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- Witches conjure 🔮, Bee covers ScreamFest 🎥, A double feature to die for 🧙🏻, & more!
Witches conjure 🔮, Bee covers ScreamFest 🎥, A double feature to die for 🧙🏻, & more!
Welcome to Witch Week on Horrorverse! Witches have been part of film since the early silent days! Georges Méliès' The Hag is considered to be the first depiction of witches on film. While it isn't as scary as some of the films that we will be discussing here today it is an interesting piece of film history that is worth exploring. From family fun to folk horror, witches permeate horror in all sorts of ways which means there is something for everyone! We're only a week away from Halloween so hopefully if you're not already there, this week's recommendations will get you in the scary season spirit!
Get on, witches, we’re going for a ride🧹 →
Established in 2020, Macabre Daily is your home for the dark side of pop culture on the internet providing news, reviews, interviews, and opinions about the world of horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and cult films! Macabre Daily serves over 11,000 visitors per month to our website and over 13,7000 followers on our social media platforms. Our team of contributors covers a wide array of media such as movies, television, and physical media. Visit macabredaily.com for more. |  |
IN THE NEWS
Brett Petersel | Bluesky | Instagram | Letterboxd & Sarah Stubbs | Bluesky | Instagram | Letterboxd
đ–Ł‚ Weapons comes exclusively to HBO Max
Starting today, Friday, October 24th, Zach Cregger’s Weapons will stream exclusively on HBO Max. The film had a very successful run, and, per Deadline, a prequel is happening.
🙏 Your prayers were heard: Sinners returns to theaters in IMAX
Beginning October 30th, Ryan Coogler’s Sinners will be playing at select IMAX locations for only one week, so see it now on the big screen or forever hold your peace.
đź’‹ Rhonda Shear's Up All Night Returns this Halloween
Up All Night, the cult-favorite late-night movie showcase hosted by Rhonda Shear that lit up USA Network from 1989 to 1998, is making its long-awaited return. The new Up All Night premieres October 25th, just in time for Halloween with monthly specials to follow featuring surprise celebrity guests. Rhonda will also be chatting live with fans during the October 25th watch party. Viewers can watch at kingsofhorror.com/upallnight.
TIMEWARP
Bee Delores | Bluesky | Instagram | Letterboxd
Underrated Gem 'The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw' Turns 5
Five years ago, The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw left a deep impression on me. I covered Fantasia Fest, remotely, and remember falling in love with Thomas Robert Lee's take on witchy/folk horror. Jessica Reynolds was magnetizing as the titular characters, offering a complex, captivating performance that I still haven't forgotten about. To celebrate the release, I'm re-sharing my original review and implore everyone to check it out the film, if you haven't already.
The following review original published on B-Sides & Badlands
“Does that mean you’d sacrifice yourself for me?” Audrey prods her mother Agatha while having tea. It’s one of the more provocative, bone-picking inquires presented throughout The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw, screening at this year’s Fantasia 2020. Written and directed by Thomas Robert Lee (Empyrean), the film splices together haunted folklore, human depravity and morality, and the disenchantment of faith.
Catherine Walker (A Dark Song) plays Agatha, a tortured woman trying to do the right thing and whose deluded moral compass leads her to hide her daughter Audrey (Jessica Reynolds, in her debut film role) away from the rest of the world. Set in 1973, deep within a Protestant village, it has been 17 very long years of poor harvests, a series of unfortunate events, and just plain ole bad luck ⏤ except for Agatha and Audrey, of course, who appear to be absolutely flourishing with vibrant crops and other prized goods. A resentment swells throughout town, and even as fellow farmers and families, struggling to make ends meet, seek help in trade, Agatha turns them away. Such actions stoke the flames of the village’s inescapable misery, and horrific tragedies soon become so commonplace, townspeople begin to suspect Agatha of dark witchcraft.
The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw unthreads the binding ties of faith in small-town living, mass hysteria rooted in pain, and how evil sprouts from the most innocent of intentions and desires. “What’s your legacy?” Audrey also asks her mother. It’s a startling existential plight, one that lurches away from the borders of the film to present a universal thesis of what living and barely surviving actually mean. Such themes and pointed conversation firmly worms into Lee’s flourishing artistic vision, crackling in the same vein as Robert Eggers’ The Witch but with a severely contrasting underlying message. Its ensemble of players, including Jared Abrahamson (as Colm Dwyer), Hannah Emily Anderson (Bridget Dwyer), Don McKellar (Bernard Buckley), and Geraldine O’Rawe (Deidre Buckley), deliver full-bodied, emotional performances that make the anguish feel visceral and electric.
When it becomes clear to Audrey her mother is more than willing to let the townspeople walk all over her, from her very warped perspective, Audrey seeks revenge and begins to spread vile sickness, decay, and delusions like a black, moldy plague. Lee inflicts moments of sheer unholy terror upon the viewer, and it’s almost as if you are undergoing your very own reckoning, too. Flicking through various title cards like “Incantation” and “Descent,” he conveys the story as if it is a lost, harrowing fable from the book of Grimm Fairy Tales.
The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw is absolutely bone-chilling. Much like The Witch, it most certainly won’t be every viewer’s cup of tea, yet Thomas Robert Lee’s brilliance will sure enough brand deep into your brain.
RECOMMENDED READING
Sarah Stubbs | Bluesky | Instagram | Letterboxd
Want to do a deeper dive into films featuring witches and witchcraft? Here are a couple of books that I have used in research of my own!
That Very Witch: Fear, Feminism, and the American Witch Film by Peyton McCarty-Simas- "That Very Witch explores the cyclical rise and fall of the cinematic witch in American culture and her relationship to feminist movements over time. Through historical analysis and dozens of case studies, Payton McCarty-Simas demonstrates how the cinematic witch's evolution across decades reflects major shifts in how feminism is perceived politically and interpreted (counter-)culturally in America. From Mia Farrow to the Moral Majority, from the Satanic Panic to Riot Grrrl, from #MeToo to the 2024 election, the witch can be found at the heart of the zeitgeist." We had Peyton as a guest on Final Girls Feast and I can assure you, when it comes to this topic, she knows her stuff. This book is loaded with a ton of information.
Lights, Camera, Witchcraft by Heather Greene with a foreword by Peg Aloi - "From Joan the Woman and The Wizard of Oz to Carrie and Charmed, author and film scholar Heather Greene explores how these movies and TV shows helped influence the public image of the witch and profoundly affected how women negotiate their power in a patriarchal society. Greene presents more than two hundred examples spanning silent reels to present-day blockbusters. As you travel through each decade, you'll discover compelling insights into the intersection of entertainment, critical theory, gender studies, and spirituality." Peg Aloi, who wrote the foreword for this book, was also a guest on Final Girls Feast along with Payton. When looking for more of her work, I came across this book. I'd say it's also worth having in your library if you're into non-fiction books about film, especially horror.
Berkley is reissuing Clive Barker’s Books of Blood, Volumes 1-3 — the landmark collection that defined modern horror. This new edition is available for order now! This refreshed classic includes an all-new afterword by Grady Hendrix, who writes, “Barker has no patience with the status quo. He’s on the side of the monsters.” Clive Barker may be best known as the creator of Hellraiser, but it was Books of Blood that established Barker as a major voice in horror. Blending visceral imagery, existential dread, queerness, and surrealism, these stories reset the bar for the entire genre and influenced a generation of horror writers. Purchase here: https://a.co/d/44LJWBr |  |
FAVORITE WITCHY MOVIES
Witches in film cover a multitude of genres and we've got favorites in several of them! The Horrorverse team has picks that will suit just about everyone!
The #100HorrorMoviesIn92Days Challenge returns for Its 6th Year. Born out of boredom during the lockdown phase of Covid, the challenge has grown exponentially and is an annual tradition among participants. It encourages folks to set aside watching only their comfort watches during spooky season and find new favorites from films they haven’t seen before. |  |
GORE-MET PAIRINGS
Bee Delores | Bluesky | Instagram | Letterboxd & Sarah Stubbs | Bluesky | Instagram | Letterboxd
Movie: Earwig and the Witch |  |
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Sarah Stubbs | Bluesky | Instagram | Letterboxd
George A. Romero's Season of the Witch (aka Hungry Wives) doesn't get nearly the recognition it deserves. Jan White plays Joan Mitchell, a housewife feeling underappreciated and lonely. Her husband checked out of the marriage years ago, and Joan can't shake herself out of this trance she's in. She's just going through the motions at this point. When a friend suggests an occult meeting, she begins dabbling in spell casting and the like. Her spiritual explorations lead her to a young man, with whom she strikes up a quick and hot love affair. While many consider her actions to be "spiraling out of control," the film is really about a woman taking control of her life and not settling for anything less than what she deserves. As the film leaps into the finale, it ends with one of my favorite scenes in all of horror. I've noticed an uptick in appreciation for this, but we could be doing more to celebrate it. It's now streaming on Tubi! [written by Bee]
Bee is always challenging me with their picks, so this week I'm bringing 1962's Burn Witch, Burn aka Night of the Eagle to the table. Sidney Hayer's film is another under discussed film that features a witchy wife. I watched this recently when preparing to do a podcast about Rosemary's Baby. Payton McCarty-Simas wrote about it in her book, That Very Witch: Fear, Feminism, and the American Witch Film (be sure to check out the recommended reading below for more information about her book), and I knew I needed to see it. In it, a woman who casually dabbles in witchcraft tries to use it to protect her skeptical husband. As one might expect, he should have listened to her as forces unknown seem to be coming after him. The film is currently streaming on Prime Video and is a great piece of 1960s atmospheric horror. I'd also recommend pairing it with 1960's City of the Dead. [written by Sarah]
WHAT TO WATCH
The criminally underrated Mute Witness turns 30 this year. For Neon Splatter, I revisited the classic with a specific eye toward Marina Zudina's overlooked genre-defining performance, as well as one of the most iconic chase scenes ever! It's now streaming on Shudder, in case you haven't seen it yet. [written by Bee] |  |
When you have Allen Danziger as a producer, you better know horror history. Danziger, who played Jerry in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, helped get The WeedHacker Massacre off the ground. The film, directed by Jody Stelzig, parodies the iconic 1974 classic -- right down to the killer's diabolical family. While referencing director Edgar Wright, Saw, and numerous other horror movies, Stelzig's offering purposefully leans into the bad acting and bad script writing of B-movies. The story follows a film crew remaking The WeedHacker Massacre on the site where a massacre took place, only to have the killer return. What transpires over 90+ minutes is a gloriously silly romp, packed with grotesque blood squirting and limbs flying. While the jokes don't always land, it's ripe for an audience at a midnight showing. And there's an obvious adoration for horror movies that you just can't ignore. [written by Bee] |  |
I’m still trying to wrap my head around this one as Your Host came across as a revenge-filled Saw (particularly the beginning of Jigsaw) knockoff. Jackie Earle Haley gave too much effort to his menacing character’s game show host-like character, mostly over-the-top at times, but after learning about the “contestants” and what they did to be featured (in his show), it made sense. The games were ridiculous, but there were some good kills, so maybe give this one a try. [written by Brett] |  |
Bee Delores founded B-Sides & Badlands in 2017. Initially a music blog, they expanded to cover all things horror in 2018 and has since reviewed everything from ultra-indie gems like Death Trip to such breakout hits as In a Violent Nature. Check out all the fresh and rotten reviews. |  |
RIYL: THE WITCH (2015)
Want to dive into witchy films and/or folk horror similar to The Witch? The Horrorverse team has you covered with these recommendations!
BEE’S SCREAMFEST COVERAGE
Bee Delores | Bluesky | Instagram | Letterboxd
Horror film festival season has been a wild time. From Fantasia to Fantastic, horror filmmakers have showed up with monstrous works that we'll be talking about for years. With ScreamFest wrapping up, there are three films I can't stop thinking about. From campy goodness to a slasher reinvention, my Top 3 picks (below) are ones you need to keep on your radar.
3. Damned If You Do is an absolute blast. Co-directors Evan Metzold and Jake Rubin take a gleefully irreverent script (penned by Ellen Adair and Eric Gilde) and stylize it with a bit of polish and bite. When you have Kate Siegel, Beth Dover, and Harvey Guillén in your cast, you better work. 25 years after a group of teens sells their souls to Satan to get whatever they desire, they reunite at their high school reunion and face a ticking clock before their doom. If we’re being honest, it’s really Guillén’s world, and we’re all just living in it. His performance is legendary. Playing Satan, he brings a joyous flamboyancy to his role that’ll knock your socks off. The film operates as a campy ensemble piece, with everyone holding their own. It’s a downright hoot! [via B-Sides & Badlands]
2. Time resetting, repetition, and bending have been common set-ups in horror for years. From Dead End to Lucky and Happy Death Day, the genre obsesses over the merciless hand of time. Rearrangements and varied iterations keep the subgenre fresh and exciting. Writer/director BT Meza mixes time and human memory into a twisty and unexpected elixir with his debut feature, Affection, which played Screamfest this week. It’s a difficult film to discuss without veering into spoiler territory, but what can be said is that Jessica Rothe makes an unbelievable splash in a role that relies heavily on her physical performance. [via B-Sides & Badlads]
1. In a post-Scream world, conventional slashers don’t cut it. Today’s most effective slashers subvert conventions and tropes. From The Final Girls to Totally Killer and Sick, slashers need to comment on the modern world (There’s Someone Inside Your House, Initiation, Clown in a Cornfield), flip the perspective (In a Violent Nature), or blend genres into a fruity cocktail (Freaky, Happy Death Day, Time Cut). Now, you can add Ritesh Gupta’s The Red Mask, which played ScreamFest last night, into the conversation. While self-referencing The Strangers, Funny Games, and Scream, the meta-slasher takes cues from the past but carves out its own way forward. [via B-Sides & Badlands]
TRAILERVILLE
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There's some good stuff happening in the trailer for The Beldham. Despite Patricia Heaton's involvement, I'm pretty intrigued by some of the visuals. Let's see what it has in store! [written by Bee] |
Rohan. Campbell. [written by Bee] |
THE HORRORVERSE TEAM
BEE DELORES | BRETT PETERSEL | SARAH STUBBS |
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