Blog Update: New Features
Hey everyone. I hope you’re all enjoying the blog. This has definitely been a labour of love!! I’ve been pulling some very late nights writing for the blog. I just can’t seem to get ahead, but that’s all part of the fun. Tell all your friends to stop by the blog and subscribe their email addresses so they don’t miss any of my essays, reviews, and other features.
I’ve started 2 new features recently down the right side of the blog. The first is the Picture of the Week. Every Monday I’ll post a new picture, leaving off which movie it came from. Leave me a post guessing which flick it came from. And don’t worry, the pics will ALWAYS be bloody!!
The 2nd new feature I just started today is the Book of the Week. Again, I will change it every Monday, and if you click on the picture it will take you to its amazon.com web page where you can purchase it. The books won’t necessarily be new or recent releases. This week’s book is The Rising by Brian Keene, released in 2004. I’m sure many of you have already read it. But admittedly I am WAY behind in my reading. All the Books of the Week will be horror novels with the exception of the occasional Clive Barker book. Barker definitely started his career in horror and still dabbles in it, but he also wrote some friggin’ amazing books in the fantasy genre (Imajica and Weaveworld come to mind).
And as always I wanna hear more from you. For those of you subscribing to the blog, I know that you can read the
entire posting in your email, but stop on by the website and leave me some comments. I wanna hear what you have to say about my writings. All the writings on this blog are mine … I’m not pulling reviews off of some other blog. I wanna hear your feedback … especially if you don’t agree with my review(s) 🙂
Thanks for your continued support, and…
Stay Bloody
Horror Movies, Horror News, Horror Reviews | AnythingHorror.com 
Since so few film sequels come even close to the original and this is particularly true in Horror franchises, Could you start a thread on Sequels that were better than their original horror film. I believe this might bring out some real gems. I’ll offer the first thought and that is “Dawn of the Dead” is way better than the classic “Night of the Living Dead”. I will also say “Evil Dead II” is way better than “The Evil Dead”.
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I would also say Aliens was better than the original Alien.
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http://www.wildscreen.tv/channel/ScienceOfHorror …..How about a section on documentaries on the psychology of horror and horror films. The above link is a trailer of an outstanding documentary I saw but for the life of me can not track down any where other than at the German production company that did it. It is outstanding and most likely why I turned into a fan of the genre was because of the psychology of it all. What a rich playground for the mind!
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“Horror films are pornographic and eroticise the abject. Yet, they relieve, they are humorous and challenge cultural taboos. “Science Of Horror” is the first documentary to analyze horror film from the perspective of feminist film critique. Carol Clover discovers the “final girl” in “Texas Chainsaw Masscare”, an androgynous but clearly feminine hero. Therewith, Clover delivers an essential formula of the genre and the foundation for further assumptions. Women are horror’s favourite victims but also its heroes. The phallus, indicator of social power, becomes a flexible object in horror: The chainsaw in the “final girl’s” hands allows a different look on the cultural norms of Western societies – the genre undermines heterosexual attribution. It is with that theory in mind, that Judith Halberstam develops a queer reading of the genre and illustrates along the “Chucky” series how explicitly sexuality runs through horror and which sexual vicissitudes the genre offers. Those theoretic assumptions are proven with citations from well-known horror films and confronted with statements of renowned filmmakers. Thus, the documentary is the first to lead a discourse between film theory and film practice. Wes Craven, John Carpenter and Tom Savini comment on their films and their fans. Bruce Campbell explains why he depicts a male victim in the “Evil Dead” movies. Joe Hill criticizes “torture porn” because of its shallowness, whereas Neil Marshall elucidates why “The Descent” consciously plays with audience’s expectations. The documentary concludes that there is more to the genre than the sum of its effects. Horror is utterly unique. “
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I need to track that docu down!!! Sounds great. I usually hate “over-intellectualizing” and “over-thinking” things, but from that above quote it sounds like a really smart and interesting docu!! Thanks for bringing it up!!
Sequels: I will start a section on that … It’s a good topic that should spark some good old heated debate!! I agreed with you on Dawn being better/more enjoyable than Night of the Dead. But I guess that’s what happens when you get a bigger budget!!
Alien vs. Aliens is an interesting one. Aliens was definitely a more enjoyable film, but it was also a completely different KIND of movie as well. Alien was a dark, gothic horror movie where the spaceship took over the setting for the “old haunted house.” But Aliens was simply a summer blockbuster action movie — albeit done beautifully!! I find it hard to compare those two.
Awesome postings Nosera2!!! I appreciate your contributions!!
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I agree most docu’s go waaaaaaay overboard and over analyze almost to a humurous state to the point it would make you think C.H.U.D. was the next Citizen Kane but this one is way different and I remember viewing it about a year ago and thinking damn they are right on point and they got the right horror authorities to speak on topic. As for Alien your point is well taken and after further reflection I would have to agree that it was its own unique experience and that Aliens was also its own unique experience. Perhaps it is crazy to even think of them as sequals because they are so very different.
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Cameron really did take the Alien franchise on a totally different direction. Abandoned the horror for action!!
I think something similar was done between the 1st & 2nd Terminator flicks; but to a lesser extent.
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Here is another idea for a section titled “They are so bad….That they are so good!”….The horrible horror films that hold a special place in our heart for their campy goodness. One of mine in that category in 1980’s “Motel Hell”. Hilarious and so bad at the same time.
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I like that category too. But I think we need to define it more. Motel Hell is a great movie for it. It has good acting, pretty passable f/x, and the dialogue is great. It’s so easy to slip from “so bad it’s good” to “shitty movie” status!! SyFy Channel; I’m looking at you!!! lol
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