The Gore Connoisseurs

It’s a common trope in horror – not only is your protagonist menaced by an otherworldly threat, their loved ones refuse to believe them. It’s a cliché that can sometimes become wearing, but new Shudder release Spiral is a rare example of it being used to further character development and thematic explorations. Warning: This article contains spoilers for Spiral Characters’ refusal to believe the protagonist is a narrative technique employed for a variety of reasons - to create conflict between characters, to isolate the protagonist, and to simply pad out the runtime before things come to a head in the third act. The trope is memorably used in Fright Night (1985) when no one believes horror nerd Charley’s (William Ragsdale) outlandish claim that his neighbour is a vampire. It also led to Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) in Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) getting bars put on her bedroom window when no one believes her about Freddy Krueger. Hereditary , The Invisible Man and The Wretched a...

By now we’ve all seen so many zombie films it’s hard for new releases not to seem like more of the same. Yet the flesh-eating corpses have evolved a lot since they first terrorised cinemagoers - to the point where a lot of the time they aren’t even dead anymore . From voodoo curses to toxic gases and demonic possession, there have been countless different takes on our favourite putrefying cannibals, with tones ranging wildly from cheerful splatterfests to sombre meditations on the end of days. Zombies may have lost some of their bite through overfamiliarity, yet new innovations in recent years threaten to freshen up the rotting reanimated corpse of the subgenre. Early zombies Zombies in early horror films were a far cry from their modern counterparts. Here, they are associated with voodoo magic and are generally under a witch doctor’s control without their later cannibalistic tendencies. The action often takes places in Haiti or the Caribbean, making use of - some would say app...

Netflix’s zombie game has historically been pretty strong, with Cargo and Ravenous both standout entries in a sometimes tired subgenre. Buzzy new Korean movie #Alive looks set to continue the trend  – but is it worth a watch? In a nutshell: Layabout twenty-something Joon-woo (Ah-In Yoo) is left home alone in his parents’ apartment when the zombie apocalypse kicks off outside his window. Lacking in both groceries and basic life skills, does Joon-woo have what it takes to stay alive? This is a spoiler-free zone. #Alive 's hits This is the most relatable zombie film I’ve seen in a long time. Rather than the hardened and resourceful survivors we’ve grown used to, Joon-woo is too scared to leave his apartment and initially just goes back to his online gaming to pass the time. The movie has the patience to flesh out its characters, with most of the film focusing on Joon-woo’s attempts to keep despair at bay. That said, it’s not afraid to get its hands dirty with some nerve-jan...

Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots live through a Stepford Wives- style suburban nightmare in surreal head-scratched Vivarium, which has just landed on Shudder . The movie questions gender roles and family ideals through the prism of reality-bending housing developments and mutant alien children . It’s very much open to interpretation, but here are five small details which could be more significant than you think. Warning: Spoilers ahead 1/ What’s a vivarium? According to the Oxford dictionary, a vivarium is "an enclosure, container, or structure adapted or prepared for keeping animals under semi-natural conditions for observation or study or as pets". It ties in with the movie’s uncanny aesthetics – the fluffy clouds, windless skies and picture book sunsets all seem ‘semi-natural’. The idea a vivarium is for observation or study also highlights the film’s role in picking apart the dream of the nuclear family. It’s no coincidence that one poster for the movie rif...

Stand-up comedian Jay Baruchel has decided to take a stab at the meta-slasher , promising to probe into the twisted hearts of horror fans and their insatiable longings for on-screen blood and guts . Is it time to re-examine our life choices? More importantly, is Random Acts of Violence worth a watch? In a nutshell: Todd (Jesse Williams) is working on the final issue of his successful Slasherman graphic novel series -   controversially based on the real life I-95 killer, who was never caught. Deciding to take a road trip with some friends to get the creative juices flowing, Todd realises a crazed fan is re-enacting the kills from his comic books. This article is a spoiler-free zone. Random Acts of Violence's hits  Some of the social commentary is pretty spot-on – I particularly enjoyed a scene at a horror convention where Todd is asked to sign weapons and miniature replicas of torture vans. As in most of the famous slasher franchises, Todd’s fans very much see the murdero...

Let's face it - none of the nine Nightmare on Elm Street movies stick the landing. All end with various implausible and largely temporary deaths for Freddy Krueger - and they're all ranked below, from bad to inexsplicably terrible. WARNING: Spoilers for all films in the Nightmare on Elm Street series. Obviously. Let's start with the least stupid: 9/ Freddy vs. Jason (2003) This was the last time we saw Robert Englund in the fedora onscreen - and fittingly this was a cheeky sendoff to the character before he was butchered in the 2010 remake. After a lengthy faceoff with Jason (Ken Kirzinger), the final shot sees Mr Voorhees emerging from Crystal Lake with Krueger's decapitated head.  Englund closes the scene with a wink at the camera and a voice-over maniacal laugh - a tongue-in-cheek acceptance that both Freddy and Jason are not going to die permanently anytime soon.  8/ Freddy's Dead (1991)  Freddy's Dead is widely agreed to be the worst film in the Elm Stre...

Gratuitous sex scenes are a mainstay in most horror flicks, but some stick in the mind for their general WTF nature. Here are the four most bizarre scenes of intercourse, handpicked in four different categories. This list includes consensual encounters only, so there'll be no appearances from otherwise memorable scenes such as the Midsommar fertility ritual, the Evil Dead handsy tree branches or the various penile decapitations in Teeth . Weirdest Slasher Hookup We all know teens in slasher films exist to have sex and then be inventively killed. But which movie has the most out-there adolescent coupling? There can be only one answer: WINNER:  Madman (1981) - hot tub scene TP (Tony Fish) and Betsy (Gaylen Ross) are enjoying a bit of aquatic loving, unaware the murderous Madman Marz is on the prowl. The scene has distinct soft porn vibes - the song choice of Steve Horelick's 'I Don't Need Words'; the slo-mo undressing; and seemingly endless shots of the couple circl...