Three years ago today, Horror Press slithered its way out of the birth canal and onto the popcorn-covered floor of [insert your local indie movie theater]. Covered in embryonic fluid, Raisinets, and sticky miscellaneous floor fluids, Horror Press has come a long way. You’ve been with us through our first steps, the terrible twos, countless festivals, two podcasts, numerous giveaways, Horror 101s, rankings, retrospectives, lists, and so much more. We’ve appreciated your support along the way, but we want you to know that we’re just getting started. Our third year is already starting off with a bang and we plan on making it bigger, badder, and bloodier.
While it’s important to look forward to what’s to come, I also want to take a moment and look back at all of the quality content that’s gotten us this far. From gay sharks, to a unique look at Martyrs, to an interview with Jennifer freaking Kent, we’ve covered a wide variety of topics. It’s time to put on your party hat (like Leo in that episode of Twin Peaks where Bobby and Shelly dress him up when he’s comatose) and join us as we highlight what makes Horror Press, well, Horror Press!
A Look Back at Some of Our Favorite Articles at Horror Press
Gay Jaws!
Queer historian of American horror cinema Abigail Waldron wrote one of our most controversial articles in the history of Horror Press. In March, Abigail asked the question, “Is it time for a queer Jaws remake?” This article caused tons of…debate among horror fans across social media. Many of the responses were from readers who merely read the headline, but those who read the article were treated to an incredibly well-written thought experiment. If you happened to miss this article when it came out, now’s your time to check it out.
Angry Aliens!
One of the co-hosts of the Horror Press Podcast, Eli BadCritic, took on the task of ranking the Alien franchise in the most Eli way possible! If gay Jaws didn’t get people in a tizzy, this one sure did! Ridley Scott’s Alien is one of the most prolific Sci-Fi horror films ever, but where does it rank for Eli? We’ve had many franchise rankings here at Horror Press but none as contentious as this one!
Castle On A Hill
Luis Pomales-Diaz is unquestionably one of the powerhouses at Horror Press. From Smile 2, Terrifier 3, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, A Quiet Place: Day One, Longlegs, and countless others, Luis has made sure to cover many of the heavy hitters to grace the silver screen last year. Aside from his unwavering love for the Chucky series, Luis wrote an editorial on something that I, and many fans my age, care deeply about: Dark Castle Entertainment. Dark Castle initially set out to remake the films of famed horror filmmaker William Castle. As far back as I can remember, some of my earliest horror movie memories are of Dark Castle films. If you are also a fan of the Aughts classics, then give Luis’ editorial a read. You won’t regret it!
Final Girls Support Group
Many of us use horror as an escape from the real world, some of us use it for entertainment, and some of us use horror to help the grieving process. Writer Ian Carlos Crawford crafted a brilliant look into his relationship between horror and grieving. This is the article that drew my attention to Horror Press and prompted me to ruin Curator of Everything Horror Press James-Michael Fleites’ life. Horror has the unique ability to cover a wide variety of topics and handle each one of them differently; sometimes all you need to make yourself feel comfortable is an hour and a half of good ole hack-n-slash.
Michael Myers and Me
Sharai Bohannon has been incredibly busy between her countless podcasts and numerous bylines. Her Shudder streaming guides have been incredibly helpful and well-received by both fans and casual horror enjoyers. While not scouring through Shudder’s insanely awesome catalog, Sharai has written one of the most deeply personal editorials on Horror Press. Check out her article about her insatiable love for Halloween and the undeniable tether she has to the masked killer.
Too Much Paranormal Activity
We all know that Paranormal Activity was the film to singlehandedly kickstart the mid-aughts obsession with found footage. Writer/podcaster Brennan Klein, who has a penchant for 80’s slashers, took on the daunting task of watching and ranking ALL of the films in the Paranormal Activity franchise. This isn’t the only franchise he tackled, Brennan has also ranked franchises like Leprechaun, Blair Witch, and The Amityville Horror! He also took a task that many would be too afraid to broach when he covered the Top 10 Child Deaths in Horror.
Hellraiser and You
Brooklyn-based Bash Ortega has a history of interviewing quite a few exciting voices in horror. From the crew behind Black Eyed Susan on AI and consent, prolific filmmaker Bertrand Mandico on his queerly fantastic She Is Conann, and the writer/director Alex of one of my Letterboxd Top 4 Alex Phillips on All Jacked Up And Full Of Worms! And that’s to name a few. One of my favorite editorials from Bash is their deep dive into Hellraiser and all the kinky shit that lurks below the surface.
Disturbing Movies
Toward the end of 2023, James-Michael shared an article with me that pissed me off. Buzzfeed saw fit to put out an article on the most disturbing movies of all time. Now, I’m not one to gatekeep horror by any means, but it was clear all they did was google “disturbing movies” and hastily put together a list they thought would pass for casual horror fans. It did not. This led me to watch 50+ movies I had never seen before and revisit movies I have seen before…I didn’t sleep for a month. I’m proud of all of my articles on Horror Press, but this one takes the cake. (Though my interview with Larry Fessenden is definitely the runner-up!)
This is all just the tip of the iceberg. There are countless amazing articles from the Horror Press writers and there is so much more to come! Thank you for joining us along the way and we hope to keep your skin crawling for years to come.
Hail Raatma!