Celluloid Diaries

BOOK SIGNINGS IN BRUGES

2025-10-24T13:38:00.000+02:00

Hey, everyone!

I’ll be signing books at the Razor Reel Flanders Film Festival in Bruges on October 25 and November 1.

If you’re around, come say hi! I’ll bring copies of my movie reference guides:

Meow! Cats in Horror, Sci-Fi, and Fantasy Movies
Evil Seeds: The Ultimate Movie Guide to Villainous Children
Strange Blood: 71 Essays on Offbeat and Underrated Vampire Movies
When Animals Attack: The 70 Best Horror Movies With Killer Animals

Would love to chat, sign your books, and geek out over movies and cats.

Hope to see you there!

FANTASMAGORIA

2025-10-10T10:40:00.000+02:00

The Fantasmagoria Film Festival in Medellín, Colombia, started yesterday. This year’s program focuses on evil children (the theme of my book EVIL SEEDS). I’m honored to be part of the jury alongside filmmakers David Moreau and Jen & Sylvia Soska. The lineup contains some true gems, so check it out if you're in the area.

Uninvited

2025-08-20T16:09:00.000+02:00

I’m excited to let you know that I’ll be signing books at the BUT Film Market in Breda on Saturday, August 30. If you’re attending the festival, don’t hesitate to stop by and say hello.

That same evening, I’ll also be introducing Greydon Clark’s cult classic UNINVITED (1988). If you haven’t seen it before, get ready: this horror/sci-fi hybrid is completely bonkers and follows a seemingly normal house cat that’s host to a mutated, murderous creature. After escaping a laboratory, the cat stows away on a yacht owned by a corrupt businessman and proceeds to eliminate the passengers one by one.

If you want to know more about how this wild movie came to be, check out my latest book MEOW! CATS IN HORROR, SCI-FI, AND FANTASY MOVIES in which Greydon Clark shares insights and stories about the production of UNINVITED.

Hope to see you at the BUT Film Festival!

Meet Me at BIFFF This Saturday

2025-04-10T10:39:00.001+02:00

This Saturday, I’ll be at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF) for a book signing of my horror movie guides.

🕐 When: Saturday, from 1:00 PM to 11:00 PM
📍 Where: Palais 10, Heysel – right in front of Cine 1
🎟️ Entry: Free!

Come say hi, grab a signed copy, and let's chat all things horror.

I'll be signing books at the FACTS convention

2025-04-01T11:05:00.004+02:00

I'm excited to be part of the FACTS convention in Ghent on April 5 & 6. I’ll be signing books throughout the weekend, including my latest release, Meow! Cats in Horror, Sci-Fi, and Fantasy Movies.

Stop by and say hello—plus, check out the amazing guest list, including Elijah Wood, Jason Priestley, Alan Shivers, Andrew McCarthy, Evanna Lynch, Gabrielle Carteris, Ben Barnes, and many more.

The 27 Best Folk Horror Movies From the UK and Ireland - How Many Have You Seen?

2025-03-14T12:18:00.003+01:00

Think you’ve seen it all when it comes to folk horror and the Wyrd? Think again. From eerie pagan rites to chilling countryside nightmares, these 27 must-see folk horror and wyrd films from the UK and Ireland will haunt your imagination.

And the best part? You can catch them all on the big screen at the Offscreen Film Festival in Brussels this month.

Ready to get unsettled? Let’s dive in.

Folk Horror and the Wyrd

It isn't just houses that are haunted. Entire nations can be haunted as well.

The islands comprising Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland gave birth to three of horror's seminal gothic horror archetypes - Frankenstein, Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde, Dracula - conceived in the 19th century by, respectively, an Englishwoman, a Scotsman and an Irishman. But there is another form of horror haunting the collective psyche of these lands, though it wasn't until 2003 that this subgenre was labelled Folk Horror by British director Piers Haggard in an interview about his film The Blood on Satan's Claw (1971). This, Witchfinder General (1968) and The Wicker Man (1973) are considered the "Unholy Trinity" of Folk Horror, setting out the subgenre's "rules". Such films typically contain one or more of the following elements: a small, isolated community on an island or in the countryside; a connection to the landscape; the unearthing of old artefacts of suppressed pagan cultures with links to blood sacrifice and witchcraft; the past intruding on the present, sometimes channelled through standing stones or ancient trees; an obsession with legends and superstition.

The subgenre's roots lie in the 1960s counterculture flirtation with the occult and an arcadian past. In Britain, this spawned an abundance of folkloric TV, films and documentaries drawing on paranormal or uncanny events that would later be grouped together under the Anglo-Saxon term "wyrd", reflecting the existential unease permeating so much of post-war British culture, particularly in the work of writers such as Nigel Kneale (Quatermass and the Pit, The Stone Tape). This sense of collective anxiety peaked in the 1970s, a decade of political, economic and social turmoil, and infiltrated the nation's living-rooms by way of TV series such as A Ghost Story for Christmas, telefilms such as Alan Clarke's Penda's Fen (1974), even children's programmes such as Doctor Who. In between, younger viewers would be traumatised by government-funded Public Service TV spots, commissioned by the Central Office of Information, which warned, sometimes explicitly, of the lethal consequences of trespassing on farmland or railway tracks.

Folk Horror reached its zenith in the 1970s, but the children of that decade, now adult creators in their own right, have spearheaded a 21st century revival, exemplified by films such Ben Wheatley's Kill List (2011), Liam Gavin's A Dark Song (2016), Mark Jenkin's Enys Men (2022) and Paul Duane's All You Need Is Death (2024). "The Haunted Isles" retrospective at the Offscreen Film Festival in Brussels (March 12 - March 30, 2025) comprises features, TV episodes and shorts, including The Outcasts (1982), screened in the presence of writer-director Robert Wynne-Simmons, and Ken Russell's The Lair of the White Worm (1988). Rupert Russell launches this retrospective with his 2024 documentary The Last Sacrifice, while a special "Wyrd British TV Night" completes the programme. Finally, the concepts of Folk Horror and Wyrd Media will be explored at an international conference.

27 Best Folk Horror and Wyrd Movies in the UK and Ireland

Night of the Demon

A deceptively affable English warlock casts a hex on a visiting American, who refuses to believe he will be killed by a demon in three days' time. Can the niece of a previous victim change the sceptic's mind in time for him to save himself? Tourneur's classic supernatural chiller is based on a story by M.R. James.

The Devil Rides Out

Christopher Lee, sporting a dapper goatee, plays one of the good guys for a change in Hammer's spiffing adaptation of Dennis Wheatley's novel of the occult, set in 1920s England. His mission? To extricate a young couple from the clutches of evil satanists by storming their Grand Sabbat orgy on Salisbury Plain!

The Last Sacrifice

Rupert Russell's documentary traces the folk horror boom back to a ritual murder in 1945, a case that exposed the dark side of the British psyche and sparked an interest in occultism that peaked in the 1970s. Includes a cornucopia of extracts from The Wicker Man and many of the other films showing at Offscreen this year!

Stigma

A family moves to a country cottage, where their ill-advised attempt to remove a megalith from the garden afflicts the mother with uncontrollable bleeding. The first of the A Ghost Story for Christmas series not adapted from a pre-existing story shifts into full-on body horror, and still packs a disturbing punch.

Ghostwatch

First beamed into unsuspecting British households on Halloween, a jokey "live" BBC investigation into a haunted house, presented by beloved TV personalities, turns into a terrifying experience. This controversial mockumentary horrified audiences (who thought what they were seeing was real!) and stoked a tabloid furore.

A Field in England

In the 17th century, four deserters from the English Civil War find a field full of magic mushrooms and are forced to help an alchemist search for buried gold. Folk horror at its most hallucinatory and unhinged, with Reece Shearsmith, in particular, making the sort of unholy faces that will haunt your nightmares.

The Lair of the White Worm

A lesser-known Bram Stoker novel gets the Ken Russell treatment, turning it into a bonkers horror-comedy starring young Hugh Grant as an aristocrat who teams up with an archaeologist to battle a legendary giant worm. Amanda Donohoe's deliriously camp performance as the snake god's slinky priestess is not to be missed.

The Wicker Man

A pious police sergeant searches for a missing schoolgirl on a remote Scottish island where he is shocked by the pagan traditions, presided over by Christopher Lee at his most patrician. This uniquely unsettling landmark in folk horror, hailed as "The Citizen Kane of Horror Movies", builds up to a devastating climax.

Witchfinder General

The third and most accomplished film from whizz-kid Reeves before his untimely death is a grim revenge "western" set during the English Civil War. Vincent Price gives one of his best - and scariest - performances as the infamous Matthew Hopkins, who roams the land, torturing suspected witches for profit and pleasure.

The Outcasts

Rural Ireland, 1810: eccentric Maura is accused of witchcraft by her community, but finds solace in the company of "Scarf Michael", a roving fiddler, and his magical otherworld. This landmark Irish film from Robert Wynne-Simmons (who wrote The Blood on Satan's Claw) was only recently rediscovered and restored.

Arcadia

A montage of film clips drawn from 100 years of archive footage coalesces into a fever dream exploring the British people's connection to their land. What begins as elegiac becomes increasingly surreal (cheese rolling!), even ominous, set to a soundtrack by Portishead's Adrian Utley and Goldfrapp's Will Gregory.

The Blood on Satan's Claw

An 18th century farmer unearths a deformed skull in his field, a discovery that leads to local youngsters sprouting patches of demonic fur and forming a satanic cult in which they sacrifice their friends. A landmark folk horror film scripted by Robert Wynne-Simmons, who went on to write and direct The Outcasts.

A Dark Song

A grouchy occultist and a bereaved woman sequester themselves in a remote house, where they intend to summon a supernatural entity to help her come to terms with her grief. But the rituals are long and gruelling, neither party is telling the whole truth, and nothing goes as planned in Gavin's haunting debut feature.

Symptoms

Helen invites her friend Anne, a writer, to stay at her mansion in the English countryside. But the big old house is full of strange noises, the handyman is a creep, and Anne senses a mystery that she sets out to solve. Larraz's eerie psychochiller gives Angela Pleasence, who plays Helen, the role of her career.

Quatermass and the Pit

In the third and best of Hammer's big screen versions of Nigel Kneale's BBC TV trilogy, workmen digging a London Underground extension unearth what seems to be an unexploded bomb. But no - it's worse! Ghosts, aliens and the devil collide in one of the most mind-boggling origin stories in the horror and sci-fi canon.

Enys Men

A nature volunteer keeps watch over a rare flower on an island off the coast of Cornwall in Jenkin's immersive, semi-experimental reworking of folk horror tropes. As creeping lichen, an eerie menhir and the island's ghosts jostle with visions from her past, the solitude begins to take its toll on her mental state.

The Stone Tape

Scientists move into a haunted house, hoping to use its stone walls as a radical new recording medium. But they don't know what they're dealing with! Nigel Kneale's teleplay revolutionised the traditional ghost story, lent its name to a paranormal theory, and was a big influence on John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness.

The Signalman

A lone traveller encounters a railway signalman whose signal box is stationed near the mouth of a tunnel, and finds him living in fear of a mysterious figure whose visitations invariably presage disaster. Denholm Elliott gives an acting masterclass in this hair-raising adaptation of a ghost story by Charles Dickens.

From the Old Earth

While digging in his garden, a man unearths an ancient Celtic stone head which gives his wife a bad nightmare. One of the first horror films in the Welsh language, this eerie little number was produced by Bwrdd Ffilmiau Cymraeg, the Welsh Film Board, which - incredibly - arranged for it to be screened in primary schools, thus well and truly terrorising a generation of small Welsh children.

Kill List

Jay, ex-soldier turned hitman, puts his domestic problems on hold to embark on a triple-killing mission with his Irish buddy. But glimpses of their shady client, pagan symbols and Jay's escalating bloodlust hint that this is not so much a hitman thriller as a deadly expedition into the depravity of the human soul.

The Shout

People's souls are trapped in pebbles on the north coast of Devon in this gripping adaptation of an uncanny story by Robert Graves. A strange traveller (Alan Bates) disrupts the lives of a composer and his wife, claiming a shaman has taught him a shout that will kill anyone who hears it. Is he mad, or truly dangerous?

The Woman in Black

The 2012 film of Susan Hill's ghost story, with Daniel Radcliffe, is nowhere near as frightening as this earlier TV version with a screenplay by Nigel Kneale. A young London solicitor, assigned to settle a widow's estate, goes through her papers in a big empty house, where he is unnerved by a threatening presence.

Requiem For a Village

The past clashes (and sometimes meshes) with the present in this portrait of an English village, as seen through the eyes of an old man tending the graveyard. Docudrama slips into folk horror as dead villagers rise from their tombs to share their memories, and rural tranquility is rudely shattered by a biker gang.

Penda's Fen

Alan Clarke, better known for his down-and-dirty social realism, also directed this visionary, eloquent coming-of-age telefilm. A vicar's son finds his staid views on religion and sexuality challenged by visitations from the pagan past and secret military experiments conducted in the mystical landscape around his village.

The Appointment

What begins as a spooky chiller turns into a nail-biting exercise in mounting dread when a middle-class father (Edward Woodward) is obliged to miss his teenage daughter's violin recital because of a business appointment. There are dark forces at work, with bad dreams and portents building up to a shattering finale.

Whistle and I'll Come to You

In this classic BBC adaptation of an M.R. James story, the peerless Michael Horden plays a fusty professor holidaying on England's east coast, where he finds a whistle in a graveyard - and makes the mistake of blowing it. His nightmares are creepy enough, but you'll never look at a spare bed the same way again.

A Warning to the Curious

"No digging here!" In 1930s East Anglia, a cash-strapped amateur archaeologist (the great Peter Vaughan) is hunting for a legendary crown, rumoured to be buried off the bleak Norfolk coast. Unfortunately for him, the treasure is guarded by a vicious ghost in this petrifying adaptation of an M.R. James story.

How many of these Folk Horror movies have you seen?

Have you seen all 27 folk horror films on this list, or did we introduce you to some new nightmares? Let us know in the comments—which ones are your favorites, and which still haunt you?

Want more eerie movie fun?

If you want more eerie movie fun, check out Meow! Cats in Horror, Sci-Fi, and Fantasy Movies.

Covering films from 29 countries, it’s a deep dive into the weirdest, wildest, and most unexpected cat-centric genre movies. Perfect for horror and sci-fi fans looking for something a little different!

Offscreen Film Festival 2025

2025-02-20T08:52:00.000+01:00

The program of the 18th edition of the Offscreen Film Festival (for which I am a programmer) is now online.

The festival keeps an eye on exciting new talent while continuing to explore alternative film history. We have once again assembled an exhilarating programme of more than 60 screenings that swim against mainstream trends. From March 12 until March 30, we plunge into the wonderful world of film at its most offbeat and stimulating, edgy cult viewing, and all the genres from B to Z. And as always, to complement our selection of premieres, we present a special focus, a tribute and a retrospective.

The festival opens on Wednesday 12 March with the premiere of Thibault Emin's Else in the presence of its director and crew. This Franco-Belgian co-production, a body-horror romance set during a bizarre epidemic in which the infected start to merge with their surroundings, is the first of more than 16 new and unreleased features in our Offscreenings selection that take us from Europe (Body Odyssey, Solvent, Infinite Summer) to America's underbelly (A Desert, Vulcanizidora, Dead Mail) to Japan (Kiyoshi Kurosawa's genre mash-up Cloud and Toshiaki Toyoda's mind-blowing Transcending Dimensions) and across time itself in Timestalker, to be introduced by its British director and star, Alice Lowe. Last but not least, we are thrilled to present the Benelux premiere of Reflet dans un diamant mort, the latest film from Brussels-based directing duo Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani.

In an extensive restrospective under the heading "The Haunted Isles: Folk Horror and the Wyrd in the UK and Ireland" we will be showing over 30 films, many in newly restored versions, at Cinema Nova and Cinematek. In addition to the original "Unholy Trinity" of Folk Horror classics rooted in the British landscape and its superstitions - Witchfinder General (1968), The Blood on Satan's Claw (1971) and The Wicker Man (1973) - we dip into paganism, witchcraft, stone circles and ghosts in a rich selection of otherworldly tales, including the newly rediscovered Irish classic The Outcasts (1982), screened in the presence of writer-director Robert Wynne-Simmons. Also on the menu: Jacques Tourneur's magnificent Night of the Demon (1957), Hammer's adaptation of The Devil Rides Out (1968), directed by the great Terence Fisher, and Ken Russell's bonkers horror-comedy The Lair of the White Worm (1988), starring Hugh Grant and Peter Capaldi at the start of their careers.

This retrospective will be launched with a screening of Rupert Russell's documentary The Last Sacrifice (2024), which traces the origins of the Folk Horror boom, lavishly illustrated by clips from many of the films in our retrospective, making it the perfect introduction to this theme. The eerie alienation of the subgenre transcends boundaries of genre and format to permeate science fiction (as in Hammer's 1967 big screen version of Nigel Kneale's Quatermass and the Pit) and fantasy, as well as television dramas and series, which we'll be celebrating in a special "Wyrd British Television Night" presented by Bob Fischer of "The Haunted Generation" blog. Among the treats on offer are episodes from spooky TV series such as BBC's A Ghost Story for Christmas, the controversial mockumentary Ghostwatch (1992), and a selection of terrifying government-sponsored Public Information clips showing what happens to naughty children who trespass on farmland or railway lines.

The Folk Horror phenomenon may have peaked in the 1970s, but we show, too, how its influence can be felt in more recent work by filmmakers who grew up in that decade: Ben Wheatley's Kill List (2011), Liam Gavin's A Dark Song (2016), Mark Jenkin's Enys Men (2022) and Paul Duane's All You Need Is Death (2023). Finally, the concepts of Folk Horror and Wyrd Media will be further explored and contextualised at an international conference featuring specialist speakers and a panel discussion. And, not entirely unconnected with these themes, our matinee screening will be the newly restored version of Watership Down (1978), the gripping animated film of Richard Adams' bestselling rabbit epic.

Under the banner "Weird Greece", we sample the recent "Greek Weird Wave", spearheaded by the film that put this movement on the map - Yorgos Lanthimos's internationally acclaimed Dogtooth - followed by lesser-known gems such as Suntan (2016) and Pity (2018). Then we dive back into the 1960s and 1970s, when the Hellenic film industry let off steam in an unprecented deluge of B-movies and exploitation pics featuring all manner of felons, jealous lovers, crazed killers and hedonistic youngsters besporting themselves on sun-drenched Aegean beaches, choice examples of which can be seen at Cinema RITCS, Cinéma Aventure and Cinema Nova. Revelling in provocative titles such as The Wild Pussycat, Diamonds on Her Naked Flesh and Island of Death, these productions travelled abroad to find enthusiastic audiences in non-Greek grindhouse markets, but have since been largely forgotten. Jacques Spohr, "Greeksploitation" specialist and editor of the zineL'Insatiable, will be hosting a special evening of trailers, outtakes and two sexploitation films. Meanwhile, rare items from his collection of posters, lobby cards and other paraphernalia will be on display at Cinema Nova.

Finally, in a special tribute to the creative Belgian team of Picha and Boris Szulzinger, we present exclusive screenings of seven of their films, all freshly restored by Cinematek and the Royal Belgian Film Archive. Picha, professional pseudonym of Jean-Paul Walravens, is a Brussels-born cartoonist whose adult animated features, such as The Missing Link (1980) and The Big Bang (1987), are risqué, grotesque and defiantly non-PC, but also scabrously funny and boundary-pushing. He took his first steps in cinema under the aegis of the late producer Boris Szulzinger, himself a notable director of such cult titles as Les tueurs fous (1973), which prefigures the likes of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, and Mama Dracula (1980), a horror-comedy in which One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest's Louise Fletcher plays Countess Elizabeth Báthory. Two documentaries - Cartoon Circus (1972) by Picha and Benoît Lamy, and Luc Jabon's brand new Picha, envers et contre tout - help put the work in context, while Picha himself will be attending the festival in person to talk about his outrageous 1975 succès de scandale, Tarzoon: Shame of the Jungle.

Meet me at the cat café of Brussels!

2025-02-06T14:19:00.001+01:00

📚🐾 Join me for a book signing at the cat café Cup Cats in Brussels on February 8 at 1 PM! I’ll be bringing my cat-themed books: AVALON, CLOWDERS, and MEOW! 🐈 Come say hi and grab a signed copy!

Stripbeurs Putte

2025-01-29T15:19:00.001+01:00

Join Me at the Winter BUT in Breda

2025-01-02T07:30:00.001+01:00

Hi everyone!

On January 4, I’ll be heading to Breda, the Netherlands, for a book signing at Winter BUT! The place to be is Poppodium Phoenix from 12:00 pm to 07:00 pm.

The festival celebrates all things underground and alternative and always has something interesting happening, so make sure to check out their full program if you’re planning to visit.

It’s going to be a laid-back and friendly vibe, so don’t hesitate to stop by and say hello. And if you’ve got one of my books already, feel free to bring it along for a signature!

Looking forward to seeing some familiar faces and meeting new ones!

A Night of Feline Terror on 35mm

2024-12-26T19:59:00.001+01:00

This Friday, the Cinematek in Brussels has a treat for fans of feline terror. Two cat-forward classics, The Shadow of the Cat (1961) and Sleepwalkers (1992), will grace the big screen in their original 35mm format. I’ll be there in person to introduce both films, sharing behind-the-scenes insights and stories from my latest book, Meow! Cats in Horror, Sci-Fi, and Fantasy Movies.

Intrigued? You can pre-order the Kindle edition now at 50% off, with the full release (including paperback) coming on February 7.

But first, let’s dig into why these two films deserve a spot in your weekend plans.

The Shadow of the Cat: An “Old Dark House” with a Feline Twist

A Hammer film in disguise, The Shadow of the Cat is a quintessential example of the “Old Dark House” sub-genre. Set in a sprawling English manor, it unravels a mystery involving nine ill-fated visitors—and a cat named Tabitha who exacts her unique brand of justice.

This 1961 gem owes much to Edgar Allan Poe’s The Black Cat, borrowing the motif of a feline symbolizing justice and vengeance. Directed by John Gilling (known for Hammer classics like The Reptile and Plague of the Zombies), the film also boasts a rare horror score by renowned composer Mikis Theodorakis, better known for Zorba the Greek and Serpico.

Tabitha the cat steals the show, but fans of vintage horror will also appreciate performances from Hammer queen Barbara Shelley (Dracula, Village of the Damned) and André Morrell (The Hound of the Baskervilles).

Sleepwalkers: Cult Classic Fun with Morphing CGI

From the mind of Stephen King comes Sleepwalkers (1992), a tale of shape-shifting creatures and the hero cat who stands in their way. Unlike most King adaptations, this one was based on an original screenplay, marking the first collaboration between King and director Mick Garris. The duo would go on to work together on The Stand and The Shining miniseries.

Sleepwalkers is unapologetically fun, blending horror, camp, and early ‘90s CGI morphing effects—a technique pioneered just a year earlier in Terminator 2 and Michael Jackson’s Black or White.

The true hero? Clovis, the brave cat who takes on the titular Sleepwalkers to protect Tanya, played by Mädchen Amick. The cat, portrayed mostly by an exceptionally talented feline named Sparks, became an icon in horror circles.

Giveaway!

To celebrate the release of Meow! Cats in Horror, Sci-Fi, and Fantasy Movies, I’m also hosting a $25 Amazon Gift Card giveaway! The giveaway is open worldwide and runs until January 25. Participating is simple—fill out the Rafflecopter below to enter. Good luck!

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Cover Reveal

2024-12-21T15:06:00.000+01:00

Hello everyone,

I’m excited to officially share the cover of my new book, Meow! Cats in Horror, Sci-Fi, and Fantasy Movies, and to let you know that the Kindle version is now available for pre-order at 50% off! 🛒🐱

Both paperback and Kindle will be available on February 7, 2025!

This book has been a long time in the making, and I’m thrilled to reveal this comprehensive guide that celebrates the role of cats in some of the most iconic—and underrated—movies across horror, sci-fi, and fantasy.

About the Book

Meow! is more than just a guide—it’s a treasure trove of feline film history and insights, spanning over 250 movies from 29 countries. From hidden gems to cult classics, it’s a must-have for anyone who loves cats, movies, or better yet, both!

Contributions from 29 writers make this book a true collaborative effort. Their essays bring diverse perspectives and unique insights into the world of feline cinema, exploring themes of mythology, symbolism, and cats as cinematic icons.

Here’s a sneak peek at what you’ll find inside:

🐾 Extensive Cat Movie List: An ultimate guide to cat-centric horror, sci-fi, and fantasy films, including short films and TV episodes.

🐾 Best Cat Moments: Uncover iconic cat jumpscares and memorable scenes that have thrilled and terrified audiences alike.

🐾 Behind-the-Scenes Trivia: Learn fascinating stories about the making of these films and how our feline friends found their way into some of the most unforgettable roles in cinema.

🐾 Expert Reviews & Recommendations: Get tips for your next movie night and discover films you may have never heard of before.

Whether you’re a horror buff who loves a good fright, a sci-fi fan curious about cats as cosmic travelers, or a fantasy enthusiast fascinated by mythical felines, Meow! has something for everyone.

Pre-Order Now!

Meow! Cats in Horror, Sci-Fi, and Fantasy Movies is available for Kindle pre-order starting today. Reserve your copy now at 50% off and be among the first to dive into this ultimate guide to feline film magic.

Follow me on Instagram, X, or Facebook (or subscribe to my newsletter) for more updates, including exclusive excerpts, contributor highlights, and behind-the-scenes peeks at how this book came together.

Thank you for your support—and for sharing my love of cats and cinema. I can’t wait for you to hold this book in your hands and explore the world of feline film magic with me!

P.S. Have you ever been startled by a cat scare in a movie or charmed by a magical feline on screen? Share your favorite cat movie moments in the comments—I’d love to hear them!

$25 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway!

Enter this $25 Amazon Gift Card toe celebrate the pre-order release of Meow! For a chance to win, fill out the Rafflecopter below. The giveaway is open worldwide and ends January 25, 2025. Good luck!

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Chad Ferrin's The Deep Ones and The Old Ones

2024-08-28T17:45:00.006+02:00

Hey everyone! This Friday at the BUT Film Festival in Breda, I'll be introducing The Deep Ones (2020) and The Old Ones (2024) by Chad Ferrin. Both films dive deep into the world of H.P. Lovecraft—perfect for those who love a good cosmic scare!

THE DEEP ONES (2020) is Ferrin’s take on Lovecraft’s The Shadow over Innsmouth. The film plunges viewers into a world where an idyllic seaside community hides a terrifying secret tied to ancient, aquatic beings known as the Deep Ones. With its eerie atmosphere and unsettling storyline, it’s a modern tribute to Lovecraft’s influence on horror.

THE OLD ONES (2024) continues in the same vein, drawing even more deeply from Lovecraft’s mythos. This film explores the cosmic horror of ancient, godlike entities that exist beyond human comprehension.

If you're into Lovecraftian horror—those tales of ancient gods, cosmic dread, and the insignificance of humanity in the vastness of the universe— come check them out this Friday at the festival!

Fabio Frizzi masterclass

2024-04-11T14:54:00.001+02:00

This Friday, I'll be hosting a masterclass with movie composer Fabio Frizzi.

His face may not ring a bell, but his musical talent will probably sound familiar to you since Frizzi has had a profound impact on the fantastic film industry. Driven by his passion for genre films, he has collaborated with some of the most (in)famous Italian directors of the golden era, including Lucio Fulci, with whom he has created several iconic scores. Among his most notable soundtracks feature THE BEYOND, CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD, ZOMBI 2, and MANHATTAN BABY.

In this masterclass, Frizzi will delve deeper into his soundtracks, his relationship with the Italian horror and giallo maestros, and, if you behave, he might even throw in an anecdote or two about a certain Quentin Tarantino, a great fan of gialli in general and of Fulci in particular. He borrowed one of Frizzi’s tunes, stemming from the SEVEN NOTES IN BLACK score, to include in KILL BILL: VOL 1.

April 12, 2024 – 05:30 pm

BIFFF Q&A stage – Palais 12, Heysel

WEEKEND OF HELL

2023-08-25T18:45:00.000+02:00

📚 I'm thrilled to announce that I'll be at the Weekend of Hell horror convention in Oberhausen, Germany, on September 2nd and 3rd. 🎉 Join me at the Wicked Vision booth for a book signing of my horror film guides and supernatural thrillers. 📖✍️

Get ready to be in the presence of horror greatness, as I'll be joined by a star-studded lineup including legends like Sean S. Cunningham, Alyssa Sutherland, Gilles Vranckx, Catriona Maccoll, Christina Lindberg, Lar Park Lincoln, Betsy Baker, and many more! 🌟🎬

Mark your calendars for an unforgettable weekend of horror, camaraderie, and spine-chilling fun. See you at the Weekend of Hell in Oberhausen on September 2nd and 3rd! 💀🔪

#WeekendOfHell #HorrorCon #AuthorSigning

Sharksploitation: A New Documentary About Horror Movies with Sharks

2023-06-27T21:37:00.000+02:00

📢 Exciting News! 📽️

I'm thrilled to share that I've had the amazing opportunity to participate in the feature-length documentary Sharksploitation. Exploring the fascinating realm of horror films featuring our favorite apex predators, this eagerly anticipated documentary is a deep dive into the chilling and captivating world of shark-infested cinema. 🦈✨

Because I'm the author and editor of the book When Animals Attack: The 70 Best Horror Movies with Killer Animals, director Stephen Scarlata asked me to be one of the "shark movie specialists" who could offer unique insights and perspectives on these films. Other interviewees include Roger Corman, Joe Dante, and Johannes Roberts.

Mark your calendars for July 21, as that's the day when Sharksploitation will make its much-anticipated debut on Shudder. 🗓️🌊

In the meantime, why not dive into the captivating world of killer sharks and other menacing animals through my book When Animals Attack: The 70 Best Horror Movies with Killer Animals.

COMIC CON BRUSSELS 2023

2023-05-19T12:14:00.004+02:00

What will you be doing this weekend? If you happen to be in Belgium, why not come to Comic Con Brussels on May 20 and May 21, where I'll be signing copies of my books?

I'll be in the good company of such stars as Jamie Campbell Bower (Stranger Things, Twilight, Harry Potter), Paddy Considine (House of the Dragon, Peaky Blinders), Giancarlo Esposito (The Mandalorian, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, The Boys), Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Rose McGowan (Scream, Charmed, Jawbreaker), Tom Wlaschiha (Stranger Things, Game of Thrones), and many more.

BIFFF 2023

2023-04-11T10:01:00.001+02:00

BIFFF (Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival) is doing an entire section on horrible children this year (not necessarily evil ones). Since I published a book on the subject, Evil Seeds: The Ultimate Movie Guide to Villainous Children, I will be moderating several Q&A's with the filmmakers of some of these movies, including The Wrath of Becky by Suzanne Coote and Matt Angel, The Coffee Table by Caye Casas and Evil Eye by Isaac Ezban.

This year, I will also be part of the "Jury de la Critique" at BIFFF. The ten movies I will be judging are Stéphane by Timothée Hochet and Lucas Pastor (France), Saturn Bowling by Patricia Mazuy (France/Belgium), The Coffee Table by Caye Casas (Spain), UFO Sweden by Victor Danell (Sweden), Sisu by Halmari Helander (Finland), Ferocious Wolf by Gustavo Hernández (Spain/Uruguay/Argentina), The Elderly by Raúl Cerezo and Fernando González Gómez (Spain), Aliens Abducted my Parents and Now I Feel Kinda Left Out by Jake Van Wagoner (USA), Infinity Pool by Brandon Cronenberg (Canada/Hungary/France), and Soft & Quiet by Beth De Arújo (USA).

The Q&A's can be watched via live streaming on the BIFFF YouTube channel.

BIFFF starts today and will run until April 23.

My latest book, Evil Seeds: The Ultimate Movie Guide to Villainous Children, is now available from Amazon and other retailers.

A WEEKEND WITH BRIGITTE LAHAIE

2023-03-06T10:00:00.001+01:00

Next weekend, the Offscreen Film Festival is hosting a small Brigitte Lahaie retrospective of which I'll be introducing the movies Fascination by Jean Rollin (France, 1979), Je suis à prendre by Francis Leroi (France, 1978). Faceless by Jess Franco (France/Spain, 1988), and The Night of the Hunted by Jean Rollin (France, 1980). Brigitte Lahaie herself will be present at the festival, and she'll join me during the introductions of the first three movies.

UPCOMING BOOK SIGNING SESSION: INTERNATIONAL FIFE CAT SHOW

2023-02-20T18:30:00.002+01:00

Cat lovers, join me on Saturday and Sunday, February 25 and 26 at the International FIFe Cat Show in Court-Saint-Etienne, Belgium, for two days of feline fun!

From 09:00 am – 05:00 pm, I will do a "meet and greet" and sign copies of my cat books Avalon (both English and French editions) and Clowders. Learn more at: https://www.facebook.com/events/2171703413003357

BEST ROBOT MOVIES OF ALL TIME

2023-02-07T15:47:00.000+01:00

Together with the Offscreen Film Festival in Brussels, Belgium, I'll be hosting a retrospective on the best robot movies ever made.

Here is an oerview of the most entertaining robot movies that will be showing at the Offscreen Film Festival, most of them on 35 mm. The festival will take place between March 8 and March 26, 2023.

METROPOLIS

Fritz Lang's Expressionist silent classic reached a new generation via this Giorgio Moroder version with an 1980s pop soundtrack. Brigitte Helm plays a double role as proletarian heroine Maria and the iconic robot created in her image. See the eternal class war played out in an Art Deco setting, with a cast of thousands!

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL

The intergalactic equivalent of a UN observer lands in Washington DC and demands a stop to nuclear testing in this sci-fi allegory with religious undertones. The earthlings ignore his pleas for peace, leaving them at the mercy of a giant robot that can only be stopped with the immortal words "Klaatu barada nikto!"

IKARIE XB-1

A starship heads to Alpha Centauri on a search for alien intelligence in this classic Stanislaw Lem adaptation, a key influence on everything from 2001 to Star Trek with its depiction of everyday life in space and discovery of an abandoned vessel. The old-fashioned robot is a figure of fun - until he saves the day!

THE CREATION OF THE HUMANOIDS

After a nuclear war, human survivors fear and despise the robots they now depend on, with extremists even launching terrorist attacks against the blue-skinned humanoids. Wooden acting and no-budget sets give an agreeably avant-garde flavour to this forgotten sci-fi gem packed with unusually progressive ideas.

BLADE RUNNER

A Los Angeles gumshoe, assigned to terminate rogue replicants, starts to question the ethics of his job. Scott's visionary reworking of Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? revolutionised the face of sci-fi cinema with its neo-noir imagery, unforgettable androids, and spine-tingling Vangelis score.

I, ROBOT

A Chicago cop suspects a robot may be responsible for the death of a robotics company CEO. Are robots starting to ignore Asimov's Three Laws, which prevent them from harming human beings? Meanwhile, the laws of Hollywood blockbusters ensure a full complement of superb special effects and Will Smith kicking robot ass.

THE IRON GIANT

During the Cold War, a young boy befriends a big metal-eating robot from outer space which crashlands near his small town, but the paranoid government sends agents to investigate. This lovely animated fable, based on a children's story by poet Ted Hughes, flopped on its release but is now hailed as a modern classic.

FORBIDDEN PLANET

William Shakespeare's The Tempest gets a sci-fi makeover in this fantasy masterpiece with an avant-garde score. A starship lands on a planet where a sinister force has killed all but two members of a previous expedition: a scientist and his daughter. Robby the Robot, their mechanical servant, was a big hit with the public.

EX MACHINA

Alex Garland's directing debut is a virtual three-hander in which a naïve programmer is helicoptered into a billionaire tech bro's luxury home to determine whether a female android is capable of independent thought. Toxic masculinity and Machiavellian mind games ensue, with results that will keep you guessing to the end.

TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY

Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a creaky old T-800 sent back in time to protect mankind's future saviour and his mom from the more advanced T-1000 - a robot made of liquid metal! Just because this blockbuster has a pro-peace message doesn't mean it's not packed with chases, explosions and mind-blowing special effects.

GODZILLA VS MECHAGODZILLA

Just when you thought Godzilla was one of the good guys, he goes on the rampage again. But it's a mechanical imposter, controlled by aliens from another planet! The real Godzilla, outmatched, has to team up with King Caesar, a shaggy kaiju from Okinawa, for a three-way showdown that would do credit to Sergio Leone.

EVA

In 2043, androids are part of everyday life. Daniel Brühl (speaking fluent Catalan) plays a cybernetic genius who returns to his hometown to build a robot child modelled on his niece. Exquisite virtual interfaces, a droll robot factotum and adorable robo-cat are the supporting stars in this bewitching sci-fi yarn.

WESTWORLD

You've seen the TV show, now revisit Michael Crichton's original sci-fi classic about a futuristic theme park where tourists can interact with lifelike androids in recreations of the wild west, ancient Rome and medieval times. What could possibly go wrong? Yul Brynner, as an implacable robot gunslinger, is nightmare fodder.

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

C-3PO and R2-D2 return for the first and best sequel in the Star Wars franchise, which introduces Yoda and spills the shocking truth about Darth Vader. This time the loveable droid duo faces formidable robotic competition in the shape of Imperial AT-AT Walkers; the tie-in toys were an instant hit with young fans.

THE BLACK HOLE

A deep space research crew finds a missing spaceship at the edge of a black hole in Disney's sci-fi spectacular with superb effects, a terrific John Barry score, and a trippy ending that traumatised a generation of kids. What will the crew and their faithful droid find on board? A mad scientist, and robots galore!

TEST PILOTA PIRXA

A heroic pilot agrees to lead a mission to Saturn, aware UNESCO has placed an android on his crew as part of a risky experiment. Can he work out which of his men is the non-human? This adaptation from one of Stanislaw Lem's Pirxa stories blends Cold War aesthetics and Arvo Pärt music with thrilling deep space action.

A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

In the 22nd century, a robot child embarks on a Pinocchio-like quest to become a real boy and win back the love of the mother who rejected him. This adaptation of a Brian Aldiss story, initially developed by Stanley Kubrick, goes off on some very dark tangents (The Flesh Fair!) before a poignant emotional payoff.

THE QUESTOR TAPES

Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry conceived this TV film as the pilot for a series that was never made, but it works on its own as a globe-trotting adventure powered by the bromance between a human and an android, clearly the prototype for Next Generation's Data. Typical Roddenberry, it's humane, touching and funny.

DR. WHO AND THE DALEKS

The BBC's beloved sci-fi TV show first aired in 1963 and quickly spawned this big screen spin-off. Peter Cushing plays the time-travelling doctor who is transported with his two daughters and an assistant to Planet Skaro, home of the doctor's most fearsome enemies, the robotic Daleks. Their catchphrase? EX-TER-MIN-ATE!

THE ARTIFICE GIRL

Government agents interrogate a computer geek about the pubescent girl he's been using to trap sexual predators online. She turns out to be virtual (an uncanny performance by young Tatum Matthews) in a cerebral three-act chamber piece that dives deep into the ethics, pitfalls and potential of Artificial Intelligence.

METOROPORISU

Fritz Lang's Metropolis was inspiration for this spectacular dieselpunk anime in which a female android called Tima struggles against a destiny in which she will be deployed as a superweapon. The cityscapes are stunning, with a retro feel that's echoed in the ragtime-adjacent score and unexpected use of a Ray Charles hit.

GHOST IN THE SHELL 2: INNOCENCE

Major Kusanagi has a cameo, but the protagonist of this underrated sequel is her partner Batou, the world-weary semi-cyborg with a loveable Basset Hound. He and Section 9 trace a series of sexbot killings to a labyrinth of false realities and existential philosophy in an exquisite feast for the eyes, ears and brain.

AUTOMATA

In 2044, humans need robotic help to survive in a world scorched by solar flares. Antonio Banderas plays an investigator examining claims that robots have been breaching protocol by modifying themselves. This handsome sci-fi epic pits paranoid humans against philosophical machines who may be mankind's last hope.

SCREAMERS

A long war has left a remote planet littered with lethal robots that are evolving to look and behave just like humans. The lives of a battle-weary colonel (Peter Weller) and his men depend on distinguishing man from machine, but easier said than done in this tense, creepy adaptation of a Philip K. Dick short story.

ROBOCOP

"I'll buy that for a dollar!" Verhoeven stirs hyper-violence, splattery humour and religious allegory into a delicious satire on modern America. Peter Weller does some impressive acting with his mouth and chin (the only visible parts of his face) as a Detroit cop, murdered by crooks, who is resurrected as a cyborg.

DEATH MACHINE

In what could be the most unhinged performance of his career, Brad Dourif plays a mad scientist who unleashes his choppy, stabby killer robot on CEOs and eco-warriors trapped in a high-rise. Steven Norrington, in his feature debut, directs the hell out of this often hilarious mash-up of The Terminator, RoboCop and Hardware.

CHERRY 2000

In the year 2017, a businessman ventures into a perilous post-apocalyptic wasteland in search of spare parts for his beloved but obsolete sexbot. Melanie Griffith oozes 1980s star charisma as the hardboiled tracker he hires as a guide. Low-budget sci-fi with mad stunts, a western vibe and a Michael Almereyda screenplay.

HARDWARE

Richard Stanley, in his feature debut, works wonders on a minuscule budget with a 2000 AD-inspired yarn set in a post-apocalyptic neo-punk netherworld. A sculptress unwittingly solders a piece of lethal military android into her latest scrap metal creation, and the mechanical artwork runs amok. Heavy metal carnage to the max!

CHOPPING MALL

Security robots get their circuits scrambled by an electrical storm and hunt down the horny teens who are partying after hours in a shopping mall. B-movie mayhem from the Corman stable, packed with gratuitous boobs, cheesy exploding head effects, in-jokes and a cult cast including Dick Miller and Barbara Crampton.

STEEL AND LACE

When her evil yuppie rapist is found not guilty, a classical pianist commits suicide, but is resurrected by her genius brother as a killer-cyborg programmed to murder the scumbag and the buddies who gave him a fake alibi. Rape-revenge exploitation with a melancholy streak offset by some creative and surprising kills!

THE TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE

Heroic Autobots battle evil Decepticons in this spin-off from the animated TV show; more fun than Michael Bay's live-action pics, and not averse to killing off beloved characters. The illustrious voice cast includes Robert Stack, Leonard Nimoy and Orson Welles, in his final role, as the voracious planet Unicron.

SHORT CIRCUIT

"Number 5 is alive!" A military robot gains sentience and goes on the run in this family-friendly comedy adventure. A scatty animal lover (Ally Sheedy) thinks it's an extra-terrestrial and teaches it the ways of humans before they team up with the robot's inventor to evade the army killjoys who want it terminated.

WALL-E

By the year 2805, mankind has abandoned a polluted Earth for luxury starliners, leaving an amiable but lonely robot to clean up the mess in this lovely Pixar animation with an eco-message and inspired action out of the Buster Keaton playbook. Can WALL-E and his new robo-pal Eve teach humans how to heal their planet?

ANDROID

In 2036, three criminals seek refuge on a space station occupied only by creepy scientist Klaus Kinski and a naïve android, Max 404, who models himself on James Stewart. With its Space Invaders-era graphics, this no-budget but inventive New World production takes some unexpected turns en route to a violent climax.

CYBORG

In a plague-ridden future, a cyber-woman has to carry life-saving data from New York to Atlanta. Only Jean-Claude Van Damme and his signature helicopter kicks can protect her from the Flesh Pirates! Pyun applies his no-budget know-how to a post-apocalyptic argy-bargy featuring characters named after classic guitars.

My latest book, Evil Seeds: The Ultimate Movie Guide to Villainous Children, is now available from Amazon and other retailers.

NAKED LUNCH

2023-01-29T13:25:00.000+01:00

I wrote a piece about David Cronenberg's Naked Lunch for a new Arrow Video box set, and I'm super proud of this stunning edition.

It features a brand new 4K restoration from the Original Camera Negative, overseen by Director of Photography Peter Suschitzky and approved by writer/director David Cronenberg. It is available on both UHD and Blu-Ray.

On top of that, it has new interviews with producer Jeremy Thomas, cinematographer Peter Suschitzky, composer Howard Shore, SFX genius Chris Walas, and an hour-long conversation with star Peter Weller.

PLUS: an all new audio commentary by Jack Sargeant and Graham Duff, an archive directors commentary by David Cronenberg, an hour-long new piece by Tony Rayns on William S. Burroughs, a new appreciation by David Huckvale on the music of Naked Lunch, an all new visual essay by David Cairns, Naked Making Lunch (the making of doc originally shown as part of the South Bank Show), presented here in a new scan from director Chris Rodley's own 16mm print, which is slightly longer than the version most people are used to seeing (also viewable with a new audio interview with Chris Rodley - director of Naked Making Lunch and editor of the essential Cronenberg on Cronenberg), and a gallery of concept art and maquettes by Stephen Dupuis.

Not to mention an 80-page perfect-bound book containing new writing by Jack Sargeant and yours truly, plus a wealth of archival material.

And the cherry on this particular cake? All new art by Gilles Vranckx (who also made the book covers for Evil Seeds, The Ultimate Movie Guide to Villainous Children, Strange Blood: 71 Essays on Offbeat and Underrated Vampire Movies, and When Animals Attack: The 70 Best Horror Movies with Killer Animals).

UHD is all on one disc, BD is two discs, but both versions contain all the same stuff.

And, of course, this limited edition version also features a double sided poster, a selection of postcards, plus a reproduction ticket to Interzone and reproduction business cards for both William Lee and Dr. Benway.

This is a UK only release since other labels have the rights in other territories, but UHD is region free so...

LE PRIX DU DANGER & THE RUNNING MAN

2022-12-28T10:10:00.005+01:00

This Friday, I'll be giving an introduction to Yves Boisset's Le prix du danger (1982) and Paul Michael Glaser's The Running Man (1987) at the Cinematek in Brussels. The films are part of a "Reality TV" double-bill.

About Le prix du danger: In a dystopian future, a television station organizes a manhunt, capitalizing on the low instincts and voyeurism of viewers who closely follow the candidate's elimination. It is reminiscent of what reality TV would become a few years later. Based on a story by American sci-fi writer Robert Sheckley.

About The Running Man: A few years after Le prix du danger, American director Paul Michael Glaser's The Running Man (starring Arnold Schwarzenegger) was released, using exactly the same plot. Yves Boisset files a lawsuit for plagiarism, which lasts 11 years and which he eventually wins. But The Running Man is also an adaptation of a novel by Stephen King. However, Glazer (the Starsky from Starsky & Hutch) goes for a much kitschier, entertaining film, which will have an undeniable influence on the world of video games.

My latest book, Evil Seeds: The Ultimate Movie Guide to Villainous Children, is now available from Amazon and other retailers.

CHRISTMAS BOOK TOUR & GIVEAWAY

2022-12-01T16:17:00.000+01:00

This month, I'm participating in the Deck the Halls with Books Holiday Extravaganza book tour. There will be lots of Christmas-themed content for each stop on the tour (such as Christmas recipes for you and your cat), excerpts from my book Avalon, and a Facebook party on December 13.

Nine other authors are joining, too, and every one of us will be doing a giveaway, so make sure you follow along.

See you there!

Cinemamed

2022-11-21T10:59:00.004+01:00

From December 2 to 18, I will be part of the jury of Cinemamed (Festival cinéma méditerranéen de Bruxelles).

These are the films I will be judging...

Alcarràs by Carla Simón (Spain)

Cinema Sabaya by Orit Fouks Rotem (Belgium/Israel)

Les damnés ne pleurent pas by Fyzal Boulifa (France/Belgium/Morocco)

Interdit aux chiens et aux Italiens by Alain Ughetto (France/Italy/Belgium/Switzerland/Portugal)

Mediterranean Fever by Maha Haj (France)

Snow and the Bear by Selcen Ergun (Turkey)

The Uncle by David Kapac and Andrija Marsdešić (Croatia)

Have you seen any of these movies? Did you like them?

My latest book Evil Seeds: The Ultimate Movie Guide to Villainous Children is now available from Amazon and other retailers.