@RenZelen looks at mother love in her review of Breathe - A Ghost Story...Mother-love is a complex thing. Our relationship with our mother is the most fundamental and determining relationship most of us will ever have, whether we like it or not. It can be a force for good or… not. Its repercussions may be felt... Continue Reading →
Carrie, Prom Date From Hell
Ren Zelen revisits the original Carrie and uncovers an extremely good reason why Proms are not a good idea...Even as children, most of us have a perverse interest in the gruesome. This is not something new to modern culture, no matter how shocked we might be regarding the explicit nature of current video games and... Continue Reading →
Fairy Tales Celebration Day – The Company of Wolves
TheCultDen are celebrating Fairy Tales today and so Ren Zelen bravely wanders into a very hairy nightmare....Modern British Gothic is often characterised by its portrayal of the extent to which perversity and violence infiltrate the apparently safe spaces of British society, domesticity and culture. Angela Carter’s form of horror is based on the bizarre and... Continue Reading →
Movie Review: The Woman In Black 2: Angel of Death
Ren Zelen's return to Eel Marsh House with the sequel to the original 2012 film. Is it a welcome return or one marked by missed opportunity and denegrated to another Hollywood cash cow?...Director: Tom HarperWriters: Jon Croker (screenplay) from a story outlined by Susan HillStarring: Helen McCrory, Jeremy Irvine, Phoebe FoxThe original The Woman in... Continue Reading →
Movie Review: The Woman In Black
Ahead of her review of The Woman In Black 2: Angel of Death @RenZelen shares her opinion of the first film...“Hammer Horror, Hammer Horror – Won’t leave it alone”‘The Woman in Black’ is based on Susan Hill's much-loved novel, which has also been adapted as a very successful London stage play by Stephen Mallatratt and... Continue Reading →
Movie Review: Oculus
Now on DVD @RenZelen lays her eyes upon Oculus...Directed by Mike Flanagan. Starring: Karen Gillan, Brenton Thwaites, Katee Sackhoff, Rory CochraneHow do you exact revenge on an inanimate object? That is the question facing the characters in Mike Flanagan’s Oculus. The team behind Sinister and Insidious return with Doctor Who's Karen Gillan and newcomer Brenton Thwaites... Continue Reading →
Film Review – The Conjuring
Directed by James Wan, starring Vera Farmiga, Lili Taylor and Patrick Wilson, The Conjuring is examined closely by Ren Zelen...The Conjuring, the 2013 horror film from James Wan, was the American box office success story of last summer. It presents all the creepy movie cliches — creaky doors, cobwebbed cellars, toys you wouldn't have in... Continue Reading →
Film Review – Sinister
Scott Derrickson's 2012 horror reviewed by Ren Zelen...It’s never a good idea to watch snuff movies, as anyone of a benign disposition will tell you, and not an activity likely to improve your mental health. For Ethan Hawke’s protagonist, Ellison Oswalt, this unsavoury occupation proves to be increasingly ‘sinister’ and dangerous, and he gets more... Continue Reading →
Film Review – Cabin in the Woods
Written by Joss Whedon, Directed by Drew Goddard, and re-examined by Ren Zelen...So, this a horror movie, right? So we know exactly what's going to happen - of course we do.The Cabin in the Woods comes across like a 'by the numbers, paint my First American Horror Movie' - the major players fit the classic... Continue Reading →