If YOU have never thought about death, it’s time you started thinking.” As the trailer for Faces of Death (1978) comes to an end, the final statement issues a firm declaration to anyone watching. What lies in store for us ...
Read More »The Stark Depiction of Human Tragedy: Night and Fog (1956)
“At Auschwitz, tell me, where was God?”“Where was man?”― William Styron, Sophie’s Choice “I am not responsible!” The cry of a condemned criminal refusing to acknowledge guilt. “Who is responsible?” The question asked in Alain Resnais’ documentary, Nuit et Brouillard ...
Read More »The Great Return: ‘The Coolest Guy Movie Ever’
To the extent that they are necessarily divergent, the worlds of film fandom and film history overlap to equally avid ends with Christophe Espenan’s 2018 documentary, The Coolest Guy Movie Ever, a 58-minute look back at the 1963 John Sturges ...
Read More »Mormons, Aliens, and Dan Haggerty: The (Mostly) True Story of Sunn Classic Pictures
Bigfoot. Ancient astronauts! Noah’s Ark? You might think I’m referring to the programming schedule for the History Channel, and you wouldn’t be wrong depending on who you ask, but for anyone wondering why modern television is populated by what are ...
Read More »Boiled Angels, Blood Brothers and Brain Damage: An Interview With Artist Mike Diana
Mike Diana is the focus of a new documentary, Boiled Angels: The Trial of Mike Diana (2018), directed by the legendary Frank Henenlotter. The film details the 1994 Florida obscenity charge that landed Mike in jail as the only visual ...
Read More »“Film was born of an explosive.” Dawson City: Frozen Time [2016, blu ray review]
Within the first five minutes of Bill Morrison’s latest exploration into tactile film history, these words are displayed on the screen: “Film was born of an explosive.” This sounds beautifully metaphorical, but it is in fact just a straightforward statement ...
Read More »78/52: Murder as Art
The past couple of months, I’ve had serial killers on the brain—particularly cinematic serial killers—which isn’t all that unusual of an occurrence for me, but this time around is particularly because I’m writing a book on Fritz Lang’s seminal M ...
Read More »Morgana: An Interview with Isabel Peppard and Josie Hess
While porn has often gotten a bad rap from feminists over the years, a few women have worked tirelessly to change perceptions of female desire — and how that desire plays into art and performance. Key examples include porn and sex-positive ...
Read More »A Ken Russell Retrospective: Visual Art in the Monitor Episodes
Over the last few months, I’ve been steadily working my way through some of director Ken Russell’s early work, particularly the episodes he made for the BBC series Monitor, a British arts program that ran from 1958 to 1965 and ...
Read More »Monster Fest Interview: Jai Love Discusses Dead Hands Dig Deep (2016)
Not many people have heard of the death rock band Kettle Cadaver, but it is a name you won’t ever forget if you have. Rock stars are no strangers to controversial antics which go against the grain of social norms, ...
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