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 →

Woman

Darren Aronofsky's allegorical assualt to the senses mother! (2017) recently popped up on my radar again, thanks to a social media challenge to name your four favorite films of the last ten years. Narrowing it down was dificult, but one choice was easy. When mother! opened, I wrote a review questioning why most audiences seemed … Continue reading Woman →

Spooky Season

October is the month when many of us throw caution to the wind and indulge, nay revel, in our eternal love of all things strange and spooky. But in a year of unrelenting real life horrors , how does one find time to partake in such seasonal silliness? Well, the way I see it we … Continue reading Spooky Season →

Season of the Witch: Sukie Ridgemont

What scares me isn't how short life is, no, it's the pain, all the pain. I don't understand why there has to be any pain. I adore Sukie Ridgemont, one-third of the famous Witches of Eastwick from the 1987 hit movie of the same name. She’s one of Michelle Pfeiffer’s most pure-of-soul characters—kindhearted mother, sweet … Continue reading Season of the Witch: Sukie Ridgemont →