- Horror Movie - Horror Homeroom

A teenager in a yellow robe holds a petrified hand.

Posted on October 26, 2023

A Hand to Hold: Talking Talk to Me (2023)

In today’s episode, Australian horror takes center stage courtesy of Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou’s Talk to Me (2023). In the film, Mia, who is grappling with the imminent second anniversary of her mother’s death, attends a party with Jade, her best friend, and Riley, Jade’s brother. There, they are given the opportunity to commune with the spirit world via an embalmed hand. Predictably, things do not go according to plan. With unrelenting hype and a domestic box office gross outpacing other A24 releases, the film is a potent hybrid of gore and dread but is it the best horror film of the year so far? We’re breaking it all down today with spoilers so stay tuned!

Posted on October 25, 2023

Face to Face: Indigenous Experience and Zombie Cinema

Guest Post

James Rose

In June 1981, Minister of Fisheries Lucien Lessard authorised more than 300 Quebec Provincial Police (QPP) to raid the Restigouche Reserve in relation to restrictions placed upon the indigenous peoples by the Department of Fisheries: the point of contention was salmon fishing rights; the Mi’kmaq claimed their right to fish salmon six nights a week while the Quebec government attempted to limit their fishing to three days a week as, according to them, their fishing practices were endangering the salmon population. A survey commissioned by the Mi’kmaq and undertaken by Dr. Alan Roy demonstrated the indigenous salmon haul did not exceed 1,200 fish a year, a smaller amount compared to the 1,800 per year that were fished by commercial organisations (Ambroziak). Despite this, the QPP raid occurred and, one of the young people involved was Mi’kmaq Jeff Barnaby:

Posted on October 24, 2023

The Best of R. L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour

Dawn Keetley

R. L Stine’s The Haunting Hour is an excellent – and distinctly underrated youth horror series. It ran for four seasons from late in 2010 until 2014 on Discovery Family and should definitely be talked about more than it is.

In this essay, I’m going to highlight some of the best episodes of the series – adding to the list over time. I’d love to hear from readers – and viewers of the series – what your favorite episodes are.

Posted on October 15, 2023

It Came from Television: Spirit of Children Halloween Fundraising Event

Dawn Keetley

On October 20, 2023, Adam Beam – a student at Shippensburg University – will be hosting a 12-hour horror movie marathon, interspersed with interviews with icons of horror, indie film makers, and horror fans and critics. The goal: to raise money for Spirit of Children.

Haven’t heard of Spirit of Children? This is who they are: “Since 2007 Spirit of Children has raised over $110 million to provide funding for art, music, aquatic and pet therapy programs as well as supporting Child Life salaries. Funding has also helped partner hospitals purchase sensory and educational items, toys used for distraction during medical procedures, and much more. 100% of every dollar donated supports the Child Life department in our 154 partner hospitals across the United States and Canada and supports Child Life departments at hospitals in local communities.”

So, who is Adam Beam? I interviewed him to get some information about himself and this important Halloween charity event.

A Bit About Myself:

I am a senior at Shippensburg University with a major in Communications, Journalism, and Media with an emphasis in Broadcast Journalism. I am also studying for a minor in History. I’m heavily involved in student media here on campus and have been active in these organizations since my freshman year of college. I am currently the General Manager of Shippensburg University Television (SUTV), the Opinion Editor for The Slate and the Human Resources Director for WSYC 88.7FM. I also serve other leadership roles on campus such as president of the Residence Hall Association. After college I would like to be an on-air reporter and multimedia journalist for a broadcast news outlet somewhere here on the east coast.

The Event:

The event is called “It Came From the Television.” Thanks to the permission of Spirit of Children, we will be raising funds for the charity throughout a 12-hour livestream on Friday, October 20th from 8pm to 8am. The event will stream on Twitch and YouTube.

Here is the GoFundMe page, where you can donate.

Donations collected through the GoFundMe page will officially be live on Monday, October 16th and will be open throughout the remainder of October until midnight on the 30th. We have set our goal for $10,000. However, we’re not only raising money for this great cause, but we also want to celebrate Halloween and horror as a whole. We have 31 guests ranging from directors (Mick Garris and Stephen Cognetti), influencers (Cory McCullough and Molly Henry), podcasters (We Hate Movies and Girl, That’s Scary), and scholars (Dr. Dawn Keetley and Tananarive Due). Just like “The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs” it will be a curated night of classic horror films and independent short films all hosted by myself.

As mentioned, once I have graduated from Shippensburg University I hope to have a career in broadcast journalism. While I may not be reporting the news for the event, this has been a massive learning tool in networking, video editing and content creation, as well as being comfortable on camera. After all, if I can conquer being on camera for 12 straight hours, surely I can handle the 6 o’clock news.

Am I a Fan?

Absolutely! Ever since I overcame my fears of it and finally watched Scream (1996) as a child, I fell in love with the genre. I was also heavily influenced by the YouTube channel Cinemassacre, and their annual Monster Madness series. James Rolfe was a massive inspiration to me in my younger years and it’s still crazy to me that I was able to interview him for this event. Horror is a comfort genre for me. I’ll always be a sucker for a slasher film or found footage flick here and there.

Horror at Shippensburg:

Shippensburg is a very unique place, with a film taste that’s hard to land a finger on. With that being said, of the students I have surrounded myself with over the past four years I have found some fellow genre fans. It seems found footage is always a favorite at social gatherings, as are some of the modern renaissance films like those of Jordan Peele or A24 (Talk to Me especially). I have heard a lot of buzz for newer releases like Saw X, The Exorcist: Believer and Five Nights at Freddys.

Favorite Scary Movie(s):

A tough question to say the least. For me, my favorite horror film rotates between three films: Scream (1996), Fright Night (1985) and Lake Mungo (2007).

Scream is the horror film that made me love horror films and have been a loyal fan to the franchise since that initial viewing. Fright Night is just so much fun and it’s the movie that made me want to make movies. Lake Mungo is what I consider to be the scariest film ever made and one I find to be as near perfect a horror film, and film in general, can get.

Here is the information about this Halloween event again:

The 12-hour livestream will air on Friday, October 20th from 8pm to 8am. The event will stream on Twitch and YouTube.

And here is the GoFundMe page, where you can donate to this worthy cause.

Posted on October 4, 2023

Feminine or Feminist? Abortion, Motherhood, and the Traditional Final Girl

Guest Post

It is generally accepted that the final girl in late-twentieth-century slashers evidences a “moral integrity mark[ing] [her] as special” (Gill 19). Less discussed, however, has been the final girl as a mother figure who, in contrast with her peers, shows traditional maternal values (Christensen 40). These maternal qualities include “female self-sacrifice and motherly love” (Nickerson 14). Traditionalists often emphasized motherhood as the most fulfilling outlet for women’s special qualities as “life-bearers” (Jepson 340). The final girl in slasher horror films exhibits many of the traditional womanly qualities of caretaker and comforter.