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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 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 19, 2018

5 Twilight Zone Episodes That Influenced Modern Horror Film

Dawn Keetley

The Twilight Zone (1959-64) is not only one of the most acclaimed TV series but also one of the most influential on artists of all kinds, but especially on the creators of horror. The list below identifies five episodes that in my view powerfully shaped some of our best modern horror films. There are undoubtedly more, but this is a beginning.

Posted on July 14, 2018

Double Exposure in Beyond the Black Rainbow

Guest Post

If you have yet to view the trailer for Nicolas Cage’s upcoming horror film Mandy (2018), please do so at your earliest convenience. This lurid, two and a half minute pastiche of color and chainsaws explodes with the force of a thousand metal album covers, yet retains an ineffable dreaminess. Mandy marks the second outing of writer/director Panos Cosmatos, offering an occasion to revisit his first film, Beyond the Black Rainbow (2010).

Posted on July 11, 2018

Horror Films to Watch Out for at Fantasia Festival

Dawn Keetley

The 22^nd Fantasia International Film Festival is coming to Montreal, Quebec, from July 12 – August 2 and, as usual, they have an amazing array of genre fare on display. Below are the horror films screening at Fantasia that we’re most excited about. The brief descriptions are from Fantasia’s website, and you’ll find more information by clicking on the link.

1. Chained for Life; dir. Aaron Schimberg; USA, 2018

“On the set of a horror film with artistic pretensions, made in the United States by a great European auteur, the beautiful Hollywood actress Mabel (Jess Weixler, from cult film TEETH) admits to being outside her comfort zone. She plays the role of a blind woman and the film she’s in, already anticipated by the media to be in bad taste, deals explicitly with deformity. The production has even brought on several disabled actors, including Rosenthal (Adam Pearson, seen in UNDER THE SKIN and DRIB), a nervous comedian with a major facial deformity. Mabel struggles to identify with him, but as their characters connect on camera, the actors do the same behind it. And as the film crew walks on the eggshells of political correctness and strange rumors begin to circulate about the abandoned hospital serving backdrop to the production, the boundaries between reality and fiction, fair representation and exploitation cinema, become excessively porous…”