Horror Costuming: The Cell (2000)

by Cláudio Alves

Last year, when exploring the wonders of horror costuming, I sang the praises of Eiko Ishioka's Oscar-winning Dracula designs, a heady mixture of Nipponic fantasy and Victorian fashion. While that's a cinematic wardrobe for the ages, it's fair to say Eiko's most crucial big-screen collaboration wasn't with Francis Ford Coppola. Instead, that would be her decades-long teaming with Tarsem Singh. Indeed, the Japanese artist's work with the Indian director became so intrinsic to his filmography that she could be considered a co-author of those movies. Her vision is vital to their final form. So much so that, after her death, Tarsem's cinema lost some of its spark. He's yet to return to the visual heights he had achieved with Eiko. Of the four features they did together, The Cell's the only adventure in the horror genre, a nightmarish plunge into a serial killer's psyche…

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Horror Costuming: The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

by Cláudio Alves

Jonathan Demme's horror masterpiece, the only film in the genre to win the Best Picture Oscar, has been written about ad nauseam since its release. And yet, some elements of The Silence of the Lambs remain under-discussed. It would seem impossible, but such is the richness of this feature. Take its design, iconic but understated enough to be taken for granted. The costumes are especially deserving of attention, going way beyond Lecter's mask and Buffalo Bill's world of human skin suits. They were designed by Colleen Atwood, a future favorite of the Academy, and represent an oft-forgotten part of her artistry - the ability to ground grotesquerie in reality and use clothing to define the relationships between people…

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Horror Costuming: Hellraiser (1987)

by Cláudio Alves

Last October, I had a lot of fun exploring the art of costume design in horror movies. This Halloween season, the miniseries is back with new misadventures through the annals of horror history and some of its boldest sartorial visions. To get some semblance of order, the write-ups will start with an iconic nightmare of 1980s cinema and move, decade by decade, until a grand finale in the form of an Oscar FYC for the current awards season. So let's start things off by looking towards the meeting point of pleasure and pain, seeking where they become indivisible, and contemplating how such ideas can be materialized in costumes. Clive Barker's Hellraiser has such sights to show us…

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Dune, review: when a dream comes true

by Elisa Giudici

Dreams are messages from the deep. This line from Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of Frank Herbert's SF novel perfectly describes the seductive dangerous power of dream we've cherished for a very long time begin to come true. Villeneuve is one of many directors of a generation that grew up reading Frank Herbert visionary sci-fi novels about messianic leadership and predestination, colonization and contamination of an alien world and culture, and the dangers of mixing politics and religion (to name only a few of the main themes of the Dune novels).

He was well aware of how insidious it can be to work on something that's long been on the back of your mind and your abmition for decades. "I talked for hours with Hans Zimmer about the possibility (a long time dream for both of us), trying to understand if it wasn't advisable to let our dream remain in our heads"...

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Emmy Analysis: Netflix dominates the Outstanding Period Costumes race

by Cláudio Alves

All five Outstanding Period Costumes Emmy nominees come from a Netflix, a strong indicator of that streaming titan's dominance over the kind of lavish prestige television that tends to the well in this category. Indeed, this well-appointed quintet is united by a glitzy love of glamour. Realism, or indeed historical verisimilitude, feels as if it's only ever pursued if it coincides with these shows' need for contrast and spectacle. Sometimes this feels at home with the material. In other instances, it comes off a bit forced, opulence for opulence's sake and to the detriment of the dramaturgy. Their wardrobes demand attention, catching the eye of even the most casual of viewers. Whatever the case may be, these are some eye-catching programs, so much so that it's difficult to predict who'll win. All five contenders feel like potential victors. The nominees are… 

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