Review: Say hello to 'M3GAN' our new favorite Horror Princess

by Jason Adams

If you look at the episodes of Shudder’s documentary series “Behind the Monsters” – each of which was devoted to its own Horror Icon – one thing became painfully clear right up front: Where the hell are our female horror icons? I don’t mean the survivors – we all know our Final Girls, they are legion. I mean the villains. Where is our Jasine Voorhees? Our Frederica Krueger? Why does nothing happen if I say “Candygal” five times in the mirror??? 

Well the past couple of years have finally begun to right that gendered wrong, bringing us the return of Isabella Fuhrman’s Esther in her Orphan franchise (hopefully TBC, as the second film was a total hoot) as well as Mia Goth’s ax-welding and Oscar-worthy turn in Pearl (in both the titular prequel as well as X). Finally some iconic Halloween costumes for the Lizzie Borden lovers among us! And now this weekend makes for three with M3GAN, director Gerard Johnstone’s riotously entertaining new slasher, which merges Chucky with Mean Girls to gift us with an insta-icon for the horror ages.

M3GAN stands for “Model 3 Generative Android”... 

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How Had I Never Seen… the "Valley of the Dolls" movies?

by Cláudio Alves

As part of a robust Pride-themed selection, the Criterion Channel has added Russ Meyer's 1970 Beyond the Valley of the Dolls to its streaming roster. The Roger Ebert-penned follow-up cum send-up to the 1967 trashterpiece Valley of the Dolls is as campy as its predecessor, making the lurid underbelly of show business into the stuff of dragtastic entertainment. In other words, it's a perfect flick to put on whilst celebrating Pride Month. As I'd never seen either picture, I decided to take this as an opportunity to explore them both and share my thoughts with you, dear readers. I don't know what I was expecting from this double feature, but it wasn't what I found. Suffice it to say, I was surprised, gooped, and gagged…

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Gay Best Friend: Michael in "Camp" (2003)

a series by Christopher James looking at the 'Gay Best Friend' trope

I wish I looked as good as Michael (Robin de Jesús) at my prom.Back in 2003 there weren’t many places where a gay kid wouldn’t be the “other” person. That’s why the “gay best friend” trope became so prevalent. Film would always show us the “token” gay person in a non-threatening supporting role, reinforcing that they were “different” than the norm. Camp flips this on its head. The comedy takes place at Camp Ovation, a musical theater camp outside of New York. It’s one of the few places where the gays outnumber the straight men.

This dichotomy between being “othered” and being welcomed is established in the first scene, with the song “How Shall I See You Through My Tears” from The Gospel of Colonus. This performance is intercut with the entrance of Michael (Robin de Jesús), as he arrives at prom in drag...

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In defense of Faye Dunaway in "Mommie Dearest"

It's Mother's Day in Portugal and Mother's Day next Sunday in the US. Since we're celebrating 1981 this week, we're starting early with the biggest, meanest mother of them all!

by Cláudio Alves

In 1971, in her book titled My Way of Life, Joan Crawford, the legendary diva of Old Hollywood, said that, of all the actresses of the time, only Faye Dunaway had the talent, the class and the courage to be a movie star. Had she lived to see the younger actress play her in the infamous Mommie Dearest, Crawford would have probably revised her statement. The 1981 biopic is one of the great camp classics of all time, a prestige picture with pretensions of Oscar glory that crashed and burned most spectacularly. Dunaway herself is said to have believed she was on her way to Academy Award glory. Instead, she got a Razzie for Worst Actress...

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The Irony in "Transformers: The Last Knight"

By Spencer Coile 

Since 2007, we have all come to expect the same qualities from Michael Bay's Transformers franchise: lengthy action sequences, stilted performances, and nonsensical storylines. With his latest entry into the world of Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and co. with Transformers: The Last Knight, it seems as though Bay has thrown all logic out the window (alongside characterization). Heralding back to Medieval Ages and tracing the origin of the transformers to the days of Merlin, Bay dips his artistic vision in the realm of magic, surrounding his audiences with a silly and convoluted story of redemption and surrealism. 

The movie is not particularly good...

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