Category Archives: Critical thoughts

Review of ‘Crimson Peak’ (2015)

Posted on 27th October 2015 by firekrank

I have found it difficult to start this review and not just because procrastination is my middle name. In part the difficulty arises in trying to vocalise my disappointment at what had the potential to be an excellent movie and, … Continue reading →

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Digital Horror, an edited collection from Xavier Aldana-Reyes and Linnie Blake

Posted on 27th October 2015 by firekrank

In 2002, I decided to go and watch the re-make of The Ring at my local cinema. The next day I was ill from school and decided to watch a movie to pass the time. This was the time of VCRs and … Continue reading →

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Witch-Finding, Marina Warner

Posted on 27th October 2015 by firekrank

Set your alarms for 10.00pm tonight (or head to BBC iPlayer tomorrow) in order to hear Marina Warner’s edition of Radio 3’s Free Thinking, ‘Witch-Finding’. The show includes Catherine Spooner talking about the history of witchcraft trials. If you are … Continue reading →

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18 Great Films of Gothic Horror and Romance to Watch Before ‘Crimson Peak’

Posted on 26th October 2015 by firekrank

In lieu of my review of Crimson Peak, which will be coming later, I promise (I’m just trying to formulate exactly what didn’t sit right with me), here is a rather good list of Gothic horror and romance movies. I haven’t … Continue reading →

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Twilight, Abstinence and Desire

Posted on 26th October 2015 by firekrank

Following the ten year anniversary of the publication of Twilight (2005), Eva Wiseman has written an article about its presentation of sexuality, chastity and vampiric desire, ‘Vampires, blood and chastity: how Twilight turned teens on’. Though the opening paragraphs were a little suspect, putting … Continue reading →

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Are haunted houses the new vampires?

Posted on 25th October 2015 by firekrank

In yesterday’s paper there was a very interesting article by Sarah Hughes entitled ‘Out with vampires, in with haunted houses: the ghost story is back’. Now whilst I do not wish to see the true death of my favourite revenants, … Continue reading →

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Vampire Breast Lifts and the Cult of Eternal Youth

Posted on 19th October 2015 by firekrank

Following the ‘vampire facelift’, there is now the ‘vampire breast lift’. These procedures have been linked to immortal blood-drinkers because they both involve injecting the patients blood back into their skin in order to rejuvenate it. The idea of connecting … Continue reading →

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Genevieve Valentine, ‘How the vampire became film’s most feminist monster’

Posted on 16th October 2015 by William the Bloody

A fascinating essay by Genevieve Valentine on the shifting nature of the powerful and ambivalent female vampire in cinema.

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Roger Luckhurst, ‘Why bother reading Bram Stoker’s Dracula?’

Posted on 16th October 2015 by William the Bloody

And again, Roger Luckhurst! This time, a succinct essay on the significance of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula, placing it in the context of late nineteenth-century Britain and anxieties over Empire and otherness.

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The Return of ‘The Returned’ (2012 – )

Posted on 15th October 2015 by firekrank

For those who loved ‘The Returned’ (2012 – ), the French series about the dead returning to a small community, Season 2 will be coming out on More 4 later this year. It has been a two year wait for … Continue reading →

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