Do you ever wonder what the next phase of horror cinema will look like?
If you listen to the Certified Forgotten podcast, you’re probably sick of hearing me complain about how trauma horror has dominated our creative corner of the industry for far too long. And nowhere is this more evident than the most recent trailer for Lee Cronin’s The Mummy, which seems to translate the franchise’s mythology into very contemporary concepts of horror.
Now, I love Lee Cronin. I loved The Hole in the Ground before it was cool (is it cool?), and I was completely won over by his madcap approach in Evil Dead Rise (that cold open is about as good as a movie can get). But the trailer suggests (SUGGESTS) another horror aesthetic where the tail is wagging the dog.
I think a lot of Danny and Michael Philippou, two filmmakers who have perfected the aesthetic of 2020s horror while dragging his characters through a Rube Goldberg of darkness. Someone smarter than me could probably say that this nihilism is the perfect confluence of nostalgia and catharsis, and that the post-9/11 horror scene mirrored a lot of the bleak (visually and thematically) films we see on screen today.
But I can’t help but wonder what the next decade of horror will look like, and which voices will be the ones to shift to a new tone, a new approach to genre. Until then, I can do a lot worse than keep my faith in a filmmaker who is 2/2 for feature films in my book.
Seriously, The Hole in the Ground is the shit. Go watch it.
New This Week
Mrs. French’s Cat is Missing: Words as Weapons in Pontypool
In the world of film criticism, there’s no greater compliment than this: telling someone that your writing made them rethink their opinion of a particular movie. Bruce McDonald’s Pontypool certainly counts among the better-known titles we’ve written about, but I saw people on social media say that Christine Makepeace’s argument was so persuasive that they are reconsidering their feelings about the movie. Great films deserve great essays, and I think that’s what we have here.
From the Archives
Hellraiser’s Julia: The Underrated Villainess of Horror
With both a brand new BOOM! Studios comic book collection and an upcoming video game, it’s the year of Hellraiser, which makes now a good time to revisit Kayleigh Donaldson’s celebration of all things Julia. Sometimes when people ask me what my favorite Certified Forgotten pieces are, I play the proud parent — “I love all my children equally!” — but let’s be honest: this is definitely one of my favorites.
Around the Web
Quick hits from around the world of horror and indie journalism.
Festival season is in full swing, which means we’ll sprinkle in just a little — a little — coverage as a treat. Here’s Siddhant Adlakha review of Saccharine, the latest feature from Relic filmmaker Natalie Erika James.
Key an eye out this week for our latest episode of Uncertified, where Donato and I sing the praises of Cold Storage. In a world of self-conscious horror comedies, Cold Storage is a delightfully sincere film.
We lost some greats this week, but horror fans may just miss Tom Noonan most of all. Manhunter deservingly gets all of the love, but I have always adored his slasher character in Last Action Hero. Head over to Bloody Disgusting for a fitting celebration of life.
Those who know me know the only thing I love more than horror and tabletop is tabletop horror. So count me in for more coverage from Fangoria on how horror influences games like Magic: The Gathering.
If you haven’t had enough of listening to me talk about new spooky stuff, head over to Extra Hot Great, where I share my opinion on The ‘Burbs, the new adaptation of the Tom Hanks movie. Good discussion, disappointing show.
Finally, if you live in Philadelphia, you can see friend-of-the-podcast Adam Cesare (Clown in a Cornfield) in conversation with Lloyd Kaufman at Thrillerdelphia, my absolute favorite book store.
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.