Reevaluating Godzilla 2: War of the Monsters
In the realm of Kaiju fandom, there is a lot of stigma and critical assumptions you have to combat. People write off the films because they have appeared on various Riff shows like Mystery...
In Defiance of Dying Easily: Understanding Violence
Greetings fellow Scream Writers! Way back in June, Kelly Warner wrote about “The Expectations of Blood and Gore” and looked at the different approaches – suggestive, built up, bloodbath – that writers can use...
HALLOWEEN 3 (1982) and the Appeal of the Standalone Sequel
The first time my young, horror adverse mind even considered the Halloween franchise was over a decade before I would ever see even a frame of it.
I was with a friend at a video...
5 Dos and Don’ts You Want From a Writing Support Group
I spoke before about how writing fiction can be a lonely task – how sometimes it is necessarily lonely in order to protect the idea you are shaping into a story. But that’s not...
The Violent Birth of the Chestburster in Alien (1979)
As a kid, I was utterly petrified by the mere idea of watching a horror film. My friends would try to get me to watch them during sleepovers or on those rare occasions where...
The Expectations of Blood and Gore
Good fiction and film requires conflict. And usually when we’re talking about genre, that conflict often includes violence and some amount of blood. How you depict gore in your work is all about managing...
Ode to the Giant Praying Mantis
One of the few creatures on this earth that terrifies and mystifies me in equal measure is that of the Praying Mantis. They are fearsome looking, especially when they strike out at lightning speed....
An Interview with Writer/Actor/Podcaster Michael Swaim
One of the best features of Scriptophobic is how it has allowed me to talk to such wonderfully intelligent creative minds, such as Graham Skipper or the Video Palace duders. However, I have not...
Drenched in Blood: Exploring the Vampires of Waxwork (1988)
The bulk of my experience with horror as a kid can be summed up by all of the unreasonably disconcerting VHS covers I nervously studied while passing by them in the video store. The...
Truth, Identity, and Videotapes in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
Most people lie in order to get out of trouble. Even if it’s only a white lie, its purpose is usually to absolve the person telling it from responsibility or, more often than not,...
Just Hanging Around in Urban Legend (1998)
I have a confession: I didn’t always get horror.
You see, the horror genre and I have a long, sordid relationship. Sure, everything is all wine and roses now, but, like most great romances, it...
An Interview with Video Palace’s Ben Rock and Bob DeRosa
Gathering around the campfire and telling ghost stories is such a powerful image of how we share our mythologies that John Carpenter used it to open The Fog (1980). Often we forget that there...
Necrophilia and Retroactive Vengeance in Ted Bundy (2002)
In the 1970s, Ted Bundy was one of the most infamous names in the newspapers and on television. He committed a series of burglaries, murders, and rapes throughout the decade. He denied his guilt...
Can I Bug You For a Ride? The Subway Car in Mimic (1997)
Growing up, my house tended to be the spot where most of my friends hung out. We had video games, a pantry stacked with snacks, parents that didn’t interfere… you know, the usual. but...
Yeti: Giant of the 20th Century, A Canadian-Italian Kaiju Fever Dream
A few months ago we discussed Kaiju and giant monsters that have attacked Canada. In my research for the article, I missed the biggest instance of Canadian monster rampage. Yeti: Giant of the 20th...
Good VS Evil: Murphy’s Death in Robocop (1987)
The pop culture zeitgeist is a machine that can metamorphose its icons into something digestible. Safe. Crowd— and therefore family— friendly. The more press and entertainment space awarded to a figure, the more familiar...
Cults, American Xenophobia and Outsiders in Borderland (2007)
America’s never had a rosy image of Mexico, seeing it either from a flawed economic perspective— assuming everyone south of the border is poor— or from a social perspective tainted by nationalist rhetoric and...
Facing Down a Mack Truck: Severen in Near Dark (1987)
At first glance, I thought I was staring at a copy of Twilight (2008).
The pale, brooding face staring down from the top right corner of the key art was a dead ringer for Robert...
In Defence of Fanfiction
Fanfiction gets a bad wrap. And I get it. It’s full of weird sex, poor spelling, and a fervent love for a fictional universe that most of us probably only have a passing interest...
The Queen Attacks in THE FACULTY (1998)
As a high school student in the late 90s and early 2000s who was only peripherally aware of horror, even I knew the name Kevin Williamson. Not only had he helped to usher in...
Harsh Consequences for Bad Humor in April Fool’s Day (1986)
Holiday slashers are a time-honored tradition. A subgenre of great renown amongst horror fans, these entries become some of the most rewatched titles in any genre enthusiast’s collection.
There’s little I look forward to more...
The Villain Does Not Appear: The Invisible Power of Rebecca
Welcome to the first Everything But Bone of 2019. It’s been a hectic year so far for me, so I hope it’s been treating you better than I. For this week’s article, I thought...
The Dangers of Sitting Too Close to the TV in A Nightmare on Elm...
Freddy's Big Break
Many years passed between my introduction to Freddy Krueger and my subsequent foray into the remainder of the franchise. I was a different horror fan then, no longer the fresh faced teenager...
From Mundane to Amazing: The Editing of Hot Fuzz
We are moving in a different direction for Everything But Bone this week as we journey into Edgar Wright’s masterpiece Hot Fuzz (2007). While it can be categorized as an action film, I believe...
Written in Blood: That Bloody Mirror Scene from Poltergeist (1982)
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: as a kid who was terrified of the mere idea of watching a horror movie, little on this Earth distressed me more than the horror...