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,...
I Am Legend from Richard Matheson, to Vincent Price, Charlton Heston, and Will Smith
Richard Matheson is one of the all-time great writers of horror. From Duel to Stir of Echoes, his stories have repeatedly made the trip from the written word to the TV or silver screen...
The Dog Kennel from The Thing (1982)
OBEDIENCE TRAINING GONE WRONG
It was the summer of 2004. As burgeoning horror fans, my brother and I used our freedom from school and responsibility to digest as much genre cinema as we possibly could....
Psychopathy and Sociopathy in Zero Day (2003)
Let me preface this piece with a warning - the topic and film discussed here are very sensitive and disturbing. These issues have grown exponentially over the last 20 years, and to bring awareness...
Violence and Its Relationship with Film
Chris Vander Kaay
I’m always fascinated by the idea of wanting to be so accurate in the portrayal of a real event that they involve people from the actual event in the reenactment. They did...
The Female Gothic: Three Steps To Creating Authentic Women in Horror Literature by Meg...
There is a notion of the kick ass woman. She is strong, perhaps even muscular. She is a natural leader, tough, and quick-thinking. We’ve seen her in movies like Alien (1979) and Resident Evil (2002).
I’ve never...
How Setting Makes the Story in Richard Loncraine’s Richard III
Welcome back to Everything But Bone. This time we are looking at something other than a horror movie - we’re going into Shakespeare territory. Now before you run away, the adaptation I’m talking about...
The Exploitative Nudity and Visceral Horror of The Hillside Strangler (2004)
Imagine you’re a young woman who recently graduated high school. You plan on moving to Los Angeles looking for your personal version of the American Dream. You hear of an amazing opportunity to model...
Jaws and the Rare Case Where the Film is Better
The common thinking is that the book is always better than its film adaptation. That’s just…not so. It’s easy to understand why we often come away thinking that, though: A book has more time...
David’s Transformation in An American Werewolf in London (1981)
A HOWLING GOOD TIME
When I was in college, rather than saving my money for practical things like groceries or bills, what little I was able to scrimp and save went directly to horror DVDs....
Exploring the Addiction to Darkness
Kelly Warner
When I first fell in love with the power of film, the thing that drew me in was that ‘sense of wonder’ of seeing something awe-inspiring on the big screen. Spielberg’s adventure stories,...
Tina’s Death in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
ANALOG NIGHTMARES
The first time I watched Wes Craven’s seminal masterpiece, I was huddled around a 22’’ tube TV sitting on the shaggy carpeted floor of a friend’s spare bedroom. The room was full of...
Session 9 (2001) and Dissociative Identity Disorder
Mental health and horror films go hand in hand. As a screenwriter in horror, reaching for a motive for a perfectly crafted character can run into a basic cop-out—“He/She/They had a mental health issue....
How Setting and Soundtrack Make It Follows a Standout Horror Film
Welcome to the very first Everything But Bone, a column about storytelling in film that looks at everything BUT dialogue. I’m talking sets, costumes, editing, cinematography soundtrack, and all the other aspects that make...
Tomb Raider: From Bullets and Busts to Grit and Empowerment
When Lara Croft first introduced herself in 1996’s Tomb Raider she directly appealed to a young male audience of gamers with a mix of guns and breasts. (It’s worth noting that the '96 graphics...
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...
Reclaiming “Write What You Know”
‘Write What You Know’ is one of the oldest pieces of writing advice around. Even folks who’ve never even planned to write a book have heard that bit of ageless wisdom. Where did it...