Horror
Offseason Is a Terrifying Road Trip to Nowhere: SXSW Review
Editor’s Note: The following review is part of our coverage of the 2021 South by Southwest Film Festival. Stay tuned for further reviews straight outta Austin — well, virtually, of course. Below, Jenn Adams covers Mickey Keating’s spooky new feature. The Pitch: There’s something mysterious about Lone Palm Island. Marie Aldrich (Jocelin Donahue) and her friend George (Joe Swanberg) head to the island community after receiving a letter from the caretaker of her mother’s grave notifying her that it’s been vandalized. They arrive to find the island closed to tourists for the offseason, not to reopen until Spring. While searching for answers, and for the mysterious caretaker, Marie and George realize they may be the latest to fall into a horrific trap spanning generations. Mickey Keat...
Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched Is a Comprehensive, Spellbinding Folk Horror Doc: SXSW Review
Editor’s Note: The following review is part of our coverage of the 2021 South by Southwest Film Festival. Stay tuned for further reviews straight outta Austin — well, virtually, of course. Below, Clint Worthington learns all about folk horror. The Pitch: The history of folk horror is far richer and more expansive than is typically thought of by horror neophytes: More than The Wicker Man and Midsommar, folk horror has its roots all the way back to the 18th century and extends beyond the Anglocentric perspectives of ’70s British horror film fans. Director Kier-La Janisse knows this, and in Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched, she’ll show you an entire syllabus’ worth of cinematic folk horror from across nations, time periods, and forms of media (folk horror exists on T...
Primal Scream: An Oral History of The Howling
“What if this is a movie where the characters have actually seen a horror movie?” –John Sayles By the dawn of the 1980s, there hadn’t been a genuinely successful werewolf film in years. And in the wake of films like The Last House on the Left and Halloween, which brought horror to the cities and suburbs where most Americans lived, torch-wielding villagers and mythical monsters lurking around the European countryside seemed quant. Even when the cinematic werewolf mythology was occasionally modernized in the 1970s, with films like Werewolves on Wheels and The Werewolf of Washington, the results were lackluster. But just as the sub-genre appeared to lose its bite, The Howling burst onto screens and changed everything. The first in a series of three werewolf-centric films released in 1981 — Wo...
Paranormal Activity Sequel and Pet Sematary Prequel Coming to Paramount+
Halloween is nowhere near, but horror fans are still being gifted one of those king-sized treats today. A sequel to Paranormal Activity and a prequel to Pet Sematary are in the works and are set to debut on the new streaming service Paramount+. The platform, which was officially unveiled to investors earlier today, is ViacomCBS’ rebranding of its unsuccessful streaming service CBS All Access, and the company is clearly trying to get off on the right foot with viewers who yearn for a good scare. Both of these clicks are being developed by Paramount’s division Paramount Players, which intends to deliver four to six films to Paramount+ each year (via Variety). The studio hasn’t provided much information about the films themselves, but they’re calling the seventh edition of the ...
What’s Streaming on Hulu in March 2021
Busy times for Hulu in March. On the features front, Frank Grillo will try to escape a time loop in Boss Level, Eva Green will train for space in Proxima, Soleil Moon Frye captures her Hollywood youth in kid 90, and Devon Sawa learns the consequences of living off the grid in Hunter Hunter. Meanwhile, National Geographic will explore the life and legacy of Aretha Franklin in Genius: Aretha: Complete Season 3, the second season of FX’s Breeders begins, and Justin Roiland’s Solar Opposites returns for seconds. The back catalogue additions aren’t too shabby, either. Martin Scorsese’s Shine a Light is refreshing for these pandemic times, Wes Anderson’s Rushmore is always worth a 45th rewatch, and who doesn’t love a good horror like The Social Network. Check out the full list below, which also ...
Candyman Is a Manifestation of Generational Trauma
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | RSS Psychoanalysis is a weekly series on the Consequence Podcast Network that takes an in-depth look at a mental health topic through the lens of horror. “I am the writing on the wall, the whisper in the classroom. Without these things, I am nothing. So now, I must shed innocent blood. Come with me.” Today, Jenn, Lara, and Mike say their names five times in the mirror to conclude their series on generational trauma with Bernard Rose’s complicated classic, Candyman. There’s a lot lurking beneath the surface of this ’90s slasher and the conversation covers broad topics such as systemic racism, confronting privilege, and white saviors. Together, they’ll discuss the relationship bet...
Netflix Picks Up Tim Burton’s Wednesday Addams Live-Action Series
Last October, we learned that Tim Burton was in the process of creating a live-action reboot of The Addams Family. It sounded like a shoe-in for the modern master of all things creepy and kooky to give the beloved horror sitcom a 21st century upgrade, and clearly Netflix was sold on the idea. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the streaming service has ordered an eight-episode season of the Burton-directed affair, which is not just an ordinary reboot. Titled Wednesday, the series will be a live-action offshoot of The Addams Family that focuses on the household’s brooding daughter, Wednesday Addams. Netflix’s official synopsis describes the show as such: “A sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday’s years as a student at the peculiar Nevermore Acade...
Bram Stoker’s Dracula Is the Unholy Marriage of Gothic Horror and Camp
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | RSS Psychoanalysis is a weekly series on the Consequence Podcast Network that takes an in-depth look at a mental health topic through the lens of horror. “I have crossed oceans of time to find you.” With Valentine’s Day looming, Jenn, Mike, and Lara cross oceans of pods to join special guest Gena Radcliffe from the Kill By Kill podcast and The Spool for a comfort horror episode on Francis Ford Coppola’s blockbuster reimagining of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Put on your muscle armor and meet us in the daylight as we talk Victorian horniness and gothic writhing in Coppola’s star-studded adaptation of the classic vampire tale. Gena loves the unique costume design, Lara analyzes the film’s ce...
Clarice Shifts the Gaze of The Silence of the Lambs: Review
The Pitch: FBI Agent Clarice Starling returns to the screen 30 years after Jodie Foster’s Oscar-winning performance in Jonathan Demme’s The Silence of the Lambs. The new psychological drama from CBS joins the titular FBI agent a year after she caught and killed notorious serial killer Buffalo Bill. As the title suggests, this iteration of Thomas Harris’ Hannibal Lecter series is centered firmly on the titular agent as she struggles with PTSD and the burden that comes with being a hero. Rebecca Breeds steps into the famous cheap shoes and West Virginia accent to make the role her own, delivering a nuanced performance that feels simultaneously familiar and fresh. Set in the post-Waco ’90s, Clarice is an examination of misogyny in the workplace and the tightrope women must walk to avoid being...
New Tom Petty Documentary To Premiere at SXSW 2021 Film Festival
With Sundance now behind us, South by Southwest has gone ahead and announced its feature film lineup for 2021. Set to take place virtually from March 16th to 20th, the Austin-based festival will screen nearly a hundred new features. Not surprisingly, the major highlights of the lineup are of the musical variety, specifically documentaries Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free, Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil, and the Charli XCX-focused Alone Together. “It’s been a year unlike any we’ve experienced, first marked by the cancellation of SXSW 2020,” said Janet Pierson, Director of Film. “We feel privileged to have been able to pivot to SXSW Online and present a fantastic treasure trove of programming, including a pared down and wonderful selection of films that we know will delight, ente...
Debating the Essential Hannibal Lecter
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Art is subjective. Music and movies aren’t about competition; they’re about artistic expression. Well, for those of you who know better than to believe those lies, welcome to another installment of Vs. This time, Justin Gerber, Clint Worthington, and Dominick Suzanne-Mayer debate over who played the best Hannibal Lector as Ridley Scott’s Hannibal turns 20 and Jonathan Demme’s The Silence of the Lambs turns 30. Mind you, this piece originally ran in 2016. Justin Gerber: I grew up on Anthony Hopkins’ Hannibal. It earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor. It gave his career a boost it desperately needed, and he’s been pretty much riding the waves ever since. He’s great. No question. However, there’s something about the laissez-faire performance of Brian...
Glenn Danzig Shares NSFW Trailer for His Upcoming Vampire Western: Watch
Glenn Danzig has unveiled the NSFW trailer for his upcoming vampire Spaghetti Western, Death Rider in the House of Vampires. The film follows the Misfits frontman’s previous directorial outing, Verotika. Bridging Danzig’s love of vampire horror and Italian westerns, the film’s trailer is steeped in the atmosphere of Sergio Leone’s “Dollars Trilogy” …only with a lot more blood. These cowboys have fangs. Danzig wrote, directed, scored, and stars in the upcoming film alongside the likes of Devon Sawa, Julian Sands, Danny Trejo, Eli Roth, and Kim Director. It follows the Death Rider (Sawa), who travels to the desert Vampire Sanctuary, ruled by Count Holliday. The price of admission is “one untouched virgin.” The trailer’s combination of bloodthirst and gunslinging recalls Robert Rodriguez and ...
