31 days of horror: the mortuary collection

It’s October which means it’s time to resurrect this blog to explore the horror genre in all its complexities from b movies to modern classics.

Today’s offering is the mortuary collection, an anthology film framed as a mortician telling grim tales of how people ended up in his care to a potential employee. So begins four twisted tales. These segments feel very classic, each almost certainly features a character getting ironic punishment.

This retro feel is further extended by the general aesthetic and production design is heavily influenced by the 1950s to give a timeless feel to the film. The film is also full of references to other horror films which gives the film a playful quality, which is further heightened by the anthology weaving in references to the other tales found in the film.

In conclusion, the mortuary collection is an incredibly fun watch that has some impressive production design.

31 days of horror: the world’s end

It’s October which means it’s time to resurrect this blog to explore the horror genre in all its complexities.

Today’s offering is the world’s end, this is the last entry of Edgar Wright’s cornetto trilogy. I’m not covering Hot Fuzz, the middle child, as it whilst being a genre film has the least to do with the horror genre. The world’s end features its cast of characters going on a pub crawl in their hometown only to find that the town has changed.

As always Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s chemistry is impeccable, although they are almost playing an inverse of their character types from Shaun of the dead. It makes a very good companion piece to Shaun of the dead as it seems to be a reflection and meditation on the Shaun of the dead since the stars have matured and changed but it makes the same beats as Shaun of the dead.

31 days of horror: Shaun of the dead

It’s October which means it’s time to resurrect this blog to explore the horror genre and all the sub-genres residing in it.

Today’s offering is Shaun of the dead, the first part in Edgar Wright’s cornetto trilogy, being the film to represent the strawberry flavour as this film is a bloody as it can be. As a horror comedy, it is a great dip into the horror genre for those who are unsure about the genre or to indoctrinate your children into being horror fanatics.

Shaun of the dead features stellar chemistry from its two leads, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, who play two men in their last twenties who haven’t quite got their lives together until the undead attack. The duo never fails to portray a convincing friendship. The film also features Edgar Wright’s signature tight direction combined with creative editing that gives all of his films a great flow and signature style.

In conclusion, if you haven’t seen Shaun of the dead, what are you doing! It’s a fun film that’s very well constructed and it’s full of visual gags and clever foreshadowing so you are bound to miss a few details the first time you watch. It’s comedic nature also means that it’s very accessible so you can probably get away with watching this with a few of your non-horror fan friends this Halloween

31 days of horror: frightfest: beneath the dark heart of cinema

It’s October which means it’s time to resurrect this blog to explore the horror genre in all it’s complexities.

Today’s offering is another documentary; this time it is focusing on Frightfest, one of the biggest, baddest horror film festival in the UK. The documentary takes the audience through the history of the festival from the coming together of the four very different directors of the festival all the way to the modern era of the festival.

The film is very clearly a labor of love. Enthusiasm spills out of the film whether it’s from the devoted fans, the filmmakers and the festival directors themselves. It is a must watch for hard core frightfesters and it acts as a good primer for those who want to join in the fun.

31 days of horror: the ranger

It’s October which means it’s time to resurrect this blog to explore the horror genre from modern classics to long forgotten b movies.

Today’s offering is the ranger. A 2018 film directed by Jenn Wexler, who is mainly a producer as the ranger is currently the only feature film to be directed by her, although she has directed a couple of shorts and an episode of television since.

The ranger pays homage to both the slashers and the punk scene of the 1980s. It follows a punk group that travels up into the woods to escape the police. However, they do not follow the rules and respect the environment. This attracts the attention of a murderous park ranger who picks them off one by one. The Ranger seeks to provide one thing, and that thing is good old fashioned gore. The film also adds some artistic flair throughout the film by having some bold lighting effects that also helps to heighten the punk feel.

In conclusion, the ranger is a fun watch that harkens back to the golden age of slashers. It is well worth your time.

31 days of horror: scare me

It’s October which means it’s time to resurrect this blog to explore the horror genre and all it has to offer, from classic films to b movies.

Today’s offering is Scare me, another Shudder original. This horror comedy was written, directed and produced by Josh Ruben who is best known for his work with college humor. The film’s central premise is two people telling scary stories to each other to pass the time during a black out.

This film’s main problem is that it thinks it’s being more clever than it actually is; it does the annoying thing of thinking that pointing out a references or a problem with a piece of work instantly makes itself better than said media. Self awareness does not make a piece of media. It’s rambling and conversational pace is not for me.

In conclusion, scare me is a forgettable horror comedy that is sophomoric on both fronts. The comedy being immature and it fails to build tension either.

31 days of horror: Shudder ghoul log 2020

It’s October which means it’s time to resurrect this blog to explore the horror genre and all it has to offer.

Today’s entry is something a bit different, it is a ghoul log, a spooky take on the televised Yule log. The streaming service shudder has provided one each year since 2018. Ghoul logs feature a static camera focusing on a curved pumpkin. This year’s offering was directed by Michael Dougherty of the cult classic Trick R Treat and Krampus fame.

The ghoul log makes a good change of pace as it feels like you are simply watching the world go by, which is especially needed given that trick or treating and other Halloween festivities will not happen. But there is more going on in the ghoul log than just a pumpkin burning; there a plenty of events going on in the background.

In conclusion, the ghoul log makes for a oddly soothing hour yet is still in keeping with the season and all the horrors that lie in wait. It makes perfect bedtime viewing on a cold October night.

31 days of horror: inside number nine Halloween special

It’s October which means it’s time to resurrect this blog to explore the horror genre in all of its complexities. From classic horror films to under appreciated television series, we will have a peak at all of the delights horror has to offer regardless of medium.

The inside number nine Halloween special was first broadcast in October 2018. The inside number nine, from the minds of Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, is known for its gimmicks, primarily that each story takes place in a single location often labelled as number nine; but some episodes add a second gimmick into the mix- they have done a silent episode and an episode told out of order. The Halloween special was no exception and was massively hyped up as a live episode until everything went wrong.

I won’t spoil the fun of this episode although it does lose a little bit of the magic when people can’t watch it on that October night as despite what people say most of the episode was live, although it missed the awards criteria for a live episode by a couple of seconds. This is the perfect short Halloween treat for those who love a good ghost story but are tired of it being presented in the same format.

I would also like to recommend the series as a whole, there are five series plus this special and a Christmas special, which is similarly twisted. All episodes provide a good example of storytelling telling under tight time constraints and are often, but not always, delightfully dark.

31 days of horror: the cleansing hour

It’s October which means it’s time to resurrect this blog and explore all the horror genre has to offer. From the modern classics to retro b movies, this blog will cover all of them.

Today’s offering is the cleansing hour, which sees fake exorcists facing up against a very real demon. A group of LA creatives have managed to find a real money spinner in the form of live-streaming fake demonic possessions and selling ‘Vatican approved’ merch. Secrets are exposed and the demon turns up the heat on the wannabe exorcists.

Despite the interesting premise, the film falls short on both scares and story. The script is weak and full of stereotypes and cliches. In addition to this the characters are unlike able and some of their actions can be quite uncomfortable for the audience. But audiences waiting for cannon fodder to die will not find that need satisfied as most of the principle characters manage to survive to the film’s climax. Speaking of which the conclusion to the film is utterly laughable as the filmmakers make a poor attempt at scope.

In conclusion, the cleansing hour has an interesting premise but is ultimately a dud. It might be worth checking out if the premise is something that appeals to you but if not you won’t be missing much.

31 days of horror: horror shorts

It’s October which is the season of the ghastly and macabre. So it’s the perfect time to explore all that the horror genre has to offer.

Today’s offering is a bit different. No feature film today, instead I want to highlight the work of short filmmakers in the horror genre. Short films are a great way for filmmakers and audiences to experience different and exciting concepts without the commitment of a feature. However, short films rarely seem to have a place in a cinema goers diet unless they go to a lot of festivals despite many short films being on easily accessible platforms such as YouTube or Vimeo. Streaming seems to be changing this slightly as viewing habits change and the lack of temporal programming means that it is easier for short films to find a place on the platform without feeling out of place. I think this is because a lot of people either don’t know how to find short films or don’t know just how great they can be.

Finding short films may seem daunting but is actually incredibly easy. There are many channels on YouTube that compile shorts from across many different sources although it’s mostly film schools showing off their output. Vimeo is another great place to start with the site short of the week specifically collecting great short films; this site also has a feature where you can filter by genre.

Some examples of great horror short films include the works of director, writer and producer duo, Rob Savage and Jed Shepherd, whose work includes Salt, which features Alice Lowe facing up against a demon, and Dawn of the Deaf, where in a weapon only affects hearing people leading to a group of deaf survivors. You may recognise their names as they are also the people behind Host, a sleeper hit of a film about a haunted zoom call. All of these films vary in length, Salt is about the length of a movie trailer, Dawn of the Deaf is about a quarter of an hour and Host, whilst technically not a short film clocks in at less than an hour. These two are a brilliant case study in the fact that length does not equal enjoyment or merit.

In conclusion, short films are great and can be a great way of expanding your film horizons without taking up too much of your time.