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Posted on April 8, 2015

The Lizzie Borden Chronicles Review

Gwen

Sometimes life forces you into hard decisions. For example, whether you should watch the new episodes of Intervention on A&E or test out Lifetime’s new series The Lizzie Borden Chronicles. While neither will disappoint if you enjoy drama and suspense, The Lizzie Borden Chronicles premiere episode (airing on 4/5/15) was surprisingly AMAZING! This new series follows on the success of the Lifetime Movie Lizzie Borden Took an Ax (original air date 1/25/14) which chronicled the Borden murders and subsequent trial. The new series picks up in the aftermath of Lizzie Borden’s acquittal. While I did enter into the series with low expectations, I certainly will not make the same mistake after watching the first episode.

Posted on April 8, 2015

THE MEME REVOLUTION IN GORE VERBINSKI’S THE RING

Dawn Keetley

Gore Verbinski’s The Ring centers on an infamous videotape and was released, ironically, at the very moment in time (2002) that VHS was becoming obsolete, replaced by digital recording technologies. I recently taught the film, wondering if it still has anything to say, thirteen years later, now videotape truly is obsolete. I’m convinced, after another round of watching it, that The Ring is still very relevant. In fact, the film’s fundamental message—that the media are taking “us” over, replacing “brain cells” with images—is more true today than it was at the beginning of the millennium.

Posted on April 1, 2015

APRIL FOOL’S DAY (1986) Review

Gwen

APRIL FOOL’S DAY

R | 89min | 1986 | USA | Fred Walton

Synopsis: A group of wealthy college co-eds escape to a private island to celebrate spring break. They have little idea that their April Fool’s weekend is no laughing matter.

Review: ‘April Fool’s Day’ is no laughing matter.

Posted on March 30, 2015

Supplemental Reading: Flow Columns

Dawn Keetley

Some columns for Flow written in 2013 – 2014 on Showtime’s /Dexter/, AMC’s /The Walking Dead/, and FX’s /American Horror Story

Posted on March 23, 2015

Empowerment of the Traditional in John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978)

Elizabeth Erwin

Released in 1978, John Carpenter’s Halloween not only gave Jamie Lee Curtis her definitive Scream Queen role but it also gave audiences one of the best known horror film villains of all time in Michael Meyers. On its face, the story is a simple one. On Halloween night, six-year-old Michael murders his sister and is placed in a psychiatric hospital. On the fifteenth anniversary of his incarceration, he breaks out intent on exacting revenge.

One of the reasons I keep coming back to this film is because of how effectively it uses cultural norms to elevate the horror.