Tag: Rant

Reviews

Oh, Bother: ‘Blood and Honey’ is a Steaming Pile of Pooh

The Public Domain is a wonderful thing. Thanks to the natural expiration of copyright, Hollywood has been able to adapt hundreds of classic literature’s most beloved works and characters to the big screen. Sherlock Holmes, Dracula, The War of The Worlds, The Wizard of Oz; all these and many, many more have become media staples thanks to the unfettered rights to bring them to cinemas … Continue reading Oh, Bother: ‘Blood and Honey’ is a Steaming Pile of Pooh

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Editorials

Missing in Action: Horror’s Dormant Icons

Some horror franchises are seemingly as unkillable as their murderous antagonists appear to be. No matter how many terrible sequels, how many box-office bombs, how many needless reboots and remakes, they just keep on coming (for better or for worse). There’s loads of false starts, lulls and breaks between installments, but they always return, in one form or another. And a lot of these films … Continue reading Missing in Action: Horror’s Dormant Icons

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Reviews

‘Halloween Ends’ Is A Mercy Killing

The Halloween franchise has certainly had its share of highs and lows over the years, but it’s recently been on a relative upswing. Director David Gordan Green and writer Danny McBride (yes, that Danny McBride) successfully revived the floundering series in 2018 with their reboot/sequel/rebootquel of the original John Carpenter classic in 2018 with the confusingly-titled Halloween. This installment, which was met with both critical … Continue reading ‘Halloween Ends’ Is A Mercy Killing

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Editorials

Trapped in the Algorithm: How Streaming Killed the Chance Encounter

For the most part, I love the streaming age. Sure, the business mechanics involved are sometimes frustrating (seriously Netflix, stop raising your prices), but as of right now, the pros still outweigh the cons in my eyes. Between Netflix, Prime, Hulu, and HBO Max, as well as newer services like Paramount+, there’s a massive library of content out there to peruse through, more than any … Continue reading Trapped in the Algorithm: How Streaming Killed the Chance Encounter

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Editorials

Horror Life Support: How to Revive ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise is… not in a great place right now. Despite the original film, released in 1974, being one of the most influential and revered slashers of all time, not a single installment out of the eight films that followed it would even remotely live up to its legendary reputation. From bizarre, self-parody sequels to bloody, over-the-top remakes, filmmaker after filmmaker has … Continue reading Horror Life Support: How to Revive ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’

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Uncategorized

An October Mission Statement, Part II: Electric Boogaloo

Hello, dear readers. Last year, in a moment of misplaced clarity about what this site had become, I made a personal vow to dedicate the entire month of October to non-stop horror content. Every single day, 31 days in a row, new, fresh material for you to consume, perfect for the Halloween season. Rankings, new reviews, and recommendation lists, day after day, all month long. … Continue reading An October Mission Statement, Part II: Electric Boogaloo

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Editorials

Hollywood Horror’s Problematic Approach to Indigenous Folklore

(Disclaimer: I am by no means an expert on the cultural elements I’m going to be discussing in this piece, and freely accept and apologize for any mistakes or misconceptions contained herein. Please feel free to correct me for any inappropriate or outdated terminology and information.) From a storytelling perspective, mythology is a well. A deep well, but one that gets shallower and shallower by … Continue reading Hollywood Horror’s Problematic Approach to Indigenous Folklore

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Reviews

Jurassic World: Dominion Manages the Impossible: Makes Dinosaurs Boring

When I was growing up, I was pretty much the textbook definition of what you’d call a “dinosaur kid.” I was obsessed. I’m pretty sure there’s some old home movies floating around of me, as a small toddler, just casually rattling off Latin names for the extinct beasts, surely much to the chagrin of my poor parents. I was convinced, for the first several years … Continue reading Jurassic World: Dominion Manages the Impossible: Makes Dinosaurs Boring

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Reviews

‘Leaving Dc’ A Lesson on Anticlimax and the Deflation of Tension

As any writer will tell you, endings are hard. I used to give Stephen King (who remains my favorite author) endless grief for his seeming inability to satisfyingly end any of his stories post, like, 1990. That is, right up until I started writing fiction myself, and finding that, holy hell, endings are the worst. Telling a story is easy. You can pile on as … Continue reading ‘Leaving Dc’ A Lesson on Anticlimax and the Deflation of Tension

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Uncategorized

‘Jack Frost:’ Help, My Dad is an Undead Snow Lich and Also Michael Keaton

Before we really get into just how deeply unsettling this movie is, let me clear something up first: If you’re like me, you have fond memories from your childhood of wandering through the aisles of some nondescript video rental store (or a Blockbuster, if, unlike me, you actually grew up in civilization) on a Friday night, browsing through each shelf row by row while your … Continue reading ‘Jack Frost:’ Help, My Dad is an Undead Snow Lich and Also Michael Keaton

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