In the ground-breaking Men, Women, and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film, Carol J Clover identified several slasher movie tropes. Today, horror fans are well-acquainted with her concept of The Final Girl. But another hallmark of horror, according to Clover, is the Terrible Place. Classic Gothic horror had its castles with winding staircases and […]
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In addition to ‘Torture Porn‘ and remakes, the early 2000’s was defined by a brief fascination with J-horror. As compared to Saw and the movies it inspired, Japanese horror, or J-horror, dismissed gore in favour of atmosphere. With its stories of ghosts, or Yurei, and haunted technology, J-horror was stylistically unique. Everything from use of […]
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What scares you? The best horror movies exploit our most basic fears. Home invasion movies, for example, undermine our sense of security in the place we should feel the safest. Killer bug movies understand that most people hate ‘creepy crawlies’. And sharks – they’re basically freight trains with teeth. But some people have strange fears. […]
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Years before Joker raised a furor, the American Psychiatric Associated (APA) levelled similar criticisms at DC Comics. Specifically, the APA took issue with Batman’s ‘rogues gallery’ and its misrepresentation of mental illness. Outside of comics, popular culture has historically misrepresented mental illness. Like mainstream news media, our movies and television entertainment have propagated the myth […]
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This past week, Netflix released its latest binge-worthy docu-series, Cheer. A reality show following a college cheerleading program, Cheer has already amassed a pretty big following. So in the spirit of Netflix’s latest addiction, let’s take a look at some of horror’s most inspired cheerleader horror movies. Though horror movies typically love killing teens and […]
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Time flies by. Believe it or not, we’ve reached the end of the 2010’s. Arguably, it’s a decade that will likely be remembers as one the best for the horror genre. While found-footage continued to flourish, torture porn faded. Psychological horror and old-fashioned hauntings supplanted grisly dismemberment. We lost legendary filmmakers Wes Craven, Tobe Hooper, […]
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Over the last several years, independent studio A24 has quietly produced and/or distributed some of the best horror movies this decade. It’s a list that includes Under the Skin, Green Room, Hereditary, The Monster, and The Blackcoat’s Daughter. And this past summer, Midsommar was their latest release to win over horror fans. To date, however, […]
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Eli Roth is one of the more divisive filmmakers in the horror genre today. Though his filmography is relatively small, Roth has had his hand in numerous projects, including AMC’s recent Eli Roth’s History of Horror. In the early 2000’s, Roth emerged alongside filmmakers noted for pushing the envelope of onscreen violence including Rob Zombie […]
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