By Matt Harries We often exclaim, or hear others exclaim, ‘They don’t make ‘em like that any more!’ Call it sentimentality, rose-tinted spectacles, or plain old nostalgia; whatever you call it, the audience for stories refracted through the lens of retro-appreciation is huge these days. Listing various works of the small or big screen that […]
Sometimes the loss of an actor just gets you somehow, because you automatically associate that actor with a role which is highly important to you. So, yesterday, it was hardly surprising that, with the news that Rutger Hauer had passed away at the age of seventy-five following a short illness, the internet was quickly awash […]
By Matt Harries With the weather in this country finally starting to resemble the heat and humidity of last year, summer, it seems, is finally well underway. Swiftly following on from the critically-praised Midsommar is a second piece of folk-horror for these warmer months. But while Ari Aster’s film is replete with the fertile imagery […]
If it comes in miniature and could conceivably be evil in nature, chances are Charles Band has probably used it as the basis for a schlock horror film (even ‘worry dolls’ have gone very, very wrong in his hands). And, in terms of success stories, the Puppet Master franchise has probably been one of his […]
The notion of folk horror – of isolated communities, barbaric practices and something distinctly sinister about the land itself – has received an awful lot of critical attention in the past few years, not least of which from this very site, so it’s unsurprising to see new films are now appearing, borne out of that […]
By Matt Harries Nowadays there is a kind of movement or at least prevailing school of thought that seems to be infusing through certain echelons of horror filmmaking. A school of thought that would prefer to see the genre transcend its lowly place as a parade of predictable distractions, to instead be regarded as the […]
Hill House and Beyond By Guest Contributor Matt Harries For the first part of Matt’s special feature on Mike Flanagan, click here. For Keri’s feature on The Haunting of Hill House, click here. ‘What struck me the most is that I think grief is such a universal experience that when we were in the writers’ […]
When I saw that Pet Sematary was being remade, I had a strange sense of deja-vu. Just like IT, another late-80s/early 90s Stephen King adaptation which has recently received an overhaul, the original version of Pet Sematary is bound up with late childhood memories for me, with scenes which have stuck in my head long […]
Mads Mikkelsen has turned his hand to all manner of different films during his career, from priests to cannibals, and he has certainly shown that he can handle, shall we say, the more challenging roles – and physically-demanding roles too. It seems that he went through more than a few hard knocks during the making […]
By Matt Harries Roky Erickson’s passing on May 31st rightly saw a wave of recognition from those touched by his life and works. Musicians especially have been quick to acknowledge the influence of his band, The 13th Floor Elevators, as progenitors of psychedelic and garage rock, as well as Erickson himself as a shining example […]
By Guest Contributor Matt Harries ‘The stories aren’t about horror, they’re about challenging ideas, confronting our darkest natures, and facing universal fears.’ Part 1: Absentia to Gerald’s Game Mike Flanagan is a name you could reasonably describe as ‘hot’ among fans of screen horror. The self-confessed Stephen King nut recently declared a wrap on shooting […]