September 25

mother! (2017): men behaving badly (Part I)

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In the end, mother! clings to convention in a story that’s couched in a guise of aesthetic edginess.

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September 08

Stephen King’s “It” and the Persistence of Memory (Part II)

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King builds a rich interior world for even the most peripheral characters, and creates perhaps his most fully realized, richly satisfying work ever.

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September 07

Stephen King’s “It” and the Persistence of Memory (Part I)

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Reading this novel always rekindles a connection with my own childhood naïveté (something I haven’t necessarily shaken).

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August 28

“Burial Ground” (1981): Don’t Disturb the Dead

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In a low-down and perverse way, it’s still fun to watch.

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Created from footage from THE WOMAN (2011) August 24

Lucky McKee’s THE WOMAN (2011)

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As the title character in THE WOMAN (2011), Pollyanna McIntosh is a finger-chomping, scowling badass, and, in my opinion, one of the most interesting characters in modern horror.

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August 18

When There’s No More Room in Stockholm: “Berlin Syndrome” (2017)

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When contrasted against last year’s similarly-themed (but far more original) Pet, Berlin Syndrome seems especially disappointing.

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Still of "Calvin" from LIFE (2017) August 14

LIFE (2017): A Competent but Not Too Lively Sci-Fi / Horror Thriller

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Billed as a sci-fi/horror film, Life (2017, dir. Daniel Espinosa) is more accurately a semi-lame thriller based on the familiar sci-fi trope of contamination by an alien species.

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Still from FUNNY GAMES (2007) August 10

“Post-Horror” or Just More “FUNNY GAMES”? (Part 2 of 2)

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In this second part of a two-part article, I focus on the film(s) that I introduced at the end of the first part: Michael Haneke’s FUNNY GAMES (1997 / 2007).

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August 09

The Emptiness of “The Void” (2016)

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Distanced from Astron-6’s darkly funny aesthetic, it becomes just another genre flick defined by its borrowed parts.

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August 02

“The Entity” (1982): Misogyny and the Paranormal

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It is no mistake that a great deal of the horror genre revolves around the victimization, rebellion and eventual liberation of women.

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