What do horror film fans watch for Christmas? Of course I can’t speak for all of us, but with the festive season upon us, if you haven’t yet decided on the final few movies to ensure you have an appropriately-terrifying holiday period, the Bloodstained Balcony is here to make a few suggestions. Keep on reading
Category: Features
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The Best (and Worst) Motel Horror
Like two great tastes that taste great together, that genre we call horror and that lodging we call a motel seem to be made for each other. Now, to be fair, mere mention of the two in the same sentence introduces an 800lb gorilla into the room, and it would be ignorant to ignore it. …
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10 Must Read Australian Horror Writers
When I was asked to write something on ten ‘must read’ Aussie horror writers, I thought, “Hell, how can I narrow it down to so few?” I know many, many writers that I consider ‘must read’, both here in Australia and internationally. Well, here they are. In a random order, as well, to avoid being …
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Horror and the must read novella (and why they’re still relevant)
The novella is one of those literary forms that I have admired for a long time – a quicker read than a novel but a fuller experience than a short story. In the mainstream publishing world, it appears to be something of a neglected format (although, having said that, in a relatively recent visit to …
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The Muppets and Mahna, Mahna – the Untold Story!
This is a story that’s never been told. It’s about the tragedy that dogs every triumph and the fallacy that underlies fame. It concerns a true entertainment icon – the Muppet known to millions as Mahna Mahna. Read more…
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Examining the Basket Case trilogy
I’ve always had time for writer-director Frank Henenlotter. Anyone who mentions ‘Jess Franco’s House of Pain’ in the end title acknowledgements to one of his films (in that case Brain Damage) is all right by me. His most recent cinematic offering, Bad Biology (2008) was a glorious riot of sexual and genitalia-orientated bad taste that …
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Religion Won’t Save You: Religious Tropes in Horror Films
Ask anyone to explain a link between religion and horror movies and you’ll undoubtedly hear a large number of replies citing the use of crosses to ward off vampires. But, the genre is so heavily laced with religious sub-plots and analogies, it goes much deeper than Van Helsing brandishing a representation of where Jesus was …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thisishorror.co.uk/religion-wont-save-you-religious-tropes-in-horror-films/
The rise of Australian horror and the Oz Horror Mini-con
We’ve had a first here in Australia this month. Our first single-genre horror convention, the Oz Horror Mini-con was a pre-cursor to the main Oz Horror Con 2013, to be held in January in Melbourne. Previously we’ve had multi-genre conventions, not least of all AussieCon 4 and World Con back in 2010. That was a …
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Halloween Special: A Zombie-busting anniversary
Well, another Halloween fast approaches, and it’s always been my favourite holiday. Let’s face it, whenever the ghosts and ghouls come out to play, it makes just about everything more entertaining. Stuck in traffic? Look, there’s a masked guy wielding a machete. Caught at the red light? Look, a toothless crack whore with track marks. …
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Spectral Press at FantasyCon 2012
Brighton’s an interesting place in terms of contrast: it’s where many retire to in their twilight years, and it’s a seaside resort attracting thousands of tourists every year; it is also incredibly bohemian in disposition and atmosphere, plus it’s the gay capital of the UK. It’s full of fascinating examples of architecture from the last …
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A short history of Australian horror
Australian horror These two words have different connotations for many people worldwide. Australian horror has exploited fears of Australia’s ‘wide-open spaces’, and the isolation and vulnerability of people where the population drops to less than fifty individuals per square kilometre. Wolf Creek and Snowtown are based on real-life crimes such as Ivan Milat’s ‘backpacker murders’, …
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Happy Halloween 2: Crushing Passion vs. Bloody Commerce (aka Fiends Unite!)
Is it really the second Halloween edition of this column? Looks like it is, and I’m still waiting on that office, Mike. Anyway, it’s my personal favourite time of year and it’s beating rain outside all weekend. That’s the ideal time to reflect and genuflect at the altars of the things we dig most. In …
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