“The Conjuring 2” and Misinformation
Now that The Conjuring 2 is in theaters it has become the object of praise as well as critique. An article at iDigitalTimes offers the latter, particularly since the film is promoted as being “based on a true story,” and that it involves the careers of notorious parapsychologists Ed and Lorraine Warren. (See my past […]
Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” 200 Year Anniversary
This is the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. This story continues to capture our imaginations so many years after it was first conceived. For some insights as to why, enjoy this video featuring Leo Braudy, USC Professor in English, Art History and History. And don’t forget to wish the Creature a happy anniversary.
Paintings from “Night Gallery”
Dangerous Minds has a piece that draws attention to the paintings used to introduce the stories in the television series Night Gallery. The essay includes a little background information, and images from several of the paintings, including the one above titled “Escape Route.” All of the paintings can be seen at the Rod Serling’s Night […]
Creature Designers: The Frankenstein Complex
A new documentary on practical effects is coming. It’s called Creature Designers: The Frankenstein Complex. See the trailer above. Beyond the general subject matter that connects to my passions, for me, the initial quotes were priceless in connecting to the broader themes of this blog. Guillermo del Toro says, ““I think we need monsters to […]
Memento Mori Art
AtlasObscura has a nice piece on memento mori art that includes some photos of different approaches to this. I am fascinated by macabre art and memento mori, and those similarly inclined can find the piece titled “In the 16th Century, the Best Office Decor Was a Tiny Rotting Corpse.” On the sculpture in the photo […]
Life Imitates Art: Island of Lost Souls and Animal-Human Embryos
I recently came across two items that made me give new attention to Island of Lost Souls (1932). The first was a commentary on the film that involved John Landis, Rick Baker, and Bob Burns. Their discussion makes for an interesting take on a neglected classic horror film. The second was a series of news […]
Call for Papers: Kaiju and Pop Culture Anthology
Kaiju and Pop Culture Anthology CFP deadline:Â July 1, 2016 Camille D. G. Mustachio contact: kaijupopculture@gmail.com Kaiju is a familiar trope in film and television that places giant monsters in direct conflict with fellow monsters and/or everyday citizens. While a larger-than-life creature that attacks Tokyo is likely the most familiar form of kaiju, additional iterations include […]
Satanic Art Exhibit
An exhibit from 2014 showed up today in my Google news feed from a Quartz piece called “Five hundred years of Satanic art” that draws attention to an “exhibition at Stanford University’s Cantor Arts Center, ‘Sympathy for the Devil: Satan, Sin, and the Underworld,’ [that] traces Lucifer’s visual history, from his emergence in the Middle […]
The Federalist.com and the Politics of Horror Fiction
I was pleased to find an article at The Federalist online that takes horror seriously as a genre that interacts significantly with social and cultural issues, including the moral and religious. The essay is “Inside Our National Zombie Nightmare Lurks The Politics Of Horror Fiction” by Marc Fitch. The title is somewhat misleading in that […]
Paramount Copyright Battle: Legal Issues or Fan Fiction Surpasses Studio Efforts?
Fan cultures have existed for decades and have produced their own versions and variations of expression as they drew upon pre-existing genre fiction elements. Star Trek is perhaps one of the best examples of this. Fan fiction production went on without the concern of the entities that owned the material. It was largely seen as […]
