Part two of the Poseur’s Guide to Horror Films takes us from Val Lewton to the impact of the transformation from foreign and uncanny monsters to psychos who look like the guy in the mirror.
The Poseur looking to discuss horror films intelligent has a lot of ahead of him. Enough that the guide will have to expand past one part at the very least.
Grendel. The Green Knight. Count Dracula. The nameless homogenized members of zombie hordes. These are all members of a family tree capable of tracing their origin back to an unusually precise abstract element of human nature. These are monsters whose very existence challenge preconceived notion of what it means to be human by suggesting that what it means to be monstrous is to be nothing more or less than abomination of the one inviolate code capable of ensuring the propagation of the species.
Almost everyone familiar with Hollywood already knows the secrets of “Psycho” going in, but that was not the case when it was first released. Psycho” prefigures the contemporary dominance of literary irony as the tone of choice for the overwhelming majority of films made today. This foreknowledge of what to expect allowed Van Sant to remake “Psycho” almost exactly as Hitchcock did but defy contemporary conventions by eliminating the irony and creating a film that is actually rather radical in its emotional sincerity.
The problem of a toilet that makes a gurgling sound can be approached by checking the stopper ball and making sure it is centered on the valve seat inside the tank. You may need to loosen the screw on the guide of the lift wire and manipulate a little bit. Once this is accomplished, tighten the screw. If this doesn’t fix the gurgling toilet, take a close look at the valve seat and touch it to see if there are signs of pits, corrosion and roughness.
October 15 is I Love Lucy Day, But don’t despair, there are Lucys in this world to love than the one you probably don’t.
Celebrate the great movie grouches on October 15. That is National Grouch Day. And wouldn’t you rather spend time celebrating this day with movie grouches than real ones?
Horror films are supposed to be dark. These three go beyond darkness.
A poor ending can ruin what had been a great horror movie while a fantastic ending can breathe new life into a flick that has only been halfway decent in the lead-up. Here are some choices for the best and worst horror movie endings ever.
An analysis of the difference in opinion over natural theology expressed by Karl Barth and Emil Brunner.
