Predictability in Horror Movies – Why Does It Bother Audiences?

This article was inspired by watching the 2020 movie Come Play; a movie about an autistic boy being followed by an invisible entity that just wants to be his friend. Poor Larry. About 20 minutes in, there is a scene where he is messing around with a camera app with filters. As soon as I saw …

Skinamarink (2022) – Short Review

I decided to put on Shudder to find something to put on in the background while I was working on article research. I had looked for Skinamarink on there a while back, but strangely found that it wasn't there, even though it's a Shudder movie. It may have just come out later in the UK …

Generic Horror Movies: Why?

One reason people dislike some horror movies, particularly slashers, is that they are generic and bring nothing new to the genre. This has become even more true post-Scream, which has caused fans to expect more meta and original horror that is clever in a way that it doesn't really have to be. If you prefer …

Horror Tropes – Short: It’s All in Your Head

There are plenty of horror movies that focus on mental health as well as emotional metaphors that stem from trauma and loss. Sometimes it works really well; other times, not so much. I mean the movies that feel like the writers shoehorned in a mental health issue in service of a twist ending. Not only …

Horror Tropes: Let it Ring

It seems that when it comes to horror movies, phones cause nothing but trouble. Not just in the case of needing one to call for help—only for your mobile to die or have no signal—but it's used as the perfect tool for a killer to torment you before stabbing you mercilessly dozens of times. It …

Why Are the British Desensitised? – My Theory

I've lived in Britain for 36 years—since I was born here in late 1986—and I can't help but notice that we're a lot harder to scare than some other nationalities. I've only really known three people who get even mildly scared at horror movies. One of them, whom I've known since we were 11, has …

Horror TV Moments That Made Me Cry – Top 10

I've found that 30+ years of watching horror movies has made me more empathetic. This means I'm more likely to cry during sad moments of films and TV. A few months ago I watched Moana with my other half—his first time, my second—and I swear I cried from start to finish; especially when her grandmother …

Horror Tropes – Short: Death to the Promiscuous

So, back when I did my article on my theories on how to survive a horror movie, I had a different idea about sex getting you killed. To summarise, my theory is more about the distraction that sex poses than about it being a moral issue. The idea in horror is usually that the good …

Horror Tropes – Short: Splitting Up

Do you know when a character is more likely to die in a slasher movie? When they're alone. It's all well and good arriving with your core group, but it's completely pointless when you make the decision to split up in a desperate attempt to save time. If the inspiration comes from Scooby and the …

My Thoughts While Watching… X (2022) [Trigger Warning: Drug & Alcohol Abuse, Sex & Nudity]

I've seen plenty of Buzzfeed posts floating around where people write a list of thoughts while watching a movie. I read one years ago where someone watched all of the Harry Potter movies for the first time while live tweeting and writing a post per movie. I still quote a lot of what he said …