Paramount Pictures
We now have merch.
A few months ago, I reached out to the editor of another writer-owned publication to see if they had any recommendations on a merchandise partner. They did, so we set up a storefront and put together a few simple (but stylish!) options for our readers.
This includes some hats, a hoodie, and, of course, a tank top. No self-respecting Matthew Donato project would only feature clothing that covers your shoulders.
And after some extensive testing – by which I mean two members of our Slack channel bought hats and wore them around for a few weeks – we’re confident enough in the quality of the merchandise to share the link a bit more broadly.
Now, merchandise is hardly a make-or-break thing for us. According to some very rough napkin math on my part, we would need to sell $699 worth of baseball caps to earn enough extra income to pay for one new article. Every little bit helps – really and truly, every bit helps – but our small little storefront is more about awareness than revenue.
Small publications thrive on word of mouth, and our name stands out. We have a unique name; readers who wear our merch may not be able to do the whole sales pitch (“Some films are certified fresh / others are certified rotten / our films are Certified Forgotten”), but if strikes up even a few conversations while in line at the movie theater, that can make a difference. So if you’re in the market for a new hoodie, you know where to look.
Matthew Monagle
New This Week
Occult Draws a Creepy Line from Sadness and Madness to Spielberg and Kurosawa
The latest edition of Rob Hunter’s Hopping Mad series is now up, and it might be my favorite essay yet! Rob continues to dig his way through the last two decades of Asian genre cinema, and this week he’s shining a light on Occult, a film from Noroi: The Curse director Koji Shiraishi. Noroi has become a well-deserved horror classic over the last couple of years, so Shiraishi is finally having his moment — a reminder that film canons are constantly evolving as movies are reevaluated and rediscovered.
From the Archives
Alien Raiders Deserves Better Than the Bargain Bin
Cult classics aren’t built in a day. It often takes a bunch of different writers and audiences talking about a movie — convincing others to see it, demanding that it be taken seriously — before something can make the leap from bargain bin to boutique home release. Well, in as much as we’re able to quantify any of these outcomes, it feels like Ben Rock’s Alien Raiders is teetering awfully close to cult classic status.
Around the Web
Quick hits from around the world of horror and indie journalism.
After accepting pitches from writers for about a month, our inbox is once more closed. Keep an eye on our Pitch Us page for our next open submission period.
Voting for the 2026 Chainsaw Awards is now live! Visit vote.fangoria.com to make your picks from an incredible year (so far) in horror.
Friends of the site (and former podcast guests) Paul Gandersman and Peter Hall just announced that their debut feature, Man Finds Tape, is now streaming on Tubi. That means you can watch one of our favorite no-budget horror movies of 2025 without spending a dime.
Our friends at But Why Tho? recently published a very cool interview with the team behind Dead By Daylight. It’s one of the few multiplayer horror games that has sustained itself over time, and it’s even getting a film adaptation soon.
Hellraiser is coming to Halloween Horror Nights. That’s pretty fucking cool.
Want more? Certified Forgotten also offers a weekly podcast series featuring some of the biggest names in the horror genre. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or your podcast platform of choice.