Michael Jackson’s Contribution to Horror in Pop Culture
Yesterday the news quickly circulated around the Internet, television and other forms of media that Michael Jackson, talented musician and tortured personal figure, had passed away. The final chapter has yet to be written on his life as the complete autopsy results will not be known for several weeks while toxicology tests are performed, but […]
Roman Catholicism in Fantastic Film
The Religion and Popular Culture email group is circulating the following call for papers. Since at least the late 18th Century, the symbolism, practices, and personnel of the Roman Catholic religion have been elements of the fantastic, the supernatural and the horrific in Western literature and art. Mad monks and evil nuns, abandoned monasteries, and […]
Midnight Syndicate Films Releases THE DEAD MATTER
TheoFantastique is a supporter of independent film, particularly in the form of indie horror. Midnight Syndicate Films makes its contribution to this art form with The Dead Matter. The press release for the film reports that post-production was completed at the end of April. “‘I am absolutely thrilled with how the movie came out,” says […]
Horror and Christianity – Continued Questions of Compatibility
I didn’t know my posted commentary would lead to a lively discussion in the blogosphere and on the broader Internet, but this seems to be the case. Over a year ago I started TheoFantastique as a way in which to express my appreciation for the fantastic, to probe in depth the various genres that make […]
Carrol L. Fry – Cinema of the Occult: New Age, Satanism, Wicca, and Spiritualism in Film
Various aspects of the occult, or as it is more commonly referred to today in academic circles, Western esotericism, have long been facets that have informed storytelling and fear in horror films. A recent book by Carrol Fry touches on this topic, titled Cinema of the Occult: New Age, Satanism, Wicca and Spiritualism in Film (Rosemont […]
The Irish Journal of Gothic and Horror Studies
Readers should note that in my right hand columns for this blog I include a number of helpful links in two categories, those that provide an opportunity to enjoy the fantastic, and those that help explore the fantastic in greater depth. In the latter category, one of the sites I especially enjoy is The Irish […]
Darryl Jones on Thematic Horror
Darryl Jones teaches at the School of English at Trinity College Dublin. He is the author of Horror: A Thematic History in Fiction and Film (A. Hodder Arnold, 2003). After several weeks of trying to connect we were finally able to get together to explore some of the topics covered in this fine book. TheoFantastique: […]
LOTTD Unity Post: Roger Ebert and Horror Fans
My fellow members of LOTTD are participating in a unity post focused around some recent comments by film critic Roger Ebert. In a film review for The Last House on the Left earlier this month, Ebert made this comment: “Other scenes, while violent, fell within the range of contemporary horror films, which strive to invent […]
Long History and Many Forms: Chaos Monsters Then and Today
For as long as human beings have been trying to explain their place in the cosmos they have been creating monsters. We are familiar with many of the contemporary versions of these creatures, but what we might not readily recognize is that one monster in particular seems to be dominant throughout history and across cultures. […]
Rue Morgue – Divinity in Darkness: The Rise of Christian Horror
The cover of the current issue of Rue Morgue magazine, Issue #87 highlights a double referent in its contents which dovetail with an emphasis of this blog in its analysis of the religious and social aspects of horror and the fantastic. The cover points toward an article on “Pascal Laugier’s religious-themed torture porn,” but of real […]
