The Damned is such a fitting movie for the beginning of January. Inspired by Icelandic folklore and featuring countless snowy backdrops, the film is a frigid slow burn that truly creates a sense of dread. It also addresses the consequences of decisions rendered.
Set in a remote fishing outpost during the 19th Century, the film stars Odessa Young as a widow named Eva. In charge of the outpost, she has to make a decision after a shipwreck close to the crew’s shoreline. She can either allow her fishermen to risk venturing out into the choppy waters to try to save some of the ship’s men, or she can opt to do nothing and preserve what limited supplies the group has during an especially harsh winter. She decides to do nothing.
Eva’s decision haunts the crew for the rest of the runtime. More specifically, director Thordur Palsson’s debut draws on the Norse myth of the Draugur, a creature that’s like a part-ghost, part-zombie. As one character describes it, the Draugur is like a returned person with flesh and blood. It torments every character in the film, causing them to hear voices, turn on each other, and commit horrid acts of violence. The creature is shown a few times and feels omnipresent. I actually think the film would have worked slightly better if the monster was shown a bit less, creating greater ambiguity and mystery.
The Draugur functions as an unshakeable curse that befalls the characters due to their decision not to save the men, lost to the frigid ocean’s depths. Meanwhile, Young gives a memorable performance, especially through the expressive look of her eyes and the way she conveys her character’s breaking point, caused by the curse and the weight of her decision. She’s really at the front and center of this movie and outshines just about all of the men. In fact, too many of the fisherman feel like background characters, without their own storylines.
While this film certainly works as an eerie morality tale, the visuals really make The Damned stand out. Thordur grew up in the Icelandic landscapes, and it really shows. Everything about this movie feels cold. The wind howls. Eva constantly treks through snow. The sea looks inky and menacing. Yet, the visuals stun at times, thanks, in part, to the film’s director of photography, Eli Arenson, who previously worked on Lamb, another visually rich film. The Damned lends itself well to the big screen, and the striking natural landscape becomes a character.
There does come a point where questions about the plot and direction arise. For instance, if the group has such limited supplies, why do they bother building coffins for the drowned? Where are they getting the wood and nails? However, a startling moment in the last act saves the narrative. It makes the rest of the pieces fit, and it’s one heck of a pay-off.
The Damned is an unsettling period piece with awe-striking landscapes and a performance by Young that shines against the bleak and isolated setting. This is a perfect film to watch in winter because it evokes such an icy sense of dread.
2024 was a heck of a year for horror, with films like The Substance, Longlegs, In a Violent Nature, and Strange Darling generating buzz and discussion. Beyond 2024, some of the films on this list seem likely to become cult favorites, garnering new viewers and fans well beyond this year and their initial theatrical runs.
Here are my favorite/top horror movies of the year.
*Please note that many of these films are western/American films. However, for 1428 Elm, I published a list of my favorite foreign horror films of the year. You can check that out here.*
Runner-up: Nosferatu
Robert Eggers’ take on F.W. Murnau’s German Expressionist classic looks fantastic on the big screen, and that’s really how it should be seen. The cast is great, too, especially Nicholas Hoult as Thomas Hutter and Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen Hutter. The creature/monster design for Bill Skarsgard’s Count Orlok is bone-chilling. Eggers captured the Gothic mood and tone, but this was a strong year for original horror films that pushed the genre in exciting new directions. This is now the third take we’ve had on Nosferatu, hence why, for as good as this movie is, it’s a runner-up.
Tiger Stripes
This Malaysian film was censored in its home country prior to its festival run and VOD release in the U.S. The film follows 11-year-old Zaffan (Zafreen Zairizal), who’s bullied at school as she undergoes physical changes. Yes, this is a body horror movie about puberty. It’s also a drama and comedy, but to be clear, it does have some gross-out moments and one heck of an exorcism scene that lampoons the very concept.
When I first saw this film at the Jim Thorpe International Film Festival last spring, I couldn’t stop telling people about it. Hopefully, as more time passes, this one will find a bigger audience. Here’s my initial review of the film from Horror Buzz, and here’s an interview I did with writer/director Amanda Nell Eu for 1428 Elm.
Tiger Stripes is available on VOD.
Oddity Director Damian Mc Carthy’s follow-up to his feature debut Caveat is a moody, Gothic film largely set in a creepy old house. There’s also a wooden mannequin in this Irish film that’s the stuff of nightmares. Meanwhile, Carolyn Bracken turns in a heck of a dual performance, playing both Dani, who’s killed mysteriously early in the film, and her blind sister Darcy, who runs an oddities shop and is determined to solve her sister’s murder.
Few films received as much hype this year as Longlegs. This is, in part, due to Neon’s stellar marketing campaign, giving very little away about the film’s plot, while sharing eerie posters and very vague trailers. In writer/director Osgood Perkins’ film, Maika Monroe (It Follows) stars as Agent Lee Harker, who becomes obsessed with a series of grisly occult murders. Nicolas Cages plays the hair-raising villain Longlegs and gives one heck of an unsettling performance.
Longlegs didn’t fully stick the landing for me, and a lot of this feels like Silence of the Lambs with an occult element, but both Monroe and Cage are great in this film. Like Perkins’ other work, this film evokes a grim mood and just feels cold. Unlike his other films, this one does a bit better balancing the substance and story with the atmosphere and imagery.
Longlegs is currently available on VOD.
In a Violent Nature
Writer/director Chris Nash’s In a Violent Nature is a bit polarizing. The entire film is shot from the POV of a slasher named Johnny (Ry Barrett). Because of this, much of the film takes place in the woods and features a lot of walking and nature shots. Still, this film includes some of the gnarliest kills out of any film on this list, especially the yoga scene near the halfway point.
Yes, the nature walks are tiresome at times, but give Nash credit for doing something different with the tired slasher genre. Also, Johnny looks really, really cool in his antique firefighter mask. You can read my full review of the film over at Signal Horizon.
In A Violent Nature is currently streaming on Shudder.
Immaculate
In the first half of the year, we had two theatrical releases that dealt with a woman’s bodily autonomy, fitting for a post-Dobbs world. The First Omen and Immaculate released about a month apart. Both films focus on nuns who birth the anti-Christ. The First Omen is a solid prequel, much better than it deserves to be, with a strong performance by Nell Tiger Free (The Servant) as Damian’s birth mother.
However, Immaculate made this list simply for its ending, which is so wild and raw that it really has to be seen. Sydney Sweeney also turned in one of the year’s best horror performances as Sister Cecilia. This is another banger from Neon. Read my full review over at 1428 Elm.
Immaculate can be streamed on Hulu, and it’s also available on VOD.
Late Night with the Devil
Like In a Violent Nature, Late Night with the Devil takes a tired subgenre, in this case possession movies, and injects it with much-needed creativity and freshness. David Dastmalchian stars as Jack Delroy, a TV host who lost his wife to cancer and whose show struggles in ratings. To save his program, he hosts a Halloween special and interviews Dr. June Ross-Mitchell (Laura Gordon) and her patient Lily (Ingrid Torelli). Both claim that Lily is possessed by a demon after surviving a Satanic cult.
Late Night with the Devil is a freakin’ blast and good time, especially Dastmalchian’s performance. Most likely, this film will become a Halloween favorite in future years. The movie is currently streaming on Shudder.
Strange Darling
Writer/director JT Mollner’s film looks freakin’ gorgeous. If you ever get a chance to see this film on a big screen, please do so. This film also contains my two favorite performances of the year, Willa Fitzberald as The Lady and Kyle Gallner as The Demon. This film addresses serial killers and the culture’s fascination with them. It’s also told in non-linear fashion, beginning in the middle, before arriving at its startling conclusion.
I really can’t say enough positive things about this film. If you want to read my full review, check it out over at Horror Buzz. The film is available on VOD.
Red Rooms
Red Rooms is probably the most disturbing film on this list, and it’s certainly not as bloody and gory as a few of these other movies. Even more than Strange Darling, this French-Canadian thriller comments on serial killer obsession. Juliette Gariépy plays Kelly-Anne. She looks like one of Ludovic Chevalier’s (Maxwell McCabe-Lokos) victims, all of which were young women. Kelly-Anne attends every trial date, as Ludovic sits behind glass, not uttering a single word.
Kelly-Anne then meets Clementine (Laurie Babin), who’s convinced Ludovic is innocent. Clementine leads Kelly-Anne down the dark web, where she watches countless snuff videos. Trust me, Red Rooms will creep under your skin. You can check out my full review of the film over at Horror Buzz.
Currently, Red Rooms is available on VOD.
I Saw the TV Glow
Writer/director Jane Schoenbrun’s I Saw the TV Glow is my favorite film on the list, other than the next one on the list. I couldn’t stop thinking about this one weeks after I first watched it. It’s also visually stunning. Both Justin Smith, as Owen, and Brigette Lundy Paine, as Maddy, give heart wrenching performances as two outcasts who bond over the Buffy the VampireSlayer-like TV show called The Pink Opaque.
I Saw the TV Glow is very much about nostalgia and memory, but more than anything, it’s a trans allegory. Yet, the feature will resonate for anyone who’s ever felt different or questioned their identity. In short, Schoenbrun’s film is a gorgeous and poetic work whose central message “There’s still time,” feels like a potent rallying cry at the dawn of Trump 2.0 to be yourself and comfortable in with your identity. Oh, and this film has the best soundtrack out of any film on this list.
I Saw the TV Glow is currently streaming on Max and also available on VOD.
The Substance
In a perfect world, Demi Moore would earn a much-deserved Oscar nomination for her role as Elisabeth in The Substance, an aging celebrity who’s essentially iced out of Hollywood. To regain her youth, she takes a mysterious drug that causes her to morph into a younger, more attractive self named Sue, played by Margaret Qualley. Of course, this doesn’t go well and the two try to kill each other.
Writer/director Coralie Fargeat’s second feature isn’t subtle in its messaging. It also has the most bonkers final act out of any horror film this year. This is pure body horror a-la Cronenberg with a sharp feminist message. You can check out an interview I did with Fargeat from a few years ago over at Signal Horizon about her first film, Revenge.
For 1428 Elm, I penned an article sharing my love of Black Christmas, how it pioneered many of the slasher tropes, and why, in a post-Dobbs world, the film feels so relevant on its 50-year anniversary. I linked the article and pasted it below.
No matter how many times I’ve watched Black Christmas, the film remains chilling. Yes, it contains some dark humor that foreshadows the comedic films director Bob Clark would helm later, especially Porky’s and A Christmas Story, but the film remains a resonant and powerful slasher, and its influence stretched into the late 1970s and the 1980sslasher craze. Fifty years on, Black Christmas’ themes of female autonomy and agency, especially Jess’ (Olivia Hussey) pregnancy and her decision to abort the child, and the masculine attacks on a female sorority, feel all too relevant at the conclusion of 2024.
From the get-go, the sorority house, which should serve as a safe space for the women, comes under attack through a series of phone calls by killer Billy. Some of his calls sound like garbled, incoherent jibberish. At their core, however, the calls assault the women’s sense of safety. In some of the first calls we hear, he threatens to sexually assault the women. His words are too explicit to reprint here, but the violence stands out more than his other ramblings.
To be clear, the women don’t act defenseless against Billy. In one of the most notable early scenes, Barb, played by the wonderful Margot Kidder, responds to Billy’s threats with the famous line, “Oh, why don’t you go find a wall socket and stick your tongue in it? That’ll give you a charge.” Yes, the line draws laughs, but it also underscores these women aren’t pushovers. They’re also much stronger together, providing greater resolve and defense when united.
However, Billy picks several of them off one by one, including the alcoholic house mother Mrs. Mac (Marian Waldman). The killings start with Clare (Lynne Griffin), who Billy strangles and suffocates with a plastic bag and leaves in the attic, specifically in a rocking chair for the duration of the film. Clare’s murder triggers much of the plot and rattles the sorority sisters, who assume she’s gone missing. Suddenly, their sense of safety shatters.
Of all the deaths, though, Barb’s feels most tragic. Other than Jess, she’s the strongest of the bunch. Yes, her sisters roll their eyes at her, and yes, she boozes as much as Mrs. Mac, but she has the best, most forceful responses to Billy. She successfully rattles him over the phone to the point he threatens to kill her.
Unfortunately, this foreshadows her death a bit past the film’s halfway point. The scene guts me each time, especially since Barb feels like the black sheep of the bunch, as well as the most outspoken. There’s the feeling she’s unwanted, not only by her sisters, but by her family. Who’s coming to pick her up for the Christmas holiday? The fact she dies alone in her bedroom reinforces her isolation.
Black Christmas’ major influence on the slasher genre
Black Christmas isn’t the first slasher. That credit really goes to Psychoand Peeping Tom, both from 1960, but the killer’s POV shots certainly influenced John Carpenter’s Halloween, which released four years after Clark’s film. Just watch the first ten minutes of Black Christmas and then the first ten minutes of Halloween. In both cases, you’re placed in the killer’s POV, as he enters the house. The influence is undeniable. Like Billy, Michael Myers is rarely shown fully in frame. He lurks in the shadows. We catch glimpses and images of him. He’s there, and then he’s not, but he’s an ever-present threat.
Further, the conclusions of Halloween and Black Christmas aren’t too dissimilar. Both boogeymen survive. After Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) shoots Michael several times and he falls from the second floor into the yard, he soon vanishes. Cue the famous Halloween theme, as well as several shots of everywhere Michael’s been in the film, coupled with the sound of his breathing.
At the conclusion of Black Christmas, the police leave Jess alone in the house to sleep and recover. As the credits roll, the phone rings again. It’s clear Billy’s not dead, leaving Jess’ fate uncertain. Clark refused to direct a sequel to Black Christmas, but the film still established the trope that the bad guy isn’t killed off.
Additionally, in both Halloween and Black Christmas, authority figures are pretty inept. This is true of Mrs. Mac, but also the police in both films. In fact, they dismiss the obscene phone calls initially in Black Christmas and then leave Jess alone. In Halloween, they do little to stop Michael and initially ignore Dr. Loomis’ warnings. This is even true of Haddonfield’s sherif, Leigh Brackett (Charles Cyphers). His denial of what Loomis tells him leads to the death of his daughter, Annie (Nancy Kyes). He could have stopped Michael but didn’t. Likewise, in Black Christmas, the police should have listened to the women much sooner about the calls, which could have stopped Billy.
Black Christmas and female autonomy and agency
Besides its influence on slashers, Clark’s feature was way ahead of its time because of Jess’ storyline. Like Barb, she maintains and defends her sense of agency. This is most apparent regarding her abortion storyline. She informs her boyfriend Peter (Keir Dullea) that she’s pregnant but plans to seek an abortion. Peter, who studies to become a concert pianist, freaks out and demands she keep the kid. At one point, he tells her he’s going to quit school and marry her. Of course, he thinks she should drop all her plans, too. In response, Jess maintains her resolve that she’s not getting married, she plans to finish school, and she’s moving forward with the abortion.
Though Peter doesn’t kill anyone, he’s the film’s other antagonist, a threat against Jess’ agency and dreams. His response to her decision is both childish and downright unnerving. He accuses her of being selfish and complains he hasn’t been consulted regarding the abortion. It’s no surprise that Clark uses Peter as a red herring for the killer. At one point, he smashes his piano and lurks around the sorority house. He’s a menace.
Fifty years later, Black Christmas remains as effective and timely as ever. Clark and writer Roy Moore crafted fully realized female characters, especially Jess and Barb, that do their best to defend against attacks on what should be a safe female space. It goes without saying that in a post-Dobbs era, the film feels all too relevant.
Black Christmas is currently streaming for free on Tubi and Crackle. It’s also available on Peacock, Shudder, and Prime Video.
Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, the holiday songs have started playing in every store. While some folks enjoy traditional Christmas movies, such as Home Alone or It’s a Wonderful Life, the horror community has a slew of films to pick from to watch this holiday season. In fact, holiday horror has really become its own subgenre. If you’re looking for something spooky to watch this season, here are my personal favorites.
Gremlins
Director Joe Dante’s 1984 monster movie Gremlins is a classic. Yes, the mogwai known as Gizmo is hella cute, especially in one scene where he sports a Santa hat and plays the keyboard in Billy’s (Zach Galligan) bedroom. Gizmo even purrs, sings, and makes all sorts of cuddly noises. However, if the rules are broken (don’t feed him after midnight, don’t get him wet, avoid bright lights) then the little adorable fuzzball spawns the vicious Gremlins.
Gremlins is really the perfect gateway horror movie for kids. It’s not too scary, but it’s still a top-notch creature feature from one of America’s best contemporary horror directors. Oh, and who can forget that scene where Phoebe Cates’ Kate tells Billy all about the worst thing that ever happened to her at Christmas. In case there’s actually someone out there who hasn’t seen Gremlins, I don’t want to spoil Cates’ monologue, but it’s a doozie.
Silent Night, Deadly Night
While Gremlins was a box office hit in 1984, Silent Night, Deadly Night was not. Released by Tri-Star Pictures, it was yanked from theaters about a week after its release because of controversy. In particular, the religious right threw a hissy fit about the promotional material, in particular the poster of a killer Santa in the chimney, holding an axe. And well, generally, they simply didn’t like Chris Kringle depicted as a murderer
Controversy aside, Silent Night, Deadly Night is a fun slasher that follows Billy Chapman (Robert Brian Wilson). Traumatized by his parents’ murder on Christmas Eve, and then tormented by sadistic nuns in an orphanage, little Billy grows up to embark on a yuletide rampage as a deadly Santa.
Terrifier 3
Writer/director Damien Leone’s Terrifier 3 just may be the most popular horror movie of 2024. Art the Clown is everywhere. He’s even a Spirit Halloween animatronic. In the third installment, Art returns to once again terrorize his arch nemesis, the stellar Final Girl Sienna, played by modern day scream queen Lauren LaVera. Some time has passed since the horrific events of the second movie, and Sienna isn’t doing too well, suffering from PTSD. Yet, she finds the strength to go toe to toe with the maniacal demon clown yet again.
This film has so many gruesome scenes, from the opening to a sequence involving a chainsaw, to an encounter Art has with a Santa in a bar. Meanwhile, Sienna has one hell of a Final Girl sequence in the last act. Art gives Billy from Silent Night, Deadly Night a real run for his money in terms of killer Santas.
Rare Exports
The Finnish movie Rare Exports is all sorts of wonderfully strange. A young boy named Pietari (Onni Tommila) and his friend Juuso (Ilmari Järvenpää) believe that a secret mountain drilling project near their home uncovered the tomb of Santa. However, this isn’t a Jolly ‘Ol St. Nick they encounter. Instead, it’s an evil, monstrous Santa.
Meanwhile, when Pietari’s father (Jorma Tommila) captures a feral old man (Peeter Jakobi) in his wolf trap, the man may hold the key to why reindeer are being slaughtered and children are disappearing. If you’re looking for something a little different this holiday season, give Rare Exports a chance.
Anna and the Apocalypse
Every Thanksgiving night, after we’re done visiting family, and loaded up on way too many carbs, my wife and I watch Anna and the Apocalypse as a way to start the holiday season. Imagine if the cast of “Glee” starred in a zombie movie at Christmas time. Well, that’s Anna and the Apocalypse.
No, this movie isn’t for everyone. That said, the Scottish film has a lot of heart, great storytelling, and one kickass final girl in Ella Hunt’s Anna. The songs serve to push the narrative forward and also underscore some of the movie’s themes. Trust me, you haven’t seen a zombie movie like this. If you do give this a chance, be warned that songs like “Turning My Life Around” and “Hollywood Ending” will likely get stuck in your head.
Christmas Evil
Yes, here’s another killer Santa Clause movie. Christmas Evil, set in suburban NJ, is wonderfully weird. Directed by Lewis Jackson, it stars Brandon Maggart as Harry. Tired of everyone’s cynicism and berated and belittled at his toy factory job, Harry turns into a vengeful Santa. Over the years, the film gained a cult following, much like Silent Night, Deadly Night. It also faced controversy and was seized as part of the Video Nasty period in the UK in the 1980s.
Oh, and did I mention that Harry spies on children to see if they’re being naughty and nice? He also watched his mom get sexually groped by his father, dressed up as Santa, when he was a kid. Yet, this is also the story about a fed-up worker more than anything else.
Black Christmas
Not only is Bob Clark’s Canadian film Black Christmas an iconic holiday movie, but it’s an incredibly important slasher film, specifically one of the biggest influences on John Carpenter’s Halloween because of the killer’s first person POV shots. A group of sorority women are terrorized by a killer named Billy. He continually calls them and makes obscene phone calls. Then, the murders start.
This film has a heck of a cast too, especially Margot Kidder as the foul-mouthed Barb and Olivia Hussey as Final Girl Jess. Horror fans will also recognize John Saxon as Lt. Fuller. Saxon would later play Nancy’s dad in Nightmare on Elm Street and Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. Nearly a decade after Black Christmas, Clark would go on to direct another seasonal staple, A Christmas Story. Both films certainly have doses of dark humor.
Black Christmas was also quite progressive for its time because of the abortion storyline that impacts Jess. She’s determined to make her own decisions about her body, despite the crazed reactions from her overbearing boyfriend, Peter (Keir Dullea). In terms of subject matter, slasher tropes, and tone, Black Christmas was way ahead of its time and one of the major influences on the genre. Skip the two remakes. Watch the OG. It’s a must-see.
Since the recent U.S. election, I’ve been struggling how to process the result. I don’t know what shape a “resistance” will take this time. I was at the Women’s March in 2017 and organized near- weekly visits to the local offices of our two PA senators to oppose the worst of the initial Trump cabinet picks and policies. As a whole, the groundswell of activism that occurred in 2017 likely stopped the worst of it, but this feels different. The cabinet picks are most definitely worse, and the incoming far-right government trifecta seems more intent on passing sweeping legislation, at least within the first year, before they campaign for the 2026 midterms.
We also have the issue of billionaires like Elon Musk spending unlimited funds to influence an outcome. I don’t know how we deal with that, but I’m turning to writing both as a solace and maybe as a means to offer some paths forward.
In that regard, my first post-election piece is on John Carpenter’s 1988 political satire They Live. There’s a lot of lessons to learn from it, including the power of worker organization. This article was initially published at 1428 Elm this week, and I am reposting it here.
While John Carpenter’s 1988 political satire They Live may have been a response to Ronald Reagan’s America, with direct references to his campaign slogan “morning in America,” the film feels increasingly timely now. Considering the involvement of billionaires in the recent presidential election, with Elon Musk playing an outsized role, Carpenter’s critique of capitalism makes They Live the most relevant of his films for this precarious moment.
Set in LA in the late 1980s, They Live follows a drifter named Nada (Roddy Piper). Within the first 15 minutes, he ends up in a shantytown. Skyscrapers loom in the distance, drawing his gaze and underscoring a setting that shows the divide between the haves and the haves-nots. Initially, Nada isn’t bothered by this. He’s simply looking for work and believes in the promise of America.
At the shantytown, Nada encounters Frank (Keith David). During their first conversation, their differing views on class become apparent. Frank, like the countless working-class voters from PA, MI, and WI interviewed in 2016 and then again in 2024, laments the loss of well-paying factory jobs. He’s hardened and ready for action, but even more importantly, desperate for a job. He’s ready to tear down the system if he doesn’t find one.
During this first exchange between the men, we learn a lot about Frank and his challenging plight. He tells Nada, “We gave the steel companies a break when they needed it. Know what they gave themselves? Raises,” before reciting one of the film’s most famous lines about the golden rule, “He who has the gold, makes the rules.”
Frank’s justified anger is the most relevant of the two characters. It’s palpable. He, like too many other workers, has been stiffed. Following an election that hinged, at least in part, on economic issues, such as the cost of housing and the skyrocketing cost of everyday goods post-COVID, Frank’s rage feels righteous and warranted. He’s prepared to take a sledgehammer to the whole system.
Nada’s response to Frank’s simmering anger feels naïve at best. He says, “You know, you ought to have a little more patience with life.” With his blue jeans, flannel shirt, and mullet, Nada looks ready to recite a Bruce Springsteen or John Mellencamp song without really listening to the lyrics.
It would likely have been easier for Nada to brush off Frank’s gripes and maintain his simplistic worldview. However, his character evolves the moment riot police and bulldozers utterly obliterate the shantytown. The scene is one of the film’s most harrowing. Nada looks on in shock and horror as this occurs seemingly for no good reason. He evades the police, only to find a pair of sunglasses that allow him to see the world as it truly is. Thus begins Nada’s political and social awakening.
The glasses empower Nada, making him less susceptible to hyper-consumerism and control. When he puts them on, he sees aliens determined to keep people asleep in a fog of consumerism as they overtake Earth. With the glasses on, Nada sees billboards that say Obey, Consume, and other slogans. When he fixes his gaze on money, he encounters the phrase, “This is your god.”
Carpenter’s political critique isn’t exactly subtle, but it’s incredibly effective. When you have Musk paling around with the new president-elect or the barrage of celebrity endorsements secured by VP Kamala Harris, They Live’s over-the-top political satire speaks to the moment. In 2017, speaking out against a bizarre Neo-Nazi claim that the film traffics in stereotypes, Carpenter made clear that’s not the point of the film, tweeting that it is about “yuppies and unrestrained capitalism.”
Besides the blatant critique of consumerism and capitalism, They Live offers a more subtle message, that of worker power and organizing. For at least half the film, Frank and Nada, two men with working-class backgrounds, stand at a divide. Nada initially dismisses Frank’s anger with a dose of foolish optimism. Later in the film, Frank does the same to Nada, though for different reasons.
When Nada encounters Frank much later in the film, he implores him to try on the glasses and see the world as it truly is. However, Frank landed a job in construction. With Nada’s face plastered all over the news, after killing a few of the aliens, he wants nothing to do with him. Frank wants to protect his job. He has no choice.
The men brawl with each other in an alley. The scene is absurd and also plays up Piper’s wrestling background. However, the sequence, silly as it is, highlights the divide between the men, specifically between different members of the working class. As long as they remain divided, those in power maintain and accumulate wealth. This class division is also maintained because the aliens continually promise workers that they can advance up the social and economic ladder if they submit and assist with the takeover.
Eventually, Frank and Nada, along with other members of a pocket resistance, come together to fight the aliens. This underscores the power of organizing, perhaps as the only means to create a more equitable society.
I’m taking a break from the film reviewing this week to spread the word about two literary events.
Currents in the Electric City Reading, Nov. 2 at 7 pm, The Gathering Place
This event will be another reading/book signing to celebrate Currents in the Electric City: A Scranton Anthology. Featured readers include Mandy Pennington, David Elliott, Ted LoRusso, Jess Meoni, Amye Archer, Bonnie Markowski, Daryl Fanelli, Barbara J. Taylor, fellow co-editor Joe Kraus, and I. This event is free and will take place at the Gathering Place in Clarks Summit, PA.
Open Mic at the Albright Memorial Library, Thursday, Nov. 7 at 6 pm
Lackawanna College’s Professional Writing Program, in conjunction with the Albright Memorial Library, is hosting an open mic. This will feature student and faculty readings, but it’s also open to the public! Bring a piece to share. Admission is free, and there will be food, too.
Since 2016, I increasingly heard more and more about the Terrifier movies, which coincided with the number of folks in Art the Clown cosplay at horror conventions. Art predates the initial Terrifier movie from 2016, having appeared in a few anthologies before then, including All Hallows Eve, but the Art the Clown we all know really made his debut in that first feature-length film, written and directed by Damien Leone.
I have to confess I wasn’t the biggest fan of the first movie. I’m not a wimp when it comes to gore, but the hacksaw scene, among a few other kills, were a little too much even for me. It felt like violence for the sake of violence. It also sparked some criticism that the violence in the Terrifier movies is more often than not leveled at women. For example, the protagonist of the first film, Victoria (Samantha Scaffid), survives Art’s games, only to have her face eaten by him during the closing minutes, before police arrive and save her. She returns in the next two movies even more damaged and broken.
All of that said, I believe that Leone has improved quite a bit as a filmmaker since Art’s first appearances, and not only that, took seriously some of the criticism. Terrifier 2 is a much different film than the first one, more dream-like and not as paper-thin in terms of story. In several interviews, Leone cited Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors as a key influence. The film certainly warps and bends reality. More importantly, it introduces the franchise’s main protagonist, Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera), whose final girl traits rival that of NOES’s Nancy, or any other franchise final girls.
Yes, the violence in Terrifier 2 is brutal, especially one particular scene involving Sienna’s friend Allie (Casey Hartnett). Art literally pours salt into her wounds after torturing her in her own bedroom. Yet, Sienna is a character created to counter Art. He’s a demon. She’s an angel; she even dresses like one for nearly the entire second half of Terrifier 2 (it’s her Halloween costume). Her costume also blends elements of an ancient warrior, with gold armor and breast plates. She even wields a magical sword that can defeat the big bad.
To be clear, Art gets in his licks, even whipping Sienna at one point, but Terrifier 2 works so well, in part, because it has a counter to Art’s brutality, a woman to root for in Sienna. She survives and wins the day, only to return in Terrifier 3 with a slightly different story arc, showcasing what happens to a final girl next and how she processes grief and trauma. This franchise isn’t the first to have such an arc. Consider Laurie Strode in Halloween H20, Halloween 2018, or even Rob Zombie’s underrated Halloween 2. Still, Terrifier 3 only deepens Sienna’s story. She pops pills. She’s in and out of the psych ward, and she has visions of her dead friends.
Leone returns more to the tone of the first film for the latest installment. EVERY kill is gruesome. In the opening, Art, dressed as Santa, murders a family, including children. There’s a gratuitous chainsaw scene by the halfway point. Sienna, meanwhile, deals with serious PTSD from the events of the second film. Yet, in the last act, she again goes toe to toe with Art, and though she suffers more serious loses, she again survives and will likely best him again in the fourth and maybe final film.
Terrifier 3 is my favorite of the franchise for a few reasons. It adds more character depth, both to Art and especially to Sienna. LaVera’s performance is the best so far, showing just how damaged Sienna is, while still so resilient and fierce. The pacing and direction are also tighter, maybe because Leone hired a special effects team he trusts to handle that part of the job, which allowed him to focus more on the script and directing.
The stakes in Terrifier 3 also feel much, much higher. Vic returns, playing a bigger role, possessed by Art, assisting him in the kills and his horrible plans. Nothing here feels off-limits, be it kids or characters close to the final girl. Everyone is fair game. This is also the point where I want to talk about David Howard Thornton’s performance as Art.
Thornton really shines in Terrifier 3. Yes, he’s horrifying, but he’s also pretty funny. I assume that Thornton studied silent movie comedians, such as Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. Terrifier 3, for as bloody as it is, has a few truly laugh out loud moments, due to Thornton’s performance and silent actions, his body language especially. The actor manages to convey and say so much without ever speaking. By the third movie, he’s truly perfected his role as Art the Clown.
Though I wasn’t the biggest fan of the Terrifier movies initially, I’m warming up to them. Only time and perspective will tell if Art the Clown is this generation’s Freddy, Jason, or Chucky, while Sienna is this generation’s Nancy. The fact this has been such an indie franchise, comparable to the initial Halloween or Friday the 13th, is also impressive, perhaps industry-shaking. For example, Terrifier 3 was created without a big studio’s backing, shot on a budget of $2 million, and in its opening weekend, grossed $18.5 million. As Halloween inches closer, it’ll only keep making money. My students are talking about it. The horror community won’t stop gabbing about it and debating it.
Yes, I understand these movies generate such buzz because of the gore and the truly brutal kills. Certainly, that’s part of their appeal, but there has to be something more there. I’m convinced each movie is bigger and more successful than the last because Leone has crafted two truly memorable characters in Art and Sienna. They just may be this generation’s slasher icons.
I was 14 when I saw The Blair Witch Project in theaters, and boy, did it creep me out. Released in 1999, the film utilized the early days of the internet. It ignited a marketing campaign that included a website with journal entries, fake missing persons flyers, and other tidbits about the Maryland witch and the three leads who went missing in those deep and dark woods. That final shot of Mike (Michael C. Williams) standing in the corner, where Heather (Heather Donahue) finds him, before the witch, or some other entity knocks attacks her, remains just as chilling today as it did 25 years ago. It’s one of the most iconic final shots in contemporary horror.
Since Blair Witch, Williams has starred or made cameos in several other movies, including The Objective and the anthology movie Satanic Hispanics. His role in Satanic Hispanics, and his connection to Eduardo Sanchez, who co-directed Blair Witch, led him to his latest film, Ghost Game, a movie that toys with home invasion tropes and the traditional ghost story, as well as a prank knowing as phrogging. Here’s part of the interview I conducted with Williams for 1428 Elm, and again, you can read the full interview on the site.
Eduardo Sanchez is one of the producers of Ghost Game, and he also co-directed The Blair Witch Project. Did he lead you to Ghost Game? How did you get involved?
Michael C. Williams: I did a cameo in Satanic Hispanics with Eduardo a couple of Junes ago. I met one of the producers on that, Carlo Glorioso, who later contacted me, and Sam Lukowski, who I’ve known for years, but never worked with. They both contacted me about the script and really wanted me to read it. They thought it could be a lot of fun.
They were making some films out of Maryland that were smaller, independent horror films. The culture on Santastic Hispanics was that smaller film community in Maryland making part of the film, which was an anthology. It was the connection through Ed, but then I met people who had me read the script. I loved it. I hadn’t even heard of what they call phrogging. I soon came to find out that it is a thing that exists.
I had an initial conversation withJill Gevargizian, who directed. Then, I watched The Stylist and really loved her work. I always root for young people in film, especially young people in horror, for probably obvious reasons. It seemed like a no brainer to me. The script was strong. The role for me was exciting because there are definitely turns and twists in the role. It was an awesome experience.
What was it like playing Pete, an alcoholic writer and conspiracy theorist? We’re not used to seeing you play a character like this.
Michael C. Williams: For me, that was somewhat of what was exciting about it. I do play a lot of Nice Guy Mike [roles]. We all have shades of other things in us. Pete gets dark, although as a human being, he doesn’t walk around saying he’s going to be dark today. This guy tries to do the best he possibly can do for his family. It falls apart. He tries to hold it together, but it’s just not working out.
It has to feel authentic. You can’t go into it saying you’re going to play mean or dark. It wouldn’t work as well compared to it naturally evolving. That’s what attracted me to that role, certainly shades of that anger and what happens around him.
It’s been 25 years since The Blair Witch Project and you’ve done other horror and sci-fi projects since then, including Altered, The Objective, and now Ghost Game. What keeps you interested in genre filmmaking and genre movies?
Michael C. Williams: Well, likely the filmmakers and the connection I have to the horror world. I went to do a cameo in Satanic Hispanics, and that was through Ed Sanchez. Through him, I met Carlo Glorioso, and he turned me towards Jill Gevargizian’s script. I ended up talking to her. You work with these pockets of folks who are kind, cool, and creative. That’s where it’s landed me over the years, and I’m grateful for it.
Ghost Game will have a limited theatrical run on Oct. 18, before it hits digital on Oct. 18.
Once again, I had the honor of covering Fantastic Fest for Horror Buzz. I watched and reviewed ten or so films. Here are some of my favorites.
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin
This is such a beautiful and heartbreaking documentary about a Norwegian gamer named Mats Steen. His degenerative muscular disease caused him to seek refuge in the World of Warcraft, where he played the avatar/character Ibelin. Much of this documentary is narrated through the avatars and creatures that populate WOW. During the runtime, we come to know how much Mats meant to so many of his fellow gamers and how, in turn, they provided him friendship and community. This film will stream on Netflix beginning October 25. I can’t recommend it enough. You can check out my full review over at Horror Buzz.
Touched by Eternity
At this point, there’s not much left to do that’s new with the well-worn vampire genre. Writer/director Marcis Lacis likely knows this. Hence why his film, Touched by Eternity, is a sharp horror satire more than anything else. The Latavian film stars Andriss Keiss as the unmotivated Fatso. Though he’s obsessed with podcasts and conspiracy theories about eternal life, when two vampires show up at his trailer, offering him such, he flees them. This movie is a hoot through and through, but it’s also a smart meditation on being human and mortality. Oh, and there’s a knee-slapping scene in which a vampire academic reads her paper about the fanged undead, even citing Marx! Here’s my full review.
What Happened to Dorothy Bell?
If there’s one film I can’t stop thinking about after Fantastic Fest, it’s What Happened to Dorothy Bell?, an unnerving found footage movie from writer/director Danny Villanueva Jr. His feature stars Asya Meadows as Ozzie, a deeply troubled young 20-something who makes a documentary for a school project to unpack what happened to her grandmother, Dorothy, a librarian who eventually lost her mind and attacked Ozzie. There’s a lot of creepy stuff in this one. Oh, and Nightmare on Elm Street 4 and 5’s final girl, Lisa Wilcox, also stars in this as Ozzie’s therapist. I wouldn’t be surprised if a distributor picks this one up soon. Here’s my full review.
Apartment 7A
When I first heard news that Rosemary’s Baby was getting a prequel, I was skeptical. Who would want to touch Ira Levin’s novel and Roman Polanski’s adaptation? Well, when I saw Natalie Erika James’ name attached to it, I had greater confidence in the project. I really liked her 2020 film Relic. Set in 1965 NYC, this prequel tells Terry’s story, and Julia Garner does an impressive job in the lead role. Apartment 7A is now streaming on Paramount Plus. It’s also available to purchase on other streaming outlets. Here’s my full review.
Strange Harvest: Occult Murder in the Inland Empire
Writer/director Stuart Ortiz’s (Grave Encounters 1 and 2) Strange Harvest: Occult Murder in the Inland Empire is a harrowing commentary on our culture’s obsession with true crime and serial killers. This film makes viewers question why we love serial killers and often forget about their victims. In a mock documentary style, this film contains interviews with two detectives, haunted by the murders at the hands of Mr. Shiny. The less I say about this one, the better. Likely, this film will get swooped up by a distributor. Read my full review here. You can also check out my interview with Ortiz and the cast.
Natalie Erika James made a name for herself with the stellar, slow-burn horror movie Relic from 2020. Her latest feature, Apartment 7A, is a prequel to Rosemary’s Baby. While crafting a prequel to Ira Levin’s novel and Roman Polanski’s influential adaptation would seem like an insurmountable task, James, and her co-writers, Christian White and Skylar James, do quite a good job.
While Apartment 7A has some familiar characters and callbacks to Rosemary’s Baby, it’s very much its own film, starring Julia Garner as Terry Gionoffrio, a Nebraska farm girl who moves to NYC, hoping to catch her big break. She’s lured by occult forces, and well, you can guess what happens next.
During Fantastic Fest, I chatted with the director and her co-writers about Apartment 7A and the importance of telling Terry’s story.
This interview was edited slightly for clarity.
Creating a prequel to a movie as influential as Rosemary’s Baby couldn’t have been easy. What made you want to create a prequel all these years later and tell Terry’s story?
Natalie Erika James: I was approached with a script, which set Terry’s story in 1960s Broadway. I was excited about not just the notion of playing in the world of the original mythology, but just to play with Terry’s journey and how much agency she had over her ambition. I was really interested in this focus on a really horrific event, an assault that she has to deal with, and the idea of a fractured self and coming back to herself in the context of trying to pursue a certain career. It felt like there were scenes that were relevant to women today.
Skylar James: We’re having the same conversations about a lot of issues that we’ve had for 50 years. Taking on something like Rosemary’s Baby is taking on sacred ground. You are filling some very, very big shoes. For me, there’s conversations to be had about foundational trauma, grooming, cults, and victimization. These are very real and prevalent issues.
Just in terms of continuing the conversation from Rosemary’s Baby in a grander sense, there’s something to be said about seeing the story through a different lens. For me that’s Terry Gionoffrio, this woman who has these ambitions and big dreams. She’s someone who’s not easily told no, sent home, or deterred. She’s a fighter from the first frame to the last frame of the movie. This continues on the conversation about women’s rights, body horror, political and social issues, but seeing them through this lens of this fierce woman who really does have something of her own to say.
Christian White: In the original, Rosemary is a victim. It’s a wonderful and beautiful film, but Rosemary is a victim. I never think of Terry as a victim. Bad things happen, but she’s also driving her own story. As she gets closer to her goal, she’s continually forced to shed more of herself and sacrifice more. There’s something about that agency and exploring a woman’s agency that was a reason to make this now.
Skylar James: Imagine the dumb luck of choosing a vessel for the devil’s seed who doesn’t even want a baby. [Laughs].
I was really surprised by the performances in this, not only Julia Garner’s as the protagonist, but also Jim Sturgess, who plays Alan Marchand and Dianne Wiest, who plays Minnie Castevet. They’re both so evil in different ways. We’re not used to seeing them take on roles like this. Natalie, can you talk about working with these two actors?
Natalie Erika James: Dianne has an incredible track record of playing larger-than-life characters but in a completely grounded way. I was immediately excited by the prospect of crafting Minnie with her. With Jim, you’re 100 percent right. You don’t seem him cast in a dark role. I think with both of them there was a real sense that you had to come at it from the character’s perspective. You have to buy into the characters. We spoke a lot about how it’s not necessarily religious, but it’s rooted in a belief in themselves. There’s a real sense of purpose. It’s not just evil for the sake of evil. I think it contextualized it for the characters in a way that’s believable. Building from there was the approach.
Dianne Wiest as Minnie Castavet in Apartment 7A, streaming on Paramount+ 2024. Photo Credit: Gareth Gatrell/Paramount+.
How much, if at all, did the Dobbs decision and the overturning of Roe v. Wade influence this film and its narrative? So much of the film is about a woman’s bodily autonomy.
Skylar James: A lot. It’s a conversation that’s front and center in American politics right now. I think by showing a depiction of a woman in the 60s, who had no choice and the danger that put her in, I think that’s really important to talk about. No matter where you stand on the issue, it’s a conversation that’s important to have. We talk about it in the context of the devil’s spawn. [Laughs]. That element about women’s rights and a woman’s right to choose, that’s a universal and a timely conversation. It’s an important one to have. For me, it was at the forefront of the writing.
Christian White: It was something that was necessary to the story anyways. We had to go there. In a lot of the sensitive areas, we went through it and never skirted around it. The abortion issue was interesting. In Australia, it’s a sensitive topic as well, but nothing like it is in the United States. Culturally, it’s quite different.
I remember Nat and I doing a version of the story and having to remind ourselves that this is an American film. We had to think about all that baggage. We have a little bit of that baggage in Australia, but it’s more sensitive in the U.S. It’s so important to talk about it. As long as we’re talking about it, that’s good.
Natalie Erika James: Rosemary’s Baby is about bodily autonomy, and the fight for that and a real aggressive taking away of bodily autonomy for Rosemary, similar to Terry. It’s disturbing that it’s just as relevant today. I was moved by the research that I undertook to craft that [back alley] abortion scene and how so many women were at unnecessary risk. Clearly, women had to resort to really extreme, dangerous means to have that control and bodily autonomy back in the 60s. To think we’re going back to that is harrowing.
After I watched this, I kept thinking about the relationship among the women in this film. Minnie essentially undercuts Terry and lures her to do the occult’s bidding, while Annie (Marli Siu) is much more of an ally to Terry. Can you comment on the relationships among these women?
Skylar James: There was a real desire to show and depict strong women. That’s in the choice of having a female villain and a female hero. There’s that relationship with Annie and that close bond, as Terry decides what to do. She’s working through the trauma of a rape. She confides in her best friend. Then, you see tension in the dance company. Vera (Rosy McEwen) weaponizes these traumas against Terry. Showing the community of female relationships and how Terry navigates those, for me, was an empowering experience, specifically getting to show all these different types of female roles.
Christian White: There’s this cliché that you can’t choose your family. We all have those important relationships where we’re not related by blood. I think that’s what that central friendship was about. They’re sisters, bonded, because they live in the same world and have the same experiences. I was also surprised how strong the chemistry was between those two actresses. You felt that love. I really like their relationship.
Skylar James: Terry at the end says this is something that she has to face on her own. Giving her that strength and getting to see all sides of it was so important.
Julia Garner as Terry Gionoffrio in Apartment 7A, streaming on Paramount+ 2024. Photo Credit: Gareth Gatrell/Paramount+.
Natalie, what was it like to shoot some of the exterior shots at the Dakota in New York City, which was the location of the Bramford in Rosemary’s Baby, and can you comment generally on the production design?
Natalie Erika James: It was a really conscious choice to keep that continuity going into the film. We shot the film in London. It was just a skeleton crew that we sent to New York to actually shoot shots of the Dakota. It was definitely production design in collaboration with visual effects to achieve that. A lot of planning went into it. Simon Bowles, our production designer, did such an incredible job finding structures and streets that could match New York. Even with the interiors and finding furniture to match the original film was impressive.
Apartment 7A will stream exclusively on Paramount Plus beginning this Friday, Sept. 27.
Brian Fanelli 