pop culture

Pop culture for horror junkies; all about the famous films, creepypasta tales, trends and tropes that bled from the fringes of fright into the macabre mainstream.

The Top Werewolf Films You Need to See
"The Wolf Man" (1941) (Gene pick) The film that launched a franchise, and made Lon Chaney, Jr. a star, this is the iconic film most people think of if they think of a werewolf movie. Chaney plays Larry Talbot, a man who survives a werewolf attack, only to find himself turning into a werewolf himself when the moon is full. Talbot is a great everyman who hates that he becomes a monster that could hurt or kill anyone, including those he loves. Bela Lugosi and Maria Ospenskaya have small but key roles as gypsies who tell Talbot about his curse, and legendary actor Claude ("Casablanca") Rains plays Talbot's father, who must cure or stop his son.
By Gene Lass3 years ago in Horror
Disturbia - A Movie Review
Come here and look at this. Something’s going on at our neighbor's house. Disturbia is a 2007 film. Following an incident, Kale is on house arrest. With nothing to do except watch his neighbors, he suspects that one of his neighbors is up to no good. Can he investigate further even if he is confined to one location?
By Marielle Sabbag3 years ago in Horror
Why Are We So Connected to the Halloween Franchise?
Is the Halloween franchise truly going to end? It's unlikely. Even as the next film in the franchise is literally called Halloween Ends, my cynical mind cannot accept that idea. Sure, Jamie Lee Curtis and her continuity in the franchise will end, I trust her when she says she's finished with the series. But, Hollywood doesn't just stopping making a franchise in this day and age. If they feel there is still money to be made from an intellectual property, they will keep reheating it for eternity.
By Sean Patrick3 years ago in Horror
The Top Vampire Movies You Need to See
Nosferatu (1922): Max Schreck, Alexander Granach, Gustav von Wangenheim (Gene pick) This film is iconic. Even if you've never seen it, you've probably seen clips from it, as they frequently show up in other films, or in montages of vampire films. It's an unauthorized adaption of "Dracula," which shows vampires as they were originally thought to be - horrific undead creatures that used to be human, that sort of remember being human, but clearly they are human no longer.
By Gene Lass3 years ago in Horror
A New, Old Terror
This is a dead horse trope that, true to its nature, refuses to stay in the grave. From vampire, jiangshi, and xidachane, the walking corpse has collected many names from many cultures. Renowned horror authors such as Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, Ambrose Bierce, and H.P. Lovecraft have all been instrumental in influencing the exploration of the horrors of not only death but what lies beyond it.
By Wen Xiaosheng3 years ago in Horror
7 Of The Top Horror Masterpieces To Start October Right!
October is upon us, and it’s time to enjoy some of those favorite things about the witching season. Sweatshirt season, hot apple cider, the fall colors, and the hours of thrills, chills, and screams that will get your blood pumping on those cold fall nights. It’s the season of the witch, and it’s time to get the crap scared out of you and feel your heart beating through your chest.
By Jason Ray Morton 3 years ago in Horror
10 Best Characters of The Scream Franchise
After 10 years of hiatus since Scream 4 (2011) came out, the Scream Franchise has came back stronger with the return of our favorite horror icon, Ghostface, in the new movie that came out on January 14 of this year.
By Aletze Castellanos3 years ago in Horror
Casper the Friendly Ghost
Or, perhaps you might know it better from a still image of the film. Starring Christina Ricci. Also, the first film to feature a CGI character in a lead role.
By J.A. Hernandez3 years ago in Horror
Snow White: Darker than You Remember
I love fairytales. I adore the pageantry, the excess, the clear divisions between right and wrong, good and evil, but when I look a little deeper, these stories that raised us have shifted through the centuries. What I once thought of as a sweet story for children began its journey as a cautionary tale full of violence, infanticide, cannibalism, poison, magic and death. Let's unpack this week's edition as we compare and contrast the musical, animated Disney classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarves with the Grimm Brother's tale that inspired it.
By Regina Grimm3 years ago in Horror
The Face Of Horror And The B+ Foundation Fight Pediatric Cancer
To be fair, voting would mean a lot to me because there's a competition and I'd love to win. However, the Face of Horror competition is also working to support the B+ Foundation and its fight against pediatric cancer. Read on to find out how you can help.
By Jason Ray Morton 3 years ago in Horror
Dark Shadows: The House of Despair Review
Back in 2006, Big Finish decided to revive another long-running cult property with the same broad appeal as Doctor Who. This time, however, it wasn't to be a British institution that was revived: rather, it was ABC's American daytime soap opera Dark Shadows. Broadcast between 1966 and 1971, this series featured the usual mix of soap elements: family dramas, affairs, murders... only this one also included vampires, werewolves, time travel and the supernatural as well. It was phenomenally successful, and, as such, felt like a natural property for Big Finish to tackle. However, with a large number of the original cast no longer with us, it meant that producer and writer of this story Stuart Manning would have an interesting challenge in order to make the series work. In order to get around this, it was decided to only feature a small handful of the cast from the series, in contained, hour-long stories, and "The House of Despair" was the first of these. It's an ok start to Big Finish's Dark Shadows range, but it doesn't quite sell the series to new listeners quite as much as it needs to, and it doesn't quite fulfil the potential I know this series can reach on audio.
By Joseph A. Morrison3 years ago in Horror
Genre Survey: Southern Gothic
From the muddy brown waters of the Mississippi to the coal black mines in Appalachia, the American South has long had its share of stories best told in the dark. These tales of violence, racial tensions, religious extremism and supernatural horror are often smothered in a humid blanket of delirium and reality-bending nightmarish elements that have haunted the American South for over a century. The artistic genre of Southern Gothic combines these macabre and horror elements along with the evolution of the history and character of the region to create many classic works of literature, art, and music, as well as widely popular movies and television.
By Charlotte Davidson3 years ago in Horror