The Walking Dead

I am really enjoying this television series. It is about zombies: inspired by Romero and produced by Frank Darabont. The special effects are movie-quality and the dark, post-apocalyptic vision is nihilistic and captivating. It is also visually stunning. Check out these intense stills from the first episode:

How to fix horror films...

A very interesting piece in Slate about how the horror genre should reinvent itself. Have a read, it's thought provoking! And you could use it for your essays on genre! Here's the link. And if you are VERY BRAVE (and old enough), look at the slideshow of the most gory scenes from horror film.

Powerpoint about horror films

There isn't a lot new in this powerpoint that I found on Slideshare, but it does have some good points and awesome backgrounds. Check it out:

An Introduction to Horror Films

View more presentations from lclarkhfc

How to survive a horror movie

If you want to survive a horror film or a crime movie, there are some basic rules: avoid sex and bathrooms – and never, ever, do 'one last job', says Ben Walsh

Check out this article about things NOT TO DO (and think about WHY?)
Article from The Independent about what NOT to do

How to make a horror movie...

Some of you came up with awesome ideas for films: Cowboy Zombie face-offs, submarine love stories, accounting love stories (?). But now that you have your concept, what's next? Here's a handy flow chart that makes the whole process simple! (it is an advertisement for a French TV channel).

Here's a bigger version so you can read the words.

There are also similar flow charts for action and animation.

Screaming or laughing? It might be in your genes...

So I know that some people (like me) are terrified by horror films and have nightmares. I had to turn my television towards the wall after watching The Ring. But other people just laugh. Well, research has shown that it is genetic! Check this story out: Horror film gene that makes some scream while others laugh

Do zombies make your skin crawl? Or do vampires make you helpless with the giggles?

Everything is a Remix

Yes, everything has been done before. Think that baseline or that camera shot looks familiar? That's probably because it is. Everything is referencing something and every media product is part of a larger media story. This is relevant to what we are studying because we are looking at horror films, which are part of a genre and part of a tradition. Here is a link to an amazing project looking at how music and films are remixes and sometimes even knock-offs.

Everything is a Remix

Everything is a Remix Part 1 from Kirby Ferguson on Vimeo.

Everything is a Remix Part 2 from Kirby Ferguson on Vimeo.

Learning from Zombie Movies

Since I am starting to think about our genre study, here is some important information if you are ever caught up in a zombie attack. It is presented visually as well, so you don't have to waste time when you need information quickly.

Here is where I sourced this relevant info: http://www.geekologie.com/2011/03/what_weve_learned_from_zombie.php  (and they are right, this still doesn't help me sleep at night... zombies= scary, indeed)