All posts filed under: HORROR & THRILLER MOVIES

The revival of bold wallpaper.

Retro Revival: Bold wallpaper trends bring the ’70s back in style

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Remember the 1980s trend where every other house had wallpaper borders running along the tops of walls? Whether it was apples, country ducks, hunting dogs, or (yes) drunk roller-skating clowns, you couldn’t walk into a home without seeing some kind of whimsical or cheesy print staring back at you.

What you may not know is that wallpaper — and especially those quirky borders — quietly disappeared in the 1990s when sleek, modern decorators declared war on anything that wasn’t a smooth, painted wall. For years, “updated” meant stripping down to neutral colors and bare surfaces. But as with many things in design, what goes out of style always finds a way to come back.

A spooky picture of a ghost lady.

A Psychological Thriller Rooted in Folklore: ‘An American Haunting’ and the Bell Witch legend

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Intrigued by the notion that someone had created a horror film based on the Southern ghost story of the Bell Witch — a tale I’ve heard whispers of growing up near Tennessee — I recently rented “An American Haunting” hoping to uncover more about this mysterious legend. To my surprise, the film is one of the few horror movies I’ve seen that explores supernatural torment and possession through the lens of psychological trauma.

Set in early 1800s Tennessee, the movie tells the haunting story of young Betsy Bell, a once-lively, flirtatious teenager who abruptly transforms into a withdrawn, exhausted version of herself. She confesses to her teacher that she’s unable to sleep, haunted by a terrifying presence that visits her at night. Her sudden decline sets off a series of terrifying events.

An illustration for a column about road trip movies.

Rest Stop Horror: The new subgenre redefining road trips in film

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Anyone who’s ever taken a long road trip knows the moment: You pull into a random gas station or rest stop — tired, hungry, desperate for a bathroom — and what greets you is a scene straight out of your worst nightmares. Filthy floors, broken faucets, the unmistakable stench of neglect. But what if that unsettling experience was just the beginning of something far more sinister?

That’s the premise behind the aptly titled horror flick “Rest Stop,” a gritty B-grade film that turns the familiar discomfort of roadside travel into a full-blown horror show. When two rebellious teens run away to Los Angeles, they make the fatal mistake of pulling into a rest stop that’s become the stalking ground of a deranged killer — a death trap decades in the making.

The movie poster for "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre."

The Real Horror Behind Leatherface: Revisiting ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’

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I hadn’t seen “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” since the 1980s, when I first watched it at my cousin, Pam’s, house. She was a big Halloween fan, but I was still too young (and too scared) to handle the film’s chaotic terror. I remember leaving her house early that night, practically running home to my mama.

Fast-forward to last night when I caught the film on FUSE. It didn’t seem quite as frightening this time around — probably because I’ve seen far more horror movies since — but for anyone unfamiliar with the genre, “Chainsaw” still has the potential to scare the leggings off you.

The poster for the film "Persona."

Exploring Identity and the Mind in Bergman’s Persona

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LaReeca Rucker I rented the 1967 film “Persona” after reading multiple articles that referenced it in connection with other psychologically complex films. Since I had recently watched David Lynch’s surreal, open-ended “Mulholland Drive,” it seemed like the right time to give Ingmar Bergman’s classic a try. The two films share some intriguing similarities — most notably, their exploration of the psychological bond and blurred identities between two women. “Persona” focuses on a nurse and her patient, whose personalities begin to merge in strange and unsettling ways. It’s an intense, cerebral dive into identity, silence, and emotional trauma. If I hadn’t already seen some of Roman Polanski’s earlier films, like “Repulsion,” I might have been more shaken by “Persona.” But “Repulsion” — another raw, disturbing examination of the female psyche — had already prepped me to expect a certain level of intensity from 1960s European psychological cinema. Still, “Persona” is a strong example of how film can probe corners of the mind that most movies never attempt to reach. Its experimental feel and avant-garde cinematography are …