Horror Actressing: Barbara Hershey in "Insidious"

by Jason Adams

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On Wednesday the great Barbara Hershey will be celebrating her 72nd birthday, and per usual once an actress hits a certain age what's the genre that picks up the slack? The "disreputable" Horror genre,  that's who, always there to welcome these great talents into its warm, slimy embrace. I simply don't know how one could call one's self an "actressexual" and not be appreciative of all the meaty roles this genre's afforded actresses that nobody else is throwing their way. Yeah yeah maybe they're not always Chekov, but the work is there and the focus is often on women's stories and relationships, and great actresses can make anything sing.

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Ten years ago Hershey hit hard with two prime examples of this -- I'm not going to fall down the rabbit hole of whether Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan is a horror film (it is) though, because I want to focus on the other one, one which gifted Hershey with one of the decade's greatest scares...

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Review: Aquaman

by Chris Feil

There’s an element to Aquaman’s chutzpah that feels lost to contemporary cynicism, as if its as much an artifact as the trident our titular hero chases. Here is a superhero epic that skews closer to something like Stephen Sommers Mummy trilogy, enveloped in sincerity and willingness to dazzle without winks or too-cool posturing.

But cut that with an over-caffeinated, sugar rush aesthetic packed to (forgive me) the gills with technicolor extremity, and you get a superhero film that’s delightfully batshit. It’s both beyond absurd and the guiltiest of pleasures, like Lisa Frank for dudes or gay underwater Indiana Jones. For some it might be an acquired taste, but it succeeds by pairing simplistic narrative ambitions with an authentically wild visual experience.

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Yes No Maybe So: "Aquaman"

by Ilich Mejía

After being announced four years ago, DC's Aquaman is finally showing some promising signs of life. Director James Wan was joined by the film's cast at Comic-Con this weekend where they presented members of the press and fans with the film's first official trailer. The film's stars Jason Momoa (Aquaman) and Amber Heard (Mera) promised big action and a sci-fi fantasy, but more importantly Nicole Kidman was also there. 

Wonder Woman started turning some of us DC agnostics into intrigued believers. Will Aquaman uphold its predecessor's efforts? Before (or after) we get ahead of ourselves, let's pick its trailer apart after the cut...

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Thoughts I Had... "Aquaman"

Chris here. What hath Star Wars the need to fill the calendar with weekly franchises wrought: we are getting an Aquaman movie this Christmas. No matter because it marks Nicole Kidman's return to superhero fare, which means COSTUMES! Gowns, beautiful gowns.

Today we got our very first glimpse of Nicole as Aquaman's queen mother Atlanna on the Entertainment Weekly cover to the left. But with this exciting news comes the realization that the film... looks really promising? Perhaps DC can shed its Batman/Superman woes (if not match their Wonder Woman highs) thanks to director James Wan and his long proven ability to thrill. Wan has previously given us horror greats Insidious and The Conjuring, not to mention Furious 7, the most beloved of that particular franchise.

With this cover comes a slew of new images, and I have thoughts...

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The Furniture: The Malevolent Secret Code of The Conjuring 2

"The Furniture" our weekly series on Production Design. Here's Daniel Walber

There are many ways to scare an audience. Music, special effects and editing are combined to surprise the audience with loud, unexpected images of malevolent demons or slashers or whatever. But what about production design? Can you be terrified by a stationary armchair?

The Conjuring 2 holds all the answers. James Wan is an excellent horror craftsman, a director who uses every trick in the book, including the sets and props. Production designer Julie Berghoff and art directors A. Todd Holland and Andrew Rothschild run amok, with the same ferocity as the film's music and editing.

Their first order of business is to exploit some of the genre’s stand-by images. There are a lot of crosses, in this case an entire roomful.

They stand at attention, ready to demonically invert themselves at a moment’s notice. There are smaller crucifixes sprinkled throughout the film, as well as the occasional window lit to resemble a cross... 

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