Christian Dávalos explores Mexico’s national relationship with the horror genre through a subgenre he calls “mexplatterpunk.”

Carina Stopenski expands their definition of the “female mutilator” archetype and argues that they are a necessary transgression of more common depictions of female characters in horror.

Blaise Balas explores trans representation in '90s cinema and television by contrasting Denise Bryson of Twin Peaks with Buffalo Bill of The Silence of the Lambs.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho continues to be tumultuous ground for trans authors and viewers. In Private Traps, Dave Riser posits questions around the transphobic and ableist histories that force us to contend with this beloved classic film.

Out of all the pieces of pop culture that feature vampires, the Castlevania franchise stands out for one particular reason. Everyone’s favorite character? The castle. Rarely is the setting of a storyline one of the first things that fans recall. While it’s mostly fans of the Castlevania video games who are responsible for this pop culture preference, the castle depicted in the critically acclaimed Netflix series has also received praise.

Cinematic trilogies are common, but few tell the epic anti-hero story as well as the Friday The 13th films. These beloved movies capture one of the most iconic horror characters of all time: Jason Voorhees.

How can The Tingler—a post-atomic horror film about a lobster-like creature that manifests on your spine whenever you are afraid—possibly be compared to something as life-affirming and fancy-free as a musical?

Self-harm is a subject so taboo that even the horror genre struggles to depict it. The Substance is a film that embraces this difficult topic alongside aging, and bodily mutilation through the lens of societal pressures.

Movies like Cocaine Bear and Unnatural have captured audiences for their extreme depictions of bears, but how does this dramatization of unpredictable bear attacks effect our relationship to wildlife off screen?

Tragic, haunting, and immersive, Joel Anderson’s 2008 masterpiece Lake Mungo is one of the finest pieces of ghost storytelling in recent history, literalizing Jacques Derrida’s concept of hauntology, or the persistence of an element of the past.

Pedro Almodóvar’s controversial 2011 film The Skin I Live In is the ultimate conundrum: It is both visually and auditorily appealing, exciting and shocking, and yet it is deeply problematic.

A deep dive into the visuals of The Exorcism of Emily Rose reveals a haunting foreshadowing of the 2008 economic recession.

Grizzly bears have long held anxieties for hikers and campers in the backcountry, and have made their way into the horror genre as a pseudo serial killer—but are these fears unwarranted?

A lifetime combination of fictional and nonfictional encounters will weave terrifying images in our minds about encountering a bear in the woods. Grizzly and The Edge exploit the primal fear of being hunted by a brown bear, realistic or not.

In lieu of any scary villains or boogeymen, The Last Wave allows a primal awareness to roll in like a storm cloud.  Peter Weir is content to provide a framework of a story and allow Indigenous voices to drive the substance of the film.

Andrzej Żuławski's Possession, having gained cult status 40 years later, tells the story of a failing marriage and an equally devastating relationship to God and divinity.