From the Vault: Pieces

This essay was first published at my old site, in substantially different form, a few years ago. I watched Pieces again recently and felt the need to expand on that post. Few cult films remain as notorious as Juan Piquer Simon's Pieces (1982). It was seized and confiscated in the UK during the infamous video … Continue reading From the Vault: Pieces →

Unleashing the Wolf

Wolf (1994) is a perennial favorite, a film I’ve been revisiting once or twice a year for a long time now. I suppose that makes it a comfort film, too. My first viewing was in the theater in 1994 and, to paraphrase Rene Zellweger in Jerry Maguire, Wolf had me at hello. The story of … Continue reading Unleashing the Wolf →

Possession

The legend of Lou Reed's Berlin (1973), the brutal concept album about the disintegration of a marriage, goes something like this: coming off his first big solo success with Transformer (1972), Reed and producer Bob Ezrin inexplicably set out to make "the most depressing album of all time." And if you know (and love) Berlin … Continue reading Possession →

What Lies Beneath

Twenty-one years after its release, What Lies Beneath (2000) is finally available on Blu-ray. Long overdue on the format, this spooky chiller from Robert Zemekis stars Michelle Pfeiffer in one of her most underrated performances as former cellist Claire Spencer, whose life might be haunted. It's also her film, as she's in almost every scene, … Continue reading What Lies Beneath →

From the Vault: Eyes of Laura Mars

This essay first appeared, in slightly different form, at my old site, four years ago. Eyes of Laura Mars is a favorite slasher/American giallo-style horror film of mine, so Halloween season feels like the perfect time to revisit it. As its title indicates, Eyes of Laura Mars (1978) is especially concerned with eyes, and specifically … Continue reading From the Vault: Eyes of Laura Mars →

Birthing the Brood Takes Time

Thirty seconds after you're born you have a past and sixty seconds after that you begin to lie to yourself about it. Julianna Kelly (Nuala Fitzgerald), The Brood, 1979 It's been almost two months since I last updated this space. Not for lack of trying, mind you, though lately there's been less trying and more … Continue reading Birthing the Brood Takes Time →

Oceans of Time

"Do you believe in destiny? That even the powers of time can be altered for a single purpose? That the luckiest man who walks on this earth is the one who finds... true love?" Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) is peak cinematic romantic-horror for many of us, replete with thematic concerns that resonate … Continue reading Oceans of Time →