The Real Sequel to Mad Max: How to Explain the Apocalypse in The Road Warrior by Watching Threads

Just after a nuclear explosion, the silhouette of a man on a bike in a tree burns in an orange blaze.

| Ben Jarman | Nobody is surprised when it happens; it’s been coming for a long time, before written history. One argument turns into conflict after conflict. Sometimes the conflicts bring us to the brink, but never over the edge. The scholars warn and the media antagonize… Continue reading

Why Black Narcissus is a Haunted House Movie

Nuns sit for dinner at a cross-shaped table.

|Sophie Durbin| In the typical haunted house movie, the protagonist and their loved ones move into a house and stay put despite the fact that it has a million red flags (creepy caretaker, suspicious sounds at night, blood oozing from the elevators…). By the time the entire social order of the film collapses… Continue reading

Make It So: A Journey in Overthinking ‘A Matter of Life and Death’

Peter Carter and Conductor 71 sit on a giant staircase ascending to Heaven.

|Lucas Hardwick| Star Trek: The Next Generation ended its seventh and final season in May of 1994. The Emmy Award-winning series ran for 178 episodes and was one of, if not the most successful first-run syndication television show of all time. Thanks to its nightly 9 p.m. time slot… Continue reading