Editorials
Fish Men Will Seem Strangely Sexy: Why Abe Sapien is Everyone’s Amphibious Boyfriend
“Monsters do not serve to be palatable to us, they challenge our notions of beauty, belonging, and how we are situated in this world.”
Vivarium, Caregiver’s Fatigue, and Neurodivergent Kids
After I watched Vivarium I was curious what others online thought of the film, which is pretty standard for movie-goers. I liked it and wanted to see if other people liked it too. Something that came up again and again was parents saying things like “I have an autistic son, this reminded me too much of him, I couldn’t watch this” or lamenting on the difficulties of parenting. While many comments were just off-handed remarks, some were downright mean and ableist and reminded me how neurodivergence is treated.
Martyrs (2008): A Master Class in Building
There is often no growing dread, or much work done at all to elevate the torture beyond its basic, bloody appeal. And I think that’s where Martyrs stands out.
Mental Health and Faith in Penny Dreadful
“There are creatures whom God has cast into darkness.” John Logan’s Penny Dreadful invites gothic literary heroes, heroines, and monsters to prowl the foggy streets of Victorian Era London. Walking among them is the original to the series’ main character, Vanessa Ives.
The Horrific Beauty of Sarah Kane - BLASTED
There’s still lots we don’t know about late British playwright Sarah Kane. Personal and precious stories are locked away with the people who knew her closest. There have been no formal documentaries and no permission has been given by her brother. I think it should stay that way.
Horrorology: Punishment in The Saw Franchise
Crime is a popular theme throughout media, whether, through docuseries on Netflix, Unsolved Mysteries, or crime procedurals like Law & Order, there is an undeniable truth that we as humans are intrigued by crime and the criminal process. Horror films have not neglected this topic and have managed to demonstrate criminal theories and processes through some of our most loved horror movies, including the well-received horror movie series SAW.
The Demonisation of Queerness in High Tension (2003)
The medium of film is no stranger to the concept of queer coded or openly LGBTQ+ villains. And by extension, horror is no stranger to the concept either. Norman Bates in Psycho, Buffalo Bill in The Silence of The Lambs, Robert Elliot in Dressed to Kill and even Leatherface in the Texas Chainsaw franchise, can all be said to exist as examples of how queer people, or at least the idea of queer identity, has been made out to be something monstrous…