Author: Tyler Mitchell Blakslee

(John Carpenter, 25 June 1982) “Nobody trusts anybody now. And we’re all very tired.” It is no secret that on the 25th of June 1982, John Carpenter’s THE THING was released to bewilderingly negative, even scathing, reviews. Described by critics as “instant junk” and “a wretched excess,” Carpenter’s existential exploration of extraterrestrial infiltration amidst an Antarctic research outpost wasn’t quite what the summer-blockbuster audiences were ready for, especially when we consider the the context ofRead more

(William Crain, 25 August 1972) “Make it…a Bloody Mary.” August of 1972 unfurled an impressively self-reflexive cape, filling the night air with an intelligent intersection of genre where the popular blaxploitation sub-genre met the horror film on it’s own fertile ground, reversing traditional tropes and re-examining the concepts of monstrosity and race as depicted in the cinema of post-antebellum concern.

(ANA LILY AMIRPOUR, 19 JANUARY 2014) “Don’t count the things you’ve lost. Count what’s still left.” Ana Lily Amirpour’s 2014 debut film A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT may be viewed by some as more a disorienting phantasmagoria of uncharted, alienating arrangements rather than an out and out horror film in the traditional sense…a reading that isn’t necessarily inaccurate. And yet, this dark tone poem of a vampire film is far more than theRead more

(Jordan Peele, 22 March 2019) “We’re…Americans.” Each year, our MAVENS OF THE MACABRE series celebrates the integral contributions of Women in Horror, exalting female-identifying individuals within the horror community at large — whether filmmaker, feminist, or fan, writing, producing, designing, and creating with aplomb. Last year’s series concluded with Jordan Peele’s US, a film rife with potent imagery and riddled with social — if not personal and political — commentary, where Lupita Nyong’o’s performance chillinglyRead more

(Terence Fisher, 18 October 1964) “Overshadowing the village of Vandorf stands the Castle Borski. From the turn of the century a monster from an ancient age of history came to live there. No living thing survived and the spectre of death hovered in waiting for her next victim…” Undoubtedly one of the most atmospheric of the Hammer films and purportedly one of director Terence Fisher’s favorite projects, 1964’s THE GORGON has a uniquely unnerving quality,Read more

(John D. Hancock, 27 August 1971) “Dreams or nightmares? Madness or sanity? I don’t know which is which.” High on atmospherics and ambiguity, but low on budget, John D. Hancock’s directorial debut — the strangely mesmerizing LET’S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH, released in the summer of 1971 — evokes a pathos and dread that are one-million Connecticut country miles from the jump scare.

(Carl Dreyer, 6 May 1932) “What was going on? What terrifying secret was unfolding?” As the title card informs us, Dreyer’s meditative masterpiece is the strange and esoteric tale of Allan Gray, who “immersed himself in the study of devil worship and vampires. Preoccupied with superstitions of centuries past, he became a dreamer for whom the line between the real and the supernatural became blurred. His aimless wanderings led him late one evening to aRead more

(George Cuckor, 4 May 1944) “That house comes into my dreams sometimes – a house of horror. Strange – I haven’t dreamed of it since I’ve known you. I haven’t been afraid since I’ve known you.” For today’s installment of our month-long MAVENS OF THE MACABRE series celebrating some of our favorite films (several of which tend to be lesser-celebrated titles) featuring dynamic female characters — compelling women of the genre, whether protagonist or antagonistRead more

(Jim Wynorski, 21 March 1986) “Have a nice day…” The intensely troubled times of the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic has us all looking at the concept of shopping quite differently — the very act itself seems almost a distant memory, and what recent experiences we do have are peppered with existential questions regarding gluttony, scarcity, vulnerability, and exposure…proving that it’s becoming increasingly harder for many of us to “Have a nice day.”

(David Cronenberg, 25 May 1979) “They’re her children. More exactly, they’re the children of her rage…” On this day in 1979, Canada saw the release of the psychological monster show that is THE BROOD. One of Cronenberg’s most personal films (purportedly influenced by the atrocious aftermath of his own crumbling marriage), THE BROOD is a mind-bending exploration of rage, the then-burgeoning new-age movement, the hidden perils of parenting, and the dark end of divorce…and it’sRead more