RECONSTRUCTING FRANKENSTEIN: SPARK OF BEING (2010)

This year marks the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, which was originally published in 1818. Shelley was just 19 years old when she first conceived of this classic piece of Gothic fiction, and since the book’s release it has been adapted for the large and small screen many times. One of the most unusual …

Reassessing the Critical Response to PEEPING TOM (1960)

When you mention PEEPING TOM (’60) to classic film fans the response is typically “That’s the movie that ended Michael Powell’s career!” and a quick Google search will unearth countless critics and film historians repeating a similar refrain. While it is true that PEEPING TOM received a brutal lashing from the British critical establishment that …

My Favorite Films of 2017

I contributed a list of my 20 Favorite Films seen in 2017 to the annual Senses of Cinema World Poll in the form of an illustration scanned & cleaned up in Photoshop. I wanted to have fun with the process this year and didn't feel much like writing about all the films on my list …

Favorite Film Books of 2017

With the holidays fast approaching I thought I would recommend an eclectic selection of my favorite film books released in 2017 in case you’re looking for gifts to please the cinephiles in your life. My picks include a variety of reading material for all budgets and tastes including many titles that are closely linked to …

Noir-Horror: THE LEOPARD MAN (‘43)

“The real horror is to show that we all live unconsciously in fear. Many people suffer today from a fear that they don’t begin to analyze and which is constant. When the audience is in the dark and recognizes its own insecurity in that of the characters of the film, then you can show unbelievable …

10 Fun Facts About Barbara Steele

Barbara Steele became a cult film icon thanks to her memorable roles in a number of low-budget horror movies but her filmography also includes critically acclaimed art films and interesting British dramas. FilmStruck and Criterion Channel subscribers can currently stream four of Steele’s best movies and when viewed together they become a wonderful, rowdy and …

Ghost Girls & Bouncing Balls: KILL, BABY KILL! (1966)

Film historians and critics generally agree that the golden age of Italian horror cinema occurred between 1957-1966. The timeframe suggests that as the Swinging Sixties came to a sobering end film audience’s lost interest in baroque Gothic thrillers. This was undoubtedly due to several factors including increasing familiarity with repetitive genre devices as well as …

BORIS KARLOFF IS THE BODY SNATCHER (1945)

Director Robert Wise is widely regarded as a journeyman filmmaker with no defining traits or distinct talents. In The American Cinema: Directors And Directions 1929-1968 critic Andrew Sarris famously labeled Wise’s output as “strained seriousness” asserting that the director’s “stylistic signature . . . is indistinct to the point of invisibility.” David Thompson parroted these claims in …

UNTAPPED FEARS: THE PLUMBER (1979)

Our fears take many forms. I was born and (mostly) raised in California so it’s probably not surprising that I fear natural disasters such as earthquakes and wildfires, which are currently ravaging the place I call home. Others are terrified by serial killers and mad gunmen such as the Las Vegas shooter who recently killed …

WOMEN AT WAR: ONIBABA (1964)

  In feudal Japan, war is being waged between Imperial forces loyal to the reigning emperor and those who support the shogun. Samurai warriors wearing expensive armor and carrying powerful weapons fight side by side with peasant farmers conscripted into military service. Amid this bloody chaos women, children and the elderly suffer unimaginable horrors including rape, …