Active contributors

Lars Andersen: Been working on From Below on/off since 2000, trying to share, discuss and spread an interest in good quality movies, music, literature, and games. The main idea behind this site is to somehow produce a response to cultural outputs, rather than taking the tempting way of cultural consumerism/couch potato.

Recent activity: Movies: Metropia (2009) Insidious (2010) Bastards of the Party (2005) Quantum of Solace (2008) Music: Gontyna Kry: Arystokracja Ducha King Diamond: The Graveyard Last Days Of Humanity: Putrefaction In Progress

John Constable: Born and raised in Bedfordshire, England, I've been gaming since around the age of 6. It all started when my Dad bought an old, slightly worn Amstrad CPC-464 home from work with him one day. The Amstrad was soon replaced by my first console, a Sega Master System, and from then on I slowly worked my way through most consoles, occasionally flirting with PC gaming along the way. I play a wide range of different games and have a particular fondness for Western-RPGs, Shoot 'em Ups, First Person Shooters and Puzzle games. However, I am bored by most sports games and won't go near Real-Time Strategies or Racing Simulators. Aside from gaming I have a wide range of interests, including football (a long-suffering but recently encouraged Manchester City fan), music, films, comedy and astronomy. I also enjoy mountaineering, which I tend to do with family up in western Scotland. I spent four great years at the University of Sheffield, studying for a BA in Politics and an MA in Political Philosophy, after which I moved back home and got a job as a university fundraiser. I intend to regularly contribute game reviews to From Below, offering a blend of current generation and retro gaming. Rather than waffling on about the usual stuff that you'll read in most mainstream game reviews, I instead will try to focus on the salient points which I hope will give you an honest and clear idea of what a game is like, helping you to decide whether a game is worth spending your time on and to perhaps identify games that you hadn't yet considered playing. I may also be partial to the odd bit of nostalgic rambling.

Top 5 games of all time: Another World Half Life Marble Madness Portal Pro Evolution Soccer 6 5 games I'm currently playing or have recently enjoyed: Fable III The Witcher Call of Juarez (the original) Borderlands LIMBO Writings: Reviews: 4

Previous contributors

Troy Howarth: Born in Johnstown, PA, in 1977, I've been a horror film buff for as long as I can remember. Film, for me, is more than just a hobby - it's a borderline obsession. I also have a love of literature and an interest in world events, but at the end of the day it's my interest in film that drives me the most. Seeing Bram Stoker's Dracula while I was in high school made me branch out from the horror genre to embrace other types of film - as I progressed from seeing Francis Coppola's other non-genre work, I began to open myself up to all manner of subject manner. In a given year I'll likely go through half a dozen "phases," exploring the works of new filmmakers or reassessing old ones. This coupled with my writing - criticism and fiction, when I feel inspired - keeps me busy enough, but I also spend much time with my closest friends, some of whom share my love of film and some of whom connect on different levels or interests. My first book, The Haunted World of Mario Bava, garnered good reviews and won me several awards - looking at it now, I'm embarassed by its shortcomings, but it accomplished what I wanted it to do. I've had trouble settling on a definitive topic for my second book, resulting in several half-started projects currently gathering dust. But rest assured, a second book will surface eventually.

Movies currently on my mind: The Departed The Conversation The Holy Mountain Pan's Labyrinth Lisa and the Devil Writings: Reviews: 1 Articles: 1

Jonas Tarestad: Born and raised in Helsingborg, Sweden. I've always been into movies and hope to make a living connected to cinema someday. The last three years I've been studying media in the small town of Skövde. I've made three short films and a couple of animations. The first one was a quite terrible comedy called Perfect Day. The second movie was a giallo tribute called House by The Weeping Trees which turned out ok and last spring I made a ghost story (Där Blodrosor Växa). At the moment I'm working on a trilogy of animations based on old bluegrass and folk murder ballads. The first one I made during a After Effects course and can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB-W3pygCsg I'm interested in movies in general (except musicals). My favorite genres are spaghetti westerns, euro crime, giallo, blaxploitation, silent films and horror movies. I'm also very fond of cheesy Conan rip-offs and have seen most of them by now (A friend and I swore to see them all). I'm currently trying to catch up with Asian cinema. My favorite directors are: Sergio Leone, Sergio Sollima, Sergio Corbucci, Sam Peckinpah, Stanley Kubrick and Umberto Lenzi (his 70's crime flicks) Besides movies I enjoy visits to the pub with my friends and spending time in the Swedish mountains.

Movies currently on my mind: The Offence (1973) Blood on Satan's Claw (1971) Dead of Night (1945) The Night of the Hunter (1955) Ett Anständigt Liv (1979) Movies you have to see: Across 110th Street (1972) Mill of the Stone Women (1960) Face To Face (1967) Almost Human (1974) Writings: Reviews: 1

Mitch: Life details: Growing up I found myself bewitched by Horror & Silent-Era pictures, but what I didn't know was that these fantastic images emanating from the television sets and theatre screens of the world would become the cornerstone of my habitual indulgence. At the age four I was introduced to the likes of Universal Studios horror flicks (Dracula, The Wolf Man, Frankenstein, etc...), which served as the catalyst for further exploration into cinema. Notably: Hammer studios films (Taste the blood of Dracula, The Curse of Frankenstein, Phantom of the Opera, etc...); To be followed by exposure to Euro-Horror luminaries (such as Argento, Fulci, Franco, Naschy, etc...), whilst stumbling into the "Arthouse" (e.g. Bergman, Tarkovsky, Godard etc...) sometime after. I was born in Hood River Oregon in 1982. A scenic, mountainous, forested region of the Columbia Gorge. It's a lovely place, really... My other great passion in life is Music. I play guitar and listen to lots of Metal, Classical, and Electronic sounds. I even play piano & keyboard occasionally. And longterm--I hope to release my own songs someday. Other than that, I'm seeking employment in the medical field, and wish to return to Oregon very soon... Location: Vancouver Washington. South of Seattle, North of Portland. Favorite films/Directors: Films: Sato's "Naked Blood". Zulawski's "Diabel". Bergman's "Persona". Tsukamoto's "Snake of June". Tarr's "Damnation". Murnau's "Nosferatu. Browning's "Dracula". Argento's "Suspiria". -Directors: Andrzej Zulawski, Hisayasu Sato, Ingmar Bergman, Aki Kaurismäki, Shinya Tsukamoto, Agustí Villaronga, F.W. Murnau, Tod Browning, Dario Argento.

Writings: Reviews: 4

Konstantin Sane:

Writings: Reviews: 19

Chris Sacks: "Oh my, oh my, what a wretched life, I was born on the day that my poor mama died, I was cut from her belly with a Stanley knife, My daddy did a jig with the drunk mid-wife..." Point in fact, none of that happened. I'm just a guy who liked watching way too many movies in high school. I was suppose to be a comic book artist, then I saw "Shoot the Piano Player" and I new I had to make movies my life. This year I graduated from CSUN with a Master's degree in film and an currently working on scripts for low budget horror films. I live just north of Los Angeles where I subject my fiance and our pet dogs to an obscene amount of Gialli, Spaghetti Westerns and Pinky Violence flicks. Favorite films: Once Upon a Time in the West Heat Paths of Glory Sex and Fury Blast of Silence The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh The Dark Knight Favorite Books: The Cold Six Thousand American Tabloid The Stand Blood Meridian

Writings: Reviews: 4