Oscar Deficiencies: The Genre Gap

On Sunday, March 2, the 97th Academy Awards will honor the most notable films of 2024. Among the numerous movies nominated and competing for the chance to grab one of the golden trophies, ten individual films have been decreed the greatest of 2024. The following were nominated in the category of Best Picture: Anora, The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Dune: Part Two, Emilia Pérez, I’m Still Here, Nickel Boys, The Substance and Wicked. From a biopic about Bob Dylan to a musical taking audiences back to Oz, the nominations represent the astounding breadth of cinema this year. Most notably, the lineup features one science-fiction movie (Dune: Part Two), one horror movie (The Substance) and one fantasy movie (Wicked).

Queer Horror: The Horror of the Unrealized Self

Spoilers for I Saw the TV Glow (2024) and Interview with the Vampire (2022-). I have a visceral fear of being buried alive. To waste away slowly, trapped and confined and rotting away in a place where no one can find me. Suffocating under layers of dirt, not able to live or die. Watching I Saw the TV Glow, in which a character is buried alive, I could not help but think: what an apt metaphor for the queer — and especially transgender — experience. 

I Saw the TV Glow is a psychological horror movie directed by Jane Schoenbrun following Owen and Maddy through their teen and adult years as the TV show they are obsessed with, The Pink Opaque, leads them to question their identities.

Halloween Horrors: The Haunting of Hill House

As Halloween creeps closer, so does the itch to watch a blood chilling horror show/movie. And so, this mini column is dedicated to recommending horror media to add a little bit of fright to your October! The Haunting of Hill House is the first part of a horror anthology directed by Mike Flannigan and based off of the book by Shirley Jackson. It follows five siblings through two different timelines, one in the present when they are adults, one in the past as kids, living in Hill House. The show’s “adult” timeline centers around a tragic event that befalls the Crain family and forces them to reconvene after years of physical and emotional disconnect.

Canons of Horror: Something Spooky

Each year, around this time, when the first icy breeze hits me, but I’m not quite ready to be shocked or frightened, I turn to spooky films and TV, allowing myself to settle in without being scared to fall asleep on a lonely night.

‘Halloween’: Laurie Strode Strikes Back

Ruby: Let me just start off by saying that it’s a pretty bad idea to see a horror film with Varun. Varun: Watching a horror movie is, for me, an act of pure masochism. RQ: Yeah, but honestly it’s not even scary. VB: If you’ve seen enough slashers it’s probably not that scary since the film dogmatically clings to the tropes of that genre. But I think there’s enough jump scares in the film to make all but the most hardcore horror fans sweat a little.

Jesus Freaks: Mandy Is a Bloody Good Time

Ruby: Man, that was wild. It’s going to be hard to get that image of the demon with a knife where his dick is supposed to be out of my head. What do you think the movie is about, though? To me it seems like there’s not much depth to it, since the revenge story has been told too many times. Varun: I love revenge films. I don’t think they get old.

I Can’t Stay Quiet About A Quiet Place

Less is more. That seems to be the spirit behind A Quiet Place. Directed by John Krasinski, with a story by Bryan Woods and Scott Beck, the film sticks with a simple premise. It keeps a tiny cast of characters and, as is usual for horror, a relatively small budget of $17 million. It’s a lean pool of resources.