Horror by Harrison

  “Silence lies steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House. And we who walk here, walk alone.” Many modern viewers are likely more familiar with Mike Flanagan’s excellent reimagining of Shirley Jackson’s ( The Lottery ) classic novel than with its original film adaptation. While understandable, the Netflix show was a critically lauded sensation and it has now been nearly 58 years since the release of the film, I do hope that fans of the show will check out the original novel and the film (the 1999 remake you can skip). The Haunting was written by Nelson Gidding ( I Want to Live! ) and directed by Robert Wise ( West Side Story ) and based on The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. The Haunting was made on a budget of $1.05 million, but only grossed $1.02 million at the Box Office. The Haunting received mixed reviews at the time of release, but has gone on to be more highly regarded in the years since it’s release. The Haunting features a group of paranormal investi...

  “If Nancy doesn’t wake up screaming, she won’t wake up at all.” Diving in this week with the third of the “Big Three” franchises: A Nightmare On Elm Street . While Halloween and Friday the 13th have specific months that will serve as their theme months the entries for this franchise will be sprinkled through periodically, ultimately culminating with Freddy vs. Jason .  A Nightmare on Elm Street was written and directed by Wes Craven ( Scream ) and was released on November 9, 1984 to overwhelmingly positive reviews. A Nightmare on Elm Street was made on a budget of $1.8 million, made $1,271,000 upon opening, and went on to make $25,507,137 worldwide. Over the years A Nightmare on Elm Street has garnered a reputation of being one of the greatest horror films of all time. A Nightmare on Elm Street follows Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp, Growing Pains ) and her friends who are being haunted and subsequently killed in their dreams by a mysterious man named Fred Krueger ...

  We’re stepping outside of our usual medium this week to talk about our very first horror video game, Alien: Isolation . I first became aware of Alien: Isolation a few years ago when I saw my brother playing it on his XBox. As a huge fan of the Alien franchise, I was intrigued but didn’t have a XBox. I was delighted last December when it was announced that Isolation would be released on the Nintendo Switch. Alien: Isolation is a survival horror video game set in the Alien franchise. It was written by Dan Abnett ( Warhammer 40,000 ), Dion Lay ( Total War: Three Kingdoms ), and Will Porter ( Mafia: Definitive Edition ) and was directed by Alistair Hope ( Halo Wars 2 ). Alien: Isolation was originally released for Microsoft Windows, Playstation 3, Playstation 4, XBox 360, and XBox One on October 7th, 2014 and a port to the Nintendo Switch was released on December 19th, 2019. Alien: Isolation received generally positive reviews upon its release. Set fifteen years after the event...

                      I really love horror; I think that should be pretty obvious at this point. I think it’s an incredibly elastic genre that can be paired with other genres more easily than most. The horror genre can also be a great tool to discuss difficult subjects like generational trauma ( The Haunting of Hill House ), grief ( The Babadook ), or even dementia ( Relic , The Taking of Deborah Logan ). In the case of Jacob’s Ladder , it’s an incredibly moving exploration of PTSD and the inhumanity of war (the Vietnam War, specifically). Jacob’s Ladder was written by Bruce Joel Rubin ( Ghost ), directed by Adrian Lyne ( Fatal Attraction ), and was released on November 2nd, 1990. Jacob’s Ladder was made on a budget of $25 million, made $7,500,760 upon opening, and went on to make $26,118,851 worldwide. Jacob’s Ladder received mixed reviews upon release, but has gone on to be considered a cult classic. Jacob’s Ladder featu...