For as long as monsters have existed, us horror kids have seen ourselves in them. Throughout cinema, the monster has represented the outsider. Whether it’s King Kong afraid and alone in a city that hates him, or The Gill Man seeking companionship from Julie Adams, the story is always the same; society hates what it doesn’t understand, and society sure doesn’t understand being “different”.
Nicolas Cage is both a great actor and a walking meme-machine, and while the former should never be forgotten it’s safe to say that his latest film, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, exists because of the latter. Cage stars as Nicolas Cage, an actor unable to turn down a paid gig, who finds trouble when a superfan turns out to be a violent drug lord. With his family’s life on the line, Cage “becomes” various characters from his filmography in order to save the day.
Shudder has teamed with Oxfam to shed light on the real-life issues in Jayro Bustamante’s Golden Globe®-nominated La Llorona. Oxfam is a global organization working to end the injustice of poverty. The horror genre can work as a conduit for social activism. La Llorona, the latest film from the Guatemalan direct Jayro Bustamante, whispers truth …
So you’ve survived four entries into a horror franchise that’s still grinding its gears based on box office profitability and nostalgia hounds who cackle-clap whenever they see a familiar title card with a higher number. Congratulations! Thanks for proving that Laurie Strode isn’t Haddonfield’s iconic fluke, but now face your most unpredictable obstacle yet—a fivequel. The Killer Cinco. Fivequel Goes West. The powers that be won’t allow Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash, yet here you are waltzing onto the battlefield again like you’re hotter than Danielle Harris. I mean, you’ve seen Alien³ and what David Fincher did to poor little Newt alongside hero-boy Hicks. Death comes for all of us: scream queen, shriek king, survivor person, whatever. Ask Final Destination’s Devon Sawa or Ali Larter.
So you’ve survived four entries into a horror franchise that’s still grinding its gears based on box office profitability and nostalgia hounds who cackle-clap whenever they see a familiar title card with a higher number. Congratulations! Thanks for proving that Laurie Strode isn’t Haddonfield’s iconic fluke, but now face your most unpredictable obstacle yet—a fivequel. The Killer Cinco. Fivequel Goes West. The powers that be won’t allow Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash, yet here you are waltzing onto the battlefield again like you’re hotter than Danielle Harris. I mean, you’ve seen Alien³ and what David Fincher did to poor little Newt alongside hero-boy Hicks. Death comes for all of us: ask Final Destination’s Devon Sawa or Ali Larter.
Val Lewton was one of the most influential producers/writers in horror yet he seems to be nearly forgotten in modern discourse. He has over time become known as one of the forefathers of the modern B movie after heading the Horror Unit at RKO Radio Pictures. With 11 features released during his four years, Lewton pumped them out cheap and fast, Roger Corman-style. The highly successful business model of forcing creativity with a studio-mandated low budget amounted to larger returns. This model mirrors that of most popular films in the horror genre today, such as Halloween, The Purge, and Get Out.
