With the arrival of new “found-footage” mock-doc horror omnibus V/H/S, an entire late-spawning subgenre has seen its fragile light flicker and finally die. We hardly knew ye, mock-doc horror indie, before you sold your soul, cheated the gods, and pace V/H/S, defied your own rules.
Tag Archives: Horror
Viva Mabuse! #12: The Horror
My shrugging attitude toward Sinister was, however, soon transformed into eager anticipation once it became clear that something about it was, well, off-putting. Seems critics were bothered in some real and fundamental way, and I’ve got news for them—that’s the genre’s job. If a horror film doesn’t scrape or bruise your comfortable middle-class worldview a little, even if by way of subtexts you’re not conscious of, then it’s a dud. If it sends you out galled and/or freaked, then it’s … Read More
Here & Now & Then: 1945
Halloween is defined by a fear of death even as it’s a celebration of life. For those among us who eagerly anticipate this strangest of holidays, there’s always a twinge of disappointment once dawn breaks on All Saints’ Day. However, after a night in which we’re constantly reminded of the grave, we should be thankful that we made it to the next morning alive. In this writer’s opinion, the perfect Halloween film should steer clear of sadism, but not deny … Read More
Viva Mabuse! #11: All Hallows
Since we’re a week from Halloween, let’s take a moment here to suggest holiday viewing options you might not have thought of. What’re we looking for? The hyper-Gothic ineffable, the Mitteleuropan badtime story, the fake forest awash with fake dry ice mist harboring fake subhuman atrociousness? Is it all a return to childhood, to being that kid shivering before yet fascinated by old-school Goth-horror cobwebbiness? Maybe. Maybe nobody ever grows up after all.
Here & Now & Then: 2009
Now that the things-that-go-clunk-in-the-night Paranormal Activity franchise has become as annually reliable as taxes, the Super Bowl, and cultural conversations about whether women can be funny, it may be difficult to recall the particular allure of Oren Peli’s first entry in the series: it was effortless, it was cheap, and it created a new generation of active viewers.
Here & Now & Then: 1972
The peculiar elegance of Deathdream is also apparent in The Other and Images. As with all horror films, these three desire to jolt and petrify the audience, but their directors are storytellers first, thrill-seekers second.
Get ATM Now
On a late night visit to an ATM, three co-workers end up in a desperate fight for their lives when they become trapped by an unknown man.
GET IT NOW: Julia’s Eyes
Julia, a woman suffering from a degenerative sight disease, finds her twin sister Sara, whose sight has already gone as a result of the same disease, hanged in the basement of her house…Everything points to suicide, but Julia is compelled to investigate what she intuitively feels is a murder case. Determined to retrace her sister’s final steps, she is drawn into a maze of hidden threats and spiralling dread – a dark world that seems to hide a mysterious, malevolent … Read More
NEW RELEASES: 8/26
From the producer of Biutiful and Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark
and the director of Pan’s Labyrinth and Hellboy,
Guillermo Del Toro presents…
Julia, a woman suffering from a degenerative sight disease, finds her twin sister Sara, who has already gone as a result of the same disease, hanged in the basement of her house…Everything points to … Read More
