Tag Archives: teen

SUMMERTIME SCARES! (Joanna Skrabala / Bloody Popcorn)

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Joanna and her husband Johnny (who just celebrated their 10 year anniversary in July – congrats, kids!) run the wonderfully-named site Bloody Popcorn. And from what I can tell via their social media presence, we share a lot of similar interests – including cult movies, nostalgia, and a fondness for punk tunes. I knew they were the goods when they sent me an Xmas card with Jason Voorhees on the front last year. Needless to say, I was thrilled that Joanna wanted to contribute a piece to…whatever this is. And she did not disappoint! Without further ado, here is Joanna with a double feature to die for!

SUMMER LOVE: A tribute to weird kiddie camp movies (and puberty)

Living in rural Virginia as an impressionable youngster in the ‘90s meant the video store was vital to accessing life experience (or the tropes therein). Don’t get me wrong, I had a real life—school, friends, hobbies—but living miles away from civilization without a car (or driver’s license) just called for overly-organized social planning. And more than often, I was content to just exist in my bedroom with my TV, VCR, and hundreds of duped tapes. (Don’t tell the FBI.) Continue reading SUMMERTIME SCARES! (Joanna Skrabala / Bloody Popcorn)

“Emelie” (2016) REVIEW

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Have you checked the children?

This is the question posed to mousy babysitter Carol Kane via creepy unsolicited phone call in 1979’s When a Stranger CallsKane has the police trace the line and gets the shock of a lifetime when an officer tells her: the calls are coming from inside the house – get out of there, now!  (more)

RANT: Engaging Horror Deserves a Comeback (AKA Kill the Jump-Scare)

I’d be lying if I said this whole piece wasn’t almost entirely inspired by the recent confounding “backlash” over the incredible The Witch. I won’t get too into it – the articles can be found with a simple search – but the general (negative) consensus is that it just wasn’t scary. (There was also some chatter that The Witch – a historically accurate movie about witches, mind you – somehow wasn’t a horror movie, but those arguments are so mind-numblingly stupid that I won’t even acknowledge them.) The only conclusion I can come to is that, in both instances, people were complaining because The Witch was maybe too cerebral for them, too psychological. And if that’s the case, then it’s a sad state of affairs for horror fans. Continue reading RANT: Engaging Horror Deserves a Comeback (AKA Kill the Jump-Scare)