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Posted on September 8, 2015

Post 9-11 Fears and The Village

Gwen

PG-13 | M. Night Shyamalan | 108 min | (USA) | 2004

This review evolved serendipitously as M. Night Shyamalan has a new film coming out this week. The Visit premiers on September 11, 2015 and, in preparation, my cohorts and I decided to review some M. Night Shyamalan films to pump ourselves up. I decided to review my favorite film from the Philadelphia-based director and, upon doing so, I found new meaning in The Village. In anticipation of his new September 11^th release, I fortuitously came across post 9-11 fears emanating throughout The Village.

The Village uses fear to harness its inhabitants. What the elders have in common is that they founded their society after a deep bond of common loss. To do so, they tangentially build upon history books to disseminate stories of a nebulous enemy who lurks beyond their borders. Clear boundaries are drawn throughout the film between one society and another.

Posted on September 6, 2015

MTV’s Scream: Did It Work?

Elizabeth Erwin

In the premiere episode of MTV’s Scream, Noah (John Karna), the town’s resident horror film expert and serial killer junkie, lets us know right away why horror on television doesn’t work: “Slasher movies burn bright and fast. TV needs to stretch things out.” Having been green lit for a second season halfway through its first-year run, the show was certainly a success from a financial standpoint. But the question of whether it was a successful representation of horror still remains unanswered.

For ten episodes, the show incorporated many of the qualities that made the initial film such a runaway success. From unexpected reveals to bloody jump scares, the television show, on paper, possessed all of the elements to be a successful undertaking. But did the franchise’s foray into horror work? The answer is an unequivocal…sorta.

Posted on September 4, 2015

Gwen’s Favorite Wes Craven Moments

Gwen

My list is slightly different than Dawn’s and Elizabeth’s. Instead of favorite moments I wanted to point out my favorite things from Wes Craven. If you are familiar with our site you might have come across my top ten horror films at some point. You will notice that People Under the Stairs (1991) is listed as one of my favorite horror films. That being said, I want to pay my respect to Wes Craven not only for making one of my favorite horror films, but also for making my favorite movie monster in Freddy Krueger.

I was a young teen when People Under the Stairs was released and for some reason it resonated with me. This film expressed ideas about suburbia, family, and the upper class that I didn’t know how to articulate at the time. I just knew that I felt like those people (suburban, upper class) weren’t all that better than me, they just hid their crazy a little bit better. People Under the Stairs depicted an exaggerated display of this world on the big screen. This world emulated the world in my mind. It was one where the throw away kids mattered, one where good people looked different and were not always from the top of society. The Robesons’ barbarism and callousness is deeply contrasted by the altruism of Fool (Adams), Alice (Langer), and Roach (Whalen).[i] These three kids learned how to survive their surroundings, help those around them, and make meaningful change.

Posted on September 4, 2015

7 Horror Films on Netflix Worth Watching

Elizabeth Erwin

With so many horror films now going directly to Video on Demand, the ability to generate buzz and make a cinematic splash has grown progressively more difficult. Consequently, a number of recent, worthwhile films failed to gain traction with horror fans. So I thought the time was right to shout out seven horror titles that are currently available for instant streaming on Netflix. Each film profiled offers a take on the horror genre that falls outside of the expected. From updated tales of possession to wry social commentary couched in blood and guts, these titles are the best bang for your Netflix bucks!

Posted on August 31, 2015

Elizabeth’s Favorite Wes Craven Moments

Elizabeth Erwin

Like many, the news of Wes Craven’s death last night left me stunned. As someone who writes about the cultural impact of horror, it is difficult to overstate Craven’s contribution to the genre. Leaving behind a catalog of work that provokes and challenges, Craven was a visionary who understood that the only way to truly understand what it is that scares us, is to look into the darkness unblinkingly. By continually manipulating horror tropes to keep pace with audience expectation, Wes Craven’s body of work stands alone for both its diversity and its longevity.

Here are my choices for the top three not-to-be missed Wes Craven moments.