More often than not, horror education (or at the very least, an introduction to the genre in its myriad of derivations) is anchored in a frisson for film, where the indelibly phantasmagoric images are imprinted upon one’s mind, all haunting, elating, and expanding the subconscious. Included for your ravenous consumption are a few analytical ruminations regarding some notable entries in the horror genre. Certainly not intended as an exhaustive resource by any means, the TWHFFC merely offers the following explorations of sinister cinema for your casual perusal in order to spread the dark gospel of the genre, as well as serve as a modest academic resource for our students… Enter if you dare, Fiends.
(Dario Argento, 31 January 1985) “The wind, yes…some people get headaches. When it blows, there are those who say it causes madness. It’s a strange part of the country…the Swiss Transylvania.” It was determined that most Americans couldn’t pronounce “phenomena,” and thus, Dario Argento’s film was released to Stateside audiences as CREEPERS in a convoluted print excised of roughly 30 minutes, senselessly butchered to account, presumably, for length and gore.
(Guillermo del Toro, 25 September 2015) “Where I come from, ghosts do not take things lightly.” Like Mia Wasikowska’s Edith Cushing explains to a would-be publisher of her own novel, Del Toro’s CRIMSON PEAK is less a ghost story than “a story with a ghost in it,” and that is where its true beauty lies: so effortlessly couched in the sumptuousness of its gothic forebears, CRIMSON PEAK unfolds as overt homage, as well as aRead more
(Tibor Takács, 15 May 1987) “In a time before the earth, before the sun, before the light of the stars… when all was darkness and chaos…the old gods, the forgotten gods, ruled the darkness…” Released on this day in 1987, Tibor Takács’ directorial debut got somewhat minor attention upon release, although it’s most certainly developed cult notoriety. A story of suburban boredom, heavy metal darkness (and, admittedly, “dorkness”), and teens left alone only to beRead more
(Edgar G. Ulmer, 7 May 1934) “The phone is dead. Do you hear that, Vitus? Even the phone is dead.” May 7, 1934 saw the wide-release of one of our very favorite films in the Universal horror cycle, Edgar G. Ulmer’s darkly perverse, pre-code, and borderline expressionistic horror show, THE BLACK CAT. In a word, an unsettlingly laconic Karloff is positively magnetic as the icy and sinisterly Satanic architect, Hjalmar Poelzig, who wages a lifeRead more
(Don Coscarelli, 1 June 1979) “Is it a nightmare? Is it an illusion? Is it an evil? Is it a fantasy? Is it alive? Whatever it is, if this one doesn’t scare you…you’re already dead!” These rhetorical questions — accompanied with some fairly bonkers imagery — comprise the original 1979 trailer for Don Coscarelli’s PHANTASM, a film released on this day 41 years ago.
(ALFRED HITCHCOCK, 28 March 1963) “I hardly think a few birds are going to bring about the end of the world.” Released on March 28, 1963, and based on the 1952 cautionary tale with eco-implications by Daphne du Maurier — the English author and playwright of such notable genre works as REBECCA and DON’T LOOK NOW, among others — THE BIRDS is a doom-laden exercise told through image and editing, though some may find theRead more
…the damp, peeling walls of Straker and Barlow’s dwelling are almost lesion-like and depraved, suggesting both the insidiousness of their intention as well as the turpitude of the town itself. Read more
Arnold’s film is simmering with sexual conflict, as well as familiar archetypes which haunt humanity to its very core: our inherent obsession to possess is almost as strong as our drive to destroy, and as much as we strive to unlock the past we often fail to understand ourselves in the present. Read more
(Dario Argento, 1 February 1977) “The only thing more terrifying than the last 12 minutes of this film are the first 92…” On this day in 1977, Suzy Bannion decided to perfect her ballet studies in the most famous school of dance in Europe. She chose the celebrated academy of Freiburg…[and so] at nine in the morning, she left Kennedy airport, New York, and arrived in Germany at 10:40 p.m. local time…and thus began ourRead more
Hooper’s film is almost existential in its void of reason or predictability, or even in its lack of safety, both for the viewer and the characters…Read more
