Welcome, once again, to Must Read Horror. You want great horror articles? This is the place to find the best the web has to offer. This week:
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Digging into Horror’s Final Girl Trope
When all around her are dead, slaughtered by the masked killer or unintentionally summoned demon, she prepares for one final battle. You knew it would come down to this; all the signs were there at the beginning. You knew she was tougher than her friends, and that while they were being massacred – it’s the sex and drugs, you see – she was kicking ass and taking names. She is, of course, the ‘Final Girl’. This article over at Bitch Magazine looks at the history, and evolution, of this well-worn trope, and why it’s so successful.
Clive Barker in Comics Part V: IDW and The Thief of Always
Part five of FearNet’s retrospective look at Clive Barker’s work in comics. This time the focus is on the 2005 IDW adaptation of The Thief of Always.
The 10 Greatest Giant Monster Movies of All Time
With the release of Guillermo Del Toro’s monsters-versus-robots blockbuster, Pacific Rim, imminent, i09 takes the opportunity to look back at some of the best giant monster (kaiju) movies of all time. Unsurprisingly, The Asylum’s soon to be released, Atlantic Rim, does not make an appearance.
French Gothic Horror
This article over at The Gothic Imagination looks at the history of Gothic French cinema, including mad scientists, beauty terror, and the New French Extremity.
The Conjuring: The Terrifying Truth of Horror Movies
We’ve all been there; you’re sat in the cinema, the lights go down, the myriad trailers are over, it’s time for the main event, and then BOOM! The words, Based on a True Story, appear on the screen. Up until then, the demonic possessions and murders you were about to watch hadn’t bothered you. But now they have significance; they really happened. This is a whole different ball-game. If only you’d prepared instead of grazing through your popcorn like a starving camel. If only you’d done your research. This article from The Age looks at the appeal of true-story horror movies, in particular the upcoming James Wan-directed, The Conjuring.
ADAM MILLARD
