Here's the beginning of the Palestine digital archive I've been working on.
I have a big list of journalists/creators/activists to follow (tell me who I need to add!). I'm just starting to catalog the hundreds of videos and screenshots I have saved.
So I used to work for Discovery and, shockingly, David Zaslav screwed over so many people over and over again during my 2ish years with the company. He also screwed over the whole city of Silver Spring, MD (where I currently live) and eliminated countless jobs here. 🧵
I’m not sure how to put this into words But I Saw The TV Glow captures the very specific feeling of finding someone who appreciates your hyperfixation and in turn fixating on them. Beautiful, melancholy, weird, and heartbreaking. Jane Schoenbrun wins again!
THE FIRST OMEN stunned me. An incredibly thoughtful and shattering look at sexual assault in the Catholic Church while also providing the tension of the original film. This is the religious horror I’ve been waiting for. Exquisitely repulsive.
Also 10/10 Possession homage.
Basically what I’m saying is Discovery and DZ have never cared about people, creatives, or logic. They’re gross corporate robots who want to keep taking in their hundreds of millions of dollars salary a year and chuckle at the peasants in their Patagonia vests.
So Discovery Communications had their HQ in Silver Spring. It revitalized this city over the decades it was here. More restaurants and local businesses opened up because more people were coming here to work.
MD doesn’t have a big entertainment/production reputation, so a place like Discovery in Silver Spring was a big deal. Plus it was a massive building that generated a ton of jobs.
But whenever LA or NYC execs would visit office, they would openly scoff at us. We were regarded less than because of our location. DZ and his team hated DC/Silver Spring.
So DZ decided lol fuck Silver Spring, NYC and LA only. I was still there when these conversations were happening, but I left before they closed the building and forced people to relocate or find other work.
Lisa Frankenstein is gothic lit meets 80s pop, a delightful mash-up of Sixteen Candles and Edward Scissorhands. It's a beautiful mess, uneven at times but always charming. It's a battle cry for the weirdos who just want to love their dead boyfriends in peace. I love it SO MUCH.
BEAU IS AFRAID is the best representation I've ever seen of intrusive thoughts and how they rule your life. Ari Aster's latest is a neurotic hero's journey told like a perverted Wes Anderson-style nightmare. Darkly hysterical with so many incredible details.
So big news: I’m now
@DreadCentral
’s Editor-In-Chief! This is quite literally a dream come true and I’m so excited for what the future holds!
Thank you to everyone who has ever published my work, read my work, and just been a friend since I started my career. I love y’all.
HISTORY OF THE OCCULT: First watch of 2023 bodes well for the new year. A tale of cosmic horror with retro stylings and whispers of GHOSTWATCH. A 2022 release that flew way too under the radar.
SKINAMARINK in theaters had my stomach in knots. This watch had me thinking of this as unintentionally the best SILENT HILL PT adaptation. Absolutely hellish and had me covering my face and peeking through my fingers. 2023 horror is off to a strong, strong start.
LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL absolutely rules, with David Dastmalchian shining in the lead role. This is how you do hybrid found footage. A Ghostwatch for the modern age (in vibes and execution). Also, a wild amount of worms.
I just read an article suggesting found footage is dead and with the recent success of THE OUWATERS and SKINAMARINK, plus the release of LANDLOCKED, THE UNKNOWABLE, and even MISSING, that just couldn’t be further from the truth.
So uh surprise I co-directed a rape-revenge movie!! That’s why I’ve been in Kentucky.
And it’s not an AMPTP or SAG film, so it doesn’t cross the picket line!!
'Bystanders' is a twisted and brutal upcoming revenge thriller from Mary Beth McAndrews (
@mbmcandrews
) and Jamie Alvey (
@JamieAWrites
). See the first images here:
Poor Things is delicious. While it's not necessarily saying anything new, it's saying it intelligently with incredible style. There's nothing like 2.5 hours of a woman discovering her own bodily autonomy while driving pathetic men insane. Delectable, silly, and surprisingly warm.
If you don’t support trans rights go ahead and unfollow me. Better yet, block me. We can no longer ignore the atrocities our own government wants to inflict on trans people to uphold the ideals of white supremacy, aka n*zis.
I’m thrilled to share that I’m joining
@DreadCentral
as their content manager. I’ll be creating our new content strategy to reflect the diversity of the horror community, uplift voices, and just celebrate what’s so amazing about the world of horror.
To all people who just lost work, if you’re looking for a home for a horror/sci-fi/genre-related pitch, I’m always accepting pitches for Dread Central! We pay $100 a feature!
Email is mbmcandrews[@] dreadcentral [.] com!
I watched Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor with the lights off and noise-canceling headphones on and boy oh boy, I was hiding in my hoodie. Stephen Cognetti crafts some of the series’ best scares, and shows just how much he’s honed his already amazing craft.
Today officially marks a whole year as editor-in-chief of
@DreadCentral
, something I honestly never thought would be possible. It’s a dream job that’s also the hardest thing I’ve ever done. But regardless, I am so immensely proud of what we’ve accomplished in just a year.
We want horror to be safe and inclusive but we need to face the reality that that still isn't the case. The horror community is still full of people looking to take advantage of others and people willing to protect those creeps in the name of clout. It's terrifying.
I was just reminded of when I dressed up as Slenderman to give a formal presentation during grad school about my research regarding Slenderman.
This was a legitimate 20-page paper about digital legends, how they leak into our reality, and their cinematic adaptations.
‘30 Days Of Night’ is now streaming on
@PrimeVideo
, so you can see how the massacre scene in the film is a harrowing and bleak example of creating fear through distance from violence. Here's
@mbmcandrews
on its bird's eye view of fear:
I’m unbelievably excited to make my Bloody Disgusting debut. It’s been my dream since high school to write for this site and I’m so glad it’s with a piece I’m so happy with. I write about
@StarfishMixtape
and The Endless as markers of a new kind of cosmic horror.
HELLRAISER is disturbingly delicious, both terrifying and alluring. Jamie Clayton as Pinhead is perfection. Chefs kiss 10/10 (full review coming next week)
With Pride Month coming up, I'm looking for pitches about queer horror for
@DreadCentral
! We pay $50 per piece.
I'm specifically looking for queer writers, any experience level, to share their perspectives on the genre.
You can pitch me at mbmcandrews[@]dreadcentral[.]com
THE MEDIUM is incredible. A tense, horrifying slow burn that uses the pseudo documentary format to perfection. Sawanee Utoomma is particularly good as Nim, who subverts expectations of the typical possession horror narrative.
Please check this one out on
@Shudder
!
BONES AND ALL has changed me and had me crying in the train home. A gorgeous and tender (pun intended) looking at found family, yearning for acceptance, and grappling with who we truly are. Kudos to Guadagnino for creating a cannibal movie that had me in tears.
ATTENTION: the best found footage movie you’ve never seen is now on Tubi. PUTREFIXION: UN VIDEO DE NINA TEMICH is now streaming and it’s a witchy, weird experience filmed exclusively with a 360 camera. It involves possession by an Aztec god!
Jesus, 2022 has been an incredible year for horror. These are some of my favorites, in no particular order, as I panic and try to figure out how to pick a top 10.
**LAKE MUNGO: LIMITED EDITION Blu-ray**
Released May 31 and available to pre-order! We are now deducting VAT for all international orders outside of the UK
I wrote about SHIN GODZILLA and how it perfectly captures the nihilism of the original and builds on more critique of the dangers of bureaucracy.
Basically, this movie slaps.
As Godzilla squares off with Kong, let's remember when modern Godzilla went back to the terror and hopelessness of the original with 2016's Shin Godzilla.
@mbmcandrews
breaks it down:
Guess what came today?? Absolutely honored to have contributed an essay to
@SecondSightFilm
release of
@coraliefargeat
Revenge.
Yes I did cry when I opened it.
I've reached the point of my depressive episode where my only comfort is a book about biblically accurate angels and mutants eating evangelical fascists.