Soresport Movies

Friday, August 21, 2026

Elysium (2013)

The article I want to explore in this post is Ken Hanley's "2013 is the new 2012" he looks at post apocalyptic visions Hollywood and television are putting into the world analysing how that media reflects and deflects from the ever present inequality of the world. Citing the movies of the time, World War Z (2013), Oblivion (2013), Elysium (2013), This is the End (2013), The Worlds End (2013), The Walking Dead (2010-2022), The Hunger Games (2012), The Purge (2013), Escape from Tomorrow (2013) and Jug Face (2013) Hanley looks at how each reflects the society at the time either accurately or with flaws, representing the anxieties we shared at that time. In hindsight from 2026 the patterns in media reflecting the fears of society still holds and probably will until our world finally does collapse into chaos and death. Hanley is optimistic finishing "So don't fret:whether we can prevent it or not, the eventuality is that although the end could be considered nigh, the end has always been nigh, as each generation has proven again and again." He is implaying that that societal changes are are going to happen and at the time they seem like thay will end the world, but they don't. Instead they change it into a new world for good or ill and when the next catastophy hits we will gain spew a collection of media that reflect the new fears and this cycle will continue. So I want to revisit 2013 with his article and the films in it but which to choose? I am sure to skip World War Z which I have seen ad nausium, the trip with the luckiest man in the world at the ends of time with a Pepsi ad literally in the blockbuster movie will stir up feelings for me. Oblivion although interesting leans too much on the science fiction side. Elysium is where I think I will start, under whelmed by it when I saw it back then I have not rewatched it since, then of the rest of these, Escape from Tomorrow since I have not seen it and it using the largest cororate entity in the world Disney, a company so ingrained in society that its twisting will be a pleasure to watch.

Lets start with Elysium (2013) - When I reviewed this on my blog when it came out I saw it as a superficial summer film that tries to get a message out but garbles it along the way. Now 13 years later I don't necessarily see that as untrue. This was and remains a summer blockbuster type action film with a message. I think it is how we look at those messages that may be different. August of 2013 was during the Obama administration in the US where after years of incompetetent leadership it seemed thing were moving in the right direction. After years of squabble and watering down the Affordable Care Act was just about to start covering millions of people in the country giving many health care for the first time in there lives. The disappointment many of us felt that we didn't just change the system to make helth care free to all was still a bad taste in our mouths. You can see where some of the ideas in this film came from, In the future of 2159 we have all the rich people relocate off planet to a orbiting paraidise called Elysium. Unsurprisingly the film depicts the wealthy as majority white and shallow and selfish to the core. Taking their ball and leaving the game instead of trying to improve thing. The last decade has shown us that seems to be the atitude of the wealthy currently. Of course we get to live through them wanting to fully exploit us and the planet, probably before they leave. Heck we have a current administration that is trying to create Elysium in the US by removing all the black and brown people. In the film they take with them the magical medical technology that care scan and cure any ailment. This is a dig at the rich and their selfish approach to the world. They have this technology they refuse to share even though it could save millions of lives. Also the fact that they can up and leave the planet leaving the problems of climate change, over population and management of society to robot police who heavy handedly administer control over an out of control population. In retrospect I don't think I would buy into this fantasy that we will destroy the world with over population. As we see climate change accelerating right now there will probably be major die-offs of the population in the years to come. Places that will become uninhabitable, if you follow the international news you may have read that France with the five unprecidented heat waves this year says 7300 deaths can be attributed to them. So we might not have over population because of how we are killing the life function of the planet. Instead we will have shrinking populations and more chaos as people have to immigrate from climate damaged zones. The current crop of oligarchs think technology and money will make them ammuned to the impact and in the US are moving climate change solutions backwards. There is a real fight for absolute control going on in this country where the wealthy are trying to convince the masses that dictatorship is better than democracy so they can have their Elysium.

Our film follows Max (Matt Damon) an ex-con who for a short time is trying to stay clean, but the corporate work he engages with him exploits him for his labor and the heavy handed robot police keep a heel on his neck. When a work accident leaves him dying of radiation poisoning Max reverts to his crime ways in an effort to save his own life. Working with a band of fellow criminals Max allows his body to be integrated with mechanical enhancements to run a grab and snatch of data from the same CEO who is letting him die. When that data ends up being a solution to the global health care problem Max must make a decision to sacrifice for the greater good. Well at least someone is willing to. The film though does not sit comfortable in that framing, instead morphing into a action thriller with lots of fight sequences and narrow escapes. The story a bit convoluted but we know where this is going. Bad guys against good flawed goodguys, bad guys against other bad guys, rogue agents (played delisciously by Sharlto Coply) trying to get their own piece of the pie. A personal revenge angle plays out in the least needed set of sequences as we get to the climax of the film. You know just really and action thriller. It is not a great movie I think because Writer / Director Neil Blomkamp (District 9) makes Max only motivated by his own doom. There isn't enough heart in him early so when he transforms later the change seems hollow. Still in the apocalyptic world visions we are reviewing here there is something to this film that in our current climate is worth seeing. You will not be blown away but you may still get an idea or two from it.

So if you are interested in a magazine with this content, read updates here soresportmovies.blogspot.com, or on Letterboxd.com to learn how my magazine giveaway is going but follow me on Letterboxd if you want to read my movie reviews and comment on the films. I still have a mail connected to my blog movies@edhovey.com where you can write me or comment on blog entries.

My Letterboxd.com handle is @Hovey1127, when I am done with the Issue of the magazine I will offer it up and we can work out the details of me getting it to you. I am not really looking for money just someone who also would love to read it. If no one wants it well it will probably end up on a magazine rack at the library or something.

Chatting with me is difficult, I have stopped my social media account years ago because time… it’s ticking at my age and I would rather spend it doing other things like this for example. Or chatting with my friends at the Zombiegrrlz.com podcasts on their discord. I am a fan of the podcasts they publish The More Deadly Podcast and the Zombiegrrlz podcast and as a Patron for very little $ I get access to the discord. So if you want to good horror content and a great horror community check them out.You can also find me on the Here's Johnny Podcast and Faculty of Horror Podcast discords. Look them up join my online friends for some good conversations.

Thursday, August 20, 2026

28 Days Later (2002)

28 Days later begins in chaos as news reels show us the breakdown of society violence and disorder which is part of an experiment on a chimpanzee who is forced to watch the violence. A foreshadowing of what is to come. What is happening around him is a group of animal rights activist are coming to the lab to free the animals who are being tortured in various ways. It's a great scene where even though a scientist begs the activists to not release the infected Chimps they choose to do it anyway with the most dire of consequences. Then it is 28 days later and Jim (Cillian Murphy) wakes in a hospital bed alone in an empty hospital, everywhere London looks abandoned, Jim walks the streets not seeing another person until he does and the rage virus is displayed in it's terrifying glory. Much like the Omega Man from my last post with the deserted shots of Los Angeles, director Danny Boyle gives us an empty London, a hopeless place for a man alone. Unlike the Omega Man where Charlton Heston plays God and even dies as the great sacrifice so humanity can live on, this film does the opposite. As Alexandra West points out in her writing comparing 28 Days to other zombie films where religion plays a part this film has a severe lack of framing religion as a hope. Omega man also uses science but wraps it in the hubris of the main character. That hubris in 28 Days Later is void as West points out.

Jim meets Selena (Naomie Harris) and Mark (Noah Huntley) during his first encounter with the infected and is quickly brought up to speed on the sudden and violent end to society. I remember those first weeks of the 2020 pandemic and how strange and eerie it was to be on streets with literally no activity on them. Watching the survivors in this film now fits that framework the comparisons to the 1971 The Omega Man could go on and on within the pandemic frame. It's biological warfare angle and the experiments being performed on the chimps that release the rage virus are on the same street if not in the same house. The desperate survival mode of non infected in both films drives home how fragile our grasp on civility really is. The hope of a cure not only drive the two films but also drove our own society while we waited for a Covid vaccine. I always critiqued the world response to Covid and how we almost lost our civility as our failed goverment joined conspiracy theorist in their delusions and was willing to to let over a million people die through its mismanagement of the crisis. Imagine if the Covid virus was just 10% more effective at killing those who contracted it? What would have been our fate then. Many like my family and I were lucky to live in a smaller town, 20k and have ample ability to not only live but outdoor space and work that was remote.

What if we were in The Omega Man or 28 Days Later and the solution was to find a cure on our own or need to cross a vast city looking for a safe place to try to live as Jim, Selena, Frank (Brendan Gleeson) and Hannah (Megan Burns) attempt. They seek out a call from the country side by a person promising an infection free zone. That trust in a radio signal is worth all four characters risking their lives and they do not even know if the source of the message is still valid. The closest I came was needing to travel from Boston to Florida during the pandemic, knowing there was no vaccine but needed to visit my dying Mother (cancer not Covid). I remember the fear I had masked on the plane hoping not to contract this desease which as a heavy older man would have a good chance of killing me. In Massachusetts we were being so careful, masking and limiting face to face interactions and the death rate was still high so it was surreal to be on a plane filled with people. I was trusting that people were not travelling sick that we were all doing what was necessary to keep others safe. In 28 Days Later there is a trust that is given to the military group that takes the survivors in. Do they really have a system that protects against the rage virus? People in the film learn that not everyone was sincerely attempting survival with the welfare of all in mind as I did in FL where life amoung most people was going on as normal, people shopping going to restaurants gathering in groups while the rest of the country was putting measures in place to try to slow the spread..

Redefining these films through this new lense is quite an interesting exercise. We are reminded that their is a balance between trust and caution. The zombie genre was again recontextualized except the societal fears of 9/11 were replace with those of the pandemic. Way more on the nose! What movies have come along since 2013 that have done the same thing 28 Days Later or The Omega Man to shift our perspective? Alexandra West does an excellent job in her article but I wonder how she would rewrite it today after experiencing 2020.

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

The Omega Man (1971)

The project of reviewing old magazine before giving them away continues with Diabolique Magazine Issue #18 Nov/Dec 2013 The Holiday Issue. Always packed with great writing this issue focuses on Apocalyptic Cinema and Literature, so if this is a subject you are interested in and want to receive this issue when I finish with it, let me know and it could be yours. The first article in this issue is written by James Gacey focusing on the three films made from Richard Matheson's story I Am Legend, and analysis of the original story. I am Legend is the tale of the last uninfected man on earth struggling to continue even though beset on all sides by vampires, the infected surviving populous. A story of loneliness and despair but with a streak of determination to hold on it has been adapted three times to film. Matheson had a hand in writing the script for the first film Night Creatures which he was going to make with Hammer Studios but when the British censors read it they said they would not allow it's release, Hammer sold the rights to producer Samual Z. Arkoff who got William F. Leicester to rewrite Matheson's script which he was not pleased with so used a psuedonym, Logan Swanson as his credit. The resulting film The Last Man on Earth (1964) is a really fine film and I recommend anyone reading this to check it out. The loneliness, isolation and the bit of hope the story conveys is sort of written out of the script and it focuses more on the internal emotional struggles af the main character Dr Robert Morgan played wonderfully by Vincent Price. The second adaptation and the one I chose to watch is the 1971 Charlton Heston film The Omega Man. The bleak shots of a deserted Los Angeles are excellent at conveying the end of the world as we know it. Heston a problematic human being in real life plays the alpha male in this survivor film that strays from the original story. There are no vampires here, after biological warfare the "others" in this film are the infected "The Family" lead by a charismatic former news anchor Mattais (Anthony Zerbe). This vealed reference to Charles Manson is of its time, and combined with a scene of Neville watching the movie Woodstock portrays the films position that the counter cultures of on Display at that concert was later corrupted by the likes of Manson. Seeing the way humanity lived and what it wrought civilasation the Family rejects the learning and technology of the past. Albino looking members with a harsh sensitivity to light they are determined to end Heston's Neville life as he represents the clinging onto the old society. The film also has an interracial kiss and an early example of an implied interracial sex scene. Costar Rosalind Cash as Lisa appears to hook up with Neville after they found each other in the city.

Heston back in those days was a civil rights advocate before his racist gene was activated later in his priveliged white man life. He is an amazing example of how wrong a man can go. He went from an advocate for civil right to saying this in a 1997 speech. (So why should I be ashamed of white guys? Why is "Hispanic Pride" or "Black Pride" a good thing, while "White Pride" conjures shaven heads and white hoods? Why was the Million Man March on Washington celebrated by many as progress, while the Promise Keepers March on Washington was greeted with suspicion and ridicule? I'll tell you why: Cultural warfare!" In an address to students at Harvard Law School entitled "Winning the Cultural War", Heston said, "If Americans believed in political correctness, we'd still be King George's boys—subjects bound to the British crown."-wikipedia)

Neville thinks he is going to be the savior of the world by developing a serum to cure the desease. A bit of a God complex he works at it using his own blood and the antbodies he has from an experimental innoculation he got early in the film. Then testing the serum on Lisa's brother Richie (Eric Laneuville). Much like the original story things don't go as planned with the Family increasing the severity of their attempts to kill him Neville has to sacrifice himself to get his serum to a group of young adults and children hold up in the California hills. The death scene in this film is so over the top with Hesten's Neville dying in the pose of Jesus on the cross. Ugh! Still this is not a bad film it just carries the weight of it's lead actor as he transformed later in life.

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

Dracula Has Risen From The Grave (1968)

Issue 16 of Diabolique Magazine May/Jume 2013, which I will happily give it away, after this project is done. There are a couple more remembrances of Peter Cushing "Pass the Memories" by David Del Valle, a review of Cushing's Memior, "Peter Cushing: The Complete Memior" reviewed by James Gracey and finally Christopher Gullo, president of the Peter Cushing Association reminisces about Cushing with his piece "Peter and Me" so if you have a need to really know all about the man, the legend then ask me about getting this Magzine for free! The final article was an interview with actress Veronica Carlson written by Michele Galgana mostly because she was in the Hammer Studios Horrors of Frankenstein but that was not one of the Cushing films I chose to cover for this writing project. Instead the final film I am doing includes Carlson is from the article "Hammering Vitality in Dracula: Hammer Studio's Re-vamping of Bram Stoker's Classic by Colin McCraken. The film is the 1968 Dracula has Risen from the Grave

This is the last review for this issue of Diabolique Magazine Issue 16, so contact me if you want it. Otherwise recycled another way is it's fate.

Dracula has risen from the Grave, starts with another body being found in the bell tower of the Church in a village near Dracula's castle. It raises the the idea Can vampires enter churches? There are several things to think about on that and I don't think there is a clear answer. Consecrated Ground: Many stories treat the holy nature of a church as a barrier that burns or pushes back the unholy blood-drinker. The Invitation Rule: Some traditional lore suggests that a vampire cannot cross a threshold uninvited—though whether a public house of worship counts as a private residence requiring an explicit invitation varies. Faith: In some mythos, a church is only as strong as the active faith within it; an abandoned or de-sanctified church might lose its protective properties. In quite a few movies the grounds of a church are not a place for vampires can go but this mythology in our current age changes as film makers try to put their unique spin on the subject of vampires.

In this film a monsignor in the church decides that he and the local reverend must go to Dracula's castle and perform an exorcism to cleanse the space and free the village of it the curse. In a ridiculous scene a storm rolls in during the exorcism but the reverend who was to afraid to go all the way to the castle falls on some rocks cutting his head and lands on the entombed in glass Dracula in just the right way to have his blood drip into the vampire's mouth raising him from the grave.

Dracula is pissed that the cross has ruined his castle and goes after the senior preist who performed the exorcism and his house, his house keeper, and his brother's daughter and friends who are at the house for a gathering. He forces the younger preist to do his bidding and so begins the tale of Dracula's revenge. There is a bit of interpersonal drama between Maria (Carlson), her boyfriend Paul, Maria's Mother Anna and the Monsignor as well as a side story with the local waitress Zena. We know full well that this is going to be a story where Dracula wants to get with the lovely Maria. He has the faithless younger preist as his servant and Dracula's will over other people is a central part of his powers in this film.

This is not really a good film mostly because you barely see the vampire. Instead the village meladrama rules the day. It really is only on the last thirty minutes where Dracula gets to Maria, feeding on her., but even then it's all about Maria. Not until the last fifteen minutes is there even a confrontation between the forces of good and those of evil. In the end it is up to the Aithiest boyfriend Paul who must fight off the vampire with Christain symbolism and the Preist who is still in Dracula's control. Paul is a strong young man though and we know how things end for Dracula but not before Paul must make a decision about his lack of faith or does he? In end the final battle is as improbable as the release of the vampire.

Monday, August 17, 2026

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994)

Issue 16 of Diabolique Magazine May/Jume 2013, which I will happily give it away, after this project is done.The 4th article in the issue, Victor Frankenstein Creator and Monster: The Many Lives of Frankenstein by Bruce G. Hallenbeck, Introduction by Scott Feinblatt. This is a fine well researched piece on the character Victor Frankenstein from page to screen. There is so much packed into this finely written article that I will just barely glance it with the three films I have chosen to review.

This choice of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was because I had not seen it since it came out in 1994 and frankly did not remember it. On IMDB it holds a rating of 6.3 which is a bit above average for that ranking system. Considering the cast you would think that it would have made more of an impression but no almost no memory of it. Directed by Kenneth Branagh and screenplay written by Steph Lady and Frank Darabont, with stars Branagh as Victor Frankenstein, Robert DeNiro as the Monster, Helen Bonham Carter as Elizabeth, Ian Holm as Victor's father, John Cleese as Professor Waldman the cast is fine for the time.

Kenneth Branagh still riding the wave of his dual Oscar wins five years before (best actor and director) for Henry V had to juice to again direct and act the lead in this film. Now I am not sure this film could ever live up to his establishing film so we won't make comparisons but he took on the challenge of getting DeNiro still in the height of his superstardom. I think that is why they chose a monster look that included giant scars across his face, maybe they thought he was just too recognizable so they made a monster that looked like it took three faces to be sown into one. He also tapped Bonan Carter and up and comer at the time having just two years before had great success in the acclaimed Howard's End. So with this collection of stars we have a version of Frankenstein that should redefine the story. Unfortunately I am sure it does not. The script in it's first half lacks any kind of subtext and is directed so on the nose from Victor's Mother's death where he decides to pursue ending death to the entirely shirtless Branagh 15 minute montage of creating the Monster it is a fever dream pitched ridiculousness that has to be seen. I personally laughed at the choice to do it this way. Then when the naked Monster emerges and he and shirtless Victor have a slime wrestling session, that leads to the damaging the Monster brain, well I was laughing out loud at it. Only after the monster was damage does Frankenstein suddenly and for good denounces the his ideas, so it it had not been damaged would he have continued on? The stark change does nothing to deepen our understanding.

The film plays out more with the Monster's journey from hated outcast to vengful pursuer of Frankenstein. This monster is not a fire fearing fiend like in the classics it is intellegent enough to understand it's making and builds a healthy hate for his creator. Victor moves on from his "mistake" by planning his wedding to step sister Elizabeth but the Montser is coming. The frantic pacing at points in this film are to thrill but don't really accomplish the effect, instead what could be moments of dread are transformed into choas with swelling music and and matter of fact displays that move the plot of the demise of the Frankenstein family forward but leave the viewer with a "then this happened, and then this happened." feeling. The story you think would colminate in Frankenstein and the Monster in a final showdown at this point but no. The Monster wants a companion and so we move into Bride of Frankenstein territory and the now repentant Victor is forced to create again this time with a shirt on. When he goes back to Elizabeth instead of doing what the Monster desires the monster takes tall from Victor in what seems like a add on few scenes to bring the passion of creating (reanimating) life only to heal his broken heart. So many frantic loud musical montages for the creation parts, it is a bit overwhelming. Bookended with scenes of trapped ship in the artic the film pulls the final punch when Victor dies after telling his story.

I am sure I did not like the movie making of this version of the classic story. Too over directed and full of hubris by Branagh. So good luck if you choose to watch it.

Sunday, August 16, 2026

Ghost of Frankenstein (1944)

Well this is quite the film it starts I think at the end of Bride of Frankenstein and the Monster sank into a sulfer pit and only Igor survived, or so it seems. When the still angry villagers blow up the Frankenstein castle it releases the Monster (Lon Chaney Jr.) from it's grave. Chaney suffered a severe allergic reaction to the monster makeup applied by Jack Pierce and missed several days of shooting. -wikipedia. Igor (Bela Lugosi) who was hiding in the castle and the monster get away and make there way to the second son of on the doctor. This monster is less primitive and a bit more kind at times. He befriends a little girl Chloestine (Janet Ann Gallow) and then the film become this wierd mix of angry villagers, mad scientists and the manipulative Igor. Gallow spoke about working with Chaney in 2005, stating that she spent much time with Chaney, "riding his legs, his knees, sitting on his lap. He was nice, gentle with me and easy to work with - better than anyone else!"- wikipedia. Igor attempting to get his brain inserted into the Monster's head. Slightly over acted by Lugosi is the manipulative center of the film who succeeds in getting what he wants and the power that comes with it. Only to become trapped and perish in a fire at the end of the film.
This film is a bit of a mess, the foruth in a series if we are talking about the franchise from Universal Studios. Missing Boris Karloff as the monster seems like a reaction I should have. Chaney Jr. seemed older but still managed to stir empathy for the monster.

Chatting with me is difficult, I have stopped my social media account years ago because time… it’s ticking at my age and I would rather spend it doing other things like this for example. Or chatting with my friends at the Zombiegrrlz.com podcasts on their discord. I am a fan of the podcasts they publish The More Deadly Podcast and the Zombiegrrlz podcast and as a Patron for very little $ I get access to the discord. So if you want to good horror content and a great horror community check them out. You can also find me on the Here's Johnny Podcast and Faculty of Horror Podcast discords. Look them up join my online friends for some good conversations.

Saturday, August 15, 2026

House of Frankenstein (1942)

Issue 16 of Diabolique Magazine May/Jume 2013, which I will happily give it away, after this project is done.The 4th article in the issue, Victor Frankenstein Creator and Monster: The Many Lives of Frankenstein by Bruce G. Hallenbeck, Introduction by Scott Feinblatt. This is a fine well researched piece on the character Victor Frankenstein and his Monster from page to screen. There is so much packed into this finely written article that I will just barely glance it with the three films I have chosen to review. Still it is a pleasure to revisit these classics I saw as a child on Saturday afternoons repeating on television so here we go...

By the time we get to this film in the Frankenstein series it's been 11 years since the original came out. The sequels trying to out do the one before made for a lot of disconbobulation in story and plot. The success of the Monster films meant including all the various famous Universal monster actors was a must. To pull this off the stories go a bit wild like in this feature.

We have Boris Larloff but not playing the Frankenstein's Monster but instead Doctor Gustav Niemann who wants to take the mantle as the new mad doctor. Instead Glenn Strange plays the Monster, he was primarily a Westerns actor but had his time in the horror genre playing a simpleton turned into a werewolf by a mad scientist in The Mad Monster. He also played a giant in the 1944 film The Monster Maker. Glenn was a long time character on the show Gunsmoke which I watched as a kid. In addition we have the Wolfman in this film, Lon Chaney Jr. which is such a great role for such an emotive actor. He always plays his character as a man with a good heart forced to endure the knowledge that when he turns he kills. It weighs on his soul and he does it so well. The film did not settle there but also adds Dracula aka Baron Latos played by John Carridine. Add in a long drawn out subplot of Daniel the equivelant of Igor in the older films falling in love with a gypsy girl and wanting the Doctor to give him a body so she will love him back. Instead she falls for Talbert (the werewolf) and breaks his heart. The ending is great with Frankensteins Monster getting one scene and with an angry mob in pursuit. It sets up his rebirth in the following film Ghost of Frankenstein.

I though this film ridiculous fun.

Friday, August 14, 2026

Visions of Ecstasy (1989)

Issue 16 of Diabolique Magazine May/Jume 2013, which I will happily give it away, after this project is done.The 3rd article in the issue, Visions Quest, is an interview by Max Weinstein with Nigel Wingroves about his short film Visions of Ecstacy. The film was the only film ever banned under the British law against blasphemy, a film the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) refused to allow distribution of finding it to offensive. This ban lasted two decades before Wingrove won a 18-certificate in 1996 after taking his argument for free expression to the European Court of Human Rights. In 2008 the Blasphemy law was repealed and so now you too can have a short film that will probably be offensive if you are Christain.

More a collection of imagery the short film is lurid depictions of the writings of Saint Teresa of Avila. Teresa lived in the 1500s and was a significant player in the Counter Reformation a concerted effort to embrace Catholism after the Protestant Reformation, and was initiated at the Council of Trent between 1545 and 1563. In her autobiography, The Life of Teresa of Jesus, and her books The Interior Castle and The Way of Perfection are prominent works on Christian mysticism. She writes "in her autobiography, written as a defense of her ecstatic mystical experiences, she discerns four stages in the ascent of the soul to God: mental prayer and meditation; the prayer of quiet; absorption-in-God; ecstatic consciousness." - wikipedia. Building off this idea of ecstatic conciousness the Wingrove's short film delves into the writings of the Saint as he says in the article in Diabolique "Her writings have a real intensity and passion, and I would want to make the film visually and narritively reflect that."

Watching the film: Wingrove is one of the founders of Redemption video has now a dvd you can own of Visions of Ecstacy. You can find the exploitation creator and distributor un the Salvation Group and as wikipedia says "Redemption showcases the best in European horror and sleaze cinema, with such titles as Killer Nun, Profondo Rosso and films by Jess Franco, Jean Rollin, Dario Argento, Mario Bava, Bruno Mattei, Lucio Fulci among others. They also release classics such as Nosferatu, Vampyr, The Phantom Carriage, M and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari."

Images of blood and forced stigmata by Teresa of Avila set to the synth , drum kit beats of Steven Severin bassist for Siouxsie and the Banshees as she in her ecstacy rubs her breasts and pulses against a crucifix. Another woman crawls is limited blue tinged light each arm movement excencuated towards a bound Teresa in full habit. Her desire to pull the clothes off the Nun caressing and gently kissing as Tereasa feels the ecstacy and imgaines her own caressing of the body of Christ still nailed to the cross. The cutting back and forth is effective the lighting with use of primary colors exalts the passions of the scenes. The duality highlighting exteranal sexual act as a meditation of the internal spirit is portrayed through this lense. Teresa needing to tough Christ's wounds while at the same time being touched by an unidentified woman.

Not being a religious person and thus in no way offended by the short film. I am hard pressed to understand what all the fuss was about. The 18 minute short is soft porn and not designed to bring the viewer to a porn ending. It is more an interpretation of Teresa's ecstacies that sure you could find offensive but you could just as easily brush off as artistic interpretation.

Saturday, August 8, 2026

The Brides of Dracula (1960)

Issue 16 of Diabolique Magazine May/Jume 2013, which I will happily give it away, after this project is done.The second article in the issue, The Cushing 13, written by Johnathan Rigby gives us what the writer thinks is the thirteen essential Peter Cushing films. Now I am covering the third film for this article and it may be the last I cover on Cushing at least for this piece.

The Brides of Dracula starts with a voice over telling us that "Dracula is dead but his disciples live on to spread his cult and corruptthe world." We pick up with Marianne Danielle (Yvonne Monlaur) on a rough carraige ride through the land owned by the Baron Meinster, we watch as an agent for the Baron paids to leave the young soon to be french teacher stranded in the village below the Meinster Castle. This setup we see does not sit well with the villagers because there is a mysterious conspiacy they know about that poor Marianne does not.

Arriving after her abandonment is the Baroness Meinster wonderfully played by Martita Hunt to invite the young woman to the castle for the night. Hunt plays the part with a very sure hand of years of stage acting. She instill the Baroness with a veryassured controlled presence as she slowly reveals the story of her son. Marianne learns the story of the young Baron Meinster who his mother says is is mad and confined to certain rooms in the castle. This first act is long and without Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) who does not appear until the second act. Another standout performance is that of the caretaker Greta (Freda Jackson). Between her fine acting and that of Martita Hunt they carry the early load for Monlaur who only manages to deliver her lines in comparison. Through it we learn the secret of the Baron played by David Peel. When Marianne thinking it cruel to chain him in his rooms gets him his release the true nature of his madness is revealed.Thus the title of the film.

As young women mysteriously die the great Doctor Van Helsing arroves being invited by the local coroner. It is s short road to the action starting as the vampires begin to rise from graves. The Baron wanting to grow his vampire family also has eyes on Mariane and is intent to have were as his bride. For a film called The Brides of Dracula this lacks any storyline about the brides more focued on the Vapire Baron and Van Helsings pursuit of him.The vampire lore as we know it from many Dracula films is at play here. The vampire can transform into a bat, he can hypnotise with his eyes, and must return to his coffin before sunrise, he is afraid of the Christian cross and is harmed by holy water. There is the ability to enter abodes without an invitation but we can chalk that up to he owns the hole area as the Baron so would not need an invite.

After Meister bites Van Helsing and we see the magic of holy water, Van Helsing cartorizes the wound with a hot iron and holy water keeping himself from turning into a vampire. The holy water proved a great weapon in the final battle but the final demise of the vampire was a strange one. The shadow of a cross holds him in place which I had never seen before. This is an interesting enough film with some fine acting its not a dracula but it might as well be. Aren't all vampire movies Dracula's?

Friday, August 7, 2026

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)

Issue 16 of Diabolique Magazine May/Jume 2013, which I will happily give it away, after this project is done. Like I said in my last post is really full of content. I still have to kick myself for picking one of the most dense issues they put out. I am in it now so we are moving onto the second article in the issue, The Cushing 13, written by Johnathan Rigby gives us what the writer thinks is the thirteen essential Peter Cushing films. Now I am not cover them all but here is the list in case you want to.

Most actor are lucky to have one defining role in his/her career, Peter Cushing had three. As we have already covered in other entries he played Victor Frankenstein and in this film he plays Sherlock Holmes and as you shall read in my next post he played Doctor Van Helsing opposite the character of Dracula. Is he the actor that defined the role? Well such debates are worth the effort. I have friend who are just not horror fans and never have been and one, Neighbor Dave ( who by the way has the best beer fridge in my town) said he had never heard of Peter Cushing. Shocking as it is to me I understand, I am a child of the 60 and 70s and had a heavy dose of television as baby sitter while growing up. Also a horror fan from an early age, thank you Creature Double Feature, I have been well versed in the genre from an early age. I had to tell Dave that he was Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) so he would have some sense.

In The Hound of the Baskervilles Peter Cushing plays Sherlock Holmes in one of the most famous Arthur Conan Doyle stories ever shot on film. Like many actors before and after him Cushing plays the role as it is written self assured and the smartest man in the room. The character itself is a bit of a dick always proving him, self by testing Watson and those around them to point out how much they did not observed and he does.

This version of the story has a long prquel where we learn of the start of the Baskervilles curse. Baron Hugo Baskerville is a tyrant in his realm, cruel to his subject and always looking for things that give him pleasure. The curse starts with his pursuit of a young women who has no interest in him. When she flees he chases her to some old ruins in the Dartmoor moors. Throws her onto what looks like a fallen acient alter and you think he is going to rape her but instead with glee in his eyes stabs her to death. Almost immediately he hears the howls in the distance and then meets his demise at the hands of a furry creature.

A voice over brings us to Doctor Mortimor(Francis de Wolff), Watson (Andre Morell) and Holmes (Peter Cushing) debating the story we just saw and the latest baskervilles death generations after the start of the curse. Holmes has an interest in it and Mortimor brings the case to him wants him to investigate the latest strange death. It is omportant to note that this is a mystery in the finest sense so talking about the machinations of the film is a real nono. What I can say it does a great job of highlighting Holmes' character and laying the red herrings that keep the viewer guessing. Christopher Lee plays Sir Henry the heir to the Baskervilles fortunes who may or may not be in grave danger.

I really loved this film even though I have a soft spot for the earlier version starring Basil Rathbone as Holmes. Still Cushing was made for a role like this and enacts it with grace and percision. All the supporting cast are wonderful at moving the story along. Andre Morell carries a large load as Watson and is completely up to the task. The twists and turns keep you guessing although because I am a repeat viewer for me it was more about appreciateing the movie making and acting.

Give this one a view especially if you are a mystery buff.

Thursday, August 6, 2026

Byzantium (2012)

As I reread and revisit the films of Issue 16 of Diabolique Magazine before I give it away. I have to kick myself for picking one of the most dense issues they put out. Where I want to watch and review a selection of the films in the issue I will have my work cut out for me. A tribute to Peter Cushing it is jam packed with remembrances of Cushing, a retrospective of his career and features stories on many of the films and characters that made his career.

The first article, not about Cushing is an interview with Director Neil Jordan by Editor Max Weinstein, he had just released Byzantium his new Gothic vampire film starring Saoirse Ronan, Gemma Arterton, and Sam Riley. Directed by Neil Jordan and Written by Moira Buffini the film underwhelmed at the box office only making 860k est. on an 8 million dollar investment. IMDB member rating sits at 6.5 at the time of this writing which isn’t horrible. The actresses were praised for their performances but at the time there was some vampire fatigue, and Jordan the Director of the smash hit Interview with a Vampire so expectations were high. Unfortunately the film was marketed as a moody arthouse film and was not pushed as a wide release doomed it at the box office.

Meditative and moody it is but worth a viewing. Byzantium is a story of a Mother, Clara (Arterton) and Daughter, Eleanor (Ronan) vampires who struggle to feed themselves without drawing attention and having to change cities often because of it. Clara is defined as the unstable of the two and Eleanor the more empathetic of the two. The contrast is a way of showing the monstrous side versus a more humane side to the problems they face. Both women are younger looking both being turned while young women. It is also a way of looking at trauma and different responses to it. Do you attempt to heal it or do you mask it and deal with the chaos of not dealing with the harm? Both women as we learn through flashbacks to their pasts are traumatized, horrible lives for both hundreds of years before we meet them. Clara learned how to lie cheat and steal in her life and falls back to those behaviors again and again. She preys on men, the sex who hurt her so badly in her human life. Eleanor is more contemplative about her need to feed, a writer who feels deeply in her long vampire life only feeds on the elderly ready to die minimizing her chances of discovery.

Complicating their situation is that there is a brotherhood of vampires who do not accept that two women vampires were created and still roam the earth. Behind a mask of a noble cause they their misogyny and the desire to be a boys club only. Clara and her feeding on random dudes who want her body continues to draw the attention of the brotherhood. They have not forgiven her for stealing the map of a secret location where a person ready to die can be transformed into a vampire. In fact the initiating incident of the film is one of the brotherhood catching up to Clara. She is capable and bold and a danger to the patriarchy and it’s a good theme. Eleanor fits into it too but contrasts Clara’s boldness with thoughtful introspection that is equally threatening to the brotherhood. Complicating there lives in this crucial moment is also is Eleanor reluctantly beginning a honest relationship with Darvell (Sam Riley) who once he knows Eleanor’s secrets is a risk Clara won’t tolerate. There is a punch pulled in the third act of this film when the Mother and daughter are finally tracked done by the brotherhood and it seems they are at serious risk, a script choice veers off what the audience wants which is the women overcoming the evil. Instead something happens where their agency is taken away blunting a lot of the character development that came before the moment. When all is said and done I think this a fine film that skews some of its themes in the end. Beautifully filmed and interesting throughout it is definitely worth the watch. This is the first of the watches I will be doing before I give this issue of Diabolique away for free, of course if no one wants it I will probably leave it on the local library magazine rack.

So follow me here to read updates in how my magazine giveaway is going but follow me on Letterboxd if you want to read my movie reviews. I still have a mail connected to my blog soresportmovies.blogspot.com movies@edhovey.com where you can write me or comment on an entry there. Follow me on Letterboxd.com my handle there is Hovey1127, when I am done with the Issue of the magazine I will offer it up and we can work out the details of me getting it to you. I am not really looking for money just someone who also would love to read it.

The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)

Nineteen Eighty Four (1964)

The Curse of Frankenstein(1956)

The Hounds of the Baskervilles(1958)

The Flesh and the Fiends(1959)

The Brides of Draculs(1960)

Captain Clegg(1961)

The Skull(1965)

Corruption(1967)

Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed(1969)

Tales from the Crypt(1971)

Asylum(1972)

From Beyond The Grave(1973)

A Tale of Two Cities(1980)

As you can see from the title I am covering The Curse of Frankenstein in this entry. I am sure I will not be covering all these film for this project but I might continue with a couple more choices from the list before moving on.

The Curse of Frankenstein as Johnathan Rigby says in his article "was the small picture that established Hammer Film Production as a major playerand sparked off a Gothic revival Worldwide". I personally love Hammer films even the lower budget ones when in the end they were trying to save themselves. The film stars as Peter Cushing as Victor Frankenstein, Hazel Court as Elizabeth, Robert Urquhart as Victor's tutor turned assistant and "rival"(?) Paul.and Christopher Lee as the Creature. Not allowed to call him Frankensteins Monster we can't say Lee joins Lon Chaney Jr. as the only men to play Dracula and the Frankenstein Monster but it is as close as you can come without doing it. I went to check this on the internet and the internet has it wrong which yeah good for you you cute little AI.

Hazel Court on loanfrom the movie studio Rank at the time only did two Hammer films but it was enough to reignite her career after taking a break fromacting to raise her daugher Sally. The other film the classic Vincent Price piece The Masque of the Red Death (1964) was her final major film role although she was seen on Alfred Hitchcock Presents on occasion. In her later years she became an acclaimed scultor. The thing about her role in Curse is that the character Elizabeth was the cousin of Victor Frankenstein, a more common marraige relationship than we have in modern days I suppose. Her character is sort of a non factor in the film with no agency or internal drive. She seems to be there to be put at threat by the monster and as a piece of property to be vied for by Victor and Paul.

Robert Urquharts role Paul is there to removed the hunchback assistant Igor and replaces him with a teacher who becomes a rival after Victor surpasses him as his student. The wrap around story shows the outcome of that storyline. He is also is the character who tries to shine a light on Victor as he more and more leaves ethics behind in his drive to create life.

Peter Cushing as Victor Fankenstein has a character written to be cruel but never thoughtless. He from the earliest age is dead set on his path in life and show little empathy to those around him. As an adult and banging the french maid while engaged to Elizabeth at the same time his cruelty can be seen in the scene where she, Justine (Valarie Gaunt) confronts him because she was promoised mararige by Victor. She reveals her pregnancy and Victor's response is vile. Not only that it does not end there, when Justine says she will tell people around him he arranges the circumstances of her death at the hands of the monster.

In fact the script itself written by Jimmy Sangster is a cruel little take on a story that by 1957 was a well known tale in film already. The take on the story actually makes it new and interesting. In the end you all sort of know what happens but the wrap around story gives it a somewhat satisfying twist. This is really a very vine film and you should all seek it out as an example of how to take a well trodden on idea and make it fresh.

Monday, August 3, 2026

Movie magazine giveaway? Really One at a time?

My collection of horror and exploitation film magazines that have been collecting dust for some time now. When I was subscriber the magazine would come in and I would read it end to end and then put it on an ever growing pile.These piles grew and grew, Heavy Metal magazine, Horrorhoound, Fangoria, Rue Morgue, Film Comment, Screenwriter Magazine, Creative Screenwriting all had piles. Eventually I purged them with a simple recycling of the paper. I felt bad in hindsight getting rid of all that history and great writing. Thousands of issues gone for good and I thought with the advent of the internet, I was on in the late 80s that again would not be something in my life again. I was wrong I still got something from going to the newsstand in Harvard Square, browsing the wracks and finding new things to read. Femme Fatales originally a low budget horror movie magazines that feature actresses selling their images and films. Paracinema what I considered the best exploitation film magazines ever issued, and many others that were not came and went. When it came time purge again in the 20teens I found myself hanging onto some of them but again thinking that the magazine was a thing of the past past. I had no subscriptions and really thought I was finally done with this addiction, and again I was wrong. In 2017 Rue Morgue rebranding it’s approach to a horror community enthusiast model lead by Andra Subassati. Then in 2018 Fangoria Magazine got a rebirth and started publishing again, under the leadership of Phil Nobel Jr. At this point in my life I had much more disposable income, and an on-line presence with friend groups who liked the same things. People many of who I had never met in person but who I regularly interacted with on list serves, blogs, podcast, horror conventions and social media were now friends of mine. I wanted to support my horror interest not as a collector of paper but because it seemed with all the now vibrant diverse ways to engage my lovely magazines needed me to support them or they may be no more. So today I have long running subscription of both Rue Morgue and Fangoria. What to do with older issues though, now in my sixties I am trying to reduce my stuff not grow it? I really don’t want to just purge like the past, no I am thinking maybe I can offer them up as gifts to other fans, mail them out after rereading them a final time.

The effort has to begin somewhere so I picked my oldest issue of Diabolique Magazine from my piles and read it again. It was a special Peter Cushing centennial issue from May/June 2013. The read was great! Such a wonderful issue. In fact it was so good that I have decided to watch a bunch of the film written about in the issue and maybe write a bit about them myself. It seems like the movie review is going to be challenged by AI so why not go down a rabbit hole where no one may read my opinions? I don’t know I am doing this for me and it will make me happy. This issue has about 30 movie I can watch so I should start getting busy with it on my Letterboxd Account.

So follow me here to read updates in how my magazine giveaway is going but follow me on Letterboxd if you want to read my movie reviews. I still have a mail connected to this blog movies@edhovey.com where you can write me or comment on an entry here at soresportmovies.blogspot.com.

Follow me on Letterboxd.com my handle there is Hovey1127, when I am done with the Issue of the magazine I will offer it up and we can work out the details of me getting it to you. I am not really looking for money just someone who also would love to read it.

Wednesday, September 17, 2025

The Short and the Short of it.

Checking out the indieplex streaming service by looking at their extensive collection of short films.

Seed - (LGBTQ- Horror) 10 min. In the horror short Seed, a witch lures a virgin to help with her olive tree, but not in the way the title suggests. A young girl with an injured leg seeks a cure from a witch. The witch agrees to help her in exchange for helping with her garden, specifically a special olive tree. The witch, however, plans to kill the girl and use her blood to fertilize the tree. The girl's friend interrupts the ritual, forcing the witch to fight them both. The film manages to be sinister even though the setting is bright and outside, lead Niki J. Crawford is good as the witch. invoking a spirited strangeness. Everything else proceeds as described and the film although not great does what it is supposed to do tell a very specific tale with clarity and style by Writer/Director Nikhail Asnani

Bags - by Senio Zapruder (Fetish - Horror) 7 min. is a fetish film about a person who performs by mutilating and rubbing against mutilated Dsqured2 designer bags. It's not my kink but one should never shame another's kink so in the film you get what is described but as a torture porn dance performance film featuring the named bags. It is just wierd enough to keep the casual viewer interested but it is certainly not for everyone. The statement about television and high ends products is not lost on me, neither is the humor in which this film was made.

Self Portrait - (Comedy - Horror) 6 min As described on the service, there is nothing more terrifying than facing yourself. An artist doing a self portrait notices a mole on his neck that starts him down a unexpected path as he begins to obsess about his health. Writer Director and actor in this one Lewis Rose seems to capture how rabbit holes start and maybe how the first abstract art was made.

Neal - (Horror) 6 min, Neal is a couple's pool cleaning device that on their anniversary does not take to them having a late night swim. Director Geoff McGee plays the short as straight horror and manages to make a pretty benign object into a killing machine. Mixed with the great horror angles of the camera work there is decent music and a sense of humor. So all and all this is quick horror fun.

He Dies at the End - (Comedy- Horror) 5min. Life is full of surprises. Alone in an office, a man is taking part in a strange online quiz, to find out how he will die. Silly in we all do those only quizzes and in this one they actually make it a bit creepy. Silly ending works. This one directed by Damian Mc Carthy who has made some very good features after this short, (Caveat, Oddity) does a great job keeping it simple and telling the story.

Zombie America (Horror - Comedy) 9 min Director Nick Poppy has not done anything of note since this film was made. It is impressive that he got Ed Helm to star in this narrated bit about post zombie apocolypse America. Glen is a zombie trying to get the message out that not all zombies are horrible. It's cute and relies on the scriptwriting to make the humor and Ed Helms is great in the role bringing a relaxed style that really works.

Tuesday, August 12, 2025

Access Horror Virtual Festival

The horror world is a larger umbrella than you might think. sponsered by George Romero Foundation, Shudder and Fangoria Access Horror festival whose focus is to be so inconclusive its scary.

Womb to Tomb, a block of shorts - Lady Parts - is a short where bodily fluids are creating a very anxious and nerveracking night for a young lady. Traversing the emotions of adolescence is hard enough, who you are attracted to? Will I fit in? Iris is wondering about her feelings about another girl. Add to that a unique bodily problem and things can get a bit crazy for young Iris. Sometimes it really is about finding that accepting person to make any problem disappear.

The Shadow Rangler - A woman who does book narration is increasingly frustrated with the noise around her apartment. Working on deadline she really needs to finish the recording but is finding it difficult. interrupted by workmen, then a former fling from the apartment upstairs, when we learn of their affair and her miscarraige. The fear comes at night as we learn Nan might be mentally all there.

Tight - A once happy couple are later seen at the doctors where the wife might suffering post pardom depression. The obvious struggles with her partner don't help the situation. He for his part does not seem like a caring selfless person. Her fascination with wrapping things in plastic lead my thinking one way but the short never goes there. Instead we learn that during the birth of there child her husband had her "tightened". Her response is dramatic.

Golden Hour - Mother and daughter having a conversation that seems to be taking place ina vertual reality. She is a grieving woman trying to cope with the loss of her daughter. This could be a have been on Black Mirror as you learn about how addictive not letting go can be.

Flesh of my Flesh Block of shorts - #eatpretty is about the obsessiveness socail media infatuation with creating and capturing sperfect moments. I missed the name of the second short but it was this strange body horror piece featuring a man who has lost most of his limbs.

Scarred - A poetic piece about the the scars left on the body of a woman who has had multiple surgeries.

The Moster Inside My Head - intrusive sensations is the theme where a woman increasesly feels like a puppet to her urges. The hook effects are great in this and it really captures the helplessness of such feelings.well done little short.

SlashR - a recently "dumped" man takes a trip to Big Bear and finds himself browsing a dating app, until he is chatting up a couple guys who want group sex with him. He almost does it but backed out at the last minute. The men he chats with though seem like they may be sinister.

Possum - A group of friends playing campfire game of who is the werewolf while some strange man leads around a fake possum. A man named Pinecone kills the possum and then the group needs to discuss and boy do they hit some overly inclusive terms and some unwanted activities to deal with the murder of the rodent.The satire is great in this one.

Tuesday, January 7, 2025

Eddie's Way Back Machine 2015 .

The start of a new year and a chance to use the way back machine to check out what we were into ten years ago. We travel to 2015 checking out the hot horror of that year and what the people involved those films have done since in horror. Some may even have project we will get to see this year. So if you want something to watch tonight you should find something in this article that will wet your whistle. Scanning multiple sites and top movie list for the year this list is of the most highly ranked horror films for that year.

The Hallow, The Visit, The Gift, We Are Still Here, The Blackcoats Daughter all fine films and highly ranked.

So what have the directors and actors been up to since?

The Hallow's Director Corin Hardy used the folk horror entry to land a bigger job and turned that into 2018's The Nun which had mixed reviews but in general was liked. Hardy has an upcoming project called Whistle described as "A misfit group of unwitting high school students stumble upon a cursed object, an ancient Aztec Death Whistle. They discover that blowing the whistle and the terrifying sound it emits will summon their future deaths to hunt them down." Co-writer Tom De Ville (Curtis Brown) has last year's pretty good entry Lord of Misrule (2023) which I thought was pretty good. The lead actress Bojana Novakovic after the Hollow moved more towards television for work but managed the 2018 horror entry Malicious (See Trailer Here). She has an upcoming horror film called Bloat which is described on IMDB "It follows a mother and two sons vacationing in Japan. Their younger son almost drowns in a lake, and soon after the accident, the parents realize that something is wrong with their boy." No trailer available at this time.

The Visit M. Night Shyamalan's solid horror film about astranged Grandkids visiting their Grandparents for the first time and discovering a secret the old couple has. Shyamalan has a spotty filmography but is a solid director if sort of pigeon holed as a writer. He has an untitled Horror Thriller coming up but its to early in development to even have a name. His current film which is getting mixed reviews is Trap (2024) Actress Olivia DeJonge is a rising star since her role in The Visit as a teenager. She stayed in horror after this film with costar Ed Oxenbould and was in the wonderful Better Watch Out (2016) before moving into more mainstream film and television.

The Gift - Writer, Director and villian (?) in The Gift Joel Edgerton is also an actor currently in the pretty solid show Dark Matter, his other writing has been more mainstream and not in the genre. Jason Bateman continues to crush a career and his current thriller Carry-On can be seen now on streaming services. Rebecca Hall when she does horror does it so well and in the last decade we got to see her is a couple things The Night House (2020) and Resurrection (2022) establishing her into the genre as well as appearing in the wonderfully strange series Tales from the Loop (2020)

We Are Still Here - "In the cold, wintery fields of New England, a lonely old house wakes up every thirty years - and demands a sacrifice." I used to Twitter follow Writer / Director Ted Geoghegan after seeing an earlier film of his The Disco Exorcist (2011) but his career is starting to really blossom with his last two efforts Satanic Panic (2019) and Brooklyn 45 (2023) have Ted at the forefront of horror. A couple of horror icons star in this film about a haunted house. Barbara Crampton a legend from her early days in Re-Animator (1985), From Beyond (1986) and Chopping Mall (1986) she has been a scream queen her whole career. She started being notice by the horror community after a supporting role in You're Next (2011) Since 'We Are Still Here' in 2015 she has 40 credits on her imdb and most all of them are horror. If I were to recommend just one I would go with the Frankenstein adjacent Suitable Flesh (2023) Not only does this film have Barbara Crampton but another legend in the horror genre in Larry Fessenden. I first saw him as an actor in the off putting vampire film Habit (1995) and like Crampton, Fessenden stayed in horror and has too many credits to list, just a few are Session 9 (2001), I Sell the Dead (2008), Stakeland (2010) and the underrated Jug Face (2013) Fessenden always seems to be Acting, Directing or Producing film and his imdb will have several projects in the works, maybe we should watch for The Demonatrix: "A dominatrix unwittingly summons an incubus demon and joins forces with a priest to defeat it." - imdb

The Blackcoat's Daughter - Writer Director Osgood Perkins just hit top ten lists for 2024 with his thriller Longlegs (2024) which is still streaming everywhere. This earlier entry was a surprise hit in 2015 making many lists that year too. Longlegs is the recommendation just for the Nic Cage of it all. We are looking forward to his upcoming The Monkey(2025) about that wind up toy monkey featured on the posters for Steven King's Monkey Shines (1988) although who knows how these two things connect? Emma Roberts is one of the stars in an earlier horror entry but after this film she went on to star in two different horror shows, Scream Queens (2015-16) and American Horror Story (2011- ) she also had a small role in the odd and fun The Hunt (2020), Kiernan Shipka also stars and is also a rising star in the horror world. Since the Blackcoat's Daughter she was the lead in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018-2020), rocked it in the horror film Totally Killer (2023) and also appears in this year's Longlegs. Lucy Boynton after a couple more horror entries Don't Knock Twice and I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House both from 2016 is sticking to less horrific material.

This should give you a start for your 2025 viewing, Enjoy Horror!

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