Category Archives: Judaism

Review of “Nightmares with the Bible” at Horror Homeroom

I had the privilege of reading Steve Wiggins’ fine book, Nightmares with the Bible, a book that looks at demons, possession and the Bible, for Horror Homeroom. You can find that review here. Steve’s response is also interesting on his blog as he expresses great appreciation of the review, and his frustration that his other […]

Call for Papers: Jewish Zombies

Jewish Zombies Call for Papers Workshop at the Jewish Studies Program, Penn State University October 27-28, 2020 The Jewish Studies Program at Penn State University presents an interdisciplinary academic workshop to examine zombies in the context of Jewish history and culture. Throughout history, Jews have often been depicted as monstrous figures, such as demons and […]

“Fear the Walking Dead” adds Jewish character

Fear the Walking Dead recently introduced a Jewish character to the series, a rabbi. Alex Zalben discusses why this is important in a piece in the Decider.

Fresh Treatment

Over the past 4 decades, numerous scientific reports have examined the relationships between physical activity, physical fitness, and cardiovascular health. Expert panels, convened by organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), and the American Heart Association (AHA),1–3 along with the 1996 US Surgeon General’s Report […]

Tablet: “What Science Fiction Tried To Teach Us About Jihad, and Why No One Listened”

There is an interesting item that appeared in Tablet: A New Read on Jewish Life titled “What Science Fiction Tried To Teach Us About Jihad, and Why No One Listened.” The subtitle explains a little further: “How Alejandro Jodorowsky muddled sci-fi by turning Frank Herbert’s ‘Dune’ into a New Age manifesto.” In the piece by […]

Toronto Jewish Film Festival and Jewish Horror

Carl Rosenberg, a reader of this blog, made me aware of an interesting facet of the 22nd Toronto Jewish Film Festival. It features a section on horror titled “The Search for a Jewish Horror Film: Golems, Dybbuks and Other Movie Monsters.” This is described as follows and features the following films: With a series of […]

NOAH discussion at Cinefantastique’s Spotlight Podcast

I was fortunate to be a guest at Cinefantastique Online with their Spotlight Podcast 5-13.1 with the discussion of NOAH. I commented on the film as a piece of cinema, and was also able to provide some thoughts on interpreting biblical texts and how this relates to religious communities and film artistry. Listen here.

Lilith in Folklore and the Bible

A brief but interesting item in this post. In keeping up with ongoing elements and developments in biblical studies I came across a blog I hadn’t read before. It included a post titled “Lilith in the Bible and Jewish Folklore.” Readers may have heard of Lilith from Jewish folklore with the idea that she was […]

Documentary “Room 237”: Kubrick’s “The Shining” and Interpretive Depth

Folks seem to love or hate Stanley Kubrick’s film The Shining. I still remember seeing it in the theater, and it remains one of my favorite horror films that is worth repeated viewing. Over the years the film has become the subject of interpretive controversy, with some pointing out many alleged continuity errors, and others […]

The Possession Presents Jewish Perspective on Possession and Exorcism

The Possession is Sam Raimi’s most recent horror film, and it also represents Hollywood horror’s latest installment in our ongoing fascination with the idea of possession by a dark spiritual force and the related process of exorcism. What makes Raimi’s film different from so many of the films that explore this theme is it’s Jewish […]

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