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Horror: The Ugly Duckling of Cinema

If you’re reading this then you’re probably a fan of horror. Either that or you accidentally stumbled your way here while researching Hans Christian Andersen fairy-tales. As fans of horror, we know how great it is, but there are people out there that still regard it as a lesser genre, unworthy of any real merit. This article from The Artifice delves into the antipathy towards horror, and how scholars and critics are making a big mistake by underestimating it.

Up to snuff: Why ‘Found Footage’ is Good for Horror

Shaky camera? Check. Night vision? Check. Foolish documentary crew heading off into the woods to stick their noses into some old legend, usually to the chagrin of the locals, who know all about the witches/trolls/demons/vampires haunting their locality and have decided not to get involved? Check. It all started fifteen years ago (yes, I know, we’re all going to die soon) with The Blair Witch Project, and the ‘found footage’ phenomenon has continued to thrill (or bore) cinemagoers ever since. So how are first-person fear-fests good for horror? Fangoria investigates.

Severed Arms and Legs of Horror Cinema: An Off of Body Experience

Limbs are overrated, unless you’re an athlete or a trouser-model, in which case they come in handy, so why not celebrate the pointlessness of arms and legs by heading over to this article from Dread Central, in which a myriad of needless appendages are unceremoniously removed from the body. This one comes with a NSFW warning (which I think stands for No Sleep For Weeks, but I have been wrong before).

More Genre Films Safe for Youngsters

As a parent, I find it increasingly difficult to watch Martyrs or A Serbian Film in the presence of my little one. It’s only a matter of time before he starts asking about ‘newborn porn’, and that’s a conversation I’m not ready for. Thanks to this article from FearNet, I can now watch horror films with my boy without having to change its title to The Very Hungry Human Centipede. (Disclaimer: This never happened. I am a very responsible parent, and we’ve only watched Ichi the Killer once together, and that was because I couldn’t find his Postman Pat DVD.)

Marginalization and Stephen King’s Rage

Before Stephen King and Richard Bachman decided it was more feasible to share a body – saving thousands of dollars on public transport in the process – Bachman wrote a short novel called Rage. It features a protagonist/antagonist called Charlie Decker who sets about protecting himself from the bullies and ignorant faculty-members of his high school by arming himself and laying siege to the classroom. With the exponential increase in school shootings, King has since distanced himself from the novel, and it has been expunged from recent editions of The Bachman Books entirely. This article from Page of Reviews asks whether this is a good move on King’s part, or if Rage’s underlying message deserves to be heard.

ADAM MILLARD