of the 1980s
Oh, the 1980s. What a decade, what strange dichotomies befall us in digging into the film of this era. Read sites about film in the 1980s and you’ll see thinly disguised passive aggression towards the general cinematic output of the…
“What went we out into this wilderness to find?”: Frontier Isolation in Carnival of Souls (1962) and The Witch (2015)
[Warning: Ahead there be spoilers. Though, it must be noted, the terror of both Carnival of Souls and The Witchrelies more on atmosphere than shocking plot twists.] There are few experiences that can match the slow-motion, attenuated terror of growing up…
Review| Greta
Neil Jordan finally returns to the thriller and horror formula that he utilized 20 years ago with the Annette Benning vehicle In Dreams. This time he successfully brings one of the greatest actresses of our time out from the world…
of the 1970s
After a decade of increasing social, political, and cultural unrest around the world, the seventies found Hollywood shifting into the structural norms that we currently recognize and are beginning to push back against in our current era. The Civil Rights…
The Second Day of the Rest of Your Life: Happy Death Day 2U (2019)
“If we were vampires and death was a joke We’d go out on the sidewalk and smoke And laugh at all the lovers and their plans I wouldn’t feel the need to hold your hand Maybe time running out is…
The Unearthing of the Invisible Face of Horror: Horror Noire (2019)
There is something strangely poetic about watching a horror documentary while laying in a chair having plasma separated from one’s own blood. It makes it doubly poetic watching a documentary about the history of African Americans in horror film. Blood,…
of the 1960s
As we continue into the 1960s, we see, once again, another dramatic shift in the film industry. Theater palaces are being forgotten in the wake of the creation of multiplexes. As history proves time and time again, capitalism stokes the…
Review| Bird Box
In a post-apocalyptic thriller, the same tropes and story beats can make a movie feel wrote. It generally takes something out of the box for it to stand out. Netflix’s latest offering, Bird Box, starring Sandra Bullock and an ensemble…
Anna and the Apocalypse and Advent
I, like all of you I’m sure, have fond memories of watching the Glee Holiday episodes. And, like everyone, only one thought spoiled all that holiday cheer for me: “I sure wish there were zombies in this episode.” What’s better?…
Review| The Haunting of Hill House: A Grief Unobserved
I was almost too scared to look. Much like Shirley Crain was afraid to look into the open casket at her mother’s funeral. Many legends and whispers of good tidings broached my ears, telling tale of a critically-acclaimed horror show.…