Coming off of last month’s X, I didn’t think it was possible for me to love A24 any more than I already did. Boy, was I wrong about that. If you have even a casual interest in film, odds are you’ve been hearing quite a bit of buzz about Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s (or simply Daniels, as the duo call themselves) new film Everything, … Continue reading ‘Everything, Everywhere, All at Once’ is Wonderful, Beautiful Madness
Ah, A24. You bring us so much wonderful, weird horror. From slow, understated supernatural dramas like It Comes at Night and Witch to visceral, chaotic nightmares like The Lighthouse and Midsommar, A24’s horror selection has touched on just about every subgenre that could comfortably fit within the boundaries of what some critics have (somewhat obnoxiously) dubbed ‘elevated horror.’ These are ‘respectable’ horror films, movies that … Continue reading Sex and Violence as an Art Form in Ti West’s ‘X’
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise is… a mess. In 1974, with the release of Tobe Hooper’s now-classic original entry, the series hit the ground running stronger than pretty much any of its contemporaries, save maybe John Carpenter’s OG Halloween. Yet despite this strong start, and the status of its mascot killer Leatherface as a genuine pop culture icon, the Texas Chainsaw sequels have crashed and … Continue reading Someone Please Just Put ‘Texas Chainsaw’ Out of Its Misery
I will defend Nicholas Cage until my dying breath. Sure, he’s a little eccentric. And okay yes, maybe he doesn’t exactly always make the smartest career choices. There’s The Wicker Man, of course. And Ghost Rider. Knowing. The second Ghost Rider. You get the idea. Some real stinkers. And sadly, because of that, there seems to be a consensus within the public, pop-culture consciousness that … Continue reading ‘Pig,’ and Why We Should All Worship the Ground Nic Cage Walks On
Meta commentary is, for better or for worse, everywhere in film these days. Movies are increasingly self-aware, self-referential, and self-deprecating, to varying degrees of success. When done well, a movie written in this fashion can be witty and intelligent, savvy in its own genre tropes enough to lampshade and subvert them. When done poorly, however, a movie that tries too hard to be cleverer than … Continue reading ‘Scream’ is the Best ‘Scream’ Since ‘Scream’
The Halloween franchise has had just about as long and storied a history as a horror series can possibly have at this point, with all the highs and lows that naturally come with something that’s been more or less ongoing for over forty years now. From John Carpenter’s seminal 1978 classic all the way through Rob Zombie’s ill-conceived reimaginings in the early 2000s, this slasher … Continue reading Halloween ‘Kills’ More Than it Does Anything Else
Before I get into the topic at hand today, first we need a quick history lesson: In the early 1980s, a wave of reports swept the United States, Canada, and many parts of Europe, alleging supposedly occult explanations and causes for a wide range of different crimes and abuse scandals. Dubbed the “Satanic Panic” by the media, largely in retrospect, this rise in religious hysteria … Continue reading ‘The House of the Devil’: Satanic-Panic in Style
As I’ve said before on this site, I love anthology horror films. I find that, historically, filmmakers are able to be more creative and more inventive with the short film format than they ever are with feature-length films, mostly because they aren’t bogged down with all the narrative trappings that accompany a 90-minute-plus runtime. Movies like Creepshow and The ABC’s of Death are so full … Continue reading “VHS 94:” Mostly Forgettable Analog Schlock
James Wan is one of the most dependable and consistent directors working today, from a studio perspective. He’s essentially like a walking, one-man franchise machine: Saw, The Conjuring, Insidious, Aquaman, he cranks out hits one after the other like no one else alive. Quality may vary, as it always does, in between sequels, spin-offs, and offshoots to these franchises, but his mark is unmistakable and … Continue reading James Wan’s ‘Malignant’ is the Greatest Piece of False Advertisement I’ve Ever Seen
I like to think of myself as pretty well-versed in comic book lore and mythology at this point. There’s a lot of obscure characters out there in Marvel and DC comic canon, which is understandable given that both companies have been around for the better part of a century now. They’re bound to pick up some oddball, one-off heroes and villains along the way. And, … Continue reading The Suicide Squad: James Gunn Finally Unleashed
The Blogger Under the Stairs 