While horror literature itself dates back before the birth of Christ, the roots of gothic horror are much more contemporary. The Castle of Otranto was published in 1764 by Horace Walpole, and is generally considered where the supernatural mixes with themes from the Romantic era. Some of the heavy hitters of this genre are famous … Continue reading The Innocents (1961)
Hello, gentle readers! The year is almost up, and as you can imagine, I'm working hard on my list of the Best Horror of 2018. As of now, there are still two movies which I am determined to see before I complete that article. I still intend to post Through the Fears entries, though probably … Continue reading Important Site Update!
In 1961, a director of industrial shorts started filming his first and only feature. With a budget of only $33,000, Herk Harvey shot the film in three weeks, often using guerilla filming techniques such as paying off locals to allow the crew to film in locations. Carnival of Souls was essentially ignored by general audiences … Continue reading Carnival of Souls (1962)
If you’re unfamiliar with the director Panos Cosmatos, hunt down Beyond the Black Rainbow. If you can endure both its glacial pace and the incredibly disturbing imagery, then you have a good idea of what you can expect from Mandy, the other half of Cosmatos’ short filmography. There’s no better test of a horror movie … Continue reading Mandy (2018)
My mother died in November of 2014. Immediately I began looking to hear her voice again. Twenty-one months later, I had published my first book, but I was still struggling to get the answers that I was seeking. All I had was a handful of notebooks, a collection of assignments from various evangelical programs, with … Continue reading Night Mother
And here we see a perfect illustration of why you should be careful of what you wish for, because you just might get it. I lamented how The Premature Burial wasn’t particularly distinct from The Pit and the Pendulum, wanting something a little bit different. And so, a mere 4 months after The Premature Burial, … Continue reading Tales of Terror (1962)
The Pit and the Pendulum had been a massive success for its low-budget distributor, American International Pictures, so they wanted to see Roger Corman’s Poe cycle continue. However, for the next entry, Corman shopped around, which offended AIP enough to temporarily deny him use of their contracted actor, Vincent Price. The Premature Burial would be … Continue reading The Premature Burial (1962)
Curse of the Werewolf Homicidal The Innocents Mr. Sardonicus The Pit and the Pendulum Taste of Fear Best Non-Horror of 1961 It goes without saying that Akira Kurosawa is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. Usually the first films that come up when you say his name are Rashomon or The Seven Samurai, … Continue reading 1961 Index
I don’t think I’ve talked much about Roger Corman in this series so far. Opinion on the prolific producer is generally split, with one half praising his ruthless efficiency, and how his tight budgets and shooting schedules meant that almost all of his movies pulled a profit. Nowadays, I would call that the Blumhouse model. … Continue reading The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
Maybe it’s because 2018 has been such a weird year for politics, but I can’t help noticing just how many movies I’ve come across this year that are about cults. Apostle marks the fourth. Even crazier is that I’ve yet to have a bad experience. Last year’s The Void was your typical Lovecraftian stuff, and … Continue reading Apostle (2018)
