Personal Commentary on a Scene from the Original Wicker Man

Personal Commentary on a Scene from the Original Wicker Man

That bare-assed beauty banging on the wall
would have persuaded me to bang along.
Did Edward Woodward, pure, resist the call?
That bare-assed beauty banging on the wall–
just take a look at her: she has it all!–
sang in my view an overwhelming song.
That bare-assed beauty banging on the wall
would have persuaded me to bang along.

–Tom Riley

(Note: It’s important to realize that, in tempting Sergeant Howie, Willow is trying to save his life. If he’s not a virgin, he can’t be used as the requisite human sacrifice. TR)

Sprinter’s Speed

Sprinter’s Speed

 

“The classic monsters bore me!” he declared.
“Vampires and werewolves, Frankenstein…. Who’s scared?”
They leapt that very moment from the screen.
Such sprinter’s speed is very rarely seen.

 

–Tom Riley

 

Night of the Living Dead (A Verse Review)

Night of the Living Dead
(A Verse Review)

What made them walk? Some kind of ray, I think.
Their feeble strength, once massed, was dangerous.
End of the world? They brought us to the brink.
I didn’t see the sequels, folks, and thus
My overview’s a little nebulous.
But horror changed in 1968.
This was about survival. Stop the bus!
I don’t look good – and am not feeling great.
That antsy bald guy: he’s the one I hate.
He simply wouldn’t see plain common sense.
Our band of hopeless heroes did deflate.
The dead waxed large amongst our discontents.
To what depths will society descend?
Poor black guy caught a bullet in the end.

–Tom Riley

Slasher Flick

Slasher Flick

 

 

Villain goes in for cutting, not raping.
With a blade he is eagerly shaping
dreadful outcomes for teens:
no restraint intervenes.
But a virgin has hope of escaping.

 

 

–Tom Riley

Death of Dracula

The Death of Dracula

 

 

(in memoriam Christopher Lee, d. 7 June 2015)

 

 

With all those lamebrained heroes, I pursued
your undead ass across a continent.
Against you, we were waging not a feud
but a crusade so clear and heaven-sent
that a poor bloke would cease to be a gent
if he declined complete participation.
As stuffy as the rest, I was content
to dash along without much cogitation.
Oh, and we caught you, Dracula! Elation
descended on Van Helsing and his crew.
Quincey croaked — but then, that’s a hero’s station.
Mina was rescued from the likes of you.
I started to assess the price we’d paid.
We’d lost you, Count — and what a role you’d played!

 

 

–Tom Riley

Nonny’s Halloweens

Nonny’s Halloweens

 

 

(in memoriam P.S.R.)

 

 

“Listen to them, the children of the night. What music they make!”

 

 

You liked The Exorcist but not The Omen.
You made with the discriminating taste
even, Mom, when the Devil was the showman.
Fraud was amongst the many facts you faced.
But, if the mask was well and truly placed
before a little face intent on fun,
you passed the candy out. As monsters raced
around the bend, you smiled to see them run.
To your excessively-cerebral son,
you explained Dracula — and got it right.
As literate back then as anyone,
you heard them call, the children of the night.
You really loved your Halloweens: it’s true.
That’s something I inherited from you.

 

 

–Tom Riley

Bela Lugosi

Bela Lugosi

 

 

The great vampire king’s previous shape
was revised. Movie fans just went ape.
The Hungarian voice
made girls faint — and rejoice.
He was buried, of course, in his cape.

 

 

–Tom Riley

Night of the Living Dead

Night of the Living Dead

 

 

When the dead rise, they don’t simply stroll
through a garden: predation’s their goal–
and you, girl, are the prey!
But don’t worry: come day,
we will have them all under control….

 

 

 

–Tom Riley

Frankenstein and Dracula

Frankenstein and Dracula

 

(for Ev Parker)

 

Kids today find those movies comical.

Having known only bottomless excess,

The young reserve no room in chest or skull

For hints to which the fearful blood says yes.

I love our creaky classics nonetheless—

And know there’s something there to understand:

The monster who, once made, must make a mess;

The vampire’s irresistible command.

From such small launching pads do we expand

To crowd the terrified imagination

With complications of the horror brand

And dark extensions of each complication.

Beyond that screen it waits, unending night.

I always liked it best in black and white.

 

–Tom Riley