Here it is, my second annual look back at many noteworthy events in the world of horror film and literature, as well as a listing of the recently deceased. Let’s being with…

The Hottest Writer--in Print and Film: That would be the 83-year-old Richard Matheson, who despite not having published anything new in several years has attained newfound popularity.
     2009 was a particularly fruitful year on the Matheson front, with the appearance of Richard Kelley’s flick THE BOX, adapted from Matheson’s story “Button, Button.” There was also the Gauntlet Press anthology HE IS LEGEND (comprised of stories inspired by Matheson’s fiction), a biographical compendium entitled THE TWILIGHT AND OTHER ZONES, and a trade paperback release of Matheson’s censored I AM LEGEND screenplay. That’s in addition to new editions of many of Matheson’s novels and stories that appeared in ‘09, most notably his heretofore difficult to locate western-themed paperbacks from the nineties.

Favorite Literary Discovery: The 1969 French novel JEANNE’S JOURNAL by Mario Mercier, published in English in 1972, is a remarkable evocation of perverse eroticism and fantastic invention. I’d never heard of JEANNE’S JOURNAL before January of ‘09, but it’s now up there among my all-time favorites.
     No, there are no plans to reprint this amazing book that I’m aware of, which is a shame, as it’s truly a classic of perverse imagination.

Favorite DVD: Troma’s new edition of Buddy Giovinazzo’s 1986 mind-roaster COMBAT SHOCK is my pick for DVD of the year. The flick remains a wrenching evocation of urban desperation and psychosis, and has finally gotten the presentation it deserves.
     Included in this two-disc set are perceptive linear notes by SHOCK CINEMA’S Steve Puchalski, a series of retrospective interviews with various critics and filmmakers inspired by the film (including THE GORE GAZETTE’S reclusive Rick Sullivan), the original work print version (entitled AMERICAN NIGHTMARES), and more.

The Little Publisher That Could: It’s hard to believe that not too long ago I’d never heard of the UK-based PS Publishing. Obviously that has changed in the years since, particularly this last one.
     In 2009 PS put out new books by such luminaries as Joe Hill, T.M. Wright, Rick Hautala and Ramsey Campbell, while also publishing the work of up-and-comers like Paul Jessup, Derryl Murphy and William Shunn. Cleary PS is at the forefront of independent genre publishing, and if you’re a fan of such fare you’d do well to check out their website.

Most Overhyped Film: You know the answer to this one--or have you forgotten that PARANORMAL ACTIVITY supposedly made countless people afraid to go to sleep at night?
     The hype extended to that bogus release-by-popular-demand ruse Paramount used to role the film out, even though it was reported by many sources that the release plan from the start was to gradually widen the film’s play dates throughout October, culminating in a nationwide release by the end of the month--which, as you may recall, is exactly how PARANORMAL ACTIVITY’S distribution went down.
     The flick, by the way, is actually quite good. That doesn’t change the fact that it was hyped nearly to death.

MIA Films Released: For whatever reason, in 2009 several recent films that had been held off the market (in some cases for years) were finally released theatrically or on DVD.
     The premiere example is the abovementioned PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, completed back in 2007 and, it seemed, never to be released. Obviously Paramount finally came to their senses and put the film out--and the rest, as they say, is history.
     The Ed Lee-inspired gorefest HEADER likewise hailed from 2007, and likewise received belated distribution (on DVD) in 2009. The no-budget skin-crawler FROWNLAND was also completed in ‘07 but didn’t turn up on DVD until ‘09.
     To this list we can add John Hillcoat’s bleak Cormac McCarthy adaptation THE ROAD, which was supposed to premiere in Fall of 2008 but ended up in limbo for a full year (presumably undergoing “improvements” at the hands of Harvey Weinstein, a.k.a. Edward Scissorhands), and Paul Schrader’s bizarre ADAM RESURRECTED, which missed its scheduled February ‘09 theatrical release but turned up on DVD in September.

Most Overhyped Book: Months before its publication THE STRAIN by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan was heralded as a publishing landmark, and a transcendent masterpiece that reinvented the vampire mythos for a new generation. The advance reader copies featured glowing testimonials from booksellers across the country raving about the book and (more importantly) predicting massive sales.
     No surprise: upon its appearance in June ‘09 THE STRAIN sold extremely well, even though the grandiose claims about it didn’t quite hold up. It’s an extremely readable book, yes, drafted in tried-and-true “bestseller” style, but hardly the masterpiece it was heralded as. Nor are its vampires--which act like most standard vamps but for some interesting biological mutations--all that unique. Which leads me to…

Most Overdone Trend: I’ve got nothing against vampires in film or literature, but they have kind of been done to death. Now, with a dozen or so pulp vampire sagas cluttering bookshelves, the above-mentioned novel, a popular vampire-themed cable TV series and numerous vamp movies all appearing in 2009, the trend has grown downright obnoxious.
     Vampires as sexy teen idols (TWILIGHT)? Been done. As the subjects of a primetime soap opera (TRUE BLOOD)? Likewise. As objects for reinvention in a bestselling novel (THE STRAIN)? Ditto. As the headliners of a pulp series (ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER et al)? Been done, been done, been done!

A Film that Actually Lived Up to Its Hype: Last year I heard tell of a French import called MARTYRS that was said to outdo 2008’s outrageously vile INSIDE, and just about everything else, in ugliness and sheer nausea. I scoffed at those claims, figuring no film could possibly be that nasty.
     In April of last year I finally saw MARTYRS, and…well, haven’t been the same since!

Most Unfairly Neglected Publications: Two of my favorite books of 2009 were put out by the UK’s Creation Books, but neither made much of a splash.
     I’d have thought the May ‘09 appearance of MOJU, the first-ever English translation of an important novel by the legendary Edogawa Rampo, would have inspired a bit more excitement than it did. I know I was eagerly awaiting its appearance, but apparently I was the only one.
     Ditto the graphic novel TEENAGE TIMBERWOLVES, scripted by the demented James Havoc (his first work of fiction in a decade) and illustrated by Daniele Serra. While it received numerous pre-publication raves by various critics (this one included), TEENAGE TIMBERWOLVES’ appearance was greeted with nary a whimper. A surreal freak-out about a band of teen serial killers loose in an alternate universe America, it’s obviously a limited appeal book, but I’d have thought that within that limited sphere there’d be more interest.