Aaron Dries

Oh what a night!

One of the greatest scenes in cinema.

IN THE HEAT OF PASSION (1992) walked so WILD THINGS could run. Written/directed by Rodman Flender (IDLE HANDS), produced by Roger Corman. Picked this up on VHS because I love erotic thrillers. Turns out it’s a fantastic satire with meta moments ala DePalma’s SISTERS. Twisty, hilarious. Loved it!

If in doubt, keep things Cannon (films).

*2025 FLASHBACK*

“Bede & Steve Vs. Leatherface Ep 2 - The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 2 (1986)... "After A Decade Of Silence... The Buzzz Is Back!"” with guests @aarondries.bsky.social & @warrenmoney.bsky.social

Apple: apple.co/4iQYuw1
Spotify: spoti.fi/4kOUFt1
Links: linktr.ee/bedevsthelivingdead

In Brisbane for five (humid) minutes. Impromptu catch-up with these wonderful, creative humans. Lovely to see you Pamela Jeffs, Greg Chapman, and Sandra Makaresz.

PS — Greg and I have known each other for over a decade but only met in person for the first time today!

What a great surprise. 3 of my stories have made it into Ellen Datlow’s BEST HORROR OF THE YEAR (volume 17) recommended reading list. What an honour. So thrilled to be featured in such fine company.

“Bellow of the Steamship Cow”
“The Absolute”
“The Wrong Element”

Thank you to Ellen and my editors.

WHO AM I THIS TIME? (1982). Beautifully directed by Jonathan Demme, adapted from the Kurt Vonnegut story, starring Susan Sarandon and Christopher Walken as shy actors who don’t know how to connect beyond their roles in a community theatre production. A great film about the power of art in our lives.

Keep those recs coming, Garth. Also next time you’re in Canberra—let’s grab a coffee!

I think IKWIG be my next watch from them. Garth—this was *so good*.

Given how good this was—that there’s better films from them—feels both impossible and beyond exciting. I can’t wait!

My first watch of 2026 is setting an incredibly high bar. A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, a 1946 fantasy romance written/produced/directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger (a huge blind-spot for me, which I’ll be swiftly correcting). This picture is beautiful beyond belief. Frankly, perfection.

Getting myself one of these for 2026.

@sadiehartmann.bsky.social Thought you’d get a kick out of this. I WARNED YOU ALL!

My gay role models as a kid growing up in the 90s.

PASSIONLESS MOMENTS (1983), directed by Jane Campion and Gerard Lee, a short film (12 minutes). "There are one million moments in your neighborhood, and as the filmmakers discovered, each has a fragile presence, which fades almost as it forms.”

The US trailer for Takashi Miike’s DEAD OR ALIVE goes delightfully hard. Rabid dogs. Warnings. Enjoy at your own risk.

Tonight’s watch. Masterpiece.

Tell me about the on set dramas, please!

Gosh. I’d brave the odds and launch straight into a conversation about SAINT JACK!

Niche post, but there’s a guy on my bus who looks so much like Mike Nichols it’s crazy. Unless it’s his ghost? Just-in-case urge to approach and ask about DAY OF THE DOLPHIN rising…

Between THE RUNNING MAN and THE LONG WALK, it’s one hell of a good year to be a Bachman stan. A great night at the pictures.

It thrills me that this book is continuing to find new audiences. Amazing!

I loved being a part of this.

BATTLE ROYALE: Book Club event for the Canberra Writers Festival/National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, a screening of the brilliant film from Kinji Fukasaku followed by a discussion about Koushun Takami’s original book between myself and D.P. Vaughan.

Amazing

There are many films. There are many film prologues.

But there’s only one MAGNOLIA.

“One is the loneliest number…”

I believe ’twas Shakespeare who said, “For never was a story that made me want to cry, more than this of Veronica and her Brundlefly.”

Amazing!

CLYDE FANS by SETH took 20 years to write/illustrate, totals 500 pages. A melancholic masterpiece. It chronicles vastly different brothers trying to keep a tiny fan company alive. Tonally like your favourite Coen bros film or Aimee Mann song or Keats poem. It’s about memory, legacy, capitalism.

I appreciate it! ;)