Here Are the 19th Annual Rondo Award Winners!
Josh Millican
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Voters turned out in record numbers (virtually, of course) for the 19th Annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards! All of us here at Dread Central are humbled and also honored to have received an Honorable Mention for Best Website. We’re also extremely proud of Drew Tinning, who also received an Honorable Mention for his interview with Greg Nicotero!
Related Article: Cast Your Ballot for the 19th Annual RONDO AWARDS!
Congratulations to everyone who contributes to making the horror scene a true community! 2020 was a hell of a year, but the incredible efforts of our friends and peers in the genre did more than merely help us endure. It truly was an amazing year for horror!
Here’s a breif rundown to this year’s Rondos, followed by the full list of winners.
Interest in classic works of the fantastic despite the grim realities of the past year was evident in the record turnout: More than 6,000 fans and pros voted online, a 27% increase from last year’s vote and the largest survey of classic horror fans and pros in history.
The Rondo Awards, named after Rondo Hatton, an obscure B-movie villain of the 1940s, honor the best in classic horror research, creativity and also film preservation. This year’s e-mail vote was conducted by the Classic Horror Film Board, a 26-year old online community.
WINNERS
BEST FILM OF 2020
THE INVISIBLE MAN, directed by Leigh Whannell
Runner-up: Color Out of Space
Honorable mentions: WONDER WOMAN 84, POSSESSOR, and also TENET
BEST TV PRESENTATION
THE MANDALORIAN
Runners-up: LOVECRAFT COUNTRY; WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS
Honorable mentions: HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR and also CREEPSHOW
BEST BLU-RAY/DVD
WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953; Criterion)
Runners-up: MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (WB); LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK (Barcelou)
Honorable mentions: CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (WB) and also FRANKENSTEIN: THE TRUE STORY (Shout Factory)
BEST BLU-RAY COLLECTION
FRIDAY THE 13TH DELUXE COLLECTION (Shout Factory)
Runner-up: HAMMER FILMS (20-movie set; Mill Creek)
Honorable mentions: BELA LUGOSI (Rue Morgue, Raven, Black Cat; Eureka); UNIVERSAL HORRORS Vols. 4, 5 6 (Universal); GAMERA: COMPLETE COLLECTION (Arrow); AL ADAMSON MASTERPIECE COLLECTION (Severin)
BEST RESTORATION
WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953; Criterion)
Runners-up: MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (WB); NOSFERATU (1922; Witch’s Dungeon)
Honorable mentions: DAWN OF THE DEAD SPECIAL EDITION (Second Sight); LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK (Barcelou), and also ELVIRA: MISTRESS OF THE DARK (Arrow)
BEST DVD EXTRAS
DAWN OF THE DEAD SPECIAL EDITION (Second Sight)
Runners-up: WAR OF THE WORLDS (Criterion); FRIDAY THE 13TH DELUXE COLLECTION (Shout)
Honorable mentions: CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (WB); BELA LUGOSI 3-film set (Eureka), and also FRANKENSTEIN: THE TRUE STORY (Shout)
BEST COMMENTARY
Sam Irvin (FRANKENSTEIN: THE TRUE STORY)
Runners-up: Tim Lucas, Tom Weaver, Kim Newman/Barry Forshaw
Honorable mentions: Kat Ellinger; Scott MacQueen; C Courtney Joyner, and also Constantine Nasr
BEST INDEPENDENT FILM
SEEDS, directed by Skip Shea
Runners-up: WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW; HOST
Honorable mentions: MORTUARY COLLECTION, and also BRAIN THAT WOULDN’T DIE
BEST SHORT FILM
THE THOUSAND AND ONE LIVES OF DR. MABUSE,
directed by Ansel Faraj
Runner up: REBOOTED
Honorable mentions: CLEAN; THE MANNEQUIN and also REPTILE HOUSE
BEST DOCUMENTARY
CURSED FILMS, directed by Jay Cheel,
five-part series on Shudder
Runner-up: PHANTOM OF THE OPERA: Unmasking the Masterpiece
Honorable mentions: RONDO AND BOB; MEN WHO MADE HAMMER, and also LUGOSI: THE FORGOTTEN KING
BOOK OF THE YEAR
RAY HARRYHAUSEN: Titan of Cinema, by Vanessa Harryhausen
Runners-up: IT CAME FROM … The Stories and Novels Behind Classic Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy, by Jim Nemeth and Bob Madison; WOMEN MAKE HORROR, edited by Alison Peirse
Honorable Mentions: FLASH GORDON: The Official Story of the Film, by John Walsh and also 1,000 WOMEN OF HORROR by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
BEST HORROR ART BOOK
ROD SERLINGS NIGHT GALLERY: Art of Darkness by Scott Skelton and Jim Benson
Runners-up: HISTORY OF EC COMICS, by Grant Geissman; FANTASTIC PAINTINGS OF FRANK FRAZETTA,
by J. David Spurlock
Honorable Mentions: ART OF PULP HORROR by Stephen Jones, and also VEREOR NOX: The Monster Art of Frederick Cooper
BEST MAGAZINE (Classic)
SCARY MONSTERS
Runners-up: CLASSIC MONSTERS OF THE MOVIES; LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRORS
Honorable mentions: THE DARK SIDE, FILMFAX, G-FAN; MONSTER BASH; WE BELONG DEAD
BEST MAGAZINE (modern)
FANGORIA
Runners-up: RUE MORGUE, HORRORHOUND
Honorable mention: DELIRIUM
BEST ARTICLE
‘Black Horror; History on the Big Screen,’ by Ernie Rockelman, HORRORHOUND #84.
Runners-up: Frankenstein 1910)’, by Kelly Robinson, RUE MORGUE #194;
–‘Horror Fan for Life,’ by BJ Colangelo, FANGORIA #7;
— ‘When Clothes Made the Monster,’ by George Humenik, SCARY MONSTERS #119 ‘Assisting Brian DePalma,’ by Sam Irvin, BOOBS AND BLOOD #4
Honorable Mentions: ‘The Carl Laemmles,’ by Alex Hopkins, CLASSIC MONSTERS ANNUAL 2020
— ‘Sick, Savage, Sensual (Al Adamson)’, by Michael Gingold, RUE MORGUE #193
–‘Lost, Found and Finally Unbound (‘The Making of Revenge of Frankenstein,’ by Bruce G. Hallenbeck, LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRORS #45
BEST INTERVIEW
Dr. Gangrene interviews Bruce Campbell,
SCARY MONSTERS #116 (That’s Doc on the left)
Runner-up: Barbara Steele by David Cairns and Daniel Riccuito, SIGHT AND SOUND
Honorable Mentions: Greg Nicotero by Drew Tinnin, Dread Central;
— Donnie Dunagan by Steven Turek, DieCast Movie Podcast;
— Sybil Danning by Chris Alexander and Lee Gambin, DELIRIUM #22
BEST COLUMN
Scene Queen, by Barbara Crampton (FANGORIA)
Runners-up: Rondo Remembers by Ron Adams, MONSTER BASH; Kaiju Korner, by Mike Bogue, SCARY MONSTERS
Honorable mentions: Kim Newman’s Dungeon, THE DARK SIDE; They Came from the Crypt, by Jon Kitley, HORRORHOUND
BEST COVER (A tie)
SCARY MONSTERS #116 in 3-D by Scott Jackson
CLASSIC MONSTERS OF THE MOVIES #21 by Daniel Horne
Runners-up: FANGORIA #8 by Nathan Milliner; HORRORHOUND #86 by Jason Edmiston; LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRORS #44 by Mark Maddox; MAD #16 by Bob Lizzaraga
BEST WEBSITE
BLOODY DISGUSTING
Runners-up: Collinsport Historical Society; Video Watchblog
Honorable mentions: Dread Central, Dr.Gangrene’s Mad Blog
BEST MULTI-MEDIA SITE
THE EVOLUTION OF HORROR PODCAST
Runners-up: Monster Kid Radio; Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing Colossal Podcast
Honorable mentions: Bloodbath and Beyond; Trailers From Hell
FAVORITE HORROR HOST OF 2020
SVENGOOLIE
Runners-up: Joe Bob Briggs; Lamia; Elvira
Honorable mentions: Mummy & the Monkey; Mr. Lobo; Son of Ghoul
BEST VIRTUAL EVENT
VIRTUAL BLOBFEST, streamed from Phoenixville, Pa. where The Blob was filmed
Pictured is marketing director Bob Trate
Runners-up: Global online celebration of Harryhausen Centennial; Virtual panels from Atlanta’s Monsterama
Honorable mentions: New soundtrack, title cards for Cabinet of Caligari streamed by Transylvania Tonight’s Countess Carita; Online seminars from Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies
BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL OR COLLECTION
BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA by El Garing, Kerry Gammill, Richard Starkings, Robert Napton
Runners-up: STOKER AND WELLS; COUNT CROWLEY
Honorable mentions: JOHN CARPENTER’S TALES Vol. 6; HELLBOY: Return of Effie Kolb; also LON CHANEY SPEAKS
INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
MONSTER KID OF THE YEARSCOTT MacQUEEN
Scott MacQueen, UCLA’s Head of Film Preservation, has been the expert hand and visionary behind decades of film restorations, often going to the mat on behalf of films that might be abandoned without his efforts. Most recently he was the driving force behind the Technicolor restoration of MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (1933), and DOCTOR X (1932). A friend of the genre and defender of cinema’s storied past, he is our Monster Kid of the Year.
WRITER OF THE YEAR
KELLY ROBINSON
Kelly Robinson‘s bylines range from RUE MORGUE to DIABOLIQUE and SMITHSONIAN magazines, with many off-the-path stops in between. She is an expert on near-forgotten films — she was Rondo-nominated this year for the history of Edison’s Frankenstein in 1910 — and sees hidden connections between cinema and culture from any era. Whether the allure of murder pop songs or the search for lost fragments of celluloid, her work always sparks conversation.
Runners-up: Gregory Mank, Kat Ellinger, Tim Lucas, Gary D. Rhodes, Tom Weaver, Chuck W. Chapman, Michael Gingold, Steve Bissette, and also Jim Nemeth.
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
MARK SPEARS
A multiple-Rondo magazine cover nominee, Mark Spears‘ latest project is a set of retro ‘monster cards’ that show his ability to make familiar monster images new again. Whatever the format, his work is deeply impactful and classic.
Runners-up: Mark Maddox; Daniel Horne, Frederick Cooper, LJ Dopp, Jason Edmiston, and also Pete Von Sholly.
FAN ARTIST OF THE YEAR (The Linda Miller Award)
NOUFAUX
The elegant mystery stylings of Noufaux, infuse delicate art nouveau with horror iconography, inviting to the eye but hiding a sinister secret the longer a viewer lingers.
Runners-up: Josef Mendez, Malcolm Gittins, Gustavo Rapela, and also Max Martelli
SPECIAL RECOGNITION RONDOS
RICHARD KLEMENSEN
For decades, Richard Klemensen has lived and also breathed Hammer films, primarily through the pages of his glossy magazine, LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRORS. But this year his many set visits and interviews emerged in a new way — narrating a series of min-documentaries known as The Men Who Made Hammer. Chapters are included on recent Warner Brothers’ Hammer films as extras, also providing a new experience to those seeing the films for the first time.
GEORGE FELTENSTEIN
It’s not often that the Rondo Awards go behind the walls of corporate media companies, but George Feltenstein‘s years of work at Warner Bros. on behalf of horror and movie fans cannot go unrecognized. Just this year he helped deliver the long-awaited CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN restoration, along with MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM and DOCTOR X, as well as boosting an ISLE OF THE DEAD release. His years of bringing the films of Warner Bros., MGM and also RKO to disc leave a legacy that will not be forgotten.
THE MONSTER KID HALL OF FAME
(Based on votes and Rondo selections)
STACIE PONDER
From the early 1990s to today’s anything-goes podcasts and films, Stacie Ponder has wielded wit and also wisdom to offer a new vocabulary of women and horror. Her trailblazing ‘Final Girl’ blog was among the first to go beyond the limits of ‘victimization’ and also reveal how horror can reveal truth and ultimately triumphs. She champions that fresh outlook without fear nor apologies. She now is a regular columnist for RUE MORGUE Magazine. But never fear: ” I love my blog like a … lover,” she says.
JOE KANE
The late Joe Kane could have stepped out of a 70s movie — a lover of 42nd Street cinema, an early editor of The Monster Times, a movie critic (as The Phantom of the Movies), for the New York Daily News and also publisher/editor of VIDEOSCOPE Magazine. An author and movie expert who inspired a generation. Joe is gone far too soon.
DEREK M. KOCH
Podcasts are everywhere these days, but none can match Derek M. Koch‘s Monster Kid Radio when it comes to talking about classic monsters, and nothing but classic monsters. Every week, Derekexplores the inner world of these long-ago movies with guests and also insights. During the pandemic, he began offering seven hours of streaming movies on weekends. A true Monster Kid for everyone.
ROBERT MICHAEL ‘BOBB’ COTTER
Mexican wrestlers, Doc Savage, the Misfits, Vampira, and also Ingrid Pitt were just part of the late Robert Michael ‘Bobb’ Cotter‘s enthusiasms, which he shared in eight books over a long career. A DJ, a musician, an artist, and also a steady presence at conventions always found Bobb ready for his next project. His death leaves a huge loss in the horror and also popular culture community.
RICH KOZ (SVENGOOLIE)
Rich Koz has been part of the Chicago (or is it Berwyn?), media landscape for more than 40 years, and also has never been more popular. A horror host who followed the original Svengoolie, Rich has built a nationwide following with a mix of old-time horror host humor and access to quality monster movies from the last century. A Midwest original.
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