Reader’s Advisory: serious about serials, a periodical in peril

Joe Kane, The Phantom of the Movies, has passed away. Will His Page Turning Pulp Continue as a Must Read Resource for Exploitation Film Fanatics?

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By James Johnson

In a 2018 interview with James Rolfe, long time drive-in critic Joe Bob Briggs of Monster Vision fame lamented the production rate of the film industry, saying the ease of access to equipment, software, and skilled labour in our modern world should bolster film production, not hamper it. We should, in fact, be seeing thousands of new guerilla-style, shoulder mounted shlock from maverick amateurs brave enough to carve a place for the next generation of exploitation reels waiting to be cherished, curated, and raised to the status of “cult”. Of course COVID-19 brought the industry to its knees, though Joe Bob couldn’t have predicted such a catastrophe.

Prior to COVID19, filmmakers coming out of the academy with five thousand dollars worth of Audio Visual equipment – the likes of which Corman, Cohen, and Adamson would have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for in the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s – were better set for success than their early predecessors. If new filmmakers are emerging, they do so with the tools of the old masters. These titles, colloquially known as “B” movies and not quite suited for mainstream tastes, provide an interesting challenge for users in our modern world of polished studio block-busters released straight to digital download: how can they discover them?

I must admit, with my schedule the way it is, I can’t keep my finger on the pulse of indie horror like I wish I could. Thankfully, there are numerous resources available both digitally and in print. I like to support print as much as possible, to feel the ink and paper, and to smell the pages.

That’s why this installment from the Circulation Desk highlights the “Phantom of the Movies'” magazine Videoscope, 2020 marking its twenty seventh year in print. If you’re running out of movies to watch in isolation during the quarantine, I recommend picking up any issue of this magnificent pulp.

Inside you can find over eighty different genre reviews of classic and contemporary exploitation movies. It provides a best of both worlds. The Italian film aficionado can read up on the rarely reviewed 1970’S Euro-Horror flicks of Amando De Ossorio. The modern horror-hound can whet his appetite with a look at the up-and-coming bright directors highlighted in Joseph Perry’s always enlightening column, “Best of the Fests” – a thoughtful examination of the newest films from future movers and shakers. What is concerning is The editor-in-chief, Joe Kane, has died leaving the publication without a leader or clear future. This has not been a kind year for most of us. We offer our prayers to his Wife Nancy and their family.

There is certainly something for everyone when it comes to movies. If you manage your expectations, you can be entertained forever thanks to publications like Videoscope. I hope that Joe Kane’s memory and the work he did continues in the form of a renewed Phantom of the Movies Videoscope so that readers can continue to discover great films and read interesting articles. As Joe Bob Briggs likes to say, the only sin a movie can make is to be boring. Happy reading/streaming.

Title	The Phantom of the Movies’ Videoscope
ISSN	1083-2920
Publisher	PhanMedia, Ocean Grove, NJ, 1993-
Format:	Journal, magazine : English
Audience	Teen – Adult
Subjects	Motion pictures — Periodicals. Video tapes — Periodicals. Video tapes — Catalogs. View all subjects