31 Days of Halloween ~ 31: The Grand Finale!

Hello Pulp Friends

As mentioned on Day 1 of this Classic Horror Marathon, I did this little project a few years ago: each evening of October, all month long, I sat down for an hour and drew a tribute to a classic horror movie. At the end of the month I revealed the Grand Finale to this little project, the same way I am revealing it now to you all.

So please go ahead: you are only 2 clicks away from your ultimate Halloween experience :)

~~ Click on the image for the Grand Finale ~~

Click on the image above to view the grand finale.

CONTEST
Hope you enjoy it and if you do, please leave a note: I will randomly pick a winner between all entries posted until midnight ET of Nov 1st: Day of the Dead.
The winner will receive a little Francavilla horror package :)

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN BOOK and PRINT SALE!!!

I am also running a Halloween Special on my book - collecting this Classic Horror Movies illos (and more artwork that you haven't seen here) - SCHERMOSCURO Vol.1 and prints of the Grand Finale. Check out the side bar on the left for ordering via PayPal (books and prints are discounted and rates listed include shipping). This special sale goes all November long and amount of books are limited (
Book is limited edition, signed and numbered, and includes a little original horror sketch of my choice in the back.
Prints are 13x19" printed on archival paper with archival inks.

Cheers,
Francesco

EDIT: WE HAVE A WINNER!!! :)
Thank you everyone for entering the contest, I really appreciate it :)
I resorted to a very scientific (Napoletan) method, the Tombola, to pick a random winner. The method consists in putting all the numbers in this basket:

and then give it a swirl and then flip it over: the number 11 came out, which means PAUL is our winner.
Paul, please send me your address and I will send you the goodies: a copy of SCHERMOSCURO Vol.1, a copy of SORROW GN, an archival print of the GRAND FINALE :)

Everyone else: please feel free to grab the book or the print (or both) during this month long sale event: all shipping and handling expenses are on me so you can save from 7 to 15 $. :)
Just click on the side paypal bar for easy ordering :)
And stay tuned, as I plan to do another little contest toward the end of the month.



Artwork © 2010 Francesco Francavilla

31 Days if Halloween ~ 30: The Cat and the Canary

~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Hello Pulp Friends

THE CAT AND THE CANARY is the feature of this 30th day of Halloween.
Make sure to tune in tomorrow at 2 pm ET for the GRAND FINALE (below a little teaser): you really don't wanna miss it if you have been checking out this blog all October :)

The Cat and the Canary
USA, 1927
directed by Paul Leni
starring: Laura La Plante, Creighton Hale, Forrest Stanley, Tully Marshall

Twenty years after the death of an eccentric millionaire, the relatives are invited to his castle to witness the reading of his will. It will be a long and scary night. Among the three remakes that will follow in the years is the more comedic “Midnight Ghost” with Bob Hope.

Cheers,
Francesco

~!~ BONUS CHILLS! ~!~


~~ Coming tomorrow: THE GRAND FINALE!!! ~~

Artwork © 2010 Francesco Francavilla

31 Days of Halloween ~ 29: I Walked With A Zombie

~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Hello Pulp Friends

one more movie tomorrow and then the Grand Finale on Sunday - make sure to tune in! :)
Meanwhile enjoy one of the very firt zombie movie, I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE, where zombies are far away of what they are in the upcoming Walking Dead ;)

I Walked With A Zombie
USA, 1943
directed by Jacques Tourneur
starring: James Ellison, Frances Dee, Tom Conway

A nurse goes to one of the West India islands to assist a woman apparently affected by some form of mind paralysis. In reality, the mother-in-law has changed this woman into a zombie to prevent her from leaving her son.

Cheers,
Francesco

~!~ BONUS CHILLS! ~!~


~~ Click on the REAPER! ~~

Artwork © 2010 Francesco Francavilla

31 Days of Halloween ~ 28: La Maschera del Demonio

~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Hello Pulp Friends

two more classic movies and then the Grand Finale on Sunday - make sure to tune in! :)
Meanwhile enjoy one of the scariest movies of this horror marathon: the Italian LA MASCHERA DEL DEMONIO! :)

La Maschera del Demonio
Italy, 1960
directed by Mario Bava
starring: Barbara Steele, John Richardson, Ivo Garrani

In the 16th Century, in Moldavia, a princess is killed for practicing witchcraft and buried in the family tomb. After two centuries, two Russian doctors who are travelling by bring her casually back to life. The witch tries immediately to possess the body of her descendant.
This is Bava’s first movie as director.

Cheers,
Francesco

~!~ BONUS CHILLS! ~!~


~~ Click on the MASK! ~~

Artwork © 2010 Francesco Francavilla

31 Days of Halloween ~ 27: House on Haunted Hill

~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Hello Pulp Friends

day 27 features another little classic with the excellent Vincent Price: HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL!!!
Only few days away from the Grand Finale (and a little contest). Make sure to follow every day here and to tune in SUnday :)

House on Haunted Hill
USA, 1959
directed by William Castle
starring: Vincent Price, Carol Ohmart, Richard Long, Elisha Cook Jr.

A millionaire rents a sinister mansion and hires some not-so-honest people to organize a ghost party requested by his wife. What he doesn’t know is that his wife is planning to use the party to kill him.

Cheers,
Francesco

Artwork © 2010 Francesco Francavilla

31 Days of Halloween ~ 26: Das Kabinett des dr. Caligari

~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Hello Pulp Friends

for Day 26 of our Classic Horror Marathon I give you "THE CABINET OR DR CALIGARI"!
Hope you guys enjoy it and enjoy the two extra chills below (some of you may remember the Mad Doctor series from last year :))

Das Kabinett des dr. Caligari
Germany, 1919
directed by Robert Wiene
starring: Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt, Lil Dagover

An asylum director discovers an old manuscript of the ‘700s about a certain Caligari who, using hypnosis, pushes a medium to kill several people. Undercover, the asylum director tries to emulate the experiment and pushes a sleepwalker, who is one of his patients, to murder several people. When his experiment is discovered, the director joins his patients in the asylum.

Cheers,
Francesco

~!~ BONUS CHILLS! ~!~


~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Artwork © 2010 Francesco Francavilla

31 Days of Halloween ~ 25: Cat People

~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Hello Pulp Friends

I hope you guys are not getting tired - we are too close to the Grand Finale and you need to be there for it: who has seen it already can confirm you that is like "the Horror Fireworks" :)
Meanwhile here's Day 25 with CAT PEOPLE!

Cat People
USA, 1942
directed by Jacques Tourneur
starring: Simone Simon, Kent Smith, Tom Conway, Jack Holt

A beautiful woman, an immigrant from the East to New York, believes she is a panther-woman and that she can reveal her feline side only when sexually excited. Husband and psychiatrist are skeptical: too bad for them.

Cheers,
Francesco

~!~ BONUS CHILLS! ~!~


~~ Click on the Cat for a BIGGER CAT! :) ~~

Artwork © 2010 Francesco Francavilla

31 Days of Halloween ~ 24: The Raven

~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Hello Pulp Friends

Only ONE week away to the Grand Finale (make sure to tune in next SUNDAY for it).
Meanwhile hope you enjoy this other classic of HORROR, Poe-inspired: THE RAVEN! :)

The Raven
USA, 1935
directed by Lew Landers
starring: Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Lester Matthews

An escaped criminal goes to a doctor to have his face changed. The doctor asks to be paid for his help by killing a woman who refused him, her father and her fiancee. The criminal rebels against the evil plan and it will be the doctor, obsessed by E.A.Poe’s tales, who will die at the end.

Cheers,
Francesco

~!~ BONUS CHILLS! ~!~


~~ Click on the RAVEN! ~~

Artwork © 2010 Francesco Francavilla

31 Days of Halloween ~ 23: The Village of the Damned

~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Hello Pulp Friends

Day 23 of this Classic Horror Marathon features a British Classic: THE VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED! Only one week remaining of movies until the GRAND FINAL of next SUnday. Be there - you don't wanna miss it, trust me (as a few of you can confirm ;))

The Village of the Damned
GB, 1960
directed by Wolf Rilla
starring: George Sanders, Barbara Shelley, Michael C. Gwynne

In a little town life stops for an hour, after which all the women are pregnant. 12 super-intelligent, emotionless, blonde children with telepathic powers are all born at the same time. They turn out to be deadly beings from another planet. Naturally, the parents are distraught until one of them, whose son is the children’s leader, tries to stop their plan for domination.

Cheers,
Francesco

Artwork © 2010 Francesco Francavilla

31 Days of Halloween ~ 22: Psycho

~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Hello Pulp Friends

The scary violins of Bernard Herrmann’s soundtrack introduces you to today feature "PSYCHO"!
I don't need to add anything else, do I? ;) Enjoy! :)

Psycho
USA, 1960
directed by Alfred Hitchcock
starring: Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, Janet Leigh, John Gavin

Fleeing the city after stealing money from her company, the beautiful protagonist stops in a motel that she will not leave alive. The sister and her fiancee will investigate. The shower murder scene is part of movie history. The horror here is not supernatural, but instead is generated by madness.

Cheers,
Francesco

Artwork © 2010 Francesco Francavilla

31 Days of Halloween ~ 21: Plan 9 from Outer Space

~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Hello Pulp Friends

The Cults' Cult, Ed Wood's masterpiece, "PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE" is now playing for day 21 of 31 Days of Halloween. Grab your popcorn and enjoy! :)

Plan 9 from Outer Space
USA, 1959
directed by Ed Wood
starring:
Tor Johnson, Lyle Talbot, Bela Lugosi, Vampira

A pair of aliens, angered by the stupid minds of planet Earth, set up shop in a California cemetery. Their plan: to animate an army of the dead to march on the capitals of the world. The fact that they have only managed to resurrect three zombies to date has not discouraged them. An airline pilot living near the cemetery must rescue his wife from this terror.

Cheers,
Francesco

~!~ BONUS CHILLS! ~!~


~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Artwork © 2010 Francesco Francavilla

31 Days of Halloween ~ 20: M

~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Hello Pulp Friends

Day 20 is here and we celebrate with a real Monster: "M"!
Hope you guys are enjoying this and stay tuned for the GRAND FINALE in 10 days! :)

M
Germany, 1931
directed by Fritz Lang
starring: Peter Lorre, Gustaf Grundgens, Otto Wenicke
The city of Dusseldorf is darkened by a pedophile maniac. The thorough investigations are upsetting the crime organizations, who decide to find the maniac for the police. It will be a blind man who recognizes the killer by his whistling and the police will arrive just in time to save him from the lynch mob. Memorable, terrific interpretation by Peter Lorre.

Cheers,
Francesco

~!~ BONUS CHILLS! ~!~


~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Artwork © 2010 Francesco Francavilla

31 Days of Halloween ~ 19: The Phantom of the Opera

~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Hello Pulp Friends

Do I really need to do any introduction for this Day 19 of the classic Horror Marathon? ;):)
Hope you guys enjoy it and please spread the word: less than two weeks to the GRAND FINALE! :)

The Phantom of the Opera
USA, 1925
directed by Rupert Julian
starring: Lon Chaney, Mary Philbin, Norman Kerry

To bring success to the young singer he fell in love with, a deformed and disfigured musician is willing to do anything, including blackmailing and murdering. The singer becomes fascinated by the mysterious musician in the beginning, but when she discovers his real face, she runs away in terro.

Cheers,
Francesco

~!~ BONUS CHILLS! ~!~


~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Artwork © 2010 Francesco Francavilla

31 Days of Halloween ~ 18: Der Golem

~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Hello Pulp Friends

Day 18 of the classic Horror Marathon and we have aone of the first horror cult: "DER GOLEM"!
Hope you guys enjoy it and please spread the word: less than two weeks to the GRAND FINALE! :)

Der Golem
Germany, 1920
directed by Paul Wegener and Carl Boese
starring: Paul Wegener, Albert Stert Steinrück, Lyda Salmonova

In 16th century Prague, a rabbi gives life to a clay creature to save the Hebrews from being exiled from the city. The rabbi looses control of the creature, but a little girl is able to stop him. This third version is the only surviving version of Paul Wagener about the Golem.

Cheers,
Francesco

~!~ BONUS CHILLS! ~!~


~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Artwork © 2010 Francesco Francavilla

31 Days of Halloween ~ 17: The Fly

~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Hello Pulp Friends

For day 17, here's another classic horror cult which had a remake that was as good as the orginal: "THE FLY"!
And for the extra chill, I hope you guys don't mind me reposting the con sketch I did recently - I just like it too much :)

The Fly
USA, 1958
directed by Kurt Neumann
starring: David Hedison, Patricia Owens, Herbert Marshall, Vincent Price

During an experiment of disintegration and re-aggregation done on himself, a scientist is not aware that a fly gets involved in the cycle. The uncautious scientist will have a terrible transformation. Cult movie with two sequels and an excellent remake in 1986 by David Cronenberg.

Cheers,
Francesco

~!~ BONUS CHILLS! ~!~


~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Artwork © 2010 Francesco Francavilla

31 Days of Halloween ~ 16: The Body Snatcher

~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Hello Pulp Friends

Starting this second half of the month with another little horror cult featuring two icons of the genre like Lugosi and Karloff: "THE BODY SNATCHER"!
Hope you guys enjoy :)

The Body Snatcher
USA, 1945
directed by Robert Wise
starring: Boris Karloff, Henry Daniell, Russell Wade, Bela Lugosi
A medical student works as an assistant for his doctor to pay for school. The student is disgusted when he finds that one of his jobs is to receive the corpses that the doctor uses for study, which are stolen from the graveyard by cabman John Gray. Eventually Gray starts to murder people to provide more bodies to the doctor. The student gets drawn into the wretched games of blackmailing: Gray has information he could reveal about the doctor’s involvement in the Burke and Hare trial.

Cheers,
Francesco

Artwork © 2010 Francesco Francavilla

31 Days of Halloween ~ 15: Freaks

~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Hello Pulp Friends

Half way through our Classic Horror Marathon and it's time to feature another big favorite of mine: "FREAKS"!
Hope you guys are enjoying this: if so lemme hear from you and pls spread the word around - bug surprise ahead (and a contest!) :)

Freaks
USA, 1932
directed by Tod Browning
starring: Olga Baclanova, Wallace Ford, Harry Earles

A beautiful trapezist flirts with a midget who works in the same circus; to steal his fortune, she allies with the muscle man and plans to marry the midget and kill him right after.
At the wedding, she can’t help herself in showing her hate for the freaks, which make them suspicious she is marrying one of them. Once they discover her evil plan, they will have revenge.

Cheers,
Francesco

~!~ BONUS CHILLS! ~!~


~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Artwork © 2010 Francesco Francavilla

31 Days of Halloween ~ 14: The Invisible Man

~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Hello Pulp Friends

Day 14 of our Classic Horror Marathon features another Cult movie based once again on one of H.G. Wells' books: "THE INVISIBLE MAN"!
Enjoy! :)

The Invisible Man
USA, 1933
directed by James Whale
starring: Claude Rains, Gloria Stuart, William Harrigan

Returning from a trip to India, a scientist experiments on himself with a drug, which turns him completely invisible. Sure of his own omnipotency, he spreads fear and panic and even kills a few people. In the end, he is killed by a cop who tracks him by the trail he leaves on the snow.

Cheers,
Francesco

~!~ BONUS CHILLS! ~!~


~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Artwork © 2010 Francesco Francavilla

31 Days of Halloween ~ 13: The Island of Lost Souls

~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Hello Pulp Friends

for Day 13 of our Classic Horror Marathon I give you "THE ISLAND OF LOST SOULS"!
Hope you guys enjoy it and enjoy the two extra chills below (some of you may remember the Mad Doctor series from last year :))

The Island of Lost Souls
USA, 1933
directed by Erle C. Kenton
starring: Charles Laughton, Richard Arlen, Leila Hyams, Bela Lugosi

Edward Parker, a castaway in the Southern Seas, arrives on an island which is not reported on the maps. Here Dr. Moreau lives with a bunch of monstrous creatures, half human and half animal, that he has created with genetic manipulations. This is the first of four movie adaptations of H.G. Wells’ novel.

Cheers,
Francesco

~!~ BONUS CHILLS! ~!~



~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Artwork © 2010 Francesco Francavilla

31 Days of Halloween ~ 12: Werewolf of London

~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Hello Pulp Friends,

For day 12 of our Horror Marathon, we bring back the owling creatures of the night: "WEREWOLF OF LONDON"!
Hope you guys enjoy and please spread the word about this marathon: a big surprise is waiting to unveil at the end of the month :)

Werewolf of London
USA, 1935
directed by Stuart Walker
starring: Henry Hull, Warner Oland, Valerie Hobson

Since he has been assaulted by a werewolf in Tibet, a London botanist changes into a werewolf when the full moon is up. A doctor, who turns out to be the werewolf who assaulted him, tries to steal the flower“marifasa,” an antidote for the evil. The botanist will kill the doctor, and then, to avoid killing his own wife, lets the police shoot and kill him.

Cheers,
Francesco

~!~ BONUS CHILL! ~!~


~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Artwork © 2010 Francesco Francavilla

31 Days of Halloween ~ 11: Mad Love

~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Hello Pulp Friends,

It's day 11 of this Horror Marathone and we play one of my favorite vlassics: MAD LOVE! Anything with Lorre in it is my favorite really :)
As bonus chill, a little sketch page done while watching "The Beast With Five Fingers", another little cult with Lorre.
Hope you guys enjoy :)

Mad Love
USA, 1935
directed by Karl Freund
starring: Peter Lorre, Frances Drake, Colin Clive

The famous pianist Orlac (fabulous Colin Clive, who played Doc. Frankenstein two years before) has his hands injured in a train crash. He has them replaced with a strangler’s hands (but he doesn’t know this detail) by a famous surgeon (played by Lorre) who is actually obsessed with Orlac’s wife, so obsessed that he will do
anything...

Cheers,
Francesco

~!~ BONUS CHILL! ~!~


~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Artwork © 2010 Francesco Francavilla

31 Days of Halloween ~ 10: House of Wax

~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Hello Pulp Friends,

For day 10 of 31 Days of Halloween we get a little artsy and all warm inside thanks to: "HOUSE OF WAX"!
20 more day to go (which means 20 more classic of HORROR) and then the grand finale on the 31st: spread the word -this is gonna be FUN! :)

House of Wax
USA, 1953
directed by Andre de Toth
starring: Vincent Price, Frank Lovejoy, Phyllis Kirk

A wax sculpture artist, disfigured by a fire in his first museum, opens a new one and begins killing and then covering in wax the victims, who resemble his models. In the end he falls into a container of hot boiling wax before killing his last victim. A blockbuster at the box office, this was one of the first movies shot in 3D.

Cheers,
Francesco

~!~ BONUS CHILL! ~!~


~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Artwork © 2010 Francesco Francavilla

31 Days of Halloween ~ 9: Dracula

~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Hello Pulp Friends,

Day 9 and yet another classic/cult: "DRACULA"!

Dracula
USA, 1931
directed by Tod Browning
starring: Bela Lugosi, Helen Chandler, Dwight Frye, Edward Van Sloan

Recently arrived in England from Transylvania, Count Dracula sets an abbey in ruins and starts to leave a trail of death in the neighborhood. Suspicious, Prof. Van Helsing will find out the cause and kills the vampire by sticking a piece of wood in his heart.

And as extra chill, a page of sketches done some time ago while watching the entertaining Bram Stoker's Dracula by Coppola :)

Cheers,
Francesco

~!~ BONUS CHILL! ~!~


~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Artwork © 2010 Francesco Francavilla

31 Days of Halloween ~ 8: Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde

~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Hello Pulp Friends,

Day 8 of our classic horror marathon features "DR JEKYLL & MR HYDE"!

Dr. Jekyll & Mr Hyde
USA, 1932
directed by Rouben Mamoulian
starring: Fredric March, Rose Hobart, Miriam Hopkins

A morally superior doctor from London invents and drinks a potion that allows him to free his evil alter ego.
Divided between his fiancee and a prostitute, between good and evil, he gets to the point where he can’t control himself anymore and eventually meets a very bad end.
Fredric March won the Oscar as best actor in a main role.

Hope you guys are enjoying this and pls spread the word out there about it: the more the scarier :)

Cheers,
Francesco

~!~ BONUS CHILL! ~!~


~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Artwork © 2010 Francesco Francavilla

31 Days of Halloween ~ 7: The Mummy

~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Hello Pulp Friends,

It's day 7 of our classic horror marathon, and do I even need to introduce today's feature? ;) "THE MUMMY"!

The Mummy
USA, 1932
directed by Karl Freund
starring: Boris Karloff, Zita Johann, David Manners, Edward Van Sloan

Thanks to the reading of the sacred papyrus of Toth, an ancient mummy comes back to life. The mummy tries to reunite with its beloved princess by sacrificing the woman who is the modern reincarnation, but it will be stopped thanks to a prayer to the statue of Isis . Extraordinary horror with romantic mood.

Hope you guys enjoy it and enjoy this Anubis Guard design I did when I illustrated a book about mummies (some time ago) :)

Cheers,
Francesco

~!~ BONUS CHILL! ~!~


~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Artwork © 2010 Francesco Francavilla

31 Days of Halloween ~ 6: The Thing From Another World

~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

“A ‘walking carrot’ (as one character calls it) that needs human or animal blood to survive . . .”

Hello Pulp Friends,

For day 6 of our classic horror marathine, we feature a cult horror/sci-fi movie: "THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD"!

The Thing from Another World
USA, 1951
directed by Christian Nyby
starring: Margaret Sheridan, Kenneth Tobey, Robert Cornthwaite, James Arness

The story begins as military airmen are dispatched to a remote Arctic research station where scientists have detected the crash of a spacecraft. An effort to retrieve the saucer-shaped vehicle fails, but the team returns to the station with the frozen body of its sole occupant.
When the extraterrestrial pilot is accidentally thawed, the crew, headed by a tough-talking pilot (Kenneth Tobey), grapples with a massive, chlorophyll-based humanoid (James Arness) thirsty for blood and in no mood for galactic diplomacy.

Hope you guys are enjoying these and the extra CHILLS (today a silly chill, I know) that go with :)

Cheers,
Francesco

~!~ BONUS CHILL! ~!~


~~ Click on the image for biggie ~~

Artwork © 2010 Francesco Francavilla