From the Press Release:
ARLINGTON, VA. — Today’s grisly takes on zombies and terror shared honors with some of Hollywood’s oldest monsters in just-released results of the 2013 Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards.
‘Cabin in the Woods,’ Joss Whedon‘s homage to 80s teen thrillers, was named Best Horror Film of 2012 while AMC’s hit series, ‘The Walking Dead,’ took the top television prize for the second straight year in the awards decided by fans and fantasy professionals worldwide.
Voters also embraced Universal Studios’ massive effort to digitally restore its catalog of archetypal monsters such as Frankenstein, Dracula, The Wolf Man and the Creature from the Black Lagoon.
The studio’s Blu-Ray set, ‘Universal’s Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection,’ was voted Best DVD Collection, and the 1931 ‘Dracula’ was voted the year’s Best Restoration.
In addition, Universal’s 1948 comedy perennial, ‘Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein,’ was named Best DVD as voters celebrated recent Blu-Ray upgrades of monster classics.
The Rondo awards, named after Rondo Hatton, an obscure B-movie villain of the 1940s, recognize the best in classic horror research, creativity and film preservation. This year’s e-mail vote, conducted by the Classic Horror Film Board, an 18-year old online community, drew a record of more than 3,400 votes as fans chose among 35 categories.
The work of horror history researchers was also recognized as Japanese monster movie expertDavid Kalat was awarded a Rondo for his commentary on Criterion’s twin release of Japan’s 1954 ‘Gojira’ and its Americanized version released two years later, ‘Godzilla: King of the Monsters.’
And horror enthusiast Simon Rowson was named ‘Monster Kid of the Year’ — the award program’s highest honor — for his work discovering snippets of footage in Japan that had been cut from the original release of Hammer’s ‘Dracula’ with Christopher Lee in 1958 (Retitled ‘Horror of Dracula’ in the U.S.). As a result of his efforts, a new restored version of the film has been released in Britain.
An explosion of new ‘monster magazines’ was reflected in a decision to honor magazines devoted to today’s blood-soaked new releases as well as publications that cater to more classic-oriented films of the 1930s and 1950s.
Rue Morgue, a Canada-based magazine, won the Best Modern Magazine prize while Scary Monsters Magazine, an affectionate look at the early days of the monster fad in the 1960s and 70s, was voted Best Classic publication. Awards were also won by Famous Monsters of Filmland, HorrorHound, Little Shoppe of Horrors, Video Watchdog and Monsters from the Vault.
‘The rebirth of horror magazines, even in this new digital age, is a reminder that print remains a viable medium when content is narrowly tailored to an audience,’ said Rondo organizer David Colton. ‘There are more magazines devoted to fantastic films now than ever.’
Finally, based on suggestions from Rondo voters, the following Monster Kid Hall of Fame inductees were named:
J.D. Lees, editor and publisher of G-Fan, a magazine devoted to Godzilla films which recently marked its 100th issue;
Count Gore De Vol, one of a growing number of horror hosts who celebrated his 40th year in front of the camera;
Ted Newsom, a Los Angeles-based film researcher who pioneered monster history documentaries;
Steven Bissette, a comic book writer and horro historian whose work ranges from Swamp Thing to European horror film scholarship;
Jessie Lilley, a publisher and editor who has helped helm publications ranging from Scarlet Street and Mondo Cult to the reborn Famous Monsters of Filmland;
The late Gary Dorst, a monster fan whose writing in early fanzines helped elevate standards for those who followed.
Many of the Rondo winners will receive Rondo busts, sculpted by Kerry Gammill, at the Wonderfest convention in Louisville in May.
Further information, including runners-up and all the nominees, can be found at RondoAwards.com.
