Posted on April 21, 2021

The Greatest Witch of All: Examining the Character and Cultural Impact of the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Guest Post

The Wicked Witch of the West is perhaps the most famous incarnation of a witch on screen who also happens to be in one of the greatest films of all time. She may not have a cat, but she does have a fleet of winged monkeys. I can, of course, only be referring to the Wicked Witch of the West from the spectacularly glorious 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz. Originating from the timeless and much-loved book penned in 1900 by L. Frank Baum entitled The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, this depiction, embodied by an unrecognisable Margaret Hamilton, has served as universal shorthand for wickedness in popular culture for decades.

The Wicked Witch of the West is ranked at number 4 on the American Film Institute’s 50 best villains of all-time list, a startling achievement in that it also makes her the highest -ranking female villain ever to bewitch our screens! Her very title, in fact, denotes her importance, for she is not just a witch, but the Wicked Witch of the West, a name that with its heavy vowel sounds and alliteration carries an air of threat and menace. Unlike her adversary, Glinda, the Witch of the North, she is not humanized with a Christian name. Read more

Posted on April 21, 2021

The Other Bad Seed: Talking Alice, Sweet Alice (1976)

Elizabeth Erwin

On today’s episode it’s creepy kids meets arthouse violence with 1976’s Alice, Sweet Alice. Arguably more Giallo than classic slasher, this film merges religious iconography with straight up taboo to reflect a specifically 1970s horror sensibility. But despite a rabid cult fanbase, this movie never quite ascended to the heights of other well known slashers of the era but why? We’re breaking it all down on today’s episode so stay tuned.

claw reaches over a table while man looks on
Posted on April 15, 2021

Blood on Satan’s Claw at 50!

Special Issue #4

Among other things, Piers Haggard’s 1971 The Blood on Satan’s Claw was crucial in shaping the folk horror tradition. Near the end of part two, “Home Counties Horrors,” of his influential 2010 BBC documentary, Mark Gatiss shifts from discussing the dominant Hammer films of the 1960s to articulating a “new” kind of horror film that avoids what he calls “the gothic clichés.” “Amongst these,” he claims, “are a loose collection of films that we might call folk horror.” Haggard himself, whom Gatiss interviews, says, “I suppose I was trying to make a folk horror film.”

And there’s so much more: buried demonic remains, a cult of villagers who rape and murder, witchcraft, strangely animate claws, self-mutilation, black fur spreading over human bodies, and invocations of Behemoth!

In honor of the milestone 50th anniversary of what has become an indisputable cult classic, we are thrilled to present ten original essays that explain why The Blood on Satan’s Claw continues to engage fans of all kinds. We hope you enjoy!

DOWNLOAD THE FULL ISSUE OR READ ONLINE

Posted on April 12, 2021

The 40th Anniversary of The Evil Dead: Camp Horror and its Legacies

Guest Post

Forty years ago, Detroit’s Redford Theatre hosted the premiere of The Book of the Dead, a new film by Sami Raimi. A fan of the extravagant premiers popularised by William Castle, Raimi put on a show—custom-made ticket stubs promised the “Ultimate Experience in Gruelling Terror” and two ambulances were ceremoniously parked outside. If that were not enough, two wind tracks were set up to transport attendees to the film’s iconic setting: a dilapidated cabin in the woods. Two years later and the film, renamed The Evil Dead, would make over $29million worldwide; due in no small part to its dedication, on and off screen, to the kind of theatrical spectacle initially created in the Redford Theatre. Read more

Posted on April 7, 2021

HUSH-A Film Poe Would Have Loved

Dawn Keetley

Synopsis: Centered on a woman who lives alone in the woods and is inexplicably terrorized, Hush distills everything to a single effect—terror.

Released on April 8, 2016, Hush is directed by Mike Flanagan and written by Flanagan and Kate Siegel. Siegel also stars in the film, playing the heroine, Maddie, alongside villain John Gallagher, Jr. (from 10 Cloverfield Lane), identified in the credits only as “The Man.”

I went into this film with virtually no expectations, watching it on the day it landed on Netflix. I was transfixed. It was terrifying from beginning to end, and the performances by Siegel and Gallagher were inspired.

The film’s plot is very simple—and that, I think, is its primary strength (and where Poe comes in, but more on that later).

Maddie (Siegel) lives alone in an isolated house in the woods. An illness at age thirteen left her deaf and mute, isolating her in a still more profound way. As she says via Facetime to her sister, who’s worried about her being alone: “Isolation happened to me. I didn’t pick it.” After a brief visit from her neighbor, Sarah (Samantha Sloyan), the film focuses almost exclusively on “The Man’s” terrorizing of Maddie. He does so, at first, from outside the house, telling her he will only come in after she’s reached the point that she wishes she were dead. The film tracks their extended battle—as he seeks to victimize Maddie and she fights back. Read more

Back to top