Category: Analysis
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ANALYSIS: “Nothing matters” – the problematic representation of mental ill-health in SMILE (2022)
Spoilers and Trigger Warning for Themes of Suicide New horror movie Smile follows a psychiatrist haunted by a demon that drives its victims to take their own lives. But is the film’s representation of mental ill-health helpful, or hampered by confused – and maybe harmful – narrative choices? Early on in Smile – the feature…
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ANALYSIS: There’s No Place Like Home – the Unexpected Triumph of PSYCHO II (1983)
How do you follow-up one of the most game-changing horror movies ever made? With an under-rated cult sequel, that’s how. Johnny Restall goes back to the Bates Motel to investigate… Despite its initially lukewarm critical reception, Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) went on to become one of the director’s most iconic works, frequently credited with reinventing the horror…
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ANALYSIS: A Boy’s Best Friend Is His Mother – Ed Gein in Horror Cinema
His crimes shocked America and became the morbid inspiration for some of the most iconic horror films of the 20th century. But who was Ed Gein, and what is his cinematic legacy? Kim Morrison investigates… In 1957 the small town of Plainfield, Wisconsin was rocked by the revelation that quiet resident Ed Gein had murdered…
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ANALYSIS: Fairytale Gateway Horror with Jim Henson’s THE STORYTELLER
As part of our series on Kid’s Horror, Kim Morrison looks back at one of Jim Henson’s lesser known creations… As a child, there was no denying I was a massive fan of Jim Henson and the magical worlds he created. Films like The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) and Muppet Treasure Island (1996) were very…
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ANALYSIS: How DOG SOLDIERS Made Me Care About These White Men
To celebrate the 4K reissue of Dog Soldiers (2002) by Second Sight Films – and the film’s 20th Anniversary screening at FrightFest – Mae Murray offers a personal reflection on Neil Marshall’s squaddies-vs-claws horror classic… Full disclosure: I’d never seen Dog Soldiers until recently. But with the release of Janine Pipe’s making-of book “Sausages” I…
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ANALYSIS: Eagle Orm – The Irish for Fear
To coincide with our recent J-Horror episode of the pod we conclude our examination of horror traditions of nearby nations as Ygraine Hackett-Cantabrana discusses her home country of Ireland… Japan. South Korea. Britain. The United States of America. All nations from where rich horror traditions were born. With the cultural impact of J-Horror, K-Horror, British Folk…
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ANALYSIS: Phantom Felines – The Revenge of the Oppressed in KURONEKO (1968)
Trigger warning: this article discusses the film’s portrayal of rape. As part of our examination of J-Horror, Johnny Restall looks back on an iconic landmark in Japanese folk cinema. Japanese cinema has long been influenced by the country’s rich, distinctive folklore. Arguably the figures best-known to Western audiences are the ghostly yurei, particularly onryo – wronged souls, often female,…
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ANALYSIS: Shifting Space in THE SHINING (1980) and DOCTOR SLEEP (2019)
Released almost 40 years apart, there nevertheless is a fascinating correlation in the use of space between the two cinematic visits to The Overlook Hotel. Dr Vincent M. Gaine books a stay… With Doctor Sleep, Mike Flanagan faced an unenviable task: a sequel to The Shining – one of the most iconic and beloved horror properties of…
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ANALYSIS: Dysfunctional communities in the work of Stephen King
Melissa Cox unpacks the dark heart of many of King’s communities… One of the most notable aspects of Stephen King’s writing is his impressively detailed world-building. The towns of Derry and Castle Rock are horror icons in themselves, providing the settings for interweaving stories spanning decades. As well as helping to convince generations of readers…
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ANALYSIS: Keeping Secrets in King’s STORM OF THE CENTURY (1999)
Kim Morrison celebrates of one of King’s most under-seen 90s miniseries… Due to the sheer number of pages in a lot of his books, many of Stephen King’s works have been given the mini-series treatment rather than risk losing important details just to conform to a standard film’s runtime. However, in 1999, King decided to…
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