Jarred by a nightmare, a middle-aged man wakes up in a panic. He’s in a hotel, an empty bottle next to him and a passed-out woman sharing his bed. Obviously distressed, he puts his hand […]
Category: Articles
VISUAL TENSION, IRONY, DISCOMFORT, AND METAFICTION IN ‘THE VISIT’
Something I think about sometimes is how I basically never had a grandpa. My grandpa on my dad’s side, Grandpa Ted, died when I was two and I don’t remember him one bit. On my […]
“YOU’RE ALREADY DEAD”: LIFE, DEATH, AND LETTING GO, IN ‘JACOB’S LADDER’
“See. According to this, you’re already dead.” Everyone remembers the party scene in Adrian Lyne’s Jacob’s Ladder. You know the one. It’s impossible to forget: a woman dancing seductively at a party is attacked from […]
LIVIN’ THE DREAM: THE SLY SUBVERSION OF ‘THE BEACH BUM’
Twice in the course of The Beach Bum, Matthew McConaughey’s greasy itinerant poet-drunk, known only as Moondog, recites his piece “The Beautiful Poem” – once at the beginning, to the weeknight crowd at a beachside […]
‘The Devil’s Rain’: Satanic Panic Goes Legit
The culture of the 1970s has always fascinated me: a disgraced American president and subsequent political conspiracy theories, shag carpeting, station wagons, hideous earth-tone plaids, key parties, punk rock, NASA space probes, New Age/occult trends, […]
INTERVIEW: Justin Decloux on Gold Ninja Video, “The Criterion of Public Domain Bargain Bins”
As described by the label itself, Gold Ninja Video is “The Criterion of Public Domain Bargain Bins: A boutique film distribution label that focuses on releasing neglected films with lots of new special features.” That’s […]
‘JAWS 2’: THE SEQUEL THAT KNOWS ITS WORTH
I’m not ready for autumn. In late September and early October, as the days grow short and the nights cool off sharply, horror fiends’ pulses quicken as Halloween lurches ever closer; I’m just not in […]
‘MALIGNANT’: THE ANTI-CHOICE MAN OF YOUR DREAMS
Dream logic is a powerful narrative engine, driving both the most anxiety-inducing of horror and the wackiest of screwball comedy. It only makes sense that a franchise like Nightmare on Elm Street quickly changed course […]
FRIDAY THE 13TH: GRUMP STYLE
Have you ever searched for Friday the 13th-themed films to watch on Friday the 13th that aren’t explicitly tied to the Friday the 13th franchise? Even if you have the patience (God bless you if […]
TONY RIPARETTI TALKS WORKING WITH ALBERT PYUN AND HIS SCORE FOR ‘CRAZY SIX’
Known best for his work scoring the majority of Albert Pyun’s films, Tony Riparetti has always blended elements of new wave synth and guitars, and soaring drums into his compositions for a signature sound integral […]
UNCLARITY OF PURPOSE: THE NATURE OF COMEDY AND THE ENDURING APPEAL OF ‘PCU’ (1995)
“The strange thing about Political Correctness,” wrote Roger Ebert in his 1994 review of PCU, “is that it seems to have many opponents and no supporters. No one ever describes themselves as Politically Correct, and […]
‘OH, People–People, No!’ TV’s Tim Stack on the cult of ‘Night Stand’
The mid-’90s seemed to be the golden age of syndicated television. After the prime-time, major network programming ended, you could search the dials to discover a vast swathe of programming populating the late-night airwaves. From […]
IF YOU’RE CLOSE ENOUGH TO READ THIS HEADLINE, YOU OWN THE RIGHTS TO BATMAN. ALSO, YOU’RE A RELIGIOUS NUT.
Brian Miller holds a degree in Religious Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. Be sure to click over to his personal movie review blog to see his “favorite filmic things” of 2020. If you […]
“THERE’S A STORM COMING”: ‘TAKE SHELTER’
“You think I’m crazy? Well, listen up, there’s a storm coming like nothing you’ve ever seen, and not a one of you is prepared for it.” Some of us can catalog our various family member’s […]
CONFESSIONS OF A NEUROTIC, LAZY FILM JUNKIE DURING THE ENDLESS CALAMITY OF 2020
Ten months into the never-ending nightmare that is the COVID-19 pandemic, I’m exhausted, adrift in a world gone mad with cruel, inept politicians, conflicting social-media messaging, selfish, belligerent anti-maskers, and death. I’ve dealt with several […]