‘The Sound of Music’ (1965) / ‘Opera’ (1987)

‘The Sound of Music’ (1965) / ‘Opera’ (1987)

Shelley Duvall melts indifference. You're unable to repress your response; you go right to her in delight, saying "I'm yours." (1974)

Between Dick Harris’ frigid scowl, the sedate disquietude of Ted Moore’s lensing, and a score so sorrowful it deserves its own funeral cortège, Michael Anderson’s ‘Orca’ feels less a riff on ‘Jaws’ than a briny counterpart to the metaphysical strangeness of Bergman or Rollin. Released #OTD, 1977.

In COMA, Geneviève Bujold, with her piquant features, her waif's face and sharp jaw, is like a soft little furry animal—a mink—with a dirty mind. (1978)

Columbo #S04E06 A Deadly State of Mind 00:25:48

Between Dick Harris’ frigid scowl, the sedate disquietude of Ted Moore’s lensing, and a score so sorrowful it deserves its own funeral cortège, Michael Anderson’s ‘Orca’ feels less a riff on ‘Jaws’ than a briny counterpart to the metaphysical strangeness of Bergman or Rollin. Released #OTD, 1977.

Hitchcock's Torn Curtain - Boston premiere this day in 1966 - French release poster

Twenty-seven years ago, ‘The Blair Witch Project’ (1999) completely overhauled the way we approach, consume, and engage with the medium of film. That nothing else since has managed to outvie its anarchic vision, rough-hewn feel or chasmic cultural footprint, is testament to the pic’s enduring power.

Twenty-seven years ago, ‘The Blair Witch Project’ (1999) completely overhauled the way we approach, consume, and engage with the medium of film. That nothing else since has managed to outvie its anarchic vision, rough-hewn feel or chasmic cultural footprint, is testament to the pic’s enduring power.

I won an award at Sundance years ago and Sam Neill, whom I did not know, tweeted to me “we’re all so proud of you, sweetheart”. I can’t even express what that meant to me. That our most beloved national treasure, a man I worshipped, would take the time to write to me!

Isabelle Adjani gets the bulk of the praise for ‘Possession’ (1981) but Sam Neill matches her beat for fucking beat, his sweatily deranged corkscrew into psychosis—a perf at once volatile and vulnerable, frenzied and forlorn—the capstone of a richly eclectic career. RIP, legend.

Isabelle Adjani gets the bulk of the praise for ‘Possession’ (1981) but Sam Neill matches her beat for fucking beat, his sweatily deranged corkscrew into psychosis—a perf at once volatile and vulnerable, frenzied and forlorn—the capstone of a richly eclectic career. RIP, legend.

Sam Neill on tackling depression and imposter syndrome when you’re between jobs.

Flirting for the umpteenth time with the idea of starting a film podcast. Older cinema, obvs, with an emphasis on the peculiar. Would anyone be interested in playing co-host? Preferably somebody with a smidgen of technical prowess. Lemme know if interested!

The e-book version of HOUSE OF PSYCHOTIC WOMEN is on sale! And I read it myself, for what that's worth! www.audiobooks.com/promotions/p...

60% OFF House of Psychotic Women: An Autobiographical Topography of Female Neurosis in Horror and Exploitation Films

House of Psychotic Women is an autobiographical exploration of female neurosis in horror and exploitation films. Cinema is full of neurotic personalities, but few things are more transfixing than a...

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Oh man, RIP Louise Lasser. You want to see some truly next level shit. Watch her in Blood Rage, my god.

R.I.P. Louise Lasser, star of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman

R.I.P. Louise Lasser, star of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman

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When John Waters' SERIAL MOM was in development at Columbia Pictures in 1992, it was touted as a "thriller" in the vein of From Hell movies such as FATAL ATTRACTION and SINGLE WHITE FEMALE. Although ultimately a satire of true crime obsession, it still retains enough ... (1/2)

Aspire as it may to be a prickly morality piece on journalistic rectitude & society’s thirst for bloodshed, this sweat-beaded serial killer caper soars when leaning into its potboil thrills, the deft—often daft—stylistic flounce working in sync w/ game Russell to ensure things stay goofily gripping.

Melding ethereal fantasy-horror with forlorn Gothic romance, Curtis Harrington’s woozily ambient ‘Night Tide’ conjures an oblique, visually exquisite seaside noir, its folkloric framework the ruse to style a poetic treatise on the perils of loneliness and infatuation. Released on this day, 1961.

Melding ethereal fantasy-horror with forlorn Gothic romance, Curtis Harrington’s woozily ambient ‘Night Tide’ conjures an oblique, visually exquisite seaside noir, its folkloric framework the ruse to style a poetic treatise on the perils of loneliness and infatuation. Released on this day, 1961.

Knowing Me, Knowing You: ‘Persona’ (1966) / ‘Muriel’s Wedding’ (1994) #SideBySide

Name an actor who was perfectly cast in a role. My choice is Shelley Duvall as Olive Oyl.

I wrote something a little bit soul-baring five years back about my childhood obsession, ‘Jaws 2’ (1976), and how its ruminative narrative mirrors some of my own personal struggles. Seems fitting to dust it off today—the film’s 48th anniversary—and reshare it.

Second Time Unlucky: The Ripples of Post-Traumatic Stress in ‘Jaws 2’

If there was one thing that hounded me in the weeks and months following the miseries I endured whilst in the ensnarement of a manipulative abuser, it was the fear of not being believed. A fear so …

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‘Mary Poppins’ (1964) / ‘Exorcist II: The Heretic’ (1977) #SideBySide

‘Mary Poppins’ (1964) / ‘Exorcist II: The Heretic’ (1977) #SideBySide

“I saw the title as a way of conditioning the audience, so that when the film [began], viewers would already have an emotional resonance with it.” Be it his trendsetting title sequences or inimitable one-sheets, nobody set the mood for a motion picture like Saul Bass (8 May 1920–25 April 1996).