This semester, I’m teaching Frankenstein again. To coincide with the novel, I always teach a few of the film adaptations, typically Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein, directed by James Whale, and I’m also including The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster, released this year, directed by Bomani J. Story. If you like the Frankenstein story, I highly recommend this latest take on it, staring a teenager, Vicaria (Layla DeLeon Hayes), who resurrects her brother, killed by gang violence. I caught the film initially at the Jim Thorpe International Film Festival, and I was surprised how fresh it felt, how relevant to 2023, for the way it dealt with issues of gang violence, familial bonds, and racial tension. There’s one classroom scene in particular that’s just harrowing. It was one of the toughest scenes I’ve seen all year.
If you want a full list of my favorite Frankenstein films, you can check out my list for 1428 Elm. One film on the list is Birth/Rebirth, also released this year. To learn more about the film, check out the list.
If you have a favorite Frankenstein adaptation, let me know!
For 1428 Elm, I had the pleasure of chatting with Joseph Winter, co-director/star of the found footage horror comedy Deadstream. You can read the full interview here. We talked found footage, what scares him, and of course, horror comedies.
Winter plays Shawn Ruddy, an influencer who livestreams from a haunted house and is generally spooked by everything that goes bump in the night. The film also stars Melanie Stone as Chrissy, an apparent superfan of Shawn’s livestreams. The movie draws a lot of influence from the Evil Dead franchise, and it’s a rare horror comedy that gets both the comedic beats and scares just right.
While there has been a lot of screen horror lately, reflecting the times we live in, Deadstream is unique for some of its gross-out horror and jokes. It was one of my favorite films last year, a true standout compared to the glut of screen horror we’ve seen these last few years.
Deadstream is currently streaming on Shudder, and a physical release, including a Walmart exlusive Steelbook, will be released on July 18.
There’s something about New Mexico. If you’ve been there, then maybe you understand why it deserves its “Land of Enchantment” moniker. The place feels mystical and magical. It has endless miles of desert, which are quite spooky at night, if you’re driving on the highway, with the next town dozens upon dozens of miles away. I’ve never quite encountered darkness like that, an endless, inky expanse, until the orange lights of the next dustbowl town. It also has dips and curves of mountains that overlook said deserts, and other places where the terrain just flattens out.
I had the pleasure of visiting the state, including two of its National Parks (White Sands and Carlsbad Caverns). The parks are just as extraordinary as the rest of the state. The White Sands in particular feel like some strange anomaly that cause you to lose all sense of perception. The trip concluded with the Roswell UFO Festival, and if I wasn’t a believer in the incident prior to the festival, I at least become open-minded after. Roswell isn’t a huge town, with a population of just shy of 50,000, but it really leans on whatever happened that summer of 1947. Weather balloon? Military craft? UFO? Who knows! But everywhere in the town, and I mean everywhere, celebrates the lore. The McDonald’s is shaped like a UFO. Countless gift shops sell alien Ts.
If you get a chance to visit New Mexico, do it, and if you want more info about the UFO Festival, check out my articles for 1428 Elm by clicking here, complete with more pictures.
Horror has a long and layered queer history, going all the way back to James Whale’s films for Universal Studios, including Bride of Frankenstein, That Old Dark House, and The Invisible Man. More recent examples include Jennifer’s Body, Let the Right One In, and A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, which has found a new audience thanks to its obvious queer themes.
In honor of Pride Month, I wanted to share two articles. One examines Anthony Perkins’ life in the context of Psycho II and its 40-year anniversary this month. You can read that by clicking here. The second article is a list of five queer horror classics to stream during Pride Month, and you can click that here.
It’s long overdue, but Robert Englund finally has his own documentary, Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story. While there have been plenty of docs on The Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, oddly there’s been none about its main man. The documentary mostly features Englund, seated on a stool, telling one story after the other from his long career in Hollywood. He’s always entertaining, sometimes personal, and often funny. The doc also features a who’s who of the horror genre, including Tony Todd, Eli Roth, Kane Hodder, Heather Langenkamp, among others.
To read my full review, published over 1428 Elm, click here.
The documentary comes to Screambox on June 6 and will release on Blu-ray on July 25.
If you’re a horror fan, the Scare Package anthologies are a must-see. They’re loaded with nods and references to several genre films and classic tropes. They’re a solid blend of horror and comedy with a few noteworthy cameos, too. Just prior to the physical release of Scare Package II, I had the chance to interview the anthology’s creator Aaron B. Koontz for Signal Horizon Magazine.
Check it out by clicking here! Meanwhile, Scare Package II is now available on Blu-Ray and DVD, as well as VOD and Shudder.
It’s been some time, maybe since The Blair Witch Project, that a horror movie has been debated as much as the indie feature Skinamarink, directed by Kyle Edward Ball. After leaking at Fantasia Festival last year, the movie became a viral sensation. Tik Tok users especially took to the platform to talk about how much the $19,000 debut freaked them out. Since its release in theaters recently, it’s also drawn pushback. Just read the user comments on IMDB or Twitter. Go on YouTube and type in the film. You’ll see plenty of videos by social media gurus claiming they either love or hate the film and all of their reasons why.
Like Blair Witch, Skinamarink became a sensation largely through word of mouth and the internet. No, there isn’t a website for the film with missing person posters, but it’s generated the same sort of buzz and harnessed the power of the web much in the same way as the influential 1999 found footage feature, which was also shot for little to no money.
I saw Skinamarink during its initial theatrical release a few weeks ago, before it expanded to more theaters, and I do believe this movie should be watched at home, either on a laptop or flatscreen, just before bed. While I’m an advocate for movie theaters, I don’t think this movie is best seen that way. What it does well is play up childhood nightmares and anxieties, namely the fear of losing one’s parents. There are familiar images here, including scattered Legos, a fuzzy TV, and a plastic telephone. Yet, it’s how Ball uses these images that make the film effective, at least for me and some other viewers. It all goes back to Freud’s theory of The Uncanny and making the familiar suddenly haunting. Heck, even a plastic telephone becomes downright terrifying here.
I have many more thoughts on this film, including the way it puts you in a child’s perspective. To read more of my take on this film, click here to access my piece on it for Signal Horizon. In the meantime, Skinamarink is still paying in some theaters, and it’s now streaming on Shudder. I advise simply surrendering to the experience that is this film without expecting any clear narrative.
A few years ago, I presented a paper on the film May (2002) at the NeMLA Conference, specifically how it’s a reaction to Mumblecore and also a retelling of Frankenstein with quite the twist. Since then, the article has undergone a lot of revisions. It’s finally found a home at Bright Lights Film Journal!
I’m happy to announce that you can now read the article by clicking here, and if you haven’t watched May yet, it’s still streaming for free on Tubi.
2022 was quite the year for horror. Films like Smile and Barbarian seemingly came out of nowhere and made big bucks at the box office. Other films like Speak No Evil and X disturbed audiences, while Michael Myers and Ghostface returned to the big screen. Simply put, last year was one of the best for the genre in some time. 2023 also looks promising. Here’s a few movies I’m excited about as we start a new year.
M3GAN (January 6)
I admit I was skeptical the first time I saw the trailer for this one, but upon further consideration, I admit this latest by Blumhouse looks like a campy good time. Will it break new ground? Unlikely, but it simply looks FUN. Directed by Gerald Johnstone, this feature follows a doll that begins to take on a life of its own as it absorbs more and more information. Chucky, eat your heart out. Make way for M3GAN!
I know little to nothing about this movie, and the trailer gives away very little. I do know it generated buzz at Fantastic Fest last year and that it was shot on a minuscule budget. The film will be released by IFC Midnight, so if slow-burn horror is your thing, this one may be for you. It’ll also release on Shudder later in the year. I will say that the trailer gives me the creeps!
Brandon Cronenberg’s last film, Possessor, made several year-end lists in 2020. He returns with his third feature, Infinity Pool, starring Mia Goth and Alexander Skarsgard. Goth especially had quite the year last year, after starring in X and Pearl, essentially becoming 2022’s scream queen, along with Jenna Ortega. Infinity Pool focuses on an all-inclusive beach spot in the fictional island of La Tolqa, where a fatal accident exposes the island’s hedonistic subculture, violence, and horrors, oh my! The trailer looks absolutely bonkers in all the best ways. Infinity Pool will premiere at Sundance, before releasing in theaters that same week.
Who knew we needed a Winnie the Pooh slasher film?! This looks as campy as MEGAN, and I’m here for it. Now that Winnie the Pooh is in public domain, a film like this could exist. Get ready for your beloved childhood characters to go on a bloody rampage.
After surviving the last movie, Jenna Ortega returns as Tara in the latest installment of the Scream franchise, and she’s joined by fellow survivor Sam (Melissa Barrera), her sister. The only one set to return from the OG cast is Courtney Cox, reprising her iconic role as Gale Weathers. Unfortunately, Neve Campbell announced she wouldn’t be reprising her final girl role. This time, Tara and Sam decide to leave Woodsboro behind and move to NYC. Of course, they’re stalked by Ghostface(s). Setting this latest Scream in NY has me intrigued, even if they filmed it in Montreal. New York. New Rules, as the tagline says.
Universal’s done a mixed job rebooting their classic monsters. The Invisible Man (2020) was stellar, but the reboot of The Mummy starring Tom Cruise was hogwash. Renfield looks promising, especially for the simple fact that Nicolas Cage stars as Dracula! Oh, and its initial story was pitched by Robert Kirkman, you know, the guy who wrote “The Walking Dead” comics. Nicholas Hoult meanwhile, plays Renfield, loyal servant to the Count. Not too shabby.
No trailer yet.
Evil Dead Rise (April 21)
No, Bruce Campbell is not returning as Ash, and no, Sam Raimi didn’t direct the latest Evil Dead. Instead, this particular sequel, directed by Lee Cronin, takes place in LA, specifically in an apartment building, where the reunion of two estranged sisters is cut short by deadites. I’m interested that they decided to pull this franchise out of the woods and set it somewhere new, much like Scream. The trailer still has a few ED hallmarks, though, including sharp-tongued demons, the book of the dead, and of course, plenty of gore. Groovy!
Ari Aster’s third feature, starring Joaquin Phoenix, will drop later this year. There’s not much info available yet, only the teaser poster. Will it live up to Hereditary and Midsommer? We’ll see, but I’m stoked to see Aster’s latest.
MaXXXine (Maybe 2023?)
It’s unclear if the last film in Ti West’s trilogy will release this year, but a teaser was released at the end of Pearl. The third film, set in the 80s, will follow Maxine (Mia Goth) after the events of X and once she forges her acting career in LA.
So far, it looks like 2023 will be another strong year for genre films. I’m especially excited to see what may wind up being this year’s Pearl or Barbarian. It’s unlikely we’ll know until such a film drops and the buzz begins.
Genre films had a heck of a year the box office, and in fact, may have very well saved the box office post-COVID. While franchise staples like Scream and Halloween Ends made a pretty buck, it was the breakout films and movies unattached to franchises that really deserve accolades this year, films like Barbarian, The Black Phone, Smile, and Pearl(Mia Goth for an Oscar nomination, anyone?). I have no doubt these films will be re-watched in the years to come, and because this was such a strong year for horror, I sometimes wonder if people will look back on 2022 the way that they look back on 1984, 1978, and other benchmark years for the genre, wishing they could have seen some of these films in the theater for the first time.
Without further ado, here are my top horror films of 2022.
Speak No Evil
This film premiered at Sundance 2022’s Midnight section, and for me, it was the breakout. Director Christian Tafdrup’s feature has a nasty and bleak ending, one that haunts you long after the credits roll. The story follows a Danish family that visits a Dutch family they met on holiday. It should be an idyllic weekend, but something seems off. To say much more would spoil this one, especially its shocking ending. Sometimes, the world is simply evil without much of a reason for it. For many, I suspect this film will be a one-time viewing, and that’s just fine. I almost feel bad for recommending it…almost.
Here’s another that debuted at Sundance 2022, and it’s a good chaser for Speak No Evil. Director Mimi Cave’s horror-comedy is a warning to women: be careful about the men you meet. Fresh follows Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones), who meets handsome and charming Steve (Sebastian Stan) at a grocery store. Frustrated with dating apps, she gives him her digits. Immediately, Noa is smitten and accepts Steve’s offer for a romantic weekend getaway. Bad idea! Let’s just say that Steve has some very, VERY peculiar appetites.
Jordan Peele returned this year with his third feature, the sci-fi/horror spectacle Nope. This may be Peele’s most polarizing film to date, but it’s also his most direct film about Hollywood, specifically the way it uses people, swallows them, and spits them out. There are SO many scenes to talk about in this film, especially those sequences with Gordy. Likewise, there are so many praise-worthy performances here, especially Keke Palmer as Emerald Haywood, Steven Yeun as Ricky Park, and Daniel Kaluuya as OJ Haywood. This contains so much Spielberg influence that it really should be seen on the big screen. I have no doubt academics will be writing about this film for years to come. I highly suggest reading Richard Newby’s take.
Prior to this year, it’s been a hot minute since Ti West directed a horror film. Well, he returned and gifted us with not one, but TWO genre films this year, all part of a brand-new trilogy. X has serious Texas Chainsaw Massacre vibes, meaning it feels gritty, grainy, and even a little bit dangerous. Set in the 1970s, X follows a film crew shooting a porno. Suddenly, they’re terrorized by an elderly couple, including Pearl (Mia Goth), who once wanted to be a Hollywood starlet. We’ll get to her more in a minute. Goth also stars as Maxine, who just may have the X factor to make it in Hollywood. Yes, she pulls double duty here as both Pearl, under a lot of make-up, and Maxine, and she excels. She’s the new scream queen in my book, along with her X co-star, Jenna Ortega. I can’t wait to see what these women do next.
Just months after releasing X, Ti West dropped his second film in the trilogy, Pearl, a technicolor throwback and prequel. Set during the Great Depression, this time we learn Pearl’s story, and boy, does Mia Goth give it her all. There’s one specific monologue in the last act that clocks in at nearly eight minutes long. Somehow, it’s spellbinding. How many other films of late can pull that off? There are also some nasty kills here, and a maniacal, yet pained grin that Goth sports during the end credits that you just won’t forget. This is my favorite Ti West film to date, a story about stardom and what happens when dreams don’t materialize. Oh, and after seeing this, you’ll never look at the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz quite the same away again.
After seeing Jakob’s Wife a few years ago, I was convinced that Travis Stevens is an indie horror director to watch. His third feature, A Wounded Fawn, only confirmed that feeling for me. Like Fresh, this is another feature about a bad, bad dude, Bruce (Josh Ruben), who charms an art lover, Meredith (Sarah Lind), to go away with him for a weekend. Once again, bad idea! Bruce is a psycho who murders women and makes them into his personal trophies/art. However, this time, he gets more than he bargained for when past victims return as the Furies. Yes, the second half of this movie feels like a Greek tragedy/drama, complete with the masks, togas, and all. This is surreal arthouse horror and my favorite feature by Stevens to date.
Director Chloe Okuno’s film has crazy Hitchcock vibes, especially Rear Window. However, this time we feel the effects of such grotesque voyeurism and stay in the female’s perspective, specifically Julia’s (Maika Monroe). Julia just moved to Bucharest with her husband and suspects that a stranger who watches her from the apartment building across the street just may be a serial killer who decapitates women. Watcher moves at the perfect pace and builds to an ending that you won’t soon forget.
Barbarian is another film that borrows a heck of a lot from Hitchcock, specifically Psycho and the way the narrative and POV shift about halfway from Marion Crane to Norman Bates. Initially, director Zach Cregger’s film follows Tess (Georginia Campbell), who stays at a super sketchy Airbnb in a less than savory Detroit neighborhood. She soon finds out that someone else is staying there, Keith, played by Bill Skarsgard. Can Tess trust him? Before all of these questions are answered, the narrative suddenly shifts to AJ’s (Justin Long) story. He’s an LA actor facing a #MeToo-type scandal about to bring down his career. He also owns the house in Detroit, and in time, all of the characters find out that the house hides a hell of a lot of secrets. For me, Barbarian was the surprise horror movie of 2022, the one that really came out of nowhere and stunned at the box office.
Hatching is one of the best creature features that I’ve seen in years. It’s far more than that, though. Director Hanna Bergholm’s film follows a young gymnast, Tinja (Siiri Solalinna), who tries desperately to please her demanding mother. Tinja then discovers a strange egg, hides it, and keeps it warm until it well, hatches. This Finnish film has a lot of layers to unpack. It’s a psychological creature feature/body horror ride that contains a metaphorical gut punch and stellar set designs.
In short, Mad God is a stop-motion animation masterpiece that was about 30 years in the making, created over time by SFX guru Phil Tippett, who has worked on everything from Jurassic Park to Return of the Jedi. There’s no real plot here, so just sit back and enjoy the visuals, as Steampunk-looking miners descend the layers of hell and encounter all types of gnarly monsters. Enough said. Just go watch this on Shudder right now.
A few that came close, but ultimately, didn’t make the list: The Sadness, Prey, The Black Phone, Bodies Bodies Bodies, Crimes of the Future, and Master.
Here’s to 2022, quite a year for horror. We’ll see what 2023 brings. Just months into the new year, we’ll be treated to Brandon Cronenberg’s third feature, Infinity Pool, starring Mia Goth and Alexander Skarsgard, and the sixth, yes sixth film in the Scream franchise. This time, Ghostface is taking over NYC. Let’s hope he’s actually there longer than Jason in Jason Takes Manhattan. Whatever 2023 brings, I’m here for it!
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Brian Fanelli 