- Horror Movie - Horror Homeroom

Posted on January 18, 2025

The Art of Murder: The Continuing Influence of Fritz Lang’s M

Guest Post

William Burns

‘Thinking back to all the details is not at all unpleasant. I rather enjoy it.”—Peter Kürten quoted in Dr. Karl Berg’s The Sadist

While postmodern thinkers may scoff at “grand narratives” and “human nature,” the one topic that seems to link human beings across time and space is a fascination with crime and criminals. The real life what, how, why, and who of criminality have fed pretty much every form of human expression: myths, epic poems, folktales, ballads, songs, poetry, novels, short stories, plays, radio shows, films, TV shows, comic books, journalism. documentaries, videos, web sites, video games, podcasts, ad nauseum. Rather than as a way to facilitate communication, perhaps media was invented to highlight and share accounts of the dark side of human behavior to the thrilled fascination of its audiences whether around a fire or an iPhone. In the 21^st century, cable TV, social media, video platforms, and streaming services are overflowing with true crime movies, documentaries, podcasts, and programs based on the most heinous of offenses. Felonies such as fraud, theft, abuse, identity theft, racketeering, bank robbery, drug trafficking, conspiracy, smuggling, and sex crimes have all been fodder for our entertainment, giving us the ability to live vicariously through wicked criminals and then feel satisfied and superior when they are apprehended for their social violations.

Posted on January 9, 2025

Brats vs. Splats: Who Really Defined the 1980s Teen Film?

Guest Post

Cullen Wade

Recently, I watched Andrew McCarthy’s 2024 documentary Brats (not to be confused with Bratz which is actually worth your time), in which a 60-year-old movie star grapples with the psychic toll of someone calling him a brat four decades ago, and it got me thinking about slasher movies. Let me explain.

“The Brat Pack” refers to a loosely-delineated group of young actors who starred in popular teen movies of the 1980s, generally in the orbit of John Hughes. In McCarthy’s documentary, authorities ranging from Malcolm Gladwell to Rob Lowe repeatedly argue for the Brat Pack’s breakout as a seismic shift in the Hollywood profile of the teen movie. Gladwell calls it a “generational transition,” and, as McCarthy puts it, “Hollywood discovered the box office potential of a young audience … In the history of Hollywood, it had never been like this.”

Posted on January 3, 2025

Set, Sodomy, and the Springwood Slasher: Queerness and the Occult in Freddy’s Revenge

Guest Post

Adam Pasen

Always a bit of a dark horse in the Nightmare on Elm Street canon, NOES 2: Freddy’s Revenge (Jack Sholder, 1985) has earned greater consideration since its release for its queer subtext. The story of Freddy coming at night to “get inside” new kid Jesse Walsh is viewed by critics such as Harry M. Benshoff as a metaphor for homosexual desire. (See this excellent article by Jordan Phillips on exactly this topic.)

To support this claim, scenes are cited such as love interest Lisa coming to help Jesse clean his room and finding him bumping and grinding to “All Night Long (Touch Me)” while a prominently displayed “Probe” game sits in the closet. Then there’s Jesse’s encounter at the BDSM bar with Coach Schneider and bare-assed gym brawl with Grady while a crowd of boys cheers “nail him!” Yet while the erotic underpinnings of Jesse and Freddy’s battle are generally acknowledged, the esoteric/magical dimensions are not.

poster for unborn, woman looking in mirror

Posted on November 23, 2024

Ecumenical Exorcism in The Unborn

Guest Post

Steve A. Wiggins

For about three decades after The Exorcist (1973), possession movies tended to be Catholic. It was as if demons were a distinctively Catholic problem. Demons, in fact, are recognized worldwide in a variety of different forms, not all of them evil. In the three major monotheistic religions they do tend to be enemies of God and should be banished whenever possible. Historically speaking, Jews, Christians, and Muslims cooperated in exorcisms, something that is cited in The Unborn (David S. Goyer, 2009). Goyer’s movie features a Jewish exorcism involving an Episcopal priest and some nonbelievers. As such, it stands as another example of Jewish horror, albeit hybridized.

Posted on September 29, 2024

Borderlands of Final Prayer

Guest Post

By Steve A. Wiggins

The 2013 folk horror found-footage movie Final Prayer (Elliot Goldner, 2013, released stateside as Borderlands) underscores the conflict of religions that fuels much of the genre. Even so, some of the choices on the Christian side of the formula are a bit unusual.

The Catholic Church, often in cases of canonization (or saint-making) investigates claims of miracles. Sometimes it investigates miracle claims on their own. That’s the premise here. Although set in England, Final Prayer is about a Catholic Church. The investigator Deacon (Gordon Kennedy) arrives to find his new colleague Gray Parker (Robin Hill), having already installed cameras in the cottage where they’re staying. Gray insists that they wear head-cameras throughout. It shortly becomes clear that a third investigator, Fr. Mark Amidon (Aidan McArdle) is also expected. Deacon is a religious brother—he’s basically a monk, but not associated with a monastery. Gray is a layman, only nominally Catholic, who took the job as a techie because it paid well. And when he arrives, it becomes clear that Mark, the priest, is in charge.