Horror Homeroom

Posted on August 1, 2018

Scared Sacred – Exclusive New Poster Art

books

Scared Sacred: Idolatry, Religion and Worship in the Horror Film is due for release early in 2019 from House of Leaves Publishing and is edited by Rebecca Booth (author of the forthcoming The Devil Rides Out [Devil’s Advocates]), Erin Thompson (owner and editor of The Backseat Driver Reviews), and RF Todd (Managing Director of House of Leaves).

Exploring the complex relationship between religious and supernatural themes within horror cinema, particularly in response to a mainstream reclaiming of these subjects in recent years, the book collects writings from academics, critics, and historians. Each chapter is a theological thread that touches on a range of subjects, from atheism to martyrdom to zoolatry. Limited editions of the book will be available for pre-order via a crowdfunding campaign commencing in September 2018.

Posted on July 31, 2018

Castle Rock, the Stephen King Revival, and the Persistence of Secrets

Guest Post

With the premiere of “Castle Rock” on Hulu there comes another entry into the ever-expanding universe of Stephen King adaptations. Given that he has written just under 100 novels and too many short stories and novellas to count, it shouldn’t be surprising that his work provides a ton of material for directors and creators. “Castle Rock,” with its three-episode release, works like “Stranger Things.” It’s not a faithful adaptation of the Castle Rock novels–Cujo (1981), The Dead Zone (1979), The Dark Half (1989, and Needful Things (1991). Instead, it relies on the feelings associated with the world of Stephen King.

Having read the majority of those near 100 novels, I can tell you that the Stephen King universe is tangible. If you’ve read enough King, you can open any of his novels and feel at home. The success of “Castle Rock” comes from a meticulous attention to detail in creating that world in a visual medium. Moreover, the series, much like a King novel, builds its characters at a slow pace. There are very few characters in King’s world that can be typecast. They all are built with the care of an artisan designing a one-of-a-kind piece. “Castle Rock” plays out like a novel, and the slowly burning horror of the show is inherent in its attention to detail.

Posted on July 28, 2018

Our House: Great Characters, Unoriginal Story

Dawn Keetley

Our House is the feature-length directorial debut of Anthony Scott Burns, who also directed the excellent “Father’s Day” segment of Holidays (2016), reviewed here. Nathan Parker wrote the screenplay, based on a 2010 film, Ghost from the Machine, written by Matt Osterman.

Our House is set in a time that evokes the 80s (there’s an interesting ambiguity about time that resembles what David Robert Mitchell did in 2014’s It Follows). Our House centers on genius college student, Ethan (Thomas Mann) who is obsessed with creating a machine that forges a kind of wireless network of electricity (how it works exactly was a bit obscure). His scientific obsession, in time-honored fashion (going back as far as Frankenstein), causes him to neglect his family—something he soon lives to regret when his parents are killed in a car accident. In the wake of his parents’ death, Ethan must relinquish college and his fledgling career as an inventor to get a job, drive a minivan, and take care of his two younger siblings—Matt (Percy Hynes White) and Becca (Kate Moyer). As the months struggle by, Ethan is eventually lured back to his project, and it’s not long before he discovers that the device animates the dead—and not only the recent or the happy dead. Ethan unwittingly unleashes darker spirits that start to prey on his family and his neighbor, so he must, again, give up science and devote himself to protecting his family.

Posted on July 24, 2018

God’s Work: Witchfinder General and the abuse of power

Guest Post

Michael Reeves’ Witchfinder General (1968), or The Conqueror Worm in the US, sits slightly at odds with other seminal Folk Horror texts The Blood on Satan’s Claw (Piers Haggard, 1971) and The Wicker Man (Robin Hardy, 1973). Despite similarly engaging with belief systems and Britain’s rural traditions it’s a more overtly political film, less straight horror, in which paganism is an excuse for the human horrors in the film rather than the cause of them. Indeed, almost no one in Witchfinder General believes in anything except advancing their own interests.

A low budget film produced by Tigon, Witchfinder General exists in several different versions (cut for violence in the UK; with additional voice over work in the US in an attempt to link the film to Corman’s Poe cycle; with extra nudity in Germany), it’s a little rough and ready but makes good use of the East Anglian locations and draws out an excellent low key performance from Vincent Price at odds with much of his work in the genre.

Posted on July 22, 2018

Unfriended: Dark Web (2018) Review

Elizabeth Erwin

Given my tepid at best reaction to the original Unfriended (2014) and my overall disinterest in most found footage films, I went into Unfriended: Dark Web just hoping not to fall asleep. What I got instead was a fascinating reinterpretation of the home invasion conceit fueled by an intriguing premise that I hope more modern horror will tackle. Tapping into the same technology fueled paranoia of the dystopian breakout hit Black Mirror, Unfriended: Dark Web creates a compelling sense of unease that will leave you wanting to toss all of your devices and become a Luddite. But unlike the majority of the episodes in the Channel 4/Netflix stalwart, this Stephen Susko helmed production is situated squarely in the present. Whether it is the case of child porn appearing on the computer of a 16 year old after he accessed a Yahoo account or hackers taking control of personal computers’ recording and camera capabilities via malware, the casting of known technology as the gateway for the horror that descends upon 6 unsuspecting people in Dark Web works precisely because it is a fear based in reality.

Like its predecessor, the story is a relatively simply one. After swiping a laptop that has languished in the coffee house where he works, Matias (Colin Woodell) and his friends gather for a virtual game night only to discover that the laptop’s previous owner is a person for hire on the dark web who specializes in extreme torture. As the group goes through files depicting one atrocity after another, their shock turns to fear when they realize that opening the cache of hidden files has now given the killer remote access to all of their devices. Read more