• My Problem With Modern Horror

    October 31, 2013 - By 

    Fuck Horror. As grandiose as a statement that it is, I hate most modern horror films. Not because I intrinsically hate the genre, nor because I am a cynical, hate filled cretin. No, I hate modern horror because it categorically spoils the things necessary for horror films to work. To be blunt, horror has always been somewhat of a second string cinematic genre. With it’s central aim being prick-teasing animal instincts, it’s no wonder that most horror films have been the kind of cheese ridden b-movie that one associates with Hammer and Christopher Lee. For the greater part of cinema…

  • Silent Hill 2 – A Psychological Horror Masterpiece

    October 31, 2013 - By 

    Silent Hill 2 is a masterpiece. It’s not a masterpiece in the traditional sense, where every aspect of the work is perfect. It’s a masterpiece in the sense that, despite being fundamentally broken in many ways, it still feels like a brutal, cohesive, human experience. Silent Hill 2 is not perfect – but it’s alive. This sequel is, for all intents and purposes, a reboot. Removing the B-movie cult storyline that the original was based on, Silent Hill 2 unshackles itself from the continuity of the franchise. The foggy town of Silent Hill is no longer the manifestation of tortured…

  • Future of the Left – How to Stop Your Brain in an Accident

    October 31, 2013 - By 

    I think it’s fair to say that every now and then a person like Future of the Left frontman Andy Falkous is needed. He’s a man whose piss and vinegar vitriolic diatribes would fit comfortably with the George Carlins, Lenny Bruces, Charlie Brookers and Bill Hickses of the world. These are people who can stare into the unending abyss that we know as culture, see the gunk that halts the gears of progression and report back to us with details of the horrors from the underbelly that are steadily herding us toward the trappings of insanity, idiocy and incompetence. Plus…

  • Classic Album: The Wicker Man OST (1973)

    October 31, 2013 - By 

    What is the sound of fear? Over the years, musicians and composers have tried various things, and certain tropes have emerged: the stabbing strings, the gothic grandeur, the discordant noise, or the Theremins and strange electronic sounds. But back in 1973, Paul Giovanni and Magnet took a completely different path, tapping into an altogether more earth vein of horror, capturing the cruel majesty of The Wicker Man. For many people, The Wicker Man is one of the towering giants of horror (if you’ll pardon the pun), a masterpiece of sustained dread that digs deep into our hearts to unearth a…