The Andromeda Strain Revisited in New Television Event
One of my favorite science fiction films from my youth, perhaps surprising to some int that it is not your typical sci fi film that might attract a young person, is The Andromeda Strain (1971). The source material for the film came from an adaptation of a Michael Crichton best-selling novel, and this movie also […]
Jed Rowen: Indie Horror Actor
My good friend Marc Lougee, the creative filmmaker behind The Pit and the Pendulum, recently attended a horror convention to promote his film and he returned with a new group of contacts that he introduced me to so that their work might be shared in the blogosphere. With this post we meet Jed Rowen, a […]
Cylons in America: Critical Studies in Battlestar Galactica
After Star Wars became a phenomenon in movie theaters around the world in the 1970s it didn’t take long for television to take advantage in the resurgent interest in fantasy and science fiction. One of the television programs I remember fondly, although in my estimation it doesn’t hold up well when revisited thirty years later, […]
Paul Davids: Sci-Fi Boys and the Pied Pipers of the Imagination
A while ago I was channel surfing and came across a late night showing of a great documentary film called The Sci-Fi Boys. I have commented on this film previously, which documents the tremendous influence of the films of Ray Harryhausen and the publishing work of Forrest J. Ackerman on several generations of young people. […]
The Final Cut: Sci-Fi Thriller Connects with Contemporary Issues
From time to time I try to do a little treasure hunting, not the kind where you dive deep below the ocean’s surface, or the kind where you use a metal detector and scan the sands of the beach, but the kind that can result in literary or cinematic treasures. Last week I engaged in […]
Gilmore: Anthropology and Monsters in Cultural Imagination
In a previous post I mentioned the work of Dr. David Gilmore, an anthropologist who teaches at Stony Brook University. He is the author of Monsters: Evil Beings, Mythical Beasts, and All Manner of Imaginary Terrors (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002), an interesting book that provides an anthropological perspective on monsters in various cultures. Dr. […]
An Anthropologist Considers Our Monsters
A recent e-newsletter from the Constructing Horror website introduced an interesting topic: “The beasts of past days have given birth to a new kind of creature. In movies like Saw and 28 Days Later, the monsters are powerful and horrifying. But the concept of evil has been turned around on the audiences and what once […]
The Mist: Thrills, Chills and Thought-Provoking Social Critique
I am usually a late commentator on films since I watch few at the theaters and prefer to wait until they come out on DVD. This provides me with a cost savings, and enables me to read reviews and commentary so as not to waste resources on bad films. This last weekend I was able […]
Pop Culture Legacy of Malleus Maleficarum
The April issue of Rue Morgue magazine caught my eye at the newsstand recently with an article titled “The Witch Hunter’s Bible,” an article that explored the infamous Malleus Maleficarum. For those unfamiliar with this document, it comes from the medieval period (perhaps the 15th century) as a Christian manual that purports to provide the […]
Sacred Terror Book Due Fall 2008
Long time readers of this blog might recall my two previous interviews with Douglas Cowan on the topic of horror films and their connection to religion and fear. Doug shared his insights on these topics as they related to his book on the topic Sacred Terror: Religion and Horror on the Silver Screen (Baylor University […]
