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Posted on November 4, 2016

7 Thought-Provoking Home Invasion Films You Can Stream Now

Dawn Keetley

Home invasion horror films announce their plot right up front—and you can be pretty sure of what you’re getting: strangers break into a home and terrorize the inhabitants, typically for no other reason than the sadistic pleasure of torturing and killing. There are some great films out there that hew closely to this plot, delivering a terror predicated on the sadism of the stalker/s and the inexplicability of their actions. Funny Games, both the US (2007) and original Austrian (1997) incarnations, directed by Michael Heneke, and the more recent Hush (2016), directed by Michael Flanagan, are noteworthy examples.

I’m interested, though, in films that change the home invasion narrative in order to suggest some sort of closer threat—a threat that breaks down, in one way or another, the line dividing inside and outside, us and them, home and beyond, friend/family member and stranger, even self and other. All of the films below do this in different but always thought-provoking ways. They ask us to consider who the “strangers” in our lives really are, where they are—and what they are capable of doing.

You’ll notice all the screenshots of windows below: windows loom large in all these films, serving to question the boundary line between inside and outside that they also erect, even if only falsely and fleetingly. There are also a lot of masks, although while some masks can clearly be seen, others can’t. Read more

Posted on March 14, 2016

Top 13 Movies Reminding Me Why I Don’t Want To Get Married

Gwen

I have to expose my bias here:  I have never dreamed of getting married, I didn’t play house, I never planned my ultimate wedding, and despite my grandmother’s insistence, I was able to make it through college without getting my Mrs.  I won’t bash marriage, because it really works for some folks. But all those happily married and want-to-be married people get TONS of movies to themselves between the dramas, action films, and romantic comedies. Hell, even horror has really great marriages as we saw in my previous post about the Maitlands in Beetlejuice (1988). So, today I am going to reclaim the horror genre for those of us who prefer alternative lifestyles. In the spirit of fun, this list aims to be a little bit silly and a little bit serious. It is no secret that I love horror films that focus on the family. I feel that it is an important platform that exposes both criticisms of traditional family as well as fears about being part one. (WARNING: There are some spoilers and lots of sarcasm in here)

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Posted on March 7, 2016

6 Essential Pre-Code Horror Films

Elizabeth Erwin

To say that I’m a sucker for a well-crafted, classic horror tale brimming with salaciousness would be an understatement. And so it was with more than a little glee that I read about Turner Classic Movie’s month long film series devoted to tackling those films which made the Legion of Decency’s hair stand on end. I’ve written about American horror during this time period and I’ve always wanted to compile a short list of recommended pre-code American horror films as a complement. So here is my list of 6 essential films that will give you a taste of what horror was like pre-code. With everything from a killer with a fondness for meat suits to maniacal scientists hell bent on playing God, these films are a showcase for the cinematic perversions that left many audience members clutching their pearls.

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Posted on December 23, 2015

12 Days of Christmas Horror

Gwen

It’s no secret that Horror and Christmas go together like hatchets and heads.  Holidays evoke the best and the worst in us by tapping into our good will toward man at the same time as they burden us with shopping, family meal planning, and the repetitive cadence of grandma getting run over by a reindeer. I continuously expose my bias, but if there is one decade that best marries horror with holidays it is the 1980s. Please join me in celebrating the Horror Homeroom holiday season by indulging in our version of the Twelve Days of Christmas (80s style)!

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Posted on May 22, 2015

Top Ten Horror Comedy Movies

Gwen

The weather up here in the Northeast is improving and as we all get a little more Vitamin D from the sun I suspect the regional seasonal affective disorder is waning. Perhaps this is why I felt compelled to move toward the lighter side of the horror genre. Join me in celebrating some of the funniest horror comedies from over the years. I am going to preface this list by saying that I did not purposefully bias the list toward the 1980s (despite my overt preference for the decade). The 1980s are naturally a crucible for horror comedy and from a numbers standpoint this decade easily dominated the others with its overwhelming marriage between horror and cheese. The list is in chronological order as to not influence your expectations; the descriptions are a combination of my thoughts and imdb. I must also thank USA Up All Night for introducing me to most of these masterpieces.

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