Punk Literature 101: Recommended Readings
Stimulated by, then stimulating, certain writings, punk has been a change agent of literature, injecting energy and disruption into multiple genres.
horror
‘Evil’ Series Is Chicken Soup for the Horror-Lover’s Soul
On the surface, Evil has all the makings of traditional catholic horror, yet it continuously brings a unique perspective to one of the horror genre’s most well-trodden grounds.
Horror Film ‘The Empty Man’ Unmasks Internet Age Nihilism
David Prior’s 2020 horror film The Empty Man taps into a form of nihilism that might be taking over the world via social media.
Alberto Mielgo’s Sci-Fi Short ‘Jibaro’ Is Not a Critique of Colonialism
Alberto Mielgo’s creature in the sci-fi short Jibaro represents treasure, not nature, and this aligns her perfectly with tales of chivalric literature – as does her predatory behavior.
‘Alien’, Aristotle, and the Ruthless Forces That Control Us
Imagine Aristotle sitting in a movie theater in 1979 with his tub of popcorn. If you think he would scoff at Alien‘s outlandish monster, think again.
Mariama Diallo’s Horror Film ‘Master’ Blends Race-Conscious Academic Satire and Ghost Story
The subtle microaggressions in Mariama Diallo’s Master say far more about the sorry-not-sorry state of racial consciousness in America than the witch does.
1934 Horror Film ‘The Black Cat’ Slinks Easily into Our Time of Terror
Nazi power had already risen and Hitler was Chancellor when The Black Cat shared its laser-focus on the dangers of the rising tide of right-wing politics.
Sundance 2022: Sci-Fi Horror ‘Something in the Dirt’ Is an Exhilarating Journey Into Madness
Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson’s sci-fi-horror Something in the Dirt exists at the intersection of mathematics, philosophy, mysticism, and nicotine.
Sundance 2022: Goran Stolevski’s ‘You Won’t Be Alone’ Is a Bewitching Tale About the Need to Connect
Writer-director Goran Stolevski’s You Won’t Be Alone uses a simple horror premise to illuminate weighty themes of motherhood, jealousy, connection, and place.
When a Body Meets a Body: Frankenstein’s Daughter Acts Out Her 1950s Issues
Frankenstein’s daughter, in modern parlance, is some kind of proto-“trans” creation of a woman’s mind within a patched-together male body. This is heady stuff.
Is Syfy’s ‘Chucky’ the Horror We Deserve?
Chucky is still a doll possessed by a person possessed by a demon, but there’s something far more nefarious going on in Syfy’s new series, Chucky.
Rod Serling Undermines the American Dream with the Stories in ‘Night Gallery’
Existential fear about post-war American masculinity is dragged into disturbing light in Rod Serling’s dark tales of the American Dream, Night Gallery.
