A Perfect Villain
On The Night of the Hunter, dir. Charles Laughton, 1955; Evil Dead Burn, dir. Sébastien Vaniček, 2026; and Queen Margot/La Reine Margot, dir. Patrice Chéreau, 1994.
Texas Forever
On The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, dir. Tobe Hooper, 1974; Undertone, dir. Ian Tuason, 2025; and By Chance or Providence, by Becky Cloonan, 2017.
Morbid Energy
On Stoker, dir. Park Chan-wook, 2013; Leviticus, dir. Adrian Chiarella, 2026; and Salt Lake City, Sacred Parasite Art Series, by Brian Evenson with artwork by Torsten Bohm, 2025.
Bleak Week: Despair Feels Good in a Place Like This
Notes on Bleak Week: Elle, dir. Paul Verhoeven, 2016; Sweet Country, dir. Warwick Thornton, 2017; Come and See, dir. Elem Klimov, 1985; Mother Joan of the Angels, dir. Jerzy Kawalerowicz, 1961; The Devil, Probably, dir. Robert Bresson, 1977.
Ghostface Headspace
On Scream, dir. Wes Craven, 1996; Backrooms, dir. Kane Parsons , 2026; and La Cérémonie, dir. Claude Chabrol, 1995.
Obsession Obsession
On Obsession, dir. Brian De Palma, 1976; Obsession, dir. Curry Barker, 2025; and "Irresistible," The X-Files season 2, episode 13, dir. David Nutter, 1995.
Cannibal Rerun
On Julia Ducournau’s Raw (2016).
Fantasies, Dreams, & Legends
On The Blood Spattered Bride, dir. Vicente Aranda, 1972; Hokum, dir. Damian McCarthy, 2026; and Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, by V. E. Schwab, 2025.
Interlude: Five Movies That Shaped My Taste in Horror
On Cure, dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 1997; The Seventh Victim, dir. Mark Robson, 1943; Panna a Netvor/The Virgin and the Monster/Beauty and the Beast, dir. Juraj Herz, 1978; Onibaba, dir. Kaneto Shindō , 1964; Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, dir. Wes Craven, 1994.