“He’s dead. Michael Myers is dead.” Horror films are more interested in longevity than any other genre. This is a good and a bad thing; when done right, it can allow for unique approaches...

“Have you ever fantasized about saving a tribe?” “Activism is so fucking gay,” sneers Kaycee, one of the many repellant characters in Eli Roth’s smug, cynical The Green Inferno. Right after Kaycee says the...

“Do you believe in evil, professor? I didn’t. Until that night.” One of the best parts about doing this column is finding the hidden gems, little-seen or otherwise obscure films that nevertheless become part...

“There are only victims left.” I am just never going to learn my lesson with French horror films. A few years ago Raw kicked my ass, so this year I thought why not check...

“There I was, so awfully dead in that electric chair.” Here’s how you make a sequel to The Exorcist. I knew going into this that The Exorcist III: Legion is better-regarded than the execrable...

“Those bad dreams are still inside you.” The Exorcist never needed a sequel, and it was always going to get one. William Friedkin’s film was too successful and too influential – it was nominated...

“I’m hideous, doctor! I’m crazy! I’m a monster!” Watching early David Cronenberg films is like listening to a band’s demo tape. You can sense the themes and iconography that he would later hone to...

“You stay locked up long enough and you start to believe you’re nuts.” As of this writing, John Carpenter is still alive, which means he has the chance (or the obligation) to end his...

“The dead can be heard all around these abandoned streets.” I promise I’m trying with Clive Barker. His sense of horror might run parallel to mine, but works like The Thief of Always, The...

“My thoughts are drenched in blood.” Horror has a Barbara Crampton problem. The problem isn’t with Crampton herself, who has been an icon of the genre since Re-Animator came out 39 years ago. The...

“All worship Dagon, or die.” I really wanted to get some Lovecraft in this year’s 31DOF. At first I was going to write about 2019’s truly excellent Color Out of Space, but then I...

“Nothing ever really dies in the corn.” There have now been eleven Children of the Corn feature films, plus one short, which is enough that I’m comfortable saying: what are we doing here? Sure,...