A ‘Midnight Mass’ for Post-Trump American Christianity
No work has so passionately tapped into the anxieties of Christianity in the wake of Donald Trump as Mike Flanagan’s mini-series, Midnight Mass.
horror
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’70s TV Horror/Mystery ‘Kolchak: The Night Stalker’ Keeps Crawling from Its Grave
Horror-mystery TV series Kolchak: The Night Stalker has a sour take on society that hasn’t dated since the ’70s; hence, its eternal afterlife.
The Return of George A. Romero’s ‘The Amusement Park’ Provokes Sympathy for the Nearly Dead
George A. Romero’s The Amusement Park (1973), showing at Salem Horror Fest, terrifies with what the future brings to all who dare to live.
Fantastic Fest 2021: Thriller ‘Alone with You’ Is Haunted by Self-Deception
Horror-thriller Alone With You (Fantastic Fest 2021), is an expressionist vision rooted in its protagonist’s anguish.
When Golden Age TV Films Screamed About Gender Roles
In these three restored Gothic films from Kino Lorber, gender roles and their social undertones feed into the template of paranoid thrillers.
James Wan’s ‘Malignant’ Is Perfectly HorrorAble
At first you might think that James Wan’s Malignant is striking the same note as his prior horror films. You would be wrong.
Fantasia 2021: Ruth Platt on Directing Horror Film ‘Martyrs Lane’ Without Fear
Director Ruth Platt talks with PopMatters about women filmmakers using the system while subverting it to empower their voice.
Fantasia 2021: The Occult Possesses the Drama of ‘The Righteous’
Director Mark O’Brien’s The Righteous, playing at Fantasia 2021, is a quiet and conversationally brooding work.
Director Filip Jan Rymsza on the Descent into Madness in Thriller ‘Mosquito State’
Filip Jan Rymsza’s thriller Mosquito State amps up hyper-reality in a cautionary tale of what the 24-hour news cycle is doing to our brains.
Fantasia 2021: Fear Is a Blessing in Spanish Vampire Fantasy ‘All the Moons’
Legarreta’s ‘All the Moons’, premiering at Fantasia 2021, penetrates the infantile fantasy of immortality to remind us that fear is not a curse.
FrightFest: Horror Sci-Fi ‘The Changed’ Burrows into Your Head
Director Michael Mongillo’s The Changed, premiering at FrightFest, plays with genre tradition to convey innocence amidst darker tones.