“Chomp chomp, zombie.” A diminutive, grandmotherly figure says with a broad smile as she clacks a set of dentures in the air. It’s been almost two weeks since I had the chance to visit the first annual Women in Horror Film Festival and that singular image from Lynne Hansen’s Chomp is still making me grin. The story centers on an elderly woman obsessed with a cable access pundit convinced the zombie apocalypse is nigh. Determined to be a guest on his show, she kidnaps a drunk

I saw a lot of incredible short films during the Women in Horror Film Festival. Everything running the gamut from psychological torture to outright gore and always from a unique perspective. There were movies that gave me the creeps, that made me laugh, and more than a few that left me pretty shaken up as the lights came up in the screening room. But none of what I saw had prepared me for the abject horror and discomfort that I suffered at the hands of Unbearing. Warning, the

I was fortunate enough to return to Atlanta this past weekend to attend the inaugural year of the Women in Horror Film Festival. There’s no argument from anyone that women play an integral role in the creation of some of our most beloved movies and television shows but while they are instrumental in bringing these stories to life they are often overlooked and disregarded in the world of filmmaking. In fact, unless a woman happens to be the pretty face of that final girl in a

Women have always had an integral, if not somewhat cubbyholed role to play in the horror genre. In the earliest days of the genre on stage and screen they became either the damsel in distress to be rescued by the heroic male lead or they were some villainous monstress, a concubine of Satan sent to steer that same male hero into disaster. Even with the emergence of women’s rights and changing views of sex and sexuality in society, the most you could ever hope for was still som

One of the most amazing things about DragonCon in Atlanta was the cosplay. For those unfamiliar with the term, it’s costuming to portray a character or figure from one’s preferred fandom. DragonCon is known as one of the greatest showcases for cosplay in the Southeast -arguably the nation- and for good cause. With over 80,000 people in attendance this year alone, there were thousands of costumed characters from every conceivable fictional universe you could imagine. I was for

I went up to the local Malco last night and watched the latest big budget horror reboot, It. We’ve covered ad nauseum my feelings about remakes so I’ll spare you the tired monologue. With a huge marketing campaign and a steady build up over the summer leading to an absolute frenzy in the horror community, there were a lot of mixed feelings going into this. Many, like me, have been jaded by the slew of shoddy, big studio remakes that have done little for the genre while others

I’m not a big crowd person. I usually feel uncomfortable in large groups because I don’t know anyone and a lifetime of being the weird kid in class has left me a little bit introverted. But DragonCon was completely different. For the first time in my life I dove head first into a teeming sea of strangers and swam through new waters meeting people, talking to them, and sharing in a way I never expected to be able to do. The tiny pink strip on my badge that read “PRESS” was a g

Hurricane Harvey devastated Houston, Corpus Christi, and much of the Texas coast days before DragonCon 2017 was set to begin in Atlanta, Georgia. Meanwhile, in La Tuna, California yet another wildfire is claiming homes and lives. These are just a couple of the bitter reminders nature offers regarding the fragility of human life and the brutality that sometimes finds us when we least suspect it. At DragonCon, it made the annual Heinlein Society sponsored blood drive all the m

Is a monster frightening because it can physically kill you or is it more terrifying when it robs you of your individual humanity? I’ve often wondered what makes a monster truly terrifying to me. Some monsters are relentless stalkers, hunting their prey the way a werewolf or vampire might. Others are relentless forces of nature in the vein of Godzilla and other kaiju who wipe out entire cities like volcanic eruptions before disappearing into the nothing. But these are monster

Never have I seen a movie that so perfectly lived up to its title like WTF! and I’ve seen my fair share of slasher movies over the years. I’ve watched all the classics and I’ve dug down into the dregs and I can safely say that, despite the overwhelming popularity of the genre, it’s very hard to make a timeless classic about a crazed killer. But there are always exceptions. Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, and Friday the 13th set the bar for fans and filmmakers while others