Portal:Speculative fiction/Horror
Selected horror profileJames Whale (22 July 1889 – 29 May 1957) was an English film director, theater director and actor, who spent the greater part of his career in Hollywood. He is best remembered for several horror films: Frankenstein (1931), The Old Dark House (1932), The Invisible Man (1933) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935), all considered classics. Whale also directed films in other genres, including the 1936 film version of the musical Show Boat. He became increasingly disenchanted with his association with horror, and many of his non-horror films have fallen into obscurity. At the height of his career as a director, Whale directed The Road Back (1937), a sequel to All Quiet on the Western Front. He was openly gay throughout his career, something that was very unusual in the 1920s and 1930s. As knowledge of his sexual orientation has become more common, some of his films, Bride of Frankenstein in particular, have been interpreted as having a gay subtext and it has been claimed that his refusal to remain in the closet led to the end of his career. Selected horror workEarl Cain (Japanese: 伯爵カインシリーズ, Hepburn: Hakushaku Kain Shirīzu), also known as Count Cain, is a gothic shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Kaori Yuki. Debuting in the Japanese manga magazine Bessatsu Hana to Yume in December 1991, the manga was eventually transferred to Hana to Yume, where it ran until 1994; the chapters of the sequel, Godchild, appeared between the May 2001 issue and the October 2003 issue in Hana to Yume. Two drama CDs based on the series were also released. Set in 19th-century England, the series focuses on a young earl named Cain Hargreaves who solves murders while encountering his father's secret organization, Delilah, that experiments with reviving the dead. The setting of the manga was inspired by "the darker, grislier side" of the Victorian upper class and her admiration of films set in the Victorian time period. For Godchild, she traveled to London to do historical research and visited seven historical sites there. In the series, she refers to the Bible as well as real-life literary works, films and people. Reviewers have found a range of themes in the series. Critical reaction to The Cain Saga was mixed: some felt that the mysteries were well-done with detailed art, while others found the art crude and the short stories confusing and predictable. Reviewers praised Godchild as an overdone, entertaining series with detailed and distinct art. Horror topics
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