Why SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK (2019) is Actually Scary
I’ve got four grandkids; three girls and boy, ranging in age from 10 to 5. As a person with no children of my own (these come from my...
Slash and Burn: Failures of Rob Zombie's HALLOWEEN (2007)
I’ve been anticipating the release of the latest installment of the Halloween franchise since I saw the first teaser trailer months ago....
Getting Inside MOONLIGHT (2016)
Partly in answer to my last post about the trials of moviegoing in a sea of sequels and franchise films, I went to see Moonlight—an...
January, Previews, and ROGUE ONE (2016)
The other night my husband and I were probably some of the last people in the galaxy to see Rogue One. But I can’t even write about that...
What Everyone Is Missing in SULLY (2016)
Not every film I watch, find interesting, or review is a horror film (really). The last film I saw in theaters before going last weekend...
In Sickness and in Health: Society's Ills as told by THE CRAZIES (2010)
As you can probably tell, when I’m watching horror films it isn’t the male characters that typically intrigue me. Leave it to a Romero...
Flaws of our Fathers--THE RITE (2011)
Few films feature fathers in such fractured focus. Ok, forget that—me having fun with alliteration. But The Rite and its apparent focus...
Women are Evil (or are they?): Lars von Trier's ANTICHRIST (2009)
Check out the title art for this film: When I teach composition, I always tell my students not to forget about title when they’re...
Let the Right One In/Let Me In (2008/2010): The Alpha and Omega of Preteen Gender Roles
These two films take the term “remake” to a level not seen since that Sarah Michelle Gellar bomb, The Grudge, was adapted from a Japanese...
The Horror of Female Sexual Awakening: BLACK SWAN (2010)
I don’t know what I was expecting when I settled in to watch Black Swan, except I knew there would be ballet, and I had heard there was a...
