TheoFantastique Podcast 1:1 – Interview with Ian Conrich on “Horror Zone”
It was my privilege to read select chapters from the new book Horror Zone: The Cultural Experience of Contemporary Horror Cinema (I. B. Tauris, 2010), edited by Ian Conrich. It was an enjoyable read, not only because the contributors are well informed about their subject matter, but also because of the refreshingly different perspective contributors […]
David Skal “Monster Show” Graduate Seminar at Trinity College Dublin
Every once in a while I come across great academic courses related to horror and my latest find is one presented by horror historian David J. Skal. He is presenting a graduate seminar at Trinity College Dublin based upon his book The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror (Faber & Faber, 2001). Here is […]
THE RITE: Modern Exorcism in Theaters January 2011
Our fascination with the devil in popular culture as informed by the Christian tradition continues, or at least Hollywood’s assumption that this figure is of interest to us, with the release of The Rite in January 2011. The film is “inspired by” the book of the same title by Matt Baglio. See the film’s website […]
Richard Matheson on Screen
Richard Matheson is one of the great writers of the fantastic who has provided countless hours of enjoyment through his writing, as well as through adaptations of his stories for television and film. Now his work is explored in a new book by Matthew Bradley titled Richard Matheson on Screen (McFarland, 2010). Richard Matheson on […]
The Mummy (1932): Zita Johann and the Esoteric Tradition
A recent visit to my local library to peruse the shelves for horror and science fiction DVDs revealed a few treasures the other day, including a copy of The Mummy (1932) Special Edition. This is part of the Universal Legacy Series that I have yet to add to my collection. This 2-disc set includes bonus […]
Nightmares in Red, White and Blue Available Sep. 28
Nightmares in Red, White and Blue: The Evolution of the American Horror Film is a feature-length documentary based on the book of the same name by Joseph Maddrey. It examines the idea that horror films reflect the times and places in which they are made – illustrating how classic monster movies exploited the anxieties of […]
Horror Movie Freak – A Good Beginner’s Guide to the Topic
I recently received a review copy of Horror Movie Freak (Krause Publications, 2010) by Don Sumner. The book is an enjoyable discussion of horror films for those fans obsessed with the genre. At one point early in the discussion Sumner provides a description of the purposes of the book: Horror Movie Freak is not a […]
Richard Harland Smith and Our Inner Contagion
The other day I was following various research threads on the Internet and discovered the Turner Classic Movies blog titled Movie Morlochs, which classic science fiction fans will recognize as a takeoff from George Pal’s The Time Machine. Unfortunately, despite the clever name, the blog is not solely devoted to science fiction films, but it […]
Kyle Bishop: American Zombie Gothic
I first became aware of Kyle Bishop and his work on zombies in film and culture for his PhD while researching the surge in academic work on horror. I then came across an article on his research in The University of Arizona’s UA News, “The Zombie: A New Monster for a a New World.” I […]
Cinefantastique Interview: Neil Lerner and Music in the Horror Film
I recently enjoyed exploring an important facet of horror through the book Music in the Horror Film, edited by Neil Lerner (Routledge, 2009). I was then able to interview Lerner who discussed the significance of the aural in horror cinema for Cinefantastique Online. Below is the introduction: I come from a generation of fantastic film […]
