Write What Scares You? Write What You Damn Well Want!
Kelly Warner, author of the post-apocalyptic kaiju trilogy In the Shadow of Extinction, wrote about how he feels the advice “write what you know” often gets misinterpreted. I believe a similar piece of writing...
It Comes at Night and the Art of Opening Strong
Setting the Stage
A few days ago I finally broke the plastic on my Blu-ray of It Comes at Night (2017) and sat down for blind watch. I had managed to avoid any spoilers or trailers and...
One Missed Pod: Exploring Japanese Found Footage
On Episode 21, we had Scriptophobic writer Rachel Bolton on to speak about the found footage masterpiece Noroi: The Curse (2005). We mentioned quite a few films in that episode, especially the work of Kōji Shiraishi.
Shiraishi's...
Using Letterboxd as a Tool for Research, Collaboration and Fun
I’m almost done writing Scream Writing: A Comprehensive Guide to Writing the Horror Screenplay and that means I’m beginning to gear up research on my second book, Mindfulness at the Movies: A Cinephile’s Guide...
An Interview with Author Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
Welcome back, Scream Scholars. As a part of our continuing education in horror, it only makes sense to reach out to academics who have spent far more time than us considering the genre. It...
The Mouth of Hell in Jaws (1975)
Like most kids born in the early to mid-80s, I grew up knowing the name Steven Spielberg. My cousins and I wore out my grandmother’s VHS copy of E.T. (1982) growing up (and 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...
Patty Jenkins and Levelling the Playing Field in Monster (2003)
The name Aileen Wuornos conjures to most the image of a wild eyed, crazed woman who shouted profanities in court after being condemned to death for the killing of several men in Florida between...
Going for a Drive: Scream 2 (1997)
The soft glow of multi-colored florescent lights was the only thing polluting the darkness. The shadows from the limbs of the faux-evergreen which they adorned creeped into the entryway of the room housing our...
Scream Writing Questions with Andy Mitton
Here on Scriptophobic, we believe that studying screenplays and discussing the writing process are of vital importance to a Scream Writer's growth. That's why we here at Scriptophobic are proud to bring you a new...
Don’t Disrespect Halloween Tradition in TRICK ‘R TREAT (2007)
By the time I finally sat down and watched Trick ‘r Treat (2007), I had been living in hyped anticipation for it for close to two years. Since first premiering and earning acclaim on the festival circuit,...
An Electrifying Hot Tub in Valentine (2001)
In the early 2000’s, for my friends and I, Friday nights were reserved for the movie theater. It didn’t matter what movie it was— if it was playing, my friends and I would see...
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...
What’s Real When Everything’s Constructed in Perfect Blue
And now for something completely different, I’m going to be writing about an animated movie this time: Satoshi Kon’s 1997 masterpiece Perfect Blue. Writing about visual storytelling in animated films is different on a...
Making Sense in the Horror Genre
What is reality, anyways?
Of all the writing “rules” that the horror genre gets to play around with – see, Break – this is my favorite: Things don’t need to make sense. Now, before you...
The Untreated Psychopathy of I, Olga Hepnarová (2016)
We’re unsettled by anyone who kills another human being. The idea of taking a person’s life, to the vast majority of us, is morally revolting. Serial killers scare us worse because of the repetitive...
Pace and Originality in Fede Alvarez’s Evil Dead
Welcome back, my Scream Writers. This week’s article was originally going to cover another screenplay—one that I will leave unnamed. However, when I had found myself making up excuses to avoid reading what I...