Five film-related recommendations you’ll love, coming at you every weekend.
This week: Psycho II, Halloween, scary sounds, and more.
“The Curious Case of Psycho II,” Keith Phipps (The Reveal)
This thoughtful essay examines why 23 years after the original, Psycho II was pitched to studios and greenlit with not much to say. It also looks at how it was at the forefront of a trend we’re mired in today: intellectual property as a well to return to over and over again until it’s run dry, and sometimes even longer.
Read the essay here. Also, consider signing up for a subscription to The Reveal because it’s a fantastic source of weekly film writing.
Halloween on the Unspooled podcast
This week the Unspooled podcast (a favorite around here) tackles John Carpenter’s original Halloween film. If you listened to the Halloween Unmasked podcast from last week’s picks this might seem familiar. Both are hosted by film critic Amy Nicholson, but in this abbreviated version of that series she’s joined by her co-host, comedian Paul Scheer. It’s a fun way to keep the Halloween train chugging along in your ears.
Listen here.
Halloween Ends
Speaking of Halloween, you might as well round out the decades-long series with its latest entry, which seems like it might actually be the last one (though not if we’re to believe Hollywood’s stance on IP that Keith Phipps talks about in the Psycho II essay above). This installment is once again directed by David Gordon Green and is actually pretty good as these franchise endings go.
You can stream Halloween Ends on Peacock here, and it’s also in theaters.
“How Horror Became Hollywood’s Safe Bet in a Scary Box Office Climate,” Los Angeles Times
With the recent success of things like Smile, Barbarian, and Pearl, this great write-up from Ryan Faughnder looks at how the horror genre remains steadfast during shaky times at the box office. Hint: it’s cheap, doesn’t need to draw upon previous IP, and is a lot of fun to experience with a theater full of people.
Read the story here.
“Sounds of Horror,” Vulture
When you hear bone break or a shriek in a horror movie you might not think about what went into creating that sound. But this fun article from Vulture goes behind the scenes to explain just how these things we don’t consciously pay attention to get on screen. It’s a lot of work with some unique materials, as you’ll hear in the audio samples included on the site.
Read the article (and listen to the sounds!) here.