Another Halloween came and rotted, and streaming services continued to be the home of the most horror movie premieres. Grumpire has been unscientifically tracking this trend for a few years, and 2024 was no different. […]
Author: Brian Miller
Brian is the founder of the Deathbomb Arc record label and writes film essays at various sites under the guise Neon Zen.
LET JASON BUILD A HOUSE AGAIN
Looming slow as molasses, A24’s Friday The 13th prequel series Crystal Lake is as cursed as the entire franchise has been, with the most recent news being the loss of their showrunner. This is on […]
The Dork Universe: On recent trends in non-sequitur horror
It is no revelation that the reputation of Horror has vastly improved in the past decade’s time. It wouldn’t even be a stretch to say it is fully redeemed and in a new golden era. […]
BECAUSE THE SOUL IS PROGRESSIVE, IT NEVER QUITE REPEATS ITSELF: ON THE SO-CALLED CLONES OF ‘SCREAM’
What if God fell into the darkness of Hell? Into the prison He had made for His own enemies, for those diametrically opposite of Him… into a realm so far from the beauty of Heaven, […]
If the Abyss Stares Into a Camera, the Camera Stares Back: On Found Footage Horror and Structural Film
An analog video camera is mounted to an oscillating standing fan and left unattended to capture whatever may come across its path. Rotating at its own steady rate between the voluminous kitchen and living room […]
MIXTAPE: HIP-HOP DAY
A playlist for Hip Hop Day, which of course could includeanything, made in an impressionist response to my choices for films totalk about in “Hip Hop Day the Grumpy Way“. Bodied (2017) andDreams Never Die […]
REVENGE OF THE CHEAPIES: AN INTRODUCTION TO ‘BIG B’
Amateur street racers fire grappling hooks into the sky, take down a military cargo plane, and save the world. A zoologist whispers kindly to a kaiju-sized ape, surrounded by the complete destruction of a city, […]
Let’s Put The Industrialist Back in Christmas: a contemplation on ‘A Christmas Carol’ films
Every Christmas film is an autobiography of the Spirit of Christmas. Well, essentially at least. The vast majority of Christmas movies, which most likely at this point bear the Hallmark or Lifetime insignia on them, […]
HALLOWEEN EVERY DAY (EXCEPT NOV 1 THROUGH SEPT 30)
Luck, wisdom, and desperation all play an important part in forcing the hand of cinema in new directions. A little over a decade ago, a small handful of streaming platforms were pushing for viability in […]
FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT: XTREME!
Nothing makes parents happier than teaching their children to love Horror. Just visit any Horror convention and you’ll see toddlers dressed as Freddy Krueger holding hands with their father and his Art The Clown forearm […]
MIXTAPE: FRIDAY THE 13TH 2022
Friday The 13th, of all the pseudo-holidays, continues to hold a strong grip on our cultural imagination. It doesn’t hurt that the beloved horror franchise by the same name has such an iconic killer to […]
ON AROUSAL AND USELESSNESS IN ‘THE SCARY OF SIXTY-FIRST’
ENOUGH SENSE TO GET OUT OF THE RAIN & INTO THE BLUE-STRIPED TEMPLE “Don’t you feel like you can take on the world?You ain’t worried ’bout nobody sneak dissin”‘ – Rae Sremmurd “We’ll make Heaven […]
GODS WITH NO PROPHETS: ON ‘THE TIMEKEEPERS OF ETERNITY’ AND OUTLAW MYTHOLOGY
“If God wanted that movie to be good, He would have willed it so from the beginning.” This sort of Greater Plan attitude is the subconscious spiritual implication of a capitalist art industry. While the […]
WHY 2010 IS COMMONLY CONSIDERED THE GREATEST ERA OF HORROR
The frontiers of media provide lawless opportunities for artists. Before the corporate-appointed sheriff rolls into town, utopias of artistic expression are possible. What those utopic dreams are and how long they last is an entirely […]
‘MALIGNANT’: THE ANTI-CHOICE MAN OF YOUR DREAMS
Dream logic is a powerful narrative engine, driving both the most anxiety-inducing of horror and the wackiest of screwball comedy. It only makes sense that a franchise like Nightmare on Elm Street quickly changed course […]