Space Madness: A Primer
From Alien and Solaris to Event Horizon, sci-fi horror has found dark meaning in the psychological terror of space.
The Cosmic Sexuality of Stuart Gordon
Unpacking the hilarious, off-putting, otherworldly sexuality of From Beyond and Re-Animator by Ryan E. Torgeson The fiction of H.P. Lovecraft is well-known to readers for recurring themes of alienation, the ever growing fear of the unknown, and an overall hostile and
The Call of the Void
Cosmic horror's philosophy of cosmic nihilism is a tempting lens through which to examine our own existence. But at what cost?
Gnostic Horror and the Fall into History
The combination of cosmic horror with gnostic themes and thought is a perfect encapsulation of the antipathy of modernity to human lives and suffering.
Camping the Canon: Matthew Lewis, Milton, & The Monk
In 1796, against a backdrop of deadly state violence targeting LGBT people, a gay teenager anonymously published what has since become one of the best-known examples of the English Gothic Horror. His name was Matthew Lewis and his book is
Bathory’s Daughters: The Lesbian Vampire in Kink Context
Often dismissed as titillation for male audiences, the figure of the lesbian vampire functions as a vital window into kink, ritual, and leather history. by Annie Rose Malamet // Illustration by Sam Hindman The lesbian vampire remains a figure rafted between two
How Horror Makes Itself Ungovernable
Horror—with all its gory, upsetting complexity—makes for an uneasy product. by RS Benedict // Illustration by Sam Hindman The geeks have won, we are told. Geek culture—comic books, video games, sci-fi, fantasy—is mainstream now, squeezing out mysteries, dramas, and period pieces at
A Spectre Is Haunting The Opera
Art, Exploitation, and De Palma's The Phantom of the Paradise by Chris Woodward The struggle of artists against exploitation of their art by those with means is eternal. This fight is more prominent today, as corporations increasingly merge into behemoths that
Psychopathic Aesthetes and the Horror of the Third Reich
In 2016, the Dallas Police Department killed Micah Xavier Johnson using a bomb disposal robot and a block of C-4. He was the first—but almost certainly not the last—person to be killed by a police r
REVIEW: Robert Savage’s Host is Fast, Cheap, & Effective, But at What Cost?
A cautionary look at the fractured, de-professionalized future of film by Tim Redacted 2020s Host (directed by Robert Savage, written by Savage, Gemma Hurley and Jed Shepherd), which was shot entirely on the video-conference service Zoom and distributed by Shudder,