- Horror Movie - Horror Homeroom

Posted on October 28, 2015

A Good Marriage (2014) Film Review

Gwen

You know that moment when you realize that your relationship isn’t what it used to be. The moment when you think, where did we go wrong? For Darcy Anderson (Joan Allen) it was the moment that she found a dead girl’s driver’s license hidden in a secret panel behind her husband’s work bench.

From the outside looking in, the Andersons had a good marriage. They had a successful business, successful children, and they celebrated their 25^th wedding anniversary amongst a slew of adoring friends. Even Darcy thought she had a good marriage, despite the nagging notes all around the house and the misogynistic comments by her husband. Notice the title is “good” not great. Early in the film, Darcy responds to all Bob’s notes, saying “He goes but he never really leaves.” We soon come to find out their relationship isn’t all that it appears to be.

Posted on October 26, 2015

“Not Dead!” Glenn’s Fate in The Walking Dead

Dawn Keetley

If you didn’t watch last night’s Walking Dead episode, “Thank You,” you won’t want to read any further. Watch it and then come back.

Posted on October 25, 2015

Why Horror? (2014) Film Review

Elizabeth Erwin

Why Horror?

Not Rated | 81 min | Nicolas Kleiman & Rob Lindsay | (Canada) | 2014

Sound byte Review: Talking about horror seriously and in a variety of contexts while still celebrating the experiences of fans makes Why Horror? a unique experience for viewers who both enjoy and are repulsed by the genre.

Grade: A-

As someone who writes about horror and has a special appreciation for extreme gore, my sense of discomfort this past summer with the way some fan fiction was handling those perversions (murder, rape, incest, etc.) often tackled in horror was unexpected. And so as I was already beginning to question my own involvement in the genre, I was perfectly primed for the topic of this compelling documentary that seeks to answer why it is that people are drawn to horror. While I can’t say that it revolutionized my thinking on the topic, the film does illustrate the importance of opening up a conversation on why it is that we fear the things we do.

Premiering Friday on Showtime, Why Horror? is an interesting exercise in exploring all the varied reasons why horror resonates with fans. Examining everything from film to art to psychology, this POV documentary works largely because of its commitment to not exploring the genre in a vacuum. What I especially appreciated was the way in which the film wove in discussions of culture and gender to consider the myriad of ways in which horror has the power to impact society. Less in-depth exploration and more personal journey, the film is best suited to those viewers who can’t quite grasp why it is that people would find enjoyment in depictions of explicit gore and violence.

Posted on October 21, 2015

Halls of Horror Attraction Review

Gwen

Halls Of Horror

Web address: http://www.hallsofhorror.net

Location: Palmerton, PA (Carbon County)

Full body immersion into the depths of horror

The Nuts and Bolts:

Halls of Horror is one main attraction. Parking is free on the street and there seemed to be plenty of spaces. Entry is $15 to go through the haunt or $25 to upgrade to the Blood Experience. The blood experience is what it sounds like, bloody, messy, and intense! No matter which experience you choose, you will sign a release and the actors WILL touch you. The Blood Experience offers more extreme levels of actor interaction with the guests.

Posted on October 19, 2015

The Ward (2011) Review

Guest Post

The Ward

July 2011 | (USA) | John Carpenter | 89 min | R

Synopsis: Kristen (Amber Heard) is admitted to the North Bend Psychiatric Hospital in 1966 after she sets fire to a house. As she acclimates to this new setting of locked doors, restricted company, frequent medications, and forced treatments, she learns that there is an additional threat to the ward and its patients: the ghost of Alice Hudson. Alice, out for revenge, chases the girls slasher-style throughout the asylum until the film culminates in an unsurprising twist ending.

Review: Wrong monster, wrong place. The slasher/haunting plot is misplaced in a setting rich with its own horrors, none of which are fully taken advantage of.

Grade: C

It’s either fitting or extremely inappropriate that I’m writing this review on the tenth of October, World Mental Health Day. Because I have an interest in the history and cultural construction of mental illness, I was excited about The Ward’s setting in a 1960s asylum, a time and place when mental illness was a potent source of fear, not just fear of one’s own psychological demons but of how those demons might be “treated.” The opening credits immediately locate the film’s themes amongst barbaric treatments with splintered images of actual woodcuts, illustrations, and black-and-white photographs, all depicting patients undergoing agonizing treatment. The homage to these historical treatments gives Carpenter a promising starting point on which to build his narrative of horror.