A Spooky Round-Up
Hello there Popped-Stars!
Autumn is climbing up the ranks of my all-time favourite seasons, while Halloween is just below Christmas for the most wonderful time of the year (Easter who??).
Is it just me, or are people going mad for autumnal colours and all-out Halloween styling these days? There was an autumn week on Bake-Off this week and all I want to do now is eat pie and eat pie again, covered in leaves.
I haven’t done a round-up of bits and pieces in a little while. So here you go, a few halloween themed bits for you to enjoy!
Why I Love Horror
Do you enjoy a horror? Do you avoid them at all costs?
I’m not sure if it’s normal to giggle my way through most of them, but I can’t help myself. I think it’s a nervous laughter, unable to comprehend what they’ve managed to get away with. Especially with slashers like Scream or Halloween. If you avoid horrors, there may be a sub-genre that you might like but it’s a minefield finding it!
On the other newsletter I write for
,we discussed what we like about horrors and wonder why other’s can’t stand them! Read the chat below.
I also love this from
. We all needed those movies when we were a kid that stuck with us because of how creepy they were. Mine is Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and the scene on the river!What was yours?
What’s on
If you’re in the U.K. and want a horror fix, there are two crackers on BBC iPlayer right now. Perhaps the greatest horror of the century so far, Get Out and one that I think is grossly under-watched, Candyman from 2021. They’re both around 90 minutes so perfect last minute addition to your ghoulish plans!
(Outside of the U.K., you can find where to watch them here: https://www.justwatch.com)
You may be able to catch some screenings of The Substance, which is another modern classic. Hold on to your hats though, it’s absolutely bananas that film. I’ve seen it twice now and I still can’t quite believe what I saw.
As for me, I’m going to watch the re-release of Shawn of the Dead tonight. I didn’t catch it the first time around so I can’t wait to laugh along with a cinema full of millennials, all there for the same reason as me.
What are you watching this year? Comment your recommendations and thoughts or if you’re reading this in an email, please do send a reply directly to me, I would love to hear from you!
History - Ghouls on Film
As part of the research for the post I was working on, I stumbled across this great article by Curtis Harrington at the BFI website- Click here
In the article there are a few interesting points. Firstly that the popularity of horror increases when the economic outlook is bleak, or the world is in a bad state. Horror didn't take a hold until the talkies began, which happened to coincide with the Great Depression and it yoyo’d in popularity through World War 2 and other major events. It would also explain why horrors are so popular right now. They regularly make good box office returns, with relatively low budgets.
Secondly, Harrington says that there was a switch in the late 1930’s to a more suggestive kind of horror. Rather than showing the threat, like using filming techniques to show see-through actors as “ghosts”, the camera could suggest that the threat is there, through capturing the human reaction, or using different angle or timing techniques.
“…what takes place just off-screen in the audience’s imagination – the terror of waiting for the final revelation, not the seeing of it – is the most powerful dramatic stimulus toward tension and fright.”
It’s worth a read!
How did they do it?
Talking of the terror of the unknown, last night I sat down to watch The Invisible Man, the 2020 film starring Elisabeth Moss and I’m not ashamed to tell you that I was petrified.
Imagine it. There’s someone in the room, they don’t like you, and they are invisible.
No thanks Doesn’t bother me.
I haven’t seen the original from 1933 but I’ve now seen some clips and really wanted to know how they managed to make it without all of our modern CGI tech! Well, never fear…YouTube is on hand.
There’s a short clip here that explains it all
Thanks for reading this week’s post! If you like it, please do consider sharing it with others as it really helps grow the newsletter!
Also, comment below on what you’re watching over the horror season!
Until next time,
Gareth
How can you laugh watching a horror film? I envy you 😂 I have a very low threshold for scares and yet, while not my go-to genre, I've watched The Substance with delight (well, those last 45 minutes were mostly spent hiding behind my coat, but still) and I'm really looking forward to Heretic with Hugh Grant. Ah, the things I do for him... I'm so curious to see him in this.
I thoroughly enjoyed how you wove in nostalgia and humour throughout your Halloween round-up, Gareth. Your excitement for Shawn of the Dead is infectious: “I can’t wait to laugh along with a cinema full of millennials.” It’s fantastic how you capture the warmth and charm of shared experiences, making your love of autumn feel wonderfully inviting.