Anne Hellman’s Novel ‘The Indecipherables’ Is Pure Cinema
The Indecipherables, Anne Hellman’s pastiche of Hitchcock’s, Lynch’s, and Serling’s respective oeuvres, is a successful homage to “pure cinema”.
horror
‘Unearthly Stranger’ Warns: Beware Whom You Marry
Sci-fi movie Unearthly Stranger is wonky, but viewers will enjoy the crackerjack paranoia, terror, and chilling “something is not right” about this marriage moments.
‘Backrooms’ Is Horror Cinema’s ‘Lost’
Kane Parsons’ uncanny creeper Backrooms is a Borgesian labyrinth of thrilling yet ultimately disappointing potential. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Solace House’s Unsettling Tale of Coming-of-Age in Liminal Spaces
The horror in Will Maclean’s Solace House is informed by preoccupations as diverse as Usborne Books’ Mysteries of the Unknowm, The Backrooms, Shirley Jackson, and Donna Tartt.
‘A Yard of Jackals’ and the Sound of Dictatorship
Sound editing is crucial in Chilean horror film A Yard of Jackals; we see nothing (thankfully), yet we can imagine in rich detail everything.
Stephen King’s Nightmares are Personal and Real
A Shakespeare scholar’s deep dive into Stephen King’s 1970s work illuminates the elemental nature of fear.
‘Scream 7’ Is Spinning Its Wheels in the Chop Shop
Brutally stripped of the cunning self-awareness that once made the franchise so singular, Ghostface’s latest Scream outing commits every genre sin it once condemned.
The Queer Comfort of Liminal Space
Recognizing ourselves within liminal spaces suggests that the self is liminal, fluid, and shifting; contradictory, and resistant to classification.
Wes Craven’s Artfully Dreadful Voice of Horror
In Wes Craven’s horror films, the victim is linguistically trapped before being physically pursued – conversation itself becomes the killing ground.
‘Rock Springs’ Plunges to Rock Bottom
Filmmakers of the horror movie Rock Springs sped past indicators to elevate the subject, drove right over the cliff, and plunged to rock bottom.
‘Tron’ Is ‘Hellraiser’ for the Whole Family
The Tron film series is more than a sci-fi adventure: it is a modern, neon-drenched reinterpretation of Hellraiser‘s horror mythos but with a more family-friendly vibe.
‘He Who Gets Slapped’ Gets Its Slap-Happy Revenge
Lou Chaney-starring He Who Gets Slapped gives viewers a macabre melodrama with a taste of serious literature – until it ends in bloody revenge.