Bumps in the dark and strange creatures are brilliant devices used by many filmmakers. Nevertheless, it is often rare that there comes about a film that employs these facets with such power that it will leave you not just fully engrossed in the on-screen magic but also enthralled by the sheer capacity to frighten. Dutch Marich’s Horror in the High Desert (2021) and its equally haunting sequel Horror in the High Desert 2: Minerva (2023) is an exercise in visceral found footage cinema that deserves to be registered as one of the greats.
The first entry chronicles the disappearance of hiker Gary Hinge (Eric Mencis), who went missing in the summer of 2017 after hiking in the Great Basin Desert, Nevada. For the first time since the tragedy, family and friends are interviewed, recalling the horrific events and the terrifying conclusion of what happened in the high desert.
At first glance, Horror in the High Desert’s stylistic choices may seem to emulate the found footage storytelling device as seen countless times before. However, the complexity Marich exerts throughout propels the aspect of the first-hand camera into new and exciting territory that imposes an awfully stringent omnipotent force. The film takes inspiration from the authenticity of documentary filmmaking, featuring interviews and archival footage, and presents its facts on screen as if learnt in real-time whilst editing a supposedly real documentary on a genuine case. It is an intoxicatingly fascinating approach to horror that has been excellently handed in the likes of The Blair Witch Project (1999) and Lake Mungo (2008), with the product having an undictated tonality, where the events unravel in real time, making the finished content much more authentically coded and therefore tenfolds more terrifying.
With all these hyperrealist intentions, exploring the film’s visual aesthetics is crucial. Night vision is a potent aspect that Marich amalgamates to extradite a deeply intrinsic fear held within us. What we can’t see is always scarier; the dark figures hiding behind pillars and the whispers of entities are more often than not more startling than the constant exposure of the antagonising force. Marich heavily enlists this ‘less is more approach’ during the film’s final act, which shows the last footage from Gary shoots on his camcorder. Supposedly alone in the dark heights of the isolated desert, Gary captures a deserted cabin surrounded by sparse trees, all washed in total darkness, naked to the human eye, except for the camera’s night vision capabilities.
Fear is survival. It is a preservation instinct that keeps us alive. We become near defenceless when we are denied light and are steeped in the darkness, unable to see the predatory threats. Horror in the High Desert, throughout its conclusion, calls upon this evolutionary cycle to enhance our senses and thus force us to look at the screen, taking in every frame to see where the monstrousness lies, pay audible attention to every branch stepped on to determine how close menace is to our surroundings and ultimately force us to watch on as the gruelling events unfold. In tandem, the close bond developed by the first-hand diegetic camera thrusts our perspective to be at one with Gary, fully and brutally immersing us in his position throughout this bone-chilling sequence.
Identifying an immersed spectatorial experience and the discharge of all-consuming darkness that entices a haptic touch towards the film translates to Horror in the High Desert’s corpus that stimulates folkloric-based rhetoric. This idea of lore and mystery is presented heavily throughout the sequel, Horror in the High Desert 2: Minerva. Featuring a similar outline and based in the same context, is a secondary disappearance story focusing on the geological researcher Minerva Sound (Solveig Helene), who relocated to a rural trailer amidst the desert where she documented a string of strange occurrences. Accompanying this are various subplots of other people’s experiences with the ominous area, including the case of the young mother, Ameliana Brasher (Brooke Bradshaw), who goes missing along Highway 50. This is followed by the bodycam footage of Luke Wells (David Nichols Jr.), an EMT who was part of the initial search party for Ameliana.
Minerva’s story unravels slowly, featuring video calls between herself and loved ones concerning the discoveries she has made inside the trailer, such as discarded home video tapes featuring chilling visuals that play out as stalker-like footage, reminiscent of the recordings in The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007), but with a more covert, suspenseful tone. However, the most macabre discovery is of an unidentified person creeping around the trailer, breathing sluggishly and grunting, “he’s comin’ in..” and “I got one for ya”. It is an eerie sequence enough on its own, yet the true bite comes from its suggestion that whatever wreaks havoc among the high desert is something that is far more sinister than a lone wolf, a night stalker, but instead, an uncanny force that is bigger than us all.
Deepening this are the performances above from the likes of Ameliana and Luke, whose experiences with the land are both utterly perplexing and strikingly frightening. After driving from Las Vegas, Ameliana’s car breaks down, but not to fear; her family has a strategy for this long abandoned stretch of highway; if they do not get home at the specified time, the stranded must wait outside the car until rescue appears. Marich makes brilliant use of the surveillance style of found footage by inserting clips from Ameliana’s dashcam. Details will be spared to avoid spoiling the unforgettable (and frankly nightmare-fueled) surprise. What can be noted is how Marich bravely takes the time not to rush the sequence of Ameliana’s fate. It’s a torturous slow burn that makes the viewer wait in pure fear and trepidation, knowing that Ameliana’s blisteringly gruesome fate will occur at any given moment.
One final punch to the gut is Luke’s bodycam footage, which is an extract that horror filmmakers spend their entire careers learning how to craft, as Marich has done. Again, specifics will be spared in a bid to ‘keep mum’ on the finale. By this process, take heed of this: Luke enters a stranded mining facility in the pitch darkness, having broken his flashlight, unable to see that he is always nearly mere feet away from bumping into a disfigured, unexplainable figure capable of ungodly terror.
Marich has discussed Horror in the High Desert becoming a multi-entried horror series, with the film’s official website confirming that the third edition, Horror in the High Desert 3: Firewatch, is coming soon. Given the excellence of the original and its equally distinctive sequel, Marich is certainly becoming a signature figure in the found footage world, causing waves and creating overwhelmingly smashing cinema.
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1- The Wolf House (Cristobal León and Joaquin Cociña, 2018)
Kicking off this mind-twisting list is the Chilean stop-motion film The Wolf House. Directed by Cristobal León and Joaquin Cociña and co-written by Alejandra Moffat, is the animated, surreal fairytale that takes the viewer through a mirage of labyrinth-like settings and worlds in a desolate house. The film’s visual incoherence is a guise that shelters and replicates the intense and complex meaning behind the story—inspired by the troubling Colonia Dignidad, a colony established in Chile post WW2 where various acts of torture were committed. The Wolf House’s myriad of madness is captivatingly gruesome, with each scene being near impossible to decode at first glance; for instance, as the meaning behind the house unravels within the story, the bones of its foundations experience a metamorphosis where objects become people and people become animals.
2- Possum (Matthew Holness, 2018)
Akin to the backwards world of British TV series The League of Gentlemen (1999-2002) and infused with a touch of Ben Wheatley’s Neo-folk filmmaking style is the utterly fantastic and incredibly dark Possum. From the mind of director Matthew Holness is the story of a child puppeteer, Philip (Sean Harris), who returns home where he is confronted with his past trauma. The film was adapted from Holness’s short story of the same name that was influenced by the works of Sigmund Freud. Considering this, Possum is brimming with the uncanny, whether that be through the offensively disturbed arachnid puppet that features throughout, or the cold, dismal world that the film takes place in. Possum is one of those films that may be watched a dozen times before one can truly get to grips with every single detail of great emotional significance that seeps throughout every frame.
3- House (Nobuhiko Obayashi, 1977)
House is a kaleidoscopic fever dream that emulates psychedelia with a pungent extremity, with its ethereal quality coming off as both haunting and unreasonably excessive. The hallucinatory facets within House derive from director Nobuhiko Obayashi’s wanting to create a film that goes beyond human understanding, or more accurately, adults’ understanding of the logical world. In creating the script, Obayashi enlisted his daughter’s help where he observed that a child’s imagination conjures the most fascinating of concepts that traverses far beyond the mundanity of what the mature mind summons. With this, House takes aspects of childhood nightmares of colourful monsters and nonsensical scenarios to create a film that is wildly ambitious and genuinely startling.
4- Begotten (E. Elias Merhige, 1989)
Back in the mid 1980s E. Elias Merhige developed an idea for a piece of experimental theatre where live music and dance would be performed against a story of mythology, religion and the disgrace of humanity. Whilst traction was aligned with the project and the concept blossomed, Merhige realised that the production as a live piece of theatre would be too costly, leading to his concept becoming a film. With the knowledge that Begotten’s corpus derived from experimental theatre, it becomes easier to mentally digest the final product, which is by all intents and purposes a complete deluge that resembles a total exodus of reality. The hellish imagery consists of the self-disembowelment of God whose mutilated remains gives birth to Mother Earth before conceiving the ‘Son of Earth’ and going on a surreal, nauseating path of destruction and discovery. Take this rambunctious idea and now imagine it paired with the film’s obtrusive score that runs throughout which features nothing but insect-like squirming noises over a ‘thu-dum’ heartbeat sound. Begotten obliterates normality and acts a sporadic experience from beginning to end.
5- Koko-di Koko-da (Johannes Nyholm, 2019)
Koko-di Koko-da is another Groundhog Day story that chronicles a grieving couple that are stuck in a time loop by nursery rhyme characters. The complex and structurally intricate storyline deliberately never makes sense or fully acknowledges its strangeness, it is just accepted by the cinematic universe, making every confused and disjointed emotion extracted from the viewers all the more disturbing. Paired with the absurdity of the events, there is an overall aggravation towards the antagonising characters. The beings terrorising the couple strive through with a morbid happiness that seems whimsical until we are reminded that this is very much a horrific story.
6- Uzumaki (Higuchinsky, 2000)
Based on the Junji Ito manga of the same name is Uzumaki, a film where atmosphere, aura and an unhinged narrative take over to create a boggling adaption. Uzumaki has received a decent share of criticism over time, partially due to its off-kilter humour that sporadically features throughout, which seems quite out of place. However, it is this strange placement of slapstick comedy that pierces the tension and makes the film an untamed watch where the entire direction of the film is consistently unprecedented. Adding to the peculiarity is the film’s central focus surrounding the spiral pattern and how it essentially drives the characters to the brinks of their psyche. The Fibonacci spiral hysteria twists and turns the story in the most unexpected of ways, leaving for the most memorable of watches.
7- Society (Brian Yuzna, 1989)
The magnificence of body horror is forever in debt to Brian Yuzna’s Society. Yuzna’s epic exploration into the potentials of depravity is an exercise in the brilliance of cinema that doesn’t take itself too seriously, with plenty of amalgamated bodies that fuse flesh to flesh and limb to limb to create a gigantic creature formed by body parts. The aspect of anthropomorphism plays a large role in Society with the monstrosity of the final act being a repulsive feast for the senses. For fans of excessive gore and stomach churning terror, this film is not to be missed!
8- Resurrection (Andrew Semans, 2022)
Despite the brilliance of the leads, Rebecca Hall and Tim Roth, Andrew Semans Resurrection is criminally underrated. Whilst many absurd films tackle obscene comedy to further the surreal nightmarish quality of mind-boggling horror, Resurrection takes a much more gloom-ridden route where the calamitous nature of the film shines alongside the unearthly and bizarre plot points. Whilst the story is best left as an enigma for first time watchers, what can be revealed is that Resurrection follows the disciplined business woman Maggie (Hall), whose life implodes when a strange figure (Roth) from her past comes back to haunt her. The words brutal and cold rings strong throughout this relentless shocker.
9- Visitor Q (Takashi Miike, 2001)
Hmm… where to begin with horror legend Takashi Miike’s Visitor Q? Not for the faint hearted and certainly not a family film is this utterly barbaric and gut-wrenchingly twisted tale of nihilistic dread following the perverted Yamazaki family as they fall apart at the hands of their own lewdness. Themes of incest, voyeurism, sadio-masochism, torture, necrophilia, coprophilia, lactophilia (and copius other ‘philia’ related terms) all take centre stage throughout the film, leaving any seasoned viewer affected, let alone an unsuspecting spectator. However, whilst there is a lot to be said about its extremity, Visitor Q is a fascinating watch, particularly due to its stylistic output. The film mimics documentary footage with the camera acting as a fly on the wall for most scenes, creeping up where you’d least expect it and bringing us uncomfortably close to the experimental action.
10- The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Robert Wiene, 1920)
German expressionism roots its origins within Berlin circa 1920s as a reflection of the turmoil during that era. Notable films from the period include the likes of Nosferatu (1922), Faust (1926) and most importantly in this case, Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. The film is renowned for its graphic style and striking aura that is straight from the dark underbelly of horror thematics. The set’s were purposefully built to create a dizzying effect where the walls were angled and floors were tilted, where featured trees would appear diagonal and staircases would be spiralized messes. It was a radical decision to portray such a frenzy that still pays off over 100 years later.
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Friday the 13th – genre-defining, monumental, and dare it be said, ‘totally iconic’. These are just some of the descriptors denoted to this mammoth of a horror franchise. With 12 entries to the series name, it can be challenging to define all of the films; however, amongst all of the slasherific and certainly unique films, there does seem to be an entry that repeatedly stands out. Joseph Zito’s Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984).
A group of teens travel to Camp Crystal Lake for a weekend of debaucheries, but things soon go array when Jason Voorhees shows up to his stomping grounds to cause chaos. With this traditional storyline comes a shed of archetypal bloodshed where graphic kills and splatter-filled jumpscares dominate the screen. The Final Chapter is a bonafide classic, but it very nearly ceased to exist as Friday the 13th Part III (1982) was due to complete the Jason trilogy. That was until producer Frank Mancuso, Jr. became hellbent on killing off Jason once and for all. Mancuso worked on both Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) and Part III, where it was widely reported that he felt his complex and crucial inputs as a production assistant and then producer were not taken seriously enough. In response to this, he recruited Zito, director of the 1981 slasher The Prowler to end the series under his terms. With this, Zito along with Manuso’s backing ended up conjuring one of Friday the 13th’s best films.
Complicit in this reputation is the film’s exceptional imagery that was made at the hands of legendary effects artist, Tom Savini. In The Final Chapter, Savini (known within the Friday the 13th universe for his visceral creation of Jason in the first film), tackled the likes of macheted necks, head twisting, pitchfork stabbings, crucifixion, meat-cleaver hackings and smashed faces. All of these were done with such vivid brutality that elevates the chaotic wildness of it all into genuinely intense, skin-crawling displays of pure depravity that show the brutish capabilities of Jason. Interestingly enough, the film’s evidential flare for the creativity of these depictions goes far beyond the surface, with the film’s primary protagonist having a spiritual tie to Savini.
Although The Final Chapter chronicles the aforementioned quintessential motley crew of youngsters dying at the hands of slasher’s favourite boogeyman, the film has an interwoven secondary line of narrative following the Jarvis family. Residing next door to the teens is Tommy Jarvis (Corey Feldman), his sister Trish (Kimberly Beck), and their mother (Joan Freeman), all of whom must face the wrath of Jason. Tommy’s ability to think on the spot and get inside the mind of Jason has allowed him to become somewhat of a staple member of the franchise, with his character starring in a total of three Friday the 13th films. Throughout his first appearance, Tommy makes quite the impression thanks to his eclectic personality. Tommy has an affinity for all things practical effects, making masks and prosthetics out of anything he could get his hands on, just as it is documented Savini did during his younger years.
Tommy’s blossoming artistry and innovation is what beckons the film’s applauded conclusion. After copious events unfold, a hammer wielding Jason breaks into the Jarvis’, but just as he’s about to land a fatal blow on the terrified Trish, Tommy saves the day. It transpires that Tommy has found old newspaper clippings detailing Jason’s disfigured face and the horrid past that led to his vengeance. In a quick attempt to stir the psyche of the beast, Tommy hastily shaves his head, resembling a young Jason. Despite the grave risk, his plan roars triumphantly as Jason is captured and almost immediately gravitates with a childlike innocence towards Tommy, seeing his younger self alive and well. However, Jason’s fever dream is quickly interrupted as Trish brings down the machete to his head, knocking off his infamous hockey mask to reveal a horribly warped face before he stumbles to the ground as Tommy seemingly reaches madness and further pummels him into oblivion.
Tommy undergoes a terribly traumatic transformation to save the day. Essentially, he becomes one with the monster, which is only exaggerated by his rampant attack, overkill even, on Jason after the villain’s lifeless body flops to the floor. Prior to this scene Tommy discovers the tragic backstory that catalysed Jason’s descent; seeing this paired with his transformation of embodying the monster and then relishing in the demise all unleashes a beast hidden deep within Tommy that may have otherwise remained locked up.
The film’s finale sees Tommy stare blankly into the camera with a chilling coldness that mirrors Jason’s exact dispassion for human existence. The figurative expression towards Jason and Tommy’s symbiosis opens the film up to a world of possibilities that rings familiar to the first Friday the 13th’s retrospective analysis with all of its discussion about the horrors of maternal devotion. The Final Chapter is steeped in a seriousness that is not easy to craft as efficiently and naturally Zito has. The film still has that primitive nastiness to it that has horror hounds howling at the screen, yet the film is not one long novelty act that aims to solely appease the senses. It does not over extend its analytical gravity to the point of pretentiousness, but it is not afraid of baring its teeth and taking a bite into the critical details.
Even from a retrospective point of view, the film exercises a balance that is notoriously difficult to achieve; it creates a world of lore and backstory without over complicating and propelling the film away from its slasher roots that everyone has come to know and love. As of this year, The Final Chapter completes its 40th year around the sun, and yet, the film seems to have only gotten better. It has been a solid 15 years since the last Friday the 13th film was released. Considering that the next entry would be the ‘13th’ number, a possibly brilliant jumping step would be taking inspiration from the absolute fan favourite classic that is Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter…
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A harmless weekend turns deadly when a Danish couple, Bjørn (Morten Burian) and Louise (Sidsel Siem Koch) and their daughter Agnes (Liva Forsberg) meet up with Patrick (Fedja van Huêt), Karin (Karina Smulders) and Abel (Marius Damslev), a family they met on holiday.
Yelling at the screen and simmering in frustration are common occurrences whilst watching Speak No Evil. But it is this exact vexation that the film thrives in as we are forced to watch deliberate, misinformed choices taking place, all for the characters to fall victim to one of modern horror’s most irrefutably evil couples. Patrick and Karin maliciously play this running game of ‘coincidences’ to play off their subtle, cruel jibes, disorientating the innocent family and forcing them to fall into the true horrific pits of their sinister intentions. Patrick and Karin employ a cold callousness that teases the viewer throughout, where we find ourselves constantly second-guessing whether the pair are building up to an act of violence or whether we are just being paranoid.
2- Henry (Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, 1986)
Following his release from prison, Henry (Michael Rooker) carries on his murderous antics as he goes on a wild and vicious killing spree.
The contentious reputation of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is an ode to the pure brutality of the titular character’s actions throughout the film. Acts of depravity from murder, torture and assault all take centre stage throughout the brutish movie; however, whilst these homages to brutalism are entirely shocking, what makes the film so powerful and significant is the nonchalant carelessness that Henry displays. There is no regard given to his devastations, not a thought behind his eyes whilst dicing his way through victims and most importantly, there is no stopping him whatsoever. Henry states that he just moves on from state to state, killing with no particular modus operandi, implying that his limits are unfounded and that he will never be caught.
3- La Tenia (Irréversible, 2002)
Told in reverse order, Irréversible follows the acts of revenge two men commit after the torture and attack of the woman they love.
It would be hard to come by a spectator who was not left feeling emotionally torn after watching Irréversible. The film has become known as one of the more severe mainstream depictions of graphic violence, with the focus of terror being the infamous ‘tunnel scene’ showcasing an abhorrent pimp known as La Tenia (Jo Prestia) pinning down and sodomising Alex (Monica Bellucci), a young woman who was innocently walking past him, minding her own business. Emotions from fury to sickness and then back to anger all flood through us as we see La Tenia spew venomous sentiments at Alex whilst she is laid cold and battered on a dirty Parisian underpass. The camera statically lingers for a dreaded nine whole minutes as La Tenia exercises sheer immorality. Many movie villains are praised and held up as deviant icons within film; however, La Tenia is far from praise, becoming one of cinema’s most abominable monsters ever.
4- Patrick Bateman (American Psycho, 2000)
Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) is a successful investment banker by day and a murderous psychopath by night whose grip on reality loosens as his habits become increasingly violent.
Patrick Bateman is the personification of arrogance. He views people not as humans but as toys in a treasure chest for him to do whatever he pleases with, whether that be to ridicule their class status or to savagely murder and dismember them. Whichever method of evisceration Bateman chooses, he will do it with a unique poise that ensures he is the most powerful and controlling person in the room. It is this assuredness that makes him overwhelmingly intimidating. Remaining both calm and manic, ruthless and serene, is a quality that makes Bateman stand out amongst the rest.
5- Troubled youth (Eden Lake, 2008)
Jenny (Kelly Reilly) and Steve’s (Michael Fassbender) romantic weekend away is cut short when they cross paths with an enraged group of local teens.
Eden Lake’s state of antagonism is wrapped up with the idea of generational horror. Although the force of horror mainly comes from the terror enforced by the teenagers, the film reveals that the gang’s thirst for trauma is rooted deep within their habitat. Eden Lake concludes with Jenny seeking rescue in a seemingly warming, normal family home, however, it is revealed that the house is occupied by the relatives of the gang she barely escaped from. The manner of the more mature members of the families are worse than that of the youth, exemplifying how nurtured, damaged behaviour is a terrifying cyclic practise.
6- Esther (Ophan, 2009)
A couple gets more than what they bargained for when they adopt Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman), a sweet ‘young’ orphan looking for a new family.
Esther has become synonymous with contemporary horror villainy, with her flawless infiltration system being savagely creative and cruel. As it happens, Esther is not a child but a woman in her thirties with an appetite for destruction. Her caring demeanour and her tragic orphaned backstory make the people in her life fall into her trap, only to ensnare them viscerally. Esther’s story is one that is scarily plausible and unique within the genre, making for a gnarly, fearful watch.
7- Kyung-chul (I Saw the Devil, 2010)
A cat and mouse game ensues after Soo-hyeon’s (Lee Byung-hun) wife and unborn child are found dead at the hands of serial killer, Kyung-chul (Choi Min-sik).
The antagonism exercised by the character Kyung-chul is utterly barbaric and reprehensible. Nothing, no one and no act is off limits for this despicable man. The film depicts each killing with such ferocity that it is nearly impossible not to feel some form of hatred for his character. Accompanying Kyung-chul’s beastliness is the film’s melancholy tones, a quintessential facet of South Korea’s fantastic filmmaking style, with each scene juxtaposing Kyung-chul’s inhuman actions with the audience’s evidential empathy towards his victims.
8- The Poughkeepsie killer (The Poughkeepsie Tapes, 2007)
A serial killer’s life’s work is unleashed as New York detectives find thousands of home videos depicting countless acts of murder, dismemberment and torture.
Although relatively infamous amongst many found footage fans, The Poughkeepsie Tape’s central antagonist (whose identity is never revealed) is rarely discussed regarding their atrocity. The film discloses that their victim count reaches far into the hundreds. Each tape screened revels in the killer’s gratuitous displays of punishment and abuse, with the perpetrator additionally employing disturbing fetishism throughout his inflictions of pain.
9- Mum and Dad (Mum & Dad, 2008)
Lone airport worker Lena (Olga Fedori) is held hostage by a sick and twisted family.
Head of the sadistic family are Mum (Dido Miles) and Dad (Perry Benson), who encompass the epitome of all things grotesque and macabre. Their incestuous attitudes and gleeful will to traumatise leave for an incredibly uncomfortable watch as we see the pair exude delight whilst tormenting the innocent. Adding to the pair’s awfully horrid actions is the film’s bleak and dreary flair that embodies a sense of misanthropic unease, forcing the viewer to wallow away within all of its overarching angst.
10- Chris Cleek (The Woman, 2011)
Whilst out hunting, Chris Cleek (Sean Bridgers) captures an uncivilised woman and brings her to his family home, keeping her tied up in an old out-shack for him to keep as a trophy, doing what he pleases.
Immediately there is a strong sense of banality seeping through Chris’s motives and actions, but what is the real nail in the coffin is how his actions are mimicked by those around him. He nurtures his teenage son to also treat the woman as an object for his desire, with the father son duo feeding from each other’s willingness to harm. Master manipulation and evil toxicity truly is the bread and butter of supposed ‘family-man’ Chris Cleek’s persona.
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In Frankenstein or, The Modern Prometheus (1818), author Mary Shelley once wrote, “There is something at work in my soul, which I do not understand”. It is an undeniably beautiful quote reminiscent of the delicate nature of the soul that speaks to the fragileness within humanity; it paints pictures of pale pinks and cotton with its sweetness. However, just as nature pins the human form as sensitive and innocent, there is equally a brutality, a malevolence that seeps through the soft belly and permeates the soul with an air of monstrousness that is impossible to precisely identify – it is, as Shelley details, something which we do not understand.
This odd polarity has often been used in horror to analyse the female. She is mellow yet ferocious, harmless yet venomous. This dissection of the monstrous speaks to countless films from Carrie (1976) to Raw (2016), where the likes of female witches, vampires, aliens, possessed creatures and werewolves are ignited on their path of abjection. However, one entity has somewhat escaped the line of fire – the feminine mediation of Frankenstein.
Monsters represent what we can fantastically be and are most certainly not, almost akin to the folkloric nature of haunting mythology surrounding culturally specific warnings like the La Llorona tale originating from Latin America. It is the knowing that otherness is a potent potential that we simultaneously want to hide from whilst devouring its unique alienness. Regarding feminising Frankenstein, the focal topic is the female body and its all-controlling, all-consuming traits and how it affects otherness and others.
Tyler MacIntyre’s Patchwork (2015) follows three women, Jennifer (Tory Stopler), Ellie (Tracey Fairaway) and Madeleine (Maria Blasucci), who, after spending the night partying, find themselves butchered and reattached together. Similarly, Frank Henenlotter’s Frankenhooker (1990) sees widowed scientist Jeffrey (James Lorinz) bring his wife back to life by attaching the few remnants left of her corpse with random body parts from prostitutes that he murdered. Within both of these films, the unwillingly and unknowingly spliced and diced female corpse represents the act of objection, particularly concerning the womanly form being a commodity for desire.
Whilst Jeffrey’s motives seem slightly touching at first, the film makes a point of showing his self-fulfilling prophecies; for example, during one of his grief-ridden rambles where he has the lightbulb moment of Frankenstein-ing his wife Elizabeth (Patty Mullen), he comments that he will give her the best figure possible. Adding to this is his nonchalant attitude to the several sex workers he kills to compose the new body, as well as his frustration over Elizabeth seeking agency over her new form (which she never even asked for). Jeffrey is frustrated over his lack of control, with this anger slipping into pure vexation when the film ends with Elizabeth performing the same body reassembly on Jeffrey.
Here, Elizabeth is a vessel in which to be fascinated and fearful. There is no conforming to the norm. The ‘new’ Elizabeth was biologically constructed to be an object of desire for Jeffrey, something to stare at and admire. But, she becomes a source of fear and allure when she begins to reject and sway from her presumed destined stature. Within this corruption, a tie is formed between the spectacle and the feminised monster. We internalise the knowledge of Elizabeth being undead, a reanimated dead, rotting corpse and internalise this grotesqueness along with her refusal to comply and see her as the epitome of the monstrous feminine.
The physical threat of decay paired with the fragility of female morals is additionally explored in Patchwork. The triptych-like Frankenstein creature goes on a path of vengeance within the narrative. When looking at the prospect of monstrosity and revenge, an immediate connection is made, exhibiting a cathartic purge of vehemence and revolt. Like Elizabeth, the characters experience a bodily rebirth regarding their new forced physical form and spirituality. They reluctantly take on their flesh with a sense of fury, shedding their skin and disengaging from the agency of their mutilator. With this, they create a new identity.
Further elaborating this facet of new autonomy is the secondary strain of the female Frankenstein – the ‘actual’ Frankenstein. Of course, when the term ‘Frankenstein’ is correctly used, it refers to the creator of the monster (known as Dr. Victor Frankenstein in the book and original media), with his creation being deemed as ‘Frankenstein’s monster’. Nevertheless, it is precisely this idea of Frankenstein’s creator that we are going to explore next.
Womanly, mad scientists taking discarded corpses and creating their own twisted, semi-living sapient beings has been a significant area that the horror and thriller world has traversed. Films such as Lady Frankenstein (Mel Welles, 1971), Birth/Rebirth (Laura Moss, 2023), The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster (Bomani Story, 2023) and the upcoming Lisa Frankenstein (Zelda Williams, 2024) all employ the use of a female scientist. Although under different strains, these creators of monsters all act as makers of individuals, albeit not necessarily ‘traditional’ cognisant beings. They are motherly architects of horror.
In horror, the maternal figure is continuously seen as monstrous because of her perceived transgressions that defy social normalities, with the focus being on all of the bodily changes experienced during pregnancy, childbirth and the aftermath of rearing the child. As seen in The Brood (David Cronenberg, 1979) and the more contemporary film Titane (Julia Ducournau, 2021), horror cinema utilises these themes of the motherly body, castration anxiety and the threat of maternal domination to create apprehension and dread. The female Dr. Frankenstein spends their blood, sweat and tears creating, nurturing, and training their creations before unleashing them. These creatures are motherly-esque creations made in a symbolic womb (improvised labs). Herein lies the possibility that the femme creator of the beast is the catalyst for all things monstrous.
In essence, the trajectory of femininity within the concept of the female Frankenstein reveals a nuanced portrait of monstrosity that has the ability to be explored in an extremely wide capacity. Going back to the beginning, Shelley’s timeless quote, “There is something at work in my soul, which I do not understand”, condenses the intricate web of the female experience, oscillating between fragility and fury, purity and wickedness. Through the likes of Frankenhooker and Patchwork, the female form is moulded to form a site of manipulation perpetuated by their cruel creators, with the films showing their journey to take back the power over their bodies. The barbaric transformations the women go through speak to the rejection of their prescribed roles, ultimately leading to an uproar.
On the other hand, we have the portrayal of the mother monster that blurs the complicated line between motherhood and monstrosity. Despite their nurturing intentions, these figures challenge and invoke fear through insubordination towards their traditional role. The female Frankenstein underscores the duality of beauty and brutality. It serves as a stringent cue of the complex and innate struggle to gain autonomy and agency in a world that seeks to confine.
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‘Thing’: the detailed, unearthly, alien-like conundrum of a creature is not simply one of the horror genre’s most iconic beings, but one of cinema’s itself. Instantly recognisable and synonymous with John Carpenter’s grandiose auteurism is this hybrid, shapeshifting brute whose physical capacities include mutating into an array of phobia-inducing monsters including mutated huskies and gargantuan arachnids with talking heads (props to the Kafkaesque composition). The Thing’s stellar reputation is largely owed to special effects artist Rob Bottin who primarily conjured the horrid creatures throughout the entire film. It can confidently be stated that Bottin’s originality and sheer ingenuity have created the ultimate blueprint for movie monsters.
2- The Monsters – Feast (John Gulager, 2005)
Whilst the Feast trilogy establishes that these apex predators are indeed deadly carnivores with an appetite for pure destruction to accompany their fleshy cravings, what is left undecided is their exact alien-like origin. However, forgoing whether they are innate earthly dwellers or not, what is noteworthy is how savage, beastly and ultimately gnarly these cosmic creatures truly are. Feast’s resident critters are responsible for some extremely gruesome antics such as eye gouging, head smashing, throat slashing and plenty of glimpses of archetypal sci-fi green goo and generous close-up shots of an array of slimy fluids. Further tearing into the response system of the viewer is the creature’s cruel, grotesquely evil actions that include assaulting their female victims in the most violent of manners. Feast certainly dares to shock the audience in every way possible.
3- The classic green Martian – Signs (M. Night Shyamalan, 2002)
One particular scene in M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs has garnered quite a reputation over the years, and for a very good reason as this single moment manages to conjure such a spine-tingling, nail-biting, pure burst of alarming fright. Of course, the scene in question is the ‘birthday party scene’. Supporting lead, Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix) is shown watching the news, trying to seek out the strange alien happenings going on in the world. However, during the broadcast, a clip is aired of a birthday party that is suddenly interrupted by a gangly green alien striding across the screen. It’s a moment of such simplicity and plainness that somehow manages to reach out from the fictional world of Signs and physically affect the viewer. The graininess of the shot paired with the sudden startle aids in the ‘realness’ of that moment, giving a raw, realist agency to the scene that is usually difficult to achieve amongst all the fantasticality displayed within the sci-fi genre.
4- Jean Jacket – Nope (Jordan Peele, 2022)
Briefly steering away from the visceral excess of horror beasts is a slightly more subtle take on extraterrestrial life that still manages to dedicate its screentime to amplifying the fear factor. Nope’s antagonist is known as ‘Jean Jacket’, a colossal UFO that takes on the shape of a biblically accurate angel with its expanding, curtained edges that flutter during its consumption and round off afterwards revealing a design that can only be described as a smoothed cowboy hat… Specific descriptions aside, what allows Jean Jacket a spot on this list is its omnipotent vibe that exemplifies mystery to harbour intense fears of the unknown and the uncanny. However, amidst all of Jean Jacket’s subtle ways, what would be a dishonour to not give credit is that scene involving Jean practically inhaling a sea of people, inducing intense feelings of brutal claustrophobia that is sure to stay with the viewer for long after watching.
5- The Long One – Slither (James Gunn, 2006)
Known as The Long One is Slither’s force of destruction. The Long One’s parasitic origins are responsible for its multitude of transfigurations across the film. Director James Gunn inventively displays these evolutions in the most absurd yet gorily creative ways possible. For instance, one of the more memorable parasitic forms exhibited in the film is when the leech-like creatures inhabit the body of Brenda (Brenda James), making her body expand into a mammoth fleshy sphere complete with protruding veins and puddled in a pit of merlot-tinted rot that emphasises the abnormally stretched beyond belief skin.
6- Xenomorph – Alien (Ridley Scott, 1979)
No extraterrestrial list would be complete without the undeniably infamous Alien. Ridley Scott’s 1979 tale on the powerful forces that exceed Earth is responsible for the one and only Xenomorph, an endoparasitoid species complete with a spiny tale, tubular skull and a hive mentality that makes for optimum domination over its prey. What makes the Xenomorph incredibly celebrated in the genre is its utter ruthlessness and its invasive potential. In the presence of Xenomorphs, no one is safe.
7- Shapeshifting parasites – The Faculty (Robert Rodriguez, 1998)
This late 1990s teen scream takes inspiration from the horror classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956 [and its 1978 remake]) by placing the terror of the alien creature in its ability to shapeshift into a human, disguising and conniving before unleashing hell in its true form. Whilst The Faculty does an excellent job in the effects department when showing the creature in its full innate form, what remains the most foreboding aspect of the film is how these beasts transform into everyday people. It’s the fear of evil hiding where you’d least expect it, waiting and lurking in the shadows.
8- Death Angels – A Quiet Place (John Krasinski, 2018)
Hyper-evolved beings that possess the power of super hearing to the point that a loud breath is perceived as a scream is an utterly terrifying premise. These creatures, officially known in their world as ‘Death Angels’ are horror reincarnated, prepared to rip you into a million tiny pieces within seconds – as wickedly revealed during the film’s bitterly harsh opening sequence. These immense monsters are entirely blind, solely relying on their hearing to catch prey. And as discovered in the film’s sequel (A Quiet Place Part II [2020]), the Death Angels managed to achieve world domination – apocalypse style – within hours.
9- The ‘gorilla-wolf’ aliens – Attack the Block (Joe Cornish, 2011)
Described in the film as “big alien gorilla wolf motherf*****” are Attack the Block’s resident predators. This laugh-out-loud horror comedy may be equipped with a joke-a-minute coat, but underneath the humour are some pretty gruesome beasts that have the capability to instil enormous heaps of fright as the fuzzy, glowing creatures rapidly swarm down dark halls in their furry squads.
Psycho Goreman, also known as ‘PG’, is a self-proclaimed deadly, ferocious warrior who becomes trapped on planet Earth. PG’s death-lord ways see him destroy nearly everything in his path from murdering civilians to wrecking whole towns. However, PG does have an off-kilter charm that infuses the narrative and his persona with a warmth that can only be explained if one has seen the brilliantly wild and weird film itself. Throughout PG’s various rampages, his character becomes so emboldened with personality that it can be easy to overlook his barbarity. But one aspect that is impossible to escape is how exhaustively detailed the alien design is throughout the film. PG’s mottled skin with its constant crimson glow, coupled with a mountainous structure is a visual behemoth that both commands attention and adds to the horrifically majestical overarching tone of the entire film.
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Completing T.I. West’s zealous ‘X’ trilogy is MaXXXine, a cinematic epilogue following massacre survivor Maxine’s (Mia Goth) journey to stardom in the early 1980s. With West’s signature homage to gritty nostalgia-driven thematics and Goth’s ability to immersive herself into her characters with visceral ease, MaXXXine will certainly be an unmissable slasher.
2- Shelby Oaks (Directed by Chris Stuckmann)
Youtuber Chris Stuckmann’s directorial debut has already made waves across the independent film industry, with its Kickstarter campaign breaking records as the upcoming found footage inspired horror crossed the $1 million point early last year. Shelby Oaks tackles the story of a missing paranormal investigative team and the pandora’s box of hell that their disappearance unleashes.
3- Late Night with the Devil (Directed by Cameron and Colin Cairnes)
This highly anticipated Australian horror burst onto the scene with nothing but rave reviews after its premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival. Taking centre stage is David Dastmalchian as Jack Delroy, a smooth-talking late-night talk show host whose show quickly goes south one fateful night after he interviews a survivor of a satanic mass suicide.
4- Lisa Frankenstein (Directed by Zelda Williams)
One of horror’s favourite writers, Diablo Cody (creator of Jennifer’s Body [2009]), is back with the 1980s set Lisa Frankenstein, a morbid, fresh and ghastly take on the classic Frankenstein monster’s tale. Kathryn Newton plays the role of enigmatic teenager Lisa Swallows, who falls head over heels with a living corpse (Cole Sprouse). Dressed with bubblegum pink aesthetics and a ghoulish love story, Lisa Frankenstin makes for a perfect spooky Valentine’s watch as it hits screens on the 9th of February.
5- Saw XI (Director TBC)
A new entry into the neverending, blood-filled, gore-ridden Saw franchise is heading to theatres in late September. However, this is all that is known about the latest cog in Jigsaw’s grand plan so far. Despite its acclaim, writers of the warmly received Saw X (2023), Peter Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg, will not be returning to carry on the Saw legacy. Although the mystery is strong surrounding this upcoming release, one thing is for certain: Jigsaw’s game is far from over!
6- Longlegs (Directed by Oz Perkins)
The chilling teaser trailer for Oz Perkins ‘Longlegs’ has been haunting the internet since the new year, with small snippets of malevolent stills and unnerving clips of tense, unfamiliar symbols appearing all over social media. This sure-to-be hit follows FBI agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) as she is assigned to an unsolved case of a serial killer linked to the occult.
7- Hell of a Summer (Directed by Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk)
Hell of a Summer follows the structure of a classic (and unbeatable) summer camp slasher, complete with a mysterious masked killer who lurks the grounds looking for prey. Whilst a strong sense of familiarity rings true, what Hell of a Summer does promise is an extremely gory, wild and savage take on a genre favourite.
8- Terrifier 3 (Directed by Damien Leone)
Horror’s residential terrifying clown – ‘Art’ (David Howard Thornton) has been scaring the wits out of people since his first appearance in Damien Leone’s short film The 9th Circle (2008), and now he’s back yet again for the highly anticipated Terrifier 3. With its first look trailer already rapidly making the rounds, this upcoming Christmas-based slasher will certainly be making some noise when it gets released come 25th October.
9- The Toxic Avenger (Directed by Macon Blair)
It takes a bold crew to tackle Troma Entertainment’s bold cult classic, The Toxic Avenger (1984). However, from the looks of the fiery trailer and the talented cast including none other than Peter Dinklage and Elijah Wood, the fifth entry into the ‘Toxie’ franchise is set to be an offbeat, untamed, maverick-like beast of a film. Catch the latest Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz produced flick later this year.
10- Baghead (Directed by Alberto Corredor)
Hitting theatres on the 26th of January is Baghead, a paranormal horror following Iris Lark (Freya Allan), who inherits a broken-down pub she soon discovers a sinister presence lurking underneath the premises. Baghead’s corpus of dread surrounds the rhetoric of loss, decay and the dwellings of mortality.
11- Abigail (Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett)
From the creators of Ready or Not (2019), Scream V (2022) and Scream VI (2023) is the upcoming creature feature Abigail. Based on Dracula’s Daughter (1936), Abigail takes on vampirism with a vicious twist as the enthralling plot follows a group of kidnappers who abduct the daughter of an influential figure for ransom, only to discover their victim’s bloody appetite…
12- The Strangers: Chapter 1 (Directed by Renny Harlin)
Despite the rumours, The Strangers: Chapter 1 is not a sequel nor a remake of the 2008 contemporary classic, The Strangers (Bryan Bertino). Alternatively, this Renny Harlin feature is the first of a standalone trilogy that occurs simultaneously with the original ‘08 timeline. With this being said, in Chapter 1 expect plenty of home invasion thrills, intense frights and most notably, some of the scariest masks horror has to offer.
13- Nosferatu (Directed by Robert Eggars)
Robert Eggars may just be the perfect choice to bring the infamous Count Orlok back to life, with his ability to convey macabre yet beautiful narratives, alongside his brilliant stylistic techniques that consistently utilise the likes of dramatic chiaroscuro lighting. Joining Eggars in bringing Nosferatu to old and new audiences to the screen are performers Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin and Willem Dafoe.
14- Your Monster (Directed by Caroline Lindy)
Based on Caroline Lindy’s 2019 short film of the same name is Your Monster, a horror comedy with a heartwarming dash of morbid romance. The film follows Laura Franco (Melissa Barrera), a young woman simultaneously dealing with a breakup and a cancer diagnosis. However, her world is about to get increasingly stranger as she uncovers a petrifying but oddly endearing monster (Tommy Dewey) residing in her closet.
15- The First Omen (Directed by Arkasha Stevenson)
The Omen (1976) still lives on 48 years later as Arkasha Stevenson introduces The First Omen, a prequel to the original Richard Donner directed tale of horror’s deadliest child. The film chronicles Margaret (Nell Tiger Free), a young American nun sent to a church in Rome. However, she soon discovers a conspiracy within the Lord’s house as they attempt to bring about the birth of an evil incarnate. The 6th entry into the all-mighty franchise is set to be theatrically released on April 5th.
16- In a Violent Nature (Directed by Chris Nash)
This indie horror follows a masked silent man as he makes his way through a secluded forest (and a sea of bodies). In a Violent Nature proves that slashers are alive and well, with this slick yet dauntingly raw and seriously creative horror forgoing cliches and putting an original twist on the beloved subgenre with the film following the perspective of the antagonist.
15- Dust Bunny (Directed by Bryan Fuller)
Mads Mikkelsen and Sigourney Weaver star in Bryan Fuller’s (Hannibal [2013-15] developer) feature debut film about an eight-year-old girl who pleads with her neighbour to kill the monster hiding under her bed who massacred her family. The seemingly outlandish but entertaining concept of Dust Bunny is said to be rife with a throwback vibe, reminiscent of dark yet oddly comedic and heartwarming horrors from the 1980s such as The Lost Boys (1987).
16- The Watchers (Directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan)
M. Night Shyamalan’s daughter Ishana makes her directorial debut with The Watchers, an eerie creature feature that amalgamates with a secluded forest horror setting as we follow young artist Mina (Dakota Fanning) who finds herself trapped alongside three strangers in an isolated forest in Ireland surrounded by sinister beasts.
17- Handling the Dead (Directed by Thea Hvistendahl)
Adapted from the 2005 John Ajvide Lindqvist (Let the Right One In [2004]) novel of the same name is Handling the Dead, a Norweigan zombie film that tells the tale of three families whose lives are plunged into madness when their deceased loved ones are reanimated. The film strips back the hecticness of the archetypal zombie territory and opts for a muted, haunting atmosphere where the emotional anti becomes the driving force.
18- The Home (Directed by James DeMonaco)
After troubled retirement home worker Max (Pete Davidson), discovers that his patients are harbouring a menacing secret, he begins to reveal connections between his upbringing in a foster care setting and the ominous happenings at the ill-omened home. The Home sees James DeMonaco back with another horror following on from his work with The Purge franchise.
19- Imaginary (Directed by Jeff Wadlow)
Joining the likes of the Chucky TV series (2021-), Megan (2023) and Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023) is Jeff Wadlow’s ‘Imaginary‘ which is set to hit theatres on March 8th. Imaginary’s ‘evil toy comes to life’ is a stuffed bear named Chauncey who was the beloved childhood companion of Jessica (DeWanda Wise). However, when Jessica’s stepdaughter Alice (Pyper Braun) gets hold of Chauncey and her once innocent behaviour turns vicious, Jessica realises that Chauncey holds a wicked secret.
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After running down their funds from their wild and party oriented travels through Australia, backpackers Hannah (Julia Garner) and Liv (Jessica Henwick) accept a desolate bar job located in a mining town in the Outback. Once they arrive however, an uneasy atmosphere settles in and follows the girls as they try to navigate an unknown, strange environment devoid of any means of escape. The Royal Hotel provides an excruciating commentary on the pros and cons of travelling around the world; specifically the dangers of travelling as a woman. Director Kitty Green severs her characters’ contact with the world they know and thrusts them into a society with different rules, rules they would have to adhere to in order to survive.
The driving force of the film is the relationship between Hannah and Liv. The two portray a friendship in which one friend is reckless and impulsive and the other is sensible and paranoid. It is Liv who encourages Hannah to accept the bar job despite its isolated location, convincing her that it’s a necessary task given their financial situation. However, after one night of working the bar Hannah begins to feel on edge and senses that she and Liv might not be safe. Liv on the other hand brushes past these signs and even encourages Hannah to be more spontaneous – for example, spending time with Matty (Toby Wallace) whom they had only just met and experienced unwanted attention from the night before.
The relationship between the girls highlights the somewhat universal experience in friendships where one friend feels they are being forced into uncomfortable situations and the other feels they are being held back or not allowed to have fun. Coupled with an unfamiliar environment, the cracks begin to show in Hannah and Liv’s relationship and we gain an insight into how people can feel alone even amongst friends. Despite their rocky journey however, Hannah and Liv pull together when their situation elevates. The Royal Hotel illustrates how difficult it can be to travel with a friend who has a different level of awareness than yourself. Furthermore, Hannah and Liv emphasise the importance of banding together despite differences and emphasise the power of women who stand as one.
(Discussing Film, 2023)
Reinforcing the idea of sticking together, The Royal Hotel supplies an honest and at times difficult to watch criticism of the systemic misogyny present in bar culture. When they are first offered the job, Hannah and Liv are warned that they should expect unwanted male attention, especially because they will be based in a mining town. Moreover, after a few nights Hannah is told by Billy (Hugo Weaving) – the owner of the bar – that her attitude and lack of smiling is bad for business and drives his customers away.
This demonstrates the expectation of both bar staff and customers for the female employees to be part of the service the bar is providing. For example, Dolly (Daniel Henshall) is a regular who expects Hannah’s company as well as her bartending service when he hangs around after hours and tries to buy her drinks. He insists that he is just being nice despite elevating the situation with aggression when she declines and he subsequently doesn’t get his way.
There are several narrative piques similar to this in the film where one of the male characters becomes problematic by suggesting they are going to act violently towards one of the girls. These situations are always diffused however meaning that the film never comes to a clear climax. This choice works from a social commentary perspective as it highlights that female travellers can always feel an air of vulnerability even if they are never directly threatened or put into an obviously dangerous situation. From an entertainment perspective however the narrative falls flat without building to a satisfactory crescendo and cannot end with an adequate equilibrium as the story didn’t deviate from one to begin with.
(In Review, 2023)
The choice to use the landscape of the Australian Outback as the setting for The Royal Hotel is a metaphor for the loneliness and isolation that many people feel whilst travelling. We experience this isolation predominantly through the eyes of Hannah. As aforementioned Hannah and Liv exhibit significant differences and desires meaning that whilst Hannah for example feels threatened by the persistent and overly familiar male clientele, Liv sees them as harmless and cannot empathise with Hannah’s plight.
Throughout the film the walls begin to close in on the girls when they realise – as personified by the location of the Outback – they have nowhere to run to. Subsequently when Hannah stops a susceptible Liv from leaving the bar with Dolly they have nowhere but the bar to barricade themselves into. The Royal Hotel utilises the small building stood alone amongst a vast desert to convey the feeling of being trapped; a feeling familiar to many travellers who experience loneliness or homesickness when spending too much time isolated in unfamiliar environments.
(Indie Wire, 2023)
The Royal Hotel at times provides an excellent observation on the experience of travelling and working as a woman using Liv and Hannah to paint a picture of how even the closest of friends can feel alone in each others’ company, especially when you are away from home. The film also dives into the problematic system of many service industries who rely on the sexualisation and submission of women in order to entice customers and maximise sales. Having said this however, it feels that many desirable elements for a good film narrative are sacrificed in order for the social commentary to be made. Other than our central protagonists many of the secondary characters feel one dimensional and have no other purpose than to act as devices for the plot.
The Royal Hotel drives home the dangers of exploitation that many female travellers are confronted with and encourages awareness of foreign surroundings in order to avoid being taken advantage of as everyone deserves to feel safe when exploring new places.
Hope Lelliott Stevens
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Breathing new life into the franchise, Saw X provides a never before seen piece of John Kramer’s history and gives audiences an insight into the man who created the Jigsaw legacy. In this new instalment we see John Kramer (Tobin Bell) participate in an innovative new cancer treatment that promises a full recovery from the brain tumour which currently plagues him. All is not what it seems however when the true nature of this treatment is revealed and Kramer takes matters into his own hands, not to exact revenge, but to rehabilitate those who have wronged him. Saw X not only reinforces the morally ambiguous atmosphere that runs through the veins of the franchise, but provides an empathetic origin story for Kramer and creates an argument to justify the necessity for Jigsaw’s tests.
A primary theme in Saw X is that of seeing and perceiving. Jigsaw has always found ways to observe his games and sometimes even insert himself into them. This allowed him to watch his subjects without making himself seen or known. For the first time however, Saw X presents us with a situation in which Kramer not only reveals himself to his subjects as their captor, but moves amongst the games so he can be seen up close by his subjects just as well as he can see them. We know that Jigsaw’s games always reflect the immoral actions of his subjects; Kramer makes himself known and personable in the same way the people involved in his treatment did in order to lull him into their con. The only difference is instead of their lives being in his hands, they are in their own. Furthermore Kramer and returning apprentice Amanda (Shawnee Smith) watch the games from a room above through a large glass window. This also highlights the way that the con artists involved in the treatment would watch their patients on the operating table knowing full well they were going to die, and do nothing to help them. Saw X emphasises how perception is power and gives Kramer an almost omniscient ability, allowing him to provide his subjects with their own personal judgement day.
(Bloody Disgusting 2023)
Speaking of power, another first for the Saw Franchise is the power struggle engaged by Kramer and one of his subjects Cecelia (Synnøve Macody Lund). Kramer appears to lose control of his game when another variable – Cecelia’s con partner Parker (Steven Brand) – shows up to rescue her. As a result Kramer and Amanda end up in their own trap and the power shifts from the puppeteers to the puppets. After besting their opposition however, Cecelia and Parker do not take the opportunity to escape. In fact, they decide the best course of action is to exact revenge on Kramer and Amanda.
Cecelia wishes to make Kramer regret what he did to them and take responsibility by forcing an innocent into the trap alongside him. This portrays to the audience that Kramer was right to put Cecelia in the trap in the first place as she does not regret how she behaved, and given the chance would continue her con. The power struggle continues as unbeknownst to Cecelia and Parker, Kramer wanted them to believe they were in control up until the last moment when he takes it back. This power struggle gives perspective to Jigsaw’s purpose as it shows, given the opportunity, the subjects would not take the moral high ground and therefore deserve to be tested.
(We Got This Covered 2023)
Not only do we see the vindictive spirit of the game’s subjects but we learn of a compassionate side to our game’s runners. A stand out player in Saw X is Amanda who is aforementioned, Kramer’s apprentice. Those who are familiar with the franchise will know that when Amanda eventually takes over from Kramer her games are unwinnable and her motives vengeful. This movie gives us an insight into what shapes Amanda’s motives and why she becomes this way. One of the players in the game, Gabriela (Renata Vaca) is a young drug addict, similar to the person Amanda was before she was subjected to her own test.
Amanda empathises with this girl and tries to help her by delaying her test. Seeing herself in Gabriela, Amanda begins to question if she herself deserved to be tested and whether aligning with Kramer was the correct decision. However, after Cecelia proves that even in the face of almost certain death she would not change her ways, Amanda begins to realise that these people don’t need to be rehabilitated but in fact punished. Saw X drives home Kramer’s strict rules for his games as it shows how other people would abuse his power should they have it for themselves.
(The Mary Sue 2023)
Saw X contributes yet another tale of morality into the franchise emphasising Kramer’s importance as Jigsaw by showing us how the games might be run if the shoe were on the other foot. The purpose of this instalment is to convince us – if we weren’t already – that Kramer is not a villain but an anti-hero. It has always been a question in the Saw universe whether or not it is morally wrong to test the immoral. Saw X gives reason and meaning to who Kramer becomes in the later films; the movie does not try to justify Jigsaw’s behaviour by saying it is wrong, but says it’s right and shows us why.
Hope Lelliott-Stevens
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Here’s your guide to every screening, event and dark delight at this years Dead Northern Horror and Fantasy Film Festival 2023!
Friday – 29th September
As you join the queue in to the city screen with your fellow horror lovers, check in at our front desk with Josh, Gareth and Dave and grab your festival pass.
Head through to the main lobby and pick up any provisions you need with Cath and the team at City Screen Picture house, and head up to Screen one for your first day of spooky screenings…
11:00am – Student Short Films
‘Swine’ – one of the brilliant short films you can see in this showcase
A King in Yellow -A brother attempts to bring his sister’s sense of hearing back by performing an occult ritual involving vinyl records.
…And Again, And Again – Opening right amidst the action, a knife wielding maniac pursues his terrified victim home. Bloodshed ensues, but things are far from what they appear to be…
Serpentine Petrol Product reel No.7 ”Skin Cream” – A snake oil salesman with the latest in beauty products: A skin cream that melts away your skin.
Swine – Witness the death of society as two powerful men, driven entirely by their greed, gorge themselves on pork and wine before revealing their true nature.
Ariane’s Baby – Ariane is a single and lonely woman who craves love after a history of abusive relationships. The birth of her child represents a chance to start everything anew and form her own happy family, but she worries about not being up to the task.
Morto Rossa – A dance school organizes a mysterious casting to select a dancer for a future show. Suzie, after passing the audition, will be chosen as the lucky one.
The Machine – Alexis is a college student in her early 20s. One night while gathering with her friends she takes interest in the pinball machine in the arcade room…
Lucid – Lucid follows a protagonist, Wes, who becomes obsessed with the concept of lucid dreaming and spirals into a chase for power in his sleep.
Yokai In My House – Miyako a girl in her 20’s inherits a house in Japan. Unbeknown to her it is haunted by the Mokumokuren. Will she survive the night or will she succumb to the same fate as her predecessor?
12:30pm – ISAAC (Feature film) -Sci-fi Horror – Northern Premier with Q&A
In the near future a company specialising in cellular meat trial its synthetic technology in a bid to create the perfect child. Nicholas and Sarah are guinea pigs to this trial and are provided with a seemingly healthy son, after losing their own child to a genetic disease. As their new son, Isaac, develops he becomes increasingly violent and dangerous, leaving the parents with no choice but to lock him away and keep him hidden while they try to uncover the truth as to what is driving him insane.
2:30pm – The Good Times (Mini Feature) – Post Apocalyptic Horror
Fantastic short feature film, made by brilliant local talent and filmed in and around York!
A young man lives alone in a dystopian future, trying to survive a post-apocalyptic world and his own conscience.
One bashful vicar… One haunted nudist camp… Prepare to get the willies. In this paranormal comedy from the makers of 2018 festival-hit Paul Is Dead, BAFTA-nominee Spencer Jones leads a star cast (alongside veteran actors from ‘Hot Fuzz’, ‘Game Of Thrones’ & ‘Spaced’) as Rev Howard Lee Jr, a bashful local vicar who is called upon to save a haunted nudist camp from the prudish poltergeist covering their privates.
4:00pm – Folk Horror and Mystery Short Films
Kicking off our Folk Horror themed afternoon is a mixture of eerie short films…
‘Find You Here’ Folkloric Horror set at an abandoned scare attraction
Kiddo – On a rickety bus trundling through wilting countryside, a mysterious older woman named ‘Kiddo’ and a cohort of overexcited teenagers meander towards Wonderland, a theme park like no other. Sinister secrets await as Kiddo and her compatriots face off with their hosts and draw closer to discovering the truth of their journey.
Creulon – High in the mountains above the sleepy town of Creulon, a charismatic Radio DJ and a malicious Serial Killer share a sinister connection.
No Such thing – An obsessed alcoholic and his reluctant grandson search the Mourne Mountains for the fabled Banshee. Synopsis: Decades after his Father’s death, Paddy’s search for the mythical ‘Banshee’ is unwavering. Conor loved his grandfather’s stories when he was a child, but now an adult, he’s tired of the camping trips and the unhealthy obsessions. As the two set off into the mountains, their real struggle isn’t a ghost story, but their own decayed relationship.
The Wyrm of Bwlch Pen Barras – Early one winter morning in the rural town of Rhuthun in North Wales, three men are called upon once again to carry out a terrible assignment on the Bwlch Pen Barras mountain pass. Shot on 16mm by cinematographer Sean Price Williams (Good Time, Her Smell) and featuring a score by Cian Ciaran and Dafydd Ieuan from The Super Furry Animals, The Wyrm of Bwlch Pen Barras is a Welsh language folk horror film about modern Wales, rooted in the country’s rich mythology.
The Lure – Late at night, a lone fisherman discovers he is not the only one hoping to hook something.
Find You Here – Find You Here is a gnarly piece of folkloric horror about what happens when a toxic couple find themselves at an abandoned scare event built on evil land. Will they survive the night?
My Dreams Have Been Dark of Late – A knight finds himself at the mercy of his armour.
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A chance to come out of the darkness and find nourishment before the second half of day one…
6:00pm – Folk Horror Panel (Hosted by London Horror Society)
One of the chats talks from Dead Northern 2022
Chris and the team from LHS will be joining us all weekend and bringing some special guests from across the film industry for a good old chat about Friday afternoons theme ‘ FOLK HORROR’.
7:00pm – Sins of the Father (Feature Film) – UK Premiere – Folk Horror
After the death of his father, Aden and his mother, Sarah, find themselves responsible for the sale of his family home – a place they thought they’d left behind. When Sarah’s friends arrive to help, the task seems almost manageable. However, as they clear out the house, they uncover secrets in Sarah’s past and the sinister nature of the cultivated community Aden was raised in…. And his father’s family is not so eager to let the sins of the past go unpunished.
9:00pm – The Wicker Man (50th Anniversary Screening)
One of the original trilogy of British Folk Horror films that established the sub genre, join us in a celebration of the iconic film on a very special anniversary.
The plot centres on the visit of a police officer, Sergeant Neil Howie, to the isolated Scottish island of Summerisle in search of a missing girl. Howie, a devout Christian, is appalled to find that the inhabitants of the island have abandoned Christianity and now practise a form of Celtic paganism. The Wicker Man is well-regarded by critics. Film magazine Cinefantastique described it as “The Citizen Kane of horror movies”, and in 2004, Total Film magazine named The Wicker Man the sixth-greatest British film of all time. It also won the 1978 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film. The final scene was number 45 on Bravo’s 100 Scariest Movie Moments, and during the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, it was included as part of a sequence that celebrated British cinema. The film brought the wicker man into modern popular culture.
10.00pm – Till Late – Welcome Social with London Horror Society (Pitcher and Piano)
For those ready to party and meet some like minded horror folk, head just 30 seconds across the road to Pitcher and Piano where we welcome horror fans to the 2023 festival!
Whether you’re a seasoned horror aficionado or a curious newbie, at our indie horror mixer you’ll have the perfect opportunity to connect with friendly and talented people, and share your passion for all things spooky! The mixer will run from 10:00pm till late, giving you plenty of time to grab a drink, mingle and make new friends in the horror community.
Freshly bleary eyed from day 1, we’ll be welcoming you back to the City Screen (Bloody Mary in Hand) for day 2 of the fest!
11:00am – Satanic & Spooky Short Films
Opening Saturdays is a fantastic group of short films celebrating everything ghostly and demonic!
‘The Unquiet Dead’ jump scares and amazing practical effects in this scary short film!
La Nueva – Maria is the new teacher who arrives at an old religious school. On her first day, she will have to teach a group of rebellious kids who are part of a punishment class. An unexpected event will turn the classroom into a real hell.
Death Date – Boy Meets Girl on the Day of His Death
Fuse – An electrician finds himself stalked by a ghostly presence as he attends a night call at an elderly woman’s house.
Sylvie Made it – In hell, the dead work in call centers under the illusion of earning a place in heaven by satisfying the living. This is not worth the money for some, except when their loved ones suddenly disappear for heaven…
The Unquiet Dead – A therapist treats an unstable young woman who claims to be harassed by an assortment of malevolent spirits – who are demanding something from her.
Ghost Insurance – Stressed about the supernatural? Paul is selling ghost insurance policies, but one family isn’t convinced.
12:30pm – Haunted Ulster Live (Feature film) – Norther Premiere with Q&A – Paranormal Mockumentary
On Halloween night 1998, TV veteran Gerry Burns, teams up with popular children’s presenter Michelle Kelly to investigate poltergeist activity in a haunted house in Belfast. A seance causes the broadcast to descend into chaos. When the youngest child is mysteriously abducted by an unseen force, the two presenters must face their greatest fears on live TV.
2:30pm – Creature & Body Horror Shorts
‘The Heritage’ sure to creepy an gross you out in equal measures
The Heritage – After growing up adopted, a man makes a gargantuan discovery when meeting his biological father.
Dead Skin – Disgruntled teenager Jess has an itch she just can’t scratch and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to be rid of it.
Wormies – In 1980s suburbia, a distant family is forced to come together when the Summer’s hottest new toy, a cute aquatic pet, mutates into a repulsive monster.
Dinghy – After barely making it ashore onto the English coastline, a refugee and the man who smuggled him seek safety after a treacherous channel crossing, both pursued by and summoned to a place of darkness.
Growing Horns – On the verge of adulthood, Alva is studying meat cutting at a butchering school. Alva is severely bullied and her fellow students turn her daily life into torment. To control at least one aspect of her life, Alva has stopped eating. As the bullying escalates and her hunger grows, Alva begins to lose control of herself and sees red.
Forever – Shani and Amar are two half-dead girls, being sex-trafficked with a high price tag. When the thugs transporting them head to get food, the pair are hungry too and escape. They dodge the men in the shadows, but with hunger and dawn rising something has to give.
4:00pm – Video Shop Tales of Terror (Feature film)- Northern Premiere – Anthology Horror
A sinister video shop holds the key to a collection of terrifying VHS related tales, told by a collective of the best UK indie horror filmmakers including MJ Dixon (Pandamonium), Michael Fausti (Exit), Andrew Elias (The Numbers), Tom Lee Rutter (Day of the Stranger), Sam Mason Bell (The Millenial Killer) & Alexander Churchyard (The Allotment). With fake trailers from Tony Mardon & Geoff Harmer.
Horror legends Dani Thompson (My Bloody Banjo), Laurence R. Harvey (The Human Centipede II) join the cast, along with Martin W Payne (Monstrous Disunion), Hannah Paterson (Horrorscopes: Vol 1), Ayvianna Snow (Vampire Virus), Annabella Rich (Hacker), Chris Mills (Terror at Black Tree Forest), Cy Henty (Cleaver: Rise of the Killer Clown), Eve Oliver (Mask of Thorn), Charlie Bond (Powertool Cheerleaders vs The Boyband of the Screeching Dead), James Hamer-Morton (Dead Air) & Glyn Angell (Tales From the Great War).
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Saturday is all about pacing yourself so have a wonder around our Bizarre Bazaar marketplace in the City Screen basement and refresh your eyes for some unmissable evening events!
7.30pm- Spirits with Spirits (Live event) Sponsored by Sinners Gin
Back by popular demand Dead Northern’s resident ghost whisperer Paul Forster will be sharing some of York’s dark secrets and spooky stories and invite the audience to tell some of their own.
Partnered with a campfire cocktail courtesy of our sponsor Sinners Gin, who will have mixologists creating you delicious drinks throughout the spooky event.
9:00pm – How to Kill Monsters – Northern Premiere with Q&A (Feature film)
Our first ever fully sold out feature at the festival, and a brilliant gore fest to round of the second day of screenings!
The sole survivor of a blood-drenched massacre must team up with a rag-tag bunch of rookie cops and lawbreakers to fight off an invasion of monsters from another dimension. With a menagerie of monsters realised entirely with practical effects and buckets of fake blood and guts thrown in for good measure, HOW TO KILL MONSTERS will scratch the itch of horror fans craving a throwback popcorn horror movie that delivers thrills, kills and laughs in equal measure.
11:00pm – Awards party
Fresh out of the sold out screening and Q&A, VIPs and filmmakers will head down into the main lobby to celebrate all the amazing creators at this years festival for one hell of a party!
Awards, live music and lots of new horror pals made, you’ll stumble home after (just about) surviving day two of Dead Northern 2023.
Sunday – 1st October
For festival goers looking to recover from Saturday night or just fuel up, there will be some amazing brunch available to keep you going for the final day!
11:00am – Thriller Short Films
‘Shut’ a spine tingling short film screening as part of the thriller shorts
Suspense filled thrillers kick of our final day, and are sure to keep you on the edge of your seat!
Caterpillar – Luke’s world is rocked when a stranger shows up claiming to be his partner. Luke descents into madness as he struggles to get the bottom of who the imposter is while also experiencing his own terrifying metamorphosis.
Shut – When Jonas visits his father after a long time, he’s shocked to find him in a confused state. Has his father’s mental state badly deteriorated or is something more sinister going on?
Morgue – Working the late shift at an old city morgue, the night porter passes the time playing pranks on the corpses. His usual party tricks come to an horrific end when after a delivery of eight new bodies earlier in the day, they vanish in the middle of a power cut…
Illusion – A delicious dinner, a stage, a magic show – what can go wrong? When Lisa accompanies the nice magician home after the show, she has to learn that some tricks are better not to be questioned.
The Family Man – Roger is the perfect Family man, but he keeps secrets , secrets that must be buried deep.
12:45pm – Dead Talks (Live Event)
Way back when we first started Dead Northern in 2020 we wanted to bring our own live horror podcast to the event, finally 4 years later we pilot ‘Dead Talks’.
Talks from industry professionals on spooky subjects, all will be revealed when you take your seat…
1:30pm – Dead on the Vine (Feature film) – Northern premiere with Q&A – Thriller
As two men leave a small rural town one of them has a seizure forcing the other to pull into the nearest place – A vineyard. The women owners are deep into prep for a make or break wine tasting but the men are welcomed in. But after recovering from his seizure one man throws a violent spanner into the works, leaving his friend and the women with choices that may destroy not only their business but themselves.
3:30pm – It be an Evil Moon (Feature film) – UK Premiere with Q&A – Werewolf horror
Brilliantly endearing feature from first time director Ben Etchells.
Set in the highlands of Scotland and Northern England, a disgraced scientist develops a hair growth formula derived from pickled wolfsbane which turns him into a bloodthirsty werewolf.
5:30pm – Music Videos
Fantastically disturbing ‘Flesh’ one of many brilliant northern submissions this year
Crooks Heart of Vengance – The story of a scientist inventing the key to eternal life. A couple of thugs steal his invention and leave him and his daughter for dead. In order to come back to life he sells his soul to the devil. Armed only with a heart of vengeance, and an Axe, he hunts down the crooks one by one. . . . They picked the wrong man to kill!!
Hoodie On – The fantasies of a serial killer. A car driver going fast on the highway. A murder has been committed.
Old Flames – A haunting portrayal of a recovering addict learning to live with her demons.
Subvisions – Flesh – Joshua is walking his dog into a dark tunnel and is attacked by a gang of carnivorous old people. They want his flesh.
The Windstorm
Candlestick Maker – Alien Chicks
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Almost reaching the end of Dead Northern 2023 and your final chance to enjoy the fantastic venue and city we call home for the weekend. Grab yourself some scran and then settle in for a brilliant final double feature!
7:00pm – Perfectly Good Moment (Feature film) – UK Premiere – Sci-fi Thriller
This psychosexual thriller asks the question: what happens when the things that make your relationship passionate and exciting are the same things that make it toxic? Ruby and David have been together on-and-off for 8 years, since she was 19 and he 34. Six months after Ruby last ran out on him, she has returned. Once the initial bliss of the reunion wears off, old toxic patterns re-emerge. Is David too demanding and controlling or is Ruby just too sensitive? Is Ruby as delicate and demure as she appears to be…or is there something more sinister behind the surface? Why did Ruby really come back? Perfectly Good Moment is Lauren Greenhall’s narrative directorial debut. It features Broadway star Stephen Carlile in his cinematic debut and Amanda Jane Stern (1 Angry Black Man, Lifetime’s Amish Witches). It marks Stern’s first feature screenwriting credit, and boasts an original score by Mdou Moctar’s Mikey Coltun.
8:30pm – Puzzle Box (Feature film) – UK Premiere – Found Footage Horror
Puzzle Box follows the story of a struggling drug addict, Kait (Boyé), and her younger sister, Olivia (Denne). Running from a violent incident in her past and not wanting to go back to rehab, Kait flees to a remote house in the woods to self-rehabilitate, where Olivia joins her to document the process. But they quickly find that the house isn’t what it seems and the internal layout is constantly changing, trapping them inside an inescapable puzzle box of a house. As they attempt to solve the mystery and find a way out, they discover there are far worse things in this house to be afraid of.
We hope you brought a spare pair of trousers… DN Alumni Jack Dignan returns with a punchy found footage horror leaving you terrified just before we send you back home on Sunday night!
Check out the full festival programme and get your tickets here!!
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