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...
The Weird World of Kongsploitation: From 1933 to 2020
This week for Toku Tuesday we are delving into a truly bizarre subgenre in the world of giant monsters, Kongsploitation. This is a subgenre of a subgenre since Man-in-a-Gorilla-Suit is a subgenre all of...
The Hunted Challenges the Hunter in PREDATOR (1987)
The teenager at the register gave my friends and I a decidedly inquisitive look as he held the clear box containing the R-rated cassette tape against the counter. His fingers drummed against the dull...
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...
Screenwriters Talk Genre and Share Advice in These Six Video Interviews
When it comes to learning screenwriting, it never hurts to actually listen to the screenwriters rather than the directors. Seems logical, but some people get caught up in the auteur theory instead of going...
Bath Invaders from Outer Space in James Gunn’s Slither (2006)
Global Worming
I arrived at the movie theater about 45 minutes early. I was energized. Excited. It was Friday night, opening night, and I was certain every other horror fan was feeling the same way....
Protecting the “Magic”: The Sanctity of the Idea
Writing is a private ordeal. We sit at the computer and will a world into existence with words. It’s a Herculean task. The loneliness which comes with writing isn’t often fun. But some of...
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...
Digging a Hole in Shaun of the Dead (2004)
In the summer of 2004, I spent my Friday nights shilling concessions to people trying to catch the latest blockbuster releases. As they are today, back then most of the screens in my particular...
Facing Our Fears in YOU’RE NEXT (2011)
I was a nervous kid. I had a knack for finding ways of being afraid. If I rode a bike, I could fall off. If I climbed a tree, I could topple out. Dogs...
Mighty Gamin’ Power Rangers
The super Nintendo is truly the perfect retro console. The sprites and the capabilities of the system allow GOOD games to attain a timeless quality. Sprite art ages better than many of the early...
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...
Dracula (1992), the Ultimate Hot Mess.
In today’s Everything But Bone, we are entering bold new territory, writing about a film that’s bad. But why do that, you might say. Because, while the plot, characters, and acting isn’t the best,...
Boredom of the Lower Class in The Snowtown Murders (2011)
In North America, the name John Bunting isn’t particularly well known. But in Australia, his name continues to instil a sense of dread in those who were alive during his gruesome streak of murders,...
6 Things I Learned Writing In the Shadow of Extinction
You can learn a lot writing a book. Learn something about yourself, your understanding of genre, and maybe hopefully how to be a better writer on the next book. I like to think I...
Primeval Surgery in The Ruins (2008)
In my fledgling days of horror fandom, browsing the new release aisle at the local retailers was a weekly tradition. Every Tuesday, I would hit my electronics store of choice, scouring the shelves for...
Fear Academy – Beyond Empowertainment: Feminist Horror and the Struggle for Female Agency (2019)
As I was preparing to launch this column, I was fortunate enough to be approached about reviewing a new book called Beyond Empowertainment: Feminist Horror and the Struggle for Female Agency. Released through Seventh...
Kaiju Con-Line
The virus is for now here to stay and with that all of the common summer hobbies we’ve all grown to love have been completely altered. One of the biggest life changes for us...
Horror Paperbacks for Giant Monster Fans
I made the mistake of re-reading Grady Hendrix’s amazing history of horror paperbacks “Paperbacks from Hell”. Using the word ‘amazing’ may conflict with the word ‘mistake’ to you, but if you were my bank...
Ambiguous Horror in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining
Hello and welcome back to Everything but Bone. Today we are going back to 1980 with Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, a classic film that has recently spawned countless memes and reactions gifs. But I...
The Visceral Chaos of Angst (1983)
What happens when a person’s psychopathy isn’t exactly definable as typical mental illness? What do we, as a society, do for and with these people? Between healthcare systems and the justice system, we expect...
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...
Using Decay to Develop Your Characters and Worlds
A bullet might be the fastest way to develop character (or end it). Similarly, dropping a bomb on a city is the most surefire way to change the landscape of a fictional world. But...
Blue Caprice (2013) and the Child Soldiers of America
Societal shock gripped the Washington, D.C. area in October of 2002. Over the course of twenty days, ten people were shot and killed by a seemingly invisible sniper who emerged to murder randomly. It...
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...