Jeanette Laredo

Happy Turkey Day from Monster Land! I'll leave you today with some musings on the The Hunger Game s whose horrific re-interpretation of the cornucopia puts new twist on our ages-old horn of plenty. The Hunger Games is a film adaptation of the wildly popular teen novel of the same name. Set in a futuristic version of the U.S., the country is divided into 12 districts ruled by the Panem. The Panem created the Hunger Games after a revolution that resulted in the destruction of the 13th... Read Full Story

A shout out to all my academic peeps in Monsterland. This conference in Edinburgh, UK is calling for papers on monsters of all kinds, but especially medical freaks and how literature constructs the monstrous body. Should be a good time.  Check the CFP below and pay a visit to the conference's blog for more. The University of Edinburgh Sensualising Deformity:  Communication and Construction of Monstrous Embodiment June 15-16, 2012 Image:  Anomalies and... Read Full Story

I am head over heels for these art prints by Dan Hillier . They are the perfect mix of Victorian style etchings showing polite scenes of fashionable men and women and the grotesque.I love how the seemingly ordinary people sprout tentacles and snake transforming them into Cthulhu and lamia-like creatures. Great fun. If you act by December 10th Dan will send you a print of one of his beautiful grotesqueries in time for Christmas. Tis the season. Read Full Story

I was thinking on my favorite subject—monsters—when I realized that these creatures mostly rise out of folklore, find their way into literature then blossom onto both the big and small screen. This shouldn’t surprise us considering that monsters have been around or ages and only the way in which we tell their stories has changed with time. In this three part series, I will explore the origins of three classic monsters—vampires, werewolves and zombies—that have endured the past and continue to... Read Full Story

Carrie (1976) Sissy Spacek The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999) Emily Bergl Carrie (TV 2002) Angela Bettis Read Full Story

So I’m dusting off the cobwebs on this blog to bring you a book review of Jason Zinoman’s book Shock Value out now, and if you’re reading this why haven’t you bought it? I received a copy from the publisher a few weeks back and could not contain my excitement which was thoroughly justified by this very satisfying and entertaining read. In 1968 William Castle, the master of suspense who made a living electrifying audiences with gimmicky horror films like The Tingler , bought the film... Read Full Story

I could have written a post on this, but these people took the words right out of my brain and did a way funnier job. Plus it's at an all-night diner. Enjoy. Why Everyone Wants to Have Sex with Vampires -- powered by Cracked.com Read Full Story

This post was sparked by a Facebook conversation about whether or not zombies could ride bikes. I have never seen a zombie on a bike so I said it couldn't be done. My reasoning was that as the brain starts to deteriorate and rot with the rest of the zombie's body, motor skills would be the first thing to go out the window. This would explain their lurched, shambling walk and slow reaction time, as well as their fear of fire. No wait, that's Frankenstein. Anyway, I was adamant that it couldn't... Read Full Story

Promotional artwork and a US trailer have been released for Final Destination Five and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a teensy bit excited. The number one cause of my glee is the slammin’ promotional artwork. All silver and black, a dangerously sharp number five knifes its way through a human skull. Metal meets horror in this killer image. Second is the appearance of Tony Todd aka the Candyman as Bludworth the mortician now coroner who appears to explain death’s master plan. Todd plays... Read Full Story

When the tagline to a film is “Two classic monsters. One fucked up movie” your expectations for gore and silliness are high. Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl fulfills all those expectations and more with a Japanese high school that has a mad scientist for a vice principal, a wrist cutting competition and a showdown between the two title characters on what looks to be a life sized replica of the Eiffel tower. Though it’s a little out there, Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl gives the gift... Read Full Story