How Do You Make Death Appealing? [Review: ‘The Anatomical Venus’]

Here is a fun fact: I used to work at haunted houses. This stems not necessarily from my desire to scare other people (though that is fun), but because, like all proto-goths and many Neoromantics, I have a fondness for the macabre. There’s something breathtaking in death (literally, ha ha ha), and there’s been a long human tradition extending even beyond the black and white film female victims in Hammer Horror films to trying to find something beautiful about death. When I first saw “The Anatomical Venus” on the shelves in my store, I got really excited because it combined two things that I enjoy–that is, wax models of dead people with exposed organs and books talking about the history of science–and I asked for it for my birthday. Lo and behold, here it is, featuring one of the pretty, flayed Venuses on its cover.

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Better for Younger Horror Fans: ‘Slasher Girls & Monster Boys’

It’s probably no secret to anyone who’s been reading this blog for a while (or who knows me in real life) that I enjoy horror, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that, though it’s a YA book, I picked up “Slasher Girls & Monster Boys” (ed. April Genevieve Tucholke).

It Was Never Just a Game. #LuigiMovie [‘Ouija: Origin of Evil’ Review]

Alright, so first thing’s first: when I first saw the trailer for “Ouija: Origin of Evil,” I didn’t actually realize it was a prequel to “Ouija” (2014), which is a movie I neglected to see because, honestly, the premise sounded stupid. It was stupid then, it’s stupid now, and I feel like I should have made a better choice. I didn’t, though, so here’s a review of “Ouija: Origin of Evil.”

There are spoilers ahead, so be warned.

To Be Fair, Their Other Sequel Was Way Worse: Blair Witch (2016)

Found-footage are always plagued by the concern that they’re usually hit or miss, and the margin for error is so great that when later generations view these movies, the impact of their scares may be lost, or at least not felt as deeply. There are some found-footage that do their job well, many more that don’t, and very few that walk the line of “meh.” For me, “Blair Witch (2016)” kind of straddles that line.

Not Really Liking the Message of This Movie: “Lights Out” Review

Horror as a genre has a lot of problems. At the top of the list, most critical fans of the genre probably place the way horror movies treat women and people with mental illness as being the most pressing (followed closely, I would assume, by racism and homophobia, both of which are also prominent issues plaguing the genre). Where does “Lights Out” fit into this? (Major spoiler warning, so look out.)

Christmas in July: Joe Hill’s “NOS4A2”

“NOS4A2” is another one of the books I bought on sale at Barnes & Noble and put off reading for about a year (possibly longer) after buying it.

Proper Vampirism: “An Unattractive Vampire” Review

Generally speaking, vampires are not particularly frightening anymore.