the lovely Bethezda's Etsy's store, and this month, I have once again been lucky and won another giveaway! This time, dark fantasy artist Rouble Rust was very kind and ran a competition for one of her GothLoli necklaces (pictured above and below).

The package arrived less than a week after I gave Rouble my address, and inside there was a small, black velvet pouch containing the necklace. There was also an envelope, but I'll come to that in a moment. Anyway, the quality of the chain and pendant are fabulous and also, it's quite a bit heavier than I was expecting it to be, which is definitely a positive thing. It's stunning and the details of the painting can be seen extremely clearly in person - you'll have to excuse my rubbish photography. 

.Now, onto the envelope...it contained an art print postcard of her piece Cup of Blood and that was a fantastic little bonus to get as well! 

If you haven't seen Rouble Rust's artwork before, I highly recommend that you do, as it's a great mix of whimsical and eerie, with a dash of horror in the mix too. You can see more of her work on the following websites:

ROUBLE RUST Blog

Zazzle Store

Society6

RedBubble

Fine Art America

BlueCanvas

Tumblr

carbonmade
YouTube

Thank you to Rouble Rust for running the giveaway!

Movies: Dario Argento's Dracula 3D

Whilst reading through an on-set insight into upcoming gothic horror 'Dracula 3D', it occurred to me that I hadn't actually written anything about it being in production yet. So...for those of you that don't know, Dario Argento is currently working on a retelling of 'Dracula', in 3D! 

Current scheduled release dates:
Hungary - 2012
Italy - 2012
(More to come I'm sure)


Lead Cast:
Dracula - Thomas Kretschmann
Abraham Van Helsing - Rutger Hauer
Lucy Westenra - Asia Argento
Mina Murray - Marta Gastini
Johnathan Harker - Unax Ugalde


For the aforementioned on-set article, head over to Shock Till You Drop to read Alan Jones' excellent account. It will give you a lot more information than I possibly could!

Whilst I'm intrigued to see what use they make of the stereoscopic 3D technology, to be honest, it's more the combination of Argento and the Dracula legend that makes this project so appealing to me. Although some of his works haven't been stunning, during his career Argento has created some amazing films, which more than make up for the others. 

In addition to that, there's the issue of the multitude of 2D versions of 'Dracula' preceding this film. Really though, there are very few vampire storylines that you can't attribute to another source (a game, a novel, a play, another movie etc.) and, in my opinion, it's better to just acknowledge that you're re-doing something and try to make it in a fresh way rather than try to pretend otherwise. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what the finished picture is like though.

Photography & Jewellery: Amanda Norman



Amanda Norman



 Amanda Norman is a gothic and horror photographer from the UK, whose macabre lense on the world once again proves that dark and eerie subject matters can also be beautiful. Her specialties include dark portrait photography and graveyard photography, but she also shoots gargoyles, statues, creepy houses, churches, castles and many other spooky places. Often using high contrast black and white photography, Norman manages to capture the darker, stranger sides of her models and unusual views of places that might otherwise seem ordinary.

As well as her work being a product of her talent, Norman also cites inspirations including the classic Universal horror movies and promotional shots, Hammer House of Horror, photographer Simon Marsden's work and, of course, her own creative imagination. The influence of horror film promotional photographs is particularly evident in her portrait work, as rather than hiding and editing out the subjects' 'flaws', Norman accentuates and highlights these features to bring out an otherwise hidden scary and sometimes unattractive aspect of them. If you're a fan of horror however, you might think they look better that way!

Blood Vial Skull Necklace by Amanda Norman

In addition to creating fantastic photographs, Amanda Norman is also a jewellery maker and graphic designer and runs Gothic Jewellery Box and Umee Design. Her jewellery is equally as gorgeous as her photography and each piece is handmade. The metalwork also features superb detailing, such as the beads on the Blood Vial Skull Necklace (right).

To find out more about Amanda Norman and her projects or to buy/see more of her work, take a look at the following websites:

Amanda Norman Photography

Blog

Webshop
Facebook
Twitter

Gothic Jewellery Box

Umee Design

Many thanks to Amanda Norman for giving us permission to use the images!

Music: REMNANT

REMNANT

Tokyo electro/gothic/darkwave group, REMNANT,  began in 2009. Original members, Marie (vocals & lyrics) and Takmi (guitar & programming), were active as a two-piece over the next year, before adding a new member, Rober__tJ (narration & performance) in 2010. The band also performed their first live at the 'Machinery Heaven Vol. 9', alongside Vanished Empire, Toxic Strawberry, Gregor Samsa, Sredni Vashtar, Burst Head Lollipop Honey and zwecklos, in December of the same year.

From the dark and eerie 'Sleeping Beauty', to the electro-industrial tinged 'Darkness eve' and fast-paced 'Ceremonie', REMNANT create a horrorific fantasy world, weaved together by Marie's hauntingly innocent voice. The scenes in horror movies, in which lullabies are being sung sweetly to children whilst something malevolent lurks in the shadows, instantly come to mind.

Aa an unsigned band that have only officially been together for around a year and a half, REMNANT have already developed a great sound and have the potential to improve even further in the future. A definite recommendation to anyone who likes melancholic fantasy horror mixed with varying musical genres.

For more information and to listen to the band, you can visit their official MySpace page:

http://www.myspace.com/remnantxxxx

Movies: Kill, Baby... Kill!

Dr. Eswai is called by Inspector Kruger to a small village to perform an autopsy on a woman who has died under suspicious circumstances. Despite help from Ruth, the village witch, Kruger is killed and it is revealed that the dead woman, as well as other villagers, have been killed by the ghost of Melissa, a young girl who, fed by the hatred of her grieving mother, Baroness Graps, exacts her revenge on them. Dr. Eswai, along with Monica, a local nurse, are lured into a fateful confrontation at the Villa Graps.

-Doug Sederberg

Set in Transylvania, you might expect legendary Italian director, Mario Bava's, stylish classic gothic horror, 'Kill, Baby... Kill!' (1966, aka 'Operazione paura'), to be about vampires. However, quite a different supernatural, undead being is the subject of this movie. This is one of Bava's best, in my opinion. Wonderful aesthetics and a skillful plot progression make it a must see, along with 1960's 'Black Sunday'/'La maschera del demonio'. If possible, watch it in Italian with English subtitles though, because, as is so often the case, the English dubs are pretty terrible!