• Icons of Horror: Ellen Ripley (Alien)

    Icons of Horror: Ellen Ripley (Alien)

    Characters are an extremely important ingredient for horror writing. The audience needs to like someone if they’re supposed to care about their potentially grizzly death. Otherwise, they’re the cinematic equivalent of an upsetting news headline. With Halloween just a few weeks away, I figured it was time to get into the seasonal spirit. And what…

  • H.P. Lovecraft: The Beast in the Cave

    H.P. Lovecraft: The Beast in the Cave

    Reading early 20th century horror is a fascinating experience. Namely because modern horror has desensitized me so badly that everything here just seems quaint by comparison. It’s like a little time capsule, containing everything that scared your grandparents. This is a simple short. While exploring Mammoth Cave, our narrator is separated from his guide. As…

  • Yugoloths Part 1: Lore

    Here we are. The penultimate entry in Best of the Bestiary. One with so much going on that it’s gotta be split into not two, but three parts! Lore: Fiends For a Fine Inhabiting the planes of Acheron, Gehenna, Hades, and Carceri, yugoloths are fickle mercenaries that embody avarice. Legends claim that they were first…

  • Is The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor Any Good?

    Is The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor Any Good?

    So long, Egypt. We’re tired of your dead people. It’s time to desecrate ancient Chinese burial grounds! I was honestly kinda excited going into this one. What would the movie do with this change in location? Maybe they’d take inspiration from Xin Zhui or Lady Dai. This could have been an amazing change of pace!…

  • Mushoku Tensei Season 2 (Cour 1): Rejection and Reunion

    Mushoku Tensei Season 2 (Cour 1): Rejection and Reunion

    Man, I got caught up right on time, huh? Season one of Mushoku Tensei really took me by surprise. I’d heard the hype, but I mostly assumed that was because the animation was really good. When it came to the actual writing, I didn’t have exceptionally high expectations. How good could an isekai be? Very…