Our Invisible Roommates: What The Conjuring Gets Right and Wrong About Living in A Haunted House

A man and a woman embrace outside of an older looking two story white house. They are under a curved, ominous looking tree

|Wil McMillen| I’m going to tell you something, and you can either choose to believe it or not. (Deep breath, exhale) I lived in a real-life haunted house for six months. From January to June 2013, my family and I were having our house renovated. During that time, we had to live in a rental house that had more than enough weird things happen to bring us to the conclusion that… Continue reading

Will the Real Goblin Please Stand Up

Black and white photo of four men. One man in back wears sunglasses with long brown hair and a sweater. To his right a man with long black hair and a goatee. To his right a man with short black hair and a bear wears a jacket with a turtleneck sweater underneath. In front a clean shaven man with long dark hair wears a black jacket and a scarf.

|Devin Warner| For those who are unfamiliar with the band Goblin (or as my Mom said upon hearing the Suspiria soundtrack she bought me for my birthday, “what is that noise?”), they are one of the most preeminent composers in cinema. They created … Continue reading

Suspiria’s Score is One of Horror’s Scariest Characters

Sonia (Susanna Javicoli) banging on a door in her apartment building.

|Lucille Hanson| “WITCH!” screams the Suspiria soundtrack every now and again, startling the viewers like it’s an accusation. With its frantic drums that feel like someone is chasing you down, the low bellows that feel like they’re coming deep from inside… Continue reading

Coming of Age with Dead Kids: The Cathartic Dread of A24 Horror

On the left, a middle-aged blonde woman stares in horror, her mouth agape. On the right, a blonde teen girl stares transfixed into the camera.

|Abraham Teuber| Have horror movies always been so romantic? As predictable as the changing leaves, the dating app normies whip out the ol’ “Let’s cuddle and watch a horror movie” line every October. The hulking recliners in chain multiplexes have enabled the canoodling. Raisable armrests and blankets… Continue reading

The Fierce and Downcast Eyes of Day of Wrath

In a sparse, dimly lit church, adorned by a tall white candle, a crucifix, and a covered coffin, Anne (Lisbeth Movin) sits in a chair, wearing a flowing a white gown, head downcast. Her mother-in-law, Merete (Sigrid Neiiendam) stands across from her in a dark gown, pointing at her accusatorily. Between them stand Martin (Preben Lerdorff Rye) and a priest in black robes with white collars. Everything is meticulously staged and ornate, much like paintings from 1600s Europe when the movie is set.

|Ryan Sanderson| I’ve loved (or at least enjoyed) most of the films I’ve written about in the six years I’ve been aware of Perisphere, but every now and again, we show one of my personal favorite films. You know the ones. The select group—some film nerds have them… Continue reading

American History 101 with Robert Eggers

A shirtless white man with long brown hair stands in the center of a farm pen holding an axe above a piece of wood.

|Ben Tuthill| For a country obsessed with our colonial heritage, we’re astonishingly bad at making movies about it. Once upon a time, we put out a French and Indian War movie every other year. The practice fell out around the time of the Bicentennial, and since then … Continue reading

Satan’s Ghastly Abacus: Thoughts on Two Burnings by Carl Theodor Dreyer

Close-up of Marte's Herlof unclothed and in tears.

|Sophie Durbin| Humans have burned each other at the stake for a long time. Records dating back to the Code of Hammurabi prescribe death by burning for criminals convicted of incest or heresy. The Celts may have roasted their human sacrifices… Continue reading

Before Dawn: George A. Romero’s Years at Sea

A woman lays on the ground in the front of a house. A man stands with his hands on his hips in the doorframe.

|Doug Carmody| Season of the Witch  plays in glorious 35mm at the Trylon Cinema on Wednesday, September 30, one night only. For tickets, showtimes, and other series information, visit trylon.org. The 1970s found George Romero in a peculiar place—Pittsburgh, not Hollywood. Despite his debut’s eventually colossal impact on horror cinema and eventually massive box office… Continue reading

Must Be the Season of the Witch, Yeah!

The female protagonist wearing a green and blue dress from the 1970s, meets eye to eye with an expressionless and elderly version of herself.

|Benjamin Jarman| was watching the TV show Agatha All Along, about a group of witches in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. By this point, my mind had been trained to expect Donovan’s 1966 hit single, “Season of the Witch,” to start whenever I watch… Continue reading