Dark Muse News: There’s something about Return to Silent Hill – It’s Mary!

Dark Muse News: There’s something about Return to Silent Hill – It’s Mary!

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The movie Return to Silent Hill (2026) is an adaptation of the psychological horror Silent Hill 2 (SH2) video game that was rebooted by Konami under Bloober Team in 2024. This ‘return’ film is directed by Christophe Gans, who championed the original 2006 film (which loosely adapted the first video game released in 1999). With the resounding success of the Bloober SH2 video game reboot, fans of the horror series had hope that the movie would pack a 1-2 punch, but it has been received poorly. Why?

Not helping the United States release was an ill-timed blizzard that stretched across the country (Wikipedia even has an entry about the storm). I suspect if that were a fog-storm (do those exist?), then ticket sales would have skyrocketed. At this point, almost every blogger and reviewer who has seen the movie has been pissed since it did not seem to represent the core elements of the game; I was in a similar camp until I dissected the film for this article. Here’s the Deal.

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S. E. Lindberg is One of the most unique voices in Modern Sword & Sorcery

S. E. Lindberg is One of the most unique voices in Modern Sword & Sorcery

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Lords of Dyscrasia by S. E. Lindberg (IGNIS Publishing, July 7, 2011). Cover by S. E. Lindberg

One of the most unique voices working in Sword & Sorcery today is S. E. Lindberg. I met Seth a few years back and we’ve corresponded frequently as well as running into each other here at Black Gate, where he is the Managing Editor, and at Goodreads. Lindberg has put together a unique setting for what he calls Dyscrasia Fiction.

Dyscrasia means “a bad mixture of liquids,” which is related to the Greek concept of the four “humors” of Blood, Phlegm, Black Bile, and Yellow Bile. In Dyscrasia fiction, these humors are sources of magical power and often soul and body corrupting influences.

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Excalibur: The Holy Grail of King Arthur Movies

Excalibur: The Holy Grail of King Arthur Movies

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Excalibur (Warner Bros, April 10, 1981)

Excalibur (141 minutes; 1981)

Written by Rospo Pallenberg and John Boorman. Directed by John Boorman.

Loosely based on Le Morte d’Arthur by Thomas Malory.

What is it?

A classic telling of the story of King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table, the quest for the Holy Grail, and the magical sword Excalibur.

Many filmed adaptations of that story have followed. This one, however, with its heightened sense of wonder and layers of magic woven throughout, probably remains the best-loved, most visually stunning, and most talked-about of them all.

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John Cleese Does Sherlock Holmes (and better, the first time)

John Cleese Does Sherlock Holmes (and better, the first time)

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I reinstalled Elder Scrolls Online, which is a rabbit hole I jump down periodically. I usually do side, and zone, quests. But when I decide to follow some of the main storyline, I am delighted to come across John Cleese’s Sir Cadwell. He is the a rather mad soul shriven who guides the characters in Cleese’s inimitable style. Every scene with Cleese is fun, and he also plays a part in one of the large DLCs.

Here’s a short ‘official’ video on the creation of the character. I think you’ll get the feel of this erratic character. Includes Cleese talking about it.

It’s a blessing he is still with us; active at 86.

Some folks are aware of his The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It (discussed at the end of this post). I set out to write about that awful Sherlock Holmes parody movie. I wrote this essay instead. And ten years later, I still have no interest in re-watching and writing an essay on Strange Case. It is just too dumb.

However, I do think folks who like Cleese, should give a watch to a better Sherlock Holmes project he did four years before Strange Case. It’s out there on YouTube. And while it’s not brilliant, I found it entertaining Cleese. And I will always watch something John Cleese, which makes me smile. He’s genuinely a feel-good kind of guy. So, read on about Elementary: My Dear Watson.

John Cleese is best known, of course, as the sardonic Q opposite Daniel Craig’s James Bond in Die Another Day. He’s not as well remembered for his role in the British comedy troupe, Monty Python. I’m kidding!

On January 18, 1973, the final episode of Python’s third season aired. It was Cleese’s last episode with the group, which would continue on for one more season. That very same day, Cleese’s next project aired – Comedy Playhouse Presents: Elementary, My Dear Watson. It was produced by Barry Took, who had brought the Python members together.

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Another Classic Sword & Sorcery Anthology: The Barbarian Swordsmen, edited by Sean Richards (AKA Peter Haining)

Another Classic Sword & Sorcery Anthology: The Barbarian Swordsmen, edited by Sean Richards (AKA Peter Haining)

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The Barbarian Swordsmen (Star, 1981). Cover by Gino D’Achille

The Barbarian Swordsmen, edited by Sean Richards, Star publishers, a British press, 1981, cool cover by Gino D’Achille. A collection of Sword & Sorcery (S&S) tales that likely wouldn’t exist except for Robert E. Howard.

I couldn’t find out much about Mr. Richards but Toby Hooper revealed to me that Richards has been reported as a pseudonym for Peter Haining and that appears to be true. His intro here doesn’t reveal anything.

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Robert E. Howard Days, 2026, and The Emerging Writers Workshop

Robert E. Howard Days, 2026, and The Emerging Writers Workshop

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The House!

After what seems like strange aeons of dreaming about it, Mark Finn, Jason Waltz, and  I (Adrian Simmons) have pulled the trigger on running an in-person Sword & Sorcery writing workshop.  Added bonus, we’re holding it in the heart of S&S history, Cross Plains Texas, Robert E. Howard’s home during his days of creating characters like Conan, Soloman Kane, Brikenridge Elkins, El Borak, among others.

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Forgotten Authors: Austin Hall

Forgotten Authors: Austin Hall

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Austin Hall

Austin Hall was born on July 27, 1880.

While working as a cowboy, Hall was asked to write a story. This led to his career as an author, writing westerns, science fiction and fantasy stories, with westerns forming the majority of his published work. A one time, Hall may have worked as a sports editor for a newspaper in San Francisco.

Following the death of Hall’s father, his mother remarried and the family appears to have moved to Ohio, in an interview published by Forrest J Ackerman in 1933, Hall claims to have attended college in Ohio and California, but no details of his academic life can be confirmed. By the time he was thirty, Hall (as well as his mother and step-father) were living back in California and Hall had married Clara Mae Stowe and they had two children, Javen and Bessie.

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La Belle Dame sans Merci: Tam Lin by Pamela Dean

La Belle Dame sans Merci: Tam Lin by Pamela Dean

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Tam Lin (Tor Books paperback reprint edition, April 1992). Cover by Thomas Canty

There’s been a lot of genre fiction set at schools. Hogwarts is an obvious example, but such settings were around long before Harry Potter; Heinlein’s Space Cadet, The Uncanny X-Men, and Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea were all there first. Tam Lin is another early example, published six years before Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone made scholastic fantasy a best-selling subgenre.

But it has an important difference: Its setting, the fictional Blackstock College, doesn’t teach magic, or superheroic combat, or spaceflight, or anything else fantastic. It’s a fairly typical small liberal arts college (based on the real college where Pamela Dean did her undergraduate work) where the supernatural elements are hidden beneath the surface.

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The Mighty Sword & Sorcery Anthologies of Hans Stefan Santesson

The Mighty Sword & Sorcery Anthologies of Hans Stefan Santesson

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The Mighty Barbarians: Great Sword and Sorcery Heroes, edited by
Hans Stefan Santesson (Lancer Books, 1969). Cover by Jim Steranko

Hans Stefan Santesson (1914 – 1975) was born in France and lived in Sweden with his parents until 1923 when his mother immigrated to the US. She was a commercial artist and he soon became an editor for various mystery publications.

I likely would never have heard of him if not for two books of Sword & Sorcery he edited for Lancer Books. These were The Mighty Barbarians (1969) and The Mighty Swordsmen (1970), both with evocative covers by Jim Steranko.

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