new horror 2022 – Page 2

New Horror 2022 – Day 22

“When the Gentlemen Go By” by Margaret Ronald (2008)
“Don’t look, baby, don’t look.”

The trolley problem has a solid place in horror.

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“The Fool of the Web” by Patricia Breen, Roel, Brenda Feikema (1997)
“Your belly quakes with laughter even as I tremble in disgust.”

Sometimes you follow the maiden, and sometimes the maiden follows you.

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Halloween Ends dir. David Gordon Green (2022)
“What are you gonna do when Michael comes back for you?”

These Halloween movies are such a mess. I went back to read the plots and remind myself about what happens in the first two parts of this new trilogy and it starts simply enough, but the second and third are trying to say something about the evil on both sides and it makes for an incredibly confused story at best, a shitty attempt to address all sides of our cultural climate at its worst.

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Silent Hill dev. Team Silent (1999)
“I get it now, why I’m still alive even though everyone else is dead.”

I avoided this game since playing a bit in 1999 and noping out at the sight of scary demon children with knives. Then, I goofed by playing the sequel before the first one, so the framework was all very familiar now that I did get here. I can appreciate why the series has developed such a following now that I completed these first two entries. The recently announced remakes and sequels must be like a torrent after a drought.

New Horror 2022 – Day 21

“The Mummy’s Foot” by Théophile Gautier (1840)
“The Dream of Egypt was Eternity: her odors have the solidity of granite, and endure as long.”

Another quaint hearkening back to gothic tales of supernatural curiosity. It does have a particularly grotesque macguffin at the center of it and that gives it the spooky edge.

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“Kill Screen” by Lauren Beukes, Dale Halvorsen, Ryan Kelly, Eva de la Cruz, Clem Robins, Bill Sienkiewicz, Rowena Yow, Shelly Bond (2015)
“This better not end up in a bathtub full of ice with missing kidneys.”

Some of the writing here is cringey, but the character setup is intriguing. I’ll stick with it and finish the series after October.

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Censor dir. Prano Bailey-Bond (2021)
“I’ve salvaged the tug of war with the intestines.”

The obsession with loss is terrifying. You think it’s under control and you’re fine, but it can swing so far in the other direction that the cedar breaks and you don’t even realize you’re split in two. So, yeah, this movie.

New Horror 2022 – Day 20

“The Reaper’s Image” by Stephen King (1969)
“I’m afraid I might look into it one
day and see… what the rest of them saw.”

A surprisingly tame story from King that hearkens back to 19th century tales of curiosity.

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“Seed” by Fiona Staples, Jose Villarrubia, Michael Dougherty, Todd Casey, Zach Shields, Marc Andreyko (2015)
“For this is not a woman but a demon with no soul to save.”

I remember Trick ‘r Treat being more jokey with its anthology format, but this was just a straightforward historical horror tale. But I liked the sincerity and will certainly return to this book later.

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Celia dir. Ann Turner (1989)
“Swear on my living heart, blood will never part.”

This is in the same realm of horror as Pan’s Labyrinth, which is to say more dark fantasy than scary. A child in scary circumstances must cope in ways we tend to forget.

New Horror 2022 – Day 19

“The Aztec” by Carmen Baca (2020)
“That’s when he knew the pile was not just clothes.”

Oh this was great. It’s sitting in the backseat while the villain has the wheel. It goes south of course, but the journey there is tops.

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“Winnebago Graveyard #1” by Steve Niles, Stephanie Paitreau, Jordie Bellaire, Jen Bartel, Alison Sampson, Aditya Bidikar, Mingjue Helen Chen, Sarah Horrocks (2017)
“Where are the people?”

Ooh good setup here. I’ll return to finish this series for sure. I hope the big bad they introduce here gets a real powerful comeuppance, though it does feel like a setup for torturing some protagonists. Bonus points for a creepy carnival setting.

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Eko Eko Azarak: Wizard of Darkness dir. Shimako Satō (1995)
“I wanted to introduce you to Lucifer.”

It’s cool to see a movie like this in the mid 90s when American horror was getting more self-aware and cynical. This is a sincere story about realized Satanic panic, with an appropriately anime-styled structure. Some weird softcore scenes between students and abusive teachers were shocking but it’s seemingly the kind of standard stuff kids in Japan are reading in manga.

New Horror 2022 – Day 18

“Scales” by Cherene Sherrard (2017)
“Who would have thought it? A siren that can’t swim.”

Unsettlingly real in the reminder of what it’s like to be from two worlds and belonging to neither.

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“Goin’ South” by Nancy Collins, David Imhoff, Jeff Butler, Steve Montano, Renée Witterstaetter, Electric Crayon, Simon Bisley (1995)

“He has his hate to keep him warm.”

People in the 90s really wanted to see these sorts of bouts between characters from different media properties. There’s an essay in the comic itself that comments on the fascination. Of course, this just presages our modern era of cinematic media universes. As for this first issue in a trilogy, it’s a decent setup, but not much happens since it’s focused on getting the two characters into the same room by the end of a single comic issue. I think a cross-country trip/spree featuring Jason could’ve been cool if it wasn’t so rushed.

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Evolution dir. Lucile Hadžihalilović (2015)

“There was a star on his belly.”

A real quiet entry. It’s slow, deliberate, and doesn’t care to outline the plot for you. But the pieces are there to bring it all together, and the implications leave a lot in question for the post-movie pondering.

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Costume Quest (2019)
"My mom made pancakes this morning and warmed the syrup. Would a monster do that?”

I loved it. It’s more grounded than some of its counterparts in modern animation, but still wacky and full of heart. They were faithful to the core elements of the video games and still create their own universe with it. The only bummer is that it’s trapped behind Amazon exclusivity.

New Horror 2022 – Day 17

“The Phantom ‘Rickshaw” by Rudyard Kipling (1888)
“You’ve too much conceited brain, too little stomach, and thoroughly unhealthy eyes.”

Turns out this Kipling guy can write. This was an enjoyable old ghost story with a lesson about not being a cad.

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“Greed” by Becky Cloonan, Jordie Bellaire, Travis Lanham (2013)
“Kindly take your place by the dead horse.”

I liked what I read here, but it’s clear it’s not meant to stand alone. It’s too brief and it feels like we’re (rightly) meant to read this entire book and perhaps the series before getting to this point.

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In My Skin by Marina de Van (2002)
“Are you sure it’s your leg?”

I had a minor existential breakdown in the hours after I watched this. It wasn’t explicitly about the horrifying scenes in the movie, but something about the experience put me in the mindset for it. It was perhaps exacerbated by an interview with the writer/director/lead actor in which she discussed many things, including the small note that she doesn’t consider this a horror movie.

New Horror 2022 – Day 16

“The Husband Stitch” by Carmen Maria Machado (2014)
“You shouldn’t touch it, I say. You can’t touch it.”

Not long ago, while waiting at a bus stop, I found Her Body and Other Stories sitting on a concrete retaining wall. The area was dirty and littered with an empty bag from a bagel shop, a discarded pizza box, dried old crusts. I assumed someone had stopped there to read and then ate and left their trash along with the book they’d just finished. Part of me thought I should take the book, save it from decay. I saw that it was labeled with a library sticker from over in the next county. When my bus arrived, I thought best to leave it there for someone else to save, but made a note to get an ebook copy for myself. The next time I was at that bus stop, the book was gone. All of which is to say, fuck.

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“Some Other Animal’s Meat” by Emily Carroll (2016)
“What if inside, it’s somehow the wrong stuff?”

Some inside part is always going to feel like it’s different from yours.

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Deadstream dir. Vanessa Winter & Joseph Winter (2022)
“I don’t want to be remembered as a douchebag.”

Sort of fun? But knowing how shitty some cult-of-personality streamers can be makes it less amusing to me. Then I wonder how much of what I see in past movies is amusing to me as someone who didn’t live through those times but is not funny in the least to someone who was there for it. Ultimately, this is another kinda horror movie that’s not for me.

New Horror 2022 – Day 15

(Art from this incredible anthology by Richard Wells.)

“The Summer People” by Shirley Jackson (1950)
“I wonder if we’re supposed to… do anything.”

This really got me. I’ve had aging and choosing a place to settle (if ever) on my mind recently and this just hits all the right points for me to feel creeped out about the future.

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“Don’t Go to the Island” by Sfé R. Monster & Kalyna Riis-Phillips (2016)
“The skulls at your feet are laughing at you.”

It’s been almost all white American men in my horror comics this month, so I’m pivoting to other creators and eras. Fortunately, the Bones of the Coast anthology has that and also focuses on the Pacific Northwest, undoubtedly my favorite region. It’s a good pairing with the Jackson story. A moody coastal vibe, the gray sky threatening something that doesn’t reveal itself immediately, but instead lingers behind trees and corners, watching and waiting.

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Under the Shadow dir. Babak Anvari (2016)
“Dead people can’t dream.”

This was great, in that it captures an intimate story of two people trapped by the weight of political erosion and violence very well. It’s a slow simmer movie, building up slowly and then explicitly, asking if anyone can ever really escape the horror they’ve experienced.

New Horror 2022 – Day 14

“The Girl With the Hungry Eyes” by Fritz Leiber (1949)
“She lifted my hand off her as if it were a damp rag.”

Lots of stuff about eyes and the obsession with the superficial today. Leiber’s story focuses on the obsession with seeing and being seen, and what it costs the viewer to appeal to the subject.

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“Ill Bred” by Charles Burns (1985)
“I realized her muscles were getting larger and more defined.”

The story seems to go full tilt into men’s panic about gender and sexuality norms until it pivots into a Twilight Zoneish wink at the audience as the plot resolves to an acceptable state for the normies. Pretty gnarly body horror stuff.

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Eyes Without a Face dir. Georges Franju (1960)
“I wish I were blind… or dead.”

Whoa okay, so Almodóvar just lifted from this pretty liberally. But I suppose they’re all indebted to Shelley and perhaps Wells. And you know, I’m starting to feel full up on mad scientist stories.

New Horror 2022 – Day 13

“The Nurse’s Story” by Elizabeth Gaskell (1852)

“I would come, but cruel, wicked Hester holds me very tight.”

Gothic af.

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“The Boar’s Head Beast” by George Wildman, Nicola Cuti, Wayne Howard (1975)

“I toyed with forces I couldn’t control.”

This has bits of Lovecraft but it’s mostly an adventure story, and that just reminds me that so much of the adventure stuff I loved as a kid is from the action subgenre of horror.

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Def by Temptation dir. James Bond III (1990)
“Honey, I’ve given you something there’s no cure for.”

This was an interesting contrast with Ganja & Hess. It lacks the redemptive element sewn throughout that movie, instead leaning into a Tales from the Cyptesque comedic cautionary tale, and a heavy dose of Christian moralism.