Samhain is upon us so I thought I’d offer up a few viewing and reading suggestions. If you haven’t picked up copies of Arrow Video’s Gothic Fantistico film set and their deluxe release of Audrey Rose yet, this would be a great time to do so. Both films make for good Halloween viewing. Gothic Fantastico contains a lengthy essay I wrote on The Witch aka La strega in more (1966). Damiano Damiani’s moody, smart, sexy, and sophisticated film offers a unique look at modern witchcraft mixed with a stunning critique of capitalism.
Arrow’s release of Audrey Rose (1977) also contains one of my film essays and is a fascinating thriller directed by Robert Wise that grapples with the topic of reincarnation and paranormal happenings with surprising sensitivity. The Witch and Audrey Rose are both interesting and unique examples of early and late-period Black Aquarius films.
Some other recent and noteworthy Arrow Video releases that readers may find worthwhile include The Count Yorga Collection featuring Count Yorga, Vampire (1970) and The Return of Count Yorga (1971), two groovy vampire films featuring mysticism and telepathy set in sunny California. I also highly recommend The Dunwich Horror (1970), a psychedelic adaptation of H. P. Lovecraft’s story of the same name with a swinging score by Les Baxter.
Arrow is currently having a Shocktober Sale where you can save as much as 50% off their releases but if you want to watch a film tonight you can find most of the titles mentioned streaming on Youtube, Tubi and Amazon.
Over on YouTube some of my favorite content creators have been prolific this year so I thought I’d share a few of their recent videos for your viewing pleasure.
First up is Dr. Angela Puca of Angela’s Symposium diving into The History of Halloween in the UK & Ireland. Dr. Puca regularly explores witchcraft and occultism on her channel and this month she’s done some great videos on the origins of Samhain and Halloween.
I also recommend The First Vampires – How Early Vampirism Impacted Theology, Philosophy & the Occult with Dr. Justin Sledge at Esoterica. Dr. Sledge tends to do a lot of deep dives into darker esoteric topics during October, which I really appreciate and his detailed look at the origins of vampirism is no exception.
If you’d rather have a listening party instead of a viewing party tonight you can find some interesting suggestions from John Coulthart at his feuilleton journal where he recently wrote about a series of H.P. Lovecraft-themed albums from Cyro Chamber available on Bandcamp. Cyro Chamber is described as a “Dark Ambient Music label run by Simon Heath (Atrium Carceri/Sabled Sun) focusing on dark atmospheric music with a cinematic edge” on their YouTube channel where they recently shared the wonderfully atmospheric album Psalms of the Flesh from Atrium Carceri.
If you’d prefer listening to something folk horror-inspired that captures the rural spirit of the season, I highly recommend exploring the work of the Portuguese composer and violinist Miguel Berkemeier who creates nature-inspired music for the Pagan holidays. I discovered Berkemeier’s YouTube channel during the pandemic lockdown and have been a faithful subscriber ever since. He recently released a new 20-minute video simply titled Music for Samhain – Halloween Songs & Dark Ambient that compiles some of his most haunting tracks including Creatures of the Night, A Magic Town, Deer of the North, November Howls, and Samhain Eve.
And finally, I’d like to say a fond farewell to one of my favorite vocalists and magic makers who recently died suddenly at the much too young age of 57. Atsushi Sakurai (1966-2023) was a Japanese musician best known for fronting the incredible gothrock band Buck-Tick, which helped pioneer the Visual kei movement in Japan. Inspired by music artists such as Bauahus, Love and Rockets, The Sisters of Mercy, The Cult, Japan, Ultravox, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Depeche Mode, and Clan of Xymox, who they eventually worked with, Buck-Tick released their first album in 1987 titled Hurry Up Mode and went on to become one of the most influential bands to emerge from East Asia.
Below is a small sampling of some of my favorite Buck-Tick videos featuring Atsuhi’s incredible vocals. Even if you don’t understand Japanese you should be able to appreciate his vocal talents and the creative imagination behind the videos especially if you enjoy 1980s gothrock as much as myself. Although not directly associated with the Black Aquarius movement that inspired this blog, Atsushi and the dark and moody music he made had its own kind of otherwordly magic that I hope will charm my readers as much as it charmed me. RIP Atsushi.
The AstroMagick Lounge 