Being Film #6 for Hooptober 2022 In my time doing this marathon over the course of nine years I have learned a lot about how horror is constructed: what works, what doesn't, how fears transcend (or not) across cultures. But I've also learned more that a few things about myself as well. And one of... Continue Reading →
“Is Australian Gothic a thing?” was a question I asked myself many times watching Tony Williams 1982 film Next of Kin (according to a Google search, yes it is). Next of Kin has the hallmarks of Gothic storytelling; an old house, a heroine who may or may not be mentally ill, and of course, the... Continue Reading →
Being Film #5 for Hooptober 2022 After my positive experience with X, I decided to travel back to the beginning and take another look at The House of the Devil, West's first feature from 2009. I probably hadn't see the film since about that time, and although the years have certainly been kinder, my initial... Continue Reading →
As Florida residents and lovers of spooky things, going to Universal Studio’s Halloween Horror Nights is an annual tradition for my spouse and I. For anyone who has never gone or is unaware, Halloween Horror Nights is an after hours event in September and October at Universal Studios. Generally, they’ll have multiple “haunted houses” based... Continue Reading →
Being Film #4 for Hooptober 2022 I've always given writer/director Ti West credit for trying with his films. Whether it was the 80s VHS clamshell horror of debut The House of the Devil or the found footage cult madness of The Sacrament, there's always solid filmmaking not content to merely emulate, but to live and... Continue Reading →
Being Film #3 for Hooptober 2022 Mako: The Jaws of Death is the prefect example of why something like Hooptober is great, and why adhering to the rules is so necessary. There's no other way I would have watched this crazy riff on Jaws where, far from the shark being the terror, it's the man... Continue Reading →
Being Film #2 for Hooptober 2022 The PG-13 horror film is a tough nut to crack. There's an unspoken rule in films where "scary" equals lots of blood and gore, and too often what I'll lamely call YA Horror is rendered toothless. So kudos to Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark for having some... Continue Reading →
This film from 1977 starts out with a declaration that just recently it was discovered fluorocarbons created a hole in the ozone layer. This film proposes that what follows is a potential consequence of this. What is that consequence you ask? Folks, the higher exposure to ultraviolet rays will cause animals to attack mankind en... Continue Reading →
A brief confession; when I initially put together my Hooptober list, I put The Innkeepers as my choice for a Ti West film. I’d already seen X and felt no need for a revisit. I wanted to see if I was harsh in my initial viewing of that film. Then a theater near me offered... Continue Reading →
In the fall of 2019 and inspired by Chris, I decided I was finally going to do Hooptober. I picked my movies out. I was set. I was gonna start on 10/1 and write full essays! Then I didn’t finish. Word to the wise: watching a movie a day and writing a huge piece on... Continue Reading →
Cinema Dual 