movies Archives - Tor Nightfire

The Long History (and Bright Future) of the Found Footage Horror Novel

Posted on July 28, 2022 (August 16, 2022) by Nina Nesseth

The “found footage” horror story is a popular genre for filmmakers, but there’s more of it in the literary world than you’d think–Nightmare Fuel author Nina Nesseth explores this slippery subgenre. […]

July 28, 2022 Books, On Screen

A Scent of Flowers: The Perennial Appeal of the Haunted House

Posted on July 21, 2022 (July 21, 2022) by Constance Cochran

Haunted houses never die–here are just a few of the elements that make for an indelible haunted house story. […]

July 21, 2022 Books

Reclaiming the “F” Word: Why We Need Fat Positivity in Horror

Posted on June 23, 2022 (August 1, 2022) by Nightfire

Nico Bell and Sonora Taylor, editors of Diet Riot: A Fatterpunk Anthology, lay out why we need better fat representation in horror, and how to do it right. […]

June 23, 2022 Books, On Screen

How The Phantom of the Opera Still Haunts Italian and Chinese Cinema

Posted on June 16, 2022 (August 16, 2022) by Joe Bendel

Everyone knows Andrew Lloyd Webber’s stage version, but Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel held a special fascination for Italian and Chinese filmmakers. […]

June 16, 2022 On Screen

5 Perfect Readalikes for Your Favorite Horror Movie Subgenres

Posted on June 15, 2022 (August 1, 2022) by Nina Nesseth

Nightmare Fuel author Nina Nesseth suggests five novels to pair perfectly with five subgenres of horror movie, from The Bay to American Psycho. […]

June 15, 2022 Books, On Screen

The U.S. Government, Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, and You: A Truth Seeker’s Guide

Posted on June 6, 2022 (August 1, 2022) by Ally Russell

The House Intelligence Committee recently held a hearing on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena–but what form will the inevitable alien invasion take? […]

June 6, 2022 News, On Screen

Horror Punk’s Not Dead: The Adams Family Reinvents Horror Cinema on Their Own Terms

Posted on May 17, 2022 (August 1, 2022) by Matthew Lyons

An ode to the punk genius of the Adams, the indie family filmmaking team behind Hellbender and The Deeper You Dig. […]

May 17, 2022 On Screen

The Cultural (and Horror) Significance of Roger Corman

Posted on May 5, 2022 (May 5, 2022) by Joe Bendel

The prolific cult filmmaker Roger Corman has had an outsized impact on American film history–and especially horror. So why does he only have one film on the National Film Registry? […]

May 5, 2022 On Screen

With Special Guest Star Vincent Price: The Horror Icon on TV

Posted on April 21, 2022 (April 21, 2022) by Joe Bendel

Vincent Price will always be a favorite of horror fans for his iconic star-turns in classic horror movies, like the Roger Corman Edgar Allan Poe films, The Abominable Dr. Phibes, […]

April 21, 2022 On Screen

Horror Is Metal: The Bloody Neon Shimmer of Synthwave

Posted on April 7, 2022 (April 7, 2022) by Meghan Ball

In this edition of her column on music and horror, Meghan Ball looks at synthwave’s nostalgic horror DNA, from John Carpenter to Carpenter Brut. […]

April 7, 2022 Miscellaneous

Seven Filmed Stories About Freaky Films

Posted on February 23, 2022 (February 23, 2022) by Sam Reader

These movies and TV shows about dangerous fictional films need more than an MPAA rating–try a priest or a circle of salt instead. […]

February 23, 2022 On Screen

Adrift & Alone: The Five Ghost Ships That Haunt Me

Posted on February 9, 2022 (February 9, 2022) by S.A. Barnes

Dead Silence author S.A. Barnes on the ghost ships (both fictional and all-too-real) that haunt her nightmares, from the Event Horizon to the Lyubov Orlova. […]

February 9, 2022 Books, On Screen

In Defense of Space Horror

Posted on January 12, 2022 (January 12, 2022) by S.A. Barnes

Dead Silence author S.A. Barnes explores how and why horror set in space works, contrary to what you may have heard on Twitter. […]

January 12, 2022 Books, On Screen

Keep Watching The Skies: 7 Strange Movies About Alien Abduction

Posted on January 10, 2022 (January 10, 2022) by Sam Reader

Seven standout movies from the alien abduction genre, featuring everything from gonzo body horror to contemplative takes on humanity’s flaws and foibles. […]

January 10, 2022 On Screen

In Defense of Wendy, Barbra, and the Traumatized Women of Horror Cinema

Posted on January 6, 2022 (May 2, 2022) by Gwendolyn Kiste

Why do we regard certain female characters in horror as weak just because they visibly suffer and grieve? Gwendolyn Kiste reexamines Wendy, Barbra, and representations of trauma. […]

January 6, 2022 On Screen

Horror Is Metal: Jack, Sally, and the True Meaning of Christmas

Posted on December 21, 2021 (December 21, 2021) by Meghan Ball

In this edition of her column on music and horror, Meghan Ball explores the genre- and generation-defining weirdness of The Nightmare Before Christmas. […]

December 21, 2021 Miscellaneous

Remembering Bill Landis, the Late, Great Scholar of Sleaze

Posted on December 14, 2021 (December 14, 2021) by Preston Fassel

Biographer Preston Fassel reintroduces the man behind the myth, the grandfather of modern genre criticism, Mr. Sleazoid himself: Bill Landis. […]

December 14, 2021 Books, On Screen

Fearful Felines: The Ten Spookiest Cats of Horror Fiction and Film

Posted on October 28, 2021 (October 28, 2021) by Gwendolyn Kiste

The horror genre has more than its fair share of spooky felines. In honor of Samhain, here are ten horror cats of film and page who deserve their eerie due. […]

October 28, 2021 Books, On Screen

The Couple That Slays Together: 5 of Horror’s Unlikeliest Duos

Posted on October 13, 2021 (October 13, 2021) by Gus Moreno

This Thing Between Us author Gus Moreno picks five of horror’s best odd couples, from Ben and Barbara to Clarice and Hannibal and beyond. […]

October 13, 2021 Books

The Sublime Silliness of Shark Horror Movies

Posted on September 2, 2021 (November 22, 2021) by Austin Gilkeson

In a post-Jaws world, shark horror movies like 47 Meters Down: Uncaged and The Shallows are often pretty silly. Here’s why that’s great, actually. […]

September 2, 2021 On Screen

Running Up Those Stairs, or An Investigation Into Why Slasher Victims Make a Break for the Second Floor

Posted on August 19, 2021 (August 19, 2021) by Sam Reader

Horror fans like to joke about slasher victims running upstairs – but what if it’s actually not such a bad idea? One writer’s modest proposal. […]

August 19, 2021 Miscellaneous

The Scariest Thing About False Positive is How Wrong It Gets Infertility

Posted on August 17, 2021 (August 17, 2021) by Natalie Zutter

False Positive gets the horrors of infertility wrong at every turn and proves to be a disappointing heir to Rosemary’s Baby. […]

August 17, 2021 On Screen

7 Horror B-Movies For When You Want Something Trashier

Posted on June 28, 2021 (June 28, 2021) by Sam Reader

Sometimes you just need a schlocky horror B-movie – here are seven movies not afraid to walk on the trashier side of cinema. […]

June 28, 2021 On Screen

Fried Barry is a Psychedelic Horror-Comedy Alien Sojourn Through Cape Town

Posted on June 16, 2021 (June 16, 2021) by Sam Reader

Fried Barry is a bizarre, fun, weirdly optimistic tour of Cape Town’s underworld through the eyes of an interstellar visitor. […]

June 16, 2021 On Screen

Chronic Chills: In Praise of the Stoner Horror Movie

Posted on April 20, 2021 (April 20, 2021) by Aigner Loren Wilson

Cannabis and horror go together like slashers and masks – this 4/20, celebrate with these ten classic stoner horror movies. […]

April 20, 2021 On Screen

There’s No I in Succubus: Why Men Fall for Sexy Monsters

Posted on April 12, 2021 (April 12, 2021) by Juliet Bennett Rylah

From No Escape Room to Dracula to Buffy, men in horror are remarkably vulnerable to death by horniness. We unpack the deadly appeal of the female monster. […]

April 12, 2021 On Screen

Midnight Movies: Riding The Midnight Meat Train

Posted on March 16, 2021 (March 16, 2021) by Alasdair Stuart

This underappreciated 2008 movie adaptation of the Clive Barker short story still exudes a dark and compelling power. […]

March 16, 2021 On Screen

No Good Mitzvah Goes Unpunished in The Vigil

Posted on March 5, 2021 by Leah Schnelbach

The Vigil is a taut, terrifying religious horror movie told from a point of view rarely seen in the genre. […]

March 5, 2021 On Screen

Scary Personalities: Why Horror Hosts Will Never Die

Posted on March 2, 2021 (June 9, 2021) by Ally Russell

From the Cryptkeeper and Vampira to Terry Carnation and Zena Dixon, join us in this celebration of horror hosts past, present, and future. […]

March 2, 2021 Miscellaneous, On Screen

The Science of Women in Horror Brilliantly Dissects Horror Movie Tropes and Traditions

Posted on February 23, 2021 (February 23, 2021) by Sadie Hartmann

From final girls to femme fatales, The Science of Women in Horror is a great dissection of tropes and traditions in horror movies. […]

February 23, 2021 Books, On Screen

Does She Make You Scream? Introducing the Murder Babe, the Final Girl’s Opposite Number

Posted on February 19, 2021 (February 20, 2021) by Aigner Loren Wilson

We all know about horror’s Final Girl, but where’s the love for the Murder Babe? From Buffy Summers to Akasha to Ginger Fitzgerald, here are our favorites. […]

February 19, 2021 On Screen

Hotel Horror Makes Itself at Home in Kourosh Ahari’s The Night

Posted on February 16, 2021 (February 16, 2021) by Leah Schnelbach

You can check out any time you like: Kourosh Ahari’s The Night foregrounds personal horror in a deeply creepy hotel. Read our full review. […]

February 16, 2021 On Screen

O Christmas Scream: 6 Offbeat Christmas Horror Movies to Haunt Your Holidays

Posted on December 23, 2020 (December 23, 2020) by Aigner Loren Wilson

These Christmas horror movies (and two bonus TV episodes) are perfect for anyone who likes a little blood in their eggnog. […]

December 23, 2020 On Screen

7 Family Gathering Horror Movies To Take The Edge Off The Holidays

Posted on November 23, 2020 (January 20, 2021) by Sam Reader

Things can get tense at family holiday gatherings – here are 7 horror movies that’ll make you thank your lucky stars your family is only a little quirky. […]

November 23, 2020 On Screen

Camilla Grudova on the Monstrousness of the Midcentury Woman

Posted on October 30, 2020 (October 30, 2020) by Camilla Grudova

As part of our Come Join Us By The Fire author essay series, “Ghost Bread” author Camilla Grudova writes about the tragic fates of women in midcentury horror movies. […]

October 30, 2020 Books, On Screen

Damien Angelica Walters on Growing Up on Horror

Posted on October 29, 2020 (October 29, 2020) by Damien Angelica Walters

As part of our Come Join Us By The Fire author essay series, “Tooth, Tongue, and Claw” author Damien Angelica Walters writes about the horror books and movies of her childhood. […]

October 29, 2020 Books, On Screen

Matthew Lyons on How Evil Dead 2 Changed His Life

Posted on October 28, 2020 (October 28, 2020) by Matthew Lyons

As part of our Come Join Us By The Fire author essay series, “Blood Daughter” author Matthew Lyons writes about Evil Dead 2 opened his eyes to horror. […]

October 28, 2020 Books, On Screen

Nibedita Sen on the Art of Restraint

Posted on October 28, 2020 (October 28, 2020) by Nibedita Sen

As part of our Come Join Us By The Fire author essay series, “Pigeons” author Nibedita Sen writes about how horror can hinge on knowing when to hold back. […]

October 28, 2020 Books, On Screen

Indrapramit Das on the Monstrousness of the Real

Posted on October 21, 2020 (October 20, 2020) by Indrapramit Das

As part of our Come Join Us By The Fire author series, “You Will Survive This Night” author Indrapramit Das writes about the horror intrinsic to all art. […]

October 21, 2020 Books

Shaun Hamill’s Introduction to Dark Wonder: A Syllabus

Posted on October 8, 2020 (October 8, 2020) by Shaun Hamill

Shaun Hamill’s guiding concept as a writer is “Dark Wonder” – here are five short stories, novellas, and movies to get you started in this niche genre. […]

October 8, 2020 Books, On Screen