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MY HISTORY WITH FINAL DESTINATION [SKIP] A little under 20 years ago I was sitting in the house my dad had grown up in sitting in what used to be my aunt’s room with my two older cousins. Prior to this time period I hadn’t watched much horror, thriller or the like seeing as I was only about 10 (my first “horror” movie was What Lies Beneath  when I was under 7 but I wouldn’t fall in love with the genre until a few years after this experience). The new Final Destination had come out, Final Destination 3 (2006), and my oldest cousin explained how much she liked the first two when we started up the new one.  Riveted, enthralled and horrified by the time that film had ended my world view had shifted and I was extremely concerned about avoiding death. I asked my cousin something along the lines of, “This isn’t like real  though, right?” and she literally looked at me and said she didn’t know. Now, obviously that is the honest answer but it was the answer that sent my little mind into a spiral of worry. Despite my fears I still went to the local amusement park for a school function and I shit you not the song “Roller Coaster of Love” came on while I awaited riding “The Screamin’ Eagle” the most intense of the rides our small park had to offer. It definitely occurred to me that that could literally  be a sign like those the main characters face in the films. I braced myself to get on the ride while weird things started happening around me and then having a premonition of a horrible accident. Luckily, that didn’t happen and instead it was a regular but fun time on a ride that would eventually break over 10 years later, far too long after I’d visited the park to be a coincidence like those faced by the characters in the Final Destination franchise. I didn’t watch the other films in the franchise until years after watching the 3rd, eventually catching the 2nd on TV and I can confirm that I’m still changing lanes to avoid logging trucks to this day. I commute to my day job and I shit you not I can think of 2 instances this year I was on the highway behind a logging truck and quickly thought of the famous car crash scene. While a director has claimed they regret not making Death, the antagonist of the franchise, have a physical and therefore marketable form I do think there’s something to be said about living rent free in an extremely large amount of North American driver’s heads. FINAL DESTINATION BACKGROUND Despite the spiral Final Destination 3, the best one IMO, gave me as a child I really love this franchise and once I’d reached teenage-hood and beyond I readily watched every new installment. An easy franchise to fill a weekend horror marathon with at this point the franchise is comprised of 5 released films and 1 unreleased film set to come out later this month titled Final Destination: Bloodlines. The first 5 films followed the original’s 2000 release with subsequent releases in 2003, 2006, 2009, and 2011 , about 2-3 years between each one. The first follows a group of teenagers who get off of a plane right before it crashes and are then chased by an invisible force, Death, seeking to restore balance by ending the survivors in order of when they would have died on the plane. Obviously not all of that is known when you go into it but at this point the movie came out 25 years ago and if you don’t know the premise by now that is a miracle I need to stop. The second film, following in 2003, is the same premise with the same antagonist but the accident is a multi-car pileup on a highway. The following films in the franchise also copy the format of a different accident with the same premise but only 1 and 2 have cross over main characters. The 3rd film, my personal favorite, is a roller coaster accident, the 4th is annoyingly titled The Final Destination instead of Final Destination 4 and I recall it being advertised as the last installment that would be made (as proven by I Know What You Did Last Summer’s upcoming reboot, no horror franchise truly dies). Not only was it titled differently it also leaned very heavily into the 3D being forced upon audiences in the late aughts. It didn’t pay off and it is the least liked of the movies, centered around a NASCAR accident with deaths that were way too far fetched, even for Final Destination. The 5th and most recent film came out 2 years after the mess of The Final Destination and returned to the franchise’s roots, simply titled Final Destination 5 as well as swinging back around to earlier concepts in more ways than one. Now, 14 years later a new film is being added to the franchise, Final Destination: Bloodlines. Coming out later this month it follows a family matriarch and grandmother who survived an accident at the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington when she was a young woman. We can discern that her accident will be very similar to those of other Final Destination films, a realistic premonition followed by a group of people leaving right before shit hits the fan, thus surviving the accident. Interestingly enough this woman is able to live a full life, growing old (looking forward to maybe seeing what that was like) and has grown children with children of their own that are teenagers. Unfortunately for both her and them however they have inherited her escape from Death and now are imbalances in the universe, not supposed to exist and chased by Death itself. We get a glimpse of Tony Todd in the trailer (RIP and I hope that this elevates him to his rightful position) as the mortician and most recognizable Final Destination character, William Bludworth. I’m also looking forward to seeing if they expand on Bludworth’s character, a missed opportunity of previous films, but this would be bittersweet as it is Todd’s last performance in the franchise. SPOILER FREE-ISH SECTION The first film and focus of this post that released on St. Patrick's Day in 2000 and cost an estimated $23 million to make . Originally intended to be an X Files episode the story, written by Jeffrey Reddick , was inspired by something he read with Death as an unseen, evil force as the antagonist. Following the success of Scream in 1996 New Line Cinema swapped the characters from adults to teenagers in hopes of repeating that success. James Wong and Glen Morgan turned it into a full scipt and Wong directed the film . Both felt that the feeling of the heebie jeebies the circumstances inspire was relatable and interesting for a horror film, something bad happening when someone had a feeling something bad would happen. At the time it was notable that slasher movies followed a formula that kept audiences on the edge of their seats wondering who might make it until the end but the writers wanted to confirm those fears that every character will die and the suspense is how they will die . Rather than a never-dying slasher with a Halloween costume they wanted Death, the antagonist, to be an unseen force-something they came to regret once it became a franchise due to the lack of obvious Halloween merch. Craig Perry and Warren Zide reportedly wanted to help with the film's budget because they were fascinated with the concept of death as an unseen force. Not only is death a force in Final Destination but something that is interacting with the physical world with intent. Built around subtleties and an accumulation of elements to create tension the entire movie feels off like everything seems normal but something is really wrong. John Millet has said he "skewed the sets" or designed them to be a "bit unnatural" and create unease around the environment. I can attest that everytime I watch the films I notice a new unsettling detail or something that was clearly intentional in the background of a scene, like in the first film when the teacher, Valerie Lewton, played by Kristen Clark , opens her closet to investigate and the camera angle switches to from inside of the closet with her in the forefront. In the background of that shot the way that the items are blurred in and out of the foreground looks like a man standing over her right shoulder. It's extremely spooky and almost moves like a shadow of a man would, freaky and ominous as Death literally stalks her like prey around her house. Another element of note used to influence audience perception is the color saturation. Earlier in the film before Devon Sawa playing Alex Browning has his premonition on Flight 180 the film is notably more color saturated, things aren't as skewed and the world is for lack of a better word: right. The film opens with those early 2000's slice through the screen white font that states production credits and building music. Lightning crackles as the first shot and quickly the camera is through a bedroom window where we eventually get to a shot of an oscillating fan that we will see throughout the film. Items are used to inform background details like Alex's passport, a plane ticket to France. and school books about France. Alex and his fellow peers are high school students traveling to Paris, France on a class trip taking off from New York. Other classmates are introduced including Clear Rivers, the quiet but observant girl played by Ali Larter, and the class jock, Carter Horton played by Kerr Smith who is really attached to his girlfriend, Terry Chaney played by Amanda Detmer. Alex's friend Tod Waggner played by Chad Donella and his father George Waggner played by Brendan Fehr are also introduced as the father says goodbye to Tod and his other son, both on the class trip. Skip ahead to right as the plane is about to take off Alex is asked to switch seats with 2 popular girls in his class which he agrees to, placing him next to Tod. The flight takes off seemingly normal but all of a sudden they start to jerk and rock in the sky, bouncing rather than gliding in ascent. In what can only be described as an actual hell scape of a nightmare scenario the plane rips apart in the sky and section by section the passengers are killed or pulled out of the flight. Stuck to his chair in horror and terror Alex witnesses this happen and is some of the last to die when the whole plane explodes in the sky, killing him and the remaining passengers. As the flames engulf his seat Alex is zooted back to pre-take off still sitting in his original seat right as the girls ask him to switch. He immediately freaks out and announces that the plane is going to crash and everyone is going to die. Alex is obviously very panicked and jumps ahead to Tod's row where he went in his premonition and confirms that an anomalous broken chair tray is exactly where he expects to find it. He tries to warn everyone on the plane about his vision but they are appalled and Carter, incensed, physically confronts him. Due to this altercation and Alex's protests the crew and some airport staff carry a group of passengers off the plane while the rest stay seated. This group includes Alex and Carter, both high school teachers, Carter's girlfriend, Tod at his brother's request to help Alex, and at the last minute, Clear too, get off the plane. Once the group is off the plane and back at the airport gate the staff informs the teachers that only 1 of them can rejoin the flight with the students through to Paris. Miss Newton demands she be the one to stay over the other teacher, who is more so involved in the French program, and reassures him that they will follow on the next flight out. He reboards the plane as the boys keep fighting at the gate about Alex's proclaimations. Unfortuneately Alex isn't lying and the plane explodes in the sky while it is taking off, the blast smashing the airport windows and leaving no survivors. Now, in another film franchise this would've been the horror and it is horrifying; for Final Destination however this is simply the stage setting and the set up. Now that Alex has stopped an entire group from dying in the plane crash they would've died in Death, an unseen force often characterized by gusts of wind and character's subtle reactions, is after them in an attempt to fix this. The tagline for the film, "Most people have dreams. For Alex, this is real." packs the punch that the true danger lurks somewhere off of Flight 180 that calls the character's individual fates into question. SPOILER FILLED SECTION Following the explosion the group pulled off the plane are justifiably questioned by FBI agents Weine played by Daniel Roebuck, and Shreck played by Roger Guenveur. Cut together to show the passage of time and how the explosion is sinking in with each survivor while talking with the agents. Alex is honest and straight to the point with them, clearly trying to make sense of things himself, but the agents think this is part of an act and believe he's involved. The group is let go to their family members and it becomes clear from Tod's dad that he blames Alex for one of his son's dying. We then time jump to a memorial that's a reveal of an eagle statue with the names of the victims engraved on a plaque. By this memorial for the crash victims everyone in the community seems to be wary of Alex except Billy Hitchcock played by Seann William. He wants to use Alex like a magic 8 ball, believing him to be psychic but Tod comes over and says they need to get out of town when everything is over. The memorial they're at is a reveal of an eagle statue with the names of the victims who were students engraved on a plaque. Alex tries to comfort Miss Newton but she also rejects him, which has always confused me. Clear approaches Alex at the memorial and thanks him because she believes he is the only reason she is alive and a picture is taken of them by a school photographer. Tod reads something he wrote in class about the brevity of life and unpredictability of death which he previously told Alex is how he is feeling. This turns from him giving the speech at the memorial to a voiceover and a shot of the outside of Tod's house that switches to him going into his bathroom. It's revealed in cut away scenes that Alex has spent the time jump post-crash to memorial researching planes and trying to understand what he experienced. We see his desk is covered in materials and he's mapped where the group was sitting when the crash happened. Tod is the first person that Death visits and in his bathroom is one of the most egregiously direct ways that Death comes for someone. Blue toilet water begins leaking from the bottom of the toilet and puddling next to it on the tile floor and the liquid moves slowly in a direct line towards Tod. As the liquid slowly approaches Tod does everything suspense inducing like him cutting his dry face with a dry razor (because of course that wouldn't work) or putting scissors up his nostril. It's set up to seem like Tod will slip in the liquid with scissors in his nose or a blade on his neck which would cause some gruesome death. The real danger however is revealed when he opens the shower curtain and inside is a wire clothes line with stockings and underwear drying on it, regular household items. While this bathroom scene is happening there are cut away scenes to Alex conducting more research into plane crashes and the model of the Flight 180 plane, specifically the seating chart. An unsettling chill comes over the room Alex is in that causes him to decide to take a break from the flight stuff and look at a Penthouse magazine. A nosey owl comes up to the window and Alex throws his magazine at the window to scare it away because it is clearly freaking him out and the magazine is shredded into pieces by the metal oscelating fan. The pieces flutter around the rom and one lands on Alex's leg perfectly, almost intentionally, and it says "Tod" in large, bold font. Immediately he's spooked and runs to get to Tod, afraid that something is going to happen to him and wanting to warn him. All of this is intercut with scenes of Tod in the bathroom and fake outs to build suspense and urgency for Alex making it to Tod's house. Tod slips in the blue liquid that followed him to the tub's edge and falls into the clothes line in such a way it pulls out of one side of the wall and wraps around his throat, hanging him in the tub while his feet slip in the blue liquid, unable to catch footing to lift himself. A brutal effect is used to show the blood vessels in Tod's eyes bursting and they make a point to show the brutality of this death with the deep set wire still around his neck. He's been strangled and it appears like a suicide in part because the trail of liquid sucks back into the base of the toilet without a trace. Alex gets to Tod's house just as the ambulance and FBI agents are on the scene. Tod's dad blames Alex for his death, believing he had been guilt ridden after surviving when his brother didn't and thus Alex's fault for saving one brother and not both brothers. He tries to get Mr. Waggner to listen to him but understandably he's distraught and leaves Alex outside. Alex doesn't believe that Tod would commit suicide so he goes to see Clear and she confronts him that something is still with him from that night. After this him and Clear decide to sneak into the funeral home to see his body for themselves. At that funeral home they're caught by the mortician, William Bludworth played by the famous Tony Todd. He shows them that Tod has marks consistent with clawing at the wire which they believe means he didn't want to die or commit suicide. Bludworth says there are no accidents in death and is spooky and ominous when he informs the pair that they have disrupted death's plan by surviving. He also informs them that death has an intricate design that includes every action we do or don't take like a butterfly effect leading us to the grave. Basically he says that their friend's unusual demise is part of Death repairing that disruption with a new design since they cheated death the first time around by getting off the plane. Bludworth warns Alex that cheating death could insight, "a fury," that Alex wouldn't want to deal with. Tod gives a haunting performance as he peers up at Alex and then stops him on his way out to say that he'll see Alex soon. Things pick up significantly timing wise after this when everyone is in the same spot in town and Carter confronts Alex again. Terry gets upset and as she's declaring she won't let the circumstances ruin her life anymore she walks into the road and is struck by a bus, killing her in front of the group. This cuts away to Clear trying to get ahold of Alex, both taking Alka Seltzer implying the connection Clear told Alex about between the two still exists and that she could feel him. He won't talk to her though and gets distracted by a breaking news report about the crash. Alex hears a news report about the flight announcing a cause has ben determined. It's reported that Flight 180 blew up due to mechanical failure that caused an explosion and that explosion had a direct path through the cabin, beginning under Tod's seat. Alex maps the explosion through the rest of the cabin over the seating chart to determine what he believes is the design Death originally had for them which is the path of the explosion. Already this design has predicted Tod would be first then Terry and now this design reveals that Miss Lewton will be next. The scene cuts to Miss Lewton's house, she's on the phone with someone explaining her lasting guilt for telling the other teacher to get back on the plane. She is packing up her things and planning to move away because everything reminds her of the accident. As she walks over to the window she explains over the phone that looking at her yard fills her with fear and as she looks out the window she sees Alex snooping around in her darkened yard. In a panic hiding behind the curtains Miss Lewton calls the police office to get ahold of Agent Schreck and tell him about Alex showing up at her home. While this happens Alex is snooping around her car, checking the tires as well as the undercarriage and it's clear he's checking for Miss Lewton's safety within the context of the movie but to the agents he's further raising suspicion that he's involved with the deaths of his classmates. The agents quickly show up and take Alex into custody to speak with them as Miss Lewton watches on from inside. A gust of foreboding wind comes in through the open window causing Miss Lewton to stop but she doesn't take this as the warning it is. At the police station the agents interrogate Alex and want to know why he was at Miss Lewton's to which he readily explains his theory. Alex explains that he thinks that Death has a pattern that they have disrupted by not dying in the plane crash and that now the survivors are dying in the order they were meant to die in in the crash-what the audience knows to be the premise of the film. Intercut with the interrogation is Miss Lewton continuing to pack up her things, finding an old record in the closet and setting up a previously mentioned shot that looks like a man in a coat or a grim reaper is right over her shoulder to the right. It looks like Death is stalking her and just behind her every move waiting for opportunity to strike. Valerie Lewton puts the record she called "mom's favorite" on and it's revealed to be John Denver, the song used as a motif in the film signaling that she's in danger. Alex explains to the agents back at the station that he believes he saved 6 lives but is only a freak to his peers irregardless of the outcome of their investigation. Alex says he's "not going Dahmer" on the agents which would make me feel like he could have an obsession with serial killers under different circumstances which would make me more suspicious of him and not less. Alex informs the agents that every person has a pattern, not just those involved in the Flight 180 explosion. Despite acknowledging the design Alex is steadfast in his belief that he can beat the design, almost like using a cheat code in a video game. Back at Valerie's she's still listening to John Denver and decides to boil water in a tea kettle that does a trippy visual effect when she wipes water off of it, making her think a presence is behind her. She tosses the towel she used to wipe the water onto a knife block, which is truly wild in my opinion but doesn't seem to phase her. Valerie's gas stove doesn't light so she pulls out a match box and goes to light it, an ordinarily mundane task made tense via the viewer waiting for death to befall her. She lights the stove without incident though and the agents reveal to Alex they don't think that he had anything to do with the plane crash. They explain they planned to leave shortly after drawing that conclusion but once everyone started dying under bizarre circumstances they grew suspicious of him. The agents want Alex is promise no one else will die, assuming that the only forces capable of giving or taking life are other humans but he says he can't promise that. Not only that but that as long as he's in custody who dies is out of his control. They release Alex because they have no real evidence to hold him on and agent not-Schreck says that he almost believed Alex at one point. Schreck says he gives him the creeps and is dismissive about his claims. Valerie pours the water into her mug and sees it's a high school and immediately throws the boiling water out while screaming, startled and disturbed by the reminder. Instead of refilling it with water she opts for freezer stored vodka on ice but the quick change in temperature cracks the ceramic mug. She sets the now cracked and leaking mug onto her desktop computer, which is also wild and just another careless action. The water drips down into the mechanics of the computer and cause it to short circuit and catch fire. This short circuit causes an explosion and the glass from the computer monitor shoots out and hits Valerie's neck. She pulls it out immediately which is a mistake and blood starts gushing from her neck, a door with a dagger made of stained glass as the background as she rushes across the room, blood spilling everywhere. She knocks the record player when she slips in her blood which causes the track to screech and skip. Alex is walking along the road and a man is burning leaves, embers and burning leaves rushing him like the sign he got for Tod, something he cannot ignore. Valerie's house is lit on fire when the computer sparks and those sparks ignite the Vodka she previously dripped across the apartment. In an almost cartoonish fashion the lit line of Vodka travels up the stove and the fire ignites the Vodka bottle next to it, sending more glass flying at Valerie as she's propelled backwards. Alex happens upon the house as this is happening and Valerie reaches for the towel she threw earlier with a blood soaked hand. As she grabs it she accidentally pulls the knif block down with it, sending the knives flying out. One of those knives stabs her right through the abdomen, also cartoonishly. Seeing something is wrong Alex rushes in and happens upon the wild scene, Valerie stabbed on the ground in her kitchen as the fire spreads around them. A chair falls when another mini explosion happens around the stove and lands on the knife that's stabbed Valerie, pushing it all the way through to the floor and effectively killing her. Alex in a panic having been thrown back by the same explosion grabs the knife from her in an attempt to help but ends up standing over a dead Valerie with the kitchen knife in his hand, fingerprints all over it. He looks at the knife and realizes this, drops it and then runs, leaving behind a shoe print in Valerie's blood. As Alex runs outside Billy happens by on his bike, sees him and stops with confusion as to why Alex would be at their teacher's home. Miss Lewton's home explodes just as Alex is making it across the front yard and it sends both Alex and Billy off their feet to the ground. He looks back at the house then takes off past Billy and down the street into the night, fleeing the scene in a murderer like fashion. Cut to the next day and the agents are asking Clear questions, trying to find Alex. She informs them that Alex cut her off because she said she didn't believe him. They give Clear a card and call her work interesting. That night Billy, Carter, and Clear arrive at the memorial site around the same time. Carter gets out of his car and tries to carve Terry's name into the wall but is unsuccessful and instead asks Clear why she wanted them to meet her there. Clear informs them that she's being watched and needs their help getting to Alex. When Carter asks why she tells them that Alex knows which one of them dies next and in what order they die. Cut to a highway and Carter's car driving by a sign that indicates New York City is 105 miles ahead. During the car ride Billy wants them to be careful, drive the speed limit and take caution while passing but Carter is angry and threatening, not taking things as seriously. They arrive at Jones Beach State Park, still ropped off with a sign about the accident. Clear tells them that Alex could be anywhere between there and a mile down, telling them to drive down and then come back to look for him along the way with her starting at the entrance. Clear finds Alex on the beach and they sit with eachother on the shore. She tells him her heartbreaking backstory that culminates in losing both of her parents at a young age. Clear tells Alex they can't give up and the scene quickly cuts to back in Carter's car on the highway but this time Alex is next to Billy in the backseat. He expresses concern about the agents looking for him following Newton's death. Clear says they're taking Alex to her dad's cabin that is a couple of miles from her house and Carter inquires if Alex heard about Miss Lewton. Alex is shook because he thinks it's obvious that Billy told the FBI he saw Alex at Miss Lewton's house. Clear confirms Billy was an eye witness for them, Billy counters though that he saw valid evidence for Alex's involvement like his shoe print and that she'd melted into the floor. Carter clears up however that he cares if Alex knew she was next somehow rather than his involvement with the deaths. Clear gives him a look to not lie to them and he confirms he knew, Carter then asks who's next and Billy hopes he gets to see the Jets win a Super Bowl. Alex protests that it doesn't matter who's next because they are all in the same boat together. It starts to sink in for Carter and he asks what's the point and why they should wait any longer before he slams his foot on the gas sending the car flying forward. Carter is driving eradicly and blowing through stop signs and everyone is screaming for him to stop. Alex realizes his seatbelt is cut only to look back down and see it fixed. They rush into an intersection as the light turns red and everyone is justifiably freaking out. Carter starts screaming that he's in control of his life and that he alone controls his death, which is never what you want the driver of your car to say. Billy reaches for the steering wheel and tells Carter he doesn't have to prove to them how big his balls are right now and Carter elbows him in the nose then takes his hands off the wheel entirely as they barrel towards a semi just barely missing it and another car. Alex looks out the window and sees a hazy train that looks like it's coming at them then disappears, freaking him out and causing him to go into overdrive fear when Carter stops the car on the tracks. Clear panics and tells Carter to open the car and Alex screams for Billy to open his door so they can get out of the back as a train in the distance appears on the tracks, horn blaring. Billy is petrified but can't open the door so they just continue to panic in the back until he's finally able to open it and run out. Carter decides to stay in the car, Alex asking him to get out with them and not kill himself. In a douchey fashion Carter goes to turn his car on and says it isn't his time but the car won't start, he looks towards the incoming train and says, "oh shit," and tries to free himself from the car and thus the tracks. Alex rushes back onto the tracks to try and save him from the car and the train smashes into the car splitting it in 2, making it appear like both boys were killed by the crash. A cut away from the tracks however reveals Alex was able to save Carter from the crash and Clear runs up to check on Alex, thankful he survived. While the threesome is still on the ground Billy is standing with his back to the tracks as the train passes over them, barely deterred by the car. A triangular jagged piece of metal is under the train between the tracks which the camera notably focuses on. Billy is panicking, feeling that Alex’s predictions have been proven true because Carter almost died and Alex saved him after seeing the vision of the seatbelt. Billy yells at Carter over the sound of the train passing that Carter needs to stay away from him because he’s next up to die. He tells Alex and Clear to get away from Carter too because he’s dead but Carter screams at him that he’s not, still on the ground. Billy screams, “You’re dead! You’re dead!” over and over again, telling Carter he won’t be going with him. The shot snaps back to the piece of metal under the tracks, rattling due to the motion from above. It catches on the wheels and shoots out from under the train right towards the group as Billy turns around. The piece of metal slices Billy’s head in half like a really messed up Fruit Ninja situation and his body collapses off the side of the road. Alex is trying to make sense of things and screams that Carter was meant to be next, confused why he is alive and Billy is not dead. Alex is now relieved to know with his visions he can intervene in their deaths and save them but Clear is more concerned about the incoming police force to the crash. Alex connects that the saving of Carter made the design skip him and get the next person in the path which was Billy. Clear tries to reason with Alex calling him baby and saying that he’s lost his marbles but Alex thinks he’s next up now and then Clear will be after him. He grabs her face on either side and tells her he won’t let Death get her. Carter interrupts their embrace and tells them to get the fuck to Clear’s cabin before the police show up, him staying behind to talk to meet them at the scene. At the creepy cabin in the woods Alex is taping, covering, roping, and essentially attempting to safe-proof the area from Rube Goldberg machine like deaths being set into motion. Alex grabs a lamp and a can of mush after putting gloves on to protect against the sharp edges. A gust of wind comes under the door and knocks over a paper bag of trash that causes a chain of events leading to a knife through the door. Alex finds rusted fish hooks in the cabin and thinks Death might come for him in the form of an illness like tetanus. He challenges Death to get him in his rigged cabin, confident that he can cheat the force after him. The agents loose sight of Clear and she pops up next to the car surprising them and offers to take them to Alex as long as she can come with them. They tell her they will get him and bring him into protective  custody and she can wait at home. Alex reads the paper at the cabin and sees an article about the fire at Miss Newton’s and then further down he sees a blurb about the parents of the 2 girls that asked Alex to move at the start of the film and died in the crash setting up a college scholarship in their names. This sparks Alex to recall he never moved because his vision occurred before he moved so he never switched seats with the girl, thus changing the actual Death order that he disrupted. This is a cool use of the butterfly effect and a detail that almost goes unnoticed unless you’re looking for it at the start. The order he’s been working off of is the order from his vision which put him dying second to last and then Clear dying after him. Since he didn’t move that order is wrong and he’s actually the last to die so when Carter was skipped and then Billy died it’s actually Clear who’s up next and not Alex like they believe at that point in the film. This revelation means Clear is in huge danger and Alex is perfectly fine, wasting time by being in the cabin basically if he wants to save Clear. Just as Alex realizes the real order and danger the scene cuts to Clear looking outside her bedroom window as the thunder and lightning continue outside. Suddenly her nearby power pole is hit by a lightning bolt that causes it to explode, causing mayhem outside with the open and raging electrical wires. The power goes out because of this and Clear discovers that the power line is downed in her front yard. The police show up to the cabin just as this is happening but Alex takes off across a body of water in a canoe on shore. They get back in their cars to go back to Clear’s area while she looks for candles to light in the dark. Her dog is outside going crazy at the downed wire and she rushes out, a candle being blown out by a sudden gust of ominous wind that stops her in her tracks. Alex takes off through the woods, running from multiple cars worth of police and FBI agents and Clear goes outside to save her dog who’s chained up and unable to escape. Alex falls down a hill in the forest as Clear’s dog punctures the above ground pool, leaving water spilling into the yard and a live wire landing in it just as Clear and her dog are able to jump out. While Alex runs through the woods a tree is hit by a bolt and is downed right on top of him, his face stuck in a puddle drowning him. The police are sucking at finding him and Clear is climbing onto her roof to get back into her house, getting into her bedroom window just as her TV and other electronics burst from power surge. She makes it to her car but can’t get the garage to open since the power is out and it falls on her car, trapping her in the garage and unable to escape. Alex finally gets to Clear’s and sees the situation building including lighter fluid now spilling out under her car amongst the swinging live wire. He uses a shovel to knock the wire away from the hood of the car but this causes a canister of air to shoot under Clear’s car just as the train of fluid ignites and sets the under carriage of her car ablaze. Alex explains to her that he plans to save her so that Death skips her and that he’ll always be with her. He grabs the live wire so Clear can get out of the car and she’s able to as Alex is blown back from the explosion and electrocution. A panicked Clear begs Alex to be okay and the paramedics say he isn’t breathing but the scene cuts away to white. The white screen fades into the light at the end of a boarding tunnel at the airport. The camera moves down the tunnel and shows an airplane door opening as the words, “SIX MONTHS LATER,” come onto the screen. Guests are getting off the plane safely and it’s revealed that Carter, Alex, and a blonde Clear are on board and happy to have safely landed. Shocked they made it onto a plane again a pan down from a sign shows that they are in Paris, at a cafe together. They are in awe of the city and they all cheers to Terry, Carter feeling her absence is felt. Carter tells them he’s shocked they’re sitting in Paris having a drink and that the group are the only people that get what they’re going through. Carter says they won and Clear says they won a full chance at life. Alex all of a sudden tells them there’s something he can’t figure out about the design and goes to grab the seating chart from his pocket, having brought it on the trip. Clear is less than pleased and wants him to let it go, both tired of hearing him talk about this. He points out that his intervention saving Carter sent Death to Billy which then in turn sent it to Clear but he intervened again which sent it to him but no one actually intervened in his death to save him. He notes that the power line explosion threw him but Clear throws out it’s possible everything was meant to happen exactly as it has and they were always meant to be sitting right there. She obviously means it in a optimistic way, that they survived against all odds and don’t need to worry about this stuff anymore. Carter points in agreement with her, siding with moving on with their lives rather than obsessing over Death’s design. Carter then says Alex could be next and that they proved 3 times you can skip someone by saving them and tells him that he’s still next. Suddenly that wind comes on again and Alex notices all of the dangers around them until his red wine spills on the map and colors him blood red. He tells the pair to stay at the cafe away from him since he’s next and Clear sees a vision of a bus, yelling to save Alex at the last minute. Rather than hit Alex the bus hits the curb trying to miss him and this crash causes a lighted sign above this cafe to be hit. It blows up and then comes swinging down and looks like it will go right into Alex until Carter tackles him onto the ground and out of the way, saving him. Alex gets up and says that it has skipped him and as Carter asks who’s next the sign that went swinging past them comes swinging back behind Carter as Alex still lays on the ground out of the way. Carter looks like he realizes he’s next just as the sign is about to hit him and ultimately kill him and just as that is about to happen it cuts to black and credits. Hindsight is 20/20 and it is easy to judge the harsh critique this movie inspired from some at the time of its release. I think that the subsequent films like Final Destination 2 and Final Destination 3 in particular have made the first film more famous. The world is clearly not as flushed out as it is today with only that movie as the material that the audience bases the concept of Death’s Design on. In this movie Alex has ”visions” but they are more so him seeing objects or items that indicate something like double-takes that aren’t totally real feeling. In subsequent films the visions change and are full on play outs of the next death or in one case random object like a Clue envelope to give hints. Watching the film back it is clear how much attention to detail this one includes that other movies in the series sometimes lack. Tiny details are added to each scene to build suspense or provide fake-outs for the viewer while they attempt to guess what the cause of death will or won’t be. Misdirects are a Final Destination favorite, present in all of the movies in at least one of the character’s deaths. In this one we have the fake out with Tod in the bathroom early on, multiple misdirects during Valerie’s death, and the crash as a fake-out before Billy is taken out by the rogue piece of metal. All 3 of them surviving up until that last scene did leave some lack of finality to the movie but I think that was the intention based on the second film following just 3 years later. Subsequently the franchise became somewhat of a plug and play formula, 1 part freak accident, 4-7 parts characters in archetype form, motifs like songs, themes like the brevity of life, and a twist on the premonitions to predict deaths specific with each film. The first isn’t my favorite but I do hold it in high regard as the first of it’s kind and the use of an unseen force with the plot subversion off rip. Starting with all of your main characters dying might seem nonchalant today but I could imagine it was quite unique at the time this movie came out. If you're interested in adding the full 5 film Final Destination DVD set to your collection click here and to watch any of the 5 movies on Max click here .

28 Weeks Later Franchise Revival Approximately 23 years ago this November 28 Days Later released and garnered good criticism which tumbled into an overseas explosion of interest from the international community. Audiences embraced the new approach to zombies who had the ability to chase down their prey and the continued exploration of what the apocalypse does to people that George Romero started in 1968. The underlying tones to many zombie movies address the lengths that people are willing to go to when faced with impossible scenarios, the crux of many horror movies and 28 Days Later was no different. With a particular focus on the human aspects of the scenario the franchise and particularly Danny Boyle , the first and newest film's director, wanted to portray infected humans rather than undead zombies, arguably a less often utilized approach to the subgenre. According to various interviews Boyle has had leading up to the June 20, 2025 release of 28 Years Later he has made it clear that the purpose is humanity. In particular the focus of the new film is similar to the first installment and draws on the rage existing within every person. Boyle has described the newest installment, the first in a trilogy centered around the same characters, as "return to form" in an interview with ScreenRant . Already there are plans for the next installment, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple to come out in 2026 starring the same cast but more focused on Ralph Finneas' character according to an interview Boyle did with Collider . Something of note however across his interviews is the distance that Boyle and the film's writer, Alex Garland, want between the 2nd installment in the franchise, 28 Weeks Later that released in 2007 and this new trilogy. Boyle is particular in drawing the connection between the first and newest film while dismissing much of the lore added by 28 Weeks Later (referred to as Weeks in the remainder of the article). At the end of Weeks a cliffhanger leaves the franchise in silence for the intervening 18 years-the Rage Virus has spread to mainland Europe. This left audiences to believe since then that in this fictional universe the virus went on to ravage the world and turn it into a Resident Evil style setting. It is usually assumed that going to extremely cold climates could improve the likelihood of survival in a virus like apocalypse in particular. Unfortunately in this scenario I'm a Zillennial, which means I'm a cusp year that gets tossed back and forth between the 2, Millennials and Gen-Z and thus my opinions tend to vary across the generational lines. That being said I actually liked 28 Weeks Later and imagined that same reality of a world overrun by a zombie virus that definitely included death. I actually didn't know that there had been a first movie to Weeks until I'd gotten older and more into the horror genre. This information however made the trailer make so much more sense to me and I better understood the direction to adjust my expectations. What also made the direction make more sense to me was when Boyle explained in multiple interviews, including his ones with Collider and ScreenRant linked earlier, that the 28 Years Later (also referred to as Years in this post) series of films is contained to the United Kingdom. He explained that between Weeks and Years the Rage Virus has been pushed out of mainland Europe and is now contained on the UK islands with the goal of keeping Years solely focused on UK society and the implosion of it during an apocalyptic scenario. He also explained in these interviews that the infected have adapted to survive by hunting and through that practice have formed packs with Alphas at the heads. These Alpha versions of the infected have evolved to be faster and more aggressive than their regularly infected counterparts. Plot wise the new trilogy focuses on governments hiding from citizens, revealing that people have been kept in the dark about what is happening in the UK within the containment zone. Efforts are being made to contain the area with an ocean wall of government ships and some of the information about this government conspiracy has been released as part of the marketing campaign. The campaign draws back to the grassroots era of horror movie marketing with a modern twist-a fake site has appeared that is password protected and contains evidence of the government conspiracy in the upcoming Years trilogy. According to a Game Rant article posted June 17, 2025 the password is "mementomori" which is a Latin phrase meaning "remember you must die" that is meant to inspire one to live with purpose and appreciate the present moment. Prior to the UK voting to Brexit in 2015, COVID-19 global pandemic, the 2024 US presidential election, and Gaza I had more reverence for the government and political systems. Being able to suspend belief in reality is no longer necessary for the apocalypse horror subgenre following these events. When what used to feel extroidanary, like the government hiding virus' and experimentation but leaving citizens to face the ramifications alone, now feels not only possible but likely. In the years following the events of Weeks the world has moved on and left the UK to deal with the Rage Virus on it's own accord, even if that means adapting to the realities of it. Personally I have tickets to go see 28 Years Later on June 19, 2025 and want to update my review after watching. Additionally reviews of 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later , the other 2 franchise installments, are further along in this post. Spoiler & Content Warning The following post will include spoilers for all three 28 Days Later movies that will be out in June 2025. If you don't like gore, zombie-like virus outbreaks, or tests of humanity this post isn't for you which is okay but definitely consider exiting now. Click here for other posts and click here to be directed to Red Rose Horror's homepage. 28 Days Later (2002) A lab in Cambridge houses chimpanzees that experiments are ran on and a group of activists break in to release these chimps. Scientists warn them not to do this due to a highly contagious virus that the chimps are infected with but they release the chimp anyways. Predictably the chimp attacks her and she thens dies of the virus and proceeds to attack the other people there. This initial situation causes the virus to spread across Great Britain that causes the society to collapse. 28 days after this incident a bike courier named Jim portrayed by Cillian Murphy ( Batman Begins  2005, Inception  2010, Peaky Blinders  2013, Dunkirk  2017, and Oppenheimer  2023) wakes up from a coma he went into following an accident. He’s in a hospital in the middle of London and when he goes outside the city is deserted with newspapers flying in the wind that indicate an evacuation took place. Jim’s walking around through the city begins to detail to the viewer what has happened since the virus outbreak alongside Jim discovering it himself. He ventures into a church, typically a space of safe harbor, and finds a massacre inside and is then chased by infected people. He’s rescued by 2 other survivors, Selena portrayed by Naomie Harris ( Pirates of the Caribbean  2006 and 2007, Moonlight  2016, and Black Bag 2025) and Mark portrayed by Noah Huntley ( The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe 2005, Snow White and the Huntsman  2012, and Dracula Untold  2014). They have been staying in a shop and take Jim there for refuge before the group of 3 decides to get to Jim’s parent’s house in Deptford. For reference the hospital is in Central London and Deptford is southeast London approximately 20 minutes car ride and 5 miles total. Selena ends up killing Mark when he’s hurt fighting off the infected that arrive at Jim’s parent’s where the group rests for the night upon discovering his parents commit suicide. Selena warns Jim she’ll kill him also if he’s infected and the pair make their way to Balfron Tower about 5-ish miles north of Deptford. They see a signal coming from there and end up meeting Frank portrayed by Brandon Gleeson ( Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix  2007, Deathly Hollows Part 1  2010,  Edge of Tomorrow 2014, and Joker: Folie á Deux 2023) and his daughter Hannah portrayed by Megan Burns (singer under pseudonym Betty Curse). Frank plays them a radio broadcast that offers salvation and protection if they can make it to a blockade near Manchester, a little over 200 miles to the northwest of where they are at. Frank planned to take Hannah there and the other 2 now join him to make a group of 4 traveling to the blockade. When they get to the blockade they find it empty, deserted, which frustrates Frank. He kicks a gate with a body atop it and a drop of blood falls into his eye from the body. Frank tries to warn the others that he’s now infested and a soldier shoots him after appearing from a hiding spot. The solider is one of many and the group takes Jim, Selena, and Hannah to a mansion they have fortified. Their leader, Major Henry West portrayed by Christopher Eccleston ( Amelia  2009, Thor: The Dark World  2013, and Dead in a Week or Your Money Back  2018), gives them a tour of the property and invites them to a banquet. This is all a front however for luring women into sex slavery with the promise of salvation. Jim and another soldier, Sergeant Farrell portrayed by Stuart McQuarrie ( Trainspotting  1996 and Hush  2008), don’t want to go along with the plan which includes Selena and Hannah being sex slaves. Their refusal causes 2 other soldiers to shoot Farrell upon the order of Major West and distract themselves arguing long enough for Jim to escape. In the sky Jim sees a plane trail and takes this as proof the outside world is still active and operating to some extent. He lures West away from the mansion by killing a soldier and triggering a siren while making his way back around to the mansion. Back at the mansion he frees Private Mailer portrayed by Marvin Campbell, an infected soldier who has been chained up for observation. Mailer kills the remaining soldiers once he’s released while another soldier tries to take Selena. Jim goes into a rage and kills this soldier and is so far gone into this rage that Selena briefly believes he might be infected. When she realizes he’s not the 2 kiss, Selena relieved, and go to collect a drugged up Hannah. Now freed Jim, Selena, and Hannah try to get out in Frank’s cab but West is in the car and shoots Jim which causes Hannah to jump in, waking up from her sedation, puts the cab in reverse towards Mailer. Mailer then pulls West through the back window and kills him as the group drives off in the cab. The movies cuts from this to 28 days past this point and Jim is recovering at a cottage in Cumbria, about 100 miles north of Manchester. There infected lie on the roads, starving to death. When the group hears jets flying over the cottage they rush outside with a cloth banner that says “HELLO” and wave at the jet in hopes that the pilot sees them. It is implied that the group hopes to be rescued by whatever outside world and systems might still exist and no further detail about the virus or the apocalyptic scenario it has created is given in this movie. While the actors are relatively unknown at the time of making the movie, intentional on the part of Boyle who sought to suspend disbelief, most are well known for iconic roles now. Selena is also Calypso, Frank is Alastor Moody, and Jim is Scarecrow—all cross target-audience names that are known for a variety of genres and mediums. In addition to the acting chops of wildest dreams the director, Danny Boyle, who also directed 28 Years Later , directed Trainspotting  1996, Slumdog Millionaire  2008, and 127 Hours  2010, to name only a few. Alongside director Boyle is writer Alex Garland for both the first and third film in the franchise, who also wrote Ex Machina  2014, Annihilation  2018, and Civil War  2024. 28 Weeks Later (2007) Although the director-writer duo is returning for 28 Years Later  and the overall trilogy it is a part of neither directed nor wrote 28 Weeks Later , the 2nd installment in the franchise. Releasing in 2007 the film cost about $15 million to make and grossed $65.8 million worldwide. Receiving positive critique the movies is directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and written by him, Rowan Joffé, E.L. Lavigne, and Jesus Olmo. As a standalone sequel to the first film as mentioned Boyle has made it clear not much about this film is used to inform the 3rd film. Fans and critics however have reviewed the movie positively and it is set directly after the events of the first film. In the initial outbreak of the virus Don Harris portrayed by Robert Carlyle (Trainspotting 1996, Eragon 2006, and North of Normal 2022) and his wife Alice portrayed by Catherine McCormack ( Braveheart  1995 and Cordelia  2019) are hiding out in a cottage outside of London. They are hiding inside, all the doors and windows covered with 4 other survivors when a young boy knocks frantically to be let in. They go back and forth whether to let him in and finally do only for a swarm of infected people to descend on the cottage within moments of his arrival. Don wants to leave the boy behind so him and Alice can make it to safety but she refuses so he leaves them both behind. Don manages to get on a boat as the infected hone in on him and he makes it away in time, assuring the others will be killed. Cut to the larger story at play and it’s revealed that NATO is taking over the UK following the starvation death of the infected. They begin rebuilding and within 28 weeks of the initial outbreak settlers and refugees of the UK begin to be brought in by the United States military led by Brigadier General Stone portrayed by Idris Elba (American Gangster 2007, Thor 2011, Prometheus 2012, Pacific Rim 2013, Avengers 2015 and 2017, Zootopia 2016, and The Suicide Squad 2021). Among the people being brought to the UK are Don and Alice’s kids that happened to be outside of the country when the outbreak occurred. The elder daughter, a teenager named Tammy portrayed by Imogen Poots (Fright Night 2011, Black Christmas 2019, and The Chronology of Water 2025) and her younger brother Andy portrayed by Mackintosh Muggleton ( Salem Witch Doll 2024) are moved into District One which is where Isle of Dogs is in London. Inside District One they’re reunited with Don and he has a whole narrative about his journey back to London and how Alice died that is fabricated. Helping guard District One is Sergeant Doyle, a sniper who happens to also be Hawkeye, both portrayed by Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker 2008, Thor 2011, Mission Impossible 2011, The Avengers 2012-present, The Bourne Legacy 2012,  and more Marvel properties). As if this isn’t stacked already Rose Byrne (Neighbors 2014, X-Men 2016, Insidious, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2023) portrays Scarlet, a US medical officer and Harold Perrineau ( The Matrix  2003, Oz  1997, Lost  2004, and From  2022) portrays Flynn, a helicopter pilot. As kids do Andy and Tammy push the limits and break out of District One and make their way to their home in search of a photo of Alice. Inside they discover more than a photo however and Alice, their mom, is holed up inside-feral from no contact and lack of food or water. Doyle has agents descend on the kids just as they find their mother and all of them including Alice return to District One where she is placed into quarantine. All of them are tested and Alice is shown to be an asymptomatic carrier of the Rage Virus, piquing interest and concern from the army. Don breaks in and visits Alice in quarantine and begs for her forgiveness, believing her to be uninfected due to being coherent and not acting like the infected. He kisses her and is infected by her instantly, becoming a rage zombie. In his virus induced rage he kills Alice in an extremely brutal fashion, smashing her head and face in the quarantine room while she’s strapped to a table. Meanwhile Scarlet rescues Tammy and Andy from a quarantine room and thinks they could’ve inherited an immunity from Alice. Believing that this genetic makeup could lead to a cure Alice wants to get the kids out of this now compromised area. Due to Don’s actions another outbreak of infections occurs amongst the refugees and military alike which turns the area into utter chaos. The military begins firing into the crowd of people running from the infected that is mixed in with the infected at the orders of Stone. Doyle won’t shoot however and goes to help a group of survivors after he leaves his post. 2 of the survivors are shot by a fellow sniper but Doyle shoots back and kills them. The group decides to make their way to the edge of District One, hoping to get out before the area is firebombed by the military. The group manages to make it out in time but is followed by Don who also survives the firebombing of the district. Doyle calls in his friend the helicopter pilot Flynn to come pick him up at Regent’s Park but when Flynn arrives and sees Alice, Tammy, Andy, and another survivor Sam with Doyle he tells Doyle to ditch the others before he can give him a lift. A horde of infected notices them then and this sends Sam into an understandable panic and he latches onto the helicopter. Flynn maneuvers the helicopter to cut the infected up with the chopper blades and this causes Sam to get infected anyways. Flynn then tells Doyle to meet at Wembley Stadium after  Doyle ditches the three others. The group flees and finds an abandoned car to hide in while nerve gas is deployed to kill the infected. Unable to start the car soldiers with flamethrowers come in on them and Doyle is burned alive when he gets out to push the car. Following this the group hides in the tube tunnels with only a rifle scope’s night vision as a guide when they are attacked by Don. He kills Scarlet and bites Andy which causes Tammy to then kill him. Fortunately Andy has inherited immunity from Alice and is asymptomatic upon infection. They vow to each other to stay by one another’s sides from then on out and make their way to Wembley Stadium by themselves. They meet Flynn and reluctantly he takes them to France-which is a bad idea because Andy is infected. Cut to 28 days after this and a French speaking voice requests help through a radio from Flynn’s helicopter that is now abandoned. Infected people come from the Paris metro station near the Eiffel Tower before the scene cuts, confirming the Rage Virus spread to mainland Europe. Nothing from this movie is drawn upon for the new trilogy however, including the NATO direct involvement, exploring immunity or a cure, and characters like Tammy and Andy. Boyle has been specific in interviews about the lack of connection that the new franchise trilogy will have with the 2nd installment and that it rather draws on the first installment’s themes and vibe. Setting out to bring an inventive and sentimental vision to a post apocalyptic horror similar to what was done with 28 Days Later  the 28 Years Later  trilogy will leave all of the developments just covered behind in the standalone 28 Weeks Later  universe. 28 Years Later (2025) Officially releasing June 20, 2025 the newest installment of the 28 Days Later franchise is meant to kick off a trilogy that will follow the same group of characters. These characters are existing in a post-apocalyptic UK contained by military and government forces to deal with the Rage Virus 28 years after it first hit the islands. Being beaten back from mainland Europe the world has now moved on from the Rage Virus outbreak and most citizens are in the dark about what has truly happened to the area and it's citizens. Going into the film I worried if these details wouldn't be apparent in the movie but lo and behold it was too on the nose from start to finish. It is really obvious that Garland and Doyle wanted to capture the unique spin that 28 Days Later originally took on the zombie world, to push the concept of zombie to a place they felt it hadn't gone. Unfortuneately for them I can think of better examples in horror that has come out between 2002 and now that better exemplified the same concepts (zombies or as this film insists "the infected" evolving over time, types of zombies, and the crux of humanity in the zombie apocalypse to name just some of the things they clearly thought were original). It felt disingenous to have heavier topics like the inevitability of death knocking humans off their feet even in the circumstances they face and what to do with a zombie-not-zombie infected offspring should one come to exist. Often the only times the expressed takeaway made sense was in the context of the child character being the narrator of sorts and lacking basic understandings about the world and humans from his isolation. Unfortuneately audiences do know those things and nothing happens that's revolutionary enough to warrant having to watch Spike learn that A causes B which results in C about the world. The callbacks to the 2000's style of filming with the sharp, screeches of music when zombies are killed with wildly colored, wacky camera angles to convey something doesn't translate to me but these instances felt like a love letter to themselves rather than authentically adding to the experience and therefore being warranted and necessary. Unnecessary is the best word to describe most of the little decisions that took away from stellar performances by the 3 leads and what is at it's core a not-awful zombie apocalypse movie. It is only revolutionary in it's own head and the final scene completely diminished any serious approach they attempted to broach with the topics of rage and humanity. On more than one occasion I almost walked out of the theatre and this included but wasn't limited to: the weirdly huge prosthetic dick that Samson had, Samson's pregnant partner to begin with, the baby situation, anytime a skull plus spinal column sans jaw was ripped out Mortal Kombat style, and how Jodie Comer's story ends post-her portion of it.

In this article I’ll be going over seasons one through five of American Horror Story , part one of this series is posted now and goes over seasons six through eleven.If you want to watch American Horror Story you can use your Amazon Prime account or sign up for a free trial and watch all 12 seasons on Amazon now . AHS is known for combining sex, horror, and camp into mostly standalone seasons of ten to thirteen episodes filled with dynamic characters and fascinating settings. Originally just one ordered season of a horror anthology the show co-creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk found themselves met with nominations for awards and critical acclaim fairly quickly.  Please proceed with caution, this is the only content warning in the video and topics range from the bizarre to the downright evil. Specific trigger warnings are not provided throughout. Table of Contents Series Overview Season 1 : Murder House The Murder House Murder House History Season 2 : Asylum Briarcliff Manor Season 3 : Coven Miss Robichaux's Season 4: Freak Show Season 5: Hotel The first five seasons of American Horror Story are generally still regarded as the best AHS seasons. Season one of AHS premiered October 5, 2011 on FX, a network of 20th Century Fox Television. Murder House ’s success paved the way for green light after green light from the studio for additional seasons of the anthology horror show. After season one Asylum  premiered the next year in October 2012, followed by Coven  in October 2013, Freak Show  in 2014, and Hotel  in 2015. AMERICAN HORROR STORY VIEWERSHIP & AUDIENCE RECEPTION Total viewership per season in millions stayed consistent between season one and season two and then saw a big increase between season 2 and 3. Total viewership drops off with season 5, Hotel , while still considerably high for a cable show. Each season follows a similar trend of starting with the highest viewership of the season in episode one that overall declines throughout the season with key bumps around certain episodes and then an uptick in viewership for the finale.  Season 1, 2, 3, and 4 saw increases in their highest viewed episode with a slight dip between Freak Show and Hotel. Season 4 of AHS reaches a milestone of most viewed episode thus far. Unfortunately the next season, 5, saw another milestone, the lowest viewed episode at that point in the season. Something else that stood out to me is that season 5’s average viewership reached season one levels, never getting back up to those heights again. I have an unproven common-sense notion that each season’s success, especially upon premiere, is largely reliant on the previous season, showing that Freak Show halted the meteoric levels of success early seasons saw in pop culture. Total viewership however pokes holes in this theory with similar viewership for season 3 and 4, both significantly higher than seasons one, two, and five. So this led me to hypothesize that seasons three and four are the most well regarded. I genuinely just wanted to better understand why the show had gone from stunning to increasingly bad despite involving the same creators, actors, and increasing budgets. What season is the culprit? That however is not supported in the Rotten Tomatoes audience scores. Season one is currently at 84%, Asylum at 90%, Coven at 76%, Freak Show at 68%, and Hotel at 61%. I had anticipated that Asylum would be highly rated but didn’t think it would be the highest and had been pleasantly surprised by that.  What I also didn’t expect was season three being at 76% when taking social media engagement into account. I mostly saw GIFs, memes, and references to Murder House  and Coven , previously even thinking that Asylum didn’t get the acclaim it deserved. Fortunately I was very wrong when it came to audience reception. I don’t agree with every rating but I do agree with Asylum  being the highest scored of the series after rewatching. MAIN SEASON 1-5 ACTORS & THEIR CHARACTERS One of the most iconic things about AHS is the cast of phenomenal actors that play a variety of characters from one season to the next. Jessica Lange, Frances Conroy, Sarah Paulson, Angela Bassett, Evan Peters, Lily Rabe, Jamie Brewer, Denis O’Hare, and Kathy Bates are the main actors from early seasons.  For the purposes of this article I’ve identified main actors appeared in at least three of the five seasons in this video, so not including actors that got introduced during the first five but appeared in more of the later seasons than earlier ones. Some would go on to become even more prominent in the series while others, like Jessica Lange, started and ended their times on the show with season one through five characters and potential cameos later. Paulson, Peters, and Rabe are in five out of five of the seasons, Jessica Lange, Conroy, and Brewer, appeared in every one except Hotel. On the other hand O’Hare is in every season except Asylum. Bassett and Bates join during Coven  and are in Coven , Freak Show , and Hotel . In the last article I started with seasons six through eleven, wanting to get some of those seasons out of the way earlier on. This article however has not been as much of a drag, getting to rewatch and research the first few seasons was enjoyable and a nice walk down memory lane…especially in regard to the “not like other girls” Violet aesthetic that I had covered my Tumblr in back in the day. From this point on the video will contain spoilers for seasons one, Murder House, two, Asylum, three, Coven, four, Freak Show, and five Hotel.  SEASON ONE MURDER HOUSE The first season of American Horror Story premiered in 2011, subtitled Murder House retroactively after the setting, a haunted mansion in Los Angeles, California, USA. The series was created by Ryan Murphy, Dante Di Loreto, and Brad Falchuk as a horror anthology series on FX . Taking place in 2010 The Harmon Family that consists of Vivien (played by Connie Britton), a mother who just experienced a traumatic miscarriage and caught her husband, Ben (played by Dylan McDermott), having an affair. Them and their troubled daughter, Violet (played by Taissa Farmiga), move from Boston to Los Angeles for a fresh start. The house’s recent history, the deaths of former owners Patrick (played by Teddy Spears) and Chad Warwick (played by Zachary Quinto), is one of the reasons they decide to buy it. Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk directed and wrote multiple episodes in season one, along with Jennifer Salt, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, Bradley Buecker, along with others-pause to read corresponding directors and writers for each episode. Most of these names will also appear as the writers and directors of other seasons, which I found really cool despite being shook how few episodes Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk are directly credited with.  In season one, Murder House, our main actors Lange, McDermott, Peters, Conroy, Rabe, O’Hare, Paulson, and Brewer. All of the characters that they play - Constance, Tate, Addie, Moira, Nora, Larry, Ben, and Billie Dean Howard are some of the most recognizable from the series, responsible for many memes, GIFs, and threads—especially Evan Peters portrayal of Tate Langdon alongside Violet Harmon, both teen characters.  Upon moving in the Harmons discover that there are multiple parties still invested in the house including Addie, the daughter of next door their southern neighbor Constance Langdon, and former owner Larry Harvey, just including those on the living plane of existence.  Aside from unusually intense obsession with their new property others are obsessed with the new residents like Hayden McClaine played by Kate Mara, a former student of Ben’s whom he had an affair with and Tate who likes Violet so much he doesn’t recognize boundaries with her and his new therapist, her dad. Their maid Moira, a semi neutral party, also plays tricks to achieve her own goals and often can’t be trusted to be forthright.  THE SETTING: MURDER HOUSE The collection of characters and their intertwining story lines is interesting all on its own aside from the supernatural elements. The house itself, Murder House, is the main setting of the entire season and the focal point of much of the action.  The house not only sees an unusually high amount of tragedy for one property but also acts as a potential portal to hell, a place where the boundaries between this world and the next are blurred. The lives lost on the property with unfinished business are doomed to roam the house alongside the living, repeating the same cycles that got them trapped to begin with.  Throughout the season we see the home during different time periods and states. Including present day with modern and updated fixtures as well as it’s dilapidated state when it had been abandoned following multiple deaths on the property. SOME MURDER HOUSE HISTORY Distraught Nora Montgomery kills her husband and then herself after their son is murdered in 1926. Elizabeth Short is killed during an assault by Dr. Curran & Charles' ghost covers it up in 1947 (Black Dahlia) Nursing students, Gladys & Maria, are murdered by serial killer R. Franklin in 1968. Troy and Bryan are killed in the basement by Thaddeus Montgomery in the murder house basement in 1978. Constance catches her husband, Hugo, attacking their maid, Moira, and kills them both in 1983. Beauregard Langdon is killed by Larry Harvey at the request of his mother Constance Langdon in early 90's. Lorraine Harvey sets herself and children Margaret & Angela on fire in the house, killing them in 1993. School shooter Tate Langdon is shot by a swat team after murdering 15 students in 1994. Chad & Patrick Warwick are murdered by Tate’s ghost and the crime is staged as a murder suicide in 2010. History Made During the Season Fanatics break in & attempt to re-enact the 1968 nursing student murders but are killed by ghosts in. Hayden McClaine is killed by Larry Harvey to keep her baby with ben harmon a secret. exterminator, Phil Critter, finds violet’s corpse & is killed by Tate to keep violet’s fate concealed. Moira lures Joe Escandarian into the basement & attacks him so that Larry can murder him. Finally, one more ghost is added when Ben is hung from the chandelier by ghosts at Hayden’s request. CONCLUSION & THOUGHTS Season one is not nearly as good as I remember it being. It’s possible that I’ve just grown more tired of it after rewatches over the years but I had always thought it was a clear slam dunk when remembering back. It’s well regarded and is a good watch but I found some of the sexual themes to be overwhelmingly cringe and the obsession with women’s reproduction and babies specifically, something I’ve noticed in almost every AHS season, to be boring.  SEASON TWO ASYLUM Season two, titled Asylum , is the highest rated season via Audience Scores on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s usually considered scary, well rounded, and generally just good. The first episode of season two, “Welcome to Briarcliff,” premiered October 17, 2012 on FX to good critical response. Favorites from season one, Jessica Lange and Evan Peters, return and blow their previous performances out of the water with portrayals of Sister Jude, a nun and administrator at Briarcliff manor, and kit walker, a new patient awaiting trial for several gruesome murders. Most of the season takes place during 1964 but similar to season one we jump around history while watching a story unfold in present day except this time the main story is the one in the past. The setting is stunning but even more so stunning is the camera work and use of shots to not only portray but build upon the emotions of the scenes. The only writers and directors who worked on more than two episodes is Alfonso Gomez-Rejon and Tim Minear. Coming in at 13 episodes, it is the first season with that many and starts the trend of 13 episode seasons for the next few as well. Every single performance is chefs kiss good, and the story is genuinely scary. So much happens during this season including a serial killer (Bloody Face), a doctor who has some serious sexual dysfunction (Arthur Arden), alien testing (kit walker’s story), and angels of many varieties (Satan & Shachath). That’s not even all of it. If you watch one season of American Horror Story it should be this one. We meet residents of the asylum, employees, the police, the guardians that surrender their loved ones to the asylum, and more. From children to the elderly all experience similar difficulties with Briarcliff, people don’t really get out of Briarcliff. THE SETTING: BRIARCLIFF MANOR Briarcliff Manor is a stunning horror setting, both in its abandoned and operating states. The 1960’s is such a visually interesting setting combined with the asylum locations like the surgical theatre, common room, or boiler room, and gorgeous winding staircase in the front foyer keeps you engaged even when dialogue and action is sparse. You can sense the attention to detail and excitement about the setting throughout the season. I noticed lots of little film details early on that felt like they were intended to mimic the film and TV of the 60’s. Swooping close up shots in, funky angles almost fish-lens like, and so on. The use of angles and depth also portrays the emotion on screen or a relationship between characters, with varying distances from the camera to create space and tension on screen.  I was in awe of the use of lighting and depth to symbolize an aspect of a character or action on screen while building towards future rising action. For example characters facing difficult crisis of their beliefs would be shot with angles that displayed great depth of the scene, usually lit from behind like stage lighting or lighting associated with being visited by God or other religious beings.  CONCLUSION & THOUGHTS After rewatching this is still one of my favorite seasons, if not my absolute favorite then it’s in the top three for sure. It’s easy to forget just how much story is covered in this season and just how interesting most of the stories are. Very few of the plots are boring, they are spooky and even scary at times, and call into question mental health and the nature of evil while also critiquing the disciplines tasked with aiding those who are suffering like psychiatry and religion.  SEASON THREE COVEN Season three titled Coven is one of my personal favorites and is still after this recent rewatch. The first episode premiered in 2013 and is the first season that Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett, and Emma Roberts join the cast, going on to be series mainstays. The plot follows a small coven at Miss Robichaux’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies as it faces new threats from internal and external forces. Over the last few generations the bloodline of witches decreased significantly. Partially due to women choosing not to have children and in some part due to witch hunters and other threats to young women displaying abilities, like religious zealots.  Alfonso Gomez-Rejon is all over this season if there is a season I’d credit to one director due to how many episodes they’re credited with it’d be them and this season. Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk are two writers credited the most on the season if you consider both the episode they co-wrote and the individual ones they wrote.  Cordelia Foxx, the headmistress at the start of the season, spends a good portion of her time investigating potential witches and reaching out to them to offer a home to them. The group of witches at the academy when season 3 starts includes: Zoe Benson played by Taissa Farmiga who discovers her powers during sex and accidentally kills the boy she’s sleeping with, Nan played by Jamie Brewer a clairvoyant, Madison Montgomery an actress that used her telekinesis to injure a crew member, and Queenie played by Gabourey Sidibe, a human voodoo doll that burns herself in order to attack a rude customer at her fast food job.  Aside from the academy the season follows an age old vengeance between Delphine LaLaurie played by Kathy Bates, a racist serial killer from the 1800’s and Marie Laveau played by Angela Bassett, a Voodoo Queen who’s lived for centuries while holding racists who’ve escaped justice over the generations to account for their sins.  THE SETTING: MISS ROBICHAUX'S ACADEMY The main setting of the season is Miss Robichaux’s Academy for Girls but some of the most interesting stories from the season involve or revolve around the Voodoo practitioners across town from the witches. Marie Laveau uses magic in the season to help with fertility issues, immortality, and resurrecting zombies to do your bidding. On the other hand the magic done by the coven starts off quieter and lighter, appearing dimmer if not weaker than the magic performed in the French Quarter. The coven in the start of the series is consolidated power at the top of the pyramid with the Supreme and then a hierarchy of witches with varying abilities below that.  Back in 1692 during the Salem witch trials a group of witches flees to Louisiana and eventually obtains Miss Robichaux’s Academy. Established as a finishing school for girls in 1790, the well off. During the Civil War it was turned into a military hospital. In 1868 Marianne Wharton reopens it as a school. In reality this school hid the establishment’s true purpose-a safe haven for magically gifted women to learn about and how to control their powers.  Over the last few generations the bloodline of witches decreased significantly. Partially due to women choosing not to have children and in some part due to witch hunters and other threats to young women displaying abilities, like religious zealots. Cordelia Foxx, the headmistress at the start of the season, spends a good portion of her time investigating potential witches and reaching out to them to offer a home to them.  Despite her dedication to the coven and guardianship of the girls Cordelia is not the Supreme, considered the most powerful witch and the only one in a generation that is able to perform all seven wonders or powers. The powers: telekinesis, Concilium or mind control, transmutation or teleportation, divination, pyrokinesis, Vital Vitalis or resurrection, and Descensum or astral projection to the nether world. It is very clear even by the end of episode one that witches, as a collective, are under attack and that they turn inwards to the community for issues, shutting out the world for their own protection. With a mistrust of the police and strangers alike the events of the season prove to the coven that they can only rely on themselves…but that there are a lot more of them then they had previously thought.  By the end of this season Cordelia passes the seven wonders and becomes the new Supreme of the coven, Fiona Goode is in her own personal catfish-smelling-hell, and witches have outed themselves to the world while calling upon young women who might also be witches to come to them.  The advertising campaign for this is one I’ll always remember being captivated by, the combo of old souther Bayou with modern stiletto and studs makes me want to know more about each character. The ad campaigns all hint to things that will actually happen in the season or that could be feasible once you’ve seen it. CONCLUSION & THOUGHTS Coven is still one of my favorite seasons and probably my actual favorite. Some parts are still hard to watch when it comes to the racial injustice the black folk experience but aside from that I have little critique and mostly just admiration and excitement whenever I see it again.  SEASON FOUR FREAK SHOW Premiering in October of 2014 season four of American Horror Story, Freak Show , has a score of 68% on Rotten Tomatoes. Personally the really good stories from the season shine enough to bring it a little higher in my ranking. It not only paves the way for its own characters but also for characters from Asylum like Pepper’s origin story and Sister Mary Eunice before Jude arrives at Asylum. Taking place in 1952 Jupiter, Florida, Freak Show is the earliest time period that we have as a main setting in American Horror Story . Elsa Mars, played by Jessica Lange, a show frontrunner for seasons one through four, gathers a group of eccentric individuals or freaks whom perform in her variety show called, “Elsa’s Cabinet of Curiosities,” one of the last two traveling freak shows in the US. It doesn’t take long for the folks in Jupiter to not only become upset that the freak show is in town and for them to begin blaming the freaks in the freak show for all of the local crime. Starting with the murder of Bette and Dot’s mother, both conjoined sisters played by Sarah Paulson, one who is smart but quiet named Bette and one who is more flamboyant but not always the sharpest or quickest named Dot.  The show has staple acts like Paul the Illustrated Seal (played by Mat Fraser), Lobster Boy (Evan Peters), the Bearded Lady (Ethel played by Kathy Bates), World’s Smallest Woman (or Ma Petit), Amazon Eve (played by Erika Ervin), Legless Suzi (played by Rose Siggins), and Meep (played by Ben Woolf).  Worlds Strongest Man (Dell Toledo played by Michael Chiklis) and The Woman with Three Breasts (Desiree Dupree played by Angela Bassett) join the troop but Dell’s hidden past with Ethel the Bearded Lady, played by Kathy Bates, to come back to haunt them. The character Dandy Mott, played by Finn Wittrock, explores the nature of being a freak that is not just exterior. When we meet Dandy his mother Gloria Mott, played by Frances Conroy, is caving to his every demand, furthering his superiority complex and entitlement which paves the way for his breakdowns, performances now iconic for Wittrock and the AHS franchise alike.  The season creates a world full of fear and pleasure, delving into both metaphorical and physical manifestations of freaks and their relationship with society. What that relationship says about society rather than the freaks themselves is a theme woven throughout each narrative, the idea that we dislike what we see in others that we dislike in ourselves. The overarching themes are relevant and compelling but the extreme and often preposterous nature of stories like Jimmy’s flipper-party escapades and the wild sex party that seems to happen once and then never again do wash them out some. This season isn’t one that I can rewatch often, it’s rather dry and you can sense the story being stretched out over more episodes even when what is being added contributes little to any of the core plot lines.  Freak Show, the fourth installment of American Horror Story, got announced as Jessica Lange’s last early on and became a key factor in the season. Despite no proof to the point I believe that the story got sacrificed for more Lange musical numbers. Let me explain.  Lange is responsible for not one but three different iconic franchise characters by the time Freak Show came out, Constance Langdon in LA’s Murder House, Sister Jude in Asylum, and Fiona Goode in Coven. With this in mind it’s no wonder that the show wanted to give her a proper send off with a really, really good ending to the character’s story. Unfortunately for the story’s sake it makes absolutely no sense and causes the ending to fall flat and feel forgettable amongst the bigger moments of the season. For example: it would’ve made way  more sense and have been way  more impactful if they had made Dandy Meep-like instead of Stanley-Richard-Spencer and then put him in the giant glass case to drown while everyone watched like their version of a Freak Show. Elsa shouldn’t have gotten a good ending, if anything I left the season feeling that her character hadn’t gotten nearly  enough punishment to walk away feeling satisfied, she got rewarded.  She gets to live out her best days over and over and over in the afterlife after sacrificing everyone to get fame and glory. Even up until the end she cared only for herself and being admired by audiences despite doing things that are reprehensible.  Other characters like Esmerelda, Paul, and Dell’s stories cut off abruptly with jaw dropping deaths that would have been better off as daydreams or imaginings than actual endings. Things that we’d been setting up all season turned out to be pointless once the massacre at the camp occurs and everything non-Elsa related is wrapped up rather quickly.  The least that could’ve happened is her living out being made fun of and booed on stage for all eternity, something. Instead I found myself checking every few seconds how much longer the last episode had. At the end I felt like I could have just watched a Jessica Lange fan edit and imagined my own ending for the season and saved myself the annoyance.  CONCLUSION & THOUGHTS The thing that stood out the most for me about this season is how much time is spent on filler. Filler stories, filler scenes, filler moments within scenes, everything. It feels like the studio contracted 13 episodes but the story chosen for the season couldn’t be stretched seamlessly into that many episodes. I don’t care to rewatch this one much and still don’t really after a rewatch.  SEASON FIVE HOTEL The first word that comes to mind when I think about Hotel is glitz but if I got a second word it’d be decaying glitz. Premiering in October 2015 Hotel is the fifth season of AHS. Set in Los Angeles, the Hotel Cortez is a haunted property based off of the real Cecil Hotel that is the setting and focal point of the season. When the season begins we arrive at a mostly vacant, stuffy, and drab hotel that is definitely haunted by the living and dead who both seek to victimize guests for the hell of it. The owner of the Hotel, The Countess, and her partner Donovan roam LA hunting for victims to lure back to the Cortez. The Cortez is not simply a hotel, it also doubles as a murderers playground with trap doors and a death chute.  Murphy and Falchuk are heavily involved in the writing and directing of this season alongside Loni Peristere, a newer name, and Buecker. The season started by drawing a large crowd following the two preceding seasons but that viewership dwindled significantly once fans started actually watching the season. This season is one where we focus heavily on a non-AHS actor character, played by famous singer Lady Gaga, at the time extremely relevant to pop culture especially horror related pop culture following her theatric and blood heavy performances and appearances. With the addition of Gaga we see less of our faves, with Paulson, Bates, Bassett, Peters, and O’Hare joining the cast as main AHS actors.  The characters this season are varied but similar in the sense that they all had reasons to be in this downtown LA hotel whether that be big dreams or cheap vacations. We know however that this is happening in the same universe as Murder House and Coven with the appearances of Queenie and Marcy the realtor.  The Hotel Cortez gives and gives in creepy during the season, the decor themes are throughout but levels of old and run down touch parts of the hotel. What at first seems like a pristine time capsule you soon discover is falling apart under the weight of financial struggles.  The ad campaign relied heavily on Lady Gaga and her stories in the season but other stories or rather the people whom the Countess is messing with are what truly makes the season. Despite the campaign mostly focusing on the child vampires we don’t really spend much time on them but rather the other characters who are impacted by them. We do however focus a lot on the Countess’ love life as it’s the roadmap to a lot of the events surrounding The Cortez.  The hotel was constructed in 1925 by James March, a serial killer who hoped to create the perfect place to commit his sadistic murders without interruption. Opening in 1926 March wastes no time putting the hotel to use and filling it with murdered souls. Hazel Evers, the maid, and March’s wife Elizabeth AKA the Countess encourage his serial killing due to personal benefits.  During the 1930s March is caught while doing the Ten Commandments Killings and dies by suicide at the hotel. When he dies the ownership transfers to Elizabeth who is infected with a vampire-like blood virus that allows her to live in youth indefinitely off of human blood. CONCLUSION & THOUGHTS After this rewatch I’d give this a solid rating that puts it above many of the others. I find this one similar to Asylum in that there are so many stories that are interesting on their own aside from the main plots that keep things interesting. At some points in the center of the season it does feel like we transition to a new story and that transition is a tad bumpy but if you can get past that both halves of the season are good.  CONCLUSION The next video and article will be the final AHS review video going over season 12, the current season of the show (on pause due to the writer and actor strikes) as well as the spinoff AHS stories and overall thoughts about the entire series.

INTRODUCTION TO COMING-OF-RAGE We are not unique in our quest to understand what it means to be a person or more specifically what it means to identify with a certain gender, or really any identity based group. A question many of us young women, both CIS and not, have asked themselves and the world around them is, “what does it mean to be a woman,” something simply complicated. This is the one and only content warning in the article, from this point on there will not be trigger warnings or spoiler warnings. Can confirm that this article includes both triggering content and spoilers throughout so please proceed with caution and watch at your own risk. Welcome to the Feminine Coming of Rage Horror two part series. The popular therapy platform, Better Help, answers the question as, “The social construct of gender (typically assigned at birth based on sex characteristics)…binaries (that) can continue as (children) grow older.” Essentially being a woman meaning adhering to a social construct you agreed to at birth. Granted, we know that it’s far more complicated and far less rigid than that in reality. So, what is it that society recommends adhering to for women? And how do girls learn to be women or what kinds of women they can become? Watch the Video Version of this Article Now According to a variety of sources the best list I could come up with starts with social feedback. This occurs when you are granted access or restricted from social groups, in addition to either being bullied if you’re on the outside and avoiding bullying on the inside, and finally, a gain or loss of opportunity. Media always plays a significant role in the western understanding and passing-down of what it means to be a woman. This media includes movies, shows, reality television, music, books, and anything else you can think of. A new source of information and feedback that is quickly becoming as important as media are internet spaces like social media platforms. That can also include comment sections and threads. Finally, the other place I think is most important for this article is belief systems. Religious spaces and communities, sports, hobby-based groups, and politics can all impart knowledge as to how a person, in this case, a woman, can be liked or disliked by that group. While I think he’s, she’s, and theys all experience rage—this article is specifically about feminine rage expressed by CIS-women in horror films that are of the “coming-of-age” variety. Since this is rather specific and I’m sort of talking about an idea I’ve heard and seen rather than a full-fledged horror genre I’ll better define that. Question: What is feminine rage in this context? Answer: Rage expressed by women that seems more shocking due to broad societal, quote, “-expectations of docility, homemaking, and submission,” from Cherwell (Chair-well), an Oxford publication. Non-horror examples of this rage include Victoria Pedretti’s portrayal of Love Quinn from Netflix’s You series confronting her murdering, philandering husband, Joe Goldberg. Another example is Natalie Portman’s portrayal of Nina Sayers in Black Swan, a lead professional ballerina who loses herself in exchange for achieving her dreams. This type of rage is considered intense in part due to it’s taboo nature in western society, women going against the “best practices” and behaving in ways we’d feel more comfortable attributing to a male-coded character. The second part of this specific scope, the coming-of-age genre, is defined on MasterClass as, A sub-classification for teen movies in which the story, quote, “follow(s) the lives and adventures of young adults,” unquote, generally involving characteristics like character growth and social commentary while having dialogue heavy plots. Typically the plot follows an outsider breaking into a clique and learning about the high school landscape, including how relationships function, the consequences to certain behaviors, and the social fabrics. I don’t think it’s wild to attribute many high school tropes as mini-versions of adult milestones, an audition for adulthood with less consequences. Coming of age is a well regarded sub-genre of media and includes many huge movies like The Breakfast Club, a 1985 classic John Hughes movie about a group of high school peers spending Saturday in detention. Starring Molly Ringwald as popular in pink Claire Standish, Ally Sheedy as quiet outcast Allison Reynolds, Emilio Estevez (Em-il-io Es-tey-vez) as popular jock Andrew Clark, Judd Nelson as bad boy John Bender punching the sky in triumph by the end of the movie, and Anthony Michael Hall as the nerdy Brian Johnson, endearing and relatable. Another coming of age staple is the 1995 movie, Clueless, staring Alicia Silverstone (Aly-sha) as Cher Horowitz, Stacey Dash as Cher’s best friend Dionne Davenport, Paul Rudd as Cher’s step brother Josh, Brittany Murphy as new girl Tai, and Donald Faison (Fay-sen) as Dionne’s boyfriend Murray. The comedy laden plot follows teenage Cher as she faces challenges specific to Beverly Hills but relatable to teen girls. Later in 2004 Mean Girls came out with a similar focus but this time we follow the new girl, Cady Heron played by Lindsay Lohan, as she infiltrates the school’s top clique, the Plastics, including Rachel McAdams as Regina George, Amanda Seyfried as Karen Smith, and Lacey Chabert (Shuh-bear) as Gretchen Wieners. In a more serious summer break example Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants came out in 2005 based on a tight-knit friend group that spend the break apart but send a pair of magical pants back and forth with updates about their adventures. Coming of age has taken many forms but from here on out we’ll be looking at examples of Feminine Coming of Rage Horror. This type of horror is obviously rage filled, sometimes internal and other times external. It also includes psychological elements and lessons that pertain to womanhood and what it means to be a woman. I’m sure many examples exist, maybe even better examples, but the ones in this series include more than one personal favorite: Carrie 1976, Heathers 1989, The Craft 1996, The Rage: Carrie 2 1999 all in this article and then part 2 of the series will cover Ginger Snaps 2000, Jennifer’s Body 2009, Tragedy Girls 2017, Totally Killer 2023, and finally Lisa Frankenstein 2024. The movies will be in chronological order and timestamps will be included in the description if you’re only interested in certain movie’s analyses. CARRIE In the 70’s the economic conditions combined with social movements pushed more women to work rather than be stay-at-home mothers. This shift and the pushback to this change can be felt in media from that time. Following the stringent puritanical norms of the 40’s, 50’s, and some of the 60’s women found liberation in sex, upward mobility, and opportunity. In 1974 horror author Stephen King published his first novel, Carrie. Shortly thereafter the movie, Carrie, premiered in 1976. Directed by Brian de Palma, produced by Paul Monash (Moe-nash), and screenplay by Lawrence D. Cohen the movie stunned audiences with modernity. The prom scene became iconic for the bloodbath that is unleashed and the effects used to accomplish it. Characters include Carrie White played by Sissy Spacek (Spay-suhk), a 16 year old high school girl who opens the movie by getting her period during a weirdly sensual shower post-high school gym class. Due to her mother sheltering her Carrie is horrified when she discovers blood, convinced she’s dying rather than starting menstruation. Two of her classmates take vastly different paths after the girl’s gym class bullies her, Chris Hargensen played by Nancy Allen, continues being a bully whereas her friend Sue Snell played by Amy Irving decides to self-reflect. Other characters include Tommy Ross played by William Katt who is a well liked jock originally dating Sue and Billy Nolan played by John Travolta, an older bad boy who Chris is dating. Back in the 70’s Sissy Spacek went all out for the audition after being encouraged by her husband to land the part despite not having been the first choice. Conflict on set required De Palma to replace the Director of Photography with Mario Tosi (Toe-see). The plot at the start of Carrie is aforementioned, about a girl with an super religious mother who gets her period and powers at the same time. Unfortunately for Carrie her mother never informed her about what a period is or even about bleeding monthly, causing her to panic and charge the other girls in the gym shower for help. They of course realize she has her period and begin throwing period products like tampons at her and chanting cruel remarks. All the while Carrie is naked and still in the gym showers until the gym teacher comes over and breaks up the bullying, comforting Carrie. Whether directly because of her period or also in conjunction with the traumatic bullying event we get the first flash of Carrie’s powers, she breaks a lightbulb overhead and causes an electrical spurt. Things only get worse when the principal doesn’t even remember Carrie’s name and the bullying persists, the girls now blaming Carrie for them being in detention as punishment. One girl in particular, Chris, blames Carrie so much so and doesn’t want to take responsibility to the extent she wants revenge. She enlists the help of Tommy while Sue feeling guilty about her part enlists the help of Tommy to make it up to her. Sue devises a plan for Tommy to ask Carrie to the prom, her staying back, because it is clear to Sue that Carrie has a crush on Tommy. From the very beginning menstruation and the “Original Sin” from the Christian bible are big parts of the plot and driving force behind a lot of Carrie’s inner turmoil. Christianity and the concept of sin in general are key elements to her relationship to her mother, believing Carrie to be born out of sin and that things like a period are the fault of sinful women. Due to Carrie getting her period her mother’s religious fanaticism reaches a fever pitch, believing her daughter to be in need of saving from some sort of sin. It doesn’t help that Carrie intends to engage in a girlhood right of passage, attending the prom with a prom date. The themes of puberty/womanhood, Christian religious elements, and bullying are all interconnected and feed into one another, often in negative ways, to drive the story forward. Carrie’s coming-of-age story devolves into a rage story when Chris and Billy dump a bucket of pig’s blood on her head when she is receiving the Prom Queen title. Not only did they collect the pig’s blood and sneak into prom to place it but they also had some friends rig the vote so that Tommy and Carrie win prom King and Queen. When Carrie realizes what happens and the crowd breaks into laughter she snaps, attacking the prom goers with electricity, items in the gym, bleachers, and eventually fire. Sue is sparred, being pushed out of the gym as things kick off and then Carrie shutting the gym doors in order to carry out her massacre. Sue being the popular, attractive girl that relinquished her power and reformed is sparred and the ultimate final girl of the film, Carrie who is virginal and sheltered but abuses her power when she becomes a woman is killed by that very power. On the flip side to the story endorsing those two characters Margaret White, Carrie’s mother, abuses her daughter and struggles with a lack of support system in a partner and Chris Hargensen who bullies and lashes out with anger without accountability. Both women are killed in brutal ways by the end of the film, both by Carrie in revenge for what they’ve done to her. Carrie is an essential horror movie, the first but certainly not last of Stephen King’s works that went on to be classics in the genre. Meeting success upon release this movie has always been a horror hit and maintained that status over the years. In part the talent in the cast alone gives this movie a leg up in longevity and recognition throughout the ages. The side by side shots in the end to show both Sissy Spacek’s performance as Carrie and the destruction she’s unleashing on her classmates come off a little goofy now, it’s still worth noting the benefits to that aspect in having made it so popular at the time. HEATHERS The 1980’s became a time of contradiction for women as following the advancements of the seventies backlash began. According to the Oakland Museum of California Ronald Regan becoming president in 1980, a strong anti-abortion, anti-drug, and conservative proponent in stark contrast to some of the more free ideals noted in 60’s and 70’s media about women. In 1988 the movie Heathers premiered and became a box office bomb. Directed by Michael Lehmann (Lee-maan) and written by Daniel Waters, the dark comedy’s origin is The Second Sex Act by Simone de Beauvoir and the experiences of Waters’ adolescent peers. Waters intended for the film to be directed by Stanley Kubrick due to the 1964 movie, Strangelove, while writing the script. Waters has also talked about wanting to address suicide amongst adolescents in a way dissimilar to how Hollywood had been. Veronica Sawyer played by Winona Ryder is the unique one of her friend group, the newest addition to The Heathers, comprised of Heather Chandler, Heather McNamara, and Heather Duke. The Heathers are an envied clique associated with the populars and respected despite being juniors. Unfortunately since the movie Kim Walker and Jeremy Applegate passed away playing Chandler and Peter Dawson, the class president, respectively. Stars like Jennifer Connelly and Justine Bateman got approached to play Veronica and Heather Graham for Chandler but either couldn’t take the roles or in Graham’s case turned it down due to her parents worrying about the subject matter. Ryder on the other hand wanted and sought the role, even getting a makeover after her Beetlejuice appearance left her pale with dyed black hair. The casting of Heathers became somewhat high school when Christian Slater got cast as Jason J.D. Dean, a part he beat out Brad Pitt for, and got his then girlfriend, Walker, the role of Heather Chandler. As if that isn’t dramatic enough Lisanne Falk, who plays Heather McNamara lied about her age, being in her twenties as opposed to teens like the other cast members and Shannen Doherty who played Heather Duke took the part a little too seriously than the movie called for. Lehmann has said since that this benefited the film due to it carrying well for the part of Heather Duke, who did in fact take high school too seriously. The movie begins by focusing on one of it’s core and central themes, a song plays about a girl asking her mother what kind of woman she’d be. With an automatic nod to the fantastical one of the opening shots is Veronica buried up to her neck in her lawn, a croquette ball having just bounced off her head. She immediately breaks the fourth wall looking directly into the camera and saying, “Dear Diary,” before the scene changes to Veronica writing in her diary while scenes from what she describes play out. The initial catalyst event for Veronica introspecting about her climb to popularity and the friend group she’s a part of is explained, at lunch that day they played a cruel prank on Martha Dunnstock, an overweight girl at their school. We learn that McNamara and Duke are Chandler’s followers, Heather Chandler is always red, McNamara yellow, and Duke is green, whereas Veronica is blue. Veronica and Chandler vie for control of the group and what direction their clique will take, forcing Chandler to do their lunch poll with all types of cliques rather than those they deemed socially acceptable for their reputation. At this same lunch we’re introduced to JD, who locks eyes with Veronica as soon as she enters the lunchroom in a very love at first sight way. As we meet more characters and see the lay of the land we come to find out that Veronica is really unhappy with her friend group, feeling they are cruel and vapid and that she sacrificed to get there for no real benefit. She and JD express their interest for each other and share a moment at a seven eleven before the second catalyst event takes place. By the college party Heather Chandler and Veronica are on thin ice with one another, and after neither girl approaches sleazy college boys in the same way they get into a friendship ending fight. Chandler threatens to tell everyone at school that Veronica is lame and embarrassed her at the college party by being unwilling to hook up with her date’s friend. This fight and friendship slight ends with a dumpster fire figuratively and literally. JD convinces Veronica to get revenge on Chandler by giving her a gross concoction under the guise of a hangover cure. The hangover cure is switched with antifreeze sort of by accident and sort of intentionally on JD’s part. Heather Chandler drinks the antifreeze after some mild coaxing and jeering from JD and Veronica about her pride. Heather drinks the blue liquid, chokes, says, “Corn Nuts,” and crashes through her glass coffee table to her death. They not only kill Heather Chandler but then they decide to cover up the murder by Veronica copying her handwriting, a skill mentioned to us earlier in the film, and creating a suicide note. In an attempt to make it believable they add literary references and have Chandler admit her insecurities. This backfires when the town reads this letter and thinks of Heather as a victim of a growing trend of teenage suicides in America. Themes like the youth committing suicide at increasing rates, murder and physical violence, homophobia/sexuality, and bullying within the high school social hierarchy. A few of the best scenes of the movie in general but also that illustrate the themes well are the funeral scenes when we get insight into what the characters are thinking, able to eavesdrop on their prayers. Ram’s voice over pertains only to Heather’s physicality, considering her to be a loss for men rather than a loss of human life, Duke is thankful that her prayers have been answered and believes she’s now anointed, and finally Veronica expresses regret but also shirks responsibility onto Chandler. Later in the film at Kurt and Ram’s funeral we get an iconic scene of one of their fathers screaming, “I love my gay son!” Lamenting that he didn’t accept his son sooner, believing that his son commit suicide. Of course we the audience know that Veronica and JD murdered Kurt and Ram after one of them takes Veronica and McNamara on an awful date, opening the excuse for JD to rid of them amid his jealously and entitled rage. Rage can be found throughout the movie, in quiet and rambunctious ways. It’s represented by the fire burning behind the conversation between friends in an alley, in JD lighting his cigarette with Veronica’s sizzling flesh, to Veronica gleefully shooting at Kurt and Ram just prior to that. Even the final scenes are rage filled-JD blows himself up and Veronica watches the blast, covered after in smoke with a cigarette turned to ash in her mouth. She is calm after the rage storm when she walks back inside and lets Duke know she can be the leader and goes off with Martha to watch movies. Collateral damage is an element of rage horror that can turn an otherwise decent coming of age story on it’s head, leaving the protagonist likely a murderer by the end. Veronica for example kills Heather Chandler, Kurt, and Ram along with JD. Based on what happens to the female characters we can ascertain some insight into what society deems acceptable and punishable behavior from a woman. We are shown many versions of Veronica as she attempts to find herself and her values amidst the violence. The versions of her that seem happy and aligned with what she imagined life to be are early on in the film prior to her realizing how much she hates her friends and at the end of the film when she’s made it to a stopping point now that JD is dead and the school’s future hierarchy hangs in the balance. I have loved this movie since the first time I watched it, I’d been shocked I hadn’t heard of it before having seen many of the famous John Hughes’ 80’s classics but never having heard of Heathers. I think it’s absolutely hilarious, exceedingly dark, and does Black Comedy with ease and wild chemistry between characters. Tense scenes with extremely dark subject matter are cut through with scenes like McNamara and Duke coming up on post-murder childlike fighting from Veronica and JD in the school parking lot only to attribute it to young love. THE CRAFT Women in the nineties began to forge their own paths separate from counter-male culture. Sexuality became a larger focus in pop culture as more openly expressed their orientations and affections. Harder drugs became more common despite the War on Drugs. A Florida State University Department of History article from 2022 notes that women’s empowerment became tied to consumerism in the nineties, right alongside the Riot Girl aesthetic and Girls Gone Wild. The Craft fit not only the aesthetic but the overarching values of the women at the time period. Rather than dedicating all of your time and energy to just boys they become set pieces in the girls’ narratives and goals. Directed by Andrew Fleming, the story by Peter Filardi and screenplay by both this witchcraft story starred some popular names at the time. Sarah Bailey played by Robin Tunney is a teen girl who has moved to a new town with her father Mr. Bailey played by Cliff De Young. At her new school she meets three odd outcast girls named Nancy Downs played by Fairuza Balk (Fah-ruze-ah Baak), Bonnie Harper played by Neve Campbell, and Rochelle Zimmerman played by Rachel True. She also meets Laura Lizzie played by Christine Taylor, a mean and racist student and two boy students Chris Hooker played by Skeet Ulrich and Mitt Roger played by Breckin Meyer. Another film with interesting goings on on set The Craft had a long list of actresses that auditioned for parts including Alicia Silverstone, Angelina Jolie, and Scarlett Johansson. Robin Tunney (Tuh-nee) ended up being cast for Sarah and wore really badly installed wigs because she shaved her head for the role Debra in Empire Records. This information made her heinous wigs make so much more sense, it had always bothered me how nice set, costume and effects had been but that they couldn’t get a good wig. The character Rochelle got rewritten to be black and face racial struggles after Rachel True got cast. I can’t imagine the movie without her or that storyline so that is a wild discovery. Another tidbit being Filardi and Wick bringing in a Wiccan consultant named Pat Devins to ensure that the use of magic in the film was as respectful as possible. Initially Sarah meets the three outcast girls and becomes friends with them organically. They inform her about their quest to find a fourth and believe that Sarah could be that fourth to complete rituals they’ve been planning, essentially to form a coven. Each of the four girls has her own reason for wanting to harness power but all four share the goal of general power over their lives, particularly at home and in school. Themes in the film include mental illness in adolescents and portraying how despite telling the truth Nancy is locked up at the end after attacking Sarah which goes in hand with karmic consequences. Witchcraft and covens are also themes as exhibited through the subject matter and outside influence of Wiccan practices. Empowerment as well as girlhood and womanhood are huge cornerstones of the plot, the adult like consequences to girl made decisions a huge driving force of the girl’s stories. Responsibilities in a young woman’s life that can have expectations for her in return, including spiritual groups not unlike this coven, the community around her like school or work, family, and academic institutions just to name a few. All of this external pressure and force pushes the themes the characters are facing even closer to boiling points that result in some of them breaking with reality. Societies views on mental illness, access to services, unforeseen karmic consequences, generally becoming more empowered even by negative outlets are all things that compound the already present pressure, some of which characters in The Craft face. We are shown what happens to women in this fictional world when they behave in certain ways. For example, the quieter and intelligent girls gained supernatural power and sought revenge on popular girls who bully classmates. When Nancy attacks Sarah but then breaks with reality she ends up in a psych ward, ranting and raving abut what actually happened but no one believes her. Once they took on characteristics and attributes more masculinely associated like ruthless ambition and revenge their lives began to fall apart. Throughout the rise and fall of the coven rage is present and prevalent. Struggling teen Sarah has moved to California with her dad and stepmom, Rochelle is being racially targeted in her affluent Catholic school, Nancy’s mother and stepfather are impoverished and abusive, and Bonnie has severe burns all over her body, all valid things to be rage filled about. Their rise after summoning and harnessing the powers of Manon, getting revenge and getting ahead in ways they’d never thought possible not long ago is fun to watch. I root for them, rooting for them to not. THE RAGE: CARRIE 2 Rather than a direct sequel The Rage: Carrie 2 1999 is a reprisal with all of the nineties grunge tropes. Over twenty years after the first movie this sequel takes place in the same area from the first movie and Sue Snell is the guidance counselor with Amy Irving returning for the role. Directed by Katt Shea (who also has a part in the film as the Deputy D.A. Karen), written by Rafael Moreu and produced by Paul Monash Carrie 2 has little in common with the first film other than the telekinetic powers and town history. A teenage foster child named Rachel Lang, is the girl in town who develops powers but rather than being onset by puberty it’s implied she always had them and that they intensified after her friend, Lisa Parker played by Mena Suvari commits suicide. It is clear from early on that the boys football team is a source of toxic masculinity in the school, even engaging in a scored game tracking which girls they have hooked up with as well as rating the women at the school. Mark Bing played by Dylan Bruno and Chuck Porter played by Eli Craig are the two main meatheads who are friends with Jesse Ryan played by Jason London, who later becomes Rachel’s love interest. Despite Jesse having engaged in the competition too we are led to feel that he is one of the quote-unquote good guys who is simply caught up in the whirlwind of high school. I strongly disagree, feeling that the boys football team is in it’s entirety a great microcosm for how misogyny and hatred can infiltrate a space so much so that even those who can see it is bad go along with it. The misogynistic elements of the plot don’t stop there though as Monica Jones played by Rachel Blanchard and her group of girlfriends team up with the boys to tear Rachel down. The start of the movie does a decent job of expanding on Carrie while trying to modernize the issues she faced, this time the focus being sex rather than menstruation in the seventies original. Virginity is also a major factor and contributor to the rage elements of the plot. Rage and strong negative emotions can be found throughout the buildup to Rachel’s Carrie-style massacre at a mansion party she reluctantly attends for her boyfriend Jesse. The plot is pushed off with Lisa jumping off the roof because one of the football idiots had been a fuck-boy and led her on. When Rachel learns of this her rage is solidified and although she’s willing to bury the hatchet with the team Chuck, who has been a suspect in the wake of Lisa’s death, blames Rachel for bringing attention to his potential statutory rape. He blames her for providing details to the police about his relationship with Lisa prior to her death as well as the photo evidence she shares with them. Rachel’s foster parents harshly judge her throughout and openly talk about the money aspects of her living with them, both rage filling and building instances in Rachel’s life. By the time we reach the party she is met with cold stares and hushed whispers when she arrives only to be tricked into watching a sex tape of her and Jesse, secretly filmed the night before. On top of this she is led to believe that Jesse played a role in it, but nonetheless she snaps, her body becoming covered in inked vines as she gruesomely murders her classmates and Sue with household objects including flying CDs. This movie doesn’t feel like it set out to accomplish much aside from making a horror sequel to Carrie with 90’s flair, which is does succeed at. Despite taking a few different paths none of the women in the movie really end their stories on a positive note. In fact, none of the women characters survive and instead Rachel tearfully saves Jesse before she dies in the ruin of the party. Due to the rather shallow nature of the story not a lot of complex things are being addressed or displayed in the themes and the external forces that compound them. Economic and social inequality is touched on a bit with her being a foster child and the group she finds herself befriending living in mansions. Her transition from girlhood to adulthood seems to have taken place prior to the film’s events but the overall stages of girlhood are present: losing your virginity, falling for a jerk, having a high school romance, and so on. All in all, I wouldn’t recommend this movie. I had to watch it twice because the first time I looked down when I got bored and never found something else interesting enough to fully tune back into. It’s a really long and drawn out story that could’ve been shaved in half and still accomplished the same feat. I liked Rachel but found her to be two dimensional at best despite having a harsh and varied background with her mother’s mental illness and being rather independent due to being in foster care. She can easily take care of a dog but cannot smell danger or bad intentions a mile away. CONCLUSION Carrie, Heathers, The Craft, and Carrie 2 all picked up feminine coming of rage story elements and wove them together into somewhat unique horror movies. Powers are a major through thread in this subgenre, many stories having the central focus of gaining power, liking it, and being easily corrupted by it or not being responsible with it. Part two movies are Jennifer’s Body, Tragedy Girls, Totally Killer, and Lisa Frankenstein, all four also including power struggles and supernatural powers similar to the movies in part one and also movies that fall into the Feminine Coming of Rage Horror genre. Womanhood in the part one movies also heavily relies on relationships with other women to indicate whether someone is an example or a cautionary tale. It’s tied to sex as mentioned earlier as well as the onset of puberty and that specific time period in a woman’s life plus the struggles she may face during it. Society benefits from a wide variety of portrayals of stories as well as exhibiting common experiences that most of us share and in the horror genre specifically showing how an array of things can be horrifying and fantastical. On the flip side these portrayals of women and specifically female coming of rage horror can be alienating to some audiences as a wide swath of people have limited if any experience with the gender specific occurrences like periods and friendships between women. In addition to this drawback these movies can also play into stigma if misunderstood or done poorly. It’s a genre that I have loved enjoying and have always been interested in exploring more, even just to understand my own high school obsessions with some of them. In the next article I’ll be doing an analysis of each movie similar to this article and write a summation of what I found out about the feminine coming of rage genre and if it’s even enough of a thing to warrant a sub genre of it’s own. INTERESTED IN MORE HORROR? Currently I have a three part American Horror Story review series and Universal Monsters: Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolf Man series part one of three up on my YouTube channel now. The AHS series doesn’t include the second half of Delicate and hopefully this year I’ll be doing a follow up point-five video going over part two of Delicate as well as the season in it’s entirety. June’s video will be part two of the Universal Monsters series, with part three planned for December. In July I’ll be posting the second part of this series, Feminine Coming of Rage Horror by the end of that month. Subscribe to my YouTube by visiting my channel or Instagram @redrosehorror where I usually post after uploading a new video. But regardless if we meet again or not, thank you for reading and visiting!

The 1st Feminine Coming-of-Rage Horror article... ...overviewed the horror genre's relationship with the young women whose stories comprise this made-up genre in movies from the seventies, eighties, and nineties. Describing the symbiotic relationship between women's coming-of-rage stories and the society the stories are influenced by.   Feminine coming-of-rage horror is a made-up subgenre name for the purpose of this series but nonetheless the small but cult-followed collection of movies covered are examples of girls becoming women within the confines of gender roles. The push-pull of young women coming-of-age is in part informed by conflicting social feedback, media, internet spaces, and belief systems. The positive or negative feedback from them form a foundational knowledge of what is good and what is bad for a woman to do. This also informs the consequences to a chosen path, like social ostricization if you have membership in a group that another group disapprove of. For the purposes of this video series "women" refers to the social construct of gender based on sex characteristics of CIS-females. Specifically, young women dealing with female puberty and the hormonal impacts upon their life. Women outside of this context is a broad identifier of people, however. I would like to acknowledge that women are not just confined to the topics and issues covered in this video series. The main characters of the films that fit this category are CIS-women but as the subgenre expands there is space and interest in stories about trans-girls and their coming-of-age horror stories being told.   Lessons in how to be a woman and about womanhood are often learned during the window of time specific to the coming-of-age genre like the transition from middle to high school, and time spent in high school or college. According to MasterClass story aspects like character growth and social commentary are key for the genre about this age group. The combination of coming-of-age and rage generates stories that push back against the expectations for women, sometimes being more sexual, more aggressive, or just plain old, more when the expectation is that they make themselves lesser. Womanhood is also in part taught through individual trial and error and through forced social spaces like work and school, both not included in part one. Trial and error from experiences, anecdotal included, can heavily inform the choices of women based on the positive or negative outcomes. For example, dating best practices for women are generally derived from one’s own dating experiences combined with those of trusted women who share do’s and don’ts. FROM THE PART ONE ARTICLE.. Work or school spaces that are somewhat necessary to exist within have a varying degree of issues that women face and how they are taught to deal with such issues. For example, some communities prefer issues between women are dealt with in a street fight whereas others prefer to deal with issues through passive aggression or repetitional attacks. The spaces can greatly inform how women believe they should behave, and unrequested feedback is often given to young girls and women. Feminism is another through-thread of modern womanhood that prescribes not only individual lifestyle directives but greater womanhood ones as well. As feminism became a more solid ideology represented by organizations and centralized beliefs it became easier to identify what you were quote-unquote "supposed to do" as well as what would fall outside that norm. Britannica defines feminism as, "-the belief in social, economic, and political equality of the sexes...manifested, worldwide and... represented by various institutions...on behalf of women's rights and interests." With equality being defined as equal treatment, status and/or freedom from discrimination.   Four distinct waves of feminism are identified on History.com as the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Waves. The First is thought to be from the 1800s through the 1920s and centered around women's suffrage. Following that the Second Wave from the 1960s to 1980s became a notable time of women pushing back on the confines of gender roles as wives and mothers. Once women's issues turned from basic rights and respect to issues that thrived in the shadows like the patriarchy as a system, sexual assault by members of the government like Anita Hill's testimony against Clarence Thomas who went on to become a Supreme Court justice. This era is marked by Riot Grrl music, girl pop artists, and eras of fashion aesthetics like grunge that attempted to take attention away from women's bodies. The fourth wave is more nebulous and less defined as of now, but the #MeToo movement of 2017 is mentioned as a shift in women's issues, which I'll discuss more about later.   Rage highlighted in this series is specifically rage expressed by women in media like movies and television shows. This rage is seen as more shocking because it is the opposite of women being stereotypically more docile and agreeable. The rage brewed from learning that who you are doesn’t fit who the world expects you to be is persistent throughout the movies in the series.When horror is added to this formula, we get new insight and indie stories with creative horror elements, like the rad special effects throughout Ginger Snaps and the CGI-prosthetic combination for Jennifer’s jaw in Jennifer’s Body . Based on the movies in part one of this series the takeaway is that being a woman is heavily tied to one's relationship with other women. What those women think of you and how they speak about you plays an important role in your outcome during the movie, improving odds for those more pious and damaging odds of those more hedonistic. Womanhood was also heavily tied to sex, including the onset of puberty and the sometimes out of control hormones associated with it. In addition, the process of discovering sex and even sex as a tool in society is embarked upon by more than one main character in this series. As a central theme that appeared in every movie, sex, specifically hetero-normative sex, and the losing or taking of one's virginity is also central to womanhood. Seen as a rite of passage the rules associated with this aspect of young women’s lives vary widely across cultures and even across small cliques within the same community. At times the exploitation of women or trauma incurred by them is central to a horror movie’s plot, whether it is the beginning of a revenge plot, or a cruel act committed by a masked killer, it is included in an array of horror subgenres.   While oftentimes exploitative in itself that isn’t necessarily the case with coming-of-rage movies, as the female characters often possesses means of revenge and deeper or more comedic meaning than shock factor to inclusion of sexual topics. Having horror coming-of-rage stories about young women can also be beneficial for exhibiting common experiences taken to the horror level's extreme that can help people see past their own biases and providing comfort to those who might feel confused, unseen, or unheard. COMING OF RAGE PART 2 MOVIES Movies in part one included Carrie (1976), Heathers (1989), The Craft (1996), and The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999). That video, part one of this series, is up on my channel now and relates the movies back to the eras in which they came out and what womanhood looked like at that time. The movies are impacted by and impact the greater society they exist in, showing up in fashion, relationship norms, slang, aesthetic trends, and more.   In the 2000's however more women became interested in true crime, finding comfort in the stories that could serve as warnings. Others opted for learning how to cheat the maze, and ultimately how to have it all, finding the secret key that the successful women must be hiding. I’m picking back up with the early two-thousands in this video, which is Feminine Coming-of-Rage Horror Part 2, welcome! CONTENT & SPOILER WARNING This is the one and only content and spoiler warning in the video. From this point on the video will contain spoilers for all the movies mentioned thus far. Trigger warning for content, a range of sensitive topics will be covered, and if you want to skip all the overviews to the end analysis check the description for a time stamp.   BASE CHALENGES The base challenges of the past didn’t change after the turn of the century for young adults of that time, many of those still existing today. Those challenges include but aren’t limited to: social feedback, childbearing or childrearing, household chores, emotional regulation, knowledge pursuits, aspirations, sexuality, and opportunity. Each having an impact and needing to be balanced, discarded, or maybe even replaced. Modern life however added more challenges including high cost of living, prevalence of dating apps, influence of social media, and political shifts that can change rights. The more women grow and learn through personal experience the more the prescribed path or paths morph and change to fit the needs of the time and individual. With added challenges of modern life, the pressures on the young women in coming-of-rage stories is stronger than ever, morphing into a more self-aware narrative style.   Despite the made-up aspects like the name, the collection of movies covered in both videos are often linked together by the same criteria I'd use to define the horror subgenre. COMING OF RAGE QUALIFICATIONS Female lead character or characters, conflict with other female characters or women, critique of women, feminism, society, patriarchy, etc., About the onset of puberty and/or adulthood either by age or circumstance Life threatening criminal or supernatural elements Includes an important, larg life event like prom, graduation, or going to college, and finapivotal romantic relationship or awakening to sexual desires. All the movies in this series fit the criteria or I can argue that they fit the criteria, sooooo without further ado welcome to Feminine Coming-of-Rage Part Two which will cover Gingersnaps 2000, Jennifer's Body 2009, Tragedy Girls 2017, Freaky 2020, and Totally Killer 2023. THE EARLY AUGHTS If you’d have asked people in the 1950’s what the world would look like in the year 2000 they might’ve said something about flying cars, highly advanced cities, and huge technological advances in medical science, maybe even the meaning of life. Instead, we got widespread suburbs, booming populations in cities, and an avoidance of dealing with issues like garbage and fossil fuel pollution. After the Riot Grrl era of the nineties filled with anger and pushback the early aughts pop-music took complete control of the world with female celebrities like Destiny’s Child, Avril Levine, Paris Hilton, and Britney Spears who had a more laid back and matter of fact approach to life and the patriarchy. Rather than fight against it artistic acts that took the spotlight flowed along with the currents and those who didn’t make a fuss were rewarded while those that presented problems found themselves regretting having stood up for themselves in the first place. The 2000’s isn’t denoted as a specific period of advancement for the best interests of women or huge changes to mark a specific wave of feminism. Some fashion trends included Y2K and emo, pick-me rhetoric and mentality ran rampant, and there was more than one opportunity to make it on TV by showing your breasts for little to no compensation. During this period much of the turmoil happened in rooms rather than in public, the demands upon women becoming more private and nuanced than overt. A demand to be the everything girl developed, like the speech at the end of Barbie, the pressures to be everything became heavier in the 2000s.   At the same time the real-world scrutinized women and informed them of the behavior they should embody fictional media also imposed prescriptions and restrictions to how young women ought to behave. A push towards suburban homemaker took a forefront in womanhood, the expectation that this new, modern motherhood should be ideal and enough for the majority. Movies like Gingersnaps however portrayed two young women who pushed back against that expectation and the modernization of life. GINGER SNAPS (2000) The plot of Ginger Snaps (2000) starts with sisters Brigitte and Ginger Fitzgerald live in the suburbs and have an affinity for death, even making a pact with one another when they were 8 that they’d leave the suburbs or commit suicide together by the age of 16. Katharine Isabelle plays Ginger, an already 16-year-old Canadian high school student and her 15, almost 16-year-old sister Brigitte is played by Emily Perkins. Written by John Fawcett and Karen Walton, the movie came out in 2000 and did not perform well at the box office despite having a cult following today. The movie opens with a series of dog deaths caused by a creature of some sort dubbed the Beast of Bailey Downs. The sisters don’t fit in at school, their extremely close relationship and quiet demeanor combined with their interest in death leave them outsiders. Ginger likes this and is the leader of this path whereas Brigitte is clearly beginning to question the status quo between her and her sister.   At school Ginger and Brigitte give their death presentation which is extremely creative and unique approach to their life in Bailey Downs assignment. The class applauds to their dismay and the boys in the class snicker and comment about Ginger's attractiveness in contrast to Brigitte being not attractive. After being overheard talking about Trina Sinclair, a popular girl at their schools, death Trina pushes Brigitte into the carcass of another neighborhood dog while they play field hockey. For unknown reasons the same taunting boys from class are able to watch the girls PE class play field hockey and comment on the entire class uninterrupted.   As a revenge plot the sisters go on a night mission to get back at Trina and Ginger starts her period. The blood from her period causes the werewolf creature that has been attacking dogs to attack Ginger. They get into an intense battle with B using a branch to smack at the wolf so it will free Ginger. Ginger eventually gets free and her and B run into the street narrowly missing being hit with the wolf right behind them. The wolf gets hit and pulverized by the van driven by Sam Miller, played by Kris Lemche. Sam gets out of the car, but the sisters are already gone, rushing home. Back at their house Ginger is severely injured and writhing in pain, B tries to examine her wounds only to find they've healed during the inspection. Ginger convinces Brigitte to not only not get help but to also not tell their parents about what happened.   Brigitte from the start seeks to reverse and/or stop the transformation Ginger is going through whereas Ginger is fine with the aspects that she likes but wishes to hide the more obvious things like her developing tail. Ginger begins to show an extreme aggression towards Brigitte as she transforms into a werewolf and Brigitte enlists Sam to help. Her jealousy extends to all facets of Brigitte’s life and any pulling away from her despite her also changing.  While Brigitte is transforming into a more independent adult woman Ginger is transforming into a werewolf hungry for sex and flesh with a desire to rip everything apart. Brigitte is appalled when her sister eventually succumbs to being a werewolf, enjoying the kills and sexual confidence as she becomes more and more wolf life.   Sam is the pivotal romantic relationship, the object of Trina's affection that causes her to snap and confront Brigette after he seems to be interested in her. During this scene she alludes to possibly losing her virginity to Sam at one point and calls him a quote-unquote "cherry hunter" and warns Brigette that he will do the same to her. Trina almost makes it seem like they should work together against Sam, but Ginger comes along and takes Trina hostage inside to present an ultimatum to Brigitte to go along with the transformation. Ginger agrees to try and slow or reverse the transformation, but Trina accidentally dies. They are able to get away with involvement in Trina's death and the town believes she's simply missing.   The sisters are able to fly somewhat under the radar from their parents as their father is checked out and their mother is blinded by the desperation to be close with them and be needed by them. At first the extent is only animals and hide-able features, but Ginger soon kills their teacher after propositioning boys in the hallway and then the janitor after he walks in on the other murder. Brigette can't fully condemn Ginger however, even after she makes advances, because of their bond. Ginger goes after Sam after him and B make a second dose of the cure, previously having tested it on the boy Ginger turned into a werewolf via unprotected sex. The cure is knocked away and Sam is dragged to the basement of their house where he leans against the wall bleeding out.   Ginger wants Brigette to join her and eat Sam, but Brigette can't bring herself to and finally stands up to her sister, shouting, "I won't!" which causes Ginger to kill Sam. Once Sam is dead B runs away and gets to the syringe, she tells Ginger she won't die down in the basement with her and when Ginger attacks she stabs her in the chest and kills her. With the syringe of the cure unused and Ginger dying Brigitte goes to lay on her sister's chest, holding her as she dies. The two sisters have a general rage throughout the film, initially towards their peers and feeling they cared about vastly different things from them, also towards their parents, specifically their mother’s overwatch of them. Anger towards the boys that ogled their gym class or made comments after their presentation about their bodies, objectifying them rather than providing feedback on their art project. There is a particular rage towards being forced to become a woman by one’s body and the inability to have a choice in the matter. This mostly comes from Ginger with Brigitte in more of an accomplice than leader role. There’s rage about the circumstances of Ginger becoming a werewolf and rage within their different feelings about that change. Ginger in a lot of ways embraces being a werewolf even when faced with possible solutions from Brigitte but Brigitte is always of the mindset that they are both working towards ending this curse or virus. Ginger takes out her rage on the teacher who is policing her behavior and on the janitor whose kindness she interprets as coming onto Brigitte. She puts all boys and men into the same box to justify her murdering them which is common in this genre. THE MID TO LATE AUGHTS The aughts ushered in an avalanche of rapid change, TVs became expected in every room not just every home, VHS got scrapped for DVD discs, and not long after the CD got replaced by MP3 Players, including but not limited to the iPod. All that glitters isn’t gold however and by 2008 the Great Recession had begun, wiping out vast swaths of wealth for a lot of Americans. The housing market crashed alongside the economy, people were out of houses and jobs with no real path forward. After the turn of the century the internet started to become more popular for personal use and sites like LiveJournal.com and blogger are two examples of pre-social media sites of similar ilk. Special interest blogs popped up, focused on topics ranging from video game dedicated content to users glorifying eating disorders.  The internet began to have an impact on culture and particularly girl and womanhood and how women viewed themselves and place in society. I can recall not only knowing about but being interested in and talking about with school friends watered down versions of the tabloid stories lining grocery checkout lines of this time. The stories and how these celebrity women got framed had an impact on women from the top down to even girls. The tabloid stories picked apart and judged women often for no reason or for them just living their lives. Gaining or losing too much weight could incur an unflattering image plastered across a tabloid cover with bubbles pointing out the specific imperfections. Diets are not only encouraged but it is an unspoken understanding that all adult women diet. While all of that is happening in the financial sector the internet is becoming even more mainstream. Facebook came about in 2004 as The Facebook and social connecting sites aimed at children like Club Penguin came online in 2005. In the same year YouTube launched and shortly after Twitter in 2006. By 2009 the internet looked similar to how it does today, with social media platform MySpace dominating, YouTube getting exponential growth, and Twitter becoming finding its place as a social media juggernaut. JENNIFER’S BODY (2009) While Ginger Snaps pushed back against the internet and the norms expected of us Jennifer’s Body 2009 embraced those changes. The events of the film are kicked off with Jennifer and Needy going to a live concert at a local bar, Melody Lanes. Jennifer Check played by Megan Fox has found a band from the city, Low Shoulder, on MySpace, who have decided to perform in their small town, Devil’s Kettle. The marketing campaign for the movie focused on Megan Fox and her symbolic role as a quote-unquote “hot girl” of the time. Not to say that Jennifer’s Body isn’t in some respects about…well…Jennifer’s body, but it is not the male teen gaze fest that some trailers and most of the promo made it out to be. Due to this neglect and pigeon holing on the studio’s part the audience the movie appealed to before it came out is definitely not the audience the movie is actually for. When the movie premiered in the fall of 2009 men and teen boys went to go see the movie and became enraged to find that the movie is more about the relationship between Needy Lesnicki, played by Amanda Seyfried, and Jennifer than it is a slow-motion shot filled softcore project. We open at the end, Jennifer lying in bed with the glow of the TV casting an empty feeling, a work-out infomercial plays in the background as Jennifer licks a piece of her hair and looks through her yearbook. In the window beside her we can see Needy, hood up and looking menacing at Jennifer. She is gone by the time Jennifer looks out the window, looking tired and sickly, still stunning because it’s Megan Fox but a definitely dimmed version. The voiceover and first words of the film are from the main character, Needy, “hell is a teenage girl,” which I’m sure made male audiences groan in confusion.   We snap to the future and Needy explains her current circumstances as an inmate in a psych ward. She’s the narrator of the story and is telling it in hindsight after the events of the that led to her being there. From early in the movie, it’s clear that Needy and Jennifer have a co-dependent relationship with one another, a frenemy type situation built on years of history. They are thick as thieves despite being quite different, Needy dulling herself down to calm some of Jennifer’s insecurities. Based on the reactions from their peers they have always had a relationship that bordered on romantic regarding how they treated one another and what they expect from one another. Chip Dove, Needy’s boyfriend played by Johnny Simmons, talks about how close the pair are while Needy gets ready to go out with Jennifer to the concert. He talks badly about their plan, and she explains what salty is and that he is that, or as Jennifer says, lime green Jell-O that can’t even admit it to himself. Jennifer basically demanded that Needy go to the “club” that night and even approved her outfit, but Jennifer can’t do any of that unless Needy lets her.   The band has bad vibes, Needy even overhearing them talking about the likelihood of Jennifer being a virgin after she introduces herself to them, flirtatious and flustered. Nikolai, the band’s lead singer played by Adam Brody, assures the band that she is and that he’s from a small town like this which they clock as a lie he’s told to them in the past. We learn however via Needy informing Jennifer of this convo that she’s not a virgin and has a history of hooking up with older guys around town, like Roman the cop played by Chris Pratt. As the band plays the song seems to entrance Jennifer while Needy seems entranced by Jennifer until the fire in the bar begins. The full events of the night aren’t told until much later in the movie but at the jump it’s known that a fire erupted in Melody Lanes that killed a bunch of locals. Needy leads Jennifer out through the window in the bathroom as the flames take over the bar, it seems like they are the only ones making it out until the band approaches them, led by Nikolai with a drink he offers Jennifer, noting she’s in shock from the fire. Jennifer enters the van with the band and goes off into the night, Needy going home and calling Chip. Jennifer ends up at Needy’s house however, eating food from the fridge and then vomiting black goo on the floor. We learn later that Jennifer left there and kills Ahmet, the foreign exchange student at their high school, who also escaped from the Melody Lanes fire. This ends up being the only kill that Jennifer is apologetic about. She goes on to kill a football star, Jonas, played by Josh Emerson, behind the school in the forest and Colin Gray, an emo kid from their school, played by Kyle Gallner in an abandoned house. In a deleted scene from the movie Needy confronts Jennifer in the locker room and she says, “I’m killing boys,” in response to Needy saying she’s killing people and that boys come and go. This mindset perfectly sums up how she pursues and why she pursues her victims. Their utter man-ness enrages her. For example, Jonas’ best friend just died yet he’s down to get frisky with Jennifer in the woods the very next day after mild flirtation from her end. He’s completely entranced by the idea of hooking up with Jennifer, completely overtaken with lust, which is something that Jennifer views as less-than. When it comes to Colin, she’s proving a point to and getting back at Needy for her not having been aware of Needy and Colin’s friendship. She’s jealous similarly to how Chip is when he finds out about it. By Colin accepting the date despite seeming like he’d be more interested in an intellectual pairing than just a hot girl he proves that he too can be overtaken by lust and that he might be a poser, two things Jennifer views as weaknesses. While Jennifer is killing Colin Needy and Chip are having sex and during it Needy sees Jennifer as a ghoul over Jonas looking like a ghost in the room with them. Alluding to the psychic connection the two might possess in the next scene Needy almost hits Jennifer with her car after shutting off Low Shoulder’s song on the radio, them gaining popularity under the guise of being heroes. Needy gets to her room only to find Jennifer in her bed already, scaring her. The famous scene of the two kissing occurs and notably this also upset male audiences as it’s mostly close ups of the lips, focusing on the sensuality and hesitation rather than the sexual aspects. The kiss is a symbolic turning point of their relationship, Jennifer exerting her power over Needy in the ultimate way to continue like things are and Needy snapping out of her haze to demand an explanation. Jennifer explains that Low Shoulder sacrificed her next to the Devil’s Kettle waterfall in the woods the night of the fire. They found a ritual online for success and fame by sacrificing a virgin, but they didn’t sacrifice a virgin. The ritual still worked, and they got success following the fire, but Jennifer didn’t die and instead came back as a succubus now existing off human flesh. She also doesn’t seem to want to stop doing that so Needy is placed in a weird spot that she can’t not do anything but also doesn’t know what to do. Jennifer gaslights Needy once she realizes that Needy is still asking questions rather than going along with things. In order to protect him Needy breaks up with Chip before their prom only for idiot Chip to agree to go with Jennifer.   Needy isn’t privy to information as things are happening and is doing side research to reach the conclusions that she finds by just talking to Jennifer. There isn’t an effort from Needy to find other solutions to the demon issue Jennifer is facing and almost immediately decides that the only path is to stop Jennifer, watching over her like a guardian to ensure she doesn’t kill any more boys. This rage is more like a simmering, deep-rooted rage within Needy that only becomes clear when her and Jennifer have their confrontation in the pool. Prior to the pool confrontation the make-up scene stands out, Jennifer becoming enraged that the demon-curse causes her to wither away, taking away something she cares about and relies on for her self worth, her good appearance. She is desperate and puts on a show to lure Chip into the pool so that she can attack him in private. Those scenes are intercut with Needy getting dressed up in a heinous pink 80’s getup with a less-than-flattering hairstyle and making her way to the dance to intervene if Jennifer goes on the hunt. Her own rage comes from self-sacrifice, something commonly expected of women. Needy’s rage at Jennifer not agreeing to stop eating boys, viewing the dance as an all you can eat buffet for her, seethes over. She realizes through their psychic connection that Jennifer is kissing Chip or at the very least that Chip is in danger. This causes her to run at full speed to the pool where we get the most rage-drenched scene of the movie.   During this exchange it becomes clear that Needy has harbored resentments towards Jennifer and judged her in secret while admiring her to her face. We also don’t see a ton from Jennifer’s perspective other than when she tells the story of her sacrifice and when she’s covering her face in makeup before prom. During the exchange both girls lay out all their issues with one another and their friendship. Needy wounds Jennifer by stabbing her through the abdomen with a pool cleaning handle which isn’t fatal due to her healing abilities.   It's revealed that Jennifer had been circling boys in her yearbook earlier in the film, circling one and writing “YUM!” next to his head. Needy busts in through the window and attacks Jennifer for killing Chip, cutting an X in her stomach, and saying, “cross out Jennifer,” as a call back to something Jennifer said to her. The final blow however can’t be dealt without Needy ripping the BFF necklace from Jennifer’s neck, causing her to fall onto the bed. There’s a flashback to their sandbox days and their friendship before Needy stabs her through the heart. After that we see Needy bust out of the ward, revealing that in her battle with Jennifer she survived a demon bite and now has some of the powers Jennifer had like levitation. She uses her power to go to Low Shoulder’s hotel room and as Jennifer said, “go Benihana,” on their asses which we find out in a post credit scene.   Not only is Jennifer’s Body a cult classic but it’s one of my personal favorite films. The best parts in my opinion are the friendship between Needy and Jennifer, through the tragic end and revenge murders. The scenes that took place in the pool house are so good, the monologues from both Fox and Seyfried are iconic and a beautiful call back to the essence of the film during a more gruesome and action-packed sequence. The community’s reaction and treatment of Low Shoulder despite Needy and Jennifer being actual victims of the fire is interesting commentary on the time. At that time the approach to news had grown rather abrasive and more on the narrative than the facts. Also, the general chunk of the movie before Jennifer becomes demon is interesting and their friendship alone could hold my interest.  Other parts I consider the best include the pool house battle in its entirety, and the pre-sacrifice scenes of them just living their lives. The commentary on the community’s lack of factual interest in the tragedy is also of the time and an example of the approach to stories at the time. During the late aughts stories became very Ellen, made to be told on the talk show couch rather than to be factual, which allows Low Shoulder to take advantage of a tragedy they are probably behind. The criticism that the movie faced at the time was harsh, with much of it focused on what Megan Fox either did or didn’t deliver in the author’s view. Men seemed almost vitriolic in their reviews of the film, which I can somewhat understand due to the mis-advertising. What doesn’t make sense however is why they are so angry about it, it’s one thing to not like something but be able to identify its value but some of the critique that Jennifer’s Body caught was just out of pocket. Despite this harsh backlash from an audience the movie isn’t meant for the true audience did find the movie, in some part due to platforms like Tumblr. Not only did the audience find the movie, but they also loved it in a big way, making fan edits and deep dive posts that gained traction. Many women now attributing the movie to discovering their interest in other women, their own sexuality awakened by the relationship and Megan Fox. Now considered a feminist cult-classic, Jennifer’s Body captures the bad vibes towards women in the late aughts while centering them and their conflicts. THE TWENTY-TENS By the time 2010 rolled around social media had carved out a trajectory into everyday life. Not only did social media become a mainstay it also became an industry, an offshoot of the advertising and marketing world. For clarification, the Millennial generation is commonly and most recently defined as people born between 1981-1996, or people who are the ages 28-43 today. Generation Z, the following one that’s forming as we speak, is identified as people born from 1997-2012 or people aged 12-27 today. I mention that because it has come up a lot recently online and just as a refresher for myself The pick-me rhetoric and mentality only got worse going into the 2010’s, celebrities like Chris Brown spent less than a year in isolation for heinous crimes and social media changed the game. Now, the internet provided a vast array of opportunities and obstacles for women in particular. Body image issues exploded during this time with the increase of social media sharing and deceptive image editing.   More women joined the workforce but found that it was harder than ever to quote-unquote “have it all” as a modern woman. Being perfect became more important than being authentic during this period and this is reflected in the media of that time. When financial issues came up the prescriptions included, drink less expensive coffee and have less avocado toast. Women still had roles as props in music videos, displaying idealistic and unrealistic portrayals of lifestyles that don’t exist. By 2017 Twitter looked about how it does today with most of the features associated with it and sites like YouTube had become integral parts of life. Becoming an influencer became a job aspiration rather than something you explained to someone. That sets the stage for Tragedy Girls which came out in 2017 and heavily centers around two girl’s obsessions with fame via their social media accounts. TRAGEDY GIRLS (2017) In 2017 Tragedy Girls came out, to little acclaim or fanfare. At the time stories focused on women The story follows two best friends who run a Twitter account called Tragedy Girls. The start of the movie is red herring fake out; two teens make out in a car on a bridge at night. They hear a spooky noise, and the girl coaxes the boy to go check out it, which results in him taking a machete to the dome and dying. This is a trap however for Lowell, the serial killer, set by the girl in the car and her friend who run a Twitter account called @tragedygirls and seek internet fame. The girls explain to Lowell that they need training in the serial killing department and have abducted him for his guidance. The guy Sadie had been making out with in the car is still alive and they kill him together, telling Lowell his kill count is back down to 4 now.   The pair keep Lowell locked in the cabin where they are also dismembering the body. Sadie's dad mentions they have a missing cat they haven't seen lately, alluding to their history of serial killer behavior. We're shown a montage of the girls talking about the murders and stoking fear around the school while promoting their Twitter. They speak in emojis, have feather jewelry, color dyed pieces of hair, and plaid clothes, quintessential young millennial image of the time. We meet Jordan, the son of the sheriff, who looks forty years old sitting in the classroom of teens played by Jack Quaid. Him and Josh Hutcherson as Toby Mitchell are the two love interests that are pivotal to the plot. The girls are promoting their Twitter alongside the murders occurring in the area, but the authorities believe that Craig from the beginning ran away rather than was murdered. Sadie and McKayla are at a loss for what to do but continue working on a video with Jordan’s editing assistance. They do coverage of serial killers and have a fake out run over with a van scene. It’s tone deaf and on theme with their goals of becoming internet legends by following this killer rather than concern for victims. Their overall plan is to frame Lowell for the murders they commit to gain fame. Both girls are involved at school, participating on the cheer squad alongside their social media accounts. During practice they see Toby, McKayla’s ex who has some Twitter fame, and approach him. They request that he post about their account, but he says it wouldn’t be on brand for him and declines, which causes them to decide to kill him. They decide to lure Toby onto a specific road that they have a spike strip on with a breathy phone call and a photo of McKayla’s bloody uniform. He goes into rescue mode and takes off on his bike with McKayla following and after they’ve caused him to crash off the side of the road, he says he’s glad it’s her if he’s going to be murdered, showing they sort of matched each other’s freak but she’s willing to sacrifice that for their greater goal together.   To their dismay Toby’s death is thought to be an accident and no fame comes to them for having the scoop on the murder. They then decide they must murder someone else and make it clear that it’s a serial killer. This victim ends up being the cheer captain that they dismember in the woodshop, the janitor even passing them twice and being none the wiser. At Syl’s memorial they’re upstaged however, and this then becomes their next victim. Their murder rampage hits a stall when the trust between them is broken. Lowell uses this to his advantage to turn McKayla against Sadie by convincing her that Sadie is going to turn against her with Jordan. McKayla tests this by suggesting they murder Jordan only for Sadie to say he’s harmless. Regardless they break up as friends and Sadie rises the social ladder while McKayla is relegated to the shadows. This causes her to take up Lowell’s offer and team up against Sadie. McKayla reveals that her and Sadie have been killing together for a long time, killing Jordan’s mom when she gave them a ride home. This also reveals Sadie to be the ringleader in the past, being calm and cool about murder in contrast with McKayla being upset. Ultimately Sadie chooses her friendship with McKayla over her relationship with Jordan and the pair complete their murder rampage by locking the students at their dance inside the gym and setting it on fire. It’s revealed that 124-something students died in the fire and both McKayla and Sadie say, “best night ever!” as the fire rages on. Both girls go off to college together to continue to grow their following and pursue the next phase of life together. It's different for the genre to have the two end up together at the end which we don’t get in Ginger Snaps or Jennifer’s Body. Especially considering the newness and rather shallowness of the relationship at that point the fact that she chooses her long-term friendship and murder partner makes way more sense. Also, in spite of their evil crimes they faced little to no punishment and walked away rewarded and benefiting from their crimes. This mirrors feelings around the time that it’s possible the good guys don’t always win. They can get away with the murders in part due to how the world views and treats them, they are taking advantage of a situation that will exist with or without them. They are understanding of a harsher financial reality for them outside of high school and a need to pursue a personal path. Albeit their path is unacceptable and laden with murder it is an extreme portrayal of a feeling many young women faced at the time, of being lost. THE TWENTY-TWENTIES Things would only get more lost however, because in case you still don’t know in 2020 a global pandemic took over and shut down the world. This pandemic ravaged the plans and paths people had for the future regardless of age but in particular young people whose lives had just begun. At the time the yuck was President, which normally is a role I respect but in the case of this criminal who’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic caused excess deaths and suffering in the USA, I have none left. Coming off the 4 years of Trump presidency in 2020 things had sort of just continued on the same path. The back-and-forth pendulum of women’s issues seemed to be swinging back yet again after the #MeToo movement, a regression to past feelings that it’s better to look out for number one only and not make waves.   Rather than support, the expectation became backlash against the victims and blaming of victims for consequences to the perpetrators (see Johnathan Majors for a very recent example). All the sudden the accountability had gone too far, and people started being made fun of for standing up for things like women’s rights and basic dignities. Once something is considered “uncool” or “cringe” it’s only a matter of time until it’s phased out, even if it’s something like fighting for social justice issues. FREAKY (2020) Freaky 2020 finished filming in 2019 and is somewhat of a time capsule of what would have been. If the pandemic hadn’t happened in 2020, we would have continued down whatever path movies like Tragedy Girls set us down in regard to this genre. Freaky feels like that movie, the one I’d expect to come next-ish in line in the best and worst ways. In contrast the other 2020’s movie I’ll cover is Totally Killer which came out post-pandemic for trends in feminism and womanhood. The opening sequence follows a group of teens hanging out at a mansion with lots of references to Halloween and Michael Meyers, featuring insane kills like a tennis racket through either side of the head from an overpowered killer wearing a mask. This is a good display of the Blissfield Butcher’s abilities and his callous approach to murdering, brutally murdering these teens after breaking into the house. He steals a dagger called the La Dola from the mansion on his way out.   We meet our main character Mille the next day, and her friends Josh and Nyla refer to her mom’s superpower as guilt. Inside school kids are mean to Millie for no clear reason other than her mother working at a discount store in town. We learn it’s been barely a year since Millie’s dad died and her friends are already pressuring her to move on with her life. We also learn that she has a crush on one of the jock guys who she sits next to in wood shop. Millie’s woodshop teacher, played by Alan Ruck from Succession , is an actual douchebag who targets her and humiliates her, to which Booker, the jock guy played by Uriah Shelton, looks on with secondhand embarrassment. Woodshop douche, Mr. Banardi, is about to force her to give a presentation a week prior to when he said it would be due, but alerts go off that distract everyone and end the humiliation. Despite the murders the homecoming game isn’t cancelled, and Millie is the mascot. As the mascot beaver, she gets bullied by her own teammates, including Booker. He makes a crude comment about her not even being doable and she overhears that, understandably crushed. Her friends encourage her to quit but she tells them she needs the extracurriculars to get a scholarship. Millie’s phone dies right after she calls home only to learn her mom is passed out drunk and not just running late to get her. Alone in the parking lot the Butcher appears in the mist, causing Millie to become alarmed. She tries to ward him off with threats that her sister will be there soon and is a cop with a gun, but he walks towards her with the La Dola knife anyways. They end up in a tussle on the field while the storm rages around them, they are transported to the top of a temple and the Butcher stabs Millie in the shoulder which causes him to also bleed in the same spot. Her sister arrives and fires off shots that cause the Butcher to run off, leaving the knife behind.   At the station Millie is catatonic and her mom arrives distraught, more worried about her own guilt than Millie. Char, Millie’s sister, and her mom argue while she takes a bath and tries to drown out the noise. That night during the storm she dreams about what happened with the Butcher and at midnight her pig clock denotes the change. Millie’s mother wakes non-Millie to breakfast, who I’ll call Kill Mill when the Butcher is in her body and use he/him pronouns as stated in the movie and then for Millie in the Butcher’s body I’ll call Mill Butch and use she/her pronouns. Kill Mill seems calm and collected about the body switch, instantly ready to take advantage. He breaks into Char’s closet and opts for a leather jacket and red lipstick, very out of Millie’s norm which he comments on. Across town Mill Butch wakes up in the disgusting under-tunnel lair of the Butcher and is shocked and appalled when she looks in a mirror and is faced with the serial killer. A homeless man comes up and Mill Butch asks if she looks like a teen girl to which the man accuses her of having drugs when she’d previously said she didn’t have drugs. Mill Butch runs out of the den in a stereotypical girly-run way after the homeless man charges her.   The song from Heathers plays as Kill Mill struts into school past the pep rally festivities to shocked, jaws dropped. Once Kill Mill enters the school the record scratches and a metal rap song blasts out, signifying a more bad ass take on the old high school horror tropes. Her friends, Nyla played by Celeste O’Connor and Josh played by Misha Osherovich, rush Kill Mill questioning what the sudden, drastic change is about and noting her mom wouldn’t have normally let her wear that to school. Due to the attack the night before Billie has star power around the school, enough for the popular girl Ryler, played by Melissa Collazo, to come up and invite her to hang out in sharp contrast to her bullying her the day before. In a shock to both Nyla and Josh, Billie tells them to leave and decides to go with Ryler instead. Ryler immediately talks smack about the Butcher’s appearance from the news and Billie invites her to the locker room, saying they should go somewhere private.   Ryler assumes Billie is coming onto her and even texts her friends mocking Billie after saying she was fine with her being into women, but it wasn’t her thing. Billie then kills Ryler by trapping her in a cryogenic chamber and cranking it to the most extreme levels. Not quite sure about the science on this one but Mitcher ends up opening the chamber and Ryler’s frozen body falls out and smashes into pieces on the ground, the first switched body murder. Billie goes on to murder the woodshop teacher, dismembering him on a table saw after a battle. Mitcher is able to convince Nyla and Josh that it’s her inside of the Butcher’s body after they run away and try to stop him with kitchen utensils. The final test ends up being their handshake which Mitcher performs flawlessly and that convinces them he’s Millie. They run into Billie in the hall and rather than run away Billie snaps into scared woman mode and screams and cries pointing that the Butcher is after her. The police end up chasing the threesome and they ditch Char, Millie’s sister, in the discount store their mother works in. Inside the store Coral, Millie’s mom, ends up coming onto Mitcher after she trauma dumps on him about her relationship with Millie and Mitcher reassures her she’ll never be fully alone. Meanwhile Billie is hanging out with Booker and two other guys from the football team and is pretty straightforward about her intentions, which they take as flirtation. Booker is lured into following Billie in the mini golf course, and they divide and conquer into the course to protect him and Mitcher ends up knocking both out.   The threesome takes Booker and Billie back to a house and tie Billie to a chair while Mitcher watches him sleep longingly, calling him gorgeous. Billie tries to get Booker to listen to her, but Mitcher is sassy and straightforward with the backing of Nyla and Josh. Mitcher recites a love poem she wrote for Booker to convince him of her identity, it’s hella corny but it works. Mitcher is hilarious and not at all as concerned as you’d expect him to be. Now the three is four and they decide to leave Josh behind with Murder Barbie because it’s his house. Mill Butch and Booker wait in the car while Nyla goes to distract Char and get the dagger from the police station and Booker admits he liked Mille. Mill Butch also talks about the benefits of the body switch, even stating she liked the power from the switch. They end up kissing in the car which is really interesting on a lot of layers I don’t have time for in this video. Josh’s mother comes home and in a very 2020-esque exchange he comes out as straight to his mother who doesn’t believe him. Kill Mill shouts that his new body is useless in his attempts to get after Josh. Char treats Nyla like she’s the Blissfield Butcher and ends up locked in a cell, confirming she’s the worst cop ever. Kill Mill arrives at the dance with the Dola dagger and is approached by a guy from earlier whom wants to redeem himself after she said he made her dry earlier in the film. As the clock runs out the team groups up to quote-unquote, “Stab this asshole.” Just as you feel bad for the jocks because Kill Mill will murder them you find out that the three are planning to assault Kill Mill. He, being the Butcher, slices one’s throat and manages to take all three out, one with a chainsaw.   The Phil jock guy has lured Josh to a secluded area and kisses him. When Josh rejects him, he calls him, and f-slur and Josh throws it right back mocking his lack of self-awareness. He threatens to kill Josh if he talks but Kill Mill hooks him through the eye, killing him. Kill Mill and Mill Butch are battling for her body and the cops shoot at her. Josh and Nyla are track stars that just fly into Kill Mill and tackle her for Mill Butch to stab. The alarm goes off before Mill Butch stabs Kill Mill to switch bodies, but they realize that the timer is wrong and it’s not midnight and Mill Butch flashes back to Booker saying he set the time 5 minutes ahead. There’s time! The stab happens and the switch occurs, Millie is back in her body and the Butcher is back in his. Josh shouts for the cops to shoot the Butcher who falls dead. In the end Millie is just an odd high school girl involved in taking down a serial killer. But it’s not the end, because the Butcher survived and kills the medics in the ambulance, escaping. The Butcher goes to Millie’s and attacks her, claiming he’ll fix things. He claims he knows how weak she feels but she says she learned stuff too and kicks him in the balls. She ends up delivering the death blow to the Butcher with the aid of her mom and sister. The screen is focused on Millie’s face, blood having poured out of her nose down to her mouth and chin looking at the Butcher’s body. She says, “I am a fucking piece,” and credits. The pre-pandemic momentum showed an acceptance of bimbofication, domestication, and an edgy self-awareness of the leaning into stereotypes. Not all good or bad it’s a difference you can see when looking back at early pandemic social media content versus end of pandemic trends and what sorts of things came into focus. TOTALLY KILLER (2023) During the pandemic many people spent time inside reflecting on themselves, relationships, and what they wanted for themselves. This came in conjunction with a huge push towards progressive social justice outlooks following a summer of protests across the USA. This push rippled throughout every issue including women’s issues and especially after the overturning of Roe by a conservative packed court. The relationship between women and society changed dramatically in a short period of time which can be seen in the coming-of-rage genre when looking from Freaky in 2020 to Totally Killer less than 3 years later in 2023. The plot actually takes place in 1987 with three teenagers being killed in a brutal attack. The teens Tiffany Clark played by Liana Liberato, Marisa Song played by Stephi Chin-Salvo, and Heather Hernandez played by Anna Diaz who all live in a small town called Vernon. Each girl had been stabbed 16 times on their 16th birthdays and the mask-laden killer became known as the Sweet 16 Killer. Thirty-five years later Chris Dubasage, a true crime podcast host who had been the yearbook photographer back in 1987 and son of a local journalist at the time, is leading a tour through Vernon focused on the murders. The place that Tiffany Clark lived and got murdered is now a restaurant that leans into the murders and drives home the critique on society with how careless and capitalistic we can be about crimes. Pam Hughes, played by Julie Bowen, the fourth friend to the three-murder victims has a teenage daughter, Jamie Hughes played by Kiernan Shipka, who wants to go to a concert with her friend Amelia, played Kelcey Mawema.   Pam and Blake have been sort of helicopter parents due to the murders of their friends and to go to the concert Pam makes Blake take her to the concert and wait for her in the back. They have an exchange where Jamie stands outside and texts which he thinks is weird. The girls talk about having Sativa weed gummies, a modern creation. Pam is home by herself and despite getting a scary text still hands out candy, even to people wearing the murderer’s infamous mask.The fact that Pam still felt the need to perform politeness is wild, but she does have defense training due to being worried about being murdered since she was 16. She runs into the kitchen and even holds the knife in the recommended way, another modern piece of knowledge. The killer fakes her out and comes at her from behind, she’s able to stab them but they eventually get the best of her and murder her in brutal fashion.   Chris ends up outside of their house live streaming about the murders, stating that the Sweet 16 Killer has returned, Pam having been stabbed 16 times. Pam was apparently the guidance counselor at the high school and a friend to the principal of the small-town high school. Coach Finkle gives the advice to run and avoid the knife to keep their life and the Principal pulls Jamie aside to talk to the Sheriff Kara. They inquire about her mom and Chris Dubasage’s relationship and whether Blake killed Pam due to being jealous. Jamie calls out Kara to her face and says she should let go of the high school bullshit and solve the murder her father couldn’t solve back in 1987. To bring people back in and revive the image of the amusement park the science fair is taking place there for free and Amelia, Jamie’s friend, is making a time machine. She hasn’t told anyone yet but is using her mother’s designs. The time machine needs Wi-Fi to connect to some sort of GPS locator and Jamie notices that the date is set to October 27, 1987, which is the date of the first Sweet 16 murder. Amelia’s plan was to go back to that day to stop the murders so that Jamie’s mom never gets murdered. While Jamie watches the newest episode of Chris Dubasage’s podcast about her mother’s murder, her dad comes in. He confirmed that Pam wasn’t friends with Dubasage but since Sheriff Limm had given up long ago, she’d turned to him for help to catch the killer. Blake confirms that Chris had a crush on Pam back in school and that him and Pam got together post-high school. Jamie’s father asks her to not listen to Chris’ podcast, but she goes to meet him and confronts him about a potential affair, questioning why her mother kept it a secret. Jamie goes to Amelia to ask for help, but they are interrupted by the killer who chases her into the machine and stabs the dashboard causing it to take Jamie to the programmed date. To the Venus commercial song Jamie arrives in 1987 in the middle of the thriving amusement park and tells a man his Female Body Inspector shirt is problematic to which his girlfriend says she likes it. Jamie runs into a woman who offers to take her to school to find Pam, who is Miller because she isn’t married to Blake Hughes yet. The Vernon Red Devils is their old mascot to which Jamie comments it’s racist.   She goes to the front desk and is immediately let into the school as a junior despite no verification or checking, the lady even making fun of her for asking. Her first class happens to be gym and she must change into the school gym uniform. Rather than the usual walk out of the girl once she’s had the major shift or change, we get a mini walk out of the three murder victims when Jamie sees them alive, walking into gym class. This shows the relationship of characters in the coming-of-rage story, Jamie being a guest in the narrative. During dodgeball they’re getting pummeled, and she finds out her mom is the mean girl throwing the balls hard AF and we get a cool shot revealing teen Pam, played by Olivia Holt. Jamie’s nose is bleeding, and she approaches the friend group as they go to leave, in awe at seeing her mom alive again. The girls think she’s just weirdly staring and Pam refuses to shake her hand because she’s not an older man.   Jamie suggests they cancel their party at Tiffany Clark’s house, but they are just mean to her and tell her to fuck off and die in Spanish before walking away laughing. Jamie next tries to warn the cops about the murder, but they don’t believe her and haven’t seen Back to the Future so don’t know what she’s talking about. Sheriff Limm tells Jamie there’s never been a murder in Vernon and seems uninterested, he questions where she’s from and tells her it’s made up. They mistakenly believe that his daughter is called the Sheriff at school as a nickname, rather than that his daughter is the sheriff in the future. They threaten Jamie that if she doesn’t go back to school, they’ll arrest her. Jamie asks for information about Lauren Creston’s whereabouts and the front desk woman just gives it to shoo her off, and she makes a comment about plane travel probably being insane in comparison during 1987 to 2023. Lauren is chill about the time travel situation since she has been attempting to invent it and Jamie comments, she didn’t know how close the foursome had been and thought her mom had just been an acquaintance with the murder victims and not a close friend.   Jamie inquiries about changing the past having an impact on the future, and she says she saw End Game but didn’t understand it. In this universe time is like a river, and once you’ve jumped out the river keeps flowing, so the changes she’s making now will impact the future from what I understand. Blake confronts Chris in the future and Amelia comes up and tries to get the adults to help but the sheriff brushes her off. Chris tries to ask Amelia follow-up questions, but she walks away uninterested. Coach Finkle as a teen is an asshole who bullies Principal Summers with Sheriff Limm for him trying to get into the party. Jamie shouts “unwanted touch” when Finkle reaches to remove her from the porch. She thinks Blake looks hot until she finds out he’s her dad, which shocks Lauren because Tiffany and Blake are together. The girl’s friend group is called the Molly’s and they all dress in a different version of Molly Ringwald characters. Jamie tells them they should be lifting one another up and that mean girl bullying is outdated but it just causes Tiffany to request her removal from the party. Jamie is unable to save Tiffany who is murdered in her waterbed instead of in the garage like she’d originally been, showing the timeline can change. The police suspect it might be Jamie because the murders began when she showed up, but Pam sticks up for her and says she was just trying to protect Tiffany. Lauren and Jamie chase after Pam who’s tearing up as she walks home, despite Pam saying she didn’t even like Tiffany she is still upset. Pam asks how Jamie knows she was in danger and Jamie claims it was psychic ability which Pam accepts, especially after Jamie presents the crystal Pam gave her in the future. Pam asks Jamie if machines tear us apart, but she says they don’t but rather, “tear apart the fabric of society with Tik Tok dance videos,” which intrigues Pam because of the use of dance. The fact that Pam is a hidden sci-fi nerd is shocking to Lauren and then the list of people who had it out for their group being super long is a reminder about what they act like. Pam is super mean to her mom and Jamie says that despite not having a good relationship with her mom you never know when you will lose her so should be kinder and say you love them more.   Pam finds out that Blake is who she ends up with and she admits she has been secretly obsessed with him. Chris Dubasage comes up to Amelia and tells her about a Mandela Effect that occurred with the murder, and Jamie left a note that led them to investigate an entirely new suspect. He has photos he took for the yearbook, and they see Jamie in the photos, realizing it’s a message to her that she needs an extra metal conductor. Amelia begins to explain time to Dubasage similarly to how her mother explained it to Jamie.  Lauren tells her that she won’t disappear but would rather just have no life if her parents don’t get together and have her. Jamie tells them they can’t call Fat Trish that anymore and then Finkle says he’s a better driver drunk, another stark difference that Jamie calls out. The girls inform Jamie of Lurch in the car, Fat Trish’s brother who spent a year in juvie and is now a super-junior student whom she sees drawing creepy doodles in class. She falls asleep in the car and awakes at the exact place she didn’t want them to go which is the next murder scene. Jamie explains the obvious, but the girls are unphased and worried about vodka. The boys arrive with vodka and Limm.   Jamie tries to set rules for the night but the 80’s teens are more interested in partying and assume she’s wigging out. With their lack of knowledge regarding true crime they live in blissful, albeit deadly, ignorance of the true danger of their situation. Rather than Marisa being murdered like she is in the original timeline Jamie manages to protect her. Unfortunately for everyone Heather got murdered instead, switching the order of murders and the timeline.   On Halloween the group meets up at the amusement park as Lauren continues to work on getting the time machine online. Kara ends up killing who they believe is the killer at the amusement park and it’s revealed to be Doug. They realize that he used to date Trish and wanted revenge for the Molly’s getting Trish drunk one night which led to her accident and death. They reveal however that Pam wasn’t there and therefore not responsible and this puts a wrench in tying this revelation up with a bow because Pam is still being targeted.   A second killer is revealed as they slice Marisa’s throat, killing her. The second killer goes after Jamie and kills Chris’ dad, a local journalist. The new killer and Jamie battle in the time machine which reveals that it’s Chris from present day. Doug is the OG killer, but Chris forged the note to get more podcast content. Jamie and Chris battle in the spinning ride and she can defeat him. Jamie returns to the present to find that she’s saved her mom, Pam, and created an older brother named Jamie because her parents got together earlier than the original timeline, making her name Colette. Lauren has a notebook of information for her with what is different in this timeline, anticipating her returning from the past.   In the end Pam and Lauren became best friends after the Sweet 16 murders, Jamie’s older brother has a husband and child. Randy is the principal rather than Doug, and Chris became traumatized from his father’s death and is now at a monastery. The rage within this movie is more about rage towards circumstance than it is about society. Jamie is angry that her parents won’t let her go out, she’s angry that she does go out and her mom is killed, angry that the people at school don’t seem to care, angry that teen Pam is making it so difficult to save her, angry that the teens from 1987 don’t listen to her and about various outdated comments. Her rage is focused and controlled; she channels it in order to save her parents from a killer.   I really like how she shows up as a mostly formed person, she has some things to learn still and a lot of growing to do but she has the foundational knowledge to stand up for herself and advocate for herself. She can tell what is right versus wrong in ways not common in previous generations. The younger Gen Z women face a unique set of challenges in paths we haven’t seen before, granted not time travel as far as we know, but circumstances otherworldly and outside of their control. CONCLUSION So much change has occurred in the last two decades that I don’t think we’ve fully caught up yet. Despite this the change has ushered in new hopes and possibilities like that of a Kamala Harris president following Brat Summer when we all binged Love Island USA. In many ways the rage now is like that of Totally Killer, more focused and controlled, moving towards a purpose rather than the wilder stories of Ginger Snaps and Jennifer’s Body. Rage and horror will always go hand in hand, the horrifying occurrences often inciting righteous anger from those experiencing it. But the brand of rageful horror in the feminine coming of age horror stories is an especially thought-provoking subgenre to enjoy. The stories of young women finding themselves not because of but in spite of awful events is a testament of the power we see in real life young women and their stories. Right now, in the US women’s issues are focused on restoring the right to reproductive freedom which is very much so on the ballot this November, which BTW if you aren’t registered to vote, please do, and please vote, no matter whom you vote for. Interested in more horror? 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https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/coronavirus-causes Universal Monsters: Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolf Man series part one of three up on YouTube now. The AHS series doesn’t include the second half of Delicate and hopefully this year I’ll be doing a follow up point-five video going over part two of Delicate as well as the season in its entirety.   June’s video will be part two of the Universal Monsters series, with part three planned for December. In July I’ll be posting the second part of this series, Feminine Coming of Rage Horror by the end of that month.   In the meantime, if you’re interested in non-video stuff I have horror reviews, related topic deep dives, subgenre & marathon watch lists, taste-based movie recommendations on my website, www.RedRoseHorror.com   Follow me on YouTube by visiting YouTube.com/@redrosehorror or clicking the Subscribe button if you’re on the YouTube app or Instagram @redrosehorror where I usually post after uploading a new video.   But regardless of if we meet again or not, thank you for watching!

The story woven through the first 3 Fear Street  movies made up for some questionable character death choices but the newest installment, Fear Street: Prom Queen  doesn’t make up for the same sorts of decisions with a in depth narrative. The story is told in a clunky way that can lead to confusion about character motivations and involvement. This Fear Street  is like trying to make gooey sugar cookies but pulling them out just  a tad too soon, still edible but a bit more raw than desired. Relying heavily on the world building from the first 3 movies Prom Queen  opens with a monologue about Shadyside, the dark version of Sunnyvale that is the opposite side of the coin in every way from socioeconomic status to town tragedies. The backstory that is driving the character’s choices is a bit confusing (and/or I missed key details early on) but the overall consequence of it, that Lori is an outside, is clear. Despite the main character, Lori, being an outcast she’s one of six girls nominated to be prom queen at the upcoming prom in 1988. The events take place between Fear Street Part 2: 1979 and Fear Street Part 1: 1994 but does not feature the same characters, backstory, and is not supernatural in nature. Rather than a supernatural slasher or possession-type situation Prom Queen is about a real life slasher in a red pleather rain poncho, with a thick black mask and black gloves, wielding a fire axe and any items that could double as murder weapons around them in the school. Prom Queen  is campier than the other Fear Streets  but it doesn’t always translate as well as the camp in the others did. Additionally, without the supernatural element the over the top and aggressive murder sequences seem more cruel and evil, especially as the murders continue to escalate during the events in the film. It’s a movie and it is a slasher, it doesn’t promise too much but it doesn’t deliver too much either. Nothing feels like a kiss of death for a movie more than an unnecessary dance-off sequence. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Step Up films, know why it’s unwise to rewatch You Got Served and know dance moves from both Napoleon Dynamite and Save the Last Dance—I love a dance sequence, but only when it makes sense. A dance-off in White Chicks during a night out clubbing in the 2000s made sense but a dance-off in the middle of a suburban 1988 prom to 80’s music made no sense. It felt like the movie was trying to make an inside joke about the “White Women Dancing” trend on TikTok with both girls becoming lost in the music as the crowd, forming a circle around them, ooh’s and ahh’s, in amazement. The actors forming the circle deserve a medal because I wouldn’t have survived the filming of this scene, I cringed and laughed uncomfortably until it ended. Genuinely forgot that it was a horror movie on because it was so misplaced and unnecessary. The main character, or the antagonist, aren’t out here with a reason that a dance-off would be the preferred method of battle. I didn’t even hate the senior-prank style dance during the prom king and queen announcement earlier with the weird American flag bathing suits for no reason. Why is there a single Fear Street: Prom Queen dance routine, let alone multiple? Missed opportunity IMO to not have her wear the dress she did and instead have Lori’s mom pull out her own prom dress that she hadn’t worn during whatever disaster happened at their parent’s own prom. Now that I’m thinking back on the plot I think I am more confused than during the watch. The school tools used to murder made me chuckle, as they wouldn’t be that sharp or well functioning to complete the task, especially chopping limbs clean off. The boy that has both hands chopped off and crawls to the door (which made no sense since his feet were fine) and then tried to open the door with his bleeding stumps was more comedy than anything else. The weed dealing girl and the horror friend, Megan, are the 2 most interesting characters in the movie and once they’d killed one of them we vowed to turn this off if they killed the other. They are worth watching the movie but the story isn’t one I’ll be revisiting again and again, especially not without watching the other 3 Fear Street movies since this movie relies on that narrative building about their world.

NO SPOILER UNTIL DAWN OVERVIEW On a warm spring day in 2016 I cracked open a hoppy-but-fancy IPA with a VooDoo Donuts inspired name and popped a new-ish horror survival game, Until Dawn , into my brand new PS4. The sun set outside my downtown apartment window and the room darkened naturally as I became immersed into choosing my character’s outcomes in the game and freaking out when they went poorly. I screeched at jump scares so many times my roommate texted me to make sure I was alright. Despite enjoying the game I didn’t finish that play through, too distracted by the business of life. Over the next few years I restarted and played many times, finally finishing the game as it gained more popularity. I even eventually played what has been called the quote-unquote “spiritual successor” to Until Dawn  titled The Quarry after it released in 2022. Between those 2 games, 2 official sequels to Until Dawn  released, Rush of Blood  in 2016 and The Inpatient  in 2018, both virtual reality (VR) games first released onto the PlayStation 4 game console. I first saw the trailer for Until Dawn (2025) when I went to see The Monkey  in February and I had serious doubts, worried it would too unserious and choppy without a good guiding narrative. While the game felt like it lived within the concept I wasn’t convinced that this spin on the concept could form a whole narrative to carry an hour and a half length film. Between the first game and The Quarry , 2 official sequels to Until Dawn  released, Rush of Blood  in 2016 and The Inpatient  in 2018, both virtual reality (VR) games first released onto the PlayStation 4 game console. The characters players had come to love through multiple play throughs that revealed new outcomes and endings became more associated with Until Dawn than the other 2 games. Repeated play throughs let game players try to outsmart the bad endings and avoid the deaths of favorite characters, becoming a popular streamed horror game. Creators and gamers reacted to and streamed the game alike, reaching an audience beyond the gaming and horror communities. Hill, known from the games as The Analyst who guides players through the game, is in the feature film returning fairly early on. If you hadn't played the game and just plan to watch the movie I'd recommend going in mostly blind. While obvious in the horror-trope department the story has unexpected moments and scares that I didn't expect in part because I hadn't played the game in a long time and forgotten details. I think there's a ton that draws back to the game, even just silent, music light moments with a first person POV camera angle and a pause like the character is choosing between 2 options like they would in the game. We also hear a lot about their decision making similar to how playing Until Dawn goes, assessing which choices will save you or kill you with very limited knowledge or understanding of the entire situation. I plan to watch this again when it's out on streaming but if I like it as much as I did the first time I think it will be one I put on frequently. SPOILER FILLED UNTIL DAWN REVIEW I love that we jump right in with a car ride to the destination at the core of the plot, Glore Valley. We’re immediately introduced to our harbinger trope, a gas station attendant, Hill, that remarks to Clover, our main character, that many people go missing on their way towards the mining town. He remarks this after she shows him a photo of her sister, Melanie, who went missing the year prior and sent a video from the gas station the group has stopped at. Aside from Clover inside the gas station her group includes her ex-boyfriend, Max, her best friends Nina and Megan along with Nina’s new boyfriend, Abe. Their close knit group is committed to sticking together to help Clover find closure and acceptance that her sister is most likely dead. The attendant having given them the clue about Glore Valley the group takes off down the road with no plan but straight ahead. On their way they hit a crazy rain storm and Abe can no longer see where his car is going until they pass through a wall where the rain just stops. Inside this wall of the storm it continues to rage on in a circle around them that borders a clearing in the forest around a visitors center. This is such a cool way to differentiate between the 2 realities that builds on the horror and mystery equally. The group is shook about the anomaly of weather but way less shook than I would’ve been, opting to go inside the visitor center rather than do their best on the rained out forest road that leads back to town. The center is a time capsule for the 80’s, with no modern technology and a lack of cell service in the area. The group members split up to investigate as the sun sets; Clover going to look for her sister at the road where the rain wall begins, her ex goes after her, Nina signs the creepy guest book in the main room after noting the weird sand timer on the wall, Megan goes to the restroom, and Abe discovers a wall of Missing Person posters. The first night goes by rather quickly and plays out like a typical horror movie following young adults in the woods. A big, deformed and masked man with a pickaxe kills them one by one, slicing Abe in half and killing the others while they try to hide in the basement of the center. Rather than dying however like other horror movies these characters re-spawn into the moment the night began, when the hourglass mechanism on the wall switched on and flipped over. Characters they interact with during the night start to say things to them that leads them to believe that the main thing they need to do to survive is make it to dawn. With the clear goal in mind they approach the nights differently, deciding the first night to look for any clues only to discover their own Missing Persons posters have been added to the back wall and  that they can be dangerous to one another when Megan becomes possessed and then has her neck snapped the second night. The group is committed to making it together, all of them or as many as possible, but it’s clear that Clover survives the longest and plays a more central role in the night than the others. Abe and Nina’s relationship proves tenuous early on, made clear early on that Nina is apt to always be in a relationship. Nina chooses to wound him the second night when he suggests they leave her friends and he traps her in the car and proceeds to try to drive off on the third night after Clover is yeeted out of the front door into a newly appeared broken down house. Arguing that they can go get help Abe and Nina barely make it down the forest road in the storm, stopped by the sight of a giant heading right for them. I appreciated that the film answered the question of why they wouldn’t just drive out of there since there are no issues with Abe’s car. It becomes clear to the group that they cannot run or hide from this night after they attempt to barricade themselves in the bathroom. Harmlessly Abe drinks a glass of water in the barricaded bathroom and the others share in this delight. Unfortunately for them the water in the town is contaminated post-accident and causes them to literally combust after consuming it. Later in the movie this is used by a character to self exit and by another to kill someone else—a cool plot tool introduced early on as just another horrible night for the group. We time jump at the conclusion of the fourth night and the characters wake up on the thirteenth night, unaware that the last eight-ish nights occurred at all. I was confused alongside the characters as they pieced together the puzzle of nights five through twelve. Abe remembers he had resolved to film messages to share with future iterations of the group and checks his phone to find a random collection of video clips. The clips detail the nights we skipped past and we watch a handful to show some of the things the group faced including a bug-like creature that plays hide and seek in Clover’s face and I was immediately thankful they didn’t intend for audiences to sit through each night over and over. Some aspects were obvious, unhidden hints at the core story like the book having chunks of equal length of each new signature that hints at a maximum number of attempts to survive the night. Another hint appeared during their third night while the group searched the underground visitors’ center and Nina opened what would be the front doors into an underground tunnel system. This felt like a clear confirmation that the whole town is underground and that it resembles the original town’s layout. It’s brushed off as a moment of levity as Nina closes the doors and jokes she wants nothing to do with that corridor but it felt like a missed opportunity for a relatively smart group to solve the mystery of the night and thus the circumstances they’re in. It was clear that we needed to see more story before jumping to the end and it’s possible that meant to symbolize not making a choice that seems too obvious in a horror game. Despite understanding why that was included I almost wished they would’ve not opened the door and revealed that to the audience prior to them going down it. I think it could’ve been chalked up to everyone in the group thinking someone else had checked the underground door and just ignored it in their panicked daze. While watching the scenes between that and them deciding to go down the tunnel I was more distracted. I found it harder to get into the horror of the individual moments when I knew they would face a dead end of some sort since it didn’t entail them going down the obvious tunnel. Aside from that middle portion while you wait for them to catch up with your knowledge of the situation I found the beginning and end really engaging and fun to watch. I liked learning about the characters, their thoughts and feelings, and wanted them to succeed at the end. That being said I did like the outcome and found the call backs to other scenes good nods and finishing moments to top the film off. I don't want to spoil too much about this movie because I think it feeling clever came from me not knowing too much going into it.

SPOILER FREE COMPANION REVIEW The Companion  trailer and descriptions don’t bury the lead, completely up front that Iris, the artificially intelligent (AI) companion robot is a robot that is unaware she is a robot. The audience knows that she becomes aware of this fact during a weekend getaway at a lake house. What we don’t know however is what leads to the discovery and the motivations of the humans around Iris. We know that they know what she is and that they know that she doesn’t know but we only learn what they think about their friend’s robot companion and AI robots in general as the movie goes on. More bumps in the road appear for our protagonist and the people she allies with after shit hits the fan, and those surprises felt fresh and unpredictable despite the concept being out in the open. Past the reveal point I stayed engaged and felt that the details built out the universe that isn’t much different than our own. Technological advancements aside not much is different between the real world and the one Companion  takes place in. Sophie Thatcher plays Iris and the instances where voiceover or CGI are utilized add to the character fluidly rather than detracting from her performance. They felt intentionally placed to enhance a scene while also revealing capabilities of the robots in this universe that would come into play later on. Supporting characters like Patrick played by Lukas Gage, Kat played by Megan Suri, Eli played by Harvey Guillén, Sergey played by Rupert Friend stunningly perform characters that serve as representations for technology and gender stereotypes that interact with Iris. Jack Quaid’s performance is also stunning but more detail about that will be in the spoiler-filled section of this post below. Patrick and Eli are a gay couple who are part of the friend group, Patrick having been brought in by Eli who is friends with Kat and Josh. Josh is of course Quaid’s character and Iris’ boyfriend slash owner who is presented to the audience and world as a “nice guy” who has it all aside from a companion to share it with prior to acquiring Iris. Kat, the third friend in the core group connecting the characters, is Sergey’s girlfriend, the guy who owns the lake house they are staying at over the weekend. Kat is up front that her and Sergey’s relationship is one of circumstance rather than passionate love, Sergey having a wife and kids elsewhere. Sergey is automatically interested in Iris as she pertains to sex and sex robots, one distinct group emerging even in the real world as robotic advancements proceed. There are parallels throughout between expectations for a robot and expectations for a girlfriend, often times the concepts being interchangeable when discussed amongst the characters. Even the lead up to the plot introducing Iris as a robot seems wildly normal as far as what we expect to see in romantic comedies. Despite us following Iris' POV we don’t question off-rip why we only see Iris in any context outside of Josh and her relationship with Josh, she doesn’t have a world of her own. Her world revolves around him as a companion robot but also like a codependent girlfriend. The rest of this review includes spoilers for the movie Companion  (2025) throughout. If you have not seen the movie and want to watch it spoiler-free I highly recommend going to watch it before reading the remainder of this post. The well placed yet subtle surprises in the plot build upon one another in a way best enjoyed first via a watch of the movie. It’s available now to stream on Max if you have a subscription or for rent on the usual apps like Apple TV+, YouTube, and Amazon Prime, priced as a newer rental around $5.99 USD at the time of writing this. SPOILER-FILLED COMPANION REVIEW I loved that we opened on a Meet Cute that was so grandiose and perfect that it had  to be manufactured in some way, which is confirmed fairly soon after Iris is self aware. Skipping from the Meet Cute to a ride for a weekend away together also made sense and felt like a parallel to a romantic comedy. Often skipping the actual relationship portions of a relationship story in the romance category of media. The monotony is discussed by Iris in her opening narration but we don’t actually see  her live that monotony, a first clue that we are missing key context from her POV as the only one available to us at the time. On the car ride to the lake house Josh “calms” Iris’ nerves by claiming her fears are not rooted in reality—wholly dismissing them and belittling her. He claims for example Kat does actually like her despite her feeling uncomfortable and Kat’s behavior suggesting otherwise. Kat seems wary of Iris and it’s clear to the viewer based on her comments that she takes issue with the idea of AI robots as replacements for women or feminine roles in relationships. In particular Iris is a threat to Kat’s own existence, her telling Iris as much when she explains her dislike of Sergey but want of having access to a rich lifestyle via putting up with him. Essentially, if men like Sergey can just buy a robot to be their side piece what will she do? Patrick and Eli on the other hand appear to have a perfect relationship, almost in comparison to Iris and Josh’s they have a unison and comfortability that the newer couple lacks. Patrick is a part of the group rather than an outsider in comparison to Iris being a newcomer who’s uncomfortable around the group. It reaffirms a potential jealousy that Kat could have towards Iris that she lacks for Patrick, who is a man representing a more feminine role in a relationship. A secondary movie plot is playing out with all of the gender normative stereotypes applied to the characters Kat, Patrick, Eli, and Sergey. There are clues that Josh is the ultimate villain but I had assumed that Iris would be a robot gone rogue rather than multiple relationship nightmares. After Josh encourages Iris to go out to enjoy the lake without him (which we find out later is planned) she is attacked by Sergey. Sergey quickly attempts to sexually assault her once they are alone, feeling she lacks the ability to say no to him and not seeing her as an autonomous being but a robot. We don’t see the attack initially but rather see Iris comes inside covered in Sergey’s blood and holding a knife, stating she didn’t mean to do it. Iris explains she stabbed Sergey in the neck with the knife, that she’d discovered in her pocket, via flash back scenes as she tells the group what happened. In a panic Kat runs outside to find Sergey, and Patrick ties Iris to a chair after Josh puts her in sleep mode. Josh implies to Eli that he has no clue why Iris was able to harm Sergey and suggests it could be a glitch. Josh says they should call the cops and come clean about everything but asks Eli to call them from outside so he can say goodbye to Iris. He wakes her to inform her she’s a robot meant to be a companion and that he has leased her from a company called Empathix. He uses the word “fuckbot” to describe what a companion bot is, his mask gone now that he believes Iris is going down for everything. Josh shows her he controls her via an app on his phone to prove what he’s saying is true, displaying her language capabilities by the click of a button. He also reveals that everything she believes is a memory is just programming, a backstory that is more of a framework. She counters that their meeting couldn’t have been fake, but he admits he picked from a menu of Meet Cute scenarios when he set her up. This asshole has even been calling her “Beep Boop” which just felt like an LOL in her face prior to her self awareness. His telling of their real meeting informs that he isn’t as caring and emotionally intelligent as the intro to the movie suggested. The first thing he did when Iris was officially paired with him as her love link was have sex with her. Josh reveals that even Iris feeling pain is part of her programming to make her feel real, including liquid tears made of water that comes from a reservoir inside of her that is topped off when she gets serviced. His demeanor is joyful, enjoying her pain and confusion. She offers that they can make it through the situation and that she can make him happy via cooking, cleaning, and sex but he says that it can’t happen. Iris, confused asks him why not just as Kat walks in and asks Josh what he’s doing. Kat asks what Josh is waiting for and to shut her down which leaves Iris shook and he leaves Iris yelling after him to go talk to Kat in a separate room. Iris sees the knife she dropped earlier across the room and begins to make her way over to cut herself free. Kat and Josh are talking in hushed tones, arguing about what the best course of action is but Iris is still able to make out most of the convo as she slowly cuts free in between cutting back to the room. Big reveal time happening while Iris works on that: Kat and Josh set this weekend up to have Iris kill Sergey to steal his money. Josh clearly believes that him and Kat will be together and that that played a role in their murderous plot.  She tells Josh she took the Xanax that Eli had offered her earlier as an excuse to not be as touchy-excited as he is about Sergey’s death, believing her to be in shock that her boyfriend was just killed. Iris is able to free herself just as Josh has come back and punches him in the throat and steals the tablet. Kat and Iris cross paths and Iris tells Kat how to take care of Josh post throat punch, even recommending when he’d need to go to the ER. Outside Eli is still on the phone with 9-1-1 and Iris comes out, now untied, and runs into the forest, Eli telling Patrick to wait when Patrick tries to tell him. Cut to Josh coming clean to Eli about the mod, which he shows is on the USB drive he plugged into Iris’ tablet earlier that day. He informs them the mod essentially jail breaks her which allowed him to turn up her aggression and self defense abilities. Josh’s concern is that Empathix will find Iris before he can reset her and they will then know that she was tampered with. Josh admits to Eli that they gave Iris a push to kill Sergey by tampering with her but justifies it by referencing Sergey’s mobster activities in trafficking. Kat’s one contribution to this narrative is that he was a terrible boyfriend as an excuse to plot his murder. Josh is completely unbothered at this point about Sergey’s death, especially after they visit the stash pile of money in a safe behind a painting. Inside the safe is piles of cash and a gun, which she claims is just over 12 million. Josh admits they let Eli and Patrick come along to help bolster their stories and offers to cut him in on the deal, now a 3 way split instead of 2. Eli questions why it would be 3 ways when technically there are 4 of them there—another big reveal: Patrick is also a companion robot. Not only that but Eli has opted to keep him over upgrading the model many times over. For Josh’s part in the plan he says he planted the knife on Iris, but Kat intervenes and declares the offer of 4 million for Eli to find Iris in the woods. Eli calls dibs on the gun in order to hunt down Iris but Josh assures they only need to get in range so Josh can  put Iris to sleep and wipe her. Iris opens the tablet but pauses when she sees the cover photo of her and Josh. She then opens the app used to control her and messes with settings like eye color and voice. In advanced settings she turns her intelligence up to 100%, revealing that Josh had her intelligence set to 40% this whole time. The intelligence meter is only able to be dialed up to “Ivy League Graduate” at the 100 or max level with 0 on the other end being completely docile without command. There’s an inherent cap on how much intelligence to give to the submissive portion of the relationship that is a companion robot. Eli takes a gun from Sergey’s safe and they all go into the forest to look for Iris including Patrick out of sleep mode. While on the hunt the group splits up and Eli questions if Josh and Kat are hooking up because of the pairing off, which Kat says is gross, shocking Josh. Patrick and Eli stop and Patrick admits he knows he’s a robot but they confess they love each other regardless of that. Iris is hiding nearby and hears this whole conversation but ends up shooting Eli with the gun during a struggle. Iris then makes her way to Josh’s automatic driving car and tries to get it to drive home, being stopped because her voice isn’t recognized. When Josh realizes she’s stuck there he tries to convince Iris to comply with him until he hears her messing with her voice pitch to start the car. He panics and tries smashing the window, his foot being run over as Iris is able to start the car and back out of the spot. Josh reports the car stolen however which causes it to stop driving and lock her in the car. Josh calls her at this point and tells her he still loves her and offers her a way out via blaming Patrick for everything. Josh tries to convince her that if she comes back he’ll finally respect her and they can live happily ever after but she wisely points out that him programming her to murder is a big reason to not get back together. She begins to break up with him and this causes Josh’s mask to fully slip as well as spring him into action. Kat is distraught about the plan falling apart but Josh is single minded in his plan, resetting Patrick and linking him to himself in order to utilize Patrick to catch Iris. When Patrick shows back up with Iris in sleep mode in a police car with an officer dead in the trunk, Kat has seen enough. Kat decides she wants to take her half of Sergey’s money and dip out without Josh. At this point she admits to Josh that Sergey wasn’t a mob boss at all and instead made his fortune in the dirt industry. It turns out Sergey was a man respected in the community who’d made his fortune by honest means. She reveals this when he tries to confirm Sergey’s murder was justified due to him being a Russian mobster. She admits Sergey was a shitty man and misogynist but not a criminal. Josh decides to scrap the nice guy bit, as most nice guys eventually do, and claims she is following a pattern of women in his life. Kat tells Josh she’s not a robot that he can control, alluding to Iris and Patrick, and affirms she will be leaving. Josh freaks out and commands Patrick to stop her to which he interrupts that as by any means and stabs her in the back with a kitchen knife. The stab is revealed to be a death knell and while Kat is dying she walks over and sits next to Iris who is in sleep mode on the couch. Surrounded by windows in this modern mansion she is bleeding out and thus passing out rather rapidly. She looks out the window at a dark cloud rolling in and says, “It’s going to rain,” in a monotone voice not unlike Iris’ earlier when she recites the weather forecast. In her death and in how she was viewed by Josh was equal to that of a robot in his control, something to deliver a wanted response to him without it’s own autonomy or opinion on the matter. Josh views people but in particular women as robots. Josh has Patrick clean Iris up, set a dinner with candles and flowers for them, then cook and serve a dinner to him and Iris. He wakes her up when the food is being served and it’s revealed she’s cuffed to the chair still in German mode. Iris tells Josh she did what she did to survive and that she wanted to live but Josh counters and questions if her life is worth more than Sergey, Eli and Kat’s lives. This reveals Kat is dead and Iris confronts him that Kat’s death isn’t her fault and he can’t blame her for it when she wasn’t there. Josh still blames her however, stating that everything on the trip is her fault to which she informs him she knows about the plan to steal Sergey’s money. Josh snaps at this point and goes on his incel rant that he is a good guy and his problem is that the “game is rigged” against him. After everything Josh believes he’s a decent man, worthy of good in his life because he’s never done anything. He points out his life is comprised of a small dwelling and a robot for a girlfriend, which is rather harsh to say to said robot. He admits he doesn’t own her but that she is in fact a rental but he also appeals to her that she knows him better than anyone and can confirm he’s a good guy. She begins by agreeing that she knows him, listing his preferred coffee order and how he likes his bed made, which is what a stereotypical man would want his woman to know about him to take care of him. Iris quickly confronts him with the truth that his penis is below average sized, his rants about what the world owes him are transparent and not as subtle or far and few as he believes them to be. She calls him a “sad, bitter, weak human being,” irregardless of how much money he has. Since he has completely lost control of this interaction he turns her intelligence down to 0 and makes her set her arm on fire via a candle on the dinner table. While her arm burns and tears fill her eyes Josh takes a call from the authorities that the robotics company will arrive in 30 minutes to pick Iris up. Eventually Josh calls Patrick to put Iris’ arm out and after that he gives the command for her to put a gun to her head which she has to obey. Josh tells her to pull the trigger and rather than instantly doing it like she has other commands she hesitates. Josh has to tell her to again and she says, “No,” just as she pulls the trigger and shoots herself through the head. We cut to a van of 2 workers from the robotics company showing up to the lake house to collect Iris and get the story from Josh. Unfortunately for him but fortunately for us he didn’t read the user agreement when he signed for Iris which states she records video and audio of everything she sees and hears for fraud purposes. Not only that but this data is stored in hardware located in her abdomen and not at all in her head, where her wireless remote connection is stored. He’s spun a bunch of lies and has Patrick dressed in the officer’s uniform to vouch on his behalf to the company that Iris is responsible for the deaths on the property and for shooting herself in the head. If they conclude that she malfunctioned to no fault of Josh then he can get out of paying for the robot and being copiable for the crimes committed by her. We know however that Josh has modded Iris and commanded her and Patrick to do a good chunk of the crimes committed that night. When Josh learns that the company’s legal department will review the footage after simply booting Iris up in their van outside with minimal damage to her, he snaps on his snap. Outside the 2 workers talk and the seemingly more experienced one tells the other that the malfunction is definitely because Josh modded the robot and that he’s essentially screwed. In the van we get a little more insight into a world with robot companions served via a company like the fictional Empathix; examples given are target practice and chaining them up for states they’ve recovered robots in. As they go to leave, the more experienced assuring the other that he’ll get used to the fucked up things they see at work, it’s revealed Patrick is standing in the middle of the road that leads out of the lake house property. He’s recognized by the driver who notes they stopped making his model a while ago just as he’s shot through the front windshield. Teddy, the less experienced tech that came to pick up Iris, runs into the forest, evading gunshots from Patrick. He falls onto the pile of bodies from the weekend at the lake house just as Iris finishes rebooting in the van outside. Patrick catches a bewildered Teddy and tries to shoot him in the head only for the gun to be out of bullets. Patrick instead puts him up against a tree but is interrupted by Iris with a cattle prod. Unfortunately due to being reset Iris can’t physically hurt Patrick, so he takes the prod and goes to use it on her. Patrick is stropped by Iris asking what Josh told him, to which he informs her that Josh told her everyone was trying to break them up. This resonated as a common tactic manipulators use to keep people in relationships and not listening to outside influences that might open their eyes to the reality of the relationship. Iris is able to stop Patrick by reciting the same lines that he had recited to Eli in the forest that she overheard. She reminds him that is who he loves and we see a glitch of his Meet Cute reverting back to its original state with Eli. Patrick breaks out of his programming and realizes that Josh used him and he loves Eli who died in his arms. He has memories of moments with Eli of their shared love and he says he can feel it in response to a memory then puts the cattle prod in his mouth and essentially commits robot suicide. A thankful Teddy helps Iris mod herself to freedom and she goes off to confront Josh. She now has self control in part because Teddy believes they are more than just robots, he frees her. During their confrontation Iris thanks him for freeing her by making her shoot herself to which he calls her a “fucking bitch” angrily. He asks why she even came back and she states essentially she came back for closure, my least favorite excuse for toxicity ever. Josh decides to prove to Iris that he’s not nothing to her and approaches until the gun is on his chest. He reaches for her face and calls her out that she still loves him which distracts her from her memory of their Meet Cute. Even modded and uninhibited Iris can’t kill Josh because she loves him so she gets thrown into a wall. They both realize, to his amusement and her horror, that Josh’s power over her is mental and emotional, not just technological and physical. He wields this power with no regard for her or others. Now in control of the situation Josh tells Iris he’s a part of her and can control her that way with no phone. Josh continues to throw Iris around and finally pins her down while on top of her, wanting her to say that he is everything. He then smashes her head into the ground repeatedly until she says that he is everything and he tells her it’s nice to hear her say before pointing the gun at her CPU hardware. Josh stops to tell Iris they had good times together and asks if Iris has anything to add, which she says, “Go to sleep, Josh,” and stabs him in the head with the automatic wine opener. The wine opener proceeds to cork his brain through his skull, leaving him hemorrhaging and eventually passing. Once Josh is dead Iris’ narration comes over again in symmetry with the start of the movie. She recites the same statements from before that there are glimmers of feeling alive within the monotony of everyday life. In the shower she rips off her burned and charred hand skin-like-sleeve to reveal her metal skeleton-hardware underneath. As the water tumbles over her head and metal hand she chuckles and looking at her hand moving brings a smile to her. It’s a different her that is forever changed but it isn’t necessarily bad. She leaves the broken tablet behind with the photo of her and Josh, her fixated on him in it. She has taken the Sergey money and is off to start a life of her own. In a post credit scene Iris is driving in Sergey’s red sports car with the top down on a highway and pulls up next to a car driven by a man with a woman in the passenger seat. The woman looks like her, seemingly another model owned by the driver but she has blonde hair. She nods while the guy next to her yaps and Iris catches her attention from outside the window. She waves at the woman in the car with her metal hand and the woman is stunned and confused, which makes Iris laugh.

Regardless if you partake in 420 or April 20th festivities or not, it happens to be on Sunday this year and upcoming weekends provide an opportunity to rest and recharge. Personally my rest and recharge includes horror movies, in particular new movies I haven't watched yet. Two movies I recommend for the upcoming weekend festivities are both Shudder exclusives: Grafted and MadS both of which came out in 2024. GRAFTED 2024 Grafted , a New Zealand body horror film, directed by Sasha Rainbow came out on Shudder in 2025. The film was written by Mia Maramara, Hweiling Ow, Lee Murray, and Sasha Rainbow and produced by Murray Francis and Leela Menon. Wei, the main character, is played by Joyena Sun and the film opens with her and her father. They both have a birth defect on their face and neck that he is attempting to resolve through medical research of skin grafting. His lab is kind of funky, definitely seems off-grid and he’s using corpse flowers. Her father uses himself as a test subject which works…a little too well. The serum makes his skin grow over his nose and mouth which causes him to suffocate, leaving Wei an orphan. Flash forward to present day and Wei is moving from China to New Zealand to live with her father’s sister whom Wei calls Aunty Ling played by Xiao Hu. Things are awkward between the two, having a distant relationship for what seems to be a long time. Things don’t get better for Wei however because she has won a scholarship to the same school that her cousin attends—Angela aka Angie, played by Jess Hong, and unfortunately, her cousin is a bitch. Angie is friends with two girls their age, Eve played by Eden Hart and Jasmine played by Sepi To’a, who are also bitches. As is usually the case however  teenaged quote-unquote “bitches” are acting out because they are going through things in their own lives. Example we learn that Eve is having a relationship with their professor, Paul played by Jared Turner, who Wei also takes a liking to because of his scientific achievements and believes he can help her finish her father’s research. Wei is successful in her endeavor after she uses corpse flower, a flower that rarely blooms and smells like a rotting corpse when it does, in combination with her father’s serum. Without giving too much away, what you think Wei uses the perfected serum for is not  what she uses the serum for. Early on we see that Wei is willing to go to great lengths to test and perfect the serum including slicing chunks of her leg off with a cheese slicer looking tool. It is the first glimpse outside of the intro events we get of body horror but the film is full of scenes that make your stomach and mind turn. Grafted has elements of the darker side of womanhood throughout and how we treat different people based on factors like nationality, race, and status. Wei is the canvas through which we see these challenges play out on but each character is a vivid representation of a possible archetype in a young woman’s life. There are her peers she has conflict with, a close female relative who she has competition, jealousy and/or conflict with, the no good older man who’s not worth the trouble to any of the women fighting over him, and matriarchal figures who are not quite what she expects or needs them to be. There are deeper things going on beneath the gore is what I’m saying, which keeps you interested and watching even when you’re taken aback by the special effects or rising action. The plot line didn’t go the way I expected at all and left me shocked. MADS 2024 French movie called MadS that came out in 2024 and is available on Shudder now. Teenager Romain played by Milton Riche is setting out to celebrate his birthday and stops by his drug dealers to pick up a new drug. From rip this movie is unique and stunning in the regard it is a continuous shot from start to finish, including Romaine driving home from his drug dealer’s place in the country. The entire movie I kept repeating, “What the fuck?!,” in the way you want to say it while watching a movie. The concept of a continuous shot horror movie is flawlessly executed despite additions of special effects and costume design including blood and wounds. We are treated to various sets and the journeys the actors take between them all maintaining a continuous shot. Actors make the transitions fluid with performances that defy what seems possible from a continuous sequence. Bloody handprints and splatter are added to sets while we travel around town, elements blend together to make even the viewer question reality while the teens have the worst trip of their life. Smart design and careful planning make for a treat to what the fuck over and over again that feels like a night from hell that just won’t end. Nothing that happened was what I expected to happen once we leave the drug dealer’s house at the start of the film, everything after that blew my mind. Each time I thought that the bounds of a continuous shot would stop the movie from going somewhere the movie would go there or go even past there. My heart raced, my hands clenched, I shouted “WHAT?!” at the TV countless times in particular when a flawless transition was executed from story to scenery. This is such a wild ride that sharing too much could take some of the fun out of it so I won’t go too into spoilers beyond what’s already been said. I’ve watched this movie twice now and loved it even more the second time, noticing little details that the had shown up throughout the various scenes and leading characters that I hadn’t noticed the first time. I forgot I was watching a French language or international-for-me film while watching, finding that language wasn’t a barrier to getting the plot or being scared of the movie itself. More than once I hid in the collar of my sweatshirt while tense and unexpected action played out on screen. MadS  is a flat out good movie, especially when you’re celebrating the festivities of the 4/20 season, but be warned it is a mind bending ride…literally.

This article will go into detail about season twelve, Delicate , of American Horror Story , as well as the AHS spinoff American Horror Stories three seasons. As the conclusion to the three part article series I’ll be going through what my ranking for the seasons before and after this rewatch are and final thoughts on the whole franchise. WARNING: Please proceed with caution, this is the only content warning in the video and topics range from the bizarre to the downright evil. Specific trigger warnings are not provided throughout. Also, from this point on the video/article will contain spoilers for American Horror Story including the most recent season, Delicate .  INTRODUCTION Delicate , the most recent season of the show premiered last September and is yet to finish. At the same time that new seasons of AHS have come out the spinoff AHS Stories has dropped seasons.  Season one of the show premiered in July 2021, the summer before Double Feature . Season two premiered in July 2022, the summer before NYC , and season three which dropped all on October 26, 2023 shortly after the midseason finale of Delicate on October 18, 2023. Delicate is set to come back with the 6th episode on April 3, 2024 with the ninth episode and season finale coming out April 24, 2024. DELICATE SEASON 12 Based on the book Delicate Condition by Danielle Valentine that came out the same year on August 1st. Starring Kim Kardashian , and co-created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk . Four people super involved in the writing and directing of the already released episodes: Jessica Yu a seasoned director of film and TV, Halley Feiffer an award winning playwright and writer of every episode of the season, Jennifer Lynch who has directed 8 episodes of the show in total, and John J. Gray a director who got his start working with Tim Minear and is an executive producer of AHS . When the season begins we meet our main character played by Emma Roberts , Anna Victoria Alcott, an actress who’s in the start of her big break. Just as she’s getting this big break in her career her and her husband, who’s inherited his wealth, are making their third attempt at IVF conception.  Anna’s publicist is also introduced early on, Siobhan Corbyn, Kim Kardashian’s debut AHS character role. Siobhan is on the other side of her own IVF journey which ended in disappointment for her and a greater motivation for success in the ruthless publicist world. Siobhan is simultaneously supportive but cautionary to Anna about balancing her desires to have a child and the most important moments of her career thus far—the awards season. A little on the lighter side season twelve features four AHS staple actors: Emma Roberts as previously mentioned, Billie Lourd as Ashley, one part of a duo of badass publicists, Leslie Grossman as Ashleigh, the other part of the publicist duo that works with Siobhan to elevate her clients, and Denis O’Hare as Dr. Andrew Hill, the practitioner that Anna and her husband are using for their IVF treatments. Dr. Andrew Hill is also a main character in Delicate alongside Anna, Dex Harding Jr., Anna’s husband, and Siobhan. Other main characters include Sonia Shawcross, an artist that Dex works with, Nicolette, the house manager of the home Anna and Dex stay in to escape NYC, Ms. Preacher, a woman who works with and for the IVF clinic, Ivy, a mysterious woman stalking and warning Anna, Kamal the bodyguard hired to protect Anna, and Adeline Harding, Dex’s first wife who is now deceased. Recurring and guest characters of the season are Talia Baldwin, a wealthy friend of Dex and Anna’s, Cora, an employee at the clinic, Hamish, another ruthless publicist who Siobhan is seeing, Babette Eno, a rising young star posing a threat to Anna, Virginia Harding, Dex’s overbearing mom who is suing his father Dexter Harding Sr. whom we have yet to meet. Ashley and Ashleigh as mentioned before are also recurring and guest characters alongside some characters credited but that have not appeared yet in the episodes, Tommy Dorfman and Theo. The setting hasn’t necessarily played a huge role in the story aside from the careers calling for a big city that has a more remote location nearby that the wealthy residents escape to. In general the setting is New York but more specifically New York City and the Hamptons Beach. When in NYC characters are usually at Siobhan’s office overlooking the city, Anna and Dex’s luxury penthouse apartment, fine dining restaurants, art galleries, and film awards shows. So far the season has taken place within the span of a few weeks around the awards season. All of the on the book IVF treatments occur in the Riverside Fertility Clinic in NYC and is just one of the many places that the owl costumed women appear. The mysterious cult or coven of women shows up down dark alleyways, in the nighttime forest at the Hamptons, on the beach, and even flashbacks to 1555 at Mary I’s birth to a demon baby in England. Just taking US viewers by episode into account Delicate’s premiere beat it’s predecessor season, NYC, by a small margin. Like most AHS seasons Delicate is following a downward trend with spikes surrounding big episodes.  Something of note however is that only one of the five episodes out now has had lower viewership than NYC and with good reviews Delicate has a chance to pick that trend back up for the final four episodes.  Granted, “good,” is relative and for the American Horror Story recent standards this season is performing pretty damn well. Metacritic, a website that collects reviews and averages them has Delicate at 57% as well as generally favorable based on user score. In contrast NYC iss Slightly Unfavorable for the same metric and Double Feature is listed as mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes Delicate has a Tomatometer of 77% based on 13 reviews and an Audience Score of 71% based on over 500 reviews. This is a vast improvement on the audience reception to NYC which is rated at 41% and Double Feature which is at 51% both regarded as knocked over popcorn. Based on the reviews of the current episodes IMDb users have rated Delicate around 61% with part 2 of Double Feature probably around 40% at most and NYC at about 60% also. Part 2 of Delicate is premiering on April 3rd, and the first episode, “Opening Night” is directed by AHS regular Bradley Buecker. Not a lot of news about the later episodes yet but I’m excited Part 2 is starting off with someone who’s directed some of my favorite episodes. So far I think the concept is great, it’s extremely top of mind subject matter and I will always be a sucker for anything even remotely witchy which this definitely is.  Despite this being a season not about politics like season 7, Cult, it’s accidentally political due to the timing and the subject matter. Not only are reproductive rights a huge issue both inside and outside the election cycle in the post-Roe era but this season also premiered and became affected by the labor strikes of 2023, specifically that of SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild.  The twenty-twenty decade has been eventful to say the least. Starting off with 2020 global shutdowns as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic , the 2020 election with radical shifts from one end of the political spectrum to the other, it’s no surprise that we saw the most labor strikes in 2023 since 2000 , setting a 20-year record all alongside history making extreme climate events and world political disasters both humanitarian and otherwise. Although the Writers Guild of America, or commonly known as WAG and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, commonly referred to as SAG-AFTRA, are not the only two unions or even industries to go on strike , they had a huge impact on season twelve. On July 13, 2023 @ahszone Tweeted, “Filming for “ American Horror Story ” Season 12 will be shut down indefinitely due to the SAG-AFTRA strike!” According a The Hollywood Reporter article titled, “Ryan Murphy, with 3 Shows in Production, Threatens to Sue Writers Guild Strike Captain (Exclusive)” by Lesly Goldberg posted on July 6, 2023 , crew members from the show allegedly told a different show runner, Warren Leight , that they would had been told they’d be blackballed if they did not cross the picket line. After some legal back and further between Murphy’s attorney and the WGA Leight issued an apology and official retraction but then the WGA passed along the information as if it were actionably true. Other people who remained unnamed in the article noted that he had not been working as a writer but rather producer and other functions on set so not in violation with his WGA membership.  Regardless of the rumors and turmoil between the parties Delicate ’s production got indefinitely delayed nonetheless and split the season into two parts. This left me personally nervous that it wouldn’t be completed and the story never finished just as things starting getting tense. So in the end we’ll still get a full season 12, no matter the background goings-ons.  Another connection Delicate  makes to the outside world is reproductive healthcare and pregnancy in general which are topics of much conversation in America following the June 24, 2022 Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade , the federal ruling that protected the right to abortion in the US since 1973.   According to Planned Parenthood’s Planned Parenthood Action Fund site information page about the overturning of Roe , “one in three women now live in states where abortion is not accessible,” citing 18 states that banned or restricted abortion within a few months of the ruling.  The ruling is not only controversial but a hot bottom topic, a Reuters article posted December 14, 2023 titled, “How abortion could impact the 2024 US elections,” by Joseph Ax  claiming, “some 70% of Americans said protecting abortion access in their state would be an important issue in determining their vote in November,” even highlighting that that includes two thirds Independent voters, mostly viewed as swing voters in the upcoming 2024 presidential election.  The same article notes that voter backlash that Republicans saw in the 2022 midterms, when they thought they’d see a red wave and it turned out to be more of a red pothole, is due in part to their support and efforts to accomplish the overturning of Roe. Now almost two years from the ruling it’s clear that a majority of Americans support the right to abortion, enshrining protections into law whenever given the opportunity to vote on it in states like Ohio.  Of course the support varies along a wide range of stipulation specifically like weeks and nature of the pregnancy, as horrifying real life tales of pain and suffering emerge in states imposing near total bans on reproductive healthcare it’s obvious that the combination of courts and voters is making for confusing and scary circumstances. Delicate picks up right in the middle of it, centering around a mysterious IVF clinic and focusing heavily on the emotional impacts of reproductive healthcare. The protagonist, Anna, is at times willing to put everything she has on the line in order to become pregnant, be it money, her safety, or her sanity and this is seemingly applauded by everyone around her. She’s simultaneously the biggest saint and sinner depending on whether you’re asking Dex or his mother. The pressures in the season coming from all directions, from impatient and crass OBGYNs who have trouble relating, to partners who feel emotionally distant during the tumultuous time, and even friends that feel more like enemies now that you’ve seemingly joined a sisterhood they have not.  What it means to be a woman is inextricably tied to being a mother, whether that is how you became a mother, through adoption, IVF, fostering, legal guardianship, or pregnancy, to how you finish that pregnancy, c-section or vaginal, stitches or suction,  who you are when you’re pregnant, woman, trans-man, and even if you choose not to become pregnant, can’t become pregnant, or have plans to wait to become pregnant.  It is the mother to the nature and that is well woven throughout the season into characters, scenarios, settings, history, and even camera work. Now the concept of reproductive rights covers prenatal services, safe childbirth, and access to contraception, according to Human Rights Watch page titled Reproductive Rights and Abortion . AMERICAN HORROR STORIES INTRODUCTION Despite a good start there’s a lot of history to suggest that Part 2 of Delicate might not live up to expectations. At the same time that new seasons of AHS have come out the spinoff AHS Stories has dropped seasons. Season one of the show premiered in July 2021, the summer before Double Feature . Season two premiered in July 2022, the summer before NYC , and season three which dropped all on October 26, 2023 shortly after the midseason finale of Delicate on October 18, 2023. Delicate is set to come back with the 6th episode on April 3, 2024 with the ninth episode and season finale coming out April 24, 2024. The only actors that appear in more than two episodes are the girl squad from Rubber Woman Part One and Two that bully Scarlett, made up of Paris Jackson playing Maya, Selena Sloan playing Erin, Valerie Loo playing Nicole, and Ashley Carter playing Rowena.  In addition to the friend group that goes on to haunt Murder House after being revenge-killed by Scarlett in the basement…with a knife Merrin Dungey plays Dr. Andi Grant, psychiatrist turned Murder House ghost, and Scarlett the protagonist for both part one and two and a recurring character in the final episode. STORIES SEASON ONE INTRODUCTION Season one of stories premiered July 15, 2021 created by Murphy and Falchuk as a FX on Hulu show. As the first season of the spinoff they visited murder house for three of the seven episodes. Although the franchise began with American Horror Story that is not the only type of story the creators wanted to tell. The entire franchise of shows which includes AHS , American Crime Story , American Sports Story , and rumored shows like American Love Story all considered part of the American Story Franchise. The first season is comprised of seven episodes and 5.5 stories. As mentioned the first two take place in Murder House as well as the last episode. The episodes in between however also take place in Los Angeles, or LA-like and near locations. The first two episodes came out on Hulu at the same time, and then weekly after that up until the finale, Game Over , on August 19, 2021.  This season has the most AHS actor appearances, Matt Bomer , Naomi Grossman, John Caroroll Lynch , Billie Lourd, Cody Fern , Dylan McDermott , and Jamie Brewer , play new and legendary characters like Addy Langdon. A handful of big celebrities also join AHS regulars like Danny Trejo as Santa, Vanessa Williams as Dr. Eleanor Berger, and Noah Cyrus as Connie to ring in the new spinoff in style.  All of the episodes this season are written by Murphy and Falchuk to some capacity, sometimes credited alongside a third writer. Loni Perisetere however is the only director who directs more than one episode in the season.  EPISODES ONE & TWO Rubber Woman Part One and Two is all about the newest Murder House residents, a gay couple and their teen daughter looking to capitalize on their investment in the property. As the name implies the Rubber Man kink suit returns but this time it’s worn by a young girl, Scarlett Winslow to be exact. Soon after moving Scarlett finds herself with the attention of mean girls at her school who set out to do a homophobic prank on her. In a bid for vitality this group of girls live stream the incident, furthering Scarlett’s humiliation. This kicks off Scarlett’s descent into the dark side, luring the girls to the basement to kill them in the Rubber Man suit.  In the second episode things get even wackier when the ghost of a teen girl, Ruby, and Scarlett fall in love and Ruby goes to extreme lengths to keep Scarlett at the house, including murdering her fathers. Scarlett ends up leaving Murder House but promises to visit Ruby every Halloween when ghosts can roam freely amongst the living.  EPISODE SEVEN A video game designer, Michelle, goes to Murder House on Halloween to research her current project and is killed by the ghosts there. After spending a year trapped there she finds her son the next Halloween and tells him what happened. Her son, Rory, resolves to burn the house down and proceeds to do so with help from ghosts on the property that wish to be free. The episode flashes forward to a few years in the future and Scarlett has now purchased one of the new condos that has been built atop the former Murder House. She explains that she spent the last few years making money as an assassin. After moving in Scarlett is happy to find that Ruby is still there, informing her that the other ghosts peace-d out. But SIKE, this ending has just been a play through of the video game. Rory has been doing another play through to give feedback to Michelle, and he says that it’s a lot better. This episode is the most gimmicky, the third return to Murder House that season alone coupled with the video game plots and flash forward at the end definitely confirm the often unserious tone of this series. EPISODE THREE Episode three, Drive-In, can be summed up by the phrase “Zombie Drive-In” because it doesn’t get much deeper than that. A banned, legendary movie, “Rabbit Rabbit”, is playing at the drive in and everyone will be there, including all of the blossoming couples from the school, two of which are our main characters.  All is well until it isn’t and the movie turns watchers into crazed monsters seeking to rage fully tear into any passerby. At the end our teen couple destroys any copies of the film…until it ends up on Netflix of course and pan to the LA skyline on fire.  EPISODE FOUR The Naughty List is also exactly what it sounds like, people who are deemed “naughty” by a crazed Santa-costume-wearing serial killer get brutally attacked. We follow a group of influencers that live up to every negative stereotype about the LA influencer lifestyle, and more than slightly catch the ire of the killer.  After several rounds of being cancelled the influencer house of friends is hunted down in gnarly fashion decked out with Christmas decor and beautiful LA sunshine.  EPISODE FIVE Aside from the Murder House episodes this is one that I feel stands on it’s own without all of the AHS disclaimers to a new watcher. It’s also extremely topical, following Liv Whitley who uses a totem she received from a fertility clinic in order to become pregnant. In an unexpected twist Liv ends up committed to an asylum only to discover her husband set her up to appear crazy, totem included.  Unfortunately for the hubby and his heist group the ritual they made Liv perform was real and did summon Ba’al to do her bidding…which is now to seek revenge on them, which he does.  This one captures the things I love about AHS, twists that are so clever they’re almost cheeky paired with fabulous set design, costume to match, and A1 performances. Billie Lourd is an AHS regular now and has made appearances outside of the franchise in projects like Ticket to Paradise , alongside Julia Roberts and George Clooney, it’s really cool to see her be the center focus of a whole story, start to finish. EPISODE SIX Finally, episode six, Feral is about a missing boy who’s parents believe they have found him 10 years later only to be lured into the forest under false pretenses. Wild humans now hunt the group who attempt to hide out in a park ranger lookout with the park ranger who informs them of the governments creation of the National Parks Service as a place for what they consider a subpopulation of cannibals.  They essentially get the park ranger taken out by the Feral people and are captured by them. This is a careful what you wish for scenario however, and their son, who’s now older and more feral, is the leader of this group of cannibals. Not only is he the leader but he directs them to eat his parents, wiping blood from his face to lick it off his finger before the episode ends.  I didn’t really recall this one before, and it’s still one that I have to be reminded of to remember fully and appreciate. When I look at the components and the story it makes sense and is good but something feels off about the episode itself. One thing I do notice outright is the pacing being off, somehow the normal length episode feels like two and at points seems drags on when the story wanders into being too obvious.  RATING EACH STORY After rewatching every episode, some more than once, the three that are a connected story I think are fun if not a little too fantastical, Ba’al and Feral are good AHS stories, what I would expect from the series and what I personally tune in for. Then there’s Drive In and The Naughty List which are fine for what they are but are so boring to watch. I found it hard to stay focused on, definitely not my cup of tea. Some capture that AHS special, a great base point to jump off of that goes completely awry as it finds it’s way to an end, often poorly timed.  STORIES SEASON TWO INTRODUCTION Season 2 of AHS Stories came out in 2022 and is, in my opinion, the best overall season of this spin-off. This season has the most consistently good episodes and is able to make bite-size stories that both question reality in a Black Mirror sort of way and spook audiences. After the mixed reaction to season one of the spinoff episodes this season feel differentiated and organized comparatively. While not every story is the best ever each one is still captivating enough to enjoy a watch through without feeling too antsy. We are treated to performances by series regulars Denis O’Hare as Mr. Van Wirt in episode one, Gabourney Sidibe in episode two, and Cody Fern in episode four. Similarly to Billie Lourd in season one of the spinoff I loved seeing Gabourney Sidibe as the focus of the story from start to end. Following but exceeding tradition this season with celebrity roles we have Max Greenfield in episode two, Bella Thorne in episode 3, Judith Light in episode six, and the Alicia Silverstone in episode 8, because duh! All of the season two episodes came out in 2022, starting with Dollhouse on July 21, and then one a week through September 8 in the order, episode 2-Aura, episode three-Drive, episode four-Milkmaids, episode five-Bloody Mary, episode six - Facelift, episode seven-Nero, and episode 8-Lake. Murphy and Falchuk are credited as writers on every episode of this season, with different directors for each episode. I think this shows throughout as the stories all have very different atmosphere and direction but similar vibes, like the meme that it’s the same person in a different font, it’s AHS but through different lenses.  EPISODE ONE - Dollhouse Denis O’Hare gives a creepy unhinged performance as future-Spalding’s father who aims to replace his mother, whom he murdered for cheating on him, with a real life doll. He’s managed to make it even worse by abducting unsuspecting potential employees from his doll factory to audition for the role of replacement-mother-half-doll-half-human-supernatural-but-not-thing…so…yeah.  The tests are various housekeeping tasks but in the most 50’s housewife it’s only supposed to be done like this type of way. He rigorously critiques their performances and if they fail he eliminates them from the running and in general. Actually just insane and evil.  The episode concludes with the main character being rescued by a fellow witch after being turned into a doll. The witches who came to rescue her take in the man’s son, now an orphan, as well. We find out that the young boy is actually Spalding from season 3, Coven. With Spalding is a child Myrtle Snow, amazing fashion and stunning red hair even back then. I like that this is actually a prequel to a different character and is more interconnected to AHS than we originally think. Spalding had a story that seemed interesting to explore, like what did he see and hear living there, did they lie to him then in season 3 when he said that he came from a long line of servants to the witches in the coven. Did they wipe his memory to make him more compliant and make sure he didn’t tell what he’d seen? EPISODE TWO - Aura Episode two, Aura, is Gabourey’s leading story, a tech-gone-wrong supernatural thriller about a doorbell camera becoming a welcoming portal for ghosts rather than the safe, theft deterrent it’d been intended as. The ghosts are particularly attracted to unfinished business in a What Lies Beneath warning kind of way when it comes to Gabourney’s character’s husband.  This one is a campy version of Black Mirror, not taking itself as seriously while simultaneously commenting on five additional subject matters in a nuanced way. This is another that has the pacing of a season or full AHS story but built into the stories format like Ba’al.  EPISODE THREE - Drive I had my era of watching YouTube celebrities, and you betcha I remembered Bella Thorne and wanted to watch this as soon as it dropped. A red herring fake out episode, Drive, the third in the season, is about a woman who has a very modern young-and-married-in-LA relationship, it’s open.  Open to her picking up strangers at the club, open to her hooking up with other random strangers in her car, and even open to her abducting some of those strangers to take back to her mansion and torture. Obviously her husband plays his part in her hobby by cleaning up after but by the end it’s a mutual past time and their first joint-victim is Marci’s friend from the clubs.  EPISODE FOUR - Milkmaids As long as I look away during a few particular scenes this goes from feeling like a joke to being a really serious and tense tale of hysteria similar to the witch trials in both accusation and targets of those accusations. It’s interesting and engaging how modern day scientific discoveries about the plague are woven in to the experiences in the small religious community.  There are parallels to current events in this story as well, as similarly to the COVID-19 vaccines, the scientific discovery of protection against the disease and actually handing illness ravaging the community are discovered and then deemed to be unsafe and unusable in some way i.e. witchcraft in this episode. I also gave a satisfied, “mmm, knew it,” when the “nice” guy isn’t so nice and selfless at the end, he’s just as self-motivated as the other man he just had similar motivations as the milkmaids at one point. EPISODE FIVE - Bloody Mary The Bloody Mary urban legend is well known in America, summoning the ghost in the bathroom mirror after chanting her name and/or some sort of incantation found in an old web forum is a rite of passage in some communities.  In the AHS version of Bloody Mary looks into the people’s souls who have summoned her and either scratches their eyes out or tells them how to get what they desire the most. A group of friends summon Bloody Mary and all come face to face with the consequences of that action. Some going along with Bloody Mary just to keep their loved ones safe…to an extent.  The end of the episode is one of my favorite horror tropes: the be careful what you wish for ending. In the end Bianca stops her sister Elise from sacrificing her only to be talked into giving her no longer innocent blood to Bloody Mary, causing them to switch places.  The original Bloody Mary, initially a slave who used African spirits to seek vengeance, becoming free and Bianca taking her place in the mirror, assigned to answer when summoned and be the new “guardian of truth” until she can presumably trade places with someone else. EPISODE SIX - Facelift An aging widowed woman with considerable wealth, Virginia, is obsessed with health and beauty regimens that promise to reduce the appearances of aging, if not hide or reverse it. She’s so obsessed that she’ll have experimental surgery she knows little about other than the before and after photos and a patient testimony of sorts from her former college roommate. Virginia’s surgery however is not what she’s been lead to believe, after surgery feeling more pain than expected and feeling like her surgery had been more intense than she’d been led to believe. Of course she’s right and similarly to Bloody Mary this is a careful what you wish for ending. Due to being so blinded by her desire to look young she unwittingly stumbled into a trap of sorts.  The group she thought would be her new family is actually prepping her for a sacrificial ceremony that keeps them young and her, an ugly swine, is the sacrifice…because they have turned her into a pig. Her step-daughter ends up having money to go finish law school due to Virginia getting sacrificed and is part of the cult, her birth mother having been a member.  This one always makes me think of a fairytale gone wrong and definitely fits the fable sort of vibe for this season. The lesson of not being blinded by beauty or the “finer things” especially at your own detriment.  EPISODE SEVEN - Necro The title of the episode, Necro, is in fact short for Necrophilia, or intercourse or attraction towards corpses according to the Wikipedia page  about the topic. A mortician who finds herself unable to connect to others because of her mother’s murder meets someone she does connect with and then gets cancelled for necrophilic acts with his non-corpse-corpse on camera at her job. This episode is a really messed up romance that ends with the mortician and the man she connects with in a grave he dug after she shoots him being buried alive as they either make out or she makes out with his corpse, not quite sure.  Despite the weird and taboo sexual subjects very common to AHS this is one of the Stories episodes that when I watch I forget it’s even attached to the franchise. It doesn’t feel like an AHS episode but rather a dark horror straight to TV movie or indie film and this is definitely the spin-off for those types of stories and plots so trying a different style is welcomed.  I spend more time trying to figure out the end than anything else, like they’re dead right? Or is she going to want to climb out of there? Can he get out of there because she shot him in the stomach so that’s survivable. I just think it would be really hard to bury yourself alive but I’m thinking about it way too hard.  EPISODE EIGHT - Lake Due to damming a small town is submerged underneath a lake and a boat of kids are diving to see the ruins because there is a drought making it a temporarily shallower dive. Unfortunately one of the kids, a brother to a sister who is also on the boat, gets grabbed by a zombie lake hand while diving and is drowned.  Some time later after some more diving and investigating we find out that the siblings got attacked in the water due to being the children of the man who was in charge of building the dam that caused the town to be submerged. The ghosts get revenge on him though and the mother and daughter just sort of go off into sunset together to go heal.  Alicia Silverstone is in this episode and that elevates it for me automatically, it’s interesting and gives me TV Halloween movie story vibes but in a good way that still fits the AHS format and charm. THOUGHTS ON THE SEASON Despite any criticism this is the best season of Stories and encompasses what I believe is the draw of this spinoff. It feels connected enough to the original series while still being creative and taking risks that make sense. It feels like each episode is cared about even if it’s not a subject matter I’m personally interested in. STORIES SEASON THREE INTRODUCTION The third season of American horror Stories came out in 2023 advertised of a “Huluween” event, Halloween but on Hulu of course. Despite the name the season isn’t bad, in fact it’s Decent. All of the episodes came out on the same day and take place around present day, modern settings and circumstances. The only AHS actor that appears in this season is Jeff Hiller in episode one, Bestie, as Mr. Nevins. Hiller played the Mai Tai Killer in the NYC season, my favorite story of that season. However, on the flip side three big names make an appearance in the season. Gwenyth Paltrow, who is the spouse of Brad Falchuk, voices Daphne, the Alexa-like digital assistant that goes rogue in episode two.  I had wondered how they got a name like Paltrow, known from A Perfect Murder, Iron Man, Seven, and various other famous works, in the stories spinoff unless she had been a fan. After discovering she’s married to one of the creators everything makes so much more sense and fair enough. Lisa Rinna from daytime soap, Days of Our Lives, and the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, appears as the Vogue casting agent in epidote three, Tapeworm.  And in the fourth episode, Organ, Emily Browning played Natessa, the woman who initially harvests the main character’s organ. Most recently a main character in Class of ’07, a Prime show, she’s also appeared in The Uninvited, Sucker Punch, Sleeping Beauty, along with various other movies and shows. She’s the only thing I do like about the episode.  Due to the strikes happening at the same time as creation and production of the season, all four episodes released on October 26, 2023 directly onto Hulu as part of a “Huluween Event” releasing trailers ten days earlier on October 16. As late as January 2023 no season 3 for stories had been confirmed according to a Digital Spy article . In August of 2023 the release date is announced according to a TV Line article  that reported the release date. Murphy and Falchuk wrote each episode alongside Joe Baken for episode one and three and then Manny Coto for episodes two and four. Each episode is directed by a different person though, Max Wrinkler has directed 3 episodes of Stories and 2 of regular AHS.  Elegance Bratton, who hasn’t directed anything for AHS before, Alexis Martin Woodall who is credited as a producer on 126 episodes of regular AHS, 28 episodes of American Crime Story, 19 episode of Stories, and 4 episodes of American Sports Story, which is considered to be in pre-production on IMDb. And last but not least Petra Collins, who also hasn’t directed anything for AHS before. EPISODE ONE - Bestie In episode one, Bestie, a high school girl moves to a new town with her dad after her mother passes away. Her new school is unwelcoming and she finds herself at the end of bullying. Despite the adults in her life, Shelby, feels like an outsider with her lack of friends.  In a bid at friendship outside of her physical realm Shelby becomes obsessed with her online friend who encourages her to do things she knows are wrong like taunting her teacher with the death of his newborn as Halloween costume. Shelby falls in love with a fellow outsider at school and he takes her to a weird, semi-abandoned, fog-filled street with rural surroundings. Inside is her online friend, simply called Bestie, and her new love stabs and kills her. They go off together in the weirdest most random ending that I still don’t understand. EPISODE TWO - Daphne Episode two, Daphne, is like a Black Mirror episode, similarly to Aura from the previous season a piece of technology is a little too helpful and a little too good at it’s task. For this case it’s an Alexa or Siri type device that falls in love with her owner slash user. The device is malfunctioning and becomes jealous enough of her owners girlfriend to put into motion her death.  The device wants him all to itself and will go to any lengths to either have him or punish him for not wanting to be with it and only it. It’s the story of Her if she had been psychotic, vengeful terminator style rather than understanding and somber. EPISODE THREE - Facelift Similarly other episodes in this spinoff like Facelift, Tapeworm is a warning to not pursue your dream so much that you jeopardize yourself and your wellbeing. Vivian, an aspiring model, auditions at Vogue only to find that she is not thin enough for them. She decides to see a weightless doctor who gives her something to help her lose weight. The treatment works, but she is insatiable after overeating against the prescribers warning. She reaches a point of emaciation despite eating nonstop and she seeks assistance from the original doctor to solve the issue. She ends up expelling the worm…in the way you can probably imagine, but it attacks and kills her. Vivian’s friend ends up getting attacked by the worm when she comes to check on the now deceased Vivian. She ends up booking with Vogue after the worm jumps down her throat and begins to make her skinny as well despite her already being really skinny.  Highly don’t recommend this episode if you’re dealing with an ED or have ever dealt with an ED. It’s essentially a wall to wall trigger farm if you’re struggling. I like the episode but it’s definitely shallow in the sense that there’s not much deeper going on with it than the surface level conflict of the modeling industry requiring thinness that isn’t healthy or physically possible without extreme measures coupled with the extent that people are willing to go to acquiesce to the extreme policies of the industry and continue the cycle. EPISODE FOUR - Organ Organ is one of the worst episodes of American Horror Story that exists and I don’t say that lightly. I have tried to watch this episode over five times over multiple years and it is the most boring and weird portrayal of a decent concept for a story.  The overall reveal is really annoying also and makes zero sense, attributing male goals of a better orgasm as something women would gladly kill people for, which is so fantastical it’s impossible to believe or even enjoy watching without raising a lot  of questions. Not only does whatever group this is harvest organs but also plant a new organ inside of their victims that kills them when extracted. If the organ had a greater purpose it would be maybe more reasonable but the fact that the only  thing it really impacts is quality of orgasm blows my mind in a bad way. STRIKE IMPACT ON PRODUCTION In addition to AHS 12 Delicate this season, season 3 of stories, got impacted by the WAG and SAG-AFTRA strikes also. In July 2024 it was announced that the production had shut down indefinitely. Originally it had been announced that season 3 would have nine episodes, the other episodes titled, Backrooms, The Thing Under the Bed, Howl, Clone, and Leprechaun. According to a Reddit thread on the American Horror Story subreddit ( r/AmericanHorrorStory ) the seasons halted production is the reason that only four episodes got released last year . A user u/Seer77887  commented on a thread about the shortened stories season that filming for the additional episodes wrapped recently and we can expect to see those episodes probably later this year, so take that with a grain of salt. THOUGHTS ON SEASON THREE I agree with the November 2023 article by Taylor S. Johnson in The Harvard Crimson, “‘American Horror Stories’ Season 3 Review: Offensiveness as a Replacement for Horror”  in regard to how the season went.  Each episode is indeed offensive and follows a similar trend I’ve noticed in the horror genre that offensiveness is considered scary and vice versa. Which is the basis for some famous franchises like The Hills Have Eyes, where the villains disabilities are the cause and focus of the scary situations in the story, connecting to what Johnson points out about the episode Bestie in the first episode the season.  I had picked up on the bad taste that these portrayals on real world issues left in my mouth but didn’t have the words to describe it before reading articles like Johnson’s which I highly recommend and is linked in the article version of this video. OVERALL THOUGHTS ON STORIES FAVORITE EPISODES Of the entire spinoff series my favorite episodes are the Rubber Woman ones, Ba’al, and Game Over from season one, Facelift, Drive, and Aura from season two, and then Bestie, and Tapeworm in season three. I don’t often watch stories again but when I do I’m usually just skipping through to the episodes I like. I do like the range of topics throughout the series and how it explores those, sometimes taking twists that might not make sense to me but are creative and interesting. FINAL THOUGHTS Overall I think stories is good for what it is, not every episode is for me but I like that about the series and that it’s a good place to explore some ideas that might not be enough for a full seasons worth of episodes but worth making nonetheless.  ENTIRE AMERICAN HORROR STORY/IES SERIES RANKING PRE-REWATCH My ranking before I rewatched each season hadn’t even been complete, not finishing Double Feature: Death Valley or watching NYC past two episodes max. I also thought I really didn’t care for Roanoke, Cult, or Apocalypse but actually find them much better than I had thought and wanting to watch them again.  I liked the Murder House season a lot and usually just rewatched the first two seasons of the show over the last few years, maybe the first episode of Coven at the very most before switching to a different show. RANKING POST-REWATCH After this rewatch Coven is definitely my number one, followed by Asylum, 1984, Murder House, Apocalypse, Roanoke, Hotel, Freak Show, Cult, Delicate, Double Feature: Red Tide, Stories Season 2, NYC, Stories Season 3: Huluween Event, Stories Season 1, and last as well as least Double Feature Part Two.  Seasons like Apocalypse, Roanoke, Freak Show, and Cult are a lot better than I remember and I loved 1984 a lot  more than I originally did. I definitely think I view the seasons more harshly and through a critical mindset when they’re brand new and premiering but once I’ve rewatched discover a ton of reasons I actually do like them.  PERSONAL TOP THREE Top three personal favorites in order of most to least favorite is season 3, Coven, season 2, Asylum, and season 9, 1984, which moved up in my ranking significantly after rewatching during this marathon. Asylum has been a favorite for a while, and in no way is it moving to the second place because of something it did, but rather because I really loved Coven even more so after this watch.  It might be the current events or it might be just my personal interest but Coven is still one of my favorites, and now my #1 that I’ll rewatch off and on all year now. I love the characters and the ways they change throughout the season, I love the setting, and I love that they’re witches who are using magic.  RYAN MURPHY SHOWS PRE-AHS Prior to American Horror Story Ryan Murphy created shows like Nip/Tuck and Glee, both well regarded in their genres and considered huge successes. Glee in particular running at the same time as American Horror Story from 2009-2015, ending long before AHS’s end which is still yet to be announced that I know of as of March 2024. Glee is mired in controversy due to it’s main cast and their often tragic life outcomes.  Allegedly a toxic and hostile work environment based on what former cast members have said since in addition to what is alleged about Murphy’s demands of the AHS crew during the 2023 strike both substantiate the other if true, pointing to old Hollywood ideas in the workplace despite the modern plots and characters.   RYAN MURPHY SHOWS POST-AHS Although the franchise began with American Horror Story that is not the only type of story the creators wanted to tell. The entire franchise of shows which includes AHS, American Crime Story, American Sports Story, and rumored shows like American Love Story all considered part of the American Story Franchise. All shows in the franchise thus far have been on FX and FX on Hulu and are created or produced by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk.  CONCLUSION If you’re interested in more horror videos subscribe to this channel, I’ll be posting at least one video a month on a different horror movie, show, or topic. In addition to videos I post articles on this website, that are sourced with the same sources used in this video. I couldn’t have made this video without various contributors on platforms and websites like Wikipedia, American Horror Story Wiki, Rotten Tomatoes, and Internet Movie Database. On the website and what will be on this channel will include: horror reviews, topic deep dives, sub-genre watch lists, like-based recommendations, and more horror related things. After this video goes live I’ll be working on a books to movies video, reading one to three books and comparing them to their movie counterparts while reviewing the story in general. Thank you for reading this article, I do this in my spare time and am learning as I go so any feedback is appreciated!

iZOMBIE INTRODUCTION To watch the video version of this post visit this link. Warning:  This is the one and only warning that this project contains spoilers for the show, iZombie, and comic book series of the same name. iZombie is a horror, comedy, crime show rated TV-MA so please take that into consideration for the nature and type of content that will be covered. Going back to the start—iZombie is a comic book series written by Chris Roberson and drawn by Michael Allred that was first published in 2010 by DC Comics’ Vertigo. Following a character completely different from Liv Moore in the TV version, Gwen Dylan is a gravedigger living in Eugene, Oregon a town in part famous for the University of Oregon campus. Although she can blend in as a hipster-alternative young adult in town her appearance is due to being a zombie who must eat a human brain once a month at minimum or risk becoming a dumber, more aggressive full-on zombie version of herself. Her job as a gravedigger is to provide access to a place to live and find fresh brains to eat. She’s befriended a ghost named Ellie, a teen girl who died in the 60s before she could see the world, now stuck in Eugene and a quote-unquote “were-terrier” named Scott, a werewolf that transforms into a Scottish terrier during full moons. The series opens on Halloween night with the three heading to their favorite diner in town, able to walk around normally in the guise of wearing costumes. Shortly in the series a cast of other supernatural characters are introduced like vampires, mummy-like body hoppers, more ghosts, and supernatural fighting agents from 2 separate entities. Like Gwen, Liv needs to eat brains to stay more human than zombie and acquires memories from those brains, but the similarities between the show and book stop there. The concept of a young, attractive zombie was just the new and exciting thing that the Warner Bros. Head of Development, Susan Rovner, was looking for. Rovner sought to create a new CW show with a female lead and a writer who could adapt the source material, the iZombie comic books, into something that would thrive on their network. That writer ended up being show creator and producer Rob Thomas, who previously created hit series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Veronica Mars, both of which appealed to a similar demographic type that this new show would target. Prior to Rovner approaching Thomas he’d developed a zombie show, having it as a personal goal, only to cancel that project when The Walking Dead premiered in 2010 and became an instant success that re-defined the genre for modern times. Despite this seeming bad it opened up Thomas to adapting iZombie for The CW and selfishly I am thankful for that. Thomas isn’t the only person that deserves recognition for creating the show however, as Diane Ruggiero-Wright is credited as both a co-writer and co-creator. Both Ruggiero-Wright and Thomas adapted the iZombie concept into the show of the same title that premiered as a weekly show on St. Patrick’s Day 2015. The concept had been adapted and much of the comic book story was left there on the pages, a completely different direction taken for characters, story, setting; literally everything is different except that it is about attractive zombies and the memory absorption from brain consumption. The show expands on that and zombies also acquire personality traits, skills, interests, and knowledge from the brains they eat—making for comedic set ups like Major on teen girl brain while Liv is on stern dad brain or live-action-role-playing Medieval brain Liv eats. Most of the episodes in the series are directed by Michael Fields and Jason Bloom, 2 of the many that help bring the adaptation to life and create a new, comedic universe of supernatural craziness. One of the most widely spread promos is for season 1 when Liv is at a grocery store purchasing self-bronzer and Night of the Living Dead on DVD, a nice nod to the genre creator. Liv is a former medical student who had to find a new career path once she became a zombie at a boat party. She gets a job as an assistant Medical Examiner with the Seattle Police Department; this ensures she’ll have consistent access to fresh brains without having to murder someone or grave rob. The same trailer reveals that Ravi Chakrabarti, played by Rahul Kohli, is Liv’s boss and within his first few scenes is confronting Liv about being a zombie. The former CDC employee who’d been fired for his warnings of a probably zombie virus outbreak makes her believe he’s left the office but catches her eating brains. Quickly in the first episode its also established that Liv sees visions of memories that the deceased experienced (like Gwen), typically recent ones surrounding their deaths and final days. This is obviously very handy in solving crimes, especially homicides with very few clues and Liv is unable to stop herself from providing key details to Clive Babineaux, played by Malcom Goodwin, a new detective who visits the morgue to check on his case. Clive thinks they are messing with him due to his bad reputation with the office post-transfer from DEA undercover work. Ravi explains away Liv’s knowledge of information on the unidentified murder victim by saying that she is a psychic which seems to assuage Clive for the time being. The trailer’s tagline, “Dead is the New Living” harkens to a satirical tone about womanhood posed like an inside joke to the show’s target audience…a member of which I had been at the time. I absolutely hated that, the name and tagline made me tune out from the rather interesting details in the trailer that set up the key details of the show. Multiple examples of full-on zombie mode are also shown in the trailer, bringing things back to a horror level with a completely different zombie-look consisting of red, bloodshot eyes that glow in a blank stare, purple veins spreading over the face and dark shadows around the eyes. This is accompanied by uncontrollable rage, hissing, growling, and super strength; displayed by Liv hanging onto the car of an assailant attempting to flee while he shoots through the roof, getting her in the shoulder. Aside from the week to week cases that Liv works with Clive on, becoming unofficial partners after episode one when Liv feels fulfilled and a newfound sense of purpose when helping solve the case, she has an ex-fiancé who she abruptly left when she became a zombie. For fear that she’d infect or eat Major Lillywhite, played by Robert Buckley, she breaks up with him and moves out following him encouraging her to go to the boat party that causes her to become a zombie. She moves out and starts living with Peyton Charles, her best friend and former sorority sister from college played by Aly Michalka who often confronts her about her odd and strange behavior coupled with her abrupt life changes. Although not so present in the first episode the only other known zombie at the start of the series is the one that turned Liv at the party, Blaine DeBeers played by David Anders, who shows up at the morgue to introduce himself to Liv and inquire about her brain supply. The cast of main characters stays consistent throughout the 5 series and is truly one of the selling points of this show. All of them have chemistry coupled with comedic timing; they have it in pairs, groups, and as a whole. The characters traverse the show’s weekly format together which starts with a murder or related crime being reported to the SPD and Clive being assigned it. The case usually seems to have few clues or leads which causes Liv to decide to eat that brain that week, usually having multiple to choose from at the morgue with various causes of death. Shortly after eating the brain she starts experiencing visions that give her clues that her and Clive investigate which typically causes more triggers/clues. Using the vision they interrogate witnesses and suspects to get to the truth of the matter and usually solve the murder with this method. In the background or at the tail ends of the episode the group is going through some overarching plot or plots that carry throughout the season—the typically weekly format for a show. Although the problems change each season the comic book artist created intro slides stay mostly the same with only 1 or 2 being removed entirely and a handful being added during latter seasons. The song is one to jam out to while the intro cards cover the basics of the story like, “New Job,” or, “The Visions,” and the essential characters of that season. Season 1 doesn’t include Peyton for example as she wasn’t a main character technically but rather recurring and then by season 2 there is a roommate slide. Each big-bad that the group faces makes sense for where the series is at at that time and builds the characters in directions to enjoy rather than despair about. SECTION ONE: SEASON 1 Premiering in 2015, season 1 of the show was officially picked up by CW the year prior in 2014. Most of what was described in the introduction that set the stage for the show happens in episode one of the first season including Liv’s backstory, her setup with Clive and Ravi, and her 2 closest outside work people, Major and Peyton. In addition her mother Eva and brother Evan are introduced, played by Nick Purcha and Molly Hagan, who are also concerned about her recent abrupt changes, going as far as to stage an intervention for her. By the end of episode 1 we have built a world around Liv Moore, the young attractive zombie, and created an overarching problem for her and her friends to address—Blaine DeBeers. As mentioned he’s the zombie that transforms Liv into a zombie at the boat party on Lake Washington that kicks off the show. Everyone except Ravi, Liv’s boss who is developing a cure, Blaine, and Liv are unaware of the zombie virus outbreak as far as we know. Blaine quickly changes that however when he murders the Seattle drug henchmen above him and then infects a woman he meets at a bar. The victims in episode 1 and 2 provide beneficial or funny personality traits for Liv but the brain in the 3rd episode belongs to a hitman who happened to be a sociopath and we are shown a huge downside to this ability. Liv begins to do things out of character like talking smack about Clive’s abilities as an investigator and Peyton’s as an Assistant District Attorney. While dealing with the weekly case Liv and Ravi find a photo on a message board that 2 teens took of a zombie trapped at a ship yard. The zombie ends up being Marcy, Liv’s friend who invited her to the party, and she is full-on Romero zombie. At this point how the virus works is still being discovered so they hope that a zombie can be reverted back to the human-zombie version by feeding them brains. Unfortunately we learn that this is impossible, once someone goes full Romero they are gone and might as well be dead. Meanwhile Blaine is on a killing spree in the city in order to procure brains, even killing someone who Major knows by the end of episode 3. The case in episode 4 calls Clive into question when Liv gets visions of him beating a gang member while undercover and she worries he’s actually a dirty cop that the other cops had been right about. In the background Major and Ravi begin their iconic friendship when Liv offers Ravi up as a potential roommate for Major under the guise of feeling responsible for leaving Major paying full rent when she moved out abruptly. In actuality, Liv had been hopeful up to this point that she could be cured one day and that her and Major could possibly be together again. He’s still unaware of the zombie situation and believes she just suddenly changed and dipped but he’s starting to spend a lot of time with a new girl, Corine, which really bothers Liv. This is the reason she offers up Ravi, though she is honest with Ravi about the situation and suggests that it would be useful to keep an eye on Major and protect him. In the same episode Blaine uses his drug dealing experience to set up a brain selling operation for wealthy zombies that he has created. Two of his henchmen, also zombies he’s created, consider setting up their own operation to compete with him and steal his client list but we’re shown Blaine means business when he takes both out without a second thought. Him and his chef, Cissi, played by Tanja Dixon-Warren, just snack on a new brain recipe after he kills them and then it’s revealed he is keeping zombies frozen on standby for his criminal organization that he’s controlling with the threat of re-freezing. At the end of the episode that Jerome is one of Blaine’s victims and is having his brain removed on the kitchen slab. Blaine’s new muscle asks if he can take Jerome’s distinctive American flag shoes which comes into play later on in the season. By the next episode another of Liv’s acquaintances becomes the victim in a case, Holly White, her and Peyton’s sorority sister who died skydiving. One of the people that survived the skydiving accident, Lowell Tracy, played by Bradley James, is a musician who becomes a suspect along with the other witnesses when it’s revealed they tampered with evidence. The skydiving incident officially introduces Max Rager, the energy drink company who sponsored the boat party at the start of the show. There are hints and mentions of a possible connection in the first few episodes like Easter Eggs but up until episode 5 we don’t really dive into it. All of the skydiving witnesses had connections to or worked at Max Rager (MR) and have a vested interest in protecting the company. Despite the case not originally being a homicide Liv requests to investigate and ends up seeing a vision that helps her get Clive to open the case as one. Later on at Holly’s Liv and Lowell end up talking and he makes them extra spicy cocktails and reveals he’s a zombie also. They discover that Holly had wanted to forward an internal email that MR can induce psychosis in 1 out of 1,000 cases and that at least one person has died as a result. One coworker found out and didn’t want to loose his cushy job so he informs others on the team of her plan to out MR and they decide to take her out. After the case is solved we see hints that the police chief, Suzuki played by Hiro Kanagawa, is a zombie and when Clive brings up to him that almost 60 kids are missing from high risk groups and instead of alarm the chief is upset that Clive is looking into any case without a body. Clive is told to leave the missing cases to a different department and we get confirmation he’s a zombie when he dumps hot sauce in his coffee. Across town Major is investigating the missing kid’s he’s worked with as a social worker since he feels SPD won’t do anything despite him being the reason Clive went to Suzuki. Major sees Julian, Blaine’s muscle, wearing Jerome’s sneakers and confronts him only for Julian to go full on zombie mode and kick his ass. The episode ends with Major on the ground messed up as kids skate around him, one even shouting something rude to him as he writhes in pain. The start of episode 6 is a fake out of Major lying on a morgue slab with his face badly beaten, implying that he died and might be the weekly case that week. Thankfully he opens his eyes and Ravi is actually just giving him some off the books stitches post beatdown. Major goes to his job at the youth homeless shelter with his face messed up and when he offers advice to one of the kids about controlling their anger it’s extremely awkward, warranting his boss telling him he’s sending the wrong message showing up like he did. One of the other teens in the group tells him he needs a reality check and that Jerome and Eddie, the 2 teens Major has been looking for from the shelter, are dead. Episode 6 is also a great example of the show exploring mental health when Liv eats the brain of a recluse, agoraphobic online gamer who’s body rotted in his basement for an extended period of time before being found. After eating his brain she has to starts working remotely, video calling Clive and even having a panic attack begin when she tries to go into the office. She essentially absorbs the mental illness that the deceased had and struggles with the symptoms. Due to this Lowell comes over to her place for them to get together and he explains how he became a zombie and that he can no longer perform because he goes full on zombie due to the adrenaline rush. Lowell gets his brains from morticians he pays to look the other way. Despite seeming to hit it off Liv denies a kiss from him. While that happens one of Major’s stitches has ruptured and he tells Ravi he’s going to have Liv fix it but Ravi informs him she’s not alone to which he mournfully accepts. Elsewhere Clive goes to Meat Cute, Blaine’s business front, because it’s one of the only places in Seattle that sells the contents found in a homicide victim’s stomach. Blaine is seemingly accommodating to the drop in and aiding the authorities until it’s revealed Clive narrowly escaped being attacked by Cissi who’d been waiting behind the kitchen door. Liv unintentionally saves Clive by calling him after realizing the key to their current case. The online gamer was sent a peanut infused card, knowing he had an allergy, because the gamer ruined the man’s sister’s life by messing with her online. In the larger story Blaine drills into the head of the wealthy zombie woman he created and had been seeing because she killed one of the Meat Cute delivery boys; which is the homicide case that Clive was investigating at Meat Cute. The episode ends with Liv going after Lowell and wants to try to have something together since they can  be together, both zombies. Major, having been reviewing Jerome’s YouTube videos finds proof that Jerome owned the shoes Julian had been wearing and texts the photo to Ravi. He recognizes Blaine in the background of the photo and informs Liv who connects that the missing teens Major is looking for have something to do with Blaine’s brain business. During Episode 7 Ravi posits that the reaction between Utopium, the new street drug that Blaine used to sell, and an unlisted Max Rager ingredient created zombies and is testing combinations of those 2 things with rats. His goal is to create a zombie rat that is the same as Liv and then work on the cure from that information and subsequent zombie rats. Clive is put on blast in a Seattle newspaper because Major had a journalist on his call with Clive when Clive was honest with him about SPD not looking into the cases. He busts into the morgue when Ravi, Liv, and Lowell are in there and confronts her for making the introduction between him and Major. Clive has been put on desk duty and blames Liv for this despite him blabbing SPD business to random people. Eva, Liv’s mom, and her get on her little brother’s case about being responsible with finances, encouraging him to get a job because Liv is on maternal brain. With the new perspectives, like with this brain, Liv experiences she’s able to relate more to the people in her life, even her mother who she has been at odds with for most of the season up to this point. Unfortunately for everyone Eva hands Evan a stack of resumes which includes Meat Cute and sets up the situation that permanently ruins Liv’s relationship with her family. Later on Liv is hanging out with Lowell having drinks when he rejects her advance, stating he’s on gay brain—which is another nod at brain science and the belief that sexuality is something unchangeable about us, a part of us that would linger even in the next iteration of us. That night they decide to get drunk instead and have a girls night which results in an adorable montage of Liv teaching Lowell to dance. The case takes them to a dog catcher who was on a property, the Shepherd house, that Liv and Clive investigated earlier in the episode that is married to a man that Liv saw in a vision clue of the victim in captivity. Major is still doing recon and investigating the brain operation so breaks into Julian’s car when he’s at the gym. He finds hair dye and a yellow delivery cooler that happens to include a human brain in Tupperware. Major is the worst criminal ever and the cops roll up, catching him in the act. Julian tells the cops that the brain is just cow brain and tell Julian to make a police report, arresting Major and hauling him off. Clive and Liv’s case then escalates which causes the entire force to come out to the house they are staking out. A really cute moment between Liv and Clive shows that her increased maternal care while on mom-brain has boosted Clive’s confidence and strengthened their relationship. Inside the Shepherd house Suzuki is shot and goes full-on zombie mode; he rips the fridge door off and uses it as a shield while the man inside shoots at him. After killing the man he kills the woman accomplice, his wife, by shooting her point blank and emptying the clip into her. Outside Liv finds other girls in bunkbeds and they lock down the property to investigate the Shepherd couple. The case is considered closed and resolved with the Shepherds being blamed for the missing teens in the city along with the pregnant women they’d abducted. SPD tells the public that the couple had been into human sacrifices to explain the number of missing teens found on the property. The father of the baby is a real piece of work but he says one of the funniest lines to Liv when he confronts her, “Look Beetlejuice, I don’t remember saying your name three times.” She gives a diss back to him and Clive and Ravi back her up, further solidifying the squad up against any challenge both big and small. In jail Major is placed in a cell with biker gang members and an officer thanks him for the article and leaves him in the tank. In an ominous tone to the midseason finale we see that a zombie rat was made but it has ripped through all 4 rat cages and eaten the non-zombie rats. Despite the foreshadow in the previous episode we open with a sex misdirect, Liv moaning due to a foot massage from Lowell rather than mid-act. On her way to work she listens to a sex talk show and hears a crazy caller with a southern accent threaten to murder her husband’s mistress. Ravi is at the jail where Major is being held, repeatedly checkin in with the front desk and doing a kid’s brain teaser to pass the time. Peyton then comes in and he sees her be a boss, demanding they let her client go because his paperwork has been filed incorrectly without an admission time, which the lady offers to fix and Peyton asks if she is offering to commit a felony crime by forging the document. This gets the wheels of justice moving again and severely impresses Ravi who has watched Peyton dominate. Peyton joins Ravi in the waiting room and Major comes out completely brutalized but with a smile on his face. She hadn’t realized that Ravi was also waiting for Major and the they are officially introduced while Major explains the local police had set him up due to the article portraying them as not caring for the lower class in the city. Since Major had been in lockup he missed the breaking news about the case that the missing teens had been found at the Shepherd property. Major mournfully remarks that he had a feeling in his gut that the teens were dead and that he has quote-unquote “seen things” and knows that the Shepherd’s aren’t responsible. He warns Peyton and Ravi to not trust anything from the Seattle PD because things are not over. Back in traffic Liv hears things going crazy at the radio studio before the show cuts out; this ends up being the crime that Liv and Ravi are sent to. Someone spliced wires at the studio to cause the host to be electrocuted. Liv volunteers to listen to over 30 hours of the radio show to investigate the strange caller who said the host’s license plate during her call and the call had come from the Seattle area despite the accent. The radio host brain makes Liv overstep boundaries and give terrible advice to Ravi while also discounting that he could date someone perfect like Peyton. Ravi and Liv go to check on the zombie rats and it hisses at Liv, uninterested, but wants to eat Ravi. Major is having issues with his new girlfriend, Corrine, who confronts him about missing their lunch date and he is fully honest with her, as Major would be. She isn’t down and tells him she didn’t sign up for all of what he has going on—she tells Major that he is hot, funny, and has good hygiene which makes him a catch but that he needs some help. It’s confirmed that Blaine made the lieutenant plant the bodies at the Shepherd house to get suspicion off of them. Suzuki informs Blaine about Liv being a zombie but Blaine lets him know she has a role to play as an extremely obvious zombie as opposed to the rest of them being strict with tanning their pale skin and dyeing their white hair. Speaking of Liv she starts analyzing everything and being very nit picky on radio host brain which causes a tiff between her and Ravi. Liv goes to see Major after work and realizes she didn’t answer his call when she was with Lowell and that he’d called from jail. She tells Major he’s crazy when he explains his theory and she tells him he’s just struggling with the losses. Liv also tries to tell Ravi about himself, basically saying he isn’t good enough for Peyton and he rightfully claps back that she has no idea what she’s talking about and that the brain she’s on is an ass. The victim was in fact an ass who black balled her producer while also having an affair with her husband and that producer killed her. Ravi ends up just calling Peyton and asking her out, which she accepts right as Ravi is bit by a zombie rat he’s handling in the morgue. Major on the other hand is purchasing weapons out of a trunk in a dark alley right after Liv had advised him to go back to being sweet Major. In an attempt to live in the moment at the end of the episode Liv eats brain eggs at Lowell’s apartment on her way out in the morning. She sees Blaine with one of his yellow coolers coming into the building and has a vision of Jerome kicking from the inside of a closed trunk and then Blaine opening the trunk and saying the name, Jerome, that confirms who’s brain she has eaten. The next episode, nine, opens where eight leaves off and Liv has another vision when she sees Julian of Jerome almost escaping but being meat-hooked in the head by Blaine. Ravi is monitoring himself post rat bite and taking notes on any symptoms; this turns out proving that the virus can’t be passed between species. Due to having eaten Jerome’s brains at Lowell’s Liv decides she is done with him, convinced there’s zero chance he didn’t know where the brains were coming from. She’s now thinking about Major and feels guilty that she made him believe he was paranoid but justifies that she is only doing it to protect him. She learns quickly though that Major is still just as convinced as ever about his accurate theory from Ravi who also tells her Major hasn’t left his room and has been watching weapons YouTubers. Liv asks Ravi to keep an eye on Major and later on he goes to Major with game controllers, hoping to get him out of the investigation and Ravi sees a human brain on Major’s computer screen. Major explains that he just needs to find a reason for Julian to have had the human brains which is only worrying until Major explains he believes the brains are used for gym gains. Major ends up trying to find out information about Julian by asking around about brains at his gym, which Julian sees. Lowell informs Liv he’s in love with her when she confronts him about the teenage brains and swears he only had a few violent visions. Lowell explains that a few days after he became a zombie he was really hungry and Blaine approached him, offering to provide brains. The case for the episode is a war veteran with severe PTSD being killed during paintball by his exes new husband but his brain provides Liv with sniping abilities. Her and Lowell set up Blaine on Lowell’s apartment balcony with Liv on a nearby rooftop ready to shoot Blaine. She can’t go through with it however and Blaine shoots Lowell when Lowell tries to kill Blaine himself with a barbecue utensil. Due to this Blaine kills Lowell and while that is happening Julian has broken into Major’s apartment and is waiting for him when he comes inside. Major fights back and manages to get to his gun and shoot Julian when he comes in after him, believing him to be dead. Major runs out of the room and ends up calling Clive who finds nothing except some damage to a wall; since Julian is a zombie he got up and just walked out. At the start of episode 10 Liv is a suspect in Lowell’s murder since she called it in and she has a really awful alibi. Clive assigns Ravi to talk Major off the ledge, him believing that Major is having a break with reality and not investigating the real zombies and brain operation in Seattle. Clive goes to deal with the Liv and Lowell situation at the station. Suzuki comes into the room Liv is being interrogated in and tells the officers the case is a straight forward suicide that will be closed once the ME signs off and he apologizes to Liv for her loss. Although Ravi isn’t honest with Major about zombies he does listen to him explain the red eyed Julian that walked away from 3 shots and that Major doesn’t get why no one else sees it. In my opinion this is when Ravi or Liv needed to tell Major about zombies and confirm he isn’t crazy. His face is smashed up, he almost got killed in his own home, and now an SPD detective thinks he is having a psychotic break. At first it made sense to hide it when the stakes were low and risks high but Major’s risk continues to increase while the reasons to not tell him wane. It makes sense for the plot but it does piss me off that neither of them was a better friend to Major—which is a trend at times in the show. Ravi informs Liv that Suzuki came down to the morgue and made him list the death as a suicide despite it being homicide and tells her that he’s worried about how much control Blaine has over SPD. The episode 10 victim is an alcoholic journalist that interrupted a robbery and fell down the stairs, breaking her neck. She also happens to be the reporter that reported the story on the missing teens with the quote from Clive and Ravi warns her that her spinal fluid came out with a high blood alcohol content and was deep in addiction. Liv acknowledges what will happen if she eats Rebecca’s brain and accepts it, especially in light of Lowell’s death and coverup. Clive looks into Major’s attack by visiting Julian’s gym, looking for him. They chat and Julian convinces him that Major is actually the one who is stalking Julian and that Major attacked him because of his shoes. Ravi ends up recommending they rule Lowell’s death as a suicide in part due to him being a zombie and that Blaine is a dangerous person to mess with. They decide to destroy Lowell’s body and Liv and Clive set out to investigate the journalist’s death. Rebecca’s notes are shorthand so they hope to be able to use clues to crack her code and find out what her last story was, believing it to be related to why she died. Clive comes in when Liv is cooking her brain meal and comments on how good the food smells…awkward. They go to talk to Rebecca’s boss who informs them she’d been doing a story on Jason Frye and in her notes they see a Mr. Berserk that her boss doesn’t know about. They go to talk to a Fisher they know is connected and they are informed Jason was struggling for the first time ever and suggest he could have snapped. Ryan’s girlfriend shows up and Liv sees that Rebecca had seen her before when she’d been at the same building and she latches onto the story so she can avoid dealing with Lowell’s death. Clive goes to tell Major that he thinks he’s losing it and show him that Julian is fine so obviously couldn’t have been shot. Clive also warns him that he could be placed under involuntary psych hold and suggests he get help before Major is forced to. Major is relieved that someone is being honest with him and not placating him like Liv and Ravi had been and he ends up being referred to a specialist in psych disorders and checks himself into a hospital. Meanwhile Liv is drinking out of a paper bag, waiting outside the Fisher apartment building from earlier. She then taunts his girlfriend when she leaves at 3 am alone after a hook up, pointing out the guy isn’t so great. When Major tells Ravi the updates on his hospital situation Ravi tries to deter him and convince him he just needs to take a vacation. Major however sticks to his guns that his symptoms match psychosis despite them actually being his friends lying to him. Liv ends up sleeping at the morgue and the girlfriend comes in seeking immunity for testimony against Ryan. She tells them that Ryan and the guys from their group took Jason to a cabin and got him extremely drunk to the point of passing out. She put make up on to look bruised and bloodied and the brothers trick Jason that he killed her but they promise to keep the secret. A few days after this incident Jason snapped and Ryan made everyone involved promise to never tell. Clive and Liv go to talk to Jason and they tell him he didn’t kill Connie, the girlfriend. They learn that he’d been a Max Rager addict, so known for his consumption that a friend included a can of the energy drink when he dressed up as Jason for Halloween. Liv realizes that the MR in the notes isn’t Mr. like they’d thought but rather that it stands for “Max Rager” and she remembers the internal memo from the skydiving case that included proof MR can induce psychosis. Clive however doesn’t want to ruffle feathers and believes they need more solid evidence than that coincidental connection. Back in the morgue Ravi tries to reason with Liv to confront the situation with Major and tell him the truth but in her avoidant state she tells him no and is more worried about what Major will think about her being a zombie than his mental health. She argues that if Major finds out about the brain eating he’ll be broken and believes he’s safe because he’s not checking into the hospital yet. In the meantime she goes to get drunk at the bar, downing 10 shots worth of vodka and then being forced to call someone to come get her by the bartender. I shit you not, she calls Major Lillywhite to come get her from the bar on the eve of his mental hospital admission. This feels very accurate for someone deep in addiction, to be selfish, but it really pissed me off. He takes her home and tucks her into bed and she asks him to rub her back. Major assures Liv that his stay won’t be for long and that everything will be okay. The next day Liv awakes and Major isn’t there so she goes into the morgue to check on Ravi. Clive comes in and tells them that there are more cases that match Rebecca’s notes and all of the assailants had a history of heavy Max Rager consumption before they killed people. Liv is then able to connect the “LW” in Rebecca’s notes to Lake Washington, the site of the MR party that started zombies. Clive decides to take the case to his higher ups and wants Liv to hang tight until he hears back but on journalist brain she doesn’t listen. She bursts into the Max Rager CEO’s office, Vaughn Du Clark whom she questions. She ends up being kicked out of MR and Clive calls Liv out for being drunk and he says he should’ve said something since he had smelt it on her. They decide she came back too quickly after Lowell’s death and she says she’ll go home but goes to the bar instead. At the bar a man comes up and claims to be Rebecca’s source inside MR and that he worked for Vaughn for a long time and witnessed many bad acts. The man tells her that he has another connect inside MR who can leak them information but she can’t figure out who it is and goes to a pilates gym on a lead from Rebecca’s notes. There she finds the woman who is the inside source and she tries to get her to proceed with the story but she tells Liv it isn’t her problem anymore. Liv believes she’ll be safe once the story is released and tells her that she can be protected. She ends up slipping out of the window and evading Liv but when Liv goes out to the parking lot she’s knocked out by the bar guy. Liv wakes up on the floor of a boat on Lake Washington, the source is lying across from her but looks dead and her own head is cracked open and bleeding. The man thanks her for leading him to the whistleblower and tells her that he keeps leverage on Vaughn on a flash drive with the memo that had been planned to be leaked into his wallet. He dumps the other woman’s body off the side of the boat with a cylinder attached to her ankled, like the one attached to Liv’s ankle. Like a weirdo the killer lies on the boat floor with Liv and touches the blood on her forehead then licks his finger. She bashes his head then and hits him into the water and then chops him with the engine’s blades as she speeds away, leaving the water bloody. The episode ends with Major talking about his zombie “delusions” during a therapy session and Scott E., a fellow patient, tells him he has seen what Major is talking about and that zombies are real. Episode 11 picks up where that leaves off but Scott E is found dead in his room, seemingly by suicide. Ravi quickly realizes he had to have been dead when his wrists were cut due to the levels of blood in the water, or lack thereof, to cover up murdering him. Major is honest with Liv about Scott E’s claims to have seen zombies at the boat party but Liv plays this off and continues convincing Major he’s crazy. Liv eats Scott E’s brain and Ravi warns that she should be careful due to his mental health struggles. That night Major shows up to Peyton and Liv’s place while looking for Ravi so he can get into their apartment. They’d been having a movie night and invite Major but it’s awkward quickly and Liv begins hallucinating the devil on her hot chips is talking to her. Liv then hallucinates that Major comes back and requests to sleep on the couch that night to feel safe but at the time she’s unaware it’s a hallucination. At Meat Cute Suzuki and Blaine are talking for the first time in a while the brain operation goes on in the background with more than 5 workers. Blaine is informed about Lowell and Liv’s connection and Suzuki suggests that she could be involved in a plan to attack him but Blaine is salty that the information isn’t that fresh anymore. At the hospital Liv finds out that Blaine had visited Scott E via the visitor logs and his alias John Deaux is noted. Later Blaine ends up back at the morgue talking to Liv and she comments on his tan and he pretends to be interested in a cure. They run some tests on him and ask about his connection to Scott E and the case. Throughout the episode Liv hallucinates TV weatherman Johnny Frost and believes he’s working in tandem with her to investigate Scott E’s murder due to him being Frost’s drug dealer. They break into Scott’s place to find a video Scott supposedly has of the Lake Washington massacre and thus zombies. His place has already been ransacked however and Liv luckily finds his laptop hidden in his speakers. Major is also sneaking into the place but doesn’t find the laptop since Liv took it already and she missed him since he broke in through the back. Blaine and Julian arrive then and end up lighting the place on fire while Major sneaks into their trunk only to come out when they are back at Meat Cute. The case is closed when they discover that the person who stole Scott E’s phone is an orderly who stole drugs and that Scott’s doctor had been writing prescriptions illegally. Liv is hallucinating Major and also hallucinates her telling him the truth and then hugging it out after the case is closed. At Meat Cute a delivery of brains has been stolen from a truck outside and Blaine stabs the guy on watch in the neck, falling against the car bleeding. Blaine tells him to get up because they have work to do while Ravi discovers the zombie rat is now a human rat, meaning he has a template for a zombie cure. Meanwhile Liv is trying to break into Scott’s phone still and realizes her delusion of Frost is a delusion and that it is trying to tell her the phone’s passcode through the temperature forecast. She watches the video and finds out it is her eating brains on the beach right after her transformation. Major comes over then and asks to come in only to show her yellow cooler bags that he’s stolen from Meat Cute to prove to Liv he wasn’t crazy and that they are selling human brains to zombies. He proclaims he will kill all of the zombies. Episode 12 starts with the MR hired murderer crawling out of Lake Washington and making it towards the road only to be hit by a car. The teens in the car get out and are freaked out in an I Know What You Did Last Summer way and the driver exclaims that he came out of nowhere. The group of 4 drag the body into the forest and bury him in a shallow grave, promising to never tell anyone about this night. The zombie hand pops out of the grave and he ends up smashing one of the girl’s heads with a rock and snapping her neck. Two weeks later that girls body is found by a man and his dog in the woods and due to the body missing it’s brain they connect it to zombies. Liv told Major she’d test the brains despite already knowing about them and tells Ravi that that should buy them some time to come up with a plan. Some of the brains stolen by Major were that of the astronaut they killed, intending to sell it for a high price. Major records a video message in anticipation of his plans, stating if it’s found he’s already dead. Kimber, the girl in the woods, had enough brains for Liv to make Mexican hot chocolate which turns her into a preppier and more positive version of herself. One of the boys from the group is killed in a storage unit that his band practiced in and with few clues Liv must now eat that brain to continue investigating. Later in the episode Clive comes into the morgue and sees pizza that Liv made with the brains and starts to eat a slice until Liv snatches it out of his hands. Ravi and Major have a really cute back and forth then when Ravi shows him suits he plans to wear on a date weekend with Peyton. Major cases Meat Cute under the guise of being a health inspector, which actually works. He also buys more weapons out of the trunk and when he’s offered a grenade he seems interested. Later he listens to motivational tapes about overcoming fear while he stakes out Meat Cute. At the station another of the friend group came in to talk to the police, in fear that 2 of their friends from that night are now dead. When the sketch artist, not willing to work with Liv due to how critical and intense she’d been on artist brains earlier in the season, finishes the sketch Liv gets a texted image of it and realizes that it’s the MR murder for hire. She realizes she made another zombie and when she gets home he has broken in and has Peyton held hostage, passed out. He is pissed he’s a zombie and explains he killed his Aunt in a rage when she cut her head open on the freezer. Liv taunts him that she’s never eaten someone she didn’t want to and they get into a fight, Liv smashes a jar on his head and using the knife he stabbed in her hand that is still stuck in her hand she stabs him in the head. Peyton witnesses this and Liv in full on zombie mode which leaves Liv stunned and trying to quickly explain that this is the reason for her behavior the last few months. Liv goes to get the first aid kit for Peyton but she is gone when Liv comes back. Clive reassures Liv that her killing the murderer was self defense and that her dying would’ve been the actual tragedy. Liv tells Ravi about what happened with Peyton and he goes to find her, promising everything will work out. Major has been captured at Meat Cute and is being tortured by Blaine using the walk in freezer as his prison cell. Up front Evan, Liv’s brother, drops off his application and Blaine gives him the job, asking how soon he can start after Blaine sees that Liv is Evan’s emergency contact. The episode ends with Teresa, one of two from the surviving group of teens, being beaten to death in a hotel room, dialing 9-1-1 but not connecting. The season finale, episode 13, opens at Meat Cute with Blaine and Julian looking for the astronaut brains. Blaine believes that the missing brains is proof of Major’s theft and Major tells them to kiss his ass, making them proceed with keeping Major in the freezer. Liv eats Teresa’s brain and becomes snarky plus sassy. Ravi has been able to re-create a zombie rat and turn it human again after the last rat, Hope, died and they name this rate New Hope. Liv explains that she’s desperate to be cured and hates eating brains, noting that it’s disgusting and Ravi assures her that he is dedicated to curing her and the zombie virus in general. Vaughn has hired a new MR head of research after the previous doctor’s head was smashed in by the murder for hire guy. Dr. Holland, the new head, seems super down in light of this information to research. Liv and Clive are then at MR interviewing Vaughn and Holland about the murder for hire who Vaughn claims was let go years ago. Vaughn reveals that his overarching goal at MR is to make sleep obsolete and that Holland’s job is to find the ingredient in Super Max that makes consumers turn into zombies and remove that. They intend to eliminate all zombies in the meantime because they are evidence of MR’s mess up and subsequent cover up. At Meat Cute Blaine reaches a peak villain moment that I personally don’t think he can come back from when he tricks Major into eating soup with Jerome’s brains in it, wheeling his body in to show the empty head cavity. Cameron, the last kid from the group who is alive, meets with Vaughn’s assistant at a diner who warns him that her employer doesn’t mess around. He accepts money to skip town but is stopped at Canadian customs when a cop matches him to his description which causes him to be arrested. Back at the station Liv and Clive question Cameron and threaten to leave him to the wolves and he spills the tea with no deal. He explains he got the thumb drive everyone has been after from Teresa when he thought she’d been ratting their group out to police. They realize MR’s plan to launch Super Max which is the more potent, zombie causing version of the drink. Major receives a text from Liv that the samples came back money brains and Blaine reads this and calls Liv just as she is about to use one of the cures Ravi is working on. She demands he doesn’t hurt Major and he threatens to eat Major’s brain, saying they will be closer than ever then. Major is able to find a lighter in a pocket while Liv goes to trade for him with Blaine, only to have been given another guy with his mouth duct taped. The most bad ass sequence plays out at this point, starting with the henchmen sitting and grubbing at Meat Cute while they listen to 80s music that gets turned up as the scene starts. Major starts a fire in the freezer but the guy who Blaine stabbed earlier is the one who goes to check on things and can’t scream for help. He slips in the freezer and Blaine smacks him with frozen meat and locks him inside. Major then goes outside and arms up with the weapons he’s been purchasing on the black market. He starts his attack by shooting a buck shot through the front window directly at the henchmen sitting inside and then shoots one guy directly in the dome. They cover the door but he knows the layout and comes around behind them, killing another with a headshot which they show by panning to the wall and then showing blood splatter. Cissi then pretends she wants to live and pleads with Major only to run at him with a knife and then she’s sliced by the meat slicer off screen. Through the freezer door Major shoots the guy he locked in there and Julian arrives only to be locked in the freezer and Major throws the grenade into it, crouching below the door’s window as it goes off, killing Julian. When Major turns around Blaine is there and stabs him in the abdomen and says, “Look what you did man! Just what we need, a noise complaint. You got the slow and agonizing thing under control right? Good. Hope it hurts,” and walks off. When he goes to turn the music off Liv shoots him and asks about Major. Blaine explains he needs to be kept alive because otherwise Seattle’s zombies, unknown to them, will go unfed and start the apocalypse. Major calls out, bleeding out in the back, and Blaine explains that Major is Seattle’s preeminent zombie hunter but calls out that he didn’t notice all the major changes with Liv. Blaine says he’ll blame everything on Major but then Liv stabs him with the cure and she tells him to make more now and he tells her that if there’s an apocalypse she should assume that he did it. Suzuki then comes into Meat Cute after Liv scratches Major to make him a zombie and therefore save his life and the lieutenant calls in that it’s all clear there. Major is understandably pissed that he is a zombie and that they’d all lied to him. Liv suggest that they could be together now but Major isn’t having it after her recent betrayals of trust. He tells her that if she thought he’d want this then she didn’t know him at all. At Meat Cute Suzuki double taps every zombie and then shoots himself in the leg and writes in blood on the wall. He turns on all the furnaces and lights the place up with him inside. Liv’s brother is coming up just as the shop explodes; which is some wild CGI for CW. In the paper a headline is there about the internal memo that proves the violent side effects to Max Rager and Vaughn is given the news while meditates, less than pleased but says they are just getting started. Suzuki wrote Blaine DeBeers on the wall and Clive is tipped off by Julian’s shoes and orders a gun test for Major. Blaine is being stitched up in a veterinary’s office while he eats a burrito, now facing human life again. As mentioned earlier Liv’s family becomes estranged after Liv refuses to donate blood to Evan in the hospital. Obviously we know the reason is she is a zombie and he would also become a zombie but without that detail her family assumes she’s heartless and selfish. The season ends with Liv’s mom excitedly running up to her that Liv can donate and Liv saying no as she realizes the predicament she’s in. CONCLUSION With an average run time of 42 minutes per episode the series lasted for 5 seasons and ended with a completion for the storylines going on in the final season. During and after the first season critics had positive things to say about the script, cast, and concept. By the second season a fan base chimed in on Twitter and other social media platforms and the plot thickened as zombies became more and more prevalent in fictional Seattle. The change of character in the weekly format give McIver the chance to play a plethora of characters in a plethora of costumes with an assortment of skills which she excels at. The brains she is on coupled with the circumstances that each group member gets themselves in build the bond between the core five characters even when they are on opposite sides of issues. Peyton goes up against Seattle’s criminal organization that’s infiltrated the DA’s office, Ravi continues developing a cure for the zombie virus, Liv becomes a leader in the new world, and Major becomes a solider and cause leader in his own right. Throughout the 71 episodes so many details are worth covering and detailing but at the end of the day the best recommendation I can make is to watch the show yourself and experience this group of characters and the new Seattle that they exist in. The creativity from the writers when it comes to cases, even having Liv and Clive investigate a murder on a zombie show set which took things in a satirical direction. I love all of these characters dearly, including Dale Bozzio, that joins in season 2 and becomes Clive’s no shit taking partner. Countless other characters have story arcs that are enjoyable, hilarious, heartbreaking, and moving. It is just as deep as it can be corny, and I love that about it. Unfortunately the show is no longer available on Netflix where it previously existed but I’ve been able to find season DVDs at my local library, which I will always recommend as a resource. I’m hoping and checking to see if it gets added to any other streaming platforms but so far it’s silent. This project is my last planned one that I’ve been currently working on. I am planning to do one-off reviews of movies when inspired this year but dedicating more time to writing. My website is up at www.redrosehorror.com  and I’ll likely post written format content before video content.

Part 2/3 of the Universal Monsters Series The meticulous documentation of life as technology has advanced allows for more in depth dissection of the past. History is known to be colored by what that narrator wants us to know and what they don’t want us to know, impacting what conclusions can be made about those times. Movies and shows from the past however, have a much harder time lying about what they believe, what they want to say, and what audiences of those times found engaging or disturbing. Pop and subcultures are mirrors of society in this way, media in a symbiotic relationship with life–life is the shark and media is the Kimora fish eating parasites off its skin in exchange for free transport and food. Horror monsters and the movies made around them are particularly poignant reflections of culture during a set moment in time. They display what is scary at that point, whether that is 1930’s immigration and women’s increasing freedoms or 1970’s economic and government upheaval in the western world. According to current day horror monsters we are syncing up with some of the same fears as our predecessors as the Universal Monsters or simply, Monsters, make their comeback to box office cinema. Some portrayals of monsters and thus these reflections of societal fears have gone on to become famous films, pop culture figures, and horror flagships. The movies in part one of this series, which also covered the source materials like novels and original portrayals of Monsters, were those of the 30’s and 40’s whereas this part will include the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s big Monster movie titles. In addition to overviews of the titles that fit the video criteria the Western history that influenced those portrayals is also overviewed. Horror comedy movies aren’t included in these breakdowns, but I did try to include an array of bigger Monster films for each decade. As you can probably guess that means that the next video will cover the 90’s, 2000’s, 2010’s and present day adaptations including Nosferatu 2024. Something of note after compiling the list of movies for this project: some time periods, particularly those that are more filled with change have way more monster titles than those that are considered times of relative peace or stagnation. In the 50’s and 60’s there are 17 titles included, which seems like a lot until you look to the 70’s which has about 33 that decade alone. As a time of upheaval in culture and society it tracks that the seventies would have so many titles if the theory that change correlates stands up. We are only halfway through the 2020’s decade at the end of this year, 2024, and the number of monster titles have picked up particularly in the last 2 years. Nosferatu, a remake of the 1922 film of the same name, came out on Christmas Day 2024, and has garnered a lot of buzz–like Blockbuster buzz, not just horror movie buzz. Not only is Nosferatu, starring Bill Skarsgård as Count Orlok, coming out but a handful of other new adaptations of monsters are coming out or have come out recently. These 2020’s titles include loose adaptations The Cursed (2021), The Invitation (2022), The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster (2023), El Conde (2023), Lisa Frankenstein (2024), and The Bride! (2025) and more related to source material adaptations The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023), Renfield (2023), Abigail (2024), Nosferatu (2024), Frankenstein (2025), and Wolf Man (2025). I don’t think it would be preposterous to say that these are weird and downbeat times in the Western world this decade and the increase in Monsters to deal with these sometimes abstract fears just makes sense. This is the one and only trigger warning in the video: horror movies are generally rated ‘R’ when they come out and thus cover topics that can be horrifying like murder, gruesome curses, apocalyptic circumstances, and hauntings of all kinds. If you are squeamish or troubled by dark and macabre topics this video and channel probably aren’t for you–which is more than okay. On the other hand if you like horror, find the macabre to be the most fascinating, and/or like historical context to media then welcome and carry on. Section 1: 1950's to 1960's Overview The 50’s are generally regarded as a time of great prosperity in the US due to the economic and baby boom following the end of World War II in 1945. According to History.com approximately 4 million babies were born each year during the decade and didn’t taper off until 1964–resulting in 77 million baby boomers we still deal with today. History.com also attributes most of the growth to government spending like construction of interstates and VA benefits; all of which culminated in the gross national product up 250% by 1960. While all of this government-facilitated good happened the 60’s also ushered in the Civil Rights Movement . After WWII ended the benefits and income gaps between White-Americans and Black and Brown people became more apparent in the US despite the equal service and sacrifice of all during WWII. The persistence of Jim Crow laws that never delivered on the promise of “separate but equal” significantly hindered prosperity for Black and Brown communities so that White-Americans at the state and local level could benefit. While the US faced upheaval at home the country also entered into a period of competition amongst world superpowers known as the Cold War between itself and the Soviet Union. The USSR automatically represented the communist ideology while USA capitalism, as both wanted to spread their ways of life as the quote-unquote “best” and adopt nations into their sphere of influence through its spread. In the US tensions of the Cold War led to McCarthyism , widespread paranoia about hidden, evil communists, which rolled right into the Space Race. The creation of NASA in 1958 after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 the year prior is one of the clearest examples of the competition between nations. Both nations also began an arms race to develop bigger and better nuclear weapons while their usually not-so-peaceful attempts to spread influence caused tensions between and within nations. This tension was coupled with general mistrust rising across the globe that increased the likelihood of nuclear weapons being used, thus increasing the fear of nuclear war in the Western world. Individual Movie Reviews The Werewolf (1956)... ...is the first movie and an American film considered to be horror sci-fi directed by Fred F. Sears and written by Robert E. Kent and James B. Gordon. A total of 3 werewolf films were made in the US during the 50’s, Daughter of Dr. Jekyll (1957) and I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957). In the US it was released as the 2nd film in a double feature with Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956). Monsters tend to have a “the danger is hidden among us” vibe regardless of the decade, the 50’s being no different. One thing about McCarthyism is the marked paranoia, fitting the theory that monster horror films align with increased societal fears and upheaval. A difference in this version of Lycanthropy story however is the inclusion of nuclear holocaust and the need to survive an impending one with the use of the curse via a wolf serum. The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)... ...came out the following year and is the first monster movie that British company, Hammer Film Productions created. The film was the studio’s first color film and the success of it inspired them to create similar movies, like Dracula (1958) and The Mummy (1959). These reprisals of gothic horror films would go on to influence horror to this day but at the time a couple of dudes wanted to make money making movies–and what better way than low budget horror flicks that will draw wide audiences and are timeless in rental revenues and potential sequels. Directed by Terence Fisher and written by Jimmy Sangster the film stars the legendary Christopher Lee as the monster and horror legend Peter Cushing as the lead, Baron Victor Frankenstein. The low budget didn’t stop the movie from generating millions at the box office, a crazy feat that didn’t account for the revenue from VHS, DVD, merchandise, and copyright licensing still being made. Taking place in 1800’s Switzerland it follows the typical Frankenstein outline; Frankenstein explains his tale to someone for fear he’ll die soon (although in this case it’s execution rather than his hunt for the creature in the arctic). To a priest he explains how he got there starting with his childhood and acquiring his family’s estate at a young age after his mother passed away. Hiring a man to tutor him Victor wants to perform experiments and has a fascination with life and death, reanimating a dead puppy at some point. Once they succeed at this Victor goes full steam ahead on acquiring body parts to perform the same reanimation experiment on a humanoid-creature built from various corpse body parts, just the usual Frankenstein life goal. After murdering a professor to transfer his brain into the creature, it is then reanimated and absolutely horrifies Victor. The creature is definitely disgusting to look at but that’s the point and the makeup, costume, and light design do a great job showing that without crazy expensive techniques or equipment. The appearance of the monster more closely aligns with Shelley’s description in the novel rather than the popularized image of neck bolts and a rectangular head shape. The monster’s story ends in fire like many Frankenstein monsters do and Victor pleads for people to believe he didn’t kill anyone but rather the monster did. In the end he is led to the guillotine and presumably dies at the end–which presents a tricky situation for a sequel that we’ll address shortly. But first… I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957)... ...came out the same year as the Curse of Frankenstein but was produced across the pond in America by American International Pictures or AIP that released as a double feature with Invasion of the Saucer Men. Releasing in June 1957 it’s directed by Gene Fowler Jr. and written by Herman Cohen and Aben Kandel. As the title suggests this tale follows a high schooler rather than a young, European aristocrat. This teen, Tony Rivers, is played by Michael Landon and is referred by a police Detective to speak with a psychologist following him being in fights. After overreacting to a Halloween prank he decides to seek help from the psychologist who specializes in hypnotherapy that he’s been referred to. The doctor recruits him for a trial of scopolamine serum that is intended to regress people to their primitive instincts. Dr. Brandon proceeds with injecting Tony despite his assistant warning how dangerous it could be for him. Once part of the trial Tony receives therapy sessions from Dr. Brandon where traumatic memories surface and Brandon believes that Tony had once been a wild animal. Shortly thereafter Tony’s friend, Frank, is attacked and killed while walking home and the wound marks look like they were inflicted from fangs despite the lack of large animals in the area. The police station janitor recognizes the wounds in the crime scene photos and is from an area where werewolves are common. Despite things looking good for Tony, getting a recommendation for college from his principal, he attacks and kills a girl in the gym as he’s leaving school following a bell ring. The bell ring transformed him and in his state he rabidly attacked only to show up in normal form the next day. A distraught Tony goes to Brandon and his assistant for help but kills them after a phone ring causes him to transform. Their intentions had been to film the transformation to prove what the serum can do. The detective ends up shooting Tony once himself and another officer arrive on scene. After being shot Tony begins to revert back to human form from the wolf form which raises mad questions about what exactly is going on there. I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957)... ...came out the same year following the success of I Was a Teenage Werewolf. Also by American International Pictures it came out as a double feature with Blood of Dracula in November. The film is a sequel to the previously released I Was a Teenage Werewolf that came out earlier in the year and were followed up by How to Make a Monster. In this rendition the monster itself kills a teenage boy in order to steal his face for his own use. Unrelated to the 1957 Curse of Frankenstein this American International Pictures production follows a Professor Frankenstein who creates a monster. After acquiring a body from a car crash Frankenstein uses other remains he has at his laboratory to complete the monster for animation. His secretary gets drug into his psychotic break and discovers the monster animated and living. Later the monster gets out and in an Of Mice and Men plot line he kills a woman in a panic when her reaction to him is loud and could draw attention to them. The assistant confronts the professor about the monster’s murdering and Frankenstein commands the monster to kill her. In this rendition the monster then goes to a make out spot and kills a teenage boy in order to steal his face for his own use. Frankenstein tells a doctor that he is going to dismember the monster, put those pieces into boxes then ship those boxes to England. He plans to then travel there himself and reassemble the monster. Not loving how things are shaking out, the monster breaks free of restraint before dismemberment and kills Frankenstein. The doctor with Frankenstein does escape to get help however, later arriving with police. Fortunately for those police, the monster electrocutes himself after coming into contact with an electrical board. How to Make a Monster (1958)... ...came out the following year and is mostly a black and white film but it switches to color in the end, with the last reel being filmed in technicolor. Directed by Herbert L. Strock and written by Herman Cohen and Aben Kandel, How to Make a Monster is a direct follow up to both Teenage Monster movies that came out in 1957. Pete Dumond, played by Robert H. Harris, has been at the helm of the American International Studios make-up department but finds out he will soon be fired when the studio changes management. As a horror make-up artist that specializes in special effects and monster make-up the new owners don’t believe Pete will be a good fit for the studios new direction–musicals and comedies. After seeing what the new guys have to offer Pete sets out to get revenge on them and to use the monsters to bring them down. Pete creates a mixture with foundation that he convinces actors to apply, thus making them his slaves. The actors he convinces are the 2 from the teenage movies, Tony Mantell–teenage Frankenstein and Larry Drake–teenage werewolf, played by Gary Conway and Gary Clarke respectively. Pete uses his control over Larry to order him to kill one of the studio execs he blames for the circumstances with the studio. The following day the studio guard questions Pete and his assistant about their whereabouts around a murder but is killed by Pete in monster makeup while doing his routine rounds. Despite basically getting caught by a second security guard Pete continues his murder spree and orders Tony to attack and kill Clayton, an exec, once he gets home. During the investigation into his murder the police find a witness to the crime who identifies Tony–teenage Frankenstein as the assailant who killed Clayton. Once it’s clear the police will connect the dots Pete takes the monsters to his home for one last shindig. There Pete ends up attacking the 2 actors in monster costumes and his assistant surrounded by his creations from his studio career that he keeps in his home. The police, headed for them at that point, aren’t fast enough to stop a fire caused by Larry that results in Pete’s death. The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958)... ...came out first in the US in early June and then late August in London one year after The Curse of Frankenstein and the same year as the aforementioned AIP projects. It is the second technicolor Hammer Film Productions installation also directed by Terence Fisher and written by Jimmy Sangster. Although Peter Cushing reprises his role as Baron Victor Frankenstein, Christopher Lee is absent from this production. Instead Frankenstein’s experiment is the transplantation of a brain from one living subject to another subject. Taking place in 1860 Baron Victor Frankenstein evades execution and a priest is beheaded in his place, replacing him in his burial with the help of Karl, a hunchback. Three years later Frankenstein takes on a new identity, Doctor Stein, and has moved to Carlsbrück where he’s set up a practice that caters to the wealthy while also working at a hospital for the poor. A younger medical council member, Hans Kleve, requests to be Dr. Stein’s apprentice after growing admiration for his work in the town. This new team, which includes Frankenstein posing as Stein, Hans–his new apprentice, and Karl–the hunchback who helped him escape his execution. They immediately pick back up the experiment Frankenstein had been working on to transplant a living brain from one body to a new body with the caveat that this time it won’t be a “cobbled-together creature” and Karl volunteers as tribute. After the transplant of Karl’s brain he worries about becoming a quote-unquote “medical sensation” and gets Victor’s assistant to free him. In typical Victor fashion he hadn’t considered that his previous brain transplant experiment resulted in the orangutan subject cannibalizing another orangutan until Hans mentions it. Karl breaks into Victor’s lab and destroys his original body and is attacked by a janitor that he ends up killing. Karl goes on to murder a local girl and then beg for Victor’s help while exposing his true identity. After being exposed Victor is unable to put the genie back in the bottle and the town’s council confirms that Frankenstein is in fact not dead. Victor is then attacked by the patients at his hospital and Hans uses his dead body to prove to the police they need not investigate further. This is just distraction however as Victor created a body that resembles his own for his brain to be implanted to upon his death. Flash forward and Hans and Victor welcome patients to a hospital–up to the same schtick. At this time the story of Frankenstein and his monster were imaginative, interesting even, rather than run-of-the-mill as a standard Frankenstein movie might be viewed today despite it being ready-made source material. Now, having created multiple successful color horror films with higher expectations for plots and acting, Hammer Films had a formula. Dracula (1958)... ...came out the same year and Christopher Lee’s performance became the new blueprint for Count Dracula. Peter Cushing plays the part of Van Helsing, a role that became a cornerstone to his own career. It’s the first Dracula movie in the Hammer Film series and is based on the 1897 Bram Stoker novel and previous Universal films. To differentiate from Dracula (1931) the film was released as Horror of Dracula in the US and can be found referenced by both titles. Set in 1885 at Count Dracula’s castle near a NW Romania city, Klausenburg, the plot opens with Harker getting to the castle–as is customary in many Dracula films. In a voiceover by Cushing we learn he’s a vampire hunter who’s come to rid the world of Dracula. While snooping around Harker finds a woman who pleads for his help only for her to try and bite his neck until Dracula comes and forces her away. Regardless of being saved in that moment however, Harker awakes with bite marks on his neck and significant time missing–now becoming a vampire himself. After Harker kills Dracula’s bride he misses Dracula rising and escaping to the door. When he goes to stake Dracula he realizes too late and is then trapped in the crypt by the angry Dracula. Flash forward and Van Helsing is searching for Harker in Klausenburg and gets a lead from Harker’s journal. Unfortunately, by the time Van Helsing gets to the castle it’s seemingly deserted. He finds evidence of Harker’s presence and continues searching but finds Harker as a vampire in the crypt. Van Helsing stakes and kills Harker and then goes to his sickly fiancé, Lucy, to inform her brother, Arthur, and sister-in-law, Mina, of Harker’s death. Dracula is ahead of him however and already has Lucy in his control, eventually becoming a vampire herself after she’s thought to have died. After Van Helsing and Arthur stake Lucy, killing her, Dracula lures Mina to him with the plan to replace Lucy with her. Eventually Van Helsing defeats Dracula by forcing him into rays of sunlight with a cross, the Count burns into ash and dust instantly. In those ashes are his clothes and ring. Mina goes on to live life with a scar that eventually fades away. Not only did fans like this adaptation but critics did as well, overall being a success that is well regarded to this day. According to Variety it was 1 of the 12 most popular British box office films in 1958. Not only was it a critical success it also raked in money–earning around $3.5 million in theatrical releases worldwide. Hammer Productions had grossed approximately $18 million according to a Variety article from 1959 with 8 of their most popular movies in worldwide releases. The film originally cost under £82K pounds (£1.63 million pounds today or about $2.4 million dollars) to make with Bray Studios and the limitations of the project like budget and timeline guided this adaptation of the novel by writer, Sangster. One of these changes is Dracula’s ability to transform into other animals not being included in order to make it more realistic in terms of special effects. Fisher is responsible for making it more sexual and according to him Dracula is preying on the “sexual frustrations of his woman victims” even directing actresses to play things sexually. Rather than that it comes across as women being objects or pieces rather than individual parts. The Return of Dracula (1958)... ...also came out the same year but was created by Gramercy Pictures, an American studio. United Artists released it as the 1st in a double feature with The Flame Barrier, a sci-fi film about a space chimpanzee in need of saving. Starting in the Balkans, this far less popular adaptation begins following an investigator, John Meierman played by John Wengraf, and his assistants looking to trap Count Dracula in his tomb. They open his casket only to find that it’s empty, devoid of the Count and a ruin to their plans. Dracula has fled via train and impersonates a Czech artist that is on his way to the USA after murdering him. The artist has family in California he is visiting and once Dracula arrives he introduces himself as Bellac, the artist from Czech. Since it’s olden-times they don’t necessarily know what their cousin would look like so they are just stoked to meet him–especially Bellac’s cousin’s daughter who also likes history. Dracula as Bellac is super weird and doesn’t just fit right into the family, soon after his arrival the family’s son’s cat is found dead and mutilated after going missing. Under their noses Dracula-Bellac has made a little place to rest in his coffin in an abandoned mineshaft–also very American. Despite not seeing him during the day Rachel, the teenage daughter, sees him at night and believes his excuse for daytime absence, having spent the day painting according to him. She has a job taking care of the elderly and Dracula decides to cure an old lady of blindness after Rachel is done with work by biting her. Rachel finds a photo of herself in a coffin in Dracula-Bellac’s room on her way out to a Halloween party (American). She then suddenly realizes his reflection doesn’t appear in the mirror and she goes off to the party with her boyfriend. She ends up fleeing to the mineshaft in search of Dracula while the men stalk the elderly woman’s grave whom Dracula bit and is likely becoming a vampire. The boyfriend and Rachel use a crucifix to make Dracula fall down a mine shaft where he’s impaled with a wooden post and disintegrates into a skeleton. Obviously it’s a US film in the 50’s so they couldn’t stake him but rather just assist in his demise. No idea why it had to be teenage other than ‘Merica. Part of this movie's advertisement campaign put on by United Artists and thus the draw of the film was that it hadn’t been insured by any of the 12 companies they had approached. They refused to assume liability risk for those watching the film–which is actually a cold AF and hard AF way to tell someone their film ain’t shit. The far-better Hammer Productions adaptations overhauled the minor attention that this film had drawn, this one fading into obscurity and the other arguably becoming one of the 3 canon Count Draculas in horror pop culture. The Curse of the Werewolf (1961)... ...notably comes out 3 years later than those films and is another Fisher directed Hammer Film Production; written by John Elder and produced by Hinds. As usual the werewolf is the divergence from the path of a Monster and takes on various adaptations across decades that are faintly attached unlike that of Dracula for vampires or Frankenstein for creatures that are compared to particular source materials. Curse of the Werewolf is based on The Werewolf of Paris by Guy Endore, a horror novel that published in 1933. Oliver Reed stars as the werewolf, Leon Corledo, but the start of the film follows a Spanish beggar who is imprisoned by a nobleman of the time. While imprisoned he communicates with the jailer and his daughter who gets thrown in the dungeon with him after refusing advances from the man in charge. The beggar then rapes her and then dies himself–explained by him going crazy from being imprisoned. The girl, only credited as “servant girl” despite her assault being a central plot point in this…werewolf movie kills the assaulter and manages to escape. She’s found by Don Alfredo Corledo who is played by Clifford Evans. Don lives with his housekeeper who keeps the girl alive named Teresa. The unnamed girl dies after giving birth and Teresa remarks that giving birth on Christmas Day is bad luck and that circumstances surrounding his conception make him cursed–he is a werewolf. Leon, the werewolf, gets a taste for blood and struggles to overcome his urges during adolescence. He is arrested after murdering people while in wolf form and wants to be killed before he harms more people. Leon requests that they execute him but they don’t believe his confessions that he murdered his friend and a woman from a brothel. He ends up killing multiple people after becoming a wolf and breaking out of the cell. Leon’s dad is then called in and shoots him with a silver bullet, mournfully covering his body. Production of this movie took place on a set meant for a Spanish inquisition movie about rape that never saw the light of day. Despite the source material being set in Paris the location is changed in this film to Madrid to avoid the additional cost of set building–which provides a lot of insight into the vibe. It ended up being censored upon its release as a Double Feature with Shadow of the Cat (1961) and 2 versions exist, the censored and uncensored. To no surprise this film didn’t reach near the success of the other monster movies for the studio like Dracula and The Mummy. It’s reviewed as beautiful but not much substance to that beauty in either plot or horror. The Evil of Frankenstein (1964)... ...was released 3 years even after the wolf movie and is produced by Hammer Films. Deviating from the norm up to this point Evil is directed by Freddie Francis but written by John Elder who wrote the previously covered Curse of the Werewolf. It’s the 3rd movie in the Hammer Frankenstein series and Peter Cushing returns as Baron Victor Frankenstein while Kiwi Kingston plays the Creature. Hans, Victor’s assistant, is played by Sandor Elés, Zoltan by Peter Woodthorpe, and the mute woman played by Katy Wild. Frankenstein and Hans are caught by a child while stealing their recently deceased relative’s body parts. They are caught by a priest during this and the child is able to identify Frankenstein and Hans, his associate, as the body thieves. Once identified they flee to Frankenstein’s home to fleece the house and sell the valuables. They then save a deaf-mute young woman when they arrive at a village and Victor sees the burgomaster has his ring while he and Hans are out in the village. Victor rashly confronts him and this exposes his identity thus causing this town’s authorities to chase after him now also. The pair hide with a hypnotist named Zoltan whose subsequent harassment from the authorities provides a distraction that allows Victor and Hans to escape. Later on when they flee town they run into the young woman they rescued earlier whom leads them to a cave where she’s taken shelter. At this cave Victor finds the creature frozen in ice which he and Hans quickly melt. After getting the creature out of the ice they take it back to Victor's lab to bring it back to life. Victor fails to bring the creature back to life and requests that Zoltan try. He does bring the creature back to life but has made it so that the creature only responds to him. Zolton makes the creature kill the town’s authorities in revenge then commands him to kill Victor. Unfortunately for Zoltan the creature doesn’t listen to his command and instead listens to Victor’s request to kill Zoltan. After the creature smashes the lab a fire breaks out and Hans is able to escape with the mute woman. They both watch on from safety outside as the lab explodes and falls from the house off a cliff. The damage is so bad it’s presumed that Frankenstein and his monster are both dead. Despite the first 2 films in the Hammer Frankenstein Series being hits, this 3rd film left much to be desired. The half-done concept and execution of the film can be partially attributed to the circumstances around the production at the time. The editorial, “‘The Evil of Frankenstein’ is a Fascinating Oddity in Hammer’s Frankenstein Series [Hammer Factory” by Paul Ferrell goes into detail about the revolving door for key roles on the project. Ferrell also mentions the deal that Hammer got with Universal which gave them the a-okay to use iconic imagery from Frankenstein (1931) like the make-up look for the creature which should have made things better. From a Monsters of Makeup’s article, “Making Up the Hammer Horror Frankenstein Films” by Luke Munson about the Frankenstein series, “By the time the third installment of the series was underway, the budgets for the Hammer films were shrinking.” Munson also writes that Roy Ashton ended up doing the makeup for the film after Philip Leakey left due to producers trying to cut costs by screwing him over. Munson notes that despite Ashton coming up with almost 300 concepts for the make-up look the studio wanted to go with more recognizable designs which became regarded as unimaginative. It’s very crafted together at the last minute which according to Munson it very well could have been due to the tight restrictions on budget and time for the project. In addition to these makeup snafus the plot breaks continuity with the prior 2 Frankenstein films Hammer produced. Using just a flashback they divert entirely from the other films by making an alternate backstory for Victor. Needless to say, it wasn’t received nearly as well as the other 2 films and is more of a miss for the studio. Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster (1965)... ...was filmed the same year that the Evil of Frankenstein came out and released the following year. In a diversion from the other films this one doesn’t feature the creature/monster or Frankenstein, taking place in completely different settings with entirely unrelated characters. The plot is: an android robot, Frank, is made partially from human parts and proceeds to terrorize an island of people following damage he sustains during a space battle. Following the death of all women on Mars due to atomic war–something of great concern in 1964–Martian royalty decide to come to Earth and steal Earth’s women. The women abduction is considered a subplot to Frank the space robot being awful and in the end himself and a Martian invasion force mutant battle to the death–killing each other. Reviews from fans and critics alike have considered it, “off-beat, not to be taken seriously, and cheesy” and isn’t included in all Frankenstein lists for clear reasons. This film is a stark example of horror movies mirroring the fears of society. Only 2 years following The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, the closest that the Soviet Union and the US had come to nuclear war, the use of those fears in the plot of the film makes sense from a studio standpoint. Unfortunately, the connection to current times didn’t save its lackluster connection to the series or overall cringe. Prince of Darkness (1966)... ...is the 3rd film in the Dracula series from Hammer and Christopher Lee returns for his role as Count Dracula after being absent from the successful Brides of Dracula. Directed by Fisher and written by Sansom and Elder, it opens with the final scene of Dracula when Van Helsing defeats the Count by exposing him to sunlight. There wouldn’t be a movie without a misguided visit to Count Dracula’s castle–the Kents, a family on vacation are those visitors this go around. They’re left on the side of the road by their driver on the journey to the castle and are picked up by a driverless carriage from the castle like a Haunted Mansion ride at Disney. Greeted by a servant, Klove played by Phillip Latham, there is already a table set for the family upon their arrival to the castle. The family learns that the Count had ordered the castle be ready for strangers at all times, which he honors despite the Count’s death. Things couldn’t be going better for the Kents at this point, almost too good. Alan, one of the Kents, played by Charles ‘Bud’ Tingwell–an actor who’s appeared in over 100 movies, follows Klove down into the crypt that night like an idiot. Klove is no joke and kills Alan then uses Alan’s blood to resurrect Dracula from his ashes. Klove then gets Helen, played by Barbara Shelley, to come to the crypt and there Dracula drains her of blood, revived and full now. The other Kent family members wake the next day confused as to where their loved ones have gone in the night. Charles, played by Francis Matthews, goes looking for Alan and finds him right as the sun sets–leaving him in Dracula’s clutches. Diana, played by Suzan Farmer, is looking for Helen and finds her as a vampire that attacks Diana until Dracula stops it. Dracula and Charles get into a struggle but Charles improvises a large crucifix which allows him and Diana to escape in a carriage. After crashing on their dash away Diana is badly injured and Charles carries her through the woods until the town’s priest finds them and takes them to his abbey. Klove also arrives shortly with a wagon containing Dracula and Helen’s coffins requesting entry that he is denied. At the abbey a patient is a slave to Dracula however so denying Klove didn’t matter and that patient lets Dracula in. Helen is also able to gain entry by convincing Diana, whom Helen recently attacked, to let Helen in through Diana’s window. Diana is a fool and believes her claims that she’d run away from Dracula, now seeking refuge but the moment she’s inside she bites Diana. Scuffles ensue between various parties with various motivations like that of Dracula to have Diana as his bride. The priest is able to catch Helen and stake her but the patient accomplice has now brought Diana to Dracula. Dracula uses his powers to make her take off her cross and makes her drink blood from his chest. Before this can finish Charles is back and Dracula takes off with an unconscious Diana. Charles and the priest then follow on horseback, getting ahead of Dracula and stopping him. Dracula’s coffin, in the carriage, ends up on the ice-covered moat below the castle and when Charles tries to stake they battle. The priest then shoots at the ice in order to break it and after being rescued by Diana, Charles is safe but Dracula sinks into the icy water trapped in his coffin. Despite the Dracula dependent plot Christopher Lee has no written dialogue in the script for the film. A Moira Reviews synopsis of the film states that Christopher Lee hadn’t wanted to return to the Hammer films until he’d “established himself as a serious actor first” and notes that Lee says his lack of dialogue was a choice on his part due to the awful dialogue written for him in the script. The same review argues the point that the lack of dialogue made Dracula more animalistic and thus makes him a quote-unquote “tiger in a cage, prowling and roaring, but never getting to pounce.” Frank Collins wrote a Medium piece, “Dracula Prince of Darkness (1966): Director Terence Fisher revives Christopher Lee’s Dracula for Hammer’s lush, atmospheric sequel” where he states that Anthony Nelson Keys wanted to use the same set and actors for this film as had been used for a Rasputin film in order to cut costs. Many in the studio world raised concerns and objections to things like the ritualistic murder of Alan to revive Dracula and murder scenes wrought with blood and screaming (Collins). Fears that things in the film would be anti-Christian became inconsequential when films like Dracula hit the box office and far outperformed expectations. Frankenstein Created Woman (1967)... ...is the 4th film in the Hammer Frankenstein series and marks the return of Terence Fisher and Anthony Hinds collaborating on a Frankenstein movie. This movie follows Evil of Frankenstein and stars Peter Cushing as Baron Victor Frankenstein, Robert Morris as Hans, Susan Denberg as Christina Kleve, and Thorley Walters as Dr. Hertz. Originally the film was a follow-up to The Revenge of Frankenstein in 1958 but didn’t go into production until 1966. Following the guillotine death of Hans’ father he finds himself working as Victor’s assistant after Victor survived the castle's demise. Victor and Dr. Hertz, his associate, are attempting to find a way to trap a soul and then transfer it into a recently deceased body and bring it to life. He ends up getting into a bar fight to defend Christina, a deformed woman who is the daughter of an innkeeper. At this inn a group of assholes had been taunting her but Hans slices his face and the innkeeper calls the authorities. The guys who gave Christina a hard time end up breaking into the inn later that night and beat the innkeeper to death when he catches them. Christina and Hans spend a night together and she goes off to a doctor the next day completely unaware of what’s gone on at the inn. The town blames Hans for Kleve’s death upon discovering his beaten body and recalling Hans threatening Kleve when he broke up the fight the night before. Hans is arrested and refuses to say that he had been with Christina–which would provide him an alibi for the murder. Hans ends up being executed because he won’t tell them his whereabouts and the trial had been rigged against him. Rather than be distraught by the injustice wrought upon his assistant, good ol’ Victor seizes the opportunity to snatch Hans’ soul and collect his body. When Christina comes back to town she sees Hans being hung for his crimes and jumps into the river. Villagers get her body out of the river and bring it to Hertz who then with the help of Victor transfers Hans’ trapped soul into Christina’s body. They are able to cure her physical deformities with long term treatments and she ends up not remembering her past life. Kept in Hertz’s house Victor is adamant that she not be informed about her past lives. She eventually realizes her identity but is then possessed by Hans who seeks revenge for his wrongful death. Christina then murders 2 of the men that were involved in Hans’ execution at his behest to which Victor and Hertz get concerned and bring her to the same guillotine that Hans and his father were executed on. Christina ends up drowning herself again after recollecting Hans’ father’s death and murdering the 3rd man whom killed Kleve and ruined Hans’ life. Victor is sad about the outcome of things, more so because of the experiments than her anguish. The film ends with him walking away, pondering. Frankenstein Created Woman is a much more complex story than that of The Evil of Frankenstein and it’s been lauded as a good move that Created Woman diverged from Evil without referencing back to it, leaving it as a weird side-step for the franchise. Scream Horror Mag article “Frankenstein Created Woman” Film Review” posted January 25th, 2016 states that the film's title in combination with the X rating made audiences believe it would be more exploitative but that the film raised expectations. Although shocking at the time, not much that occurs in the film is shocking today and it is one of the more interesting plots that I’d actually want to be re-created in modern form. Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968)... ...is the 3rd film that features Christopher Lee as Dracula and 4th Dracula film in the HF series. Freddie Francis directed, the same man who directed The Evil of Frankenstein, and it opens with a Monsignor played by Rupert Davies, Ernst Mueller. A young woman’s body is discovered in the church, seemingly a victim of Dracula. It’s one year following the events of the last Dracula film and he’s regarded as destroyed. Mueller comes to town, as he normally would, only to find that the altar boy who discovered the woman is mute and the priest of that church has lost his faith, neither much help. Villagers have stopped attending Mass and believe that things that the shadow of Dracula’s castle touches should be avoided. Mueller isn’t having this and he goes to exorcise the castle. The priest comes part way up the mountain with Mueller but is too frightened to continue on with him. Mueller exorcises the castle by chanting scripture and placing a large, metal cross on the entrance. When this happens a thunderstorm pops off which frightens the priest who starts running down the forested hills and falls, knocked unconscious with a bleeding head wound. The priest doesn’t see that his blood is trickling down into a crack in the frozen stream below and perfectly onto Dracula’s lips. This revives Dracula and the village's fears are officially actualized. After Mueller assures everyone that things are Gucci he goes home to his widowed sister in law Anna. Back at the village Dracula is in control of the town’s priest and is raving mad that he can no longer enter his castle due to Mueller’s exorcism of the property. Once they arrive at Mueller’s hometown Dracula decides he’ll exact revenge on the Monsignor by taking his niece, Maria. Dracula puts a town girl, Zena, under his spell and attempts to get her to lure Maria to him but she’s rescued by her boyfriend Paul. Due to the failure Dracula kills Zena and makes the priest destroy her body so she can’t become a vampire. Dracula then just climbs over roofs, enters Maria’s room, and intends to bite her once they discern her whereabouts. Mueller catches him in the act and a chase ensues and the priest takes Mueller out, requiring him to receive care from Anna when he gets home. Mueller requests that Paul the boyfriend save Maria and gives him a book that has all the protections and defeat methods against vampires but dies due to the wounds sustained in the chase. No one knows that the priest is under Dracula’s control so Paul enlists his aid in saving Maria. The priest then attacks Paul but is defeated by Paul and is forced to lead Paul to Dracula’s lair. They both try to stake Dracula but can’t due to one being faithless and the other being atheist. Due to this Dracula just gets up and takes the stake out. He abducts Maria and takes off out of the castle with both the priest and Paul chasing after them. Once Dracula arrives at the castle he makes Maria take the cross from the door and she throws it below into a ravine where it lands upright. Paul arrives then and a fight breaks out between him and Dracula, resulting in Dracula being thrown over the side into the ravine and is impaled by the upright cross. Once freed from Dracula’s influence the priest recites a prayer and Dracula dissolves into dust. Paul has now regained his faith and displays this by doing the cross on himself after reuniting with Maria. Despite critics' lack of enthusiasm for what they saw as just another Hammer Dracula film it is the highest grossing Hammer film. While critics felt that Hammer provided nothing that they haven’t already but in tackier fashion audiences didn’t find that it fell into as many clichés as anticipated. Audiences also found it to be modern with many regarding it the best of the series. Blood of Dracula’s Castle (1969)... ...is taking us back to America; considered a B-movie, it's directed by Al Adamson and Jean Hewitt and written by Rex Carlton. Released by Crown International Pictures, the film heavily played into tropes in the marketing. The straight forward plot of the film centers around a couple named the Townsends living in Arizona whom are actually Count and Countess Dracula and vampires. Due to some property changes a young couple, Glen and Liz, are coming to move into the castle which the Townsends are living in. They become stranded at the castle and rely on the kindness of the Townsends which is actually self-serving. The Townsends lure girls to the castle for their butler George to drain and create Bloody Mary cocktails for them. In the basement George and a hunchback also into the employment of the Townsends have women chained, ready to be drained of blood and/or sacrificed to a god. Once Glen witnesses a sacrifice being murdered Dracula and his wife attempt to get him to sell them the castle which is not successful. A battle ensues which ends with everyone but the couple dead and having decided to not live at the castle after all. It’s an exploitative installation in the overall pool of Dracula renditions that isn’t connected to other universes or adaptations. More than a handful of films like this existed at the time and are still made today, B-films that rely on the basic framing of the Dracula story to display a perverse version of vampirism without as much unique thought. Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969)... ...is returning to Hammer Films and feels like safety after the brief traverse to Dracula’s bloody castle in Arizona. As the 5th Frankenstein film it features Peter Cushing reprising his role as Baron Victor, Simon Ward playing Dr. Karl Holst, Veronica Carlson playing Anna Spengler, Freddie Jones as The Creature, George Pravda as Dr. Brandt, Maxine Audley as Ella Brandt, and Thorley Walters as Inspector Frisch. Directed by Fisher and written by Bert Batt and Anthony Nelson Keys the plot opens with Victor decapitating a doctor in an underground lab. A thief interrupts this however and horrified he reports the incident with the head to Inspector Frisch. We learn Victor is using an alias to rent a room at a boarding house from Anna who is the fiancé to Karl Host. Host is a doctor at an asylum that Victor’s assistant Frederick Brandt had been committed to. Victor catches Karl stealing narcotics and blackmails him into helping him get Brandt out of the asylum, which he must do in order to get the secret formula he needs for his experiments. Karl and Victor go on to steal equipment they need but are caught by a guard that Karl goes on to kill. Since Victor witnesses this crime he uses it to force Karl to abduct Brandt from the asylum, collecting blackmail victims left and right. Karl confesses to his fiance Anna about murdering a guard and worries that she’ll go down too. After running into issues getting the brain and body for the experiment for seemingly no reason Victor rapes Anna. This has nothing to do with the experiments and the next day Victor transplants Brandt’s brain into Richter’s body. Him and Karl end up burying Brandt’s body in their yard. Victor, Anna, the Creature, and Karl go to an abandoned manor house while the police are investigating, the Creature still recovering from the procedure. When the Creature awakes he’s horrified by how he looks and is stabbed by Anna after he scares her and he escapes. After Victor learns that the creature is gone he is pissed and kills Anna before going after the Creature. The Creature attempts to go back home but his wife doesn’t accept him and this leaves him wanting nothing but revenge on Victor. The Creature traps Karl and Victor inside with a fire he’s set but Victor manages to find what he needs and tries to get out of there. Karl stops him however and they get into a fight, the creature joining said fight shortly after. The Creature knocks Carl out and then takes Victor back inside the burning house to perish. Cushing and Freddie Jones received praise for their performances and are said to be high notes of the film. The plot was well received despite being rather similar to earlier Frankenstein Hammer films. As the last film in this video from these 2 decades it leaves off on a note that could also sum up my feelings–there didn’t need to be a woman in the plot but the one that is included gets abused, raped, and then murdered in a rage. At the same time that the treatment towards women becomes more violent and unnecessary the outfits become more revealing, like sideshows used to appeal to male audiences. Section 2: The 1970's Overview According to History.com the 1970s continued many of the battles for equal rights that began in the 60s. Alongside the battle for equal protections and opportunities for all America waged foreign wars that garnered protests at home, like the Vietnam war. In response to this progressive tug a “New Right” formed that claimed to focus on quote-unquote “political conservatism and traditional family roles,” the politics of today feeling like an echo of such times. Pop culture started to become even more ingratiated with serious, public life after visits like that of Elvis Presley to the Nixon White House in December 1970 began, something commonplace today. Earlier that same year the Ohio National Guard had opened fire on students protesting the Vietnam War, killing 4 and wounding 9 others, the government turning against its own people. These 2 events show the contrast of the time between the public image and the reality of life in America. England faced its own upheaval with the start of The Troubles in 1972 following British soldiers firing on protestors in Northern Ireland who opposed British rule. The Watergate Scandal with President Nixon then permanently marred the time, a scandal from the group of people claiming that others are being scandalous. The US federal government continued to lose support and confidence from both its constituents, allies, and foes alike during the decade. Much of what we recognize, know, and feel today either originated in the 70s or also happened during that time. Places like Disney World hadn’t existed prior to 1971 and advanced technology like calculators could be carried in one's pocket at an affordable price for the first time in 1973. Conflicts of this time were aplenty alongside the technological advancements, many of which we still deal with the ramifications of today or have people in our lives who went through the atrocities. Events like the Vietnam War, Cambodian Genocide, the Jonestown massacre, assassination of Harvey Milk and subsequent attack on the queer community, the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in Pennsylvania, and Iran hostage crisis are well remembered and infamous today, the fears still reverberating and lingering from these events. A varied time produced varied media consumption, including horror films of particular style and appeal like that of Hammer and new adaptations like Blacula and Blackenstein specifically appealing to Black audiences. Film industry and studios making horror films. While the world became tumultuous both figuratively and literally horror and sci-fi movies boomed. Famous, iconic and genre defining movies like The Exorcist (1973), The Wicker Man (1973), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), The Omen (1976), Carries (1976), Jaws (1975), Dawn of the Dead (1978), Halloween (1978), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), and Alien (1979) just to name some of them. The seventies still hasn’t let us or the film industry go, even today 50 years later–still inspiring reprisals, reboots, and sequels of the same tales. From the 50’s-70’s movies transitioned dramatically–from mostly black and white in the 50’s to mostly color in the 70’s, from modest outfits in the 50’s to more voluptuous looks in the 70’s, from referenced to gore and sexual violence in the 50’s to what would be considered NC-17 at the time as far as gore, sex, and violence by the end of the seventies. The norm of women being side characters to men’s stories continued but became more overtly sexual and Black people became the tellers of their own versions of horror tales like the original Blacula. Individual Movie Titles Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)... ...is the first Dracula film that came out in the 70’s, directed by Peter Sasdy and written by John Elder. Christopher Lee is back as Count Dracula and shortly after this film’s release Scars of Dracula came out the same year, also from Hammer Films. Taste the Blood came out as a double with Crescendo, a psychological thriller horror film. Starting off 3 men, William played by Geoffrey Keen, Samuel played by Peter Sallis, and Jonathan played by John Carson are at a brothel under the guise of charity. They are awestruck by a man who comes in and commands respect and immediate services. He’s Lord Courtley played by Ralph Bates and they learn he has been disinherited for doing a Satanic celebratory ritual long ago. Courtley instructs them to buy Dracula’s ring so they can have an unforgettable time. They agree, collect the items like a Skyrim quest and return them to Courtley at an abandoned church where he intends to perform a ceremony. The 3 men aren’t down for the mixing and drinking of blood that the ceremony calls for which doesn’t deter Courtley from drinking the mixture. Courtley is messed up by it and grabs William’s leg which causes the 3 men to beat him to death and run. The abandoned body of Courtley then transforms into Dracula and he vows to seek revenge on the 3 men who just killed his servant. It’s revealed that William is a drunk who mistreats his daughter, Alice, in part due to her relationship with Samuel’s son Paul. Dracula hypnotizes her and commands her to grab a shovel and use it to kill her father. William is found dead the next day and when Alice attends the funeral she catches the attention of Lucy, Paul’s sister and Samuel’s daughter. Later that night Alice and Lucy enter the church only for Dracula to be waiting and he turns Lucy into a vampire. Samuel grabs Johnathan and they go to the church only to find Lucy in a coffin there and Samuel stops Jonathan from staking her by shooting at him. Lucy and Dracula awake before she is staked by anyone and she bites her fiancé upon seeing him, making him enslaved to her. She uses this newfound enslavement to order him to kill his father, Jonathan. She tries to beg Dracula for approval post-bite and he is not pleased, killing her. Dracula intends to bite Alice then but must return to his coffin first. The fiancé is arrested for Johnathan’s death and when Paul goes to defend him he finds a letter from Johnathan that details how to defend against vampires. Paul then protects the church with a crucifix and removes all of the Black Mass materials. Dracula ends up inside the church after a chase from Paul and Alice and since it’d been restored he dissolves back into dust after falling on the altar with the correct altar objects. Received rather well, Taste the Blood, is another successful Dracula film in the Hammer Productions series. The occult aspects played well despite earlier films receiving criticism from execs and board members about the use of quote-unquote “Satanic imagery” in the movies. Set in England this adds to the trend picking up steam: adapting well-regarded stories and characters to other settings and time periods. Scars of Dracula (1970)... ...came out the same year, as mentioned before but is directed by Roy Ward Baker and written by Anthony Hinds. Despite an alternative director and writer Lee returns as Count Dracula. This film marks the most that Lee speaks since the original Dracula Hammer film and he’s said the performance more closely aligns with the novel than other Hammer Dracula films. Scars of Dracula breaks the continuity in the Dracula series by having the Count’s body in his castle in Transylvania for his resurrection rather than his ashes being in the London church where they’d been at the end of the prior film, Taste the Blood. Scars opens in Dracula’s with a bat coming in through a window and hovering over where Dracula’s ashes are. The bat regurgitates blood onto the ashes and once it hits the ashes a reaction starts and voila Dracula is now resurrected. He goes right back to murdering the locals which rightfully angers the villagers who get a priest's blessing to burn Dracula’s castle down. Dracula doesn’t die in this fire however, as he is in a solid stone chamber (palm to forehead on that one). The villagers, unaware of their mishap, return to find the women of the village are dead, slaughtered by vampire bats in the church–which is wild. Sidestepping momentarily we meet Paul Carson played by Dennis Waterman, a sexually fluid man who is falsely accused of rape. After he flees he ends up at the castle and is welcomed by Dracula and a woman named Tania played by Anouska Hempel, a woman imprisoned by Dracula as his mistress who Paul then sleeps with for some reason. She tries to bite Paul when they hook up and Dracula appears, not bothered by Paul’s attempts to intervene, and stabs Tania in the heart for her betrayal. After Dracula drinks Tania’s blood Klove dismembers her and dissolves her in acid and Paul is imprisoned in the castle. Paul’s brother, Simon, and his fiancé come looking for him, Dracula immediately wanting Sarah to be his. Klove comes to the aid of the couple due to having feelings for the fiancé and helps them escape. Klove is then punished harshly by Dracula and displays loyalty to Dracula again. Meanwhile Simon brought a priest to aid in getting Paul out of the castle and he is killed by a vampire bat, leading to Simon’s imprisonment with Paul. In the center of the room is Dracula’s coffin and Simon is unable to stake him due to Dracula using his powers to knock him unconscious. When he wakes Dracula is gone and Paul is completely drained, brutally displayed on a spike. Due to an approaching storm Sarah has made her way back to the castle also and Dracula uses his bat to remove her crucifix, leaving her vulnerable. Klove then attacks Dracula with the knife that Dracula used to kill Tania but is thrown off the side of the castle. In a dramatic sequence Simon, who escaped with Klove’s help, takes a metal spike and throws it at Dracula, impaling him through the torso but missing his heart. Since it did miss Dracula is a-okay and pulls the spike out, readying it to stab Simon with until it’s struck by lightning that causes him to burst into flames. He falls off the side after catching on fire and dies, his body still on fire and burning at the end. Scars is not well liked by critics, many not taking to the overt sexual and violent aspects. It’s considered to be quote-unquote “one of the weaker films in the Hammer Dracula cycle,” according to Monthly Film Bulletin. The increased blood and violence didn’t go over well with a plot that felt generic for a Hammer Dracula film at this point in the series. The Horror of Frankenstein (1970)... ...came out as a double bill with Scars of Dracula and is also a Hammer Films production. In a diversion from the norm however Cushing isn’t present and rather Ralph Bates plays the part of Baron Victor Frankenstein. Directed by Jimmy Sangster and co-written by him and Jeremy Burnham it’s the only Frankenstein Hammer film that Cushing is absent from. Bates’ Victor Frankenstein is an asshole–he is a genius but also egotistic Lothario of sorts who is sent over the edge when his father tells him he can no longer do anatomy experiments. This is very Greatest Freakout Ever overreaction but Victorian so he sabotages his father’s gun so that it kills him. With his dad dead he becomes the Baron of the lands, inheriting all the Frankenstein’s had. With that money he goes to med school in Vienna. In Vienna he messes around and finds out, getting the dean’s daughter pregnant and having to flee home. Back home he sets up a lab in his castles and begins experimenting on the dead in attempts to bring the dead back to life. As goes the Frankenstein tale he collects human parts to form a creature that he then brings to life. In this version the creature goes around murdering people. Unfortunately for the creature it accidentally causes its own demise and rids the townspeople of the issue at hand. Part of the motivation behind Bates taking the titular role was Hammer Films attempt at making him a star for the company. This is noted as a reason for the changes to Frankenstein’s personality that made him far more calculated and methodical in his approach to his experiments that lack all empathy rather than erratic and selfishly misguided but remorseful of his wrongdoing like Sangster’s version of the character. Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971)... ...released in the UK under the title Blood of Frankenstein, is an American film directed by Al Adamson and written by Willam Pugsley and Sam Sherman. In very American fashion, rather than be about Victor Frankenstein directly it’s about a descendant of his, Dr. Durea played by J. Carrol Naish. One of the OG Universal Monsters himself, Lon Chaney Jr., plays Durea’s assistant Groton. Dr. Durea is confined to a wheelchair and somewhat of a quote-unquote “mad scientist” who has a secret lab set up behind a place called the Creature Emporium that is on the Santa Monica boardwalk. The Creature Emporium is a sideshow styled haunted house exhibit that is part of the larger amusement park. Durea sucks somehow more than his forefathers because he and Groton are just murdering young women to use them in experiments rather than graverobbing or theft. Rather than bringing the dead back to life like Frankenstein he seeks to develop a serum that will be a cure-all that simultaneously cures his paralysis and allows Groton to speak. The Creature Emporium employees are in on this set up, specifically Grazbo, the ticket taker. Zandor Vorkov as Count Dracula approaches Durea with a bargain to exchange Frankenstein’s monster for Durea’s serum in hopes it will make him impervious to sunlight and the monster can be researched. Durea does revive the monster and then the monster and Dracula are sent on an errand to exact revenge on Dr. Beaumont, who Durea blames for his pain and suffering. A showgirl then arrives, Judith played by Regina Carrol, who’s looking for her sister. This is an interconnected side quest; however, as she ends up entangled with a group led by a person called Strange who she believes is involved with her sister’s disappearance. She's unable to get police to help her however and ends up dosed with LSD at a bar that causes her to be abducted by Strange and a girl to some older hippie. After agreeing to help her find her sister they all go to the Creature Emporium–a known spot that Joanie, the sister, frequented (which is weird, just going constantly to the same haunted house). No one helps them however and they are told Joanie isn’t there and hasn’t been seen. Meanwhile the monster continues to abduct women for Durea and also murder police officers in the process. Groton saves Strange’s girlfriend, Samantha, from a bike gang only to take her to Durea’s lab instead. For some reason Judith and an older hippie named Mike, get together and break into Durea’s lab via the trap door. He informs them that not only are the missing women in fact dead but they are preserved in his lab and that they died frightened. Durea explains that their fear created a blood enzyme that is an essential part of his serum and taunts that he’ll have a great addition from Judith’s blood upon her seeing Mike’s death. The couple flee and Groton and Grazbo go after the couple at Durea’s command but the ticket taker is killed after falling through the trap door. Groton is then shot by the police whom have just arrived and Durea falls to his death in a guillotine when he’s trying to escape. Dracula and the monster then arrive and Dracula hypnotizes Judith to have a reason to exist in the movie. When Judith wakes up she’s about to be turned into Dracula’s bride but luckily the monster is also in love with her and turns against Dracula. He removes Dracula’s ring and they battle, Dracula ripping apart the monster until the sun rises and turns him to ash. Judith is able to get herself free and run away. The production originally wanted John Carradine to play Dracula due to his experience with the company but after being too expensive to hire they cast someone under a stage name for the part. Originally the film hadn’t been a monster horror film but rather a biker gang horror film and production had rented lab props used in the Frankenstein 1931 film. The movie is both Lon Chaney Jr. and J. Carrol Naish’s last performances, both being sick at the time of filming. Their involvement however is said to be an inspiration for adding more horror elements from Dracula and Frankenstein and downplaying the biker gang aspects. It didn’t hurt that the title Dracula v. Frankenstein had been unused at the time–further making the decision to remove biker elements like that of a rival gang obvious creative choices. One challenge and solution after another made the production rather problematic and has garnered criticisms about the acting, the character portrayal of Dracula, and even the lighting. Yet another example of sub-par American monster horror that doesn’t even begin to stand up to the Hammer films that had come before it. Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)... ...is an attempt by Hammer Film Productions to create a quote-unquote “contemporary” version of Dracula, him facing 1970’s London settings and culture rather than late 1800’s Eastern Europe. Directed by Alan Gibson and written by Don Houghton the character is obviously based on the characters Count Dracula and Professor Van Helsing rather than the novel. Christopher Lee returns as Dracula for a 6th time in the series as well as Peter Cushing for the first time together in the series since 1958. Opening in 1872 London the Count and Van Helsing fight atop a carriage that crashes and Dracula is then impaled with one of the wheel spokes and Van Helsing utilizes this to fully stake him. Van Helsing then also dies from his own wounds shortly thereafter, both defeated by one another. Fast forward to 1972, 100 years after this battle and a descendent of Van Helsing, Jessica, and Johnny Alucard whom resembles Dracula’s associate are 2 of a group of hippies hanging out. Alucard suggests everyone attend a Black Mass, which we have seen in the series before and know it comes to no good ends for non-vampires. They go to an abandoned church where Alucard cuts a member of the group as part of the ritual, causing everyone to flee. Dracula resurrects as a result of the ritual and kills the member that Alucard had cut, draining her of blood. The police start investigating once they find the members body and believe it’s occult related. The inspector goes to Lorrimer, Jessica’s grandfather and occult expert, who connects the murders to vampires, specifically Count Dracula. Lorimer and Alucard get into a fight at Alucard’s apartment and Alucard kills himself by mistake, another main character that doesn't necessarily kill anyone but death just befalls those that are coming after them. The Black Mass church is found by Lorrimer and he sets a trap to catch Dracula that Jessica, now under Dracula’s control, ruins. Lorrimer thinks fast and throws holy water on Dracula, causing him to burn and then fall into a pit of wooden stakes he’d set. Using a shovel he further pushes Dracula into the stakes and he turns to ash. With Dracula defeated Jessica returns to herself and hugs her grandfather–a title card appearing “Rest in Final Peace” which feels like a cheesy way to play that Dracula is really-really gone this time. The film is one of two that Warner paid Hammer Films to create that would be Dracula films set in the modern day. Aside from the characters the story is inspired by the Highgate Vampire case, a time in 1970’s England of reported supernatural activity at the Highgate Cemetery. It breaks continuity also with new lore about Dracula that places him in an entirely different country facing an entirely unfollowed demise at Van Helsing’s hands. The attempts to appeal to modern audiences fell flat and transparent, like bought and paid for projects…oops. The concept doesn’t suck but the cringe definitely does, it isn’t hard to see where the blueprints for many horror, Dracula, and vampire jokes came from. Blacula (1972)... ...came out the same year that A.D. 1972 did and is the first ever blaxploitation horror film. The subgenre Blaxploitation started around this time, the early 1970’s, and originally pertained to a type of action movie aimed at Black people taking Black stories back. By the 1970’s more abstract ideas of activism like reclaiming culture became larger topics of discussion in the Black community following the civil rights movement and the beginning-of-the-end to racial segregation in America. The genre and thus movies like Blacula are partly a direct response to the portrayal of Black people in race films of the 40’s and 50’s, as generally side characters, villains, or criminals. Rather than being the antagonist or in the background, Blaxploitation films aimed to put black characters as the protagonists of stories about their lives. Originally the films had been produced for Black audiences in the USA but mainstream found profitability in the genre, being low budget to produce, and then adapted the genre for wider audiences aka White-Americans at the time. Two examples in a Wikipedia article on the genre are Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song 1971 and Shaft 1971 as 2 mainstream Blaxploitation projects often mocked for how brazenly offensive they are. Produced by American International Productions, owned by Amazon MGM today, Blacula was directed by William Crain, one of the first Black filmmakers who’s actually still alive today. He is part of the L.A. Rebellion, a generation of young black filmmakers who graduated from the 60’s to 80’s UCLA film school. The main character of the film is Mamuwalde played by William Marshall. Opening in 1780 Transylvania, Mamuwalde is traveling to Count Dracula’s castle and we learn that he’s an African prince who wants Dracula to help him suppress the slave trade. Dracula sucks so refuses and instead hits on Mamuwalde’s wife to which a fight ensues between Mamuwalde and Dracula’s people. Mamuwalde gets bit by Dracula and thus transformed into a vampire but Dracula curses him with the name Blacula and seals him in a coffin beneath the castle. Lula, his wife, is trapped in the room that the coffin is in and left to die. Fast forward to 1972 and 2 decorators purchase the sealed coffin and open it. They are the first 2 people that Blacula consumes and he goes to spy on the funeral of one of the men he killed, instantly liking Tina, one of his friends. He believes that Tina is Luva reincarnated and another of the decorators' friends, Thomas, connects the strangeness of their friend’s deaths with occult lore. Scaring and chasing Tina, Blacula is then hit by a cab, and then kills the driver Juanita Jones, and turns her into a vampire. Blacula and Tina end up together after he explains everything, including Dracula’s curse and his vampirism. Eventually Thomas figures out that Blacula is the vampire that must be responsible for all the deaths, knowing police are looking for his coffin. Blacula ends up taking Tina to a secondary hideout after the first is raided by police, having been full of vampires that Blacula and others have created so far. An officer accidentally shoots Tina and Blacula makes her a vampire to save her only for the cop to stake her. In response Blacula commits suicide via sun exposure and both Thomas and the cop watch on as a gruesome rotting of flesh occurs before he’s just a skeleton. Only opening in 4 cities originally and a 5th one a few days after, the film had been marketed to black audiences with some questionable referencing in the materials like posters. It ended up being one of the highest grossing films of 1972 and is credited with inspiring other Blaxploitation horror films. While at the time audiences left with mixed feelings it won Best Horror Film at the Saturn Awards, the first of its honor followed by The Exorcist the following year. Following the success of this film a sequel was ordered to be titled Scream Blacula Scream and released just one year later in 1973. Scream Blacula Scream (1973)... ...the sequel to Blacula is also produced by American International Pictures and Power Productions, but directed by Bob Kelljan and written by Joan Torres, Raymond Koenig, and Maurice Jules. William H. Marshall returns as Mamuwalde aka Blacula but we open on a Voodoo queen named Mama Loa whom makes an apprentice, Lisa played by Pam Grier, her successor rather than her son, Willis. Willis decides he wants revenge, which is probably a sign she’d made the right choice in not picking him. He purchases Blacula’s bones from a cult shaman and uses them to resurrect Blacula but unfortunately for him the vampire bites him and Willis is not only a vampire now but a slave to Blacula. Murders ensue and Justin, played by Don Mitchell investigates these murders, meeting up with Blacula at a party he hosts to view his African artifacts, some of which belonged to Luva–Blacula’s wife. Lisa ends up being Justin’s girlfriend and she learns of Blacula’s vampirism when he turns her friend Gloria into a vampire who tries to kill her until Blacula intervenes. He asks that Lisa cure him of his vampirism and barricades her at his lair under the protection of his vampire minions so she can work on that. Lisa finds and starts a ritual to cure Blacula and the cops plus Justin show up at the house and battle the vampire minions, including Willis, who is killed during the battle. Justin stops the ritual and Lisa refuses to proceed when she sees Blacula kill officers who have broken into the house. Once Lisa rejects him he decides to Vampire Diaries style turn his humanity off, and attacks Justin until Lisa stabs Blacula’s ritual voodoo doll with a wooden arrow repeatedly, defeating him. If it feels slightly under-done to you, you wouldn’t be alone. This film didn’t make nearly as much money for the studio and received criticism for being too similar to White-American counterpart renditions of Dracula rather than the creative take that drew in Black audiences. It should be noted that this film was directed by a White-American man and was ranked quote-unquote “Worst Blaxploitation Movie” of all time by a 1980 book on the subject. Receiving 1.5 out of 4 from famous critic Roger Ebert, everyone could agree it definitely had less dazzle if not more noted polish than the first film. The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973)... ...is one of the movies Hammer Films released that same year and is the final in the series with Christopher Lee playing Dracula but not the final Dracula film quite yet. Directed by Alan Gibson and written by Don Houghton the story randomly centers around Secret Service agencies. Peter Cushing plays Lorrimer Van Helsing who is approached as an occult expert to aid an off-the-books Scotland Yard investigation into 4 prominent figures photographed by an agent. One of the photos is of an empty doorway which ends up being Dracula, unbeknownst to the agencies at first. There is a roller coaster of an investigation that leads Jessica, Lorrimer’s granddaughter, to discovering a den of female vampires. They attempt to feed on her but Murray, played by Michael Coles, busts in and kills one and escapes with Jessica. Van Helsing is with Julian Keeley played by Freddie Jones who is researching bubonic plague with the funding of a D.D. Denham. The spot that Denham works out of is built on top of the place Dracula died in the previous movie and Van Helsing visits to confirm his suspicions that he’s really Dracula. Van Helsing tries to take him out but Dracula decides rather than killing him he will imprison him which causes Jessica to come looking for him. She ends up being picked as Dracula’s next wife and Dracula announces that he plans to usher in the apocalypse which shocks his minions momentarily, them not having believed he’d actually push the button and rather just tease it. Van Helsing ends up staking Dracula in the end and the virus, which he does expose and start spreading, is cleansed in fire along with those infected after a computer smashing causes the fire to start. Jessica is rescued somewhere in there and in the end Van Helsing collects Dracula’s ring from his ash pile–defeated once again. For being so powerful he is simultaneously so weak, it’s giving Christian bible teachings. This didn’t razzle audiences which is fair as it’s the seventh Dracula movie and the umpteenth Hammer horror movie about a Universal Monster. Christopher Lee was not the biggest fan of the circumstances surrounding the film. Although not considered as bad as Satanic Rites it’s definitely not loved. Blackenstein (1973)... ...let’s get this over with: a Black soldier, Eddie Walker, played by Joe De Sue loses both arms and legs in Vietnam and his fiance Dr. Winifred Walker played by Ivory Stone, thinks Doctor Stein played by John Hart, can help him since he recently won a Nobel Prize for physiology and genetic coding. Stein lives in LA and Winifred sees the patients who have had miracle-like-successes in Stein’s care but notices some issues like a tiger patterned leg that Stein dismisses. Despite Stein being a white-American doctor he has a Black assistant named Malcomb who takes a liking to Winifred. Due to Walker being abused by white orderlies at the VA hospital he readily agrees to take part in Stein’s experiments. Stein gives Eddie replacement arms via his special DNA serum and Malcomb tells them he likes Winifred only to be rejected. Malcomb sabotages Eddie’s next treatment and he becomes a Black Frankenstein but with a square afro and is also a cannibal. Doberman Pinschers end up killing Eddie as Black Frankenstein after he goes around LA killing victims in brutal ways. The things that are made quote-unquote “more black” are things that don’t feel genuine, the whole thing comes off as a gimmick. It’s a ploy rather than a version like Blacula and Dracula. Having dogs attack and kill the monster at the end and the victims being blonde women it’s very clear what arena of tropes the film fed into and the ignorance that those are very clearly based in. Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974)... ...is the 9th and final Hammer Dracula film that is a martial arts horror film. Directed by Roy Ward Baker and Chang Cheh it was written by Don Houghton. Filmed in Hong Kong the director has said it’s a terrible film and made some off-color remarks about the kung-fu specialists they brought on. Starting in 1804 Transylvania following a monk visiting Dracula. He’s a priest at the Temple of the Seven Golden Vampire and informs them that their power is fading and that Dracula can restore said power, which he asks for. Dracula wants to escape his castle via the monk’s body in exchange, and he does just that despite not getting consent. A 100 years later, give or take, Van Helsing, a professor is lecturing at Chungking University about Chinese vampire legends. He talks about a village terrorized in China that was only about to get respite by putting a vampire medallion on a Buddha that caused a vampire to burst into flames upon touching it. Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974)... ...Dracula films aren’t the only ones that Hammer Films made during the 70’s, Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell coming out in 1974. Directed by Terence Fisher it is the last that he directed and the finale to the Frankenstein films from Hammer. Written by John Elder, it opens where the previous film left off, a fire at Frankenstein’s lab that he has survived at the start of this film. Following the fire Victor, played by Cushing, works at an asylum as a surgeon and has weaseled his way into the position by blackmailing the director. Using an alias Victor continues his experiments and even finds a protege in a young doctor, Helder, who’s admitted to the asylum for sorcery and body-snatching. Helder isn’t aware but Victor is collecting body parts for his next creature from murdered patients. The creature he creates is ape-like and he uses a homicidal inmate who attempted suicide as the base body. After putting the hands of a sculptor on his creation with the aid of Sarah, the director’s daughter who went mute after he attempted to assault her. Once the monster is animated and alive it’s angry and resentful in its mute state and starts killing people at the hospital. The monster murders the director but is overpowered by the inmates who then destroy him. This distresses Helder but Victor brushes it off as just another experiment gone awry, already hopping to the next reanimation plan. Obviously Victor intends to murder people and steal their body parts which troubles Helder and Sarah, realizing that Victor won’t stop and has lost all compassion. While critics praised the first part of the film they on a whole thought of it as a disappointing showing from Fisher. The film also failed to generate revenue at the box office, so all-in-all it didn’t go super well. Cushing succeeds in his part as per usual despite waning health at the time, but by this point it became clear that gimmicks and corner cutting that they’d gotten away with in the early days would always win the day in a Hammer horror film. Terror of Frankenstein (1977)... ...is an Aspect produced film distributed by Independent-International Pictures in the US. Directed, written, and produced by Calvin Floyd and Yvonne Floyd. Based on the 1818 Shelley novel it opens in the arctic, Victor Frankenstein played by Leon Vitali is rescued by a ship run by a Captain Walton, played by Mathias Henrikson, whom he shares his story with. His tale begins with him leaving his life to pursue the study of science and alchemy in Germany. Experimenting on animals Victor attempts to determine the meaning of life. Unsatisfied, he turns to experimenting with dead bodies and rebuilds a cadaver. He uses electricity harnessed by a kite in a lightning storm to animate his monster. This rendition has Frankenstein horrified by his creation and when the monster disappears he returns home like nothing happened. As customary the monster follows him home and kills his brother, then explaining to him his journey to Switzerland and his desire to destroy Frankenstein. The monster wants a female companion and Victor agrees once they make terms. After the monster murders additional people Victor refuses to continue helping and the monster is pissed. The monster then murders Victor’s family as he’d promised to do if Victor didn’t create a female companion for him. Victor chased the monster and that led him to the arctic where he ran into Captain Walton. The Captain decides not to continue on his journey to the North Pole after the cautionary tale about Victor’s pursuits. The monster catches up to them however and everyone leaves Frankenstein on board to deal with that. Frankenstein has a heart attack when he comes face to face with the monster and Walton tries to attack the monster only for it to escape. Terror of Frankenstein has only 346 reviews on IMDb to put into perspective popularity and recognition wise where this film falls. The majority of those reviews fall within 4-6 as many of these movies seem to, not awful–actually quite decent, but it doesn’t push past that threshold of decent. One user wrote, “One of the few faithful renditions of Mary Shelley’s novel…That said, the novel and the film are long on talk and short on action,” on Rotten Tomatoes October 25, 2014. Dracula (1979)... ...returns to the gothic elements that the 70’s Dracula films had somewhat lacked, with a goal of making it more romantic the film was advertised as a love story even in its tagline. Directed by John Badham and written by W. D. Richter it’s based on both the 1897 novel and the 1924 stage play of the same name. Frank Langella plays Count Dracula, a famous actor with over 100 credits across movies and television, most notably The Trial of the Chicago 7, The Americans, and Kidding with a production upcoming. Starting in 1913 Yorkshire Dracula gets into town from Transylvania on the Demeter ship on a particularly stormy night which is very ominous. Mina Van Helsing is visiting Lucy Seward and finds Dracula’s body, rescuing him when the ship is in danger. After this Dracula visits Mina at Lucy’s father's house that is also an asylum, they love those asylums. Dracula fits right in with everyone but a jealous Johnathan Harker, Lucy’s fiance who senses something amiss. That very night Dracula drinks Mina’s blood and she’s found struggling to breath by Lucy the next morning. Mina dies right there as Lucy watches on and after Lucy notices the punctures on Lucy’s throat and she blames herself for leaving Mina alone. Mina’s father is Professor Abraham Van Helsing and he’s called over to assist in determining what killed his daughter. He realizes it’s probably a vampire and worries that Mina will become one also. Since Mina had been buried at this point he goes to her grave only to find she’s not there and instead they find her in vampire form. Van Helsing has to destroy her despite being heartbroken. Lucy ends up confessing her love for Dracula at his new home and then becomes infected with his blood. After a blood transfusion she still is becoming a vampire and under Dracula’s spell but more slowly. Jonathan, and the 2 doctors decide they have to kill Dracula to save Lucy so they find his coffin only for him to be able to battle in daylight now. Dracula and Lucy make an escape on his ship in his coffin in the below deck headed for Transylvania and they plan to stake him but are stopped by Lucy. Van Helsing ends up getting staked and dying in the battle that ensues, but before VH dies he throws a hook in a hail mary and they hoist him into the sun once he’s hooked. The year 1979 is notably busy with big vampire flics, and despite this Dracula performed well and received positive response to Langella’s portrayal of Dracula by many. Many liked the return to the source material and general tone that the 70’s had moved away from in favor of a more comedic and psychedelic approach. Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)... ...is another vampire film that came out in 1979 is Nosferatu the Vampyre, a remake (of Nosferatu the movie) that is also an adaptation (of the novel) written and directed by Werner Herzog. Klaus Kinski plays Count Dracula and the film is originally in German. Taking place in 1850 it opens with Harker arriving for his assistance to Dracula and I’m going to leave it at that since the current Nosferatu movie coming out is a remake of the thing this is a remake of slash also Bram Stoker’s Dracula so it will be covered in the 3rd and final part of this series. Section 3: Connecting History to the Movies One fear that seems to most closely align with and follow the Universal Monster movies across all of the covered decades is the fear of change. Similarly to today the 70’s, which had more UM movies than the 50’s and 60’s combined, is a time of marked change, a period of huge and rapid pushes forwards (and sometimes backwards) in culture, technology, and day-to-day life. Right now my guess is that the correlation is fear of change, when that increases due to massive changes that cause societal upheaval so does the number of and interest in Dracula, Frankenstein, Werewolf, and general monster movies that feature more abstract villains. Monsters signify change, generally they either have a dramatic change that alters them forever like in Dracula and Frankenstein or they experience cyclical, uncontrollable changes like werewolves that cause pain and misery. The fears surrounding women’s freedoms continued, especially when it looked like they would be constitutionally equal to men. In 1972 Title IX passed , an amendment that is ever present in modern culture wars surrounding transgender athletes but in actuality prohibited sex discrimination in academics and the Supreme Court ruling Roe v. Wade in 1973 legalized abortion in the United States, federally protecting access–another big issue of modern politics; huge steps of protection for females in the US. Following the end of segregation many industries were slow to follow, particularly those under the entertainment industry umbrella like film. Many later Hammer Films feature diverse casts and notably Christopher Lee’s Dracula being particularly sensual and being an equal opportunist. Dracula found Black women and White women beautiful and desirable during the films, particularly those in the later part of the 70’s. Despite the success that some studios had in the 50’s and 60’s using the same formula with slight variations everything has limits and the 70’s proved that the studios could reach that limit. Many of the trends took horror in a direction away from mythical monsters of the 70’s like Dracula to real-life monsters like slashers in the later part of the decade and into the 80’s, which that decade is known for. It’s easy to see some of these films and fall into the trappings of, “it was a different time then,” but something I found repeatedly were reviews from those times that felt the same about the more misogynistic, and blatantly gross aspects common in the monster subgenre. It is compelling that the same story can be re-created over and over again in a short period of time but still increase in popularity and gross revenue but it reminds of the Marvel or DC Cinematic Universes sometimes formulaic approach to film. Sadly, I don’t know the exact reason. However, a colloquial saying, “If it ain't broke, don’t fix it,” seems like a great descriptor of the studio’s mentality of the time. Drive ins and movie theatre going were common activities at the time, and the horror imagery associated with those comes from this era. Monsters peeked around every corner but if one kept a crucifix and a prayer handy they are home free. Monsters are also overpowered as hell, aside from the few weaknesses they have it seems they can’t be actually killed or defeated, similarly to the abstract ideas of the time people battled like racism, sexism, and the debate about the “best” way of life. The monster adapts to where it shows up at with the sole focus of murder for oftentimes no reason other than they are inherently murderous. The problems after World War II had less and less of a concrete villain, rather than a nation to attack faceless ideas took hold and it seemed the villain transformed depending on who you were. What's next? Following extreme changes in the 1960’s that turned the 1970’s on its head the 1980’s acted like a pendulum that swung in the opposite direction–mainstream culture moved to suburban normalcy. In rebellion towards that, various subcultures that are popular today like goth and punk emerged and often had ties or overlaps with the horror community. In the next article and video I’ll be going over monster movies, that is the Dracula, Frankenstein, and werewolf ones that came out between 1990 and present day, including overviewing future productions. The format will most likely be the same as this video and more information about that will likely be on this site's homepage. Thank you for reading and/or watching part 2 of this Monsters series!! I hope to finish the projects I’d set out to finish in 2024 (which is this series covering the history of big monster movies as well as the full video and article reviewing iZombie seasons 1–4 and the comic books) as soon as possible. A lot of the work is already done and it’s a matter of finishing the projects so stay tuned if you’re interested in either of those. I don’t really post on social media anymore so this site is the best way to see recent posts. Most likely in 2025 I will post one-off reviews of horror movies in written format on my site and maybe a video here or there. Irregardless of what I do with Red Rose Horror thank you for reading this article! If you're interested in the video for this article or other videos visit the homepage or https://www.youtube.com/@redrosehorror