Film Threat

Vol. 3, No.2
(5225 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 103 Los Angeles, CA 90036) $4.99
Film Threat Weekly (FTweekly@aol.com) free
by William Ham

Seeing as indie film has been assimilated into the mainstream, a handy parallel to the major-labeling of indie rock, it only stands to reason that Film Threat, America’s premiere guide to the nitrate underground, would follow suit. After a ten-month absence from the stands, editor/publisher Christian Gore has wrested control of his magazine from the frugal clutches of, ironically enough, current First Amendment movie poster boy Larry Flynt, and re-reinvented it as a slick, glossy (but still radical) flick mag. Obviously, Gore is ready for it to move up from the Psychotronic/Fangoria shelf to rub staples with Premiere and Movieline. (Hmmm… “The Jeffersons of Movie Magazines.” There’s a tagline for ya.) And as with other examples of indie upward mobility, you’ll likely be hearing the purist (read: bastard elitist snob) cries of “Sell out!” before too long. And we all know, there’s nothing more dangerous than a cuckolded movie geek (“You take back what you said about Bertolucci’s middle period or I’ll cut you!”). Anyway, since maverick cinema is going through the same fertile spell that it did in the ’70s (when it took up the slack where rock has faltered, just like today), why not reflect it in its magazines? Film Threat is just as entertaining as it ever was, and any film mag that is unlikely to ever do a feature on Tom Cruise and title it “Cruise Control” will always be aw-reet by me. (They did succumb to the temptation to use the phrase “Tough Love” for their Courtney [“Shrewd Opportunist of Stage and Screen”] Love cover story, but nobody’s perfect.) This issue includes an interview with psycho-gynecological film genius David Cronenberg about his controversial adaptation of J.G. Ballard’s Crash, features on The People Vs. Larry Flynt and Kevin Spacey’s Albino Alligator, an exposé on Tinseltown gladhanders, videographer Andre Seewood, and Courtney getting drunk and blabbing as per usual.

The one thing missing from the new FT is reviews, which is where Film Threat Weekly, the brand-new, Boston-based e-zine spinoff, comes in. Like Variety with a goofy swagger, it keeps you up on the latest dirt from the Dream Factory without shying away from saying what other movie journals don’t have the celluloid cojones to say. Covering mainstream fare with the same flair the daddy mag gives to the middleground and giving the armchair critic the electronic forum for his/her own views to be heard, it’s democratic (provided you are privileged enough to afford email) and accessible (ditto). Access it at the address above by sending a message with the word SUBSCRIBE in the subject line.